April 28th, 2009 
Journo There were some great stories this weekend. Unfortunately they were hard to hear over Carl Edward’s spectacular last lap wreck and the ensuing chaos. Don’t get me wrong, I talked about it too, but I am not going to beat a dead horse here. Instead I wanted to take a minute to talk about some of the very cool things that happened this weekend.
First lets head to Kansas where, believe it or not, there was a truck race. I know no one was covering it because we were in Talladega but I promise there was a race there.
In fact it started on Saturday but was postponed because of severe weather. The weather was so bad the crews were forced to hunker down in the media center, the infield care center and even the bathrooms. Not good. Thankfully nothing hit the track, though I hear a tornado touched down nearby.
When racing finally did get going on Monday Mike Skinner cruised to a rain shortened victory. It was Skinner’s first win this season. The best thing out of this though was that it was the first win for Randy Moss Motorsports, and the 13th for David Dollar (Dollar hasn’t won a race since 2006 when Clint Bowyer won for the then Morgan Dollar Motorsports).
Remember Skinner joined this team just weeks before the beginning of the season. They also expanded to two teams and switched manufacturers in that short amount of time. That team deserves big congratulations for what they have been able to do.
Now how about David Ragan on Saturday? Sure he got into his teammate and sent him flying, but he was able to get his first Nationwide Series win (and his first major win in any of the three series’).
He even did it in thrilling fashion, drag racing Ryan Newman and beating him by just a few feet. Coming into the tri-oval did anyone really expect Ragan to pull that out? No way. That race, especially at the end, is the reason the racing at Talladega keeps us on the edge of our seats.
And finally to Brad Keselowski. Did anyone bet on him to win Sunday? I’m guessing no. I certainly wouldn’t have. Who would have thought Keselowski would find victory lane in just his fifth Cup Series start? Not bad.
Keselowski, in winning also gave James Finch his first Sprint Cup Series win in 16 seasons and 105 attempts. The team has struggled this season to just make races. James Finch has got to be ecstatic.
On the restart with four to go Keselowski was in eighth place. By the last lap he had moved to third and was advancing, pushing Carl Edwards to the lead. As we all know Keselowski made the move on Edwards in the tri-oval and when Edwards blocked he was turned around and sent airborne. As T.C. said yesterday, just one of those racing deals.
I think Keselowski’s win was great for him and great for the sport. I do think it was unfortunate the wreck became a bigger story than his victory though. After looking back at the tape of the race, Fox didn’t even show Brad crossing the finish line. I think that’s a shame for that team.
Overall I’ve got to say this was an interesting weekend for NASCAR racing. I know it’s the cool thing to come down on Talladega right now, but you have to admit, for better or worse, it always gives us something to talk about.
Now it’s your turn. Tell us what you thought about the wins and the weekend. Or if you’re sick of that feel free to venture on to other NASCAR related topics.
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Shout out to Marcos Ambrose’s finish of 4th on Sunday propelling him up +7 to 19th in pts. Scott Speed finished 5th and hovering in 36th. Talladega can certainly be there great equalizer if you “play your cards right”!
I am a loyal follower of the truck series. It’s the best racing in Nascar. I watched all day yesterday hoping for a conclusion and finally got it. The drama in the truck series amazes me. Where else can a driver win the championship (Ted Musgrave) and then find himself out of a job.
As for Talladega, my fantasy team suffered greatly. My tried and true Talladega drivers were mostly wrecked, Martin finished last, and I had refused to pick Dale Jr. because of this years performance at Daytona. I love that Keslowski won the race, I get tired of the same guys in victory lane every week and I accept the face that realistically there are only 2 races a year where my favorite driver has a realistic shot at victory lane.
David Ragan winning saturday was great as well. I don’t recall any other Nascar weekend with 2 surprise winners. I don’t think Kenseth should have blamed Ragan for his wreck. He tried to leave his teammate hanging and move up, when that did not work he came back but the hole was closed. To bad for him. Quit whining. You do stupid things and your car becomes an airplane.
That brings me to another thought. One time, just once, I’d like to see a driver getting interviewed after a crash say “It’s not his fault, I did something stupid and I wrecked.”
Great race and congrats to both first time winners. I was happy to see Kez not giving into Carl. Seems to me that some drivers expect the other competitors to pull over and park so they can race by…yeah, it is racing after all. Hope the injured fans are all o.k.
What the heck was with Jr missing his pits again…and the GoDaddy sign not being what he’s use to doesn’t cut it?
I’ve been going to Talladega for nine years, (as a fan and in the sport) and the exciting, crazy action is the exact reason the fans love it. I know safetly has to be a big issue. Still, the race in itself was crazy and fun for the fans to watch. So much happened – two large pile-ups, Brad winning, Carl flipping, numerous teams getting awesome finishes that usually don’t – just great racing. The drivers may not like it but the attention racing like this gives the sport is unmatched.
I’d like to give a shout out to my boy Sam Hornish. I know his results won’t tell the story, but he qualified great, ran in the top 15 most of the day, led laps and held his own out there even though he spent the morning getting IV fluids. I really thing he has turned the corner in the last month and I think we’ll see some many more top 15 finishes in the next several months.
Thank you Neon.
Marcos? Marcos, who? I didn’t even see him interviewed after the race.
A fellow Marcos fan.
To Deuce, good job by your boy Sam. I have a new respect for him driving sick with the flu.
I was glad with Marcos innish and hope he does good at RIR this weekend
About “DEGA” dont change a thing
Only 1 change. Water down the campground roads more. It was d-u-s-t-y! Still cleaning RV and gear.