This week, Chris Smith has Kyle Petty on the show to talk about NASCAR, latest rulings, rule changes and most importantly, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America and the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Great info and great insight on Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski as well as the latest Green/White/Checkered flag finishes. Finally we discuss the 16th Annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America.

For more information about the 2010 Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, to follow along virtually, or to make a contribution, visit their website at www.kylepettycharityride.com. Updates will be posted daily throughout the duration of the ride.

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Topics covered during the podcast were the following:

Enjoy the podcast. We’ll put a new one up soon. Please let us know how you like it and what changes you would recommend. Again, your comments will drive the content. Get in there and join in on the conversation.

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Episode 3 of our weekly podcast “Hammer Down” is now available. Each week Toby Christie and Buddy Christie will be recapping the Sprint Cup Series race. This week Toby and Buddy breakdown the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

So please enjoy and comment either here, Twitter or Facebook. We need your thoughts on this podcast. Your comments will help drastically improve the content of future shows.

Included in this week’s breakdown:

• Thorough recap of the Kobalt Tools 500
• Tire Troubles for many
• Brad Keselowski / Carl Edwards fued
• Visit from RubbingsRacing.com Managing Editor Christopher Smith
• Kurt Busch wins the spring Atlanta race for second consecutive season
• Top 10 finishers / Updated top-12 driver’s point standings after Atlanta

Enjoy the podcast, and remember there will be a new one available each week. We urge you to let us know what you think, good or bad, so we know how to adjust the show to fit our listeners better. Again, your comments will drive the content. Leave comments on our facebook page or via twitter.

Get Involved. Be Heard.

By: Toby Christie

NASCAR going into this season said that they were going to loosen the reigns, and let the drivers police themselves, and settle confrontations however they see fit… I don’t think they imagined this.

Sunday Carl Edwards went too far. He let his emotions get the best of him, and he put the safety of his fellow drivers and the race fans in jeopardy.

On lap 323 of the race Carl Edwards was on the track for the one reason you are not supposed to be on the track. He didn’t have any position to lose or gain, he plain and simple went out for revenge for an incident earlier in the race on lap 40.

On lap 40 Brad Keselowski made contact with the back of Edwards’ car, which sent Carl into Joey Logano which basically ended any shot at the win for Edwards. Being upset is understandable, but after further review of the incident it seems that Edwards may have been more at fault than anyone in that lap 40 skirmish.

It was the latest incident in a saga that dates back to last year’s Aarons 499 at Talladega where the two made contact which sent Edwards into the catchfence while Keselowski basked in the joys of victory lane.

Lets fast forward back to lap 323 of Sunday’s race. Edwards found himself 156 laps down, and all over the Fourth place car of Brad Keselowski. Rattling Keseloski would have been one thing, but Edwards took the fued to the next level. Coming down the front straightaway Edwards tapped the back quarterpanel of the No. 12 Dodge, which sent it around immediately. From there all hell basically broke loose.

Keselowski’s car flew through the air, flipped upside down and landed on the outside retaining wall. The accident was extremely scary because the part of the car that impacted the retaining wall was the Driver’s cockpit area… Keselowski walked away, and the fans in the stands luckily weren’t injured at all, but this could have very easily been much much different.

Love or hate Keselowski, you can’t deny that he could have easily been killed, and race fans could have been injured and for what reason? So Edwards could settle a score? It was utterly uncalled for and NASCAR had to take immediate action.

NASCAR would call the no. 99 car back to the garage to be parked for the remainder of the event, but the damage was done. Edwards on this day took it too far, and gave a great example of why NASCAR began throwing out rules upon rules upon rules years ago.

No word yet on any further penalties for Edwards, but this will be an intriguing story to watch during the week. However in my opinion forcing Edwards to come to the garage when he was too far behind to gain any positions, is not penalty enough…

By: Toby Christie

Jimmie Johnson comes into this race on a two race winning streak, and has won more times at Atlanta in the past six races there than anyone, but he is not my pick to win.

Johnson will however be strong, that is a given, but there are two drivers I really see contending for a win Sunday.

Carl Edwards, who won nine races in 2008, comes into this weekend riding a 39-race winless streak. All that can change very quickly this weekend. Edwards has three wins at this track in his career, including a sweep at the track in his rookie season.

I fully expect Carl Edwards to be strong this weekend, and the whole Roush team as a whole has gotten a lot stronger from last season. If the team doesn’t make any mistakes Carl Edwards could be taking his retro paint scheme into victory lane at Atlanta again, and personally I have him down to win. He is just too good, and this team can only go so long without a win.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the other driver who I believe has a real shot at victory Sunday. Earnhardt, who starts on the pole, is still considered a long shot considering the fact that he comes into this event with a 60-race losing streak.

Atlanta however is one of Earnhardt’s best tracks in his career. His career average finish here is 11.9, which is actually second highest only to Jimmie Johnson among active drivers. Earnhardt has one career victory which came back in his six-win season in 2004. Look for Earnhardt to not relinquish the lead without a fight on Sunday, and don’t be surprised if he doesn’t find victory lane for the 19th time in his career.

Who else can we expect to contend?

All of the Richard Childress Racing cars are on fire, and I expect that trend to continue this week. All three teams missed the chase in 2009, but they sit first, second and seventh in the standings after three events. Kevin Harvick got his first career victory here back in 2001.

Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin will also be very strong, but that goes without saying as Hendrick Motorsports has had a stranglehold on the entire Series in the past few seasons. Just for those who are new, Jeff Gordon has four career victories at Atlanta to go along with 23 top-tens in his 35 starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Mark Martin has also tallied two wins here and 23 more top-tens. So watch out for these two cagey veterans.

Now an intriguing dark horse pick for the weekend is Bobby Labonte. Labonte, the 2000 Sprint Cup Series Champion, leads all active drivers with six wins at Atlanta, so he obviously knows his way around the track. The no. 71 team has given Labonte some decent cars in his little time there… if they hit things just right a top-10 definitely wouldn’t be out of the question.

If you have Joey Logano on your fantasy roster, I personally would sit him this week. In his two starts at Atlanta Logano has not finished on the lead lap yet… and based off of his speeds in practice and qualifying thus far, I don’t see that changing this weekend. I know he has drove incredibly thus far in 2010, but I just don’t have too much confidence in Joey at this racetrack yet.

By: Toby Christie

Those who were in doubt that the No. 88 Amp Energy team had made improvements this season, have to at least admit that they have qualifying figured out. Earnhardt Jr., who has not been known as a strong qualifier in his career, qualified fourth last week in Vegas, and he topped that Friday by capturing the pole for Sunday at Atlanta.

This is Earnhardt’s first pole since he topped the speed charts at Texas in 2008, some 68-races ago.

Earnhardt will lead the field to the green in the Kobalt Tools 500 after a blistering lap of 192.761 mph… much faster than I personally anticipated anyone to go with the aging track surface at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kyle Busch will start second with a lap of 192.280 mph. Juan Pablo Montoya was a late qualifying scare, but he would come home third in the qualifying session. Montoya was the last of the cars to break 192 miles-per-hour.

Earnhardt’s Hendrick teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon will roll off the grid from fourth and fifth.

Jimmie Johnson who has won the last two Sprint Cup Series races of the season was only able to muster the 16th fastest time of the session, but expect him near the front Sunday.

The three cars that will be going home this week are Aric Almirola, Terry Cook, and Casey Mears. Mears still has not made a cup race yet this season.

Episode 2 of our weekly podcast “Hammer Down” is now available. Each week Toby Christie and Buddy Christie will be recapping the Sprint Cup Series race. This week Toby and Buddy breakdown the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

So please enjoy and comment either here, Twitter or Facebook. We need your thoughts on this brand new podcast. Your comments will help drastically improve the content of future shows.

Included in this week’s breakdown:

• Thorough recap of the Shelby American
• Jeff Gordon dominates, yet comes up short
• Jimmie Johnson’s 49th career victory
• Kevin Harvick staying strong
• Top 10 finishers
• Updated top-12 driver’s point standings after Las Vegas

Enjoy the podcast, and remember there will be a new one available each week. We urge you to let us know what you think, good or bad, so we know how to adjust the show to fit our listeners better. Again, your comments will drive the content. Leave comments on our facebook page or via twitter.

Get Involved. Be Heard.

By: Toby Christie

Jimmie Johnson took his second straight victory of 2010 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The winning move for Johnson was a pass on Jeff Gordon with 16 laps to go. The pass was setup by a call from Chad Knaus. Knaus decided to take four tires, while Jeff Gordon and Steve Letarte took two tires on the final pit stop… this gave Johnson just enough of an advantage to do what he has done best over the past four seasons.

Johnson continues his climb to the top of the standings again in his quest for a fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship. This win marks Johnson’s 49th career victory.

“Jeff and I were racing so hard all day. I wasn’t sure if I would get away from him there.” Johnson said in victory lane.

Kevin Harvick quietly continued his great start to the season, by sneaking by Jeff Gordon late to take home a second-place finish.

Jeff Gordon didn’t win, but he was the driver that actually laid a whooping down on the entire field. Gordon, age 38, drove today like he did back in the late 1990’s when he was on top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but just couldn’t seal the deal.

At one point Gordon had lapped so many cars that only nine cars remained on the lead lap.

Gordon easily led the most laps in the race by leading 218 of the 267 laps today. It’s got to be frustrating for Gordon as he would fade to a third place finish down the stretch, but this finish does come at a great time for Gordon, as he was sitting all the way back in the 23rd position in the points standings before this race.

Mark Martin would give Hendrick motorsports their third top-five car of the race with a fourth-place finish.

Matt Kenseth would round out the top-five as he just held off Joey Logano for the fifth position in a photo finish.

Not everyone had a great day including Juan Montoya, who made the chase last season. Montoya has now had two straight races of finishing outside the top-30. Montoya was crashed by his teammate Jamie McMurray on lap 93 which resulted in a 37th-place finish, and Montoya vented in the garage area.

“He (McMurray) runs straight into my (Expletive). He nearly ran me into the fence in (Turn) 2 as well. I don’t know. He’s not doing himself any favors. I’m sure (McMurray) is going to say ‘Oh, I didn’t mean that.’” Montoya said.

So the Earnhardt-Ganassi team that was looking like a well oiled machine after Daytona, and even after California, now has some issues to resolve between their two drivers.

By: Toby Christie

Some wondered whether we’d even see a lap of the Sam’s Club 300 today… well the race did get underway, and no it was not shortened by rain.

Kevin Harvick had the dominant car early, but was shuffled back multiple times due to pit crew miscues, and strategy mistakes. Harvick was very vocal over the radio calling his pitcrew “idiots” at one point. You almost can’t blame Harvick for being upset, it seems every week thus far pit errors have cost him the race.

There was a caution for rain that came out on lap 104, and many thought that would be the end of the race. Kyle Busch was leading at the time of the caution, but the rain would not last.

They would go back to green a few laps later on lap 109.

The field would race feverishly the rest of the way fearing that rain would stop the race at any time, and it would appeared it would be a battle between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch until the inevitable. However the rain would somehow hold off the rest of the day. On the next caution on lap 145 several drivers including Denny Hamlin decided to take no tires or just two tires to move to the front.

This jumbled the lineup, and actually paid off for a while. Hamlin would pull out to a commanding lead until a caution on lap 165 that wiped his advantage away.

Hamlin was able to use late cautions to help conserve his tires, but he could not hold off Kevin Harvick who led the most laps on the day.

Harvick would overcome earlier misfortunes and would go on to win the Sam’s Town 300 in Las Vegas. Harvick led 83 of the 200 laps on the day.

Denny Hamlin would go on to finish second, Carl Edwards came home third, Brad Keselowski ended up fourth after starting on the pole, and Brian Vickers was fifth.

Kyle Busch was in contention until brushing the wall late in the race. The contact with the wall would affect Busch’s car and he would wind up finishing 16th.

Danica Patrick’s final Nationwide race for the next four months ended on lap 84. She collided with Michael McDowell in an accident where it was a case of both drivers looking for the same piece of real estate. Danica was quick to blame McDowell, but after watching the accident again I think it was just a racing accident. Michael McDowell did apologize to Danica after the accident saying, “it was 100-percent my fault”.

This was the first race that Danica actually looked somewhat comfortable so far. She was mixing it up all day, and kept moving forward throughout the day. At one point she was up to third using a different pit sequence from the leader. There are a lot of positives to take from this race for Patrick, however the fact that she failed to finish is still a concern.