With the Southern 500 coming our way from Darlington this weekend, it seems like a good time to talk about tradition. The first one in the books was back in 1950, making it the oldest of the sport’s iconic events. Most of the time, it goes to someone who is in or will be in, the Hall of Fame. That number will only grow once Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson get in, along with a few other contenders I can think of.
Bristol is where the legends win. Darrell Waltrip won a dozen times there. Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, and Rusty Wallace each had nine. Then there is Kyle Busch, who’s victory on Saturday night pushed him to six, one more than his brother Kurt and David Pearson. Each one in the Hall of Fame, or will be. No exceptions.
Kyle Busch: Busch won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday night to complete the Bristol sweep after winning the Camping World Trucks race on Wednesday and Xfinity Series race on Friday.
While we continue to yearn for announcers who captivate us with their voices, delivery, dialogue, banter, information, or entertainment value, it does not matter this Saturday night. This time, the track will take care of all that itself.
Michigan, where winning was everything. Okay, points might have mattered for the likes of Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, and Clint Bowyer, but for everyone else winning was the goal.
Now we know why they call it Silly Season. 16 drivers will make the Chase, and we already know that three who have done well enough thus far this season may not have done well enough to save their rides for next.
The early part of the race could be summed up in this fashion. Kyle Busch won the opening stage but came in during the break to tighten a loose wheel and dropped out of the first 30 to begin the second.
Money, it makes the world go round. So I’m told, anyway. While you and I might remain in perpetual financial darkness, the stock markets would seem to indicate that those on top of the heap are reeling it in.
Pocono. What a nice name. What nice scenery. That one straightaway with all those trees on the other side of the fence reminds me of the Daytona backstretch. Okay, one is forest, the other is pavement, but neither have a grandstand.
