It has been quite a season so far. The Gen 6 car has brought so much more to the sport than just a new look of the car. It has revived passion and made for some of the most exciting racing we’ve seen since NASCAR’s heyday in the early 2000’s. With the action packed races comes many memorable ones. Tracks that typically didn’t have great events before have had incredible ones this season and that’s the reasoning behind this week’s Favorite Five.

5. Auto Club 400 at Fontana

Prior to the race in March, when you thought of the Auto Club Speedway, you would think of the long and uneventful races. That stereotypical assumption went out the window after the race this season. This race had it all. Lots of action, cars running around the corners more than three wide, and one heck of a finish that featured plenty of fireworks.

The cars were running side-by-side for almost the whole race and that triggered the action which left fans feeling excited. Besides that, the finish was a remarkable one since it featured two drivers who had gotten into it the week prior at Bristol racing for the win. Former teammates Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were in the media’s eye for the whole week and when they met up in the race, they knew they weren’t going to let the each other win and they didn’t.

4. Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire

Much like Fontana, these races are usually spread out and eventless, but the amount of action in this race was unprecedented for New Hampshire. Eleven cautions on the day made for eleven thrilling restarts where drivers fought for the track position and each and every spot on the track. That created lots of rubbing which is what racing is all about.

Along with all of that came a winner that couldn’t disappoint anyone. Brian Vickers had battled back from adversity for years and for him to get this win for the No.55 team was absolutely huge. It made for a great story along with knowing that this guy will be back and competitive again in the Cup Series very soon.

3. Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte

Over the last few years, this race had a bad named tagged along. It was considered “boring” with very little competitive racing going on throughout the event. It was basically follow the leader for 600 miles with an exciting finish thrown in there during select races. Well, this year’s version of NASCAR’s longest night reverted back to its dramatic history.

There were drivers going hard for each position throughout the night and not to mention a weird break thrown-in there after a cable fell on the track and damaged cars. It may not have been a traditional race, but it sure was one that made the price of admission worth it. Fans loved it, drivers were passionate about it, and the media had little to say negatively about it. Overall, it was everything good about racing crammed into one wild and exciting night.

2. Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

This was a huge race for NASCAR. After a not so happy fan base after the Daytona 500, they needed the fans to like this race for all that restrictor plate racing features. The race was successful and fans once again were in love with the crazy restrictor plate racing.

Just about every lap except a little segment towards the beginning featured cars running two or three wide throughout the field. That made it exciting for the fact that a little mistake could take out a bunch of competitive cars. Fans love this racing for that thrill and the thrill was missing from the 500, but it was ever so present in this race.

1. Aarons 499 at Talladega

Topping the list of my favorite five races so far this season is the Talladega event that always is a crowd favorite. Tagging along with white knuckle racing was an incredible finish that sent an underdog into victory circle after a wild day. Rain, mistakes, and wrecks shaped the field on the final lap for a dash for the finish that could have put anyone in victory lane.

David Ragan wasn’t even near the front on the final restart, but he made his way to the front to claim victory. He ducked, dodged, and darted his way up there on the final lap to reward Front Row Motorsports’ years of hard work with a trip to somewhere they had never visited before, victory lane. The finish alone made the race one of the best, but the three-wide racing throughout the day contributed to the liking of the race by many fans.

Jimmie Johnson is without a doubt a great driver, but there remains the question of where Johnson ranks amongst the greatest drivers in our sport. Kyle Petty seems to think that Jimmie Johnson is “the greatest driver ever.” Does Petty really mean that? His father won 200 races and 7 championships, but keep in mind that Johnson did not win his championships in the same manner than the greats that he is being compared to. Are we talking about a different ERA? I think we are in this case.

The modern era in NASCAR began in 1972. Before that period NASCAR ran up to 40, 50, or 60+ races per year. Richard Petty won a record 27 races back in 1967. That record will never be approached, but it is unfair to compare those numbers with what we have today because it is pretty much impossible to achieve. That is why you always hear about the ‘Modern Era.’ The modern era record of wins was initially set by Petty with 13 in 1975, but it was later tied by Jeff Gordon in 1998. No one has come close to that record again since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 when he won 10 races. No driver has achieved double-digit wins since.

How about the big events? The Winston Million was awarded to the driver who won 3 of the 4 major races during the season. Only two drivers ever pulled it off. Bill Elliott was the first in 1985, and Jeff Gordon pulled off the feat in 1997. The declared majors included: The Daytona 500, spring Talladega race, Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500. And to this day if the Winston Million or the Sprint Million were still in play, Gordon and Elliott would still be the only two drivers with the distinct honor. However; NASCAR does also have in place a list of “Career Grand Slam Champions.” The list of races remains the same as those put in place for the extra million.

Jeff Gordon leads the entire sport with 17 career Grand Slam victories. Gordon has three Daytona 500 victories, four victories in the Aaron’s 499, three in the Coke 600, and six in the Southern 500. When it comes down to this list, Jimmie Johnson is tied for 5th with Darrell Waltrip with 9 Grand Slam wins. The list reads off the following: Gordon, Petty, Earnhardt, Allison, Waltrip, Johnson, Baker, and Pearson. With the addition of the Brickyard 400 as a major, there are only three drivers in the history of NASCAR to have a “Career Grand Slam.” Those drivers are Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson.

Now lets shift to championships. Can we really compare Johnson’s championships to the likes of Petty, Earnhardt, or Gordon perhaps? We simply cannot. Johnson won his championships on an entirely different system, so saying Johnson is the greatest is simply ludicrous at this point. However; we can go through history to determine statistics starting from 1972 further using the old points system. Richard Petty won 60 races and 4 championships from 1972 till his retirement 20 seasons later. Has Johnson eclipsed Petty in wins? Yes he has, but Johnson would only have 2 championships under the old points system in 2006 and 2009, respectively. In order to be compared to the greats, you have to win it the way they did.

For the modern era, I have Jeff Gordon ranked 2nd all-time with 87 wins and 6 titles. Dale Earnhardt is of course ranked 1st with 7 championships and 76 wins. If Gordon ever wins a championship in this fashion again, he will be finally tied for 1st with Earnhardt. Only championships lay in Gordon’s way. The Chase has undoubtedly added fake excitement to what we call NASCAR racing, but fans like myself see it only this way because only the person that has the most points thru 36 races should be considered the champion from my vantage point and I know many fans agree with me. Jimmie Johnson may think he’s the greatest driver, but that is not the case. I like Johnson. I think he’s a great driver, but he isn’t there yet and I know that comes as a shock to many considering the type of numbers he posts on a week-to-week basis.

Of the greatest drivers in the modern era, I have placed Johnson 6th out of 10. Here is how I played it out.

1. Dale Earnhardt 76 wins 7 championships Years: 80, 86, 87, 90, 91, 93, 94

2. Jeff Gordon 87 wins 6 championships Years: 95, 97, 98, 01, 04, 07

3. Richard Petty 60 wins 4 championships Years: 72, 74, 75, 79

4. Darrell Waltrip 84 Wins 3 Championships Years: 81, 82, 85

5. Cale Yarborough 69 Wins 3 Championships Years: 76, 77, 78

6. Jimmie Johnson 64 Wins 2 Championships Years: 06, 09

7. Tony Stewart 48 Wins 2 Championships Years: 02, 05

8. Bobby Allison 55 Wins 1 Championship Year: 83

9. Rusty Wallace 55 Wins 1 Championship Year: 89

10. Bill Elliott 44 Wins 1 Championship Year: 88

Jimmie Johnson ranks amongst the greatest drivers of the ERA, but he has more work to do to be the best that has ever raced in NASCAR and that is reality.

My magical weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway had way more than I thought it would. For example, Sunday at the track was drastically better than I was expecting it to be. One tweet changed my day that morning. That was the tweet that gave me some unprecedented access to the garage area during the pre-race hours. When the Michael Waltrip Racing girls “MWR Girls” had a morning contest for some garage tour passes, I jumped right on and got the experience of a lifetime.

At some tracks, getting into the infield is a chore. During the race weekend at New Hampshire leading up to Sunday, I couldn’t obtain any way in. I badly wanted to see the one-miler from the inside. When I won the MWR girls’ contest, I finally got that access and it was all I dreamed it would be, and more.

The girls’ lovely PR Amanda gave me a ride through the tunnel to meet up with my tour guides, the girls. Now I was in the infield and about to go somewhere I had always wanted to go, the garage on race weekend.

New Hampshire’s garage is rather small, which made for a quick trip down the lane, but it was filled with great memories. I was able to see many teams preparing their cars for the 301 mile race and it was requiring much more work than I had ever imagined. Everyone on the crew seemed to have a job and basically, a part in the car’s performance that day.

Once we watched some action, we headed to Clint Bowyer’s hauler for a peek at what was happening inside. On TV, you always see those reflective doors that lead into the hauler and I have always dreamed of entering. After chatting quickly with a few of the crew guys outside of it, we entered. Making yet another one of my dreams come true.

As you could imagine, the hauler is a tight squeeze. The hall is very small and it felt sort of short to my six feet self. There was not much on display in the hauler except the snack area. At the end of the hauler, there was the lounge area where the team meets and inside was a few of the most important guys on the team getting ready for the day. Brian Pattie was there along with another gentleman.

After lifting up a flap near the lounge, I could see the backup car waiting on top of the hauler. The car wouldn’t get any action that weekend, but I bet it will be on the track sometime soon.

We then exited and grabbed some fuel a.k.a water and headed for the pits. As you would expect, the pits were packed as teams were setting up and fans were trying to take some pictures. We casually walked down the pit boxes and soaked everything in. Every once in awhile, the girls would throw on their incredible smiles for a picture with the fans. With the pictures, came some pretty funny encounters as well.

Then it was time to head back to the garage to get another look at the cars on the other side. To my displeasure, we had to part ways after arriving at where the incredible tour began. The girls couldn’t have been any nicer and that hour alone allowed me to live three of my dreams, something I did not wake up thinking I would do that day.

It was just an amazing experience to get to look through the busy garage area along with going inside Bowyer’s hauler. It was one that I will never ever forget. Getting to do things that ordinary fans aren’t able to do always makes me smile and everything in that tour was extraordinary. Living out dreams as a race fan just throws chills down your back and I got to do more than I bargained for on that tour.

I want to thank the MWR girls and Amanda (their PR) for everything and then some on that day.

NOTE – This is the opinion of the author and does not reflect the opinion of Speedway Media or its staff.

We all thought Kyle Busch had changed for the better and that he was going to be a mature man following his 2011 accident with Ron Hornaday at the Texas Motor Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series that left everyone seething. This accident with Hornaday also proceeded his speeding citation when Busch was busted going 128 mph. in a 45 mph. zone earlier in the year when he was supposedly test-driving his new Lexus LFA sports car and got “carried away.” Samantha Busch was a passenger and she is just as responsible as he is. What did she do help the situation?

Busch had a really quiet 2012 and it all led us to believe as if he was actually maturing for once. We were fooled once again. Now, I’m not saying that everyone had the same exact belief as I did. However; there are many people who fell for it and I’m one of them. Kyle Busch showed that he is the exact same guy when he wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. on purpose. He has shown that everything about him maturing as a man out there on the race track is all fantasy. Kyle has much to learn and as much as I have been critical to Ryan Newman this year and I do sincerely apologize if I appeared too harsh on Ryan earlier in the year, I have to defend him in his matter.

Ryan Newman is absolutely correct. Kyle Busch is an incredible talent, but he himself is not that bright. Kyle is a one-way type of guy and maybe he always will be. This is why so many fans dislike Kyle Busch. I agree that many fans in our sport dislike or disliked certain drivers because of their successful past, but Kyle Busch is not in that same category. Kyle Busch can not be compared to the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, or a Dale Earnhardt. If you compare Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, you can see that Gordon was disliked by many fans because he won so much, but Gordon is a very likable guy. Jimmie Johnson can come off as cocky, but he backs it up. Kyle Busch has not. If you based Kyle Busch’s numbers off his attitude, you probably would expect him to have astronomical numbers. He simply does not. He has the Nationwide statistics to back up his massive ego, but his Sprint Cup stats do not reflect that.

Perhaps Kyle unfortunately might have to go down a path similar to his older brother Kurt to realize how lucky he is to be in this sport. There are many guys that would put everything on the line to make it to the Sprint Cup Series. Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are two drivers I tremendously respect because they raced their way in. Brad Keselowski refused to be intimidated and won the Sprint Cup Series Championship last season, and Carl Edwards is a two-time champion from my vantage point with respect to the old points system. Kyle Busch will never win a championship if he does not grow up.

I will admit that I used to be a Kyle Busch fan. I was not at all surprised when I heard what he had to say about Ryan Newman. After his immature tweets after Sonoma, I called Kyle Busch out on it, but I described myself as a Kyle Busch fan. Busch blocked me and numerous others who respectfully said that it was not the right move. It told me that Kyle Busch does not care about anyone other than himself and if he eventually loses his ride with Joe Gibbs Racing, I would not be surprised. Sponsors want someone that is not only going to go out and race competitively, but represent himself in a respectful manner that reflects back on the sponsors. Kyle Busch is not that driver.

While Kurt Busch has improved and continues to improve, Kyle simply has not. And perhaps like I said, Kyle may have to go through a similar path to his brother to see how precious life is and how lucky he is to be in this position. He is taking this for granted and fans should call him out for it. The ‘big stupid idiot’ in this scenario is Kyle Busch, not Ryan Newman. Kyle nearly lost his job at the end of 2011 and here he is kicking Newman while he’s down. I find his actions pathetic. I apologize for my earlier comments about Newman. Kyle needs to show some integrity and do the same.

When I left for the New Hampshire Motor Speedway last week, I had no idea what was to come. I was hoping for some good racing and to meet a few people. I really didn’t expect anything more than that, but what I ultimately left the track with were memories that would last a lifetime. These memories will forever be special to me and what’s special about them is that they all came as surprises.

Race weekend is never really just a weekend. Fans will camp out for almost a whole week just to get the at the track feeling and that feeling is oh so special. My weekend at the speedway started on Thursday and even though nothing involving NASCAR was happening on the track, it was still a great day.

Once I established my campsite for the weekend, I headed to the store. It was my first time camping at New Hampshire so I really didn’t know where to go to just even exit the track. While I found a road leading to the exit, I saw some pretty cool things lined up. They were the Sprint Cup Series haulers.

Just about every driver’s hauler was parked along the side of the road waiting for the hauler parade that would follow that day. After driving past them, I no longer needed a hauler parade. I just had my own private one. Getting to do that kicked off an amazing weekend with more incredible moments to follow.

Once I arrived at the actual track for the day, I made my way to the grandstands to watch the Global Rally Cars compete in their event. Before I even got to my seat, I saw the drivers having an autograph session. The line was too long for me, so I just snuck up and took some pictures. I really just wanted a picture of Tanner Foust (driver and co-host of Top Gear), but what I got was way more than a picture.

He saw me snapping a quick photo and being his friendly self; he recognized me standing there and simply waved at me. Those few seconds probably didn’t register in his mind, but they will in mine. I’ve always been a fan of his and for him to be that nice and wave to me was an incredible gesture.

That was the highlight of Thursday and the race that followed was pretty awesome as well. I didn’t think the weekend would get any better, but surely it did on Friday.

Friday was a pretty routine day at the track. There was some qualifying and practice along with the souvenir haulers being open. Once practice wrapped up for the day, I did some shopping around and then it was time for one of the most exciting moments in my life.

Prior to coming to the track, I had won a contest from the track’s twitter page to be able to wave the flags for one driver in Cup qualifying. This was an event that very few people are able to experience and that made it even more special for me.

Once the person before me came down the stand, I marched my way up there, taking my time to take it all in. At first, I was nervous about how stable the stand would feel when a car roars under it, but after one went under it, I felt much more excited.

The view from atop the stand is phenomenal and the flag man himself couldn’t have been any nicer. When Aric Almirola hit the track to warm up, I was handed the green flag. As Almirola stormed out of turn 4, I started to wave the flag as hard as I could and with a very tight grip. I did the same for the white and checkered flag, and I was thankful I didn’t drop it. Waving them was an experience that I will never forget. I was grateful for the opportunity since I know not many people are able to do that.

Friday ended as another great day and once again, I thought to myself that it can’t get better than this and surely on Saturday, it got better

Saturday started out very calm like the Friday. A few practice sessions and qualifying then the Modified Race along with the Nationwide one. In between all the action was some filming going on at the SPEED Stage. Trackside was set to record at 12:30 and I knew I had to go see it for myself. The show was great with guest Dick Berggren as he portrayed some of his racing tales.

According to my twitter followers, I was easy to spot in the crowd and got some TV time. There are few sports that allow fans to be on screen during a show and NASCAR is one of them where you can easily do so.

Following the show, fans lined up on the side of the stage, hoping that a few of the Trackside hosts would make their way out to sign autographs. I was waiting there, but not for an autograph, all I wanted was a conversation and that’s what I got.

Kaitlyn Vincie came right over to the area where I was waiting and began to give fans what they wanted and she eventually gave me what I wanted. To chat.

I started to say my twitter handle, and she knew exactly who I was before I even finished. The fact that she follows me may have helped too. Kaitlyn and I chatted for a bit and she couldn’t have been any sweeter or nicer.

While Kaitlyn was there, so was Rutledge Wood. I’ve been able to interact with him on twitter for a long time now and even got to interview him last year. When I walked up to Rutledge while he was signing, he knew exactly who I was and greeted me with his famous greeting of “Hey man.” We chatted for a bit and it was nice to talk with someone in person after communicating through social media for so long.

Once I finished talking with him, I waited around a bit longer and while I was waiting, Rutledge and Kaitlyn started talking to me together and we shared a few laughs before I made my way to the stands to watch the Nationwide Race.

At that moment, I was on cloud nine and thought that this was the best that anything could get. I chatted with some of the most popular TV personalities in NASCAR and they knew who I was, how cool?

The Nationwide Race followed and the 3 green-white-checkered finishes were spectacular. But, all I could thing about that night was getting to talk with them and I was stoked for Sunday and at this point, I knew things couldn’t get any better. Once again, I was astonished when they did.

When Cup race day rolls around, the track is buzzing in the morning and I wanted to get there nice and early to take it all in. I didn’t really have anything planned besides the tweetup, but one tweet changed my plans for the better. The MWR girls had a few extra garage tour passes handy so they had a contest on twitter to give them away to the fans at the track. I was fortunate enough to be one of the winners and I got to go where few fans (especially not fans under 18) get to go. The garage on race day.

I was greeted by the girls just outside the garage area and they took me down the lane where everyone was working hard (or sometimes hardly working) to get their teams car ready for the race. The girls showed me how all the teams were preparing and then we made a stop at Clint Bowyer’s hauler. Never before had I been in a hauler during race weekend, let alone Sunday, and it was a very cool experience.

The girls and I walked down the narrow hall hauler and I got to see some of the cool things the team keeps in there. Once we exited, I talked to a few of the crew members outside of it and even stole a water bottle out of Bowyer’s cooler (though the girls offered it to me).

Next, we walked down pit road and chatted the whole way. We made a stop at the pit area of eventual race winner Brian Vickers and took a quick photo. That basically wrapped up the tour of a lifetime and it was the start to a magical day at the track.

Just as soon as I left the infield on the tour, I reentered for a pre-race pit walk. I was able to walk up and down the pits and just about anywhere in the infield except the garage. Nothing much was happening on pit road, so I went over to a crowd of fans. I soon learned that the drivers were walking down this little path to and from the drivers meeting.

I decided to hang out there for awhile and see who I could spot. There were so many drivers walking that way, I couldn’t recognize them all, but I did spot someone who I was hoping to meet all weekend. It was Jim Utter, the writer for the Charlotte Observer. We’ve been chatting on twitter for awhile now and planned to meet up at the track.

I saw him walking out of the drivers meeting gate and knew this was my opportunity to chat. I walked right up to him in the path between the fans and we chatted while he made his way back to the media center. While I was waiting for him, the track security was making sure no one walked past a certain line, but when I did, I wasn’t stopped and it seemed as talking with someone within NASCAR gave you immunity to the rules, and that would pop up again in the next part of my day.

To be able to do what I was hoping to accomplish next, would require some sneaking around. This type of thing is what I’ve planning out for awhile now and I was hoping it would work. Trying to sneak around track security isn’t the easiest, but when you don’t look like a fan and remove evidence that you’re only allowed where you are until a certain time before the race, its rather easy.

I was waiting just outside the garage entrance for my idols to walk through, Kyle and Samantha Busch. I was hoping they would come out before anyone caught me and it was getting close, but then I saw Samantha.

At first, I didn’t know if it was her or not, so I walked up to her and said her name and she turned around and recognized me right away. After she greeted me with a hug, I walked with her down the grid towards driver intros where I definitely wasn’t supposed to be. At the time, I didn’t know Kyle was right there as well, but it seemed as any track security wasn’t going to stop me as I walked with them.

It was only for a few minutes, but once again Samantha and I chatted about my aspirations and she complemented me with some kind words. Once we reached the driver intro stage, I turned to her to say bye and as I did, there was Kyle who had been walking with us the whole time. I quickly chatted with Kyle and they departed.

Now I was in this magical daze and didn’t realize where I was. I was walking down the grid where only people with hard cards are allowed to be. As I continued to walk while ignoring the rules, I spotted the MWR Girls again and chatted quickly before I left to proceed in wandering where I shouldn’t be. The only security guy on pit road eventually caught me, but by this time, I was down by pole sitter Brad Keselowski’s car.

I would then just watch the driver introductions from pit road and by this time, I really shouldn’t have been there anymore, but I stayed until I knew I had to leave to make it to my seats by the green flag time.

While walking back through the tunnel, I came to the realization of how amazing what I did was. I walked down the grid with my idols, Kyle and Samantha, and I just about ignored every rule the track had. That made for an awesome experience and one that I will never ever forget.

Once all the exciting stuff happened, there was a race going on. It was a great race filled with lots of action, but all the action for me came on pit road before the race.

Overall, as you can probably tell, this was the greatest track experience I have ever had. From waving the green flag to walking down the grid with Kyle and Samantha, it was an unforgettable experience. It’ll be one which I’ll remember forever. As the race weekend went on, my trip kept getting better and as many times as I thought it couldn’t be any better, I proved myself wrong. These encounters will never leave me and the July 2013 New Hampshire NASCAR weekend will forever hold a very special place in my memory.