White Hat Sports Headlines

Monday, February 25, 2008

California Reactions and Observations

- Let me begin by saying how impressed I am with Carl Edwards' victory in the Auto Club 500 earlier this afternoon. He didn't have the best car last night, but he did today, and that was all that mattered. Big win for Ford.

- Another good race for Dodge this weekend with two drivers finishing in the top-10. Kasey Kahne finished 9th after battling a loose car at the end of the race and Ryan Newman also put together another solid race. He lost the points lead, but he has already showed the gains he's made as a driver and with his team.

- Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon looked completely untouchable last night and also had very good cars this afternoon. However, the competition was better today, with Carl Edwards passing the Hendrick duo with ease to end the race.

- Toyota is obviously better this season, and so far it looks like the JGR trio of Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin will be very competitive. The manufacturer's first win in the Sprint Cup series will undoubtedly come from one of those three.

- What a spectacular wreck early in the race yesterday. The wreck between Mears and Hornish Jr. was one I saw on TV a lot in the past 24 hours, and it definitely looked a lot worse than it probably was. This new car already seems to be providing more excitement than I anticipated, especially at the 2.0 mile track in Fontana.

- I'm wondering why NASCAR waited to penalize Kevin Harvick for pitting too early after he ran three full caution laps yesterday. He was clearly past the commitment cone before Jeremy Mayfield brought out a caution.

- Two tires clearly didn't work at the track this weekend. Drivers were able to gain track position because of it, but it was frequently followed with a very quick descent in the race standings.

- Denny Hamlin has had a few rough races to start the season, but I don't think it's time to count him out yet. I wouldn't put it past him to rebound with some solid finishes in Las Vegas and Atlanta, and with his teammates running well right now, he has a lot of information he can acquire if needed.

Next up, Las Vegas. Can Jimmie Johnson produce an unprecedented fourth win in a row at the 1.5 mile track? We'll know the answer to that in little under a week.

Aaron Larsen

No comments: