May 26, 2010
By Chuck Abrams
Do they finally have it right with the All-Star race, formerly known as The Winston?
The last segment racing was about as god as it gets considering there were no points on the line, just cold hard cash. While winning the money is great, I think most drivers would rather win the upcoming 600 and get the points.
But it is what it is and all the teams get to stay close to home for another week, which has got to be a blessing for those families. Especially for the crew members who aren’t driving and getting all those big salaries.
And speaking of family, Kurt Busch was able to take advantage of brother Kyle’s tangle with Denny Hamlin and come home with all the money. While Kurt was busy cheering, a lot of folks were more interested in the brewing feud between Denny and Kyle. Joe Gibbs has his work cut out for him this week making sure both teams know the score heading into the weekends 600. There is a lot on the line –- namely Chase points –- for both teams.
Kyle has plenty to gripe about. As we have seen in recent years, blocking is an oft-used defensive move. On a track like Charlotte, it will wreck a lot of cars but no one in the stands was looking at airborne cars. NASCAR needs to be on its toes for blocking, the number one killer of good cars in my book.
Hamlin is a talented driver, but like Carl Edwards, he can often think he is owed a lane and the pursuer should, and will, yield. That is not often the case and we see these large wrecks and cars flying through the air.
Missing from all of this was Brian Vickers, who is recovering from blood clots and will be out the remainder of the year. I am as surprised as Vickers that more drivers have not had this issue considering the career choice and office chair it comes with.
What will be a bigger loss than Kyle’s missing out on the money in the All-Star race will be Vickers missing more than the rest of the year. Being on blood thinners, let alone having blood clots, is not conducive to driving a race car. Vickers is a talented driver and one of the Red Bull shining stars and the possibility of losing him to this condition is very real.
Lastly, I think the Hall of Fame inductees were a bright shining star for NASCAR. The humbleness of the first class was, well, first class. The family anecdotes of those passed (especially the Earnhardt family) were touching and Petty and Johnson were as real as it gets in sports. These kinds of people are what makes NASCAR great and what makes fans proud to be called part of the NASCAR family. It’s not about driving in circles; it’s about the people involved that created the sport.
Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
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