Smokin' Daytona and Bush's Complaints

Races are won or lost many times on the last lap and most of the time on restrictor plate tracks like Daytona and Talledega Super Speedways. The 2009 Coca-Cola 400 was no different. Tony Stewart in the new #14 Burger King paint scheme and Kyle Bush in his Toyota powered Camry would send the sparks flying on the last lap battling for the win.

Stewart had the dominant car, leading a race-high 86 laps and flawless pit-road performance by his crew set the team up for their second win as a new team. But Busch had other ideas, taking the lead seconds before the last lap to start a frantic 2.5-mile chase between the former teammates under the Joe Gibbs Racing banner.

Busch passed Stewart with a little help from Denny Hamlin right before the final lap to take the lead, but Stewart ran him down and planned his next move at 180+ miles per hour.The battle began to mirror what happened last year between Stewart and Bush at Daytona heading out of turn 4 only this time Bush was leading instead of Smoke. Stewart closed in on Busch's bumper, and slight contact got Busch loose heading into the tri-oval. Bush had to slide down a car width below Stewart to regain control and this opened the door for Stewart to pass to take the lead. In a huge mistake, Bush tried to block Stewart's move but was apparently unaware he had the #14's nose at his right rear quarter panel. Stewart held his line during the attempted Bush block. Bush was not so lucky. The contact sent the #18 careening nose first into the outside wall as Stewart finished the race in first with no damage to his vehicle.

"That's not the way I wanted to do it," Stewart exclaimed."I just don't like it to end that way," Stewart said. "You know, you work hard to get to this level and you don't want to see races decided by guys wrecking coming to the finish line. That's not what it's about. Maybe I am being hard on myself, I don't know. A frustrated Stewart stated, "But I just don't like the way that ended up."

Most if not all viewers would agree that Bush was in the wrong and made a bad choice by trying to block when Stewart had position on Bush. But some drivers win being overly aggressive and some do not. Bush finished 14th behind the #14 after Kasey Khane #9 Dodge Charger smashed into him after contact with the wall. Stewart voiced his displeasure again by stating,

"I went where I had to go, and he went where he had to go," Stewart said. "You hate seeing a guy that's been up front all day, especially a guy that's helped me the whole race, wreck like that. You're kind of forced in that position. But I made my move to the outside and he went to block us and we were already there."It still doesn't mean you like it. That's not the way to win these things. If I did something wrong, I'm sorry."

After the sparks ended, the top 10 panned out as Jimmie Johnson was second, and Denny Hamlin, Busch's teammate, finished third. Edwards was fourth, and Kurt Busch fifth. Marcos Ambrose was sixth, followed by Brian Vickers, who came back from an accident, and Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth. Juan Pablo Montoya rallied from a lap down to finish ninth, and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 10.

As typical for Kyle Bush when he looses in glorious fashion, he had no comment after the race after being forced into the emergency vehicle for a health inspection. Most fans of the Sprint Cup series would agree that Bush would have been all talk had the results placed him into the winner's circle. The move was exactly the same thing Carl Edwards tried on Brad Keselowski at Talladega back in April and we all remember how that race finished.

On Thursday, July 9th, however, Bush spoke out and stated Stewart should be black flagged for the accident at Daytona.Busch claimed Stewart “dumped him,” or, caused him to wreck, and questioned if drivers should be allowed to win if they cause an accident that lets them take the lead.

“I gathered my stuff up and tried to block high and it was too late,” Busch explained. “Tony was already alongside.” “I think NASCAR can take a step in looking at it, and if the second-place driver bumps the leader, then black-flag (him),” Busch said Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway. “"NASCAR can take a step in looking at it and if the second place driver dumps the leader, then black flag his ass," he said. "He doesn't get the win, you know. If he's on him from behind and moves him out of the way and there's no wreck then fine he can win the race but if you're up along side the guy and you dump him then I say black flag him and give the win to the third-place driver.”

You can view his comments at Nascar.com here

Other drivers, including 4 time champion Jeff Gordon defended Stewart's driving at Daytona.

“I certainly would not say that he got dumped,” Jeff Gordon said. “If Carl Edwards would have said that, I would have said the same thing. It’s not getting dumped when the guy has got a fender or bumper inside you and you turn and come across.”

Added Kasey Kahne who was involved in the follow up accident,

“It was a long way from a dump in my mind. I’d say they were both battling for the win. It’s Daytona, Talladega, those kinds of tracks you do that stuff.”

Rain Benefits Stewart At New Hampshire

Tony Stewart had to thank the rain that pummeled New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the weather put him on the pole to start the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Unfortunately for the Stewart-Haas Racing Team, Stewart had only himself to thank after he wrecked his #14 Office Depot Chevrolet during the practice session on Friday.

"I just got loose going in the corner," Stewart said. "Goodyear came down and was worried, but it wasn't a tire problem. I just got loose and once out of the groove I was staying right with it -- I just needed another 50 feet to finish getting gathered up. I just ran out of race track."

On a normal race weekend, Stewart would have to start at the rear of the field on race day, however, the wreck occurred during the practice session before qualifications and according to NASCAR rules, a driver may maintain his qualifying position based upon owner points if the qualification session is rained out after practice. Because Stewart is first in point standings and is the co-owner of his team, he will start first on Sunday. Luckily for Stewart, the heavens smiled on Stewart. Stewart was upset at the wreck but felt even worse for his team.

As a driver you hate having to have those guys do that -- you hate putting them in that position," Stewart exclaimed. "These are long, hard days each day of the race weekend anyway without having to throw bringing the backup car and all the switching."

Unlike Pocono where there is plenty of racing room and time to go from last to first as Stewart did, starting at the back at New Hampshire is a more challenging endeavor. The co-owner of the Stewart-Haas racing team did feel his backup car this week is comparable to his primary car.

By going out [to practice], we made sure that the package we had on the other car worked on this car -- each car has got a little bit different characteristic," Stewart said. "I do feel like it's a car that's very comparable to the one we started with, which was very, very good. "I'm not sure we're in a situation we were in at Pocono where the second car is better than the first one, but I feel like this one [backup] is even to the first car."

Mark Martin on the same practice lap also scrapped the wall and spun out in his #5 Kellogg's Chevrolet, but the damage was very minor and did not require a backup car.

The rest of the top 10 qualifiers are based upon owner points. You can check out the field line up here at NASCAR.com or by viewing the following:

Paperclips and Rocket Ships

This Sunday, the Sprint Cup series returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedwayto begin the 10 race countdown to the Chase For The Sprint Cup Championship. The LENOX Industrial Tools 301 is touted as the first "Race to the Chase" as drivers scramble to make it into the top 12 in the points standings.

The track itself is often called a "paper clip" track do its shape and layout resembling a paper clip. It is just over 1 mile long so it can be classified as a short track that guarantees lots of bumping and rubbing.
The place is pretty flat with regards to banking in the turns, so you can bet the brake system on the cars will receive another workout this week. There isn't much racing room and drivers are limited to two grooves to race in. The straights are only 65 feet wide and 1,500 feet long. The inside line around each turn is the preferred line as they grow to 92 feet wide with only a 2/7 degree in the banking. But with a decent setup, a driver can pass on the outside if he can carry momentum into each turn and hold onto the car coming out of the bank. Fuel mileage does play an important part in a drivers run at New Hampshire, so not only will the driver have to be spot on, his crew chief will have to make the right calls especially with regards to fuel mileage and the adjustments on the last run of the race. It will be especially interesting to see how the new double file restarts will effect the outcome of the race as well.

Due to the relative flatness of New Hampshire, drivers who have done well at Pocono or Martinsville, figure to run well here. One driver who appears to have New Hampshire figured out is Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan "The Rocketman" Newman. Newman, an Indiana native and driver of the #39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, posted the qualifying record at New Hampshire with a top speed of 133.57 mph back in 2003 and has won twice, posted 4 pole positions, 5 top fives, and 9 top tens at this track throughout his career. Tony Stewart, Newman's teammate also has run well at New Hampshire. Like Newman, he has posted 2 wins as well. Stewart has also put up 10 top fives, and 12 top tens in his career at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.