It’s only a short time until the annual Media Tour at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte. We will learn a lot there, but a couple things are obvious. There will be 24 major teams running next year (10 Fords, nine Chevrolets, and five Toyotas).
The cream rose to the top, as the top four accumulated half of the wins between them this season. Four drivers, 18 wins, and now four shared championships.
1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex led the final 51 laps at Homestead and held off Kyle Busch to capture the win at Homestead and his first Monster Energy Cup championship. "No offense to Joey Gase," Truex said, "but nice guys don't finish last, they finish first. I am a nice guy, and as champion, I reserve the right to be called 'Mister Nice Guy.'"
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is right when he says NASCAR needs more Martinsville-like dramas to play out every week. What they need is “drama and exciting finishes — the fans sitting there in the grandstands cheering like crazy, and booing, and cheering and booing after every interview, for 15 minutes after the race — we need that every weekend.” Damn right.
Martinsville, where eight boys were trying to lock themselves into the final field of four contenders for the championship in Homestead. At the same time, 31 boys and a girl were doing their utmost to spoil the party for someone by winning the thing themselves.
1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished second at Martinsville as Kyle Busch took the win. "We didn't win," Truex said, "but it was a good points day for us. And points get me very excited. You know what I get when I see my points pile up? A huge bonus."
Thirty-six races. A few are great venues that produce very entertaining television events. A lot more are not. Some tracks have two events, and you wonder why. Some have two and you wonder...why not three?
1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex started on the pole and won at Kansas, posting his series-best seventh victory of the season. "The phrase heard most often in NASCAR this year is 'Truex wins,'" Truex said. "I'm just hoping to add 'it all' to the end of it."
This Sunday, NASCAR action takes us to Kansas. We just can not get enough of Kansas, which is why we find ourselves watching the action from there for a second time this season. If not Kansas, I guess there is always Kentucky, Chicago, Dover, Fontana, or Pocono , but allow me to calm down my beating heart.
