Angie
Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via Flickr
It suddenly occurred to me that the recent incident between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski reminded me of two guys fighting at school surrounded by a crowd of excited onlookers. Half of them are screaming “Let the boys fight,” while the other half are saying “Someone stop them please.”
I really felt like I was a kid again when I started reading the varied opinions and I couldn’t help but reflect back to lessons learned as a child.
The arguments have gone something like this. Continue reading →
Angie
Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via Flickr
Carl Edwards won Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway in spectacular fashion.
An ongoing feud reared its ugly head when Keselowski bumped Edwards going into Turn 1 after a restart on lap 199. In a move that Edwards later admitted was retaliatory, he sent Keselowski into the wall on the final lap of the race. Edwards captured the win and the debate began.
For some fans, the issue is simple. If Brad Keselowski is your favorite driver then you’re on his side. On the other side are the fans of Carl Edwards who feel their driver was justified in taking the action he did.
There’s also been a lot of talk about the “driver mentality.” Drivers have long memories and when someone takes them out of a race their initial response is to return the favor. This is the way it has always been in a process that teaches drivers to give and gain respect.
Let’s not forget that many fans asked for less oversight and begged NASCAR to let the drivers be themselves. Fans wanted to see the individuality and passion of the drivers.
Racing is, after all, a dangerous sport and crashes are an inevitable part of it.
For many others, the line between right and wrong is somewhat blurred. Continue reading →
Angie
The Lady in Black opened her gates on Saturday and quickly let everyone know that she was in charge.
She claimed her first victims during the Nationwide Series practice Friday morning.
Steve Wallace, Mike Wallace and Steve Arpin all had to go to back up cars after hitting the wall.
The Nationwide Series qualifying went a little smoother and Denny Hamlin claimed the pole. It was his 15th pole in 121 Nationwide Series races.
The top five spots were all taken by Sprint Cup regulars. Kyle Busch started second followed by Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray and Carl Edwards.
The fastest qualifying rookie was Brain Scott who started 13th.
Denny Hamlin led the field to green and the race was on to see who could survive until the end. Continue reading →
Angie
Kyle Busch led the field to green and then led the field for almost half the race.
He was putting cars down at such a quick pace that by lap 156 there were only nine cars on the lead lap with 21 cars one lap down. It was beginning to look like the Kyle Busch show.
A debris caution on lap 159 changed things up as 18 cars took the wave around. That left 27 cars on the lead lap.
Finally on lap 230, Jeff Burton took the lead and the excitement was turned up a notch.
Burton was in the lead with Kyle Busch second and Gordon in third. But Gordon was closing fast and soon overtook Busch for second place with Burton in his sights.
Gordon passed Burton on lap 250 for the lead and looked determined to bring home that elusive win.
But this is short track racing and a couple of late race cautions changed everything.
After the last caution, on lap 395, Kyle Busch slid by Gordon and took the lead. Continue reading →
Angie
Image via Wikipedia
The Samsung Mobile 500 finally got underway on Monday and pole sitter Tony Stewart led the field to green. Stewart was strong all day but the competition was fierce.
Teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were up front much of the day and raced each other aggressively, making contact at one point.
Dale Earnhardt Jr led 46 laps but lost the handle of his car and wasn’t a factor at the end.
But the most excitement came suddenly on lap 318 when Carl Edwards and Stewart made contact coming off Turn 4. Stewart then hit Gordon and after the dust cleared, a total of nine cars were involved.
Jeff Gordon saw another win slip away and Denny Hamlin saw his chance.
The race was re-started and Denny Hamlin pulled ahead for the lead. With two laps to go, Jimmie Johnson was in second place trying to close in on Hamlin, but he ran out of time.
This is Hamlin’s second win this season and his 10th Sprint Cup victory.
More importantly, this win brings him one step closer to his ultimate goal of becoming a championship contender.
Rounding out the top five finishers were Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne. Continue reading →
Angie
The Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway was a little different this year. It began a little earlier and 63 laps were added to the race.
I’m not sure of the reasoning behind the changes but the result was an extremely long and often boring race. But as most NASCAR fans will tell you, the ending is usually worth the wait.
Most of the race was led by Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch, both leading 113 laps. Montoya also had a dominant car and led for 105 laps.
But in the end, it all came down to strategy. On the last caution, the leaders pitted and decisions were made. Would it be two tires or four?
As it turned out, the two tire call was the right one. Jeff Gordon came out first with Ryan Newman in second position.
The green-white-checker race to the finish was on. Gordon spun his tires on the restart, Newman saw his chance and took the lead. Continue reading →
Angie
Jimmie Johnson demonstrated why he is a four-time Sprint Cup Champion with another exciting finish at the Food City 500 on Sunday. Sprinting through the field from sixth position to first in only three laps, he finally got his first win at the historic Bristol Motor Speedway.
Johnson also raced his way into the record books with his 50th career win. He is now tied with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 10th on the all-time Cup win list.
A critical decision on the last pit stop to take four tires gave Johnson the edge he needed and he took full advantage.
“We have worked so hard for this,” Johnson said in victory lane. “I thought we were in trouble. But the four tires were everything.”
Rick Hendrick summed up Johnson’s accomplishment by stating what should now be obvious to everyone.
“He’s one of the best that’s ever done this.” Continue reading →
