Dover Observations

Is Jimmie Johnson The Greatest Of All-Time?- I know it's a hard question to ask let alone answer; but is Jimmie Johnson going to be the greatest driver the modern era has ever known? He's already done what many people thought could not be done and that is win three championships in a row. In all honesty he may win four in a row if this year is any indication. Bottom line...Johnson and the 48 team are a serious threat wherever they go. Just when you think they are out of contention or won't pull it off they make a banzai run to the front and end up in victory lane. Yesterday was a prime example of just how good this team is. After a pit road miscue dropped them towards the back of the Top Ten on the final restart, JJ put on a show as he hunted down and overtook Greg Biffle then Tony Stewart with three laps to go. If this team stays together and keeps doing what they are doing the championships and wins will rack up and there will be no doubt that Jimmie Johnson will be the greatest driver the modern era has ever known.

The New Tony Stewart-The laid back, more mature Tony Stewart has made a change for the better and is clicking on all cylinders in his first season as a driver/owner. For the first time in his career he is leading the points before the month of July and is not as brash or as confrontational as we've seen him in the past. I realize the episode at Charlotte with "Billy Bad Butt" was shades of the old Smoke, but it was mild in comparison to incidents of the past. Even when he gets beat or loses a race in the final laps (as he did at Dover) he doesn't fly off the handle or start complaining. We all know Tony Stewart is the real deal. He wins in everything he gets in and the only thing his career lacks is a Daytona 500 and Indy 500 win. Maybe now that he's the boss he can focus on making those dreams a reality.

Dale Jr And McGrew Off To A Good Start-The saga that is Dale Jr and his 88 team finally took a turn for the better yesterday as the team overcame an ill-handling car and soldiered home to a top 15 finish. Even though they struggled at the drop of the green flag Lance McGrew, Brian Whitesell and company didn't panic and got the car better as the race unfolded. At one point the team even found themselves in the top 5 and a factor for the win. Even after the handling went away and the car started to go backwards the team didn't panic and worked their way back towards the top 10 before finally coming home in 12th. On the surface it may not seem that much has changed, but watching HotPass on DirectTv you could hear a change in terminology and see a change in attitude. Dale Jr fans need to realize McGrew isn't going to rebuild Rome in one day; but yesterday's performance laid the foundation towards making Dale Jr a contender again.

No Pit Road Issues-Dover's new pit road was a success. There were no incidents coming onto pit road and no one got together coming off. The wider pit stalls and wider pit area made for a safe and incident free day on pit road. Nice work Dover!!

Dover Winner Gets The Coolest Trophy-Is there a better trophy in all of motorsports? Miles The Monster holding the die cast of the race winner's car is the most creative trophy the Cup guys get a chance to win. The Grandfather Clock (Martinsville) and the Harley J. Earl (Daytona 500) are spectacular, but the Miles The Monster trophy is in a class by itself.

Race Morning At Dover

Tires, Tires, Tires!!-Watch out for tires to be an issue today. Goodyear had problems in both the Nationwide and Camping World Truck races with tire wear and blown tires. Even though they were running two separate tires, the same tire used in the Nationwide race will be on the Cup cars today.

Dover Finally Upgrades Pit Road-Dover unveiled its new pit road this weekend and it's made a world of difference. In past races teams would have to share a pit stall with another team in order to get service. When pit stops rolled around the highest running team (of the two sharing a pit stall) would pit first then the other would come in once that team was done. It was confusing and unnecessary. Those days are a thing of the past. Not only does Dover have 43 pit stalls, they widened pit road by 4 feet and the pit stalls by 2 feet.

Richard Petty Motorsports Turning The Corner-Richard Petty Motorsports is getting better and better and it all starts with the motor department. After their struggles earlier in the season with engine failures, RPM decided enough was enough and made the jump to Dodge's R6 motor. Since then the performance and level of competition has increased. The biggest beneficiary of the move has to be Kasey Kahne. The 9 bunch was one of the fastest cars last week during the Coke 600 and if not for the rain this would have been one of the teams to beat. Look for Kahne and the rest of the RPM group to have a good day today.

Busch's Bad Luck Continues-Kyle Busch couldn't get out of Charlotte quick enough; the problem is his bad luck came with him. While leading the Nationwide race yesterday Busch was taken out of contention by fellow Gibbs teammate Joey Logano. The incident allowed Brad Keselowski to scoot by and steal the win. It didn't end there. Leading late in the Camping World Truck race Busch cut down a tire and hit the wall ruining yet another chance to win. Don't feel too bad for Kyle; he is the guy to beat today.

Truex Close To Announcing His Plans-Martin Truex Jr came out this week and said he is "real close" to announcing where he will be driving next season. Early rumors had him going over to run a third Stewart-Haas team for Tony Stewart and company; but now all signs seem to point to Michael Waltrip Racing. One factor that could weigh heavily on his decision is the fact that MWR signed his younger brother, Ryan, to a developmental deal a few months back.

Dover Is Fox's Last Race Of The '09 Season-Today's Autism Speaks 400 marks the end of the season for Fox and crew. DW will take the summer off while the rest of the crew will assist Speed and their broadcast for the remainder of the season. No more Boogity,Boogity, Boogity and no more Digger!! Can't wait to see TNT and their upgraded version of Race Buddy. Gonna be a great summer!

Caution On The Blog!!

Apparently some of you are having trouble accessing the sidebar items on the blog. From what I can gather you can access the blog but everything else is blank. If you click on "Search Blog" at the top of the blog it pulls everything up as if nothing was wrong. Hopefully, all of this will be fixed by eBlogger soon!

Thanks!
PB

Kyle Busch Continues To Hold A Grudge

Kyle Busch met with the media Friday at Dover and wasted little time weighing in on the recent split between Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Eury Jr. Busch told the assembled media point blank "it's never Junior; it's always the crew chief." The quote, along with others, stirred the pot in the "Busch Vs Junior" rivalry and once again showed that Kyle Busch has yet to give up the grudge he has towards the sport's most popular driver.

The question has to be asked; what is Kyle Busch's deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr?

We all know Kyle has animosity towards Dale Jr for being the reason he was forced out at Hendrick Motorsports and ended up at Joe Gibbs. His actions and candid quotes make him seem more like a jealous ex-boyfriend or a disgruntled postal worker rather than NASCAR's most talented driver. Kyle Busch must be Dale Jr's biggest fan because every chance he gets he lets the world know how feels about Junior and how absolutely consumed he is with driver 88's every move.

The feud between the two didn't start last year at Richmond; it actually goes back to the 2007 season. After being caught up in an earlier wreck during the Samsung 500 at Texas, Kyle Busch figured the car was totaled and decided to skip out early on the last part of the race. After Kyle was nowhere to be found, Junior was asked by members of the 5 car to hop in and finish the race for Alan Gustafson and company. The ironic thing about it is that Busch was the reason Junior was available in the first place. Busch got into the back of Junior and spun him out while he was trying to avoid Tony Stewart's spin in front of him.

The simple gesture sent the stock car world, the media, and Internet into a frenzy. A few months later Dale Jr announced he was leaving DEI at the end of the season. With Dale Jr now a free agent, Rick Hendrick opened the bank and made room for him at HMS. The move signaled the end for Kyle Busch at Hendrick and built the groundwork for Busch's grudge towards Junior.

Since then Busch has never missed out on an opportunity to bash or criticize Dale Jr. Even after his win earlier in the year at Bristol, Busch found time to call out Junior and his loyal followers. Busch made the comment that he would rather win races than sell the most souvenirs or have the most fans. The quote, intended to rattle Junior and his team, went unchallenged and stirred the fans and media up more than anything.

Even though Kyle Busch has won 9 more races (than Junior) since switching to Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch would love nothing more than to go head-to-head with Dale Jr and beat him. The only problem with that is Dale Jr and company has not been able to get to that level and be as competitive and as fast as the 18 bunch. To fill the void of an absent on-track rivalry Busch uses the media to beat down Dale Jr. He may think he is like Dale Earnhardt Sr on the track, but in reality he is more like Darrell Waltrip off of it when it comes to his mouth.

Look, we all know Kyle Busch has a world of talent. He drives with intensity and has one thing on his mind at all times and that is to win every race he enters. On the flip side, it's a shame to watch someone with so much talent and ability be so consumed with a driver who could care less what he thinks or what he does.

Kyle Busch needs to be careful what he wishes for. If this thing with Dale Jr turns around and he starts winning races and championships before Busch does it could hinder his career and perhaps his legacy. If his approach and tactics backfire, Kyle Busch might be known as the driver who woke the sleeping giant rather than the driver who won races and championships in all three of NASCAR's top divisions.

The "Big One" At Dover

Elliot Sadler gets spun and the field has nowhere to go