Best race day delivers excitement to savor

When Memorial Day weekend approaches, any race fan worth their salt recognizes there will be a lot to look forward to from the moment they wake up to the last lap of the last race is run.

It was no different for me Sunday in the Holy Grail trilogy of speed. This is how I grabbed hold of the action – at least as much of it as possible.
The opening installment of the best racing day of the year came from overseas as Formula 1 raced the Grand Prix of Monaco. I’ll admit I wasn’t always a fan of the series, but the stature of Monaco got me hooked a couple of years ago.
Due to the starting time – NBC came on the air at 5:30 a.m. – I didn’t wake up until the race was 22 laps in. As things turned out, there wasn’t much that was missed.
The 78-lap race that draws celebrities in abundance – there was a shot of tennis star Caroline Wozniacki during the broadcast and Justin Bieber celebrated with winner Lewis Hamilton on the podium – had to deal with rain at the start as the field ran behind the safety car for the first seven laps.
One of the big things to note about Formula 1 racing: there are no rain delays. Teams had to get creative with their use of tires as the weather improved, and it played a big part in Hamilton’s win.
The bigger reason: pole winner Daniel Ricciardo’s race team wasn’t prepared with the right tires when he came in for a pit stop at lap 31, allowing Hamilton to keep the lead. The Mercedes driver nearly lost it when he overshot a chicane on the course, but put a block up on Ricciardo just in time and legally – after a review by race stewards.
It turned out to be Ricciardo’s last real shot as Hamilton went on to win the race by a little over seven seconds.
And if you’re thinking that F1 racing isn’t worth caring about, take note of two things. Gene Haas -- co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing – has branched out with his own team featuring Roman Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, and the series will race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in October.
After a one-hour break, it was time to celebrate a major American milestone with the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. There was major pomp and circumstance, and it was on display throughout the pre-race show.
When the green flag flew, it brought an amazing race for the ages. Problems on pit road took out key contenders, fuel mileage gambles didn’t work for others.
And Alexander Rossi ended up drinking the milk in Victory Lane, the first rookie to win at Indy since Helio Castroneves did it in 2001. He barely had enough fuel at the end and looked genuinely shocked by the time the safety crew towed him in for the celebration.
There were also 54 lead changes, adding to the magic moments witnessed live by an estimated crowd of 350,000 people.
The final dose of memories to savor came from Martin Truex Jr., who won the Coca-Cola 600 Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in almost absurdly dominating fashion.
Truex was so good under the lights, he led 392 of the 400 laps around the 1.5-mile track. The 588 total miles led set a new NASCAR record and was wildly entertaining to watch.
A few weeks ago, I documented how Truex had been snakebit throughout his career in races where he led more than 100 laps but didn’t win at the end. On Sunday night, Truex Jr. absolutely demolished the demons of failed races past and secured his spot in the 2016 Chase in tidy fashion.
To truly appreciate what the win meant, search for clips of his Victory Lane interview with Fox Sports' Matt Yocum. The hug he received from girlfriend and cancer survivor Sherry Pollex was as true and genuine as they come.
The Coca-Cola 600 had only four cautions and was run in well under four hours (3:44) with an average speed of more than 160 mph.
And in the end, race fans all around the world were left full, content and happy.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile tri-oval), Long Pond, Pa.

-SPRINT CUP: Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.

2015 champion: Martin Truex Jr.

-XFINITY SERIES: Pocono Green 250, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 250 miles, 100 laps.

2015 champion: Inaugural event.

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until June 10 for the Rattlesnake 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Kenseth survives three-way battle at Dover

With all of the success enjoyed by the other drivers at Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth may have felt like a fifth wheel. Bad breaks and bad luck seemed to follow him everywhere in 2016.

In the season’s first 11 races, Kenseth’s three teammates – Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin – won six of them. The driver of the No. 20 car could only manage a pair of seventh-place finishes at Phoenix and Richmond.
But after a turn-the-corner moment with a fourth at Kansas last week, Kenseth finally joined the JGR victory party, capturing his first and the race team’s seventh win of 2016 by winning the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.
And the opportunity came with the help of a good break, for a change. Kenseth was able to take the lead just before a Matt DiBenedetto spin at lap 354, and when an 18-car pileup happened off the restart five laps later, it set up a fight to the finish that made for riveting viewing.
First, there was Kyle Larson. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi had his shot over the final five laps and even got to Kenseth’s bumper a few times. There would be no bump-and-run.
"I had gotten close to his bumper a couple times," Larson said to NASCAR Wire Service. "I may have even got into him once. I didn't want to do anything dirty. I respect Matt Kenseth a lot. He's definitely, in my eyes, the cleanest racer out there. He always races me with respect. I try to do the same with him.”
But Kenseth ended up as the one in Victory Lane, earning his 37th Cup win and tying Kyle Busch and Bobby Isaac for 19th on the career list. Lesson for Larson: being a nice guy is one thing, but it doesn’t get you race wins.
Rookie Chase Elliott was also in the mix. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet finished third, best of his career so far. Elliott got by Larson for second with 20 laps to go, but had to give up the position three laps later due to difficulty with lap traffic.
They call Dover the Monster Mile, and everything that happened – from the big late-race wreck (are we sure that wasn’t Talladega?) to the riveting three-way fight to the finish – gave more credence to the nickname.
Every little thing that can help put fans back in the seats is certainly worth it, and the AAA 400 Drive for Autism played a valuable part in making progress toward that goal.
Normally, I don’t spend any time talking about Formula 1 racing here, but from what I saw on my device as I crawled out of bed Sunday morning was a beautiful attention-getter.
The Pirelli Grand Prix of Spain from Barcelona was won by Max Verstappen. Of course, you’re asking “who’s he?” Right?
Verstappen is basically an 18-year-old kid from Belgium who went out and made history, becoming the youngest Formula 1 race winner ever at 18 years, 228 days. Sebastian Vettel was the previous record holder at 21 years, 73 days.
If that doesn’t make you say “whoa,” please check for a pulse.
Verstappen led 30 laps, including the last 23 where he survived a shootout over the 2.89-mile Catalunya course with none other than Kimi Raikkonen (20 career wins, 2007 season champion) bearing down on him. Like Larson, Raikkonen got close but never could complete a pass for the lead.
Verstappen got the win in his 24th start in F1. It was the first time he’s led laps.
If you don’t have the NBC Sports Live Extra app on your device, find a way to watch the replay of the Spanish Grand Prix. It’ll make you believe anything really is possible.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Charlotte Motor Speedway (1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Concord, N.C.

-SPRINT CUP: Sprint Showdown, Friday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

2015 champion: Clint Bowyer

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

2015 champion: Denny Hamlin

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 201 miles, 134 laps.

2015 champion: Kasey Kahne

-XFINITY SERIES: Off until May 28 for the HiSense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kyle Busch kicks Kansas off winless list

When it came to a list of his favorite tracks to race, Kansas Speedway likely didn’t rank very high for Kyle Busch.

The numbers didn’t lie, either. His average finish was 19th. In 16 prior starts on the 1.5-mile oval, Busch had no wins and led a grand total of 87 laps out of more than 4,200 raced at the track.
All of the bad vibes changed to the good in one fortunate swoop as Busch crossed the finish line first Saturday night at the GoBowling.com 400. Not only did Kyle cross Kansas off his winless list – leaving only Pocono and Charlotte yet to conquer – he did the bulk of his work late in the race. Of the 69 laps he led, 37 came during the final stages.
Busch was able to seize the opportunity when Martin Truex Jr., who led a race-high 172 laps but finished 14th, was forced to return to pit road at lap 215 due to a loose wheel. The bad break was the result of a bolt that broke and didn’t allow the tire to mount on a prior green-flag stop that happened three laps earlier.
From there, Busch only had to get by two more restarts. The second one came with 19 laps to go after teammate Denny Hamlin tried a risky three-wide move that took out Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano along with him.
Busch, who led from lap 231 to the finish, held off Kevin Harvick and earned his third win of 2016. It was Busch’s 37th career Cup win and came five days after he celebrated his 31st birthday.
When you’re going well, all can seem awesome with the world. In direct contrast, everything probably felt like a bad trip through a Walking Dead episode to Martin Truex Jr.
For the eighth time in his Sprint Cup career, Truex led more than 100 laps. For the seventh time, he didn’t win the race. The only time Truex pulled off the feat was his first career Sprint Cup win at his “home” track, Dover International Speedway, in 2007.
Among the seven times of plus-100 in the laps led without winning, it’s happened to Truex at Kansas twice. In the eeriest of coincidence, Truex led 173 laps in the spring race in 2012 and finished second.
Texas Motor Speedway is also on the twice-bitten track list for Truex. In this year’s spring race, he led 141 laps and finished sixth. In the 2013 spring race, he led 142 laps and finished second.
If that’s not bad luck, Truex wouldn’t have any luck at all.
But the native of Mayetta, New Jersey does have three career wins. I had the privilege of witnessing his triumph in the 2013 Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. As the laps were winding down, I was flashing back to places like Kansas and Texas, where something bad seemed to always come into play.
Yes, I doubted Truex would hang on.
On that June day three years ago, the bad breaks stayed away. When the checkered flag came out for Truex, it ended a wait of nearly six years between victories.
And one thing I’ll never forget from that weekend was how his car owner, Michael Waltrip, said directly to my face without cockiness or pretense at a press preview luncheon in San Francisco that his guy, Martin Truex Jr., would win on Sunday.
He’s got Toyota equipment to drive again after a two-year absence, so the potential for another victory is there. As long as the gremlins stay away, anything is possible at any given moment.
Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email at tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Dover International Speedway (1-mile oval), Dover, Delaware.

-SPRINT CUP: AAA 400 Drive for Autism, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps.

2015 champion: Jimmie Johnson

-XFINITY SERIES: Ollie's Bargain Outlet 200, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affliate.

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

2015 champion: Chris Buescher

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Dover 200, Friday, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

2015 champion: Tyler Reddick

Understanding Talladega can be challenge

When the time comes for the 10th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it means a trip to the biggest track in Talladega Superspeedway.

For those who make the trek to the huge 2.66-mile oval that features pre-race parties, restrictor plates, packs of cars inches apart and wrecks that would make Los Angeles freeway drivers look like masters of safety, the visuals are crazy and indescribably entertaining.
The Sunday running of the Geico 500 was no different. He who keeps his race car away from the most trouble usually wins.
By the time 188 laps were run, Brad Keselowski came through with the help of two big pushes off the race’s final restart with two laps left that secured his fourth career victory at Talladega and second of 2016 (Las Vegas).
But it was what happened during the race itself that made Talladega a hair-pulling, maddening, and ultimately entertaining exercise.
Buoyed by the threat of rain that ultimately stayed away, drivers worked the steering wheel with much more urgency than normal in the early stages of the race. There wasn’t just one “big one” (a term that’s become an overused cliché), but three major wrecks that left plenty of sheet metal bent out of whack and egos bruised and battered at the end.
Big One Part One came at lap 96 – just past halfway – when Chris Buescher did three barrel rolls as his No. 34 car got caught in a seven-car wreck that involved Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards, among others.
Big One Deux happened at lap 161 and involved 21 cars. It was triggered when Kurt Busch got his car into Johnson’s bumper in the wrong place. Mistake made, carnage ensued.
When Johnson got turned, he hit Paul Menard, and more than half the field couldn’t escape damage.
But the capper of the crash trilogy came just 20 laps later. Matt Kenseth, who had led 39 laps, got the worst of it and let Joey Logano know about it afterwards. As it turned out, the feud from Martinsville last fall was reignited with the incident.
In the end, Keselowski emerged as the winner with another wreck involving seven more cars happening behind him and runner-up Kyle Busch. In total, only 28 of the 40 cars were running in the final finishing order, 21 on the lead lap.
That’s a fact of life at Talladega. Craziness can happen at any moment and lead changes are found in abundance, which makes the racing entertaining and not for those who don’t like the thrill of speed. There were 37 lead changes among 17 drivers at the Geico 500.
And if that wasn’t insane enough, the finish of Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 XFINITY race got everyone talking just as loudly.
On the final lap, Logano and Elliott Sadler were dueling for the win when Logano got turned as he tried to block with the finish line in sight.
As Logano’s car plowed nose-first into the SAFER barrier, Brennan Poole thought he got by and got himself a victory.
But when the tape was reviewed, Sadler was awarded the win. The video shown on social media sites had the clear answer, showing the moment when the yellow caution light came on and how Sadler was ahead of the field.
It wasn’t the cleanest way to win, but it didn’t change the outcome. The right call was made, no matter who got angry.
And it all came on NASCAR’s biggest, baddest and most infuriating track. That’s why it’s a weekend that’s always worth looking forward to for any race fan.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and email him at tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval), Kansas City, Kansas

-SPRINT CUP: GoBowling.com 400, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN affiliate.

Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

2015 champion: Jimmie Johnson

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Toyota Tundra 250, Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN affiliate.

Race distance: 250.5 miles, 167 laps.

2015 champion: Matt Crafton

-XFINITY SERIES: Off until May 14 at Dover International Speedway. 

Edwards wins again, caps week full of storylines

Now that’s how a NASCAR race week should be.
Want drama? Done. Drool over controversy? It was there in full effect. Add in anger, emotion, and a last-lap pass where one teammate gave the other the boot as both were going for the win, and racing at Richmond was full of beautiful moments that make me proud to be a writer of all things racing.
Working in reverse order, Kyle Busch looked like he would cruise to his third Sprint Cup win in four weeks. Busch took the lead at the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday with 36 laps to go, but didn’t count on Carl Edwards basically doing what he had to do to take it from him.
Edwards caught Busch on Turn 1 on the white-flag lap, then gave him the necessary shove up the hill in Turn 4 that was enough to allow the No. 19 Toyota to slide by and steal the win.
As I stated in the second paragraph, Edwards and Busch are teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. Adding to the awesomeness of the moment, it’s the first time that a last-lap pass for the win has happened at the three-quarter mile oval in Virginia’s capital city.
Edwards went back-to-back for the sixth time in his career and won his 27th Sprint Cup race. Even more amazing was that Edwards denied a teammate and the emotion flowed like a raging river after the checkered flag fell.
When Samantha Busch – Kyle’s wife – drops a bad word for all to hear/see/lip read on the Fox broadcast and she has to apologize on Twitter for it, you know the action made everyone sweat a little more than normal regardless of who they were rooting for.
Even in his post-race interview, Kyle faced the music. Busch didn’t mention Edwards by name – he did the standard “my guys gave me a phenomenal Banfield (Pet Hospital) Toyota Camry. We just came up short” line – but he didn’t storm off in a hissy fit, either.
Life at the JGR shop should be interesting in the week ahead.
Richmond also marked the return of Tony Stewart, who had missed the first eight races of his final Sprint Cup season to recover from a preseason non-racing back injury. Stewart started 18th (which was set on practice speed due to qualifying getting rained out) and finished 19th.
Like Kyle Busch before him, Stewart was granted a waiver by NASCAR and will become eligible for the Chase as long as he wins a race and gets to the top 30 in points after the series returns to Richmond in September.
But the celebration of Stewart’s return was overshadowed by remarks he made during a promotional appearance Wednesday criticizing the loosening of NASCAR’s rule that required five lug nuts to be fastened to all four wheels on every pit stop.
The theme behind Stewart’s words was clear. Anything less than a firmly placed wheel – three and four lug nuts have been common to save seconds on pit stops – could lead to a serious problem and potential for injury to a driver or, worse yet, a fan in the stands.
Stewart’s comments led to NASCAR issuing a $35,000 fine that included the following words as written by bleacherreport.com:
“…this is not a game you play with safety and that’s exactly the way I feel like NASCAR is treating this. This is not the way to do this.”
The reaction to the fine among the drivers was swift, strong and negative.
Denny Hamlin, who is one of eight members of the NASCAR Drivers Council along with Stewart, said the group would step up and pay the fine for him.
If nothing else, it sent a strong message. Safety has to be paramount. Because the fine was issued, NASCAR comes off as just a bit too insensitive over the matter.
Sure, the venue Stewart used to make his point could have been chosen a little better, but Hamlin nailed it when he spoke to the media last Friday at Richmond, as reported by sportingnews.com.
“It really has nothing to do with lug nuts or no lug nuts or anything like that,” he said. “It's more so the drivers believing that they have a right to express their opinion especially when asked in an interview.”
Woe be to the leaders of the sport if a wheel flies off a car at 200 mph and hurts anyone – in the stands, on pit road, wherever. If no one is allowed to speak up now, it’ll be hard to fathom reaction if someone gets seriously hurt.
NASCAR needs to listen when drivers have safety concerns if it wants to move forward to a truly bright future. If it’s all about silencing anyone who questions the leadership, the blood will be on their hands and no one else.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports and contact him by email at tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile D-shaped oval), Talladega, Alabama.

-SPRINT CUP: Geico 500, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 500 miles, 188 laps.

2015 champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

-XFINITY SERIES: Sparks Energy 300, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 300 miles, 113 laps.

2015 champion: Joey Logano

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until May 6 for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.

Edwards rolls at Bristol with surprises in top 10

As the Food City 500 got under way Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, I was hardly surprised to see some social media posts bemoaning the lack of fans at the half-mile track that calls itself “The Last Great Colosseum.”

For those who weren’t there in person or didn’t see the race on TV, it was one tremendous show that had a multitude of reasons to pay attention.
The headline exhibit was Carl Edwards, who defied the negative statistics and led 276 of the 500 laps in picking up his fourth win at Bristol – his second spring race win in three years to go with fall race victories in 2007 and 2008. As much as his closest challengers tried to get by the No. 19 Comcast Business Toyota, Edwards was simply too good on the restarts and left everyone else eating his brake dust.
Edwards’ margin over runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr. was just over three-fourths of a second, but that’s only a small sample of how some of the top 10 came together.
Earnhardt had qualified 20th, but ran into a battery issue with the race less than 20 laps old. He fell two laps down at one point, but rallied back.
Kurt Busch started 26th and got by Edwards for a time late in the race, leading 41 laps before finishing third.
Chase Elliott had the best finish of his Sprint Cup career, coming home fourth after qualifying 19th, his second-worst starting position of the season.
After an average finish of 21.7 in the first seven races, Trevor Bayne wheeled his No. 6 Advocare Ford Fusion to fifth, his best run since winning the 2011 Daytona 500.
Easily the best finish of the day belonged to Matt DiBenedetto, who qualified 30th. Driving the No. 83 for BK Racing, he steadily worked his way up the field, stayed out of trouble, and crossed the line in sixth. DiBenedetto let out plenty of emotion in his post-race radio interview and couldn’t remember several sponsors.
When you haven’t gotten so much as a smell of the exhaust fumes of the top 10, any forgetfulness can definitely be excused.
Several of DiBenedetto’s supporters were so giddy after the race, they doused him and his car with silly string as he made his way out of the race track. The moment is on YouTube and very cool to watch.
While Edwards was winning, the rest of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates struggled mightily on the day. Denny Hamlin finished on the lead lap in 20th, but Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch ran into trouble, had to go to the garage for repairs, and finished 36th and 38th, respectively.
It was Busch’s worst run of the season – his second outside the top five (25th at Fontana) – and he vented in angry terms, as is his custom.
Busch said he was “sick and tired” of Bristol Motor Speedway ever since the half-mile track’s banking was reduced, and let his feelings be known in a story published on foxsports.com.
“This track has sucked for me ever since the grinding,” Busch told reporters after coming in a winner of the past two Cup races at Martinsville and Texas. “I'm about sick and tired of coming here since it sucks to race."
Busch hasn’t won at Bristol since the 2011 spring race. In nine visits since, he has one top-5, three top-10s, and an average finish of 19.5.
You can’t win them all, but Busch apparently believes it’s the track’s fault he isn’t doing it at Bristol. Adding to the bad vibes, Busch failed to win the XFINITY race, ending up second to teammate Erik Jones.
On the good news side of the ledger, Busch won’t be racing on Saturday again until Pocono in June. Those who can’t stand the bad attitude won’t have to deal with it for a while.
One thing is for certain with this week’s races. The storylines were plentiful, and the emotions were wide-ranging. Things may not always be perfect and drama may get in the way, but when drivers do well, they’re always worth celebrating.

Twitter followers are always welcome @Tomzsports. Contact him by email at tominator19@yahoo.com.

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Richmond International Raceway (.75-mile oval), Richmond, Virginia

-SPRINT CUP: Toyota Owners 400, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 400 laps, 300 miles.

2015 champion: Kurt Busch

-XFINITY SERIES: ToyotaCare 250, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local MRN Radio affiliate.

Race distance: 250 laps, 187.5 miles.

2015 champion: Denny Hamlin.

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until May 6 for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.

Don’t hate the driver, cheer harder for yours

Over the course of the last two NASCAR race weekends, a machine-like pattern has emerged, rife with not only predictability over the outcome, but the backlash on social media that comes afterwards.
And it’s all because of one driver most fans love to hate. His name is Busch. Kyle Busch.
The reason for the vitriol is simple. Busch wins, and he’s won with greater regularity of late, regardless of series. First, he swept the weekend April 2 and 3 at Martinsville Speedway, starting with the Camping World Truck Series, then went out and rolled through the field in the Cup race on a track where he had never won before.
Busch was so good, he led 352 of 500 laps on NASCAR’s shortest track, one that can be murder on brakes for those who get overly ambitious.
Then over this weekend, Busch swept aside all challengers in the XFINITY and Sprint Cup races. First, he led 150 of 200 laps in winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, then endured a two-hour rain delay and won the Duck Commander 500.
Even more frustrating for those who aren’t fans of the 18, Busch only led the last 34 laps of the Cup race. It doesn’t matter how many laps you lead, as long as you lead the last one.
The next few paragraphs are going to make those who can’t stand Kyle Busch even madder, but they need to be said.
First off, in the five XFINITY races Busch has entered, he’s won the pole three times, qualified third in the other two, and had only a cut tire on the final lap at Auto Club Speedway keep him from winning all of them.
In total, Busch has led 776 of a possible 913 laps in 2016. That’s 85 percent of the total, an insane figure to comprehend. He has reached 80 career wins in NASCAR’s No. 2 series in only 316 starts, not even one in every four.
The Martinsville truck race was Busch’s first entry of the season. He led 123 of the 255 laps and now has 45 wins in that series in 130 starts.
He may be behind the pace in the series that is NASCAR’s gold standard, but Busch has 36 victories and a Sprint Cup trophy to show for his efforts. He’ll make his 400th career Cup start at Talladega on May 1.
Put all the gaudy numbers aside for a moment and understand something here. It’s a driver’s job to get in the car or truck and drive it like a maniac with the intention of getting to Victory Lane. Nothing else matters, and as Ricky Bobby once said, second place is the first loser.
What may rub those who don’t care for Kyle Busch is how he handles himself when things don’t go his way. After the frustration of what happened at Auto Club, it’s understandable why he blew off the media interview, especially when there’s always potential for fines to come down for saying the wrong things in the heat of the moment.
But that’s what some racers do. Love or hate him, Kyle Busch knows how to put his race cars in the right places to win. It’s on everyone else to keep up and make the adjustments to go out and beat him.
Even with all the winning Busch has done of late, there is good news. After this weekend’s races at Bristol, he won’t run in another XFINITY race until Pocono on June 4. On the truck side, he’ll only run three other events – at Charlotte on May 20, Kentucky on July 7 and Bristol on Aug. 17.
In the meantime, it’s better to appreciate what Kyle Busch has done rather than hate and long for the “good old days,” whatever they mean. Soon enough, someone else is going to come along and wreak the same amount of havoc.
And those who hate whoever that is will be just as vocal. It’s the nature of the racing beast.

Follow Tom Zulewski on Twitter @Tomzsports. Send your email praise, beefs, disagreements, etc., to tominator19@yahoo.com

NEXT WEEK'S RACES

Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval), Bristol, Tenn.

-SPRINT CUP: Food City 500, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, Fox. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 500 laps, 266.5 miles

2015 champion: Matt Kenseth

-XFINITY SERIES: Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300, Satuirday, 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT, Fox Sports 1. Radio: SiriusXM Channel 90 or your local PRN affiliate.

Race distance: 300 laps, 159.9 miles

2015 champion: Kyle Busch

-CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Off until May 6 for the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway.