NASCAR Qualifying Rained Out in Watkins Glen ... drat!

Naturally, the weather's gonna be the weather. Anyone's who's lived like I I have as an adult in Mississippi, Kansas, Texas and Oregon understands that. Plus as a kid, over a period of seven and a half years, my daddy's work took us to right at half the United States. The longest we lived anywhere was three months, the shortest was one night. I know one must put up with the weather and what it causes.

But.

As a life-long racing fan, rain frustrates me. I cannot even imagine how these teams who keep getting their dreams dashed feel in the pits of their stomachs. Drivers like Boris Said . Here's what I found about Said in an article at USAToday dot com:

"But another road-course ace won't be racing. Boris Said, who placed third at the Glen in 2005, will miss a Cup race because of weather for the second time this season. His Ford was on the pole last month at Daytona International Speedway before a thunderstorm washed out qualifying.

Said believes NASCAR should have postponed qualifying until Saturday morning both times.

"All the weather tomorrow is sunshine, sunshine, sunshine," he said. "NASCAR should roll with the punches and make a change. They've done it in the past."

The rainout "puts our team out of business," he said. Said is running a part-time schedule of road courses and restrictor-plate tracks. He said the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway likely will be the last for the No. 60 Ford.

"I guess they care about the top 35 teams," Said said. "The small guys, we're trying to make it, but it's twice as hard. We're probably pretty much done now. It's a bitter pill to swallow."

Elliott Sadler, a guy who wasn't civil at all to my friend Kay when we were in the Talladega garage in April, 2006, said on "Trackside" on Speed today that NASCAR ought to at least let the teams out of the top 35 have a chance to run against each other on Saturday, for the final eight starting spots. That sounds fair, doesn't it? Instead, NASCAR went with the 43 teams with the most owner points. Six drivers were eliminated because they have fewer qualifying attempts and/or lower standing in owner points than those who made the race.

Come on, NASCAR. Get real. You began as America's sport, the everyman of competition. Take the time and be responsible. Work this out so that something no one can control won't shaft the same teams again and again. Three times this season. Three out of the last four years at Watkins Glen.

I don't like this one bit. Do you?