Week 5 Commentary

Here in Orlando, some very bad weather ran through just prior to the green flag out at the AutoClub Speedway in Fontana, California.

The weather did a bunch of damage, including out at Bay Hill for the final round of The Arnold Palmer Invitational, which ultimately was postponed until Monday.  Many of us were without power, and those that had power and cable had to suffer through local news affiliates playing with all their radar toys well after the storm was in the Atlantic Ocean.  Yes, the weatherman were hard at work, evidenced by their sleeves having been rolled up.  Just love that touch!

No big deal though, for if you were going to miss television coverage of a race, Californian should top your list.  Sadly, although speeds are high, the racing has been a real snoozer.

Until Sunday.

Perhaps it was the new Gen6 car, but the race Sunday was by far the best race at AutoClub Speedway
we have seen, complete with a multitude of story lines as Kyle Busch swept the weekend.

Most thought, due to the high speeds, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin would push the pause button on their feud until the next race, but in the final laps, they tangled and crashed, with Denny Hamlin ending up spending the night in the hospital.  Perhaps you saw if differently, but I had no problem with the driving I saw from Logano. 

Meanwhile from YouTube, 95gtscort had a great spot in the stands of the wreck!



It was interesting, as Michael Waltrip found Logano could have exercised better judgement while Kyle Petty did not see it that way.

Meanwhile, Tony Stewart was some kind of torqued at Logano, who blocked him on a restart in the final laps.  Stewart stopped his car by Logano's crashed machine after the race and went after him.  Smoke remained livid in post race interviews.

For full disclosure, while my favorite driver is Bobby Labonte as many of you know, Tony Stewart is my favorite among the contenders.  This goes back to those guys running the Pontiac's from Joe Gibbs and with me having filmed a Sea Doo commercial in 2001 with those guys.

However, I was very disappointed with Tony on Sunday.  I have turned zero laps on the cup circuit, but I would not pull over to let someone, anyone, pass with a pair of laps to go.  Logano should not have; didn't, and Stewart would not either, and didn't back at Talladega last year as Kyle Petty appropriately pointed out.  I am usually in line with Smoke on these altercations, but not this time.

Then again, Kasey Kahne tweeted he was in line with Stewart. 

 

How did you see it?  We would love to hear your thoughts either here in the comment section of the blog or over at our Facebook site.

 

Roger Penske, legendary team owner and owner of Logano's race team, has issued a statement that he is behind Logano 100%.  The Captain, a former board of director at International Speedway Corporation, carries substantial weight in the garage and with the sanctioning body.

Clearly, Logano is not a favorite among the other drivers.  Then again, I have never met a fan of Denny Hamlin, who seems to think he is the second coming of Richard Petty. 

Certainly, we do not wish to see any of the driver to be injured and hope for speedy recovery for Denny.  Sadly, the injury appears a bit more serious than first thought, so keep Hamlin in your thoughts and prayers.

Slim Shady Racing won the week, followed closely by Ricky Racer, Fullers Fast Track, No Ones Beatch and O Racing.

Although relaxed from a week ago, we still had many driver sling shot one way or another in the standings.

Ricky Racer, No Ones Beatch, Big Boy, Lil Boy, Blue 7 Racing, Fuller Fast Track and Slim Shady Racing all moved up 10 or more.

MMSH, Little Circle Burner, The Gas Man, Off Shore Gamester, Smoke's Fury, D&D Racing, Double Four Racing all fell 10 or more with Chief Racing and Budah really having tough afternoons.

The top three held firm, Glynn, Captain Schwab and Team Taser.  Man In Black is fourth and Ron Dog is fifth.

We take the week off for Easter before returning the following week for short track racing at Martinsville Speedway.  Hamlin owns that place but reports indicate he may not be able to make the start, so we may have a replacement driver.

For those of you who have failed to get your entry fee in, please do so before we go racing in Martinsville.  We would hate to see you parked at tech inspection, but we won't be relaxed come green flag on April 7.  Be advised.

Enjoy Easter and we will see you under the grandfather clock at Martinsville.

Week 4 Commentary

It was a wild ride at Bristol this past weekend to be sure.

Kasey Kahne brought home the checkered flag, and Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin nearly came to blows on pit road.  By the way, things have not cooled down.

Captain Schwab won the week in the Conway NASCAR League, followed closely by Smoke's Fury, RonDog Racing, Ratatack Racing and 88 AMPS.

In the history of this league, now well into our second decade, I cannot remember such tumult in the standings, which were shook up like ping pong balls in the lottery bubble.

Seems like half the field gained over 10 positions, including MMSH, KingPin, Team Cuda, The Gas Man, Offshore Gamester, Team Taser, Ricky Racer, ME Racing, WTC Racing Blue 7 Racing BAHL, Team Hot Stuff and Ratatack Racing.  In fact, Fullers Fast Track, Smoke's Fury, DWL Racing and CosmoD all gained over 20 spots.

That must mean we had some folks crumpled up in the garage area.

Burke, Oiler, Material Handlers, Lucky Penny, Fitz Racing, Lisa Las Vegas, Slim Shady Racing and No Ones Beatch all fell over ten spots.  Smoke on the Horizon, Jims Juggs, Pamela's Pistons, Double Four Racing, Budah and Burke all fell over 20 spots, with Osteen Racing, our week 1 winner, fell a mind boggling 48 spots.

Wow!

Glynn, a former league champion, continues to show the way, followed by Captain Schwab, Team Wolf, RonDog Racing and Man In Black Racing.

 

Due to a poor start this year, the clan from Kentucky has made some personnel changes, hiring a pit crew consultant specializing in gas can and jack stand management and utilization.  Flanking the new consultant, Shaquille O"Neal is The Gas Man and Luckydog.  Improvement on pit road is a tall order, but it looks like the Kentucky clan has found their man!

This weekend we are out in Fontana for the AutoClub 500 at California Motor Speedway. Although the speeds are high, this traditionally is not one of the more exciting races as the racing is generally not close.

Logano and Hamlin may have to wait unitl next week for any on track shenanigans. Speaking of Hamlin, he won the Coors Light Pole yesterday and will lead the field to green on Sunday. #16-Biffle and #2-Keselowski will have to start the race on Sunday at the rear of the field due to changing engines.

The green flag is scheduled to drop at 3:16PM EST. Good Luck!

Week 3 Commentary

The new GEN6 car is throwing some teams a curve ball, and many do not like it, most notably Denny Hamlin.  With that being said, the race at Las Vegas proved interesting as some team jumped out early and started putting cars down a lap.

Matt Kenseth, on his birthday, found victory lane winning the race over Jimmie Johnson and Brad K.  This was the first win for Kenseth over at Joe Gibbs Racing, and that immediately brings into question the value of Joey Logano.

Mountain Boy won the week, followed by Mama's Boy, Pamela's Pistons, Tean Taser and 88AMPS.  In the garage area were L&M Racing, O Racing and three who jumped out front early, O'Steen Racing, Chief Racing and Lucky Penny.

Former league champion Glynn is showing the way now, closely pursued by Team Wolf, Budah, Man In Black Racing and Blind Squirrel Racing, who I saw gathering snacks at a local pit stop hours before the command to fire engines.

It is that time of year as we get things settled out, but a whole slew of teams made moves one way or the other.

Heading to the front were Pamela's Pistons, RonDog, Captain Schwab, 88AMPS, Mama's Boy, Mountain Boy, Team Taser and D&D Racing.  Rolling the dice the wrong way were Lucky Penny, Lisa Las Vegas, MMSH, Fullers Fast Track, Pup N Suds and O Racing.  All these race teams were double digit movers.

We are off to Bristol Motor Speedway on St. Patricks Day for The Food City 500.  Multi-platinum, Grammy-winning artist Charlie Daniels will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  Newly hired University of Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones is the grand marshal, fitting as we gather in good ole Rocky Top.

NSCS Pole Qualifying is at 3:40Pm on Friday.  The green flag is scheduled to drop at 1:13PM. Good Luck!

The Heartbeat of Car Salesman

Always be on your best behavior, as you never know who you are dealing with!

This Jeff Gordon test drive prank is going viral on the internet.

It is pretty cool!

Week 2 Commentary

Phoenix is usually a real fun race, but with the new Gen 6 car and a new tire compound from Goodyear, the race was steady as she goes with cars who were set up properly.  Some were fast early, and others were fast late.  Those turning consistent laps under all weather conditions were among the leaders at the end, led by ole five time and Carl Edwards, who really needed a win after a long winless streak and tearing up every race car the 99 Ford team brought to Daytona.

I was watching, but I never saw Ricky Racer down in the garage area; therefore, it seems likely he was amongst the craziness in the infield.

Team Wolf won the week in The Conway NASCAR League, followed by Little Circle Burner, Glynn, Mama's Boy and Lucky Penny.

As is customary in early weeks, we had major shifts in the standings. 

Budah is showing the way, followed by Team Wolf, Chief Racing, Glynn and O'Steen Racing.

Several drivers had big gains, including Lucky Penny, Little Circle Burner, Jims Juggs, Team Cuda, Mama's Boy, Team Hot Stuff and Burke.

In the garage area with issues were L&M Racing, FFP, D&d Racing, MMSH, CosmoD, Boris Head and BAHL (not sure if a drone strike got Ryan Newman or what, but remind me not to take him going forward). 

We note that Glynn and Team Wolf have started off the season with consecutive top ten finishes, which usually enhances the chances of finishing in the top ten.

This weekend we are off to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the Kobalt Tools 400.  The green flag is scheduled to wave at 3:16PM, with FOX having the coverage.  Matt Kenseth was the fastest in the first practice session on Thursday.  As we posted the blog, Mark Martin was pacing practice sessions two.

Sprint Cup qualifying is at 3:40PM PST on Friday, the Nationwide Series runs the Sams Town 300 on Saturday.

Time to go to the front, as falling behind early does not bode well.  So study up, stand on it and Good Luck!