Saying Goodbye…
by Heather Scoville
Hello, my dear NASCAR Talk Online readers!
It is with a heavy heart that I post this farewell note to you all. My life has gotten insanely busy and I’ve had to downsize a couple of my blogs, and unfortunately, this is one of them. I’ve really enjoyed blogging about what I love, but I needed to cut ties and just didn’t have time to give this site the attention it deserves.
Thanks for reading all of these months and I’m sure the new writer that takes over this blog will be fabulous, so keep coming back and support whoever that might be, okay?
I’m still going to be around (somewhat) over at Country Music Herald, so you can still get a hold of me over there to chat or talk about the latest NASCAR controversies and races.
Thanks again!
Heather
Richard Childress Racing sure had a great weekend. First, Clint Bowyer wins a rain shortened Nationwide Series race on Saturday and then his cars finish 1, 2, 3 in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday. Looks like that team has the Bristol race track figured out. This time, veteran Jeff Burton took the checkered flag with his teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer close behind. It just wouldn’t have been Bristol without a big crash, and sure enough there was one about midway through the race, taking out 6 cars in the process. Yes, it was indeed a typical Bristol race with a unique ending.
Well, it may have been a short race (that darn rain just needs to go away when there is racing to be done, don’t you think?) but Clint Bowyer isn’t complaining. Bowyer managed to hold off Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann until the rain came and the race was called early at only 171 laps. Nationwide Series regular Brad Keselowski showed with a very strong finish in 4th place. 
Sometimes I don’t think Mother Nature is a NASCAR fan. Last week it was snowing, this week it’s rain. In fact, qualifying for the Sprint Cup race this weekend in Bristol was rained out. According to the NASCAR rule book, the starting grid will be set by the point standings. However, since this is only the fifth race of the season, that means last years’ point standings will be used to set the starting line up. That’s good news for Jimmie Johnson considering his 2008 has been off to a less than spectacular start. Since he’s the reigning Sprint Cup Champion, he gets to sit on the pole for the race.
Ah, Bristol. Short track racing, or even short track banging, at its finest. “The World’s Fastest Half Mile” will try to take out both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series drivers this week as they bump and run to the finish line. The Craftsman Truck Series has a couple of weeks off, so let’s take a look at what to watch for this weekend in Bristol. Keep reading after the jump.
Well, Toyota has finally won their first Sprint Cup race. In fact, it’s the first time in more than 40 years that a foreign manufacturer has won a Cup Series race. Kyle Busch piloted his Joe Gibbs Racing Snickers Toyota to the checkered flag on Sunday. Carl Edwards, who was looking for his third win in a row, looked very strong until he had an engine leak and ended up 42nd overall. Kyle’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart managed to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a 2nd place finish.
Even though qualifying for the Nationwide Series Race in Atlanta was snowed out (yes, that is right–SNOWED out), they got the race in and Matt Kenseth came out on top. There were several blown tires in the race, bringing about several cautions, including a right side tire blow out for race dominator Kyle Busch. Until his tire popped, he was on track to set a track record for number of laps led as he dominated the entire field by almost a half a lap. A little bad luck for Busch in the form of that flat tire allowed Matt Kenseth to take the lead and never look back.
Mother Nature decided she was going to interfere in the Craftsman Truck race in Atlanta this week. She teased the drivers with a little bit of rain here and there near the end of the race. It came down to pit strategy when the rain started and the caution flag came out. Most of the trucks stayed out keep track position, hoping the race would be called due to weather. Kyle Busch took a chance, however, and came into the pits for fresh tires. It paid off because the rain soon stopped and Busch easily raced his way to the front on his new tires.
Hendrick Motorsports haven’t been as dominant this year as they were last year. However, it looks like that could be starting to come to an end. After Sprint Cup qualifying, two of the Hendrick Teams will be starting on the front row. Jeff Gordon landed on the pole just one week after his seriously hard crash into the inside wall in Las Vegas. His new teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start next to him in the front row. Could they use that great qualifying effort to propel the team to their first win this season? Carl Edwards will start in the second row, though, and he’s on a roll with two consecutive wins. He did get a large penalty and lost his crew chief for six races as of this week, but veteran crew chief Robbie Reiser will be sitting on top of his pit box come Sunday, so you can’t count him out.
Carl Edwards and the #99 Roush Fenway team got quite a smackdown from NASCAR officials today. The announcement comes three days after Edwards piloted his Ford to the win at Las Vegas and then did not pass post race inspection.
Carl Edwards fans must be flipping out. After two wins in a row, Carl Edwards and the #99 Roush Fenway racing team is on fire. After a record number of caution flags, including a red flag after a hard and nasty crash on the inside wall by Jeff Gordon, Edwards was able to come back from a pit road controversy to take the checkered flag over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Carl was able to escape a pit road penalty for a loose tire after it was reviewed by the NASCAR officials and they saw that a cameraman got in the way of the crew who was trying to grab the tire.
