Driver's ed: a stick-and-ball fan's guide to NASCAR

Sporting News, The, April 22, 2005 by Matt Crossman

If you put the points leader in the 35th-place driver's car and the 35th-place driver in the points leader's car, who would win?

Probably the 35th-place guy. With rare exceptions, any driver with a regular ride will do well if he drives great equipment. But all the driving talent in the world won't make a slow car go fast enough to keep up in the Nextel Cup series. That's not to say the driver doesn't matter or that the two guys would tie if they were in identical equipment. There's a great cliche in racing: "It's not like I forgot how to drive a racecar." It sounds like an excuse, but often a driver falters because his car just isn't fast enough. Simple, ain't it?