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)

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!

Why Trevor Bayne deserves this Cup ride over everybody else

Unless you have been living under a rock or in a different galaxy, you know that Trevor Bayne will be attempting to make his first Sprint Cup race at Texas with three races left in the 2010 season. Everybody that knows me knows that I am a Trevor Bayne fan. when I heard this news, I am pretty fucking excited. Almost as excited as I was when Kasey wasn't racing for RPM anymore. Some people may argue that Trevor Bayne isn't ready to make his Sprint Cup debut. I say other wise. Jack did the right thing by making that decision. Trevor Bayne, 19, has come a long way from where he was a year ago. Three consecuative poles (first time that has been done in the Nationwide Series in 18 years-he was one), five top-five, 12 top-tens. The kid has really shined this year. When news hit that Trevor may not have a ride with DWR (Diamond Waltrip Racing), I will admit I was devastated. I'm nto going to lie, I thought I was going to cry. BUT I didn't. I kept my head led high and told myself, He'll get a ride. no one will let this kid not race. Sure enough, about two days later, Trevor landed a ride with one of my favorite race teams Roush Fenway Racing. For several weeks, Jack Roush was debating on whether or not to have Trevor make the jump to Cup for his first race up in the big leagues. People were saying that he would make that start with RPM. Who would want to make their Sprint Cup debut with that team? So, the whole Trevor making his Cup debut was put on hold until this past week when it was decided that, at Texas, Trevor would try to make his first Cup race with the Wood Brothers in the 21 car. If Trevor makes the race, he will join the likes of Joey Logano as the second driver born in the 1990's to race Cup and the first driver to be born in 1991 (my birth year :D). He would also be the youngest in the field, something Joey has been since the 2009 Daytona 500. This blog isn't about Trevor going to Cup, well it is, but there is something I have to get to here. The fact that he was chosen over the other Roush developmental drivers. Roush has quite a few. Colin Braun, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brian Ickler, just to name a few. I have seen that some people think that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. deserves the Cup ride more than Trevor. Are you huffing something? Trevor is the better driver, hand down. He has run better, has posted better finishes. Who in their right mind would give Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a driver back in spring was close to falling out of the top-30 in owner points, a ride over Trevor Bayne. I'm not saying that I don't like Rucky, I'm not, but Trevor is the better choice for the Cup ride than Ricky. The facts are there, the stats are there. Just face it. Ricky may never make it to Cup. Trevor has a chance to get up to Cup. You gotta face reality sometime. Trevor is the better driver out of the Roush developmental drivers. I am NOT stating an opinion, I am staying a fact. I am sorry if I offended anyone, but it's the truth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fans, if you want to come at me and hang me by a tree for saying what I said, but I know when something should be said. This had to be said. This next part is directed at EVERYBODY. Unless your driver is Jimmie Johnson, there is NO way that your driver is better than everybody else. There is NO way that they are going to win the race unless they do. This is directed at a driver. Trevor Bayne, do let ANYBODY tell you that you can not race at the Cup level. You have to go out there this comign weekend and show them that you may be only 19, but you can run with the big dogs. Don't let anybody put you down. You are Trevor Bayne, 19-year-old NASCAR Nationwide phenomenon. You have the Lord and a lot of people on your side. Go out there and do your best. You WILL make the race and get a good finish. Believe in yourself like I believe in you. Like God believes in you. Like all of your fans believe in you.

Why sometimes I think NASCAR officials are stupid

We all know that I like NASCAR. Hell you can even say that I love NASCAR. I do. But sometimes, I find myself saying "What the Fuck?" Why yo may ask? First thing. Kyle Busch. Yeah, I'm going there. He may be a good driver, but letting him dominate the Nationwide Series when others driver don't even get to race. You can say he is the best driver ever, you can say that he is a dirty racer and whines when he doesn't win. Hell, you can say both. I know for a fact that Kyle Busch is not the best driver ever, but he does race dirty every now and then, even if he doesn't admit it. This whole blog is not about kyle Busch, only a part of it. The whole point I am going to try to make is the fact is how many Cup regulars have won a Nationwide race this season? Here is an easier question. How many Nationwide regulars have won a race this season? If you answered one, you hit it right on the nail. One. Justin Allgaier at Bristol in March. One. Just one. You think there is something wrong with this, then you are right. It's sad that only one Nationwide regular has won this year. This can't keep happening. There are a lot of Nationwide drivers still looking for their first career win, but haven't been able to because Cup guys like Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Carl Edwards are dominating the races. You how long people talked about 19-year-old Trevor Bayne and his three consecutive poles? About from the time it happened to the end on that third race. That was about two days, not even. He was the first driver to that in the Nationwide series in 18 years. he was only a year old. Guess who won that race? Kyle Busch. Surprise? You shouldn't be. Pissed? You should be. I am. Trevor finished 5th in that race. He led the second most laps to race winner Kyle Busch and probably got about 2 minutes of TV time. I didn't get to see the race since I was sitting in the stands at Thuner Hill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin. Trevor has been consistant each week and the Cup guys take top-tens, top-fives, and even wins from him and other Nationwide guys. I can't stress enough that NASCAR should do something about all these Cup guys running full schedules in Nationwide. There are drivers that want to race but can't because they get passed over for a guy with "racing experience". How are the "inexperienced" drivers get the expreience they need by sitting on the sidelines watching the Cup guys race? Prime example. Joe Gibbs Racing*. Let's look at this. Joe Gibbs has Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano in the Cup series and Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Coleman, and Matt DiBennetto for Nationwide series. I will give you two guesses who usually runs the races. If you picked Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, you got it. Matt DiBennetto is only 19 with only a few races under his belt. Before a couple of months ago, Brad Coleman hadn't been in a racecar for about a year. Kyle was last year's Nationwide Champion, but missed the Cup chase. Did running a full schedule fuck him up in the Cup series? I think so. The point here is put Brad Coleman and Matt DiBennetto in the car instead of the Cup regulars. Trade your "experienced" drivers for drivers that need more seat time in the car. Let your Cup regulars run two or three races so that your Nationwide drivers have some insight on what to do. Kyle Busch has been a Cup regular since he was 20 years old. Give someone else a chance to race. NASCAR, you need to do something about this. We will never see Trevor Bayne in Victory Lane if you keep letting the Nationwide Series be raided by Cup drivers. We will never see Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne, Jasson Leffler winning championships if the Cup drivers are running full schedules. I want to see Trevor Bayne in Victory Lane this year. I want to see someone like Justin Allgaier win a NASCAR Nationwide Championship. I want to see more Nationwide drivers in the top ten in points. What can you, NASCAR, do to let this happen? Just think about it.