(The second in a series of posts reviewing the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season)
Busch Becomes “Black Hat”- Much like professional wrestling fans, NASCAR fans seem to need someone to root against- a bad boy. Curtis “Pops” Turner was one of the originals with his “checker or wreck ‘er” mentality. Darrell “Jaws” Waltrip and Dale “The Intimidator” Earnhardt had as many detractors as they did fans. It had gotten a little until recently, even the harshest critics of Jeff Gordon don’t seem to harbor the same rage as they once did. Enter Kyle “Rowdy” Busch to shake things up.
Over the course of the season, Busch has had run-ins with Steven Wallace, Ron Hornaday, and Carl Edwards- but the incident that cemented Busch’s reputation as a miscreant came at Richmond. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was making good time late in the race when the two got into each other. Busch says he didn’t mean to, knowing the reaction he’d get from Junior Nation. All I know is a stream of heated hate mail followed, capped off by Kyle and Kurt’s own mother getting booed in Mother’s Day activities at Darlington.
Busch seems to have fun with it, taunting fans with a mock wiping of tears amd his now famous bow as crowds booed him during victory celebration- of which Busch had many, as we stated earlier. Carl Edwards scored cool point with Busch haters by tapping “Shrub” out of his way in the second Bristol race of the season.
Busch takes it all with a sense of humor, apparently taking the old Dale Earnhardt “let it roll off you” mentality.
Speaking of Busch……the 23-year-old furthered his growing reputation as a well-rounded driver, winning both road course races at Infineon and Watkins Glen- something other talents like Edwards and Jimmie Johnson have yet to achieve.
Kahne Parlays Fan Favorite Status Into Success At Lowe’s- Kasey Kahne’s fortunes got the boost they needed when he got voted in to the All-Star race as a fan favorite. Apparently, it’s more than Kahne-crazed soccer moms who love Kasey. Kahne took the checkered flag at the May event and also picked up wins during the Coca-Cola 600 and the race at Pocono. Inconsistent performance led to Kahne missing the chase, but the wins did provide some much needed relief.
Junior Ends Dry Spell- Thanks to a fast car car and fuel strategy, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a winless streak that dated back two years with a win at Michigan. While finishing in 10th was not wha Junior had envisioned for the season, Junior got the monkey off his back and had a much better overall year than he did in 2007.
Johnson and Edwards Start Catching Fire- While everyone was busy following the exploits of Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards started catching fire as the temperatures heated up. Edwards won the second Pocono race in August, plus back-to-back victories at the second Michigan event and Bristol. Johnson showed signs of going momentum by taking the checkered at Phoenix, Indianapolis, Fontana and the second Richmond race.
Stewart’s Silly Season- Pretty much from the day Joe Gibbs announced their switch from Chevrolet to Toyota, there had been much speculation over Tony Stewart wanting to switch to a Chevy team, given his long standing affiliation with GM as a driver and race track owner. Gene Haas and Joe Custer made Stewart an offer too hard to pass up, in spite of his long-standing positive employent at JGR. In July, the rumors became reality as Stewart announced he would become 50% owner of Haas-CNC racing- a team that has struggled with the #66 and #70 cars in recent history. Stewaert added he would switch to the #14, in honor of Indy Car legend and part-time NASCAR racer A.J. Foyt- Smoke’s personal favorite growing up. He’d also later announce the hiring of Penske racer Ryan Newman, a fellow Hoosier. Newman will drive a #39 car sponsored by the Army in 2009.
Martin’s Moving- Marl Martin reversed a trend towards retirement when he announced he would take over the #5 HMS Chevy in 2009 to run a full schedule. The 49-year-old’s arrival precipitated a move by Casy Mears to a 4th Richard Childress Racing team in 2009. In reality, Mears will take over the #07 ride from Clint Bowyer, while Bowyer slides over to the new #33.
More Silly Season Silliness- A.J. Allmendinger was released from Red Bull Racing’s #84 car to make room for phenom Scott Speed. A.J. finished with good runs in the #10 Gillett- Evernham Dodge, replacing F-1 star Patrick Carpentier. Nationwide and former Chip Ganassi driver David Stremme will take over Ryan Newman’s #12 at Penske. Dario Franchitti found himself out of NASCAR after Ganassi Racing announced the shutting down of the #40 team.
And you thought 2007 was crazy.
Tiresome Toubles At Indianapolis- One of the worst races in recent memory occurred at the famed Indianapolis Speedway in late July. The Goodyear tires supplied to NASCAR for Indy didn’t fare well at all of the track’s surface- resulting in a race that saw caution flags every 10 laps or so. the debacke fueled further criticism of NASCAR leadership and their relationship with Goodyear.
As summer cooled into fall, the season would offer further thrills. In our next post, we’ll look at the resurgence of Greg Biffle, the collapse of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch- plus we’ll look at yet more silly season silliness and the changes the current economy will bring upon NASCAR.
And then there’s that little 3-peat by Jimmie Johnson.
