I'll admit, it was refreshing to hear the cheering for Kyle Busch for a change. As most of you know, I am not a huge Busch fan but even still, I liked the cheering. He dominated the race and deserved the win. Congrats.
Other thoughts:
Overall, I thought it was a boring race until the last 20 laps or so.
First, let me just say that I absolutely hate it when they show how a driver's feet work the pedals in the car on television. If they must show that, they should consider doing a split screen at the very start of the lesson so those of us who don't want to see it can watch the race.
Rough day for Kevin Harvick who took a big hit in the point standings. He got loose and spun, hit Jamie McMurray who then hit Tony Stewart. They were all in the top-ten. Harvick ended the day with a 30th place finish.
Tony Stewart, my pick for the race, finished 10th. What a performance by him though. He was involved in the wreck, mentioned above and was sent way back in the field and still had a solid finish. Did anyone see his interview after the race with Marty Snider? It was pretty comical.
What did you think of the race?
The Nationwide race was at The Milwaukee Mile this past weekend. I caught most of the race. I don't know what to think of Joey Logano. There's been so much hype about him. I realize he is only 18 years old and a rookie but seriously, he comes across so arrogant on television. Did any of you watch that race? He bumped and banged so many drivers that night, including Brad Keselowski. It looked as though Keselowsi had the car to beat until that run-in.
When interviewed at the end of the night, he didn't so much as apologize for all the cars he banged into. He was more disappointed with his second-place finish. He just seems so unappreciative. I don't know. What do you think?
I thought about not even bothering to pick a winner for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday. I seem to jinx the driver that I pick each week. Last weekend I thought Carl Edwards was a no-brainer pick at Michigan. I mean, seriously, wasn't he a good pick? Am I that far out there? And how about this juicy comment regarding my pick last week:
"My first pick was Edwards, but Jen cursed him. Jen, my fiancee is going to be ticked that you picked Edwards on Friday the 13th, hence doubling your bad luck, and now he will probably wind up in a coma."
On top of that, I actually had someone thank me for not picking Dale Earnhardt Jr. last weekend – no lie. Oh well.
As for the road race ... I like watching Boris Said and Ron Fellows on road courses, mostly Boris though. They both are truly amazing to watch run through the field. I would love, love, love to see Boris win one. The road-course ringers never win, though. So I'm not going to pick any of them this weekend.
Three drivers come to mind for me to pick this weekend: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. I've looked at the stats for all three and the one that stands out the most in my opinion is Tony Stewart. Over the last three years, he holds some of the top statistics at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., including a win in 2005.
It got me thinking ... just like me, Stewart is 0-for-15 this year. He is surely hungry for a win and he's excellent at road courses. So if Stewart's not giving up, then neither am I. Go Stewart go! By you getting a victory, I will too.
Juan Pablo Montoya. Need I say more? Wow. I must admit that I did not watch the race from start to finish. Road courses are just not my favorite tracks.
The penalties for Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson should be coming out today or tomorrow. Let’s see how consistent NASCAR will be.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 100 points and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended for 6 races after NASCAR discovered illegal brackets on the rear wing.
NASCAR has said the punishments would be severe if they found any violations involving the COT.
Did anyone watch the Busch race? I didn't, but apparently Aric Almirola started the race for Denny Hamlin in the #20 car at the Milwaukee Mile. Hamlin was supposed to start the race but couldn’t land the helicopter he was in because the track converted the helipad into a parking lot. They got routed to a nearby airport causing his delay in getting to the track.
Almirola, at that point, had led 43 of 57 laps. The call was made for Hamlin to take over. The #20 car went a lap down but got back on the lead lap due to the lucky dog. Hamlin took the car to victory lane but Almirola was credited with the points and the win because he started the race.
Almirola was apparently so angry that as of Sunday morning, he hadn’t returned phone calls to Joe Gibbs, the team president. Can you blame him?
Is it too early in the week to discuss this weekend's road course race?
I always lean towards Boris Said for any road course. He is bound to get lucky at one of these races. With any luck at all, weather will not play a role in the qualifying at Sonoma. If it does, Said won’t be racing and I would then probably keep an eye on Tony Stewart and/or Robby Gordon.
Terry Labonte will also be making the race this weekend, driving the #55 car of Michael Waltrip. Here is the entry list.
In the last 11 races, only Cup drivers have won here – Jeff Gordon has won five.
Scott Pruett will not be racing on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict. He certainly would have been someone to watch.
Jennifer is the newsroom
administrative assistant and
executive
assistant to the editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She is married, lives in Pownal with her husband and son, and has been following NASCAR for many years.
About this blog:
I am hopeful that this will be a place where people can air their two cents' worth about a race, catch up on the gossip and share their opinions on the rules and regulations of NASCAR. I have always felt that there has been a need for such a place in Maine and that this blog helps to fill the void.
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