(WOMR file photo)

“The action track”, Richmond International Raceway, as it is affectionately known amongst the NASCAR community lived up to its moniker.  As the race was concluded last night, there was the usual “NASCAR officials/drivers conferences” that occur after a traditional short track “confrontation”!  However, it was not because there was . . . → Read More: Richmond Produces Bruised Egos And Hurt Feelings!]]>

(WOMR file photo)

“The action track”, Richmond International Raceway, as it is affectionately known amongst the NASCAR community lived up to its moniker.  As the race was concluded last night, there was the usual “NASCAR officials/drivers conferences” that occur after a traditional short track “confrontation”!  However, it was not because there was a lot of beatin’ and bangin’ during Saturday night’s Capital City 400, it was, instead, the results of two NASCAR judgement calls.

There were two drivers that were most affected, and thus two very upset people, for two very different reasons!  Both drivers left Richmond feeling that they got “the big screw job” from the NASCAR officials!

Bruised egos and hurt feelings

The first incident involved Carl Edwards.  He was involved in a somewhat confusing and questionable restart incident.

When the race restarted with 82 laps to, Edwards said he was told he had the lead back. But on the restart, NASCAR ruled that Stewart was leader and that Edwards jumped early and because of that, was penalized.

That penalty took him out of contention.

Edwards was having a very hard time accepting the penalty and its explanation after the race.

Carl’s explanation

“I am trying to not be too frustrated and say something stupid,” he said. “So right before that start my spotter Jason Hedleskey was told by NASCAR officials that the 99 was the leader, the 99 is the leader. Jason told me and I had a split second to decide what I was going to do. I thought, okay, NASCAR made a mistake and they lined us up wrong.

“I was at a disadvantage being on the outside so I thought I was getting the best start I could get. It looked like Tony waited or spun his tires so they black flagged me. I still don’t understand why they black flagged me. They said we were the leader and I restarted the best I could given the disadvantaged position I was in. The problem is I don’t know if NASCAR is going to take the stance that I jumped the start. If they are saying that I jumped the start then that would be real frustrating.

“I was on the outside and thought Tony Stewart was the leader on the inside. NASCAR told my spotter about three seconds before the restart that the 99 was the leader. They put us on the scoreboard as the leader and I realized I was at a disadvantaged position on the outside land and NASCAR made a little mistake. I got the best start I could and Tony didn’t start or spun his tires and NASCAR black flagged us. I don’t know why they black flagged me. I don’t think it is right and I don’t agree with it. Before I say something stupid because I am real frustrated I would like to go talk to them.”

Tony’s beef

Tony Stewart’s complaint was the water bottle that was the “culprit” for the debris yellow flag thrown with just 14 laps to go in the race was out of the groove, and had been lying there for eight laps!

The alleged presence of the bottle on the track brought out a caution flag. Busch beat the field out of the pits during that caution, kept the lead on the restart and easily held the lead to the checkered flag.

“It was a gift,” Busch said of the caution. “Man, I just don’t know where it came from or what it was or anything, but it doesn’t matter.”

Stewart said it mattered to him.

“That’s what it looked like to me,” he said when asked if the backstretch debris was a water bottle. “I mean, it was out of the groove. It had been sitting there for eight laps.”

The water bottle, however, had accomplices in deciding the outcome; the pit crews of the Busch and Stewart cars for starters. They sent Busch out first and Stewart out second.

“We came down pit road,” Busch said, “and Dave Rogers (crew chief) and these guys went to work and gave me a great pit stop – got me out front. Gave me the lead so I could restart the race how I wanted to. That was the win right there.”

Stewart flashed a different tone toward his crew.

Asked about being upset at his crew, he said, “No different than anybody else that has a scenario that happens tonight. You go back and try to work on it and try to remedy the problem and try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Note to Tony and Carl

As I have oft-repeated over the past few years in my blog, when racing at the short tracks anywhere in this nation, you must first leave your egos, your feelings, and your weapons at the pit gate!  If you do this, you will not get your egos and your feelings hurt by the actions of your competitors, as well as, the sanctioning body of the race.  Likewise, it is also extremely important to leave all weapons at the pit gate, as well.  Thereby eliminating any possible homicides that would otherwise occur after the race, as the results of the beatin’, the bangin’, and the elevated tempers that naturally occur during the race!

Maybe before the race, as a part of the pre-race festivities, in addition to the invocation and the national anthem, the drivers and the pit crewmen should all hold hands and sing “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore”!  That surely would have a nice calming effect on all the competitors!  I am just sayin’…………………

What do you think?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(photo courtesy Joe Sabo/AP)

NASCAR officials plan to re-evaluate its “boys have at it” policy going into the 2012 season and could strengthen its stance against drivers retaliating on the track. NASCAR loosened the reins on drivers in 2010, allowing them to police themselves on the track and retaliate when they believed . . . → Read More: “Boys Have At It” Revisited?]]>

(photo courtesy Joe Sabo/AP)

NASCAR officials plan to re-evaluate its “boys have at it” policy going into the 2012 season and could strengthen its stance against drivers retaliating on the track. NASCAR loosened the reins on drivers in 2010, allowing them to police themselves on the track and retaliate when they believed another driver had intentionally wrecked them. The incidents intensified in 2011, and NASCAR officials acknowledged that things might have gotten out of hand near the end of the season.

“We reflect on that at the end of the year and the season hasn’t started yet, but there are some things that a group of us will sit down and talk about, and that is one of them,” NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said Thursday. “There were times that it got out of hand, and we’re going to discuss what out of hand really is moving forward.”

Pemberton said he doesn’t believe the trend of retaliation in general got out of hand, although specific incidents may have crossed the line. Pemberton, who coined the phrase “boys have at it” in 2010, believes NASCAR’s original position of allowing drivers to police themselves still works. “It’s working pretty well. It goes in stages,” he said. “It works pretty well, then somebody gets outside the box and everybody gets the message and it goes back to working pretty well. But we can’t take all of that for granted.”

It is the opinion of WOMR that the idea of “boys have at it” has, for the most part worked very well.  But as human beings will do from time to time, some of these drivers have taken the “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” a little too vigorously!  Witness the now infamous incident with ol Kylie Busch and Ron Hornaday at Texas.  That is obviously a time when the driver went over the line!

If we recall the two Carl Edwards and “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski at Atlanta and Gateway, likewise, those two incidents were over the line.  Nevertheless, NASCAR did not summarily park Carl for his intentional crashing of “Bad Brad” at either race track. How about Brian Vickers deliberately sticking Tony Stewart into the tires at Infineon Raceway?  Do you remember Vickers, again, pushing Matt Kenseth down the back straight at Phoenix and parking him into the retaining wall in turn #3?

Then the question begs to be asked, why were those incidents any different from ol Kylie’s sticking ‘s nose first into the wall?  NASCAR never addressed that issue in its dealings of Edwards’ multiple indiscretions, nor did they ever address Vickers’ inability to find his own brake pedal on more than one occasion!

Once again it is the opinion of WOMR that NASCAR, in fact, really does need to revisit the policy of “boys have at it”.  However, NASCAR’s main focus really ought to be on their ability to make accurate, uniform, and fair judgmental decisions across the board!  It is very obvious when a driver crosses the line.  That is when NASCAR should take the matter in their hands and adjudicate the matter appropriately.

If there is any problem with the philosophy of “boys have at it”, it is in the lack of uniformity that NASCAR has in their policing of the “crossing the line” of the aforementioned policy.  Maybe Robin Pemberton and Mike Helton need to have an “internal investigation” to see what part they may have played in the elevation of the driver retaliation.  Obviously, it is WOMR’s opinion that NASCAR’s inability to uniformly and equally apply the rules to all the drivers equally, that may have allowed the gray area to develop, consequently, inviting the drivers to cross the line of civility!

What are your views?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

So far two of the three championships have been determined at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  However, the one that has everyone buzzing is yet to be determined.  The Sprint Cup championship is the culmination of thirty-six weeks of racing throughout the USA.  Therefore after thirty-five . . . → Read More: It’s Edwards’ Championsip To Loose?]]>

(WOMR file photo)

This is Championship Weekend in NASCAR.

So far two of the three championships have been determined at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  However, the one that has everyone buzzing is yet to be determined.  The Sprint Cup championship is the culmination of thirty-six weeks of racing throughout the USA.  Therefore after thirty-five weeks, the championship is down to one race, two drivers, and just the tiniest of margins, 3 points, in determining who will be the reigning 2011 Sprint Cup champion!

The two drivers who have survived the Chase format for the 2011 season is, two-time champion Tony Stewart, and the consistently performing Carl Edwards.

In the head-to-head comparisons, it appears to be a dead-heat.  That is, both drivers have two wins at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.  On closer scrutiny, Stewart’s two wins came on the older flat configuration, Edwards’ two wins, however, have come on the newer progressively banked configuration!

Nevertheless, Tony Stewart has won many championships during his racing career, and most likely can deal with the pressure.  Stewart may have a better understanding of what to expect, what it takes to win a championship, but is that enough to make a difference?

Sometimes being new to the pressures of a championship hunt, can work in your favor.  Could it be that, what Carl Edwards doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, be a benefit to his quest for the championship?

Who will stake their claim on the Sprint Cup championship?  For most who are in the know, it is a dead heat.  However, I will stick my neck out with a bold prediction.  Just twelve weeks ago Tony Stewart made a bold statement that his team didn’t deserve to be in the Chase, with the way that they performed in the races leading up to the Chase.  His team was extremely inconsistent during “the regular season”!  That comment obviously lit a fire within the organization!

It is my opinion that the most consistent driver during this season will win the championship.  That driver is Carl Edwards, because………………………….

Winning is an attitude!

Who do you think will exhibit that winning attitude today at Homestead-Miami Speedway?

One race, two drivers, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

This weekend the spotlight was on the two car race for the 2011 Sprint Cup championship, as well as the newly reconfigured, and newly resurfaced racing facility.

I can tell you from my view in my seat in the Allison Tower, from walking through the pits, as well as . . . → Read More: Kasey Kahne Wins One For Red Bull]]>

(WOMR file photo)

This weekend the spotlight was on the two car race for the 2011 Sprint Cup championship, as well as the newly reconfigured, and newly resurfaced racing facility.

I can tell you from my view in my seat in the Allison Tower, from walking through the pits, as well as strolling up and pit road, this new configuration is fantastic.  Even though the racing groove started out very thin, with just one lane of racing through practice on Thursday and Friday, however, by the start of the Nationwide race on Saturday afternoon, the racing groove had widened out allowing some side-by-side racing in the Nationwide race.

By the end of the Nationwide race the groove widened just in time for the K&N West Series to take the track and widen out the groove even more!  Both the Nationwide and the K&N races were action packed, and very exciting preliminary races that promised to lead up to a very good Sprint Cup race Sunday!

Early on in the race Tony Stewart took control.  For the first half of the race it appeared that he was cruising to his 5th win in the first nine races of the Chase!  But as the day proceeded on, Kasey Kahne stole the spotlight.  Kahne may not be in the Chase, however, for one day at least, he was the talk of NASCAR when he won the Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.

This was Kahne’s first win for Red Bull Racing, his 11th career victory, and his first victory in 81 races.

“It feels so good,” Kahne said. “It’s been a long time coming. This whole Red Bull team has done an unbelievable job to keep working hard. Kenny Francis (crew chief) keeps on it – everybody at Red Bull, the car, the Toyota engine. It was a great run today. The guys did an awesome job. We fell back a little bit early and then came back and just kept getting it better. These guys haven’t given up in the last three months. It’s been really cool. It was really, really cool. It was slippery early, but as the tires built heat and got rubber on the track, the Goodyear tires came in pretty good. It ended up being a great race. I’m really excited.”

So the two-horse race for the championship leaves The Valley of The Sun heading for South Florida with exactly the same point spread that existed when they both drove through the tunnel Friday at Phoenix.  Edwards leads Stewart by the slimmest of margins, just 3 points.

The drama is building for quite a spectacular championship weekend at Homestead!  Stay tuned to see which one will unseat Mr. five Time, Jimmie Johnson!

Check out the unofficial results from the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix.

With one race to go for the Sprint Cup championship here is the standings.

Twelve drivers, now one race, on championship, who will be the last man standing?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(WOMR file photo)

Sunday in Ft. Worth, TX, Tony Stewart backed up his “trash talk” to Carl Edwards by winning the AAA Texas 500.

Without a race win in “the regular season”, this victory was Stewart’s fourth win in the first eight races in the Chase, as well as his 43rd career . . . → Read More: A Texas “Smoke Screen”!]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Sunday in Ft. Worth, TX, Tony Stewart backed up his “trash talk” to Carl Edwards by winning the AAA Texas 500.

Without a race win in “the regular season”, this victory was Stewart’s fourth win in the first eight races in the Chase, as well as his 43rd career victory!  Stewart won this race in a very dominating fashion leading 173 of the 334 laps of the race.

Is this starting to sound like the past five years when Jimmie Johnson would dominate in the Chase races?  It would appear that the Chase has been whittled down to a two car race, Stewart and Edwards.  Which of these two drivers will be the one who wrestles the Sprint Cup championship from the grasp of “Mr Five Time”, Jimmie Johnson?

This victory was not enough to give Stewart the Chase points lead.  However, this victory did eat into the points spread that Edwards had prior to the start of the race.  Stewart cut into the previous eight point lead, now trailing Edwards by just 3 points with two races left in the season.

The Sprint Cup drivers now head back out West to a newly paved, and reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway.  With new pavement and a slight configuration change, all the race teams have had to throw away their notebooks on PIR, and start fresh in their approach to this race track.  Phoenix is going to be challenging for all teams exactly for the above mentioned reasons.

Therefore, Phoenix may be looked at by all race teams in the same fashion that the race teams viewed Talladega two weeks ago.  There is the new unknown regarding PIR.  Who will master the reconfigured facility?  There is no doubt that, in light of this very tight championship race, Phoenix is going to play a very integral part of crowning the Sprint Cup champion!

Check out the unofficial results from the AAA Texas 500.

Here is the Chase standings after the finish of the AAA Texas 500.

Twelve drivers, now two races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

See you next weekend from the Phoenix International Raceway!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

Now that the biggest of free agent has re-signed with Roush-Fenway, with big financial help from Ford Motor Company, the Carl Edwards story is finished.  According to Jack Roush, Ford Motor Company stepped up  to offer Carl Edwards an incentive program, including  Ford stock that would that would come . . . → Read More: NASCAR “Free Agents” Still Undecided On Future]]>

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

Now that the biggest of free agent has re-signed with Roush-Fenway, with big financial help from Ford Motor Company, the Carl Edwards story is finished.  According to Jack Roush, Ford Motor Company stepped up  to offer Carl Edwards an incentive program, including  Ford stock that would that would come to fruition in the third year of the contract!

Still unsettled contractually, Clint Bowyer has yet to finalize his plans with Richard Childress Racing for 2012.  It is widely assumed that Bowyer will re-sign with RCR for 2012, even though there are some sponsorship questions that still need to be finalized.

Likewise, Juan Pablo Montoya has yet to commit to another year with Target Chip Ganassi.  Like Bowyer, it is expected that JPM will continue driving for EGR #42 Target Chevy in 2012.

However, the future of Brian Vickers is completely up in the air.  Since Red Bull Racing has stated that they are pulling out of NASCAR as a race team, Vickers is scouring the garage area for employment opportunities for 2012.  In looking at all the powerhouse race teams for 2012, it would appear that “there is no room at the inn” for Vickers!  Unless Vickers can bring substantial sponsorship that would allow an established race organization to start a third or fourth team, like Joe Gibbs Racing and/or Stewart-Haas Racing, Vickers may be relegated to an underfunded less competitive race team for 2012.

Now Mark Martin’s future may possibly involve many twists and turns.  It is a given that he is out of the Hendrick Motorsports #5 GoDaddy.com Chevy at the end the 2011 season. That is the only thing that is factual.  However, there could be many possibilities that Martin could be dealing within deciding his future.  First, Martin could get involved in ownership of a Sprint Cup team.  There has been some garage rumors stating that Martin could get involved in a partnership ownership status, possibly with a group to take over the Red Bull Racing team. Secondly, Martin is running a very limited Nationwide and Camping World Truck schedule with Turner Motorsports, that could be part of his future plans as well.  Could that be where Martin lands for the 2012 season, running a part-time schedule in both series?  Could his  future be a Sprint Cup team owner and part-time competitor in Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and/or Camping World Trucks series?

What are your thoughts on where these “free agents” may land next year?  The possibilities are endless!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

The “big free agent” has announced his intentions for 2012.  Carl Edwards has re-signed with Roush-Fenway Racing for 2012 and beyond!  By doing so, Edwards has eliminated all the garage rumors of him moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing in a fourth race team.

Now that the first domino . . . → Read More: Carl Edwards Re-Signs With Roush-Fenway]]>

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

The “big free agent” has announced his intentions for 2012.  Carl Edwards has re-signed with Roush-Fenway Racing for 2012 and beyond!  By doing so, Edwards has eliminated all the garage rumors of him moving over to Joe Gibbs Racing in a fourth race team.

Now that the first domino has fallen, what are the next pieces of the puzzle that will fall into place for this, the 2012 silly season?

For the last few weeks it appeared that there was going to be at least one open seat at Roush-Fenway Racing, with what appeared the apparent departure of Carl Edwards to Joe Gibbs Racing.  Now that this possibility does not exist, there seems to be some other potential issues at Roush-Fenway Racing.

Even though he has won his first Sprint Cup race of his career, there seems to be questions about the future of David Ragan with Roush-Fenway Racing.  Jack Roush had high hopes for David Ragan when he was brought in to replace Mark Martin in the #6 UPS Ford.  However, it has been a very long uphill struggle for Ragan over the last few years.  So there are a few more questions to be answered at Rouch-Fenway Racing.

Will David Ragan remain with Roush-Fenway Racing?   If so, what will Jack Roush do with Nationwide drivers, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Trevor Bayne in 2012? Will Stenhouse and Bayne be relegated to another year in the Nationwide Series?

With Red Bull Racing pulling out of the NASCAR, where will Brian Vickers find employment for the 2012 season?  Likewise, with Kasey Kahne moving over to the Hendrick Motorsports #5 Farmers Insurance sponsored Chevy, where will Mark Martin be racing next year?  In what series will Martin find a home?  Will Martin become a part owner in NASCAR?  Is Joe Gibbs Racing still going to try to cultivate a fourth team, now that their prized and most sought after driver, Carl Edwards,  has re-signed with Roush-Fenway Racing?  Questions, questions, questions, and still no answers so far!

Even though we now have one piece of the driver  “free agent” puzzle that has fallen into place, there are still many more questions that have yet to be answered.  Stay tuned, race fans, because the “silly season” is now in full bloom!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield!  Sometime things fall into place, then sometimes everything turns to crap!  But rarely do they happen simultaneously!

Saturday night the good, the bad, and the ugly happened all in one lap for Carl Edwards.  Saturday night he won the . . . → Read More: Edwards Wins The Cool Million At Charlotte!]]>

(photo courtesy Alan Maler)

Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield!  Sometime things fall into place, then sometimes everything turns to crap!  But rarely do they happen simultaneously!

Saturday night the good, the bad, and the ugly happened all in one lap for Carl Edwards.  Saturday night he won the NASCAR All-Star race collecting a cool million dollars, then he tried “the Kenseth sling the race car through the grass doughnut”, only to demolish the front clip of his race car!

OOOPPPSS!

Edwards planned to celebrate with a slide through the frontstretch’s grassy apron, followed by a skidding halt at the start-finish line. Next was to be his traditional celebratory back flip, a brief trip into the stands and then a short drive to victory lane. Surprise!

However, Edwards didn’t expect his car’s front splitter to dig into the frontstretch’s grassy apron just before the quarter-mile track, nearly flipping his car as its front end was ripped away. Edwards was shocked that suddenly his powerful race car was now a hunk of junk, but the 31-year-old Missouri native didn’t let the miscue stifle the rest of his celebration.

While the song “Flipper” blared over the track’s public address system, Edwards charged into the grandstand, celebrated briefly with the fans, then joined his team in victory lane where a wrecker towed his car.

“He’s the only back-flipper in the field,” Roush said in explaining why he assigned rock star status to his driver. “He’s the first one to crawl up into the stands. Some of the drivers wouldn’t go up in the stands like that after a race and for good reason. But Carl, he’s well thought of and he’s out there doing things that other people wish they thought of first, and he drives the hell out of our race cars. He was the cornerstone of our organization today. He’s a draw for sponsors and a rallying point for his team.”

Edwards’ performance this year has made him the 2011 season’s top free agent. Neither Roush nor Edwards will discuss contract negotiations, saying their focus is on obtaining the series championship, that it’s a private business matter. However, one can be assured that Ford Motor Co. doesn’t want to let Edwards slip through its fingers like it did Jeff Gordon in the early 1990s.

It was well after midnight when Edwards, crew chief Bob Osborne and Roush completed their media obligations following their All-Star victory. A situation that left Edwards pointing to a Cessna Citation as making his racing ventures possible.

As they walked out of the media center, Osborne wasn’t concerned about the wrecked car, saying he had a better one at the shop for next weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. Roush wasn’t worried about NASCAR changing the rules because of his teams current domination on the intermediate tracks due to all of the cars similarity in aero mapping and engine parameters. And Edwards, well, he simply wanted to find retired CMS president H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler to collect the other half of a torn $100 bill Wheeler told him he would give him when he won the All-Star race.

So Carl, are you going to pay for the repairs to your race car with your new found wealth?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

However, because of the strewn wreckage, his partial involvement, and his rattled nerves, Edwards dispensed with his . . . → Read More: Edwards Survived The Monster Mile Carnage]]>

Carl Edwards survived a last lap mass carnage and won the 5-Hour Energy 200 Nationwide Series race at Dover International Raceway Saturday afternoon.  It was Edwards’ third victory of the 2011 Nationwide season.

However, because of the strewn wreckage, his partial involvement, and his rattled nerves, Edwards dispensed with his traditional victorious back flip at the start/finish line.  Instead, Edwards stopped his race car at the site of the carnage to see if Joey Logono and Clint Bowyer were safe and sound.

As Edwards was being interviewed in Victory Lane, he got a chance to view the video tape of the final lap of the race.

“They just showed the replay and I didn’t touch them, so I am happy for that,” Edwards said. “What a wild finish. I apologize for not doing the back flip there guys. I thought that I wrecked them and I didn’t want to be celebrating over that but it looks like we didn’t hit them, we won the race in our fast Ford Mustang and that is good.”

As a recap, the race was started over one hour late because of a very persistent morning rain.  At lap 140 of the scheduled 200 laps, Justin Allgaier blew a right front tire that slammed him hard into the wall.

The cars at the front of the field headed to pit road when the yellow came out. Josh Wise did not and inherited the lead.  Before the race could restart, it began to rain and the cars were red flagged and parked.

The race restarted with Edwards in the lead as Wise had to pit before the green dropped.  Logano quickly took the lead and held it until 15 laps to go. He and Edwards went door-to-door for a lap before Edwards eased into the lead.

With three laps to go, Michael Annett crashed to bring out a caution to set up a green/white/checkered restart.

Edwards got a great restart and jumped to a couple-car lead but a stalled car on the apron brought out another yellow and that set up a second green/white/checkered restart.

On this, the second of as many as three green/white/checkered restarts, Logano and Edwards went door-to-door, with Logano easing slightly ahead down the back straight.  As the two cars went through turns #3 and 4, Logano and Edwards battled door-to-door. As the two were beginning to exit turn #4, Logano got loose.  As he was correcting, Clint Bowyer slammed hard into Logano’s left rear quarter panel, destroying that part of the car, rocketing Bowyer’s car up on its left side, hurtling Bowyer’s car into the inside crash wall, and then getting T-boned by Steven Wallace’s car.

“That was pretty wild,” Bowyer, who said he feared his crashing car was going to jump the pit wall and cause a tragedy on crowded pit road.

The race ended under the yellow flag, since the leader had taken the white flag as all the carnage began to unfold behind Edwards.

Here is the unofficial results of the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover.

What did you think of the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover.?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Carl Edwards dominated the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 by leading 169 laps of the 200 lap race Friday night at the Texas Motor Speedway enroute to his first victory, the Ford Mustang’s first victory, in the Nationwide Series in 2011.

“This is a huge night for Mustang and . . . → Read More: Edwards Dominates At Texas]]>

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Carl Edwards dominated the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 by leading 169 laps of the 200 lap race Friday night at the Texas Motor Speedway enroute to his first victory, the Ford Mustang’s first victory, in the Nationwide Series in 2011.

“This is a huge night for Mustang and Ford and this is a true team effort,” Edwards said. “A year ago we were struggling. We were not fast enough and Jack (Roush) and all the guys at the shop, the engineers, Doug Yates and everyone pulled together. We have great engines now and great pit stops and Mike Beam puts the fastest car on the race track underneath me every week and Jack lets us go do all this. The pole today we talked about that pole run being a true team effort.  It is a good day. It ended the way you wish every race would. Teamwork led us to victory lane.”

What started out to be a duel between the Ford Mustang of Carl Edwards and the Toyota Camry of Kyle Busch, ended abruptly on lap 88.  Busch was tagging along on Edwards rear deck lid, in second place, when the pair came upon a straggler.  Just as Edwards was passing, and Busch was approaching, the soon-to-be lapped car, Tim Schendel, the lapped car blew a right front tire.  Busch was unable to avoid Schendel’s car and piled directly into that car and ultimately ended up end the fence.  That wreck brought Kyle Busch’s evening to an abrupt halt!

“There was no time to react,” Busch said. “You can’t just stomp on the brakes and turn left, you’re already maxed out with your tires.  It’s real unfortunate – these guys did a great job working all weekend to get the car capable of running with Carl (Edwards) there.  They unloaded a lot better than we did and we just worked really hard getting to that point where we could run with those guys.  I felt like we were better on the long run with this Z-Line Designs Camry, just didn’t quite make it, obviously.  It’s going to go down as a wreck, but I felt like we were fast enough to win.”

Edwards admitted that Busch could have given him trouble had he not crashed.

All in all, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 was a very good race.  However, it would have been a much more exiting race had not ol Kylie crashed out early in the race.  I think that it would have been a “Carl and Kyle Shootout” in the end for the victory.

What are your thoughts?

Here is the unofficial results from the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!