March Madness

Well, folks, what a firestorm we have had about what happened at Atlanta, and unfortunately, I am not talking about Kurt Busch winning the race. It was pretty impressive what that team did. Let’s face it, this is only the fourth race with the pairing of Kurt Busch and crew chief Steve Addington together, and they went to Victory Lane.

Now they know they can win together. The team now knows they can win together. That’s all anyone is ever looking for. That win Sunday in Atlanta was nothing but impressive.

But that wasn’t the only good news for Penske Racing. Rookie Brad Keselowski had a strong run, and my goodness it was fun to see Sam Hornish Jr. up there in contention to win. All three Penske cars were really looking good. They handled well, drove well and had a lot of power. So it was a good weekend for Roger Penske.

It was also fun there toward the end of the race with the No. 42 car of Juan Pablo Montoya up there, because you had Chip Ganassi vs. Roger Penske. Every time they would show those two owners on camera, I was wondering if this was an IndyCar flashback from some of the battles those two have had over the years in that series.

Now, I said this for the first three races of the season, and there is no reason not to say it about Atlanta. We had an exciting race. We have yet to have a bad race this season. Sunday’s race was exciting from start to finish. You had Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the pole and that had Junior Nation all fired up again. Unfortunately for him and his Hendrick teammates, they seemed to struggle.

Actually I thought Kasey Kahne in that Ford had the car to beat most of the day. For a lot of the race, Kasey really looked like he was in a league of his own. Unfortunately, he fell back and here came that No. 2 car of Busch. Once Kurt got out front, it looked like no one had anything for him.

So that’s the highlights of the racin’. Let’s talk about the wreckin’. Early in the race, it looked like Keselowski and Carl Edwards got together. It sent Carl up the track into the No. 20 car of Joey Logano. In addition to hitting Logano's car, Carl also hit the wall hard. So Carl had heavy damage, and really Logano was never competitive the rest of the day.

Now, initially Carl said he wasn’t sure what had happened and categorized it basically as one of those “racing deals.” But sometime between making that statement and by the time his team got his car fixed well enough to make laps, Carl sure must have changed his mind.

Now remember, these two have had previous incidents. You had the Cup race at Talladega where Carl went airborne into the fence. You also had a situation between Carl and Brad in a Nationwide race in Memphis. So evidently Sunday’s deal was more than Carl could handle.

Now, I said on air at the time that I was proud of Carl’s crew chief, Bob Osborne, and the Roush Fenway Racing guys for getting that car pieced back together and getting it back on the track. That’s how championships are won. As we know, even if they only pick up a few points for getting back out there, a few points in this day and age in NASCAR can make all the difference in the world. It literally could mean the difference of making the Chase or even winning the championship.

Now, another scenario I hadn’t even considered at the time was to get the car fixed so they could get back out there and wreck the guy who wrecked them. Let’s face it, the No. 99 is all torn up in the garage, while the guy that caused it was out there having a great run in his young NASCAR Sprint Cup career.

So I am thinking the mindset of Edwards was “he ruined my day, so I am going to ruin his.” Let’s face it. It was not an accident when Carl came back out there and dumped Brad. Carl tried to get him the lap before coming off Turn 4 to spin him but missed him. But he caught him again the next lap and spun him in the tri-oval.

I also know that as a driver, some things happen where you go, “Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe what just happened. I really didn’t intend for it to turn out like that.” I am sure Carl just thought he would spin Brad down through the infield and cause him to have a lousy finish.

I know that’s what Carl was thinking, but as we know, that wasn’t what happened. That’s why you really, really, really have to have control of your emotions. What happened Sunday was unnecessary, but more so, uncalled for.

Actually, I feel sorry for both guys. I feel bad for Brad, because again, he was having a great run. I also feel sorry for Carl, because he let his emotions get the best of him. I am sure they both have learned valuable lessons. I am also very sure after Carl spent time in the NASCAR trailer, he has a pretty good idea where NASCAR stands on this.

The bottom line on all this is I am thrilled that no one got hurt. Sure, we can “what if” this to death, but no one got hurt and that is the best part. These two guys are going to have to mend fences now, but that isn’t going to fix those wrecked race cars. Hopefully, they can get on the same page with each other and get along for the rest of the year. I am sure that’s what NASCAR hopes, and, by golly, that’s what I hope.

OH BY THE WAY, there were some incredible runs Sunday at Atlanta. I have already mentioned a couple of them, but you also had Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick having a great day. I tell you what, Kevin Harvick had a car all weekend that was evil and hard to drive. He struggled most of the race, too, but to walk out of Atlanta with a top-10 finish is amazing. Folks, that’s how you win championships.

It’s what I always preach. You capitalize on your good days, and you minimize your bad days. The No. 29 on Sunday is a perfect example. They minimized their losses and they still were able to get a great finish. Trust me, that sends a clear signal to the other competitors too, especially that No. 48 team of Jimmie Johnson.