This Season in Kyle Busch

This may sound biased coming from a known fan of the 18 Car, but I think anyone will agree, that as far as this season in NASCAR gossip goes, Kyle Busch is king. Ever since he started dominating, Kyle's been somewhat of a mustache-twirling olde-tymey villain, what with his bowing amidst a chorus of boos and whatnot. Carl Edwards may lead the Sprint Cup points race, but Kyle Busch is No. 1 in controversy. Here are the highlights of this crazy season:

1. Kyle Busch Pisses off Kevin Harvick at Darlington
On May 7th shit got real at Darlington, the track that is "Too Tough To Tame." After the 18 caused the 29 to spin out late in the race, totally "by accident" (of course!) Kevin Harvick was pissed and wanted to confront Kyle on Pit Road. Some weird maneuvering occurred, until Harvick had enough and straight up got out of his car and let Busch have it, before Kyle crashed the empty 29 into the wall. Both drivers were fined $25,000 and put on probation for four races.


2. Kyle Busch Gets Pulled Over For Speeding
On May 24th Kyle Busch got in trouble off the track when he was stopped for going 128 mph on a 45 mph road in North Carolina. He reportedly got a little carried away testing a new sports car. You know what I say? That's what you get for doing your job when you're not at work! Leave it at the office, Kyle! But, to be fair, at 128 he probably felt like he was going pretty slow. I bet the cops wouldn't have been so upset if they had found Dale Earnhardt Jr speeding in a sports car, they'd actually probably be super psyched. Infamy's a bitch.

3. Kyle Busch Gets Punched in the Face by Some Old Dude
After the Camping World Truck Series race at Kansas on June 4th, Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, found Kyle behind his hauler, reportedly took off his watch, and punched Busch in the face three times. Busch is 26 years old. Richard Childress is 65. Childress was apparently mad that Busch had made contact with Childress driver Joey Coulter during the Truck Race. Let's be honest here... does Richard Childress (or anyone) really care that much about Truck Racing? Or was this more related to another Childress driver... Kevin Harvick. I mean, I'd never punch Kyle Busch (unless he wanted me to) but I'd much rather punch someone over Kevin Harvick than the fucking Truck Series, you know what I'm saying?

I Gotta Say, Kevin Harvick is "The Man"

Yesterday was one of the biggest days in auto racing in America... The Indy 500. Yes, I tried to watch, and even though the drivers are mostly very good looking, it just doesn't seem like open-wheel racing to me if I don't hear British announcers saying the phrase "into the chicane" every few minutes. I watched the first 100 laps or so but just couldn't get into it so I went out to enjoy Memorial Sunday like a real American: drinking beers in the park and drinking beers at a barbecue. Either way, I hope Dan Wheldon enjoyed his buttermilk.

But that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the main event of Memorial Day Weekend: The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Now I must admit: I didn't watch the race from beginning to end. C'mon, Green Flag was at 6pm on Memorial Day weekend, and I'm young and vibrant and have parties to attend and boys to flirt with while wearing cute summer outfits, you know what I'm saying? So I kept up on twitter, rejoicing when the 18 took the lead, and cursing loudly at my Blackberry when Kyle wrecked and had to go to the garage.
Luckily though, a well-timed allergic reaction sent me home early, and I ended up back at my house just in time for the last 10 laps of the race, and man, they could not have been more exciting. Kyle may have been out of it, but watching Dale Earnhardt Jr take the lead during the Green-White-Checker, hearing Junior Nation erupt in joy with the excitement of his winless streak coming to an end, and then seeing him start to slow as he ran out of fuel, while Kevin Harvick, "Mister Where Did He Come From" snuck to the front of the field just before the finish, man it was incredible.



Still as breathtaking to re-watch, Kevin Harvick has been on fire this season with no sign of slowing down. Seriously, this is the clip I'll show the haters who say "how can you like NASCAR" from now on. Just crazy stuff. I think Jimmie Johnson summed it up best on Twitter (Re-Tweeted here by the Closer himself):

I said it a few weeks ago, but at this point if you read the NASCAR news, the headlines are all Harvick and Ky. Busch.., and I hope it stays that way.

The State of the Sprint Cup Season

The Sprint Cup season is in full swing. We're still at the beginning, but it's been exciting and at this point it's starting to become clear that there are a few people who seem like shoe-ins to make The 2011 Chase...

The above picture has become a familiar site in the past couple of weeks. After Kyle Busch's win at Bristol, the 18 dominated by leading the most laps at both Fontana and Martinsville before being passed by the 29. Kevin Harvick definitely seems to be living up to the nickname Mike Joy gave to him, "Mr. Where Did He Come From?".
Obviously, as a die hard Kyle Busch fan I was not happy to see Harvick beating him two weeks in a row, but it's been great racing and fun to watch. Harvick is currently the only Sprint Cup driver with two wins under his belt, and with the new emphasis on winning, he seems to be a great early bet for a top Chase contender (to no one's surprise). Hey, now that he's the points leader (with one win and two third place finishes to boast of for the season) Kyle's looking like a top Championship contender himself.
And hey, as long as someone beats the 48 this year, I'll be a pretty happy race fan.

New Pointz????

NASCAR recently announced that they would be changing the points system that is used to determine the Chase for the Sprint Cup (NASCAR's playoffs). NASCAR says that the changes simplify the points system and put more of an emphasis on winning. Basically, in the old system the top twelve in points made the Chase... now, the top ten in points make the Chase and the last two spots are taken up by the drivers that have won the most races in the regular season. I'll let the experts explain the new points:

The new points system -- which applies to all NASCAR national series -- will award points in one-point increments. As an example, in the Cup Series, race winners will earn 43 points, plus three bonus points for the victory. Winners also can earn an extra point for leading a lap and leading the most laps, bringing their total to a possible maximum of 48 points.
All other drivers in a finishing order will be separated by one-point increments. A second-place finisher will earn 42 points, a third-place driver 41 points, and so on. A last-place finisher -- 43rd place -- earns one point. In the Camping World Truck Series, the last-place finisher receives eight points, to account for that series' 36-driver race field.

But I know what you're all thinking... how do I feel about the new points system? Does it rule or suck?????
Honestly, I'm into it... for one main reason: I really have no idea what the old points system was.
I mean, I'm a pretty dedicated race fan, I read the NASCAR.com and the ESPN.com/racing/NASCAR and I follow all the "important" NASCAR twitter, but I honestly could not tell you how many points the winner got in the old system, and even though during a race I could totally throw around phrases like "Man, Carl Edwards really wants those bonus points in this race, that bastard" I had no idea how many bonus points you got for leading a lap... was it 5? I really don't know.

Well, the new system is pretty easy to understand, and I mean, some people are pissed... but isn't it pretty much the same thing, just with different numbers? I'm cool with it.
I'm not really sure how this new "wild card" system will impact things... I feel like there's a good chance that the drivers with the most wins would be in the top twelve anyway? But what do I know, I'm just a little indie race fan from New York.

Nasty Facts--Drive My Car

Daytona Fever!!!!!

So as the NFL playoffs wind down, and the country gets super psyched for the Super Bowl, I get super excited as well... because the Super Bowl means that the Daytona 500 is just a few weeks away! And let's be honest... the Daytona 500 is way better than the Super Bowl... it's faster and there is a much higher chance of something exploding (Carl Edwards's engine, please!).

If you're a serious race fan like me, these past two months with no NASCAR have been hard for you... sure, after the excitement of the end of the Chase (I was rooting for Hamlin, fyi) I needed a few weeks to decompress, but now it's just been forever since I've seen cars drive really fast. Now I'm just excited for a new season to start!
Will the Fox broadcast team have their shit together? Will they have a new cool song? Will Kyle Busch totally win?
It's really been too long... can't wait to hear DW say... "Let's go racing boys!"

Brian Williams Luvvvs NASCAR!

"Man, wherever cars are going too fast in a circle, I will be there."- Brian Williams

Now, I've always liked Brian Williams. He's great at reading the news, he's funny, he's a hottie, he's classy and he's got a great sense of humor about himself. I love it whenever he's on 30 Rock.
Well my roommate just informed me that Brian Williams, a cool New York dude, is a huge NASCAR fan. A google search later I found out this true. I am psyched! Score one for the race fans!