Ryan Newman drove a smart race and pulled off a win in the most prestigious stock car race of the year--the Daytona 500. Add to that the fact that his team owner, Roger Penske, had never had a restrictor-plate race win at all, and Kurt Busch, Ryan's teammate finished second in the 50th running of the Great American Race.....well, for the Dodge fans things could not be much better.
Except, perhaps, that Roger Penske showed up in Victory Lane in a Hendrick motor sports hat. What was that all about??? You'd think Penske would be proud of his own outfit and finally winning not only a restrictor-plate race, but a DAYTONA 500 -- not promoting Rick Hendrick racing. Yeah, yeah, yeah....I heard him say he said something to Rick Hendrick and Hendrick gave him the hat. Still, it was not very flattering to his own teams.
Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart ran smart races; Busch easily had the strongest car of the day, even if it was a Toyota. Ah, well. Kyle has shown maturity and the ability to work as a teammate. Gibbs Racing has three top-notch racers under their roof. Look to them for bringing Toyota the success that Michael Waltrip could not produce last season. I'm still not a Toyota fan, but they are the lesser of some evils out there...
Most interestingly, the best laid plans of Hendrick racing didn't end up with their three top teams in the top 5. Guess you just can't buy everything....
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Dale Junior's NWS Team Caught Cheating at Daytona -- or -- Lay Down with a Dog and Get up with Fleas
On Thursday night, the Nationwide Series (NWS)(formerly Busch Series) car that Dale Junior is driving at Daytona was found to be in flagrant violation of the rules.
From ESPN.com:
'The #5 car Earnhardt will drive in Saturday's Nationwide Series opener was impounded by NASCAR on Thursday night after officials discovered the team altered the spoiler to create an aerodynamic advantage following inspection. The car was returned on Friday morning minus the trunk lid and spoiler, repaired and sent back through inspection.'
In all the years that Junior has driven a Busch car, there has not been a violation of this type. Of course the team owner, Rick Hendrick, is a well known convicted felon whose teams have a history of a litany of cheating violations over the past 15 years. Hopefully, for Dale Junior, his 88 Cup team won't have the same type of leadership. But, as they say, those who do not learn from the past are destined to repeat their mistakes...
On another note, much has been made of the five Hendrick Cup cars having their motors pulled -- and taken off the track back to the shop in NC -- without NASCAR having any look at or input about these 'practice' motors. It makes one wonder what else they are trying to hide, and why they rushed to get those motors away from the track.
From ESPN.com:
'The #5 car Earnhardt will drive in Saturday's Nationwide Series opener was impounded by NASCAR on Thursday night after officials discovered the team altered the spoiler to create an aerodynamic advantage following inspection. The car was returned on Friday morning minus the trunk lid and spoiler, repaired and sent back through inspection.'
In all the years that Junior has driven a Busch car, there has not been a violation of this type. Of course the team owner, Rick Hendrick, is a well known convicted felon whose teams have a history of a litany of cheating violations over the past 15 years. Hopefully, for Dale Junior, his 88 Cup team won't have the same type of leadership. But, as they say, those who do not learn from the past are destined to repeat their mistakes...
On another note, much has been made of the five Hendrick Cup cars having their motors pulled -- and taken off the track back to the shop in NC -- without NASCAR having any look at or input about these 'practice' motors. It makes one wonder what else they are trying to hide, and why they rushed to get those motors away from the track.
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