After an incredibly eventful Speedweeks, here is what was surprising and not surprising from NASCAR’s first and one of the biggest races of the season, the 57th annual Daytona 500.
Recently, a story by Chad Robb listed the top ten organizations in Cup. Not surprisingly, those ten organizations represented all but one of last season’s top 28 teams. Hendrick, Penske, Gibbs, Stewart-Haas, Ganassi, Childress, Roush-Fenway, Waltrip, and Petty were all there.
So, Danica Patrick is not all sweetness and loveliness. Okay, she is the latter, but the fact she is a little ticked or not going along with the company line, has some folks talking. She is upset with Joey Logano, she had a bit of a run in with Martin Truex Jr. at Martinsville and she thinks qualifying at Talladega stinks after her boyfriend got left in the cold. She even is not a fan of NASCAR’s diversity program.
Hosting the first Eliminator race in the Chase, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 66th annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Instead of his usual mission to make it to Victory Lane, Casey Mears and his entire No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet Germain Racing team went on a different kind of mission aboard a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III.
Aric Almirola was not favored to return the iconic 43 that Richard Petty won his 200th win the Independence Day weekend thirty years ago, but he did. The rains that delayed the action for a day, and delayed it again early on Sunday, returned to finally put a wash to the proceedings prior to the three-quarter mark. The man in front was the 30-year old Tampa, Florida native, recording his first Cup victory in 125 starts.
This Saturday we are off to Kentucky, a day early and an entry short. Well, early if you think of Sunday as the usual race day, and short as we will have 42 entries instead of the usual 43. Michael McDowell, who was 24th at Sonoma last Sunday, won’t be joining us.
The governing body of NASCAR is reminiscent of the ‘Great Oz’ with its true agenda hidden behind a curtain of mystery. Sleight of hand and misdirection create the illusion that NASCAR is a sport driven by the desires of its passionate fans.
A guy grabs you and pushes you around. The universally accepted response is a punch to the other guy’s head. My dad taught me that, and so I taught my sons. It is a simple case of cause and effect, you push to start a confrontation and a punch usually will end it.
