Daily NASCAR

by Holly Cain

Filed under: Carl Edwards, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR

As a former substitute school teacher, Carl Edwards knows the importance of following directions. It’s the playing well with others, he’s still mastering.

NASCAR told its competitors, “Boys, have at it” this season hoping a good mix of temper tantrums and crash-and-bang finishes would create more interest in the sport and boost its lagging television ratings and ticket sales.

Edwards has done his part, turning aggressive driving into an art form. He’s had at it. And at it. And at it.

NASCAR, however, is still waiting on contributions like Edwards’ to actually deliver more eyes on screen and seats in seats. And that’s why even though they should — don’t expect NASCAR to discipline Edwards for his latest bully-behind-the-wheel move on Brad Keselowski in Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race — despite the fact it resulted in a dangerous, multi-car accident.

The drivers nudged each other in the final laps before Edwards decided to just plain punt Keselowski’s Dodge yards before the checkered flag. As Edwards began his victory lap, Keselowski’s hobbled car was getting T-boned by another car as a half-dozen drivers had to take evasive action tearing up hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment.

Keselowski is fortunate he didn’t get hurt.

Edwards is, too.

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It was a Ganassi-Penske showdown in the final laps of the Coca Cola 600 last Sunday. After winning the Indianapolis 500 just hours earlier, team owner Chip Ganassi looked to make Sunday a perfect day. And for a while it looked like Jamie McMurray might make it happen for his boss. Kurt Busch though bested McMurray through the final laps, taking the win and scoring his first Coke 600 victory. In other news, Kyle Busch Motorsports shut down one of its two truck teams this week. The team, which has struggled with sponsorship this season, has been a source of mounting financial frustration for team owner Kyle Busch. Driver Tayler Malsam moved over to the #10 Nationwide ride at Braun Racing, beginning this weekend. This is the NASCAR week that was May 30 to June 5, 2010.

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing

CONCORD, N.C. — What started with expletives and emotion-fueled threats between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin during the final laps of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race ended an hour later in mutual understanding and a Kumbaya moment in the Charlotte Motor Speedway garage.

At least that’s Hamlin’s story and he’s sticking to it.

Frustrated with a late move by Hamlin that Busch felt cost him the race, he angrily radioed his crew while he was driving his wrecked car off the track and told them, “Somebody better keep me away from that (expletive) Denny Hamlin after this race or I’m going to kill that (expletive). I swear to God I had this won. It was won!”

Instead, while racing Hamlin for the lead, Busch’s No. 18 Toyota was squeezed up the track and into the wall. It sustained enough damage to put Busch back in the field and his night ended three laps later when he hit the wall again and collided with Kasey Kahne with three laps remaining in the 100-lap non-points race.

After climbing out of his car, Busch punched the air and instead of going to his team’s hauler, he went directly into Hamlin’s hauler, where he waited to confront his teammate after the race.

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Michael Waltrip, Daytona Int’l Speedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — He was in. He was out. He was in. He was out. …He’s in.

That was the emotional final lap-by-lap drama for Michael Waltrip during Thursday’s second qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Waltrip, a two-time 500 winner, will make his final Daytona 500 start Sunday — thanks largely to the effort of another driver.

“Why did it have to be like that?” a teary-eyed Waltrip said after watching the final laps of Thursday’s Gatorade Duel 150 with a television camera capturing his every reaction.

Having crashed out of the first 150-lapper, Waltrip’s fate rested in the other Duel with two other drivers, Scott Speed and Bobby Labonte, who needed to finish either first or second among the drivers not already locked into the field. Both were among four drivers on the final lap fighting for the two positions. And Speed took the second spot a few hundred yards from the finish line.

“Scott and I are friends and I love him, I don’t care what he does to his toenails,” a visibly relieved Waltrip said, joking about the eccentric former Formula One driver’s fondness for outlandish pedicures.

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Under consideration: abandonment of the “yellow-line” rule at Talladega and Daytona. At the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega in 2008, Regan Smith passed Tony Stewart beneath the yellow line in the final laps for the win but was disqualified. (Photo: Getty Images)

- NASCAR officials are apparently about to end their “wing experiment” on the generic cars of the Sprint Cup Series. Returning to a “blade spoiler,” which is included on the new Nationwide Series design, is expected to increase downforce. The change is likely to be announced on Jan. 21 and implemented sometime in late March.

- The merger of Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing is expected to be announced on Jan. 19. The merger has the effect of increasing Ford’s presence in the Sprint Cup Series.

- Abandonment of the so-called “yellow line rule” and “no-bump-draft zones” at Daytona and Talladega is apparently also being considered.

- Madhouse, The History Channel’s series about short-track racing at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., has been criticized for stressing fights and feuds at the expense of the positive aspects of local racing.

- ESPN3 is scheduled to be operational in June, specializing in three-dimensional sports coverage. The good news? NASCAR is made for 3D. The bad? The programming requires viewers to buy expensive new equipment.

- Would a return to the spoiler (as opposed to the wing) help Dale Earnhardt Jr. improve his performance? Most don’t expect the change to make much of a difference. Statistically, though, it’s fair to note that Earnhardt Jr.’s performance has suffered since the advent of generic cars.

- Instead, proposed rules changes are being celebrated, as usual, as being “for the fans.” The official line goes something like this: The racing is great, but somehow the fans don’t like it, so we’re making changes to please them.

- Robby Gordon continues to race his Hummer off-road vehicle through Argentina and Chile, showing flashes of brilliance but suffering repeated difficulties. It looks like a victory in The Dakar (which, by the way, is in Africa, not South America) will have to wait until another year.

- Dakar, by the way, is the capital of Senegal. The rally once began in Paris, ended in Dakar and involved transport by boat across the Mediterranean Sea. Security concerns led the rally to be moved to South America.

- The Daytona 500 is only a month away.

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