NASCAR: It's not just for North Carolina any more

NASCAR roundup

News:

• Report: Petty, GEM in merger talks
• France: 2nd Kansas date "possible"
• Evernham buys racetrack

Analysis:

• Hammond: No love for crew chiefs

NASCAR on FOX Awards:

• Driver of the year
• Story of the year
• Race of the year
• Feud of the year
• Crew chief of the year
• Owner of the year
• Surprise of the year
• Biggest disappointment
• Most improved driver
• Rookie of the year

Blog:

• Check out the NASCAR community

These are hardly sucker bets if you follow NASCAR on a regular basis. Eight of the drivers currently in the Chase Zone were born west of the Mississippi. Only four drivers on the Cup tour — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Vickers, Scott Riggs and part-timer Kyle Petty — were born in N.C. Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler and Denny Hamlin are the last to represent the Old Dominion. David Ragan and part-timer Bill Elliott are NASCAR's lone Georgia peaches. And the Alabama Gang? Just a fond memory.

Last year, Juan Pablo Montoya became the first driver born outside of the U.S. to win a Cup race in the modern era in the same season that Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve attempted to establish themselves among the NASCAR ranks and Toyota made its stock car debut.

But five years ago, could you imagine the top five in a Sprint Cup race would hail from Las Vegas, Indiana, Tasmania, Bogota and New Jersey? That was the case on Sunday as Kyle Busch took the checkered flag followed by Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Montoya and Martin Truex Jr.

Certainly, road courses will attract a more diverse crowd. That was apparent last weekend in Montreal where Villeneuve made his NASCAR return and a young Canadian up-and-comer named Andrew Ranger, who won the Canadian Tire Series romp prior to the Nationwide event, was impressive in the early laps of the NAPA Auto Parts 200. And it goes without saying that Formula One racing at Watkins Glen always had an International flair.

When NASCAR returned to the 2.45-mile road course nestled in New York's Finger Lakes region after a 21-year absence, Ohio native Tim Richmond won the 1986 Bud at The Glen. Eight southern drivers and Rusty Wallace rounded out the top 10. Now that was "back to basics" racing. The fans we had breakfast with Monday morning are still waiting for NASCAR to resurrect Rockingham and North Wilkesboro too.

With The Glen, NASCAR proved you could go back again and over two decades still evolve its roster to reflect a more diverse offering of participants to attract a wider audience. As long as those drivers continue to be the best 43 competitors on the track and not 43 drivers in buy rides, the sport will continue to grow.

Now back to racing at The Glen.

First the good stuff ...

Clean sweep — NASCAR took ample time to clean up the debris from the nine-car wreck in the closing laps of the Centurion Boats at the Glen. Even though it took 43-minutes to make sure the course was in perfect order it was necessary to the safety of the remaining participants.

Barreling along — Sam Hornish Jr. salvaged a 32nd-place finish after slamming driver side first into the barrels at the entrance of pit road. Despite his vicious hit, Hornish continued on much to the surprise of many at the track.

On with the show — When Mother Nature's storm interrupted qualifying and practice on Friday, NASCAR cut bait quick and moved on with the itinerary.

And back to the drawing board ...

On with the show, part two — For the 43 drivers that qualified on points on Friday once time trials were cancelled life was good. That included Boris Said who received a hall pass from Ford to drive the Petty Enterprises No. 45. But Said still felt bad for his crew on the No. 60 and suggested in the future that the sanctioning body reschedule qualifying for the go-or-go-homers on Saturday. That's not a bad plan.

Spin cycle — What took NASCAR so long to call the caution on Lap 78 when Ryan Newman, who was racing in third-place at the time, spun out in front of the entire field? Still trying to process that one.

Let's get physical — There was no warning to the competitors in the drivers' meeting about becoming overly aggressive in the race, but there were certainly complaints from drivers including Max Papis, who comes from a road racing background, after his day ended in the big one. NASCAR spoke with the two drivers — Michael McDowell and David Gilliland, both who also have strong road racing histories — after the race, but perhaps the warnings should have been heeded prior to the event.