Sucks wearing the black hat...

I spent the day reflecting on yesterdays Lenox Industrial Tools 284 yesterday, and while drying out in traffic, found myself with plenty of time to ponder.

I keep thinking back to the start of the season when we were told that NASCAR was getting ‘back to basics’. Despite what seemed like genuine enthusiasm that drivers would be able to express themselves, I have heard a ton of criticism about the Juan Pablo Montoya/Kyle Busch incident in the closing laps of the race. In case you missed, it, Montoya and Busch were racing for position for a solid 50 laps, and with that comes the requisite banging and bumping. Rough racing, sure, but evidently just before the final caution brought out by the Bowyer/Hornish wreck the two had kicked it up a notch on the backstretch. As they entered turns 3 and 4 just behind the wreck, the yellow flew but it wasn’t over yet. Coming down the frontstretch under caution, Montoya turned into Busch and spun him sideways. In a twist of fate, while trying to avoid the wall, Busch turned Montoya forcing both to pit road and effectively preventing Kyle from a shot at winning the race. At the time, Kyle was running in the high teens, while Montoya was a lap down.

After the race, Montoya, in a refreshing display of brute honesty (and the delight of Dale Jr fans), admitted to purposely spinning Busch because of how he was being raced.

"On the restart, I got around the outside of [Busch] in Turn 2 and he just went wide like I wasn't even there -- he crowded me towards the wall," Montoya said. "Down the backstraight he hit me on braking for Turn 3 like he was trying to wreck me.

"I thought we had a decent car and I don

t appreciate when people race me like that. The caution came out and under caution he hit me again, and I retaliated, you know? I'm a nice guy, but I'm not an idiot."

Busch responded to the incident seemingly unsure of why he was spun:

"I have no idea, I got a run on him earlier and I got on the outside and he kind of kept coming up a little bit. I didn

t turn down into him and just barely touched his quarter panel.

"We came to that caution flag and he thought he beat me to the caution flag and I was just trying to get around the 40 car, who was in front of us there. I touched him on the door and he just turned left and spun me down the front straightaway. I don't know what his beef is."

So who's right and who's wrong? In listening to the post race show on Sirius as well as reading multiple blogs, it seems pretty split down the middle. Obviously, the Busch fans and Montoya haters will tell you one thing, while the Busch haters, Montoya fans, and certainly the Dale Jr fans will tell you another.

So here's my two cents… done under caution, it was wrong. Also painfully stupid. But under green, then its what makes racing as great as it is. We were all happy to see NASCAR get back to basics, and that includes letting the boys do a bit of rubbing to settle their differences. And NASCAR was correct in their two lap penalty for rough driving. There's no need for anything else, be it probation, points, money or anything else. This is good PR for NASCAR and helps generate interest, it seems as though it has become a bigger headline than the race itself.

The real question is whether the message Montoya was trying to deliver to Shrubby was heard by Busch, that his driving style isnt appreciated by his counterparts. And lets hope that if the message was heard, that it will be ignored.

Postrace Thoughts:

Does anyone know if the metal bleachers are somehow grounded against lightning strikes? I shudder to think what would have happened had one of the many bolts that were cracking around us struck the stands. I may be a dedicated fan, but when the red flag came out, we left before knowing if they would attempt a restart when it cleared. It took hours to dry out once we got back to the car.

Like him or hate him, you have to feel bad for the bad luck that Tony Stewart has had this year. And on a related note, it was nice to see some of the guys who have had bad years take a chance and have the luck come their way for once. I’m specifically thinking about Elliot Sadler who managed a 5th place finish, which is about where he would have finished last week at Sonoma had he not ended up with a flat tire while the race was red flagged. Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, JJ Yeley, Martin Truex Jr and Reed Sorenson also needed and got big points days.

Casey Mears ended up with a 5th place finish last week and topped it off with a 7th place yesterday. Sadly for Mears, its coming a few weeks too late since he was given notice that he was going to be released by HMS at the end of the season after a disappointing start.

New England fans received some good news from Bruton Smith yesterday when it was announced that he had no immediate intention of moving a race date to Kentucky or Las Vegas. This of course makes one wonder where he intends on getting two dates. Speculation is that he still intends to try to purchase and shut down Pocono Raceway, thus moving the two dates to the two tracks, but that doesn’t seem likely. For starters, track owner Dr Joe Mattioli has insisted that the track is not for sale, and unlike the publicly traded Dover International Speedway, no may simply mean no. Further, its unlikely that NASCAR will suddenly approve moving a date to Kentucky since they have insisted all along that it just wont happen. Additionally, Pocono Raceway is just 80 miles west of New York City, the largest media market in the world. I can not imagine a scenario that NASCAR would allow a race to move from that market to Kentucky or anywhere else, at least without an alternative track in place which has proven to be an impossible task so far. So until this all shakes out, I remain very cautious about the intents that Bruton has for NHMS.

As far as the speedway, I do need to compliment Smith on his first NH race date. I spent the entire weekend there and my experience went off without a hitch, as pleasant as it ever was under the Bahre family. New signage and fresh paint has certainly given the track a new look and may be a sign of good things to come. According to Smith, he is going to concentrate on improved fan amenities, such as more seating, more restrooms (thank God!), more camper parking, and best of all, lights! There is also a very serious talk about bringing an IRL date to NH as early as next year (I’m in!).

As far as reconfiguring the track, such as adding banking, increasing or decreasing the size or shape of the track, or even building a brand new track next to the existing one, no decisions have been made. Whatever is done, lets hope a second or even third groove is created. The lack of passing in yesterdays race was nothing new and really cant be attributed to the new car, its been an issue in New Hampshire since they started racing there in 1993.

Computer Crashes and Random Thoughts...

Here we are, 2008, and despite how much technology has improved our lives, we are still at the very mercy of it. Almost two months ago, my laptop computer – proudly equipped with Windows Vista – crashed. So here I am, two months later and over $400 poorer, finally back online. I had limited internet access at work, but was unable to get down to the business of blogging. So with that said, here we go… you might imagine that I have a lot to say. Let me summarize my random thoughts to date…

For starters, I hate road courses. Infineon was the epitome of boring. The whole idea of stockcar racing is drive fast and turn left… not drive slow and turn right and left. I also don’t like these ‘road course ringers’ driving in place of the full time guys who deserve the start. If they want to qualify their way in like Boris Said, great, go for it. But to replace a young guy like Reed Sorenson or Regan Smith after they have been busting their behinds all year? Its not only not fair to the drivers or fans, but one has to wonder if these ‘ringers’ expertise is offset by inexperience in a stock car as well as not having chemistry with the crew chief or pit crew. And what happens to the confidence of the driver who is replaced? And how is he supposed to gain road course experience if he isn’t allowed to participate? Yes, bad idea all around. Finally, I don’t like that these races turn into a fuel mileage race before they even throw the checkered flag. Yesterday on Sirius Speedway, Ray Evernham suggested adding 10-15 laps in order to take fuel mileage that out of the equation. I say good idea, but a better idea is to dump the road courses all together. As I suggested in my last post in April, these two dates are extremely valuable and could be used to add a second date to Las Vegas and possibly bring a second date back to Darlington.

Speaking of moving dates around, I haven’t had the chance to comment on Bruton Smith’s latest purchase, that of Kentucky Speedway. We are left with a bunch of new questions, such as the status of the lawsuit against NASCAR, as well as where he proposes to get a cup date. Will NASCAR even allow a date to be moved to Kentucky? So far, Brian France says no, so this could turn very interesting over the next year or so. Personally, I agree with NASCAR as far as the need for another cup date in an area that is already saturated.

Silly Season is well underway, with rumors that Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, and Reed Sorenson on their way out as well as Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr still undecided. This is all normal stuff around this time of year, but what’s interesting is that several teams are talking about adding teams to their stable of cars over the next year or two. JGR, RCR, Penske, GEM, and Petty have all talked seriously about it, with RCR already confirmed for a 4th car for 2009. Jr Motorsports is also talking about fielding Cup cars (Brad Keselowski?) next year as opposed to Nationwide as well. Lets do the math here… every given week, we have between 2 and 5 ‘go or go homers’, and now we are possibly adding 7 more regulars? But that’s not the real issue at hand. You can add as many cars as you want, but there are still only so many major sponsorships to go around, just ask the folks at Yates Racing. How many smaller 1 and 2 car teams will lose sponsorship next year as these corporations feel that their money will be better spent with the larger, more competitive teams? General Mills evidently felt that their dollars were better spent on a new, 4th RCR team rather than the flagship, legendary 43 car at Petty Enterprises. I have a huge fear that we may see the last of these smaller teams as sponsorship dollars dry up.

Speaking of smaller teams, it was nice to see Marcos Ambrose, driving for the Wood Brothers this past weekend, do so well before finishing 42nd after a mechanical problem ended his day. Being a road course, one would have expected him to hold his own; but I’m really excited to see what he will do this weekend on his first cup start on an oval track. Marcos has been one of my favorites since joining NASCAR, and a strong showing may keep him in that ride for a while. Of course there is the matter of qualifying, but with only 45 entries this weekend and a possibility of showers Friday, I would say Ambrose stands a pretty decent shot. Wood Brothers is currently 43rd in owner points, meaning they would get the last slot if qualifying is rained out.

Driver notes: Last time I posted, Matt Kenseth was having a dismal season, in the 20s in driver points. But in typical Kenseth fashion, he has creped right back into Chase contention, and is currently 12th, bumping Kevin Harvick out (for now). I’m glad Dale Jr finally won a race, if for the only reason that it illustrates that he is having his best season ever and is a strong contender for the championship this year. Is there anyone second guessing his move to Hendrick? What a momentum killer for Kasey Kahne. 3 wins in 4 weeks (including the All Star race), then a second place finish in Michigan, then a pole at Infineon, and then… a 33rd place finish. Kahne seemed to struggle all day, and his poor showing dropped him 2 spots in the standings, from 7th to 9th but he is still 68 points ahead of 13th place Harvick. My daughter, as (in her mind) the future Mrs Kahne, is hoping for him to return to recent form and pick up a win this weekend in Loudon.

On the Nationwide side of things, I have to say – and it takes a LOT to impress me – that Joey ‘Sliced Bread’ Logano is the real deal. It’s no wonder that JGR allowed Aric Almirola to leave for DEI last year; it has been clear all along that they have been holding a ride for Logano once he is ready. Assuming Tony Stewart remains with the team,that would make for one very powerful team indeed. With all the press that Logano is getting, one of the best stories of the year has been overlooked. Brad Keselowski has a win and is second in the standings, and if it wasn’t for a couple of on track incidents that were not his fault, could be leading the championship points race. If you recall, it was after the Busch race at New Hampshire last year that Dale Earnhardt Jr fired driver Shane Huffman and replaced him with Keselowski. If JR Motorsports decides to field a cup team (or two) next year, look for Keselowski to be the driver, and he has certainly earned it.

Finally, kudos for NASCAR telling the drivers to cool it with their criticisms of the sport and the new car. Ok, we get it. You don’t like the new car. But here’s what bugs me. These drivers are getting paid millions of dollars to do one thing… drive! Nobody ever said it was easy. Hell, if it were easy, I would do it. The last thing I want to hear is a professional athlete crying on national television about how bad things are just before getting on his private jet and flying home to his multi million dollar mansion. Yes, we all can see that the new car isn’t where it needs to be. But did anybody expect it to be perfect at this juncture? Like any other time a new model is rolled out by an auto manufacturer, you never want to buy a car from the first 1 or 2 years… it takes time to work out the bugs. Lets be honest – for all the criticism that NASCAR and Brian France receive, one thing they are not is stupid. Stubborn? Maybe. But stupid? No. They, like everyone else, recognize that there are still issues to be worked out, and that this project is a work in progress. But bitching about it non-stop on national television not only wont help the situation, it will only drive fans – and eventually sponsors – away. Yeah, there are a core group of fans – the NASCAR/Brian France haters - who love every bit of it as they look for reasons to validate their opinions. But there are also fans who are tired – VERY tired – of the constant whining by multimillionaires in all sports. Bottom line is if anyone else were to get on television and bad mouth the organization that puts food in their mouth – while on the clock for that matter – would be fired on the spot. Drivers need to remember one of the fundamental rules of the workplace – never, ever bite the hand that feeds you.

Oh, and one last note, completely unrelated to NASCAR. Congratulations to the Boston Celtics on winning their 17th World Championship. Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe had the quote of the year when he wrote that this was the first ‘6 game sweep in the history of the NBA’. Well said, and at the expense of Kobe Bryant and the dreaded Lakers, it was that much sweeter.