Thursday, February 23rd 'What If' Question

This question was a fan submission from @AdamHeasley
Sunday's 54th annual Daytona 500 ends a long week filled with racing.

It started last Saturday night with the Budweiser Shootout, an exhibition race that's run only for fun and normally filled with plenty of excitement. After nearly wrecking in his No. 18 M&M's Toyota twice, and seeing Jeff Gordon barrel roll, Kyle Busch captured his first Shootout win. The following day Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle put Roush Fenway Racing on the front row for the Daytona 500 with Edwards capturing his first 500 pole.

And then came Thursday what might the most exciting but nerve-racking day of Speedweeks. Thursday two Gatorade Duel races not only decide the starting lineup of Sunday's Daytona 500 but who makes the Great American Race and who has to head home and try again next year.

After finishing second to Kyle Busch in a photo finish in the Budweiser Shootout it was Tony Stewart who captured the first Duel's checkered flag. He'll start third in the Daytona 500 as he attempts to win the big race for the first time in his career. But as Stewart headed for the checkered flag and a third place starting position in the 500, it was one of the cars that he owns who took a big hit behind him.

Rookie Danica Patrick found the inside wall on the backstretch after contact from Aric Almirola sent her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for a wild ride. The caution immediately flew and the field was frozen and NASCAR ruled where each driver had been when the caution had come out.

Patrick was forced to a backup car and will start the Daytona 500 from the 29th position. Finishing behind Stewart was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will lineup fifth on the starting grid.

But ...

"What if Duel #1 was the Daytona 500 and #NASCAR threw a caution while Junior had a run on Stewart on the final lap? What reactions would there be?"

@ARosser14 I'd be partying my butt off and wouldn't care what the Official Cult of NASCAR (Junior Nation) had to say about it one bit.

@NancyatStudioN Obvious answer - JR Nation would have gone berserk

@cruetten we would start throwing things, develop anger issues, schedules would clear up, would grow scraggly beards & take in stray animals

@murp0443 Better? Will Nascar start using better dscrtn when throwing caut on last lap. If wreck is behind leader no caution needed... On last lap ALL there is 2 think about is, "Wave yellow or let finish?" NOT tough to make the safe call & have great finish! I get safety. I get not racing back to the yellow mid-race... But just change that rule on final lap. Race till Checkers!!!

@AdamHeasley It would go to show how inconsistent NASCAR can be. It would cause a big controversy. Oh and I'll take credit for this one :)

Tuesday, February 21st 'What If' Question

The signing of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports have brought forth a major change to the landscape in the NASCAR garage. That includes the news, attention and focus by those watching and covering the sport.

The 2008 season featured the HMS lineup as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and Earnhardt Jr., with Kyle Busch being the odd man out and landing at Joe Gibbs Racing. To some it appeared that Hendrick had chosen Earnhardt Jr. over Busch and the consensus, those that weren't profanity fulled, seemed to be that he [Hendrick] would regret it.

Busch went out and won eight races in 2008 to Earnhardt Jr.'s one and when the two tangled in Richmond while racing for the win with less than five laps to go, the racing world ignited. It was fueled further when Earnhardt Jr. seemed to return the favor at the fall race in Richmond later the year. The have been constantly compared while the the team changes for both have been dissected and analyzed for who it has benefited more.

Busch has experienced both the highs and lows at JGR. He's won multiple races and contended for the championship only to see it disappear when the Chase started. He's broken records in the CWTS and NNS and then been benched in the Cup Series because of his actions.

Earnhardt Jr. has also had the ups and downs of racing. In 2008 he broke his winless streak and made the Chase. But in 2009 and 2010 fell off the map again and went through many team changes. To which Kyle Busch said, "It's always the crew chief, it's never the driver" and Earnhardt Jr. replied by saying that he's always had a problem with him and would take a shot whenever he could. Including during a race when laughing that Earnhardt Jr. was a lap down. In 2011 Earnhardt Jr. returned to the Chase but still hasn't won a race.

Meanwhile, Casey Mears only lasted the 2008 season with Hendrick before moving the RCR. Mark Martin came to Hendrick for the 2009-2011 season and now Kasey Kahne inherits the No. 5 for the next few years. Mears went from RCR to Key Motorsports in 2010 but then subbed for the ill Brian Vickers at Red Bull Racing for the remainder of the year. Starting in 2011 Mears became the driver of the No. 13 GEICO Toyota for Germain Racing.

Time will tell what's ahead for everyone involved as the 2012 season gets underway in Daytona with the 54th annual Daytona 500.

But ...

What if Rick Hendrick & Hendrick Motorsports hadn't kept Casey Mears over Kyle Busch in 2007 when signing Dale Earnhardt Jr., would the two still have been watched as closely and compared by others, would Busch still have taken jabs at Junior when he struggled and changed crew chiefs or would the two have been able to coincide on the same team with no problems?

@cruetten I think KB would've become an even bigger PR disaster at HMS because he would've constantly tried to outshine Jr's star.

@dougthethird Kyle would still be there, Kasey wouldn't, and RCR would still have 4 teams

Monday, February 13th 'What If' Question

Blame it on the milk and cookies.

Had it not been for that now infamous meeting at Hendrick Motorsports between Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus following the 2005 season the two most likely wouldn't have gone on their incredible five-year championship run. The reason is at the time the No. 48 team was going through some internal turmoil and the relationship between Johnson and Knaus wasn't what he once was, they no longer were seeing eye-to-eye.

After blowing a tire in the season finale at Homestead, finishing 40th and failing to overtake Tony Stewart for the '05 championship tem owner Rick Hendrick sat the two down. It was time to put it all out there and get over whatever problems they were having. And yes, they literally had milk and cookies as Hendrick told them if they were going to act like children he was going to treat them like it. The plates even had mickey mouse ears.

The two hashed it out and the team stayed together instead of splitting up like rumors seemed to indicate. A few months later Johnson went out and won the 2006 Daytona 500, with Knaus at home after having been suspended earlier in the week when the car failed post-qualifying inspection. Johnson went on to win a few weeks later at Las Vegas, then Talladega before earning his first win at the Brickyard and Martinsville on his way to his first NASCAR championship.

Everyone knows what happened in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 before Tony Stewart came along again in 2011 when Johnson finally had a bad year, at least by the standards that many have become accustomed to. While it's impossible to think that Johnson and company will never win another title, his five year title reign will be remembered the most. That was the time when he seemed invincible, untouchable and everyone's biggest nightmare. He'll go down in NASCAR history and if there's anyone would could match the feat it would be himself.

But ...

What if there was no milk & cookies meeting for @JimmieJohnson & CKnaus before 2006, would their 5yr title run still have happened?

@HarpAmyStabler I think that a championship might've happened. But, maybe not a 5 yr stretch run.

@rcracer20 best ? yet. think chad would be gone and no titles, think chad/gordon would have been unstoppable #ihate24

@cruetten i think if that meeting and every other star hadn't aligned just as it did, there wouldn't have been a five-year run of Cups.

Wednesday, February 8th 'What If' Question

The upcoming 2012 Camping World Truck Series season was supposed to be the return campaign for one of its former champions: Johnny Benson.

Benson was looking to be behind the wheel of a truck for Turn One Racing and team owner Stacey Compton. The deal fell through a few weeks ago and it unfortunately doesn't appear that Benson will be back in the CWTS anytime soon. It's been a loss for the series being that Benson is thought of as one of the good guys around the garage and he's been sorely missed.

He's one driver, however, that has experienced the ups and downs of racing. In November of 2002 Benson finally broke though for his first career Sprint Cup win at Rockingham before he was then replaced in 2003. It wouldn't take him long to find new work in a series where he excelled. Benson returned to the CWTS in the later part of the 2004 season for Bill Davis Racing and quickly impressed, finishing top 10 in points in 2005.

The 2006 brought his first career CWTS win at his hometrack, Michigan, as he went on to win five races that year before finishing second in points to Todd Bodine. Benson was also voted the most popular driver that year. By the end of 2007 there was no doubt that Benson had found a new home in the CWTS as he won four more races and finished third in points.

Nothing though will compare to the 2008 season for Benson and his fans. Following three poles, five wins, 14 top fives and 18 top 10 finishes Benson claimed his first Truck championship, second in NASCAR - he was the 1995 Nationwide champion. Nice guys can in fact finish first and another championship was well deserved and long awaited for Benson.

The excitement, however, didn't last long. The plan for 2009 was to run for Red Horse Racing in the No. 1 but not having a sponsor ended both Benson's CWTS career (to this point) and Red Horse Racing's season. Things got worse for Benson when he was then seriously injured in a SuperModified race in June, suffering injuries that would keep him sidelined.

He did make a few starts in 2010 for Kyle Busch Motorsports and Billy Ballew but neither were able to put together a full season for Benson. Since then he's been working as a driver coach with JR Motorsports star Danica Patrick as she made her way into NASCAR and stock cars for the first time. Only time will tell when Benson gets to be the driver again.

But ...

What if Johnny Benson hadn't been seriously injured in a supermodified race in 2009, would he still be without a ride in the CWTS? #NASCAR

@WilliamCheerboy Kelly, you're amazing. Anyways, what if. JB would still have a ride today, well known star in the Truck series. BTW if the "you're amazing" part doesn't make your blog, I'll be horribly disappointed.

@cruetten doubt it-Benson was a nice fixture in the truck series. It's a shame.

Monday, February 6th 'What If' Question

Speedweeks 2012 begins in a little over a week when cars hit the track for practice in advance of Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout.

A cheat sheet might be needed by some to keep track of the many driver and crew chief changes. However, there are still notable drivers who don't have rides for the upcoming season such as former Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers. Back in 2004 Vickers debuted with Hendrick Motorsports after having won the Nationwide Series title in 2003.

He quickly earned much attention as a fresh faced kid with talent that was just waiting to be shown. In June of 2006 though he announced that he wouldn't be back at Hendrick in 2007, instead choosing to depart for the newly formed Red Bull Racing team where he would be the face of the franchise instead of just another driver on the roster.

Up until last season he was. Vickers won his second career race with the team at Michigan in 2009, from the pole. It was the first win for Red Bull and the first for Toyota at Michigan. A long way since their early struggles of missing races and performance woes as they tried to run with the bigger teams.

Following the win Vickers made the Chase and signed a multi-year extension with the team but it wouldn't be as long as he had planned. In 2010 he was sidelined after just 11 races because of blood clots but returned for a 2011 season that was anything but a welcome back. The team again struggled, finishing 25th in points with only seven top 10s.

There were also a few races and Vickers would most likely like to have back. While most remember the run-ins that he had with Matt Kenseth at the end of the season, the two tangled in the second race of the season at Phoenix as well. The contact started a 13 car pile up with Vickers saying that Kenseth had what was coming to him.

After it had seemed everyone moved on and as the 2011 season started to wind down, Kenseth and Vickers found each other again in Martinsville during the Chase. It was also during that race that Vickers made contact with a few other drivers and prompted friend Jimmie Johnson to say that maybe a driver needs to realize that they are the problem when they're continually in incidents.

Vickers defended his actions, saying not all the incidents were his fault. A few weeks later in Phoenix he was left to defend himself again when he and Kenseth, again, made contact. According to Vickers when he ran into Kenseth and drove him into the wall it was because Kenseth had lifted halfway down the backstretch and nearly stopped.

Kenseth's side of the story was that he was running out of brakes so he attempted to stay on the high side of the track to let others go by. That's when Vickers showed up and drilled him from behind at 165 miles per hour and "cleaned us out." It left a bitter feeling in many mouths around the garage, grandstands and press.

Vickers though had other things to worry about. He was searching for a new job since Red Bull Racing had announced they would be closing the doors at the end of the season. Everyone involved would be looking for jobs, including their drivers. Kasey Kahne was already headed to Hendrick Motorsports, leaving Vickers scrambling to find a new home.

He hasn't found one, instead has watched other drivers like David Ragan, Landon Cassill, David Reutimann and others fill seats. All the 'good' equipment have either been filled up too or cars and teams shut down. There's really not even slim pickings left out there for Vickers, who becomes in danger of missing the start and maybe more of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

But ...

What if BVickers hadn't ended 2011 with negative attention, deserved or not, would he have a ride now & will he eventually find one? #NASCAR

@SpringWolf There are too many good up & comers. I don't think teams will put up with the neg. attitudes much this year.

@philenespanol I don't think so. Negative attention or not, there are more out of work drivers than there are seats. And I think he suffered because of the economy and the fact that there is little to no sponsorship out there right now. Hell of a driver, though.

Tuesday, January 31st 'What If' Question

The social media sphere exploded earlier this week when it was announced that Danica Patrick had a guaranteed starting spot in the upcoming Daytona 500.

Patrick, who has never completed a lap in the Sprint Cup Series, is embarking on her first full season in stock cars. She'll be back behind the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet while doing a partial Cup schedule in the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing. The Daytona 500 later this month will be her first race and she won't have to worry about qualifying on speed.

Stewart-Haas bought the points of Tommy Baldwin's No. 36 which had been driven by Dave Blaney last season. Further part of the deal was that in the 26 races that Patrick isn't running for Stewart-Haas the No. 10 car will be run by David Reutimann. Patrick's cars will be prepared by Stewart-Haas and Reutimann's by Tommy Baldwin Racing.

Those around the NASCAR world haven't taken to the news kindly. Then again, whenever it comes to Patrick, whether she's right or wrong, the news is normally meet with a chorus of boos. This was no different, many saying that the deal shouldn't have been allowed by NASCAR and buying or swapping points needs to be stopped.

What's interesting is that it's something that's occurred for years. In fact, the Wood Brothers did the same thing in 2011 in order to get rookie Trevor Bayne in the Daytona 500. No one said a peep and instead went crazy over Bayne when he won the race and since then they haven't gotten enough of the young driver.

Patrick isn't getting the same warm welcome, opinions being that she doesn't belong in the sports biggest race. Others have said she got a free pass and should have had to race her way like many others will attempt to do during the Gatorade Duel races on Thursday, February 23.

The hate isn't anything new. If Patrick appears on TV many yell for her to get off, she's not worthy of airtime. Should her commercials air or she does another photo shoot, there are those changing the channel and saying they don't take her seriously as a racecar driver. And heaven forbid her from voicing her opinion because she hasn't accomplished anything in NASCAR that allows her to complain. When she asks questions or voices her honesty about not knowing the rules or ways of NASCAR, she's ripped for that.

From her sunglasses to sponsor and performance, everything is up for grabs. There was even backlash from Patrick saying that she was going to embrace the Honey Bader attitude. She was accused of stealing the nickname from college football player Tyrann Mathieu.

And this chick better not hit the wall, hit another driver, speed down pit road or do anything else besides win or finish top 10 because she'll never hear the end of it. Let's not mention though that Patrick hasn't done anything any other driver or celebrity hasn't done. The rules are just different when it comes to what she can and can't do.

Damned if she does, damned if she doesn't. Patrick just isn't very popular and she hasn't done much to deserve it. That's what didn't make the latest round of negative comments that flew around and caused Twitter and Facebook to nearly explode much surprising. But whether they like it or not, Patrick will race in the Daytona 500 and that's a good thing for her and for NASCAR.

It kicks off the 2012 on a good note. The Sprint Cup Series will get a lot more attention and so will Patrick. There are a lot of expectations on the GoDaddy driver in her first full season. Her learning curve and improvement have begun to show, now she'll look to contend on a weekly basis in the Nationwide Series and bring home a top 10 points finish. On the Cup side she'll get a better taste for what the big boys of racing can do as she dips her toes in the big end of the pool.

And of course along the way she'll blow up the Internet, annoy those watching the TV broadcast and give many media members plenty of material. For Patrick knows all too well: Haters gonna hate.

But ...

What if @DanicaPatrick had had more success in #INDYCAR before coming to #NASCAR, would opinions and criticism of her be different?

@mcanchola2 yes they would.

@BuckyButler Yes. All anyone has ever wanted was for the performance and results to match the hype.

@thebigshmoog most definitely. The hype would be backed up with results.

@chuckallen2 opinions may be different, but I believe her success in INDY will pale in comparison to her NASCAR career. Shes a winner.

@StrokerAce90 Certain NASCAR fans and media would still and always will have the same opinions and criticism of @DanicaPatrick even if she had more Indycar success than she already has.