Michael Waltrip

NASCAR Season Midway Review

Well, Kyle Busch capped off the season’s midway point at Daytona with his 10th career win and his sixth this season.

NASCAR’s premier series is in their first full year with the Car of Today, and it has undergone some criticism.  It actually got so out of hand that NASCAR President Mike Helton called a mandatory meeting to tell drivers to basically, “Shut up and drive.”

The first half of the Sprint Cup Series season has provided NASCAR fans with some good, bad, and very ugly races.

On paper, for the most part, this is a record breaking season for competition.  The California race had a record 33 lead changes, the Coca-Cola 600 had 2,580 green flag passes, that was up almost 900 from the 2007 Coca-Cola 600.  The Michigan race tied a track-best 3,204 green flag passes.

NASCAR is getting more coverage than ever.  TV Ratings are up for the most part from last year.  Although some tracks are struggling with attendance, tracks are still selling out.

NASCAR is also going through some economic hardships.  Sponsors willing to fork out millions of dollars a year are few and far between.  Teams are shutting down, Petty Enterprises sold 50% of their company to Boston Ventures.

The competiton is also even, all four manufacturer’s have won at least three races.  All four manufacturer’s are represented in the top 12 in driver points.  There has been 10 different race winners, 11 different pole winners, 74 drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one Sprint Cup Series race, and 46 driver had led at least one lap.  All evidence that NASCAR has accomplished one goal — make competitors and manufacturer’s even.  Chevy no longer has a stangle hold on the field.  In fact, the first Chevy in the top last week at Daytona will Dale Earnhardt Jr. who finished 8th.

Also, Hendrick Motorsports is apparently struggling.  Despite the fact that they only have two wins, and have three of their drivers in the top six in points.  At this point in the season, Hendrick Motorsports drivers had 10 wins.

Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Ryan Newman all led the points standings for the first time in their careers this year.  And, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle are back!  They are both back in the top 12, and Kahne has two wins so far.

And don’t forget.  The most-popular driver is showing that he indeeds deserves the attention.  He ended a two year winless streak with a win at Michigan, he has matched his 2007 numbers already, which is answering the question on how Dale Jr. would perform in 2008 after leaving DEI in 2007.  The answer — Great!

Speaking of DEI, recently, sources close to DEI are reporting that DEI could be sold to Max Siegel for as much as $130 million, which would take Teresa out of the picture.  This is still developing, but could get very interesting.

And, you can’t talk about the 2008 season without talking about Silly Season — 2009 edition.

Rumors have been circulating and some are very tasteful.

Sources yesterday confirmed that Joe Gibbs Racing will go to four teams, and Juan Pablo Montoya would be the driver.  Now, wouldn’t that be a combination.  Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Juan Pablo Montoya.  Add Joey Logano in the 20 after Stewart leaves to buy into Haas CNC Racing with Ryan Newman as a teammate, and you get headlines for the rest of the year.

Sources close to Tony Stewart say that he is expected to announce his future plans as soon as Indianapolis in two weeks.

As Silly Season continues to unfold, and the season heats up for the chase — stay tuned to NASCAR FanZone for all your NASCAR updates.

Fearless Forecast: Empire Strikes Back

It just seems like certain TEAMS own certain race tracks. It’s kind of odd how it works that way. I mean you expect certain drivers to have a particularly good feel for certain surfaces and distances. Jeff Gordon does very well on the short tracks and road courses. Bobby Labonte has 6 of his 21 career wins at Atlanta. You may not be able to count on Michael Waltrip to win too many races, but he’s a darn good bet on super speedways, as well as his former teammate- Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kasey Kahne rules on the intermediates, as does fellow young gun Carl Edwards. Speaking of Edwards, he’s known as the “King of Concrete.”

Dover is a concrete track, a one miler with a short track feel, loads of banking and changing elevations, giving it a roller coaster ride effect. It’s interesting to know then, that while Edwards is ordinarily awesome on concrete tracks (Nashville, for example), Edwards is just well,, ordinary at Dover. His driver rating of just over 98 puts him at #8 among active drivers. His starting position of 14th is not something get all tingly over either. At the same time, this is a track where Roush-Fenway has a solid track record. For tomorrow’s race, Roush driver Greg Biffle is one the pole and Jamie Mc Murray is in the #5 spot. Biffle has the best driver rating here at 113, while another Roush veteran, Matt Kenseth is second with a rating of 111.  Just about the only driver that’s an unknown quantity at Dover is David Ragan- who’s been on a roll lately.

Speaking of drivers on a roll, Kasey Kahne is coming on an all-star win and a trip to Victory Lane at the Coca-Cola 600. Kahnehas a poor track record at Dover, with a driver rating of 86. His starting position of 15th is nothing to write home about.

As far as driver ratings go, the top 5 at Dover are Biffle, Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. Something tells me “Rowdy” won’t be that great this week. Just a feeling.

Bringing up Johnson’s name reminds us that “Team Hendrick” is strong here too. You don’t see Jeff Gordon’s name on that top 5 list, but the veteran leads active drivers at Dover with 4 wins (Gordon is joined at the top by Bill Elliott and Mark Martin). Johnson has 3 wins here, and the newest addition to the HMS stable, Dale Jr. has one of his 17 career wins on this track (the MBNA Cal Ripken 400 in 2001).

In fact, I’m going to say that a Hendrick driver is going to pull off the win. A driver ready to bounce back. It’s tempting to go with Jeff Gordon, but I’m going to say that….

Jimmie Johnson will win tomorrow’s race.

The Lowe’s “48″ will start out of the #4 hole, and all the adjustments being made seem to be working for Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus. Johnson, a two-time defending champion is hungry after some less-than-satisfying recent runs. Johnson has a way of doing constructive things with that kind of hunger. Hendrick has only one victory in 2008 after owning the NASCAR schedule in 2007, but I think they’ll add another win tomorrow- whether it’s Johnson or Gordon.

I also look for other drivers to bounce back tomorrow. Kurt Busch ran some great laps last week and Matt Kenseth isn’t giving up. Never give up on Tony Stewart, who has two wins at DIS.    

Now a sure sign of a Kahne resurgence would be a win here.

Other young guns that bear watching include the ubiquitous Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger- who qualified in the 8th spot, and A.J.’s Red Bull teammate Brian Vickers. The North Carolinian qualified 6th and was wicked fast at Lowe’s before the infamous “wheel incident.” Ryan Newman’s looking good, in spite of all the complaint he’s recently logged in his Yahoo! blog.

Drivers seem to have a lot of fun at this track. It also seems that the shorter the distance with the new car, the better the racing.

I can’t wait. 

 

Keepin’ It Off The Wall: Waltrip starts number 700 this weekend

Another member is scheduled to be placed in the record books for making 700 starts.

Even though Michael Waltrip only has 4 Sprint Cup Series wins - including a Daytona 500 - he has made 699 starts since he debuted in what was then the Winston Cup Series at Charlotte in May 1985.  He drove the Number 23 Mell-Gear car for Dick Bahre.  He went 278 of the 400 laps and had to end the race in the garage with transmission troubles.

“It’s not something I am necessarily going to celebrate,” Waltrip said of his 700th start. “I would have liked to have had more than four Sprint Cup victories by now. At the same time, I am thankful to be able to show up every week and do what I love to do.”

“So I think I have mixed emotions because I will be a little bit sad about not putting up more numbers than I have, but glad that I have the ability to do what I do.”

In fact, Waltrip’s last win was at Talladega in 2003.  He had 2 wins in 2003, 1 in 2002, and the Daytona 500 in 2001.

The Owensboro, Kentucky native will go for his 5th career win this weekend at the Lady in Black.  In an interview, he spoke of the new track surface.

“I think the last time Darlington was paved was in 1995,” Waltrip said. “I remember that because I was in the Pennzoil car. We wrecked almost every other lap. The same thing will basically happen on Saturday night. You are going to see a lot of cautions because of all of the grip. In the past, it was all about self-preservation. Now that’s no longer the case. Guys will be going for it.”

At Darlington, Waltrip is 14th on the All-Time starts list.

Fearless Forecast: The Winner At Richmond Will Be….

Let’s be scientific about this. I respect all 43 guys in the field, but let’s be real- we can eliminate 15 drivers right off the top. we’re talking about the guys in the line-up who’ve never won a Cup race. That includes the likes of David Ragan, Reed Sorenson and Patrick Carpentier-who did put forward good qualifying efforts. To me, this place is just a little too tough for a guy to get his first win. This whittles the field down to 28.

Then there’s the guys, that while capable, just don’t have the equipment to win. There’s about another 4 guys here who’ve won races, but because of things like funding and equipment- they have as much chance as a kerosene cat in Hell with gasoline boxers on. Kyle Petty, Sterling Marlin, and Joe Nemechek are among the racers that fall into this category. OK- now we’re down to 24.

Among the 43 entries are guy who just don’t win at short tracks. This includes all the Roush Fenway guys. I’m not sure what’s missing in their “Car of Today” short track program, but something’s missing. The you’ve got guys like Michael Waltrip, who is to Super Speedways like Boris Said is to road courses. I find 8 drivers in this group- taking the possibilities down to 16. Hard charger Kyle Busch is also in this group. He’ too aggressive on short tracks. You need some patience to win here.

Let’s not forget about the “luck factor.” There’s always somebody out there at any given time who arejust unlucky. Tony Stewart is having a run of bad luck. Bobby Labonte is another one. Overall, this group of guys number 4, so now we have 12 drivers to pick from.

Among the drivers who are left are guys who have the best chance of winning today. Guys who are “in their element” in Richmond. I’m talking about Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer from RCR, Mark Martin from DEI, Kasey Kahne from Gillett Evernham, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. from HMS (Jeff Gordon is one of my “bad luck” guys), and Ryan Newman from Penske- as well as Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs.

Frankly, it comes down to two guys- Denny Hamlin and Junior. Earnhardt has won 3 races at Richmond, and he’s been good enough to win this year, even though he hasn’t broken the spell. Now, I know that Hamlin is going to try to win from the pole- which isn’t easy. I also know the the “law of averages” are against a weekend sweep and he won last night. Yet there’s an “X” factor in all of this, I think the “11′ car has it. So in light of that, I predict…

DENNY HAMLIN WILL WIN AT RICHMOND- fulfilling his dream of winning at home. The odds may be a bit long, but that’s why we call it the “fearless forecast.”

Race Re-Cap: Draftin’ & Dealin’ In ‘Dega

Denny Hamlin said it best- “If you didn’t like this race, you don’t like racing.” Right down to the bloody, bumping end, there were at least a dozen drivers in contention for the win. Can you believe this top 10?

1- Kyle Busch, 2- JP Montoya, 3- Denny Hamlin, 4- David Ragan, 5- Brian Vickers, 6- Travis Kvapil, 7- Casey Mears, 8- Ryan Newman, 9- Clint Bowyer, 10- Dale Earnhardt Jr.

How crazy was this race? Tony Stewart looked like the man to beat, but wasn’t even there at the end, after trying to thread a hole between Bobby Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. This screwed up Day Two of a seemingly ongoing alliance between Smoke and Junebug. Michael Waltrip looked at moments like HE would win this race! At last count this race had 17 different leaders!

I have a nickname for Denny Hamlin- “The Chauffeur.” How many times did he hook up with a driver to escort them to the front? On several occasions, the combination of two cars tail to bumper made it look like we had a limousine on on the track.

I kept hearing about ”patience” from Jeff Burton. He’s right! This race reminded me of the big local 10-mile road run (ya know the kind on two legs instead of four tires). Once the gun sounds (or the flag lowers), you find your stride, and you size up how you’re doing that day, and sizing up the field around you. Who’s going to have something for you? Who do you avoid because they’re going to be trouble? Once you ind your groove and your stride, it’s good to find a partner. Someone who’s company you can enjoy as you pass the miles away. Someone who can help you throw a rough patch if you hit one. Then one you hit the big hill in the middle you have to bear down a bit and not do anything to beat yourself in terms of expending too much energy, or getting tangled up in anyone else’s mess. THEN….as you approach the end, it’s every man for himself. Some crazy stuff can happen. Some will have enough gas in the tank to “kick” at the end. For others, it’s just a matter of trying to hang on and make it. Unfortunately, some who looked good early won’t make it. For a driver, this place keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times- perhaps the most challenging track on the circuit.

Like him or not, Kyle Busch overcame a pit mishap and numerous other challenges to come out on top. We knew it’d be a battle pitting the Gibbs Toyota’s versus the Hendrick bowties, but I’m really not sure anyone really envisioned a Shrub win here. Stewart and Earnhardt for sure. Of course Jimmie and Jeff and even denny would be in the mix. But Busch (who’s previous Talladega best was 11th) a winner and Casey Mears in the top 10? It wasn’t what I was thinking. And don’t lie to me, you didn’t either.

It was a heckuva race, maybe the best we’ve had all year, even if the wreck at the finish kind of deflated things. You can always count on soemthing wild at Talladega.

Today did not disappoint.

   

Fearless Forecast: Smoke Will Sweep at Talladega

It’s just a hunch. By now, every serious NASCAR fan knows how Tony Stewart has finished 2nd 6 times in Cup competition. He’s been knocking on the door for quite some time….and tomorrow Tony Stewart’s kicking it down.

Here’s what I’m expecting tomorrow…..the teams that have put forward the stout engines will run up front. Look for strong (and victory worthy) performances from the HMS boys: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Casey Mears. Remember that Junior has won at ‘Dega 5 times and Gordon 6. There’s no reason to believe they won’t be in the mix.

This assumption also bodes well for Stewart and his Gibbs’ teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. In fact, I number Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman as my dark horses. Yes, I expect Dodge to be well represented tomorrow, so that means Kurt Busch could be a part of the action.

With that extra horsepower, I expect other Toyotas to run well…..you should not be shocked if Michael Waltrip (a super speedway specialist of sorts), Brian Vickers (also a former Talladega winner), or even A.J. Allmendinger make a substantial amount of noise. In fact, I considered using Mikey as my “upset special” pick. Now that’s a fearless forecast!

Of course, I wish good things for those unexpected front-runners. I mean, who here expected Joe Nemechek and Ken Shrader in the top 5? Hear that sound of silence?

All speculation aside (and Heaven knows I;ve heard more insane tea leaf reading than I care to think about this week), here’s what you need to know…..

Tony Stewart will win (again) at Talladega!!

 

 

 

Pull Your Belts Tight!- Talladega Edition

Up Next: The Aaron’s 499, Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, AL- Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 2:00 p.m., broadcast on FOX- TV.

Bill France Sr. unveiled this track in 1969- designed to be “the world’s fastest speedway.”  Due to driver concerns regarding tires on this 2.66 mile track, many Cup drivers sat it out. France tried to prove the safety of the track by running laps himself, but the argument fell on deaf ears. A handful of Cup drivers ran with Grand National and ARCA drivers on that first race in September of 1969. Richard Brickhouse picked up his only NASCAR Cup win.

Talladega Superspeedway is a 2.66 mile ”superspeedway” with 18 degrees banking on the tri-oval, 2 degrees on the back stretch, and 33 degrees on the turns.

Track Records: While Brickhouse won the first race, Dale Earnhardt won the most at this track in the heart of the deep South. ”The Intimidator” won 10 races at Talladega. The “Pole King” here is Bill Elliott. “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” has captured 8 poles, including  the fastest qualifying speed ever in NASCAR Cup competition, a blistering 212.809 m.p.h., making a lap time of 44.998 seconds. Mark Martin ran the fastest race in 1997, running a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, and 18 seconds, his average speed was 188.354 m.p.h. “Mr. September,” Harry Gant, is the oldest Talladega winner- he won just 3 months after his 51st birthday in 1991. The youngest? Bobby Hillin Jr. was 22 when he won at the Alabama track in 1986. The record for the most cautions is 11- in April of 2004. No cautions waved 3 times, the most recent in October of 2002.

Some races are races, some races are events. Talladega is a NASCAR event. Talladega’s race may not occur on or near a holiday, and it may not be the “Superbowl of NASCAR” like Daytona, and it’s not the first or last race of the season- but it’s still a big deal. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a 5-time winner at Talladega, likens the infield to Mardi Gras, and from the images I’ve seen, I’d just say this may not be a race i’d take my kids to. The fact that fans threw beer cans (some full, some not) at winner Jeff Gordon this time last year says a great deal for the condition of a lot of fans by Sunday evening when it all ends. Talladega is also home to some of the most famous crashes of all time- Elliott Sadler’s spectacular wreck a few seasons back stands out. The speeds reached are just outrageous, and Elliott’s qualifying run was one of the reasons why restrictor plates were introduced to tracks like Talladega to slow things down.

Talladega may very well be the “House of Earnhardt.” Between Cup and Nationwide racing Dale and Dale Jr. have won 17 races.

This track is a “House of Champions” and a “House of Wild Cards.” Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart boast the best driver ratings here among active drivers. This place also represents the place where Brian Vickers has his only Cup win, as well as Bobby Hillin, Richard Brickhouse, and Phil Parsons- plus Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Dave Marcis and Bobby Hamilton picked up rare career wins here as well.

With speed being the word of the day, I expect that the extra power the Toyota engines have will help Joe Gibbs, Red Bull, Bill Davis and Michael Waltrip make things interesting. By the same token- Chevy’s have dominated at Talladega, thanks to the Earnhardts, 6- time winner Jeff Gordon, Ernie Irvan, and Marlin among others. This bodes well for Richard Childress and HMS- the premier bow tie teams. Don’t count the Dodges out- Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman looked great in practice today- as did Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne.

Last fall’s CoT race at Talladega was a bit of a bore as it seemed racers were reluctant to let it all hang it out in the middle of Chase, but let’s see how it goes Sunday. With extra cockpit time comes greater boldness, so let’s hope for a better race this time.

Drafting will be a factor here. “Smoke” has finished 2nd 6 times at Talladega. It’s his opinion that this a place where a driver needs help in the draft to win. One thing for sure the design of the new car does allow for better bumper-to-tail contact. Stewart says this race will be a “chess match.” He says he’s better at checkers.

Due to scheduling constraints, there will be no “NASCAR Terminology” in this weeks edition. Look for that to return next week.

I gotta run. Late tomorrow night, I will give you my “Fearless Forecast” for Sunday.

Happy racing!

 

“Finish Line Throwdown” Re-Buttal: Lighten Up!

Now that I’ve made sure that my health coverage is in place (you tread lightly in the presence of Tagoo48), I have a few things to say amount the comments seen in Thursday night’s post.

Car of Tomorrow: The “Car of Tomorrow” addresses not only addresses safety concerns, it also addresses cost reduction and performance upgrades as well. Tagoo, I think even you’d agree that you can never be TOO safe. Yes, the old cars were not suicide machines. Well, actually, I’d say the HANS device has had as much to do with the absence of driver deaths since that fateful day in Feburary, 2001 as anything else. By the same token, if you can make a car safer, should you not do it? I thank God today I did not have to write a memorial post for Michael Mc Dowell two weeks ago. As far as I’m concerned the safety features did much to enable able the rookie to sit behind the wheel in a back-up car the following Sunday instead of watching the race from a hospital room. That wing on the back has also done a lot of good as a safety feature in spinning crashes. The new car is a safer car. Period.

I’m far from an authority on the cost of putting (and keeping) a car together, but I do know that cost reducation has also factored into the this car’s creation. There are now fewer cars in a team’s fleet than there once were. This car is a tank. More cars are finishing races, and more cars make for better racing.

The new car is still a work in progress. The lack of testing at Texas in the new car was evident by the race we saw, but I think we saw last weekend how the experience was shown by the quality  of race seen in Phoenix where the new car ran twice in 2007. There’s only one way to develop the “new” car into a better racing car- and that’s to get it out there to run races!

That brings me to my next point. To say that this season has been boring is to say that the races at Martinsville, Bristol and Phoenix were not good. I beg to differ! These were good races filled with lead changes, bumper bangin’, dangerous passes and the whole 9 yards! For the love of Mike- can someone please tell me why NASCAR fans are so quick to complain about races and tires when things go wrong and yet they say nothing when things go well??? Has anybody besides the media made comment how we’ve had no tire manufacturer issues since Atlanta? Shouldn’t Goodyear be commended for getting it right the VAST majority of the time? Concerning Texas- have we ever really had a great race there? I haven’t seen one. Is it not a little too simplistic to blame it on the car? Jimmie Johnson complained about the car after that race. Funny- where was this complaining about the “new” car when he was winning the Chase last year in it? Hmm. Interesting.  

Fundamentally, I think the fan base of NASCAR has an attitude problem. If you watch other sports, you see games that aren’t good. Heck, we’ve had boring Super Bowls. Does that mean the NFL should change their qualifying rules? Should baseball change it’s rules because of the 22-inning snooze fest that was the Rockies-Padres game this week? No!

Having said that- NASCAR should allow for change if over the course of time it’s PROVEN that the car in it’s present state is not a good racing machine on the intermediate tracks- the places where the races have not been up to par. But again- I think we need to give racing teams time to get it right. Testing won’t do it. We’ve got to race the doggone thing out there to really get a handle on it. Changes now would create a moving target nobody could hit.

As for race coverage quality, the smart network is the one who gives race fans what they want. I’ll tell you why we know about Junior every time he so much as breaks wins- because the overwhelming number of race fans LOVE Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Junior is the most popular driver in NASCAR- BY A MILE! FOX, TNT and ABC/ESPN would be stupid to ignore him. I actually watched last Saturday’s race with a VERY critical eye, and I thought FOX did a good job of filling me in on the drivers fighting to get in or stay in the top 35. I saw passes deeper in the field…but let’s be honest. Most people really want to know what’s going on up front. 99% of the audience doesn’t care one whit about the battle for 40th between Joe Nemechek and Robby Gordon.

You mentioned Kyle Busch Tagoo, maybe he’d get his own “personal” camera man if he didn’t act like a butt-munch towards the camera anytime he has a bad race. Carl Edwards, Junior, Jeff Gordon and even Michael Waltrip get the coverage they do because these drivers get it. They know that you have to take the good with the bad.

As for victory celebrations- I’m sorry you hate the backflip. It demonstrates orginality. Something that I will agree is seriosuly lacking in NASCAR, but I’m not sure you’re proposed solution will cut it. The best I’d ever seen was Dale Earnhardt’s celebration after he’d finally won the Daytona 500. Now that was cool!

Overall, I think this has been a good season. NASCAR is as competitive as it’s ever been- even though the most serious contenders come from the top 4 or 5 teams. Still, we really have no idea who’s going win it all this year, and that’s good for racing.

We’re going to have good races, we’re going to have bad ones. This is no different than any other sport. I think the sooner we have the attitude of looking for the good in something, rather than getting all bunged up over the bad, the better off we’ll be.

So- be patient. We’re not even out of turn one for the 2008, and a lot of what we’ve seen so far has actually been pretty interesting. I don’t think anyone could have predicted some of the story lines we’ve had so far- whether it be Ryan Newman’s victory at Daytona, HMS only having ONE victory out of 8 races so far, or whether it’s the performance of Richard Childress, Carl Edwards or veteran Jeff Burton.

There’s a lot of season left. As of right now, I wouldn’t change a doggone thing.

Race Re-Cap: “Cowboy” Carl Is King In “The House of Roush”

Alright, alright! Those talking heads that predicted a Carl Edwards victory are smarter than I am. I’m o.k. with that. Today was a day of vindication for a couple of men who had taken a beating over a couple of incidents this season. A couple of good men.

Add those 100 points that Edwards got docked and he’d be 4th in the Cup standings now. Deduction or not, regardless of how of why the oil tank lid came off at Vegas to produce the deduction of points, you’d have to agree that Carl Edwards looks like no less than a top five driver in the 2008 season. The 28 year old roped the wind and held on on a day that a lot of people could not.

For a while, Junior looked like the man- the #88 looked every bit as stout at the onset as it did Friday, with Edwards and Kyle Busch giving a push. Unfortunately for Lil’ “E,” he kept fading on long runs and with the speeds at Texas that produce few cautions (I lost track but I think we had a new record for fewest cautions), Earnhardt was just cursed. The longer they’d run, the looser Junior would get- and there just didn’t seem to be an answer for it. Busch’s story wasn’t radically different. I thought Darrell Waltrip’s comment that Shrub would’ve wrecked that car last year was a keen insight. Busch fought the car, and the car won- but this time Kyle wasn’t stupid about and held on for a solid 3rd place finish.

Edwards’ teammate Matt Kenseth looked as though he might have something for the Missourian. Until a near miss with Juan Pablo Montoya, Kenseth had a good stretch of leading. I’ll bet Kenseth misses Robbie Reiser. It just seems weird to have one of the best pit bosses ever making calls for somebody other than the #17. Kenseth was strong, but like the 41 others that didn’t have the #99 painted on the car- he wasn’t quite strong enough.

Jimmie Johnson looked as good today as he has all season. Johnson took a nice long turn as leader and made some exceptional moves today. Johnson really threaded the needle on a couple of passes and did a great job of hanging onto his Chevy when it got loose. Still, in post race interviews, Johnson admitted he just didn’t have anything for Edwards.

Though Texas Motor Speedway is a track known for parity- we’ve had 13 different winners in 15 Cup races- the Fort Worth track is truly “The House of Roush.” Edwards is the only 2-time winner at TMS, joining Jeff Burton in this select company. Burton’s 1st win at Texas came while driving for “The Cat In The Hat.” Today’s win gives Jack Roush 6 wins at Texas- Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Mark Martin have won in Roush cars here.

This give me occasion to cut Jack Roush a little slack. I know I’ve made some nasty comments about Roush over “Sway Bargate,” and “Oil Tank Lidgate,” but at the end of the day, he’s one of the savviest minds in the motor sports business. Being the son of a welder/metal fabricator, I can see how Roush might feel a little protective of his handiwork. Roush comes at this with the perspective of an engineer, and it has to be maddening when you find things that you created in somebody else’s shop. I’m not sure the sway bars have done Michael Waltrip any good, but I am growing to understand why Roush made a big deal of it.

Some other random thoughts:

It was nice to see Mark Martin run well today to remind us he’s still got it….It’s a crying shame to see 3 cars in the field with no sponsor on the hood (John Andretti, Travis Kvapil, and David Gilliland)….Nice day for Gilliland to run 15th…David Ragan’s 13th place run proves he’s learning something out there…For all of you that think Jeff Gordon whines too much, I’d say you should’ve seen his in-race interview. No pointing fingers, no whining about the “new car,” just no whining. Period……Some Young Guns sure made some noise…That was quite a dash between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer at the end…What happened to Kasey Kahne????….

I don’t know this is the best race I’ve ever seen, but as a radio sports guy, I give credit to the FOX boys for some smart insights today. Today was a real education about how a fan could learn about how a car is handling by watching a driver’s hands on the steering wheel.

My “Rocky Balboa Award” goes to Junior and Kevin Harvick. Both of these guys had cars that were horrors and still finished in the top 15. Happy and Earnhardt earned their check today.

I’m not real sure I’m ready to call Edwards a front runner for the Chase this year. And while it’s true that championships aren’t won in April, they can sure be lost in April.

Carl Edwards looks like he really wants to win one.

Pull Your Belts Tight! (Texas Preview)

Up Next: The Samsung/ Radio Shack 500, Texas Motor Speedway, Forth Worth, Texas, Sunday, April 6, 2008, 1:30 p.m. EDT, 10:30 a.m. for those in Rio Linda and points elsewhere in the Pacific. Broadcast on FOX- TV and MRN radio.

Track Facts: TMS is a 1.5 mile oval track with 24-degree banking in the turns and 5-degrees on the straights. This was once home to one of the fastest non-restrictor plate tracks on the circuit with qualifying times that pushed 200 miles per hour in earlier years. Jeff Burton won the first race here in 1997. Two races per year are held at this track. Burton has won more Cup races than any other driver, signalling parity and a good chance we may see yet another different driver winning here. Brandon Gaughan has won four CTS races at Texas. Two Cup drivers have three Nationwide wins in the Lone Star state- Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick- the top two all-time Nationwide winners. Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte have won the most poles, ironic because Labonte has never won at his home state track, and Newman’s in-race performance at TMS doesn’t measure of to his performances elsewhere.

Track Records: Of all people, Brian Vickers holds the qualifying record, with a speed of 196.235 m.p.h. for a lap time of 27.518 seconds back in November, 2005. This was back in Vickers days at HMS. The race record is held by Carl Edwards. On that very same weekend, Edwards ran a race at TMS in 3 hours and 19 minutes, or an average speed of 151.055 m.p.h. Ryan Newman won here the age of 25 years, 3 months and 22 days in 2003 making him the youngest race winner at Texas. Dale Jarrett holds the record for the oldest winner at age 44 years, 4 months, 6 days in 2001. The record for the most caution flags on this fast track is 12, which happened on 3 occasions- most recently the November, 2007 event. The fewest? 6- in 2005.

This will be a different race than what we’ve seen at the last two. Texas is a fast track, with speeds often pushing 200 miles per hour. Speed will be more of a factor, favoring the teams with good equipment and the drivers who can take care of it. Interestingly enough, the winners here tend to be past champions- the Texas honor roll includes Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett and Matt Kenseth. Kurt Busch has also at the Lone Star track in the Nationwide Series.

The hot drivers right now are guys who’ve won in Texas- Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, and Dale Earnhardt all have the highest recent average finishes, and whether it in the CTS, Nationwide or Cup competition, they have wins in Texas. The exception? 4 time Cup titlist Jeff Gordon. Texas and Homestead are the only tracks that “The Rainbow Warrior” has not won at.

I have an opinion as to who will win, you’ll have to read my “Fearless Forecast” Saturday to find out who.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR for Dummies Primer (and a handy guide for the rest of us)

Cowl induction: Now, we’re not talking winning over that surly American Idol judge. Cowl induction is the housing for the air cleaner connects the air intake at the base of the windshield to the carburetor.

Sway (anti-roll) Bar: It’s only fitting given their high visibility presence due to the Jack Roush/ Michael Waltrip flap. This magical part that gets Roush so angry (not the sarcasm her) is used to resist or counteract the rolling force of the car through the turns. Not as influential in making a car go fast as, say, a removed oil tank lid.

Alternate Exit: as opposed to the alternate reality Jack Roush (oops, I did it again) lives in. NASCAR issued a recommendation to teams in 2003 for an alternate exit, more commonly known as a roof hatch. The safety initiative provides drivers with an alternate exit through a “hatch” in the roof of the car in the event of an emergency situation.

That’s all for today folks! Pull your belts tight, ‘cuz its gonna be a fast one!!

keep looking »