The 48 Team And The Art Of Going In Circles

The time Rev' Jim has to be on line is still very rare, but we can't let this NASCAR season end without a word or two.

At the time of this writing, it looks like Jimmie Johnson and the 48 team once again have the Cup Championship sewn up. Unless, of course, the driver or the team make a serious mistake during Sunday's season closer at Homestead. That, as most racing fans know, is not likely to happen.

"How," one might ask, "Can one driver be so dominant over the others that he wins the championship four consecutive seasons?"

Now, to be fair, the one who might ask that question would be one who is not familiar with NASCAR racing. In fact, the one who asked us that question is of the opinion that NASCAR racing is all about mashing the pedal and turning left. That would be the same as saying football is all about men standing in a field and knocking each other down, baseball is about standing around and adjusting hats and belts, or hockey is about skating in circles.

We might explain that, first of all, Jimmie Johnson and his team are not dominant in their sport in the same sense as teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Miami Dolphins, the Celtics, the Lakers, the Yankees, or the Bruins have been dominant in their respective sports. For example, our favorite driver, Tony Stewart, led the points for most of the regular season, a feat of which we, and the 14 team, have a right to be very proud, considering that this was Stewart's first season with a team that was entirely new to him. If they had been able to maintain the level of competition they showed in April through August for the rest of the season, Chase or not, they could have had the Championship sewn up at this point, rather than Johnson.

We must note here, that it would be easy to blame it on NASCAR's Chase points format, but that is how the championship is determined. Every team in the Sprint Cup Series bases its strategy and agenda for the season on that format. It is the same for each team. Even if there wasn't a Chase Championship format, the teams would still calculate their chances for the championship according to the points system. So, in the Zen of it all, the points format doesn't really make a difference.

They weren't able to maintain that level of competition, and that's the way the proverbial cookie crumbles like a mashed right rear fender. The 48 team, on the other hand, has been able to stay at the same level throughout the entire season, and then even step up their performance in the final stretch, when performance matters most. And this is where we try to explain that NASCAR, like the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA, is a team sport.

Of course, at the association of "team" and "NASCAR," a question mark visibly appears over the head of the person who is grilling us. "What," he asks, "does a team have to do with it?"

So, we explain that many races are won in the pits, and the pit crew has to be fit, physically and mentally, in order to provide a pit stop that is a "game breaker." The crew chief has to be able to make decisions that affect the performance of the team, the driver, and the car. Most of the time, the decisions are of the split second variety. Making decisions as to air pressure, wedge, and track bar adjustments take a knowledge of what the driver likes in the handling of his car, along with the knowledge of the time such adjustments would take in relationship to track position among the other teams in the field.

When it comes down to the nitty gritty, Chad Knaus, Johnson's Crew Chief, is NASCAR's equivalent of the internet's UberGeek. We never hear anything about his personal life, so we have to assume that everything Knaus does in his life has to do with making cars go faster. He lives, breathes, and eats racing. His first thoughts in the morning, and his final thoughts in the evening have to do with making a car go fast. Tighty whities or boxers? He probably wears speedos. (Note, if the reader chooses to dwell on that image, the author of this blog can not be held responsible for loss of sight in the mind's eye).

Knaus probably doesn't have a stove, oven, or a crock pot. Everything he eats is probably pre-prepared, as in fast food, or microwaved. Our point is that Knaus probably doesn't do anything that doesn't have to do with going fast. It is not unlikely that he has even trained his pit crew on how far out to pull a dented fender to make the aerodynamics of the car better than it was before the fender was dented.

"But," asks the person who is grilling us, "what does that have to do with one driver being so dominant?"

We sigh, not wishing to rehash what we just explained and press onward.

The crew chief is very important, but so is the chemistry between the crew chief and the driver. Jimmie Johnson has had only Knaus as his crew chief his entire Cup career. Granted, while Knaus was under suspension for the first part of last year, Darian Grubb--now Tony Stewart's crew chief--took the reins, but it was still the House of Knaus, and the team carried on as if it was still Chad on the pit box, sort of like automatic pilot. They did what they were trained to do, and continued the success of Johnson's team.

Chemistry between the driver and the crew chief means that there has to be communication that makes what the driver wants and what the driver gets identical. The 48 team definitely has that chemistry.

This is not to take away from Johnson's skills as a driver. The driver has to be precise, being able to put his car where he wants it in his line before another car takes that line. Beating another driver around the track means beating that driver in the turns--perhaps by out braking or out maneuvering the other car--and being quicker in reflexes, which also ties in to avoiding wrecks and contact, or other things that could increase the lap time unfavorably. Johnson is very good at that--the car is magic in his hands.

We can't say that Johnson is the best driver of all time. We can't even say he is absolutely the best out there, although he is one of the best. There are several drivers--the twelve who made the championship chase cut and a handful of others who didn't--who can always be considered to be championship contenders in any given year. The difference goes back to the team's performance, but it also means that a driver has to be good at every track. Each track on which the Cup series races is different in characteristics and dynamics, no matter how much alike they might look. Johnson understands this, and is equally good at finding his groove at all of them. This is how he takes advantage of having one of the best teams in NASCAR, and is what makes the 48 team a perennial champion.

The real question that should be asked is, "why watch the race if the championship is already in the bag?"

The answer is simple if you are a race fan. It is a race. We might be hoping that something similar to what befell the 48 team at Texas happens, and that Mark Martin leads the most laps and wins the race. But the main reason is we want to see if our favorite driver, no matter who it is, wins the race. That is why we watch any race. A victory by our favorite driver is as good as any old championship, as far as we are concerned. Or we could be watching it as witnesses to history in the making.

"But what does this have to do with mashing the gas pedal and driving in in circles?"

At this point, we answer, "I have no idea. How about them Broncos?"

Live on Type Delay: The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 KM(Phoenix)

Pre-race thoughts: Dale Jr is sporting a nice beard. Although it is neatly trimmed, it doesn't seem to fit the Hendrick dress code. I wonder if Rick is going to make Junior hit the floor and give him fifty for appearing on television like that.

Not to belittle Jimmie Johnson's racing skills--he is a very good driver--but why haven't we heard Carl Edwards say, "A monkey could win in that (#48) car?"

I have a lot of respect for Jimmie Johnson, but what if he didn't have Chad Knaus as his crew chief? He makes a lot of mistakes, and often gets himself into accidents, penalties, and other situations that would keep other drivers out of a good finish. Knaus and the team 48 pit crew invariably make up for those mistakes. My guess is that Hideo Fukyama would be a household name if he had had Knaus as a crew chief.

Eddie Haskell Mr. Phony Carl Edwards is an exceptional driver, whether he's driving a Sprint Cup car, a Nationwide Series car, or a CTS truck. He's old school in the way he man-handles a car throughout the entire race, and he apparently is very good at saving fuel. Obviously, he is not one of my favorite drivers, but I hope the points race between between him and Jimmie Johnson tightens up after this race. I would rather see Johnson as the champion than Edwards, but what I'm really hoping for is that both of them have bad finishes this race, and Greg Biffle gets into the mix at Homestead, making it a three-way race for the Championship.

Just my thoughts, as deranged as they might be.

Jimmie Johnson drops to the bottom at the wave of the green flag, but Jamie McMurray gets around in turns three and four and leads the first lap. There is already a lot of action this early in the race, as Carl Edwards tries to advance his position from his fifteenth place start. But the cars are bunched up three-wide back there, and Edwards has to let up some.

Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr make contact with each other and the wall on lap sixteen, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of damage, and there is no caution, then, on lap twenty, Sam Hornish Jr and Elliott Sadler get into each other, causing minimal damage to the cars, but their spinning causes enough of a potential hazard that the first caution flag flies. Everyone pits.

Restart on lap 26, with Kurt Busch first, and the top five positions immediately get mixed up as everybody tries to gain the lead. Martin Truex, Jr's engine is seriously overheating and he has to go back into the pits, with a stalled engine. Truex seems to be out of the race as they take the car to the garage.

On lap thirty, Brian Vickers has the right front tire go down, and slams into the wall, bringing out the second caution. Kurt Busch was in the lead, Jimmie Johnson second, Ryan Newman third, Jamie McMurray fourth, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr is fifth. Nobody in the front of the field pits.

Restart on lap 36 and an immediate caution for debris. Then it starts raining, but just a sprinkling of drops. The race remains under caution, but the cars stay on the track and count off laps. Jet driers are also making laps. Now, on lap 43 we get a red flag.

If you have ever lived in the Southwest United States, especially the dryer areas, you would know that "20% chance of rain" means that it's going to rain.

Only Matt Kenseth has the kind of luck that would get him a flat tire under a red flag. He was in twentieth, but will have to restart in the back, after he pits under caution to change the tires.

The race restarts on lap 46. Johnson quickly tries to take the lead, but Dirty Kurty holds the top position. Again, lots of hard racing all around the track. Kyle Busch uses the top line to move into the top seven. Hamlin is racing Earnhardt hard to get into the top five, but Earnhardt is also moving up. Edwards is still trying to make progress, but the traffic is terrible. Kevin Harvick, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Tony Stewart are all up there around the 99 car.

Meanwhile, the relative positions in the top five are changing constantly. Earnhardt, Jr moves up into fourth, Newman falls back, as Hamlin also gains position. But Jeff Gordon is in the mix, and he ends up in fifth, as Newman drops to sixth. On lap 75, the running order is Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Jeff Gordon in that order in the top five. Newman falls way back as he has a tire going down, or suspension problems, or both.

On lap 79, Johnson is able to catch Dirty Kurty Busch and is challenging for the lead. As we know, Dirty Kurty is very hard to pass, especially while he is in the lead. Johnson tries the inside, but can't get by. He tries the outside, and can't make it stick. Finally, on lap 82, he gets around the outside and takes the lead. McMurray has caught up to the front two and is looking to take second place. Dirty Kurty won't give up second very easily, either. There should be green flag pit stops coming up soon. That is always fun at Phoenix.

McMurray moved into second during the commercial. I had to turn off the radio, because the interference was really bad. I wish we had an FM station here to pick up the MRN and PRN broadcasts. One of our local Classic Rock stations has a big sponsorship from a NASCAR sports bar, and does a lot of NASCAR promotion, so I would hope they get the MRN/PRN contracts soon. I know a music station wouldn't normally carry sports, but this one is already carrying the Colorado College Hockey radio broadcasts, so a NASCAR race every week wouldn't hurt.

Green flag pit stops begin on lap 98. The top five are pitting on laps 100 through 103. Everyone is taking four tires. Travis Kvapil leads a lap while the leaders pit. Mark Martin has to come back into the pits for a missing lug nut. Remember, this is under green, so that has to hurt. Greg Biffle, who started in the back for a transmission change, leads a lap while pit stops continue. Biffle is out of sequence from the other leaders, as he pitted on lap 44. He pits on lap 109. Johnson retains the lead. Newman ground down the front sway bar, while he was making laps on a left front tire that was very low in air pressure, so he is back in the pits while his team tries to repair the damage.

After the green flag pit stops cycle through, it's Johnson, McMurray, Earnhardt, Jr, Jeff Gordon, and Kurt Busch in the top five. Carl Edwards has made it into tenth place. All the Hendrick cars are in the top six, as Casey Mears is running in sixth. Hamlin is still in seventh. There are 21 cars on the lead lap.

On lap 126, Kevin Harvick is running in eighth, and Carl Edwards has moved up to ninth, while Kasey Kahne fills out the top ten. Now Kyle Busch moves into tenth.

Caution on lap 141 for debris. The leaders all pit on lap 143, and Johnson leads, Dale Jr is second, Jeff Gordon is third, Jamie McMurray is fourth, and Dirty Kurty is fifth. The rest of the top ten is as last reported. Kyle Busch passes Edwards for ninth, shortly after the restart on lap 153. Greg Biffle is running twelfth, Tony Stewart is thirteenth, and Jeff Burton is fourteenth.

On lap 160, they are showing the view through the windshield of Jeff Burton's #31 car, and it looks just like Martinsville. That is how rough the racing is between tenth and fourteenth positions. We have a good race going between Carl and Kyle, and should we expect less? That would be a fun one to watch.

I'm getting a kick out of that new NAPA commercial with Michael Waltrip and Ron Capps. Capps isn't used to having to work for fifteen seconds. That, according to the commercial, is three times as long as his normal "five second work day." Funny! Ron Capps is one of the superstars of the NHRA drag racing series, for those who don't know.

Jeff Gordon reported something wrong with his engine earlier in the race, and on lap 173, he starts dropping back, as he has lost a cylinder. Tim Brewer gets to talk about broken valve springs for the first time since last year. I bet he is having a flashback. Last year, he got to talk about broken valve springs and bent valves every ten minutes.

Things have finally settled down back beyond ninth place, by lap 190. Tony Stewart is in tenth, Kyle Busch in eleventh, and Jeff Burton is in twelfth. Jeff Gordon has fallen back to seventeenth. Casey Mears is now in fifth place, Denny Hamlin is sixth, Kevin Harvick is seventh, Edwards is eighth, and Biffle is ninth.

Edwards finally gets around Kevin Harvick on lap 220, for seventh, just before a caution comes out for debris. All the lead lap cars pit. In Jimmie Johnson's pit, a tire carrier fumbles with tape he was going to add to the grill of Johnson's car, and the 48 team loses first place to Jamie McMurray, who beats Johnson out of the pits. Restart with 94 laps to go, and McMurray does not hold on to first place long at all. Johnson takes that position almost immediately. That was a pretty move. This time the driver saved the pit crew, rather than the usual other way around.

Uh-oh, Steve Letarte said "valve train." I guess that means we have to hear from Tim Brewer again? Maybe not. ESPN/ABC has shown some improvement over last year.

Jamie Little reports that Tony Stewart said he would vote for David Ragan as Driver of the Year, if he had a vote. Last year, Stewart accurately called Ragan "a dart without feathers." Driver of the Year would be a good call as well, because David Ragan has made that much improvement in one year.

I missed it somewhere, but McMurray lost second to Dirty Kurty somewhere, and now Dale Earnhardt, Jr is taking third from McMurray. Caution for debris with 51 laps to go and this will be the money stop. I actually wrote that before the guys on TV said it.

Johnson maintains the lead, coming off of pit road, and Carl Edwards moves up three positions into fourth place. I think Dirty Kurty is back in second place. Jamie McMurray is third, and Harvick will restart in fifth. Earnhardt, Jr lost several positions in the pits and will restart in sixth. Great save by Casey Mears in ninth position, as he nearly hits the wall. Hamlin makes a great move and gets into sixth, and Earnhardt gets to fifth. Harvick falls back to seventh. Jeff Gordon's engine lets go with 42 laps to go, and though there is a lot of smoke, the race stays green.

Big wreck. Casey Mears goes around, and all these other cars get involved, in the dog-leg on the back stretch. Johnny Sauter, Scott Speed. Scott Riggs, and David Gilliland are some of the other cars involved. The rear wheels of Gilliland's car ended up on the hood of Scott Speed's car. I want a picture of that. Marcos Ambrose was also involved while the traffic was trying to slow down. Red flag to clear up the wreckage. 39 laps to go in the race.

Maybe the Awesome Wreckage blog will have some good video of that wreck.

As the cars restart, Tony Stewart's #20 car had trouble starting. His fellow Hoosier and next year's team mate, Ryan Newman, gives him a push start, but he will restart in 17th. Caution with 28 laps to go, and Johnson stays out, but several cars pit for tires. The restart will see Johnson in first Kurt Busch in second, Jamie McMurray in third, Edwards in fourth, and Earnhardt Jr in fifth. Restart with 24 laps to go.

Kurt Busch gets right on the bumper of the 48 car at the restart, and Mark Martin looks like he is racing to get back on the lead lap. Another caution for debris with 21 laps to go.

It looks like everyone will stay out this time. They are showing videos of some of the action just before the caution, and I have to say, if anyone could get Jeff Burton mad, other than Kyle Busch, it would have to be Paul Menard. Yup.

Restart with fifteen laps to go, and Jimmie Johnson just takes off, and makes a big cushion between himself and second place Dirty Kurty Busch. McMurray is still in third, with Carl Edwards on his bumper, Dale Earnhardt, Jr is hanging in there in fifth. Now Harvick is racing The Bearded One for fifth, and he is going into the turns hot. So has Tony Stewart, and Allmendinger tries to get under Matt Kenseth, as Stewart is trying to get around the #17 on the outside. There is no room inside of Kenseth, so Allmendinger hits Kenseth, who hits Stewart, who spins and stalls. Stewart can't get his car restarted and goes a lap down. Allmendinger takes responsibility and feels terrible, according to his radio chatter. He ought to feel bad.

After all that mess It will be a green/white/checkered restart. Johnson is first, Kurt Busch second, McMurray third. After all that hard racing for fifth, Carl Edwards comes out of the mess in fourth, and Dale Jr is still fifth. Kevin Harvick is sixth. Kurt Busch makes a move to the inside of Johnson at the restart, but doesn't quite make it. Still racing hard on the white flag lap. He tries the outside and misses, but this race is going right down to the finish line. Johnson wins, Busch is second, McMurray third, Edwards fourth, Hamlin fifth, Earnhardt, Jr six, and it seems that everybody behind them wrecks. Matt Kenseth got some payback against the #10 car to remind AJ Allmendinger that he should feel terrible, and everyone gets caught up in the wreck.

This was another fun race, even though Johnson dominated. Dirty Kurty always throws some excitement into the mix when he is racing for first, or any position for that matter. There was no lack of action, except during the red flag. Although I feel bad for Matt Kenseth and my favorite driver, who has now fallen back to twelfth in points, I feel bad for AJ Allmendinger as well, because he knew it was a boneheaded move, but every driver out there has made that same mistake at one time or another.

Still one race to go, and I already know my NASCAR withdrawal this off-season is going to make for a difficult winter.

Live on Type Delay: Kansas

Before this race started, based on what we saw on Saturday's Nationwide race at Kansas, we thought this had the makings of a California style race. So far, it isn't like that at all.

Clint Bowyer, a contender or the championship got black-flagged at the start for the same reason Dale Earnhardt, Jr did earlier this year--passing before the starting line at the beginning of the race. This is just an example of how focused these drivers are. It is okay to pass on the outside during a restart, but not at the initial start of the race. A lapse of memory regarding that rule is an indication of concentration on trying to get to the front of the field as quickly as possible. Bowyer got off of the pit road after his drive-through penalty just ahead of Johnson, the leader, and stays on the lead lap.

Matt Kenseth takes the lead on lap 16. Kyle Busch is having engine problems again . This time it seems to be a fuel pressure problem. Three weeks in a row, the 18 team is having mechanical issues. Unbelievable.

A lot of fast cars started from the back. Tony Stewart has made up eighteen spots after starting forty-first. Juan Pablo Montoya had to start at the rear after his pole-winning time was disallowed due to NASCAR officials finding that his team had too much air pressure in the rear shocks, is moving up well, himself. Jeff Burton had to start at the rear due to an equipment change, after his tachometer failed before the start of the race, but he also has a fast car.

Martin Truex Jr takes the lead from Kenseth around lap 38. Green flag pit stops begin around lap 50. Carl Edwards has trouble in the pits again, as Brian Vickers has to cut in front of him to get out his pit. This is a spotters problem, and the 99 car will overcome any setback.

After the pit stops cycle through, Kenseth retains the lead, and there are 29 cars now on the lead lap. Truex is second, Johnson is third, but Johnson takes second around lap lap 63. Caution on lap 75 after Ryan Newman slides across the track and scrapes the wall.

It seems that Kyle Busch's car is fixing itself, and his car seems to be running normally now. All the leaders pit, and the order coming off of pit road is Kenseth, Mears, Truex, and Jeff Gordon. Kenseth has to reenter the pits due to a loose lug-nut. Carl Edwards is like a bull in a china shop on pit road, and has an incident with the 22 and 31 cars. It wasn't Carl's fault, though. At the restart, the top five are Mears, Truex, Gordon, Greg Biffle, and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson moves up fast after the restart, and passes Biffle, then, on lap 85, Jeff Gordon, and is threatening Truex for second. Easy Jeff Gordon follows Johnson into third. That 48 car looks fast again.

Jeff Gordon wasn't feeling well before the beginning of the race, but it seems that he will stay in his car for the race, not wanting to get out of a good car like the one he has today. There's the fire, guts, and determination we love to see in the top drivers.

Johnson and Mears are racing hard for the lead, with Mears following the line that made Johnson's move to the front so successful. That means Johnson no longer has that line, and we are seeing some good racing. The caution comes out on lap 92, and Mears maintains the lead. The caution came out as Kyle Petty spun out, and Scott Riggs lost his drive shaft. Mears stays out, but the cars behind him pit. Mark Martin comes off of pit road first, after a two tire stop. Kyle Busch gets the lucky dog pass.

It only takes a few laps for Johnson to pass the cars that took two tires on the last pit stop, and he has taken second by lap 106. He takes the lead from Mears on lap 107. Biffle is moving up as well, and it is shaping up to be another race between the 16 and the 48. Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Kevin Harvick have moved into the top ten. Tony Stewart is running fifteenth. Elliott Sadler's team is showing that they have something, as they are crashing the party in the seventh position. Further back, Kurt Busch is wrecking all the way around the track without hitting anything. That should be counted as a great save, but his car is not handling well at all.

Caution on lap 117 as Joey Logano loses traction and scrapes the wall. Patrick Carpentier is the lucky dog, after David Reutimann, who was the first car one lap down at the last restart, raced his way onto the lead lap.

Again, the leaders all pit. Truex is off first after a two tire stop, Johnson, Bowyer, Biffle and Jeff Gordon fill out the top five. Before the lap is over, the 17 and 5 cars make contact, and Kenseth does a great job of saving the car and keeping it from sliding up into traffic.

On lap 130, Johnson and Truex are having an exciting battle for the lead, then Brian Vickers and Tony Stewart tangle and Stewart spins into the infield. This is weird, because the 83 team pits just in front of the 20, and they have had issues in leaving the pits. The booth bunnies on TV are suggesting that this may be retaliation on the part of Vickers for the 20 team allegedly not giving the 83 team enough room in the pit stalls. I guess since Kyle Busch is having problems, it's Vickers' turn to have issues with everybody else on the track.

The restart is in the same order as it was, as Truex succeeded in holding off Johnson. Bowyer and Jeff Gordon are racing hard right from the restart for fourth position. Biffle is in third. Johnson takes the lead on lap 137. No surprise there.

Eight of the chasers are in the top ten on lap 154. Johnson is in first, Edwards is in third, Biffle fourth, Jeff Gordon fifth, Dale Jr is in sixth, Burton is seventh, Harvick eight, and Bowyer is running in ninth. Stewart back-marks the Chasers in thirty third.

Is Jeff Burton trying to become the new most hated driver? That would be strange. He gets into the back of Jr because he didn't give him enough room to move down from the top of the track, and almost causes Jr to spin.

With a few laps to go before green-flag pit stops, and with 93 laps to go, Edwards takes the lead from Johnson. Pit stops begin with 92 laps to go.

The 20 team has to repair or replace the front splitter on their car. We can't believe that bad luck Tony Stewart is having this year.

After the pit stops cycle through, Johnson is back in the lead, and Edwards is running second. With 79 laps to go Edwards is racing for the lead again. Kyle Busch has made it up to tenth place, but he hasn't pitted yet. Stewart takes a long pit stop for that aforementioned splitter replacement.

This is painful. They are still working on Stewart's car and he is now four laps down. He finally gets back on the track six laps down.

Travis Kvapil scrapes the wall with 50 to go and Carl Edwards leading. The caution is in perfect timing for the money stop, and Jimmie Johnson retakes the lead in the pits--more testimony to the excellence of the 48 team. Clint Bowyer gets penalized for too fast on pit road.

They restart with Johnson in first, Edwards second, and Jeff Gordon third. Matt Kenseth has made it all the way up to seventh after that earlier spin. Michael Waltrip spins and brings out another caution.

Johnson will restart in first, Edwards second, Jeff Gordon third, Jeff Burton fourth, and Greg Biffle is fifth. Biffle takes fourth before the lap is over. Matt Kenseth is sixth, and Kevin Harvick is in seventh. Martin Truex, Jr has to pit for mechanical problems. It's a broken gear shift lever. No, it turns out to be a broken gear box.

David Ragan is in eighth, and AJ Allmendinger, for whom this may be his last race of the season, has moved up to tenth.

The rest of the race is pretty much uneventful. Greg Biffle, with seven laps to go announces that his car has pretty much given its all, and he will not be able to catch Johnson and Edwards. The last lap is excellent. Edwards catches Johnson, letting him lead through turns one and two and then makes a move, driving hard into turn three. He passes Johnson at the entrance of turn three, then slides up against the wall, Kyle Busch style. He doesn't make it stick however, and Johnson noses past him in the center of the turn. Edwards chops down to the flat below the line to try to straight-line out of the turn, but cannot catch him and Johnson wins.

This race was just frustrating for me to watch for the most part. It did have plenty of action, and plenty of drama, but it was the wrong kind of drama. Joe Gibbs Racing seems to be imploding during the Chase, and this is very uncharacteristic of this organization. Did they get too comfortable being in the Chase. Maybe they can turn things around, but Johnson, Edwards, and Biffle seem to be hitting everything right while everything is going wrong for JGR.

Jeff Gordon brought a car home in the top five, even while he was feeling terrible, and the car kept bottoming out all around the track. Good show for the Gordon, and we do like to see him on top of his game. He looked like the old Gordon we used to love to hate. Matt Kenseth is also showing he can make the best of adversity, and he is still in contention. We shall see what happens next week at Talladega, always a game changer in the Chase for the Championship.

Beware! The Gordon is back!

When Jeff Gordon says he's going to "go for it," he usually means it. The gloves are off. No more Mr. Niceguy.

Showing his frustration a little, after the Watkins Glen race, and a lot after Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway, Gordon indicated that he is tired of seeing the mistakes in the pits and bad car set ups ruin his chances to win a race. The last time he felt like this, Robby Loomis, who was his crew chief when he won his fourth NASCAR Cup Championship in 2001, lost his job. Now we have to believe that Steve Letarte is on his way out.

Gordon is not one, in spite of what some fans and media pundits may think, who is at the end of his career. He still has the fire, the desire, and the talent to win. That is why he is frustrated when it seems that his team and his teammates *cough*Jimmie Johnson*cough* are working against him. He is frustrated with points racing, because he is a winner, not a points racer.

And when Jeff Gordon is racing as a winner, he can out intimidate The Intimidator. If the late Dale Earnhardt was still with us, he wouldn't admit to that, but he wouldn't tell us we were wrong, either. Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth are still around to affirm that statement, and they have and they will.

What will Hendrick Motorsports do with Gordon as far as giving him another crew chief? Darion Grubb seems to be on his way to Stewart-Haas Racing, but that may change. We doubt if Hendrick will want to switch crew chiefs between the 48 and the 24 team, because, if you have paid attention to Jimmie Johnson's driving abilities and the kinds of errors in judgement he is constantly making,* most of the 48 team's success is due to the genius of Chad Knaus. The 48 team is once again in contention for the championship, and HMS won't jeopardize that position in favor of the 24 team. What we expect to see is a crew chief switch between the 5 and the 24 team. We haven't seen Alan Gustafeson work with Gordon, not that we can remember, anyway. Just having someone with a different attitude on the pit box may be what Gordon needs.

* We don't mean to imply that Johnson isn't a top-notch driver, but he still has a lot to learn. Every race he has lost has been due to driver error, not by any call Knaus has made. He has made some dumb moves. Trying to pass between Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart and making it four wide is only one error in a long list. How many times have we seen him give up the lead while trying to block another car? How many times have we seen him miss his pit box--a nearly habitual error of his. All we are saying is that without Chad Knaus it is unlikely he would be a two time champion this early in his career. Knaus has done a great job of covering for Johnson's mistakes and overcoming the Champ's drawbacks.

Whatever happens within the Hendrick organization, we look forward to watching Jeff Gordon race with his fire stoked. Even though we are quick to say he is the driver we don't want to see win, he is, in a backhanded sort of way, one of our favorites. It is a thrill to watch him race when he is focused on winning, and to see him race with everything he has makes the experience exciting.

The season can only get better from here on out.


The Gordon is Back

"Live" on type delay: The Coca-Cola 600

The opening ceremonies were fitting for Memorial day salute, including "The Lord's Prayer," "Amazing Grace," The Pledge of Allegiance, and Taps, as well as the National Anthem and the flyover. It was inspiring, humbling, and very respectful of those who have sacrificed much for our country. God Bless the troops, and Hold those who have given their lives for our country. Amen.

Kyle Busch holds the pole position, and immediately gains five car lengths on the field. That has come to be expected.

Lap three is early for racing in a 600 mile race, but already Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, and Dale Jr are racing for position. We have to wonder if these cars going all out this early in the race will make it 400 laps.

By lap nine, Tony Stewart, who started thirty first has moved up to twentieth. That too, can be expected, as Smoke ran second fastest at final practice, and we know his car has something for this race.

Lap 25, and everybody has settled down, so it looks like the opening laps of a 600 mile race. By lap 34, Brian Vickers has caught Kyle Busch, but Busch is reporting ignition or engine problems. Still, Vickers has to make a very daring move to get in front of Kyle, and, though Kyle soon drops back to third place, he has changed the ignition box and seems to be holding that position. Then it seems he hasn't after all, and has dropped back to sixth, being passed by Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Dale Jr, and Jeff Burton

We have some racing going on on lap 48 as Number 48 driven by Jimmie Johnson, takes the lead, closely followed by Kurt Busch. Green flag pit stop cycle begins on lap 49. The pit stops cycle through to lap 54, and Johnson prevails as the leader. Now, it is still early to predict the outcome, but the 48 team seems like it is once again at home at Lowe's.

There may be some fans who have already given this up as too boring. There have been no cautions, no-one has wrecked, and the leaders have already passed several cars. But this is a long race, and this is a point in the race where this is expected. Besides, Dale Jr is in second, and Brian Vickers is in third, so the potential for a race is there. Robby Gordon hits the wall on lap 62 or 63, and the caution comes out for the first time in the race.

This commercial makes me feel proud. It is Budweiser's "Thank You" commercial we have seen on the internet, making its debut on television for Memorial Day. Military men and women are given a standing ovation as they come home through the airport. I love it.

After another round of pit stops during cautions, Johnson leads, and Kurt Busch is in second. Kurt takes the lead on lap 67, shortly after the restart. On lap 68, Dale Jr and Kyle Busch both pass Johnson, and now Jr is in second and Kyle Busch in third.

Lap 75 and there is a battle for second between Kyle Busch and Dale Jr, This is what the fans want to see. "Come on Jr, the fans yell, give him what he deserves!" But Jr is not a dummy, and he gives Kyle the outside and lets him take second. Maybe Kurt and Kyle will tangle again, because on lap 80. Kyle is catching his brother, and they will soon battle for the lead. What a great time for a commercial. During the commercial, Dale Jr regains third place from Kyle, because Brian Vickers has taken second. We really miss our PRN radio play by play here. It would have been fun to see that race, or, at least, hear about it. Now, during the next commercial, Jr has retaken second. Jr does have a good car, as he is about to catch the leader. There was a caution on lap 83, by the way, from Robby Gordon hitting the wall by himself.

Green flag pit stops begin on lap 108, and it looks like Carl Edwards is moving toward the front. It seems that in the past ten minutes we have had six minutes of commercials. Here comes another one. Oh well, Fox Sports does expect a return on their investment. I have to get coffee. The commercials are about to put me to sleep.

Green flag pit stops continue as we return to the action, and on lap 119 Jr pits and has problems. His team can't get the lug nuts off of the right front, and the 88 team loses ten seconds.There is some excitement on pit road as Kurt Busch starts a fire as he leaves his pit. No biggie, the fire is quickly extinguished. Everybody seems to take four tires again, and Greg Biffle leads a lap to get his five bonus points. After the pit stops cycle through, Brian Vickers is in first, and Kurt Busch is in second, I think, but I can't tell you because it is time for another commercial.

During the commercial, on lap 129, Kurt Busch has retaken the lead. Jimmie Johnson is in third, Kyle Busch is in fourth. By lap 136, Jr has regained fifth place, and Kyle Busch is in third place. Brian Vickers is racing Kurt Busch for the lead. It is a fairly hard fought battle, and Vickers prevails. What a comeback for Jr though!

Lap 150 and Kyle Busch has to pit out of third place, saying he feels he has a tire down. The news has come out on lap 156 tells us that Kyle's problem is more than a soft tire. The handling on the #18 car has gone away.

The good news is that my local AM radio station that carries PRN is coming in good, the bad news is that they have commercials the same time as the television broadcast.

During the commercials, Kurt Busch has cut a tire and has to pit. That also brings out a caution. He gets into the pits without too much damage to his car. Brian Vickers restarts the race on lap 166. Almost immediately, Juan Pablo Montoya who has been giving Tony Stewart a lot of grief, and visa versa, spins out after contact with Patrick Carpentier, bringing out another caution. Montoya said it felt like he had a tire going down. so he was already out of control at the time of contact. Mark Martin gets the free pass.

Okay, so I missed "radio remix" and Jeff Hammond on the television broadcast. I much prefer the PRN radio broadcast. The restart will see Brian Vickers in first and Jimmie Johnson in second. Tony Stewart has moved up to thirteenth, in spite of earlier handling problems, and Mark Martin is the last car on the lead lap in twentieth. Dale Jr is in third, Kasey Kahne in fourth, and Carl Edwards is in fifth. David Gilliland and Sam Hornish Jr are battling for the lead spot one lap down, and give the lead cars a little interference.

Jimmie Johnson passes Vickers on lap 184, while Kasey Kahne and Dale Jr battle for third, and both pass Vickers. Jr is about to engage Johnson for the lead while Robby Gordon's car blows up. Still no caution as Vickers loses his right rear tire, while at the same time, David Gilliland loses a wheel as well. Both cars wreck, not with each other, and the fourth caution comes out.

Dale Jr takes gas only on the pit stops, and leaves pit lane in first. Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne also take fuel only. Matt Kenseth's terrible bad luck continues as he is penalized for too fast entering pit road, and has to come back in.

Jr is first, Kasey Kahne is second, Jeff Burton is in third, and Kyle Busch is in fourth. Dave Blaney is in fifth. There are eighteen cars on the lead lap. Tony Stewart has made it up to tenth place. Again, almost immediately after the restart, Michael Mcdowell, at the rear of the field, spins and brings out the fifth caution. Wow. Bobby Labonte gets the free pass.

I suppose the rash of accidents can be due to the fact that the sun has set in Charlotte, and the track conditions are changing. The restart is on lap 196, and Earnhardt, Jr is able to gain an impressive lead right away, as Jeff Gordon fights to maintain his position as the first car one lap down. Dale Earnhardt leads the field by .8 seconds as the race passes the half-way mark. On lap 204, David Reutimann comes out of nowhere and takes fifth from Dave Blaney. Lap 206, Kahne has entered a very exciting battle for the lead. Isn't this ironic: Kahne drives the car that is sponsored by the same sponsor who sponsored Jr's car for seven years. Kahne takes the lead after a fight that looked like it belongs at the end of the race.

Now Tony Stewart has been picking off drivers on his way to the top five. We knew that car would come into its own as the track cooled, and Smoke worked hard to keep the car on the lead lap earlier, to let the handling come to him. Just before the commercials begin, he passes Carl Edwards for seventh.

Lap 220, and Jr is about to catch Kahne again. Jr is almost a second behind Kahne, and two seconds ahead of Kyle Busch. Then, on lap 224, the much anticipated caution for debris comes out, and Jeff Gordon gets the free pass.

How about that stop for the #19 team? Elliott Sadler gains twelve positions by taking fuel only, and takes the lead after pit stops. Dale Earnhardt, Jr is second. Stewart dropped back to tenth, but I think they have done the necessary work on his car, and we will see more of him. Kasey Kahne is third, Jeff Burton in fourth, and David Regan is fifth as the green waves on lap 228. Jr passes Sadler in turn four. David Regan and Kyle Busch are stuck behind lapped traffic, and Jr has a huge lead. Twenty-five car lengths to be exact. but there is still plenty of action going on in the field, and Jeff Burton takes third from Kahne.

Meanwhile, further back, Kyle Busch and David Regan are being held up by Kevin Harvick and JJ Yeley, as those two are still trying to fight for a lucky dog position. Earnhardt now has a three second lead over Burton, who has passed Sadler, and there are commercials on both TV and radio. Yeley brushes the wall on turn 2 of lap 244 and brings out another caution. This puts Kevin Harvick on the lead lap. All the leaders pit. Ryan Newman comes out of the pits first, Kyle Busch is second, Jeff Burton third, and Tony Stewart fourth. Newman did a gas and go to gain twelve positions. Jr comes out in sixth, and, I think, Jimmie Johnson, who also did a gas and go, came out fifth. 154 laps left, and I think things are going to get exciting.

Oops, it turns out that Newman missed his pit and had to give up the lead to pit on the next lap.

Did you see Jr almost wreck Tony? The man has some fire. Kyle Busch is in first and Tony Stewart is in second on lap 252. Jr is now trying to retake second place from Stewart. This is really exciting, much better than we would have thought after the All Star race.

145 to go and Earnhardt, Jr is back in second place, and gaining on Kyle Busch. Here we go! Lap 259 and Jr takes the lead. That was some great racing there; Jr seemed to be less than an inch from the wall as he passed the leader. See, radio is great, we missed this on television.

With 137 laps to go, Stewart is catching up to Kyle Busch who is two seconds behind Jr. As we go into commercials, Kahne is in fourth, and Jeff Burton is in fifth. The commercials give me a chance to give Jr a rave.

Say what you will about him, this Jr guy knows his car, knows the track, and knows how the two will interact. He can make that car do anything he wants it to at this point. I would hate to be the guy who beats Jr tonight, if, in fact, he does get beat. As it stands now, Jr is the class of the field.

Speaking of which, Tony Stewart has taken second place with 119 to go. 118 to go and Jr has a three second lead. This is a nerve wracking time for both Jr and Stewart fans, hoping that nothing goes wrong now. Please, Smoke, when you get there, please race clean. Jr, when Tony gets there, please race clean. Remember, you guys are buddies, right now.

111 laps to go, and Stewart is 2.7 seconds behind Jr, as Jr is lapping more lapped traffic, Kasey Kahne takes third from Kyle Busch. This is the calm before the storm, we feel. 108 laps to go and now Jr is 3.5 seconds ahead of Smoke.

Kyle Busch is going to have to change a battery. He has been going this entire race with electrical troubles, and now his engine is misfiring, due to those problems. He hasn't gone to the pits yet, but changing the batteries takes time that the 18 team can't afford at this time. Now, Jr is about to lap Gordon again. Ohhhh Noooooo!!! Jr hits the wall, Yeley, who is moving up to the outside does not have time to react, and runs into Jr, then spins out. Honestly, I really feel bad for the Dale Earnhardt, Jr fans. I really thought Jr would win tonight. I was really hoping that he would win, just to end that drought. Jr said on the radio, just before the accident that he cut a tire. Wow, again.

At the same time I really feel very, very bad for the Jr fans, I am somewhat nervous because Stewart is now in the lead. Why am I nervous? Stewart has been my favorite driver since the last part of 2001, and I have seen this before. Anything can happen. Especially since all the work that has been going on for the 88 team has been done while keeping Jr on the lead lap, so Jr is still a contender. But then Jr still has to pit again, and does lose a lap. Still bad news for the Jr fans. Then, good news, as the speeding penalty is waived, and Jr gets his lap back. Good luck for Jr fans. This is crazy. I love it!

Kasey Kahne is in second, Jeff Burton third, as Smoke takes the green flag with 95 laps to go. And there is a wreck back in the field as Sorenson and Hamlin have trouble as the cars try to restart. It seems that a slow restart on Stewart's part caused a huge accordion effect. There was no reason for Stewart to brake check the field, as they are saying on the radio, and I really don't think it happened on purpose. Stewart does not restart that way, he is more likely to jump the start than balk the start. Something happened we don't know about.

When they showed the replay of the restart, it looked like Tony just didn't go, and Kasey Kahne forgot that it is the lead car that restarts the race, not the second place car.

Shortly after the restart, Kahne takes the lead, but Stewart doesn't give up the fight, and Jeff Burton enters the battle. Kahne solidly gains the lead as Stewart and Burton race side by side, and Stewart retains second place. With 80 laps to go David Regan has taken third place, and Kasey Kahne has moved over two seconds ahead of Stewart.

With 76 laps to go, Kyle Busch has re-entered the top ten, after changing the battery on his car earlier. Now it seems we have hit another calm before the storm period. Carpentier spins out and brings another caution during the commercial. This happened while the crew on MRN was doing a recap of the season so far--that is how calm things really were, when the accident happened. We will see pit stops. It looks like this will once again be a fuel mileage race, as there are sixty nine laps to go as the teams pit. Johnson and Stewart get fuel only, and Johnson exits the pit line first, with Stewart, who insists his car is coming to him, is second. Kasey Kahne is third, and Elliott Sadler is fourth. Kyle Busch takes two tires and comes off fifth.

Oh noooo again-- the 88 team gets a penalty for stopping outside the pit box.

Good restart. Then caution for metal debris on the front stretch. Johnson was taking off, because AJ Allmendinger cut off Tony Stewart as he was trying to go with Johnson. Allmendinger's aggression pays off so he gets the lucky dog pass.

I will have to go back to television soon, as the radio station cuts power in twenty minutes. The restart should happen with 63 laps to go, so fuel mileage is still an issue. I am on my feet, and that makes it hard to type. An-n-n-n-d there went the radio station. That was fifteen minutes early. I could probably try to get KOMA, but that doesn't come in much better, and the whistling drives me nuts.

56 laps to go and Kyle Busch has taken second, and is about to catch Johnson. Here they go, Bush fakes low, then goes high and takes the lead. Kahne is third, and Stewart is fourth. I'm thinking Stewart is conserving fuel, but I don't see where that will help at this point.

What has kept this race exciting is that nobody has been able to keep the lead long, but now the 48 team has bad luck and it seems that Johnson's engine has expired. There will be no caution here, though, and Sadler moves into the top five, while Smoke moves into third. I'm already missing the radio. 41 laps to go and it looks like Kahne is catching Kyle Busch, and They are talking to Jimmie Johnson while Busch and Kahne are battling hard. Kahne takes the lead with 39 laps to go.

With thirty five laps to go we are discussing strategy. When will these cars begin to pit for fuel? We are assuming that all the cars will need to stop one more time in order to finish the race.

Wow, Tony Stewart has just taken second from his team mate, Kyle Busch.

With 17 laps to go Kahne gives up the lead to pit for fuel. Smoke is going to lead a few laps before his team decides to pit. Several cars have followed Kahne for a splash and go. Stewart is waiting. Then he pits with thirteen to go, and Kyle Busch takes the lead. Busch pits on the next lap. It looks like everybody will take fuel. Denny Hamlin has the lead with ten laps to go, and he pits with nine to go. It now looks like Jeff Gordon and Dave Blaney may gamble on fuel. Dave Blaney is now in first, then he decides not to gamble, and Smoke takes the lead. Stewart is now 5.5 seconds ahead of Kahne. All Smoke has to do now is bring it home.

Damn! Stewart cuts a tire with three to go, and has to give the lead to Kahne. See, Jr Nation? We fans of other drivers feel pain too. What a disappointment. Man that hurts! Kasey Kahne wins, Greg Biffle is second, and Kyle Busch is third. Jeff Gordon's gamble paid off as he finishes fourth, and Dale Jr brought his wrecked car home in fifth. What a race, what a finish!

I am emotionally drained. All I can say is that Kasey must feel good not having to keep his helmet on when he gets out of the car in front of the fans.

Some final thoughts: It seems like the teams may be getting a handle on the cars for the intermediate tracks. There were a lot of lead changes, and most of them were hard fought, rather than the "my turn. your turn" lead changes we have seen in the past. There was real racing, and even though we weren't treated to a real race for the win, due to mechanical trouble, it could have happened. I won't declare the new Sprint Cup Car complete and ready to compete at this time, but it does seem like we are getting there. It was a much better race than Texas or Atlanta were, so we continue to hold hope for the new car and the teams. Time will tell.

It finally happened!

After the lackluster Samsung 500, the semi-short track/semi-speedway Subway Fresh 500 was a much needed blast of excitement in Sprint Cup racing. We knew it was going to take some time for the teams to get a handle on the Sprint Cup car this season, and the level of the racing has been inconsistant as the teams have worked on the car. But Phoenix is a different story, as the teams have tested there extensively, have had some previous experience racing the new car there, and thus have extensive notes concerning the behavior of the car at PIR.
And it paid off for both the teams and the fans. We were treated to some excellent racing throughout the field and throughout the race. The race begain with several teams that seemed capable of winning, and the action was as hot as the track itself right from the start. Ryan Newman wanted to make sure he got his bonus points, and held off the competition from Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards for a few laps before dropping back. The lead was never, at any point in the race, given up easily, so the racing was always hard and admirably clean, no matter who the leader was.
Highlights and pitfalls included Carl Edwards taking a penalty in the first half of the race that put him down a lap. He recovered from that, finishing in fourth place. Elliott Sadler, who started the race from the front row, fell back early in the race, but regained postition as high as fourth place as night fell, only to have to retire from the race due to engine failure. Another driver from Dodge, polesitter Ryan Newman, also saw his hopes for a good finish disappear with catastrophic mechanical failure. Mark Martin definitely had the car to beat, but his team, like most of the other race leaders, found it necessary to refuel before the end of the race. The "what if" story here is that if Martin had pitted just a few laps earlier, he more than likely could have made his way back to the front in time to take the checkers. His car was the class of the field, and he even claimed, post race, that he thought he had had enough fuel to make it to the end before the final pit stop. "Coulda, woulda, shoulda," as the saying goes.
Mstt Kenseth seems to be using up all his bad luck early in the season. Once again, he had many problems attributed to being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a cut tire pretty much put him out of the running early on in the race. Kenseth is one of the top drivers in the series, so we know his luck is going to get better. The question is, "When?"
So the big story is the gamble that paid off. Chad Knaus decided to keep the #48 car on the track during the final fifteen laps of the race, even after a lengthy green flag run, a strategy that won the race. With the other cars pitting and the closest to the lead, after the pit stops--being the #07 Chevy of Clint Bowyer--nearly ten seconds behind, Johnson had plenty of room to lay off the throttle and conserve fuel. He reportedly ran out of fuel on the backstretch of the final lap, and finished the race a little over eight seconds ahead of Bowyer. Now that's drama!
Oh, by the way, Hendrick Motorsports is back. Who didn't see that coming?

Warming up in Vegas

Once again I find myself having to correct an inaccuracy from one of my previous posts. I hate it when that happens. I mentioned that there were three venues in the Cup Series at which Tony "Smoke" Stewart has yet to win. I believe I correctly mentioned California and Las Vegas, but failed to mention correctly that the other two are Darlington and Talladega. In spite of some of my self-depricating disclaimers, I do hope to be more accurate in reporting statistics, and maintain at least some semblence of credibility.
Last year, at Las Vegas, the track surface was new, the tire compound was hard, and the cars were the familiar "conventional" cars. Many of the teams and drivers had difficulty getting the handle on the car and the track, and the going was relatively slow as NASCAR racing goes. At the end of the caution filled Cup race, Jimmie Johnson easily out ran the rest of the field and beat team mate Jeff Gordon by nearly three seconds. However, in the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) race there was one heck of a finish while Jeff Burton and Rowdy Kyle "The Schrub" Busch raced hard for the checkers, and Busch got loose after the two made contact and spun out--crossing the finish line in second place while still in a spin.
Fans watched as the young Busch, who had a reputation for being somewhat volitile and immature, approached Burton's car in Victory Lane, expecting a fight, or at least some kind of outburst. Instead, Rowdy reached out his hand and congratulated the winner.
Thus began the warming period.
The Schrub returns to his home track this weekend a superstar in the making. With the help of his new team at Joe Gibbs Racing, and with some accolades from the likes of Darryll Waltrip and Dick Bergeron, the new "Mr. Excitement" is seen as an extraordinary driver, and has thrilled the flock of NASCAR fans across the nation.
Jimmie Johnson is expected to win an unprecedented fourth UAW-Dodge 400 in a row, but he is facing competition that is very different from last year. In spite of his second place finish last week, he seems to have trouble getting a handle on the car in traffic, and couldn't get it to work when he most needed it to work. Success in the Formula N car is mostly up to the driver, as Tony Stewart has pointed out, and Chad Knaus, as good as he is, cannot help the self-proclaimed "Driver of the Year" as much as he has in the past. Johnson is starting 33rd, and has had trouble with his car in traffic, although whatever has been bothering may have been fixed by now.
It is true that nobody has ever won the UAW-Dodge 400 from the pole, so--although there is always a first time for everything--it can't be taken for granted that Busch will win.
Aside from Kyle Busch, I would be looking for Tony Stewart, who has led the most laps at Vegas for a driver without a win, to be crossing another venue off his "Things To Do" list.
Matt Kenseth seems to be able to get a handle on the car that is being used now, and his abilities are very impressive on this type of track. If the previous record at Vegas applies to anyone, it would be to Matt, because he seems to be very adaptable to different styles of cars.
And then you have Greg Biffle, who, in spite of his lack of wins over the last two years, is very capable of winning a race. Between the last few races of '07, and some very good runs this year, he has shown that he can still be a contender.
GEM is also making a comeback, and they had some fast cars in qualifying and practice, includingt Patrick Carpentier's Kasey Kahne wants to prove that he is just as capable of making a comeback as anybody else, and he will want to put on a good enough show to earn acceptance for being given the Budman title.

A sidenote: Kahne's sponsorship
partnership involving Allstate Driver's Insurance and Budweiser made me wonder
about how they could have joint commercials. How about ending a regular Budweiser commercial, featuring Kahne with the words "Allstate Insurance reminds you that drnking Budweiser and driving could result in an increase in your insurance rates?"

So far this year, the racing has been pretty good, even after the mess at Fontana. Once that race started, on Monday, it was interesting and very well worth watching. I think we will see more of this as the season goes on and the drivers get used to the new car. NASCAR seems to be regaining some interest from the, as there was a good sized crowd at the track for practice and qualifying, This may be partly because the three day ticket package for Vegas is a very good deal, as ticket packages go, but the performance of the new car, Dale Jr, Kyle Busch and a possible record-breaking run by the current Champion, have done a lot to bring people back to the track or their television sets. I feel that the obituaries written by many for NASCAR are a bit pre-mature.

Plot twists welcome!

We all love a good plot twist. Movies such as The Usual Suspects, The Four Brothers, and The Illusionist keep us enthralled because of their intricate plot twists. And so, we were enthralled with the plot twist involved in Friday night's Ford 200 CTS race at Homestead.
The story started with us thinking that the Championship points leader, Mike Skinner, had a significant advantage over second place competitor Ron Hornaday. Skinner went into the race with just a small points lead over Hornaday, but he qualified forth. In fact four of the five top starting positions were held by Bill Davis Racing, Skinner's team mates. But, to thicken the plot a little, team mate and new "bad boy" Johnny Benson reminded us in a pre-race interview that, though the team was there to help Skinner win the championship, they were all out to win the race.
One thing we love about the drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series is that they are all "bad boys."
So, as the race started, Skinner quickly gained points on Hornaday, who had started further back in the field and had to deal with the three and sometimes four-wide traffic that is a familiar feature in NASCAR truck racing. Skinner increased his lead in points by taking the race lead. But then, the first plot twist--Skinner felt that he had a tire go down, and abrubtly slowed and pitted for a two tire change, putting him a lap down. Still, though Hornaday now had the points lead, Skinner could easily make up positions, and even race his way back to the lead lap.
But that wasn't to happen. Skinner's #5 team had changed the right side tires, and it was the left rear tire that fell off. Because of damage to the left rear hub, the truck had to go to the garage area for extensive repairs,
But, all was not lost. Even though he was eleven laps down, Skinner only had to be twelve place positions behind Hornaday in order to win the championship. If as few as five trucks behind Hornaday wrecked, or had mechanical failure, Skinner would be the 2007 CTS Champion. As the laps wound down, Hornaday's only team mate, Kevin Harvick, fell off the pace, due to a tire going down. That was one. We watched, with four laps left, to see if Hornaday could hang on to his spot, or if the big one would happen as expected.
And, with two laps to go, there was a spin and a caution.
But it was only one truck, and he did not wreck. Still, after the restart, for the Green/White/Checkered finish, the guys up front were racing three and four wide. If any of them had wrecked, however, it wouldn't have helped Skinner anyway, unless, of course, Hornaday got caught up in the wreck.
The wreck didn't happen. Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson raced hard for the win, and in the end it was Johnny Benson who found victory. So, though Bill Davis Racing didn't get the championship, they did get a win to finish the season. Ron Hornaday won the Championship, becoming the second driver after Jack Sprague, to win three CTS Championships. Another interesting plot: Jack Sprague will be Hornaday's team mate on Kevin Harvick Incorperated's team next year.
So, we give congratulations Ron Hornaday, Jr and KHI for winning the 2007 CTS championship, to Johnny Benson snagging his fourth victory of the year, and to all the drivers and teams in the CTS for bringing us yet another incredibly entertaining season.
So, now the stage is set for Sunday's grande finale for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Jimmie "Ernie" Johnson, eighty nine points ahead of Jeff "Darth" Gordon, has the pole. It seems that Johnson's march to the championship is unstoppable. But, in spite of his admitted "joking around" waving of the white flag of surrender, Gordon has made it clear that he will do everything he can to take back the championsip. We have to believe him, considering the incredible performance he has had during the 2007 season, and we have to believe that he could still do it.
Personally, I don't care who wins the Championship. I'm picking Matt Kenseth to win the race--it will be his last race with Robby Reiser, the only crew chief he has ever known in his NASCAR career, and that emotional incentive will add to the drive, skill, and determination he has shown over the last few races.
When it comes down to it, I want to see a good race, and maybe a few good plot twists.

Facing the facts

After losing hope that my favorite driver would win the Pep Boys 500 at AMS, I remained hopeful that one of my next favorites, Matt Kenseth might take the checkers. When hope faded for that possibility, I had to accept that a driver whom I have no feelings for or against, Jimmie Johnson, would win the race. And, I have to admit, I found that I was happy that he won.
Johnson had pledged, along with the other Hendrick drivers, he would donate his winnings to the Red Cross, in relief of the wildfire victims in California. Not only that, but AMS track owner Bruton Smith pledged to match the donation of the winner, making a contribution totalling over one million dollars to the relief effort.
With that in mind I celebrate Johnson's victory, and praise him for his generosity. That still doesn't mean he has become one of my second favorite drivers, but I do respect him for making the pledge.
That being said, I have to concede that Tony Stewart probably won't be the 2007 Nextel Cup Champion. Though is is mathematically still in the Chase, it seems that Fate has decided that this wouldn't be his year. That's okay, because that means he can have fun now, which means he can probably win a race or two before the season is up. At any rate, it would be safe to say that the pressure is off, for this season, at least.
With three races to go, it is now a three way contest for the championship. Only four points separate Johnson from the Chase leader, Jeff Gordon. Clint Bowyer is still in contention, though his chances of winning the championship Chase are contingent on the two leaders having some bad luck, which, in turn, seems less likely to happen with every race.
When I watch a race, I watch it as a fan of racing. Being a Tony Stewart fan is secondary to being a racing fan. We can expect some stiff competition between the three viable Championship contenders, while seeing some excellent competitiveness among all the other drivers. And now, I don't have to worry about who is going to be the champion. Racing is good.

Those Darn Hendrick Drivers

I'm going to forego writing a comment on this, while referring the reader to an interesting and informative post on the Trackbunny Films blog.
All I can say is, isn't Kyle allowed to race for the championship as well? Geez, what an attitude Jeff and his clone have regarding their team mate.

The Battle of the Clones

It was bound to happen--the original versus his creation. In the closing laps of Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville Speedway, it as a sure bet that The (Jeff) Gordon would win the race. After all, he had been running very well, staying toward the front of the pack throughout much of the race, falling back due to a serious mishandling incident, and working his way up through the treacherous traffic of Martinsville to once again challenge for the lead. With both the car and the driver in top form, victory was within his grasp. But as he returned to the front, he literally ran into his biggest obstacle to winning the race--his clone was also at the front.
Jimmie Johnson owes much of his racing career to The Gordon--who coached his protoge through his early days in NASCAR and is part owner of the car Johnson races--but he owes much more to his crew chief, Chad Knaus. Not to belittle the talent of Jimmie Johnson, but one must wonder if he wasn't driving on that particular team, would he be holding a .500 win average for the first six races, or would he even be the defending champion?
All through practice and qualifying, Jimmie had been complaining about the handling of his car, and his practice times were unusually slow for him. Somehow, Knaus and the #48 team worked on the car during the race, and made a very good car out of a back marker.
So came the Final Confrontation. The Gordon and his clone ran a very interesting and exciting race during the final three laps. All Jeffy had to do was get Johnson loose and pass him, because he clearly had the better car. He even looked as though he was going to make the bump and run and spin Johnson if he had to.
Other teams, such as Yates and Roush-Fenway, want to see hard competition between their drivers. But not Hendrick Motorsports, whose motto is "We Are Family." Frustrated as he was with Johnson's excessive and aggressive blocking, The Gordon just couldn't bring himself to take out his clone. After all, he did teach him how to avoid being taken out from behind by drivers like himself.

What stays in Vegas

What a weekend! Not only were there wild races, but the practices and even qualifying were pretty wild, also. Kudos to Paul Menard for the amazing save he made after his car spun during qualifying, lifted all four wheels off the ground in the infeild, and managed to stay upright for the young rookie to bring under control, saving himself from having to go to a backup car.
The Sam's Town 300 was a wreckfest, as could have been predicted. The track was faster, but the tires were designed to slow the cars down--and slowing down is something drivers don't like to do. But how about that last lap? Jeff Burton showed us his stuff, driving that car as hard as he could to battle Kyle Busch for the lead. That was one of the most exciting NBS wins in my memory. Kyle did what he could, and when he could do no more he lost control while trying to block the faster and more experienced Burton, spinning across the finish line and still getting a second place finish. We have to give recognition to the maturity and sportsmanship the obviously disappointed Schrub exhibited after climbing out of the car. He didn't make any gesture except to shake hands with Burton when Jeff drove his car around to see if Kyle was alright. That is a big step up from the glove and HANS throwing kid we have seen in the past. I applauded Kyle Busch when he congratulated the winner, and I can think of no other driver who would have been so gracious.
The UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 started out as if it, too were going to be a demolition derby. After the first ten laps, during which there were three cautions, the drivers all seemed to settle down and get a handle on their cars. We were indeed excited to see the old favorite Sterling Marlin stay in the top ten during most of the race, until a sick engine put him out of the race in the closing laps. Still, it seems that Ginn Racing is giving the man from Tennessee what he needs in a car, and we will likely see him perform well in many races this year.
Another old favorite, Mark Martin, is still the points leader, and he still says he isn’t going for the championship. He has finished in the top ten in the first three races, and insists that he is not planning on taking the offer to race full time this season. He’s just having some fun.
The #20 team of Tony Stewart and the #11 team of Denny Hamlin did what was usual for them when they start a race with a set up they didn't like--they fixed the cars as the race went on, and all finished in the top ten. The most amazing of that group was Hamlin--he had been running around twentieth place most of the time, and came out of nowhere to finish third.
Kyle Busch was probably the most aggressive of all the drivers on the track. He drove like a madman the entire race, even after spinning out at one point. He wanted to win at his home track, and he was able to run well enough, with a car that perhaps wasn't as good as the others, to keep us interested.
Jeff Burton seemed on the verge of repeating what he did in Saturdays Busch race. He gave Jeff Gordon, and then Jimmie Johnson a serious run for the lead, until he apparently used up his car.
Greg Biffle just can't find any luck anywhere. He probabaly misses his old crew chief, Doug Richert. Since Richert's #83 Red Bull team, with Brian Vickers at the wheel, has only run one out of the first three races, he probably misses Biffle.
Jimmie Johnson seems to have all the luck Biffle doesn't have. It seems almost run of the mill for the #48 team to have a setback sometime during the race, and then come back as if nothing ever happened. It is probably much more than luck. There is a reason that Jimmie Johnson is the reigning Nextel Cup Champion, and though he is a very competitive driver, it is his team that makes the difference. Three wins in the last three races at Las Vegas is a very good record, and it was a well deserved win.

Off-Season Dangerous for NASCAR Champs

2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson broke his wrist last Sunday, and it was not in a racing incident. He was participating in a celebrity golf tournament, when the driver of his golf cart took a sharp turn, and Johnson fell out. This will prevent his participation in this year's Nations' Cup in Paris next weekend, a fun racing event featuring champions from all types of racing, but is not expected to prevent him from preseason testing at Daytona next month.
It should be noted that Tony Stewart, the 2005 champion, broke his wrist last year during the off season while racing in the Chili Bowl National Midget Series. At least he did it in a race car, while Johnson was the victim of a freak accident. The off season seems to have become dangerous for champions, any way you look at it.

The Champ!

Photo Credit: US PRESSWIRE Copyright © 2006 Mark J. Rebilas

We can all breath a sigh of relief now, for Jimmie Johnson has won the NASCAR Nextel Cup. We have known, since his 2002 rookie season that it was only a matter of time before the naturally talented driver won a NASCAR Cup championship. He had to. Johnson has not finished a season outside the top five in points standings in five years, and even came within eight points of winning it at the end of the final race of 2004. It may as well be sooner than later, and the #48 team got it over with.
Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus deserve it. After the first four races of the Chase for the Championship, the #48 team was so far out of the lead that many sports writers had counted him out, but the team literally turned up the juice and excelled in the last six races, including four second place finishes in a row.
Knaus is one of the smartest crew chiefs in the business--not the smartest, because he has been caught "pushing the envelope" in the grey area of the NASCAR rule etch-a-sketch, and was suspended for four races earlier in the season. But the #48 team is strong, and carried on without him, establishing a reputation as a team that could come back from adversity, which they have done throughout the season.
Johnson didn't have to win the race at Homestead--all he had to do was finish twelfth or better to clinch the championship. He didn't just hang out safely in twelfth the entire race. Much to the delight of many a race fan, he competed; leading a lap during green flag pit stops, and coming back from a pit stop snafu in which the bit from an air wrench got stuck on a lug nut, dropping him sixteen places. "Anything can happen" was a phrase which remained in our minds right up to the checkered flag. Johnson had a car which could have won, but he wasn't going to do anything stupid to jeopardize his chances, and he couldn't be blamed for that. He finished ninth, giving him plenty of points to win the Championship, and yet another top-ten finish. Like him or not, this guy is good.
Greg Biffle won the race. Again, we have to think, "it's about time." Biffle's team has struggled this season--since winning at Darlington on the eve of Mother's Day, the #16 team's performance has been less than satisfactory. Perhaps it was the level of competition this year, but Biffle is expected to compete at a championship level. Much of his misfortune this season has been exactly that--the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being caught up in somebody else's mistakes. Some of it was brought on by the driver himself, for Greg Biffle has a tendency to be over-aggressive and to overdrive the turns, often putting him into the back of another car. This is something that can be cured by experience--many a great driver has shown the same flaws early in his career--Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, AJ Foyt, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon, to name a few. Hopefully, Biffle, whom we feel is championship material, will overcome his shortcomings as well as these other drivers did. At any rate, we are happy to see Greg Biffle find Victory Lane in the last race in what was a disappointing season for him.
Now that the season is over, I hope my readers will continue to visit this blog. Off-season is a time of withdrawal for the true NASCAR addict, but I plan on keeping the hunger fed with some more opinionated drivers' profiles, similar to those posted here early in the season. I will also write some book reviews, and write on some subjects of entertainment other than NASCAR. It's the end of the season, not the end of the world, and the Daytona 500 is only a few weeks away. Hang in there.

Fear, Intrepidation, and Anticipation

Apply this quote to the NASCAR season finale at Homestead:

'No turning back!?' Why did you have to go and say that? That's as bad as saying, 'nothing else can go wrong now,' or 'this will be Fluffy's best Christmas ever.'--Doctor Who

Todd Bodine won the Craftsman Truck Series (CTS) Championship Friday night, and all he had to do was finish the race. Our favorite, Johnny Benson, still had a chance to beat Bodine in points, until, while racing for second place, a truck spun into the infield, and then slid back up the track, right in front of him. There was no avoiding it, and Benson's hopes for the CTS Trophy disappeared long before the race was over. He was able to finish the race, but he finished in twenty-sixth place. What he needed was to finish in the top three positions, and have Todd Bodine finish twenty-eighth or worse. Bodine played it safe, running steadily in the twenty-first to twenty-sixth positions, not taking any chances. He finished twenty-second, which, considering Benson's troubles, was more than good enough to win the Championship.
Mark Martin won the race. His limited schedule in the truck series yielded a very high percentage of wins. In each race he entered in the CTS this season, he immediately became the one to beat. In eight of the CTS races this season, he either won or came in second.
Martin wa originally slated to race in CTS full time, next season, but, not wanting to be left out of Cup racing next year, he decided to give up his Ford ride with Roush Racing, and went for a twenty-two race Cup schedule in a Chevy. So, Friday's victory capped Martin's final career truck race in a Roush Ford. Bottom line--Martin, who has not won a NASCAR championship on any level, gave up a nearly certain CTS championship next year for a chance to continue racing in Cup.
Speaking of Cup, and remembering the quote at the start of this post, there is no sure thing about the outcome of the Nextel Cup Championship, or of Sunday's race. No doubt, Jimmie Johnson will be content to run safely in twelfth place for most of the race, which is all he needs to do to win the Championship, but that is easier said than done. The competition is heavy, with four other drivers who have a chance to win the Championship, several others who will race their hearts out to make sure they will have guaranteed in February's Daytona 500, and many others who will be giving it all they've got just to win a race. Johnson, or any of the top five contenders, could get caught up in something involving all these other drivers and see his Championship hopes go to the hauler prematurely.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 115 points out of the lead, absolutely has to win the race in order to win the Chase. Even winning wouldn't be enough--Johnson would have to finish thirty-nineth place or worse, and Matt Kenseth would have to have terrible luck. We already know that Earnhardt can't count on anything like that, but, still the Earnhardt fans will be watching just in case something does happen.
What will throw off every scenario for the Championship will be the domination of the Everham teams. Kasey Kahne has the season's best record this season on the intermediate tracks among all the drivers, but team mates Elliot Saddler and Scott Riggs are also very good drivers, and all three Everham drivers qualified in the top four positions on the starting grid--a definite advantage with a good car, and one that may keep any of the Championship contenders from gaining the all-important bonus points for leading a lap.
Brian Vickers may have learned his lesson at Talledega--where he won his first race a few weeks ago, and became arguably the most hated driver in the Cup series. But there are still plenty of wild cards, including Robby Gordon, JJ Yeley, and David Stremme, among many others. Robby Gordon is on the high of winning the Baja 1000 this week, and with a reputation of not giving a darn about other drivers on the track, he will happily ruin someone's Championship hopes to continue his winning streak. Yeley and Stremme, are not bad drivers, just inexperienced and on a steep learning curve. They have both made stupid mistakes this season, which have taken out other drivers, as well as themselves, and the contenders probably fear that the learning period isn't over. In NASCAR, one can't always avoid the mistakes of others.
So, the only predictions I can safely make this weekend is that the Championship will not be determined until the last lap, and that it will be a very exciting and fulfilling race at season's end.

The Big Finale

Well, here we are, at the final race. There is always something melancholy about the end of the season, but the good news is that NASCAR has the shortest off season of all professional sports--twelve weeks from Sunday's race at Homestead until the Daytona 500 in February. And there is more good news--if only in that the season has been probably the best and most exciting since 1998. It has been very satisfying for those of us who can't seem to get enough excitement. And there is the fact that, going into the last race, the Championship has not been decided yet.

Of course, Jimmie Johnson has the best chance to take the Cup, being sixty-three points ahead of second place. This means, he clinches the championship if he finishes seventeenth or better. If he leads a lap during the race, getting bonus points, he only has to finish twelfth or better, regardless of where Matt Kenseth and the other three contenders finish.
Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are tied for third place, ninety points out of the lead. There will likely be times during the race that one or both of them will move up closer to the points lead. Say, for instance, that on lap 112, Kenseth is leading the race, Havick and Hamlin are running in the top ten, and Johnson is way back in twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth place. This situation would put these two guys within thirty points in the lead. This theoretical example is to illustrate exactly how close the championship race is between the top four drivers. As it happens, there are many different sets of circumstances which could put Hamlin or Harvick in the points lead by the end of the race.

Momentum is on Johnson's side, however. The #48 team has been performing exceptionally well since the last race at Talledega, and no amount of bad luck during the race seems to be a handicap for the team by the end. Still, with the competition being what it is, the driver among the top five who has the least bad luck will be the 2006 champion.





None of the contenders can afford to have something like this happen.

Review, sort of.

Don't give him the trophy yet, but Jimmie Johnson is doing exactly what it takes to win that elusive honor. After being virtually counted out after the first three chase races, Johnson and his #48 team have performed heroically and have taken the championship points lead by sixty-three points over second place Matt Kenseth. They have done so by making the smart moves, going for the win, but not taking the kinds of risks that would result in disaster.
The final three-lap shoot-out in Sunday's race at Phoenix was a great example of what Johnson and his team have been doing. After the restart, even those of us at home were on our feet as Kevin Harvick shot into the lead with Johnson close on his tail. Harvick got loose in turn three, allowing Johnson to get right up against his rear bumper. However, Harvick, an excellent driver in his own right, was not about to let victory slip through his fingers, blocked Johnson and prevented him from passing. Johnson had two choices; he could have pressed the issue, putting nose of his car under the tail of Harvick's, causing him to get loose and creating an opportunity to take the lead and the win, or he could have let up on the throttle, and hope for another chance to pass before they reached the finish line. He wisely chose the second option, because the first also could have resulted in both cars wrecking, as often happens in the course of a hard fought race to the finish. It was enough for him to settle for second place, keeping the points lead, while Harvick took a hard fought and well deserved win.
Harvick is the fourth driver to achieve back-to-back victories at PIR, and the first to do so in the same year, since the addition of the March race last year. His behavior, in the aftermath of the post-race incident last week, in which a member of Scott Riggs' #10 team physically assaulted Kevin and his wife Dalana, has been exempliary of a true champion. Harvick contacted the owner of Riggs' team, Ray Everham, and asked that the offending team member not be fired. He also assured Everham that there were no hard feelings, and that there would be no retailiation on the track. Scott Riggs, who had been running in second place toward the end of the race in Texas, when contact with Harvick's car ran him into the wall and out of the race, also showed superior sportsmanship, when he told reporters that it was just something that happens in racing. He was not involved in the post-race incident.
While the race for the win was going on, rookie sensation Denny Hamlin was having the time of his life racing one of the sport's all-time greats, Jeff Gordon, for third place. Gordon is mathematically out of championship contention for the points championship, but racers live to race, and race he did, door-to-door and fender-to-fender, for nearly three laps. Hamlin managed to keep to the inside of Gordon, the shorter distance around the track, and prevailed just before the checkered flag fell, taking third place.
We can't give the Championship to Johnson, just yet. There is the sappy, emotional side of us that will need a box of Kleenex if and when the two-time runner up does accept the trophy. He really does deserve it, and it could be just as well now that he gets it, rather than later. It will still be an emotional moment if something goes wrong for him in the final race at Homestead, Fla, next Sunday, preventing him from taking the Nextel Cup.
It doesn't have to be an engine problem or a transmission problem that would once again deny the trophy to Johnson. A cut tire, or running out of fuel late in the race could be fatal to his championship hopes. Even being caught in traffic with a missed set up could be bad for the #48 team.
Face it; anything could happen, as so often does during a race. Matt Kenseth is only 63 points away from the lead, which could be made up with not too much luck. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are tied in third place in points position, ninety points out of the lead, and either one of them could still be the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, given the right set of circumstances. Fifth place Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is still a mathematical possibility, 117 points out of the lead, if he gets all the good luck, and the other four contenders have absolutely no luck at all. The bottom line is this--the cap-off of what has been an excellent racing season is that the championship will be determined on the last lap of the last race.


Photo Credit: Sherryl Creekmore