For all those who are tired of NASCAR’s tire-gate, you may need to skip the next 300 words or so.

The whining and complaining from drivers, fans and almost anyone who had anything to do with Sunday’s Brickyard 400 has been at the top of the racing news.

If you missed it (and how could you), the Goodyear tires used by all the teams on the series were unable to stand up to the conditions of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, coupled with the new design of the Car of Tomorrow, being used for the first time at the track in Sunday’s race.

It resulted in tires that wore much faster than normal, a number of blowouts, cars driving slower than their maximum speed and about a third of the race being run under caution. Many of those were cautions mandated by NASCAR so teams could go change tires and not push it.

People hate that one of the series’ biggest races got nearly ruined by the conditions. But let’s step back and take some perspective on this.

If a big football game gets played in five inches of snow, or a torrential rainstorm, it darn well affects teams being able to do things the way they normally do.

But guess what? The game is still big, the stakes are still high and everyone is facing the same circumstances.

And even though Tiger Woods wasn’t there, a few of us watched the British Open golf tournament earlier this month. Conditions at times were brutal, with 50 mile-per-hour wind gusts and temperatures that more closely resemble our Novembers.

But everyone was playing the same golf course, facing the same elements. They weren’t making as many birdies or hitting as many great shots as the name of the game became survival. But it still was a big deal.

If any sort of event becomes a game of survival, then so be it. Teams still found a way to do what they had to do to get around the track in one piece.

Sometimes a “race” doesn’t become exactly about driving as fast as you can. That’s when a true competitor finds a way to get it done anyway.

Hamlin’s hundred

It seems like yesterday that Denny Hamlin began his Sprint Cup career. But in fact, the young driver will make his 100th series start this weekend at Pocono.

It’s been his most successful track. In five starts, Hamlin has two victories and never has finished worse than sixth.