Lock and Load for Logano

Well it appears that for being in just his second season, Joey is off to a great start and better then we have seen from others in the sophomore season (Kahne and Hamlin). My hat is off to this young kid for not being afraid to race up there with the big boys and from his racing on the track, he is doing it cleaner and better then a lot of the veteran drivers. I truly enjoy Joey being from Connecticut as that is where I reside so it is a boost for the state, just wish it helped with all of the taxes this state poses on us...LOL, just kidding Governor Rell. Not only can this kid drive, he has one of the best crew chiefs out there in Greg Zipadelli, I mean look what Zippy did for Tony Stewart and there were times that Tony and Greg did not see eye to eye but as we all know Tony had his temper tantrums in his early days but it was Greg that brought him back to earth. Zippy is truly a bonus for Joey and the two are really working well both on and off the track. With all the hype of the Daytona 500 winner and the Jimmie Johnson show, Joey is flying under the radar and sits 8th in the points standings. Yes, it is only 3 races into the season but this young kid is off to a fantastic start. Joey, keep doing what you are doing and race like there is no tomorrow.

The Biff Bounces Back...Streak To The Finish from the Sylvania 300 at Loudon

Way to go Greg!!! Hats off to Greg and the #16 Team for an impressive win at Loudon this past Sunday.

Am I alone when I say this but wasn't it nice to see someone else win a race, especially one of the drivers that has not been talked about all that much during the regular season and now into the Chase? Biffle has been flying under the radar this season and was like a submarine getting into the chase, he is silent and deadly. Out of the 12 drivers in the Chase, he is the most under rated. I am sure eyes have been opened after this race and they now realize that the Biff is not playing around anymore and is going for a Championship.

Some of my observations from the race:

1. Break out the Tissues: For all of your Kyle Busch fans out there, however many that there really are, how did it feel to see a driver that won 8 races during the season, had such a demanding lead coming into the Chase and now fall from 1st to 8th in just one race? It just goes to show that anything can happen in this sport and no matter how good of a driver you are, you can not help mechanical failures. Kyle is not out of the Chase one bit and will be surely back next week ready to redeem this ugly incident at Loudon.

2. Oh No Joey: For such an impressive driver at the young age of 18, how in the heck does he get a POS to drive during a cup race? Do you mean to tell me that Hall of Fame Racing could not give this kid a better piece of equipment? Are you trying to keep this kids spirits down? Don't you get your equipment from JGR? Someone needs to break out the calibration tool and use it on the #96 Team Crew Chief and owners. Don't worry about it Joey, you have the talent and persistence to take a horrible day like this and turn it around into something positive.

3. Fizzling Rocket: What is going on with Ryan Newman? He starts 17th and finishes 36th. His teammate, Kurt Busch, who started 20th and finished 6th definitely had the right set up. These two teams always seem to share their set ups with one another. Is it because Newman is leaving at the end of this year? Does Ryan have a short timers attitude? Maybe Penske should start docking his pay for his performance, do you think that would get his attention? Ryan is an outstanding driver but I just think that these drivers that are going to be with different teams next year, just really want to get this season over with and move on, this is just an assumption but stats always speak for themselves.

4. Stewart remembered his Ridlin: We saw a totally different Tony this weekend compared to his blow ups last week. He was very calm on the radio the entire race and even when his pit crew made two mistakes, he never once snapped at them for the errors. We even heard him joking on the radio during the race with Zippy, a big time 180 from last week when Tony chewed Zippy up one side and down the other. We all know this is a very emotional sport and the pressure of getting into the Chase just adds to it but lets face it, yelling and screaming will not get you no where. I am wondering if Joe Gibbs put Tony in a time out last week?.

5. Worst Hands Move of the Race: Allstate might have the Good Hands move of the race but this week we have a tie for the Worst hands move and the award goes to the two drivers, DRUM ROLL PLEASE........Robby Gordon for punting the #10 and Michael Waltrip and his little antics he played with Dale Jr. Okay so Robby was fighting to stay in the Top 35 in owners points but what in the hell was Mikey thinking driving that hard and aggressive with one of the Chase drivers? Yes, it is a race and everyone is entitled to try and win even though they may not be in the Chase but you have to draw the line somewhere and Mikey truly stepped over it. Tisk Tisk Mikey, maybe you can make a NAPA commerical out of that one.

Yes, it was an entertaining race this week and not as boring as most have been this season. We can see the attendance, despite being the first race of the chase, is still down and lets not try to blame it on the weather now folks, that is just a poor excuse. Diehard fans will show up no matter what the weather is like.

Next week we visit the Monster at Dover. Who will be victorious and who will fall prey to the Concrete Monster?