Jimmie Johnson wins at California

Nice win for Jimmie Johnson today at California Speedway (or whatever it is called).  Lot's of empty seats there today!  The last 30 laps were exciting and Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton raced with each other for 2nd and 3rd, and tried to run down Jimmie Johnson.  Eventually Kevin got close but lost the handling on the car after clipping the wall with a few laps left.  That track is boring as hell--you have to be a dedicated NASCAR fan to sit through a whole race there! 

Off to Las Vegas--the boys like to go there for a week!

Daytona 500 Slowed By Major Pothole, Still Great Dash to the Finish

Jamie McMurray won the 2010 Daytona 500 yesterday on Valentine's Day.  Good for Jamie, he is a good guy, and good for the Earnhardt Ganassi racing team.  It was an exciting race, while the cars were on the track, but the giant pothole on the track led to several very long delays while crews worked to repair the pavement.  Reminds me of seeing highway crews throwing blacktop in potholes in the middle of the winter--the workers  and drivers passing by know the blacktop won't hold up for long but at least temporarily the holes are filled. 

Dale Earnhardt made a great run over the last two laps and came up just a bit short, taking second.  This is a good start for Dale Jr., though it would have been great to see him win. 

I don't know if there is a solution to the wrecks that are part of restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega.  It did seem to me that there were more problems in the Nationwide Race on Saturday than in the 500 on Sunday but that may be due to less experienced/not as good drivers, as well as a different car and setup.  Who knows!  The racing is exciting to watch but tough on cars and drivers.

Now NASCAR is off to California Speedway in Fontana, CA, a fairly boring 2-mile track, but at least the season has begun.  Yeah!

Bobby Labonte's New Ride for 2010, and other News

Bobby Labonte has a full time ride for 2010.  Good for him--he is one of the very good guys in NASCAR.  And, as a former Champion, he brings a lot of perks to a team without much status.  Bobby will be driving the #71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet for team owner Kevin Buckler.  Hopefully the team will be competitive.  Bobby will surely get everything he can out of the car.  Here is a link to the short story in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-11-14-labonte-trg_N.htm

Carl Edwards won the Nationwide race in Phoenix.  With only one race left in the season, Kyle Busch will be the champion if he can start the final race next week in Homestead, Florida.  Nice win for Carl, but he couldn't perform his signature back flip due to the broken foot he suffered earlier in the season.  Carl did a lame somersault instead.  Hopefully he will be doing a lot of back flips next year. 

Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski continued their season long on track feud.  Should be interesting next year when Brad drives full time on the NEXTEL Sprint Cup circuit.  Seems like a lot of guys want  a piece of him.  Here is a summary of yesterday's race from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-11-14-phoenix-nationwide_N.htm

Next to last Sprint Cup race today in Phoenix.  My guess is Jimmy Johnson will finish well, maybe even win, and lock up the Cup going into the last race of the season. 

Denny Hamlin Wins @ Martinsville

Denny Hamlin won today at Martinsville.  Virginia boys love to win at home so good for him.  I find it interesting with all the hoopla around Kyle Busch that Denny has become the most consistent Gibbs team driver.  Good for Denny.  Sure was a great move by Toyota to sign the Gibbs team a couple of years ago.  Gibbs has given Toyota a lot of wins. 

Jimmie Johnson extended his lead in the Chase.  If he gets through Talladega next weekend with the lead, I don't think he can be stopped.  He'll be on his way to his 4th championship and accepting all the accolades at the banquet in Las Vegas in early December. 

NASCAR Announces More Consistent Start Times in 2010

Most Sunday races will start at 1:00 Eastern Time next year, NASCAR announced today.  Good idea.  True race fans will know when most races will begin, and fans who go to the track will be able to see the races, and maybe even get home the same day.  Old School!  And, in the DVR era, it doesn't really matter when the races start for TV watchers, other than to figure out when to set the recording to start. 

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2009-10-07-nascar-start-times_N.htm

Sorry I haven't been updating this blog as much lately.  Will try to be more diligent the rest of the season. 

Great, Exciting Race @ Loudon, New Hampshire

The NASCAR Sprint Cup race today in New Hampshire was exciting, not a mileage race, which is unusual.  Many of the New Hampshire races have been quite boring in past years but today there was plenty of two-,  and at times, three-wide racing.  Lot's of bumping and pushing toward the end of the race, more like what happens at Martinsville or Bristol.  Juan Pablo Montoya led the most laps, and was right there at the end, but finished third, behind Denny Hamlin and the winner, Mark Martin.  Yes, Mark Martin won the 1st race of the Chase!  Very exciting for Mark, his fans, and I think NASCAR to have a veteran like Mark contending so seriously for what he hopes will be his first NASCAR Championship.  That is what Rick Hendrick hired him to do, win a championship this year.  I hope he will do it, though I'd also like to see Tony Stewart win as well.  Good to have an AARP member (at least he is eligible to be a member) leading the Chase. 

And, what was Juan Pablo mumbling about after the race, something like Mark crowded him down in the corner, and Juan Pablo could have hit him, but he has a lot of respect for Mark, and decided to not push him out of the way.  Not sure Juan Pablo would have gotten out of New Hampshire if he had wrecked Mark Martin in the last laps of the race today.  Juan, just win races, and the rest will take care of itself.  

Tough day for Junior.  He was running really well, up to 4th place, when David Reutimann went into a corner underneath Junior, and, as Junior said, "Ran out of talent", and wiped Dale out.  I really hope Dale can have a good fall, even win a race or two to set up a very good 2010 season. 

Off to Dover for Race 2 of the Chase!

Exciting Weekend @ Atlanta

I watched both races from Atlanta this past Labor Day weekend.  What a dominating performance by Kevin Harvick Saturday night in the Nationwide Series race.  He was in control all night long.  Of course, Atlanta is special for Kevin since he won his first Cup race there after taking over for the late Dale Earnhardt after his untimely death at Daytona.  Kevin always runs well in Atlanta and he was the best Saturday night.  Nice to see him do well.  On Sunday night, Kasey Kahne was there at the end with the best car.  It has been interesting to see Kasey over the last couple of years.  I remember when he took the Budweiser sponsorship after Dale Jr. switched teams.  Many didn't think Kasey could carry the Budweiser torch but he sure has done a good job.  And Dodge must be happy to have him.  Good year for Dodges with Kurt Busch and Kasey both in the chase, along with Juan Pablo. 

On to Richmond, and determining who is in and out of the Chase.