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.

I’ll be "on the road" this weekend, traveling out-of-state for a family gathering. It’s my niece’s first birthday party, so we couldn’t pass on that invitation. We don’t usually attend all of our niece’s and nephew’s birthday parties, but the first one is always special.

I’ll be catching the California Auto Club 500 on the radio in the car this Sunday. I’m really wishing I had SIRIUS Satellite Radioright about now, because I’m not sure what stations along my route will be carrying the race. I almost convinced my wife to let me get SIRIUS at Christmas… maybe next year.

So, will Matt Kenseth get yet another win at California? Will the Hendrick drivers turn things around? Will Toyota get it’s first win in Sprint Cup? As far as wins go, what about Ford or Chevy?

These are all great questions that I’m eager to see… err I mean hear… answered on Sunday.

Congratulations to Ryan Newman for winning the Daytona 500!

I have to hand it to Newman (and his teammate Kurt Busch for that matter). No one was picking any of the Penske drivers to win this race. Newman and Busch have always been great drivers, but they were taking a backseat to the Hendrick and Gibbs teams all week. So hat’s off to them for their one-two finish!

Here are a few of my Daytona 500 race observations:

1. We never got to see "the big one."
   Just admit it… one of the most exciting and anticipated aspects of restrictor plate racing is the "big one." You know, that big crash that can take out a dozen or so cars at once. Well we never got to see it last night. Sure there were plenty of wrecks, and even some wrecks that in previous years would have led to the "big one," but not last night. I guess the new CoT cars really are a lot safer to drive.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. "almost" had a great race.
   Despite the miscommunication on whether not to pit late in the race (hey Junior, you need to take the headsets away from some of the crew if they can’t shut up for your crew chief… I’m just saying), Junior had a chance to win the race or at least finish higher. Unfortunately, he chose to get in line behind Kyle Busch. Who can blame him? Kyle had the fastest car all night, but stumbled on that last restart, killing his and Junior’s chances.
3. The Hendrick team.
   Junior had a chance to win the race, while Gordon and Johnson had bad races. But that was mostly due to bad luck. Jeff Gordon was right up there running with the leaders the whole race until he had equipment failure that ultimately gave him a DNF. Jimmie Johnson was having an average race until he got loose and wrecked, but had he saved it, there’s no reason not to believe that he couldn’t have dialed in his car and made a run for the lead pack. Disappointing yes, but Hendrick still looks dominate, assuming they can leave the bad luck behind them.
4. Toyota showed up.
   Again, considering it’s only their second year in Sprint Cup, Toyota won the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide races, and Toyota drivers were in contention for the win last night. Look for big things from Toyota this year.
5. Look out for Dodge.
   I was watching ESPN’s post race coverage when they threw up a graphic that I hadn’t realized at first… Dodge cars had six of the top eight places, including first and second place. That’s a HUGE come back from the performance we saw from Dodge cars last season.
6. More on the "big one."
   Here’s my theory on why things panned out the way they did in yesterday’s race. First off, the CoT car has somewhat leveled the playing field this year, as other teams and manufacturers have adapted to it. Second, not having the "big one" allowed the mid-pack drivers who didn’t qualify well to dial in their cars and make a run for the lead. Seriously, not taking anything away from Ryan Newman, but in previous years, there’s a good chance he’s involved in a race ending crash at some point during the race. Since we didn’t have a the "big one" take out a good portion of the field, suddenly it wasn’t as important to qualify well and run out front from the first lap. You could have a car that didn’t qualify well but ran well for 500 miles and be in contention. We saw that last night.

Well that’s my thoughts from the 2008 Daytona 500 race. I welcome your feedback…

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…