Boys had at it in Sonoma

Before the weekend Tony Stewart said everyone loves Sonoma because it’s almost a getaway vacation for drivers and their girlfriends and/or wives. Something tells me after Sunday’s race, no one was happy sans Kurt Busch and his wife Eva.

Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers had a spat. Joey Logano and Robby Gordon decided that their orange paint schemes needed to be swapped. And Juan Pablo Montoya just ran over everyone in his way late in the race before Brad Keselowski ended JPM’s bulldozer day by punting the No. 42.

“Montoya just drove through me at the top of the hill, that’s just obvious,” Kahne said. “Last year when (the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing) cars were really, really good and Jamie McMurray was the man, Juan still couldn’t win a race. That shows about what he can do here in NASCAR anyways.”

Ouch. Montoya, naturally, didn’t see things the same way.

“I got beside (Kahne) and he knocked me a couple of times, and they just don’t give me any room so it was hard,” Montoya said. “The No. 2, I got on his bumper moved him a little bit, got beside him and passed him and he just plain and simple wrecked us. It’s hard when people don’t know how to race on road courses and think they do. It’s OK.”

And that comes from one of the supposed best road racers on the circuit.

Keselowski gave his side, saying, “The body language of Juan’s car said he was going to wreck me. I just made sure that didn’t happen.”

“I don’t race guys that way and I’m not going to let anybody race me that way,” Stewart said. “So if they block, they get dumped. Plain and simple.”

Even the race winner, whose bumpers were awfully clean, if not pristine, chimed in.

“This sport was based off of guys roughing each other up,” Kurt Busch said. “That’s that good old short track racing that we see – the good old door slamming, bumper to bumper. It’s the heritage of our sport.”

Stewart has been angry all season about the way some drivers have raced.

“I’ve been complaining about the way guys have been racing all year,” said Stewart. “I like Brian; I’m not holding it against him at all. I don’t care if it was [teammate] Ryan Newman. I would have dumped him, too. If they want to block, that’s what is going to happen to them every time for the rest of my career.”

And darn it, those were just the post-race interviews on Sunday.

The race was even more entertaining. Who was next? What was going to happen and in what turn would it happen? And how interesting did all this beating and banging suddenly make this week’s upcoming race at Daytona?

With the new version of restrictor plate racing, I doubt anything will transpire, but it will be very interesting to see what comes of all the post-race chatter.

This was truly what NASCAR wanted when they implemented the “Boys have at it” policy last season. Drivers got mad, used their bumpers, retaliated, and policed themselves.

I can’t wait to see how this plays out at Daytona. It’s going to be wild…and fun.

Kentucky Speedway tire test update

In the ongoing saga that is turning out to be the Goodyear Kentucky Speedway tire test, some new facts have come to light.

The tire test was originally scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th but was moved back to next Wednesday, June 1st.

On April 20th, the list of drivers slated to participate were Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Joey Logano, Mark Martin and David Reutimann.

Eight days later a Yahoo! Sports article noted that Reutimann, Biffle, Harvick, Logano, and Kvapil would test along with Kurt Busch rather than Keselowski. Martin’s name was omitted from that list.

On May 1st, Martin’s camp confirmed that the article was wrong and that Mark Martin was going to be at Kentucky.

Today, one week from the date of the test, more information has come to light. The latest list of drivers includes six of the original drivers (Biffle, Harvick, Keselowski, Kvapil, Logano and Reutimann) but instead of Martin, the list from Goodyear apparently lists Dale Earnhardt Jr. as one of the participants.

Which one of these two cars will be at Kentucky Speedway in one week? Reports differ on whether Mark Martin or Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be testing for Goodyear at Kentucky Speedway

I once again contacted Martin’s media representative, Kendra Jacobs, who confirmed that Martin will be at Kentucky Speedway in a week. She also told me, “Is this test inviting media to it? Typically Goodyear tests are closed.”

I’ve yet to receive word if the test is open or closed to the media, but I had assumed it was open. I’ll double check and let you know. I had been looking forward to going, and I still hold out hope that the tire test will be open. When I receive word, I’ll make sure to pass it along.

Also, Kentucky Speedway officials have noted that tire tests are normally closed to the public, although there have been some exceptions. Due to construction at the Speedway in Sparta the track will remained closed next week, and if there are changes, Kentucky Speedway will let fans know.

(Some info from Kevin Kelly’s report in the Cincinnati Enquirer was used here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110524/SPT/105250346/Earnhardt-test-Ky-Speedway?odyssey=modnewswelltextSportss)

Opinion—Martin’s mediocre finishes don’t tell entire story

While I admit to being a superfan of Mark Martin, I also must be a realist. The start to the 2011 season for the Batesville, Ark., native could have been much better. Through four races, Martin has finished no higher than 10th but no lower than 18th. That’s pretty average if you ask me.

However, if you look at the stories behind the finishes, Mark Martin has been nothing short of stellar to start the 2011 campaign—his last in a Hendrick Motorsports car.

Early on at Daytona, the GoDaddy.com car was tangled up in that wreck that took out half the field. Martin and new crew chief Lance McGrew worked on the fender damage and eventually made it back to the lead lap late in the race. On the final restart Martin was fourth, behind Tony Stewart, ready to push Smoke to victory in the season’s opening race.

Not bad for a car that was smashed up on lap 30. Even though Martin only ended up 10th, it could have been much worse for the GoDaddy team that day. McGrew and Martin set the tone for the next few races with that fight at Daytona.

At Phoenix Martin was once again tangled up in someone else’s mess, slightly damaging the front end of the car. Martin got into the back of Kevin Harvick, making the 2007 Daytona 500 champ slightly less than pleased.

But once again McGrew and Martin battled, making the car as good as they could near the end. Even though Martin only finished 13th it could have been a worse day for the team.

While Martin didn’t find any trouble in Vegas, his car was never quite fast enough to run up front. McGrew and Martin kept adjusting and never quite hit on what they needed to get to the front.

To add to fans’ frustrations, Martin was the lowest finishing Hendrick car that day.

Fans knew McGrew wasn’t held in high regard by fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr., whom McGrew last worked with at HMS, but prior to the 2011 Cup season the last time Martin and McGrew hooked up was for a 2008 Nationwide Series win in Vegas.

So things could get better for Martin and the No. 5 team, but likewise, they could be a whole heck of a lot worse. Martin is known for having very little luck, and this year he’s getting some breaks to go his way.

He sits 11th in Sprint Cup points after this weekend’s race in Bristol. A race that once again left Kevin Harvick fuming at the man he beat back to the line at Daytona in 2007 by a mere .02 seconds.

“That’s two times in four races,” Harvick said over the radio after Martin bumped him and spun him out on Sunday. “They need to check his old ass for vision.”

Kasey Kahne was running in front of Harvick with less than 100 laps to go and suddenly slowed up exiting turn two. Harvick had to let off and Martin, who was accelerating and tailing the No. 29 car, had nowhere to go.

Welcome to Bristol Mr. Harvick.

After the race he was a little more calm, simply saying, “You know when we were sitting there running third and fifth, really we were just riding. I just wanted to make sure that we had a race car left and (Kahne) got a little tight and (Martin) ran over us again,” Harvick said.

Once again, it’s typical Bristol racing. Although I’m still sticking by my theory that it’s just a Karmatic (is that even a word? Well, now it is) payback for the atrocities of the 2007 Daytona 500. You win some and you lose some.

Harvick rallied to finish 6th on Sunday and Martin came home 12th. Although they both could have had better finishes, the wreck could have completely devastated both men.

It’s another sign that although Mark Martin’s luck could have him sitting 30th in points, he’s only 11th, 27 markers back of the leader, Kurt Busch.

Martin will make his 800th career Cup start in two weeks at Martinsville, appropriately enough. By then we’ll have a better handle on how the season will turn out for the 52-year-old Martin. Right now, I’m sticking by the ‘it could be (a lot) worse’ mantra.

Some would call the start mediocre, but until you look at why Mark Martin is only averaging a 13th place finish, you’d say, “That’s awfully darn good.”

Those are my thoughts, and I’m sticking to ‘em.

Drivers and paint schemes and number changes: Oh My!

“If you go to a NASCAR race and don’t need a program, you might be a redneck”—Jeff Foxworthy

The NASCAR “Silly Season” has shaken up the world of motorsports once again. It started in April when Hendrick Motorsports announced Kasey Kahne would join their fold in 2012. The dominoes fell from there. At the end of this season more drivers will be at the end of their contracts with their teams. Will they re-up? Will they depart and go elsewhere?

It was easy keeping tabs on who drove what car and what color it would be back about a decade ago. That has changed.

Sponsorship dollars are scarce, and even the best teams now field two to three primary sponsors per year.

Case in point, in 2011, Jeff Gordon’s car will no longer always carry the prominent DuPont logo that has become synonymous with the No. 24 since Gordon broke onto the NASCAR scene full-time in 1993. Gordon will now have a darker red car, sponsored in 22 races by the Drive to End Hunger and the AARP.

The normal look of the No. 24 has changed a little. DuPont will still be around, just not as much

Gordon will still have DuPont and Pepsi for the other 14 races, but it might be tough to spot the No. 24 car if he’s not carrying the DuPont logo on the hood full-time.

Staying in the Hendrick Motorsports shop the No. 24 car inhabits is the newest member to join Mark Martin’s hood and quarterpanels, Quaker State. The darker green “Q” will fly on Martin’s hood for four races including the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.

And the man who will take over for Martin next season in the No. 5 car? Well, Kasey Kahne is hanging out at Red Bull Racing this season, driving the No. 4 car. Brian Vickers has returned from his health scare last year and will resume piloting the No. 83 car.

Keeping up? Do you need a breather?

Another crazy shakeup occurred this offseason at Penske Racing. As I noted last week, there would be no No. 12 on the track this season. Instead, Brad Keselowski would scoot over to the No. 2 Dodge, sponsored still by Miller Lite. Kurt Busch vacated the No. 2 to take the reins of the No. 22 Dodge with the Shell/Pennzoil logo on the hood.

The "Blue Deuce" has a new driver this year

Busch won the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday evening in his first race in the new car. Kahne isn’t off the hook in this story though. Shell/Pennzoil left Kevin Harvick when Kahne announced his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, because Budweiser (formerly Kahne’s primary sponsor) darted for Harvick.

So, Harvick now carries the Budweiser paint scheme, and yes, his wife DeLana does have a new firesuit.

Delana Harvick has traded in her Shell/Pennzoil firesuit for a more prominent, red Budweiser one. No word on what Joey Logano thinks of the change yet

Also joining the RCR fold is Paul Menard, who left Richard Petty Motorsports to get on board as a fourth car at RCR. Menard brings plenty of sponsorship money with him too.

And speaking of Richard Petty Motorsports, the team fielded by “The King” is now a two-car operation. Elliott Sadler, formerly in Cup with RPM, has moved down to run a full Nationwide Series schedule with Kevin Harvick Inc.

AJ Allmendinger will remain at RPM and remain in the iconic No. 43 car. For 24 races, his car will carry the Best Buy colors, and the remaining races will be filled with sponsorship from Valvoline and the US Air Force amongst others.

The DeWalt colors, once synonymous with Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 car, will find a home on the No. 9 car of Marcos Ambrose, who left JTG-Daugherty Racing for RPM. Stanley Tools will also sponsor Ambrose.

Taking the spot vacated by Ambrose at JTG is 2000 Cup champ Bobby Labonte. Labonte will pilot the No. 47 car, sponsored by Bush’s Baked Beans and Kroger amongst many others.

Speaking of more sponsorship shakeups, Penske Racing has dropped Sam Hornish Jr. from its stable. Hornish formerly piloted the No. 77 Mobil-1 Dodge. Mobil-1 now sponsors the No. 14 of Tony Stewart, and will be on the hood of Smoke’s car for 11 races this season.

The Mobil-1 Dodge sits in a garage stall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2011, the Mobil-1 colors will be on the No. 14 Chevy of Tony Stewart.

So, if you still need a program to figure out who’s who, I don’t blame you. With paint schemes and colors changing weekly, it’s tough sometimes to figure out who is who. It used to be easy, but now it’s a little more challenging.

If you need any help, just print out this post. It makes for a semi-handy guide on racedays.
--------------------------------
Three days until the season officially kicks off. The Duels at Daytona begin today in the afternoon, and by the end of the day the 43 car field for the Daytona 500 will be set. As the energy for the race picks up, so will the posts. Check back for more later this evening regarding the Gatorade Duels.

Bud Shootout bores this fan

The two-car packs sped around Daytona last night and excited the FOX announcers. Heck it was even exciting for the drivers. There were 28 lead changes during the event, the most in the 33-year history of the Shootout.

It didn’t excite me. Call me negative, but I found the two-car packs to very, very boring.

And I sat through the 2008 Brickyard 400 in person.

Drivers disagreed with me though. Race winner Kurt Busch felt the racing was great.

“It’s fun as hell,” Busch said after the race.

“Two cars just hook up, and it seems like the air comes off the front car and clears that second car perfectly,” Busch added. “If you have a third car, the air comes off that front car, lands onto the third car and that third car can't break through.”

Busch was pushed from what he referred to as his “teammate of the day,” Jamie McMurray.

“McMurray was everything for us tonight with his ability to stay tucked up behind us and to keep the two-car chain attached,” he said.

McMurray, the defending Daytona 500 champion, also enjoyed the two-car breakaways.

“It was a lot of fun,” said McMurray. “It’s really weird to push somebody all the way around the track and side draft with two guys that are also pushing all the way around the track. It’s just the strangest feeling. But it was a lot of fun tonight. I really had a good time.”

“That was the most unexpected race I've ever been a part of,” said Ryan Newman, who led the field hundreds of feet from the finish line, but finished 3rd.

Denny Hamlin, who technically was the first car back to the line, also felt the racing was great.

“I thought it was good, I thought the racing was great,” said Hamlin, who was penalized for passing Newman below the double-yellow line, and finished 12th. “It was really hard for any two groups of cars to stay up front. For me, I was hoping to put ourselves in position for the win and made a little mistake.”

SBNation NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck is running an informal poll on his blog, asking fans for their opinion. As of 11 a.m. on Sunday morning, Gluck has compiled just over 560 votes. Of those who voted in Gluck’s poll, 48 percent say they didn’t like the two-by-two racing, and preferred big packs, like the old-time Daytona.

Slightly below one-quarter of those who voted, 24 percent, said they liked it, and 26 percent of those that voted said they’ll wait to see more racing before making up their mind.

My mind is made up: not so much fun. I too prefer the bigger packs. We’ll see what happens when true racing returns on Thursday for the Gatorade Duels. Until then, there will be plenty of discussion about the upcoming Daytona 500, including qualifying today, and Mark Martin talk all this week.

Enjoy single-car runs today. Thanks for reading.

Shootout full of two-car drama

In 33 years the Bud Shootout has never seen so many lead changes. Two-car packs made the Budweiser Shootout a rather bland display of racing at Daytona. Big packs of the past that were familiar at Daytona have been replaced by two-car tandems that reached speeds of nearly 207 mph.

Kurt Busch won the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday evening, beating Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman back to the line. It was one of 28 lead changes on the evening.

“I want to thank my engine department: Jamie McMurray,” Busch said in victory lane.

But the finish didn’t come without some controversy. After all, it’s Daytona.

Coming off the fourth turn, Busch was third behind Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin ducked out behind Newman and passed Newman’s No. 39. NASCAR deemed the pass to be illegal since Hamlin’s car dropped beneath the double yellow line that NASCAR deems out of bounds.

“I knew I was a sitting duck,” Newman said. “I knew it was going to happen off of four. I just didn’t know where [Hamlin] was going to go.”

“It just worked out that I got behind Kurt,” McMurray said. “I’m glad I could push him to the win.”

Two-car packs also dominated the first 25 laps of the event. Jeff Burton won the segment, being pushed by his Richard Childress Racing teammate, two-time defending Shootout champ Kevin Harvick.

A six-car incident caused the night’s first yellow. Carl Edwards and Regan Smith came up too quickly on Dale Jr., causing the polesitter to slam the outside wall. The wreck also caught Kevin Conway, Joey Logano and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Two laps later Mark Martin got into Kyle Busch at the entrance of turn one and spun Busch’s Toyota around.

“I turned Kyle around I have no idea why or how that happened,” Martin said on FOX. “Everything was good, we went into turn one and he just went around…I can’t figure out why that happened.”

This was Martin’s 23rd start in the Bud Shootout, tying him for the most Shootout appearances of all time with Bill Elliott—who was eligible to run but didn’t race.

The win was Busch’s first win on a restrictor plate track. However, if Busch wants to win the Daytona 500 in one week, he might not want to look at the history books. Only five Shootout winners have gone on to win the Daytona 500.

Penske drivers change numbers

Brad Keselowski’s red No. 12 flew into the wall last year in Atlanta. This season, that same No. 12 won’t be on the track.

One year later Keselowski walks into Daytona taking the reins of the No. 2 car, still sponsored though, by Miller Lite. Kurt Busch, his Penske teammate, moves to the No. 22, and gets the Shell/Pennzoil sponsorship, vacated by Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress last season when Childress picked up Budweiser. Confused yet?

We’re still a week plus away from the annual “Silly Season” blog post, but this is a monumental shift for (some) NASCAR followers. I think we should place bets on the first time a TV or radio reporter misnames Keselowski in the No. 2 car, since they’ve become accustomed to the face of Kurt Busch in that vehicle.

I know it’ll take me a while.

You can argue that Keselowski’s attitude and brazen driving style will be perfect for Miller Lite. Kurt Busch used to be that way, but he has since tempered, and while he might be a great spokesman for Miller, Keselowski, is a much better fit for the beer company.

Plus that No. 12 just hasn’t had the same luck since Ryan Newman departed Penske after the 2008 season. Neither Keselowski nor David Stremme has been able to pilot the entry to a top-five finish. In fact, the last time a car with the No. 12 on the side reached victory lane, it was Newman, driving to his biggest career win so far.

On Feb. 17, 2008, the 50th running of the Daytona 500 was met with great anticipation. All of the (living) previous winners of the Daytona 500 served as Grand Marshals of the event and gave the command to fire engines.

Newman, with a huge shove from his teammate Busch, brought home the Harvey J. Earl trophy—his owner’s first ever win in NASCAR’s biggest race.

Roger Penske has won the Indy 500, and last year he watched his rival Chip Ganassi win the Daytona 500, Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 all in the same year. In order for Penske to have a shot at that, Keselowski and Busch will need to step up their game in 2011.

We all know Busch, the 2004 Cup champ, can do it, but can Keselowski improve enough in his second full-time season to make a run at the Chase? In 12 days the answers will come about, and I know enough to not bet against the elder Busch and his restrictor plate loving teammate Keselowski at Daytona.

I don’t expect either to win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Penske wins another Daytona 500. I just know it won’t be the same numbered car in victory lane that was there in 2008.
-------------------------------
With 12 days until the green drops the anticipation is building. The anticipation for the start of the NASCAR season might not be higher for any other driver than the guy who finished runner-up last season to Jimmie Johnson in the points--Denny Hamlin.

We'll check that out tomorrow.

Will a newly-married Kyle Busch be better in 2011?

Sooner or later he’ll prove me right.

Every year I say Kyle Busch will win the Daytona 500. Then I stick my neck out and say, ‘This is it. This is the year the younger Busch wins the Brickyard 400.’ So far I’m 0-fer, and so is Busch at the two biggest races on the NASCAR schedule.

So my question is, when is he finally going to break in and make his mark? When will Kyle Busch finally make me look like I know what I’m talking about? He’s got talent, there’s no denying that, and 15 wins in the past three seasons backs that argument up. But when will Busch finally put it all together.

Busch walks onto pit road at Kentucky prior to the 2009 Nationwide Series race

Every season I sit here and think Kyle Busch could do it. This could be his season. And then something strange happens and Busch just falls off the map. Last year, in the Chase, Busch’s average finish was 17.9. He ended the season in 8th place, 440 marks back of Jimmie Johnson.

Busch and long-time girlfriend Sam Sarcinella got married on New Year’s Eve in Chicago. During the preseason media tour last week, Busch talked about the antics his older brother Kurt pulled on him during the ceremony.

Busch’s advice to those about to get hitched? Look at the bottom of your shoes.

“It was ‘HELP ME’ or something like that,” he told the reporters gathered at Joe Gibbs Racing’s headquarters. “As soon as we got to the church and we got up to the front and had to kneel for the first time – because it was a traditional Catholic wedding – I was like, ‘Oh, man! I forgot!’ Because I had a deal with my Toyota friends that I was going to put Toyota on the bottom of my shoes, and I had forgotten to do it.

“Well, Kurt's sitting in the audience just busting up laughing. And a couple of my guy friends were just looking at him like, ‘What are you doing?’

“I hadn't even looked. Who looks at the bottom of their shoes on their wedding day? I'll give this advice to anybody else who ever gets married: Look at the bottom of your shoes before you put 'em on, because somebody's going to screw with you!”

So while I keep that note in mind for the future (I’m far, far from getting married) I have to wonder if Busch will prove me right. Sooner or later he has to right?

Since I’m in the business of saying Busch will do it, you can mark my words. Kyle Busch will contend for the win at Daytona and possibly Indy. And it wouldn’t surprise me to see the No. 18 up front on a Saturday night in Sparta, Kent., either. If he can beat his teammate Joey Logano—which he has had trouble doing in the past—Busch might win one of the races I say he will.

At least I’ll be somewhat right in my prediction. If not, ‘HELP ME!’
-------------------------------------
By the way an extremely happy birthday to my cousin Erin and my grandmother, Sis, today. I’m sure they’d appreciate that! More signing day info later.

Preseason testing only an appetizer to NASCAR season

Baseball fans count the days until pitchers and catchers report. NFL fans have Organized Team Activities (aka OTAs) and preseason camps, while college football fans soak up spring football.

NASCAR fans are pretty much left to sit and twiddle their thumbs from the end of the season in late November until cars finally hit the track to begin Speedweeks in Daytona in early February. Minus the occasional test at a non-NASCAR sanctioned track (due to NASCAR’s new testing rules instituted in 2008), NASCAR fans rarely get to see their favorite drivers turning laps.

This year, though, NASCAR and Goodyear decided to let teams test the new pavement at the “Birthplace of NASCAR,” and the result was nothing short of an appetizer for the main course that will come in a few weeks.

For NASCAR fans across the country, some respite was provided from snowy and dreary winter weather in the form of 30-plus teams hitting the 2.5-tri-oval in Florida. SPEED TV and SPEED Channel’s website covered the testing which began last Thursday, and ended on Saturday.

It was a brief showing of what is to come when cars and teams officially report to Daytona in early February. Sprint Cup teams will first hit the track for Budweiser Shootout practice on Friday the 11th of February according to Daytona International Speedway’s website.

Although full-scale drafting didn’t occur during the test sessions last week, two-car drafts broke away at speeds nearing 200 mph. Brad Keselowski and his Penske teammate Kurt Busch both cracked the 198 mph barrier on Saturday.

“I think it's more the two drivers working together to make it go fast,” Busch said. “There are different combinations of tape on the grill and you have to be good on your exchange when you’re going back and forth on who’s going to push and who’s going to lead—so it’s almost like you’re going to have to learn how to dance with everybody out there to make it work, if you want to be up front.”

Keselowski, the 2010 Nationwide (nee Busch) Series champion feels that the big packs fans have grown accustomed to seeing at restrictor plate tracks like Daytona and Talladega, might be on their way out the door.

“As the weekend progressed it became more and more obvious that the thought of having a big pack—we might be seeing the extinction of that here,” Keselowski said. “It won’t be at the front—how about that?”

Goodyear and NASCAR mandated that teams draft during a mid-December tire test at Daytona to check wear on the tires from the new surface. Busch said with this most recent test was different.

“Now we’re here on our own, with no rules and NASCAR hasn’t stepped in about the bump-drafting—and two cars are going to be faster than any other combination out there,” the 2004 Sprint Cup champion said.

So, what does that mean for the race? NASCAR’s managing director of competition John Darby told the media members gathered in Daytona, “It’s a neat tool. As you watch the race, it’s not something that you’ll see [regularly]. I doubt we’ll see pairs of cars from green flag to checkered flag, but as the race winds down to that final 20 miles it’ll be time to find your partner and see who you’re going to work with to get to the front.”

As the popular saying goes, “Dance with the one that brung you.” We’ll see who’s dancing with whom when the last few laps break out at Daytona in 27 days. From everything we’ve seen during the test last week, it sounds like a two-car pair will be fighting another two-car duo for the right to be called Daytona 500 champion.

But in the time from now until the checkers fall, anything could happen. Unfortunately NASCAR fans have to wait a few more weeks until they get to see cars on the track again. Until then the only things they have to turn to are old videos, replays of races and, of course, these blog posts.
------------------------------------------------
Check back tomorrow for more NASCAR coverage as we all get one day closer to the Daytona 500.

Also, if you’re a fan of high school sports in the Cincinnati area (particularly of one of the four GCL South schools), check my blog for one of my classes this academic quarter, called “The GCL South Experience.” Visit: http://gclsouthexperience.wordpress.com/

Leave a comment on any story you’d like and I’ll use your comments to write stories. Have a good Monday everyone!

The top pictures of 2010

I vaguely remember giving a countdown of my favorite photos of the year last year, so I figured, why not do it again, but with a little more emphasis on the stories behind the photos. After all, I feel all I do is tell the story, then tell it again, then tell it again with an emphasis on what I thought about when I took the particular photo. If you visit this blog during July and see my Brickyard 400 coverage, you’d understand.

Now, with limited opportunities to take photos this year, I have a few picked out that I felt were the best, and one that has more meaning this year than it might have had any other year. More on those as I progress down the line.

But, first…two photographs that I didn’t take, but prominently feature yours truly. These are two of my favorite photos, and one adorns the background of my phone and my computer. You’ll see why in a second.

Brad Keselowski in Kentucky

Image courtesy of Getty Images and Yahoo! NASCAR

One of my favorite parts of interning at TV stations has become the trip to Kentucky Speedway in June. In fact, when I interviewed at FOX19 in March, Sports Director Brian Giesenschlag and I talked about when we first met—at Kentucky one year earlier, while I was interning at WCPO. He told me he could visibly tell how fired up I was and couldn’t wait to give me the opportunity to do it again.

When photographer Dan Wood and I left the station at 2 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, I was under strict orders from our producer Rufus (whose real name is Ron Millenor) to “do my thing” and get good soundbites from drivers. Easy enough.

Dan and I trekked the infield, getting video of all the cars, and chatting with drivers from old-timers like now 69-year-old Morgan Shepherd to young guns like 22-year-old Brad Coleman and 20-year-old Joey Logano. We also stopped and got sound from one of the most divisive characters in NASCAR, Brad Keselowski.

Love him or hate him (I’m not a fan, personally) Keselowski can provide some good quotes about other drivers and his experiences in the Nationwide (nee Busch) Series. And we got some great comments from the 2010 Nationwide Series champ on that sunny Friday in the infield at Sparta. Dan Wood and I also now have a great photo to share with everyone who wants to know what our job is like.

Mark Martin’s Friday media visit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Image courtesy of IMS.com

The best photo, ever.

In 2009 I considered it a dream come true to walk up to Mark Martin in his garage stall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, introduce myself, shake his hand and chat for a few moments. Not only was I covering the storylines of the Brickyard 400 weekend, but I was a true fan of the then 50-year-old from Batesville, Ark. The short guy has been my hero for as long as I can remember. So what would I do in 2010 for an encore?

Nothing any different. After meeting with Mark’s media relations manager Kendra Jacobs (see my story about Kendra here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2010/07/kendra-jacobs-media-manager-and-top.html) I inched my way into a spot to film Mark’s media visit—one that was chock-full of speculation and rumors that Mark was unhappy about.

During the 15-minute session, a few cameras snapped some shots of the man dressed in neon green. This shot is the best one I could find, a wide-angled photo of Mark Martin answering questions from the media (and myself, in the aqua colored shirt on the right).

For all of my Brickyard coverage, you should visit the July section of the blog. Plenty of photos, plenty of reactions, and plenty of great stories too.

Now to photos I took, and the stories behind them…

Kurt Busch stares at me
Right before Mark Martin’s media visit on Friday in Indy, I stood by Kurt Busch, hoping to ask him what he felt was going to be the biggest difference in the racing with the new rear spoiler package that NASCAR instituted in March (I felt it was a good enough story to do a short report on FOX19.com about).

I never got to, partially because the only thing anyone wanted to talk about on Friday afternoon was the Brad Keselowski/Carl Edwards dust-up from a week earlier during a Nationwide race, and of course, when Mark Martin was going to step out of the No. 5 car.

So, while standing in front of Kurt Busch, listening to him defend his teammate Keselowski, I snapped a harmless photo…or so I thought.

My camera kept the flash on, which wasn’t all bad, considering the room had questionable lighting for my $80 camera to be taking professional-grade photos. But as I snapped the picture—flash and all—Busch was staring right at me. “Oh s---,” I thought to myself. “I’m going to get kicked out of here now, and I haven’t even got to listen to Mark yet!”

Busch turned away, took another question, and probably quickly forgot about my faux pas with my camera. Thank goodness. I lived to see another day, another press conference, and quickly learned that every time I turned my camera on, I needed to turn off the auto flash too.

Joey Logano debriefs his team at Kentucky
Joey Logano looked to remain perfect at Kentucky in the Nationwide Series, and this season was no different for the kid from Connecticut. As I mentioned earlier, I got to trek around the infield with Dan Wood and take some photos of my own while Dan shot video for our sportscast that evening. I normally don’t take too many “crazy” pictures, but I got this one and I like the way it turned out.

Logano came straight from Michigan—where the Sprint Cup Series was qualifying for their Sunday race—and took to his No. 20 GameStop Toyota as soon as he got off the helicopter. After turning a few laps in the first practice session he got out and chatted with his team, including crew chief Kevin Kidd.

I may not be a pro, but sometimes I can take some pretty neat photographs.

Up close and personal practice at Kentucky
After getting some garage shots, Dan Wood and I headed to the “photographers only” area right down next to the track for the second part of Friday afternoon practice. It was awesome to be so close to the cars, zipping by us at the exit of the final corner at speeds of 170 mph. But it wasn’t until after we got back in the van to head back to the station that I realized just how close we actually were.

I wiped my face down with a napkin and saw some black streaks on the white napkin. “What the heck,” I wondered to myself. Then it hit me. We were so close to the cars exiting the corner that small chunks of Goodyear racing tire was hitting us as the cars rounded the corner. “Holy cow,” I thought. “That is awesome.”

The best photo I could think of to illustrate the up close and personal feel of the practice session was this one, of who else but Joey Logano. The only thing you can’t feel here is the power of the engines, the wind forced by the cars, and those little black pellets of rubber hitting you in the face. Oh, yeah, and you can’t quite duplicate the sound. I love the sound.

Pit road at Indy
The ’09 Brickyard 400 was an awesome experience. For the first time ever I got to shoot video and attend press conferences at the highest level of NASCAR racing, something I could have only dreamed of years ago. The 2010 400 was even better. I got to do all the same things and then some.

After the post-race press conferences I joined FOX19’s Rontina McCann, who had come up to IMS to report on the race for the evening sportscast, to shoot some intro shots for our stories. She shot my intros, and I shot hers—teamwork at its finest!

After debating where to stand, I suggested we head down to pit road. Money. I got to film my standup intro sitting on the wall in front of Mark Martin’s pit stall. Rontina walked a few feet down pit road and stood in front of Victory Lane, which had since been cleared of Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 car.

When we got back to the media center, just a stone’s throw away, my dad could tell I was pumped. Hey, it was a first-time experience, standing on the pit lane, and it was awesome.

Family, memories

In case you are not aware, my grandfather passed away in July (read more here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2010/07/in-memory.html). We read all the stories, remembered all the great times, recalled all the memories and looked at all the best photographs of him right before his funeral. However, I seemed to have left this one out. This photograph, taken during my grandfather’s 87th birthday party, now takes on greater meaning than it did when I took the photo.

It’s easy to take pictures of cars going round in circles. It’s easy to go on road trips and take pictures of college football stadiums. It’s easy to go to family parties and snap photos of my Godchildren and all of my cousins’ kids, but now there’s someone missing.

Whether we called him dad, grandpa, Poppy Joe (as the young ones called him) or just Joe, we all have memories of the man we lost this year. And at no time is it more painful than at Christmas. Every year we’ve gathered, grandpa has been there to celebrate with us—voice or no voice. It will be different this year, and I know we’ll all be thinking of him when we sit down on Friday night.
--------------------------------------------------------
Have a great Christmas time, and I fully expect to be back and in action blogging like crazy next week. I hope you have enjoyed my favorite pictures of the year, and will join me next week for some more year-end celebrations

Let the countdown begin

Summer is in full swing; kids are playing in the pool, fireworks light up the night sky, adults are playing hooky from work to go on vacation, and NASCAR racing is only 27 days away from Indianapolis.

That’s right folks, the countdown is on.

Last year’s Brickyard 400 was an unbelievable one for fans of now 51-year-old Mark Martin. The old-timer led Friday’s practice session, won the pole on Saturday afternoon and led the Brickyard 400 late in the race, coming home in second for the second time in his career.
So what will the No. 5 team do for an encore?

That is just one of many storylines I’ll try to cover over the next three plus weeks. Here are some other teasers that you NASCAR fans can think about as we head closer to seeing the stars of NASCAR in Speedway, Ind., in less than one month.

-He had a dominant car last season and a pit road speeding penalty cost him the win. Is 2010 the year Juan Pablo Montoya breaks into the NASCAR winners circle at IMS?
-He was the highest finishing rookie in 2009. Will Joey Logano’s second year be better than his first at Indy?
-Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson both have five wins so far this season. Will Hamlin notch his first Brickyard win, or will Johnson grab his third straight win at Indy, and his fourth career Brickyard win?

-Tony Stewart normally gets hot when the temperatures raise during the summer months. He has two wins at Indy. Does he get number three this season in the No. 14 car?
-Goodyear has had no real issues with tires this season. We all remember the 2008 debacle. What, if anything, will change this year?

-The one thing that has changed on the NASCAR cars from last year is the tail end. Gone is the rear wing, and in is the spoiler. I will take more than one look at the change in rear end accessories on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup cars.

-Will Aric Almirola get to race at Indy? He’s sitting in as Jimmie Johnson’s backup just in case Mrs. Johnson goes into labor with the couple’s first child.

-Is it time for one of the Busch brothers to make it to Victory Lane?

These stories and any other ones I can think of will pop up as the days get closer to race day in Indy. I’m more excited than I’ve ever been about this race, especially given what occurred last season. We’re still working on travel arrangements, and with some help from the FOX19 Sports department, we’re still working on getting a media pass so you, the most loyal readers of this blog, can see the sights and sounds from Indy for a second year in a row.

If you have any story ideas, hit me up. Follow me on Twitter (@adamniemeyer) or e-mail me. Have a great Monday, and remember, only 27 days until the green flag drops in Indianapolis.

Jimmie Johnson admits: “We got lucky”

Jimmie Johnson sent a message to his other 42 competitors on Sunday; don’t let Daytona fool you. He’s back and he’s ready to go win his fifth straight title. With his 48th career win, the driver of the No. 48 car knows he’s now the one everyone will be aiming for, not that the target hasn’t been on his back for years now.

But in all the years he’s been the best driver in the sport, Johnson has been the beneficiary of some unbelievable luck. Last year he finished sixth at Talladega in the fall after most of the cars in front of him had to pit late for gas. Yesterday, with rain looming in the background, Johnson used his Hendrick Motorsports power to drive away from Kevin Harvick, but not before lady luck played to his advantage again.

When Brad Keselowski lost control of his car on the front stretch, Johnson was getting four fresh tires and a full tank of gas. A regularly scheduled green flag stop could have put Johnson a lap down, but he barely beat then leader Jeff Burton to the exit of pit road.

Johnson battles teammate Mark Martin for the lead on a restart (Getty Images)

Johnson took the lead when, guess what, everyone in front of him had to pit for gas. Even though Kevin Harvick made a late charge, Johnson proved too much, and the four-time defending champ brought home only his second win in the month of February.

“There’s no way around it, we got lucky,” Johnson said. “We were running fourth or fifth at the time, so it’s not like we totally backed into this thing. We got a really nice gift with the way things worked out and it was up to me to kind of hang on to it.”

Harvick was up front for most of the race but fell just short at the end (Getty Images)

Kevin Harvick disagreed with Johnson after the race, stating, “They’re really good, but they’re really, really lucky too.”

“Yes, we were lucky today,” Johnson retorted. “But you don’t get lucky and win four championships and 48 races.”

California took a toll on engines too. Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon had issues. Montoya’s engine expired bringing out a caution on lap 140 and Newman’s followed suit eight circuits later. Gordon was able to get his issues straightened out, but was only able to muster a 20th place finish.

Now the series heads off to Vegas—Sin City—where the Busch brothers dominated last year. It’ll be interesting to see what Kurt and Kyle will pull off for an encore in the town they grew up in.

Mark Martin uses 2009 season to grab seven poles

The "Old Man" is back, and he's ready to qualify

For Mark Martin fans the 2009 season was one to remember for many more reasons than just one. Mark Martin’s return to full-time racing brought his fans a new sense of optimism and excitement that he tried to match himself.

It didn’t take him long to excite his fanbase, as he grabbed the outside pole for the season’s inaugural event. Today, Martin will attempt to qualify his No. 5 GoDaddy.com car one spot better for the 2010 version of the Daytona 500. (And I should note that Mark was second fastest in practice yesterday behind teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.)

Mark Martin and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon share a laugh during Bud Shootout practice on Thursday (AP)

On qualifying days in 2009 he turned the fastest lap seven times, the most times he sat on the pole in one season in his 22-year career. Here’s a look back at all seven Mark Martin poles from the 2009 season, which might give some Mark Martin fans a sense of optimism heading into today’s qualifying day for the Daytona 500.

Pole #1: Atlanta
For the first time in nearly eight seasons Mark Martin grabbed a pole, turning a lap of 29.64 seconds, one-tenth of a second faster than eventual race winner Kurt Busch. Martin was the only one to top 187 mph in the night qualification session.

Martin’s last pole before his first of 2009 came at Richmond in May of 2001. So, naturally, Mark was a little excited when he won the pole at Atlanta. “This is the first real solid step at turning our thing around. This is cool. This is really cool.”

Although Mark blew a tire and finished 31st the pole at Atlanta was just the start of what ended up being a great year for Mark and the No. 5 team.

Pole #2: Bristol (March)
Two weeks later Mark Martin grabbed pole two of the 2009 season, the first time he’d grabbed poles in back-to-back races since 1989. He edged Ryan Newman by .004 seconds, turning a lap of 15.256 seconds to earn the right to lead the field to the line.

Mark Martin won back-to-back poles by edging Ryan Newman in March at Bristol

After horrible luck in the first few weeks of the season, a new-found optimism had Martin beaming. “With the things that have happened to us in the races, it was good to show people that we’ve still got speed in the car,” he said. “We’ve got speed, and the other part will come around sooner or later.”

Little did he know his next pole would lead to that “other part”.

Pole #3: Phoenix
Mark Martin’s third pole of the season marked the beginning to one heck of a weekend for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team. Martin’s lap of 26.903 seconds beat out both Kurt and Kyle Busch and Martin’s HMS teammate Jeff Gordon.

“When we beat Jimmie Johnson to win a race, I’m going to feel like I beat Superman,” Martin said after clinching the pole. Martin didn’t disappoint on Saturday evening in the desert, where he led 157 laps, and secured his first victory since 2005.

Mark Martin's third pole of 2009 lead to his first win since 2005 (motorsports.com photo)

“It’s hard to make a car good enough to win, and it’s ten times harder to win one,” Martin said after the race. “We didn’t fall into this one, we took it.” It was his next pole that gave him a chance to go toe to toe with the teammate he referred to as “Superman,” and it was one of the most memorable moments of the 2009 season for this fan.

Pole #4: Indianapolis
In 2008 Mark Martin qualified his No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet on the outside pole for the Brickyard 400. In 2009 he did himself one better. He blazed around the world’s most recognizable 2.5-mile rectangle in 49.436 seconds.

Mark Martin described his qualifying lap as, "Eventful," at IMS

He said things like, “I like making history,” and, “I put a lot of pressure on myself to get a good lap today,” after becoming the oldest driver in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history to snag a pole award.

He could have become the oldest race winner in Brickyard 400 history if it weren’t for Johnson, who ruined Martin’s attempt at another weekend sweep. “I got beat. I didn’t get her done,” he said post race. “But I gave it my heart. So did my race team. I'm grateful for it.”

Pole #5: Bristol (August)
Mark Martin needed another clutch performance at Bristol in August, teetering on the edge of the Chase cutoff. So he did what he seemed to do best all season and grabbed the pole for the Sharpie 500. “It feels like I'm carrying a 200-pound gorilla on my shoulders,” he said after turning a lap of 15.414 seconds.

I remember a certain driver using that particular phrase in victory lane in 1998, and Dale Earnhardt was just happy to finally have won the Daytona 500—the race that evaded him for such a long time. Yet, I digress…

Mark Martin started on the pole and finished second for the second time in one month

Martin’s fifth pole of the year launched him to a great start and a late battle with Kyle Busch for the win. With every fan not wearing Busch gear pulling for Martin, Busch pulled away and won the race. But he didn’t win the overall battle.

Pole #6: Richmond (September)
Mark Martin was on the Chase bubble, and needed a great run at Richmond to secure himself a spot in NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. So, naturally, he outran the competition on qualifying day.

Mark Martin's pole at Richmond sprung him into the Chase, where he became the points leader

Martin’s lap of 21.292 seconds was pretty good according to the man they refer to as “The Kid”. “This is awesome,” he said. Martin’s fourth place finish in the 26th race of the year clinched a spot in the Chase, where he gained the points lead by virtue of having won the most races to that point in the season.

Pole #7: Kansas
Mark Martin wanted to show he wasn’t going down without a fight, and after winning the first race of the Chase and following it with a runner-up finish, he won the pole at Kansas, race No. 3 in the Chase.

“Have any of you ever stepped on a cat’s tail?” Martin asked after his lap. “I have accidentally stepped on a cat’s tail before, and it’s pretty funny how fast — they make a noise, and they go really fast. That’s kind of like when I step on the gas on that 5 car [Friday], it was like stepping on a cat’s tail. Man, that thing has so much horsepower.” He motored to a seventh-place finish.

Ultimately, the dream season of seven poles and five wins wasn’t enough for Martin to capture the big trophy, but 2009 was just the start of something special for Mark Martin and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team.

Will the duo of Martin and Earnhardt Jr. lead the field to the green in next week's Daytona 500?

As I stated at the beginning, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led practice yesterday, with Martin right behind him and their teammate Jeff Gordon timed third. Well, at Kansas last season HMS swept the top three spots in qualifying. The front row was compromised of Martin and Earnhardt Jr.

“Hendrick Motorsports swept the top three spots in qualifying, and I was really excited for Dale Jr.,” Martin said. “[He] really needed that shot in the arm — and got it. It would have been nice to have seen him on the pole, but still, front row’s great.”

I have a feeling that Mark Martin would be OK with an all Hendrick front row for next weekend’s Daytona 500, as long as it was him on the pole… again.

What a better way to start the 2010 season than with a pole? Well, I think in about seven days a win would work, but until then, we sit back and watch qualifying this afternoon to see how things will shake out. Enjoy your day.

NASCAR debates changing rear wing to spoiler on “Car of Tomorrow”

Back in 2007 there was a lot of negative press toward the blocky shaped car NASCAR touted as its “Car of Tomorrow”. In a January 2007 interview with Joe Menzer of NASCAR.com, Brett Bodine, former NASCAR driver and current director of cost research for NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., praised the COT.

Menzer wrote, “The same features that should produce those positives,” like side-by-side passing, “an adjustable rear wing and front-end splitter that will allow the car to run in smoother air—have drawn criticism for taking away from what some have argued are the sleeker-looking current cars that do not have them.”

He continued with, “Bodine has always argued that once the Car of Tomorrow is completely outfitted in a paint scheme comparable to the current machines, fans won’t be able to tell the difference between the cars of today and tomorrow on the racetrack—especially when they’re moving at speeds of 190 mph or more.”

I’m willing to bet if we took a poll today that many fans would call baloney on that statement. But fans that were admittedly angry with the switch from the old style car to the COT might possibly get to see a small change this year. On Jan. 15, NASCAR Cup Series director John Darby released a memo to teams.

“To help put some of the rumor mills to rest, I am sending you the following facts as they relate to changes for 2010,” Darby wrote in the memo. “We will be transitioning from the usage of the current wing to an aluminum spoiler.”

A shot of the "old car" with the spoiler on the back

The wing was a prominent feature on NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow" design that was introduced in 2007

An example of what the new spoiler will look like on the current NASCAR cars (AP Images)

In mid-March NASCAR will hold meetings with the teams to discuss the new spoiler plan and an open test is scheduled for March 23 and 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Last week at a Goodyear tire test in Texas Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle got to try the new configuration out.

Vickers at last week's tire test in Texas (Getty Images)

“I thought it (the spoiler) was good,” Vickers said. “I thought it added a little bit of front downforce, which is a good thing. I think it’s going to be more accepted to the fans. It looks cooler – a little more retro back to the older car.” And that’s a change I know I’m going to love.

A lot of publicity and media coverage within the past week has focused on NASCAR’s new willingness to listen to the fans and its drivers who have provided feedback on how to make the sport better.

Clint Bowyer confirmed his confidence in the move to the spoiler by saying, “I think as a fan of this sport, that’s what we need—we need to create a positive change that keeps people tuned in to what we all love in this sport and make racing good, keep racing as strong as it’s been over the years.”

Busch was excited about the move as well saying that he’s looking forward to seeing how the cars will react at the larger tracks where “side drafting” occurs. “One thing I’ve always pushed for is to get the spoiler back on the car to get that side draft. That happens at mile-and-a-halfs, it happens at 2-mile tracks and it primarily happens at the restrictor-plate tracks where two cars are side by side and they have a tough time breaking away from each other because you can side draft more prominently with a spoiler on the car than you can with a wing.”

As a man who has seen a lot of changes in the sport since he began racing in the 1980s, Mark Martin offered his opinion on the switch. The 51-year-old said, “The spoiler is going to look like a traditional stock car, and I think that is huge. I think that's big for us all, everyone—fans, competitors and all. The performance of the spoiler may be a little bit different, but that configuration isn’t, I don't think, completely defined yet.”

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon is tired of teams—his team occasionally included—complaining about not getting their car to turn in the corners. “Every weekend, every team out there is complaining the car won’t turn in the middle, won’t turn in the middle, won’t turn in the middle,” he said “I’m up for anything that would get the car to turn in the middle.”

I’m not sure how the car will turn out with the spoiler or if the racing will be better, but I certainly pray that everything will become more exciting with the introduction of the spoiler. If anything else it takes NASCAR back to the past as Martin and Vickers both said. And even though it’ll be a few months before we get to see the results of the Charlotte test, NASCAR fans and media are abuzz with the news of the change to the spoiler.

If anything else, we’ve learned that NASCAR is ready to accept ideas to change its product, and change it for the better.

Atlanta’s second race will be ‘make or break’ for Chase contenders

With just two races to go before the Chase for the Sprint Cup starts, there are eight drivers battling for six spots. Sunday night’s primetime race at Atlanta—the first Labor Day race in the Southeast in many years—will go a long way in deciding who’s in and who may miss the cut.

Even though I’ve had my head firmly entrenched in college football stories and storylines this week, it’s time for me to turn my attention back to NASCAR as I look at some of the more interesting storylines of the weekend.

1. The drive for #5
No other driver who is in the top twelve in points has won more races this season than 50-year old Mark Martin, a fact that most old timers can’t get enough of. If the points race was reset today, the Batesville, Arkansas native would hold a ten point lead over pseudo-teammate Tony Stewart and real teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Mark Martin snatched his first pole since 2001 at Atlanta in March, and he had a very fast racecar. However, his season took a turn for the worse when his number five car blew out a left rear tire going through turn two.

Mark Martin’s decent day in Atlanta turned south when he blew a tire

Martin and the Kelloggs/Carquest race team could have given up and thrown in the towel at that moment, and considered their season a wash. They didn’t though. They fought back and put Mark in four winning racecars and have run second twice since that date.

Now, with Martin just 60 points ahead of 13th place Kyle Busch, the #5 team cannot afford another tire failure, engine failure, or any failure at all. Earlier this week Martin said, “We had three bad races in a row. And I didn't think there were too many teams that would have that much trouble as well. This season has just been remarkable. And this team has been remarkable.”

They may not need remarkable to win on Sunday night, they might be in the running because of just plain Mark.

2. Carl Edwards injury report
Normally on Friday before a big game the head coach will provide the media with an injury report. Well, after yesterday, we found out that it might be Carl Edwards who needs his team owner Jack Roush to release an injury report on the driver of the #99 car.

The #99 car of Carl Edwards may have a “wounded duck” behind the wheel this weekend

Edwards broke his foot while playing Frisbee with some friends. And, in true Carl Edwards fashion, never missed a beat to plug for his sponsor Aflac. “I guess you never know when something is going to happen. This is obviously an unforeseen accident and even though I am not going to miss work, my Aflac policy has me covered. I've now seen firsthand how Aflac works and it’s clear that no matter how big or small the accident is Aflac is there for their policyholders.”

We’ll see how the foot affects “Cousin Carl’s” run on Sunday.

3. Can Kurt Busch lock down a season sweep at Atlanta?
He dominated the race in March, leading over 230 of the 334 circuits, but since then has had a relatively quiet year. Kurt Busch, who seems content to let little brother Kyle make all the headlines, sits fourth in points and needs to just finish the race to lock himself into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But I’m sure just finishing the race isn’t what Kurt and crew chief Pat Tryson are aiming for. They’ll most likely put it all out on the line and try to win again at Atlanta, a place they owned in March.

4. Bobby Labonte out of a ride, and back in
It was announced earlier in the week that 45-year old Bobby Labonte would be pulled from his Ask.com ride for 7 of the final 11 races of the season, including this weekend’s race, in favor of young gun Erik Darnell. Lots of fans are excited for Erik Darnell, who has proved he can run well with decent finishes in the Nationwide and Truck Series in the past few seasons.

Fortunately for Labonte—the 2000 Winston Cup Champ—TRG Motorsports has stepped in to put him in their #71 entry for the races he won’t be in the #96 car. Kudos to TRG for stepping up and putting Labonte in a car. It’s too bad the #96 team (Who is owned by whom? Well we’re still not sure…) couldn’t keep the champ in their car.

Tune in to ESPN on Sunday night to keep up with the race. I’ll be in New York City (hopefully) watching the race, cheering for Mark Martin (as always) and prepping for one busy Monday of college football as the UC Bearcats take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 4PM on Labor Day. More on the UC football team in a few minutes though. Check back for a story written specifically about someone I work with…