Truck Series Needs Double-File Restarts

The previous race at Gateway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was amazing. It caused a lot of difference in opinion among the fans. The restarts were crazy, exciting, and out of control. But, I'm not going to talk about the Matt Crafton disaster. But, what I am going to talk about are the restarts in general.

The Sprint Cup Series has double file restarts. The Nationwide Series has double file restarts. So why in the world doesn't the Camping World Truck Series have restarts? I have no idea. But one thing that I do know, they need them.

The Truck Series is a very exciting series. At some times, it can be even more exciting than the Cup race. But the problem is that no one bothers to watch it. And it is a very good NASCAR racing series. So then why isn't NASCAR helping it? As far as I'm concerned, the double file restarts are one of the best things NASCAR has ever done. It just makes since. It adds excitement that NASCAR fans along with NASCAR themselves have been looking for. So, exactly what are you waiting for? Why are we seeing the single file restarts still?

NASCAR made an announcement a few weeks ago that the Truck series would not go the the new restart rule. People were shocked. Fans were disappointed. Even the drivers were disappointed. For some reason, it was going to be delayed.

My point here is that it needs to happen soon. The Truck Series is a very exciting sport. So could you imagine what it would be like if they were racing double file on every single restart? I could. And it would make me watch the Camping World Truck Series a lot more often.

Kyle Deserves Chase Entry

Well, after 26 races the field is finally set for NASCAR's playoffs, " The Chase ", with Mark Martin leading the field of twelve drivers. Martin has posted four victories this year while fellow Chase entries Stewart and Johnson have three, Hamlin and Kahne, two, Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Vickers, one each. The remaining field of Edwards, Newman, Montoya, and Vickers have not taken the checkered flag once this year. Oh, and Kyle Busch has four victories also, but will not be in NASCAR's playoffs this year.

How can a sport whose fundamental goal each week is to take the checkered flag exclude a driver who has done so in 15% of the races? He has as many wins as Chase leader Martin and if he had won Saturday night at Richmond would have taken the top spot away from Martin. We have four drivers in the Chase with zero wins which makes me wonder if they are more deserving than Busch to be in the Chase.

Ok, I understand NASCAR's reasoning here and it is not without some merit. They say, and many agree, that it is all about consistency. The Chase is based on points accumulated in the first 26 races and those drivers who finish in the front of the field consistently obtain the most points. But that, in my opinion, is contrary to the goal of all sports, which is to reward those who win. Really, nobody cares who finishes second or third. I dare anyone to tell me without looking who finished second at the Daytona 500 this year, who was second in the NFC East last year, or who lost the World Series in 2008.

Everybody likes winners and like him or not Kyle Busch is just that. He is arguably the most exciting, most controversial, most goal oriented driver in NASCAR right now. With Kyle it is all about winning and he puts it all out there every week. He views anything less than the checkered flag as failure. In a period of time when NASCAR has been concerned about its viewership they should recognize him and his style as an asset and reward drivers with multiple wins like him with a spot in the Chase.

Why not have a " Wildcar " spot like other sports who offer " Wildcards "? Reward two drivers who do not make the Chase on points, but have the most wins outside of the Chase driver's entry list, into the Chase field. If there are multiple drivers with the same amount of wins then go back to points for the tie breaker. The Chase field can either be expanded to fourteen or trim the entry list to ten to accommodate the " Wildcars". I would favor a larger field as it would make for more excitement.

This year's list of Chase drivers is a good one, but NASCAR has missed an opportunity for an even more exciting end with the absence of Busch. Like I stated earlier you may not like him, but he brings excitement and many thrilling finishes amidst controversy to most of the races he is in. Many watch him in the hopes that he will fail, but negative or not he does bring in the interest and viewership, and that is exactly what NASCAR needs to do during the year and in the Chase if it is to survive.

Dale Jr Builds Confidence Slowly, But Surely

Dale Jr has had a bunch of recent good runs in NASCAR lately. And it seems that ratings have also been up lately. But that may or may not have anything to do with it. That's your opinion. But one thing is for sure. Little E is improving, and so is his confidence.

It all started, two races ago. It was at Michigan. A track where his last win was. He was with a new crew chief this time, with a newer style car. He did great. Compared to how he was recently doing, it certainly was special. Jr had an okay car at the beginning, but Lance McGrew and the 88 team made great improvements and charged up to third. It was amazing. Many thought it was a fluke, but the next race at Bristol, proved all the critics wrong.

So Bristol came, which was another one of the race tracks that Jr has visited in victory lane. He made improvements all night, boosting him up in the top 5, but then finshed 9th. The first consecutive set of top 10 finishes of the 2009 season.

And this weekend, Jr is pulling off double duty. Racing in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta, which is another track Jr has won on before. For the Nationwide race, Jr qualified on the pole. That's right, first position. He was going to start in first, something that has not been seen in both series in a while. He backed it up in the Nationwide race too. He had a third place car the whole race, but not as good as the 33 car, a car that lapped every car but the top 5. So the only way to win it was from strategy. So Jr saved fuel. He saved about 5 laps. And he was successful. The problem was that he was caught, by the fast 33 car who had fresh tires. Jr finshed third, where he pretty much ran all day.

So my point? My point is that Dale Earnhardt Jr is back. Or at least, he is getting closer. He is confident. And that is growing every day. Every interview he has, he seems more sure of himself. And with all that has happend in the last few years of his career, that is a good sign. We may be seeing the most popular driver in victory lane very soon.

Atlanta Was Fast Before, But Now..........

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of the best tracks in NASCAR. It is loved by both the majority of drivers and fans. Something you don't find often. It is also very wide with many grooves, something else that drivers love. Don't run good on the bottom? Run the middle. Not good in the middle? Run the top. Not good on top? Run in between those main three. It is a track with so many grooves, providing drivers with many ways to pass.

But, don't forget the speed. This track is not just a multi-grooved track. It is fast. And I mean very fast. Meaning one of the fastest tracks in the circuit. And that's during the day. At night, when the sun comes down, the speeds will rocket, and the cars will fly.

The Sprint Cup Series usually qualifies at night every time, causing cars to zoom around the track, breaking or getting close to track records. But now, they won't qualify at night. They will race at night. The track is fairly easy to find grip during a hot slick day, but when the sun comes down, speeds will come up, and the grip level will be maxed out. Speeds will be close to qualifying times every lap, cars will have a ton of grip, drivers will choose a lane, drive hard, and put on a great show.

No matter what time of day, Atlanta has always put on a great show, but for some reason seats struggle to fill. Maybe the Labor Day weekend switch with Auto Club Speedway will help with that. But one things for sure. History will be made this weekend, when the sun comes down, and the lights come on.

Menard And Stremme Will Make 100th Start This Weekend

This weekend won't just be an ordinary race for Paul Menard and David Stremme. It will mark their 100th start in NASCAR's top series. This will make the drivers be the 177th and 178th to make this mark in Sprint Cup history.

"It's hard to believe that I'll be making my 100th Sprint Cup start this weekend in Atlanta," Menard said. "I can remember that day I first raced in a Cup series event, and I have to admit, as I think every driver will say, it was a huge day.

"What's really hard to believe is there are guys like Mark Martin still in the sport that just last week made his 1,000 start in a NASCAR event; something like that is an achievement.
"For me, this weekend in Atlanta is more than just a landmark," Mendard said. "It's ironic that Johns Manville is on the hood this weekend, they have been a long time sponsor and good friends of mine throughout my career not only in Cup, but in early days of my driving career."

Menard made his first career start at Watkins Glen in August 10, 2003. Stremme made his debut into the series July 10, 2005, at Chicago. Stremme will be replaced by Brad Keselowski next year.

Why didn't Keselowski Wait?

Brad Keselowski won many races with the JR Motorsports team. Brad Keselowski won three races this year, one of them being at a very tough track, the Monster Mile(above). He even won a cup race for James Finch. He was going slow, but things were good.

But then, for some reason, he just couldn't wait any longer. He made a move from HMS, the best team in NASCAR winning just about all of the races(at least it seems that way). But he still made his move, to a less successful team: Penske Racing.

But why? If he was going to race in IRL or any other non-NASCAR series, then Penske would be a good move. Don't get me wrong, Penske is still a good team winning races every now and then, but when you just came from a HMS based team, it kinda seems like a bad choice.

Now, will he be back at Hendrick? That is a possibility. Rick Hendrick made it very clear that he was going to get Brad back, because he is close enough to do so. Rick made sure that he had dibbs on Keselowski.

But is that what Brad wants? Was his plan to go to Penske and wait? If so, it makes his move more understandable, but not completely. So excactly, why did he do it if he was going back? Wouldn't it have been worth the wait?

And Brad and HMS may have parted ways forever, but something just tells me that that is not the case. But whatever happens, it depends on one thing, how well does he do at Penske? But, all I can do is speculate, I can't answer the question. Talk to me next year during the last race before the chase, then, I'll let you know.

Official: Penske and Keselowski

It is official. Brad Keselowski will be racing for Roger Penske next year. But Brad won't only race in the Cup Series. He will race full time in the Nationwide Series. Something that will be very difficult to do for the 25 year old.

"We are very excited to welcome Brad to the Penske Racing family," team owner Roger Penske said. "Brad has shown terrific success on track the past several years and has quickly established himself as one of the top young stars in racing. He comes from an impressive family background in motorsports. He is a proven winner and a welcome addition to our team."

There is no question that Brad deserves to be in the Cup Series, especially after his win earlier this year at Talladega. But many questioned if Penske Racing was the right move.

"Penske Racing is one of the top teams in all of motorsports and I am honored to join Roger Penske's organization and compete for wins with his Cup and Nationwide Series teams," Keselowski said. "This is a great opportunity for me to continue competing in the Nationwide Series and to run my first full season in the Cup Series with a strong and experienced team."

So, it will be interesting to see how Brad does compared to the Hendrick boys, especially interesting to see him compete against the number 88 Nationwide car for JR Motorsports.