Motorsports FanHouse

Weather Determines Winner - Again

Holly Cain — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Toyota, NASCAR Tracks, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano

If we celebrated David Reutimann's win at Charlotte last month and Matt Kenseth's February Daytona 500 victory -- both races called off early because of rain -- then no one can begrudge rookie Joey Logano his maiden win Sunday at rain-soaked New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

However, we can question NASCAR's schedule. And we're entitled to bristle just a bit at Sunday's finish.

More Coverage: Logano Makes History | Check Standings

This is the second consecutive year -- and fourth time overall -- that weather dictated the outcome at New Hampshire instead of the racing. Qualifying has been rained out five times in the last eight seasons, including Friday.

The fine folks in New England deserve their slice of Sprint Cup action. But the rest of the country deserves a chance to see a legitimate race. And the drivers -- like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson, who actually ran up front at New Hampshire -- deserve a better fate.

Maybe racing at New Hampshire in June isn't the best idea.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only November has more average rainfall than June and July in Loudon, N.H. where the track is located.

Obviously you can't predict rain and you can't control the weather. But you can recognize a pattern.

And until NASCAR takes a serious look at fitting its venues with the proper weather, this is going to be an unfortunate side effect. It's too cold to race here in February and March, but April and May might provide better conditions.

Many fans will be unhappy with Sunday's outcome, if for no other reason, Logano wasn't a real factor all day. He was not better than Gordon or Busch or Stewart who battled for the lead throughout the afternoon.

But give the rookie's championship crew chief, veteran Greg Zipadelli credit. His meteorology skills triumphed and his strategy worked despite Logano's best effort to derail a decent finish earlier in the day.

Logano spun his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota and brought out a caution on lap 182, only getting back on the lead lap thanks to NASCAR's "free pass" award seven laps later.

He inherited the race lead on lap 264 when Ryan Newman had to pit for gas. The race was called for rain, 10 laps later. He would have had to come in for gas had the race continued its schedule distance -- another 28 laps.

However, as a very gracious Gordon, who finished runner-up, told the television cameras during the initial rain delay, you take any win you can get.

A win is a win. And Logano, 19, a New England native, was in position to capitalize, making history as the youngest series winner to boot.

"This was the opportunity we had and we had nothing to lose,'' Logano said in his post-race interview. "This is a dream come true and the best race track that it could happen at."

There are no asterisks in NASCAR.

Latest NASCAR Images

Joey Logano smiles in victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Joey Logano limps into the pits with flat and missing tires during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. Logano went on to win the rain-shortened race. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Ryan Newman's crew tries to get his engine running on pit row during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Bobby Labonte, front left, and Regan Smith, walk under umbrellas after the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was called due to rain in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. Joey Logano won the race. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Jeff Burton climbs out of his car after a crash during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Josh Gibney)

Joey Logano (20) makes it past a crash during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. Logano went on to win the rain-shortened race. (AP Photo/Josh Gibney)

Jimmie Johnson makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. Joey Logano won the rain-shortened race. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Joey Logano makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. Logano won the rain-shorted race. (AP Photo/Gil Talbot)

Martin Truex Jr., left, Casey Mears, center, and Kevin Harvick (29) crash during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Gil Talbot)

Cars crash in Turn 1 during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 auto race in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, June 28, 2009. Joey Logano won the rain-shortened race. (AP Photo/Mike Silverwood)

Weather Determines Winner - Again originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kyle Busch Dominates Field at Kentucky, But Joey Logano Wins

Bruce Ciskie — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:30:00 EST

Filed under: Kyle Busch, Toyota, Nationwide Series, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano

It almost seems like a broken record.

While Kyle Busch continues to own the NASCAR Nationwide Series points standings, he is having awful issues finishing races. He's had some bad luck, no doubt about it. However, Saturday night in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano simply had a better racecar. It helps that he picked a good time for what could have been his best restart of the night.

With 15 laps to go, a Mike Bliss wreck caused a red flag. After the track was cleaned up, the field was brought to green with 13 to go.

Not long after the restart, Logano got a great run on the low side of Busch, who had led for most of the race, and he made the clean pass. The combination of a popular young driver in Logano and a driver in Busch who is perceived (right or wrong) to be a complete jerk led to a loud roar from the 70,000 fans when Logano took the lead. He didn't give it up, winning by over a second.

For Busch, it was another race where he was dominant throughout, but couldn't cross the finish line first. It's the seventh straight Nationwide race where Busch led the most laps, but he has just two wins in that span.

His frustration was evident in a short postrace chat with ESPN's Mike Massaro. Asked about his widening point lead (Carl Edwards, second in points, ran 20th Saturday, so Busch picked up 47 points on the lead), Busch simply said "Would be nice to have 12 wins," before walking off.

Give him credit, though. He predicted a second-place finish earlier in the day, after a second-place finish in the Truck Series race at Michigan that saw him get passed late.

Kyle Busch Dominates Field at Kentucky, But Joey Logano Wins originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tire-Chasing Gas Man Regrets Decision

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:18:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, NASCAR Videos, Pit Crews, Sprint Cup

Perhaps Jimmy Watts was just doing what he had always done as a firefighter for the Charlotte (N.C.) Fire Department on Sunday when he dashed across the unprotected frontstretch Atlanta Motor Speedway grass to retrieve an errant tire from his team's recently completed pit stop -- preventing a potentially harmful situation.

Regardless, the NASCAR gas man who helped bring out a caution that changed the complexion of the Kobalt Tools 500 and was suspended by NASCAR for the remainder of the event felt obligated Sunday evening to apologize for his actions.

Watts -- he handles fueling for JTG Daughtery Racing's Aussie driver Marcos Ambrose -- told the NASCAR Scene's Bob Pockrass after the race that he picked the "wrong" action.

"I saw the tire going away and it was a reaction - the wrong one," Watts said.

Watts said he "certainly did not" think that the tire would roll that far across the grass and by the time he was in the middle of it, he realized he was in a bad position.

It did make for interesting television.

"It's not the kind I want to be part of," Watts said.

Certainly, by the tone of the article and Watts' words, he's one of those folks on the receiving end of a dose of 15 minutes of fame he'd rather not have.

Watts' move started innocently when Ambrose's No. 47 Toyota left the pit box to return to the track and the tire changers failed to secure the tire against the pit wall. The tire then rolled across pit lane and into a section of pavement in the AMS infield connecting the pit road and the front stretch used for various quarter-mile races held at the track.

By the time Watts tracked down the tire, he was well within striking distance of a sliding race car had it wrecked off turn four while racing at speeds of over 160 miles per hour. NASCAR wasn't pleased with the move and immediately put out a caution flag to keep both Watts and the tire from being hit.

The caution occured during a round of green flag pit stops that cause jumbles in the running order because teams pit on different laps. When the yellow came out, just 10 of the 43 cars hadn't pitted and were left on the lead lap.

Undoubtedly, the cause of the caution ticked off countless fans after the driver got caught up in the events and went a lap down of the leaders, but it's tough for me to feel their pain. Had Watts not chased the tire, it very easily could have (and should have, in my book) brought out a yellow flag either because it could have entered the racing surface or because another car could have wrecked and hit it while it lay in the infield grass.

Flying wheels and tires have long been one of the biggest dangers to spectators because of how far they can bounce and fly when hit by a speeding race car. Multiple spectators in all forms of racing have been killed and severely injured when an errant tire (weighing upwards of 80 pounds) entered the grandstand seating areas.

Knowing that, I'm pretty sure that NASCAR would have opted to throw a yellow flag to retrieve the loose tire regardless of Watts' actions, however, they might have waited for green flag pit stops to cycle through -- keeping 3/4 of the field from falling a lap back of the leaders.

Did Watts suffer from a lapse in his best judgment when he dashed out to retrieve the tire? I'd say that's a given.

But when a guy has made a living by putting himself in harm's way, it's hard to blame the instinct of fellow who's intentions were in the right place. Put yourself in his shoes -- here's a guy whose full-time job is a civic duty and on the weekends he gets to be at the race track, doing something he's got to love. Now, after trying to help out a little bit, he's been reprimanded by NASCAR and been humiliated by some negative attention.

Can you imagine the pit in his stomach when he got home Sunday night?

Apology accepted, Mr. Watts. Let's hope we see you when NASCAR returns in two weeks at Bristol.

Tire-Chasing Gas Man Regrets Decision originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota's NASCAR Monopoly on Hold

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Toyota, Roush Fenway Racing, Sprint Cup

Jack Roush, co-owner of NASCAR's Roush Fenway Racing, can sleep a little better these days.

Toyota Racing Development -- long the rotten apple in the eye of Roush -- acknowledged this week in a conference call that it too expects budgetary cuts in the coming year thanks to an automobile market that's having a problem or two selling cars.

TRD's NASCAR point man, Lee White, said the entire company posted its first annual loss in 70 years in 2008 and that "there is probably not anything on this earth here that Toyota is involved with now that is not under some level of review regarding budget expenditure" thanks to sorry market conditions.

Since joining the Camping World Truck Series in 2004 and Sprint Cup & Nationwide Series in 2007, Toyota has been greeted by some in the garage area with a cold shoulder, thanks to the company's overseas ties and seemingly endless cash stream.

Roush, ever the Ford man, has long had not-so-nice things to say about the company mainly because he fears the deep pockets could overwhelm his race team's ability to compete. Roush's Sprint Cup drivers include Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle.

The latest round of Roush vs. Toyota came at Atlanta Motor Speedway last March, a week after Edwards' race-winning Las Vegas failed post-race inspection due a loose oil tank cover. White, a former Roush employee, didn't buy the argument, and Roush responded.

Needless to say, relations between the blue oval and Toyota are roughly as warm as a sheet of ice.

Perhaps today, though, Roush's idea of being overrun by Toyota's deep pockets has simmered some. That being said, I wouldn't go as far as to say that Christmas cards are going to be exchanged anytime soon.

Toyota's NASCAR Monopoly on Hold originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'08 Rear-View Mirror: Brian Vickers

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Toyota, Sprint Cup

Warning: Objects in this post may be the only way to successfully live through the NASCAR off-season. For best results, read rearview mirror early and often.

Driver: Brian Vickers
Team: No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota
'08 Final Standing: 19th (-3104)
Best Race: Pocono 500 (2nd-place)
Worst Race: Phoenix, Indianapolis & Lowes (42nd-place)

Season in a box: Aside from a not-so-surprising impressive first year under the Toyota banner for Joe Gibbs Racing, Brian Vickers was easily the brightest star from NASCAR's newest manufacturer with some near-wins and consistent finishes.

Vickers, in just his second full season with Red Bull Racing after leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of 2006, put together a nice effort of finishes -- especially in midsummer stretch of the racing season -- to make himself a viable contender for several race wins. Vickers took his best finish of 2nd-place at Pocono, but had likely his best chance to win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May until a loose wheel broke off the car sending him into the wall while he was up front.

In the next seven races, Vickers put up 2 Top-5s, 3 Top-10s and didn't finish below 16th until engine problems took him out of the running at the exploding tire fest that was the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Consistency wasn't really the problem for Vickers, but rather luck was -- especially if you look at the Lowe's tire problem, the Indy engine problem, a suspension problem that resulted in a crash at Phoenix, and a blown tire to cause a huge wreck at Talladega.

Through the crystal windshield: I may be somewhat partial to Vickers -- he just seems like a real neat, down-to-Earth kind of guy -- but I'll be quite surprised if he doesn't land RBR in victory lane for the first time in 2009. The No. 83 has been so, so close many times and has had race cars that have shown they can compete on a high level.

If this team can learn to get all of its mechanical ducks in-a-row and maybe find a little bit more luck (especially with wheels and tires), this team can be a contender to make the Chase in 2009, along with a win or two at the series' 1.5- and 2-mile tracks.

Next up: Kurt Busch

'08 Rear-View Mirror: Brian Vickers originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gibbs' Dave Rogers Owns Up to Cheating

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:54:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Nationwide Series, Joe Gibbs Racing

Remember the cheating story that hit Joe Gibbs Racing like a ton of bricks after the Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway in August? You know, the one involving magnets on pedals for the horsepower testing?

For those with short memories or lazy mouse-clicking fingers, the JGR Nationwide Series No. 18 and No. 20 cars were found to have magnets that prevented the throttle pedal from being fully depressed, leaving skewed numbers for NASCAR to examine during a post-race performance test.

It's a genius plan, really, and if it had worked, JGR and Toyota might have had a nice advantage in the series. But it didn't, and NASCAR wasn't too pleased. They showed it with heavy fines, suspensions and point deductions in the week that followed.

This week, though, JGR crew chief Dave Rogers -- who's still indefinitely suspended from NASCAR -- fully admitted to the cheating.

"I made a mistake, and I owned up to that mistake, and I didn't make excuses," said Rogers.

And for that, you've got to applaud him because it's not too often that NASCAR crew chiefs profess guilt instead of pleading innocence.

The infraction the team committed came on the heels of two important events facing the organization. First, they had the previous six races in Nationwide competition and second, NASCAR levied an engine modification against Toyota teams after they deemed NASCAR's newest manufacturer had a slight advantage in the second-tier series.

Rogers, and fellow suspended JGR crew chief Jason Ratcliff, were worried about losing that advantage and thus attempted the plot to skew NASCAR's data that is used to set policy and rules for each of the sanctioning body's racing series.

The penalities didn't effect JGR's Sprint Cup operation nor has NASCAR made any changes to the Toyota engine package in that top-tier series.

Rogers, Ratcliff and a whole bunch of other people faced some serious music from both NASCAR and the top brass of JGR after the serious violations were discovered, but to hear that they are remorseful for their actions is a little refreshing and hopefully won't derail their futures in the sport.

Gibbs' Dave Rogers Owns Up to Cheating originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johnny Benson: 2008 Truck Series Champion

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:02:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Craftsman Truck Series, Bill Davis Racing

Does NASCAR need a 10-race playoff to make a championship race close and exciting?

If you ask the newly-crowned Craftsman Truck Series champion Johnny Benson, he'd probably tell you no.

After all, Benson won the title -- his second career NASCAR championship to follow up his Nationwide Series title in 1995 -- by just a mere seven points over Ron Hornaday Jr.

By comparison, Carl Edwards trails Jimmie Johnson by 141 points in the Sprint Cup Series standings with the season-finale scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the same Homestead-Miami Speedway Benson scored his huge season win at Friday night. What's also notable is that the Sprint Cup Series had a near-total points reset just ten races ago among the Top 12 drivers.

While I won't profess to have followed the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series as close as I could have -- hey, I went to see the character-rich series when they visited O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis back in July -- I've got to say that Benson's win is one of those "feel good" stories of the year.

Not to slight Hornaday by any margin, but Benson is truly one of the good guys in racing and has always been quite approachable for both fans and media.

Benson's championship Friday night happened only because his team decided to keep the No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota on the track during a late caution while Hornaday pitted for four tires. Hornaday was clawing his way back to Benson until a caution near the checkered flag slowed his charge and when the race went to a green-white-checkered finish, he was unable to get around Benson.

Benson's run to his first-career Truck Series championship over the 25-race season saw the Grand Rapids, Mich.-driver score 18 Top-10s and 14 Top-5s with 5 wins and 5 poles.

Interestingly enough, Benson announced earlier this season he won't be returning to Bill Davis Racing in 2009.

Regardless, here's to you Mr. Benson, congratulations on the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series championship.

Johnny Benson: 2008 Truck Series Champion originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Race Stand: Coleman Out of HoF Racing

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:20:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, NASCAR Silly Season, Sprint Cup

Brad Coleman's entry and exit to and from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Hall of Fame Racing came to an abrupt halt after just one race, ESPN says.

[Brad] Coleman's fortunes changed quickly [...] According to Hall of Fame Racing, Coleman is now a free agent. He is no longer under contract to Hall of Fame.

Coleman's lone Sprint Cup race came at Michigan International Speedway in August when the 20-year-old driver replaced a fired J.J. Yeley in the No. 96 DLP Toyota. In that event, he started 37th and finished 43rd.

For giggles, I think I'll cite my previous post on Coleman's quick turn up to NASCAR's top division:

Hall of Fame sure isn't a place where a driver is going to go win championships, and knowing that Coleman just might be making a career mistake of jumping in a car that races in the Sprint Cup Series but doesn't compete.

Now I get that "just might be making a career mistake" isn't a "Coleman will be cut after one race"-type prediction, but come on, the writing was on the wall for this kid and his move to a team I wouldn't even drive for if offered the chance.

Yeah, Hall of ~~Shame~~ Fame Racing is just that bad, but this certainly leaves plenty of questions as to why it took so long for word to come out about Coleman.

Why did HoF only give him a one-race tryout when the original press release seemed to indicate he'd be finishing out the year? Was there some kind of strife between young Texas driver (or, perhaps his handlers) and the leadership at HoF? And do you think Coleman regrets giving up his Nationwide Series ride (manufacturer conflict) just to sit in the No. 96 for one race and a few testing sessions?

My answers? Who knows, probably, and definitely.

Like I pondered in the original post, I see this as a big setback for Coleman's potential Sprint Cup career. He's out of a Nationwide Series ride, out a Sprint Cup Series ride and appears to be back in the same situation he was at the beginning of 2008 -- trying to climb the rungs of the NASCAR ladder.

It's unfortunate for Coleman because the guy has a good level of talent and has an interesting background story, but he's just the latest example of how it is possible to jump too quickly in NASCAR before you've really set a name for yourself.

Is the youth boom over in NASCAR? Hardly. But it is sure showing signs of weakness.

One Race Stand: Coleman Out of HoF Racing originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Red Bull Repentent Over Huge Penalty

Geoffrey Miller — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:23:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Toyota, Sprint Cup

Brian Vickers and Red Bull Racing weren't expecting to be the big news of the week -- especially after ex-Formula 1 driver Scott Speed made his Sprint Cup debut at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

Instead, the team was given all but a heavy dose of corporal punishment Wednesday afternoon thanks to NASCAR finding that the sheet metal on Vickers' No. 83 was too thin for NASCAR's specifications.

The lack of depth left Vickers with 150 less points (drops from 15th to 17th in the driver point standings) and without a car cheif (Craig Smokstad) or crew chief (Kevin Hamlin) for an unknown amount of time after both were suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.

Ouch.

However, the team took complete responsibility for the violation in a subsequent press release saying they wouldn't appeal the ruling and that they realize it's a "privilege" to compete in NASCAR. Ominous words for the person mainly behind this penalty were also included in the release as it said "necessary steps will be taken to rectify the situation and ensure it won't happen again".

All that being said, what in the world does it mean and why does it help for a team to have thin sheet metal?

For that, we'll turn to the folks over at Fox Sports that first reported this story Tuesday night.

According to sources familiar with the situation, the sides of the car - the doors, fenders and quarter panels - were too thin. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rule book states that teams must use a minimum of 24 gauge (0.025 inch thick) sheet steel for their car bodies. Also, the practice of "acid dipping or chemical milling," which makes the sheet metal thinner, is strictly forbidden.

One individual close to the situation said acid dipping would allow a fabricator to make the metal thinner. Once the steel is sanded and painted, it is nearly impossible for NASCAR to detect.

Alright, so if this sheet metal is thin, how can a team benefit from such a move?

It's simple really -- when sheet metal is thinner, it weighs less. NASCAR imposes a minimum weight limit, so the team then compensates for the change by putting lead weight ballasts in lower areas of the car that allow it to handle better.

It's a beautifully concocted plan to get by the rules, but its obvious now that it definitely wasn't worth it for Red Bull.

They deserved every penny and point of penalty they received -- this was an intentional violation -- but it still leaves NASCAR in the position that teams will still push the rules.

It's my belief that NASCAR will finally make headway on cheating issues in the sport when a team gets booted from racing in the next race or two because of the sponsorship implications. Unfortunately, that term -- sponsorship implications -- is likely the same reason NASCAR won't get that harsh.

Red Bull Repentent Over Huge Penalty originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is NASCAR Ready for Scott Speed?

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Sprint Cup

Scott Speed, the former Formula 1 driver from the good ol' US of A, will make his first career Sprint Cup Series start Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.

It's an interesting way to start for Speed -- at the circuit's smallest track that has roots deeper in NASCAR than ugly driver t-shirts -- but he'll do so anyway in the No. 84 Toyota from Red Bull Racing.

Speed is apparently ready for NASCAR, but the real question lies not in his awareness or readiness.

Rather, is NASCAR ready for Scott Speed?

He's brash, he's outspoken, and he's talented. He'll tell you how he feels, and doesn't mind who's feathers get ruffled along the way. Simply, he wants to win, and truly thinks he can be a champion rather quickly in stock car racing.

Ultimately, he's pretty darn close to being the open-wheel crossover driver version of the always oh-so-well-received Kyle Busch.
Want proof? Let's look back to a week ago when Speed all but had the ARCA series championship locked up during the season's final race in Toledo, Oh.

The 25-year-old was on the cusp of an ARCA series championship last weekend in Toledo, needing a decent finish to wrap up the points title.

Things were going smoothly until Ricky Stenhouse Jr., second to Speed in the season standings, repeatedly hit Speed in the rear fender as they ran near the front.

The banging eventually sent Speed into the wall, crippling his car. Speed pitted briefly and limped back onto the track. Rather than try to grind it out and win the title, Speed decided to get even, intentionally turning his car into Stenhouse's and totaling both cars, opening the door for Justin Allgaier to take the season crown.

Even so, Speed doesn't regret his decision.

"You can't fix stupid," Speed said. "(Stenhouse) obviously wanted the championship very badly. He was not going to win it like that. That's just ridiculous. I did my best to make sure he didn't win it. It's as simple as that."

Scott Speed -- witness, judge, and jury?

It's a bold move to acknowledge that he threw away a season championship in an effort to get even, but if nothing else, it signifies what Speed truly is about -- winning.

I'm certainly not expecting Scott Speed to rock the world Sunday at Martinsville and pick up an incredible finish, but I am expecting Speed to come into this sport and get on the nerves of a driver or two via running hard every lap and competing with the no-holds-barred approach.

Speed's a character, and that's exactly what NASCAR needs.

Is NASCAR Ready for Scott Speed? originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kyle Busch Gets a Horrible Chase Start

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:51:00 EST

Filed under: Kyle Busch, Toyota, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing

Kyle Busch wasn't real happy with his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota over the course of the two practice sessions in preparations for this weekend's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but thanks to the weather he started on the pole for Sunday's Sylvania 300.

The good luck didn't last long.
Busch first started having issues in Sunday's race around lap 15 when something in the suspension of his No. 18 broke that made the car very, very loose and appear to roll too much weight to the right side of the car when Busch would drive around the flat, sweeping corners at NHMS.

The team tried to fix the problem during a prolonged pit stop under the competition caution NASCAR called on lap 35, but didn't seem to make much of a difference other than putting Busch a lap down.

Later in the event -- while Busch was still battling the extremely loose race car that was transferring way too much weight to the right of the car -- he looped the No. 18 coming off turn 2 on lap 83. In the smoke from Busch's spin, David Ragan and Jamie McMurray made contact that caused McMurray to slide into the rear of Busch.

The damage Busch received from the crash broke the rear wing and pushed in the left rear end of the car.

Fortunately, the day didn't get a whole lot worse for Busch, but mainly because it couldn't.

Wrecks later in the race helped Busch's cause, but still left him 8th in points, 74 behind new Chase for the Sprint Cup leader Jimmie Johnson.

Busch would finish 34th, 12 laps down.

Kyle Busch Gets a Horrible Chase Start originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Make the Call: Is Earnhardt Jr. Guilty?

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, Toyota, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing

Tens of thousands of race fans -- most of them likely decked out in green, blue, or maybe even red gear -- roared to life on lap 211 Sunday at Richmond International Raceway after their hero Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to finally get some revenge.

And that unintentional (as Dale Jr. called it) revenge took the form of the No. 88 Chevrolet nudging Kyle Busch around in turn one as the two battled for the lead.

Sure, Earnhardt Jr. is the sport's most popular wheel man, and Busch has been the hottest driver for all of 2008, but the revenge factor had nothing to do with either of those. Come on, you remember back to Richmond in May, right?

That was when the roles were reversed late in the race and Busch decided to barrel into the side of Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps. It was the type of move that some called just racing, but others, well, they craved pay back.

And so it happened on lap 211 Sunday during the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. Earnhardt Jr. spun Busch. Busch hit the wall. Earnhardt Jr. called it unintentional. Busch was upset. The crowd cheered.

Whaddya think? Was it legitimately a mistake? Or was it that revenge thing?

In my book, Dale Earnhardt Jr. played off the move very well. He slid his tires (looks like a mistake), tried to arc car in higher (explains why he took a higher line to the corner), and didn't really apologize for the move (take THAT, Shrub!).

In other words, Earnhardt Jr. explained why he hit him but just said that it wasn't necessarily supposed to happen that way, though he acknowledged he got a little closer to Busch than cautious people would.

So was it intentional? Without a doubt.

Earnhardt Jr. showed just last week that he has a mind like a steel trap after he was asked whether or not he had any long-lost battles to pick in the racing world like Carl Edwards talked about after bumping Busch at Bristol. Earnhardt Jr. responded that Jason Keller apparently wrecked him in his Busch Series rookie season at Myrtle Beach.

Keller didn't remember the decade-old incident.

All of that tells me two things -- Earnhardt Jr. knew darn well what he was doing in taking Busch out in the final race before the Chase. He knew it wouldn't hurt Busch, and knew that he had to get even with the hot shoe.

And so he did, quietly, yet effectively with exacting precision. That kind of reminds you of that other guy named Earnhardt, doesn't it?

Make the Call: Is Earnhardt Jr. Guilty? originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logano Won't Have to Wait Much Longer

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing

Stop by NASCAR FanHouse on Sunday at 1pm/ET for some good ol' fashioned live bloggin' of Sunday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400. It'll be Chase-tastic!

Soon-to-be rookie Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano -- you've heard all about him I bet -- was planning to race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway for the first time in NASCAR's top division.

Tropical Storm Hanna had other ideas, though.

The rain and winds from the weakened storm moved through the Richmond, Va.-area Friday night and Saturday, forcing the postponement of the event until Sunday afternoon, and in the process, forcing Logano to miss his first try at a Sprint Cup race because NASCAR canceled qualifying and set the field via points.

Logano was supposed to drive Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 02 Toyota in a paint scheme exactly opposite that of Tony Stewart's No. 20 Home Depot machine. Logano, of course, will be taking Stewart's seat at JGR in 2009.

In practice, he was 9th quickest on the speed chart.

Originally, his next start was supposed to be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend, though the plans for that seem to be evolving after the Richmond setback.

According to NASCAR.com:

The less-than-stellar news continued when a Joe Gibbs Racing spokesman said team officials were discussing options for when Logano's Cup debut would occur and in what vehicle. Hall of Fame Racing, a JGR ally, had previously announced Logano would run that team's No. 96 Toyota next weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The news doesn't seem bad for Logano, but rather likely more of JGR officials looking into racing Logano in his first Sprint Cup start under their banner, rather than with the JGR satellite operation of Hall of Fame Racing.

Regardless, we're all going to get to see plenty of Joey Logano in the near future, but in the time being we've got something really important to pay attention to: the race to the Chase.

Logano Won't Have to Wait Much Longer originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allmendinger Deserves Red Bull Ride in '09

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:26:00 EST

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Toyota, Sprint Cup

A.J. Allmendinger has a lot in common with Patrick Carpentier.

Both are former open-wheel racing drivers. Both have struggled at times to get a strong foothold on NASCAR racing.

And both have now been strung along by their race teams, with Carpentier finally getting the word this week that his services aren't a top priority at his Gillette-Evernham Motorsports home. Allmendinger has yet to receive word on his 2009 plans.

Most people in the NASCAR world would have signed Allmendinger a month ago to an extended contract after the driver has shown an obvious improvement in not only finishing races, but qualifying for them, too. But Red Bull Racing isn't like most other teams.

The operation has its NASCAR base in North Carolina, but most of the big personnel decisions -- like hiring a driver -- are handled by the ownership group in Red Bull's native country Austria. And that ownership group is used to the Formula One train of thought when it comes to driver decisions of waiting until September or October to make plans for the following year.

That has got to be frustrating to Allmendinger for many, many reasons -- the least of which is Scott Speed.

Speed won Red Bull's driver search a few years ago and made his way to F1 under the Red Bull banner. The relationship didn't work out well, but Red Bull kept a hold of Speed and has now pushed him into stock car racing. His best finish is a win in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover, and he appears destined to make it to Sprint Cup racing -- possibly as soon as 2009 with Red Bull, which creates the problem for Allmendinger.

Speed would more than likely take over Allmendinger's ride unless another sponsor is found if such a move is made.

And if that move happens, Allmendinger would be out of a ride that he has put a ton of effort into making a competitive one at a point in the NASCAR calendar that would make it very, very tough for him to find a quality ride.

Allmendinger will start second Sunday night in California despite qualifying as a car that was outside of the Top-35, and very easily could be a Top-10 finisher based on how well his teammate Brian Vickers has run recently at 1.5 and 2-mile tracks. And if that happens, the heat will have turned up that much more on the Red Bull folks in Austria to sign Allmendinger immediately.

Allmendinger Deserves Red Bull Ride in '09 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Edwards Bumps Busch, Wins Sixth at Bristol

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:45:00 EST

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Ford, Toyota, Roush Fenway Racing, Bristol Motor Speedway, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing

75 percent? That number works just fine for Carl Edwards.

Banging the Sprint Cup point leader out of the way for a win? Well, that works too.

For the third time in four races, Edwards has chopped into the bonus point lead held by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch via a race win in the Sprint Cup Series. Saturday night that win -- his sixth of 2008 -- came in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Edwards led 84 laps, but took the lead for the final time from Busch on lap 469 of the 500 lap race by giving the No. 18 a bump heading into turn one.

Busch finished second was hot after the race, slamming Edwards in the side after the checkered flag. Edwards responded by spinning out Busch before driving to the start/finish line to complete his trademark flip. Denny Hamlin finished third, Kevin Harvick fourth, and Jeff Gordon fifth.

"He hit me getting in to turn one. You know whatever. Carl will say he's sorry and he didn't want to race that way -- you know Mr. Ed like. We'll race him that way in the Chase if that's the way he wants to race," said Busch.

Instead, Edwards wasn't apologetic in victory lane.

"It was one of those deals where I couldn't get by him and couldn't get by him. And then I had to ask myself, would he do that to me? And the answer was yes, and he's done it to me before," said Edwards. "In the back of my mind I was still thinking about a Nationwide race at Richmond when he was driving through the field and he pile-drove me."

And he certainly didn't need to.

Edwards' move didn't take Busch out of the race and he had plenty time after the contact to get back to Edwards to make a winning pass, but the No. 18 could not come near Edwards as he pulled away from the field to take the checkers.

Simply, it was a well-timed move by Edwards at a short-track that did nothing but move a car out of the way.

Thank you, Carl Edwards, for a great finish and an appropriate response to Busch's late-race antics by not apologizing for what happened on track.

Dare we say it? NASCAR has a new rivalry -- just in time for the Chase to the Championship.

Edwards Bumps Busch, Wins Sixth at Bristol originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gibbs' In-House Penalites Reflect Quite Well

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:18:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Crew Chiefs, Nationwide Series, Joe Gibbs Racing

For once, NASCAR seems to have stepped up to the plate in regards to issuing penalties for cheating in the sport.

As you know, Wednesday brought the news from NASCAR of the stiff backhand that the sanctioning body inflicted on the team members of Joe Gibbs Racing's two Nationwide Series teams who were caught cheating last Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

The penalties included indefinite suspensions for both crew chiefs of the No. 18 and No. 20 cars (Jason Ratcliff and Dave Rogers) as well as five other team members involved in the illicit tampering of the post-race competition testing analysis NASCAR performed Saturday. The term "indefinite" -- to the best of my knowledge -- has never been used by NASCAR for a performance-related suspension.

Point deductions to the tune of 150 driver and owner points for the cars driven by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano were also inflicted, as well as monetary fines to the crew chiefs.

The biggest impact, I think, comes from what the Joe Gibbs Racing team has done about the matter. They've already confirmed that the team members in question will be suspended for at least the remainder of the season and that they will each face internal fines from the company that will be paid directly from their pocket.

The in-house suspensions will be especially critical to the crew chiefs Ratcliff and Rogers because of how much they've improved their stock in 2008 as potential Sprint Cup crew chiefs. Now, these two guys will be sitting at home while their teams compete for wins and championships, leaving them out of the loop and out of the chance to show off their pit box talents.

I would have expected that Rogers would have an offer to be a Sprint Cup crew chief in 2009, but with these violations, his stock has dropped and you can bet darn well that the meeting between the now-suspended crew chiefs after the incident with team owner Joe Gibbs and team president J.D. Gibbs wasn't exactly a back-slapping session.

Can you imagine how sick those guys feel this week? Just like that, their chances at promotion and moving up in NASCAR took a big, big hit.

Generally, a team is not only denying when it has cheated, but it also pays for the penalized crew member's infraction instead of shifting some of that focus on the personal finances of its employees -- both of which have shown how seriously JGR is taking this.

Of course, failing to take this seriously and failing to act on the misdeeds of your employees certainly would allow the rumor mill of what happened on Saturday at Michigan just to increase ten-fold as fans and other teams look at the team as a whole -- from the Nationwide operations to the Sprint Cup operation -- as just big team of cheaters that haven't gotten caught yet.

Instead, JGR was smart. They not only told their team that cheating would not be tolerated in any regards, but they also sent a message to the NASCAR world that cheating is not going to take place under the confines of the JGR banner.

It was simply damage control at its finest, and JGR executed it quite well.

Gibbs' In-House Penalites Reflect Quite Well originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vickers On Pole, Ready to Avenge June Race

Geoffrey Miller — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:50:00 EST

Filed under: Brian Vickers, Toyota, Sprint Cup

Brian Vickers made a big statement Friday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway.

The Red Bull Racing driver not only posted the fastest time in practice Friday afternoon, but also put his No. 83 Toyota on the pole in commanding fashion for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at the track an hour west of Detroit.

Vickers' lap -- 188.536 mph -- was over three-tenths of a second faster than outside pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson. To put it into prospective, Bobby Labonte in 35th was only one second off of Vickers' speed.

The No. 83 team easily had a winning car during the June race at Michigan and led 44 laps in that effort. The race -- won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- ended in fuel mileage fashion, though Vickers still had a chance to win but NASCAR hampered his progress by putting him in the wrong restart position on the final green-white-checkered.

Had Vickers restarted a position higher, he might have been able to at the very least finish second, but instead wound up with a fourth-place finish. NASCAR apologized for the incident after the race and Vickers accepted it, but you've got to believe that he's still simmering over that call.

To round out the Top-5 starting positions, Elliott Sadler qualified his No. 19 Dodge third, Earnhardt Jr. was fourth, and Jeff Gordon -- coming off an absolutely horrible performance at Watkins Glen -- will start fifth. Point leader Kyle Busch lines up 11th.

Johnny Sauter failed to qualify in the No. 08 car.

Vickers On Pole, Ready to Avenge June Race originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is NASCAR Jumping the Gun on Toyota?

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:37:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Nationwide Series, Joe Gibbs Racing

Wednesday afternoon, news started spilling out that was music to the ears of Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, and a vast number of fans as NASCAR took a step to decrease Toyota's horsepower by releasing a technical bulletin to all Nationwide Series teams saying:

"At all Events, unless otherwise specified, all engines with a cylinder bore spacing less than 4.470 inches must compete using a tapered spacer with four (4) 1.125-inch diameter holes."

"At all Events, unless otherwise specified, all engines with a cylinder bore spacing of 4.470 inches or more must compete using a tapered spacer with four (4) 1.100-inch diameter holes. Unless otherwise authorized, the carburetor restrictor will be issued by NASCAR."

Notice among all that technical jargon that there was never a mention of Toyota or the engines that Toyota Racing Development currently competes with. However, the only engine with "cylinder bore spacing of 4.470 inches or more" is the Toyota engine that so many people have cried foul about this season.

Of course, that engine has found victory lane 14 times in 21 races, and if you ask Bowyer, it's fast enough that a monkey could win with it.

NASCAR has said, though, that the rule change will apply to all future engines that Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford present, as they are expected to unveil a new engine in a year or two with the same cylinder spacing.

As a race fan, I'm happy that Toyota has been reigned in somewhat in their horsepower advantage (about 15 horses thanks to the restricted spacer), but the move by NASCAR has a sense of "jumping the gun" because of wide-spread criticism the sanctioning body has received over the Toyota flap.

It's been a long, long time since NASCAR has made a rule change that affects a single manufacturer in the middle of the season, and I see potential problems there.

For one, the process to check horsepower on these engines appears to be somewhat flawed if you ask Yahoo!'s Bob Margolis, and its very apparent that there isn't a team that will be racing at O'Reilly Raceway Park on Saturday night that has gotten to test the new rule.

With that, the additional spacer that Toyota teams will have to run could have a far more reaching impact than NASCAR originally thought. Also, because this is an engine alteration and not an aerodynamic one, the effects of horsepower show up on any race track -- including the half-mile bull ring teams will race on Saturday night.

Undoubtedly, the engine change will be the hottest topic of conversation on the Nationwide Series side of things, but all in all, it should be a good move for the fans who have grown tired of seeing Toyota pull into victory lane nearly every week.

I'm unsure, though, that NASCAR is setting a good precedent with a quick rule change that can be seen as more than trying to take away a horsepower advantage.

Is NASCAR Jumping the Gun on Toyota? originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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J.J. Yeley's Chicagoland Water Adventure

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:36:00 EST

Filed under: J.J. Yeley, Toyota, Sprint Cup

I guess you could say Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway for J.J. Yeley (yay yay yay-lee!) was pretty normal.

The No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing team started officially in 40th and finished 24th, but the setbacks along the way incurred from NASCAR make that finish seem a little more impressive.

You see, J.J. Yeley is a fan of cold water. He likes to drink it, especially when sitting inside a hot race car for 400 miles. He's not so much a fan of warm water, though, like the water inside his race car after sitting through inspection in the July sun in the midwest. And so, his team replaced his warm water bag with a cold water bag -- like they've done for nearly every race this season -- just prior to the race.

NASCAR wasn't a fan of the move, though. Because Yeley's car had already gone through inspection and because there wasn't an official present to see the H2O transaction, they got suspicious. Really suspicious.

They took the No. 96 off of pit road, put it back through inspection, and in doing so, didn't really find anything different. It made him late joining the field, and as soon as the green flag dropped, NASCAR called the No. 96 in for a pass through penalty for "Disobeying a NASCAR Request". The move dropped him behind the field and one lap down.

That's a steep penalty for a dude that just simply wants some high quality H2O in his ride -- or at least some water that isn't going to boil his insides.
NASCAR's contention on the issue is that in the past, teams have rolled through inspection with lead poured in the water containers, and following inspection, replaced it with a water bag, thereby eliminating 30 or so pounds from the race car. That was the initial thought with Yeley's issue, but it turns out water was both going in and out.

David Poole of The Charlotte Observer, though, says this type of punishment from NASCAR that seems more like a "Ha, we got the better of them!"-type move is all-too-common in the sport. He even referenced another team that wasn't directly penalized for the way they changed an engine at Infineon Raceway, but has since had to report to the "random" post-race engine tear down for each of the last three events.

That team is A.J. Allmendinger's No. 84, as he was the only driver who changed an engine at Infineon and then had to go through the post-race engine tear down at Chicago. By going through that process, the team isn't able to pack up a hauler and completely go home for at least an hour after all the other teams have left.

And because of that treatment, I think Hall of Fame Racing and J.J. Yeley aren't complaining more about their treatment this weekend for a violation that really wasn't a violation.

You would think that water is just water, but maybe that isn't so in the non-democracy world that we call NASCAR.

J.J. Yeley's Chicagoland Water Adventure originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota Package Getting Checked by NASCAR

Geoffrey Miller — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:28:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, NASCAR Gossip, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup

There's been plenty of discussion in the comment sections, and a few of you have written in to inquire more about, so I'd figure I'd try to paint a clear picture in the muddied waters of NASCAR engines.

So is Toyota really at an advantage this season?

Well, yeah.

They've got Kyle Busch. What more do you need to know?

In all seriousness, though, sources across the garage area are saying that Toyota's Nationwide Series package -- no word on the Sprint Cup package -- has given the manufacturer at least a 20 horsepower advantage.

20 doesn't sound like a bunch, but when you consider the rule changes that the Nationwide Series received in 2008 that robbed the cars of horsepower, it becomes a bigger influence. I'm not smart enough to know what kind of speed difference that results in, but I do know that it makes a difference and can give teams more play in how they make the downforce package work on their car.

This whole "Toyota Has More Than Thou" sentiment hasn't just bubbled up, either. Back in March, Kevin Harvick and Jack Roush -- both owners in the Nationwide Series -- stated the same thing that we're hearing now from Clint Bowyer's crew chief: Toyota has at least 20 more ponies under the hood than everyone else.

Yes, NASCAR did confiscate the engines from 10 cars in Friday night's race for testing this week in the NASCAR R&D center in North Carolina, and any rule changes or amendments from that work would likely be announced this weekend or next at Nashville or Indianapolis.

They probably wouldn't take effect for at least another month, which isn't great news for the fans of parity in the Nationwide Series considering David Reutimann in a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota ran away from the field while the sun was up Friday night, and then watched as Kyle Busch drove his Toyota to the 14th Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide win of the season.

On the Sprint Cup side of things, a number of cars were taken into post-race inspection after Saturday night's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland, but I don't know if NASCAR confiscated those engines for testing, too.

FOX Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip was asked whether or not NASCAR took Sprint Cup engines with them after the event on Wind Tunnel Sunday night on SPEED, and he inferred that they had, but I have a feeling he was a little confused about the question.

From my perspective, I'm seeing the fact that Toyota has a big advantage in the Nationwide Series. It simply doesn't make sense to me that Carl Edwards would be so far off from his impressive season one year ago as champion when nothing changed too dramatically in the series.

As for a Sprint Cup advantage? I think the only one Toyota has right now is a driver advantage in Kyle Busch. That team has good cars, a good driver, but more importantly, every single team member is gelling and producing great chemistry -- something that no test can measure. There were hardly no changes in the CoT from one year ago when Hendrick dominated with it, so its tough to see where there's a clear difference.

Toyota's got somethin', whether its a driver, an engine, or both. Regardless, NASCAR is still an entertainment business and you can bet that they will find something -- or anything as some fans hope -- to reign in Toyota.

Toyota Package Getting Checked by NASCAR originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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