Ultimate Speedway’s NASCAR Blog

Every one’s been sick the past few weeks at my house. My daughter had a double-ear infection, and then we both got a stomach bug that’s been going around town. It’s pretty nasty and comes and goes for a couple weeks. I know you don’t want to hear about my problems being sick, but I just wanted to justify why I haven’t been posting much to the blog lately…

That said, here are my observations from the NASCAR season so far. They’re going to be brief because… well… the NASCAR season only has 5 races under it’s belt…

•  The Car-of-Tomorrow has brought parity to NASCAR. Last season only the teams with the most money dominated in the CoT, because they had the resources to devote to both the new and the old car. This season with every team running exclusively on the CoT, we’re seeing a ton of parity. The new car has really leveled the playing field.|
• Expect the Hendrick drivers to have a better season than they’ve had so far, but don’t expect them to dominate as they have in years past.
• Speaking of Hendrick drivers… notice how Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having the best season so far out of the entire Hendrick stable? I doubt he’s getting any additional resources the other drivers aren’t getting, so credit Dale Jr’s driving and Tony Jr’s skill as a crew chief. I still expect Dale Jr. to get several wins this season.
• Toyota–in only it’s second year in the Cup series–is fully up to par with the other manufacturers. Some of this has to do with the parity of the CoT, but a lot of it has to do with Toyota’s commitment and the addition of Joe Gibbs racing. I expect a Toyota car to visit Victory Lane several more times this season.
• Finally, when it comes to Toyota drivers, watch out for Kyle Busch! The kid really seems to have his act together and is fast becoming the top talent at Joe Gibbs Racing. Don’t get me wrong… Tony Stewart is driving well… but Kyle is a phenom. This kid is going to win multiple Sprint Cup championships before his career is over.

Well I said my observations would be brief. Now I welcome your comments.

Tony Stewart repelled a strong challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Camping World 300 Nationwide Series race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. (Source: NASCAR.COM)

I know Toyota was making strides at the end of the 2007 season, but with Joe Gibbs Racing on-board, expect to see great things from Toyota this year.

You may or may not like having Toyota in NASCAR, but one thing’s for sure–get ready, because we’re going to see Toyota cars in victory lane this season.

We might even see a Toyota in victory lane after tomorrow’s Daytona 500. It would be a huge milestone for Toyota in only their second year racing in the Sprint Cup series, and it might happen thanks to the talented stable of drivers their crews at Joe Gibbs Racing.

We’ll see what happens…