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2009 Martinsville: Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 Recap

2009 Martinsville: Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 Recap
Posted by GEORGE March 31, 2009 2:25:20 PM

It was a typical Jimmie Johnson/Chad Knaus win at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday: Lay in the weeds, keep improving the car with each pit stop, and leave the field in the dust late in the race. Jimmie Johnson is hard to beat at Martinsville, and has now won five of the last six races there.

Winning the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 moved the NASCAR Sprint Cup champ up to 4th-place in the standings, and gave Jimmie Johnson fans the feeling that this is only the beginning.

So what did you think of the tactic Jimmie Johnson used to move Denny Hamlin out of the way to win the race at Martinsville? There's some talk that it was dirty racing and that Johnson should be punished by NASCAR. But the important opinion is Denny Hamlin's, and Denny says it was just good racing on Jimmie's part. As a matter of fact, Hamlin says he would have done exactly the same thing, and will if given the opportunity.

Jeff Gordon was my pick to win Sunday's race, and he was up front when it counted, but had used up too much of his car getting and staying up front. Still, you just know that Gordon's first win since the 2007 season is not far off, and his 4th-place finish kept him solidly in the first spot in the race for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

Hendrick Motorsports continued their dominance in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with all four cars finishing in the top eight. Dale Earnhardt Jr had the fastest car in the race at one point, but couldn't hold it together for the win. Rick Hendrick believes he knows what Dalr Jr’s problem is, and he doesn't think it's Tony Eury Jr. We'll keep a close eye on this situation, and keep you posted.

Up next is Texas Motor Speedway and the Samsung 500. It'll be good to get back to a big track where NASCAR drivers can let it all out. This has been a Roush Fenway track in previous years, so I'm going with the odds and picking Carl Edwards to bring home the win. Enjoy the race NASCAR fans!

See you at the track!

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings
Posted by GEORGE March 26, 2009 11:34:31 AM

The talent and experience of the driver is the most important factor to success in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. Five races is not a good indicator of what the season will bring, but it does show trends and abilities, to some degree.

The current NASCAR Sprint Cup standings reflect the kind of season it has been so far: Kurt Busch in 2nd-place and David Reutimann in 11th may be a surprise to most people, but the surprises to me are the drivers who have not cracked the top 20 in points.

Mark Martin being way down in the standings is not what I expected at this point. I also thought Joey Logano would be in a better position by now. I understand that Logano is a rookie, but I didn't expect such a gap between Logano and Tony Stewart.

Jeff Gordon is about to win a race after the longest drought in his career. Distractions in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup series took their toll on Gordon, but that's all behind him now, and Martinsville might just be the place Gordon breaks that chain. As a matter of fact, Jeff Gordon is my pick to win this weekend at Martinsville.

The biggest surprise of the season for me has been the consistency of Tony Stewart. I figured he might be in the top 20 as the season progressed, but I didn't imagine he would do this well this early. Tony is a proven winner, one of the top 10 drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, and was tutored by the best owner in NASCAR. Joe Gibbs was a great influence on Stewart, and Tony has patterned his team after the Joe Gibbs Racing team.

I was impressed with the performance of Marcos Ambrose at Bristol Motor Speedway. Running on just seven cylinders, Ambrose still managed a 10th-place finish in the grueling race. Running on seven cylinders is like driving a NASCAR Nationwide Series car in a Sprint Cup Series race. The horsepower just isn't there, but the car corners really well. Nice job Marcos!

See you at the track!

2009 Bristol Food City 500 Recap

2009 Bristol Food City 500 Recap
Posted by GEORGE March 24, 2009 10:50:07 AM

Kyle Busch never seems to just win a race. Instead, he bushwhacks (no pun intended) the field. Given about 50 more laps in last Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Busch may have lapped the field.

Busch passed people on the high side, and the low side, depending upon where other drivers wanted to run. To say that Kyle had the best car would be an understatement, and to say he is not the best driver on the track right now would just be wrong.

Busch is on a record-breaking pace, and will probably surpass the record he set last year for the most wins in NASCAR’s three racing series. There's no doubt in my mind that Kyle Busch will once again go into The Chase as the favorite to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. What remains to be seen is whether he will continue to be hot in The Chase, or fold up camp like he did last year.

Take a look who snuck into the top 12 while everyone was keeping an eye on Kyle Busch. Jimmie Johnson's third-place finish at Bristol moved him up four places to ninth in the standings. As a matter of fact, three of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top ten with Jeff Gordon finishing fourth and Mark Martin coming in sixth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is still trying to put things together. More pressure is being put on Tony Eury Jr to get the job done. Each week without a win puts another nail in the Eury Jr coffin. A fourteenth-place finish would be respectable for most drivers at Bristol, but Dale Jr needs to make a statement, and the only way to do that is to start winning races.

Some of the big guns in NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing took a major hit at Bristol with Kevin Harvick finishing 30th, Matt Kenseth finishing 33rd, and Greg Biffle finishing 39th. No need to break a sweat yet - all three drivers are well with in reach of the year-end trophy, and the season is young.

Anther short track race is up next as NASCAR heads to Martinsville for the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500. Martinsville's paperclip-shaped track is always a big challenge for drivers, and we can expect a fast-paced race with numerous lead changes. It's a great place to shake up the standings!

See you at the track!

NASCAR Wants 43 Drivers to Race

NASCAR Wants 43 Drivers to Race
Posted by GEORGE March 12, 2009 5:18:55 PM

Under-funded and unfunded teams are a real dilemma for NASCAR. These are the teams that get themselves into a race, run a couple of laps, park the car, take the minimum payout, and head to the next race track.

NASCAR is planning to crack down on these teams, but it could be tough. Without going through the expense of tearing their cars down, how can NASCAR prove a car doesn't actually have motor or transmission trouble? Some of these teams are trying to get by until they can find sponsorship, and are trying to make enough money to supply the team the equipment to run a complete race.

I'd like to see all 43 cars racing for the win, but there simply isn't enough sponsorship money out there to see this happen. This isn't a problem which has come up since the decline in the economy. It's been happening for years, and a few teams which are currently running full-time started this way. It also isn't really a big deal, and I think NASCAR should leave these guys alone and address more pressing problems... Such as, getting rid of the locked-in drivers, the lucky dog rule, and the champion's provisional?

I haven't heard much about the problems with the "Car of Tomorrow." It appears that most drivers have decided the COT is what they've been given to drive, and they are making the best of it. Exceptions are drivers who are not living up to the expectations of NASCAR fans. In these cases, the COT is still a darn good excuse for their lackluster performances. As a matter of fact, I heard this statement made about a week or so ago: "This is a hell of an excuse for a race car!" Would you care to venture a guess on who said it?

Kick back and relax this weekend, NASCAR fans. With the upcoming weekend off, that's what a number of the drivers will be doing. As for me, I'll spend the weekend and next week getting ready for Bristol!

See you at the track!

Kurt Busch Wins the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta

Kurt Busch Wins the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta
Posted by GEORGE March 10, 2009 4:29:09 PM

It wasn't an ordinary win for Kurt Busch in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch spanked the field in dominant fashion. No matter where he re-started after each caution, he raced to the lead and pulled away from second place.

It's always easier to run up front, and it makes any car look better, but none of the other 42 cars in the race had anything to contend with Kurt Busch's car.

With his second-place finish, Jeff Gordon hung on to the first position in the points race. The 24 team is now alive and well, and will be in the hunt for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in the last ten races this season. Gordon was pleased with his performance in Atlanta, but was quick to say that Kurt Busch was the class of the field.

I'm impressed with Tony Stewart so far this year. I know it's too early to judge what Stewart's entire season will bring, but he's hanging in there and showing the world of NASCAR what a seasoned crew and some strategic planning can do for a young team. Tony finished a strong eighth in the Kobalt Tools 500, and a win is coming soon for him.

I was confident that Mark Martin would win in Atlanta on Sunday, and my prediction looked strong when Martin won the pole. But luck being what it is, nothing is for sure in NASCAR racing. Mark looked good throughout most of the race, and ran like a champion when he needed to get a lap back. I still believe that Mark will contend for a win this season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr's 11th-place finish moved him up five spots to 24th-place in the points standings. Junior turned in a solid performance in a car which seemed to be very hard to handle. Earnhardt is doing the best he can with the equipment he is given and the crew he has to work with. So far, his team has shown nothing to make me believe that Tony Eury Jr will be with Dale Earnhardt Jr in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

We'll all sit back and relax a bit this weekend since it's a weekend off for NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. The break will give us a chance to analyze the start of the season a little closer, and build up our racing appetite for the Bristol races. That's our next stop on the NASCAR tour circuit, and it's a dandy! You haven't experienced NASCAR racing until you've experienced Bristol Motor Speedway!

See you at the track!

I Think it's Mark Martin's Turn at Atlanta

I Think it's Mark Martin's Turn at Atlanta
Posted by GEORGE March 6, 2009 6:25:01 AM

NASCAR racing is headed to the capital of the South, Atlanta, Georgia, for the Kobalt Tools 500, and I have a NASCAR prediction for you: Mark Martin just could be the winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend!

This track is made for Mark, with its 1.54-mile quad-oval, and plenty of room to run, which Martin likes. Mark holds the Nationwide Series record of 151.751 mph at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he always does well there. Incidentally, this record has stood since 1997. Mark is very good at determining the best line at Atlanta, and he will do so early in Sunday's race.

Martin's results this year have not been anything to write home about, partly due to bad luck and mechanical problems. But during the first three races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, when his car was running good, Martin has held his own with the best of them. Alan Gustafson, Mark Martin's crew chief, has the experience required to make major changes after each race and can "correct on the run" very well. Martin and Gustafson are loaded with NASCAR knowledge, and this is the weekend it will all come together for them.

Ask our NASCAR friends from Atlanta about the Civil War, and they may tell you, "It's not over until WE say it's over!" Mark Martin could use that as his new motto. Write it down and read it on Monday folks, because my prediction, by George, is that Mark Martin will win the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway!

See you at the track!

Kyle Busch Wins the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

Kyle Busch Wins the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas
Posted by GEORGE March 3, 2009 9:44:14 AM

Kyle Busch is starting to put together what could be another impressive string of wins in all three of the NASCAR racubg series. Sunday, Busch scored his first win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and there could be more wins for Kyle this season.

When Kyle Busch took the lead for good at LVMS, it was no contest from there on, and the hometown hero gave his patented bow, grabbed the flag, and kissed the finish line in celebration. Winning on his home track was better than winning any other race. We could be looking at the early stages of a dynasty in NASCAR racing, and Kyle Busch may someday see his name up there as one of the best NASCAR drivers in history.

Jeff Gordon made a miraculous recovery from some bad luck early in the race and came back to finish sixth, giving him the points lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It appears that Gordon has his will to win back, the very thing that was missing last year.

One statistic which probably went unnoticed in Las Vegas is that Jeff Gordon led his 20,000th lap in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. This is quite an accomplishment, but no where near the record by Richard Petty.

Matt Kenseth's blown engine after only six laps made him a riches-to-rags driver, but after finishing in first place in the first two races of the season, the 43rd-place finish only dropped him to third place in the standings. It's true that the standings don't mean much after only three of 36 races, but it does give us an indication of who is running well, and who has the best equipment to date.

Heads up to our NASCAR friends from Australia: Marcos Ambrose has won over $500,000 so far this year and is sitting in 20th-place in the standings, just 34 points out of the top 12. Ambrose knows how to race, and now has some solid experience behind him. Although he isn't a contender for the title, we're going to see some good things from him this year.

We're seeing the progress Joey Logano is making as he is gaining knowledge with each lap he runs. Lagano finished on the lead lap at LVMS, led a lap for the first time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, and finished in 13th-place. While I don't believe Joey is a Chase contender, I think he will win a race sometime this season.

At present, there are 48 cars on the entry list for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. This will be another great weekend of top notch NASCAR racing!

See you at the track!