Five Down...

Five races into the Nascar season and a number of traits are already developing.

The end of Bristol is always a nerve wracking time, with the dreaded Top-35 standings coming into play. Up until the fifth race, teams who were in the Top-35 last season are guaranteed a starting spot. From the sixth race on, the Top-35 is based on the current year’s owner standings.

Much like Formula One, it has been difficult to gauge how things would sort themselves out when we got racing. The testing ban adds a lot of unknown factors in the run up to a season. Already, we are seeing cases where it may be having an effect. Going into Martinsville, I want to pick out the major trends to watch over the rest of the season.

Kyle Busch is back!
It is like the last ten races of 2008 never happened. (For those of you who don’t know, the #18 crashed and burned in The Chase.) Kyle is back to what he does best, winning races – and not just in the Sprint Cup. He has already secured victories in the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. If he keeps up this pace, he could easily surpass the twenty-one wins in all competitions he took last year.

Of course, winning races in the regular season is one thing, what the #18 have to prove is that last year’s Chase was a once-off. He can all the races he wants now, but at the end of the day people remember the champion.

Jeff Gordon is back (too)!
Last season was struggle for the four time champion, who clearly was at odds with the Car of Tomorrow. Yet, despite a lack of pre-season testing, Gordon has been on fire this year. A victory is just around the corner for the #24. His consistent run through the first five races sees him perched on top of the standings, with four top-10’s out of five so far.

Rookie Struggles
I spoke above concerning where the pre-season testing ban appeared to be having an effect. Judging by the performances of Logano and Speed, the two official participants in the Rookie of the Year have both failed to set the world alight.

I still think it was too much, too soon for both. Red Bull obviously hasn’t learned from the grooming troubles with AJ Allmendinger. Speed was poor towards the end of last year, a clear indicator that there would be trouble. The Formula One exile could have done with cutting his teeth in the Nationwide Series for a year.

The same can be said about Logano. The much heralded talent has been trust into the spotlight and has yet to shine in it. All the talent in the world can’t save you from feeling the psychological knocks you take when things go bad.

Going into Martinsville, Logano is just inside the Top-35, insuring him that he will be in the field. A good result is necessary for the youngster, which may not possible on the unforgiving short track. Scott Speed finds himself on the outside looking in and will have to make the race on time.

For the second season in a row, it appears that there will be another lacklustre year for Rookies. Coincidently, Nascar has been using the new car for two years now. Is there a link? Or is it the lack of testing that is really hindering the class of ’09. Maybe Nascar should take a page out of the Indy Racing League’s book, and offer rookies additional practice sessions to make up the miles.

Stewart a success, so far
I couldn’t have predicted we would see Smoke inside the Top-12 at this early stage. Despite backing from Hendricks, I expected teething problems with the new team. But judging on Stewart’s first five, it looks like he hasn’t skipped a beat.

Team-mate Newman has been less fortunate in the luck department, with a myriad of issues giving him cause to sweat going into Bristol. A strong result has elevated him up the rankings and if the car stays together, both cars have the speed to give the front runners something to think about.

Roush Woes?
It has been hard to read the Ford super-team so far. Two wins opened the season courtesy of Matt Kenseth but the championship hasn’t been set ablaze in the way I thought it would. On top of it all, the team has had to deal with a slew of reliability issues in the engine department.

Carl Edwards has been consistent, but has shown none of that raw speed that saw him win nine races last year. The likable Missouri native still finds himself fifth in the standings. Kenseth has gone steadily backwards since his back to back wins. Biffle, Ragan and McMurray, who were all tipped for stand out years currently, find themselves mired mid-back. Granted, it is early days in the season, but gaps can quickly become too big to bridge.

Money
With the world finances up a certain creek without a paddle, it was an easy guess that by this stage, we would be looking at the loss of teams due to lack of sponsorship.

The first victim at the time of writing is Travis Kvapil. Kvapil drove most of last year unsponsored in the Yates #28. His reward was the transfer of his points to his new team-mates to ensure they made it. The Yates car qualified on time for four of the five races. Despite a valiant effort on his part, he could not get the car in top-35. It was announced at Bristol that if no sponsorship was found, the team would shut up shop.

While money isn’t an issue with the #98 Yates car, it does offer a worrying trend. Paul Menard, backed by his family company, strode in and took owner points from what was David Gilliland’s car. Now for the ironic twist. Menard is sitting outside the top-35 while Gilliland, the man he replaced, has got a guaranteed starters spot for Martinsville.

On a happier note, Richard Petty Motorsports announced during the week that they had pieced together sponsorship to run Allmendinger for additional races. That is great news, as long term readers of the blog will know I have been championing Allmendinger’s case for a full time ride.

The Californian currently stands 16th in the points, ahead of full-time team-mates Elliott Sadler and Red Sorenson. The latter finds himself down in 29th position. I wonder, if Sorenson continues to underperform, will we see Allmendinger in the famed #43 by seasons end.

New Team, Same Result
One question I had to ask during pre-season was – why break up a successful partnership. Clint Bowyer and the #07 team have been one of the talking points over the last few years.

Allegedly, sponsors wanted specific drivers. Mears had raced with Kellogg’s sponsorship during his time with Hendricks, which apparently didn’t sit all that well with new sponsor General Mills. So the drivers were swapped, landing Mears in a team that had made the Chase for the past two years and Bowyer with a new group.

I think that Bowyer is one of the most under-rated drivers in Nascar at the moment. His first five of the season go a long way to proving that. Bowyer finds himself third in the standings and continuing to pump out the consistency that has made him a Chaser for the past two years. Mears is around 25th, once more showing that he doesn’t have what it takes at this level.

Snake Eyes

Las Vegas, the betting capital of the world definitely threw up more than its fair share of curve balls over the Nascar weekend. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a full-moon over Nevada at the weekend. It was just one of those weekends where there was an abnormal amount of issues cropping up.

It all started early into the weekend with Toyota having major issues with their engines. Five of their cars, including pole sitter Kyle Busch had to go to the back due to engine changes. Five engine changes definitely work’s against the law of averages when it comes to mechanical issues.

The strange circumstances continued in the Nationwide race. I managed to see highlights of the event, and it just seemed that nobody wanted to win. Crashes, mistakes and pit-road violations all contributed to a topsy-turvy event, one that Greg Biffle won in the end.

After watching the highlights, I thought to myself – The first thing the Cup guys are going to be told on Sunday is watch your pit road speed. With the amount of penalties handed out for the offense in the Nationwide race, it felt like a no-brainer.

Obviously, someone never sent out the memo on Sunday.

Once again, errors on and off the pit road played a part in proceedings. What made the event all the more strange is that we saw uncharacteristic like errors from the likes of champion Jimmie Johnson. You just don’t expect it. If this was Daytona, I would hazard a guess that maybe with the testing ban, there is some sub-conscious nerves with the lack of driving. But this was the third race of the year, which more or less cancels out that theory.

While Toyota for the most part solved their engine issues, Sunday saw the Roush-Yates engines go up to kibosh. Three of their five cars went up in smoke. Matt Kenseth’s attempt to win three in a row was over before the race had made it past the first few laps. Carl Edwards erupted as he started the last lap, while Ragan’s blew in the middle.

As if all that wasn’t enough, pole-sitter Kyle Busch, sent to the back, charged his way through the field and took victory at his home race. It is the first time that Busch has won at his home race. The victory was Joe Gibbs and Toyota’s first at a venue that Roush and Hendrick have dominated in recent years. As if that wasn’t enough, Busch’s victory was the first time a pole-sitter had won (which he is officially classed as).

Not a bad day’s work for Wild Thing. He won from the pole and won from starting at the rear. I don’t think there are many who can stake that claim.

The weekend just goes to show you, anything can happen in Las Vegas.

The Phillies: Nascar Results

A little late due to the coverage of the Race of Champions, here are the 'Phillies' for the Nascar 2008 season.

For details on each of the awards, see the Award Categories.

Driver of the Year:
Winner: Carl Edwards
The Missouri native was consistently strong throughout the year. He took a season high nine victories in the #99 Ford Fusion and ran Jimmie Johnson to the final race. Despite the insurmountable odds against him, he never gave up - a testament to his never say never attitude.
He backed up his second place in the Sprint Cup with the runners-up spot in the Nationwide series. In 2009, he will be gunning for the double.

Most Improved Driver of the Year:
Winner: David Ragan
A simple choice really. In the hands of Ragan, the #6 evoked memories of when Mark Martin was piloting the car. Described as a 'dart without feathers' by Tony Stewart, even the two-time champion had changed his tune by the end of 2008.

Finished best of the rest outside of the Chase, the only thing missing from Ragan's CV is a victory. Expect him to be a Chase contender next year.

Rookie of the Year:
Winner: Vacant
Lets be honest, none of the rookies showered themselves in glory in 2008. The highest placed in the standings was Ragan Smith, who finished in 34th in the standings. The open-wheel invasion failed to establish a beachhead and quickly found itself in retreat.


Flop of the Year:
Winner: The Open-Wheel Invasion
At the start of the year, many traditionalists were worried that Nascar was going to see an influx of open-wheel drivers coming into stock car, thus depriving potential talent from breaking through.
However, as the year went on - they dropped like flies. Villeneuve never returned after an attempt to qualify for Daytona. Franchitti was out after half way through the year and Carpentier soon followed once GEM had signed up Sorenson for 2008. That left Sam Hornish Jr the last man standing.

Underrated Driver of the Year:
Winner: AJ Allmendinger
AJ would definitely get an honorary mention for 'Most Improved' of the year. A difficult start to the year saw him replaced with Mike Skinner as Red Bull evaluated the program. When AJ returned, he was a different man.
Growing from strength to strength, it was a major surprise to see him ousted at Red Bull. He continued to garner creditability when he took over the #10 ride. Allmendinger is still without a ride for 2009. It would be a crying shame for him not to be involved.

Team of the Year:
Winner: #48
The combination of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus has been the team to beat over the last two years and this year was no different. When the Chase came along, they were the best prepared. On occasions where things could easily have gone wrong, both driver and crew chief worked to make the best out of what could easily be a bad situation.


Most Improved Team of the Year:
Winner: #18
In the hands of JJ Yeley, the former championship winning team was mired well back in the standings in 2007, never cracking the top-20. The arrival of Kyle Busch and Toyota transformed the team back to winning ways. A poor Chase puts a slight damper on an otherwise fantastic season for the team.


Race of the Year:
Winner: Aarons 499, Talladega
The first race at the Superspeedway was edge of the seat stuff from start to finish. Who needed two-wide racing when these guys can run three-wide for the majority of the race. It was fantastic stuff and a perfect example of what the competition in Nascar can offer.


Surprise of the Year:
Winner: Mark Martin signing up for one more shot
The veteran will return in 2009 for one final shot at the elusive title that has eluded him until now. Despite running a part-time schedule over the past two years, the competitiveness level has never died from the veteran.
If he continues as such in 2009, he should easily make the Chase. With Hendrick's machinery under him, it is more than possible that Martin will write his own fairytale.

Overtaking Move of the Year:
Winner: Carl Edwards versus Jimmie Johnson at Kansas
Proof that second is never good enough for a racer. Edwards launched a daring slingshot to try to get passed Johnson. The #99 barrelled past, slapped the wall and just lost the momentum, allowing Johnson to slip past by. One can only applaud Edwards desire to win.

Controversy of the Year:
Winner: Goodyear Tires
On too many occasions, tire blow-outs played too much a part in the racing. The lowest point for the issue was at Indy, where the race was reduced to short sprints between yellow flags to get everyone home safe.

Race of Champions

The Race of Champions offered an enjoyable day of Sunday motorsport. The winter is always a dull time for motorsport fans as we wait for the engines to fire back up and the competition to begin once again.

Germany defended the Nations Cup. Michael Schumacher led by example, winning the deciding race against Ekstrom. Despite retiring from competitive racing at the end of 2006, he doesn’t look like a guy who is living it large. Lean, mean and charismatic as ever, the German clearly hasn’t lost that edge which has made him the greatest driver in the history of the sport.

The actual Race of Champions, which saw drivers racing for personal glory, saw a lot more in the surprise department. Sebastian Loeb came from smashing through some barriers to secure victory and Nascar runner-up Carl Edwards defeated Schumacher. Despite bashing up two cars, David Coulthard made it into the final for a best of three duel with Loeb. The Frenchman took victory be a mere three tenths of a second from the retiring Formula One drive.

However, while the racing was great, the coverage was decidedly second-rate from Sky. Everything just seemed ‘off’. They cut from driver promos straight into the action, hardly giving the viewer a chance to adjust to who was in the car at the time. On too many occasions, they didn’t even show up any titles of who was in which car. While some drivers are easy to spot, there seemed to be no consideration for those lesser known guys.

The interviews repeated questions over and over, with Hamilton’s dad been asked about his family’s holidays twice in two different interviews. Where is cohesion in it? But what really took the cake was the interview to Vettel, where the woman first stated it was Vettel’s first RoC, when it was his second. The interview was further botched up when she stated that Ekstrom had won it for the last four or five years, when he had the last two.

It was just an error-filled coverage on the part of Sky. When you get the basic facts wrong, that is just not right. Another example of the mess was claiming Edwards to be an eight time winner this year, when he won nine races. He was also classed both as a Nascar champion and a former Nascar champion. He is a Busch/Nationwide champion, which isn’t defined as being the ‘Nascar champion’. Or consistently stating that Sebastian Loeb won the rally championship at Rally GB, when in fact he went into that rally with his fifth title already wrapped up.

The first thing I was thought in journalism school – know your facts so you don’t look like a twat.

The overall track design was okay, although plenty of room for improvement. I can remember years back, watching RoC events and there was plenty of side by side racing. You don’t get that with the Wembley circuit. The layout of it left the camera more often than not just focusing on one driver. The thrill of watching this sort of racing is to see both in the same shot.

As for Hamilton, his gimmick race with an Olympic bike rider came to nought due to the conditions. Okay, these guys knew about this gimmick race for long enough. It was obvious; they needed conditions right for the bicycle rider to be able to compete. It doesn’t take a rocket science that the weather at this time of the year is terrible. Wembley has a roof, why not have it shut in advance to ensure it?

It is a shame not to see the new F1 champion actually competing. For the past two years, there has been plenty of talk about him taking part. I’m sure as a racer; Hamilton would want to do it. But as his dad said, the ‘politics’ intervened. Hmm, a situation where every driver is in equal machinery, I can only think of one reason for ‘protecting’ a driver. Just let the guy race. I’m sure he wants to. The fans want him too. It is a no brainer.

Three-ific

Jimmie Johnson wrote his name into the history books on Sunday, notching up a hat-trick of titles.

The odds were heavily in favour of the California native at Homestead, but credit to Carl Edwards for making a race of it. Edwards knew it was mission impossible. But that didn’t stop him giving his be-all and end-all. He did everything he could, leading the most laps and securing victory. All he needed was for Johnson to have bad luck.

None came, but that was hardly a surprise.

Arguments rage in the Nascar community about where Johnson’s achievements stand in the sports history. Some have pointed to Johnson taking advantage of the Chase format to collect titles that otherwise he may not have earned.

It is a fair point. For those interested, Edwards would have taken the title by 16 points under the pre-Chase format. But, this is the era of the Chase. Looking back at how points would look under the old system is pointless nostalgia. Not every season of the Chase can be brilliant, like the first year of the concept.

Every driver starts the year knowing what they have to do to be champion. While Johnson didn’t have a stellar regular season compared to the likes of Edwards or Kyle Busch, he did the job when it mattered. Everyone else is afforded the same opportunity as the #48 team. It is up to them to take it.

Honestly, I hate when people start comparing achievements from different eras. Keyword here is different. When Cale Yarborough achieved his three-peat, it was a different time, different cars, and different competition – different. It reminds me back to when Schumacher achieved his fifth F1 title and the comparisons with Fangio. You can’t just look plainly at the statistics and compare one person’s title rack up to another.

His achievements should be respected on merit. Like I said above, every single one of the drivers started the season knowing what they had to do to win the title. At the end of the season, Johnson achieved those goals. Chase or no Chase, that is what should really be remembered.

Eco-Warrior

In a daring game of Texas Hold ‘Em with his fuel gauge, Carl Edwards defied the odds and ran sixty-nine laps on his final tank of fuel on his way to victory lane.

Edwards was an unstoppable force at a track where Roush Fenway cars have won six times previously. After making his way through the field, he set a blistering pace that at one point, with the aid of a limited number of yellow flags, saw only a dozen cars on the lead lap.

The #99 found himself out of position late on when a number of cars took only two ties. But, Edwards surprised everyone with a fuel mileage run to victory lane. He completed the clean sweep with five additional bonus points for leading a lap and for most laps lead.

Edwards was followed home once again by a Hendricks Chevy, but this time it was Jeff Gordon, who also played the fuel game. Title rival Jimmie Johnson suffered another difficult start to the day and again found himself one lap down. Unlike last week at Atlanta, the #48 struggled to make the same rebound. The searing pace of Edwards kept him from the coveted Lucky Dog position. In the end, Johnson came home in 15th position.

The result moves Edwards to within 106 points with only two races remaining in the Chase. Greg Biffle remains within striking distance, only 143 back after a strong run to fifth. It was a great day for Roush Fenway as a whole. All five cars spent practically the entire day in the top-15.

With two to go, that foregone conclusion that many considered to be Johnson’s three-peat doesn’t seem so certain. There is still allot of work to do for Cousin Carl to haul the #48 in, but perhaps the last few weeks are the springboard Edwards needs to dethrone Johnson.

Catch Me If You Can

Jimmie Johnson took a massive step towards his third Sprint Cup title – and he didn’t even need to win at Atlanta.

That honour went to Carl Edwards, who put behind recently disappointments to get his title bid back on track. At one point, it looked like Cousin Carl would take a serious bite in the lead of Johnson. But the two time champion had other ideas.

With a big lead in the Chase, Johnson didn’t need to take a massive risk. Yet, crew chief Chad Knaus called his driver in for four fresh tires for the final sprint to the flag. With fresh rubber, Johnson was like a rocket ship has he scythed his way up the field, taking second position on the final lap from Denny Hamlin. In short, a masterstroke from the #48 team, who could’ve finished in the lower regions of the top ten had the call not been made.

It ended an eventful day for Johnson, when at times it seemed that his luck was finally running out. He lost a lap after been caught speeding on pit entry. In a time for cool heads, they kept theirs and with some slick pit, the team put the #48 in the ‘Lucky Dog’ position. The rest is self explanatory.

On a day where it could easily have gone so wrong for Johnson, he came out the winner. One wonders if Jimmie carries a four leaf clover on his race suit somewhere. With three races to go, he holds a commanding lead over his pressures. The race isn’t over yet, but one would be mad to bet against the #48.

It's Talladega

Those were the words most commonly said in the paddock through the race. It was nothing short of a nail biting, pulsating afternoon of racing that had me on the edge of my seat. 68 lead changes amongst 28 drivers, a record - and that was only the officially timed ones at the line.

Tony Stewart snapped a winless streak stretching back to Watkins Glen last season, after Nascar cancelled out Regan Smiths below the yellow line move. It was an unfortunate end to a great race that caused some confusion. As far as I was concerned, racing below the yellow line is a no-no for all the race, so why should the last lap be any different.

During the first half of the race, it looked like there could have been another Indy on our hands. A succession of tire blows out, accumulating in the first ‘Big One’ of the afternoon, had me thinking were we going to see another set of sprints coupled with competition yellows. Whether the issues were with the tires themselves, debris, rubbing or high pressures, they at least disappeared into the second half of the race to let them run for it.

The day saw a mix of strategy, with some of the Chasers sticking to the back to avoid any entanglements. It cost Jimmie Johnson early. The reigning champion lost the draft and fell a lap down. Johnson regained his lap later on via the Lucky Dog. Biffle and Edwards adopted a similar strategy, the latter even employing a unique pit stop strategy to keep himself out of trouble.

When the time to come forward came, it all went sour for the Roush cars. Edwards tipped into the back of Biffle, causing the catalyst for the second ‘Big One’ of the afternoon. Unlike Big One #1, which the Chasers avoided, #2 saw more than half the Chase field receive damage.

Watching Talladega is always a treat. Forget two wide, we had three wide racing for the majority of the race. Four and five when guys felt gutsy. The day saw a number of young guns, like Ragan, Smith, Almirola giving solid drives on the day. The track easily lived up to its tag as the wildcard in the Chase.

That, was pure racing enjoyment.

Chase Update

After the third race of the Chase, I seriously wonder why I bother with Formula One as much anymore. Nascar, plain and simple is a better spectacle. Of course, like any sport, it is capable of producing a snore-bore, but they are few and far between.

Kansas was no different. The top three in the championship duked it out for victory and we saw the difference from a man who wants to win to one who is glad to settle. With a few laps to go, Carl Edwards could easily of decided to settle for second position. But nope, the #99 chased down leader Johnson and took an overly ambitious move to try to take the victory.



It didn’t work out, but at least he tried, even if he did mash his car up some. The icing on the cake? Edwards goes and has a chat with Johnson afterwards, wondering how much he had cleared him by when he jetted by to ensure he didn’t come close to hitting him. Now there is class.

It would still be easy to question the merits of the Chase format. On one hand, it draws everyone together and spices up the last ten races. Anyone looking at the tables after race 26, would think Bush had it in the bag. Then came the Chase, and Rowdy’s luck evaporated like Joe Gibb’s reliability.

It is pretty shocking to see a championship contender fall from grace so quick. After two events, he was more or less out. His third mechanical issue in the three races put the exclamation point on it. Busch-haters are having a field day with it. I have to feel for him. End of the day, you want the best people competing for it. Like him or not, Busch was the best in the run up to the Chase. Of course, that doesn’t explain nor excuse JGR’s shocking problems. After such a great season, it is a shame that it will end like this.

It’s a case of six of one, half dozen of the other in the Chase. Suddenly, everything is mixed up. Greg Biffle, who had horrid luck during the year when in a race-winning car, has sprung up with the opening pair of victories in the Chase, replacing Busch as the main contender to Johnson and Edwards.

Talladega next weekend, a race I am licking my lips with anticipation for. The first race of the season was an awesome spectacle. I expect no different this time around.

Momentum Building Jimmie

Same result, different race.

One week on from a relative snooze-fest at California that Jimmie Johnson dominated, the rain-delayed Richmond race was a great spectacle, even if the result was the same. After the farcical nature that Formula One is turning into as of late, Nascar is a breath of fresh air for me.

All eyes were on the battle for the final Chase berth. David Ragan looked feisty in his late charge for the final spot. The youngsters chances took a crippling blow when his car went into a half spin, compounded by team-mate Kenseth doing a synchronised spin, clattering his team-mate. His car badly damaged, Ragan fought on admirably and with some great choice strategy kept him in the hunt till late. Eventually the #6 drifted back, ending his Chase dreams. Regardless, it has been a stunning end of the season for Ragan, who according to reports will have UPS sponsorship next year.

Kasey Kahne, Dodge’s only chance of making the Chase also failed in his attempt. Kahne was anonymous all race long. After a bright mid-season, two terrible finishes in the last few races put an end to the fan favourite’s hope.

Going into the Chase, it is the crème de la crème. Three cars are supplied by the top teams – Joe Gibbs, Hendricks, Childress and Roush. Defending champion Johnson is peaking at the right time now and has all the momentum going into Loudon this coming weekend. Busch and Edwards, current favourites need to pull up their socks now that we are getting into the final stages of the season.

It will be interesting to see the mindset at Loudon. How will the championship contenders play it and, more importantly, who of those who have been experimenting the last few weeks have found the right formula.

While I think there are only three choices for a champion, the format of the Chase does allow for the unpredictable. Clint Bowyer was last year’s Cinderella story, winning his first career race at the start of the Chase, eventually finishing third.

Business is just about to pick up.

Passion Of Racing

Emotion. A budding Rivalry. Side by Side Racing. Overtaking galore. And this isn’t Formula One. Bristol lived up it the hype and produced a fantastic five hundred miles of racing last night.
Carl Edwards notched up back-to-back victories and has closed within thirty Chase points of Kyle Busch. We were treated to a gruelling battle between two of Nascar’s best throughout the race. Between them they lead all but one lap.

It took a classic Bristol ‘bump and run’ move from Edwards to get past Busch, something the championship leader didn’t appreciate it. But this is all a part of the racing. After the race, Busch gave Edwards a few thumps. The race winner responded in kind, spinning the #18 to the delight of the crowd. There is a fantastic rivalry building between the two, exactly what we need going into the Chase.

You have the guy people love to hate in Busch - the brash, confident racer who takes no prisoners, drives for a foreign manufacture (yeh, American's care about that) and tipped Junior out of a race winning situation earlier in the season (a serious faus-paux.) In the other corner you have the poster boy Edwards. A charming, likeable guy with a smile on his face and rarely a bad word to say about anyone.

Post-race, Carl was classy as ever. He’s right, you give as good as you get and still maintains respect. What Busch did after the race was wrong, but after five hundred miles of racing, who wouldn’t get emotional. That’s what we like to see in the racers we follow – a desire to win, that second is not enough.

I know that from my sim-racing experience. Where after a full distance race at Sepang, my brother punted me around at the final corner on the penultimate lap. We shouted, argued and didn’t race for a month after that. Why? Because we care about racing, we are passionate. It’s fantastic to see that Nascar has that.

What About Carl?

So far in the 2008 Nascar season, all the talk has been about Kyle Busch. How ‘Rowdy’ has been having one of the best seasons in recent memories or how he is squashing the domination.
But what about Cousin Carl?! The Missouri native has stealthily moved his way up to the second seed for the Chase. The #99 notched up its fifth win of the year at Michigan. Four of them count towards his Chase seeding after the penalty received at Texas.

If Kyle Busch wasn’t having such an awesome season, everyone would be raving about Edwards’ season. This championship is anything but a two-horse race. Over the past number of races, Edwards has been notching up impressive result after result. Critics tip him, along with defending champion Jimmie Johnson to take the fight to Busch when the Chase begins in a few weeks.

The Race to the Chase is heating up with only a few rounds before the field is locked. Bad days for Hamlin, Gordon and Kahne saw them slip further towards the cut-off. From 8th down to 14th are covered by only 103 points. In Nascar terms, nothing. A bad day for any of the Chase contenders will see any hopes of solidifying their places dashed.

One man on the up is David Ragan. Lambasted last year to the point where many questioned Jack Roush’s wisdom in giving him a second year, the youngster has blossomed. He scored a career best 3rd place finish at Michigan. He goes into the next few events looking to gate crash the Chase party.

This coming week the Nascar circuit moves to Bristol – for one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. Under the lights in Tennessee, what more twists and turns we will see as drivers look to secure their Chase slots.

Third Time Lucky

Kyle Busch tamed the Monster Mile to pick up his fourth win of the season. He finally took the chequered flag first after problems in the Truck and Nationwide race denied him from taking a hat-trick of victories.

‘Wild Thing’, who has won pretty much in anything he has driven this year, took the victory after a number of lightning quick green flag pits that allowed him to overhaul Carl Edwards. For much of the day it looked a given that a Roush driver would win. Greg Biffle led from the outset but his #16 Ford Fusion once more ran into mechanical difficulties. However, unlike the last number of races, the problems were manageable and he came up in third. A victory for Biffle is surely around the corner. Along with Busch, the pair have looked nigh unbeatable when out front.

An opportunity to win didn’t seem to be on the cards for Busch, but his pit crew dragged the #18 into contention. His efforts were aided by Busch, who as ever pushed the limit when it came to pit entry. Despite leading the championship and the majority of the top-12 having issues, it was refreshing to see Busch maintain that ‘always on it’ mentality. Although you get the feeling it may come back to bite him down the line.

A wreck inside the first twenty laps put a number of contenders out of contention. These Chase runners Earnhardt Junior, Stewart, Harvick, Bowyer, Kahne and Hamlin were all involved in the shunt. All except Hamlin returned to the track at some stage with their cars in various sorts of condition. It’s the fantastic thing about the COT platform; it takes a whole lot of wrecking to knock the car out of contention. The results of this have been seen when you look at the race results. There is very few retirements this season. Of course, the flip side to that is if a front runner has a bad day, in all likelihood they will finish in around the 40^th position as opposed to previous years where they could gain a number of spots.
It’s what fans like to see though! The more cars on track, the more action we get to see.

The big winner of the wreck was Matt Kenseth. The former champion is in a race against time to make it for the Chase. The wreck involving a number of the Chase contenders has allowed him to drag himself back up into a position to challenge to make it. Only six cars finished on the lead lap, with Jeff Gordon in 5^th and last year’s winner Truex Junior in 6^th.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Kyle Busch. He didn’t have the best car, but some awesome pit work saw him in the position to win. His fourth victory of the year, a season high, has already bagged the Las Vegas native 40 points in the Chase.

Three And Easy

After Bahrain, it was a double-header of Stateside racing. Television scheduling over here saw the NASCAR live with IRL shown afterwards. Useful thing the IRL not being live, given the rain delays incurred.

Carl Edwards notched up his third win of the season at Texas. The #99 featured in the battle for the lead throughout and took his opportunity when presented. The revitalised Jimmie Johnson came home in second position, given credence to the talk that his team have overcome recent difficulties. The same cannot be said for team-mate Jeff Gordon who had an unbalanced car from the first day of the weekend. Gordon struggled heavily before spinning out trying to stay on the lead lap. Dale Earnhardt Junior started from pole but NASCAR’s most popular driver faded as the day went on.

Kyle Busch put last week’s troubles behind him to finish third, bringing momentum back to his Chase charge. It was a good day for Gibbs with Hamlin and Stewart finishing fifth and seventh respectively. The every present Richard Childress team who announced this week they would be expanding to a fourth car next year had all their drivers in the top eleven. The NASCAR circuit moves on to Phoenix on Saturday night.

PC's Driver of the Day: Carl Edwards. Over the last few weeks the likeable native of Missouri has had to deal with the shadow of his 100 point penalty after victory at Las Vegas. The #99 team has come out fighting since and got justly rewarded. It's a reminder to the rest of the field that he means business.

COT Proves a Point

It may have his critics, but the Car Of Tomorrow, or Car Of Today, or whatever people fancy calling it now proved its worth during qualifying for the race at Texas.

Rookie Michael McDowell who is piloting the #00 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing survived a massive, massive shunt during his qualifying stint. I heard about it but I didn’t actually see it till the pre-race show now. Personally I was surprised that he got out of it unscathed after such a smash. It’s a perfect example of how far car safety has come over the last few years. Not only did McDowell get out of the car safely, but he will be competing today in the race.

Below is a video of the actual crash he had.

IRL Round-Up

At the same time the second round of the IRL season was run at St. Petersburg. The first race off the ovals promised to close up the gap for the ex-Champ Car drivers and the addition of rain spiced things up. Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver Graham Rahal, son of Champ Car legend Bobby, came through to become the youngest winner in open wheelers. This was also Rahal’s first IRL start having missed out at Homestead due to lack of parts to repair his damaged racer. Even before the rain the street course showed that the discrepancy between the two groups of drivers will not be a factor. Champ Car converts Will Power and Justin Wilson both qualified in the top three. The rain brought out the strategic minds and Rahal pipped the vastly experienced Castroneves after eking out his fuel mileage to the flag.