Kyle Busch is getting more personable

Let me start by saying at this time last year I thought of Kyle Busch the way many fans think of Kyle Busch. Damn he’s a great racecar driver, but he’s kind of unfriendly. Yet, that unfriendliness is what draws so many people to him, and I respect that.

 

This weekend at Kentucky Speedway, part of that opinion changed.

Kyle Busch is still one heckuva racecar driver; that obviously hasn’t changed. But the fact that he seemed more lighthearted and friendly with the media this past weekend really made me respect him even more.

For years fans have complained that Jimmie Johnson is too vanilla. Then he began to tweet, and it has changed many fans’ views (yours truly included) of the five-time defending Sprint Cup champion.

Kyle Busch had a moment like that on Friday around noon at Kentucky. While sitting in the media center’s “Bluegrass Hall,” where all the press conferences were being held, Busch cracked jokes with reporters about his bright green and yellow firesuit.

Jeff Gluck of SBNation.com mentioned that Busch’s NOS Energy Citrus flavor firesuit hurt his eyes. I’ll let you decide if the bright, almost neon green and yellow is too much of a clash of brightness for your pupils.

I'm not sure this picture does justice to the brightness

And after that question Busch answered one about if racing in all three series this past weekend was tiring.

“Yeah it’s certainly a longer weekend this year because of all the testing and everything that they’ve allowed us and the extra track time and that,” he said. “It’s certainly hot.”

‘This is a great answer,’ I thought. It was interesting to hear the only driver who was running in all three events give his take on how tiring the weekend actually was.

And then Busch dropped something that only Carl Edwards or Michael Waltrip have done in the past: an unbelievable sponsor reference.

“Plus, I’ve got the awesome NOS Energy Drink sponsor that keeps me going. Plenty of flavors to choose from,” he said. “Help yourselves. M&M’s hauler, Z-Line Designs, NOS Energy Drink hauler and pick yourself up one. New charge citrus flavor tastes just like Mello Yello. It’s a Southern thing, right?”

I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, and that was something I never expected from that short Kyle Busch meeting in the media center.

And I hope it has changed your view. Love him or hate him, I hope you’d enjoy the great comment he had. It wasn’t an awkward sponsor reference either, but it was genuine attempt at comedy. And it worked. I enjoyed it.

More on Kyle Busch’s hilarious comments about an event next season later on today.

Quaker State 400 Countdown: Kentucky natives get their dream

Back when I was a young lad, and I mean young, I dreamed of becoming a racecar driver. While that phase only lasted through preschool (back when my NASCAR fandom was just beginning) I still had an opportunity to dream I was a driver thanks to EA Sports.

On the Nintendo 64 and Playstation 2 I became an expert NASCAR driver. I’d tinker with set ups like I was a crew chief, and race like my childhood idol Mark Martin.

The one race I wanted to win more than any other was the Brickyard 400.

The earliest photo I have of my at Indy on my computer shows off my Mark Martin fandom in my Viagra t-shirt in 2003 hours before the green dropped on the 2003 version of the Brickyard 400

And why not? Indy was (and still is) my favorite racetrack. It was the closest that NASCAR had come to my hometown, and the only racetrack I had ever visited where Mark Martin won, in front of my own eyes. The Brickyard 400 is like Christmas to me; it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Now I have two Christmases. And so do some Bluegrass natives who finally get to see a dream become a reality when the state known for the Kentucky Derby gets overtaken by the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in a dozen days.

On Sunday, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s motor sports writer Kevin Kelly featured the stories of Bluegrass natives from Owensboro (Read his story here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110625/SPT/106260328/Owensboro-has-legacy-racing-hotbed?odyssey=nav|head).

NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and his brother Michael, along with David, Mark and Jeff Green and Jeremy Mayfield all call the Bluegrass State, more importantly, Owensboro, home. Only Michael Waltrip will try to race in the inaugural Quaker State 400, driving a car that he owns.

Reutimann runs a practice lap at Kentucky on June 1st

“When we talked about my 2011 schedule, I asked MWR to prepare me a full-blown racecar,” Waltrip told Kelly. “When I say that, the latest-greatest stuff we have for the Kentucky race, so that I've got the same thing that (MWR drivers) David (Reutimann) and Martin (Truex Jr.) have.

“This isn't just a one-off race for me. It's important.”

Jeff Green will try to run a car in the Feed the Children 300, the Nationwide Series race.

For them, winning at Kentucky would be like taking the checkers at Indy for a guy like Ryan Newman, or Tony Stewart, who has won NASCAR’s second-most prestigious race twice.

And if I had somehow learned how to driver racecars when I was four years old, I’m not sure where I’d want to win more now that the closest stop to Cincinnati is 40 miles away in Sparta. Don’t get me wrong, everyone wants to win at Indy.

“[It’s] the history, the recognition,” said Mark Martin in 2009 when he finished second in the Brickyard 400 for the second time in his career.

Who will win at Kentucky? It would be a made-for-Hollywood ending if Michael Waltrip won. And it would mean a heck of a lot to the two-time Daytona 500 champ.

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But what if a driver who hasn’t won in over 100 races snapped the longest dry spell of his career at Kentucky igniting the largest fanbase in the sport and propelling him toward a title run? More on that tomorrow.

Waltrip’s book is a must-read for NASCAR fans

Michael Waltrip’s tell-all book In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything, is a must-read for all NASCAR fans who lived through the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. on Feb. 18, 2001. Waltrip starts by detailing how he got the point where he was driving Dale Earnhardt’s car on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. It was entertaining (but really, when is Mikey not entertaining?) to read how he persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Waltrip to let him travel to his brother’s town in Tennessee to go go-kart racing. And Michael Waltrip’s humorous side is evident all throughout the book. In fact, as I started reading it I thought, “This is exactly how Mikey is…kind of scatterbrained, but at the same time, it all made sense. And it was funny. You couldn’t ask for a better spokesperson.” At one point in the book he mentioned a family trip he took with his mom and dad and wife Buffy to Hawaii in 1998. He wrote, “Who doesn’t love love?” That my friends, is why I love Michael Waltrip. He was able to slip the best reference from a Toyota commercial from last year into his book. Beautiful marketing. But the book is also a must read because after Dale’s death Michael really details how he felt. Little did many of us who follow NASCAR really notice how rough it was on Michael. He took a lot of the blame personally for Earnhardt’s death. But his humor still shone through. When he was accused of cheating by putting jet fuel in his engine before the 2007 season his thought in the book were hilarious. He said, “[NASCAR] informed us and the whole world our gas had rocket fuel in it. Really? Rocket fuel? How do you even get rocket fuel?” Later on he mentioned the car didn’t pass technical inspection, “Obviously with the addition of space-shuttle fuel, that didn’t happen.” Only a guy like Michael Waltrip could turn something so devastating into a humorous incident. And Michael’s book was definitely geared toward the NASCAR fan, but he also made a funny comment when he talked about his car in the 2001 Daytona 500. The car wasn’t handling correctly. It was loose. “My car wasn’t handling exactly like I wanted. It was loose. If you’re a race person, you know what I mean by that. And if you’re not, it’s funny that you’re reading my book,” he wrote. I’d suggest Michael’s book as good reading for everyone, NASCAR fans or not. I have always liked Michael Waltrip, but I have a new-found respect for him after reading his book. He had the right amount of comedy and seriousness in it. Go out and get yourself a copy if you haven’t already. It’s well worth your time.

Waltrip finally able to celebrate at Daytona

Ten years after his mentor, good friend and former car owner Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip found himself in the same place: victory lane.

In 2001 though, Waltrip’s tears of joy in celebration of his first career victory quickly turned into tears of sadness. The man they had called “The Intimidator,” had died. The man that gave Waltrip a chance to win his first career race would never get a chance to celebrate with his driver.

So ten years later, in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Michael Waltrip did what he did ten years earlier: win.

“I’m thankful. I didn’t come here to celebrate winning the 2001 Daytona 500,” an emotional Waltrip said. “I came here to celebrate Dale’s life and honor him with my No. 15 car and No. 15 truck.”

With the win, Waltrip became a member of an elite NASCAR fraternity. Waltrip joins 21 other drivers that have won a race in all three major NASCAR touring series.

“Today, obviously with it being the 10th anniversary of that terrible day, I wanted to be able to tell people that I was here in honor of Dale. So certainly was a lot of motivation from him, for me, and then fate,” Waltrip said.

“I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I believe everything happens for a reason. That's my faith. That's what has enabled me to live the last 10 years without total self-destruction because of that.”

And on this day, it was finally a chance to celebrate for Michael Waltrip. It’s a chance he didn’t get ten years ago.

“You know, someone said, I can't believe it's been 10 years. I said, Well, I can. I live it every day.”

Remembering Dale, ten years later

“You may not have liked the guy, but you sure didn’t want to see him die,” a man sitting by us at the 2004 Brickyard 400 said.

Until that moment, it hadn’t clicked in my brain. Sure, I didn’t like Dale Earnhardt Sr., but I sure respected his driving skills and ability—even more so after his untimely death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

A recent article on the USA Today website and last night’s show on SPEED called “The Day: Remembering Dale Earnhardt,” made me reflect on the day NASCAR lost one of its biggest stars.

(The article can be found here: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2011-01-31-dale-earnhardt-senior_N.htm)

Seth Livingstone’s article puts it into terms we all understand. When tragedy strikes, you remember where you were.

The assassination of JFK, the Challenger and 9-11 all have made an impact on those who were around to witness them. Dale Earnhardt’s death was that moment to NASCAR fans.

Where were you? What were you doing? I’m sure you remember it all. I do.

I was in the sixth grade. Watching the Daytona 500 was one of the biggest moments of the year for me. In 2001, I had to sit in the undercroft of the church and fashion my own antenna to pick up the signal on FOX for the race.

In the hall behind me, my father and 100 other Cub Scouts and their parents celebrated their annual “Blue and Gold” banquet. Cub Scouts from first through fifth grade received awards, put on skits and enjoyed a potluck dinner.

Although I had been to a few “Blue and Gold” banquets in my years as a Cub Scout (in fact, missing two or three Daytona 500s live) I wasn’t skipping this one. FOX and NASCAR had a new, big TV contract and I was excited to see Mark Martin in his first race for his new sponsor Pfizer/Viagra.

Other than the occasional adjustment of the wire hanger we had for an antenna, I don’t remember too much. As the laps wound down, my interest lowered, partially because the No. 6 car was wiped out in a multi-car accident that saw Tony Stewart fly through the air and land on Bobby Labonte’s hood.

I sat in the room with a few of my friends (also skipping out on the banquet, because, let’s be honest, even if they hated NASCAR, it was probably more exciting than whatever was going on in the hall behind us) watching the laps wind down.

Darrell Waltrip was rooting his brother, Michael, on, with Dale Jr. and Dale Sr. running second and third as the field took the white flag. Then, the wreck. Michael Waltrip and Dale Jr. sailed off to the checkers and the cameras snapped to Dale Sr. and Kenny Schrader.

My friend Nick, who was a Dale Sr. fan, I would assume just to tick me off, was angered. I turned the TV off, and we all stormed out of the room to grab some food.

We never knew.

When I got home I flipped on the TV. ESPNNews just happened to be on. Across the bottom of the screen rolled the ticker message: “Dale Earnhardt dies from injuries in last-lap crash in Daytona.”

“WHAT?” I thought. “There’s no way. No way. I’ve seen wrecks way worse than that before and ‘The Intimidator’ always walked away unscathed.”

In the days following the Daytona 500 people I never thought cared about NASCAR were talking about NASCAR. At our indoor soccer game the next day one of my friend’s moms said, “I couldn’t help but cry when I heard about [Earnhardt’s death] last night. It was so sad.”

Ten years later it’s still a big deal.

It’s so big NASCAR.com has an entire section of their website about one of the sports’ biggest stars. http://www.nascar.com/dale-earnhardt/

I spent nearly an hour last night reading all the articles and checking out the pictures in that section. It’s all worth your time.

I may not have liked Dale Earnhardt Sr., but I certainly didn’t want to see him die. NASCAR fans celebrate the man known as “The Intimidator” on the tenth anniversary of his death this year, and although many racers now didn’t ever race against Earnhardt, they feel his impact today.

This evening the Budweiser Shootout will pit 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers against one another in the first NASCAR event of the season. Tomorrow is qualifying for the Daytona 500. Full coverage here.

Michael Waltrip running special paint scheme honoring Earnhardt

Michael Waltrip might be retired from racing in NASCAR’s highest level full-time, but that doesn’t mean the team owner can’t come back and run a few races this season.

Ten years ago Waltrip won the Daytona 500, his first career win, but he didn’t get to properly celebrate it. His team owner, Dale Earnhardt Sr., died on the last lap.

This year Waltrip will run a special paint scheme commemorating that 2001 Daytona 500. It’s a day that he’s written about in a recently released book titled In the Blink of an Eye. (I ordered the book earlier this week and I’m waiting for it to get here. SBNation’s Jeff Gluck has it and is reading it; he’ll blog about it when he’s finished I believe)

“I’ve spent much of last year writing the book. It forced me to put into words a lot of emotions from that weekend and how we and the whole NASCAR world dealt with the loss of Dale,” Waltrip said during the preseason media tour last week. “When I got my first copy the other day I told people that I felt like I had given birth. The book has become a part of me and I know fans are going to love it.”

An excerpt of the first part of the book can be found here: http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201101/victory-lane-daytona-michael-waltrip-book-excerpt

It’s a tale that all NASCAR fans remember.

I can’t wait for my copy to show up so I can begin reading. With 15 days until the green drops in Daytona, it’s only appropriate to discuss the driver of the No. 15 car.

Here's a look at the No. 15 car set to take the track in 15 days (Photo from MichaelWaltripRacing.com)

How neat would it be to see Waltrip win in that black paint scheme?

Opinion: NASCAR’s point system will help fans

NASCAR has alienated a lot of fans for switching to the Chase format to decide a champion, and switching to the boxy looking Car of Tomorrow. And for a sport that has dealt with declining attendance and TV ratings, the newest shakeup might actually bring those fans back.

I may be right, and you may think I’m crazy (Note: Billy Joel couldn’t be reached for comment regarding NASCAR’s newest points system, but if you’re looking for a lunatic, I heard he’s the man) but I think this new program will work.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France along with NASCAR President Mike Helton confirmed the league will adopt a brand new point system in 2011.

The new point system—as first reported by Jenna Fryer of the AP last week—will award 43 points to the winner and one less point for each position all the way to the 43rd-place finisher, who will receive one point.

The winner will receive three bonus points, and lap leaders will get one bonus point. NASCAR will award one more bonus point for the driver who leads the most laps.

“When a driver is down by 10 points, he needs to pass 11 cars to take the lead in the standings,” France said. “It’s much more simplified.”

According to legend, in the summer of 1974, Bill France Sr.—the man nicknamed “Big Bill”—told a friend that NASCAR needed a new points system to replace the confusing model the sport currently had.

“The [points system] we have is confusing,” the elder France told his friend. “Heck, the competitors have a hard time understanding it. If the competitors can't figure out the system, the fans certainly can’t.”

Even four-time champ Jeff Gordon had trouble understanding the (now old) system from time to time. “There are times I’ve been confused by the points system,” he said. “[This is] a way to simplify it and connect with the fans. Whether you're a veteran or a new fan, you're making it more relevant to the positions on the track.”

So, NASCAR has switched to a new system to be more fan friendly.

“Fans can now look at the track and understand that one position equals one point,” Helton said.

Michael Waltrip said, “As a racecar driver I’ve known for a long time that if you finish 11th you’re going to get 60 more points than if you finish 30th. But I know that, and not very many other people know that. Now anyone can understand that if you finish 10th and someone else finishes 20th you’re only going to get 10 more points than him and so it will just make the fans more engaged.”

Seven-time Winston Cup champ and team owner Richard “The King” Petty also agreed that the new system is good for fans, but disagreed with giving so many bonus points.

“We’re the only sport there is that gives points or gives relief for leading a race or winning a race, Petty said. “Basketball, the last shot has got to count. You could lead the whole ballgame or golf game, and get beat on the last deal and that's it, you’re beat.

“That's the way it ought to be in NASCAR. They ought to make it so simple a 10-year-old can keep up with points.”

Getting fans more engaged is one of the many ways NASCAR hopes the new points system helps. Whether or not it does it still up for debate, but I believe the new system will help the everyday fan pick up on points as soon as the race is over.

There is also a slight tweak to the way NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup will be decided. The top ten drivers in points will automatically qualify, and then the next two drivers with the most wins will also get in. Those two “wild card” drivers must be in the top 20 in points.

The new points plan will be the same in each of the three NASCAR sanctioned series, but only the Sprint Cup will keep the Chase format, debuted in 2004.

Also, if weather cancels qualifying, the field will be set by practice speeds, not points as I previously stated, and has been the case in the past. If weather cancels practice NASCAR will fall back on points to set the field.

Boys, have at it…
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With just over 24 ½ days until the Daytona 500, I’ll be blogging away with some more posts about NASCAR over the next few weeks. Right now, it’s time for homework, so have a good Wednesday, and I’ll check back tomorrow.

Daytona 500 Friday Flashback: The Loss of a Legend

NASCAR is all about winning and losing, and nowhere is winning more magnified than at the season-opening Daytona 500. Once you win Daytona, you’ll be immortalized with the likes of Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison.

Winning and losing—maybe more aptly put, not winning—is the basis of each NASCAR event.

And ten years ago at Daytona NASCAR suffered its biggest lost ever.

Seconds after rooting his brother Michael, the 2001 Daytona 500 champion, across the line, FOX commentator Darrell Waltrip looked down toward turn four where the mangled cars of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Ken Schrader lay and prophetically asked the question that still rings in the minds of those who were watching on the February afternoon: “I just hope Dale’s alright… I just hope Dale’s alright. He’s alright isn’t he?”

NASCAR president Mike Helton held a press conference later in the evening to announce the sad death of the sports’ biggest icon. “This is undoubtedly one of the toughest announcements I’ve personally ever had to make,” he said. “But after the accident in turn four at the end of the Daytona 500, we’ve lost Dale Earnhardt.”

Earnhardt’s death was the lead story on SportsCenter that evening. NASCAR, a sport that was gaining popularity, but still hadn’t hit the mainstream, was thrust into the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Ten years later, the NASCAR Nation still mourns the death of the man known as “The Intimidator.” No one, perhaps, took the death harder than the kid who finished second in that 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Sr.’s son, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In May of 2008, ESPN’s Marty Smith wrote a fantastic article about Dale Jr., and how the son of one of NASCAR’s most legendary drivers coped with his father’s death at Daytona. (Read Smith’s article here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3382132)

Earnhardt Jr. (pictured here with Mark Martin) had a tough time getting over his father's 2001 death (Yahoo! images-2008)

“If you go back to 2002, 2003, it was still rotten on my mind,” he told Smith. “It was still bothering me and hard to explain. I didn’t talk about it because it wasn’t something I wanted to preach—‘Oh, I lost my daddy, woe is me, and I gotta go through life without him.’ I didn't want that message.”

On Thursday, sitting in front of throngs of media members covering this week’s “Preseason Thunder” testing at Daytona, Earnhardt Jr. once again got asked if he thinks about his father. His answer: all the time.

“You know, you think about your parents all the time,” he said. “I think about him and my mother all the time, especially getting back to racing. I guess you think about them just as much in the off-season, too.”

As sad and heartrending as Earnhardt Sr.’s death was, it brought about changes in the sport. NASCAR is by no means the safest sport in the world, but the head and neck devices that have been mandated, along with all the advancements in seat, helmet and seat belt technology have made NASCAR a lot safer than it was back in 2001.

Dale Jr. agrees that the sport has done fine without his father. “Well, I think the sport has gone on just fine, been very successful, more successful than I think any of us ever imagined,” he said. “There’s been a lot of good changes…There were a lot of changes related to him, unrelated to him. And the same thing after his death.”

Earhardt Jr.'s Nationwide Series team JR Motorsports has won nine races since 2007, including this 2008 win at Las Vegas with Mark Martin (Yahoo! images-2008)

It’s a story that will be told over and over and over this year as we approach the tenth anniversary of the untimely death of the man everyone called “The Intimidator.” Although I wasn’t a fan of Earnhardt Sr., I definitely felt a sense of loss on the day he died. Every NASCAR fan felt the same way.

Dale Jr., left this message yesterday in his short time with the media, and I think it’s a great message. “I think as I was growing up, you tried to get away and do your own thing as have fun as a kid but at the same time you wanted to make your parents proud, and you sort of found your direction by listening to them inadvertently, whether you wanted to or not,” he said. “They sort of helped you find whatever it is you wanted to achieve in life.”

Earnhardt Jr. now races for arguably the most dominant team in NASCAR-Hendrick Motorsports. NASCAR's most popular driver looks to get a jump start in 2011 with new crew chief Steve Letarte (2010 image from Getty Images and Yahoo! Sports)

“My dad was there to guide me in a lot of good directions that helped me out a lot. I think that I tried to have some of the same good qualities that he had. The qualities that I enjoyed about him, I tried to emulate those as best I could and keep those qualities, as well, because I felt like it made him a good person.”

Love him or hate him, Dale Earnhardt Sr. will be missed. He probably wouldn’t still be racing, but if he were, that black No. 3 would be as feared as ever.

I remember the 2001 Daytona 500 for the final lap. I’m sure many NASCAR fans do too.

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That’s today’s Friday flashback. I’ll try to recap some of the testing tomorrow, and remember, there are only 30 days until the Daytona 500.

Silly season strikes again

Jeff Foxworthy’s famous, “You Might be a Redneck if…” series of comments and jokes often apply to NASCAR fans. My favorite of all time; “If the last four words of the national anthem are, ‘Gentlemen, start your engines,’…You might be a redneck.”

But one of my other favorites is, “If you go to a NASCAR race and don’t need a program…You might be a redneck.”

At the commencement of each season, casual NASCAR fans find themselves scratching their heads at the new colors and numbers on display. My father, who follows the sport closely, (although not as closely as his son, I think we can all agree to that) asked me numerous questions on Saturday evening as we watched the Bud Shootout.

“Who is driving that car?” he asked, pointing to the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops car formerly driven by Martin Truex Jr., and currently piloted by Jamie McMurray. McMurray, whose ride was cut from Roush Fenway because of NASCAR’s four-car per team mandate, stepped into the ride because Truex decided to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing.

McMurray was booted from Roush Fenway Racing, but has found a home with former boss Chip Ganassi in the No. 1 of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

Michael Waltrip decided that he’s focusing more on being an owner than a driver this year, and gave his ride to Truex. Waltrip is racing in the Daytona 500 with the number 51 emblazoned on the side of his car.

And McMurray’s departure from RFR means that Boris Said is locked into the top 35 in owner’s points, as he ventures into a new deal with crew chief Frank Stoddard. But the biggest change in the RFR camp comes from 2003 Winston Cup champ Matt Kenseth, who lost sponsorship with DeWalt. Crown Royal will now sponsor the No. 17 car.

Said is eligible for the season's first five races (2007 file photo)

The “Killer Bees”—Kenseth’s pit crew—will now be clad in purple and yellow. But, to be honest, from what I saw on Saturday night, I’m going to like Matt’s new scheme. It’s a good thing my dad is still on Kenseth’s said too. He wants a brand new purple hat. We’ll see what I can pull off.

And speaking of severe color changes, Mark Martin is showing off his new, bright green paint scheme compliments of GoDaddy.com. The neon green combined with bright orange and black will make finding the 51 year old easy on raceday.

Martin, in bright green and orange, will be easy to find during the day or at night. Heck, even without the lights on you'd be able to spot his car! (Getty Images)

Well, it’ll be extremely simple to find him this week since he’s starting first and all.

Brad Keselowski, a lightning rod character in the sport, takes over driving the No. 12 car for Penske Racing, replacing consistent crash joke punch line David Stremme. So when Denny Hamlin and Keselowski continue their feud it’ll be as easy as see 11 hit 12. It’s simple arithmetic.

The No. 12 car often found trouble last season. In 2010 will the driver be looking for trouble?

I know this isn’t a comprehensive list, and the 54 cars that tried to qualify for the “Great American Race” will probably be the most qualifiers for any race all season, but I hope this makes following each race easier than having to pull out the program.

Because then, well, you just aren’t a redneck.