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  • The Final Word – If only all races were like Talladega

    The Final Word – If only all races were like Talladega

    For the third time this season, NASCAR presented a race worth watching. I am not talking about those good ole boys and girls who have the sport in their blood, who love it, cannot live without it no matter what it looks like. I am talking about those who demand an entertaining three-hour experience if they are going to spend the time to take it all in. Talladega delivered.

    This is what drew people to NASCAR in the first place. They did not know a Fonty Flock from a Smokey Yunick, but they knew what they liked. Tons of action, lots of speed, disaster possibly just around the corner, watching guys doing things we could never pull off on our best day, or even contemplate on our drunkest. On Sunday, Talladega delivered.

    Back in the day, we talked about boys who went by the names of Petty, Roberts, Yarborough, Allison, Earnhardt, Gordon, and Stewart, to name a select few. Today, we once again talk about an Elliott, as the son of Bill from Dawsonville took the prize in the end. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Ryan Preece led three Chevrolets across the line as, for once, the manufacturers made it known they wanted to win. They wanted their representatives to work together to make that happen. Limit what you do for the Ford and Toyota guys. Win one for the Camaro. In the end, thanks to some fine wheelmen and good fortune, Talladega delivered.

    It was a day when sometimes they got too close to the line, and what you would expect would happen at 200 mph at close quarters did happen. Kevin Harvick lasted just 10 laps. Denny Hamlin survived 80. Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer were running at the end, but their odds of winning were about the same as your own. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was front and center most of the day but wrecked by the end. If you were looking for fireworks, Talladega delivered.

    Were the FOX announcers great, keeping you informed and entertained? They did not have to be. The race, the actual event, kept us watching all on its own. Sure, we could talk once more about what changes FOX should make, and what NBC did last season, but we’ve flogged that horse past the point of what the SPCA or even Rodrigo Duterte could tolerate. You wanted a race, you got a race. Talladega delivered.

    Daytona. Bristol. Talladega. Ten races, but only three that kept the viewing public glued to their seats, even if they were nowhere to be seen at that track in Tennessee a few weeks back. To be honest, I was so focused on the race, I could not tell you how many empty seats there might have been in the wilds of Alabama. If they could not or would not make the effort to take this one in, that would have been a shame. Talladega delivered.

    Next week, they are in Dover. The Monster Mile they call it. It has been around for 50 years. Miles the Monster, holding a full sized Cup car up in the air, has been there since 2008. The last time the Cup boys visited there was last October. The winner, the youngest ever to do so at the venue, was one Chase Elliott. Will Dover bring us the same kind of experience as we enjoyed this past weekend? Hell no. Few tracks deliver like Talladega can.

  • Kurt Busch quietly finishes strong in California

    Kurt Busch quietly finishes strong in California

    When drivers change teams, usually performance changes briefly before leveling out. The chemistry between the driver and their team, crew members and sponsors take time to wedge their way into a comforting blend to begin running smoothly.

    Rarely do you see a driver switch to a new team and constantly run and finish up front, that is unless a driver gets a big change in a high tier team. Case in point, Ross Chastain at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, grabbing the win and getting to smash the watermelon to lay out a new tradition for himself as a Florida watermelon farmer.

    The start of the 2019 season brought a change of face for Kurt Busch. The 2004 champion left Stewart Haas Racing to join Chip Ganassi Racing, replacing Jamie McMurray in the No. 1. He also left the blue oval Fords and joined the Chevrolet bow ties. Despite his talent and competitive nature, most expected him to take a couple of months into the year before finding his groove and competing strongly once again.

    However, the new face behind the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro has had strong success after the first five races. He quietly has been leading the Chevrolet camp, is the only driver with multiple top five finishes, and teammate Kyle Larson has been right alongside. The two Ganassi drivers are currently eighth and ninth in points, with Larson only three points ahead in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings, and Busch holding yet another strong run at California finishing sixth.

    “We had a good day. I was just hoping to get a top five and came home just a bit short,” Kurt shared as he was one spot short of his third top five finish of the season. “But the growth rate of us at Ganassi and the adjustments we’re making, I couldn’t be happier. I’m smiling as I’m driving the car. It’s so much fun to toss it down in there with all this downforce and the horsepower, you just pitch it sideways and see if it’s going to stick. But, we know we’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s awesome to run up front. I’m smiling. But, we know at our growth rate, we’re not on a plateau yet. I’ve got to keep going.”

    The Las Vegas native got to witness his brother’s milestone in history at the end of Sunday’s race when Kyle Busch won his 53rd career Cup Series victory. It was also his 200th win across all three series, including the Xfinity Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

    “Yeah, I thought he was done,” Busch reflected when his brother received the uncontrolled tire penalty on pit road. “But, this is a big day. For my little brother to have 200 wins, they’re all added up through his hard work and his dedication to perfection. Not bad for two kids with an attitude from Vegas.”

    Kurt Busch talks about his sixth place run after the 2019 Auto Club 400. Photo courtesy of Rachel Schuoler from Speedway Media.

    The media joked about the history of the Busch brothers having “hotheads” as kids, but as the two have matured throughout the years, everyone acknowledged their footprint in the sport.

    “As far as attitudes and winning? I’ve got to hold up my end of the bargain,” Kurt laughed as he discussed his and his brother racing in NASCAR throughout the years. “I’ve gotten too nice and I’m not winning enough; but I’m having fun. I love the Ganassi guys. Matt McCall (crew chief) wants more. I know he does. I want more. I was hoping for a top five today but we’ll take it. All in all, we’re running where we need to be running.”

    Kurt knows his team still has work ahead of them, but he sounded very optimistic heading into Martinsville Speedway next weekend.

    “I want to see more Bowties up there all around me.”

  • Reasons Why 2018 Looks To Be A Stellar Year In NASCAR

    Reasons Why 2018 Looks To Be A Stellar Year In NASCAR

    It’s easy to be negative about everything in NASCAR. If that statement is ever doubted, just take a look at the stands on any given race day. It’s become so difficult to have a sellout race that some tracks like Atlanta and Charlotte are removing entire seating sections, and Loudon has even lost a race date.

    However, it’s not all drudge and depression; there are many things to be excited about in regards to the upcoming NASCAR season.

    Stage Racing

    The outcry when NASCAR announced that the races in the main touring divisions (Monster Energy Cup, XFINITY, Camping World Truck) would be broken into stages in 2017 was met with a mostly negative reaction. Several fans pointed out that this was another gimmick in a line of foolish, pointless, ill-defined gimmicks that NASCAR was throwing at a deeper issue.

    Instead, we were faced with some of the best, wildest racing product we never expected. The season started off with a wild Daytona Speedweeks, where the victors (CWTS – Kaz Grala, XFINITY – Ryan Reed, Monster Energy Cup – Kurt Busch) were not only unexpected but were won with racers that looked ready for the scrap heap (Maybe not Grala, as he kept a pretty clean nose throughout 2017). Other spectacular races included the Fall Martinsville event, which to sum up in a word was wild, and the Fall nailbiter at Phoenix, where Matt Kenseth scored a farewell win in his final full-time season.

    With a season of Stage Racing come and gone, we’re now left with the hope that NASCAR can find a way to transcend the excellence of 2017’s racing product and top it with another year of great racing.

    New Faces

    It’s an old topic revisited: Young Guns. Once upon a time, guys like Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were labeled as some of NASCAR’s youngest, most marketable drivers. But at the end of 2017, there were five Daytona 500 wins and eight championships among those three alone. Other drivers such as Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, and Matt Kenseth have all been to Victory Lane at Daytona, Indy, Charlotte, Darlington, and even in the Champion’s Circle at Homestead. This means that a changing of the guard is imminent, considering that yesterday’s Young Guns are now today’s Old Guys; they are beginning to retire en masse, with Earnhardt and Kenseth joining former champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon on the retired list.

    Ryan Blaney celebrates victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Axalta Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Photo: Kirk Schroll/SpeedwayMedia.com

    Of course, there’s now William Byron, Bubba Wallace, and Ray Black Jr. to look forward to, joining the ranks of superstars like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson. Alex Bowman can’t be forgotten; he’s gone from nobody to somebody in the sport as he has taken over the No. 88  This front is the future of NASCAR, and it promises to be good.

    The Playoffs

    Okay, so things may be a touch too gimmicky. But that didn’t make the 2017 Playoffs any less enjoyable. Granted, there were far too many moving pieces in the points, and as a result, we only got a basic, rudimentary sense of what was going on. Still, once the Playoffs started it was rife with drama as we watched, waited, and saw who was in and who was out. As a result, did anyone expect Kyle Larson to be eliminated after the second round? Or Kevin Harvick, who had a somewhat mellow first season with Ford Racing, to make it to Homestead?

    Granted, from the start we knew Martin Truex Jr. was going to be tough to beat, and given the Toyota Racing power his Furniture Row Racing team has, he’ll be tough to beat again in 2018. But it’ll be fun to watch the Playoff roulette wheel spin for the season’s final 10 races.

    Camaro Joins Cup Series

    This promises to be awesome. After years of Luminas, Monte Carlos, Impalas, and the SS, Chevrolet will now be fielding Camaros in the Cup Series after several years in the XFINITY Series. Whereas the XFINITY Series has been the scene for the age-old rivalry of Camaro vs. Mustang, it’ll be nice to see the transition begin in the Cup Series as the wicked-looking Camaro takes to the high-banks of Daytona.