Sunday was a time for remembering our fathers. For those of us still fortunate enough to do so, it was a day to call the ole boy up or drop by for a visit. It was a time for fathers to spend some time with their children or, if one happens to be Jimmie Johnson, a time to kick butt at Michigan and then spend some quality time with the daughters.
While the luck of the Irish hills was bestowed on the driver who made his way to Victory Lane for the first time ever in Michigan, here is what was surprising and not so surprising in the 46th annual Quicken Loans 400.
Denny Hamlin, four-time winner at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, scored the pole for the 33rd annual Pocono 400 with a fast lap of 181. 415 mph and a time of 49.610 seconds. Hamlin broke Jimmie Johnson’s previous track record of 180.654 mph and 49.819 seconds set in August 2013.
With military tributes abounding and NASCAR patriotism at its best, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual running of the sport’s longest race, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Sometimes when you mess with the bull, you get the horns. This past weekend, there was one ornery Texas Longhorn who made his displeasure known. First to be gored were those fans who mosied on down to Dallas for a Sunday race.
Charlotte has come and gone for another season, so what can one say about the race that was. Well, "thank God that is behind us" comes to mind. I can not remember if it was sponsored by Nyquil or was simply the To Hell With A Cure for Insomnia 500, for me it turned out to be NASCAR's version of English Premier League soccer. That is, best watched with PVR in hand.
Michael Waltrip Racing learned today that Brian Vickers is not available to race for the remainder of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season due to health issues.
Flat-track ace Ryan Newman stole the show in Cup qualifying with a blistering lap of 27.904 seconds....a new track record! Kasey Kahne will accompany Ryan on the front row with another pair of Chevy's taking up row 2 with Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch. Martin Truex Jr. was the highest qualifying non-chaser in 5th and Carl Edwards has the worst starting spot among chasers in 26th.
After the week's worth of who is in, who is not, who has been naughty, who has been wronged, we got back to racing. Sadly, the most exciting thing about the day was watching Kyle, Larry, and Kenny discuss the week that was. The race, for me, turned out to be a bit of a let down.
