When the green flag flew on the seventh annual running of the AAA Texas 500, it seemed almost as an afterthought to a difficult week, with the passing of patriarch Russ Wallace, the plane crash injuring Rick and Linda Hendrick, and of course the parking of Kyle Busch.
A long time ago, the short track ace and 89 Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace made the statement, “It’s not cocky if you can get it done. It’s confident.”
There is more excitement on the NASCAR scene than I’ve seen for ages. We have a real championship battle and enough drama to make the daily soap operas cringe in fear, but yet there doesn’t seem to be any buzz about this final run. And I wonder why. It mystifies me.
I am a fan of old western movies, (some of my favorites include High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josy Wales, and North To Alaska) and this week couldn’t be any more of a cliché storyline showdown if you asked for it.
After a tire issue left him floundering mid-pack for much of Sunday’s TUMS Fast Relief 500, Edwards delivered a gutsy charge to the front late in the race. He salvaged a ninth-place finish and maintained his points lead, which is now eight over Tony Stewart.
Even before the race, the infamous short-track tempers were flaring with Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle getting into it on and off the track during practice. Here is what was surprising and not surprising when the green flag flew for the 63rd annual Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
What more fitting of a facility than Martinsville Speedway to travel to on this Halloween weekend. Martinsville Speedway has been known to create some very wild and down-right ere finishes.
Edwards avoided danger for the duration of the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega, hanging back for most of the race before capturing an 11th-place finish. His finish was better than all but three Chase rivals, and left him with a 14-point lead in the Sprint Cup point standings.
Edwards scored his third-straight top-5 finish, posting a third in the Bank Of America 500. Edwards increased his lead in the point standings, and now holds a five-point advantage over Kevin Harvick.
After Jacquelyn Butler, David Ragan’s girlfriend won the ‘Better Half Dash’ and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne shared a heartfelt invocation, the engines fired under the lights at NASCAR’S home track, Charlotte Motor Speedway.
