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!

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!