Danica Patrick and Ryan Truex dust-up, who’s at fault?

Bristol is known for getting drivers wicked loose and making them wreck. It’s known for bringing out tempers. Saturday was no exception. Coming off her best finish in the series, Danica Patrick was just looking to finish her first race at Bristol ever. It look like she was going to finish when it happened. She was running rookie Ryan Truex down when he got a tad loose and got into the side of her #7 Go Daddy Chevrolet. That tiny amount of contact got Patrick loose, bringing her back up onto the race track, making her hit the wall, ending her day. Here’s where it got a at complicated. Under caution, Danica saw Truex coming. You would think she would pull her helmet off and chuck it at Truex’s car, right? She didn’t. This is what she did. ‘Patrick walked toward Truex’s car as it circled the track under the caution and held up her arms.’

“I felt like I got a run down the straight and it felt like he came into my right front,” Patrick said. “I don’t know exactly what happened.”

Here’s what Ryan Truex said about the incident in an interview after the race. “I got loose, came off the wall, came down on her, my fault. I didn’t mean to do it. If she’s mad, she’s mad. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry. I don’t know if she thinks if I did it on purpose or she was mad that it happened.”

This wasn’t the first time in the race these two raced against each other. “He just runs hard – he’s run hard every time I’ve been around him and it seems like overkill. If your car is good you’ll go forward, if your car isn’t, you’ll go back and that’s just a lot of NASCAR.” Patrick said. I have something to say about this statement of hers. Running hard in NASCAR is what you do. If you can’t handle other drivers running hard around you, you don’t belong in the sport.

Ryan admits that he made a mistake. “We were fighting loose through the center and off [the corner] the whole day,” Truex said. “It was really hard to drive on long runs and I was just trying to hold on to it for another pit stop so we can work on it. I was just real free off the corner, and we came off there side-by-side, and I got kicked out sideways. I just had to bring it down to keep it off the wall and she was down there. I hate it for her. She was probably having a good run.” For being the age he is, Ryan showed a lot of maturity after the race during his interview. He didn’t get mad that Danica was pissed off at him. He just simply took the blame and apologized. That takes true maturity.

I still wasn’t quite satisfied with what the two drivers had to say, so I took it to twitter. Yes, the magical powers of twitter! Here’s what that fans had to say:

RowdyKaren421: I didn’t get to watch the race but I saw the video on NASCAR.com and Ryan did nothing wrong

KK_KFfan4: it was Bristol an Danica needs to stay in Indy car

Speeds_promdate: I think Truex was just racing hard and good Danica needs to realize that’s how you race in NASCAR, hard and aggressive

TLaut23: my opinion on Patrick and Truex. Danica needs to realize that sometimes she’s at fault. Truex got a little loose, but for the most part it’s Bristol Baby. Bristol is a track for the strong not for the weak. Today Danica showed her weakness in her emotions

Doug Stump (Facebook): I think it was just a racing accident, that is the it goes a lot of times specially at Bristol

Selina Robison Pennington (Facebook): it’s nobody’s fault, it’s racing at Bristol

Katie_2835: I think Danica Patrick needs to get used to this style of racing. Don’t complain about guys racing you hard. This is how they race

Tyler Gray (Facebook): it is Ryan’s fault because he got loose and came down just enough and Danica happened to be there. That said it’s not like he meant to do it or anything like that, just close racing at Bristol

AngieLuvsMusic: I don’t think Ryan did anything wrong. He got loose and she was there

Everyone makes a very valid point when talking about the incident between Danica Patrick and Ryan Truex. Here’s what I have to say. They are BOTH at fault. No matter how you look at it, they are both at fault. Ryan got loose. Yes, we all know that. Danica was a tad too close to Ryan when he did. But, that’s what happens at Bristol. Drivers get too close to each other. That’s who they wreck. I’m not saying that the wreck was intentional because it clearly wasn’t. Danica may have gotten the worst end of it, but it’s both of their faults. I’m not a fan of Danica’s, but I’m not going to blame her for all of it because of that. I’m a big fan of Ryan’s, but I’m not going to sit here and say that he didn’t do anything wrong. I am simply stating facts and my own opinion here.

All quotes came from here: http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/nationwideseries/Danica_Patricks_Bristol_debut_ends_with_a_crash_Ryan_Truex_takes_blame.html

　

Is it time for a Kasey Kahne comeback?

After watching Kasey Kahne dominate the Truck race at Darlington Raceway this last Saturday night, something crossed my mind. Is it time for a Kasey Kahne comeback? Are we going to see the Kasey Kahne we saw back in 2006 when Richard Petty Motorsports was simply Evernham Motorsports? Did this truck win light a fire in Kahne’s belly, signaling it was time to start a new? When you really think about it, Kahne’s ‘bad luck’ all started in 2007, when Ray Evernham decided to sell a portion of his race team. Maybe all of this switching of team owners and makes and sponsors really got to Kasey’s head these past few years. Kasey’s 2010 season looked promising…until his decision to not to renew his contract with RPM. And when he decided to sign with Hendrick Motorsports for 2012 (the best thing he could have done in my eyes), that’s when it got really bad if you ask me. Fast forward to a few weeks before Kahne’s early release. Brake issues and a wreck in three of the last four races before Kasey left. Go ahead. You can say that Kasey left Richard Petty Motorsports on a bad note. Everybody has said it. Kasey will be making a one-year stint at Red Bull Racing before taking his place at Hendrick in the No. 5 car. Will 2011 be a turning point for Kasey Kahne? To get a look at this, I took the topic to Facebook messaging with a panel of junior experts: Stephanie Piech, Garrett Beishiam, Ashley Schindler, Laura Anthony, and yours truly. We all come from different parts of the US, but our mutual love of NASCAR and my love for Kasey Kahne, brought us together. Here’s what we kind of came up with in our 1 hour session.

First thing to discuss: With Kasey's dominating performance on Saturday at Darlington, are we going to see a Kahne comeback? the Kahne that we saw in 2006?

Steph Piech: I actually didn't get to see much of the race from Saturday, but the part that i saw, Kasey was up front and running' pretty fast! :-) well, I’ve been a pretty big Kasey fan since '04! I think Kasey has the right equipment and the tools to definitely get the job done at Red Bull Racing. I definitely think he's making a comeback, but i don't know if he's gonna win 6 or so races like he did in '06. He'll definitely have a strong year no doubt! RPM definitely didn't give him what he needed, and it sucked having to watch that... but I’m happy that he ended up with RBR this season and it seems like he'll be consistent and running' up front like he has been so far this year!!

Garrett Beishiam: i didn’t get to see ANY of the race...just got caught up by watching a few of the videos on Nascar.com I may not be the biggest Kasey Kahne fan but the next few years will be like 2006 again. He went to RBR since he has one more year till going over to Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne will do a lot for Red Bull Racing this year and i would love to see him get at least one if not two or three wins for that team. Vickers got one a few years back at(I believe it was Michigan) and that was a big headline not just for him but for his race team. So just imagine if Kahne(one of the top followed drivers in NASCAR) got a few wins for Red Bull this year it would be a big help for both him and his team.

Samantha Rae: if you really think about it, if Kasey makes the chase and does well, it will really propel RBR even further than when Vickers made the chase in 2009. I've been a BIG Kasey Kahne fan since May 28th, 2006 (yeah, i know the date) and seeing him get screwed over by RPM time and time again, I really hope that 2011 is a start of a Kahne comeback

Steph Piech: definitely!!! i agree with both of you!! :-) i also think it would have been really cool if Kasey hadn't had signed a contract with HMS for next year because i think him and Vickers would work well together as teammates and, like you guys have said, propel the organization to what i feel it's capable of in the near future, maybe even in a couple of years! ha-ha but I’m a little biased because I’m a fan of both Vickers and Kahne! :-)

Ashley Schindler: I missed the last 25 laps of the race, but I saw the rest of it. I agree with Steph and Garrett. I think he definitely started off the 2011 season in a really good way, this season is looking good for him and RBR. I mean, even if he's not the most dominant driver all year, and he gets two or three wins this year, it will be a huge step up from last year and a confidence booster because of his unfortunate suckish season last year.

Samantha Rae: I really hate to ask the second question I got from denver2u on twitter without miss Laura, but since you guys are here, here it is:
Who is RBR going to get to fill Kasey's seat next year?

Steph Piech: hhmmmm that's a reeaaalllyyyyy good question that i don't think i have an answer too! LOL i can't think of a specific driver, but i think they'll definitely look for a driver (like Kasey and Brian) who have had some Cup experience and maybe a driver who has a similar driving style to Brian or another driver that Brian can relate too. Maybe a guy like Casey Mears... him and Brian are pretty good friends. ha-ha great question because i really have nnnoooo idea!!!

Garrett Beishiam: cant say we will have to wait till we get closer to the end of the season to see who is looking for a ride..... i cant see Elliott Sadler in Red Bull but he moved down to Nationwide after his contract expired at the end of the season in 2010. But just not seeing him in cup is strange, but he does have the potential for a cup ride again. But like i said before we will have to see who is looking for a new ride at the end of the year

Samantha Rae: We all know this. Red Bull Racing will NOT bring Scott Speed back after he sued them for breach of contract. it would be kind of stupid to do that. I like Scott Speed, i really do, but i don't think RBR should bring him back. For all we know, they may decide to bring the young Cole Whitt up to Cup, but I'm pretty sure he is definitely not ready for that. maybe someone that they used in the 83 car last year Like Casey Mears or Reed Sorenson

Steph Piech: oh yeah, Reed would also be another good replacement. He was in Cup for a few years, and unfortunately, it didn't work out with Ganassi. But Reed is still young (mid 20s) and he's definitely running' in the top 5-top 10 every week in Nationwide!

Garrett Beishiam: there are so many people that could move up, i just think it is too early to say who could possibly be the 2nd driver at red bull

Samantha Rae: Reed is leading the NNS points right now, he was doing well in cup (he's 25). if Reed could get another chance at Cup racing, I thin he will do very good.

Laura Anthony: Alright well to answer question 1: yes! A huge comeback is gonna happen. Literally Kasey is going to be a hurricane and be a chase contender and win some more. He showed so much glitz at Darlington, he has to be on cloud nine and know he can do this in his cup car. Kahne will lead with emotion and power. I tell you all this is the start to one heck of a season for Kasey As for the second question: for RBR next year. Scott speed will not return, not only because of the lawsuit but also because of the fact he really wasn’t content with RBR. they took him under their wing in F1 and he was so grateful, after all the red bull stuff, I think Scotty is ready for a new sponsor and a new ride maybe in trucks or nationwide first. I could easily see Cole Whitt or someone else take over next season for cup. They got that motivation and drive to be there.

This could have gone on for a long while, bringing in so much more. There is no real way to know if we will see Kasey Kahne from 2006 comeback to 2011. Kasey’s truck win was his first win of any kind in a POINTS race since September of 2009 when Kasey won at Atlanta in the Cup series. Is this a turning point in Kahne’s career? Will Kasey be the one to beat this year? Or even next year when he moves to Hendrick Motorsports? Only time will tell if Kasey has gotten his mojo back. Here’s a pattern for you. 2004 and 2005: missed the chase, 2006: made the chase, 2007 and 2008: missed the chase, 2009: made the chase, 2010: missed the chase. If this pattern were to continue, Kasey should miss the chase this year. I really don’t want this pattern to continue. Kasey, break the pattern and make the chase this year. That’s all the fans are asking for.

Follow us all on twitter!

Steph Piech: www.twitter.com/Nascarlova2120

Garrett Beishaim: www.twitter.com/Nascartalk10

Ashley Schlinder: www.twitter.com/nascarchick_3

Laura Anthony: www.twitter.com/Speeds_promdate

Samantha Rae: www.twitter.com/LittleMissBayne

The Bayne Wagon: www.twitter.com/TheBayneWagon

My Facebook fan page!

NASCAR Racing IS a Sport!: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/NASCAR-Racing-IS-a-sport/357711772134

Kahne gets a little ‘Rowdy’

With no Cup or Nationwide race this weekend, the Truck series had all eyes on them. They were at Darlington, The Lady in Black, the track deemed ‘Too Tough To Tame’. Can anyone tame the so-called ‘Beast’ that is Darlington Raceway? At 19 years old, Cole Whitt earned his first career Truck pole, knocking Cup driver Kasey Kahne to 2^nd. Cole would lead the first 22 laps, before being over taken by the veteran. I don’t know if you would call Kasey Kahne a veteran in the Truck series. Before last night’s race, Kasey had made only three starts: twice in 2004 and once last year at Pocono. Then again, Kasey did have two wins and a second-place finish in the series before last night. As I sit here and write this, I kinda feeling like a nerd in my new ‘glasses’.

Anyway, in the true spirit of Darlington, you gotta have some wrecks. 10 to be exact. The most notable, at least the one I remember the most, was the one that happened on the front stretch. Ricky Carmichael gets lose and spins around, hitting the wall. Here’s where it gets interesting. Johanna Long, the 18-year-old, gets a tire cut down from another truck. She come down the front stretch. Ricky is just trying to get out of everybody’s way. BAM! Johanna hits Ricky. Big old pile-up. Red flags the race because there was no room for the trucks to go around the track with out running over a piece of debris.

Can you say D-O-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N? What else would you call Kasey Kahne’s performance last night? Leading 95 of 147 laps, staying in the top-5 ALL night. That’s what I would call it, but then again I have been a Kasey Kahne fan for almost 5 years, so I just could be impartial to the guy. This was Kasey’s second race with Kyle Busch Motorsports (and hopefully not the last! I’m talking to you Kyle!), making his average start for KBM at 1.5 and his average finish with the team the same. His average finish in the series all together is slightly better, at 1.25. Thank you Ray Dunlap for saying that. With the win, Kasey becomes the ONLY driver to win 3 races in his first 4 starts in any top series. I’d say that is pretty damn good. That brings his overall NASCAR wins (Cup, NNS, and Trucks) to 21.

As a die-hard Kasey Kahne fan, I was THRILLED that Kasey won. Ecstatic! I haven’t seen him race a race like that in years. And when he did his post-race interview, I haven’t seen him THAT happy in a long time. Seeing him that happy, made me happy. You don’t feel happy unless your driver is happy, so lately, it’s been not so good for this girl.

What did the fans think of the race?

@Speeds_promdate: outstanding. Showed that anyone was capable of defeating the Lady in Black. All the drivers really pulled their best and some got close, but some failed. As for Kahne, we won and just did an outstanding job. Great truck race

@cruetten: pretty exciting

@TLaut23: not sure I’d call it a race. Not much racing went on. Mostly just crashing :P

@Matt_Kacar: pretty good race, glad Kasey won. Showed that now only [can] Kyle Busch win in his truck

@KK_KFfan4: I loved the truck race

@AngieLuvsMusic: I was thrilled to see Kasey win, especially at the track where he got his first truck win in 2004

@denver2u: a great night for Kasey and all us true fans. He’s got talent, is underrated, but with the right equip[ment], can kick serious butt. Aren’t all us KK fans still smiling today? Absolutely…now he needs a Cup win

@18Winning: I thought it was a good race, was glad Kasey won, but a lot of the inexperienced drivers crashing slowed the flow a bit

As you can probably tell, most people thought that race was good and was glad to see Kasey Kahne in victory lane. The question is now, is this the beginning of a Kahne comeback? This will be sort of answered next time. I will be introducing a round table discussion with a few of my fellow NASCAR bloggers. Stay tuned. You won’t be disappointed.

Talent Knows No Age

Daytona 500 champion. Two-time K&N Pro Series Champion. Grandson of a 6-time Cup champion car owner. Greatest thing since sliced bread. 2010 NASCAR Nationwide series Rookie of the Year. Son of a NASCAR Cup Champion. Talent knows no age. 20. 18. 20. 20. 23. 23. Trevor Bayne, Ryan Truex, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Steve Wallace, among others. All of these drivers have been racing for years, despite what their age says about them. Some of them are young NASCAR champions, others young NASCAR winners.

Joey Logano, born May 21^st 1990. Sliced Bread. Youngest NASCAR Nationwide Series winner at the age of 18 years and 21 days and the youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup series winner at the age of 19 years and 35 days. Logano is now the youngest winner in two of NASCAR'S three top divisions. He is also the first NASCAR driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in NASCAR's three major divisions. Discovered by Mark Martin, Joey would become one of the biggest hypes of the sport in a while. When Logano was 15, Martin said “I am high on Joey Logano because I am absolutely, 100-percent positive, without a doubt that he can be one of the greatest that ever raced in NASCAR. I'm positive. There's no doubt in mind.” (wikipedia) Joey was signed by Joe Gibbs racing in 2008. Despite going winless in 2010, Joey Logano showed promise at the end of last season, posting 5 top-tens in the last 6 starts, crashing out of the season finale at Homestead. 2011 hasn’t gone the way Logano would have wanted, he is currently 30^th in Cup points. Logano has 8 Nationwide wins to his lone Cup win.

Trevor Bayne, born February 19^th 1991. T-Bayne. Youngest driver to win the Daytona 500, surpassing his childhood hero (most likely still his hero), Jeff Gordon by over 5 years. Trevor Bayne showed a lot of promise in his first full year in the Nationwide series, driving for Diamond-Waltrip Racing and then for Roush Fenway Racing. Trevor captured 4 poles, during of them came in the 2010 season right after each other. He was the first driver to do so since Jeff Gordon 19 years ago. His best finish in the series is third at Gateway, where he got the pole. At the age of 19, Trevor made his Sprint Cup debut at Texas Motor Speedway during the chase. Started 25^th and finished 17^th on the lead lap. Bayne is the first driver to be born in 1991 to compete in the top two NASCAR touring series. In his second Cup start, a day after his 20^th birthday, Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, giving Ford it’s 600^th win and giving them a 1-2-3 finish. After his 5th place finish at PIR last week, Bayne sits 6^th in Nationwide points.

Ryan Truex, born March 18^th, 1992. Brother of two-time Nationwide (then Busch) Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. Two-time K&N Pro Series Champion. Developmental driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, Ryan has some big shoes to fill. His brother’s, Cup driver Martin Truex Jr. Ryan won his first K&N championship at the age of 17, only to repeat in 2010. Ryan competed in 6 Nationwide Series races in 2010. He was hoping to run for ROTY in 2011, but that was put on hold when motocross stunt performer Travis Pastrana came into the mix. He will be racing 7 races in the 99. Ryan will also share seat time with older brother Martin as well as Car owner Michael Waltrip. We all hope to see more from the youngster very soon.

Austin Dillon, born April 27^th 1990. 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck series Rookie of the Year. Grandson of Car owner Richard Childress. Dillon currently races for his grandpa’s racing team, Richard Childress Racing, which was made famous by the late Dale Earnhardt. He made his first Camping World Truck Series start at Iowa Speedway, driving the #3 truck, the first time that the number has appeared in the three major series since Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the Nationwide Series back in 2002. He would finish 12th. He got his first truck will there a year later. Austin claimed his second career Truck win at Las Vegas, leading 92 of 146 laps. He finished 2010 with 2 wins, 7 top 5s, and 16 top 10s.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., born October 2^nd, 1987. 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. He currently driver for Roush Fenway Racing. 2010 was an up and down year for Stenhouse, crashing out of 4 of the first 10 races of the season. He was replaced at Brian Ickler for 3 races and Brian Johnson at Watkins Glen. With a veteran crew chief a top of his war wagon, Stenhouse came back, posting a 3^rd place finish at Daytona. He posted 7 top tens and was locked in a tight ROTY battle with Brian Scott, which in the end Stenhouse won after a 4^th place run at Homestead. After three races into the 2011 season, Ricky Stenhouse sits 2^nd in points behind Reed Sorenson.

Steve Wallace, born August 18 1987. Son of 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace. Wallace made his first Nationwide start back in 2005, when it was the Busch series, at Memphis. For the 2006 season, Wallace raced 17 races, sharing the car with Cup driver Jamie McMurray. His first full season was in 2007, where he nab two poles, the first at Bristol and then at Nashville. His first career top five came at Richmond International Raceway on May 2, 2008. Wallace made his Cup debut at Daytona International Raceway for the Daytona 500. As of March 13^th, Steve Wallace has posted 29 top-tens and 2 poles in the Nationwide series. He is currently 14^th in Nationwide points.

Brain Scott, born January 12^th 1988. 2010 Rookie of the Year runner-up. Brian first started competing in the Camping World Truck series in 2007, posting a win (in 2009) and 20 top-tens in the series before moving to the Nationwide series in 2010 for Braun Racing. His best finish in his career is 3rd at Chicago. In September, when Turner Motorsports purchased Braun Racing, it was announced that Brian Scott would be release after the September race at Dover. On September 29, RAB Racing hired Brian to drive its #09 Ford Fusion at Kansas and eventually for the rest of the season. Despite finished 14^th in points and ahead of Ricky Stenhouse, Scott lost the Rookie of the Year battle. Brian will race the #11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing full-time in 2011. He is currently 11^th in Nationwide points

As you can see, Talent knows no age. Whether you’re 18 or 40, if you have talent, it will show. Good luck to all of these drivers in the 2011 season and beyond.

(information came from www.wikipedia.org)

4 tire stop cost Stewart a win at LVMS

Topic of the week. Stewart takes 4 tires on last pit stop, losing the race. It’s a big deal. He said they just gave one away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqC4c9rICRY (Tony Stewart and Juan Montoya Press conference) Did the 14 crew shoot themselves in the foot two weeks in a row? Coming out of Stewart’s mouth, they did. He knew they couldn’t go 2 and a half fuel runs on the same left side tires. What did the fans think about the 14’s decision to take four tires on the last pit stop? Here’s what some of the fans said:

@Matt_Kacar: had no choice cause they couldn’t go two and a half fuel runs on the same lefts

@TLaut23: Dumb, I was yelling that the TV when he took 4 tires

@laura_sspeedfan: I thought it wasn’t the best move. Maybe 2 tires and fuel would of probably gained him the victory

@Nascartalk10: I thought it would help him if they got a caution but they never did so it kinda makes me mad he didn’t win

@nascarchick_3: I thought it was stupid, they took 2 all day, which worked, then decided at the last minute to take 4...I would’ve stuck with what worked

@JakesdogWally20: I think it cost him the race!! 2 probably would’ve been fine, and he probably would’ve kept his track position

@Dennyschick11: well I think he should’ve stuck with 2 because it worked for him the first time. And it wouldn’t have cost him so much time

@atugirl: I thought he was a sitting duck when he took 2. But the position was key. The last time taking 2 might have kept them in the lead, but the people with fresher tires may have driven him down

@kkjlluver: dumb, dumb, why didn’t he stick with 2 tires? Worked all day

@justinnett: I think it could have been interesting if they had taken 2 again. Idk how long they could make it on left side though

@cruetten: by changing four tires when everyone got 2, he gave up all the time he gained when he went with 2 tires on the previous stop. Once he got his track position from the two tire stop, he needed to protect that lead by doing what everyone else was doing no matter what. A very poor decision by the rarely-wrong Grubb

Dustin Rowdy Roberts (Facebook): very bad decision since it put them in a box when the competition would do the opposite

Bradley Huddleston (Facebook): he’s stupid cuz 2 worked before

@Noelle_McKee: well, I thought it was a good call but the mistake that his pit crew made, well, I think he could’ve won it

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. No one had the right or wrong answer.

Here’s what I think. Tony Stewart and 14 crew made the RIGHT decision by taking four tires. Everyone should know that you can NOT go two and a half fuel runs on the same set of tires. You could have a blow-out and ruin your racecar and a chance to win the race. What really HURT the 14 team was the miscue on pit road with the equipment leaving the box. What would have HELPED the 14 team was a caution at the end to bring him right back up to Edwards. I know Tony could have easily won the race, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Tony, I know second sucks after the day you had, but try to be thankful that you didn’t have a wrecked racecar. With your second place finish, you’re leading the points after three races.

Race results

Points standings

PIR, snapping winless streaks and tempers

Phoenix International Raceway. PIR. Second race of the season. Strange, I know, seeming we were just there last November. With the changes to the schedule, NASCAR finds themselves in Arizona once again. Fresh off his Daytona 500 win, Trevor Bayne didn’t have the weekend he wanted. He crashed his primary Cup car and for the first time in his career, he had to go to a back-up car, which he crashed in the race. The Nationwide race didn’t go over as well either. While running seventh, Bayne’s tire blew, wrecking the car and ending his day. Now, let’s…

Sweep.

What does this word mean to NASCAR? How about: when a driver wins all three races at the same track in the same weekend. Or: when a driver wins both races at the same track in one of the touring divisions. Think really hard. Who did this (the first one)? I’ll give ya a hint. 18. It’s not his age or the number of times they were asked if they wanted the Senior Citizens discount at the grocery store. It’s his car/truck number. That’s right Kyle Thomas Busch. Mr. Rowdy Busch. He did it at Bristol last year and it looked like he was going to do it again, until the…

24.

Again not his age or the number of times girls ask them to marry him. It’s the number that has been on his car longer than the 2011 500 champ has been born. (that’s 20 years for those of you who can’t count or are too lazy to.) Jeff Gordon! The original Boy Wonder, who is now sponsor by AARP. He snapped a 66-race winless streak for the 39-year-old driver. He survived the wreck fest, that may have made new…

Feuds.

Love this word. Feud. We’ve seen a lot of this since NASCAR said, ‘Have at it Boys.’. I think those were the drivers favorite words, except for ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’, being said by a busty blond who probably doesn’t know how to turn a regular car on let alone a NASCAR car. Anyways, back to the feuds. I’m going to throw four names at you. Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Brian Vickers (Leprechaun!). Can you put the right names together?………..I’ll make it easier for ya and do it. First: Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Is there or isn’t there? Kyle gets lose and gets passed by Rocket Man Ryan Newman and I think he may have gotten a little pissed at hit Carl, sending him down into the grass, bringing him back up and collecting some of the other drivers. I don’t know what exactly happened there, but I don’t think there is a few going on between those two. BUT! I think Busch should stay away from Edwards at LVMS. Second: Matt Kenseth and Leprechaun, I mean, Brian Vickers. This one is GOOD! The two of them get together. Just a little. The piece of sheet metal sticking out on Kenseth’s car looks to have cut down Vickers tire. Vickers spins, making 12 other cars kind crash into each other. While being interviewed, Vickers blamed Kenseth for racing him too hard. Kenseth came over the radio and said he didn’t touch him. Everyone makes…

Mistakes.

Like this one. The front tire changer on JIMMIE JOHNSON’S car dropped a lug nut, making him lose about 6 spots on pit road. Nice going. The weird thing about it was, Chad didn’t seem angry, just a little upset. Weird. I was expecting Chad to go Carrie on them and kill them with his mind and then somehow set something on fire, further killing him. What wasn’t a mistake was that Kasey Kahne, yes Kasey is being mentioned it here (yeah, big surprise, NOT!) stay OUT of trouble at PIR to come home with a 6^th place finish, his first since the fall of 2006, where Kevin Harvick swept both Cup races. I guess, all these tracks with older racing surfaces are worried about…

Repaving.

Yes! Another track is being repaved, BUT, PIR is being reconfigured. The dog leg, what ever that really means, is being made different. I don’t know how, but it is. So, PIR will never be the…

Same.

Will the chase contenders be different this year or different? With new faces in the top 12, will it be a different year. Or, since we are only 2 races into the new season, just sort itself out and we will see the cream rise to the top? This is where it gets tricky. New points system makes it a little harder to catch up to the leaders. With the guys who are normally at the top at the bottom, will they have a chance to rise to the top, or is it already too late?

Next blog will take your opinions and hopefully get some answers!