Thursday, May 24th 'What If' Question

Wednesday afternoon NASCAR announced their 2013 Hall of Fame class. The five men who will be officially place into the Hall on February 8, 2013 will be Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.

As noted in his HOF biography on NASCAR.com, many call Wood the innovator of the modern pit stop among the many other things Leonard's credited with. And along with brother Glen, Wood Brothers Racing based out of Virginia, has become one of the most celebrated teams in the garage.

Elliott Sadler earned his first career Sprint Cup Series win in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford at Bristol in the spring of 2001. While drivers have come and gone in their cars, the success up and down, they've remained a constant on the track. Doing everything they could to get to the next track, the next race, the next season.

Then a young Tennessee driver named Trevor Bayne came along and gave the fabled team their second wind. Bayne went out and won the 2011 Daytona 500 after an impressive Speedweeks in which he gained the attention of champion and future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

The win was the first for the Wood Brothers since Sadler's 2001 feat, the first Daytona 500 win since David Pearson in 1976. It was just the second career start for Bayne who had turned 20-years-old not even 24 hours before.

It was a sensational story that the NASCAR world latched onto. Bayne became its new star who was only running a partial Cup schedule for the Wood Brothers while competing for Jack Roush in the Nationwide Series. When Bayne got sick weeks after his win and was sidelined for a few months, the Wood Brothers stayed loyal and said the No. 21 was his.

He came back in late 2011 and tried to pick up where he left off but it's been a steep learning curve. Saturday night in Charlotte he'll be behind the wheel of the No. 21 in the Coca-Cola 600, a race that he missed last year. He's eager and excited to put another race under his belt, starting 13th, and certainly now that one of his team owners is a Hall of Famer.

But ...

What if the Wood Brothers hadn't won the 2011 Daytona 500 with Trevor Bayne and then been the focus of so much media attention for a year and a half because of his win, illness and comeback / success, would Leonard Wood still have been chosen as a nominee for the 2013 Hall of Fame class?


@cruetten no. He would've gotten in obviously, but not as soon.

@NancyatStudioN OMG - Yes! They have 97 wins w 17 dif drivers over 59 yrs. A shame they don't have financing to run TBayne fulltime

@RJ_Number8 They would've gotten in now. We're talking about THE men who invented the modern pit stop; a major contribution to the sport.

Monday, May 21st 'What If' Question

With all the hype and advertising that comes with the Sprint All-Star race, no holds barred and full of wrecks, it was anything but on Saturday night. 

There were no fireworks, except for the ones released post race, nor were there wrecks and angry words exchanged. There was hard racing and smart strategy used and then a familiar face in victory lane. 

The 2012 format of the All-Star race consisted of five segments. The first four were 20 laps each and the final segment a 10 lap dash for the cash. That coming after a mandatory pit stop where as long as all four tires came to a stop in the box, it was considered OK and the driver could continue.

Another new wrinkle was that the drivers who won a segment would be lined up 1-4 coming to pit road for those final stops and that's where things got interesting.  

Jimmie Johnson won the first segment and then disappeared for the remainder of the All-Star. Literally. He restarted in the back of the pack and then let the field drive away as he stayed far behind what could have been potential carnage. 

Then segment two winner Matt Kenseth did the same thing. As did segment three winner Brad Keselowski, all playing possum until the final segment.

After Dale Earnhardt Jr. won segment four, he along with Johnson, Kenseth and Keselowski lined up for the mandatory stop and then exited pit road in the same order. When the green flag flew for the final segment Johnson drove away from the field for his third All-Star win.

Many were left shaking their heads in confusion, disappointment and anger at how the race played out. There seemed to be no racing involved or at least not what the All-Star race is accustomed to. Besides Johnson fans, what happend in the All-Star race wasn't what fans wanted, although Johnson and company simply took the rules and manipulated them to their advantage. 

Clint Bowyer seemed a bit shocked after the checkered flag flew saying, "He ran 30 laps, 30 damn laps and won $1 millon." 

But ... 


What if segment winners weren't allowed to 'sandbag,' how different would All-Star race have played out and does Johnson still win?


@kartracer3886 Lol If JJ didnt sandbag then he would have won every segment. I liked the format. Needs 1-2 slight tweaks


@Race_Girl24_7 idk but I would b good with a system that sends the last place driver to the garage after each segment even if they had won a segment earlier


@JoJo_6040 Each segmt would make 'em have to race. It's a short race, why sandbag? With that scenario, not sure who would've won. 

Wednesday, May 9th 'What If' Question

Leave it to Brad Keselowski to throw out all the logic that comes with racing and winning at the Talladega Superspeedway.

After much anticipation and tweaking by NASCAR, it was back to pack racing at the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega. Last weekend drivers went door-to-door and bumper-to-bumper around Talladega for over 180 laps before setting themselves up for a tandem pairing at the end.

On a green-white-checkered finish the driver who had dominated all day, Matt Kenseth, hooked with teammate Greg Biffle and started to pull away from the field. Behind them Kyle Busch started pushing Brad Keselowski and the two began to make headway.

Kenseth though took his eyes off the prize for just a split second and it caused him to become unhooked with Biffle. That lead to Keselowski and Busch blowing by and the win going with them. Keselowski took the white flag as the leader and logic said he wouldn't be the leader when they came back for the checkered flag.

Except just as there's logic which says you can't race and certainly can't win with a broken ankle, Keselowski proved everyone wrong. Coming out of turn four Keselowski took his No. 2 blue deuce and pulled himself off of Busch by moving from the middle lane down to the bottom.

Busch wasn't expecting it and the move gave Keselowski just enough steam to head back to the finish line untouched. Afterwards he said it was a move he had in mind for a while and was saving for the right occasion and that didn't help Busch or Kenseth feeling any better about what had happened.

But ...

What if the Kenseth/Biffle tandem hadn't come apart, would the Keselowski/Busch tandem still have caught them and who wins Talladega? 

@cruetten I'm sure they would've caught them, but I doubt they would've passed them--Kenseth and Biffle would've held tight as a team.

@JoJo_6040 Yes. And BK wouldn't be able to use his shake on KB. Four car run to the finish and Kenseth wins :)

@HD388 still think Keselowski/Busch tandem would of caught Kenseth/Biffle tandem & pulled away from them with Keselowski winning

Friday, May 4th 'What If' Question

Should you take the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" at face value, that being purely entertainment purposes, it truly is a good movie.

There's plenty of jokes, memorable quotes and moments that would never happen in real life. Will Ferrell plays a racecar driver that doesn't resemble anything of a racecar. He's brash and bold, yet can be because he's damn good at what he does.

Sunday in Talladega there might be the real life version of the story. Kurt Busch will be driving a replica paint scheme to the one that Ferrell drove in the movie, where he and rival Jean Girad (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) flipped down the Talladega frontstretch - in what could be described as the longest crash ever- then exited their cars and ran to the finish line.

Busch's paint scheme on his No. 51 James Finch Chevrolet has many buzzing with joy. And quoting their favorite lines from the movie.

For Busch though, the scheme is about more than having fun, it's also for a good cause. Besides the giant Cougar on the hood and the "ME" logos, there are those for the Armed Forces Foundation. According to their website they're a non-profit organization which dedicates their time to providing for members of the armed forces.

On the rear decklid of the car fans will read "Text AFF to 50555 to donate $5."

Unfortunately, Busch won't be driving with a cougar in the car. Not even the stuff animal he had posted about on Twitter. He will though, have many eyes on him as he takes to the track on Sunday, shouting "Shake & Bake" every time he makes a pass.

He might even say it too. It's all for a good cause as a lack of sponsorship on his No. 51 gave way to this opportunity. Except in the end, all the attention might be a good thing for Busch and the Finch team as they head forward.

But ...

What if Kurt Busch wins on Sunday in the "Talladega Nights" car, should he pull a Ricky Bobby and says he wakes up and [pees] excellence? 


@pablao21 I'd pay his fine if he said it.

@rustywings What? You mean he doesn't...that's what he always led me to believe...#NASCAR

@cruetten Absolutely! As of now, he's not really much of a points contender, so whatever imminent penalty would be worth it!

@HD388 I say yes Kurt should pull a Ricky Bobby if he wins on Sunday, just for the fact that I'd like to see him get fined by Nascar

Tuesday, April 17th 'What If' Question

Nelson Piquet Jr. has come ever so close to winning his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race but something also crept up and took it away.

Last Sunday when NASCAR made their return to Rockingham for the first time in eight years, many predicted the veterans dominating the day. Instead it was Piquet, who had never seen the track until last weekend, that looked as though he'd been racing there for years.

To start the weekend Piquet won his first career pole in 33 attempts. Then on Sunday he flat out spanked the competition when he led the first 85 of 100 laps. Well in control and seemingly cruising to the finish it was about counting down the laps and keeping the truck off the wall.

A slow pit stop though put him back in traffic where he had to fight back to the front. He eventually did and led 107 of 250 laps. He did not win the race though, he crossed the finish line seventh as Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne, who had not practiced or qualified his truck, won.

So, how did Piquet go from domination to seventh? On lap 181 he was nabbed for speeding on pit road and had to restart in the rear. He would spend the rest of the race trying to pull off a comeback instead of fighting for the win when he could have restarted second. For as fast as his No. 30 Qualcomm / Autotrac Chevrolet was, traffic ended up getting the best of him.

"I didn't think that I was going to get penalized, just because the exit was so short and my wheels were spinning so much. I had no idea," said Piquet afterwards about the position of his pit stall to the exit of pit road.

"I didn't feel like I pushed it too hard, I guess I just went a fraction too fast and pushed it just over the limit."

Piquet did move up two spots in the point standing to sixth entering Kansas this weekend. Still looking for his first win and he knows that it's close.

But ...

What if Nelson Piquet hadn't gotten a speeding penalty, does he go on to win the race or does Kasey Kahne hold him off? 

@betseybydesign I think Kasey would have still won!!JMO!!:)

@Talon64 Kasey didn't even pull away from Buescher so Piquet had the speed. But Piquet poor restarts might've cost him anyways

@HarpAmyStabler I think that Piquet would have gone to victory at the Rock. He had the dominant truck all day.

@DonRohr piquet was class of the field. Especially on older tires. (Anything past lap ten in this case).

@JanisRothermel That speeding penalty infuriated me. NP had the truck to beat.Would have been great to have 2 1st time race winners-F1's NR. *Editor's note - In Formula 1 Nico Roseberg had won his first career race on Sunday, the Chinese Grand Prix

@scubazuke72 don't think anything was stopping Kasey on Sunday. His truck was flying from the start.

@HD388 gotta say that Kahne would of held off Piquet, Kahne's truck was just a little bit stronger than Piquet's

Saturday, April 7th 'What If' Question

It's the NASCAR story that just won't end.

In May of 2009 NASCAR announced that Jeremy Mayfield had been suspended indefinitely for a failed drug test. According to NASCAR officials he had tested positive for methamphetamine but instead of Mayfield admitting wrongdoing and getting help in order to be restated, the sordid tale began.

Conspiracy theorists haven't been happier as Mayfield accused NASCAR of setting him up. Claiming that over the counter medications were to blame for the positive test. He attempted to get an injunction on his suspension, which was granted until he failed another drug test weeks later.

Soon family members and other witnesses were coming forward to say that Mayfield was indeed a drug addict. He in turn went back on the attack of NASCAR and Brian France. Attempting to claim that France had his own drug issues while outing his financial issues and divorce.

He tried to drag NASCAR's drug testing policy through the mud, including David Black who then was the head of the lab testing company NASCAR used. Mayfield continued to insist on his innocence while saying that others were after him.

And then, for those who continued to stick by Mayfield's side, came the straw that broke the camel's back. Last November he was charged with possession of 1.5 grams of meth, 50 guns and potential $100,000 in stolen items.

Again, Mayfield claimed his innocence and "that it appears Catawba County authorities have been coordinating with NASCAR officials." Here in 2012 Mayfield continues his fight with NASCAR and the law.

Of course though, there's more to the story. Late last week ARCA Series team owner Roger Curtis said that if ARCA approved him, he'd put Mayfield in one his cars. It would be for the June event at Pocono, since Mayfield's NASCAR suspension doesn't involve ARCA.

He'd have to apply for a license to race and neither Mayfield or ARCA have commented on the Curtis offer.

But ...

What if Jeremy Mayfield was to apply for a license to compete in the ARCA Series, should ARCA approve it & would you watch him race?

@johnson1439 Acra should not approve him until all court cases are cleared up and he is able to pass a blood/hair test drug screen

@widsss yes and yes.

@48hollywood if he's tested and clean, yes they should and yes I would!

@jasonskow I don't see him getting approved anytime soon

@LeisaBeez2988 can he pass a drug test?

@KensCourageRun I would love to see JM race again!!!

@srs1159 definitely! He deserves a second chance.

Rich Bohr (via Facebook) I would watch ARCA no matter if he was in it or not

Matt Wenzel (via Facebook) I would watch ARCA anyhow. But, I guess until Jeremy is found guilty of some crime by a court of law - he is still innocent until proven otherwise in this country - so he has just as much right to race in ARCA as anybody else.....as long as he abides by their rules and passes their tests.

Monday, April 2nd 'What If' Question

Everything was in place on Sunday for Hendrick Motorsports to have an historic day at Martinsville Speedway.

Kasey Kahne won the pole, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all led laps. And when came time to decide the winner Gordon, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. were running first, second and third with less than 10 laps to go.

Whoever won the event for HMS would have delivered team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th Sprint Cup Series win. David Reutimann, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman had other plans and quickly postponed the celebration.

As Gordon took the lead by inches on Johnson on lap 498 of 500, David Reutimann came to a stop near turn one in his No. 10 Chevrolet. He had been slow for a few laps and had been issued the black flag by NASCAR, get off the track in other words.

Reutimann though was determined to finish the race and try to remain locked into the top 35 in points. Had he done so he would be guaranteed a starting spot in the series next race at Texas. Instead he said he had motor problems and the car shut off, stopping him to get back to pit road.

The caution bunched the field back up and when Earnhardt Jr. pitted it put Clint Boywer in third place, Brad Keselowski fourth, Ryan Newman fifth and Earnhardt Jr. sixth. When the green flag flew Newman shoved Bowyer toward turn one and Bowyer decided to take it three wide for the lead.

Johnson spun, Gordon got sideways and then spun Bowyer. Newman came out with the lead, AJ Allmendinger second and Earnhardt Jr. third. That's how they would finish when the race had their second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.

Afterwards it was hard to find a happy driver. Either upset with the move by Bowyer, the push from Newman but most certainly because of the caution caused by Reutimann. Days later harsh words still remain for both Reutimann and the top 35 rule with both being the main topics of conversations concerning Martinsville.

HMS will once again put away the boxes full of 200 win hats and wait until Texas in two weeks to see if one of their drivers can win capture the checkered flag.

But ...

What if David Reutimann hadn't caused a caution as Gordon & Johnson raced for the lead, who scores the 200th win for HMS?

@ronsracing88 Jeff Gordon would of won.

@HD388 Gordon would of easily have won the race, he had run Johnson down & was passing him & would of driven off from him

@cruetten Jeff Gordon

@michaelwsays Jimmy would have laid the chrome bumper to the 24

@StrokerAce90 JJ

@CSoloy Niether-M'ville upchucks chunk AGAIN, goes through 24 grill, in turn clips 48 who pits, falls 2 end of lead lap

@HarpAmyStabler Jeff Gordon. My thots on Reuty are the following: He's fighting for the top 35. If you don't want something like that to affect the outcome of the race, then NASCAR needs to get rid of the top 35. But, in this economy, we need sponsors so we need to keep the top 35 rule. It's really a no-win situation here. All drivers have agendas on the track. Respect them.