Why Kenny Francis is my favorite crew chief

Kenny Francis has held quite a few different jobs in NASCAR, but the most important one so far is being Kasey Kahne’s crew chief. Kasey and Kenny have been together since Kasey’s breakout 2006 season, where Kasey and Kenny went on to win a season high of 6 races and finished 8^th in the final standings. After the 2006 season, something went wrong. No, it wasn’t how Kasey was racing or how Kenny was calling the race. It was the unstable ground that these two were on. Evernham Motorsports, with all their merges, almost screwed Kasey and Kenny.

But, in 2010, Kasey got a dream ride; driving for RickHendrick. Now, the question that was on everyone’s mind, not just the Kasey fans, was if Kenny was going to head to Hendrick with Kasey. How could he not?
Hendrick is the best team in NASCAR. Such a great opportunity for both! Later that year Kenny made a decision. He was going to leave Richard Petty Motorsports and head to Hendrick with Kasey in 2012.

What about 2011? Kenny andKasey headed to the now dissolved Red Bull Racing for one year. Kasey finishedout the 2010 season at Red Bull and without Kenny. 2012 is going to bring so much to the table for both Kasey and Kenny. So much opportunity to shine and show the skeptics that they can win races and compete for championships.

Now on to what this is really all about. Ever since Kenny was paired with Kasey in 2006, I’ve been a fan. Kenny and Kasey work so well together. It’s amazing really, how well they work together. You don’t see that kind of relationship between drivers and their crew chiefs anymore.

Kenny is my favorite crew chief for many reasons. You’ll never see Kenny crack under pressure. Kenny is so calm and collected; you would never really know what he’s thinking. He has such a good way of hiding that. He doesn't let anything faze him. Even when he’s happy, Kenny keeps all his emotions in check. One of my favorite things about Kenny is when he‘s talking to Kasey on the radio and he says things like ‘Go
hard.’ makes me take in a completely different way. It’s very funny. I love how he works with Kasey. Even though he’s a crew chief, he still thinks like an engineer. He has an engineer’s brain and the brain of a race. Kenny spent his early years as a racer from Florida, but decided to pursue a job other than
racing.

Kasey and Kenny are a lot alike. Kasey and Kenny don’t do a lot of talking, so I think that’s how Kenny knows how to work with Kasey so well. I think that’s how Kenny knows how to talk to Kasey. They learn so much from each other and it’s great to listen to them talk on the radio or interact before a race. I don't think people know how much Kasey and Kenny are alike. They never really been ones to talk a lot. They are both quiet guys and I think that's how Kenny knows how to work with Kasey. They've never gotten mad at each other, which is a really good thing.

Kenny is probably one of the most UNDERRATED crew chiefs in the garage and one of the smartest too. There are a lot of people in the Hendrick camp that are thrilled to have Kenny on the team. Chad Knaus is excited to learn different things from Kenny. As I recall, Chad called himself a Kenny Francis fan. Who wouldn’t want to be a Kenny Francis fan? I am super confident about the 2012 season for Kasey and
Kenny. With Hendrick equipment and the insight from the other crew chiefs, 2012 may very well be the start of an amazing partnership with Kenny Francis and Hendrick Motorsports.

An 81 race winless streak snapped at PIR

Kasey Kahne is a winner in the Cup Series again, snapping a career long 81 race winless streak this weekend at PIR. Kasey, who failed to make the Chase this season, has been on fire during these final races, firing off finishes of 12^th, 15^th, 4^th, 2^nd, 4^th, 25^th, 3^rd, and his first win since 2009. Kasey’s finish of 25^th was his worse finish since September, when he was wrecked out of the Richmond race, finishing 38^th.

Title contenders Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart finished right behind him in second and third respectively. Coming into the race at Phoenix, Carl Edwards had a three point lead over Tony Stewart. Coming out, Carl has a three point lead over Tony. Carl and Tony were the only ones mathematically still in it to win the championship, meaning Jimmie Johnson wasn’t going to win his 6^th straight championship.

Kahne, who is making the jump to Hendrick Motorsports, has one race left with Red Bull Racing, Homestead-Miami. After a not so good regular season, Kasey surged in the Chase. Going into the last race of the season, Kasey Kahne has earned the third-most points behind Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart and has an average finish of about 7^th.

Kahne Nation came into full force after the race. Watching Kasey win that race on Sunday had to be one of the best feelings to have as a Kasey Kahne fan.

But Sunday wasn’t just about Kasey Kahne’s win. One of the biggest stories coming out of Phoenix is that Jimmie Johnson will NOT win a 6^th consecutive championship. Everyone has been eliminated from the Chase except for Carl and Tony. Vickernism came back when Brian Vickers wrecked Matt Kenseth. They go back to Martinsville when Vickers’ car became a demo car after a demolition derby. He had a few run-ins with Matt Kenseth, basically taking Matt out of the championship hunt. Vickers’ 2012 future is still unknown since Red Bull Racing is closing its doors after 4 full seasons in the Cup series. Cole Whitt made his Cup debut with RBR, finishing 25^th.

Who has the most momentum going into the final race in the Chase? Carl Edwards? Tony Stewart? Kasey Kahne? How will Homestead fair for the drivers? How will this race impact the championship? How will the other racers race the final two Chase drivers? Will Tony Stewart wreck Carl Edwards if he had the chance? Will Carl do the same? You’re just going to have to watch to find out.

Silly season keeps getting sillier

Everyone knows that this time of the season is where contracts gets signed, drivers move to different teams, and drivers just lose their rides. When you thought nothing could top last year’s big silly season story (Kasey Kahne signing a contract with Hendrick Motorsports), we get plenty this season. The biggest free agent was Carl Edwards. He didn’t know if he wanted to stay with current team Roush Fenway Racing or move to a different team. Joe Gibbs Racing was seeking interest with Edwards, even a rumor came about that Carl was going to take over the 20 car, moving Joey Logano to a fourth car. Eventually, Carl re-signed with Roush.

So, the biggest free agent after that was Clint Bowyer. Clint bowyer started his Cup career with Richard Childress Racing after Clint got a phone call from Childress at the body shop where he worked back in Emporia Kansas. Earlier this season, Clint had said that he wanted to finish his career with RCR. But, that all change when it was announced that Clint was leaving RCR and going to MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing).

Okay, so that takes care of 2 drivers. What about the rest?

Let’s talk about Mark Martin. Currently driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Mark’s future in the sport looked cloudy. Kasey Kahne is taking over the 5 car in 2012, leaving Mark out of a ride. What is he going to do? Was he going to go back to where everything started, the Nationwide series? Everything seemed to be falling apart for Mark, until…this. This weekend, it was announced that Mark Martin was going to be the driver of the 00 car for MWR for a limited schedule. 25 races over the next two seasons to be exact. But, wait? Doesn’t David Reutimann drive the 00 car?

Not anymore. It was also announced that David Reutimann would not return to MWR after the 2011 season. Now Reutimann is out of a ride.

Silly season is a way for owners to look for new talent and for drivers to look at new opportunities. Some drivers don’t get as lucky as other drivers. The only thing a ride-less driver to do is find a ride.

Who will break their winless streak first?

Running out of gas in a green-white-checkered while leading. Running out of gas 500 feet from your first checkered flag in over 100 races. Everyone hates having a winless streak. Several drivers have them. Some drivers haven’t won in years, and some haven’t won at all. Some of the more notable drivers in that winless streak group are fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, and Martin Truex Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drives the Number 88 National Guard Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, has been winless since 2008 when he won a single race in that season at Michigan in June. The next two seasons were not stellar for the 36-year-old. 2011 has been a big turn-around for the driver. Sitting fourth in points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been there to contend for wins.

Kasey Kahne, who drives the number 4 Red Bull Toyota for Red Bull Racing, has been winless since 2009 when won twice in the Cup series, the most recent coming at Atlanta in September. The 2010 season wasn’t a great one, despite a streak of 3 out of 4 races with a top 5 in the summer months. He finished his worst in the points standings last season, 20^th. Kasey signed with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, leaving 2011 undetermined. 2011 has been a sort of slow start for Kahne, though he’s had some almost wins.

Jeff Burton, the driver of the Number 31 CATERPILLER Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, has been winless since 2008, winning the Bank of America 500. With the success of his teammates, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick and his new teammate Paul Menard, Jeff has been trying to keep up to par with the likes of them, but 2011 has been liking Burton this year.

Martin Truex Jr., the driver of the 56 Napa Know How Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, has been winless since 2007 when he won at what he considers his home track, Dover, which propelled him to his first and only chase seed. For the 2010 season, Martin made the move to Michael Waltrip Racing. In 2011, Martin has had some bad luck, wrecking at Martinsville, Texas; had pit problems several times, even fired his whole crew during a race.

The big question right now, with 13 races to go before the chase, is when are these four drivers going to break their winless streak, if at all. After 116 votes from my Facebook fan page, 62 people voted that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would go to Victory Lane before the others. 46 people said that Kasey Kahne would. Only one said Martin Truex Jr., and seven said Jeff Burton.

I picked Kasey Kahne. Why you may ask? It’s not because I’m a huge fan of his. It’s because there are so many tracks that are coming up that Kasey is really good at and has won at. Kasey has won at Pocono (where they are running this weekend), he’s won at Michigan (next week’s track), Sonoma, Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte. There are some tracks that Kasey’s not very good at, but he always makes it up by running good at another track.

Whether you’re a Kasey Kahne fan or a Kyle Busch fan, you hate seeing your driver in a winless slump. It happens and there’s nothing you can really do about it. If the driver is good enough, that winless steak will end and a winning streak will start.

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.

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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.

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!

NASCAR 2010: What do you remember the most?

The 2011 NASCAR season is fast approaching. 100% of all race fans have been wanting more racing since Homestead. I know I have. I actually sort of filled the void of no NASCAR with a little football, seeing my favorite team lose one of the worst games I have ever seen and seeing my home team, the Green Bay Packers, win the Super Bowl. Now, that football is over, we can get all of our minds back on racing. A while ago, I took a poll. ‘Who do you think is going to win the Daytona 500?’. Most people said Kasey Kahne. This blog post isn’t really a poll. It’s just me wondering something.

Everyone has their favorite moments in NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1998, Kevin Harvick winning at Atlanta after Dale Sr.’s death are some of my favorites. When you look back at the 2010 season, there were so many moments that stuck in race fans minds. Jamie McMurray winning three of the biggest races of the season, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick feud, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton going at it, and Kasey Kahne leaving RPM early. I asked people ‘What was your favorite moment from last year’s NASCAR Cup season?’. I wasn’t seeing which moment was the most popular, I just simply wanted to know. I have to say, watching Jamie McMurray cry in Victory Lane at Daytona made me cry. It was so emotional for him. His dad had left the track before the race ended, so he wasn’t there. Some of the big headlines of the season made my list. ‘Kasey Kahne released from RPM early, goes to Red Bull Racing to finish the season’. Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick get into it at Pocono after Kevin spun Joey out to get a position. I have to wonder, what is going to happen in the 2011 season? Are we going to see more ‘Have at it, Boys!’? Are we going to see someone break into Victory Lane? Are we finally going to see someone beat Jimmie Johnson in the points? Action starts with the Bud Shootout, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX!

(Picture: Jamie McMurray crying in Victory Lane after winning the Daytona 500)

Why Driver/crew chief relationships are important

In NASCAR, you have to have a good relationship with your crew chief in order to be successful. We've all seen what Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knuas can do together. Steve LeTarte and Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and Greg Zipadelli, Denny Hamlin and Mike Ford, Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis. These are some of the more well known driver/crew chief in NASCAR. Most of the time, they get along, but some times, it doesn't go over so well. Rick Hendrick almost split Jimmie and Chad up because they kept fighting. What makes now so different than a few years ago. Jimmie and Chad still yell at each other. As a driver, you HAVE to have faith and trust in your crew chief. How are you two going to work if you don't have either of those? Everybody can say that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knuas are the best driver/crew chief combo in NASCAR, but they are not. I know they have the 50+ wins and the 5 championships, but they don't quite mesh together as well as a certain driver/crew chief combo. Here's a hint for you. These to have ten wins together, but have recently been separated due to the fact that the driver was release early from his contract. Give up? It's Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis. These two may not be as successful as Jimmie and Chad, but they have something they don't. Respect for each other. I'm not saying that they don't, I'm saying is that they don't that the relationship that Kasey and Kenny have. When Kasey gets angry, Kenny doesn't yell back. He tries to calm his driver down. You never seen them angry at each other. One driver/crew chief relationship that doesn't work is Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Lance McGrew. Going back to what Kyle Busch said back in 2008 about Rick making Lance Dale's crew chief, "It's always the crew chief, never the driver." In this case, it is the crew chief. From what I have heard, Lance doesn't listen to Dale. They are not meshing. What I think should happen is when Kasey goes to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 is Kasey should bring Kenny with him as his crew chief of the 5, Alan goes to the 88, and Rick gets rid of Lance completely. Lance is not helping the situation at ALL. You see, driver/crew chief relationships are very important in this sport. (Note: I think Kenny Francis should get a twitter account.)

Cup race at Texas was pretty fucking hilarious

YES! I used an obscene word in my title. How else am I suppose to describe yesterday's race? I mena, between Denny getting the win and the points lead, a double Jeff fight on the back stretch which, my driver Kasey Kahne wanted to stop and watch them go at it, and the very obscene hadn gesture Kyle Busch gave an official, it was really fucking hilarious.
YES! Denny Hamlin has the points lead by 33 points over Jimmie Johnson. Stat: every year since the Chase started, the points leader with two races to ago has won the championship. Just food for thought there.
YES! Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton got into a fight on the back stretch after the two of them got tangled up under caution. I have to say that everytime I saw the fight, I hade to laugh. I thought it was funny! Not to play favorites here, but I would have gone with Burton.
YES! Kyle Busch gave a NASCAR official the finger while he was held for a lap for speeding on pit road. That got him two more laps. I think maybe the old Kyle Busch is back, but that's just me.
At the end of the night, Denny Hamlin came out victorious. He almost finished second to Matt Kenseth, IF Matty didn't hit the wall after passing him for the lead. Does that remind you of anybody back in 2008 at Kansas? Carl Edwards pretty much did the same thing trying to beat Jimmie Johnson for the title and the race. Can you believe it's been almost two years since we've seen Carl Edwards in Victory Lane in Cup?
YES! Trevor Bayne DID make the race! *Sings* Happy, Happy, Happy! YES! He DID finish on the lead lap! YES! He DID finish 17th, ahead of some of the chase drivers. Isn't that awesome? I think so. The kid is so amazing! (I know I shouldn't be calling him a kid cuz he's older than me, but all well!)He never went a lap down, he passed quite a few really good drivers out there. he qualified 28th but had to start in the back because of a transmission change. he dug and dug and got a great finish for his first Cup race!
He did better than Joey did in his first Cup race. Speaking of Jo-Lo, he finished 4th after leading some laps. Now, that kid is really proving himself, trying to get career win number 2. After finishing 27th the week before, Kasey Kahne finished 13th, his best finish with the new team. I predict that Kasey Kahne will break into Victory Lane before the end of the season at either Phoenix or Homstead. He is a great driver and he refuses to give up.
Now, on to Nationwide. I don't usually do this, but I think it deserves some words. Carl Edwards won the race and Brad Keselowski wrapped up the driver's Championship for Roger Penske's first NASCAR championship. They are trailing the owner's championship to Joe Gibb's #18 Toyota by 80 points, so these last two races are going to be tough ones. so congratulations to both Roger and Brad.
So what does the nest two races have in store for Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick? I don't know, so we are all going to have to find out!

Kahne out of the 9 car, Almirola in

We all knew this day was coming, but did anybody think it would come 5 races before the end of the season? I sure didn't. The decision came days after Kasey's brakes failed for the second time in three weeks. Kasey was furious. Who wouldn't be? He had two great practices and his brakes fail about 30 laps into the race. Havig no brakes caused him to wreck with Sam Hornish Jr. He brought the car to the garage. He was physically sick, saying her threw up. People are saying that he was just mad and not sick. It could be the reason but we don't really know. What made him even more mad was a RPM employee came up to him saying that he needed to start doing his part. How can he do his part when he is getting shitty equipment? I know he had only 5 races left until he and crew chief Kenny Francis make the more to Red Bull. Now, with Kasey making the move early, will Kenny do so as well? Another question is, what made RPM decide to release Kasey from his contract early? Did they finally realize that Kasey knew that they were screwing him over? Something like this is not going to quiet him. This absolutely disgusts me. I have been a fan of Kasey Kahne's for almost four years and NEVER in those years have I EVER been upset with his raceteam like I have been for the past few months. Ever since RPM heard that Kasey wasn't returning to the organization, they decided to give up on him. Since Richard PEtty joined them right before the 2009 season, they have a total of 2 wins, both of which have come from Kasey. They have a chase appearance, from Kasey. Can you see the pattern here? Kasey WAS the best driver at the organization and they just threw that away. Who is Kasey going to be passing the torch to at RPM? Can any of them live up what Kasey as done? He has 11 wins, 49 top-five and has led 3,011+ laps in his career. None of them have come close. Elliott has three wins (none with the organization), AJ and Paul have none. Kasey has pulled the wagon for the organization since 2006, where he won 6 races and finished 8th in the chase. Richard Petty Motorsports, in my opinion, is one of the WORST teams in NASCAR. I know it's mean to say, but it's true. They all have their heads up their asses. There is NO team out there that would screw over a driver that wasn't renewing their contract with the team. You can say everything that went wrong with Kasey's cars this season was an accident, but you tell me why Kasey had brake problems TWICE in THREE weeks? FISHY!!! After the whole 'Kasey released from RPM' thing, Kasey tweeted about his day: 'Just finished testing Sprint cars in South Carolina. Went real well. Sounds like I have lots to do tomorrow!' I wonder what he meant by the last part. Is it referring to Sprint Cars or Sprint Cup? There's only one way to find out. Kasey tell us! All of RPM's drivers are racing at Martinsville, BUT RPM MAY BE CLOSING UP SHOP! This is because they are losing funding from RFR (Roush Fenway Racing). Parts and cars were taken back to RFR this week. The Petty name is slowly fizzling out of NASCAR. Back to Kasey. Kasey WILL be racing this weekend and the rest of this season with Red Bull in the 83 car, which was previously going to seat Aric Almirola, but he is taking over Kasey's old ride. Next year, Kasey will be in the 82 car, BUT it won't be the 82. it's going to be the 84. Why? Kasey's number racing Sprint cars was 84. Now, you're probably asking 'what about Scott Speed?' I have one thing to say about that. I HAVE NO IDEA!!!

Things that piss me off about NASCAR

I love this sport, but some things really get on my nerves. I already wrote about one of them, now for three others. I am warning you now, if you don’t like my ranting, please do not read, but please tell your friends that like ranting to come read. Every so often I find something about NASCAR that really pissing me off. Drivers, races, situations, feuds, and plenty more other things.

The first thing that is pissing me off right now is ESPN’s coverage of this past Sunday’s Cup race, or the lack there of. Commercials at the wrong place, showing the wicked witch of the West all the time, and not showing the reason for a debris caution. With that let’s go deeper into the last debris caution. Kasey Kahne, in my opinion the hottest driver in NASCAR, hit the wall, causing some things from his car to fall onto the track. Now, show of hands, how many people actually knew why exactly the caution came out? Unless you were listening to his radio or someone told you, you didn’t know. ESPN failed to broadcast that over the air. The reason why THIS pisses me off is because ESPN doesn’t understand that unless they show it on TV, people watching at home are NOT going to know what happens. Another thing. Commercial breaks. Taking a break after 7 laps is NOT cool. Taking a break with 15 laps to go is NOT cool. Another thing. Interviews. Perfect example. Danica Patrick. She was interviewed BEFORE the third place finisher at last week’s Nationwide race. Another thing about ESPN. Go back a couple of months to when Trevor Bayne won three poles in a row. How long to do think they talk about that? About two days, until a Cup regular won the race. ESPN gives Cup regulars more coverage during the nationwide race.

Next thing Richard Petty Motorsports. They really piss me off because since Kasey decided to leave them at the end of the year, they decided to give him crappy equipment and give the team mate wrecker AJ Allmendinger everything. Kasey and Elliott are getting the short end of the stick over there and AJ is being treated like the favorite child. It really pisses me off.

NASCAR fueds: are they or aren't they?

Everybody keeps talking about who is going to be the next feud. Just this season, we have seen quite a few 'feuds'. But the question is, are they really feuds or are they just drivers getting aggravated this each other on the track. First example: Brad Keselowski vs. Carl Edwards. It looks like Brad is pissing in pretty much every body's cornflakes these days. First 'sighting' of a feud? April, Talladega, 2009. Edwards into the catch fence as Keselowski goes to Victory Lane. Second sighting? March, Atlanta, 2010. Two offences here. Edwards with trouble after Keselowski spins him (i think). Keselowski flipped up into the wall, Edwards driving away. The most recent sighting? July, Gateway 2010. Final lap. Keselowski turned into the wall, causing a big pile up, Edwards going to Victory Lane. Is this a feud or is this just racing? They both said that they have no beef with each other, but after four offences , two for each, I'm thinking maybe it could be a feud. Brad has gotten into Hamlin for about half of last year's Nationwide season. That was a feud. Next person. Kevin Harvick. This one is a good one. Kevin has had 'feuds' with people ever since he started in the sport. Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano just to name a few. I am more up to code with the Harvick/Logano thing. Both offences I have seen, Kevin Harvick is the one who is guilty. The most recent? Pocono, June 2010. Joey has fifth. Kevin doesn't. Joey gives him room. Kevin doesn't take it and he spins him out. Joey comes back to finished 13th. Joey, not a very happy camper, calls Harvick the 'F' word and after the race, has to be retrained from getting at Harvick. Just a few months later, Joey accidently spins Ryan Newman and Ryan gets angry with Joey. Joey, only 20, calmly tries to talk to Ryan, but Ryan wouldn't listen. Ryan is a big guy, so naturally, he goes after the skinnier guys. Last Saturday at Atlanta, He spun Nationwide driver Trevor Bayne. Sunday night, Ryan Newman gets into Chase hopeful, Kasey Kahne, causing him to get into Kurt Busch. Kasey finished 32nd. Ryan ruined Kasey's chances of winning the race and getting into the Chase. The best 'feud' I have seen this season has to be between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. You see these everywhere in the sport. I guess you can say it is what makes the sport interesting. What doesn't make it interesting is when a driver gets taken out by his team mate. Kasey Kahne and Elliot Sadler can account to that one. Kasey at Pocono in June and Elliott there in August. The offender? AJ Allmendinger. June. AJ pushed Kasey into the grass, causing Kasey to come up back on the track and wreck about four other cars. August. Kurt Busch starts an accordion effect through the field, AJ doesn't slow, causing him to hit Elliott. Elliott spins and goes spinning into the inside reattaining wall, his engine flies out of of his car. Feuds can make or break you. You have to choose whether or not it's going to do something with it or not.

Everything about me is NASCAR

When you look at someone, what do you see?
Do you see the color of their eyes?
Do you see the color of their hair, their skin?
What do you see when see me?
Everything about me is NASCAR.
The way I walk, the way I dress, the way I am.
You can look at me and roll your eyes, talk about me behind my back.
Everything about me is NASCAR.
The way I act, the way I talk, the way look at you.
You can say anything you want about me, you can just walk away.
Everything about me is NASCAR
I live, breath, drink NASCAR
All I have that won't leave is NASCAR.
I walk with it,
I talk with it,
Everything about me is NASCAR
I am who I am because of it.
I watch Kasey Kahne every week,
I watch Joey Logano every week.
I talk about it
I think about it
No matter what I do, it's there.
Circling around me
Following me around every turn
Holding my hand every step of the way
You can't take it away from me.
It is always there
Everything about me is NASCAR
What you don't see
What you don't hear
What you refused to see, hear, feel
It's what make me, me
Everything about me is NASCAR
You say it's stupid
You say there's no point
You say "all they do is go in circles"
But, you don't know
Have you ever even tried to watch?
Everything about me is NASCAR
You can't change me
You can't make me not like it.
You can't tell me it's stupid
You can't look at me and roll your eyes
Everything about me is NASCAR
I walk with the others,
the other fans
walking with the drivers
standing by our men
being excited from the drop of the green flag
to the checkered flag
no matter how dominant one driver gets
I will always watch it because
Everything about me is NASCAR

Reuty's night

Just days after the birth of his frist child, Jimmie Johnson took the green flag in second. Jeff Gordon was about to make his 600th start. Landon Cassill was going to make his 2nd cup start. Kasey Kahne was hoping to finish in the top-five for the 4th time in the last five starts And David Reutimann had no idea what was in store for him. Jamie McMurray led the field to the green, but was quickly overtaken by none other than Jimmie Johnson. Surprise!! Jimmie would lead until grean flag pit stops where he makes a roookie mistake. His misses pit road. He loses the lead to pole sitter and evenual 5th place finisher, Jamie McMurray. That didn't stop Jimmie. he ran down 2nd and then ran down Jamie to take the lead back. Caution. Restart. Jimmie Spins. Caution again. Jimmie never really recovered from that. Went 2 laps down. Got a lap back. Hit the wall, went another 2 laps down. He's not the only driver high up in points that had problems that night. Points leader Kevin Harvick also had problems. Now, to about the last 70 laps. Your leader, Jeff Gordon. Your 2nd place car, David Reutimann*. Reuty wears him down for about 18 laps. with 52 laps to go, Reuty takes the lead. He never looks back. Carl Edwards finished 2nd, Jeff Gordon finished 3rd, Clint Bowyer finished 4th and Jamie MacMurray finished 5th. On a more serious note, Kasey Kahne, the 6th place finisher, came over his radio stating the he was dizzy and nauseous. It night have be Carbon Monoxide poisoning. But, after several tweets, his publicist said he was just fine. Congratulations to David Reutimann on his second career win!
*(Note: david Reutimann was in teh top-five all night. Plus he got that stupid asterik erased from by his 1st win!)

I'm getting really mad at Kevin Harvick right now

First off, welcome to my blog. i didn't get to say this when I first started because well, I forgot. Now on to the goodies, or with a title like this one, I guess you have to say baddies, if that's even a word. First order of business. Kevin Harvick won last night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Second order of business. Jimmie Johnson crashed out with about 13 laps to go along with half the field. Third order of business. Despite being in pretty much all the wrecks last night, Kurt Busch managed to finish 7th. Out of the three business orders I mentioned, I am only happy about one. Can you guess? Yes, you guessed it. The one about Jimmie Johnson. What the hell is Kurt Busch's problem? I mean, he crashed out like 10 guys and he gets a top-ten out of it? and Kevin Harvick, you have a nice lead, i know it will go away once the chase starts, but the guy the finished behind you, the perfect haired, perfect everything Kasey Kahne, needed the win a lot more than you did. I mean coming in to last night's race, he was 20th in points and 174 points back. Well, I guess you already guessed the second place guy, huh? Yeah, my man, Kasey Kahne, finished second. That would make three top-five finishes in four races. It would have been four top-fives in four races, if his engine didn't go in last week's race at Loudon. all i have to say is thank god I beat my grandpa in our weekly bet. He has Jeff Gordon, the race's third place finisher and I have Kasey, the sexy runner-up guy. That's three out of four, should have been four out of four, but all well. Dale Jr. had a solid night last night, finishing fourth after winning the night before in the Nationwide race in the Wrangler 3 car his dad made famous. Rounding out the top-five was Kevin Harvick's team mate Jeff Burton. With 13 laps to go, Kurt Busch (surprise, surprise) gets in it with Jeff Burton, bundling up the rest of the field. Well, you can only imagine what happens next. Oh yeah, the BIG one! The 09, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 20, 31, 38, 39, 42, 47, 48, 77, 78, 82, 83, 98 were all involved and two of your top-five finishers were in there. Now, what is going to happen next week? Can Kasey Kahne finally pull off a win? Can he get into the Chase? I guess we all have to find out next Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL Which is 264 miles from my current city! Food for thought. See ya!

How I became a Kasey Kahne fan in a half of a race

Everyone can probably recall how they became fans of their favorite driver. Maybe they can describe it better than I can do for myself. Maybe theirs is probably more glamorous than mine, but I can assure you mine is worth hearing. I had always been a NASCAR fan. In the late 1990's, like my dad, I was a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan, but then again, how can a eight-year-old pick a different driver when all that was in the house was Dale Sr. fans. In 2001, when Dale Sr. die, I knew that I did not want to like the same driver as my dad. So I decided i needed to find a new driver. That was when i saw Dale Jarrett race for the first time in my eyes. I knew then that I had found my new favorite driver. Now, this lasted for about two years until i decided not to watch NASCAR anymore. i wouldn't watch another race until May of 2006, three years after my last. I can tell you right now that i didn't watch the whole thing though. I was upstairs in my room. For some reason, I don't remember what, I came down the stairs to find my dad, a Dale Jr. fan, watching the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 on FOX. Intrigued, I sat down in the nearest spot and started watching. On a commercial break, they showed a Kasey Kahne commercial. I thought, "Man, he's cute!" As the night went on, Kasey Kahne raced the best race I had every seen in years! right then and there I knew I had found my new favorite driver. I had said this out loud and my sister Rachael had said the words I will never forget. "You only like him because you like he's cute!" Well, she wasn't entirely wrong though. What she had wrong was the fact that wasn't the only reason I like him. I knew he was a great driver and he could win races. Till this day, I remain a Kasey Kahne fan, watching him go to victory lane countless times, watching him barely miss a win, watching his engines blow, watching him make the chase for the first time in his career, sticking with him as he had a bad season in 2007, going win less that same year, watching him go back to victory lane at the same place I watched him go to victory just two years before, just barely missing the chase. As you can see, I have been behind Kasey Kahne for four years and I am pretty sure that I will still be his fan until the day I die. I am a die-hard Kasey Kahne and proud of it! A true NASCAR fan sticks with their driver through good times and bad, not jumping ship when things don't go your way. If someone would call me an obsessed fan girl of Kasey Kahne, I wouldn't deny it. I would proudly say, "Yes, I am! Do you have a problem with that?" and proudly display my alliance with Kasey on my shirt and root for him every weekend no matter what! I can proudly say that Kasey Kahne made me like NASCAR again.

Why does everytime Kasey Kahne is going for a win, he gets screwed?

Okay, I have a good question. Why does every time Kasey Kahne is going for a win, he gets screwed. For the past 4 weeks he was in contention for the win and either someone passes him with like four laps to go, his team mate take him out (damn you, AJ! Yeah I am still mad at you!), or his engine blows after leading the most laps. Why does everything have to happen to my man? Really? What do I have to do, what do the fangirls of Kasey have to do in order for Kasey to get his first win of the season? What do I have to do in order for Kasey to make the Chase? Why does Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have to be winning all the races and guys like Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, David Ragan, Clint Bowyer, and countless others are still waiting for their first win of the season and some their first win of their career. 52 times we have watched Jimmie Johnson go to victory lane. I am sick of seeing him win. You know what I what to see? Kasey Kahne go to victory lane. Let's look at something. 2004, Kasey Kahne gets 5 runner-up finishes. A couple of those he had for a victory when it just slipped away. Why? Did God say, "no, not yet."? Well, why not? Why couldn't have he went to victory lane in his rookie year. Did you think he was not good enough for victory lane yet? My man keeps getting screwed and i can't handle it anymore! So many times in his career , he had victories and God had said, "no, not yet. It's not your turn yet." But, how come he had it is his turn only 11 times, when he has said it was Jimmie's turn 52 times? Is God playing favorites. Why does Kasey keep getting screwed? Why does he keep getting run it to and run over? Why does he keep getting the expiring engines? Why does Kasey have to be the loser in a three-wide situation? Why does other drivers think that, "Oh, he doesn't matter. he won't be mad at me if i do this."? Let me tell you something? He does matter. He does care if you do something to him. You know something else? I care what you do to him. All the fangirls care what you do to him. So, you know what? Stop screweing him over. The only reason you would do something like that is because you know would beat you bad later in the race. I think i might have gone off topic a bit. People might just say it is just bad luck. I say it is getting scrwed over by everyone who just doesn't care. By everyone who thinks the guys who dominate this sport are more worthy, I guess is the word, at a win or a championship than Kasey. I just can't take it. Everytime he is cheated, I die a little inside. I died a little today when i saw his engine blew. Kasey shouldn't be cheated out of anything he is in contention for. A win, a top-five, a top-ten. i just can't stress enough how much Kasey Kahne gets cheated and screwed over in this sport! Every week from now until Kasey Kahne gets a win, i will get angrier and angrier, until my head explodes! Now, I guess I have to pray every day that Kasey gets a win next week or I will not have a head anymore! I love Kasey Kahne, and he can't keep getting screwed over and he can't keep getting cheated.