In earlier posts I began following the money winnings in NASCAR as a basis for looking at success. I understand that some races generate higher winning amounts than others do and some look at these results with a wary eye for that reason, but in my mind this IS the bottom line…

Here are the teams and drivers that would be in the Chase if earnings were the determining factor:

1. Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing #18 Toyota - $4,145,588 – Points Rank – 1

2. Carl Edwards – Roush-Fenway Racing #60 Ford- $4,014,425 – Points Rank – 4

3. Kasey Kahne – Gillett Everham Motorsports #9 Dodge – $4,009,621 – Points Rank – 8

4. Ryan Newman – Penske Racing#12 Dodge– $3,901,483 – Points Rank – 17

5. Tony Stewart – Joe Gibbs Racing#20 Toyota – $3,454,734 – Points Rank – 12

6. Jimmie Johnson – Henrick Motorsports#48 Chevrolet – $3,352,543 – Points Rank – 5

7. Jeff Gordon – Hendrick Motrsports#24 Chevrolet – $3,027,227 – Points Rank – 6

8. Matt Kenseth – Roush-Fenway Racing#17 Ford – $2,928,176 – Points Rank – 9

9. Jeff Burton – Richard Childress Racing#31 Chevrolet - $2,898,632 – Points Rank – 3

10. Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing#11 Toyota – $2,883,896 – Points Rank – 7

11. Kurt Busch – Penske Racing Dodge – $2,780,755 – Points Rank – 18

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Hendrick Motorsports#88 Chevrolet – $2,777,070 – Points Rank – 2

Other Points Ranked Drivers/Teams not in the top money earners:

14. Greg Biffle – Roush-fenway Racings#16 – $2,545,864 – Points Rank – 11

18. Clint Boyer - Richard Childress Racing#07 Chevrolet - $2,438,970 – Points Rank - 10

You’ve heard me say it before… This is where the rubber truly meets the road!

Isn’t it interesting who moved from second in the points ranking to “on the bubble” in the money earnings? 

It's kinda like in baseball when your best hitter keeps getting hits when no one is on base and then looks like a deer in the headlights when a hit could score lots of runs (or make lots of money, as the case may be...).

I’ve got to preface this post with the following words you’ve read before from me: I’m a first year NASCAR fan. That being said I was quite surprised at the outpouring of hostility directed toward one of the brightest stars NASCAR has seen in quite some time thanks to a racing incident in Richmond last Saturday night. Do you recall the incident? It occurred after Denny Hamlin had tire problems and lost control of the Sprint Cup race as well as first place as a result. Both Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch simultaneously passed Hamlin, thus setting the scene for a race to the finish by these two drivers.

First, I understand that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most popular NASCAR driver of them all right now. His NASCAR gear is number one in sales and that alone tells the story. Second, I’ve got to say that the intensity of emotions NASCAR fans have for their favorite drivers is unrivaled in any of the other sports I’m familiar with. I had heard about this and was aware of it in passing as a sports fan, but I had never become directly involved... until now.

I’ve become very interested in this young driver Kyle Busch. I figured that since I’m a new fan, why not follow an essentially new driver. This guy’s style has been likened over and over again to a young Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s style. The win at all cost mentality that eventually gained Earnhardt at first begrudged respect and eventually out and out love and admiration as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers to ever don a racing helmet, is mirrored in Kyle Busch’s driving. Dale Senior’s untimely death, at a time when his son and namesake, Dale Jr. was starting to make a name for himself on the Cup circuit, transferred the lion’s share of Dale Sr.’s huge fan following directly over to Jr. These steadfast fans remain firmly entrenched behind Dale Jr. to this day.

Enter a new young prodigy, and almost all of the sport’s fans have taken exception to what he’s done. The NASCAR media seized the opportunity whenever the brash young man spoke his mind, usually without thinking how his comments might be perceived (a trait common in most young people), and suddenly Kyle Busch is seen as a threat and the villain. Several respected and long-time NASCAR followers have made the comparison between Earnhardt Sr. and Kyle Busch’s driving. Earnhardt had to scrape and crawl his way to a chance in this sport and when he finally got it, there wasn’t anyone or anything going to stand in his way. He assaulted his fellow drivers and was known for his recklessness. Never willing to back off, always looking for the opening and (early on in his career) rarely displaying patience, Dale Earnhardt Sr. had a terrible reputation. He was blamed time and time again for the poor showings of the more popular drivers of that day, and he let the criticism run off of him without showing a care. Does this sound familiar?

So wouldn’t you know it… The son of the man many people compare Kyle Busch’s driving style to, the man who most of Dale Sr.’s fans have transferred their loyalty to, the most popular man in NASCAR today, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch end up racing side by side on a fast short track. Mr. Popularity verses the driver everybody loves to hate. The driver who has personified the “Good Guy” image, the most commercialized face of NASCAR, the hometown southerner verses this vile, brash, in your face guy from way out west. Then, to add insult to injury, Earnhardt and Busch come together as they enter turn three at the end of the 397th lap of a 400 lap race. The proverbial good guy, most everybody’s favorite, the guy who hasn't won a race in two season's worth of races, loses control and wrecks finishing in 15th , while “bad guy” Busch, although not winning the race, finishes in good order for second to become the new points leader in the 2008 Sprint Cup.  

The bottom line in this new NASCAR fan’s eyes?

It was just racing, Dale Earnhardt Sr. style!

There is something special going on in NASCAR and it may be coming at just the right time. Young Kyle Busch has been tearing up NASCAR in a manner not seen for many years if at all. Last night Busch once again came from a lap down to almost pull off another improbable victory. Fighting a car set-up that was termed tight on the straights and loose in the turns, Kyle took every opportunity to pit his ride as the number 32 crew kept making adjustments, trying to find the right combination. The eight yellow flags almost worked out for Kyle as he and teammate Denny Hamlin took the chance and pitted on the sixth yellow while both were in the middle of the top ten. Race leaders Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Mike Bliss (first through third, respectively) kept their cars on the track, risking the outcome on worn tires. Both Hamlin and Busch had good pit stops and were back on the track in good shape. The two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were poised to press the issue as the green was once again unfurled. Hamlin and Busch immediately jumped to the high side and began to pass the cars right in front of them when the seventh yellow came up only mere seconds into green racing. The writing was on the wall though as I’m sure Harvick, along with Edwards and Bliss, had to be second guessing why they’d stayed out on the course. The new rubber was going to make all the difference…

                But back to the original premise made here, why is Kyle Busch’s special run coming at the right time for NASCAR? Well, like it or not race fans, attendance at the tracks has been down this year. The initial reason for this is thought to be the current poor economy, but it appears to be deeper than this. The sport’s southern fan base may be reacting to the changes NASCAR has implemented over the last few years while the economy has brought it home to roost. The loss of racing at Rockingham, a long-time southern racing venue with a storied history along with Darlington’s loss of the Southern 500 has something to do with the problem. NASCAR’s expansion to western tracks in an effort to appeal to the country as a whole has taken a bite out of the southern exposure and left fans shaking their heads, The move away from manufacturer’s cars to a standardized racing frame and body has removed some of the sport’s luster, and finally the acceptance of a foreign automaker’s cars into the family has worked to also turn the original fan base further away from the sport.  Out of the midst of all this doom and gloom there steps a new phenomenon the likes of which hasn’t been seen in years around NASCAR. He’s enjoyed more success before the age of 23 than such notables as Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison. Compared to Jeff Gordon, who has always been pointed to as the driver to put up any hot new driver’s numbers against, Kyle Busch is already ahead in terms of both wins and laps led. At the end of his season at the age of 23, Gordon had won two cup races and led 676 laps. Kyle Busch celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday and has won 5 Cup races and led 1,969 laps, almost tripling Gordon on both counts. With this type of start to his career and if he can maintain his fearless driving style, Kyle Busch may re-invigorate fan interest in the sport at just the right time.

                The scant Nationwide crowd on hand at Richmond last night was going to be in for a real treat as the race had boiled down to less than 20 laps to go with the Harvick Chevy, the Roush Fenway Ford (Edwards) and the number 1 Chevy driven by Mike Bliss in first, second and third, being pushed by the Gibbs number 20 Toyota in fourth and Joe’s number 32 Toyota a little further back, both on fresh rubber. Before the end of this race there would be two more yellow flags resulting in a green – white finish.  Both Hamlin and Busch were right on it as the green came out after the seventh yellow and by the time the eighth yellow came out Hamlin was in first and Busch had closed to third.  The final green flag racing saw Hamlin pull away from Harvick and before Busch could make another move he was bumped from behind by Steve Wallace on the back straightaway that almost caused Busch to lose control, but he recovered in time to swoop in and around Wallace to retake third. Kyle's mad dash from the back of the pack with a car that never was really set up right was almost ruined by young Wallace and there would be words between the two drivers after the race as Hamlin celebrated his home track win in victory lane.

                Although it wasn’t the finish Kyle would have liked to help celebrate his 23rd birthday, this is the kind of stuff that NASCAR needs to refocus fan interest. Thanks for the great run guys!

The Spectacle…

Denny Hamlin has qualified first for tonight's Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 back on the Richmond International Raceway with Kyle Busch sitting on the inside of the fourth row, qualifying seventh...

Win number six Kyle?

Resources:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/sports/autoracing.
apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-05-03-0184.html>

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-autosc
onfidential0208may02,0,4610968,print.story>

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/nationwide/
news/story?id=3379327

There is more than one way to get inside the Bristol Motor Speedway!

 A little different perspective I'd say...

The start of the 2007  

Okay... So who am I pulling for this weekend?

Kyle Busch

I've got this guy in the Nationwide race. Yeah, I know... I was on his case last weekend, but I figure hey, if you can't beat em, join em! Go Mad Man Go!!!

Then there's the 500 lap race on Sunday...

Greg Biffle

I got my man this time! Go Get em Greg!

Don't know much about this form of racing, but I think I've got a winner for the Formula One race...

Britian's Lewis Hamilton is sitting on the pole for this season's Australian Grand Prix! Notice that Lewis is still trying to regrow his hair after burning it all off last season!

Good luck everyone! Let's have a safe bump and grind!