by Larry McReynolds

Larry McReynolds: Busch will be able to race in the Shootout. According to Anheuser-Busch, "Since Kyle is under the legal drinking age, he will not receive any beer branded materials, based on our policy of not providing beer branded materials to those under 21. However, since the Budweiser Pole award is the name of this achievement, he will be permitted to receive his honor and will compete in the Bud Shootout next year."

There's a lot of racing to go before then, and he will gain a ton of experience at three more restrictor plate races at Daytona this summer and at Talladega in May and October. I'm sure he'll do just fine, especially in a Hendrick car with Hendrick power plants because they seem to be good at the restrictor plate tracks.

Joe on the go

Tracy from Camp Hill, Pa.: What were the problems with the Chevy engines this past weekend? Also, I read your book. It was great to read about your career in racing.

Larry McReynolds: As Jeff Hammond said on the broadcast, it probably had something to do with the valve train whether it's a broken rocker arm or valve spring. All of the Hendrick engines were still running, and if something catastrophic had happened in the bottom end of the engine, they wouldn't have been able to keep running.

We have seen massive engine failures at race tracks like California Speedway where you turn a lot of sustained rpms which hang up high. When one car from a multi-car team has an engine failure, other engines in the field are prone to having some problems too because they are built with the same parts and pieces from one organization.

Speed Mail Larry McReynolds
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Of all of the guys who had engine problems at Fontana, my heart really goes out to Joe Nemechek because it appeared that everybody was racing for second as long as he was out there at 100 percent. I really felt for him, crew chief Ryan Pemberton and the whole 01 team. They had a good and bad Speedweeks, ending up with a decent 13th-place finish after crashing due to someone else's issues in the Duel. They were rebuilding nicely last week until the engine expired.

I enjoyed writing and sharing behind-the-scenes stories about my years in racing, especially with Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan and Dale Earnhardt. The feedback on the book has been wonderful, and we've got another book that hopefully will be out for the May Charlotte race. It'll be a different book because it's more of a handbook for the short-track, Saturday night racer. In 19 chapters, I've tried to share my 20-something years of experience on subjects like car maintenance, setting up your shop, race strategies and testing procedurest.

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FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"Larry McReynolds: The Big Picture" is on bookstore shelves now, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.