I am leaving on vacation for the next week, so I wanted to go on record with my picks for the season and the Brazil race, just in case I am unable to access the Internet on vacation.

First I'll start with the season long champion.  My pick is going to be Ryan Briscoe.

After a very shaky start to his career, Briscoe caught fire at Milwaukee in 2008 and has not looked back.  He would have been the 2009 champion if he did not get impatient and run over a timing cone in Japan.  Briscoe has the right combo on the road and oval courses, and the Penske power to break Chip Ganassi's streak of championships.

In Brazil, at the inaugural Streets of Sau Paulo, my choice to take the checkers is Dario Franchitti.  Dario is arguably the best road racer in the IndyCar Series. After winning the 2009 championship, he looks to start 2010 on the same winning note.

Franchitti's skill on road courses will prove tough to beat on a brand new course that will feature limited practice time for contestants. 

This is because the course utilizes one of Sao Paulo's major highways, so it can only be shut down for a limited time.  The lack of track time is going to benefit the best team and the best driver. Right now those are both in Franchitti's favor.

Other favorites for the race include Ryan Hunter-Reay with his new Andretti team, Takuma Sata in his new effort with KV, and Will Power in his Verizon sponsored Penske car.

My dark horse for the race is Mike Conway, simply because he was showing increased skill at the end of last year.

Hope you fans have a great race week and enjoy the action.  It all starts at 11:30AM EST on Versus.

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Dale Coyne Racing has confirmed Alex Lloyd will drive the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America car for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series.  Lloyd will be present and racing this weekend for the inaugural Streets of Sao Paulo Indy 300 from Brazil. 

Lloyd was the champion of the Indy Lights Series in 2007 before becoming the main test driver for Chip Ganassi Racing. 

Lloyd was able to race the Indianapolis 500 for Ganassi twice, although with a secondary team in both 2008 and 2009. 

At the end of the 2009 season, Lloyd decided he needed to try a new route and quit his developmental job with Ganassi.  He was able to run the series finale in 2009 with New Hass Lanigan Racing, but was unable to work a deal with the team for 2010.

Lloyd was the fastest part-time driver in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, qualifying on pole day in the 11th position and finishing the race 13th. 

Lloyd will team with Milka Duno to give Dale Coyne Racing two full-time cars during the season. 

JR Hildebrand was also known to have tested and been in talks with Dale Coyne. 

While no deal has been worked out, it is believed that Hildebrand will be competing part-time in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series after winning the 2009 Indy Lights championship.

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At the beginning of the year, I said I’d give Dale Earnhardt Jr. til Atlanta to show me if he was going to be a contender this year.

After Atlanta, I am seeing signs toward a positive.

At the season-opening Daytona 500, he qualified well—second—and made a late charge through the field to finish second. That late charge and qualifying position equaled a lot to his fanbase, as it showed that the potential was still there—and he could make the right moves as a driver.

At Auto Club Speedway, he didn’t have a good showing, as he finished in the 20s after struggling all race long. This caused a step back in the process, as all that hope that had built up at Daytona was shot down.

At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt showed a lot more promise than the week before, as he qualified third and finished 17th.

I know a lot of people would call that disappointing; however, for a team that had an average of 22.2 last year on the intermediate tracks and finished 25th in points, it was a small improvement. The team may have fallen back in the race a little, but the qualifying performance left a huge implant on everybody.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway, the most promise shown through, as Earnhardt qualified on the pole and was running in the top 10 til the tire problem. The pole qualifying run proved that the No. 88 team had the speed and cars—it just needed to work toward race day moves next.

For the race, some may say it did equal disappointment by just viewing the finish and a general look at how the team ran, but there was some promise beneath it. Normally, the team would fall back to the late teens to early 20s—yet at the time of the first problem, the team was running seventh.

The problem plagued Earnhardt all day, as he was always pitting before the lead lap cars and staying out on cautions to try to get the wave around to work in his favor.

As Rick Hendrick said earlier this year with the No. 88 team, “When the car is running good, the pit crew doesn’t do good. When the pit crew does good, they get bit by bad luck.”

In this case, the pit crew and car were good, but the set-up just didn’t sit well with the tires.

Despite all that and with the wreck at the end, the team managed a 15th-place run—turning a bad day into a decent day, which is the sign of a championship team.

This may not be the dream start to a year per se, but it is a start—to say the least. However, with this start, can Earnhardt make the Chase?

Well, he currently sits 13th, less than 10 points out of the Chase—so I’d say he definitely has a shot.

The next five or six races will be the telling sign. By the end of April, can the team finish in the top 10? Top five? Or even get a win? That question will be answered in the only way possible—on the track.

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Begin Slideshow

Contrary to the buzz, there were 43 drivers racing on Sunday, not just two.

As pointed out by my good friend Kelly Crandall in her article, "Carl Edwards may have escaped NASCAR's court, but the real jury still awaits", there has been a lot of talk about what happened on lap 323 of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski.

What is getting lost is the fact that there was an actual race that took place that day as well. And a pretty darn good race at that! Guys that no one expected to do well, did. Guys that were expected to excel, didn't. Teams that are fixtures in the top 10 were no where to be found. 

I will not be talking about "the incident" any further.

Let's first look at the performance of some of the drivers that are not known to run up front that had break out days. Guys like Paul Menard and Scott Speed.

These are guys that had great days well above the expectations of fans and "experts."

Paul Menard is known as a perennial back marker that usually finishes out of the top 15.  His career average finish coming into this season is 25th. Last Sunday, however, he came from the 23rd starting position to get his second career top five. He bounded up eight spots in the points. Why aren't we talking about this?

Scott Speed has had only one top five and two top 10s in his career. His career average finish is 27th. On Sunday, he made up 22 places coming from 32nd starting spot to finish with his second career top 10. He made up four places in the points. Why isn't this being talked about?

Now on to the teams and drivers that were expected to compete for the win, but failed to do so.

Hendrick Motorsports is obviously the strongest team in NASCAR over the last several years. They employ two four-time champions, a legacy driver, and a guy that all NASCAR fans love. Unfortunately, none of these drivers cracked the top 10.

Plagued by tire issues all day, the Hendricks crew suffered their worst average outing of the season as a group. Why is no one commenting on that?

How about the teams that overcame adversity to have strong finishes?

Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, and Ryan Newman were all forced to the back of the pack.  Biffle had to go to a back-up car after a crash in practice and the Stewart-Haas drivers had to change engines.

Stewart started 42nd and finished 13th. Newman started dead last and finished 17th.  Biffle had the best day of any of these drivers. He was relegated to the 41st starting spot, avoided wrecks, had great pit stops and made up 33 places to finish in the top 10...again. He jumped three places in the points and now sits in third.

Why aren't any of these the top story of the week? This is NASCAR "racing" isn't it? Or did we some how go from "racing" to  "demolition derby?"

Let's make a pact to talk about the good stuff for a change, rather than focusing only on the grudges, stupidity, and politics of the sport. 

While NASCAR sorts things out and hands out punishments, whether I agree with them or not, I'll be looking at the RACING that takes place.

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In the aftermath of last week's horrific crash at Atlanta Motor Speedway there have been thousands of stories written about every angle, every driver involved, and now the penalties, or lack of.

The most deafening comment we have heard from this situation came from Brad Keselowski: "Could have killed someone in the grandstands." 

Fans occupy the grandstands.

I have taken thousands of pictures at NASCAR events.

Each time I look through a set of pictures from a race, I always find one constant: the fans.

I see them at every race and every event. I see them before the race and usually long after the last hauler has left.

I hear them, I see them, I photograph them, but, I don’t know them.

Reading through Andrew Giangola’s book, The Weekend Starts on Wednesday: True Stories of Remarkable NASCAR Fans, has given me an opportunity to know some special fans.

The book starts with a foreword by Tony Stewart and finishes off with a very philosophical Kyle Busch. In between, readers are treated to a bountiful harvest of stories about NASCAR fans from all walks of life.

Giangola introduces us to people like Jack Hedge, the 82-year-old man who’s attended every Daytona 500, and Spencer Roy, a wheelchair-bound youth who watched Tony Stewart dance the jig in his motor home.

Every week, thousands of fans file into the racing venues across the country. Each one with a story as diverse as the tracks they visit.

While Giangola does a great job of interjecting bits of his own life and sprinkles in plenty of humor, the book is not devoid of heart-wrenching stories.

Meet John Bookie, a larger than life Jeff Gordon fan, and his girlfriend Christine Kavka. This young couple met through their love of sports, especially NASCAR.

When John passed away suddenly, Christine was left to carry out his final wish.

Traveling along the path to his final resting place, Christine learned it doesn’t matter what driver you root for, it matters that you’re a fan, and fans always help other fans.

NASCAR fans come from all walks of life and are not limited to John Q. Public.

In the section titled Famous Faces, Giangola shares stories from some of the most recognizable faces away from the race track. Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, and the beautiful Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton are among the many stars who love racing.

“It’s not for show,” said Giangola. “Their motives are pure. They attend races not for a photo op but because they cherish the same things in NASCAR as everyday fans.”

This book is all about the life and stories of NASCAR fans. Andrew Giangola has taken those stories and brought them to life.      

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Graham Rahal will join Sarah Fisher Racing for two early season road races to start the 2010 season. Rahal will drive the No. 67 Dollar General car that is usually piloted by Fisher herself for the races at St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Fisher was slated to drive the No. 67 car at nine races this year, and had previously added Jay Howard to drive a second car for the team at five races.

Rahal tweeted earlier today that he had good news that would shock everyone. A switch to SFR is certainly a shock to the Indycar world. Rahal, one of the most promising young drivers in the series, had previously driven for Newman Haas Lannigan, where he was reasonably successful for a 21-year-old driver. Rahal recently lost the McDonald's sponsorship of his No. 2 car with NHL, and seemed to be without a ride for 2010. Rahal had been offered a multi-year contract with Dale Coyne Racing, but turned down the deal because it would commit him for too long to a team that lost key people from 2009.

Rahal has been lobbying to be the third seat at Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but currently Ganassi does not have the sponsorship dollars to make a deal. Rahal's two race deal with Dollar General and Sarah Fisher Racing will allow him to continue to work for a full time ride for 2010 while keeping his skills sharp and on the track. The publicity will also be very positive for SFR and Dollar General, as Rahal is considered a young star in the series and featured prominently in upcoming IZOD advertisements.

While the situation may not be perfect for a young rising star, it ensures that Graham Rahal will be involved in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series at least part time. In a time when the racing world is suffering from the economic downturn, any opportunity can be a good opportunity. More on this story is expected later, including an official release from Sarah Fisher Racing on Thursday.

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Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s two-race winning streak was snapped in Atlanta, as a pesky tire-rub issue that forced a four-tire pit stop late in the race negated any chance for the win. Still, Johnson brought the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet across the finish in 12th, a solid finish and one that kept him well in sight of points leader Kevin Harvick.

“How’s this for irony?” asked Johnson. “After a four-tire pit stop in Las Vegas won me the race, it was a four-tire stop in Atlanta that likely cost me the race. But, that’s the nature of this sport. One week, you’re being handed your fifth Sprint Cup championship trophy; the next, you’re a mere afterthought. That’s going from ‘iconic’ to ‘ironic’ in the span of a week.”

“But what better way to deflect the ‘Jimmie Johnson domination is bad for the sport’ talk than a mediocre finish coupled with a spectacular crash? My teammate Jeff Gordon recently spoke of the need for rivalries in NASCAR. Well, we’ve got a big one now. Unfortunately, it’s between a driver who needs algebra to count his enemies, and another who hasn’t won a race in two years. For Carl Edwards, it seems that ‘V’ is indeed for ‘vendetta,’ and not for ‘victory,’ while for Brad Keselowski, ‘V’ is for ‘victim.’”

2. Kevin Harvick: A qualifying run of 35th forebode a difficult race day for Harvick, but persistence and astute pit calls by crew chief Gil Martin gave the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil team a hard-earned ninth-place finish in the Kobalt Tools 500 in Atlanta. Harvick still leads the Sprint Cup point standings with a 26-point cushion over Matt Kenseth.

“Once again, Carl Edwards has let his temper get the best of him. One would think fatherhood would have mellowed him out, but it seems that his infernal instincts have overwhelmed his paternal instincts. When NASCAR’s done with him, he may just get some paternity ‘leave.’”

“There’s only one person that calls him ‘Daddy.’ After NASCAR levies a fine that is sure to be in the thousands, there will be lots of people calling him ‘grand’ daddy. Last week, all the talk was of Carl’s first born; now all the talk centers on Carl’s first air borne.”

3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth scored his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a second in Atlanta, surviving a race marked by late crashes and 16 extra laps. Kenseth moved up two positions in the point standings to second, and trails Kevin Harvick by only 26 points.

“I think we’re starting to reap the benefits of switching crew chiefs,” Kenseth said. “Todd Parrott was the right choice, if for no other reason than his name is easily pronounced. Besides, Parrott’s presence has spawned another unoriginal nickname for my pit crew.

No longer known as the ‘Killer B’s,’ these guys now prefer to be called the ‘Parrott-heads.’ Changes in latitude have resulted in changes in ‘Matt-itude.’ If Jimmy Buffett has a problem with any of our copyright infringements, we hope he’ll at least let us enjoy it through the weekend. ‘Come Monday,’ if it’s still a problem, we’ll cease and desist.”

“As for our esteemed Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, my team loyalty, as well as my team owner, forbid me from criticizing Edwards. Besides, criticism at a time like this is counter-productive. There’s only one thing Carl needs more than my support, and that’s counseling. And I’m sure he’ll get lots of it. Heck, he might even need counsel , in the form of a lawyer, when he faces council , in the form of NASCAR’s disciplinary board.”

“You know, they call him ‘Cousin Carl.’ After NASCAR parked him for aggressive driving, they’re now calling him ‘Cousin Carl, once removed.’”

4. Greg Biffle: After hitting the wall in Saturday’s Happy Hour, Biffle resorted to a backup car and went to the back of the field for the start of Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. Biffle steadily climbed up the leaderboard in the Census 2010 Ford, and was near the front for a number of late restarts.

A further charge to the front was nullified when spinning tires ahead of him slowed his line, considerably holding up a train of cars.

“There’s a name for those guys,” Biffle said. “They’re called tire ‘scrubs.’”

“I’m just happy we finished well and didn’t get caught up in any of the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski melees. Those two are akin to Aaron Fike and heroin—when they ‘get together,’ someone gets ‘high.’”

“I think, in the coming days, Carl’s going to be schooled in the difference between ‘retaliatory’ and ‘conciliatory.’ I think Carl immediately realized the severity of his actions and acted quickly to make amends. That’s probably why he drove through pit lane in the wrong direction after being black-flagged. Obviously, Carl’s version of the ‘Polish Victory Lap’ was a tribute to Keselowski’s Polish heritage.”

5. Kurt Busch: Busch led 129 laps at Atlanta, including the final nine after darting to the lead on a lap 332 restart, and won the Kobalt Tools 500, repeating his spring Atlanta victory of last year. With his first win under new crew chief Steve Addington, Busch jumped nine spots in the point standings to tenth, and trails first by 142 points.

“I know Steve feels vindicated now that he’s got a win as my crew chief under his belt. Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s team took Steve’s job; now. Steve gets to tell them to shove it.”

“As for the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski incident, I’m sure NASCAR’s new policy of allowing drivers to ‘police themselves’ will be put to the test. On one hand, you’ve got Edwards showing the ‘personality’ that NASCAR hoped for. On the other, you’ve got a car sailing through the air, endangering drivers and fans alike. I hate to say it, but NASCAR asked for this. Edwards may be a loose cannon, but the subjective interpretation of NASCAR’s new edict makes their law a loose ‘canon.’”

“In any case, the Edwards-Keselowski history is ‘feud’ for thought.”

6. Mark Martin: Martin blew a left-rear tire on lap 115, sending him sliding through the infield grass, as the Hendrick Motorsports team struggled with tire issues all day in Atlanta. Martin recovered from his blown tire, but was collected in a lap 331 wreck started when Jamie McMurray got loose. Martin finished 33rd. Ten laps down, and fell four places in the point standings to seventh.

“One would think,” Martin said, “after Goodyear’s infamous history in Atlanta, they would have had this tire problem completely resolved by now. And one would think, having not driven the Viagra car for three years, I’d no longer be subject to jokes about ‘inflation.’ ”

7. Clint Bowyer: After a quick, two-tire pit stop during a caution after Brad Keselowski’s crash, Bowyer held the lead for the first try at a green-white-checkered finish. After taking the green, Bowyer’s No. 33 BB&T Chevy was easily picked off by cars with four fresh tires, and soon after the No. 33 was collected in a crash initiated by Jamie McMurray.

Bowyer remained on the lead lap, however, and finished a respectable 23rd. He dropped three places in the Sprint Cup standings to fifth.

“It was an up-and-down day for us in Atlanta,” Bowyer said. “And speaking of ‘up-and-down,’ I had a front row seat for takeoff and landing of Brad Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge. If you ask any of his rivals, they’ll tell you that’s as close to heaven as Keselowski will ever get.”

8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne led 144 of 341 laps in Atlanta, finishing fourth to lead a contingent of three Richard Petty Motorsports drivers in the top six. RPM teammates Paul Menard and A.J. Allmendinger came home fifth and sixth, respectively.

“Richard Petty was as happy as could be,” Kahne said. “I believe King Richard was ‘nighted’ on Sunday, meaning he slept very well.”

“Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer my opinions on the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski shenanigans, or at the very least Twitter or Facebook my thoughts. Some may deem it odd that Edwards chose to explain himself on his Facebook page. I don’t. I think it was wise. Where else could Carl go and be surrounded by ‘friends?’

“I think it’s interesting that the opportunity for drivers to ‘police themselves’ arose one week after Danica Patrick left. It seems that for the first three races of the year, drivers were less interested in the chance to ‘police themselves,’ and more interested in an occasion to ‘cop’ a feel.”

9. Tony Stewart: Starting from the back after an engine change, Stewart quickly worked his way to the front in Atlanta, only to be shuffled back after a loose wheel forced an unscheduled pit stop on lap 307.

The No. 14 Office Depot emerged in 30th, but Stewart recovered to finish 13th, thanks to a few wrecks that eliminated much of the field, and thanks as well to Stewart’s ability to avoid those wrecks. Up three spots in the point standings, Stewart is now eighth, 134 out of first.

“It’s been a somewhat uneventful year for me so far,” Stewart said. “You know it’s been a quiet year for Tony Stewart when there’s an Atlanta race with tire problems and you still don’t hear much from me. A top-10 finish in Bristol, or a Rolling Stone article, will make some noise.”

10. Juan Montoya: Montoya was a force all day in Atlanta, qualifying third and finishing third to rebound from a tough day in Las Vegas last week. It was Montoya’s first top-5 and second top-10 finish of the year.

“What a difference a week makes,” Montoya said. “Last week in Las Vegas, Jamie McMurray wrecked his teammate. This week, he wrecked everybody but his teammate.”

“I may drive the Target-sponsored car, but the No. 42 clearly wasn’t the most ‘Target’-ed car on the track. That belonged to Brad Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge. I think the people at Aflac chose a good race to keep their logo from prominent display on the No. 99. Carl Edwards may usually be sponsored by a duck, but, at least on Sunday, he was crazy as a loon.”

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This weekend the 2010 Formula One World Championship begins and for the first time in the history of the sport, there will be four teams going into the season with nearly six drivers favorites to win the driver’s championship. The traditional power teams like Ferrari and McLaren will be joined by Red Bull and the rebirth of the Mercedes Grand Prix team will lead to the most unpredictable season ever.

Mercedes is not the only iconic name which is returning to the sport but the greatest driver of our era and maybe the sport as well is returning but not with Ferrari but Michael Schumacher will make his dramatic comeback with the Silver Arrow Mercedes team where he will team up with Ross Brawn once again and this was the combination which resulted him all of his seven Championships, five with Ferrari and two with Benetton.

Names like Schumacher and Mercedes will overshadow others but then Cosworth is back after a disastrous 2006 season while the Senna names returns to the grid in the form of Bruno Senna, the nephew of the legendary Ayrton Senna a former three-team World Champion who died in a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.  

Though the Lotus name returns, this outfit has no connection to the Colin Chapman led outfit. The only connection is that the group which owns the current Lotus team also owns Lotus Cars.

Though last season Brawn surprised everyone and won the Championship largely due to a loophole in the regulations and had it not been for the double diffuser, then Red Bull may have won it but this season Brawn which is Mercedes now will face a very stiff challenge from Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Mercedes may not go into the season as hot favorites, and though the team does not expect to win right away and would take time, but if Schumacher comes out of retirement, then he is in for wins only.

Though publicly the team may deny it will take time, Mercedes and Schumacher could be on track for wins right from the first race while teammate Rosberg after polishing his skills in the under-powered and under-funded Williams, he finally can prove his potential and show that he can win races.

Red Bull last season’s runner-up is tipped to have the fastest car and with Vettel & Webber behind the wheel, they the only top team to have the same lineup and Vettel is tipped for greater things while Webber who is 33 now may have him last chance at going for the Championship and he could be the dark horse for this season.

Ferrari after a disastrous 2009 did stop work on their 2009 car and started work on their 2010 car before everyone else and with Alonso joining the team, the Latin era begins for Ferrari with Massa coming back after his injuries, this season if both Alonso and Massa can work as a team, Ferrari will be challenging for the titles this season right from the first race.

McLaren has a British super team with Hamilton and Button but with what happened when Hamilton teamed up with Alonso, things may not be as smooth as it seems as Button will take sometime getting used to the car and crew while by then Hamilton will have a good enough lead over him to relegate Button to the No. 2 driver status. Also the ruling on the wing will play a part at their campaign early on this season.

Williams has a strong lineup with the experienced Barrichello along with the GP2 Champion Hulkenberg and with Cosworth proving to be consistent maybe not be far off behind the top four while Sauber after taking buying back the team from BMW may not pull off a Brawn but could be the surprise package of the season as they have a car which has the best tire management so far.

Renault will be led by the mercurial Kubica who given the right car can go wheel to wheel with anyone while Vitaly Petrov has to prove that he is in more for his talent rather then the money he brings with him. Force India is looking forward to 2010 as the break through season for the team while Toro Rosso building a car for the first time on their own since the Minardi days may provide the biggest surprise of this lot.

Though Lotus and Virgin managed to run the car on the tracks but Hispanic will be running the car for the first time during the race weekend and if the car is slow it may prove to be dangerous for all the other teams who are not far off from each other in terms of speed.

The Bahrain Grand Prix will be the first of many exciting races we will have this season and the return of marquee names will provide more excitement to the season.

Bahrain GP Top 10 Predictions

1. Sebastien Vettel
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Mark Webber
4. Felipe Massa
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Michael Schumacher
7. Nico Rosberg
8. Jenson Button

9. Kamui Kobayashi

10. Nico Hulkenberg

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I wrote an article here on BleacherReport a few months ago about why I thought that Formula One and open wheel racing was dying in North America and especially in the States. I postulated lots of things; NASCAR, foreign drivers, the auto industry.

But I when I wrote that article I still had hope that reunification, new sponsors, and the possibility of new engine suppliers for the 2012 season and beyond could re-energize and usher in a renewal for open wheel racing in the U.S.

That hope went beyond just IndyCar, I was also hopeful about the new USF1 team.  Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson had so hyped up their theoretical capability, American know-how, and that good ole' go get'em spirit that I, like many others, was blinded to what USF1 was supposed to be from the very beginning.

An experiment, nothing more, nothing less. Windsor made us all believe that USF1 was a realistic endeavor. That the U.S. would actually be able to fund, construct, and run a Formula One car and team when the interest in the sport here is close to zero. Soccer/football is more popular and well known stateside than Formula One has ever or will ever be.

Ken Anderson with his wind tunnel, autoclaves, and CFD software didn't even have a chance to do what Dan Gurney did out of what was basically his shed. It's hard to maintain that DIY ethos of good ole' boy American racers, in the ilk of Dan Gurney or the moonshiners in the mountains of western North Carolina, especially if the team's main financiers are a nerd from Silicon Valley and a failed Argentinian F1 prospect.

The dream that USF1 was from the very beginning was just that: a dream, nothing else. In a way I'm relieved they didn't make to it the grid in Bahrain; this country has enough to be embarrassed about.

But coming back to IndyCar, Graham Rahal—I repeat, GRAHAM RAHAL!!!!—will not be driving an Indy car in 2010. How does that happen? The most promising young American driver will not be suiting to race in the premier American open wheel series? 

Meanwhile, Takuma Sato and EJ Viso will because they were able to backdoor into their seats, bought by Honda and PDVSA respectively.

The financial system that IndyCar has built for itself is failing, even with leased engines from Honda and discounted chassis from Dallara. A team once as powerful and respected as Newman/Haas/Lanigan cant afford to field more than one car.

They fully depend on their drivers for funding in the form of sponsorship and if none can be found, even a driver as talented and promising as Graham Rahal won't be able to race in the series.

IndyCar got a new lease on life in 2008 with reunification, but it's going down the same tubes that CART went down in the preceding decade. The difference is that this time there'll be nobody to save IndyCar from its misery and the big wigs knew it.

Tony George jumped ship as CEO of both IMS and the IRL; now Brian Barnhart is at the helm of a sinking ship. IndyCar's main TV partner, Versus, has been dropped by DirecTV because Versus is owned by the cable company Comcast. IndyCar racing has been barely able to draw any substantial audience at all, both live and on TV.

Helio Castroneves is better known for dancing and tax evasion than racing and Danica Patrick, their "superstar," is now known as "That girl from NASCAR and the GoDaddy.com ads." That is quite a state for a "serious" racing series to be in. It's almost farcical.

What's more, the new controversial Delta Wing concept is another factor that aims to tear this fragile series asunder. Who ever says that history doesn't repeat itself, or more importantly can't learn lessons from the past, is a fool. I'm looking at you, Brian Barnhart.

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Aggressive racers aren't exactly a new breed of drivers in motorsports, as they often bring excitement, controversy, and attention to the sport.

They're the breed of men and women who leave it all on the line, willing to do what it takes to win, and often leave the track with discontent after defeat.

Some of the best in NASCAR were the hard chargers, including the late Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan, and recently Kurt and Kyle Busch.

Each possessed some kind of talent to race to the front, even if it meant banging some sheet metal and bruising some egos along the way.

In a sport that's said to have some vanilla personalities, there are the few who aren't afraid to truly be themselves. They let it show with the press, fans, and their peers on the track.

That's the case with 26-year-old Brad Keselowski, the talented and remarkable second-generation racer, whose father Bob and uncle Ron were quite the respectable stock car racers from the Midwest. Racing has been in their blood for a long time, often as winners in their leagues.

The young Keselowski has shown some remarkable poise and skill that says winner all over him. He has driven for one of the most respectable organizations in all of auto racing.

With solid backing from team owner Roger Penske, "BK" has all the tools around him to become a regular for victories and perhaps some championships down the road.

Unfortunately, he's not exactly a liked figure among his peers—particularly some racers who've become embroiled in some controversy with the driver of the No. 12 Dodge.

From Denny Hamlin to Carl Edwards, some of that aggressive driving has landed him in some hot water with the sport's veterans, who feel they're victims of sheet metal bumper tag rather than some hard racing.

That said, Keselowski's style is no different than any aggressive racer who's gotten into someone in a variety of ways. The incidents range from slight contact that results in nothing more than a tire mark on the car's side to heavy contact, often ending with mangled sheet metal and tempers flaring hotter than an Arizona heat wave.

Earnhardt made it his brand of racing, often bumping competitors at will, as a means to win races. How else do you suppose he got the nicknames "Ironhead" and "The Intimidator?" Chances are, almost any race that the Big E was a part of had him mixing it up out there, rattling cages along the way.

Ernie Irvan has perhaps the strongest resemblance of the past to Keselowski. He was a young Californian who worked laboriously building grandstand seats at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the late 1980s. Irvan was the pride of Salinas who earned the moniker "Swervin' Irvan" for his "go at 'em" style, banging fenders and crumpling up his Kodak Chevy when he marched to the lead.

Some of those tactics landed him in a world of hurt in 1991-'92, where good intentions often led to Irvan into trouble with his peers. Most notably in the '91 season, he wiped out a number of contenders in the July Pocono race. This lead to numerous racers venting frustration in a pre-race report during CBS Sports' coverage of the DieHard 500 the following week.

"I told Ernie like I told Earnhardt the other day, I'm going to race you like you race me. If you hit me, I'ma crash you," Rusty Wallace said with some disgust.

Humiliated and humbled by the words of his fellow racers, Irvan stepped up to the podium during the drivers' meeting at Talladega, asking for a second chance to prove himself as a legit, hard-racing but clean racer.

Following that incident, Irvan honed himself into one of the finest stock car competitors around, who was able to calculate when to make those daring moves while saving his car for the battles in the end.

As a result, he became a well-liked, popular driver in the stands and garage area for the rest of his career.

It wasn't magic, nor did it happen overnight. Irvan had some growing pains in trying to earn the respect of the garage area. They were all but ready to quit on the driver who messed with the veterans. Eventually, he proved himself without having to change too much of his attitude and style as a racer and a colleague amongst America's finest stock car drivers.

Darrell Waltrip was another brash figure who didn't mind irking the fans and drivers as to who he thought was the best in NASCAR. Back in the 1980s, as Waltrip would put it, he raced "doing whatever it took" to win races.

While he earned three titles, he felt that the victories on the track were somewhat hollow. His rough style as a racer didn't earn him any fans, who weren't afraid to give a piece of their mind (and then some) to the veteran racer.

Perhaps Waltrip's turning point came in the 1983 Daytona 500, when he raced to the line in efforts to get back on the lead lap. Slowed by Dick Brooks, who was preventing the prolific champion from victory, DW's No. 11 Pepsi Chevy Monte Carlo suddenly swerved to the left, spinning wildly into the inside retaining barrier before pit road.

He smashed into the concrete passenger-side first before resting along the frontstretch, all battered up and torn. Miraculously, he survived the incident.

Even so, the crash left quite an impression on Waltrip's mindset as a racer who ruffled the feathers of veteran stars like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison.

Some fans felt that Keselowski "had it coming to him." This was after Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500, in which his No. 12 Mopar FLO TV Dodge Charger went for a flyer into the frontstretch wall, crushing in the roof and breaking the roll cage. Keselowski would walk out of his car, albeit shaken up and dazed by the prolific incident with Carl Edwards.

No matter whose side you're on in this controversial mess, what we saw on Sunday was perhaps a case of a driver frustrated by an earlier incident involving Keselowski. He felt it was time to speak up for some racers who've been involved in accidents with the 26-year-old Nationwide Series graduate.

That said, there's no winner in this situation. There was no right for Edwards to take out Keselowski in the fashion he did, regardless if the No. 12 Dodge flipped or had stayed on track.

After all, that's not how the good ol' boys did it. No, they duked it out in the track. They traded fists and punches rather than using their cars as a means of "unnecessary roughness."

While Keselowski still has lots to learn, perhaps one way for him to earn the respect of the fans and drivers before the race at Bristol, Tenn. is to "man up" to his mistakes, similar to how his predecessors did years ago. There's nothing more humiliating yet career-changing than to speak up, regardless of whether or not it's your fault.

Won't the real Brad Keselowski please stand up? He doesn't have to change entirely. He can be as stubborn as he wants to be. As long as he can own up to his incidents, the respect label will surely find its way to a young man who has the makings to become quite the figure in NASCAR history.

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We are a society that loves “train wrecks.”

Say you don’t slow down just a little to see the carnage on the side of the road when you see the lights of an ambulance up ahead and I won’t believe it.

Truth is we all have a little rubber in our necks, some more others, but we all do.

No matter how it makes us feel in the end, we love to watch.

We all have our reasoning as to why. Some look on in sadness and despair. Some watch in horror, praying for a miracle. Some are pumped by the adrenaline that flows through their bodies while awaiting the outcome.

Regardless of the reason, we are a bunch of unapologetic "Looky Loos."

Comedian George Carlin once said during a stand-up performance,

“If my car should happen to be in such a position where I can't quite see what's going on, can't get a good enough look... I'm not the least bit shy about asking the police to bring the bodies over a little closer to the car!

"Pardon me, officer. Will you fellows mind dragging that twisted-looking chap over here a little closer to the car, please?’ ‘My wife has never seen anyone shaped quite like that. Look at that, Sugarlips, that's his rib cage, sticking out of the glove compartment! Thank you, officer, that will be all now. You can throw him back on the pile, we'll be moving along.”

Being a comedian, it was Carlin’s job to push the envelope regarding situations such as this, but how many people listening to him chuckled to themselves, “Sounds like something I would do!”

Not only do we love to watch, we love to talk about it!

Automatically, we describe in detail exactly what we saw and start form our own opinions as to who was at fault. We talk about it with just about anyone who will listen.

We analyze the situation over and over again, hoping to make some sense of it all. We try to justify the reasons behind why we were watching in the first place and secretly wonder if the excitement we felt is concern for future deviant behaviors.

For example, a few weeks ago I was witness to one of the most horrific sights I have ever seen during my career in the Emergency Room.

It wasn’t my patient, but the hype surrounding the event was sickeningly more than I could bear. I had to see it for myself, I needed to be a part of that discussion.

I stood in the trauma bay and looked at the lifeless body covered in a blood stained sheet and thought to myself, “Don’t do it, you’re close enough.” But I needed them to “bring the bodies closer to the car.”

I lifted up the sheet and I looked.

In hindsight it was something that I could have gone a lifetime without ever seeing something so brutal, but oddly it needed to be done.

In the case of the Edwards/Keselowski wreck, it too oddly needed to be done.

While I do not agree with NASCAR’s punishment, the accident opened up a much needed discussion. One that needs to be detailed and repeated to anyone who will listen.

This year NASCAR’s motto was, “Have at it boys.” This past weekend in Atlanta proved that without proper guidelines, boys will indeed be boys.

We witnessed adolescent behavior from seemingly grown adults. Stock cars aren’t glorified go-karts driven by overgrown juveniles. They are hard driving horsepower surrounded by muscle and metal that should be treated with respect.

It takes a skilled driver to pilot the machine safely around a speed hungry oval, the very last thing we need is intentional horse play at 190 MPH.

Much like the image that I witnessed in a hospital setting, the crushed wreckage of the No. 12 car will stay with me as a reminder of what is right and wrong.

Hopefully the same holds true for our drivers, officials, crew members and NASCAR as a whole.

May this latest incident serve as a reminder to not only expect the unexpected on the track but to accept the unexpected, learn from it and keep the feuding off the track.

As a driver, it is OK to bring a boyish edge to the track, just remember when it is time to step up and be a man.

Any NASCAR fan knows that accidents are a product of the environment. They are always going to happen, but can we please just keep them as they are intended...accidents.

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A driver went to victory lane on Sunday afternoon. A team got to celebrate taking a checkered flag.

Trophies were presented, photos were taken, and post-race interviews were conducted. On Sunday, there was a 500-mile race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway that saw Kurt Busch take his first win of the season.

But, is anyone talking about the victory? Is anyone discussing the final pit stops where Busch had to pass three cars to get ahead?

No, they are not.

On lap 323 of the scheduled 325 laps, the story happened. Carl Edwards hits Brad Keselowski, Busch's teammate, and the No. 12 Dodge takes flight. In that moment, the previous 322 laps disappeared.

The pit stops, the passes, the lead changes; everything else disappeared when that car hit the wall.

Why is that?

The answer is simple: it was THE moment. It's the part of the race that we as the media wait for every time the green flag flies. Unfortunately, it's also the moment that makes us all look past what happened before and after it happened.

It's not the first time this has happened. When Dale Earnhardt passed away in 2001, did anyone talk about Michael Waltrip winning his first race? Of course not, the icon of the sport was no longer with us.

Go forward a couple years to Michigan, 2003. It was a day where Ryan Newman took a fuel-mileage gamble to win the race.

What did people talk about after that? It was Jimmy Spencer giving Busch a swift right hook in the garage area. Media swarmed that story like a group of linebackers gang-tackling a running back.

The track that seems to always have this happen is Talladega because of it's history. Last fall, it was Jamie McMurray taking what would then become his last win with Roush-Fenway on a green-white-checkered finish.

But, no one talks about that win. The story was Ryan Newman doing a front flip in his U.S. Army Chevy and having to wait nearly five minutes to get cut out.

McMurray had a similar situation this year at Daytona. Everyone was talking about his win in the "Great American Race." However, the topic of conversation 24 hours later was the pothole that developed in the racing surface.

It's a vicious cycle that we can't seem to get away from, but it's the trend of the media today.

When I look at the Kobalt Tools 500 from 2010, yes I will remember the wreck. But, at the same time, what I remember also is the domination of Busch and Kasey Kahne. Those two had the best cars all day long, and it was going to be one of those two going to victory lane.

Combined, the beer-sponsored cars led 75 percent of the laps. It was a battle of which beverage would be cracked open in victory lane.

I also look at the two green-white-checkered attempts, with the first having a multiple-car pile up, taking out a lot of good cars. Busch had to survive both restarts, plus pass some drivers who went with right-side tires only, hoping to gain a surprising victory.

I remember the struggles of Hendrick Motorsports, with each one having tire issues. Very few teams outside of the Hendrick stable had tire issues with the compound Goodyear brought to the track.

There was Earnhardt Jr. getting his first pole in over a year, giving Junior Nation something to cheer for come race day.

There are many headlines that could have been written about what happened at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, but one story has taken center stage.

We can't help it, because we all have an interest in what NASCAR was going to do after the fact. Even then, the story continues. Was the punishment fitting for the act, was it too lenient, is this a trend the sport is going in? There's more questions than answers coming from an incident that occurred in just a few seconds.

Many of those questions will not get answered until next week when racing returns at Bristol.

Have we beaten the Edwards-Keselowski incident to death? It's highly possible. We all have a take on it, and we've all voiced it at one point. Maybe it is time to simply let it rest and move on to the next headline.

The race in Atlanta was an excellent event from flag-to-flag, and one that will be talked about all the way to the end of the season.

But, much like many other great races in years past, a lot of things got lost in the wreckage.

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There's an old saying about first impressions: you only get to make it once.

When Carl Edwards entered the Sprint Cup Series back in 2005, he was a driver that every fan could root for: down to earth, worked his way up from the local tracks, and didn't have a reputation that proceeded him. But after Sunday's incident in the Kobalt Tools 500, the fans' impressions of Edwards may have changed.

Everyone knows what happened, everyone knows why it happened, and everyone knows what has been said about it. 

After it happened though, everyone wanted to know what was next. Many felt that Edwards has abused NASCAR's new "have at it, boys" policy. Some said that Brad Keselowski got what he deserved and that it was no harm, no foul. There were those, including many drivers' wives/girlfriends that reached out via Twitter, that were appalled.

The general sentiment, besides saying they lost respect for him, was that his true colors were showing and that he wasn't the nice guy that TV always portrayed him to be. Something had to be done and a suspension and heavy fine was in order. 

Today, NASCAR did neither, instead handing down to Edwards a three race probation that spans through all three of NASCAR's top series: Camping World Truck, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup Series.

Once the decision was announced, some drivers then took to Twitter to let their followers know their reactions, some agreed, some didn't. The best reaction though, came from Kevin Harvick who said he wanted to ask NASCAR for a refund of all his past penalties, including when he was suspended from a Cup race after an incident he had in the Truck Series. 

Edwards' probation will start when the action resumes in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway. It's not a more fitting track for Edwards' real punishment to be announced.

Most are certain that Edwards escaped easy today. NASCAR slapped him on the wrist and he'll continue on his merry way. When Edwards arrives in Bristol, it won't be very merry for very long and the reason is quite simple: the fans.

NASCAR has officially spoken and now the fans get their chance.

That's for those that haven't already decided on Edwards' fate, and some have, thanks to popular social networking sites such as aforementioned Twitter and Facebook. In fact, the fans on Facebook have already announced just how they feel about the Missouri native by creating a group called "Carl Edwards is an A**."

But there are those that still don't know what to think or how to feel.

They might still be in shock of what they witnessed on Sunday and thanks to this week being an offweekend for NASCAR compeition, they'll have two weeks to make up their minds. And if the fans that are attending the race in Bristol react in the same way they did to Kurt Busch back in 2003, it won't be pretty.

Busch arrived in Bristol after being involved in a post-race altercation with Jimmy Spencer the week before at Michigan. It's said that after the two made contact on the racetrack, Spencer went up to Busch in the garage and punched him.

Spencer was suspended for the race at Bristol and the fans didn't like it.

For the Saturday night event, they made signs that surrounded the bullring type track that expressed how they felt about Busch and some even declared "Free Jimmy."

The message the fans were sending was simple: NASCAR may have the official say, but NASCAR fans get the most important one. They are the true jury and the ones that drivers really have to answer to.

Ken Squier said it best: "It was Kurt Busch who had to face the decision of the true jury. For a week, NASCAR fans around the country deliberated and their verdict was announced loud and clear in the courtroom of the Bristol Motor Speedway."

The verdict?

Busch was booed... loudly... and a lot. 

Now, NASCAR fans find themselves in the same situation heading to the same track. They have two weeks to deliberate on how they feel about Edwards and how they'll view him from here on out. 

Will they welcome Edwards with open arms? Will they see a different man TV portrays and shower him with boos? Or will they be so worn out of all the coverage and controversy they just won't care anymore?

The good news for Edwards is that if he follows in the footsteps of Busch from his 2003 Bristol experience, he'll end the weekend in victory lane. That's if he can keep his nose clean and not find himself in anymore unwanted altercations.

Facing NASCAR may have been easy, but now Edwards must face those that aren't always so forgiving and don't always forget. 

Read more Motorsports news on BleacherReport.com

Short track motor racing track owner Jeff Vaughn is from the Shenandoah, VA area. He owns the Shenandoah Speedway. Some of the topics discussed were:

You can download the podcast by right-clicking and selecting "Save As..."

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• Why Bristol Motor Speedway is concrete instead of asphalt like most tracks.
• Jeff built the track himself and told us how that came about and why he wanted to build an asphalt track there.
• We talked about the types of racing vehicles on short track and how they compare to NASCAR and open-wheeled race cars.
• We talked about some drivers who have raced on his track and why owners are interested in younger drivers.
• Jeff explained more about his track including the seating, VIP, corporate events, car shows, and training events.
• We also got Jeff’s opinion of Danica Patrick going from open wheeled to stock car.
• We talked about their negotiations with NASCAR to be a sanctioned track or an ASA sanctioned track. Right now they’re running independent.

After the interview Foss and Rees bantered about which sport is more exciting: Open Wheeled racing or Stock car racing. This turned into an argument over which racing movie was best, Days of Thunder, Talladega Nights, or Driven.

We want to thank Short Track owner Jeff Vaughn for coming on the show and we wish his track success in the future! You can check out his track at http://www.shenandoahspeedway.com/

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or Click HERE to Listen

Used with permission from "The Sports Piece " presented by Global Data Finder.

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At driver introductions before every NASCAR race some drivers get booed more than others. Some don’t get booed at all. Some get cheered loudly and some don’t. Some get a good dose of both. That’s the NASCAR crowd.

Jeff Gordon understands the boo bird phenomenon as he gets plenty of cheers and boos every time he is introduced at races at least 36 times a year. Gordon recently discussed rivalries and Jimmie Johnson dominance.

“Even in football, people love to hate the dominating team out there,” Gordon said. “But in the NFL you don't see a whole lot of domination.

"I just think it depends on the rivalries and the stories. If you're dominating but you're battling a Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Tony Stewart and you build that rivalry; the good guy/bad guy kind of thing; the Ford vs. Chevy and all that sort of thing. I think the stories are still there. The interest is still there. But when you're out there dominating and nobody is really your enemy, then I think it pulls away from you a little bit.

“What we need is Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart to be butting heads and banking and trying to beat one another and talking trash, that's going to be good television.”

Recent NASCAR rivalries have resulted more than just spirited verbal exchanges, high speed airborne crashes like Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski at Atlanta have dominated motorsports news. NASCAR announced at the 2010 Charlotte Media Tour that they were going to let the drivers police themselves, a “have at it” policy. It’s very likely they didn’t mean crash your adversary at will so Edwards did go beyond that with his deliberate nudge.

Edwards drives a Ford, Keselowski drives a Dodge, but Ryan Newman sees rivalries between teammates as substantial discord.

“I think it has the biggest potential for conflict of all things we do in NASCAR, any teammate is a competitor,” Newman said. “That sense of pressure I guess, especially with the extra hype now with the Chase and everything else, it makes it a higher level of potential for that conflict on the racetrack.

“I think that's the biggest reason why. You got the same equipment. You got the same a lot of things. The biggest difference is your results. That creates a little internal rivalry at times.”

Keselowski has probably drawn more ire than Edwards as a track foe in the past with aggressive driving angering Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch among others, but drivers are expected to compete. In the aftermath of the Atlanta episode, NASCAR responded with a three race probation period for Edwards. They were very concerned about the car getting airborne at a mile and half track and will study that data over and over. Both drivers will undergo a face-to-face session with team owners present. 

The Edwards/ Keselowksi crash ignited many passions pro and con and probably took away from the exciting victory by Kurt Busch at Atlanta. Maybe even boo birds were busy taking new sides.

Busch gets his share of boos still, but there is nothing like winning to attract a larger fan base. That won’t silence boo birds, but increasing cheers is a good way to improve introduction moments. Busch commented on fan perception and media focus.

“I’ve always tried to make everyone’s job in the media center easy by giving good answers, but sometimes that will hurt you as well,” Busch said. “The other night, the NASCAR officials didn’t chuckle like everyone did when I gave that quote that I was making too many laps in the ambulance versus the racetrack. The track safety guys took it as, ‘What is Kurt complaining about? Did we take too long to get him to the infield care center?’ Sometimes things get misconstrued when it comes out of my mouth and maybe I haven’t connected to the race fans out there as easily as I should.

“I love racing. I’m a racer at heart. I’ve come from nothing, very humble beginnings. My story is the same as anyone out there sitting in the grandstands except I got a unique opportunity to drive a race car when I was 17 years old. Back in Las Vegas a guy called me up to go race his Late Model, but years before that I was sitting in the grandstands at Las Vegas Motor Speedway watching races. I was at Phoenix International Raceway watching races. My dad and grandfather went to the Milwaukee Mile year after year watching races. I was just a spectator, but I got a unique opportunity to drive a race car.”

Authentic boo birds have to respect those words, even if they won’t let it alter their throaty tone.

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Jot down March 9th, 2010 in the annals of NASCAR history.

Years from now we will look back upon this date with vivid feeling, for March 9th, 2010 was the day NASCAR decided that you can wreck whoever you want, whenever you want, with disregard to the safety of drivers and fans without repercussion.

NASCAR had a chance to make a strong statement against the actions performed by
Carl Edwards this past Sunday. It is unlikely any major sport in this country or
the world would want to condone such a dangerous maneuver.

For reasons we may never understand, NASCAR decided that Edwards had punishment
enough from his parking at the end of the Kobalt Tools 500. They decided that purposefully wrecking someone, whose car then became airborne and came frighteningly close to entering the stands, is just an example of "good ole’ boys racin’."

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if NASCAR uses the incident in their ‘Back to
Basic’ ads that they are so fond of.

So where do we go from here? Can the media and fans continue to watch a sport in
which the sanctioning body dictates that it is acceptable to possibly injure or
kill another competitor at their leisure?

What must the drivers feel at this declaration today? A sport which is already
dangerous in its own right chose to increase the danger rather than mitigate
it.

A pessimist would say this decision could have been based under the premise that
it will help the sagging ratings of the last couple years. No one will actually
claim that is the case, but the idea is not without merit.

The credibility that NASCAR has been striving to recover over the past year has
taken a serious blow today. For the public who are exploring the sport solely
for the spectacular incident at Atlanta, it is understandable if they step away
disgusted.

Already there is a group on Facebook dedicated to boycotting the next Sprint Cup
race at Bristol. Perhaps this will be the fans' answer to this deplorable decision.

For NASCAR, they have now officially put their own needs ahead of the safety of
the drivers and their fans. One can only hope that NASCAR brass has a little
trouble sleeping tonight.

As a fan, I know I will.

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At 12:30 Eastern time, NASCAR President Mike Helton took to the airwaves to deliver what racing fans around the country have been waiting to hear.

The situation began unfolding on lap 40 of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and came full circle when Edwards used the right front bumper of his car to send Brad Keselowski flying into the turn one catch fence.

Helton made it clear in his short speech that NASCAR will not tolerate this kind of behavior at any level.

While speculation and the the build up to this announcement has been monumental, the delivery of the penalty was short and to the point.

“Carl will be put on probation for the next three NASCAR events, and we're sure he understands what that means.”

The penalty assessed is sure to send a very clear message throughout the NASCAR community.

If retaliation is on a driver's mind, as of this situation, three-race probation is in their future.

The debate now will be if the penalty fits the crime and will any situation of this magnitude be handled the same way in the future.

In the late evening after the race, Edwards posted his version of the situation on the popular web site Facebook.

In the final statement of that posting, Edwards said every person has to decide what code they want to live by, and hopefully this explains mine."

NASCAR made it clear what code they govern by. Helton said they take what Carl did seriously and have reacted appropriately.  

Earlier in the year, Keselowski stated he thought Edwards was one of the toughest drivers in the garage, but, with a 3,500-pound race car, he could kick some ass.

Keselowski was already making good on that statement long before he made it.

Helton said there will be more meetings between the driver of the No. 99 and the No. 12 and their car owners. He feels the input of Roger Penske and Jack Roush will be very important to this situation.

These meetings are expected to take place before the Bristol race.

Each driver in the garage will have their opinion about this situation and about the outcome. Its doubtful today’s teleconference is the last we will hear of this.

Helton also made it clear that NASCAR’s have at it statement was promoting typical NASCAR driving with side-by-side racing in our type of race cars.

"We were telling the drivers were going to back off on that grip we had, but, there is a line you can cross and when you cross that line, in our opinion, were going to get involved with you."

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The incident between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski has been a major focus of fans and national media attention for the past two days. With much anticipation, everyone was waiting to see what the reaction would be from NASCAR. In today’s press conference, Mike Helton announced that Carl Edwards would be placed on probation for the next three races…period.

A large segment of the NASCAR community was expecting a fine of at least $25,000 and a loss of driver and owner points. That didn’t happen, and rightfully so. Similar incidents in the past were dealt with in similar fashion with drivers being black flagged for a lap, and on a couple of occasions drivers have been parked.

The only example I can think of where drivers have been fined and docked points for retaliation incidents is when those incidents took place on pit road, placing crew members and officials at risk. I can’t think of a single case where someone was fined for intentionally bumping or spinning someone on the track under green flag conditions, like the incident on Sunday.

The only reason the Edwards/Keselowski incident has generated any interest at all is because Keselowski’s car went airborne. Helton did go on to say that NASCAR takes the incident seriously because the car went airborne and would be evaluating the conditions and taking steps to make sure that it never happens again.

There are precedents for the action NASCAR took with Edwards. In 1992, Dale Earnhardt, Sr. intentionally spun Rusty Wallace at Talladega and the result was Wallace tumbling end over end down the track. NASCAR took absolutely no action against Earnhardt after that incident. He was not parked, fined, placed on probation, or anything else.

The one thing that fans have been screaming for from NASCAR is a consistent application of the rules. In this case, I think they got it right. Unless the response for intentionally spinning another competitor is going to always be a fine and loss of points, or even a lengthy probation, we can’t expect them to do so with Edwards. A suspension, based on previous history, is absolutely out of the question.

There are those that will say that this was a special case because of the speeds at Atlanta and the fact that Edwards was over 100 laps down from Keselowski at the time of the incident. It is absolutely impossible to know with any certainty what is going to happen when cars get together at any track, so there really is nothing special about Atlanta.

Last year at Darlington, Joey Logano got upside down and rolled several times. New Hampshire does not have any where near the speed of Atlanta, but two of NASCAR’s brightest stars at the time lost their lives there. Edwards had no intention to put Keselowski on his roof, and to penalize anyone in Motorsports because of what might have happened makes no sense.

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During today's 12:30pm EST press conference, NASCAR president Mike Helton announced that Carl Edwards has been put on probation for three races, no suspension, no fines, and no point penalty. Helton added that Edwards "knows what that means."

In pulling Edwards off the track and speaking with him in the trailer, Helton said that NASCAR "wanted to make it clear that this goes beyond what we said in February, and we think the driver of the No. 99 understands that."

In his opinion, he thinks their "reaction of putting Carl in the garage for the rest of the event and our probation is enough."

He went on to add that in talking with both Roger Penske (Brad Keselowski's owner) and Jack Roush (Edwards' owner), they came to this decision and plan to meet up with both drivers to "clean the slate so they can get back to hard racing" as the "drivers need to sort it out themselves."

Of the drivers, Helton added, "If there's a rivalry that goes beyond racing, they need to figure out how to manage that before we get involved in it. It's not as much us mentoring at this point, as it is the two drivers talking it out with the owners listening."

Though Helton went on to add, "There is a line you can cross, and we'll step in to maintain law and order when we think that line is crossed."

When Helton was asked what's crossing the line, he said, "We'll see it when we see it" and then went said, "We may react to first incident different then we'd react to third, forth or fifth incident."

Helton also emphasized the seriousness of the Keselowski's car getting airborne, stating that NASCAR will be taking a serious look at that.

"The 12 car getting airborne is a much more serious issue for us right now," Helton said in the press conference. "We take what Carl did seriously, but airborne is the biggest issue. A car getting airborne on a mile-and-a-half track doesn't happen regularly. Been years since we've seen that. A lot of the discussions will center around why it happened, what caused it to happen and to prevent it.

The event of the 12 car getting off the ground contributed to the spectacle of the event and what made it looked severe. We're looking to preventing that from happening."

This announcement comes after an incident that originally started back on lap 39 of the Kobalt Tools 500.

On lap 39, Keselowski and Edwards made contact on the restart, sending Edwards and Joey Logano into the wall. On the initial replay, it looked as if Keselowski got into the back of Edwards.

Though upon further review, Edwards actually came down in front of Keselowski, causing Keselowski to get into him. Either way, blame was placed on Keselowski for the incident.

After spending numerous laps behind the wall, Edwards returned to the track, looking to make the points loss due to the incident minimal. However, with six laps to go, Edwards retaliated.

Edwards got behind Keselowski with eight laps to go and took three swipes at him, finally wrecking him on the third try. The result was Keselowski flipping upside down on the front stretch at Atlanta Motor Speedway, not injured, and Edwards being parked for the remainder of the race.

As the announcement broke, drivers and NASCAR members alike began tweeting their opinions, in which some turned out to be quite interesting:

"I wonder what would of happened to me in that situation?" Robby Gordon (@RobbyGordon) questioned. "Hmmm someone playing favorites?"

"Huh!" Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) tweeted soon after. "Surprised by the penalty or lack there of..... I'm thinking about asking for a refund for all of my penalties!!!!"

"Rules or comments of unintended consequences, all any league can do is act, then react,u make rules based on what you know at the time!" Darrell Waltrip (@allwaltrip) tweeted.

"Gotta say I think NASCAR handled the situation the right way, glad 2 c they ackowledged the car getting airborne is the biggest issue." Regan Smith (@Regan_Smith_) tweeted.

"My heading is spinning," Delana Harvick (@DeLanaHarvick) tweeted. "I can't understand what a 3-race probation actually does. Maybe @kevinharvick should awe shucks more. Seems to work." 

"Yo go #nascar!!!" Scott Speed (@scottspeed) tweeted. "3 race probation for Edwards! Awsome I love it!!! I bet Keslowski is scared now lol"

Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) tweeted it best with, "Agree or not, precedence is set. If I'm Driver-X, and somebody's holdin' me up, I ain't a damn bit scared to bomb into 1 and send 'em now." 

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Associated Press has reported that Carl Edwards will not be suspended after intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski in Sunday's NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500.

NASCAR President Mike Helton is set to address the media at 12:30 p.m. with further details on what's in store for Carl Edwards.

On lap 39, Keselowski and Edwards made contact on the restart, sending Edwards and Joey Logano into the wall. On the initial replay, it looked as if Keselowski got into the back of Edwards.

Though upon further review, Edwards actually came down in front of Keselowski, causing Keselowski to get into him. Either way, blame was placed on Keselowski for the incident.

After spending numerous laps behind the wall, Edwards returned to the track, looking to make the points loss due to the incident minimal. However, with six laps to go, Edwards retaliated.

Edwards got behind Keselowski with eight laps to go and took three swipes at him, finally wrecking him on the third try. The result was Keselowski flipping upside down on the front stretch at Atlanta Motor Speedway, not injured, and Edwards being parked for the remainder of the race.

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It's only three days until the first Formula One session of the year, and I'm getting just a little bit excited. There is plenty to look forward to during the 2010 season: new teams, returning champions, a brand new safety car (just me?), all sorts of things.

For only the second time since 1996, Australia won't be hosting the first race. As in 2006, Bahrain gets that honour, which is a shame as Melbourne usually throws up a good race, and I do quite enjoy getting up at early o'clock for F1. It makes it feel special as a season opener.

Anyway, Bahrain. It's been part of the calendar since 2004, and was the first race to be held in the Middle East. The facilities at the track weren't quite finished for the first race, but it went ahead anyway. Up until this year, the layout of the track had remained the same.

The Track

For 2010, an extra half a mile has been added just after turn four, bringing the total length of the circuit to just under four miles. There are a few places to overtake—the slow corners following the long straights tend to provide the best chances.

One of the most difficult things for the drivers and teams to cope with is the heat. The cars have to cope with some pretty high temperatures, with forecasts suggesting air temperature will be around 36 degrees Celsius. It wouldn't be surprising if several cars blew up during the course of the weekend.

History

All of the previous winners of the Bahrain GP will be present, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa taking two victories each, and Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button both winning one.

Last years race saw the two Toyota's on the front row of the grid, with Button starting in fourth. Jenson managed to overtake Sebastian Vettel on the first lap, but Lewis Hamilton had taken them both, moving from fifth to third. Button's impressive move on Lewis on the next lap moved him up a place, and once the Toyota's pitted, he was in the lead, and went on to win the race.

Prediction

As it's the first race of the year and I'm doing this before practice or qualifying, this is going to be a complete guess. With it looking like there could be four teams challenging for the title in 2010, that means there are potentially eight drivers who have a realistic chance of the victory here.

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Felipe Massa
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Michael Schumacher
6. Jenson Button
7. Rubens Barrichello
8. Mark Webber
9. Nico Rosberg
10. Kamui Kobayashi

Bahrain GP on the BBC

First Practice: Friday, 12th March. 0655-0835, BBC Red Button
Second Practice: Friday, 12th March. 1055-1235, BBC Red Button
Third Practice: Saturday, 13th March. 0755-0905, BBC Red Button
Qualifying: Saturday, 13th March. 1010-1230, BBC One
Race: Sunday, 14th March. 1110-1415, BBC One

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Defending Truck Series Champion Ron Hornaday has been hurt by a bad start to the season with multiple issues.

Starting even before the season started, Hornaday lost his crew chief Rick Ren to Kyle Busch Motorsports. Hornaday went into the first race at Daytona, finishing 27th after starting fifth after a wreck. However, something didn’t feel right and the new crew chief was gone as of Monday.

A new crew chief was hired and Hornaday headed to California. Qualifying went well as Hornaday won the pole, though after a tire rub resulted after contact with Kyle Busch and cut the tire, Hornaday finished 33rd.

With this bad start to the season, can Hornaday make up the ground and win the championship again?

In Hornaday’s past two championships, his first two races of the year have had a finish no worse than seventh.

In 2009, he finished fifth at Daytona and sixth at California, followed by seventh at Atlanta.

In 2007, he finished seventh at Daytona and second at California, followed by 11th at Atlanta.

Hornaday has the team behind him that could comeback to win it as they have been impressive in the past, such as the five wins in a row last year. Though what could stop them is 2006 champion Todd Bodine, whose got off to a good start, and his biggest competitor last year Matt Crafton.

Martinsville will be the key if he can make the comeback as to make up the points loss, he will need a make sure to get a good finish. According to Truck Series history, no driver whom has started the year with three straight bad finishes has gone on to win the truck series championship.

Though Hornaday has done well at Martinsville in the past as last year he finished second and sixth in 2007 so Martinsville could be the turning point.

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Ron Hornady would've, should've, could've, but didn't and it's left the defending champion 28th in the points.

Hornaday and his No. 33 Longhorn team came to Atlanta looking to rally back and hoping for a good day. Unfortunately, the team gambled on a tire rub, rolled the dice, it came up snake eyes and ended there day early finishing 34th.

The chemistry looked good between Horn and his new crew chief Doug George and the 33 team. They looked good in both practices running 30 laps between the two, making multiple changes to his truck.

Horn was the fourth fastest in the first, and ran 15th fastest in the final one.

Then he went out and won the pole for the race. One thing about Horn, he's one of  several drivers in the series. That you can't judge how they are in practice, and it's how well they qualify as to just how really good they are.

It goes without say that he had one stout Chevy on Saturday. Horn took the green heading into turn one it was three wide with Busch and Crafton.

When Horn trying to hold his line, got loose on the cold tires and made slight contact with Busch. The end result was his left rear fender slightly bent in rubbing on his tire.

The team debated making a pit stop for fresh tires and to pull the fender out. While for several laps his truck did have tire smoke, it did dissipated and stop.

His spotter Rick Carelli thought it didn't look too bad and teammate/boss Kevin Harvick did drive right behind also saying the same thing.

So Horn would stay out, rather than lose a lap or two early and not because he would not have made it up later in the race.

He would remain among the leaders, continue fighting for the lead and actually led Lap 11 before quickly surrender the lead to Busch.

Horn would settle into third, with his truck getting looser each lap and was patiently waiting for a pit stop. Unfortunately Horn became the first caution on Lap 23, when his left rear tire explode and sent him into the wall.

His No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet received extensive rear end damage and also the right side was pancaked in.

His team worked pretty hard trying to get Horn back out to log some laps for points but the damage was too great to repair.

Horn finished 34th for the day, add that to his 28th place finish at Daytona and many have written him off too repeat.

But Horn along with Skinner are two guys that you just can never write off and throw the statistic's out the window with them.

It is what it is, but adversity like this will only make the No. 33 Longhorn team strong and they'll battle back to factor into the championship at Homestead.

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

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The damage is done, and now the ultimate act of justice lies in the hands of whatever NASCAR decides would be the best form of punishment, if indeed any further action will be taken.

After reading post after post about what should and should not be done, it's time to take a deeper look at just how serious and dangerous the act that NASCAR driver Carl Edwards actually committed.

This is not a case of Edwards just seeking pay back, as the term is loosely used around the drivers themselves, but instead it goes beyond the normal way of thinking especially when you look at who was put in harm's way, and how lucky this man was that no one was seriously hurt.

What Edwards committed on Sunday was a cold-blooded act of revenge by using of all things, a 3,500 pound rolling chunk of metal.

By admitting that his intentions were to intentionally take out fellow NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski, in the world that we live that is considered assault with a deadly weapon, and the price for such an act does not come cheap.

It is not normal behavior for one driver to stalk another driver, while thinking when would be the best time to carry out the dirty deed that he already had instilled in his mind.

Not only did Edwards make his intentions clear to the heads of NASCAR, but he also put this survey up on his Facebook page which clearly reads where his mindset was after the race.

"My options: Considering that Brad wrecks me with no regard for anyone’s safety or hard work, should I:

A-Keep letting him wreck me?

B-Confront him after the race?

C-Wait til Bristol and collect other cars?

D-Take care of it now?

"I want to be clear that I was surprised at his flight and very relieved when he walked away. Every person has to decide what code they want to live by and hopefully this explains mine."

How much more blatant could he have made it, and at which time did he actually realize that what he did was wrong?

After reading this excerpt from his page, it’s obvious that he still doesn’t realize the extent of his own actions, and he even went to the extreme of allowing those who read this to leave what they felt would have been the appropriate course of action.

First off, the word “option” should have never been selected, especially when you are dealing with the safety of those around you, and that word has nothing to do with remorse.

Instead, the word “decision” would have been more appropriate, followed up with a more appropriate way of describing as well as looking out for another person’s safety.

Edwards, just like all the other drivers, knows the consequences, as well as the emotional roller coaster ride that takes place once they strap themselves into these high speed racing machines.

NASCAR was born on rubbing and racing one another hard, but it was not born on one driver deliberately going after another for the sake of evening up the score.

Anger along with frustration can easily play mind games on a person, which in turn can cause him to react in ways that are way beyond a person’s normal way of thinking.

What Edwards did was totally uncalled for no matter what the circumstances were, even though he may have felt that something needed to be done to put a stop to Keselowski’s rough driving behavior on the track.

After all, they were participating in an automobile race and there are other ways to even a score, that is unless his intentions were to hurt someone, which they clearly were.

How does someone say I meant to take you out, but didn’t expect the car to fly, especially when no one, not even the engineers, knows what will happen once a car is knocked off of its directed path?

If that was the case, wouldn’t have NASCAR already solved the problem that they are still facing trying to keep the cars from getting airborne?

Edwards has a short history of letting his anger get the best of him, and he displayed it back in November of 2007 when he went after his teammate Matt Kenseth while he was doing a post race interview.

Edwards appeared to be joking when he grabbed Kenseth and pulled him away from the interview. However, things didn't turn out so friendly.

Edwards drew back as if he was going to punch Kenseth as the heated exchange ended.

In 2006, Edwards threatened Tony Stewart physical pain, and then a couple of weeks later he grabbed Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in victory lane following an incident in the Busch Series race.

Edwards also had a heated discussion with Kevin Harvick in October of 2008, when witnesses said Edwards approached Harvick in the garage stall housing Harvick's No. 33 Chevrolet and engaged in conversation.

Following what a witness called a heated discussion, Harvick turned to walk away and Edwards grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.

We have all heard the saying that, “The bigger man is the one who can walk away and avoid confrontations.”

We also know that because of the pride that we carry within ourselves, we sometimes let it get in the way by allowing it to take control of our better judgment.

Two wrongs have never made anything right, and it’s really sad that in this particular case there is no winner, but instead there will only be one loser.

Edwards clearly let his emotions take over at a time when he should have had them in check, and Edwards knew that Keselowski was headed for a good, solid finish when he tried to dive bomb him the first time and missed.

All that did was make him angrier, since he already had his mind set that Keselowski wasn't going to finish the race without first feeling his wrath.

The anger that he displayed towards his fellow driver, along with the frustration of not winning a race in over a year, has taken its toll on him.

Even though Edwards felt that Keselowski was the problem, that does not give him the right to take matters into his own hands, especially when he knows the nature of the sport that he is involved in.

NASCAR is already dangerous, and there is no room for a driver to act out of rage, or to purposely go after his fellow competitor especially when there are other ways to settle the score.

Not once did Edwards ever apologize for his actions, so why should NASCAR show any leniency to a driver who clearly followed his own agenda, without the slightest concern for those around him.

With all of this said and done, Edwards needs to be punished to the fullest extent that NASCAR can hand down, and hopefully it will send out a message that behavior such as this will not be tolerated in the future.

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So you've got your double diffuser? Check. You've got your bigger fuel tank? Check. You've got your adapted smaller front wing? Check. You've got the rest of your aero package tuned to a tee? Check. You've fiddled things around so you can fit that massive fuel tank in the boot somewhere too right? Yup. And you've made sure your drivers are the best you can possibly afford? Of course.

So has everyone else.

Working out who came out on top in Winter Testing was like trying to pick a winner at the dogs. And I don't mean Crufts. I mean some mangy greyhound track in the back end of nowhere, where the dogs are from the C-team and the trainers are all much more interested in the Sunday League game on the pitch next door. Sure, you can see who's had their Winalot for the day, but the point is they've all had a tin of Purina's finest . And there are even the lame ones out the back who've got no chance.

Extended metaphors aside, F1 2010 looks set to be the most exciting season for a good many years. There are a good five teams with very little to choose between them.

Bahrain will no doubt be its usual festival of exuberance and overindulgence. And dullness. Though it's the first race of the seasons, as Jarno Trulli commented to the Guardian, "The circuit is OK, but there is never much of an atmosphere because it's in the middle of nowhere." A shame, because the place is quite spectacular. A mixture of mainly slow- and medium-speed corners, and all that fuel mean drivers will have to be careful with the loud pedal. They'll also want to keep downforce low for those three long straights between turns 3-4, 21-22, and the finish straight. Sledging anyone?

Form here is tricky to judge too. Alonso out-nerved Schumi coming out of the pits here in 2005 going on to win. Schumi has won it once before, as has Button. Prancing horse stablemates Massa and Alonso have both won twice here. Ladbrokes seem to be basing their odds entirely on past form, giving Ferarri 6/4 for the win, though Alonso sits prettier than Massa with 11/4 playing 11/2...

Announced this week was new boy Chandhok. I'd like to say I bet we see him in the barrier within the first few laps. Perhaps Alguersuari will have helped him in there. But previous form suggests he may be another Kobayashi (remember how long he held Button off for in that last race of 2009?). Have a watch of this fantastic closing phase from Silverstone in the GP2:

Talking of in the barrier, it's a shame we don't have the comedy duo of Grosjean and Piquet Jr. this year. But hell, you can't have everything can you?

See you on Friday for first practise...

This article was written by Pete Washer for Half Volley , the half sport, half science website.

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Underlying the controversy between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski is the tire problems that were seen throughout the Kobalt Tools 500. A number of teams had to make unscheduled pit stops due to tire problems, which in return cost them a chance at a good finish.

Hendrick Motorsports saw the most issues, as all four Hendrick cars, plus the two Stewart-Haas cars that receive Hendrick support, experienced issues with the tires.

The first Hendrick Motorsports car to have problems was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pitted with a loose wheel on lap 113 while running seventh. In the radio transmission that followed, Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Lance McGrew discussed as to why loose wheels are common at Atlanta.

"I can't count how many loose wheels I've had here. There's just something about this track, maybe with the bumps and how it may make them loose", said Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

"A lot of load, a lot of load,” Lance McGrew told his driver.

The result was they found no evidence on the tire that it was loose, so the tire specialist made the note, “Goodyear, check dismount. 88” on the tire.

“It felt like the wheels were coming off,” Earnhardt Jr. said after the race. “We pitted and the wheel was fine, but the car was vibrating so bad I couldn’t hardly see.”

This issue hurt Earnhardt Jr. all race long as he was always pitting a couple laps before the leaders with ill-timed cautions, yet fought back to finish 15th.  

Three laps later on lap 115, Mark Martin spun down the front stretch with a flat left rear bringing out the caution. Kendra, Martin’s PR Manager, reported on Twitter (@KendraTeam5) that Martin was suffering from right rear brake issues, which could’ve played a factor. Martin fought through the pack to come back to the top 10, though got caught up in a late race crash.

On lap 157, the tire problems for the Hendrick Motorsports cars continued as Jeff Gordon pitted with a right front tire cut down, and then was too fast entering, making the consequence even worse. He then followed that up with another pit stop with 121 to go with another flat tire. This caused Gordon to bring up the concern that for the time being, he’d just be “driving to get to the next pit stop...doesn't want to do anything to abuse the tire,” as according to @JeffGordonWeb on Twitter. With all his tire issues, Gordon finished 18th.

“I’m not going to put any blame on anybody right now,” Gordon said following the race. “We have to look at everything that we had versus our teammates and stuff. It’s one of those things where when they come here and test, you expect them to build a tire that we can abuse and that we can race hard with.

“That obviously wasn’t the case, so there is a very good chance we were too aggressive, but until we go back and analyze everything, it’s hard to say.”

Right after Jeff Gordon pitted on lap 157, Ryan Newman followed him down with a cut tire also, finishing 17th.

Then with 136 laps to go, Tony Stewart pitted with a flat tire on the left side, taking the blame saying it happened “because I ran the bottom in 3 & 4 and probably hurt it more." With 19 to go, Stewart had to hit pit road again with a right front tire loose while running 13th. Though with the end of the race chaos, Stewart fought his way back to finish 13th.

Then 13 laps later, Jimmie Johnson pitted with a vibration, though the team couldn’t find the cause for concern. Johnson later on then pitted with 51 to go with another flat tire, however the second flat tire was caused due to the fender brace rubbing after contact. Johnson fought back from his problems, getting through the chaos at the end like Stewart to finish 12th.

Other teams experienced problems, though those looked to be due to contact. Robby Gordon wrecked five laps into the events, which would be too early for a problem to develop. David Ragan blew a right front on lap 35, though that was as a result of previous contact with the wall.

Joe Gibbs Racing experienced tire problems with all three of their drivers. With the problems experienced by Earnhardt Jr. and Martin early in the race, crew chief Mike Ford reminded his driver Denny Hamlin to take care of his tires on lap 130, saying, “We're seeing a lot of bad-looking tires come off cars down here.”

The JGR cars ended up experiencing issues of their own as both Kyle Busch and Joey Logano had issues, only one lap apart of each other. Though that was broken down to being caused by the debris from Ryan Newman’s tire the lap before. The third Joe Gibbs Racing car of Denny Hamlin experienced a problem while leading with 57 TG as he yelled on the radio, “"I'm coming now, I'm coming now" in which the tire blew out before he could get to pit road. At that same time, Kyle Busch came down pit road with a second tire problem.

“It was the most drivable tire we have ever had at atl…just my opinion of course,” Hamlin posted on Twitter after the race. “I cut one down but I ran over something. I don’t think we should have a knee jerk reaction to the tires. They were pretty good if you managed them. That is what is supposed to happen.”

So discounting the problems that happened due to running over debris over in-balanced tires, why were there so many problems?

Well, most of the problems happened with the Hendrick Motorsports camp and there is one possible explanation–experimenting. The Hendrick Motorsports organization, especially Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus, has been known for experimenting during the regular season for the Chase.

This could’ve been one of those experiments that severely failed. NASCAR on Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip made the comment that it’s possible with the cars being so yawed out, they’re causing the problem. That could’ve been part of their experimenting in pushing the boundaries and they went over.

Another topic of discussion is camber as teams are always trying to push that envelope to be able to get the best turn speed. Could that be where they failed?

Goodyear’s Stu Grant agreed with those settlements.

“The tires are actually wearing very well,” Goodyear’s Stu Grant said. “We saw a lot of good, long runs in practice. The wear looked very good. In the race, the wear looks fine. The only thing we’re seeing is guys with either some kind of aggressive chassis setup or driving style are damaging the inside of the right front.”

Though here’s a question that always bugs everybody, including Earnhardt Jr., as discussed earlier: why are there so many loose wheels at Atlanta? The force and the bumps could be an obvious factor, though another could be that simply teams are pushing their stops too much and making mistakes.

Either way, looking back at the race, this is one problem that can be focused towards just the Hendrick Motorsports teams.

Congrats to Goodyear overall on a successful race.

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After a nearly a month off after Daytona, the Camping World Truck Series hit the track for their second race of the season.

Check out the winners and losers of the E-Z Go 200.

Winners

Kevin Harvick

It should be no surprise that Kevin Harvick dominated the race. In fact, he was never outside the top five on Saturday.

Harvick is coming to the track in brand new equipment and it shows. Harvick had this race won from the drop of the green flag. He quickly took the lead and really no other truck could beat him. The team only made one adjustment on the car all day and that was on the final stop of the day.

Harvick has won the last three races he has run going back to 2009. Harvick has made Kevin Harvick Inc. into a powerhouse organization in both the CWTS and NASCAR Nationwide series. 

Points: 20th

Aric Amirola

It was an interesting offseason for Billy Ballew Motorsports; they lost a driver and a much needed sponsor. Coming to Atlanta with two entries, both qualified in the top 10 for Saturday’s race.

They had a fast truck and ran in the top 10 for most of the day. They were running in the top five during the second half of the race. Almirola and his crew did a good job, not only in conserving tires but giving solid feedback throughout the race.

After the final pit stop Almirola came out in the top five after a fast pit stop. Almirola finished third. It was a great run for this team and what they are trying to do with limited resources.

Points: fourth

Losers

Matt Crafton

It didn’t take long for Matt Crafton to find the lead. In fact, it was not even turn one before Crafton took it three wide and took the lead. He was able to pull away for a few laps but it would not last as he quickly lost the lead to Kyle Busch.

On lap 62, Crafton and Todd Bodine were battling for third when Crafton got loose and got into Bodine. Both sustained damage but Crafton took a hard hit. Not the day they were hoping for after their strong qualifying run.  

Crafton carried a lot of momentum after his top five finish at Daytona. The team was confident they had the truck to beat on Saturday; instead they were in the garage making repairs. Crafton finished 27th.

Points: eighth

Ron Hornaday

After a rough season opener at Daytona, Ron Hornaday came to Atlanta needing to rebound. All weekend long Hornaday had a fast truck. He won the pole for Saturday’s race. The team had high hopes for the race.

On the very first lap of the race Crafton, Busch, and Hornaday took it three wide. Busch and Hornaday made contact, causing a tire rub for Hornaday. Instead of pitting, he continued on track but on lap 24. He cut the tire and went for a vicious spin, ending his day. He finished 34th.

Hornaday as the defending series champion has a lot of work to do. No driver who started the season with three consecutive 30th place finishes or worse have went on to win the championship. Hornaday has a lot of work to do to avoid that third poor finish at Martinsville.

Points: 28th

Final Lap…

Atlanta is one of the fastest race tracks on the circuit. With drivers having multiple grooves to work with, the action is non-stop.

Some drivers who had solid runs on Saturday were Ricky Carmichael who quietly ran in the top 15 for most of the day. He did exactly as he needed to do and that was run laps and finish the race. He finished an impressive sixth.

Another driver who ran a great race was Austin Dillon. After not surviving lap one at Daytona Dillon ran a solid race. He needs to run laps and learn these tracks. He ran in the top 15 for most of the day after starting fifth. It was a smart race for Dillon who earned his first career top 10 finish in 10th.

Now the series heads to Martinsville in three weeks.

Martinsville will be very interesting and critical for many teams.  So many teams need to just finish the race and get as many points as they can.

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Begin Slideshow

With the Carl Edwards-Brad Kesolowski incident grabbing all the headlines from Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500, another storyline is there, but not a lot of people are talking about it.

Richard Petty Motorsports may very well be back.

Most NASCAR fans are used to seeing Kasey Kahne, in the red Budweiser Ford Fusion, be the successful one out of the RPM stable. As the flagship driver, that is to be expected.

However, Paul Menard in the Moen's/Menard's Ford Fusion and AJ Allmendinger in the Insight/Best Buy Fusion had stellar days in Atlanta.

While Kahne led the most laps on the day with 144 and had the chance at the win on the final restart had Juan Pablo Montoya not spun his tires, he has been struggling overall thus far this season. He had good starting positions in both the Daytona 500 and at Auto Club Speedway, but both races he was 30th and 34th finishes, respectively.

Kahne bounced back at Las Vegas finishing ninth and dominated most of the day at Atlanta, finishing fourth. He is beginning his ascent from the depths of the point standings, making a six position move up from 23rd to 16th.

Menard on the other hand has had a quietly solid year. After his fifth place finish at Atlanta, the 98 car sits ninth in points. Granted, it is early in the season still, but this has to be a huge confidence boost for that team that has had its struggles in the past.

Atlanta was Allmendinger's best finish of the season by far, after posting 32nd and two straight 25th place finishes at Daytona, California, and Las Vegas respectively. Allmendinger sits 23rd place and looks to be gaining at least some momentum going into Bristol in two weeks.

The only RPM driver that did not get to enjoy his teammates' good fortune on Sunday was Elliott Sadler in the Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Fusion. After a qualifying effort of sixth place, Sadler found himself mired mid and far-pack for most of the race, finishing 19th. He currently sits in 25th in points, but in two weeks, he enters into the picture at Bristol as a past winner in Thunder Valley.

Many people coming into the year saw Kahne having all the tools to be successful if he was able to put the changing culture at RPM out of his mind. It seems that the 98 team is where they need to be already though to be competitive. The 43 might not be that far behind.

If the 9, 43, and 98 can start getting their momentum going in the same direction, this would probably do great things for the 19 team as well as go far in helping make Kahne's decision easier come the end of the season about whether to re-sign with RPM or find another team to drive for in 2011.

Only time will tell, but from their performance at Atlanta and Menard's consistency, it seems that RPM might finally be heading in the right direction where they can be a competitive team week in and week out.

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