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Chase Elliott Wins the ARCA 200 at Pocono
posted by Tony Lumbis
Saturday June 8, 2013
Chase Elliott became the youngest superspeedway winner in ARCA history when he took home the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway, the same track where his father, Bill, won 5 times in the Sprint Cup Series. Frank Kimmel, the early favorite, lead the first 22 laps from the pole as he looked to capture his 79th career ARCA win, which would have put him in a tie with Iggy Katona for all time wins in the series. However, Erik Jones took command of the leaderboard on lap 23 and stayed there for 20 circuits unitl his ToyotaCare Camry ran out of fuel. Elliott, who started 32nd as the field was set by owner’s points due to qualifying being rained out, wasted no time moving up through the field. He grabbed the lead on lap 60 and would never look back, fending off a hard charging Jones in the final laps. Kimmel finished third followed by Tom Hessert and Mason Mitchell.
Kurt Busch Wins Happy Hour at Pocono
posted by Tony Lumbis
Saturday June 8, 2013
Kurt Busch and his Furniture Row Racing team lead final practice at Pocono, followed by Jimmie Johnson who lead first practice, Carl Edwards, last week’s winner Tony Stewart and his SHR teammate Ryan Newman. Rounding out the top 10 were Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch. Other notables: Kevin Harvick was 12th, Denny Hamlin was 13th, Brad Keselowski was 16th, Matt Kenseth was 18th, Jeff Gordon was 20th, Clint Bowyer was 23rd and Danica Patrick was 29th.
Rain Puts Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards on the Front Row at Pocono
posted by Tony Lumbis
Friday June 7, 2013
The remnants of topical storm Andrea has soaked Pocono Raceway on Friday. Not a single lap was turned at the Tricky Triangle due to the consistent wet weather which cancelled all on-track activities. As a result, the lineup for Sunday’s Party in the Poconos 400 will be set by owner’s points, putting Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards on the front row. Since only 43 cars entered the race, nobody went home.
Ten Fans Injured By Falling Rope at Charlotte
posted by Amy Henderson
Sunday May 26, 2013
Ten fans were injured during the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Guide ropes for a television camera fell onto the race track, damaging several cars and bringing out a lengthy red flag, and pieces of that rope also injured the fans, who were in the in the Turn 4 grandstand. The Speedway issued the following statement: “Ten fans were injured when a nylon rope fell over the grandstands in Turn 4 on lap 121 of tonight’s race. Seven fans were treated for minor cuts and scrapes at on-site care centers and released. Three people were transported to an area hospital for further evaluation. The rope was a guide for the network television CamCat overhead camera system.” We will update with more details as they become available. 10:00 PM UPDATE: So far, officials have not been able to determine the cause of the failure. According to an official release, the system consists of three ropes, including a drive rope which moves the camera back and forth, and two guide ropes. The drive rope failed and fell onto the racing surface. The camera itself did not fall. FOX plans to suspend use of this camera system, which was used during the Daytona 500 and All-Star race, until they complete an investigation of the failure. Fox issued the following in their statement: “We certainly regret that the system failure affected tonight’s event; we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, and our immediate concern is for the race fans. We also offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed on this developing situation.” 12:40 AM UPDATE: Though pravacy laws prevent officials from discussing the specific nature of any injuries, it was reported that the three fans who were transported to a local hospital have all been treated and released.
Busch Dominates, Wins History 300 at Charlotte
posted by Amy Henderson
Saturday May 25, 2013
Kyle Busch led 186 laps en route to a dominating victory in the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday. It was a record seventh CMS win for Busch and his overall in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Busch’s victory was the most dominant in a 200-lap Nationwide Series race at Charlotte since 1986, when Dale Earnhardt led 194 laps en route to the win. Kasey Kahne looked like he might have something for Busch after a series of late cautions set up a dash to the finish, but the No. 5 faded in the final alps while the No. 54 rolled to the win. Joey Logano, rookie Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5, with Larson the highest finishing Nationwide Series regular in the race. Larson’s charge through the field in the second half of the race, using the high groove to pass several cars, had the young driver closing on the leaders before a string of cautions shuffled the field. The first half of the race was a test of patience for race teams. Austin Dillon started from the pole but quickly faded, leading just one lap and finishing 14th. The caution didn’t fly for the first 39 laps, until debris in turn three brought the yellow flag out of hiding. Close racing on the restart led to a second yellow flag at lap 47 as Robert Richardson, Johanna Long and Reed Sorenson were all involved in a crash that ended Richardson’s day and caused damage to both Long’s and Sorenson’s machines. The third of seven cautions, for debris, flew at lap 88. The field would not see another caution until lap 154. That yellow flag came out on that lap for debris once again. The final 43 laps were punctuated by three more caution periods, starting at lap 166 with a spin by Travis Pastrana, who hit the inside wall on the backstretch hard enough to lift all four wheels off the ground, reminiscent of Denny Hamlin’s hit at Fontana that sidelined Hamlin for more than a month, but unlike that crash, there was a SAFER barrier where Pastrana slammed the wall, and the driver walked away unhurt. John Wes Townley and Joe Nemechek also sustained damage trying to avoid Pastrana and the cars checking up around him. Just seven laps after the race went back to green, Sorenson spun in Turn 2 for caution number six, and the field went back to green for just two laps before the final caution came out on lap 185 for a crash between Dakoda Armstrong and Michael Annett, who was making his first series start since being injured in a crash at Daytona. That incident set up the 13-lap shootout between Busch and Kahne before Busch pulled away for the win, leaving Logano and Larson to duke it out with Harvick for the rest of the top 5. Trevor Bayne finished sixth, and Justin Allgaier, Matt Kenseth, Parker Kligerman, and Regan Smith rounded out the top 10. Busch was quick to credit his team after the victory. “It was a really great race for us,” said Busch in the media center at Charlotte after the race. “We’ve had a lot of fast race cars this year, and it’s a testament to our team and (crew chief) Adam Stevens and the work that the guys put in. They do such a great job for me, and being able to go out there with some good-driving cars and lead a lot of laps and put them in Victory Lane, I think it’s just a true testament to how good our organization is and how hard these guys work. They never forget what they’re supposed to do. We have to have good race cars from practice and qualifying and into the race, and so having those adjustments all set and having things ready to go is what makes us look so good. “ Smith leaves Charlotte with a 29-point advantage over Hornish in Nationwide Series standings. Allgaier moves into third, 40 back of Smith, and Elliott Sadler dropped to fourth after finishing 13th. Sadler’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Brian Vickers, holds on to fifth spot after a pit gamble didn’t pay off, leaving Vickers, who had been racing with the leaders, with an 11th-place result. Kligerman, Dillon, Brian Scott, Larson, and Alex Bowman finish off the top 10 in points.
Hamlin Snags Coca-Cola 600 Pole With Track Record Time
posted by Amy Henderson
Thursday May 23, 2013
Denny Hamlin shattered the track qualifying record at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he rocketed to the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Hamlin had a lap time of 27.604 seconds, or 195.624 miles per hour. Several drivers drove past the old record, set by Greg Biffle in 2012, but it was Hamlin who came out at the top of the heap and holds the new record. Kurt Busch will start on the outside of the front row. Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, and Clint Bowyer round out the top 5. Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman hold down sixth through tenth places. The pole is Hamlin’s second of 2013; he also started in front at Fontana before an injury in that race sidelined him for over a month. Hamlin says that his back feels “nearly 100%” and that it doesn’t cause him pain while driving. He added that winning the pole helped solidify for him that he is back at a competitive level, but he wants one more thing before he’ll be satisfied. “I think winning would do that. I think ultimately getting the big trophy on Sunday is the validation that you’re truly back,” said Hamlin after his lap. “For me, it’s going to take some wins and some really good consistency throughout these summer months to put ourselves in position to have a chance at a championship. That’s what we’re here for. Even these small victories though give me that confidence that I’m still capable, and I’m still able to do the job at 100 percent like I should be. Any kind of confidence booster for me — it’s always a plus on Sunday.” The Cup teams are next on track Saturday at 10 AM for the weekend’s second practice. Final practice for Sunday’s race is Saturday afternoon at one o’clock. The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to start at 6 PM on Sunday and will air on FOX.
Jimmie Johnson wins the Sprint All-Star race.....again
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 19, 2013
Five-time is now four-time when it comes to the Sprint All-Star race. Coming into Saturday night’s race, Johnson was tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt for most wins in the annual event with three wins. Johnson bided his time, restarted the last segment in the second spot, dueled Kasey Kahne for two laps to secure the lead and pulled away to a convincing win. Joey Logano started the last segment in the seventh position, took advantage of a slip up by Kyle Busch on the start of the final segment, and ultimately came home in the runner-up spot. Kyle Busch rebounded from his slip up to muscle his way back to third. Kahne started the final segment on the pole but couldn’t hold off Johnson on the first few laps of the restart and ended up fourth. Kurt Busch won two segments, was the first on pit road for the money pit stop, but finished the event in fifth place. Jimmie Johnson summed up his results in two words, “we’re lucky”. It was tongue in cheek but Johnson was poking fun at the people who continue to accuse the No. 48 of preferential treatment, fixed races, and a blind eye to cheating. Johnson has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history and it comes from natural talent and chemistry with his crew. This race also now ties Johnson with Davey Allison as the only two drivers to win the race in back-to-back years. Logano and Busch visited with the media after the race to speak about their runs. Logano was understandably upbeat about his second while Busch was quite dejected, having another All-Star race slip out of his grasp. Kahne spoke about the elephant in the room that is the length of the segments in the race during his post race availability on pit road. He noted that the inherent problem with the format is that the car is designed with downforce, on a track that is cool and has a bunch of grip. The only way to make the races exciting after the first couple of laps of racing would be to extend the segments to the The first 20 lap segment was won by Kurt Busch. Segment two went to his brother Kyle. That segment win allowed Bruton Smith to breathe more easily since he put up a $1,000,000 bonus to anyone who won all four of the segments. Segment three also went to the younger Busch, while the fourth segment win was tallied in brother Kurt’ s account.
Kyle Busch wins the North Carolina Education Lottery 200
posted by Mike Neff
Friday May 17, 2013
‘Rowdy’ Busch was back in his familiar No. 51 truck at his favorite track on the Truck schedule. Busch led 80 laps and thought he should have led more but had a fuel issue on pit road that resulted in him having to battle back through the field. The race was slowed by eight cautions that helped him work his way back through the field. Busch beat Brendan Gaughan to the finish by .488 seconds, while Max Gresham chased them both to the line for his first top three finish of his Truck career. Matt Crafton came home in fourth place after having to battle through a couple of tire mishaps during the event. Ty Dillon rounded out the top 5 for his first finish that high this season. Busch led the race three times for his 80 laps. Miguel Paludo was second on the laps led board with 33. Gaughan, Gresham and Dillon also scored bonus points for leading laps. There were two cautions in the first 72 laps of the race while 29 of the last 62 laps were completed under the yellow flag. Jeb Burton started the race on the pole but did not lead a lap. He did however end the race as the Rookie of the Race for his 13th place finish. Matt Crafton leads Burton by 22 points in the season standings after five races this season.
Matt Kenseth Snatches Victory from the Jaws of Defeat at Darlington
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 12, 2013
Kyle Busch appeared to be headed for another weekend sweep after winning the Nationwide race at Darlington on Friday night. However, a funny thing happened as they were bringing out the dustpan. Matt Kenseth chased down the dominant car of the night, passed him with relative ease and then strolled away to a 3.165 second victory. Kenseth led the final 13 laps after Busch had held the point for 265 of the 354 laps leading up to Kenseth’s race winning pass. After Kenseth worked around Busch, the No. 18 slid rapidly backwards over the final eight laps to fall from second to sixth place. Joe Gibbs Racing did manage a 1-2 finish after sweeping the podium in Friday night’s Nationwide tilt. Denny Hamlin, in his first full race back in the car since his vertebrae fracture at California, soldiered through the pain of his arms, neck and shoulders more than his recovered back to wrestle a second place finish away from the Lady in Black. Coming home in third was Jeff Gordon, who turned his 700th career start into a top 3 finish. Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5 in the Bojangles Southern 500. Kurt Busch started the race on the pole and led the first 51 laps before coming to the pits for a green flag stop. After the stops cycled through Busch was back at the point for 18 more laps before his brother began his domination. The race went green for the first 302 laps save a seven lap caution stint from lap 125 to lap 131. The final 65 laps saw four more cautions that flew for accidents involving Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Josh Wise, David Reutimann and Kasey Kahne. The race saw four leaders including Jeff Gordon in addition to the Busch brothers and Kenseth. The win is Kenseth’s 27th of his career and breaks a tie between himself and his teammate Kyle Busch. The win is Kenseth’s third this season which is the most among all of the competitors in the Cup series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the Rookie of the Race. Jeff Gordon’s top 5 finish was his 300th of his career. He joins Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison as the only four drivers in the history of the sport to accomplish such a feat.
Busch Dominates at Darlington as JGR Sets Nationwide Series Record
posted by Amy Henderson
Friday May 10, 2013
Kyle Busch dominated the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 on Friday night en route to his 56th career Nationwide Series victory and fifth series win of 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing in general was the class of the field all night at Darlington Raceway, claiming four of the top 5 finishing spots, with only fourth-place Joey Logano keeping them from sweeping the top four spots. It was a historic night for JGR, as no team has ever before placed four cars in the top 5. Elliott Sadler finished second to Busch and Brian Vickers third, with Logano and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top 5. Busch led 107 of 147 laps on the way to the win. Sadler was the best among the Nationwide Regulars, finishing second despite an early spin in Turn 2, and gained points on leader Regan Smith, who finished seventh. Kyle Larson continued to impress at the Lady in Black, posting a sixth-place finish in his first Darlington start as he runs for rookie honors. Sam Hornish, Jr., who remained second in points, finished eighth while Kasey Kahne and Justin Allgaier filled the top 10. Smith now leads Nationwide Series points by 28 over Hornish. Sadler jumps two spots to third on his second-place run as Justin Allgaier fell one place to fourth. Vickers gained three sports and is now fifth, 49 behind Smith. Austin Dillon, Parker Kligerman, Brian Scott, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson round out the top 10. |
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Matt McLaughlin · Monday April 14, 2008
The Key Moment: As Jimmie Johnson came off of turn four on the final lap, he had enough of a lead he could have turned off the car and pushed it across the start finish line.
In a Nutshell: As regular unleaded approaches four bucks a gallon, superior fuel economy earned Jimmie Johnson a quarter of a million dollar paycheck.
Dramatic Moment: While there were several, my nod goes to the protracted battle between Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Mark Martin, two of the sport's most popular drivers. The racing was clean but spirited, and had the fans on their feet. Some more battles like that, and NASCAR might not need FM radio rock bands to tell folks racing used to be good. And it sure beat waiting to see if the leader ran out of gas.
What They'll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week
OK, so we can take Hendrick Motorsports off death watch now? Johnson won the race, Earnhardt led a substantial number of laps and even Casey Mears finished eleventh. It might have been troubling that Jeff Gordon's car appeared to be junk again early in the race, but this time the team was able to adjust it to a decent level of competitiveness late.
It's becoming clearer with each passing week; on the tracks where the speeds are lower and mechanical grip is the key to a good handling race car, the Boxcars can put on a decent show. On the high speed tracks where downforce determines handling, they're junk. NASCAR officials are adamant they aren't going to tweak the Boxcars to address the problem. Trust me, they'll do so eventually. Fans will just have to endure another dozen or so vapid races at rapid race tracks before NASCAR gets backed into a corner by angry track promoters struggling to sell tickets.
You've got to love FOX. They found a way to piss off both baseball fans and racing fans. I can imagine the outrage in sports bars in Boston and New York (and Dallas / Fort Worth, the southernmost precinct of New York) as FOX cut away from the ballgame with a batter facing a three and two count and two outs in the ninth inning. And they still missed the start of the race! Race fans can take comfort that the resumption of the ball game spared them a half hour of FOX pre-race programming that would likely have curdled their brains into a room temperature puddle of mush had it kept raining in Boston. And while FOX didn't see fit to interview the drivers of the second or third place finishers, they still managed to work in their full quota of "Digger" T-shirt plugs and the annoying music video that starts all their programming featuring DW's moronic BBB phrase.
Related to the above, it's bad enough that Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are racing nose to tail for the lead and the fans in the stands are going nuts when the network goes to commercial. Then, when FOX returns from break, they need to work in the usual compliment of sponsor plugs before showing the pass for the lead fans at home missed during the commercial break.
Marketing guys have become enamored with "one race" paint schemes on the race cars they sponsor, but the trend makes it tough for fans to quickly identify who is driving which car… particularly this early in the season. The 24, 11, 07, 42, 18, 20, 29 and 17 cars all ran paint schemes other than those that fans have learned to associate with the drivers of those cars this weekend.
For those that are wondering, it appears the official number of lead changes at Phoenix was ten. The Matt-0-Meter identifies five of them as legitimate racing passes.
Triad Racing Development would like you to remember that they built the chassis that helped Michael McDowell survive his horrific qualifying wreck at Texas last week. NASCAR would like you to forget that they cleared the track for qualifying to resume after an oil down shortly before the wreck occurred. Apparently, requiring the racing surface to be clear of petroleum-based products is still an "Idea of Tomorrow" or "IDIOT" for short.
Aaron Fike's recent admission that he raced in the CTS while under the influence of heroin seems to indicate that NASCAR's random drug testing policy designed to exclude Tim Richmond from racing at Daytona almost twenty years ago might need some tweaking. While we're at it, the introduction of the Chase to determine the Cup champion indicates that NASCAR officials need to be subject to random drug testing as well particularly in the case of one legacy employee, who is rumored to have a taste for Peruvian Pink happy powder. Seriously, it's not that tough. Throw the car numbers of entrants into a hat and draw three of them from each series out of a hat prior to qualifying each week and have them pee in a Cup. If you need to pass a drug test to get a job making minimum wage mounting tires at a chain store, you should have to do the same to race against 42 other guys at high speeds on a closed course.
Not surprisingly, NASCAR's Mike Helton said NASCAR is pleased with how their random drug test policy works, and no changes are anticipated. There seems to be a trend over the last few years. A serious problem is identified: drivers, team owners and the media address the issue and propose solutions. Then NASCAR weighs in and says they are pleased with the current system and no changes are anticipated, so everybody should just shut up and live with the status quo. Brian France said earlier this year he wants drivers to show more personality and speak their minds. He might have added that when they spoke their minds, NASCAR wasn't going to bother listening. If a situation like flagging ratings and attendance last year becomes critical, NASCAR does leap into action by developing a new marketing campaign. Well, you can spend all the money you want on marketing but you're still not going to convince astute consumers a turd is a Baby Ruth bar. Repeat after me; "At the end of the day, it is what is, and we are not going to react for the sake of reacting."
Related to the above, let's recall that Prozac is not a controlled substance that should exclude a driver from racing. The Home Depot has invested a fortune in marketing their driver. Speaking of marketing, if Subway sandwiches’ claim to fame is producing fast food that doesn't make you fat, why does their corporate spokesperson look like Santa Claus after receiving a gift pack from Just For Men?
Nationwide series ratings have been sagging this year. Something tells me starting a race at 10 O'clock on a Friday night isn't going to help the matter any. Nor is positioning Cup qualifying against an original episode of CSI on Thursday night. And there ought to be a law against any automobile race ending after midnight Eastern Time.
The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune
It seems every race with the new Boxcar, one former champion of unquestionable talent suddenly looks like he spent the hours leading up to the race partying in Aaron Fike's bus. At Las Vegas, it was Jimmie Johnson. At Texas, it was Jeff Gordon. Saturday at Phoenix, Matt Kenseth's car was so flat out awful he ran into the wall early in the event, and spent the rest of it nursing a badly wounded Ford around the track. Getting involved in a second wreck was just icing on the cake.
Ryan Newman won the pole and led the first thirty laps of the race, but a blown power steering hose connection ended his chances of winning.
Mark Martin likely had enough gas to finish the race, but cowboyed up and pitted when he was told to. While clearly annoyed at losing a shot at the win, immediately after the race he gave a terse but politically correct interview to the TV folks a few minutes later.
Tony Stewart had a strong run, but ran out of gas and couldn't refire the car on pit road. The resultant lengthy stop left Stewart with a 21st place finish.
*The "Seven Come Fore Eleven" Award For Fine Fortune *
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was clearly subdued and upset with his seventh place finish, but he was lucky to finish the race. Junior was leading under caution and swerving side-to-side to clean off his tires when he nearly collided with teammate Jeff Gordon, who was speeding past the pace car to get his lap back under the Lucky Dog rule. Now that would have ignited an epic firestorm in the grandstands!
Carl Edwards lost a lap pitting just before a caution, and then got penalized to the end of the longest line when a crewman went over the wall early. But he somehow rallied back to a fourth place finish.
Jeff Burton spun out in the fluid of Ryan Newman's wounded race car, but didn't hit anything, and drove on to a sixth place finish.
Casey Mears came away from Phoenix with a much needed good finish just outside the Top 10. Petty Engineering desperately needed a decent finish as well, and Bobby Labonte pulled it off with a twelfth place result.
Worth Noting
- Eight races into the season, Jimmie Johnson won a Cup race. That's deeper in the season than Johnson has gone without collecting a victory since 2003. The win was the second consecutive Phoenix Cup win for Johnson, and his sixth consecutive Top 10 at this track.
- Clint Bowyer enjoyed his best finish since Charlotte last fall. His second place finish was his third runner up result since Bowyer's breakthrough victory at Loudon last September.
- Denny Hamlin (3rd) scored his fourth consecutive Top 10 finish.
- Mark Martin (5th) posted his best Cup finish since Dover last Fall.
- Jeff Burton managed his sixth consecutive Top 10 finish. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hasn't finished worse than twelfth in those same six races.
- The Top 10 finishers at Phoenix drove six Chevys, two Fords and a pair of Toyotas. Bobby Labonte's twelfth place finish was the best by any driver in a Dodge.
- Sam Hornish's twentieth place finish was the best of the rookies.
What's the Points?
Jeff Burton holds onto the points lead for another week, and is now 80 points ahead of Kyle Busch, who moved up a spot to second in the standings. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. moved up a spot to third in the standings, six points behind Busch. That’s the highest Earnhardt has ranked since after the Joliet race of 2006.
Inside the Top 12, Clint Bowyer had the best points day, vaulting forward three spots to eighth. Jimmie Johnson moved up two spots to fourth in the standings. Denny Hamlin moved up a spot to sixth, while Kasey Kahne eased forward a position to 11th.
On the flip side, Kevin Harvick fell three spots in the standings to fifth. Three drivers inside the top 12 fell two positions: Tony Stewart (now seventh), Greg Biffle (now tenth), and Ryan Newman (now 12th).
Jeff Gordon moved up a spot to 13th in the standings, and now lurks just eight points out of the top 12. Martin Truex Jr. moved up two spots to 14th, ten points behind Gordon. Matt Kenseth's miserable day dropped him two spots to 15th.
Despite a lackluster start to his season, Juan Pablo Montoya advanced three spots to 16th. Bobby Labonte rebounded three spots in the standings to 18th.
Drivers of note heading in the wrong direction include Kurt Busch (down two spots to 17th) and Elliott Sadler (down three spots to 23rd).
It's been a tough year for the rookies so far in 2008. 33rd ranked Sam Hornish is the top ROTY candidate in the points.
Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic) Well, we finally saw some real racing, occasionally and briefly, but the outcome was based on fuel mileage and the race ended after midnight Eastern Time… so I'll give it three cans of Red Bull…
Next Up: What in the blazes? The Cup series takes a weekend off so a nation's lonely eyes can focus on the Nationwide/Busch series annual foray down in Mexico. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping it's sunny in these parts next weekend so I can do some serious cruising on Sunday. What happens down in Mexico stays in Mexico.
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Wednesday on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice? … NASCAR’s Gamble, New Talent And Drivers To Watch
Happiness Is…Some Personality
Side By Side: Can A Road Course Ringer Really Win?
Top Ten Thoughts Drivers Are Thinking on a Road Course
NASCAR Writer Power Rankings: Top 15 After Michigan-I
Open-Wheel Wednesday: What’s Missing?
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