July 11, 2007
By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

HIGHS:

Jamie McMurray broke a 166-race dry spell to claim his first win at Daytona last Saturday night.

McMurray had a decent car and overcame a penalty to challenge for the lead, battling with Kyle Busch over on the last 2 laps to take the win. Reminiscent of the Kurt Busch/Ricky Craven duel to the finish, the two traded paint in an exciting drag race to the checkers. McMurray came out on top by a bumper in one of the closest finishes in modern NASCAR history.

McMurray was obviously overjoyed at the win and will be riding that high for the next week.

In fact, Roush Racing should be very happy this week with Edwards, Biffle and Kenseth all finishing in the top 10. Rookie David Ragan finished 12th to round out a pretty good weekend for the Roush stable.

It was also a good week for Team Penske with Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman continuing their good runs and positive direction as of late for Penske. Both are aiming for the Chase, hot on the tail of Earnhardt, Jr., McMurray and Clint Bowyer.

The new TNT commercial format is a plus for race fans. It is a far better solution than the split screen and I certainly hope that fans will honor those sponsors who pay to advertise and give us continuous racing.

LOWS:

An early clash between Stewart and Hamlin ruined the night for both of them (and countless fantasy players) as well as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. While Jr. had been struggling in practice, he can never be counted out at a restrictor plate race. The front-end damage he sustained in the wreck was just too great for him to contend and he went to the garage for repairs. He finished 26 laps down but held onto 12th place in the points.

For the Gibbs teams, the wreck took both cars out of contention and had teammates sparring via the media. Hamlin took the blame but was not thrilled about the situation or Stewart’s comments. Stewart took Hamlin to task but no more than he would anyone else – and perhaps that was the problem. As a teammate, he should have been a bit more deferential. But he is also a competitor and made it clear that teammate or not, he will throw anyone under the bus with the same fervor. Actually, I prefer that versus the Gordon/Johnson robotic company line.

Once again, we also got the TV media ambushing drivers right after an accident with replays of what happened and what another driver said. I hate that. It is bush-league reporting and sets the drivers up for saying something that will get them in trouble with NASCAR. Sure get the scoop, but don’t play it back to another racer who is more than a bit irritated at that point and hearing the sound bite a bit out of context.

Speaking of Hendrick, Kyle Busch threw teammates under the bus insinuating they could have helped him to the front but chose McMurray instead. Is this his first plate race? You go with the horse that brung ya, teammate or not. No way was Gordon going to jeopardize his finish to help out Kyle. And the way Kyle has driven as of late, there was a fairly decent chance he and McMurray would spin each other out allowing Gordon to race for the win.

We were also given the first Kyle-is-being-dissed-at-Hendrick media exposure and I am already tired of it. Whether he is being treated as a pariah or not, it is business. Sure, he should get all the support he needs, but the last thing Hendrick wants is this talented driver taking organizational secrets with him to a competitor. This is after all, a business and a highly competitive one at that.

But I am not in the garage area and I don’t know what exactly is going on. But Busch’s behavior has always been a bit out of step with the usual company line. I tend to disagree with those that postulate he is being given the boot early. The 5 team and sponsors deserve every chance as if nothing is happening at the end of the year.

Rain cancelled practice with Boris Said sitting atop the pole at the time. Mayfield, Allmendinger and Waltrip also appeared to make the race at the point the deluge began. NASCAR needs to fix the Top 35 rule and now. While I was a fan of it at the time, it has lived beyond its purpose. But change comes slowly to NASCAR….

Lastly, Aaron Fike and his fiancÈe were arrested for heroin possession in Ohio. NASCAR will test Fike independently for drugs before leveling any punishment. Even if clean, having heroin and all the tools in your possession is not good. I don’t know what NASCAR’s policy on possession is but I am sure we are about to find out.

Shane Hmiel was banned from competition after failing three substance-abuse tests. Kevin Grubb is the most notable other driver who was suspended in 2006.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any other racing topic.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

Read more on my thoughts on this subject at Chuck’s Corner at www.turnleftracing.com/forums or email him at Insider Racing News and at Turn Left Racing.

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.