*10.* Rick Hendrick will donate a small percentage of Dale, Jr’s winnings…in exchange for possible future Presidential Pardons
*9.* Jamie McMurray will appear on stage and pull a rabbit out of Mitt Romney’s as….er, hat.
*8.* Felix Sabates will allow all future campaign slogans to use his name, i.e. ‘Romney and Ryan (with Felix Sabates)
Growing up, I can recall a number of songs that first came to me via NASCAR. Whether it was from watching one of the race broadcasts (Metallica’s “Fuel”) or playing one of the sport’s licensed video games (“Flirtin’ With Disaster,” Molly Hatchet), there were many songs that I associated with NASCAR early on, even though most weren’t specifically NASCAR-themed (of course, there’s all that Creed that was played at Michigan International Speedway’s Skoal tent when I was younger, but that’s another story entirely).
But pause for a moment and try to think of any such songs that have surfaced in the last few years. Tough, isn’t it? I’m not saying that none of the more recent tunes are memorable, but that’s the case for the majority. I can think of “T.N.T.” by AC/DC, for instance, but that’s really more of a play on the TV station on which the given race was broadcast — and anyway, the video that accompanies it is kind of pointless. I think an argument could be made for Rascal Flatts’s cover of “Life is a Highway,” but that’s about it.
The caution never flew, but the oil did, and it made for one hell of a race. Whether or not Kyle Busch “deserved” that race doesn’t matter, because Marcos Ambrose was able to last through the chaos and make it to Victory Lane for the second time in his career. Meanwhile, the rest of us were left blue in the face after having held our breath the entire last lap. Oh, but it was so worth it!
So what about our Power Rankings? Did Ambrose’s victory move him up our rankings or did the voters have another driver in mind? Continue reading to find out…
*The race at Watkins Glen produced a thrilling finish, but it was not without controversy, as several drivers complained of oil on the track in the final laps. Should NASCAR have thrown the caution, or did they make the right decision to keep the race under green?*
Mike N.: They made the right decision. While the treading was treacherous, there wasn’t anyone who went off-track until the last corner because of it.
Phil: Treacherous at the least. But Ambrose and Keselowski were fine with NASCAR not throwing the yellow, and I’d argue that not throwing made for a much better conclusion.
This weekend, as many as five drivers – Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski – could mathematically clinch their …
We got that in spades at Watkins Glen this past Sunday. During the final lap, racing fans were treated to the best example of “have at it, boys,” we’ve seen in years.
*ONE: Brad Keselowski Speaks the Truth on “Real Racing”*
Anyone that wasn’t thrilled with Sunday’s finish likely doesn’t have a pulse. Whether a fan had a dog in the Busch/Keselowski/Ambrose finale or not, the beating, banging, and sheer unpredictability of the last lap was easily the most compelling end to any race NASCAR has seen in 2012, and the best finish the Glen has seen since Kurt Busch and Robby Gordon off-roaded their way to the checkered flag in the 2006 Nationwide race.
_The Cup Series was in the Irish Hills of Michigan eight weeks ago and, in case you missed it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke his millennium long losing streak. As the series heads back to the two-mile oval with its fresh pavement, Steve Letarte is tasked with preparing the car for NASCAR’s most popular driver to try and make it two-for-two at Michigan International Speedway._
_Unlike the old surface, where drivers could move from the apron to the wall to make their car work, the track is now practically a one groove race track. If the car isn’t working in the preferred groove, it probably is going to struggle to keep up with the cars that have hit on the setup._
The ending to Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before. It brought back memories of my favorite video game as a kid — Super Mario Kart for Super Nintendo. The ending was so chaotic it didn’t seem real.
Kyle Busch had the win and the second wild card spot locked up when he began slipping in oil during the final two laps, allowing Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose to close in. Keselowski spun Busch in the esses (green shell) and along with Ambrose, drove through the grass in the bus stop (shortcut).
by Garrett Horton 2 This marked the second race in 2012 where there was a lead change on the final lap – the other came …