Alright Kurt Busch, Will It Be The Don Johnson or Hot Rod?

Isn’t that the latest dance move? No, perhaps a new TV series airing on USA Network?

Neither!

Those are the choices Kurt Busch is deciding on calling his new victory lap. That’s right, The Don Johnson or maybe Hot Rod. I have heard some people say that Busch’s reverse victory lap was cool, or it was lame, or that they wish he’d just smack the wall. What ever you think of his victory lap, you have to admit……it’s different. Whatever it is has to be better than the stupid snow angel thing he did after winning Bristol a few years ago.

I’m assuming The Don Johnson is in reference to something on Miami Vice. I do not have a clue – I never watched Miami Vice. The Hot Rod name is a reference to the former driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, Rusty Wallace. This one I am familiar with. Rusty Wallace almost always referred to his race car as a “hot rod”. So I guess by Kurt Busch naming his victory lap Hot Rod, it will be a tribute to Rusty Wallace.

Personally, I like Hot Rod the best. I am not really a Kurt Busch fan, and I never really pulled for Rusty Wallace, but I think naming the victory lap after Rusty is a cool thing to do.

So, what do you think? The Don Johnson, or Hot Rod?

And The BoneHead Of The Week Award Goes To…….

JTG Daugherty Racing crewman Jimmy Watts.

During today’s Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the caution waved unexpectedly at lap 67. I would be willing to bet that everyone was thinking a wreck, or a blown tire, or perhaps an expired engine was the culprit of the yellow flag, right?

Wrong! The yellow flag came out because JTG Daugherty crewman, Jimmy Watts, ran out onto the frontstretch grass to retrieve a run away tire. Mr.  Watts found himself  about 50 yards or so from where race cars were zooming by at over 180 mph! Since the crewman was so close to the race track, NASCAR officials had no choice but to throw the caution to ensure the crewman’s safety.

 BoneHead of the Week Award recipient, Jimmy Watts, retrieving run away tire at lap 67.

NASCAR ended up “parking” Jimmy for the remainder of the race. He later had to meet with NASCAR official after the conclusion of the race to discuss his actions and any possible penalties.

I’m not sure how NASCAR may handle this. I can’t recall anything like this happening before. I have seen instances where crew members chase run away tires, but never seen a crewman go that close to the actual track before - especially to the point where NASCAR has to throw the yellow flag.

Here Jimmy Watts gets back to pit road safely after a dumb move.

I believe NASCAR should go light on the guy. I mean what he did was pretty darn stupid, but the guy was just trying to hustle. NASCAR already suspended him for the remainder of the race, and I’m sure gave him a stern talking-to. Plus, without a doubt everyone will rib the heck out of him for awhile about this event.

That right there is probably enough punishment to take. But Jimmy…. next time just let the tire go, dude. It’s just not worth your life!

20,006 – Jeff Gordon’s new number

No, I’m not saying Jeff Gordon is relinquishing his famous No. 24 for a new car number. I’m referring to how many laps the veteran driver has led in his Sprint Cup career. During all the hoopla over Kyle Busch’s remarkable come from behind win Sunday, Jeff Gordon’s accomplishment seemed to fall by the wayside.

During Sunday’s Shelby 427 Jeff Gordon led 17 laps, passing Rusty Wallace for seventh on the all-time laps led list (say that three times).

Gordon has led a total of 20,006 laps in his career. Let’s think about that number for a minute. The Daytona 500 is 200 laps. So if Gordon led every lap of every Daytona 500 for 100 years, it would equal 20,000 laps. That is staggering!

Another staggering feat is that Gordon has won over 100 million dollars in his career. Wow! I’m sure his wife, Ingrid, likes that stat better than the lap led one.

Although Gordon has hit an impressive milestone, he is still well short of Richard Petty’s mark of 52,194. Gordon is just 3,125 behind the 6th place all-time lap leader, Darrell Waltrip, who has 23,131 laps led.

Congratulations to Jeff Gordon for leading over 20,000 laps in his career.

Top 30 All-Time Lap Leaders In The Sprint Cup Series

1. Richard Petty 52,194
2. Cale Yarborough 31,676
3. Bobby Allison 27,539
4.Dale Earnhardt 25,707
5. David Pearson 25,419
6.Darrell Waltrip 23,131
7. Jeff Gordon 20,006
8. Rusty Wallace 19,972
9. Bobby Isaac 13,229
10. Junior Johnson 12,651
11. Mark Martin 11,562
12. Bill Elliott 11,417
13. Tony Stewart 10,254
14. Buddy Baker 9,748
15. Ned Jarrett 9,468
16. Geoffrey Bodine 8,683
17. Harry Gant 8,445
18. Fred Lorenzen 8,131
19. Jimmie Johnson 7,579
20. Ricky Rudd 7,874
21. Dale Jarrett 7,050
22. Terry Labonte 7,035
23. Tim Flock 6,937
24. Benny Parsons 6,866
25. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 6,384
26. Neil Bonnett 6,382
27.Herb Thomas 6,197
28. Fireball Roberts 5,970
29. Jeff Burton, 5,807
30. Matt Kenseth 5,795
31. Buck Baker 5,662

Drivers in italic are still active drivers.

What Would Earnhardt Think?

While watching yesterday’s Shelby 427 Sprint Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Fox aired Darrell Waltrip briefly interviewing Jeff Gordon. During this interview, DW asked Jeff Gordon about the talent of Kyle Busch. Gordon answered that he wished he had half the talent that Kyle Busch possessed (that’s a brief summary of what Gordon said, mind you).

During the interview the two of them also talked about when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. gave Jeff Gordon the nickname of “Wonder Boy”. Basically, Earnhardt, Sr. gave Gordon that name early in Gordon’s career because he was so young and so impressive during that time. After a while, the nickname just stuck.

All of this made me think about something – If Dale Earnhardt were still alive today, what would he think about Kyle Busch?

No matter how us race fans feel about Kyle Busch, one thing is obvious – the Las Vegas native can drive the wheels off a race car.

And I bet you Dale Earnhardt would say the same thing.

“Wild Thing” Wins Wild Race At Las Vegas

 

Kyle Busch has had plenty of highlights in his short NASCAR career: setting a record as the youngest winner in series history, giving Toyota its first victory and returning Joe Gibbs Racing's flagship car to prominence.

None of it compared to winning at home.

Busch notched the biggest win of his young career Sunday by driving from the back of the field to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his hometown track.

Although there are far more hallowed tracks in NASCAR, this 1.5-mile oval in the desert was where "The Wild Thing" most wanted to win. He proved that with an elaborate victory celebration that ended with him on his knees, kissing the finish line.

"I tell you what, this is pretty cool," Busch said. "I didn't know exactly what it would mean, but coming to the checkered flag, there were knots in my stomach. It's bigger than winning the Daytona 500. I said it wasn't going to be, but it is."

Busch struggled in his first visit to Vegas, wrecking 11 laps into his Cup debut race and finishing 41st.

He bounced back to compete for the wins the next to seasons, but settled for second- and third-place finishes to then-teammate Jimmie Johnson. His best chance might have been last year, when he returned home leading the points for the first time in his career and won the pole. But he struggled with the handling on his JGR Toyota, and wound up 11th.

This year, he wouldn't be denied.

Busch came prepared at the start of the weekend, beating big brother Kurt for the pole to put brothers on the front row for the first time since 2000. But an engine change in his Toyota meant he had to drop to the back of the field at the start of the race, and Busch had to power his way through the field over 285 laps.

In a brief address to the crowd before the start of the race, he promised to get to the front.

"I just said, `Hey, you know what? We're going to the back so get ready for a show. Here it comes,'" he recalled. "Even if I got up to 20th and then backed it in, it was still going to be a show."

Busch took the lead with 57 to go, then lost it during a late round of pit stops. Busch was third on a restart with 22 to go, then chased down Jeff Burton and leader Clint Bowyer to move out front again.

"Say goodnight, Gracie," spotter Jeff Dickerson radioed as Busch moved out to a dominating lead.

But there were two more cautions, and Busch had to hold off the competition over two final restarts for his first victory of the season. It was his first win at Las Vegas in six career Cup Series starts, 13 total spanning NASCAR's top three series.

"We just had to battle back," Busch said. "We didn't have the best car out there, but we had a car we kept on working on. I don't know where I get credited for winning this thing, whether it's from the back or from the pole. Either way, we conquered both of them."

He celebrated with thick burnouts through the grass, then apparently blew his engine again. Enveloped in thick white plumes of smoke, he emerged from the clouds to make his trademark bow to the crowd.

He then collected the checkered flag from NASCAR, and kneeled to kiss the finish line on the track.

"I just had to kiss the ground this place was built on," he said, recalling every phase of construction.

He was met in Victory Lane by his tearful mother, Gaye, and Kurt Busch, who gave him a hearty hug despite his disappointing 23rd-place finish.

"He said, `We watched this place be built and you were the first one to conquer it,'" Busch recalled. "And mom was right there, too. Her face was soaked."

Kurt Busch remains winless at Las Vegas in nine career Cup starts. But forced to stay in Vegas another night because a winter storm had shut down all air traffic back to North Carolina, he was likely headed to the celebratory party on the Strip.

"We're partying it up big," Kyle Busch said. "The plane can't go home tonight, so it's going to be one heck of a party in Las Vegas."

Bowyer finished second and Burton was third, bouncing back from a horrible run last week at California.

David Reutimann, one of the five Toyota drivers who had to change a motor this weekend, finished fourth and was followed by Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon, who missed pit road late in the race and blew his tire on the subsequent trip around the track.

Greg Biffle was seventh and Brian Vickers, another Toyota driver with an engine change, was eighth. Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Jimmie Johnson, strong all afternoon, wrecked with six laps to go to finish 24th.

Carl Edwards' motor blew with two laps to go while he was running fourth. He finished 17th.

Matt Kenseth, trying to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three races of the season, lost his engine six laps into the race and finished last. In all, Roush Fenway Racing lost three of five motors.

2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Final Results

Pos	Driver	Car #	Make	Started	Laps	Led	Points
1	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	1	285	51	190
2	Clint Bowyer	33	Chevrolet	37	285	9	175
3	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	14	285	61	170
4	David Reutimann	00	Toyota	4	285	0	160
5	Bobby Labonte	96	Ford	17	285	0	155
6	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	28	285	17	155
7	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	24	285	40	151
8	Brian Vickers	83	Toyota	21	285	0	142
9	Jamie McMurray	26	Ford	38	285	0	138
10	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	31	285	0	134
11	Kasey Kahne	9	Dodge	7	285	1	135
12	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	9	285	9	132
13	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	20	285	1	129
14	David Gilliland	71	Chevrolet	30	285	0	121
15	Robby Gordon	7	Toyota	32	285	1	123
16	Sam Hornish Jr.	77	Dodge	12	285	0	115
17	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	16	285	2	117
18	David Stremme	12	Dodge	11	284	0	109
19	Regan Smith	78	Chevrolet	18	284	0	106
20	Marcos Ambrose	47	Toyota	5	284	0	103
21	Scott Speed	82	Toyota	42	284	0	100
22	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	34	284	0	97
23	Kurt Busch	2	Dodge	2	284	1	99
24	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	3	284	92	101
25	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	6	283	0	88
26	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	10	283	0	85
27	Michael Waltrip	55	Toyota	15	283	0	82
28	John Andretti	34	Dodge	29	283	0	79
29	Elliott Sadler	19	Dodge	33	283	0	76
30	Casey Mears	07	Chevrolet	41	282	0	73
31	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	23	281	0	70
32	Martin Truex Jr.	1	Chevrolet	25	281	0	67
33	AJ Allmendinger	44	Dodge	19	281	0	64
34	Reed Sorenson	43	Dodge	39	278	0	61
35	Paul Menard	98	Ford	36	269	0	58
36	Max Papis	13	Toyota	26	258	0	55
37	Todd Bodine	64	Toyota	43	227	0	52
38	Brad Keselowski	25	Chevrolet	13	221	0	49
39	Aric Almirola	8	Chevrolet	27	143	0	46
40	Mark Martin	5	Chevrolet	8	121	0	43
41	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	22	102	0	40
42	David Ragan	6	Ford	35	72	0	37
43	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	40	6	0	34

Bizarre Happenings IN Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide Series Race

I must admit that the Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide race yesterday, was one of the strangest I have seen in a while.

Here is Kevin Harvick, Scott Speed, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch leading the way in the beginning of the Sam’s Town 300. All four cars ended up in the garage.

The craziness began on lap nine when Denny Hamlin spun out all by himself. After that it seemed all hell broke loose for the front-runners.

Not long after Hamlin’s spin, Kyle Busch spun out racing Kevin Harvick for the lead. Busch’s spin ended up taking out pole sitter, Scott Speed.

Denny Hamlin spinning out a few laps later.

Not only did we see Sprint Cup drivers spinning out unassisted, but there was also a confuggled mess of pit road mistakes by just about everyone that led or contended for the lead. It almost appeared that leading the race was a hex.

Biffle ran out of gas as the leader, which put Hamlin out front. Then Hamlin was too fast exiting pit road, had to return for a pass-through penalty, and was too fast again.

Kyle Busch spins and collects Scott Speed.

Hamlin’s mistake gave Vickers the lead, but he coughed it up when he left his pit stop with a missing lug nut.

Brendan Gaughan inherited the lead, then he spun trying to enter pit road to give David Ragan the lead. Edwards, who had rallied to third from an earlier punctured tire, was penalized for driving too fast off pit road. But as he tried to argue his penalty, Ragan wrecked on the track to take NASCAR’s attention.

Harvick’s car sits mangled in the garage after an altercation with teammate Jeff Burton. 

Justin Allgaier, who had stayed out of trouble to put himself in position to make a late challenge for the lead, then scuffed the wall while running in the top 10.

Finally, when it all got sorted out, Greg Biffle was the leader and eventual winner.

There was so much wrecking and pit mishaps at one time, that the ESPN2 broadcast announcers were having a difficult time keeping up with it all.

If the Nationwide race is any indication of how the Sprint Cup race will be, it might prove to be a very interesting race. It would be good to see after the California boredom last week.