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1. Was the Last Lap at Talladega Handled Right?
Last week's race at Talladega was once of the best races of the year, in my opinion, but the finish was surrounded in a little controversy. If you missed the finish, let me recap. As Denny Hamlin approached the white flag, a wreck began behind him. Ryan Newman turned Alex Bowman on the frontstretch and he went around. Bowman piled into the wall while Jimmie Johnson spun Justin Allgaier. Allgaier went around, but managed to keep his car going. While he straightened his car out, a piece of his bumper landed right on the superspeedway. Bowman and Allgaier managed to drive away and neither was stopped on track. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin had already passed the line for the white flag. The caution was still not out and the only threat was the piece of debris on track. As the cars approached the backstretch and drivers were looking to make the move, the caution waved due to the debris. Denny Hamlin was able to coast to the finish line and grab his first win of the season. Now, here is my question. Was the last lap handled right? I think it was. As a NASCAR fan, I was really upset about the caution. I mean, there were no cars stopped on track and the only thing was a piece of debris on track. I wanted to see them race back to the finish because I felt like a great finish would happen. After the caution waved and after the race coverage went off, I realized it was probably a good idea for NASCAR to wave the caution. That piece of debris could have really done a lot of things had it been hit. I mean, it could have ended up in the stands and even caused a really huge wreck. Looking at it like that, it could have really been dangerous and NASCAR made the right call. Still, I would have loved to see that finish because it was going to be good. Nonetheless, safety is very important and I feel NASCAR knew what was important and threw the caution.
2. Jimmie Johnson: Is It Time to Panic?
Well, tonight's race is race number eleven of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and one surprising thing hasn't happened yet: Jimmie Johnson in victory lane. If you recall, Jimmie Johnson won six races a season ago en route to his sixth championship in NASCAR's highest series. This year, Johnson has been struggling, for lack of a better word. Here is my question for Johnson and his fans. Is it time to panic? Heck no. There is no reason for Johnson or anybody to panic at all. The first reason is that Johnson is a six time Cup champion. I mean, that number speaks for itself. He can easily find his momentum back and rattle off a few wins come Chase time. A second and final reason is his success in the summer the past few years. Take a look at Johnson's summer stretch a season ago. He took wins at Pocono and Daytona in just a few weeks. I mean, that is a very successful summer stretch. Well, we are just a few weeks away from starting that summer stretch. Also, add that he dominated those races in taking the wins. It wasn't like he was just in the right place at the right time. He was there the whole entire time. If he gets into a slight rhythm of any kind, he will knock off a few wins and he will definitely be back on track for sure. Listen, don't worry about Jimmie Johnson and don't be surprised if he is in the championship battle once again when we approach the Chase.
3. Ryan Blaney Making Sprint Cup Debut: My Expectations
If the name Blaney sounds familiar to you, that is because it is. Ryan Blaney, a Truck regular and Nationwide winner, is the son of Dave Blaney and he has a ton of talent. He will take that talent and he will make his Sprint Cup debut tonight. If you don't know much about Blaney, here are some of his better moments. Blaney has taken two wins in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series and he took a win at Kentucky a year ago in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. This year, he is contending well for the Truck championship with Brad Keselowski's team. After all those races in NASCAR's lower series, he is on the verge of a Cup start and, possibly, a great finish. I have one question for Blaney. How will he fare tonight at a different beast altogether? I think he will handle well tonight. Listen, don't expect Blaney to set the world on fire and win the race. Just based on the speed he has had this weekend, he looks like he could easily take a top twenty if he keeps his nose clean. In fact, he was very good in qualifying yesterday, including making the second round of qualifying with ease. Plus, he was very consistent in race trim in practice as well, being in the top twenty for most of the session. He just seems like a pretty good kid to me. He is able to drive all kinds of race vehicles and he drives them really well. Who knows, he might could sneak out a win tonight if he tries hard. All in all, look for Ryan Blaney in tonight's race because he could very well surprise everybody.
4. Saturday Night Race at Kansas: What Will Change?
Whenever we transfer from a day race to a night race, the question is always the same. What will change? Well, the question is the same for tonight's race at Kansas. After you go so many years without changing anything, of course questions will be raised when it is changed. Well, I have a few answers to what I think will happen tonight. First, the speeds will definitely pick up. Whenever the temperatures around the track cool down, the engines get more cool air and the speeds pick up. That usually means a lot of engine problems and the engine guys need to make sure the engines can go at high rpms for the entire night. Secondly, tempers are going to flare. Whenever we race at night, tempers are always the first things to flare up. Just look at Richmond two weeks ago. We saw a punch after the race for eighteenth place and two Cup champions pretty angry with each other after the event. Add that the Richmond race was at night. Now, night races don't necessarily mean a fight or shouting match is going to happen, but night time races usually cause those things to happen. Finally, expect different drivers to be running at front throughout the evening to night change. When the race begins tonight, the sun will still be shining. As it nears the finish, darkness will be over the facility. That means track conditions will change and the best drivers during the day will have to adapt. That means we could see the early race dominator running a little bit slower during the night time and a driver who struggled throughout the early part of the event at the front when the race nears a close. Let me say this, though: we can never predict what will happen tonight. Make sure you are prepared for the unexpected because I believe tonight's race will be one of the better events thus far this year.
5. My Pick to Win
Last week, we had a very unpredictable race at Talladega Superspeedway. If you had Denny Hamlin going to victory lane, you made a very good prediction and got very lucky. Tonight, though, we can expect the usual guys at the front, but consider this. In sixteen Cup races at Kansas, eleven different drivers have walked into victory lane. The ones who have repeated include such greats as Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Biffle. Expect those guys to contend tonight, but listen to these other drivers who will be contenders tonight. Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer are good picks to win tonight's race. Also, expect Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, and Aric Almirola to contend throughout the night. It should be a very heated battle tonight and some tempers will most likely flare after a four hundred mile night race. I am excited for tonight's race and I will be ready to write about it. I hope you guys can catch a historic race and until we meet again.
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