Author: Ron Thornton

You settle down to watch a movie, to follow the storyline, even expecting what the outcome might be. Matt Kenseth was to win at Dover, Jimmie Johnson was going to challenge him for the victory, Tony Stewart would have another dud day, and the boy sees dead people. Sure, he sees ghosts, but I am sure the nice child psychologist will help him through it. The next thing you know, we discover that the shrink himself is actually dead, Kenseth blows up, Johnson gets black flagged for jumping the late restart, and Tony Stewart wins the damn thing. You got to love those surprise endings.

For the longest time, Stewart has just hanging on to the final spot on the lead lap. He slowly moved up to 15th, hell, he was in contention for a Top Ten near the end thanks to a final two-tire stop. Then Juan Pablo Montoya stuttered his start, Johnson took off a tad too early, got the black flag, allowing Stewart a run that saw him get by the Columbian with three laps to go. We knew where Smoke came from, he came from way back there and somehow got to the front. Just like that he became the first driver outside the Top Ten, but inside the Top Twenty, to claim a win. He might be 16th in the standings, but he is first for a wild card spot with a baker’s dozen number of races left before the Chase begins.

Carl Edwards (14th) and Johnson were so-so when the day concluded. Fan fav Dale Earnhardt Jr was visible most of the day, never was a race contender, yet managed to finish 10th.  Among those hanging out with the bottom feeders included the great day turned bad for Jamie McMurray (33rd), Denny Hamlin (34th – crash), Ryan Newman (36th – crash), Martin Truex Jr (38th – engine), and  Kenseth (40th)).

Great end of the day for the team owner, but not so good for the soon to be departed Newman. After a Top Five at Daytona, the Rocketman crashed at Phoenix, blew an engine at Las Vegas, and the wreck at Talladega did not help matters. Still, he was heating up in recent weeks, but got too overheated in trying to give David Gilliland the chrome horn. He blew it once, blew it twice, then simply blew it as his third attempt sent Gilliland into the wall and back in front of Newman. So much for that plan, so much for those two cars. Newman is buried in a 20th place tie with Jeff Burton in the standings.

I mentioned the bottom feeders, those who just can not average 20 points, a 24th place finish, each and every week. Bobby Labonte is among them, but as the 1999 Cup champ we can give the guy some slack. Stewart-Haas driver Danica Patrick is another, but as she fills out a bikini even better than Jeff Gordon, she gets one, too. However, after falling three laps down early to sit 41st in a real ill handling car, she soldiered on to wind up four laps back, but in 24th. She managed to save something from nothing, so chalk this one up as a moral victory.

As for the best of the bottom feeders, 18 in the field average less than 20 points per race run. Casey Mears was the best of that bunch at 16th, but that Germain Racing team is just a single point of growing out of the category. Former champ Labonte was 21st and Talladega winner David Ragan was 22nd, with Patrick behind them. If we are going to recognize people who did better than what was expected of them, Josh Wise was 25th and Joe Nemechek finished 31st. At least those boys tried with what they had.

Good thing Kenseth blew up when he did on lap 159 of the 400 lap event. The trio of Scott Riggs (average finish of 42.2), Mike Bliss (42.1), and Michael McDowell (37.7) still had to wait a hundred laps to get their fourth to play bridge. It can be a long day when you are parked in the garage in your pretty little firesuit while the others are out there busy racing.

Brad Keselowski was a happy man. Was. He got his crew chief back, his car chief back, his engineer back, and even the competition director for Roger Penske was back. They all went on vacation due to violations at Texas. The defending Cup champ finished fifth on Sunday, then the car failed post-race inspection as the front end of their car proved too low. No, Brad will not be surrounded by dead people, but depending on NASCAR justice his crew chief could once again be a ghost. At least, thanks to Twitter, he won’t need a medium to communicate his thoughts on the matter.

Rating Dover – 8.5/10 – Despite the supposed predictability of the race, the action was pleasing to watch. There was not lots of movement in the running order until near the end, but there were enough surprises to keep one tuned in.

Long Pond, Pennsylvania is where they will be heading for this Sunday as they race at Pocono. Keselowski won there in the fall of 2011, but Jeff Gordon has won two of the past four including the one last August. Sitting just ten points behind the tenth place Paul Menard, Gordon does not have to win this weekend, but I am sure he would not complain if he did. Enjoy the week.

It is the biggest motor sport weekend, as they ran the 97th edition of the Indianapolis 500 and the World 600 in Charlotte. Oh, yes, they also ran the Monaco Grand Prix, but my bed won that race. It is not often that I will spend a day watching two races, but Memorial Sunday is different and usually well worth the time.

After the 29 men and four women raced around in those fast tubes, we switched to NASCAR. Then again, we had four drivers who made that switch years ago. Danica Patrick is only the latest who turned to driving stock. Tony Stewart won the 1996 Indy pole, claimed the series crown in 1997, and drove in both races the same day in 1999. Juan Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000, a year after taking their series title. Maybe next year Sam Hornish Jr will be back in Cup. The Nationwide driver won the Indianapolis 500 in 2006, along with three series championships.

Patrick was the lone woman in Charlotte and though she did lead a lap, she was a non-factor. Well, except for her taking out Brad Keselowski. Dale Earnhardt Jr was no where to be seen, until his car blew up. Kasey Kahne had one of the three most dominant cars on the day, yet had to settle for second. Matt Kenseth had another, but Jimmie Johnson broke loose and created a dustup that included Matt. Kyle Busch had the third and to say his day was interesting would be something of an understatement.

A fibre rope used to pull FOX’s aerial camera over head broke lose to hang down at track level. Busch hit it and tore up a front fender. Marcos Ambrose ran over part of it and it got caught up under his car. There was rope everywhere, and NASCAR decided to hold things for over half an hour so the crews could take care of any problems they had, and some had. Meanwhile, ten fans got injured in the incident, with three needing some hospital attention. That bottle of the title sponsor’s product seen lying in the infield came from the stands, along with more such Coke product, as the crowd tried to alert NASCAR to the danger. If you can string cable, there might be a job opening coming up soon with a certain television network. As for Busch, he later blew up the same lap Junior went up in smoke.

With a dozen laps left, caution came out but Kahne’s crew chief Kenny Francis did not call his driver in. They thought at least two or three, with relatively fresh tires, would stay out to put some distance between the leader and the hard chargers. Instead, the entire lead lap contingent came in. Kevin Harvick got the jump on the re-start and sailed off to victory. Kurt Busch, who had led until a battery went dead on him during a red flag, managed to get back to third.

Rating the Indianapolis 500 – (10/10) – Damn but don’t those little darts fly around that track. 220 mph, without fenders, with the engines turning over 11,000 RPM. It was fun to watch those bullets, a first time winner in Tony Kanaan (after years of trying), and a nice storyline with the lucky medallion he gave a young girl nine years ago who returned it in time for the luck to rub off on him on Sunday. A joy to watch from start to finish, and that was all we can ask for.

Rating the World 600 – (8/10) – It was not all that exciting to start with, at least if one discounted the dangler from above. Then Kyle and Junior blew up, Danica took out Brad, Mark Martin took out Aric Almirola and Jeff Gordon, while Johnson did the job on Kenseth. Surely we could count on Kahne to walk away with it, or so we thought. At least someone went home Happy, or in Delana Harvick’s case, with Happy.

Next, we go over to Dover, where Jimmie Johnson has won four of the past eight run there, including last year’s spring race. As for the other four, Brad Keselowski won there in the fall, Matt Kenseth in 2011, and each Busch brother claimed one. It might be a good track to allow somebody to rebound from this past Sunday. Enjoy the week!

What a difference a couple of weeks can make. Matt Kenseth had just won at Kansas, only to be docked 50 points, among other team fines, penalties, and suspensions.  Not good. After taking it in the teeth he rebounded to finish seventh at Richmond, eighth at Talladega, and then things really perked up. NASCAR gave him back all his points from Kansas, except for a 12 point slap, and they reduced his crew chief’s suspension to just one race. The last one he ran.

So, with Jason Ratcliff on vacation, Wally Brown sat atop the box. All they managed to do was claim the team’s third victory of the season at Darlington and the Southern 500. Breaking out the calculator, Kenseth has tallied up 160 points, an average of 40 per, over the past four events. Now, this is how you turn a driver’s frown upside down. I also learned this past weekend that to do the same for a one year old, give her a box for her birthday. As for that expensive thing that was originally in the box…well, not everyone can be happy.

Kasey Kahne is not happy with Kyle Busch, as he made the pass to the lead and Rowdy made the clip that ensure he did not long succeed. Kahne slapped the fence and wound up 17th.  Busch was not happy, as he dominated the race but a tire going down in the late going had him drift back to sixth. Tony Stewart was not happy with 15th on Sunday as he remains outside the Top Twenty in the standings. David Ragan won at Talladega, but could not have been happy with 39th at Darlington. Welcome back to reality, my friend.

Things got real for Denny Hamlin a few weeks back when he got sent toward the wall and some time off due to a fractured back. His reality was a second place finish as he ran the entire race at Darlington. Right now he needs at least one win over the next 16 races to climb back into the Chase. Baby steps.

Rating Darlington – 8/10 – A Busch led early, a Busch led often, but there were just enough interesting moments to keep us watching what was going on behind them. 17 finished on the lead lap, but at one point that was down to just nine as we took in the various strategies the team’s followed to attempt to get back into contention.  Still, in the end, it took a leaky tire to provide some drama.

Last weekend we celebrated Mother’s Day. This week my mother celebrates her birthday. This weekend we celebrate in Charlotte for Saturday night’s all-star race. Dale Earnhardt Jr won it last year. His dad, along with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, won it three times, but some have yet to claim it. The way things have gone lately, it just might be Matt Kenseth’s turn. Enjoy the week. You know he is going to.

Talladega, where we watched Matt Kenseth dominate, where we saw Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards contend, and where we watched a lot of cars torn up. It is also where we saw two cars from an underfunded operation charge up from out of nowhere to claim the top two spots at the finish line.

David Ragan, with help from team mate David Gilliland, changed the storyline for this one at the last minute on Sunday, one that also featured a 226 minute rain delay. In the end, it was all about the have nots having their moment as Front Row Motorsports and owner Bob Jenkins celebrated their first ever victory after nine years of trying. With Josh Wise finishing 19th, they had three in the Top Twenty. No Mickey, no Goofy, no Cinderella castle, but definitely a Cinderella ending.

That was not so for some big names who got caught up in big crashes. Outside the Top 25 on the day were a long list of drivers we might have expected to be challenging for the win. Tony Stewart, at 27th, was the best of a lot that included Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin (with Brian Vickers providing backup), Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Kasey Kahne. They were not happy, with Newman particularly upset about the whole deal. Then again, he had Kurt Busch flipping over and on top of his car as Newman got involved in his third Talladega wreck in his last eight attempts.

As an observer, I liked what I saw. I liked the shocking ending to the race, I liked seeing part timer Michael Waltrip finishing fourth, I liked that they outlasted the rain and finished the race, and, God forgive me,  I liked the carnage. It was damned exciting, and who doesn’t like some excitement? Okay, a lot of excitement. There is just one problem, and only one that I can see. These drivers are not cartoons characters, they are not gladiators out there to spill blood for our amusement. Maybe having them drive in the dark to conclude the affair might not have been the best of ideas.

The actual race timed in at 3 hours and 26 minutes, or about 20 minutes shorter than the rain delay. It took more than seven hours from start to finish, starting at 1pm local time with sunset Sunday at about 7:30pm. Dusk is a concept that does not last very long in the south, so it had to have been dark enough so that anyone on the highway had their lights on, a feature not part of the package for those out on the track. There is a reason they were going to have just one green-white-checker, for the light was fading fast. Was it too dark? Only those behind the wheel know for sure.

Rating Talladega – 9/10 – As someone seeking television entertainment, I got everything I wanted, with the exception of the long rain delay. Bob Jenkins probably would have rated this an 11. Next on the calender is the Lady in Black, Darlington, and the Southern 500 this Saturday night. Enjoy the week.

Richmond is in the rearview after providing, for me at least, a surprisingly entertaining contest. Next on the calender is Talladega, where one would think only rain might prevent the good times from continuing to roll this weekend. As we head to the big track there are a few big stories vying for our attention.

Big penalties have been handed out, and about the time you are reading this the appeals court will have ruled on a couple of them. Will Penske’s boys get their 25 point deductions back? This is their judgement day. Next week, it is Judge Wopner time for Team Gibbs as they hope to reduce the 50 point levy against Matt Kenseth, the fines and especially the suspension for Coach Gibbs himself. If they are not, then Gibbs will not win the car owner’s crown this season no matter what his driver does. As for being blameless for that underweight engine part that came from Toyota, that team received a manifest that indicated a problem if only someone had noticed it. That puts the problem back in the team’s court. Maybe a fine might be reduced, maybe a suspension might be shortened, but those points, me thinks, are gone.

As for Penske and the problems with the rear end housing, some blame Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, or somebody from that team for blowing the whistle that affected both Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Personally, to paraphrase Rhett Butler, quite frankly I don’t give a damn. If you are cheating and get caught, no matter how, then pay the piper. Richard Petty says that back in the day, you did not turn in a cheater but instead emulated him. That might have been one hell of a plan back in 1973 when getting caught meant a slap on the wrist. Today, the wrist isn’t the part of the anatomy that gets slapped, and none too gingerly. You don’t turn a blind eye to someone doing something wrong that winds up hurting yourself. To do otherwise would be just plain stupid.

Back in the day things were not all that different. Some bent the rules, if not outright broke them. There are some who believe the King won his 200th race in a car not exactly kosher, either. Now, if one could be pretty sure of getting away with it, it might be an idea to follow suit. Too bad that the odds of getting away with it today are a tad longer. After last Friday’s Nationwide race, Nelson Piquet Jr attempted to put the boot to Brian Scott’s tender bits. Not cool, yet after the 1979 Daytona 500 Bobby had Cale Yarborough’s foot in hand to thwart what may well have been an attempted blow to his Allisons. No, not much seems to have changed over the decades.

Yet, things do change. Recently, former NHL coach and television personality Don Cherry caused some to get their knickers in a knot by saying female reporters should not found in men’s locker rooms. It has nothing to do with equality and all about being naked in front of those of the opposite sex. This week, NBA veteran Chris Collins came out as the first active player to admit to being homosexual. For me, the only issue here would be to those who find themselves naked in front of a team mate who might be attracted to them. Regardless as to your views on either issue, neither should affect NASCAR except by way of prejudice. No locker rooms, no nakedness, no problem. Just drive, fix, or service the damn car. Do that and who interviews you or who you date just don’t matter.

In the meantime, take the time to get your snacks together and shut off the phone. Talladega is this Sunday. Enjoy the week.