*10.* ” What did you guys do to the rear end housing that is making us run so fast?”
*9.* “Do these springs make my rear end look illegal?”
*8.* “Dude, this might not be the right time to say this, but I think I love you…”
_Welcome to the Frontstretch Foto Funnies! Ever see a photo that’s just begging for a caption? We see them all the time! Each week, we’ll pick a few, then let our staff give it their best shot. We’ll post the best ones for you!_
_Want to get in on the fun? Each week, we’ll also designate one of the photos for fan captions. Leave your best ideas in the comments below or on our “Facebook page.”:https://www.facebook.com/Frontstretch We’ll choose our favorite one and reprint the photo next week with its new caption! Then, at the end of each month, we’ll randomly choose one winner from the four winning captions, and that person will receive a free weekend rental from our friends at FanVision during any Sprint Cup race weekend in 2013! What could be better than that? In order to be eligible, comments must include a valid email (nobody can see it but us, and we promise we’ll only use it for notification purposes!) Note while you can post as many captions as you like, you aren’t eligible for the monthly prize if you’ve won a contest from us in the last 90 days._
*NASCAR has announced the penalties for three teams following last week’s pre- and post-race failures. Martin Truex Jr. was fined six points and crew chief Chad Johnston was $25,000 and placed on probation until June 5th. Meanwhile, Penske Racing teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski were each docked 25 points and both of their crew chiefs were suspended for the next six races, though they will be in Kansas as Penske Racing is appealing. Are these penalties fair? Why or why not?*
Amy: The Truex penalty was fair, provided they couldn’t prove something broke. If the rear ends on the 2 and 22 were illegal, the penalty is fine. But NASCAR has not said what was illegal, or how it was discovered, so we’ll never really know.
Summer: I guess all the penalties were “fair”, though I think it’s ridiculous how sensitive NASCAR is with these cars. Let me put it this way. I thought the points penalty and fine were OK, but the fact that they suspended as many people as they did with Penske seemed excessive.
*10.*
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*7.* …
Kyle Busch completed the second weekend sweep of the year, winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway. His win Saturday night was his first Sprint Cup victory at Texas, second of the season and 26th of his career. Kyle led a race-high 171 laps and took the top spot from Martin Truex, Jr. after a speedy final pit stop. It was heartbreak for Truex, who led 142 laps and was one of the strongest cars all night.
_Welcome to the Frontstretch Foto Funnies! Ever see a photo that’s just begging for a caption? We see them all the time! Each week, we’ll pick a few, then let our staff give it their best shot. We’ll post the best ones for you!_
_Want to get in on the fun? Each week, we’ll also designate one of the photos for fan captions. Leave your best ideas in the comments below or on our “Facebook page.”:https://www.facebook.com/Frontstretch We’ll choose our favorite one and reprint the photo next week with its new caption!…_
_Welcome back to a special edition of Side By Side. There are always two sides to every story, and we’re going to bring them both to you, right here, every week. For the first time ever, we’re running a special edition of this column based on one that’s already been run in the Newsletter. Feedback off Ellen Richardson’s NRA commentary, reprinted here was so overwhelming it was a no-brainer to ensure all fans got a chance to read it. It also stirred such passion amongst several members of our staff that a rebuttal is also written against it. Feel free to tell us what you think in the comments section below!_
*This Week’s Question: Should the NRA be sponsoring Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Texas? Or is it inappropriate?*
Welcome to “Mirror Driving.” Every Wednesday, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news, rumors, and controversy. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said!
*Jimmie Johnson’s win at Martinsville made him the first repeat winner of 2013. Though we’re only six races in, are we possibly looking at a sixth championship from the No. 48 team?*
_Welcome back to Side By Side. There are always two sides to every story, and we’re going to bring them both, right here, every week. Two of our staff writers will face off on an important racing question … feel free to tell us what you think in the weekly poll and also in the comments section below!_
*This Week’s Question: Is Jimmie Johnson the best NASCAR driver in the 21st century?*
Jeff Wolfe, Senior Writer: Johnson is Just That Good
OK, I admit it. I understand why some fans just can’t stand Jimmie Johnson. His story just seemed to be a bit _too_ perfect and the success, it seemed, came a little _too_ easily. Shouldn’t everyone have to struggle a bit before becoming the best at what they do? Even Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
It seems that during the week off, post-Fontana everyone was able to cool their tempers for one of the sport’s most “temperamental” tracks. Martinsville, surprisingly did not produce any retaliation from Bristol or California, perhaps because a key player in the feud has been sidelined for at least six weeks. Due to his L1 compression fracture, Denny Hamlin can be nothing more than a spectator as he recovers from his injury. He will be replaced by Mark Martin and Brian Vickers, who are currently each running a partial schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing.