| | | | | | | | |  | | | |  Kyle’s move on Johnson was Busch’s own private Bar Mitzvah. - Lori Munro
Each week RaceTalkRadio personalities Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen will face off on some of the hot topics from the world of racing. We guarantee there will be some cage rattling and the black flag will be flying frequently! Let Lori and Dennis know your opinion on the topics below then tune in Monday night at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com for more "Doin’ Donuts."
WAS THIS VICTORY EVEN SWEETER
Dennis says...
In his post-race press conference, Kyle Busch seemed to be just a little more pumped about his 7th win of the season because he beat his old teammate Jimmie Johnson. While the booing by the fans has not bothered him, Kyle still seems to have that chip on his shoulder about Hendrick Motorsports letting him go.
Not only are the wins even sweeter when Rowdy knocks off a Hendrick Motorsports driver, he is enjoying completely dominating this season so far! It might be even sweeter if he has to outrace a couple of Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the last race to clinch the title. While there is no doubt Kyle Busch is one of the most talented drivers in the sport, the motivation of wanting to show Rick Hendrick he made a mistake has fired this guy up to do amazing things this season!
Lori says...
Kyle’s move on Johnson was Busch’s own private Bar Mitzvah. Even Kyle admitted that he just "gave up" because he was so sure that it was Johnson’s race to win and he outclassed the field. A smile says it all and nothing was more genuine than what we saw on Busch’s face in victory circle. I have inkling that everything that went down last year regarding his release from HMS is nothing but a bad memory and Kyle will put it behind him for good now and even toast Rick Hendrick from the head table at the Waldorf Astoria in a few months.
BRING BACK CLASSY COMMANDS
Dennis says...
Whatever happened to the Grand Marshal being a classy person who gave the command to start engines in a classy way? As NASCAR has become the sport to be seen at by Hollywood stars the sport in turn has done whatever they need to do to kiss up to these men and women. Why? I would rather see one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers honored before each race than see these latte drinking idiots screaming at the top of their lungs! After the latest turkey screamed the command, the announcers in the TNT booth complimented him on his style. Why is screaming like a banshee the way to give the command to start engines? Why do we have to be force fed these people that clearly have no clue what NASCAR was a few years ago? Let them go promote their movie somewhere else!
Lori says...
The only reason that "screamers" have become a part of our society is because they are encouraged to do so. Just look at any grocery store or restaurant. Young’uns are allowed to run wild and bellow at the top of their lungs and nobody has the balls to do anything about it. Put a few years on these uncontrollable ankle-biters and you have the next generation of parents, breeding like to like. Watch any movie or any tv commercial. Its about who can make the most noise and for the longest period of time. Look way back to the dawn of mankind and it was the great apes who screamed to attract mates and ward off predators. Sure, there was no racing back then but again, there was no command to start engines either. OK…. I’m a freak.
PREMATURE PENALTY
Dennis says...
The No. 96 team was penalized for what appeared to be an attempt to skirt the rules in pre-race technical inspection at Chicagoland Speedway. Unfortunately for NASCAR the team was not guilty of what they thought they had done…specifically putting weighted bottles in the car to gain an advantage when the Gatorade drink device was placed in the car before the start of the race. NASCAR should have checked the bottle to see if it had been rigged with lead or another substance before penalizing the team. Can you imagine the uproar if this had been Dale Earnhardt Jr and the stop and go penalty cost him a shot at the Chase for the Championship? Then again it is unlikely NASCAR would have responded to a top team in the same manner. NASCAR should err on the side of caution before they penalize a team because that penalty can not be undone. NASCAR always has the option of taking points away after the race is over if a team tried to break the rules!
Lori says...
I bought NASCAR’s line and was real confused afterwards when it was said that the whole deal with the 96 car was a mistake. The biggest mistake was NASCAR or anybody thinking that 15 pounds of lead would turn the 96 car from a sow’s ear to a silk purse. Ballast from the Edmund Fitzgerald wouldn’t help that team right now as it stands, although Yeley would make a hell of a deck mate if you took away his "mirrors" and pet elephant and dressed him up like Popeye. Spinach, anyone?
SLICED BREAD IN A CUP
Dennis says...
Now that Tony Stewart has made the move to his new team it sounds more and more as if Joe Gibbs Racing is planning to promote Joey Logano to Cup next season. There were some folks who thought Denny Hamlin was being promoted too quickly after just one year in the Busch Series. But Hamlin won twice in his rookie season and finished third in points! Denny backed that up by making the Chase again last season. Would another year in the Busch series have made him even better? Sometimes a driver learns all he needs to learn in the lower series and moving him up makes sense. While Joey Logano will have even less time in the Nationwide Series than Hamlin did, Logano has tested many laps in Cup cars already. While Joe Gibbs Racing might have kept him at the lower level if Stewart resigned with the team, moving Logano up to Cup next season makes sense. The cars are so different now that one more year in the Nationwide Series will do less to prepare Logano for his future stardom at the Cup level.
Lori says...
Joey Logano has more Cup miles on him from testing and setting up Kyle Busch’s car than anyone else in the series. The kid has more reason to be on the track in a Cup race than a few drivers who have recently tried and failed (i.e. Villeneuve), or stayed for that matter (i.e. Hornish). There’s no time like the present and Logano IS the present AND future of NASCAR and just the fact this kid is on tap to take over the 20 car takes away whatever "sting" remains at JGR due to Tony’s 2009 plans. Logano isn’t Hamlin and Hamlin isn’t Logano and Tony isn’t 20 years old anymore either. Time moves on and who couldn’t be happier that the forward momentum of greatness just keeps rolling along!
IS SMOKE BUILDING SUPER TEAM
Dennis says...
The announcement that Tony Stewart would indeed move to Haas CNC next season was made even more interesting by the rumor that Stewart-Haas would have a three car team next year. Normally this would not make sense to switch to three cars before your original two are running up front. But for a new team looking to make a splash by getting the best talent and big money sponsors this does make sense! If Stewart-Haas can get both Martin Truex Jr and Ryan Newman along with three big money sponsors they should take a shot at this opportunity. If they settle for less than top notch talent they are advised to learn from the Michael Waltrip Racing experience and start small. During the off season there could be as many as three teams currently inside the top thirty-five in owners’ points closing down. Stewart-Haas will probably buy their way into the Daytona 500 with all three of their teams! If this is done right Tony Stewart could end up building a team that is competition for Hendrick and Roush rather than playing second fiddle to the mega teams.
Lori says...
"Want to" helps but the biggest factor here I believe is Chevrolet and just how much the manufacturer will pour into $tewart Haas Racing. There is no way on earth this deal would have happened without some major assurances from Chevy and you can bet that since Chev wanted $tewart back on their side so badly, that there is some pretty heavy artillery on board that likely no one is even privy to. That being said, I can also imagine that Chev wont bite off their own nose to spite their face either so it will be interesting to see how "level" this new union is to an organization such as Hendrick Motor Sports.
Go big or go home; If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch…. All of these saying are so true when it comes to $tewart Haas. Tony is no dummy, so when he says winning the 2009 Daytona 500 is his new team’s goal… then I believe him 100%.
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