Author: Ron Thornton

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Okay, maybe they are right, whomever they might be. 600 miles might be too long a race, but the final 70 of the 400 laps provided some pretty good action. The Coca Cola 600 gave Kasey Kahne his first win as a Hendrick driver, his 13th of his Cup career, three of which have come in NASCAR’s Charlotte crown jewel event. Not a bad way to celebrate his 300th race.

Kasey might not be in the top ten just yet, but the victory has him sitting in the final Chase place as we speak. Brad Keselowski, who was fifth on Sunday, has the other spot reserved for winners, while the usual suspects continue to hold down positions of their own. Okay, as long as the usual suspects do not include Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, or Kurt Busch. Bowyer could still make it on points, but the way things are going the others will need wins between now and Richmond. When it was over, the top ten in the standings were the top ten on the track, with the exception of Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart, and the 12th place Martin Truex, Jr. Their places were taken by Kahne, Keselowski, and Jeff Gordon, in 7th.

Back in the day, some drivers would win a race by a number of laps, not seconds. We had a taste of that this weekend, as only nine cars ran the full 400 laps. If it weren’t for a few debris calls to bunch them up, it could have even fewer. To say that Ned Jarrett’s 1965 Southern 500 win, by 19 miles over Buck Baker, was a race is like saying a confrontation between Mike Tyson and my sister would be considered a fight. On second thought, I don’t think Cindy would kick his ass too badly.

Stewart, who would wind up 25th and three laps down, got tagged coming into the pits by Keselowski. Smoke backed up, did a little spin to turn the car around before smoking them up to perform a little sideways shuffle to get his car back into position for servicing. As for Keselowski, he spent some time paying less attention to his driving and more on getting his crew to tell Mr. Stewart that it was an accident, he was sorry, and that he did not want to be sent flying into the fence.

Flying down the track was Johnson’s gas man. Johnson finished a lap down in 11th, but he could have done better if not for one pit stop. Jimmie pulled out, but the gas can did not. Brandon Harder left the pits like a toddler trying to walk a Great Dane on a leash, sending the big fella flying, flipping, and bouncing. Helmets became a part of the crew’s attire in 2002, but I’m still not sure how much padding there is in those fire retardant suits. My guess is, not enough.

They move over to Dover as the road show heads north to Delaware. Bowyer will be trying to move up, Edwards will be trying to stay where he is, and others will be hunting down a checkered flag. Favorites on Sunday, based on history, would include Johnson, Edwards, and Gordon, while the Busch brothers, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle have wins there in recent years. In short, the guy who wins probably won’t need it was bad as some of the rest, unless his name is Jeff. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit id=42 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The Southern 500 at Darlington is tradition. Sometimes it is good, such as during the latter portions of the event, and sometimes it is not. Sometimes there are no cautions, sometimes that leaves very few on the lead lap, and sometimes NASCAR has to throw a caution for debris, or too many mosquitos, or whatever they can think of. At least the final hundred miles got interesting.

That was good, as was the win by Jimmie Johnson. Finally, all the trinkets that have been following Rick Hendrick around to celebrate his 200th Cup win would be handed out, the champagne uncorked, and we could begin the countdown to the 268 put on the board by Petty Enterprises. For Five-Time, it marked his 56th career victory and the 11th straight season he has visited Victory Lane. He moves ahead of Rusty Wallace to sit alone in eighth place among all-time winners. As for this year, Johnson is ranked fifth in the standings, which is better than the 16th place team-mate Kasey Kahne finds himself in, despite a Top Ten at Darlington.

Not so for amigo Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He was 17th on the day, his worst result of 2012, yet third in the standings. Still, if you want the one Hendrick driver who has, through no fault of his own, discovered his season sailing down the crapper, you would be looking for Jeff Gordon. He was in the Top Ten at Darlington until he cut a tire. They changed it, they went out, and cut the sucker again. Off to the garage they went to seek answers, laps ticked off, and Gordon was left in 35th place on the track, and 24th in the standings. So, what needs to happy now? The simplest thing, if there is such a thing, would be to win two of the next 15. Two, that is, as long as Ryan Newman doesn’t win another. If not by wins, by points he has to make gains of at least six positions ahead of whomever is sitting in 10th that week, and do it every week until Richmond. It might be easier to win than to peg his way back, to be honest, in a season that has truly been bad to the bone.

We got our good, we got our bad, so let me introduce you to ugly. Kurt Busch had another one pop in the old fuse box in the Southern 500. After a late wreck that had him put Ryan Newman into the fence and bust his own car up, Busch hit the pits. In leaving, he hit the gas, peeled through Newman’s pit box on his way out, and ticked off some big boys. As the cars were lining up to head to the garage after the race, Busch hit Newman’s car again.

I have never met Andy Rueger, but from what I have seen of him on the tube I would want such a meeting to take place on very pleasant circumstances. The gasman for Newman appears to have had enough of Mr. Busch and his bovine excrement. He went looking for the boy, who kept behind a wall of crew men who probably would not get paid if Kurt got all crunched up and kicked to the curb by Mr. Rueger. Too bad they didn’t just step aside.

Kurt Busch, the man who irritated Dale Earnhardt enough to get the finger from the legend during the last race of his life. Kurt Busch, the weasel who thought he could run his mouth off at Jimmy Spencer only to have the big guy put his fist to Busch’s reset button. Kurt Busch, who took on the personality of Hal the computer after the fans sided with Spencer, actually won the 2004 crown before putting a fork in a year early to his Roush tenure to join Penske. Kurt Busch, who’s real personality was publicly exposed last season as he verbally abused Dr. Jerry Punch while awaiting being interviewed on ESPN. Kurt Busch, who Penske punted after last season, the man who was going to seek professional help, the 33-year old driver exiled to an underfunded outfit to try to reclaim his career, once again demonstrates what a swell boy his momma and poppa raised.

This Saturday, they run the all-star race at Charlotte. Johnson, Gordon, and Busch will all be there. Two will be among the fan favorites. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]There are many experts out there, some who are actually the real deal. When it comes to motorsport racing, I’m no expert but I have been a paid chronicler of events much of my life. An expert observer, one might say. There are times what I see bores the hell out of me, that causes me to hit the double time, or triple time, on my PVR. Sometimes I wish life came with a PVR. Talladega is not one of those times.

Talladega was made for television, each shot providing excitement as we view the 200 mph action, cars inches apart, disaster being averted, and sometimes not, with each lap. We saw Brad Keselowski claim another one on the big track by shaking off his pusher/pursuer Kyle Busch coming off the final turn. Busch lost momentum, Keselowski won the race.

Cars came and went, as they moved from the back of the lead pack to the front and back again. Cars a lap down came back to the lead lap to challenge once they returned. It was hot in Alabama on Sunday, and so were some of the parts under the hood as a few let go to ruin the hopes of more than a few. The cars ran fast, looked fast from our living room vantage point, and removed any confusion as to why we were sitting on the couch and those gentlemen were behind the wheel. If every race from every track could be televised to give you the same sensation, the same visual stimulation that Talladega provides, this sport would be even more popular.

Jeff Gordon would love to be in a race where he can actually finish, and finish on the lead lap, even win. On Sunday, the four time champ got caught up in a wreck, was 33rd on the day, and for the seventh time in ten tries was not a lead lap car at the end. In 1993, his first full season, Gordon finished 14th. In 2005, he was 11th. Every other year he has been in the top ten over the season after November. Today he sits 23rd, 70 points or a couple of wins out of a Chase spot. Ryan Newman is also on the outside, but he could be back with one solid weekend.

Maybe that will come in Darlington this Saturday night. The Lady in Black, the home of both the Southern 500 and the Darlington stripe. It a track that has been hosting Cup events since 1950, hosts one of the sport’s crown jewel events, and one that usually provides some entertaining action. Same can be said about Charlotte, that hosts both the all-star race and the Coca-Cola 600 later in May. I think my PVR is going to rest this month.

As for June, well, at least enjoy the upcoming week.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]There is that old saying that states the more things change, the more they stay the same. There was Kyle Busch winning the spring race at Richmond back in 2009. Then again in 2010. In 2011. Then last Saturday night. Four straight spring race wins at a track he has always done well at.

Even when he drove for Rick Hendrick, Busch opened his Cup career with five straight Top Fives at the track, starting in the spring of 2005. Once he finished 20th, once 15th, both times in the fall. The rest, thirteen races to be exact, have all been Top Tens. In the spring, his worst finish has been 5th, his average finish in eight spring attempts is 2.13. If it is Richmond, especially in the spring, Kyle Busch is going to have a great points day.

The win moves Kyle into a Chase place, sitting 11th with a victory. Of those in the Top Ten in the standings, only half of them had a Top Ten on Saturday. Dale Earnhardt Jr did not win, again, but being second will do until he does. Second at Richmond, second in the standings. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart did it again. So did Jimmie Johnson, even though his pit crew miscued costing the former champ a penalty. Carl Edwards was 10th, even though he picked up a penalty on a late restart.

A different track, yet the same finish Jeff Gordon has come to expect this season. Cuts a tire early and by the time he gets a replacement he is down a couple of laps. He got one back, but still was buried 23rd in the race, and sits 17th in the season parade. To make it back into contention Gordon needs to either make up the 57 points he is out of 10th place or win a couple over the next 17 races. The good news is that with an average finish this year of 20th, he really can’t slip any farther without become a start and park.

So, we hear that fans have thought the season to date as being boring. Well, Daytona was not, but Daytona rarely is. Bristol usually is not, but sadly the 2012 spring contest was not what most were hoping for. Some were fine for the true fan who knows the back stories, but not so much for those who think of the weekly race as a stand alone affair. Sure, other sports have a few duds, a few that fail to excite the casual fan, but they have the advantage of having more than one contest each week. Sure, watching the Twins and Royals might suck, but how about them Dodgers and Cardinals? In NASCAR, what you see is all you get for that week, so if the show isn’t good…

This Sunday I guarantee you the action will be good. You don’t even need to care if Junior wins or if Jeff Gordon can stay on the lead lap right to the end. All you need to do is think of what brand of diaper you might need to wear if you were in one of those cars charging around Talladega. Odds are there will be crashes, but just the spectacle of these 3000 pound vehicles traveling around at close to 200 mph in aircraft formation inches apart make it something to see.
It is not a case of what does happen, but the promise of what could.

Nine Cup drivers are in the Hall of Fame. Three had retired by the time Talladega opened in 1969, though Junior Johnson won there as an owner. The other six, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, and Dale Earnhardt all visited Victory Lane. Each did it more than once. Combined, they did so 25 times.

Jimmie Johnson claimed the spring race last year, while Clint Bowyer won in the fall, giving him two of the last three races run there. Kyle Busch? He won there once, in 2008. Enjoy the spectacle, enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]If you are not a real NASCAR fan, but the kind who doesn’t know a Harvick from a Hamlin, who seeks wrecks not racing, who can’t tick off the boys who have won a race this season, then Kansas probably was not for you. All that venue featured was racing, where positions changed, drivers moved up and fell back, and where the biggest wow moments involved an engine going south.

In the end, Denny Hamlin moved past Martin Truex Jr with 30 laps to go and stayed gone to pick up his second victory of the campaign. Those in the Top Ten in the standings, for the most part, finished among the best last Sunday. Those that didn’t were the pair from Stewart-Haas, with Tony Stewart (13th) and Ryan Newman (20th) not having the best of days, while Kasey Kahne (8th) and Kyle Busch (10th) did as they eye Richmond this Saturday night. Mr. Busch especially so.

One thing fans of the sport notice as we go along is that the best cars during the season tend to be the same that finish up front week after week. It still is a might too early to get all that excited as to who is in and who is not in a Chase place, but Jeff Gordon is 49 out after yet another disappointing run last week. 21st was not where he wanted to be Sunday. Mind you, pick up a win, as Brad Keselowski did at Bristol, and it don’t matter where you are in the standings. Okay, it probably would be better to have two or three victories before one gets too comfortable.

They leave the speedways behind this weekend as they settle in to the 3/4 mile tri-oval that is known as Richmond International Speedway. A dozen races have come and gone since Ford last was in Victory Lane. Kevin Harvick won there last fall for the Bowtie gang, breaking up the Toyota tandem of Kyle Busch (3 wins) and Hamlin (2) who had that venue all to themselves the previous five events. It has been awhile since Jimmie Johnson won his last of three, while even Dale Earnhardt Jr won his second ever Cup race there back in 2000. He has won a couple more there since but, like Johnson and fellow three-time winner Tony Stewart, Junior has not done so lately.

It has been quite some time since Jeff Gordon won there. However, in combing through the stats Gordon has the third best points record at the track over the past five years. In ten races, he has pulled in eight Top Tens. At least there is hope this Saturday night.

However, the smart money would probably be on Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin coming through. Again. Have I ever mentioned that Denny is one of my favorite drivers? No? There might be a reason for that. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Leading the pack? Check. Winning a race and ending a 49 race slump? It was mission accomplished for Greg Biffle Saturday night in Fort Worth when he got by Jimmie Johnson with 30 laps to go and held that lead right to the checkered flag.

Winning. Points are nice, but so is a hug from your grandmother. After a while, a man wants something more. Rick Hendrick would like 200 Cup wins on his team owner resume. Came close the past couple of weeks, and maybe it will come in Kansas. That is, if the good Lord’s willing and Reutimann’s car don’t up and dies.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is doing well. Seven races in and five Top Tens, third place in the standings. That is nice, but it has been 3 years, 10 months since Victory Lane held him in her warm embrace. 136 races. Maybe Kansas, but probably not.

Jimmie Johnson won there twice, including last fall. Jeff Gordon won the first two events held there back in 2001 and 2002. Still, no Hendrick wins for this season. None for the Childress racers either. Bowties are not totally out, as Tony Stewart already has a couple of wins this season and team mate Ryan Newman has one of his own. Matt Kenseth won at Daytona, while Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski won the others. Carl Edwards, so close to a championship last season, is another marquee driver still seeking his first.

The last time a Cup champion claimed the prize without at least a single victory was, well, never. Four did it with a single victory, with Kenseth the last in 2003 to join Benny Parsons (1973), Ned Jarrett (1961), and Bill Rexford (1950). No, wins are rather important, it would seem.

Still, with 17 races to run before the Chase begins, it would seem a bit premature to count the usual suspects out just yet. Mark Martin won’t, as he is running a partial schedule. Based on past performance, the Busch brothers and Kasey Kahne, in 26th place, still could do it. I doubt Casey Mears, in 27th, or any of the rest behind him will.

I think we can be pretty sure that #10 shared by David Reutimann and Danica Patrick will not be out of the Top 35 again anytime soon. It sits in 34th, three points up on Landon Cassill’s #83 and four up on the #33 Tony Raines drove in Texas. Only 36 cars still contend for a spot in the Top 35. My guess is, if there is any chance Danica finds herself needing a sugar daddy to get Go Daddy into the show, Dave Blaney, ten points up on the #10, will be asked to take one for the team…again. On Saturday, I reckon nobody was taking any chances, as Reutimann finished eleven spots ahead of team mate Blaney. They just have to navigate Kansas, Richmond, and Talladega before Patrick’s return for the Southern 500 at Darlington May 12th.

While some are just happy to be there, others will be out to end their “0-for” status, or at the very least make sure they have a tighter grip on a spot among the Top Ten in the standings. All, that is, except for Tony Stewart, as those two wins all but gives the defending champ a lock on one of the Chase wild car berths. Still, I’m sure he would like to win on Sunday. I mean, he is the middle of a two race drought of his own. Enjoy the week.