How Do You Define Great Racing in NASCAR!?

So, we had quite a finish at Talladega this year... Carl goes high (in the air) after Brad goes low and we saw glimpses of potential tragedy with drivers and fans... Even on Saturday, when Matt Kenseth got bumped too hard and went end over end for a while, we held our collective breaths that he would walk away safely.  Of course, we pray for good health for all those impacted by debris.  

However, the racing that was seen at Talladega also calls to mind exactly what NASCAR fans expect and/or deserve when they think about the term 'Great Racing'.  After all, we've had plenty of it this year.  Yeah, there have been plenty of drawn out parade laps with long runs, but in a few races, we've seen great finishes because of late cautions that (thankfully) bunched the field up.  Then, at Talladega (as earlier at Daytona), we get 'treated' to 3 and 4 wide racing because the cars are articificially controlled to not be able to 'outpower' anyone else... so ultimately, knowing how to 'work the draft' at the right time is a more important skill than manufacturing horse power.

So, the question is, just what is 'Great Racing'?  Is it the 20 lap shootouts we've seen a couple times?  Is 'Great Racing' the controlled chaos of 35 cars running 3 wide within 2 seconds of each other for tens of laps on end like we see at Daytona and Talladega?

Maybe the better question is what's NOT 'Great Racing'?  

... 100 'parade laps' where one by one, there are less than half on the lead lap by the end of the race

... short track races where a tank-like car all but makes passing impossible and guarantees where 'track position' is more important than a drivers' ability to move someone out of the way

... Long green flag runs where you're praying for debris to bunch the field up before the 21st car gets lapped TWICE in the same run

Yeah, those are all definitely NOT great racing.

So, it seems that NASCAR has a task at hand... create a product that offers Great Racing and incredible excitment not just for a few brief periods, but not necessarily for the entire 4.5 hours either.... We wish them luck because in the meantime, we'll be watching Great Racing in heats and qualifiers all over the United States and hoping that NASCAR figures it out before the local dirt tracks around Marion Center and North Cambria, PA are outdrawing the snooze fests across the state at Pocono.

What's your definition of Great Racing?  We think it'd be a GREAT debate!