Drivers in NASCAR often finish one race and then jump in a plane and head off to another NASCAR competition at another track. They burn their candle on both ends, trying to race and win as much as possible, and are often very successful at this kind of endeavour.

Carl Edwards wins the Northern Tool.com 250

This is just the scenario that allowed Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards to drive to victory Saturday night in the Nationwide Series Northern Tool.com 250 held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. Edwards had earlier in the day competed and practiced with his Cup Series car at Infineon Raceway but was able to fight off fatigue and the field to eventually grab the lead from Joe Gibb’s Racing’s Kyle Busch with a pass on Lap 205 to take the win.

Kyle Busch started the race strong, and was able to stay in front for the majority of the race, but wasn’t able to hold the fast-running Edwards off, and gave the lead up with just fifty laps remaining. It looked like the field might get a chance to catch up to Edwards after the second of two cautions during the last 50 laps of the race. But he was able to stay in front of his chasers, and eventually pulled away near the end to easily take the flag in his first Nationwide win of the 2009 season, just ahead of Busch.

Edwards was seen to be extremely energized by the win and stated that “It’s really cool to get that first win. Hopefully, it kicks off the rest of his season like it did last year.”

Edward’s comment is referring to his win at the Milwaukee Mile in 2008, which kicked off a truly impressive second half run for Edwards, with him winning seven times in the last 19 races of the year. The question now is, can he achieve this again or better it?

Brad Keselowski finished third in the Northern Tool.com 250, Erik Darnell took fourth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth, while Steve Wallace took sixth. Mike Bliss finished seventh, Stephen Leicht eighth, Ron Hornaday took ninth, and the top ten was rounded out by Jason Leffler.

Image: Zuma Press

Kyle Busch just wants to race and win, and he did it again on Saturday night in the Federated Auto Parts 300 held at the Nashville Superspeedway. The fourth time in a row appeared to be the charm as he once again was in the lead for the most laps in the race, only this race starting from the pole position on the grid. This time Lady Luck didn’t show up to ruin his final run to the line and he was able to stay out in front for the final 24 laps. Busch’s ninth NASCAR win of the season and fourth in the Nationwide Series, he also has two Camping World Trucks wins and three Sprint Cup victories this season.

Kyle Busch grabs fourth Nationwide win of season

The beginning of the race saw Busch running in front for the first 67 laps with Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski on his bumper. The mid-part of the race was the exciting part of the race as several accidents resulted in several green flag pit stops but the three were still running in the same race order after the race started again on lap 104. Busch stopped for a final time during a green flag stop with 35 laps to go, his crew serviced his Toyota race car in a reserved 14.3 seconds, and after getting under way again was back in front by lap 202. In the end Busch lead four times for a total of 173 laps around the 1.33 mile Nashville Superspeedway and only trailed during his pit stops.

Brad Keselowski finished the race in second, only 0.891 seconds off Busch’s time, and Carl Edwards managed to hang on for third, but still lost ground to Busch in the overall and now trails Busch by 65 points. Mike bliss was able to keep his Chevrolet in one piece until he reached the line and finished fourth, while Jason Leffler seemed to have a problematic Toyota but was able to overcome his problems and finish fifth. Stephen Leicht had a good showing this time and his car ran pretty fast and he finished sixth, while Steve Wallace had a slow start but managed to avoid several close calls to finish seventh. Michael McDowell finished eighth in his Toyota, Erik Darnell took ninth, and Brad Coleman rounded out the top ten in the Federated Auto Parts 300.

The entertainment continued after the race also, as Busch tried to do his best rock and roll impression by breaking the Gibson Les Paul Guitar that was presented to him after the win. He explained later that he wanted to break it up to give a piece to every one on the team, so they could all feel a part of the win. He wasn’t really successful in his attempts, but we’re sure once he gets the trophy back to the shop, he’ll do a better job.

Image: Zuma Press

The sun finally shined on Tony Stewart’s dreams of a possible third Sprint Cup championship to go with his first two on Sunday afternoon as he came from behind to beat the field to the finish line and win the Pocono 500 in front of thousands of unbelieving fans. This victory along with his recent win in the All-Star Race last month certainly validates Stewart’s belief that he can still compete against the best and maybe even hang-in long enough to sneak around the corner at the end of the year and steal his third title.

Tony Stewart wins the Pocono 500

Stewart had to start at the back of the grid due to a practice accident that forced him to jump into his backup ride for the Pocono 500. He seemed to sense his situation and decided to drive safe and conservative until the final 40 laps, when he decided to take a chance that paid off for the veteran. Driving past the scheduled pit stop he gambled that he could manage his car and speed well enough to complete the final laps without the pit stop, and he won the bet.

Deciding that he doesn’t need a pit stop is a decision he can make as team owner but it’s certainly one he’s glad paid off. He still has to be accountable to himself and his team if his gamble doesn’t pay-off and thoughts of doubt must have been dancing through his mind at the time he made his decision.

Stewart is the first owner/driver to emerge victorious in a Sprint Cup race since Ricky Rudd did it at Martinsville in 1998; Stewart’s joy at his triumph was evident in his celebrations. Carl Edwards managed to drive clean and finished second, just ahead of David Reutimann in third, and Jeff Gordon, who battled through out the race. Ryan Newman didn’t have the fastest car of the day but he kept his line clean and finished fifth despite his problems. Marcos Ambrose had a pretty good showing and finished sixth, Jimmie Johnson had a frustrating day but still managed seventh, Juan Montoya grabbed eighth, Jeff Burton finished in ninth, and the top ten in the Pocono 500 was rounded out by Sam Hornish Jr.

The next venue for the Sprint Cup series is the LifeLock 400 being held at the Michigan International Speedway. If you want to watch or listen to the play-by-play of the LifeLock 400 tune into TNT at 12:30 or Radio MNR at 1:15 on Sunday afternoon, June 14^th.

“Image: Zuma Press”

NASCAR drivers remind me of chariot drivers of past times, harnessing the power of wild beasts to power their chariots, as NASCAR drivers control the natural power of a gasoline and oxygen explosion to power their metal steeds.

Kyle Busch beat Carl Edwards to the line again

The yearly competition to see which steed and driver combination is the fastest over a series of races which we call the Nationwide Series championship seems to be a two man race so far this season. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have both maneuvered back and forth into the over all championship at times like they were conducting their own personal two-man race.

While it’s certainly too early to hand either of them the trophy, Friday night at the Richmond International Raceway Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards continued their two-man race for the Nationwide Series championship.

Friday night in a five lap race to the line after the 10^th caution of the night, Busch managed to beat Edwards to the finish line by .584 seconds to take the Lipton Tea 250 and increase his points lead in the Nationwide Series by 82 points over his nemesis, Carl Edwards.

The win was Busch’s third of the year in the Nationwide Series, his third at Richmond International Raceway, 24^th victory in the illustrious Nationwide Series, and certainly one of many more to come for a racer who has shown outstanding driving skill and a love for the sport.

The difference in the race seemed to be the difference in the way each driver, car and team handled the restarts, and Busch, his team, and especially his car were just faster off the line. On this day Carl Edwards was just in the unfortunate position of having the second fastest car, but he still managed a pretty good points total and managed to keep Busch from extending his lead with skillful driving and car management.

The field was a few seconds behind the leaders, with Matt Kenseth taking third place, followed by Brad Keselowski in fourth, Kevin Harvick managed fifth, and Joey Logano out-raced Mark Martin for sixth. Rookie driver Michael McDowell had a good showing in eighth place, just ahead of Jason Keller who finished ninth, and Jason Leffler rounded out the top ten places.

The tenth caution of the night turned out to tell the difference, as Kenny Wallace’s unfortunate spin on Lap 243 resulted in a restart and a final race to the line, which Kyle Busch won.

Image: Newscom

Dangerous sports and activities are always under review, but often changes come only after the ultimate loss is felt and someone dies during the execution. Sunday’s crash during the final lap of the Aaron 499 at Talladega Superspeedway has reawakened cries for changes to NASCAR, changes to blocking and aggressive driving that many see as the ultimate cause of the crash. NASCAR has responded by suggesting they may implement harsher penalties as a result of their analysis of Sunday’s crash, but stopped short of blaming the drivers’ tactics for the crash that propelled Carl Edward’s car into the track’s restraining fence.

NASCAR studies crash

Debris from the crash injured seven people sitting in the stands by the restraining fence, Blake Bobbitt is listed in fair condition at UAB Hospital and another fan was transported to Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham for undisclosed medical reasons but was later released. All additional injured fans were able to be treated and then released at the track, so they got lucky today when you think about it, it could have been much worse.

NASCAR has a history of innovative and cutting edge safety implementation that has certainly saved lives and will continue to analysis and implement safety improvements when appropriate. They have taken an aggressive approach lately as regards aggressive driving on restrictor-plate venues, even installing “no zones” to mark areas of certain tracks where excessive bump-drafting and other aggressive driving techniques are forbidden.

NASCAR has stated that further restrictions resulting from Sunday’s crash will probably be in the form of penalties served by drivers during races for infractions to the rules instead of a hit to race points or monetary penalties after the crash has occurred. They mentioned that the safety systems in place at Talladega did work as designed, the roof flaps on Edward’s car did deploy, and his car was about to settle before it was struck again and propelled into the restraining fence that did its job, although a few pieces of debris did fly through the fence.

NASCAR hopefully will properly analysis this situation and the knowledge they gain will help to prevent and lessen the possibility of future crashes and save a few lives that might be gone accept for the changes they make.

Image: Newscom

The start flag will drop on another event in the Nationwide Series, the Nashville 300, at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee this Saturday, the first Nationwide Series event for Ricky Stenhouse Jr, a talented driver who showed promise last year. Stenhouse will be driving the No. 16 car for the popular and well respected owner, Jack Roush, who last sat in Victory Lane at Las Vegas with Greg Biffle. Roush currently sits fifth in owner’s points and will be vying for his 100^th win in the Nationwide Series at Nashville; Stenhouse is a talented driver who could help get him closer, so the combination makes sense for both. Stenouse is scheduled to make six other starts this season, at Kentucky, Milwaukee, Gateway, Iowa, and Memphis, and a second start at Nashville, so you’ll get a chance to check out his driving style a few times.

Nationwide Series at Nashville on Saturday

There will be three Roush Fenway Race cars on the track on Saturday, as Stenhouse will be racing beside Carl Edwards and David Ragan. Edwards will be trying for his fourth victory at Nashville and is the current series points leader, while David Ragan currently sits third in the points standings and is putting heat on his teammate to pick up the pace.

Other drivers to watch at Nashville on Saturday are No. 40 Scott Wimmer, besides being the defending champion he has finished in the top ten in eight of his nine races at the track. No. 60 Carl Edwards is always a threat to win at Nashville, with six top five finishes in seven races, including three victories; he’s probably the one to beat. My dark horse is No. 88 Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth and second last year at Nashville, and ran a pretty respectable third last week at Texas, so he seems to be running good.

It will be fun to watch the battles on the track and see who comes out on top Saturday in Nashville, so we’ll see you after the race, and we’ll compare notes.

Image: Newscom

Good news for those involved in the Chase. Saturday’s practice times/speeds were faster for most than qualifying. Three of the top six times were the likes of Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle - the top three in the Chase standings.

Biffle’s No. 16 car posted the fastest time during the practice round, cutting up the Kansas Speedway at 167.385 MPH. Biffle is tied for second in the Chase standings, along with Johnson, who finished the practice round with a top speed of 166.528. Edwards posted the third-best top speed in the No. 99 car at 167.271.

So what are we looking at this afternoon? Well, the Kansas Speedway has been notorious for being extremely hard to win for those 12 drivers involved in the Chase. It’s all been almost expected to see a wreck that will impact the race standings. So, here’s my prediction. With the history of the track hard to ignore, I’m staying on the side of caution. Both Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart looked impressive in practice Saturday, however both are starting near the back of the pack. With so much to make up, I don’t feel comfortable choosing either as a hands-down winner. But I do feel comfortable picking either Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon.

Martin starts alongside Johnson on the front row after Montoya was disqualified. Gordon will start in the 13th position. Yet, it’s hard to ignore Biffle and his chase for a third-straight win. So, here are my top three finishers for today’s race. Gordon will win, followed by Martin and Biffle fighting for second.

Now, time to sit back and wait for that green flag.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the no. 88 team on Sunday as Earnhardt was in search of his first Cup victory at Watkins Glen International, and his first win at the track since winning the 1999 Nationwide Series race there. He started the day with the outside pole position after rain canceled out qualifying on Friday, and then he went onto lead 28 of the first 29 laps in the race.

Earnhardt gave up the lead during the first round of green flag stops after being one of the last cars to make their stop. Running several laps on the older tires while the rest of the field came in for some fresh rubber immediately proved to work against the team as he came out of the pits in 6th place, so one can’t help but wonder why they would choose to replay this strategy later in the race.

Junior once again found himself with the lead on lap 58 after the rest of the leaders came in to make their final stops of the day. His lead opened up to more than 25 seconds over second place as he became the only driver in the field that had yet to come down pit road, but he was giving more than a second per lap. Aside from the time that they were losing on the track, it became quite evident that a caution anytime before Earnhardt made his stop would flat out ruin his day, so it’s a bit peculiar as to why crew chief, Tony Eury Jr, would elect to keep his driver out on the track.

On lap 64, the worst did in fact happen. NASCAR was forced to waive the yellow for loose gravel that Travis Kvapil had kicked up onto the track, and as if it weren’t bad enough that Earnhardt had to surrender the lead to pit, he was one of only a small handful of cars that made that loenely drive down pit road with about 25 laps to go. He restarted back in 37th and was able to climb his way back up to 22nd by the end of the race, but Earnhardt fans everywhere now can’t help but wonder what might have been … and, what was Tony Eury Jr. thinking? To make matters worse, this also isn’t the first time that Junior fans have felt that Tony Eury Jr. may have cost Dale a shot at victory.

The disappointing finish also dropped Earnhardt from 2nd to 4th in the points standings, getting passed by Carl Edwards and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson. Junior Nation has had plenty to cheer about this season, though, as his first season with Hendrick has been far and away better than his final season with DEI in 2007 as he snapped his winless streak with a win earlier in the year at Michigan and he’s been up inside the top-5 in points for most of the year.

Kyle Busch made perfect on his efforts to sweep the road course races in the Sprint Cup Series this season as he nabbed his first career victory at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. He led four times for a race high 52 laps, giving him his 8th win of the season and making him the first driver to win the races at both Infineon and Watkins Glen in the same year since his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart, did it back in 2005. He also won the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City earlier in the year, making him the only driver in NASCAR history to win three road course races in the same season.

After rain canceled Friday’s qualifying session, the field lined up based on their order in the car owner’s points standings, setting Kyle Busch out on the pole position for the start of the race. Kyle led the first lap before handing it over to Dale Earnhardt Jr, who started on the outside of the front row. As Busch dropped back to third in the running order, Earnhardt gradually expanded his lead through the next 28 laps, but found himself in 6th after the field completed their first round of green flag pit stops.

Kyle Busch once again took the race lead on lap 30, and was still in charge when the first caution of the day came out on lap 47. NASCAR made the decision to waive the yellow due to debris on the track that was a result of some loose gravel that had been kicked up on the track. The caution was a huge break for Jimmie Johnson who had just pitted a few laps earlier when he had a rear left tire going down, but because he was running up in the top-five at the time, he was able to make his stop without losing a lap. Once pit road opened up, 14 cars remained on the track, including Johnson. Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart - running 1st and 2nd at the time - also elected to stay out.

Kyle Busch was still the race leader when the field went back to green, but the most impressive story to this point was Marcos Ambrose, who was driving the no. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. He was forced to start dead last due to the car’s position in owner points, but had worked his way all the way up inside the top-15 for the restart.

Kyle Busch moved to the side to allow his teammate, Tony Stewart, to lead a lap and pickup the 5 extra bonus points on lap 53, but Tony returned the favor and let Kyle go back by the following lap, and that was the only movement up front until the leaders again came into pit on lap 56. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson each led a lap during the exchange of green flag stops. Johnson came into pit on lap 58, which handed the lead back over to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With more than a 25 second lead, Earnhardt was the only car still out on the track that had not yet made his final pit stop. Despite continuing to lose a second per lap to the 2nd and 3rd place cars, Tony Eury Jr. - crew chief for the no. 88 team - elected to keep Earnhardt out on the track, but the call completely backfired when NASCAR waived the second caution flag on lap 64. The caution was again for loose gravel that Travis Kvapil kicked onto the track when he ran off the track. Earnhardt was forced to pit while the other race leaders remained out on the track, and with just 25 laps remaining, he lined up 37th for the restart.

Kyle Busch was once again deemed the race leader by virtue of Earnhardt’s misfortunes with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman chasing him. With the laps dwindling down, it almost looked as though we might have another caution when Sam Hornish Jr. spun PJ Jones on lap 70, but both cars were able to get going again, and NASCAR saw no reason to bring out the yellow.

The complexity of the race changed on lap 77 when Ryan Newman got into the corner too hard, resulting in a single car spin in Turn 9. Unable to get his car restarted, he had several close cars as the rest of the field tried to avoid the stalled car as it rolled back out onto the track. NASCAR eventually brought out the third caution, and luckily, the entire field was able to get around Newman without hitting him.

The fourth and final caution came with just 8 laps to go when Michael McDowell spun David Gilliland, setting off a huge multi-car crash that involved 9 cars right near the pit road entrance. Michael Waltrip, Bobby LaBonte, Sam Hornish Jr, Reed Sorenson, Max Papis, Dave Blaney, and Joe Nemechek all got caught up in the mess, and LaBonte appeared to be mildly injured as he was seen limping back to the infield care center.

After NASCAR stopped the race under red flag conditions for more than 40 minutes, they finally got the race restarted with Kyle Busch still in the lead, and behind him were Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr, and Kevin Harvick. Busch took the green flag with just five laps to go with Stewart keeping within a couple car lengths for the first few laps. With about 2 to go, though, Busch started to pull away, and Stewart’s new task became keeping the no. 21 of Ambrose in his rearview mirror. Busch went onto take the checkers, and Stewart was able to fend off Ambrose to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2 finish.

Marcos Ambrose fought off Juan Pablo Montoya to hang onto third, and JPM finished 4th. Martin Truex Jr. held onto 5th to earn his first-ever top-five finish at Watkins Glen. He was followed by the 2006 winner of this event, Kevin Harvick, in 6th. 7th place went to Denny Hamlin, who capped off a solid run inside the top-ten for most of the day. Jimmie Johnson rebounded from his cut tire earlier in the race to finish in 8th. AJ Allmendinger walked away with the best NSCS finish of his career in 9th, also giving him his second top-ten in the last 3 races. Carl Edwards completed the top-ten.

Other Notables:
Matt Kenseth had a pretty quiet day, but finished 12th ….. Kasey Kahne matched his best Watkins Glen finish with a 14th place run ….. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wound up 22nd after his team’s race strategy put him in the back of the field with just over 20 laps to go ….. Jeff Gordon had an eventful day. His team had to have NASCAR black flag him to get him into the pits for the first round of stops after the team’s radio became disconnected. Gordon’s car, unfortunately, handled much like the radio, as his struggles throughout the day led to a 25th place finish ….. Robby Gordon started near the back of the pack and never was able to find his way to the front, finishing with a very disappointing 27th place finish ….. Ryan Newman’s spin on lap 77 led to a 28th place effort, as that team continues to watch their Chase hopes keep slipping away.

Kyle Busch now holds a 242 point lead on 1st in the standings, while Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson both moved past Earnhardt Jr. to take over the 2nd and 3rd spots. Tony Stewart’s back-to-back 2nd place efforts have also moved him up to 7th overall, and he now has a 138 point cushion in the Chase standings. Matt Kenseth also moved up a spot to take over the 12th and final spot in the Chase, moving Clint Bowyer back down to 13th. He’s now 22 points out of the Chase.

Grades:
the Race: 75%
Drama: 74%
Coverage: 90%
Pre-Race: 81%

Overall Grade: 78.4%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

TZ’s Picks (Watkins Glen):
1. Tony Stewart - 2nd - 42.5 points
2. Robby Gordon - 27th - No points
3. Marcos Ambrose - 3rd - 41 points
4. Kyle Busch - 1st - 41.5 points
5. Carl Edwards - 10th - 36.5 points
6. Kevin Harvick - 6th - 38 points

Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart - Top Five - 10 points
Sleeper Pick - Marcos Ambrose - Top Five - 10 points
Steer Clear of - Greg Biffle - Outside Top Fifteen - No points lost

Roc’s Picks (Watkins Glen):
1. Kyle Busch - 1st - 43 points
2. Tony Stewart - 2nd - 42 points
3. Denny Hamlin - 7th - 39 points
4. Carl Edwards - 10th - 37 points
5. Jeff Gordon - 25th - No points
6. Robby Gordon - 27th - No points

Lock of the Week - Jeff Gordon - Outside Top Fifteen - No points
Sleeper Pick - Robby Gordon - Outside Top Fifteen - No points
Steer Clear of - Kasey Kahne - Top Fifteen - (Minus) 10 points

Head-to-Head:
TZ - 219.5 points (3,597.5 cumulative)
Roc - 151 points (3,476 cumulative)

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Standings After Watkins Glen:
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2. Vanilla Thrillaz
3. Bruce’s Team of Bits
4. TMAX Racing
5. Super Smokers
6. Team Legacy
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8. AlexRyan
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