Michele Rahal - RACE DAY on FOX Sports Radio

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Glad To Be Gone!

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has probably never been happier to leave a track faster than he left Sonoma, despite a 12th-place finish, road races aren’t his cup of tea, or glass of wine if you will. He will definitely, however, be happy to see the oval at Louden, NW. The ovals are more to his liking and he has shown a consistency in the Hendrick cars that he hasn’t enjoyed in years. Lying third in the points he has a chance to reduce the gap between himself and the superstar formally known as Kyle Busch. Earnhardt is motivated but so are several of the Cup drivers coming off of strong finishes. Bowyer would love to repeat and Harvick would dearly love to break his winless streak. But then there’s a problem. Kyle Busch.

Look for the Gibbs cars to come off the trucks with an attitude that may not be all mental. Chances are that they have positioned the rear of the car with a small degree of yaw in order for them to turn more efficiently on the flat track. This deficiency in the COT may not be problematic for Kyle Busch if he can loosen up his car as his attitude is ‘loose is fast and I’m fast anyway’. Busch has done what all Formula One drivers aspire to do. Outperform their teammates.

Only Hamlin and Bowyer have fewer starts at New Hampshire, each with four, before collecting a win than Kyle Busch with six starts. Look for Busch to adjust his car as the race goes on to make it as loose as possible for the final run. Advantage Kyle Busch.

Kyle Busch Can Rule The World?

My having picked Kyle Busch to win this weekend isn’t a function of being psychic, though I do possess many talents. In fact, you couldn’t place a bet in Vegas and make money by choosing Busch to win in New Hampshire, or the Championship for that matter. What you could do is say that he’s one of a very rare breed of driver that occasionally comes along. That’s right, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Mario Andretti or Michael Schumacher. All are phenoms and all seemingly genius in their execution of the art form we call racing cars. He seems unchallenged at the moment.

He does, however face challenges and the one that is most ominous to Kyle Busch is Kyle Busch himself. There is no doubt in my mind that as his points lead began to dwindle prior to his brilliant drive in Sonoma, “The Coach”, in typical Joe Gibbs fashion, slammed the velvet hammer down upon the young stars head. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine Gibbs reminding Busch that a Sprint Cup Championship is on the line and despite the fact that Busch loves to frolic around the racing world proving his prowess for all to see, he is under a contract that is worth millions of dollars to himself, the sponsors and the team. Game over, it’s time to get down to business. If the race is at the same track, go do it, but if you have to travel, forget it.

Kyle Busch has attracted worldwide attention to the point that Toyota, in private circles, is no longer calling his forthcoming test of their Formula One car a “demonstration”, but rather a full blown, full race mapped engine test.

This is no small feat for a tall, brash American to accomplish. A real Formula One test can cost a million dollars when done correctly and apparently Toyota is willing to take that risk.

Being American, it's even more apparent that the manufacturer has designs on using Busch in this event later in December as a reminder to all that Toyota is dedicated to America itself. Great Public Relations and even greater if the engineers give him a fair shake. No full-time NASCAR driver has ever made a switch to Formula One.

Could he really be that good?

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