Monday, August 1st 'What If' Question

It will be dubbed the debut that never was.

After months of talk, hype and excitement Travis Pastrana was set to make his NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series event at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. That was until 48 hours before when Pastrana broke his right foot and ankle while attempting a trick at the X Games in California. Pastrana pulled out of the NNS event but still raced a Rally car on Sunday with hand controls.

The driver announced at the end of last season that he was going to be working his way into NASCAR for a new challenge. The Red Bull athlete lives his life to the extreme on both two and four wheels. A champion in motocross and supercross, Pastrana isn't afraid to go all out, trying new tricks or doing the impossible.

Moving to NASCAR would be the complete opposite, the goal being to keep all four wheels on the ground and learn the art of being smooth and steady. Pastrana has been serious about his intentions and goals though, he even became part owner of the NNS team. It's now called Pastrana-Waltrip Racing and has Boost Mobile as a sponsor.

Should Pastrana heal he's scheduled to run in six more NNS races, the next being Richmond on September 9. Until then, the longest wait until a debut continues, as does the hype and the talk.

But ...

What if @TravisPastrana had made his Nationwide Series debut on Saturday, what should we have expected from him? #NASCAR
@jlaracefan14 we could've witnessed a very awesome multi talented athlete run an awesome race! So bummed he did not debut!

@MattEmbury early bath for Pastrana, he would've DNF'ed (crash)

@Jim_Yoak Travis hitting the wall, Travis hitting other turcks. Travis hitting everything but the Indiana Lottery

@ronsracing88 He would of finished mid pack. It's going to take him a little time to get used the cars/tracks.

@Tmac2824 Top 10.

@NancyatStudioN We could have expected TP to go all out

Jason Remillard (via Facebook) if he learned anything from his last K&N East start at Loudon, the big thing would be to not be so aggressive early. he probably would have tried to take care of his equipment like he did at Irwindale in January.

Chuck Tolsma (via Facebook) Take care of race car and get as much seat time as possible.

Wednesday, February 9th 'What If' Question

Scott Speed made a few headlines earlier this week but it wasn't that he'll have a ride in the Sprint Cup Series this season. Speed and wife Amanda announced via Twitter that they're going to be new parents this year.

While that's the happy news, Speed will be unemployed after losing his ride at Red Bull Racing. It came from a result of musical cars that sees Kasey Kahne come to Red Bull for one season before heading to Hendrick Motorsports. Speed was released from his contract and is currently in a lawsuit with Red Bull over his termination.

The argument can be made that Speed was never given time to fully develop, he was thrown to the wolves very early on with little stock car experience. As a result he's finished 35th and 30th in Cup Series points, with a best career finish of 5th at Talladega in 2009 and only has two top 10s to his name. It was also during that season that Speed battled the 'bubble,' the top 35 in points and failed to qualify for the Texas spring race.

Speed can say though, that he has led laps in the Daytona 500. Last season, he stayed out on older tires and held off the field for about 12 laps, impressing many. It just wasn't enough to carry over into a season worth of success to see Red Bull keep him around. Something that was quite a shock considering Speed is a Red Bull child.

He came from open-wheel where he drove Red Bull machines starting in 2002. But once he left that world and came to NASCAR it was straight to the Sprint Cup Series after only running a full-season in ARCA (he won four races), and he could have won the championship. He did run 16 Truck races and won at Dover in 2008 and has run just a handful of Nationwide Series events.

But ...

What if Scott Speed drove Trucks or Nationwide full-time before entering Cup Series, would he be out of a ride today? #NASCAR

@Talon64: The extra experience would've helped him have a better rookie season and progress at a faster race. So yes.

@dougthethird: yes he would. He raced for two full years and only showed marginal improvement. The real question is, w/o Kahne would he be?

@cruetten: no. also, it's sad that he was dumped after only two years. teams dump drivers too quickly IMO...except for David Ragan

@TJIngerson: Ya, he would..Red Bull sucks when it comes to handling the talent, and do much worse on the F1 side

@chuckallen2: I don't believe he would. He ran well in trucks, and won a race. He tried to move up too fast, with an impatient team.

@Racergirl83: I dont know, but in a way I feel he got cheated anyway out of a ride for this year.