Author: SM Staff

Once there was a hot shot driver from Connecticut causing waves in short tracks everywhere with his immense racing talents. He was a teenage hot shot, the next big thing, the greatest thing since sliced bread. No, I’m not talking about Joey Logano.

Before there was Joey Logano there was Kyle Busch, and before Kyle Busch, there was Jeff Gordon. But you already knew that. What you may not know, or remember, is that before Jeff Gordon there was Rob Moroso. The teenage phenom isn’t particularly new to NASCAR, and while many think Gordon was the first of his kind, Gordon simply followed in the shadows of another teen phenom. Unfortunately, it was one who never saw his talents come to fruition.

On September 28, 1986, at Orange County Speedway in North Carolina a kid from Connecticut celebrated his 18th birthday in the best way he knew possible, climb into a racecar. It was on this date that Rob Moroso made his Busch (now Nationwide) Series debut. While the finish of the event was less than stellar, heads were turned with his 6th place qualifying effort. His arrival had been announced.

Less than a month later Moroso would make his second career start in the Busch Series, doing so for an owner named Rick Hendrick, you might have heard of him. This time Moroso managed to finish the event, and do so in 18th place after qualifying in 15th at Rockingham. Rick Hendrick had taken notice, and that, as we have come to uncover, is usually a good sign.

The following season, in Oldsmobiles fielded by his father Dick, Rob Moroso would start 25 of the 27 races on the Busch schedule.

Moroso, 18 for much of the year, qualified three times in the top 5, including a 5th place start at the demanding high banks of Bristol in just his 6th career Busch Series start.

Over the course of the season Moroso would manage to finish in the top 15 an impressive 15 times in his 25 starts. Not bad for an 18 year old driving for a race team that was making its debut.

Of those top fifteen runs, there were notable head-turning performances turned in by the youngster, including 8 top 10 finishes, and two additional top 5 showings.

Moroso took on a pair of the sports toughest tracks, and in the fall came away with a 7th at Bristol and a 9th at Dover, two of the arguably most difficult tracks on the schedule.

Moroso’s short track prowess was quickly becoming evident, as he recorded top ten finishes at South Boston, Orange Park, IRP, Oxford, and Martinsville.

Heading into the 1988 season, expectations had risen for Moroso. This was supposed to be the year he went from rookie phenomenon to championship contender in the Busch Series.

At 19 years old in 1988, he did not disappoint.

Moroso would run all 30 races while competing for the Busch championship, and of the 30 starts, he’d finish 24. The impressive part of that being that of the 24 races he managed to see the end of, he did so in top 10 fashion in 18 of them, throwing in 10 top 5 runs.

Moroso continued to show amazing talent on the short tracks, racking up good run after good run in the early part of the season. He led his first career laps in the 2nd race of the year Hickory, pacing the field for five circuits.

A few short weeks later he led 85 laps at Nazareth in route to a runner-up finish, his third top-five of the season’s first eight races.

Eight races later in Myrtle Beach, at just 19 years old, Rob Moroso won his first race.

Just two races later he would capture his first pole of his career at South Boston. he followed that up with his 2nd straight pole at Hickory the next race.

The fall Charlotte weekend would turn out to be quite a huge weekend for the youngster. That Hendrick fella once again put Moroso in a car, but this time in Winston Cup. All Moroso did was finish 14th in his Cup series debut.

Oh, and as a side note, Moroso’s Cup debut came the same weekend he would score yet another victory in the Busch Series, also at Charlotte. The Charlotte win cementing the fact that Moroso could also play on the big playgrounds.

When 1988 concluded Moroso would find himself 2nd in the final points standings, and barely even 20 years old. The future was bright.

In 1989 Moroso followed up his impressive 1988 campaign by becoming the youngest champion in series history at the time. Moroso won 7 poles and 4 races en route to becoming the series champion. Perhaps more impressive than either of those two statistics was that Moroso qualified on the front two rows a whopping 17 times in 29 starts.

Among his 4 wins, two more came at Charlotte, giving him three consecutive wins at the track and leaving expectations sky high for him heading into the 1990 season.

Instead of being snatched up by one of the already established teams in Cup though, Moroso would go Cup racing in cars owned by his father, staying in the family.

At 21 years old Moroso was preparing to go full-time Winston Cup racing, and the expectations were plentiful.

What followed was what was to be expected from a driver so wet behind the ears, and so young, with a team so young. There were strong qualifying performances, and some quality runs. However, there was also a slew of blown engines and wrecked racecars.

This was a time though when this was expected from young kids. This was before the time when rookie drivers entered the sport in top-notch equipment and were expected to win races off the bat. This was when rookies were still supposed to be in their late twenties, and when rookies were given a couple years of a learning curve. Owners knew they’d be dealing with torn-up race cars, just as long as the evidence of speed was there with their talented youngsters.

With Moroso, there was no question of the speed being there. Despite all the torn-up equipment, very little of the luster had rubbed off of the talented rookie.

On September 30, 1990, Moroso finished 21st at North Wilksboro, just two days after turning 22.

Unfortunately, following the race, it appeared Moroso may have spent too much time celebrating that 22nd birthday.

One thing about young people, is young people make mistakes, and at usually a more frequent, and dangerous rate than most others. It is one of the reasons rookies tear up so much equipment, it is simply the nature of the beast.

This time though the beast proved to be more than sliding backward into a wall at Richmond.

Moroso at this point at already received four speeding tickets, a rather high number for someone of his age. It seemed the very traits he exhibited on the racetrack that did make him successful, and so hard on equipment, followed him away from the track into his passenger car.

This particular night Moroso was said to have had a blood alcohol content of 0.22, over twice the legal limit in North Carolina at the time. Moroso was apparently driving his vehicle in speeds of upwards of 75 mph……..around a curve with a posted speed limit of just 35.

Overdriving the entrance to turn one at Martinsville is one thing, doing it on public roads? Something completely different.

Moroso lost control of his vehicle and hit an oncoming car. Both Moroso and the driver of the oncoming car were killed.

Moroso would still win rookie of the year posthumously, becoming the first, and thus far only, driver to ever receive the award in such a fashion.

That award was of little consolation to the family of Tammy Williams, the woman he hit, nor to his own father. Dick Moroso would never again field a full-time Cup team, and by 1996 was out of the sport completely.

Some say NASCAR didn’t do enough to keep Moroso’s memory alive. There are also those who argue in lieu of how Moroso died, and the manner in which his actions killed someone else, his memory was best let go of. Many would argue that NASCAR shied away from the Moroso issue to avoid having to deal with the fact that a future star they were marketing was guilty of a DUI and had killed an innocent person.

Others still will argue that this would have been the perfect time for NASCAR to speak out more against DUI and reckless behavior.

Whatever the reasons, Moroso’s death was as quiet a death as you can find in a major auto racing series.

What was once the future of NASCAR, a promising young star who would help bridge the gap from the Pettys and Yarboroughs to the new generation of NASCAR drivers was suddenly an afterthought.

Moroso didn’t race in the cup series long enough to leave an indelible mark, and his family name was not big enough to keep his name on the tips of tongues throughout NASCAR circles, let alone sports circles in general.

When people think of NASCAR tragedies, they think of Allison, Earnhardt, Richmond, and Petty. The name Rob Moroso barely appears anywhere but on a list of former rookie of the year winners.

But for those that saw him drive, he was Jeff Gordon before Jeff Gordon was. Just ask the man for whom he made his Winston Cup debut, Rick Hendrick.

What a very interesting Talladega weekend for NASCAR Sprint Cup owner/driver Robby Gordon. First he hosted a press conference announcing his participation in a newly created energy drink company and then found himself searching for his personal, new company, truck that was apparently towed out of a speedway private parking lot.

FIRST THE JUICE NEWS

During last Friday’s press conference Gordon announced that he and Steven Nichols, his longtime friend and attorney, have formed a partnership to manufacture, distribute and retail a new drink called SPEED Energy. The drink is being manufactured in a plant located in the Charlotte-North Carolina area with plans to distribute to super markets, convenience stores, bars and nightclubs in the very near future. Gordon said that the new drink will be marketed in three different flavors: Unleaded, Fuel and Octane adding they will provide the human machine with the fuel it needs to keep up with the “SPEED” of life.

On the racing side SPEED Energy sponsored Gordon’s #7 Toyota entry in Sunday’s race at Talladega an event that was ironically was sponsored by Amp Energy Juice. The new company will also sponsor Gordon’s car later this month when the Cup season ends at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Gordon hopes that initial interest in his new energy drink will generate enough revenue to sponsor his racing operation in 2011. Regarding plans for next year he said he’s committed to running the first five Cup races plus some other “fun” events in the big market areas. He also plans to race in next year’s Indy 500 as well as some off road events such as the Dakar Rally.

NOW THE MISSING TRUCK NEWS

The following day Gordon learned that his personal truck, marked with SPEED Energy logos, had been towed from a speedway parking lot reserved for vehicles belonging to team owners and drivers. The order to remove his vehicle from the lot was alleged to have come from “track officials.” The allegations further claim that the removal was in connection to his official announcement regarding his new energy drink company.

A frustrated Gordon said “It’s gone.  I guess it’s in some impound area somewhere, but it’s my personal truck. I can appreciate that Amp Energy Drink is sponsoring the race but they don’t sponsor me.” Gordon also observed that other personal vehicles and golf carts, located in the same private lot, had some corporate logos that were in fact competitors with the race sponsors.

Gordon also said that he spoke with some fellow drivers who have endorsement contracts with Coke, and their Coca Cola Family of Drivers campaign, and they were wondering about the soft drink logos on their personal vehicles and golf carts adding “they said can we not have Coke on our golf carts or not have Coke on our cars? This one’s a confusing situation to me.”

By now the conspiracy theorists were running amuck. They quickly pointed out that the Talladega Speedway is owned and operated by The International Speedway Corporation, ISC, which is owned by the France family who in turn owns NASCAR. Somehow these bug eyed theorists jumped to the conclusion that the Gordon’s new energy drink announcement, at the Talladega Speedway was a huge conflict of interest with the sponsor of the NASCAR Cup race so his truck was removed from the parking lot to protect the interests of the NASCAR sponsor.

Amazing isn’t it? But, as radio icon Paul Harvey likes to say, here’s the “rest of the story.” The part that Gordon didn’t exactly mention when he informed the media that his truck had been towed last Saturday.

It seems there was a planned SPEED Energy publicity stunt that occurred on Friday night. Reports claim that Gordon’s company golf carts “assaulted” the festivities being held that night at the Amp Energy stage. This was actually confirmed via a “Twitter” message, alleged to have been sent by a SPEED Energy representative, that said “SPEED Energy just crashed the Amp Energy Stage.”

On Saturday speedway officials were reported to be very angry with Gordon and company for their publicity prank the night before and that’s when the order was given to have his personal truck, and the company golf carts, removed from the private parking lot. That action inspired yet another “Twitter” message that said ” ‘Dega Security towed the SPEED Energy truck off of the property, thanks 4 the free PR guys.”

In the aftermath there are some questions that remain. Was Gordon right to use the Talladega race, sponsored by Amp Energy, to announce his new drink company? Actually he was. A NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend attracts the presence and attention of a large contingency of the media. Special press conferences and announcements regarding new team sponsors are often common place during these weekends and it presents the opportunity to reach a wide audience.

Was Gordon’s, and SPEED Energy’s, Friday night surprise appearance at the Amp Energy stage out of line? It was so far out of line these guys couldn’t even see the line anymore. Amp Energy made a reported investment of $5.3 million plus so the fans could enjoy the Talladega race. That investment entitles them to market their products during the race weekend without having to deal with the surprise interference of a brand new marketing rival.

Were speedway officials right in their decision to tow Gordon’s truck and golf carts from the parking lot? That’s hard to say. But you certainly can’t blame them for being angry enough to want to invoke that punishment.

At this point in time do we really need a new energy drink? Probably not! That ever growing market is getting hopelessly crowded to the point where there’s going to be some causalities. Only those products with extremely strong corporate ties, such as Amp Energy Drink, are going to survive the high level of competition.

Just recently there was a television commercial for a new drink that helps people calm down. Does Robby Gordon, and his SPEED Energy colleagues, need to try this new product prior to the NASCAR weekend at Texas? It certainly can’t hurt.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into the Dallas-Fort Worth area this weekend for Sunday’s running of the AAA Texas 500. 43 drivers will be taking the green flag in hopes that they will be the one to stand in the Texas victory lane while wearing the white cowboy hat and firing the six shooters into the air. But the one aspect that we will all be watching will be the possibility of a Texas sized impact on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship.

THE STORY BREAKDOWN

The story everyone will be watching throughout Sunday’s Texas event will be the progress of the three Chase contenders: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick.

If Johnson is going to advance his drive for five campaign at Texas he’s going to have to avoid the pratfall the team experienced last year. An early race accident found the #48 Lowes team in the garage, with some of their Hendrick Motorsports friends, taking on the task of rebuilding the entire front end of a badly damaged race car.

Johnson’s last two outings at Texas hasn’t been that spectacular but, despite that, his overall numbers at this super speedway remain very healthy. In 14 starts he has one win at Texas, in 2007, along with seven top five finishes, ten top ten finishes and his average finish ratio is an impressive 10.1.

Denny Hamlin’s game plan is quite simple: finish ahead of Johnson in order to eradicate the 14 championship points that separate them. Hamlin, and his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, would like to do that by sweeping the Texas events this year. They won the race there back in April. Hamlin’s overall numbers definitely makes him a pre race favorite. In ten starts there he has the one win along with four top five finishes, seven top tens along with an average finish ratio of 9.6.

Kevin Harvick’s game plan is the same as Hamlin’s except his numbers are a little different. He’s 38 markers away from Johnson and needs to do exactly what he did last Sunday at Talladega: finish ahead of the #48 and the #11. Harvick is still searching for his first opportunity to wear a cowboy in the Texas victory lane. However, he has compiled some impressive numbers at the speedway. In 15 starts Harvick has three top five finishes, seven top tens along with an average finish ratio of 12.9.

Again, don’t be too surprised if the outcome of Sunday’s race delivers a Texas sized impact on the state of the Chase. Also expect to hear reports regarding the huge smiles on the faces of NASCAR executives at Daytona Beach. You know that they’re just loving what they’re getting from the 2010 Chase.

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Needless to say the other big story line from the Texas weekend will be the current and future status of the financially strapped Richard Petty Motorsports, (RPM). There was some good news for the team this week. All four teams have reported for duty at the Texas Motor Speedway this week. That may sound insignificant to some, but as of last Sunday RPM’s presence in Texas was actually a question mark.

The other good news came from Budweiser who announced earlier this week that they would honor their sponsorship contract, on RPM’s #9 Ford, until the conclusion of the current racing season. It wasn’t that many days ago that this was also another difficult issue for RPM. When Kasey Kahne left the team a few weeks ago Budweiser acted like they were also leaving. They referenced breach of contract and insisted they signed on with Kahne and not substitute driver Aric Almirola. Apparently the famed beer company had a change of heart and will honor their deal with RPM while waiting to join Richard Childress Racing, and driver Kevin Harvick, next year.

Despite the fact that his famous name is prominent on the company logo, Richard Petty is a small, minority, owner of this operation. But that hasn’t deterred his attempts towards putting together an investment group to purchase controlling interest of RPM from majority owner George Gillett Jr. This action is being scrutinized by the Wachovia Bank who holds a $90 million note, now in default, that allowed Gillett to purchase the team approximately three years ago.

Adding to the financial drama was a report, last Tuesday that said there may be another group, yet to be identified, that has expressed an interest in purchasing RPM. But, from the outside looking in, it appears that Wachovia Bank is hoping that Richard Petty will emerge as the new majority owner and it appears they are giving him the time he needs to assemble an investor group before they seriously entertain other offers.

Richard Petty was the recipient of some strong support recently from Ray Evernham, the creator of this team to begin with, who is also a minority owner of RPM. On Wednesday Evernham made an appearance on the very popular “Sirius Speedway” program hosted by Dave Moody on the Sirius Radio Network’s NASCAR Channel. Evernham described the current status of RPM as being a “legal and financial nightmare.” But he also made it clear that he was in favor of Petty becoming the new majority owner and said “I don’t have an interest in owning a piece of the team anymore, but if it comes down to helping Richard bridge a gap for time being, I would absolutely do what it took to help him achieve his goal.”

You can expect to hear a lot of speculation this weekend on the status of RPM and expect to hear even more in the weeks to come. There’s a lot more than just tangled finances involved here. This story has a lot of human emotion connected to it. Literally everyone wants to see “King” Richard Petty, and his famous #43 race car, remain active in NASCAR racing.

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THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

The Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE), truly believes that Jimmie Johnson will be “the man” next Sunday at Texas and they’re backing that up with 4 to 1 odds. Right behind him is Chase rival Denny Hamlin rated at 11 to 2 this week.

Championship contender Kevin Harvick leads a trio of drivers in the 9 to 1 category. But it’s the other two drivers in this category, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, who could turn out to be lucrative long shot wagers. It’s well documented that Gordon’s last trip to victory lane was at Texas in April of last year. He has an average finish ratio of 15.9 in 19 starts there. He also holds the track record for top five finishes with seven. If Gordon is going to get the win that has eluded him for the last 18 months this might be the opportunity. Meanwhile Tony Stewart’s up an down Chase performance could use another shot in the arm and Texas could be the place for it to happen. Stewart won the Texas race in November of 2006 and has an average finish ratio of 13.4 there.

All by himself, at 10 to 1, is the always important Kyle Busch.  He’s still looking for his first win at Texas but, as we’ve all seen before, he’s somehow always a player in any NASCAR race he enters. This is another really good long shot consideration.

Now here’s a really good long shot opportunity. That would be Carl Edwards at 12 to 1 odds. Granted, Edwards is currently trying to resolve a 69 race win less streak but the fact of the matter is he has some really good numbers at the Texas Motor Speedway. He has a series high three wins there and swept both races back in 2008. Edwards is also one of the Ford drivers for Roush Fenway Racing who holds the track record for team wins at seven while Ford holds the track record for manufacturer wins at nine. Also in this 12 to 1 category is Greg Biffle, another Roush Fenway Racing driver, “The Biff” is also a previous race winner at Texas and is another great long shot consideration. The same goes for Kurt Busch, also ranked 12 to 1, who is defending race champion as well the track record holder for the largest winning margin. Busch won last November’s race by a whopping 25.686 seconds.

In the middle portion of this week’s WSE rankings Jamie McMurray is set at 15 to 1. At 20 to 1 is a trio of drivers featuring Talladega winner Clint Bowyer, previous Texas winner Matt Kenseth and two time winner Jeff Burton who is another long shot consideration.

At the bottom end of the WSE listing you will find Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin and previous race winner Kasey Kahne at 25 to 1. Joey Logano stands alone at 35 to 1 this week. The trio of Martin Truex Jr, David Reutimann and previous Texas winner Ryan Newman closes out this week’s list at 40 to 1 odds.

Time for the disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these numbers should be viewed for informational and entertainment purposes only. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their races. They would prefer that you, instead, spend your money on the variety of unique racing souvenirs available at the NASCAR Store on line. That Dale Earnhardt Jr bar b que grill cover is really bitching.

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THE RACE BREAKDOWN

The AAA Texas 500 is 334 laps/501 miles around the Texas Motor Speedway’s massive 1.5 mile quad oval.

The race has 49 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 14 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams are not guaranteed a starting berth because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.

The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway was held in April of 1997 and was won by Jeff Burton. Since that time there has been 19 Cup races there that has sent 16 different winners to victory lane.

The turns of the Texas Motor Speedway has 24 degrees of banking along with five degrees of banking on the straightaways and the dog leg.

The speedway has permanent seating for 138,122 fans.

The pit road speed is 45 MPH.

Weather should not be a big factor in Sunday’s race. The Dallas-Fort Worth forecast calls for sunny skies and a balmy daytime high of 74 degrees.

The AAA Texas 500 will be broadcast live by the ESPN Network beginning at 2 pm eastern time. The rebroadcasts will be on Monday morning, 230 am et, on ESPN2 and again on Wednesday, 12 pm et, on SPEED.

Since October 23rd, possible manufactures switch for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing (EGR). Ford has rumored to have made an offer to EGR that’d benefit them that’d draw them away from Chevrolet. However, Racehub reported tonight that EGR signed a three-year contract with Chevrolet.

The move was being considered after looking at the manufacture ranking and the fact that both EGR drivers, Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya, failed to make the Chase. Despite this, the pair managed to score four wins this year, including McMurray winning both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.

As according to FOXSports.com, their sources said that Ford started discussion back with July.

If Chip Ganassi had made the switch from Chevrolet to Ford, it would have moved them up in the manufacture ranking. With Chevy, they’re currently fourth in line behind Hendrick Motorsports (HMS), Richard Childress Racing and, Stewart-Haas Racing (who has an alliance with HMS). If they had gone to Ford, they’d only be second to Roush-Fenway Racing. By being higher in the manufacture ranking, it’d allow them to get better technical support.

A spokesperson for Ford also told Sirius Speedway that the offer from Ford is supposedly worth more than their current deal with Chevrolet.

“The offer is on the table, and it’s up to them whether or not to take it,” the spokesperson said. “If this was a strict business decision, I think Chip (Ganassi) would make the move. But racers are a pretty loyal bunch. I honestly think it could go either way.

It all looked great on paper, though would it be something that Ganassi would want to do and chance? What if things don’t go as they should and it doesn’t help the team? As they say, if something’s good, then don’t mess it up and overall, they’ve had a pretty decent year.

Also if they had made the switch, they would have lose their engine package with Richard Childress Racing. Earnhardt Childress Racing Technology (ECRT) Engines have won eight races this year, second only to Mark Cronquist’s engines at Joe Gibbs Racing who have nine wins.

The switch would’ve caused EGR to have to build their own motors or work out a deal with Roush-Fenway Racing (RFR). Though is that something that’d be something that Ganassi would be interested in doing considering the liability issues this year with RFR motors?

Officials at EGR have said that they don’t have plans to leave Chevy due to the long-standing relationship for the Earnhardt clan with Chevy and the fact that the motors are the best in the business right now.

Also, had EGR parted ways, it would’ve had other implications.

Past what has been discussed, Furniture Row and Tommy Baldwin Racing were set to join the ECRT alliance so if the alliance gets broken via a manufacture switch for EGR, how does that affect them?

If the switch would have happened, there’d probably would have been a bunch of unhappy fans and it would’ve taken EGR another step away from Dale Earnhardt’s beginnings with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated as Chevrolet was his main manufacture.

During the previous weekend we witnessed a 500 mile race at the Talladega Super Speedway that had 87 lead changes in 188 laps. We watched a beleaguered Chase team rise to the top of the charts and find victory lane again. We learned the true value of computerized scoring loops. We watched the Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship standings turn into a NASCAR dream come true and we were treated to a tailgate party that was simply awesome.

With those thoughts in mind let’s begin with:

HOORAH to Clint Bowyer for winning Sunday’s Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladega. The win was Bowyer’s second of the season and 4th career win. Team mate, and fellow Chase contender, Kevin Harvick finished second. That leads to a HOORAH to team owner Richard Childress who collected his 11th team win at Talladega. When you consider the overall status of this organization last year, their 2010 season has been an amazing turn around.

HOORAH to the power plants manufactured by Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines. Their good work has led to victories in all four of this year’s high speed restrictor plate races.

HOORAH for the computer scoring loops that actually determined the winner of this race. When the caution came out during the final lap, NASCAR officials had a high tech reference center at their disposal to determine which car was in the lead when the yellow came out. Naturally, an important review of this nature took a few moments. Meanwhile Bowyer and Harvick were cruising in front of the fans waiting for the final decision. Only team owner Richard Childress knew for sure he was supposed to report to victory lane. He just wasn’t sure which driver he was going to be shaking hands with.

HOORAH to both of these drivers for stopping on the front stretch to shake hands. That’s the kind of post race class we like to see.

HOORAH to Kevin Harvick’s crew led by crew chief Gil Martin. Harvick sustained some front end crash damage after Marcus Ambrose spun in front of him. In a sheer note of irony it was his team mate and race winner, Bowyer, who accidentally tapped Ambrose to launch the accident. The Harvick team did an outstanding job with patching up the front end of the car while keeping their driver on the lead lap. Harvick took it home from there.

WAZZUP with driver A J Allmendinger and that horrible accident that brought out the final caution to begin with? The destroyed race car was absolutely the last thing the financially strapped Richard Petty Motorsports needed to see. Prior to the race Allmendinger admitted that he had knots in his stomach because he’s not sure about his future with the team.

But that crash does lead to a HOORAH for the safety innovations installed in NASCAR’s Car Of Tomorrow from the very beginning. This accolade also applies to the SAFER barrier walls that is employed by the speedways the series races at. It wasn’t that many years when an upside down crash, like Allendinger’s, would have become an extremely serious incident.

HOORAH to the Chase standings that followed this race. With three races left in the season, Jimmie Johnson has a slim 14 point advantage over Denny Hamlin and is only 38 points ahead of Kevin Harvick. The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship has the makings of a shootout and NASCAR has to be thrilled with what they’re seeing right now.

WAZZUP with no one wanting to draft with Jimmie Johnson during the final laps of this race? Could it be that no one wants to see this #48 win a fifth consecutive championship?

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Have I told you lately how much I love the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series?

HOORAH to Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250 and the exciting finish NASCAR’s truck drivers presented the fans. The sight of race winner Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola and Johnny Sauter racing three wide to the checkers, only two-one thousandths of a second apart, was breath taking.

HOORAH to Kyle Busch Motorsports for taking over the lead in the coveted owner’s point championship. Steve Germain, owner of Todd Bodine’s Toyota, started the race 39 points ahead of Busch in the standings. Busch finished the race 42 points ahead of Germain.

WAZZUP with all of the bump drafting that often doesn’t work between these trucks? Prior to the race Series Director Wayne Auton warned the teams about bump drafting saying the bumpers on the trucks just simply weren’t a good match for this type of activity.

WAZZUP with the drivers not heeding this warning. With three laps left in the race, it was an ill timed and placed bump draft that turned Todd Bodine’s truck which caused him to collect Ron Hornaday Jr. The Hornaday truck wound up on its roof. Once again a HOORAH goes out the NASCAR mandated safety equipment which more than did it job by allowing Hornaday to leave the infield medical center with a smile on his face.

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This week’s NASCAR notable quotable HOORAH goes to the always fun Michael Waltrip. Each year, during the Halloween racing weekend the SPEED Chanel’s crew assigned to the truck series goes all out with the costumes. This year they chose to dress like the characters from the television show “Gilligan’s Island.” That included Waltrip’s transformation to playing the millionaire’s wife: Mrs Thurston Howell III. During the excitement level of the final ten laps in this race, Waltrip yelled “this is making my make up run.”

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Our final WAZZUP of the week contain some rather bizarre circumstances. The WAZZUP goes to the Dusty Whitney owned #46 Dodge team driven by Michael McDowell. During a pre race inspection by Sprint Cup officials last Friday it couldn’t help but be noticed that there were some ball bearing rolling out of the front of the car. It turned out that the car’s lower A arms had been hollowed out and filled with the bearings. This unique maneuver lowers the car’s center of gravity and improves handling capabilities. It also allows the team to remove some weight from a higher portion of the car. NASCAR is expected to respond with a penalty sometime on Tuesday. It’s a good possibility that the price of ball bearings could soar to around $5,000 per pound.

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Finally this week comes a sad GOD BLESS to the family, friends and fans of Jim Hunter, the NASCAR Vice President of Corporate Communications, who passed away last Friday, at the age of 71, following a valiant battle with cancer.

Hunter’s motorsports career spanned six decades. He was an award winning member of the motorsports media, a motorsports author, a public relations rep for Dodge Motorsports and President of the Darlington Raceway in addition to his presence in NASCAR’s top executive line up.

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of meeting Mr Hunter, and talking racing with him, fully understands just how big of a loss his passing was to the NASCAR nation.

At the track described as NASCAR’s ‘wild card’, famous for white knuckle racing, insanely close finishes and the infamous ‘big one’, Talladega Superspeedway’s Amp Energy Juice, run on Halloween no less, delivered on all accounts, for the most part.  Here are the surprising and not surprising tricks and treats from HallowDega:

Surprising:  What was most surprising was the length of time that it took to finally declare the winner after yet another close finish at Talladega.  With Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick exchanging handshakes as they waited for what seemed like an eternity to find out which one had won, NASCAR finally declared it was Clint Bowyer after reviewing and re-reviewing the videotape.  This was Bowyer’s second Chase win and he is now left to wonder what could have been since his penalty put him dead last in the Chase race.  After thanking Juan Pablo Montoya for pushing him to a great finish, Bowyer just had two words after finally being declared the victor, “Hell yeah.”

Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick, with a bruised, beat up, and bear-bonded race car as a result of an early wreck, finished runner up to his Richard Childress Racing teammate.  As Harvick said, “We kept it 1, 2 in the right house and beat the guys we needed to.”  Harvick has now finished seventh, first, first, and second at this season’s restrictor plate races at Daytona, Talladega, Daytona and Talladega respectively.  Harvick is now just 38 points behind Chase leader Jimmie Johnson, tightening up the championship competition considerably.

Surprising:  At a track that he loves and where his father had such success, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. did lead laps early in the race to the delight of the crowd, particularly Junior Nation.  But surprisingly, Junior, usually so solid in plate races, made a mistake in the draft, clipping Jeff Burton in the corner and sending the veteran for a very wild ride.  Burton was so upset, knowing that he had a good car, that in spite of his hard impact, decimated vehicle and even a brief fire, he got out and promptly kicked his race car.  Junior also sustained significant damage, and although he was able to eventually return to the track, he finished a cursed 39^th in his The Legend of Hallowdega race car.

Not Surprising:  While Junior usually loves the restrictor plate tracks, one driver in particular just hates them, especially Talladega.  So it was not surprising to hear A.J. Allmendinger declare after flying through the air and hitting the wall upside down, “I hate this place.  I always have and I always will.”  Allmendinger admitted that he has never flipped before and will most likely seek the services of his chiropractor wife Lynne for his sore neck and back.  Allmendinger finished in the 32^nd position and time will tell if he will be at the next race due to the financial turmoil currently affecting his race team, Richard Petty Motorsports.

Surprising:   At a track known for the ‘big one’, a wreck that traditionally occurs at Talladega, often taking out at least twenty race cars and a major portion of the race field, it was surprising that the ‘big one’ just did not occur.  There certainly were a few wrecks along the way, but they were more isolated instances involving just a handful of cars.  The majority of cautions were for debris on the track rather than carnage from the dreaded ‘big one’.

Not Surprising:  Although no major wrecking occurred, there were the unbelievably frequent lead changes.  In fact, the race at Talladega this year yielded 87 lead changes, so almost every driver got their chance to be out front at one point or another.  It was also not surprising to see those infamous two-car breakaways that have also become a hallmark of Talladega, moving duos from the back to the front in the blink of an eye.  Both race winner Bowyer and runner up Harvick took advantage of the two-car hook ups with Juan Pablo Montoya and David Reutimann to thank respectively.

Surprising:   It was surprising how depressed Denny Hamlin was after a top-ten finish at Talladega.  Hamlin stated glumly, “I wish I could have had a better show.”  Hamlin’s depression was also surprising given the championship contender battled back from being a lap down to finish in the ninth position.  Hamlin is now just 14 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson in the Chase standings, yet still in a gloomy mood.

Not Surprising:   At one of NASCAR’s wildest and most unpredictable tracks, it was not surprising to see some non-traditional drivers lead laps and get good finishes.  Juan Pablo Montoya, who started on the pole, proved that he is quickly becoming a plate track ace with his third place finish.  David Reutimann, who studied at the feet of team owner Michael Waltrip, also had a great run, finishing fourth.  The youngster Joey Logano had a great ride, finishing fifth and scoring his first three top-10 finishes in a row in his Cup career. Reutimann’s Diamond Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth and Brad Keselowski did Penske proud with his top-ten placement.

Surprising:  It was a major surprise that after hanging in the back all race long and finally deciding to make their move to the front that teammates and four-time champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were not able to seal the deal.  The two hooked up late in the race and charged to the front, leading a few laps.  But Gordon seemed to just get spooked, saying his car was “blowing up”.  He fell back, leaving Johnson alone in the draft, while he tried to diagnose his issues.  Although both drivers finished well, in the seventh and eighth spots respectively, Johnson was left shaking his head after the race, saying he still did not know what was going on with his teammate.

Not Surprising:  In spite of Gordon’s issues, Jimmie Johnson soldiered on, in spite of some damage that he sustained in one of the on-track incidents.  Johnson, apparently ditching the lucky horseshoe, credited his baby Genevieve’s Halloween costume, an angel with a halo, as his ‘Dega good luck charm.  Johnson maintains the points lead in the Chase as he continues his historic quest for a fifth consecutive championship.

With just three races left in the season to decide the winner of the Sprint Cup, the NASCAR aces will head deep in the heart of Texas.  The AAA Texas 500 will be held at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, November 7^th at 3:00 PM on ESPN.