Toyota Wins Its First Race and Probably Not Its Last

March 12, 2007

By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

Well it finally happened and if you are just a normal fan, you woke up this morning and the sun still rose in the east and is still shining. I did not hear the door slamming shut on NASCAR this morning and the world did not come to an end as far as I know.

We all knew it was only a matter of time before Toyota won its first race and that it would more than likely be a Joe Gibbs Racing car that did it. And darned if Rowdy Busch did not make it happen, winning two of the three races at Atlanta this weekend in dominating fashion.

While everyone else was complaining about the tires, Kyle went out and ran a race that was as slow as races used to be back in the day. But as he said, they pay someone to win the race and that he did. Busch looked like the class of the field most of the day as he drove past his competitors and stayed in the lead despite a few cautions which were either for debris or Elliott Sadler.

While Dale Jr. is enjoying a decent season so far, Rowdy Busch is leading the points and is leading the points in the truck series as well. The kid seems on a mission this year to prove to Rick Hendrick what he is capable of. While Hendrick certainly is capable of putting together championship teams, Busch seemed to be hit or miss while on the team. His attitude and mouth -- cost him brownie points with the team as well.

But the move to Toyota and Joe Gibbs seems to have lit a fire under the young man. Whether it is sheer determination, better team chemistry, more alleged Toyota horsepower or a combination of things, Busch is the man to beat in the early part of the season and all season if he does not hit a slump.

Speaking of slumps, who would have thought Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon would be sitting at 13th and 15th respectively in the standings at this point of the season? And while Carl Edwards KILLED me in fantasy racing this week, I am glad to see his stock drop, at least as far as the points go.

As I wrote after Daytona, the top 10 has changed quite dramatically with Sadler and Sorenson out. But Brian Vickers? After struggling to make most of the races last year, he is now in the top 10? I have always thought of him as a talented driver, but Red Bull as a team has struggled and I did not see him even in the top 15 at this point in the season. I wonder if this is spill over from JGR or is Red Bull and Vickers actually on to something on their own? In either case, it is nice to see a fresh face in the top 10 for a change. But we go to Bristol next weekend where Vickers has been just average. He might be able to survive one more weekend in the top 10 but it will require a monster effort and some racing luck from Gordon, Johnson and Hamlin. The he needs the same effort and luck in two weeks at Martinsville.

Anyway, let’s see what the drivers are saying about tires after Bristol. That should be some fun if they have no grip at that track….

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up. Let me know your thoughts on all this.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web Insiderracingnews.com