2009 Charlotte Media Tour Steve Phelps Talks with Executives (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

By: Toby Christie

So far in the 2010 NASCAR season drivers have taken the gloves off. NASCAR has overhauled the rule book thus allowing the drivers to police themselves. What we have seen as a result is incredible, yet unpredictable racing week in and week out.

We now have the long awaited rivalries and emotion that the fans have craved for years… yet the ratings and attendance remain as droopy as Marcos Ambrose after the Montreal Nationwide race every season.

It just doesn’t make any sense at all. The product on the track is great, so that should be all we need to put butts in the seats right? Negative.

Monday NASCAR made a huge announcement that will in my opinion make more of an impact on ticket sales and ratings than ‘boys have at it’ ever could.

Following a review of the communication and public relations activity throughout the sport, NASCAR released a press release detailing a an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) department, that as Brian France explains will “Change the way we do business.”

According to the press release, the new communications structure will allow NASCAR to be even more effective on the competition aspects of the sport, an area where NASCAR was regularly cited in the review as being among the best when compared to other major league sports by media in all genres. It also positions the sanctioning body to take a much more strategic and offensive approach to selling the sport in a constantly-evolving traditional, digital and social media landscape.

This move will reportedly add approximately 20 positions to the NASCAR Public Relations team.

The new IMC will be headed by a CCO, to be named at another time. The CCO will report directly to NASCAR’s chief marketing officer, Steve Phelps, who was instrumental in the review of the communications department.

The company in charge of the CCO search is Korn/Ferry International.

Two staff moves have been announced already. Current Vice President of Corporate Communications will move to significant role in NASCAR’s evolution. Hunter will spearhead the movement from a newly created position as Vice President of Special Projects.

Meanwhile the current Managing Director of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston has declined an offer to take a new position inside this drastic overhaul. Poston will finish out the year with the company, and then take a role as an outside consultant for the sanctioning body.

“As the communications review accurately revealed, Jim and Ramsey have done a fantastic job of moving the competition aspects of our operation to an elite level,” said Phelps. “The strong foundation they’ve built has positioned NASCAR to expand this operation to meet the needs of the future and we are confident their combined experience, expertise and passion for NASCAR will be strong assets in that process.”

Now this announcement isn’t nearly as sexy as the ‘boys have at it’ rule changes, just for the simple fact that fans in general wont really see much of a change. However this is something team owners have urged the sport to do for years. Not to mention this new team should be very effective in captivating the casual fan, which in turn will help keep the sport on the cutting edge in this marketing savvy world.

As we know the hardcore fans are the ones who have stuck through the inception of the COT, and now the back to the roots revival of the past year. Now it is time for NASCAR to re-open it’s door to the casual fan, and that all starts with social media and branding.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway Kyle Busch cruised to a record-setting performance, the likes of which has never been seen before in the history of NASCAR.

Busch swept the entire week of events at arguably NASCAR’s most difficult track.

That’s right he won the Camping World Truck Series race Wednesday, then spun Brad Keselowski en-route to a victory in the Nationwide Series race Friday night, then Busch utterly dominated the Sprint Cup Series race to cap off the ‘hat trick’.

Not only did Busch become the first driver to ever do this, but it is realistic to believe that he may be the only driver to ever do so, as not many of his peers compete in the Truck Series.

This is a feat that the entire world involved with this sport should be celebrating.

However when Busch climbed from his race car following each of his historic victories this weekend, he was hammered with a smattering of boos. Apparently people were left with a bad taste in their mouths, which led me to ask the question: Did his attitude this weekend overshadow his amazing accomplishment?

There’s no doubting that Kyle Busch is one of, if not the most talented race car driver in NASCAR, and the entire world.

Every time I see him out front I think: Alright! This could finally be the race where he turns from a heel to a face. From a villain to a hero. Each time I think to myself, finally people will be able to celebrate his greatness instead of hating his aggressiveness. Yet everytime Busch finds a way to let me down, and let the fans down. It’s a shame, a damn shame.

The moment that began to tarnish his accomplishment was during the second step of his three race milestone. In the closing laps of Friday’s Nationwide race, Busch made an incredible move to take the lead from Brad Keselowski, but he hadn’t quite cleared Keselowski when he decided to veer up the race track off of turn two.

Busch made contact with Keselowski, which sent the No. 18 Z-Line designs Toyota into the wall. However in the heat of the moment Busch felt he had been wronged, and he executed the latest episode of premature retaliation against everyone’s favorite target, Brad Keselowski.

The retaliatory nudge sent Keselowski spinning out of the lead, and into the wall. But this was just the beginning of the downward spiral of Busch’s weekend in the eyes of the fans.

The real moment of frustration for the fans was Busch’s post-race reaction to his actions.

Had Busch said; Well after looking at the tape I was in the wrong, but in these cars there is little time to think about what you’re going to do before you do it. And I’m sorry… Maybe, just maybe fans would have began to warm up to the 25-year old driver from Las Vegas. However Busch didn’t quite do that.

After taunting the fans, by acting like he was wiping tears away from his face on his victory celebration, Busch went on to state that he took his competitor out on purpose.

“I thought I had him cleared on the back, and I moved up in front of him, and instead of him doing an Earnhardt crossover move he decided that he would just run into the back of me and put me into the fence. That’s Brad keselowski, so you know I went down into the next corner and dumped him.” Busch said in victory lane.

“He does it to everyone else, why can’t I do it to him?”

I cringed as I heard the words project from his mouth. Busch officially squandered another opportunity to become a fan favorite.

Sure enough Saturday evening during driver introductions the boo brigade was out in full force when Kyle Busch was announced. Then moments later Brad Keselowski came out and yelled “Kyle Busch is an ass” into the microphone, and the crowd went wild.

However I began to think that maybe Busch could possibly turn some people’s perception around with a win in the big show. Surely people would change their mind if he pulled off the trifecta right?

Well he may have done that initially, but then following the race in his press conference he showed complete arrogance. Busch was questioned about Brad Keselowski’s actions during the driver introductions, and he acted as though Brad Keselowski didn’t exist.

“Who?” Kyle Busch asked.

A media member elaborated: “Brad Keselowski”.

“I don’t know who that is” Busch responded.

“Okay he drives the 12 car” the media member rebutted.

“I saw it. But I Passed It” Busch stated.

Now it’s back to ground zero for Busch. He takes a step forward, just to end up taking three steps back in the end.

Right now he has three victories on the season, and would begin the chase tied for third in the standings if it were to start today. Busch has been great all year long, and he is now on the short list of drivers that can dethrone Jimmie Johnson. For this reason alone Busch should have the fans behind him, but he doesn’t.

Johnson is obviously not a fan favorite, which makes the Busch situation all the more complexing. All season long fans have been living by one motto “Anyone but Jimmie”, but I think that honestly the consensus of the fans would rather see Jimmie take title number five, than see Busch hoist the Sprint Cup.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

Sunday at Watkins Glen International, we all were treated to one of the best races of the season. Along the way a new trend continued, where the racing action on the track resembled more that of a short track than a road course.

We saw a fabulous battle between two of the best drivers on road courses: Juan Montoya and Marcos Ambrose. The two drivers had fans on the edge of their seats, lap by lap, by lap.

The two raced as close as possible to the edge without crashing as it gets, and I’m not sure we have seen a better battle for the lead all season long. Both drivers wanted a victory more than any other in the field on this given day, and what we saw as a result was incredible.

Then there was also the Jimmie Johnson incident.

Johnson, along with Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch went three wide into turn seven at Watkins Glen, which simply just doesn’t work. As a result Burton made contact with Johnson, which sent the four-time champion spinning out of control. Denny Hamlin was swept up in the crash as well.

These are the things we have been seeing more and more of at road courses. Drivers have began to figure these tracks at more and more. Unlike the past when drivers just looked to ‘survive’ these events, they actually come to Infineon and the Glen looking for a victory.

What ensues is good ole’ fashioned short track racing, at a road course. Drivers will bump, nudge and rub through every corner in an effort to sneak a pass in.

Out braking, and flat-out missing turns trying to get everything out of the car is a common occurrence, and as a result the two road courses could be considered the most competitive races all year long.

Just to give an example of how competitive road races have become in recent years; Jeff Gordon has four career victories at Watkins Glen, but he hasn’t been able to finish better than tenth in the past three races at the course. To add to that staggering stat Gordon has nine career victories at road courses in his career, yet he hasn’t been able to capture a victory at one of these tracks in over four years.

Fans used to despise these events, but now all of a sudden they are beginning to warm up to them. When they watch road races on television they now look past the occasional right turn, and actually find themselves being reminded of why they fell in love with the sport to begin with, when the drivers trade donuts, and paint alike.

With that being said, is it now time to add more road courses to the schedule?

Photo Credit: Harry How/Getty Images

By: Toby Christie

We live in a world where everyone has a thirst for the truth, and a passion to be in the know.

That being said; obviously the proverbial droppings hit the fan this week when it was revealed by Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press, that two ‘star drivers’ have been fined this year for derogatory comments towards the sport.

First everyone wanted to know who the drivers were, and secondly why NASCAR kept this from the fans of the sport.

Well, in a week that has had a lot of stories of which to wage an opinion, I must say that I am actually with NASCAR on this.

Let’s think about this for a moment.

In the NBA when someone such as Mark Cuban speaks out against the referees, fans begin to question the product on the court whether there is an issue or not.

When ‘Spy-Gate’ with the New England Patriots went public in the NFL, everyone was quick to say the fix was in for the Patriots over the past few years that led to their dynasty.

In Major League Baseball several players have been caught using steroids, and all of a sudden people basically just assume everyone ‘juices’. Whether everyone does or not is irrelevant, as the perception reigns supreme.

Do you see where I’m going?

People look up to athletes and owners of teams.

Regardless of whether the person says something in the heat of the battle that may not be 100-percent the truth, their fans will take it as the gospel.

Today NASCAR went ahead and released the names of the two drivers that were fined; Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin.

If NASCAR would have announced these fines directly after the quotes that led to them, news outlets such as ESPN and others would have been quick to play the sound bites of the drivers downgrading their sport.

Every hour on the hour the story would have been pounded into your head, and along the way you’d probably start believing what the drivers said.

That is not good for business, especially for a sport that has lost ratings and considerable amounts of attendance in recent years.

Also for those who don’t understand why NASCAR will announce when someone has failed a drug test, yet they were hesitant to give any information on this story.

It’s pretty obvious why.

The decision to fine these drivers had no effect what-so-ever on the actual racing on the track.

When a driver fails a drug test they are officially suspended from the sport. Fans of those drivers have the right to know why their favorite is no longer going to be running for victories on Sunday.

In this case what good does it do for any of us to know that Denny Hamlin or Ryan Newman were fined for their bad decision to bash the sport in which they are a part of?

It was probably a pretty embarrassing moment for each of them and it should end there, instead of doing excess harm to the sport by having the comments re-air on television time after time.

NASCAR has done everything right over the past year as far as correcting a product to make it more enjoyable for fans. We are seeing the best racing ever, and the advent of the chase, double-file restarts, and green-white-checkers have made it where every week is unpredictable.

They have aligned themselves for a big rebound in the near future, and with possible schedule changes on the horizon, the old notion that ‘any press is good press’ no longer applies.

You have to understand that this wasn’t an instance of NASCAR keeping it’s fans in the dark, it was an example of them trying to help pave the future of the sport in my opinion.

And for that I applaud them.

Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

By: Toby Christie

Brian France has hinted that NASCAR may be looking at making some changes to it’s schedule next season.

Now I love tradition as much as the next person, but I for one am behind NASCAR’s chairman on this. The sport is in survival mode now more than ever. With attendance dwindling, the chance to capitalize on huge ratings boosts would be now. At least with the majority of the fans at home in front of the television you would think that, however ratings are suffering as well. So what could save the sport?

Spice up the schedule by making the ten race chase a spectacle.

How do you do that?

It’s so simple that I don’t know how we missed it… You put your ten most exciting races inside the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

That being said, could the Daytona 500 be moved from the first race of the season to the final event? Absolutely, according to a report that has surfaced from Jim Utter of ThatsRacin.com.

Let’s face it for many years many outsiders to the sport of NASCAR have wondered why the sport has it’s ‘Superbowl’ at the beginning of the season.

For years I defended NASCAR, and it’s tradition of having the Daytona 500 as the kickoff event, every team would work all winter long in an effort to take home the sport’s richest and most prestigious prize. It just made sense… and before 2004 the race weighed just as heavy as every other race as far as the championship went. But with the advent of ‘The Chase’ in 2004, the tradition now seems outdated, if not down right silly.

The Daytona 500, the most history laden race in our sport is now just one of the 26 races that are lost in the shuffle of the regular season. One can actually argue that the Daytona 500 actually has no impact whatsoever towards the championship anymore. So what we need to do is change that immediately.

In addition to the Daytona 500, add more crown jewels to the mix such as Darlington, and Bristol.

Because to understand why NASCAR is not captivating the ‘casual’ audience during the chase, you must think like a causal fan.

When the chase begins all of our “major” races are done and over with. So if you aren’t a hardcore NASCAR fan what is the real point of watching single file racing at California, for a championship that you really don’t even understand how the points are awarded?

Hearing that someone is just 50 points behind someone else really doesn’t matter if you don’t understand how many points each spot is worth, and I don’t see the NASCAR point system explained every week for those people.

Here is the current ten race schedule for ‘The Chase’

New Hampshire

Dover

Kansas

California

Charlotte

Martinsville

Talladega

Texas

Phoenix

Homestead

Do you see a trend with the tracks that are in the chase? Outside of Talladega, to be brutally honest the majority of the tracks are ‘safe’ cookie cutters.

Most of these tracks were built in the late 1990s or 2000s and were focused purely on fitting as many seats around them as possible, then if they produced good racing that was a bonus. This is actually the reason that tracks such as Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, and Texas World Speedway were forced off of the circuit. They just simply didn’t have the seating capacity that NASCAR wanted, as they expanded.

Well guess what, now we are stuck with a whole bunch of racetracks that produce ‘snoozer’ races that are only filling half of their seats. Maybe now would be the opportune time for NASCAR to also begin looking at possibly reviving the Wilkesboros and Rockinghams of the world, but that is another topic for another time.

So you add prestige to the schedule, but that doesn’t completely solve everything. What The Chase needs is a serious schedule overhaul for the simple fact that during that part of the season NASCAR is waging a ratings war against the NFL, that quite frankly we are losing year in and year out.

What we need to do is think outside the box. How can we improve the show, and avoid going head to head with the NFL at the same time to help the sport continue to grow and prosper for many, many years to come?

It’s simple, every race inside the Chase must, in my opinion, have lights.

Why?

Well because if every track has lights, then we can make the races inside the chase ‘Saturday Night’ shootouts. Fans love night racing, and this would help us avoid battling the NFL on Sunday afternoons.

Add the fact that you have some of the more prestigious events to look forward to, and the fact that it all ends with the Daytona 500 would make ‘The Chase’ exciting again, and as unpredictable as ever.

With dismal days by Denny Hamlin (Left) and Jimmie Johnson (Middle), is Kevin Harvick (Right) the one laughing now? Photo Credit: GettyImages

By: Toby Christie

Golden horseshoe or not Jimmie Johnson has officially been dethroned as the favorite to win the championship in 2010.

On Sunday in the Brickyard 400 Johnson started from the outside pole position, and led a lap early in the event. However things nose-dived from there for the 48 team.

Before the race was over Johnson and Chad Knaus were left shaking their heads wondering what went wrong. The team changed both front shocks, tried utilizing spring rubbers, and all sorts of other changes to correct an ill-handling car… to no avail. The end result was a disappointing 22nd-place finish at Indianapolis for the four-time Sprint Cup champion.

“We had real high expectations for the day, but we had real bad understeer all day.” Johnson said. He would continue to try to spin it into a positive by saying that this is just one race, but this isn’t just any ‘one race’.

Indy is possibly the best test to see where your team is down the stretch for the championship, because to run well your car must perform well in every aspect.

You must have the horsepower to reach high speeds down the long straightaways, you must have great brakes to get your car whoaed up in time for the sharp 90-degree turns, and lastly your car must handle superbly through those turns or you’ll easily slap the wall and end your day.

When you take all of that into account it’s no wonder that eight winners of the Brickyard have gone on to win the championship in that very season. What’s particularly damning for Johnson as far as the championship goes is that in the 16 previous editions of the Brickyard the eventual champion has only finished worse than tenth twice.

That means that 87.5 percent of the time the champion is a top-ten finisher at the Brickyard 400. This stat is one that doesn’t lie.

The man who finished second Sunday was Kevin Harvick.

Harvick has led the point standings for virtually the entire season, but people keep saying that when the chase starts he will be a lap behind to cars like Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. Well after what I saw Sunday I must kindly say nay to that notion.

Harvick was asked about his deficit in the win column and what he thinks it means for his chase hopes.

“You know we’ve won a couple times this year, been in contention to win a few more. I didn’t see the 48 or the 11 today, so … you figure it out”. Harvick said.

I couldn’t agree more with the driver of the no. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet. At a track that is basically the benchmark for everything that your car must do to win the championship the three championship favorites coming into this week came up short. Denny Hamlin (15th), Jimmie Johnson (22nd), and Jeff Gordon (23rd) had rough days and at no point looked to be ready to compete for the victory.

I know that if the chase started today Johnson and Hamlin would be tied for the points lead by virtue of their five victories each, but in reality where has Hamlin been lately?

Since his last win (five races ago) Hamlin has had just one top-ten finish, and his average finish is a measly 19th. His recent struggles to me show a team that may have peaked too early. Hamlin spoke to reporters after the race and seemed very frustrated with his performance. Hamlin described his day as completely pointless, and that he did nothing more than just ‘run around in circles’ all day long.

Meanwhile Johnson has had more finishes outside the top-20 this year than any year in recent memory, and Jeff Gordon can’t win a race to save his life.

With all of these things plaguing the so called ‘favorites’ for the championship, I believe a new favorite has emerged and he has been right under our nose all along. Kevin Harvick has been great at every kind of racetrack this season, and his improved Richard Childress Racing team looks poised to make the biggest improvement from one season to the other in history.

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

By: Farrah Kaye

Do you remember where you were when Juan Pablo Montoya lost at Indy last year?

By lost, I mean he was heading towards the win and got hit with a speeding penalty and you could hear the entire NASCAR nation gasp at once.

I remember sitting there, dumbfounded, wondering how it could happen. I remember his in-car audio – which replayed for days, weeks! – where he swore on his children he didn’t speed. (Side note: Congratulations to Montoya and his wife on the birth of their new baby!)

To see Montoya all over the headlines this weekend leading both of the first practices and getting the pole was almost like sweet revenge. Almost as if he was saying, “Hey guys, it’s me! Here I am! You’re in my house and I’m going to make up for last year!”

Let me explain.

As a somewhat new fan (I feel the need to say that every now and then so stones aren’t thrown…), I sometimes associate certain tracks with certain drivers. Charlotte – Jimmie Johnson. Las Vegas – Busch Brothers. Talladega – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Road courses – Marcos Ambrose (Sonoma – OUCH!). And for some reason, maybe because of last year or his racing history, I associate Juan Pablo Montoya with Indianapolis.

Sure, I’ve seen Johnson and Tony Stewart kiss the bricks plenty of times (they have won the last five combined…) but for some reason, I feel the need to see Montoya kiss them. I feel the need to see him make history.

Montoya has come so close so many times to winning races recently (his one win was in 2007) and made the Chase last year.

But he has also had some disastrous results as well. Last year, through the end of the season, he averaged a finish of 14.2. Right now, through 19 races, he is averaging 20.2. On top of his poor finishes, Montoya has six DNFs.

However, on the flip side, he has had four top-fives, eight top-10s and as of today, two poles.

Now the only question is what will he drink when he gets to Victory Lane?

The 2009 Chase For The Sprint Cup Competitors. Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

There is a heck of a battle going on for the final spot in the Chase For The Sprint Cup, and we are entering a five race stretch without an off-week. It all begins this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

What we virtually have going into this pivotal stretch is eight drivers vying for three spots inside the top-12 in the standings. Pretty cramped huh?

These drivers are: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, David Reutimann, Ryan Newman, and Kasey Kahne.

Currently these eight drivers are separated by just 179 points. Edwards, Biffle and Bowyer find themselves inside the chase while the others are outside looking in, however a lot can change quickly in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

So I know what you’re asking who is in and who is out? Well let’s look to the past to see if we can get a glimpse into the future.

Over the next five races here are the career average finishes at these tracks for these drivers:

Carl Edwards, 10.66

Mark Martin, 11.70

Greg Biffle, 16.56

Clint Bowyer, 16.96

Kasey Kahne, 17.40

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 17.74

Ryan Newman, 17.86

David Reutimann, 24.14

So if the past holds true over the next five races for these drivers… what would the point standings look like heading into the final two races before the chase?

10. Carl Edwards, +164 points to chase

11. Mark Martin, +38 points to chase

12. Greg Biffle, +6 points to chase

————Chase Cutoff————–

13. Clint Bowyer, -6 points to chase

14. Dale Earnhardt Jr., -36 points to chase

15. Ryan Newman, -120 points to chase

16. Kasey Kahne, -126 points to chase

17. David Reutimann, -207 points to chase

As you can see Carl Edwards would look virtually safe with two races remaining according to past results, and David Reutimann would look like a huge long-shot… however every driver would still mathematically have a shot at making the chase with two races remaining. However as we all know things don’t always go according to plan.

This is where we have to begin weighing in the intangibles. Here are my thoughts on what will happen the rest of the way to the chase.

Carl Edwards has led just four laps all season long, has had two DNFs (Did Not Finish), and lets not forget that Chicago was just his second top-five finish of the entire season.

Throw into the mix that Carl is hated by Kevin Harvick, and has had run-ins with Kurt Busch, and of course the on-going saga with Brad Keselowski and what you have is a pretty big list of people waiting in line to kick his butt. In my opinion that is not a good recipe when trying to make the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

Mark Martin has performed mediocre for the majority of the season when you compare 2010 to his monstrous 2009 campaign. However when you look closer at it, if ‘the kid’ can avoid trouble on the track he could sneak into the chase with the durability of Hendrick engines.

Don’t forget he and Kasey Kahne are the best of this group as far as top-five finishes go this season… each of them have five.

Greg Biffle is a true wild card in this entire deal. Not because of his talent, the guy can certainly wheel the car. However Roush-Fenway Racing has been behind the eight ball all season long, and just when it appears he has a good run going… poof goes an engine.

Biffle has ten, top-ten finishes on the season, but over the past three races his best finish is 16th and he has had two DNFs over the last six races. I don’t like what I’m seeing and if this trend continues count Biffle out of the chase.

Is there anyone in this field that has been unluckier than Clint Bowyer? Bowyer saw great runs mired at both Infineon and Daytona and as a result he sits just outside of the chase. However I see Bowyer overcoming and pushing his way back into the chase with ease.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been riding a roller coaster all season long. He is either really really good, or really really bad. Which Earnhardt will show up over these next five races? That remains to be seen, but the good news for Earnhardt is that he is coming off of his best four race stretch of the season before the debacle at Chicago.

The saving grace for Earnhardt is that he has been running at the conclusion of every race thus far this season. Call me crazy, but I think the 88 team will do just enough to make it into the chase this season.

Ryan Newman for the majority of the season was inside the chase, while his owner Tony Stewart was not. Over the past few weeks the two have virtually flip-flopped and now Newman is left wondering what has gone wrong. Good news: Newman got his first win since the 2008 Daytona 500 this year. Bad News: He will not make the chase.

Kasey Kahne has arguably been the best performing car from this entire group all season long… just luck hasn’t been on his side. He was sent nearly out of the track at Pocono on the final lap, and he had an FR9 engine expire on him at New Hampshire. If Kahne can bide his time, avoid trouble on the track, and the engine holds together he’s a lock in my opinion… but that’s easier said than done.

David Reutimann, the feel good story of the year… and last year. Reutimann is coming off of his second career victory at Chicago, and now finds himself in the thick of the chase hunt. However this is precisely where he was last year, when things fell apart. I like the guy, and his Michael Waltrip Racing team is getting stronger, but I think its still a year or two away from them being in the chase.

So there you have it I have Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne in the chase after Richmond heading into the chase. What’s your take? Who do you see making it in? Who will come up just short? Let your voice be heard below.

Photo Credit: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

By: Farrah Kaye and Toby Christie

Farrah:

As the Nationwide race at Gateway International Raceway came to a close, I was reading the lap-by-lap on nascar.com. The back and forth between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski was exciting even in words on a screen. I figured one would take the checkered flag and we’d move on to the next race.

Until I read this:

“Lap 200: Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards make contact turns one and two. Edwards then wrecks Keselowski coming off turn four. There’s a huge wreck behind them. Edwards takes the checkered flag.

Keselowski takes a vicious hit from Shelby Howard in the melee, but appears to be OK. Edwards says in Victory Lane that he couldn’t allow Keselowski to take the win from him, that he had to do what he had to do.”

The first thing that came to mind was, gosh I hope Keselowski is okay. The second thought I had was FLASHBACK: ATLANTA.
Was Edwards’ intentionally wrecking Keselowski again?

Toby:

It appeared instantly to me to be intentional. You could clearly see Edwards veer left into Keslowski coming off of turn four. As soon as the incident happened I too thought, wow really? NASCAR has already sat Edwards and Keselowski down once this year for this kind of on track activity, yet Edwards still didn’t let that come between him going over the line yet again Saturday night.

I was in shock that this could happen again.

Farrah:

Here is what Edwards has to say about the event:

“I just couldn’t let him take the win from me,” said Edwards. “My guys work way too hard for that. We had a great restart. My guys built me a great car. We came to the checkered flag, and I hate to see stuff tore up, but we came here to win and he took it from us there in Turn 1. Just an awesome race. I’m sure some of them don’t like that win—Brad Keselowski fans and stuff—but, man, I just couldn’t let him take it from me. I had to do what I had to do.”

Toby:

That quote is not really much different than what he said in Atlanta. Edwards there also admitted that he purposely crashed Keselowski, and this seems to be a trend that is getting scarier each time the two touch. What is extremely troubling is that in Carl Edward’s mind a bump and run deserves this kind of payback…

Just weeks ago Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch put on a show with their bump and runs. That is what separates champions from challengers. Champions know how to nudge someone just enough to move them without sending them careening across the track into oncoming traffic… There is a fine line between what Busch and Johnson did a few weeks ago, and what Edwards did Saturday night.

Farrah:

And what did Keselowski have to say?

“He turned left into me and wrecked me on purpose,” Keselowski said. “I gave him the lane, and he still wrecked me. I figured out a way to beat him. He wasn’t happy with me, so he wrecked me. Wrecking down the straightaway is never cool, whether it’s at 200 mph or 120. I’m sorry that’s the way it had to end.”

Whether you’re on Team Brad or Team Carl, in the end, it appears Carl Edwards has a problem with being beat to the checkered flag and is willing to move Keselowski – or maybe anyone? – out of the way to get there.

He is in a slump in both NNS and NSCS so his frustration is understandable, but at what cost will he stop? Sending Keselowski airborne in Atlanta was strike one, this incident is strike two.

Will strike three put someone in the hospital? Permanently injure them? Something worse?!

Toby:

I think you make a great point Farrah. Edwards has had a rough stretch in the past year or so, and maybe that is the catalyst for some of these antics.

However it’s really incredible to me how short people’s memories are. It was just back in 2000 and 2001 that we lost Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Tony Roper, and Dale Earnhardt… Yet fans now believe that with modern advancements in safety that serious injury or death are a thing of the past in NASCAR.

That is one of the scariest things that I have seen in this entire “rivalry”. The fact that fans and drivers are beginning to get too comfortable with safety. It’s been since 2001 that a NASCAR driver has died on the track, and I want to keep it that way. If you want to retaliate do it off the track. A fist to the face seems like a better option than possible homicide. Just a thought.

Farrah:

Other drivers have done similar things … take a look at Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr. (or half the Infineon field!). But never once would I say Gordon put someone’s life in danger. Most drivers know their limits, know when enough is enough, when to take their frustrations out with words rather than with their cars.

Yes. Edwards is using his car as a weapon. While some drivers may get grief for putting down others, their teams, things they say over their radio, etc. … at least they are not putting people in harms way.

I’m curious to find out how NASCAR handles this new situation. With Edwards’ blatant admission of guilt, there must be some form of punishment. And considering he’s already been put on probation for the same type of incident (with the same driver nonetheless!) this year, I’m wondering if there isn’t a suspension looming.

Toby:

In my opinion Farrah suspension is the only way to go at this point. Carl Edwards has in my opinion abused the right of being behind the wheel of any race car in any series. He has put drivers, fans, and especially Brad Keselowski’s life in danger… on purpose… on more than one occasion. He was warned at Atlanta that what he did there isn’t what they meant by ‘have at it boys’.

That was his one free pass simply because NASCAR wasn’t specific about their new rule…

NASCAR needs to sit him down for a week, two weeks or whatever they see fit. Then and only then will he truly understand the gravity of what he is doing on the racetrack, and maybe he will respect the fact that he gets to drive a race car for a living just a little more.

Now I know that some are arguing that Brad Keselowski ‘had it coming’… Really? I know Keselowski is a hard charger and races hard, but if If Shelby Howard hits Keselowski at just the right angle we could be talking about a whole different subject today, and it wouldn’t be a pleasant one. Is that a fair punishment for a little bump and run?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers. This in no way reflects the point of view of the entire RubbingsRacing.com company.

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

The Lebron James announcement has burried the Kasey Kahne saga deep in the sports headlines. However there are now some really intriguing plot twists as to where he will drive next season.

According to Sirius NASCAR Radio’s facebook page, Randy Pemberton has said that Mark Martin would be moving to Red Bull Racing in 2011, while Kasey Kahne would successfully make his move over to Hendrick Motorsports to drive the five car.

Red Bull Racing has been rumored in the past as trying to switch to Chevrolet, and if this rumor has any substance that may actually be a real possibility soon.

However to people saying the rumor is completely true, I say not so fast.

Sure Mark would provide leadership that a team as young as Red Bull desperately needs, but let me ask a few key questions.

1. Does Mark Martin fit the Red Bull mold? At 50 years old, Mark Martin doesn’t quite fit the energy drink gulping athletes that Red Bull likes to promote. If you remember this is precisely the reason that A.J. Allmendinger was tossed out in favor of Scott Speed. So if this rumor has any truth to it I actually would believe the 30-year-old Kahne would be the better fit at Red Bull for 2011.
2. If Mark will not be in the five car next season, why does he so adamently continue to say he will be in the five car next season?Martin is fresh off of a five win campaign in 2009 and a second place finish in the point standings… Not only that, but he is still in reach of the chase for 2010. He continues to mention how much fun he is having, and he has great rapport with Alan Gustafson. Why would he lie about where he’ll be next year?
3. Why would he abandon a proven winner for an unknown at his age? Let’s face it Mark Martin’s sand is running out in the hour glass of his career. That being said why would he move from a team that has proven it can compete for a championship to go to an organization that has only recorded one chase appearance? I’m not buying this.

These are three keys as to why I don’t see Mark Martin leaving the No. 5 car before the end of next season. I will say this though, this rumor is by far the most realistic of any that have been tossed around thus far in the Kasey Kahne saga.

Many believed that Stewart-Haas Racing or Phoenix Racing would be the likely landing spots for Kahne next season, but from the beginning I really never thought that to be true.

Tony Stewart this week emphatically said that his team is not ready for expansion, and Phoenix Racing has never fielded a full-time Sprint Cup Series car…. ever.

So from the information we’ve had in front of us, and the rumors we have had to digest, I now know what my prediction is for 2011.

Red Bull Racing will form a partnership with Hendrick Motorsports as another satellite team for the racing conglomerate. Don’t forget that Hendrick has said that he would try to get Brian Vickers back someday, which in essence he would do with this partnership. Kasey Kahne will wait out Mark Martin’s one year remaining in the five car by running with Red Bull for the season. However that’s just my take on the situation, what’s yours?