Best Buy 400

Bristol’s Big Brother

This week we head to Dover International Speedway for what should be one of the best races of the year. Dover is like Bristol’s big brother. A 1-mile track with 24 degree banking in the corners allows the drivers to go through the corners with some speed and all you have to do to pass is wait for the driver in front of you to make the slightest mistake.

My Pick To Win

Greg Biffle will win his first race of the year this weekend in a battle with his teammate, Carl Edwards. Greg has been so close this year only to have some mechanical problem knock him out of contention. After finishing 2nd in both the All-star race and the points race at Charlotte the last 2 weeks this team is ready to go to victory lane.

Dover Frontrunners

Carl Edwards won a Nationwide race and a Sprint Cup race here last year. Historically the Roush teams do very well at Dover once they get the hang of it. Mark Martin holds the race record for speed in both the Sprint Cup and Craftsman Truck series.

There has been a different winner at Dover in each of the last 8 races since Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson swept the races here during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Both of these guys can still get the job done here and will be in contention when it comes down to the wire.

I should probably just pick Kyle Busch to win every week and then just blame it on a mechanical problem or too aggressive driving if he fails to visit victory lane on any week. Kyle finished 2nd at Dover in his first 2 starts there and since has a couple more top 5 finishes. Once he learns that he doesn’t need to wear out his equipment so early in the race look out everyone else.

During Tony Stewart’s early years in the Sprint Cup series he was almost a shoe in to finish in the top 10 at Dover. Tony’s worst finish in his first 12 Dover races was 11th and he had 2 wins. Tony has still been good here but has fallen off a bit with only 1 top 10 finish in his last 6 Dover starts.

Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton have all won here recently and are all picks to finish in the top 15 this weekend. That is another reason why I like Dover so much. The competition always seems to be tight here. Everyone has high expectations for the weekend when they unload their car from the trailer.

Yahoo! Fantasy Picks

Group A

• Carl Edwards (starter)
• Jimmie Johnson

Group B

• Greg Biffle (starter)
• Mark Martin (starter)
• Kyle Busch
• Ryan Newman

Group C

• Travis Kvapil (starter)
• David Reutimann

Stay Away From

• Kasey Kahne

Dark Horse

• Jamie McMurray

“

Best Buy 400

Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, DE.

Dover International Speedway History

• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was held on July 5, 1969.
• The first two races at Dover were 300 miles. The race length was changed to 500 miles in 1971.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover was May 15, 1982.
• The track surface was changed to concrete in 1995.
• The race length was changed to 400 miles beginning with the second race in 1997.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race was held in September 2000.

Track Numbers

• NASCAR Cup Series Races: 76
• Pole Winners: 32
• Race Winners: 31
• There was one race in 1969 and 1970. There has been two-a-year since 1971.
• David Pearson won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole at Dover in July 1969.
• David Pearson has the most poles at Dover with six.
• Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover.
• Mark Martin and Ryan Newman lead all active drivers, each with four poles at Dover.
• Bobby Allison and Richard Petty lead all drivers with the most wins at Dover with seven each.
• Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin lead all active drivers, each with four victories at Dover.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 races at Dover, more than any other organization.
• 44 races at Dover have been won from a top-five starting position while only 17 races, including the past four, have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.
• The furthest back in the field that a Dover race winner started was 37th,by Kyle Petty in 1995.
• Ryan Newman won at Dover in June 2003 – the first victory for Dodge there since 1975. Newman repeated as the race winner in the fall race, the first time Dodge posted consecutive victories at Dover. Newman then won again in the fall of 2004, giving Dodge three of their five Dover victories in the four-race span.

Track Records

• Track qualifying record: Jeremy Mayfield (161.522 mph, 22.288 secs., 6-4-04)
• Track race record: Mark Martin (132.719 mph, 9-21-97)

Dover International Speedway Race Day Data

• Estimated Pit Window: Every 72 – 78 laps, based on fuel mileage.
• Race # 13 of 36 (6-01-08)
• Track Size: 1.0 miles
• Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 9 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,076 feet
• Backstretch: 1,076 feet

Coca-Cola 600

How to Win at Lowe’s

This weekend we have the longest race of the season in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. A 600-mile race will put the equipment and the drivers through their toughest test of the year. Patience pays off in this race. Take care of your equipment and keep making the necessary adjustments as the track changes and race the final 100-miles. That will be the plan for those who want to have a shot at the win in this race.

My Pick To Win

Jimmie Johnson drives the Lowe’s sponsored Chevrolet at the Lowe’s sponsored track better than anyone else. He only has one win so far this season but it’s hard to bet against him here. 5 Wins in 13 starts, 4 wins in a row, 8 straight top 3 finishes and the list goes on. You have to have Jimmie in your lineup this weekend.

Lowe’s Frontrunners

Carl Edwards has been the driver to beat on the mile and a half tracks this season and has been very good at Charlotte throughout his short career. Carl has 5 top 10 finishes in just 6 starts and his worst finish here is 15th. He will be the driver that gives Jimmie a run for his money Sunday night.

Kasey Kahne won the All-Star race Saturday night and swept the races here in 2006. It won’t be a surprise to see him running up front late in the race this weekend. When he unloads a good car at this track he is going to be in contention for the win.

This is the time of the year that Tony Stewart starts to turn it on a little bit. The only thing that might hold him back this weekend is the fact that he has a hard time staying patient in such a long race. If they can keep Tony focused over the course of a long race he will be there at the end.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has run well at the mile and a halves this year also and should have a car good enough to win. He will have to keep it off of the outside wall early in the night because we all know how he loves to run the high line. That will be the way to make a pass late in the race and improve positions though.

Jeff Gordon won the fall race here last season but has struggled on the mile and a half tracks over the last few years. There are better places to start Jeff Gordon than Charlotte so just keep him on the sidelines this weekend.

Mark Martin loves to race at Charlotte and won the 600 back in 2002. He also won the No Bull Million in that race and had to hold off then teammate, Matt Kenseth for the win. Mark will drive his heart out every week for his team and fans but I think that the team needs a little more work and it’s hard with a guy who isn’t running the full schedule.

Yahoo! Fantasy Picks

Group A

• Jimmie Johnson (starter)
• Carl Edwards

Group B

• Bobby Labonte (starter)
• Mark Martin (starter)
• Kyle Busch
• Kasey Kahne

Group C

• Paul Menard (starter)
• Scott Riggs

Stay Away From

• Kurt Busch

Dark Horse

• Bobby Labonte

“

Coca-Cola 600

Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.

Lowe’s Motor Speedway History

• Construction began in 1959.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 19, 1960.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was May 29, 1982.
• The first night race was the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in 1992. The first night (twilight) point race was in the spring of 1993.
• The track was repaved mid-season in 1994.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at LMS was on May 16, 2003.
• The 2003 fall race was the first race at Lowe’s to be run completely at night.
• The track was re-paved before the 2006 season.

Track Numbers

• NASCAR Cup Series Races: 98
• Pole Winners: 36
• Race Winners: 40
• Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race at LMS, in 1960.
• Joe Lee Johnson won the first race at LMS, in 1960.
• David Pearson has the most poles at LMS with 14
• David Pearson posted 11 straight poles at Charlotte from the fall of 1973 through 1978.
• Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman lead active drivers with seven poles each.
• Jeff Gordon won five straight spring race poles from 1994 to 1998.
• Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip lead all drivers with the most wins at LMS with six each.
• Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead active drivers in wins with five victories each.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won 15 races at LMS, more than any other organization.
• There have been 13 back-to-back victories at Lowe’s, including three in-a-row by Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 – fall 1965).
• A sweep has occurred eight times at LMS, including three of the past four seasons: Jimmie Johnson (2004 and 2005) and Kasey Kahne (2006).
• 13 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson in the spring of 2004.
• Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started at LMS.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won seven of the past 10 races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Three different HMS drivers have won there since 2002, including sweeps in 2004 and 2005 by Jimmie Johnson and an organization sweep last season by Casey Mears and Jeff Gordon.

Track Records

• Track qualifying record: Elliott Sadler (193.216 mph, 27.948 secs., 10-13-05)
• Track race record: Bobby Labonte (151.952 mph, 5-28-95)

Lowe’s Motor Speedway Race Day Data

• Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage.
• Race # 12 of 36 (5-25-08)
• Track Size: 1.5 miles
• Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,980 feet
• Backstretch: 1,500 feet

Congratulations to Joe T. of Arizona! Joe participated in the Earn Your Darlington Stripe diecast giveaway contest by playing our free Champs, Chumps & Sleepers game. After joining the free fantasy game, all Joe needed to do was join the free contest league and then have his team of drivers earn him the best score for the Darlington race.

Joe’s fantasy team (“The Dimes”) earned a very good 474 points for the Darlington race. Joe beat the second place finisher in the contest group by a fairly comfortable 25 point margin. The following is Joe’s winning lineup:

• CHAMPS: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth
• CHUMPS: Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman
• SLEEPERS: Kurt Busch, Mark Martin

Out of all teams playing the Champs, Chumps & Sleepers game, only seven teams did better than Joe for the Darlington race. However, those teams didn’t join the free contest group so they were not eligible to win. With only a couple races left in segment #1 of the game, Joe’s team is 1,156 points back from the overall leader, putting him in 277th position. However, as pointed out in the contest, it doesn’t matter where you are in the overall standings…. anyone could have won! Joe’s picks came through for him at the right time and now he has a six-pack of free diecast cars in the mail for his efforts.

Joe was also kind enough to take a little time and answer some questions for us!

1. Joe, how long have you been a NASCAR fan?
   “For 35 years. I worked on the NASCAR circuit in 1984 for Hendrick Racing.
2. Who is your favorite driver(s)?
   “Tony Stewart & Todd Bodine
3. Which race track is your favorite on the NASCAR circuit?
   “Las Vegas & Phoenix. Of course Riverside and Ontario in the old days.
4. How many races do you attend each year?
   “Two races. Last year I did Darlington!
5. How did you discover OneBadWheel.com &/or the Champs, Chumps & Sleepers fantasy game?
   “I found the game on a list of racing fantasy games.
6. How did you pick your winning team for the Darlington race?
   “Basically, I made my picks by with a guess, or by seat-of-the-pants.
7. Did you watch the race?
   “Yes! I watch every race, including the Craftsman Truck Series and Nationwide series. Though it’s still the Busch Series to me.
8. Do you plan any other NASCAR fantasy games? If so, which ones?
   “Yes, I play several. Yahoo, ESPN, NASCAR, FOX, CSK OVAL, CSK Drag, Sporting NEWS, Pepsi, 3M, & a couple others.
9. What sections of OneBadWheel.com do you visit most? (ie. Upcoming Race & Results Pages, Drivers Info & Statistics, Fantasy Tools, Experts Articles, Blog, Fantasy Game, etc.)
   “Pretty much just visit OneBadWheel.com to play the game.
10. Do you subscribe to the OneBadWheel.com Newsletter?
    “Yes!
11. Do you have anything you’d like to add, or interesting information you’d like to share with our readers?
    “The only thing to share is I have been collecting NASCAR diecast for 17 years and at one time the collection numbered over 2,200 cars. It got too big and I had to sell some because it was taking over our house.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a great showing in the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. As I expected, he ran up front almost the entire race (365 of his 367 laps were ran inside the top 15). He also did just as I thought he would do when around Kyle Busch; he did NOT seek retaliation. Dale continues to keep his focus on the championship drive. His actions on the track Saturday also reinforced what he said about the incident between him and Kyle Busch in Richmond (he didn’t believe Kyle wrecked him on purpose). So kudos to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for putting on a great show and keeping that awesome looking #88 Mountain Dew car up front the entire race.

While Earnhardt Jr. deserves those kudos, many of his fans deserve a reprimand and some should not be permitted to attend future races. Once again there were those few rotten fans schmucks throwing beer cans and debris over the heads of REAL fans in the grandstands and onto the track as Kyle Busch passed by for his victory lap. Ignoring the fact that it’s wasting perfectly good beer, and that it’s a pathetic public display of ones character, it most importantly is also threatening the safety of REAL fans! There are women and children in the stands and the thought of a stray beer can striking one of them simply pisses me off to be blunt about it. Imagine a mother or child getting struck, injured and/or killed as a result of a stray beer can! And on a Mother’s Day weekend no less! As I sat there in turn four, 19 rows up, I witnessed the behavior of those individuals and feared for my son’s safety.

You few lunatic fringe members of Jr. Nation (and you few lunatic fringe members of the “We Just Hate Kyle Club”) should be ashamed of yourselves. And if you sat near or witnessed an individual throwing the debris, and you did nothing, then you too should be ashamed of yourselves. Star drivers such as Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and most especially Dale Earnhardt Jr. should come out and call out those fans! They should come out in their interviews and stop for once touting their sponsors name, and instead say something along these lines:

“If you claim to be a fan of mine,
yet you’re throwing beer cans at other drivers,
then you’re not the type of fan I need.
If you can’t stop endangering others, then don’t come to the races,
don’t claim to be a fan of mine, and don’t wear my number!
For you are not the type of fan I need,
and you are not the type of fan I want!

No, Earnhardt Jr. can’t really be expected to control those individuals. But he most certainly should make an attempt at getting his Nation in order. His voice can certainly influence Jr. Nation to a greater degree than any other. Perhaps with his lead, those REAL fans within Jr. Nation will help self-police themselves. If those individuals can’t be influenced by their favorite driver and by the peer pressure of the REAL fans within Jr. Nation, then I unfortunately think the next step is for tracks to start prohibiting beer cans in the grandstands. Plastic bottled water or soda in soft sided coolers will be our only options I fear, if we’re lucky. And we’ll be forced to go to the concession stands for our 12oz beer in a plastic cup and pay $2.50 or more for it! All because some people have poor character traits and no self control. When the cost to go to a race is as high as it is, we certainly don’t need to risk loosing the privilege of being able to bring in our own beer. We also don’t need to fear going to a race with the hopes of being entertained and then end up seeking medical attention.

If you think Kyle Busch stinks so bad and you hate him so much, then imagine if YOU are THAT GUY who throws that one beer can that ends up hitting a kid. Imagine being THAT GUY who injured or killed another child, woman or man. Imagine if you’re THAT GUY whose actions are the ones that causes all tracks to change the way all fans across the country can attend a race when the tracks start preventing cans in the grandstands. Tell me now, all my fellow beer drinking NASCAR fans, would you still hate Kyle that much…. or would you hate THAT GUY? How much more would you hate BEING THAT GUY?

After a racing incident between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch last week, Kyle has been the focus of much criticism from many fans who blame him for wrecking Dale Earnhardt Jr.. Many fans are split on whether Kyle purposefully took Jr. out or if it was “one of them racing deals.” [The correct answer is the latter.] However, the added attention and scrutiny didn’t seem to bother Kyle one bit as he extended his point lead to 79 over second place Jeff Burton. Kyle now is tied with Carl Edwards for 3 wins this season. With eleven races now in the books, Kyle also has 7 top fives and 8 top tens.

If you’re playing our Champs, Chumps & Sleepers fantasy game then you most certainly debated on whether to use Kyle on your Darlington Chumps roster or not. Prior to this past Saturday’s race, Kyle had an average running position of 13.2 and an average finish of 22.3 at Darlington Raceway. But as I predicted in my pre-race Chump rankings, Kyle would once again exceed expectations on the track, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would not retaliate against Kyle. The fact that Jr. didn’t retaliate just shows me a few things about Jr.. First, he’s a better guy than that (and I already knew he was!). Second, he apparently believes what he himself said after the Richmond race (that he didn’t think Kyle did it on purpose). And third, that Jr. is focussed on the big picture of the championship. Kudos to Earnhardt Jr.!

I took my son to the Darlington race and we camped out in Camp Darlington afterwards. This was my son’s very first NASCAR race, and maybe you can imagine the look on this 9 year olds face and the joy he expressed when his two favorite drivers finished 1st and 2nd. I have to say that this was my favorite race that I’ve ever attended. Not so much because of what happened on the track (after all, my drivers didn’t have great nights), but because it was a terrific bonding moment for my son and me. While my son was hoping Carl would get up there and be able to pass Kyle, he was happy for a 1-2 finish in the end. Here are the post-race Loop Data Statistics on how Kyle Busch tamed Darlington.

• Starting Position = 6th
• Mid Race Position = 9th
• 37 Laps to Go = 1st
• Lowest Position = 29th
• Average Position = 5th
• # of Fastest Laps = 56 (best of all drivers)
• Laps in Top 15 = 349 out of 367.
• % of Laps in Top 15 = 95.1%
• Laps Led = 169 (most of all drivers)
• % of Laps Led = 46.0% (highest of all drivers)
• Final Driver Rating = 138.6

We’ve all seen it happen on TV or heard it before on the radio. A young athlete makes an improbable game winning move in the last few seconds of the game. Or maybe the camera pans into the grandstands and stops on a bunch of teenagers or college student aged fans who have clearly been drinking something other than Coca-Cola. It almost never fails, “Hi mom!” they yell into the camera. When Carl Edwards won his first Cup race (the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway) in 2005 his mother, Nancy Sterling, was there to celebrate with Carl in victory lane. Seeing a mom in victory lane or at the track really isn’t so odd in NASCAR though. Many driver’s wives and their children travel the circuit with the drivers and are at the race track quite often. Many of these “NASCAR moms” can be found on the pit box during the race (Kim Burton comes to my mind!).

This weekend my son hopes to get a chance to say “hi mom” into the camera from Darlington Raceway. You see, his mom will be staying home with the girls while he and I attend the Dodge Challenger 500. It will be my son’s first ever race and we are both very excited. On the way to school this morning he told me that if he sees Carl Edwards then he is going to ask him for an autographed tire. This came about because one of his buddies has an old race tire from Jeff Gordon’s car. I chuckled to myself trying to imagine how that could actually come true for my “little man.” I mean, it’s not like Carl has a crew member walking around behind him with a hand-truck stacked tall with used race tires. It also made me think of that David Ragan commercial where he throws a tire at a kid thinking that’s what he wanted. :D

So, while my son and I will be camping out after the race and making lifelong memories tomorrow night, I’d like to take this opportunity to say “Happy Mother’s Day” to my mother, to my wife, and to all the other moms out there in NASCAR country. If you haven’t heard Momsense” before, then click that link for they lyrics or just watch the clip below for a good laugh and appreciation for a mother’s day. As the father of three, and somewhat of a Mr. Mom myself, I can sooo relate!
“

Dodge Challenger 500

Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, SC.

Darlington Raceway History

• Built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-50, Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 4, 1950.
• The track was re-measured to 1.375-mile in 1953.
• The track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race in 1970.
• Spring 1981: James Jones attends his first NASCAR race at Darlington with his uncle Terry.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington was held on April 3, 1982.
• The track was repaved in 1995.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Darlington was held on May 12, 2001.
• The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington.
• The track was repaved again starting last year.
• Spring 2008: James Jones takes his son CJ to his first NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway.

Track Numbers

• NASCAR Cup Series Races: 104
• Pole Winners: 44
• Race Winners: 42
• There was one race per year in 1950, 1951, between 1953 and 1959 and again every year since 2005. Darlington held two races a season in all other years.
• Curtis Turner won the first pole at Darlington Raceway in 1950.
• Johnny Mantz won the first race at Darlington, in 1950.
• David Pearson leads all drivers with 12 poles at Darlington.
• Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kasey Kahne and Ken Schrader lead all active drivers with three poles each.
• David Pearson leads all drivers with 10 victories followed by Dale Earnhardt with nine.
• Jeff Gordon is third overall and leads all active drivers with seven victories.
• Hendrick Motorsports has won 12 races at Darlington, more than any other organization. He broke a tie with Junior Johnson when Jeff Gordon won there last fall
• 18 races at Darlington have been won from the pole, the most productive starting position.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Darlington was 43rd in the track’s inaugural race in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. That race had a 75-car field.
• Not only is Darlington the site of the oldest NASCAR race on asphalt, it is also the site of one of the closest race finishes in NASCAR history. Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds on March 16, 2003 – the smallest margin of victory since NASCAR instituted electronic timing in mid-1993

Track Records

• Track qualifying record: Ward Burton (173.797 mph, 28.295 seconds, 3-22-96)
• Track race record: Dale Earnhardt (139.958 mph, 3-28-93)

Darlington Raceway Race Day Data

• Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage.
• Race # 11 of 36 (5-10-08)
• Track Size: 1.366 miles
• Banking/Corners: 23-25 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 6 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 6 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,229 feet
• Backstretch: 1,229 feet

“I took Carl Belew and W.S. Stevenson’s song titled Stop the World (and let me off), and I tweaked it for Dale Earnhardt Jr.. It goes a little something like this:

Stop the world and let me off.
I’m tired of going round and round
I’ve raced the last two years and lost
So stop the world and let me off.

Stop the world and Let me off
I’m tired of going round and round
I’ve raced the last two years and lost
So stop the world and let me off.

[BTW, I like Waylon Jennings's version of that song the best.]

Note: The following is a rant. As such, objectives such as grammar and being succinct have been left at the log-in page. There may even be a typo or two. ;)

It simply amazes me the amount of anger Earnhardt Nation has been spewing on forums and blogs (and probably even a water tower or two) stemming from the incident between Dale Jr. and Kyle Busch this weekend in Richmond. The simple fact is that what happened was nothing more than a product of Saturday night short track racing and it was a racing incident, period! Furthermore, this incident was so mild by short track racing standards that those who think it was Kyle’s intent to wreck Jr. must be befuddled! I think many members of Jr. Nation (as well as the “We Just Hate Kyle Legionnaires”) are really looking for a reason to cry foul here.

I think some people need to take another good hard look at the video of the race. Larry McReynolds comment about Kyle’s tires being turned to the right ever so slightly just really got me. I couldn’t believe my ears when he said it. If you’ve been watching automobile racing for any length of time, or if you’ve ever driven a sports car in a performance environment, you’d know that when the back comes loose and tries to come around to the right you counter it with the steering to the right. Larry Mac knows this!

Some of the comments people have been posting are that Kyle didn’t give Jr. enough room or that he went in too high in the corner. Excuse me, but if you go back and watch the few laps even before the accident you’ll see Kyle is pretty darn consistent where he takes that inside line. For what it’s worth, Bowyer and Martin were following the same line which was a couple feet up front the crease or banking and apron line. It wasn’t until the turn 3 that Kyle got loose on the inside and went up higher into Jr. who had himself brought his line down the track.

Still others (many who have thought it wasn’t intentional on Kyle’s part) have said that Kyle shouldn’t have been pushing it that hard at that point in the race. Again, excuse me, but they were already at 3 to go the very first time Kyle was able to get up along side of Jr.. The incident itself was the only contact between the two cars. Kyle had not been rubbing on Jr.’s rear end! Jr. wasn’t blocking Kyle from taking a low or high line either. The two drivers were not banging each other’s doors, nor rubbing fenders, nor trading paint, or anything of the sort. Kyle didn’t rub up along Jr.’s car to move him up out of a line either. In other words, this was NOT a bump-n-run attempt, period! Both Kyle and Dale Jr. commented right after the race that if that’s what Kyle wanted to do, it could have been done already or it could have been done such that Kyle would at least be in the lead and wind up winning the race.

What really gets me the most by many fans is that there seems to be an expectation out there that if Kyle (or any other driver for that matter) is racing Jr. for position, then they need to use some extra or different level of caution in doing so. Say what?! Why the hell should Kyle, or any other driver, have to race more cautiously around Jr. than they do any other driver? Just because he is Dale Jr. and he inherited most (if not all) of Dale Sr.’s fans? I say “Malarkey!” The last thing I want to see are these drivers out there riding around and racing at 8/10ths effort or ability just because they’re around Jr.. I can’t imagine Dale Jr. wanting that either. That would be like handicapping the field when they’re around him.

Dale is a racer, and a damn good one too. Of course he’s disappointed and so are his fans. But this folks was nothing more than hard racing on a short track on a Saturday night, and the intensity of the incident itself was MILD by short track standards. It also just happens that there is an interesting dynamic between the these two drivers. They both had something to prove. Earnhardt wants to show he is the real deal in the HMS car and get back to winning races. Kyle wants to prove he is in a better situation now with his new team and show it by beating his old car/team.

I’ll pull the plug on my rant by saying that there have been many occasions where Kyle Busch has done something incredibly stupid on the track and deserved the ire of fans and drivers alike (I’m sure he’ll do something again real soon). Since he first came into the Cup series he has been one of the drivers that I have disliked the most because of some of his antics. However, I can not find fault in his performance at Richmond. I certainly can understand the disappointment that both Jr. and all of his fans felt last night. That’s not an easy pill to swallow when they were so very close. If they want to hate and boo Kyle Busch, then that’s fine too. The sport thrives on rivalries and passion for different drivers. I just hope everyone has enough common sense and nobody does anything stupid (such as all the talk about needing security, etc.). In the end everyone needs to remember that it’s racing and the world keeps on turning no matter how much you may want it to stop and let you off.”