Posts Tagged: nationwide

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28
Nov 09

What I’m Thankful For In NASCAR

- I'm thankful for double-file restarts saving the competitiveness from becoming worse than Formula One. More than anything else, they kept me from falling asleep during races... which happened more than once at the beginning of the season.

- I'm thankful I'm seeing history made in the form of Jimmie Johnson, despite my not caring for Hendrick Motorsports, Chad Knaus, or anything Lowes-related.

- I'm thankful for Kyle Busch being Kyle Busch and Juan Montoya being Juan Montoya and not hiding their personalities. Kyle scared us for a bit at Bristol, but it didn't take.

- I'm thankful for Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski trying to recapture the spirit of 1979 in a Daytona infield thanks to their rivalry in the Nationwide Series. While I'm puzzled at why people defend Hamlin, it made Nationwide races exciting and gave people something to talk about.

- I'm thankful Mark Martin returned to race full-time.

- I'm thankful Michael Waltrip finally took my advice and retired from full-time competition.

- I'm thankful fans still showed up to the track this year despite all the negative news. Thank you, fans. You're the reason why we can still talk, watch, and write about this sport.
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27
Oct 09

Kyle Busch Getting New CC For 2010

Actually, the last few races of 2009 as well.

Dave Rogers, from the dominant JGR Nationwide team, will take over as the new Crew Chief for Kyle starting at Texas. Hey, as I've said before, if there's anyone thats earned a promotion it has to be this guy. He propelled the #20 to the Nationwide Owner's Points title last season, a feat that got surprisingly little attention. Rogers has worked with guys like Kyle, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano and has won with all of them. Kyle will get back to his winning ways in Cup soon.
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11
Aug 09

Stewart Wins Again, Watkins Glen Needs SAFER

The second consecutive rain delayed race produced a fun one, with Tony Stewart winning for a 5th time at the New York road course. Appropriately, he called The Glen "his house" from victory lane. Much will be said about the latest win and Chase momentum for the #14 team, as well it should.

The biggest thing I'm taking away from the race is the need for the SAFER barrier at the road courses. Sam Hornish, Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton are all lucky to walk away after their crash that red-flagged the race for nearly 20 minutes. For reference, here's the crash:


Also, let's not forget, Jason Leffler took quite a hit as well in the same area:


In 2009 in these series, SAFER needs to be outside of these high-speed turns. You just never know what's going to happen. We got lucky this weekend. It's a benefit to have crashes like this expose something that can be fixed. Let's hope Watkins Glen does the right thing and installs the barriers. We might not be as lucky next time.