Loudon thoughts and observations

Sometimes its better to be lucky then good. Kurt Busch proved that old adage Sunday by winning the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 thanks to a timely rainfall in Loudon, New Hampshire. Michael Waltrip finished second, followed by J.J. Yeley, Martin Truex Jr. and Elliott Sadler.

Thoughts and observations

Considering the kind of year Kurt Busch has had since finishing second at Daytona, this was just what the doctor ordered. He didn't have the best car Sunday, i'd go so far as to say he didn't have the 20th best car. But, sometimes it doesn't matter how good your car is. More importantly, it matters where you are on the track when that black rain cloud comes flying into the area.

Tony, Tony, Tony. What does Tony Stewart have to do to win a race this season? The man dominated Sunday's race and led the most laps but thanks to pit strategy he ended up a disappointing 13th. But that's alright, Daytona is next week and Tony's been known to use Daytona as a mid season launching pad.

Michael Waltrip and J.J. Yeley couldn't have asked for a better forecast Sunday afternoon. That rain gave both drivers their best finishes of the 2008 season. It was Yeley's best finish since his 2nd place in the Coca-Cola 600 in 2007 and Waltrip's best since a 10th place finish at Charlotte last fall.

Less then a week after his announcement that he'd be leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season, Casey Mears led 53 laps and finished 7th on Sunday. That follows his season best finish of 5th last week at Infineon Raceway. So, let me get this straight, you announce your leaving your job and you have your two best performances of the season back to back? I don't get it.

Despite qualifying first, Patrick Carpentier didn't exactly have a great race. He did hang up front until the first round of pit stops, but after that he fell sharply through the field all the way to the back. He ended up finishing 31st. But hey, on the plus side, he's in the Shootout at Daytona in February.

You don't usually see many tempers flare up at New Hampshire but Juan Pablo Montoya let his temper get the best of him Sunday. For those that missed it, under the last caution flag Kyle Busch and Montoya were racing hard for position. Once the caution came out the two exchanged bumps. Apparently Montoya didn't really appreciate it and attempted to spin out Busch. The result? Busch over corrected when Montoya hit him and he spun right back down into Montoya taking both drivers out. A bone head move if I've ever seen one. And oh yeah, NASCAR penalized Montoya 2 laps for rough driving. D'oh.

So much for all those cars that qualified in the top 10. Some of them did good, others, well not so much. Carpentier (pole sitter) finished 31st, Bobby Labonte (outside pole) finished 10th, Kevin Harvick (3rd) finished 14th, Scott Riggs (4th) finished 34th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5th) finished 24th, Reed Sorenson (6th) finished 6th, Dario Franchitti (7th) finished 38th, Martin Truex Jr. (8th) finished 4th, Matt Kenseth (9th) finished 18th and A.J. Allmendinger (10th) finished shotgun on the field (in other words, dead last). So, 3 of the top 10 starters finished in the top 10 while the rest were 14th or worst. Ouch.

With only 9 races left for drivers to claw their way into the chase, Kevin Harvick moved back into the top 12 with his 14th place finish, 15 points ahead of Matt Kenseth who dropped back into 13th after his first finish outside the top 10 in the last 7 races. It looks like Harvick, Kenseth, Bowyer, Kahne and Stewart are the drivers who will be battling for the 12th place spot. Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers are also pretty close but will need some help to get there. David Ragan has free fallen a bit to over 120 points behind but he can still make a charge and get into the chase with a little bit of luck.

Now, to the other race, the race to get into the top 35 in owner points. The No. 66 car driven by Scott Riggs sits 36th in the standings, 25 points behind both the No. 00 driven by Michael McDowell and the No. 77 driven by Sam Hornish Jr. (they are tied with 1,294 points).

Loudon it is

New Hampshire is the place to be this weekend as the boys of NASCAR invade Loudon, New Hampshire for the LENOX Tools 301 this weekend. So who is gonna win? Who's gonna lose? Who's gonna need to buy a new car after this weekend? I've got a few guesses that i'm gonna share.

Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
Last Week: 13th place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350
Career at Loudon: 13.2 Avg. Finish, 4 wins, 7 top 5's, 12 top 10's
Why he could win: If there is any one track that Burton knows how to drive on, Loudon is certainly a top choice. His four wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the most by any driver in the tracks history. And oh yeah, he led every lap in his 2000 victory at New Hampshire.

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 8th place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350
Career at Loudon: 10.5 Avg. Finish, 5 top 5's, 11 top 10's
Why he could win: He's LONG overdue and his recent hot streak (six straight top 10 finishes) shows he still has it. New Hampshire has always been a good track for Kenseth and I suspect he may try and take advantage of it this weekend.

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
Last Week: 4th place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350
Career at Loudon: 22.2 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 1 top 5, 1 top 10
Why he could win: Bowyer totally dominated the fall race here one year ago en route to his fantastic Sprint Cup points finish. If he can replicate that run this weekend no one in the field will be able to touch him.

For my underdog this week i'm picking a former winner here with lots of racing experience.

Joe Nemechek, No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet (Furniture Row Racing)
Last Week: 26th place finish in the Toyota/Save Mart 350
Career at Loudon: 24.7 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 3 top 5's, 5 top 10's
Why he could win: Nemechek earned his first career Sprint Cup victory at this race track in 1999, besting the Joe Gibbs duo of Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte to go to victory lane. While I don't expect a duplicate performance, Nemechek could come away with a strong top 20 run this weekend.

Infineon thoughts and observations

So much for the slump. Kyle Busch snapped a recent streak of bad luck by winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in dominating fashion, his first Sprint Cup Series road course win. David Gilliland finished a career best second, followed by Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Casey Mears.

Thoughts and observations

So much for starting positions mattering on road courses. Kyle Busch drove all the way from 30th place to win Sunday's race and second place finisher David Gilliland started 31st. Of course, Juan Pablo Montoya won last year's race from 32nd position.

Whatever slump Kyle Busch was in was quickly washed away with that dominating win. Busch is becoming arguably the best all-around driver on the circuit this year with wins on a road course (Infineon), super speedway (Talladega), intermediate (Lowe's, Atlanta) and short track (Dover). Incase your wondering, that's every type of track that the Sprint Cup races on. Not bad huh?

Considering I picked everyone and their brother to surprise this weekend, the one driver I didn't pick was David Gilliland. I should have known better frankly. Gilliland cut his teeth at Infineon, winning two Camping World West races at the track. He also made his first career cup start there in 2006 driving for CJM Racing in the No. 72 Chevrolet. Watch out for him at Watkins Glen in a few months, he might do even better there.

Casey Mears certainly picked a good time to finish in the top 5 considering all the talk about his future. Rumors are flying about Mears and his future with Hendrick Motorsports. One rumor has Mark Martin jumping ship from Dale Earnhardt Inc. and either driving full or part-time in the No. 5 next year. Of course, that would leave Casey Mears high and dry. One hopes he can nail down a few more top 5's and maybe secure his future with Hendrick Motorsports.

It wasn't a very good day Sunday for the road course ringers. The highest finishing ringer ended up being former Cup champion Terry Labonte who finished 17th. Both Ron Fellows and Marcos Ambrose were threats to win at one point in the race but bad luck hit both drivers. Ambrose broke his transmission when Elliott Sadler spun him out while running in the top 5 and Ron Fellows got caught up in the Stewart/Harvick/McMurray mess while running 6th. Boris Said, Scott Pruett, Brian Simo and Max Papis were all non-factors.

Speaking of Ambrose, wasn't it good to see the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford running up front, even if it didn't last? I, for one, was really rooting for the team to pull off the huge upset. But alas, it wasn't to be.

When did Matt Kenseth become a road racer? Somehow, against all odds (and history), Kenseth some how managed to earn his 6th straight top 10 at his worst career track. Oh, and by the way, he's moved himself up into the 12th position, the last chase eligible spot.

Matt Kenseth's gain is Kevin Harvick's pain. Harvick's bad luck late in the running of Sunday's race bumped him down 3 spots to 13th in the Cup points standings.

No changes in the top 35 in owner points after this weekend's race. The No. 66 Haas/CNC Racing Chevrolet remains in 36th, 20 points behind the No. 41 Target Dodge of Chip Ganassi Racing in 35th place.

Kindness from Tater

As most who read The Star know by now, I wrote a story about local hillbilly bluegrass band Tater for Thursday's Star. The story was the idea of City Editor Graham Cawthon, he wanted to have something on the band in the paper as sort of a lead in to the band playing Thursday's Alive After 5.

So, knowing that i'm very much a Tater Head, Graham asked if i'd like to do the story. Of course, I gladly accepted. A few days later I had a two hour interview with the entire band at Guitar RX, which, if you don't know, is right across the street from Mi Pueblito's. Stories were told, laughs were had and a few pictures were taken. And oh yeah, I got a ton of information for my story.

Fast forward a few weeks later to when the story appears in the paper. My dad, being the sneaky person that he is, called Amanda Edwards, the wife of Tater's lead singer Luke Edwards, and hatched an apparent plan. He wanted to get a copy of the paper autographed for me and have it waiting for me when I got to Alive After 5 yesterday. He knew I wanted to get it done anyway, so he figured he'd "help out" and get it done for me. No complaints here, by the way.

In any case, while I was hanging out around the stage with the other Tater Heads Luke came running towards me with a flimsy piece of paper in his hand. Keep in mind, they were about to be introduced to the audience to start performing. He hands me a laminated, signed cut out of my story from Thursday's front page, shakes my hand and with a big smile says "Thanks so much Adam." I hardly had time to get a thank you out of my mouth before he had to run back to the stage to start performing. Of course, all the Tater Heads gathered round and started looking at the cutout with the signatures and everyone was congratulating me.

Needless to say I was rather happy. Tater went on, blew a circuit somewhere in the PA system, went off stage, fixed the PA, then got back on stage and continued playing. At some point I saw a few Star employees, Graham, Cherish, Kristy and Brittany, and went and sat with them in the grass alongside the stage. Then, as we are sitting their goofing off, I hear my name over the PA system.

"First of all we'd like to thank Adam Fenwick for his great article in The Star!"

Yup. That's what I heard. I'd have to ask Cherish or Graham, but I bet my face was red as a cherry. After Tater went off stage I went over and shook Luke's hand and thanked him for his kindness. It was the least I could do.

To sum it up the story was fun to write, much like the band Tater is fun to watch and listen too. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Time to hit the road (course that is)

It's time to go road racing boys!!!  Sprint Cup teams head out west this weekend for the first roadcourse race of the season at Infineon Raceway.  Headlines always seem to go to the roadcourse ringers but those so called "ringers" haven't been able to seal the deal in a long time.  So here are my picks to win this weekend:

Robby Gordon, No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge (Robby Gordon Motorsports)

Last Week: 4oth place finish in the LifeLock 400

Career at Infineon: 20.7 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 2 top 5's, 3 top 10's

Why he could win: When you go to a roadcourse, no matter where it is, Robby Gordon is a threat to win.  He led the most laps in this race last year before falling behind via strategy and losing the race to Juan Pablo Montoya.  He also has an extra reason to race this weekend, he doesn't yet have a sponsor for this weekend.   A good showing will help him lock one up for any remaining sponsorless weekends this season.

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)

Last Week: 5th place finish in the LifeLock 400

Career at Infineon: 10.0 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 3 top 5's, 5 top 10's

Why he could win: Stewart hasn't been having a stellar season so far, but last week's top 5 could be a start of some much needed momentum.  And of course he's always been good at Infineon.  Could we see Smoke back in victory lane this weekend?

Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Last Week: 38th place finish in the LifeLock 400

Career at Infineon: 1.0 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 1 top 5, 1 top 10

Why he could win: Last year Montoya came into this race with a lot of expectations.  What did he do?  He went out and won this race to earn his first Sprint Cup victory.  Now I don't know if he can do it again, but I wouldn't bet against Montoya on a roadcourse, ever.

Usually I choose an underdog who could surprise and come out with a strong run but this week I won't pick just one.  Actually, i'm gonna pick several.  Why you ask?  Because frankly there are several underdogs that could win this weekend, and I do mean several.  I'm not going to go into full detail like I usually do, i'm just gonna list the driver and team and a bit about why I think they might surprise.

Ron Fellows, No. 01 DEI/Principal Financial Group Chevrolet (Dale Earnhardt Inc.)

Fellows steps in for Regan Smith this week so the team can gain maximum owner points.  DEI couldn't have picked a better roadcourse ringer in my opinion, he finished second several years ago driving for Joe Nemechek at Watkins Glen in a Cup race.

Patrick Carpentier, No. 10 Valvoline Dodge (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)

Carpentier got noticed last year by winning the pole for the Nationwide roadcourse race in Canada and finishing second.  He then jumped in a cup car and lead some laps at Watkins Glen.  Anyone else think he could really surprise?

Marcos Ambrose, No. 21 Little Debbie Honey Buns Ford (Wood Brothers Racing)

Ambrose should have won the Nationwide race in Canada last year had it not been for an arrant Robby Gordon.  I suspect that Ambrose, who will be making his first Cup start, will certainly try to impress on the roadcourse in California this weekend.

Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Crown Royal Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)

McMurray won the pole for this race last year and battled Juan Pablo Montoya late in the running before running out of gas.  Don't be surprised to see him up front again this weekend.

Dario Franchitti, No. 40 Texaco/Havoline/The Hartford Dodge (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Dario hasn't had much to smile about this year.  He's had bad finish after bad finish, not to mention suffering a broken ankle.  Maybe this weekend he can show his driving skills by racing circles around some of the Sprint Cup competition.  

Scott Pruett, No. 41 Target Dodge (Chip Ganassi Racing)

When NASCAR goes roadcourse racing Scott Pruett almost always shows up in someone's car.  This weekend he takes over for Reed Sorenson to try and earn the team maximum points.  Pruett should finish in the top 10, maybe even compete for the win.

Terry Labonte, No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge (Petty Enterprises)

Labonte nearly shocked the world a few years ago when he was driving the No. 96 car for Hall Of Fame Racing.  He led late and almost won this race before falling to third.  It was a good showing for Labonte and he could surprise again.

Boris Said, No. 60 7-Eleven Slurpee/No Fear Ford (No Fear Racing)

The Said Heads will be out in force this weekend to root on Boris in his attempt to win his first Cup race.  Boris almost always finishes in the top 5 or top 10 on the roadcourses so watch out for him, he is a real threat to win.

Max Papis, No. 66 Haas Automation Chevrolet (Haas/CNC Racing)

Papis has been trying to break into NASCAR for a few years and a good run this weekend might just earn him that ride.  Don't underestimate Papis, he's an accomplished roadcourse racer and could earn a top 10.

Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge (Penske Racing)

Hornish had a great run last week until a late spin ruined everything.  This week though will be the first roadcourse race for Hornish since joining the cup series and there is a chance he could make up for last weeks spinout.  

A.J. Allmendinger, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota (Red Bull Racing)

Allmendinger made a name for himself by winning a bunch of roadcourse races in 2006 in the now defunct CART Series.  Will that translate to the Cup Series this weekend?

Michigan thoughts and observations

The long, agonizing wait is over for Dale Earnhardt Jr. The prodigal son returned to victory lane Sunday, coasting across the line on fumes to win the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. He was followed to the line by Kasey Kahne (who is still red hot), Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Tony Stewart.

Thoughts and observations

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it perfectly in victory lane, the critics can say whatever they want, Dale Jr. and the No. 88 team won one. In the long run that's really all that matters. Besides, with the year he is having he was bound to earn himself a victory sooner or later.

Food for thought: The only two victories for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 have been on fuel mileage.

Question: Name three drivers who seem to be getting it all right lately. Answer: Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers. These three have been spot on lately. Kahne, as we all know, has been on fire. Kenseth found his consistency again and is back to his old self. And Vickers? Well Vickers looks like a serious threat to win every week suddenly. I'd wager that the No. 83 will find itself in victory lane by seasons end.

Since you did so well on the last question, lets ask another. Question: Name three drivers who have been slipping back off the radar. Answer: Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. Bowyer, who sits 12th in the points (the last chase eligible spot) has been free falling since winning at Richmond. His last four finishes? 25th, 36th, 39th, 26th. Not good at all.

As for Newman and Busch, these two saw their finest hour during the Daytona 500. Since then? Well ... lets just say it hasn't been all peaches and creme. Newman has been falling steadily back in the points for weeks now and his 42nd place finish at Michigan certainly didn't help that. Busch? Well, he only has two top 10's this season and 8 finishes of 20th or worse. That should say everything.

David Ragan continues to impress. His 8th place finish at Michigan Sunday was his 4th top 10 of the season, which is more then he achieved all of last year. These strong runs continue to keep him in the hunt to make the chase. He sits 13th in the points, only 10 points behind the struggling Clint Bowyer.

Two drivers in desperate need of solid runs found them Sunday, Elliott Sadler and Jamie McMurray both earned top 10 finishes at Michigan. Sadler has been on the verge of something, maybe this is the start of it. As for McMurray, there are lots of rumors about him losing his ride, maybe this top 10 will knock out some of those rumors.

What a shame Sam Hornish Jr. couldn't hold onto his car late in the running of the LifeLock 400 Sunday. He raced up front late in the race, even taking the lead from Jimmie Johnson for a few laps before handing it back. The fact is Hornish looked good running up front and I'll bet it felt good too. Now, lets see if Hornish can capitalize on the positive of running up front and ignore the negative of spinning out.

Despite that late crash with Patrick Carpentier, Michael Waltrip managed to scratch and claw his way back into the top 35 in owner points Sunday, pushing the No. 66 driven by Scott Riggs back into 36th place. That's going to hurt Riggs heading into next Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infienion Raceway, Riggs has never been known as a road course racer and with all the experts coming in for that race, Riggs may be watching the race from his RV.

A trip to Michigan

Michigan International Speedway is the site of this week's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, one many expect to be very competitive. The track has traditionally been a Roush-Fenway dominated track. Why do I say that you ask? Well, looking back, since 2002 there have been 12 races held at Michigan. Of those 12 races, 6 have been won by Roush-Fenway drivers. With that being said, here are my choices to win...

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 7th place finish in the Pocono 500
Career at Michigan: 9.7 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 7 top 5's, 11 top 10's
Why he could win: Matt's been one of the most consistent drivers at Michigan in the last few years, earning two victories at the track. It also can't hurt that this team has four straight top 10 finishes in the last four weeks. Momentum here we come.

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford (Roush-Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 9th place finish in the Pocono 500
Career at Michigan: 7.3 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 4 top 5's, 6 top 10's
Why he could win: This is Carl Edwards' kind of track. Michigan is a rhythm track, a place you get into a groove and go. Much like Atlanta, Texas or any other track designed in the same manner. Carl should run up front and be a threat to win all weekend.

Mark Martin, No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet (Dale Earnhardt Inc.)
Last Week: 10th place finish in the Pocono 500
Career at Michigan: 13.0 Avg. Finish, 4 wins, 16 top 5's, 27 top 10's
Why he could win: History is on Mark Martin's side. He's always done well at Michigan, as you might guess from his 4 career wins and 16 career top 5's. Mark has been on the verge of winning a race this season on a few occasions and I feel like Michigan might be as good a place as any for it to happen.

The underdog this week drivers for a team who just made a big merger announcement. Can you guess?

Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge (Petty Enterprises)
Last Week: 11th place finish in the Pocono 500
Career at Michigan: 13.5 Avg. Finish, 3 wins, 9 top 5's, 16 top 10's
Why he could win: As we all know by now, the majority of Petty Enterprises was sold to Boston Ventures, a private equity firm, this week. With any luck, this will be the start of a push forward for Petty Enterprises back into the forefront of the NASCAR world. Wouldn't a top 10 or even a top 5 be a great way for this partnership to start?

Pocono thoughts and observations

Ladies and gentleman, i'd like to award the hottest driver in NASCAR title to a new owner, Kasey Kahne. The driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge won Sunday's Pocono 500, his third victory in the last four weeks. He was followed to the line by Brian Vickers, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton.

Thoughts and observations

Did someone flip a switch on Kasey Kahne's back that told him it was time to go on a tear? Before the Coca-Cola 600 started Kahne was 14th in points, 426 points behind points leader Kyle Busch. But now after winning two of the last three points races (and three out of his last four, counting the All-Star Race) he is 9th in points, 365 points behind Kyle. That is a mighty impressive jump if I do say so myself.

Brian Vickers showed that he does, in fact, know how to drive a race car this weekend. He battled all day and was a threat to win the Pocono 500 late before being passed by Kasey Kahne. Add to that the fact that AJ Allmendinger was consistently in the top 10 a good chunk of the day and you'll have the best combined run for Red Bull Racing since the teams creation last year. Keep an eye on Red Bull Racing, they are gonna be a threat before its all said and done.

Kyle Busch's attempt at a historic weekend went up in smoke Sunday. After finishing 2nd and 20th in the Truck and Nationwide races, he ended the weekend in 43rd at Pocono. He did something you very rarely see at Pocono, he wrecked on the front stretch, and not while coming out of the last turn, he did it in the middle of the front stretch. In an even more shocking move, he actually admitted it was his fault. Is that a little maturity slipping through the cracks of young Rowdy Busch?

Kyle Busch's misfortune was Jeff Burton's gain. With a 5th place finish, Burton went from 142 points behind Busch to only 21. If Burton continues this kind of constancy it'll be hard to bet against him when the Chase starts.

More bad luck for Tony Stewart. By finishing a lap down in 35th position, Stewart has fallen all the way back to 12th in the standings, the last chase eligible spot. Now Stewart has a bullseye on his back and drivers like David Ragan, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. are all taking aim at the two-time Sprint Cup Champion. The one good thing to come out of all of this? Its almost time for Tony Stewart's annual mid-season run up the standings.

Its amazing to think that Hendrick Motorsports only has one win in 2008, Jimmie Johnson at Phoenix (and even that was on fuel mileage, he didn't have the best car their). For comparison's sake, at this time last year Hendrick Motorsports had 10 victories. Its not like the teams have been lacking horse power, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 3rd in points and has been a threat to win almost every weekend. They just haven't gotten back to victory lane yet.

Congrats to Kurt Busch, he finally got his second top 10 of 2008. Next goal? Get a top 5.

Scott Riggs seemed like he had something to prove early in the race. He led some laps and ran in the top 10 for a pretty good chunk of the early going. That hard work has payed off, his 21st place finish moved him and the No. 66 State Water Heaters Chevrolet back into the top 35 in owner points. The unlucky team to fall out of the top 35? Michael Waltrip's No. 55 NAPA Toyota. Does anyone else think it might be time for Waltrip to consider handing over the driving duties to someone else?

Pocono Mountain Way

It's time for NASCAR to take a trip to the Pocono Mountains and Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania this week for the annual Pocono 500. Pocono is one of those tracks where a race can either become very exciting or very boring very fast. With any luck, this year we won't be seeing one of those boring races. Here are my picks to win this week's race.

Ryan Newman, No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge (Penske Racing)
Last Week: 14th place finish in the Best Buy 400
Career at Pocono: 13.6 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 5 top 5's, 6 top 10's
Why he could win: Remember, last year Newman was the man to beat in this race until the rains came. He was right in the middle of passing Jeff Gordon for the lead when the caution came out that ended the race. I'll bet money Newman hasn't forgotten.

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 43rd place finish in the Best Buy 400
Career at Pocono: 2.8 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 3 top 5's, 4 top 10's
Why he could win: No folks, that average finish is not a typo. In four career starts at Pocono Denny Hamlin has NEVER finished outside the top 10 and he has an average finish of 2.8. Best part? He'd never actually seen the track until the weekend that he won his first race there. Frankly, that's scary.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 5th place finish in the Best Buy 400
Career at Pocono: 10.2 Avg. Finish, 4 wins, 15 top 5's, 21 top 10's
Why he could win: Gordon has consistently been one of the men to beat at Pocono throughout his career. If he starts the race at Pocono he is a serious threat to win, no matter if he starts 43rd or 1st.

In terms of underdogs, i'm picking someone who's got a pretty good record at Pocono but just hasn't been able to continue being consistent everyone on the circuit.

Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota (Red Bull Racing)
Last Week: 13th place finish in the Best Buy 400
Career at Pocono: 14.4 Avg. Finish, 3 top 5's, 3 top 10's
Why he could win: Vickers has an off and on sort of team. One week they will be really good (Talladega) and the next the team will end up at the back of the pack (Charlotte). If Vickers can nail down some consistency I suspect he might be tough to beat.

Dover thoughts and observations

The hits just keep on coming for Kyle Busch. He added another trophy to his trophy case yesterday, cruising to victory in the Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway. Following him to the line were Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon.

Thoughts and observations

Dominant is the word of the day ladies and gents. That's exactly what Kyle Busch has been this year. Lets do a little math: 10 wins in NASCAR sanctioned events this year (4 in Cup, 4 in Nationwide and 2 in Truck), 5 poles (2 Cup, 2 Nationwide, 1 Truck), 19 top 5's (9 Cup, 7 Nationwide, 3 Truck) and 21 top 10's (10 Cup, 7 Nationwide and 4 Truck). Can anyone stop this guy?

I think the Roush Fenway camp must have felt a little bit like they were trying to catch a Ferrari in a van. While Greg Biffle did in fact lead the most laps (though not by much) once Kyle Busch got out front he checked out and wasn't heard from again.

Looks to me like Dave Blaney and his Bill Davis Racing crew finally have his Toyota's figured out. The team earned their second top 10 this year Sunday and firmly secured themselves inside the top 35 in owner points. Is their a chance we may see the No. 22 Caterpillar car back in victory lane?

Now I may be wrong, but am I the only one that thinks that race was exceptionally boring? The most interesting thing happened on lap 17 when a total of 11 cars crashed coming out of turn 2. The wreck started when David Gilliland gave Elliott Sadler a light tap, sending him into the outside wall. When Sadler came back down, he was met by a number of cars, including six drivers currently in the chase (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne). Other then that, the race was a sleeper and candidate for most boring race of the year.

While one Busch continues to dominate, the other one continues to falter. Kurt Busch finished 20th Sunday, his 7th finish of 20th or worse this season. I can't imagine what the issue is, Kurt Busch has never had a problem racing up front, no matter what car he is driving. I can only hope for his sake that he gets it turned around quick, otherwise he will be on the outside of the chase looking in.

Next week we get to welcome back Dario Franchitti to the Sprint Cup Circuit. He returned this weekend to the Nationwide Series, finishing a respectable 15th after recovering from his ankle injury suffered at Talladega. Now, lets just see how he does at Pocono.

Alright, about this Joey Logano kid. I won't go out and say he is going to be the next big thing. That gets thrown around way too much for my taste. They have said that about a lot of drivers in the past (Casey Atwood, Brian Vickers, Reed Sorenson, etc.) and he needs to prove he is exactly what everyone is saying he is. Step up Logano, if you've got what it takes, show it.

Going back a week, i'm going to touch on the penalties assessed to the No. 66 and No. 70 teams owned by Haas/CNC Racing. In my personal opinion, the penalties were a bit harsh. Do I think penalties were needed? Yes. But 150 points? That's very extreme. That really hurt both teams, and after the No. 66 had a poor finish this weekend, both teams find themselves having to qualify on time for next weekend's Pocono 500. I can only hope they get things turned around, they really need something to smile about in the Haas/CNC camp.