It sucks not to matter. Forty cars took to the track at Phoenix, and only six of them mattered. Not Jimmie Johnson or Carl Edwards. Both had already locked in a final four berth at Homestead, so they mattered not. Not Kyle Larson or Trevor Bayne, who spun early.
Kyle Larson topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Phoenix International Raceway. The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 25.802 and a speed of 139.524 mph.
I like being nice. Sure, I can bitch with the best of them, but it is nice when one can say nice things about someone. For instance, I think NASCAR did the right thing by calling the race at Texas last week. Let me see, the race was already delayed by five hours and the skies really opened up with 40 to go. Damn right they should have wrapped things up when they did.
It would appear I got up on the wrong side of the bed again. Maybe I simply am becoming an old cantankerous SOB. Maybe I’m already there. If I were a muppet, I probably would have a seat in the balcony, if you know what I mean. Is it my fault things just seem to tick me off?
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Kyle Larson topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.289 and a speed of 98.170 mph.
Bless NASCAR’s pea-pickin’ hearts. You have to admit that they keep on trying. With both the junior and truck circuits pretty much irrelevant these days due to the inclusion and the total domination of Cup drivers, NASCAR once again is trying to do the right thing.
On Sunday, we will have one of those races, on one of those tracks, that provides must-see action. While we have no announcers covering NASCAR today who you might tune in just to hear their description of the action, to hear them enhance the excitement, even those we got can not detract from the spectacle we shall witness on Sunday.
Sixteen started the Chase with some hope. That is now down to 12 as they pull into Charlotte. If we relied strictly on the season tally to award the trophy, it would already be down to Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Just two points would be separating them. Both could have sat out Saturday night’s race and still have been one-two in the standings come Monday. Hence, the Chase.
Perspective. It means everything. Take Trevor Bayne, for instance. Last Sunday at Dover, he picked up a speeding penalty while on pit road during an early caution. No big deal. Sure, he finished 20th on the day, but with not a single Roush driver making the Chase, expectations were not exactly soaring.
