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  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: The Nationwide Series at Atlanta

    NASCAR’s Nationwide Series will join their Sprint Cup counterparts this weekend to race on the fastest track on their schedule; the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Great Clips 300 is a Saturday night under the lights event that is expected to treat the series’ fans to an evening filled with side by side racing and perhaps even an oh so close finish that this race track is famous for. The starting field for the Great Clips 300 will once again be comprised of so called double duty drivers from the Sprint Cup Series with many of them representing high profile team owners.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    With ten races left on the Nationwide Series schedule there will be a point in time when the official trophy manufacturer of NASCAR will receive a call from Daytona Beach informing them to start engraving a champion’s name. They will likely need some additional time in this process to perform a spell check on the name Keselowski.

    Going into the Atlanta race, Brad Keselowski has a very healthy 365 point lead over season rival Carl Edwards. He padded that lead with an additional 52 points last weekend, at the Montreal race, with an impressive fourth place finish on a road course while his rival languished in the pits with a broken track bar.

    With ten races left, 365 points is not exactly insurmountable but it’s also not likely that Keselowski will not suffer the kind of free fall Edwards is going to need to steal the series’ title. The time to call the NASCAR trophy engraver will be coming soon because it appears that this young driver is going to present team owner Roger Penske with a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.

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    Keselowski may also be presenting Penske with a Nationwide Series owner’s championship as well. However, this coveted title is going to be a lot harder because the points spread in this competition is still too close to call.

    Team owner Joe Gibbs, and his #18 Toyota, leads the standings with 4,030 points going into Saturday night’s race. Needless to say those numbers are based on the amazing performance by driver Kyle Busch. The numbers associated with this driver and team are simply astounding especially in light of the fact that the driver is not running the full Nationwide Series schedule like he did last year when he won the championship. In 25 series races Busch has 20 starts, 10 wins, 16 top five finishes and 17 top tens. He’s also third in the series’ driver standing despite the five races he didn’t start.

    As strong as these numbers are, they are not enough to walk away with the owner’s championship at this point in time. Team Gibbs only has a 35 point lead over Jodi Geschickter who is the owner of record for Brad Keselowski’s #22 Penske Racing Dodge. Look for this battle to go all the way to the season ending race in November.

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    Also very interesting is the competition for the series’ Raybestos Brakes Rookie of the Year title. Going into Saturday night’s race Brian Scott, driver of the #10 Braun Racing Toyota, has a very slim 15 point lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the driver of the #6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

    This rookie competition has always been regarded as being prestigious and has often become a career defining moment for a young driver.

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    NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner Jay Robinson, who fields the #28 Chevrolet for driver Kenny Wallace, has endured a full season of obtaining sponsors virtually on a race to race basis. Of course it helps when one of NASCAR’s most popular personalities is sitting in the driver’s seat, but still it’s an arduous process that detracts from matters of equal importance.

    It appears that Robinson and Wallace has once again found a unique sponsor for their Atlanta efforts. It’s the FX television network and their hit show “Sons Of Anarchy.” This wildly popular show about the gritty life of a southern California motorcycle gang will be using the Robinsion/Wallace ride to promote the start of their third season which begins on September 7th.

    The always fun Wallace said “Sons Of Anarchy is a great show, one of the best on television. I create anarchy all around me and it follows me where ever I go so we’re a good match.”

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    The frustration and stress level of an underfunded team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series can often push someone right up to the proverbial ragged edge. That’s pretty much what happened to team owner Johnny Davis who was involved in a pit road altercation following last Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Montreal.

    The details of that altercation are not exactly clear but NASCAR’s reaction were crystal clear on Wednesday morning when they announced that Davis was in violation of their rule known as “action detrimental to stock car racing.” The result was a $5,000 fine and probation until December 31st.

    Here’s hoping that the team owner’s driver, Mike Wallace, can create a strong enough finish at the Atlanta race to help pay for Montreal misgivings.

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    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Great Clips 300 is 195 laps/300.3 miles around the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.54 mile oval.

    The race has 44 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 14 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams do not have a guaranteed start in the race because they are currently outside of the series’ top 30 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to earn a starting berth in the race.

    The 2009 defending race winner is Kevin Harvick. The driver of his self owned #33 Rheem Heating, Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet is one of the Sprint Cup double duty entries in the race and will be looking for his third series win of the season.

    The Great Clips 300 will be broadcast live by the ESPN2 Network beginning at 630 pm eastern time.

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: Who Said? Boris Said!

    With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series taking the weekend off, the Nationwide Series was provided a much deserved opportunity to take center stage over the previous weekend. What a stage it was. The Series ventured north of the border to stage an exciting event in Montreal-Canada on the famed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. 77 circuits later around the 2.7 mile, 14 turn, road course a very popular winner stood in victory lane.

    Meanwhile, here in the states, the “Rowdy” one set another NASCAR milestone and then got a reality check when he went to play in someone else’s back yard.

    Then there was the matter of animal control. To coin a phrase from a movie or television show’s closing credits, “no animals were harmed during the making of this production.” With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

    HOORAH to road racing veteran, and part time NASCAR veteran, Boris said for winning the Napa 200 at Montreal. As we all know, Said has a group of dedicated fans known as the “Said Heads” who wear black curly wigs to match their favorite driver’s natural hair style. I’m thinking the fan club is still yelling their favorite slogan: “WHO SAID? BORIS SAID ! ”

    HOORAH to Said’s team, RAB Racing, who scored their first ever NASCAR Nationwide Series win. Their driver only led two laps of the race in their Zaxxby’s/PFC Ford but it was the most important laps: the final ones. Said came off of the front row of a green-white-checker finish to claim the win and the $101,000 plus winner’s check which is really going to help out the often underfunded RAB Racing organization.

    He was followed across the line by Max Papis, in Kevin Harvick Inc’s #33 Chevrolet, by a mere 0.12 seconds. Montreal native and fan favorite Jacques Villeneuve, in the #32 Braun Racing Toyota, finished third to give the so called specially hired road course ringers a one-two-three sweep of the race.

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    HOORAH for the European style, multi car, qualifying system used to determine the line for the Napa 200. It added a lot of pep to what can often be mundane live television broadcasts of NASCAR qualifying.

    Wouldn’t you just love to see the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on this very beautiful, but very challenging, Montreal road course? I know I would.

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    Question: why did the ground hog try to cross the road?

    Answer: because he truly thought he could out run Robby Gordon’s Toyota

    That question of course leads to a WAZZUP with Robby Gordon’s horrible luck during his visit to Montreal last weekend? The near miss of the errant ground hog was the least of his problems, but it’s the incident that’s going to make the video highlights all week long.

    Gordon’s Canadian disaster began on Saturday afternoon during qualifying when his left side tires went off course and completely ripped a brake hose loose. In an effort to redeem himself, Gordon remained on the track to get the fastest qualifying lap possible.

    It was one lap later than he met up with the errant ground hog who thought this would be a great time to cross the road. Fortunately this fat furry animal had second thoughts and held his position at the edge of the track as Gordon’s tires when flying by him. This precautionary action likely spared Gordon problems with PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

    But the worst moment of all came on Sunday afternoon. Gordon, a pre race favorite, was en route to winning the Napa 200 when he ran out of gas. Gordon helplessly watched a trip to victory lane turn into a 14th place finish. This was the incident that set up the green-white-checker finish and the win for Boris Said.

    You can bet that Gordon couldn’t wait to get back to the USA after that weekend.

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    WAZZUP with the bad luck with two other pre race favorites? Carl Edwards led 29 laps of the Napa 200 and was a strong candidate to score his second NASCAR Nationwide Series win of the season. But the effort turned sour on him, with ten laps left in the race, when his Roush Fenway Racing Ford suffered a broken track bar. Edwards had to deal with the frustration of watching a race win turn into a 20th place finish.

    Then there’s the matter of every one’s favorite “Aussie” : Marcos Ambrose. We’re all aware of the bizarre, last minute, bad luck that kept him out of the Montreal victory lane for the past three years in a row. We were all willing to bet the farm that last Sunday was going to the day that Ambrose rectified the situation and get the Montreal win he richly deserves.

    The effort started on a strong note during Saturday’s qualifying session. Ambrose, in his JTG Daughterty Racing Toyota, set the Coors Light fast time after touring the massive road course with a speed of 97.079 MPH.

    But, after leading 25 of 77 laps, during the race Ambrose found himself having to deal with a surprise electrical problem that sent him behind the wall on lap 50 and a 33d place finish.

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    HOORAH to Kyle Busch for accomplishing his latest NASCAR milestone. Busch won the Enjoy Illinois Dot Com 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday night at the Chicagoland Speedway. In typical dominant fashion, Busch led 121 of the race’s 154 laps en route to his second, consecutive, win at Chicago as well as his 20th series career win. Remarkably, it was also the fourth NASCAR national touring series win for Busch within a period of nine days.

    But, WAZZUP with the harsh racing luck Busch endured when the decided to visit the rough and tumble world of stadium off road racing last week? Busch had just secured a three race sponsorship deal with TRAXXAS, a well known manufacturer of radio conrolled race vehicles, for his self owned NASCAR truck team. TRAXXAS is also the official sponsor of TORC, The Off Road Championship Series.

    Busch, well known for packing his schedule with appearances in a variety of racing formats, thought it would be a great idea to visit the TRAXXAS TORC Series while driving a Toyota truck at the Route 66 Raceway last Wednesday and Thursday nights.

    Realizing that he was entering what is absolutely one of the most physically demanding forms of racing on man and machine, Busch knew he needed some prep work. He spent two days, the week before in Wisconsin, testing with series veterans Rob MacCrachen and Jeff Kincaid. By the time the test was over, Busch was within a tenth of a second from the fastest time. Everyone was extremely impressed with how fast he got the feel of flying a full sized truck off of those dirt jumps.

    However, three trucks at a test session does not quite equate to a dirt track filled with racing trucks that are often flying by you with all four wheels in the air. On Wednesday night Busch found himself back in the garage area, with a broken shock, after only completing one lap. The news wasn’t any better on Thursday night when he was also sidelined early in the event by mechanical problems.

    For a guy who’s generally favored to win any and every event he enters, Busch’s venture into stadium off road racing had to be a very large reality check.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Montreal’s Nationwide NAPA Auto Parts 200

    This weekend, the Nationwide Series stood alone, racing at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve north of the border in Montreal, Canada.  Road racers, Nationwide regulars and up and coming rookies graced the track in a rare sunny Sunday in a race that went on and on but ended in a photo finish.

    Here is what is surprising and not surprising from this weekend’s Nationwide race, affectionately known as the 24 hours of Montreal.

    Surprising:  In a race marred by seven yellows and one red flag, the race came down to fuel mileage, pit strategy, and just hard as nails road racing.  And in a photo finish between road aces Boris Said and Max Papis, the ‘Said Heads’ rejoiced while their driver pumped his fist in victory lane, shouting “Finally, finally.”

    Not Surprising:  While both Said and Papis rejoiced in their one, two finish, Marcos Ambrose yet again was denied anything close to a victory.  After leading the field to the green from the pole position, Ambrose looked strong, leading many laps.  But alas, misfortune again bit the Aussie in his “Little Debbie” and he succumbed to battery and alternator problems, relegating him to a more than disappointing 33rd place finish.

    Surprising:  Jacques Villeneuve, bearing the moniker of the track named after his late father, was the sentimental favorite, as well as the crowd pleaser, with cheers abounding each and every time he rounded the course.  Villeneuve did not disappoint, driving his heart out and coming in third at his home track.

    Not Surprising:   Robby Gordon had his own Marcos-Ambrose like moments at this weekend’s Nationwide event.  Just as he experienced a few years ago when he thought he won, even doing his own burnout before NASCAR informed him otherwise, Gordon ran out of gas in the waning laps, coming in a heartbreaking 14th.

    Surprising:  Carl Edwards, winner of the previous race after taking it away from Ambrose in the last turn of the last lap at the same track, had his own set of troubles.   His first issue occurred as he was trying to enter the track, where he was stopped by an overzealous security guard checking parking passes. After finally getting on the track, where he led and looked to be a contender, Edwards broke a rear track bar, taking him out of contention and pushing him back to the 20th finishing position.

    Not Surprising:  Cup and Nationwide regulars Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, while not escaping some on-track escapades of their own, still managed to rally back.  Logano, who had an early spin and Keselowski, who received a payback love tap from Brad Coleman, both had shaky starts to their races. Yet both recovered, with Keselowski finishing fourth and Logano finishing sixth, sandwiching Paul Menard between the two of them in the fifth spot.

    Surprising:  Justin Allgaier, known as ‘Little Gator’ but not necessarily known for his road course prowess, had a surprisingly strong run.  Allgaier managed to stay out of the melee, bringing his car home for a top ten finish, leading his wife Ashley to tweet “P9…At a road course!!!  That’s like a win for us!!!”

    Not Surprising:  On lap 19, the usually brash and aggressive son of Rusty Wallace decided to duke it out with road race ace Ron Fellows.  Steve Wallace got the worse end of the deal, wrecking and trailing oil all over the track.  After ripping off his helmet and giving Fellows the one-fingered salute, Wallace took his ailing machine behind the wall, finishing 38th.

    Surprising:   Jersey boy and K & N Pro Series West ace Paulie Harraka got his first Nationwide start, thanks to Joe Nemechek inviting him to take his second car to the dance.  According to Harraka, the deal came together quickly, securing sponsor Exide on the car the week before the race.

    Not Surprising:  Unfortunately, both Joe Nemechek and his up and coming driver Harraka were both swept up in the same multi-car incident early in the race.  While Nemechek was out of the race, Harraka was able to soldier on.  The NEMCO Motorsports duo finished 28th and 29th respectively.

    The top five finishers in the Nationwide NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge were Boris Said, Max Papis, Jacques Villeneuve, Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard.  Rounding out the top ten were Joey Logano, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier and Trevor Bayne.

    The Nationwide Series will next race on Labor Day weekend, heading to the hot and fast track of Atlanta Motor Speedway.   The Great Clips 300 will run under the lights on Saturday, September 4th with coverage starting at 6:30 PM on ESPN2.

  • Said wins at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

    Said wins at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

    Boris Said recovered from an early spin and won the Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday. This was the Said’s first Nationwide victory and his second in NASCAR.

    Max Papis passed Said entering the final chicane for a split second, but Papis got a little loose entering the turn, giving Said just enough to get beside of Papis and the momentum to carry him to a .012 second margin of victory, the fifth-lowest all-time and closest since 1998 at Homestead.  

     Jacques Villeneuve finished third, Brad Keselowski fourth and and Paul Menard finished fifth.  

    Robby Gordon appeared to have race in hand if his fuel didn’t run out. During the final green-white-checkers restart he ran out of gas, dropping him to 14 position, two laps down.  

    Marcos Ambrose and Carl Edwards both dropped out of the race with mechanical problems.  

    Unofficial Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
    1 5 9 Boris Said Ford 190 5 77
    2 9 33 Max Papis Chevrolet 175 5 77
    3 2 32 Jacques Villeneuve Toyota 170 5 77
    4 8 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 165 5 77
    5 7 98 Paul Menard Ford 155 0 77
    6 3 20 Joey Logano Toyota 150 0 77
    7 17 7 J.R. Fitzpatrick Chevrolet 146 0 77
    8 21 26 Parker Kligerman Dodge 142 0 77
    9 24 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge 138 0 77
    10 20 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota 134 0 77
    11 30 24 D.J. Kennington Ford 130 0 77
    12 10 18 Brad Coleman Toyota 127 0 77
    13 40 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 124 0 77
    14 16 207 Robby Gordon Toyota 126 5 75
    15 37 40 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 118 0 75
    16 35 5 Victor Gonzalez Jr. Chevrolet 115 0 75
    17 33 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 112 0 75
    18 39 182 Tomy Drissi Dodge 109 0 75
    19 41 70 Mark Green Chevrolet 106 0 75
    20 4 60 Carl Edwards Ford 113 10 73
    21 6 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 100 0 72
    22 14 16 Colin Braun * Ford 97 0 68
    23 29 10 Tayler Malsam Toyota 94 0 67
    24 23 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. * Ford 91 0 67
    25 36 15 Michael Annett Toyota 88 0 64
    26 22 23 Alex Kennedy Chevrolet 85 0 64
    27 19 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 82 0 62
    28 27 197 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 79 0 57
    29 31 87 Paulie Harraka Chevrolet 76 0 55
    30 15 88 Ron Fellows Chevrolet 73 0 53
    31 34 159 Kyle Kelley Chevrolet 70 0 51
    32 13 100 Patrick Carpentier Toyota 67 0 50
    33 1 147 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 69 5 50
    34 32 34 Tony Raines Chevrolet 61 0 46
    35 42 21 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 58 0 45
    36 25 35 Tony Ave Chevrolet 60 5 37
    37 12 81 Michael McDowell Ford 52 0 34
    38 18 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 49 0 20
    39 11 27 Andrew Ranger Dodge 46 0 13
    40 26 11 Brian Scott * Toyota 43 0 8
    41 38 89 Brett Rowe Chevrolet 40 0 3
    42 43 136 Jeff Green Chevrolet 37 0 1
    43 28 43 Justin Marks Ford 34 0 0

  • Kyle Busch: What’s In A Name?

    In one of the most famous quotes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the doomed heroine asks the famous question, “What’s in a name?” This past weekend, Kyle Busch could have asked the same question after some name calling at Bristol Motor Speedway that has continued throughout this week.

    The name calling officially started during driver introductions prior to the Cup race on Saturday evening when Brad Keselowski came out, introduced himself and said, “Kyle Busch is an ass.” Keselowski was still incensed from the night before where Busch admittedly dumped him to win the Nationwide race, positioning himself to sweep the three-race weekend to achieve a record held by none other.

    Since the race weekend, various other names have surfaced for the Bristol trifecta winner. Jennifer Jo Cobb, who was knocked out of the way and spun by Busch during the Camping World Truck race at Bristol on Wednesday evening, had her own name for the driver, “spoiled.”

    “When you don’t have to worry about your equipment and its costs, you become spoiled,” Cobb said. “When you don’t have to worry about punishment from NASCAR, you become spoiled. When you don’t worry about other team’s equipment or safety, you are spoiled. When you have no regard for anyone other than yourself, you are spoiled.”

    “This is not a smear statement,” Cobb continued. “I respect the heck out of Kyle Busch’s driving ability. But I cannot respect someone who has no regard for anyone other than himself.”

    “It’s not about winning because he is good enough to win without putting other teams in jeopardy, yet he does,” Cobb said. “Does he not believe in himself and his own abilities? Is that why he feels like he needs to wreck others to win?”

    In fact, Cobb was willing to give Busch a very different name, that of superhero, if he would just address and adjust his attitude and wrecking style.

    “We can all tell him that it is not necessary to wreck others to win,” Cobb said. “He would be a true superhero if he knew that.”

    “My heroes in this sport are fresh, respectable and have a sense of humility,” Cobb said. “If we are going to be lucky enough to fulfill our dream and be in a position to be looked up to by kids, then let’s have enough discipline to be real winners, not spoiled bullies.”

    In addition to the name of spoiled bestowed by Cobb, David Reutimann, runner up in the Cup race at Bristol, had his own names for Busch as well. Rooty sarcastically dubbed Busch “Professor” and “Superman” after hearing Busch’s post-race analysis of Reutimann’s Bristol driving abilities.

    “I don’t know if it was the fact that his Superman cape was flying out the back when I was behind him and I couldn’t see it or what the deal was,” Reutimann said sarcastically about his nemesis. “We got beat fair and square.”

    “That’s what it comes down to. We just got outrun,” Reutimann continued. “Professor Busch, maybe he can start a driving school at Bristol and the rest of the field can join in and go and he can show all of us what we’re doing wrong. I need help.”

    Other drivers willing to speak their mind, as well as many race fans, seemed to echo the naming sentiments of both Jennifer Jo Cobb and David Reutimann. Truck competitor Todd Bodine said much the same about Busch, dubbing him an outstanding talent, but one that he has little respect for due to Busch’s aggressive style.

    There is one name, however, befitting for Busch that no one can dispute or deny. That name is winner and record setter. No one but Kyle Busch has ever won three major touring series races in NASCAR in one weekend, a feat which Busch accomplished handily at Bristol.

    Busch’s team credited their driver with the record-setting moment, dubbing him with their own new name, that of great.

    “We are in the presence of greatness,” one of Busch’s team members said after the driver crossed the start finish line for the final time at Bristol.

    “I’ve been trying to do this since I got to NASCAR,” Busch said. “I love Bristol and I love winning. And to do it for the first time ever in NASCAR, to sweep the weekend, man that’s pretty awesome.”

    Yet even with that phenomenal accomplishment, the name calling of Busch continues and most likely will do so throughout this off weekend for the Cup Series. Perhaps David Reutimann summed it up best as he took exception to the naming of Busch as great.

    “Kyle Busch is a phenomenal talent,” Reutimann said. “He’s a heck of a race car driver. But it’s not always the stuff you do on the track that makes you great. Richard Petty is great. He was great behind the wheel but he’s also great off the race track. You have to do a little of both.”

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: A new rowdy racing adventure for the rowdy one

    Last week Kyle Busch ran three races at the Bristol Motor Speedway and made NASCAR history by winning all three of them. It marked the first time any driver has won events in the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup on the same weekend at the same track.

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be taking a well deserved weekend off before they wind down their regular season before the Chase starts. That actually turned out to be somewhat of a dilemma for Kyle Busch. He only has one scheduled race this week: the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event Friday night at the Chicagoland Speedway.

    This is a driver who pads his busy schedule with as many races as possible. So to fill the racing void of this week’s schedule, Busch has recently turned his attention to the world of short course stadium racing and their high powered racing trucks. In particular he has chosen to visit the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by Amsoil.

    TORC, which stands for The Off Road Championship, is one of the most intense, and often brutal, racing series you could name. The series turns half mile dirt track ovals into one mile off road racing courses complete with sweeping, high banked, road course style turns, motocross style jumps and special features like turn tables and whoops that gives the appearance that these trucks were shot out of a cannon.

    This is a form of racing where hard contact is the norm and not the exception. The life expectancy of sheet metal fenders is approximately five laps. It’s a racing world where a truck can land on its roof without warning. It’s also an incredibly exciting form of racing that attracts a growing legion of fans and has garnered the attention of national television. The first of 26 episodes of “The Off Road Championship” will debut on the Discovery HD Theatre Network on September 2nd.

    Should Coach Joe Gibbs, the owner of Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Sprint Cup team, be worried about his superstar driver entering this particular brand of rough and tumble racing? You bet he should.

    Busch will make his Traxxas TORC debut on Wednesday and Thursday at the Route 66 Raceway in Joliet-Illinois. He will be driving a Traxxas sponsored Toyota Truck in the series’ Pro 2 division. This division features custom, full size two wheel drive trucks. The Toyota Busch will drive in the pair of races was built by Mark and Mike Jenkins widely regarded as two of the best in the business.

    Busch’s venture into short course racing this week is also an opportunity to do some sponsor co branding. Traxxas, “the fastest name in radio control,” is a renown designer and retailer of some of the finest radio control race vehicles in the country. Traxxas recently signed a three race deal to sponsor Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota. The first of the three races will be Friday night at the Chicagoland Speedway.

    To prepare for this new racing adventure Busch spent some time last week at the Wisconsin based Crandon International Off Road Raceway where he worked out with Rob MacCachren, the current Pro 2 Series points leader, and Jeff Kincaid, the winner of the most recent TORC Series race.

    Busch began his new racing orientation slow and easy at first but, by the end of the day, turned his best lap which was one-tenth of a second from the fastest lap turned in by anyone during the test session. An elated Busch sent a “Twitter” message that read: “was in Cranston-Wisconsin today testing the Traxxas TORC off road truck. What a blast to drive. Got pretty good I guess. As fast as the good guys.”

    Team co owner Mike Jenkins was extremely impressed with Busch during the test. “He started the day off with no experience and ended it as an off road racer,” Jenkins said. “He was tip toeing around the first session, getting the feel. He was within three seconds of the fastest lap in his first time out. That’s mind blowing. Its one thing to race on pavement and it’s another to do it off road. All the possible track conditions and he made the transition to off road racer in one day,” Jenkins added.

    During a television interview Monday afternoon, Busch commented on his TORC debut and said “I have no real expectations; I think it just going to be a lot of fun.”

    It wouldn’t surprise me if he won all three of his scheduled races this week.

  • Suspended Indefinitely! Unless We Like You!!!

    Today, Randy LaJoie was reinstated into the sport of NASCAR, after being “suspended indefinitely” by the sanctioning body after a failed drug test during a party Memorial Day Weekend. News of the failed drug test broke on June 22nd.

    Now Randy LaJoie is a good guy and I understand he is sorry for what he has done, but this is an extreme slap on the wrist by NASCAR. This is a sport that has a “no tolerance” when it comes to drug tests and didn’t even want to listen to Shane Hmeil’s nor Jeremy Mayfield’s excuses.

    So what makes Randy LaJoie different? I understand he doesn’t drive anymore, but when Mayfield wanted to run his team NASCAR would not let him anywhere near the track. So is that fair to Jeremy Mayfield.

    I understand he has been a thorn in the side of NASCAR since his penalty was announced, but why penalize him for caring about his career and putting up a good fight! I haven’t heard anything about letting Mayfield into the sport as an owner and not a driver, but perhaps they should.

    This to me is just one of many things NASCAR does to favor other people. LaJoie is a loveable character; I hear him on Sirius NASCAR Radio every other week and see him on television just as much.

    Yet, because of that he is allowed to be in the sport! I don’t understand NASCAR’s logic! You can’t take drugs or you will be suspended for a long time, unless of course we like you then we will let you back in after two months!

    That sends a real strong message through the garage area let me tell you! The no tolerance policy is a good one. With all the problems NFL and NBA and other sports have with the law, it’s refreshing to see that NASCAR doesn’t have much of that or drug problems.

    Carl Long was suspended longer for having his engine 1/16th of an inch wider than it should have been during an all-star race! I don’t know about you people, but I would rather have my kid measure wrong or forget to double check than take drugs.

    This is a terrible move by NASCAR and everyone involved!

  • NASCAR Nationwide Series Going Through Changes for 2011

    As the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule centers the majority of the discussion, the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule is also getting flipped upside down.

    The majority of the changes center on the changes of the Cup schedule, though some are unique to the Nationwide Series.

    Daytona International Speedway will still open the schedule, starting the season on February 19th.

    Phoenix International Raceway becomes race No. two as it replaces Auto Club Speedway (Fontana).

    Fontana will become race No. five as it goes back to it’s traditional slot, replacing Nashville Superspeedway.

    Texas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway each will move up a lot on the schedule as a result of the changes, with Nashville taking Talladega’s old date in slot No. eight.

    While these changes take place, Las Vegas Motor Speedway keeps date No. three and Bristol Motor Speedway keep dates No. five.

    Races nine through 11 will stay the same as it will be Richmond International Raceway, Darlington Raceway, and Dover International Speedway.

    Race No. 12 will now become Iowa Speedway, replacing Charlotte Motor Speedway. Iowa will now have two dates on the schedule for the first time.

    Charlotte will bump down to race No. 13, replacing Nashville.

    Nashville moves down to race No. 20, replacing O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

    Races No. 20 to No. 22 on the old schedule will each get bumped down as a result of the changes, becoming races No. 21 to No. 23. These three races are Indianapolis, Iowa, and Watkin’s Glen International.

    The last fall in the schedule causes Watkin’s Glen to bump Michigan International Speedway. Michigan will move to slot No. 15, bumping Road America down to slot 16, replacing New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    New Hampshire will then move to slot 19, replacing Gateway, who will no longer have neither date on the schedule.

    Getting back to the middle of the schedule, Chicagoland Speedway will gain a second date, replacing Kentucky’s race in slot 14.

    Kentucky will then move to slot 18, replacing Chicago’s old date.

    Chicago will then move that date to slot 28, bumping Dover and Kansas down to slots 29 and 30. Fontana, who held slot 30 before, will no longer have a second date.

    Meanwhile, race No. 17 will stay as Daytona, races 24 and 25 last year at Bristol and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, will be flipped for next year, and Atlanta Motor Speedway and Richmond will remain as races 26 and 27.

    Getting to the last four races of the schedule, they’ll be Charlotte, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Gateway, which held a race between Charlotte and Texas, will become an off-week due to the previous statement of Gateway disappearing off the schedule.

    As seen by the article, the changes are a mess of confusion for everybody.

    As far as format changes, there is talk of a way to focus only on Nationwide regulars and maybe also an addition of a Chase format.

    With the new car, the schedule and possible rule changes, next year could be quite interesting.

     

    2011 NASCAR Nationwide Schedule

    1. Daytona International Speedway
    2. Phoenix International Raceway
    3. Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    4. Bristol Motor Speedway
    5. Auto Club Speedway
    6. Texas Motor Speedway
    7. Talladega Superspeedway
    8. Nashville Superspeedway
    9. Richmond International Raceway
    10. Darlington Raceway
    11. Dover International Speedway
    12. Iowa Speedway
    13. Charlotte Motor Speedway
    14. Chicagoland Speedway
    15. Michigan International Speedway
    16. Road America
    17. Daytona International Speedway
    18. Kentucky Speedway
    19. New Hampshire Motor Speedway
    20. Nashville Superspeedway
    21. O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
    22. Iowa Speedway
    23. Watkin’s Glen International
    24. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
    25. Bristol Motor Speedway
    26. Atlanta Motor Speedway
    27. Richmond International Raceway
    28. Chicagoland Speedway
    29. Dover International Speedway
    30. Kansas Speedway
    31. Charlotte Motor Speedway
    32. Texas Motor Speedway
    33. Phoenix International Raceway
    34. Homestead-Miami Speedway

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: The Bristol victory lane gets a clean sweeping

    During the Bristol Motor Speedway’s Festival of Speed we witnessed a young driver create NASCAR history that had him literally sweeping victory lane. We were entertained by another episode from “Bad Brad” who once again found himself the unwanted center of attention. We also witnessed another free fall by a four time NASCAR champion that has us all wondering what’s going on. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

    HOORAH for Kyle Busch for sweeping all three races at the Bristol Motor Speedway and setting a new NASCAR record that may never be broken anytime soon if at all. There is a small list of drivers who have the distinction of saying they won races in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series at the same track. But in those cases there were long gaps of time between those wins. Kyle Busch toppled that feat in three consecutive races within a period of 72 hours. His accomplishment is indeed NASCAR history.

    With that accomplishment came some equally impressive numbers. Busch now has 16 wins this season in NASCAR’s big three national touring series. The breakdown is three wins in the Sprint Cup Series, three in the Camping World Truck Series and he tied his own Nationwide Series record that he shares with Sam Ard, with ten wins. During the Bristol weekend Busch ran a total of 956 laps while leading 514 of them. The paychecks were hefty also. Busch collected a total of $432,001 during the three Bristol events.

    ***********

    But WAZZUP with the drama that surrounded this amazing accomplishment? The attention grabbing drama started during Wednesday night’s O’Reilly 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Busch, in his self owned Toyota, won the pole in qualifying only have to start at the back of the pack due to pre race engine repairs.

    But the real drama in this truck race came at the end of the race. Some WAZZUP contact between Justin Lofton and David Starr, with only two laps left in the race, resulted in the Starr truck sliding up the track and into Ken Schrader’s truck. The contact was hard and a red flag was thrown by officials in order to safely perform the track clean up.

    The green-white-checker finish that was to come created another dramatic question for Busch to consider: was there enough fuel in the tank to run the overtime laps? The team only made one stop for fuel in the race while gambling there would not be any overtime. The problem lied in the fact that the high banks of Bristol, 24 to 30 degrees, caused all of the fuel to collect to the left side of the tank. Unfortunately the fuel pick up, that feeds the fuel line and pump, is located on the tank’s right side. On the restart Busch admitted that the engine sputtered and he seriously wondered if he would make it to the checkers.

    He got incredibly lucky coming into the final lap. Busch crossed under the white flag just as the final accident of the race presented the final caution flag. But even approaching the combined yellow and checkered flags his engine was sputtering. That’s how close he came to losing this race.

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    Friday night’s Food City 250 also presented some WAZZUP drama as well. With 32 laps remaining, Busch and Brad Keselowski were racing hard for the race lead. Keselowski did a bump and run, which caused Busch to get loose and nudge the wall, and then passed for the lead. An angry Busch hooked him on the left rear quarter panel and turned him. Busch made it quite clear in victory lane that he didn’t appreciate Keselowski racing him that way and made it even more clear that he intentionally “dumped him.”

    HOORAH to NASCAR for standing behind their “have it boys” policy established last January. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said they viewed the incident as “good, hard racing and no action will be taken.”

    HOORAH for the reaction that came from this incident. The anticipation that the hard feelings between the two drivers could spill over into Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race led to a last day surge in ticket sales that filled a lot of expected empty seats. Saturday night’s race drew 155,000 fans. Many of them stood in the rain Saturday afternoon to purchase tickets for that night.

    That fact did not escape the attention of NASCAR icon Bobby Allison who quipped “I think old Brad and Kyle probably sold some tickets for tonight’s race at the end of last night’s race. There’s nothing more a promoter loves than a good fight, or at least the chance there might be a fight.”

    That moment never came during Saturday night’s race. In fact the two drivers used a great deal of common sense and caution whenever they found themselves racing together. But you can bet those 155,000 fans jumped to their feet every time these two drivers approached each other.

    Kyle Busch led the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol by leading four times for a total of 283 laps. But WAZZUP with his mind playing tricks on him during the final laps? Busch radioed in and swore that the track bar mount fell off of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Then he called back again and said it could be a possible flat tire. That was him hearing every little creak and groan from the car while trying to get that Bristol sweep.

    Not only did he get the sweep and his third Sprint Cup win of the season, but he also moved to third in the points standings. All Busch had to do is just start the next two races and he will clinch a guaranteed spot in the Chase. Then again, the way he’s running he will probably sew up the Chase berth at the Atlanta race.

    HOORAH to Bristol Motor Speedway officials for presenting Busch an official broom in victory lane. A delighted race winner was only too happy to symbolically sweep the Bristol victory lane.

    **********

    HOORAH for some great one liners from some of the drivers during the driver introductions prior to the Sprint Cup Irwin Tools Night Race. The drivers were introduced to the fans backed by musical selections they picked out and were allowed to say a few words over the microphone.

    When Kyle Busch was introduced he was presented with a giant bushel basket of freshly picked boo berries from the fans. The “Rowdy” one, who seems to revel in these moments, laughed and said “Y’all are so loving, I’m ready to win again.”

    His Friday night rival said “I’m Brad Keselowski, driver of the #12 Penske Dodge-Kyle Busch is an ass.” Needless to say, that announcement was greeted with a standing ovation.

    Driver A J Allmendinger said “I just hope I’m ahead of Kyle and Brad when this all goes down tonight.”

    Tony Stewart responded by saying “I do want to be around Brad and Kyle when they get together because I want to see a good wreck.”

    Carl Edwards, who’s past problems with Keselowski has been very well documented, walked out on to the stage to the refrains of “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” the old classic by War from 1975.

    HOORAH to the 155,000 Bristol Motor Speedway fans who stood and cheered after Kyle Busch completed the Bristol sweep. Many of them are not Kyle Busch fans, and never will be, but they truly respected his NASCAR history making moment.

    Busch himself deserves another HOORAH for a typically sarcastic, but very funny, comment made during the traditional winner’s post race press conference. A reporter asked him about Brad. Busch replied “who?” The reporter said “Brad Keselowski” and Busch replied “I’ve never heard of him.” The reporter countered with “he drives the red #12 Dodge.” Busch responded with “oh yeah, I seen him then I passed him.”

    **********

    The Bristol Motor Speedway, with its progressive banking and concrete surface, can easily bring out the best and the worst of any driver. It will also run them through every human emotion you can name in between. The following is just a few examples.

    HOORAH to Miguel Paludo, the Brazilian sports car champion who made his NASCAR debut last Wednesday in the Camping World Truck Series. Many racing observers said that Paludo and his team owners, the Germain Brothers, were completely nuts for staging a NASCAR debut at the Bristol Motor Speedway. However Paludo responded to the Bristol challenge and finished an amazing ninth and on the lead lap. Now those same critics are wondering if the Germain Brothers have landed something very special

    HOORAH to Michael Waltrip Racing’s David Reutimann for a strong second place finish in the Bristol Sprint Cup race despite spending two days in bed while suffering horribly from food poisoning.

    HOORAH to Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer who turned a 24th place starting berth into a fourth place finish in the Irwin Tools Night Race. More importantly, the good points night has returned Bowyer to the top 12 in points with a 100 point cushion over Jamie McMurray in 13th.

    HOORAH to Jeff Gordon and the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team for officially clinching his berth in the Chase line up at Bristol. That’s the good news. The WAZZUP lies in the fact that the four time NASCAR champion, and multiple Bristol race winner, just couldn’t seem to get a handle on his car’s set up. He started 26th in the race due to a spin out in qualifying but did manage to claim an 11th place finish. It was, surprisingly, the best run of the four Hendrick cars.

    Speaking of Hendrick teams, WAZZUP with Jimmie Johnson and the continuation of the #48 team’s downward spiral? Midway through the race Johnson was hooked and turned by Juan Pablo Montoya into the wall. A split oil cooler forced Johnson behind the wall. Even worse, the latest round of bad luck has dropped the four time champion to ninth in the points, The good news is the fact that he’s still 257 points ahead of 13th place in the standings and his five previous wins, along with the 50 bonus that comes with them, will return him to the top of the ranking when NASCAR resets the points for the 12 Chase contenders. But the point that cannot be overlooked here is the fact that this powerhouse team hasn’t scored a top ten finish in the last seven races and everyone is wondering why that is.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr gets a HOORAH for keeping his #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the top ten for much of the Bristol race although he faded to a 13th place finish by the end. But, for the kind of season this team is having, a 13th place finish has got to feel pretty good. Maybe the fact that Junior shaved his beard last weekend had something to do with it.

    But WAZZUP with frustration and temperament again disrupting Earnhardt’s communication levels with crew chief Lance McGrew? During Friday’s final practice session Earnhardt came over the radio and yelled “this car is crap.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly tell the crew chief that the car is so tight he’s having trouble driving it. It actually doesn’t tell anyone much of anything. More and more this level of communication is becoming a real problem between Earnhardt and McGrew and could turn out to the the catalyst for a parting of the ways.

    WAZZUP with more bad luck for the Sprint Cup Series’ other five time winner? Denny Hamlin had to take his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota behind the wall for a reported bad vibration. It turned out that the problem was a snapped drive shaft which is a rarity in this day and age. Hamlin finished 34th in the race but still remains fifth in the Chase standings.

    WAZZUP with Mark Martin and the mediocre performance of his #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet? Many felt that Bristol might be a positive turning point for Martin and company because he has such strong numbers there. But the car didn’t seem to ever hit it’s stride and all the adjustments in the world couldn’t seem to make it right. Martin finished 23d and unfortunately fell from 12th to 14th in the Chase standings. He’s now 101 points from returning to the top 12. But, with only two regular season races left before the Chase begins, it appears that his championship hopes may be over.

    ************

    There were also a couple of bizarre WAZZUPS from Friday night’s Food City 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race as well. The first one absolutely goes to that wild ride Kasey Kahne took on lap 82 in his #38 Braun Racing Toyota. Contact between Trevor Bayne and Justin Allgaier collected Kahne. The car went up on its side with his right side tires above the wall while his left side tires transported the car down the straightaway and into the turn. The entire scene resembled the old Joey Chitwood Thrill Show from days gone by. In a post wreck interview Kahne was diplomatic and said the wild was no big deal and he’s been in worse situations.

    Another WAZZUP goes to Mike Wallace, and his #01 J Davis Motorsports, due to some unbelievable bad luck at Bristol. It started on Saturday morning prior to qualifying when the Wallace car was pulled from the line. NASCAR’s policy is to place a team on a five minute time clock and if they fail to return to the qualifying line in the allotted time then they are officially listed as a DNQ-did not qualify. Fortunately for Wallace his team is within the top 30 in owner’s points so he was placed at the end of the field, 42nd position, for Friday night’s race. The bizarre part here is the fact that the car was pulled from the line because they could not get their window safety net to fasten.

    His appearance in the Food City 250 was equally frustrating. With only 24 laps remaining in the race, Wallace checked up to avoid to two car accident in front of him and then was collected by the very fast Clint Bowyer who was leading the race at the time. Wallace had to settle for a disappointing 31st place finish and probably couldn’t wait to get home.

    ***********

    The final HOORAH goes to a collection of fun race fans who were captured live by the SPEED Channel cameras. These guys were camping in the Bristol infield complete with a large inflatable swimming pool. Right in the middle of the pool was a fiery hibachi BBQ grill cooking dinner. That probably wasn’t a good idea and it was likely a Budweiser moment but they were seriously having fun at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

  • The Final Word – Bristol king Busch may be Rowdy to us, but(t) he’s something different to Keselowski

    So, what did we learn at Bristol?

    Well, we learned that sometimes it is a place where, using the term coined by Brad Keselowski, a-holes always win. At least that was the case last weekend. Kyle Busch won the Camping World truck event, the Nationwide event (after purposely turning ole Brad around), and then ran off with the Sprint Cup contest Saturday night. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t beat his driving. Same was once said about his brother Kurt, at least until Jimmy Spencer beat on him.

    We learned that the snake keeps on coming back and biting Jimmie Johnson again, and again, and again. This time the ole serpent looked like Juan Pablo Montoya, who turned just a bit left to turn Johnson just a bit into the wall. While the champ wound up wounded in 35th, he is a sure thing to make the Chase and currently leads those standings with Denny Hamlin. Not quite time for the alligator tears just yet.

    We learned that it is a good thing the championship is determined the way it is for both those boys. The Pied Piper got beat up his own self, finishing just a place ahead of Johnson. Then again, the next two races it is all about chasing wins and fine tuning for those boys, with eleven positions pretty much determined and two more pre-Chase events remaining. .

    We learned that the 12th place in the Chase should go to Clint Bowyer, barring some form of disaster. After Bristol, he is 100 points up on Jamie McMurray and 101 ahead of Mark Martin. Mind you, Bowyer can still be caught. He also can still be abducted by aliens and even changed into a girl, but I would say the odds are a bit long.

    We learned that the two cars entered by Phil Parson’s PRISM Motorsports finished 42nd and 43rd. Michael McDowell lasted 16 of the 500 laps before engine problems sat him out. Scott Riggs went 32 until his transmission gave up the ghost. Ole Phil has been listed as the owner of 68 entries since the start of last season. His best finish? That would be the 24th place finish by Terry Labonte in their first attempt, the 2009 Daytona 500. How many times have they finished 40th or worse? That would be 59 times, but who’s counting?

    We learned that ABC/ESPN can actually put on an entertaining show. Sending that mad man Kenny Wallace down to talk to the drivers in the garage prior to the race was good television. Having Dale Jarrett give his thoughts on how to deal with Kyle Busch, like knocking on his motorhome door and punching him in the nose, was very insightful…and funny. Having Rusty, Brad, and Nicole allow us the time to hit the kitchen or the bathroom without missing anything worth listening allows us to keep refreshed. It is all good.

    This weekend we have off. The Nationwide folks are in Montreal on Sunday, while Chicago greets the Camping World truckers Saturday night. After nearly 40 games and countless practices, the baseball season has finally come to a close for our two young lads. With nowhere to go, it is going to be a nice, relaxing stay at home weekend for us. I hope you enjoy yours.