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NBC will be covering its first Sprint Cup race since 2006 and I’m excited to see what they have after FOX kicked the season off with some of the worst coverage I’ve ever seen. Constant production mistakes, announcers giving false or misguided information, biased studio analysts, constant commercials, and a terrible pre-race “grid walk.”

As the action returns to Daytona, Florida this weekend, I must admit something. I love the look of the Confederate battle flag. I love the stories of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. I loved the Dukes of Hazzard, good ole boys, and good ole girls even better.

Johnson finished sixth at Sonoma, passed by eventual winner Kyle Busch with six laps remaining. Johnson is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 70 out of first. “Maybe we should have pitted during that final caution,” Johnson said. “But we had a strategy and we wanted to stick to it.

Win and you are in, or so the saying goes. Well, not if it is only your fifth race, 16 events into the season. However, running together a string of 10 straight Top Fifteens or better is easier than taking one of these contests, and Kyle Busch checked that off his “to do” list at Sonoma Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson put had a quick car and was running the quickest laps of the race. Chad Knaus had played the right strategy to put his driver out front. It looked as though he would score the victory. Then the caution happened. Rather than celebrating a victory, Johnson crossed the finish line in sixth.

With this win, Kyle tied Kevin Harvick for 23rd on the all-time wins list. This is Busch’s first win this year; his last victory was March 23, 2014. There are 800 starts between the brothers and this is the first time they finished one-two.

Starting on the pole for the Toyota SaveMart 350, A.J. Allmendinger would lead laps early and look to be en route to contending for a victory in the later stages of the event. However, on lap 61, Allmendinger headed down pit road with mechanical issues.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the road course at Sonoma Raceway this weekend while the XFINITY Series and the Camping World Truck Series are off. Please check below for the full schedule.

Gordon’s resume, however, may be the most impressive as he leads the series with nine road course wins, five at Sonoma and four at Watkins Glen. Although his last triumph was in 2006, this could be one of his best opportunities to bring home his first checkered flag of the season.

Make the racing better. That seems to be what NASCAR is locked into and bless ‘em for trying. Outside of running all the races at Daytona, Talladega and Bristol, it is a challenge. The good old days had winners taking the flag by laps, not seconds, so no solution can be found there.