The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Subway Fresh Fit 500
The Good: Mark Martin showing that being the youngest doesn’t mean your the best. It was so good to see Mark win again, for the first time since Kansas in 2005, seeing all he has done in the last couple of years. And how cool was it to see all of the people who came to congratulate him in Victory Lane, include the Cat in the Hat Jack Roush. I wondered what their relationship was given Mark’s retirement and unretirement, and I think that gives us our very positive answer.
Mark Martin in Victory Lane
And another great run by Tony Stewart. It’s only a matter of time until he puts his team into victory lane. Tony is class act, and a racer, and what he has done since taking over at HAAS CNC is nothing short of amazing.
The Bad: Lack of racing action. There just didn’t seem to be a lot of side by side racing last night. Usually, it happens back in the pack, but it didn’t even seem like that was happening last night. Even lap traffic was in a line. This is one thing I know we don’t have to worry about in ‘Dega next week.
The Ugly: Junior. Another bad pit stop put him back in a pack and he got wreck because of it, but the extracurriculars after the race with Casey Mears was unneccesary. Yes, Casey wreck him, but it didn’t look intentional and was basically a racing thing. And good for Casey not taking that crap once the race was over.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Samsung 500
The Good: Jeff Gordon breaking a 47 race winless streak at the only track he’s ever finished last at. The bottom line, weather you like Gordon or not, he’s a hell of a driver and, to echo the thoughts of ESPN reporter Marty Smith, having Gordon winning is good for the support and makes great rivals. Let’s be honest, it’s as much fun to cheer for someone as it is against them (i.e. Kyle Busch, who I happen to cheer for).
The Bad: See above!!!
The Ugly: Carl Edwards final pit stop cost him a shot at winning the race. I’m not sure what happened, but you could see how ticked off Carl was about it. This just reinforces how much of a team sport racing really is.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Food City 500 at Bristol
The Good: All things Busch, as in the Busch brothers. Kyle dominated the race and showed real patience in doing so. Two years ago he would have wrecked half the field. Brother Kurt had a ho-hum 11th place finish, but did it with a wrecked car. Speaking of wrecked cars, how about Marcos Ambrose finishing 10th despite being down two cylinders.
The Bad: The last ride for Travis Kvapil and the Yates 28 team due to a lack of sponsorship. Travis is a really good driver who just never got the chance with a good team. He proved that by keeping the 28 out of the dreaded go or go homers last season. Lets hope the team kind find sponsorship or Travis can find a ride.
The Ugly: Juan Pablo Montoya. JPM should have been parked for intentionally spinning Jamie McMurray. I know what you are all thinking, but it was pretty obvious and could have caused a huge wreck at such a small track. JPM, not so obvious next time. And don’t bitch when JamieMac get you back!
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Kobalt Tools 500 from Atlanta
The Good: A dominate day by Kurt Busch. It was nice to see the Blue Deuce run up front like it did in the days it was driven by Rusty Wallace. Given how strong Kurt has been to start this season, look for the other Dodge teams to be switching to the new Dodge engine sooner than later. Another great run from Jeff Gordon, look for him in the winners circle at a track near you in the not so distant future. Also, great runs from the Childress duo of Harvick and Bowyer. Clint is now second in the standing, and may be the best driver in the RCR stables.
The Bad: A terrible day for Kyle Busch, but it also showed his maturity, hanging in for an 18th place finish. In the past he would have just wrecked. Also, more problems for Mark Martin keeps him in the Top-35 danger zone. This isn’t the type of season we were looking for from Hendrick’s 5 bunch.
The Ugly: Not only did a tire get loose on pit road, but the crewman tried to chase it down, putting himself in danger and completely changing the tone of the race. The resulting caution, in the middle of green flag stops, left only nine cars on the lead lap early in the race and left many contending cars one or two laps down.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Shelby 427 at Las Vegas
The Good: Kyle Busch wins the pole, starts dead last because of an engine change, takes his time and works his way to the win. The driver a lot people love to hate (I’m sure Jeff Gordon loves not having the title anymore) is maturing into on of, if not the best driver on the circuit. He has already won at least one event in each of the three major touring series (Truck, N’wide and Cup), but is also showing the smarts that many have questioned. Kyle is establishing himself as the early favorite to win the cup, showing that he has learned from last years miserable chase.
It’s also great to see Bobby Lebonte run up front again, finishing fifth on Sunday and moving up to tenth in points. Bobby is a class act and was a great champion in his years at Gibbs. I hope he continues his strong runs.
The Bad: Cautions galore, in fact, a record 14 cautions, mostly caused by one car wrecks. Drivers were loosing it big time coming out of the turns.
The Ugly: Blown engines galore. Matt Kenseth’s shot at history never got off the ground, blowing up on lap six. Teammate David Ragan’s engine blew soon there after. Teammates Carl Edwards engine blew on the white flag lap. Mark Martin’s engine blew for the second week in a row, dropping him to 34th in points. These are two of, if not the two, best teams in racing. What’s going on if they’re blowin’ up like that?
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Auto Club 500
The Good: Another strong performance by the 17 team putting Matt Kensenth back in victory lane while holding of a very strong Jeff Gordon for the last 40 to 50 laps. This is the first time a driver has opened back to back since 1997 (Jeff Gordon, who went on to win the Championship). Watch for Jeff and Matt to battle all season, both of these teams are strong!
And how about Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch dousing Kenseth in Victory Lane with a celebratory Coca-Cola! I think this show how much respect these guys have for each other.
Speaking of Kyle Busch, how about his weekend dominating the Truck and Nationwide races, followed by a strong third in the Cup race. I know a lot of people dislike Kyle, but I really don’t know why. I used to be one of you, but how can you fault a guy who just wants to win. He’s definately won me over!
The Bad: Blown engines galore! In a race with so few cautions and no wrecks, several drivers from strong teams blew engines: Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Dale Jr, are all expected to run for championships and blowing engines on these kind of tracks will keep them from the chase. Speaking of Harvick, where has the Childress bunch been?
The Ugly: Greg Biffle had a car the could have won the race, but on the last pit stop he blew past his pit sign and stopped on the front air hose, dropping him to ninth. His post race comments summed it up “They should fire the driver.” I don’t think that’s going to happen, Greg. He came back to finish fourth. Watch for him to rebound in Vegas next week, where Kenseth and the Roush boys, as well as the Hendrick crew should be favorites again.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: The Daytona 500!
The Good: A win by Matt Kensenth in a rain shortened race. I believe that NASCAR made the right call by ending the race when they did. On tv, they stated that NASCAR didn’t see restarting the race before 11. A second by Kevin Harvick, who reversed roles with Kensenth from two years ago.
The Bad: Kyle Busch, who had by far the best car of the night, taken out in “the big one.” He was running third at the time because of some really good luck by Elliot Sadler. I know a lot of fans love to hate Kyle, but I think he’s got the most tallent on the track today and is always going for the win. Dale Earnhardt said “Second place is just first looser” and Kyle races that way every week.
The Ugly: The Big One caused by Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Brian Vickers. No matter who you think caused the wreck, two lap down cars should not be racing like that so near the leaders. The whole thing was just plain ugly.
Matt Kenseth Wins the Daytona 500!
The Good, the Bad & The Ugly: The Gatorade Duels at Daytona
The Good: A strong performance by Jeff Gordon leading to his win in the first duel. Weather you like him or not, you have to respect his tallent and Jeff Gordon running strong is good for NASCAR. Kyle Busch winning the second race to show the end of last season was a fluke and that he will be running strong again this year. Like Gordon, Kyle Busch running well is good for NASCAR.
Also, Scott Riggs, driving for Tommy Baldwin, and Jeremy Mayfield, driving for his own team, racing their way into the Big Show. (Cudos also to A.J. Allmendinger). Neigther of these teams existed a month ago. These guys showed that its worth taking a chance and that it can pay off.
The Bad: Defending champion Ryan Newman wrecking his US Army car and having to start in the back. Both Stewart-Haas cars looked really strong. Seeing Joe Nemechek having to pack up and go home. Like Tommy Baldwin and Mayfield, he’s started his own deal and he came up just short. I hope he makes the field in California next week.
The Ugly: There was a lot written about Tony Stewart taking a chance on becoming a car owner, and while a lot has been positive, there has still been a lot of naysayers. Now that Tony has had some early success, coming in second in yesterdays Duel race and third in the Bud Shootout, commentators are minimizing the success by saying that he’s really just a fifth and sixth Hendrick team (along with teammate Ryan Newman). Well guess what, so was Haas-CNC, and they sucked. So what’s the difference? Tony Stewart.
2009 NASCAR Predictions
So after a long off season of no testing and lots of teams coming and going, I’m all set for the 2009 season, and I’m giddy as a school girl after watching Saturday’s shootout. Way to go Happy Harvick on running a great race and getting the win! Of course, Harvick is one of my favorite drivers, so I’m biased, but he did run a great race and had some good luck as well after loosing the draft a couple of times. I do feel bad for Jamie McMurray, he can’t seem to get a break, but more on Jamie Mac later.
While watching the race I had a lot of time to think on the up coming season, so here are my 2009 predictions for the upcoming season.
1) Jimmy Johnson will have another good regular season and great chase, however, will just fall short of his fourth straight championship. This is no way a slight to JJ. Winning one championship, let alone three is amazing, but the odds of winning a fourth straight are astronomical. That said, he will come in second too . . .
2) A Roush-Fenway driver not named Carl. I predict that Greg Biffle will win the championship by winning the race at Homestead. Why the Biff? He has the same shop behind him that Carl does, but unlike Carl, Biff has won championships (One each in Truck and Nationwide series), he knows how to win in the Chase (back to back chase wins) and most importantly, he knows how to keep his car clean and get the most out of a bad day.
3) The Dodge teams will continue to lag behind the other manufacturers. As a result, I really believe this will be Dodge’s last year in the sports, at least for a while (and it pains me to say this).
4) Tony Stewart will become the most successful Owner/Driver since Alan Kulwicki. He will qualify for the chase, and teammate Ryan Newman will be on the Chase bubble.
5) David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers and Casey Mears will all win races this season, and one of them will make the chase.
6) A small, one car team will surprise a lot of people and run in the top 20 all year.
7) Robbie Gordon will win one of the road races this season.
8) Here’s an easy one: both Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth will win at least one race this season.
These are some of my thoughts going into the season. I wish all the drivers the best for the season, but especially my cadre of guys: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth!
And as they say, “Let go racing boys!”
Why Marc172931?
Those are the car numbers of 3 of my 4 favorite drivers. (the 17 car is driven by Matt Kenseth, the 29 driven by Kevin Harvick and the 31 driven by Jeff Burton) I’m also a big fan of the 18 M&M’s car driven by Kyle Busch, the man most love to hate, but he won me over big time the last year. My all time favorite driver: Rusty Wallace.
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