Five things to ponder after crazy Northeast weekend

One week after the tire debacle at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and one day after an interesting, if seemingly bizarre experiment in the rain during a Nationwide Series event in Montreal, at least NASCAR didn't feel the need to push the envelope further when inclement weather struck at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Officials simply waited until the track was dry again to resume racing.

Thank goodness for that. With the second and final road-course test of the Sprint Cup Series season now on tap at Watkins Glen International next Sunday, here are five points to ponder from the weekend that just was in Montreal and Pocono:

1. Tired of tires?

Who else is tired of all the tire talk these days? Raise your hands and send your letters to Goodyear -- and NASCAR -- lest one more race ever be run under the ridiculous conditions that prevailed at Indy two weeks ago. That is, if you haven't already done so.

The only reason tires are in the news again this week is because of what transpired in Montreal, where road-course specialist (turns out these guys don't necessarily like being called "ringers") Ron Fellows won the rain-shortened NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal (watch video). Seven laps into the Nationwide event, the rains came; one lap later, series director Joe Balash ordered the cars onto pit road to be outfitted with rain tires, windshield wipers, blowers and brake lights (watch video).

While the move was widely praised in many circles -- including in a column by my respected NASCAR.com colleague Mark Aumann (read more), who witnessed it first-hand while the rest of us watched on television or were relegated to the "highlights" that included driver Carl Edwards attempting to use a squeegee to clean his own windshield as he drove off pit road (watch video) -- isn't there anyone else out there who thought this was utterly stupid? The last thing NASCAR needed one week after Indy was anything involving tires that might have provided more joke fodder for the late-night talk-show hosts.

Anyone who saw the potential top-five run of Joey Logano ruined because he couldn't see and because the makeshift brake lights of the car in front of him failed to illuminate even as said car checked up should be able to recognize the foolhardy future of drivin' in the rain at any NASCAR event down the road. (Continued)