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1. Casey Mears and Marcos Ambrose Fined After Richmond Altercation: Fair or Foul?
The most talked about story leaving Richmond was the fight between Casey Mears and Marcos Ambrose after the four hundred mile race last Saturday night. Before I give my discussion of the fines and my opinion of those fines, let me discuss the events leading up to the fight. After the finish of the race, Mears and Ambrose met each other in the garage. The two weren't happy with each other after questionable moves by both close to the finish. Both began to talk when the situation escalated as Mears pulled Ambrose a little bit and shoved him. Ambrose wasn't going to sit idle and he laid a right hand into Mears's face. Mears was stunned by the move and a little pushing and shoving began. The situation was shut down, but the NASCAR world was reeling after the events. Now, here are the fines for the two drivers. Ambrose was fined twenty five thousand dollars for his hit to Mears and Mears was fined fifteen thousand dollars for initiating the altercation. I just have one question to answer. Were the fines fair or foul? I say foul. Listen, only a few years ago, Brian France was saying, “Boys, have at it.” Now, he seems to have taken that back because he doesn't want to hurt the image of the sport. In today's world, it seems like we can't promote fighting. Honestly, I would be the first to say that I don't want to see a fight in the garage after a race. If it comes down to it, though, let them fight and then don't fine them. Plus, what is even the point? In the past week, I have seen ESPN talk about this more than anything. Yes, I don't want the outside world to see us as fighting “rednecks”, but it is great when someone is talking about the sport a lot. Let me wind this up with a simple conclusion. Let the boys have at it and when they ultimately do, let it go and just deal with the stories about it.
2. Kasey Kahne: Can He Break the Curse at Superspeedway Races?
Kasey Kahne hasn't been as good to start this season as he was one year ago. Still, though, he has time to pick it back up as the summer stretch that is coming up is usually the best part of his season. Along with that, he has been struggling a lot recently at superspeedway races. If you recall, he failed to finish inside the top thirty in any of the superspeedway races a season ago. The problems continued this year at the restrictor plate races as he finished thirty first in the Daytona 500. Here is my question for Kahne. Can he break his recent superspeedway curse today at Talladega? I honestly think he can. The main reason is the way he has raced at the superspeedway tracks recently. In those races last year, he just finished bad. He ran really good. In fact, with three laps to go at Daytona last summer, he was running second and most likely going to pass Jimmie Johnson for the win when he was flat wrecked. At Talladega last spring, he was running inside the top ten when Kyle Busch pulled a stupid move early in the event and wrecked half the field. At Daytona earlier this year, he was leading before NASCAR absolutely screwed him over after a bogus pit road speeding penalty. For Kahne fans like myself, that gives me hope. I mean, it seems like he just needs to keep his nose clean and he will be a factor today. Now, I won't promise anything, though, because he will start at the back after failing post-qualifying inspection. We will have to wait just a couple of hours to see how Kahne fares in the event and if he can take his first win at a restrictor plate track in NASCAR's highest series.
3. Joey Logano: Is He Finally a Cup Contender?
Another story leaving the Richmond race was about Joey Logano. Logano won the race at Richmond, which was his second win of the season after winning at Texas two weeks before. Now, Logano is the second driver to legitimately punch their ticket to the Chase along with Kevin Harvick. My question for Logano and his team is this. Are they finally Cup contenders? I firmly believe so. First, let's look at Logano's recent success since he joined Roger Penske's Cup team. Last year, when he made the jump, he was able to win a race, but he looked to be making great improvements. Also, he grabbed a good many top tens, made his first career Chase, and ran well in that Chase. This year, he already looks better. He has two wins, which is already the most wins he has ever had in a season and we are only a fourth of the way in. Along with that, he has been qualifying really well and he has been running up front a lot. Finally, Logano's attitude seems to have changed. I have mentioned this several times recently, but he looked out of it when he raced for Joe Gibbs Racing. Now, he looks like he is full of energy and it shows on the track. He doesn't take much on the track now and when he has a good car, he will pass you without worrying about what you think. Really I felt this attitude come into play at Auto Club one year ago. He was absolutely determined to win that race and he battled hard. When he didn't win, he faced Tony Stewart in the pits like a man after Stewart felt he didn't race him clean. To me, that was the turning point in Joey Logano's career. Now, he is a formidable Cup contender and come Chase time, watch out for him.
4. Which Underdog Driver Has the Best Chance to Win Today?
Since I am feeling like cheering for an underdog today in Talladega, I want to give you guys an underdog driver who I believe could very well win this race. I mean, there are a lot of choices. Ryan Truex, Alex Bowman, Landon Cassill, David Gilliland, David Ragan, Josh Wise, Terry Labonte, Justin Allgaier, Michael McDowell, and Cole Whitt are just a few of the various underdogs who have a chance to win today. I would even throw in A.J. Allmendinger and Casey Mears as underdogs, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they won since they have Richard Childress Racing power. Yesterday, I was tossing this idea up in my head and I narrowed it down to two drivers: Justin Allgaier and Michael McDowell. In my opinion, Michael McDowell has the best chance of the underdog drivers to win. Before you guys freak out, let me explain myself. First, McDowell is a very proven underdog driver at superspeedway races. Some people manage to forget that McDowell finished ninth in the 2013 Daytona 500. Along with that, McDowell has raced so many years at superspeedway tracks and it seems like he can handle the situation. Finally, McDowell has a nice pack to run with today. Yesterday in qualifying, he ran with the Team Penske and some other great Ford drivers. He was extremely fast and he will start in the top twenty today. Also, if you run well in a pack of drivers, they will typically allow you to run with them. Listen, don't expect an underdog driver to win today because it is really rare, but don't wager against it. If you do think an underdog driver will win, Michael McDowell is a good driver to pick.
5. My Pick to Win
Well, throw the odds out the window. The past few weeks and for most of the races throughout the year, you can predict the winner usually for sure. Last week, it was pretty obvious that Joey Logano was going to be a driver that would contend for the win. We are at a different track today and the winner isn't going to be that obvious until we take the white flag. Even then, the guy out front for the white flag might not win in the end. So many guys are going to be contenders in the event and it is isn't even a great idea to pick one guy to win. Still, though, there are going to be a few guys who will definitely be contenders. Consider Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, and so many others to win the race. Plus, consider the underdog drivers because Talladega is a track where anybody and I mean, anybody can take the win. I am very excited for today's race because Talladega is usually my favorite time of the year. Expect a recap of today's race after the event for what should be one of the best races of the season. Well, that is all for me today and make sure you guys check out today's race. It will definitely be great and until we meet again.
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