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Grand PRIX on Crossed Flags for NASCAR on the Fourth of July
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Kyle Busch Wins the Race - Loses a City

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

June 7, 2009 3:21 am CDT 4 Comments

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Kyle Busch added to his bad boy image after winning in Nashville.

Busch felt like he had a monkey on his back at Nashville SuperSpeedway. Saturday night that monkey was removed when he beat Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards to the checkered flag. Shrub did a burn out (or burn up as Edwards called it) that caught his tires on fire. The fans were actually cheering him on.

Those cheers will have turned to jeers when Nashvillians see his victory lane antics on the local and national news. Bush saw fit to “share” his Sam Bass Gibson Guitar trophy with his entire team. That act may have been altruistic and warranted, but the way he chose to divvy up the prize left much to be desired. Listen to Shrub’s explanation and back-peddling here.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

The Shrub, being squeezed by a huge brain cramp, took the prize and proceeded to divide it up by smashing it against the floor of victory lane. Not only did he suck at the smashing attempt, but someone forget to tell him that the smashing guitar thing is associated with ROCK music performers. Nashville is the home of COUNTRY music and their artists don’t smash the instruments that define their careers.

Smashing the race trophy was paramount to spitting in the face of the city of Nashville generally and the country music industry in particular. I’m sure Sam Bass was quite thrilled to see a piece of his art work bounced off the victory lane floor. What would the reaction be if Busch would take a race boot to a Martinsville grandfather clock after a win or a similar action to any other winning prize?

If Busch really was interested in sharing the race prize with his entire crew, he should have accepted to race prize, done his thank yous and given it to a crew member or PR person to show respect. Once removed from the track it could have been cut into as many pieces as needed to spread around to his crew.

It will be interesting to see if and what NASCAR does to Busch for this post-race indisgression. This was truly an “action detrimental to stock car racing”.

photo credit: Chris Greythan/Getty Images/NASCAR

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR officials, Nashville Superspeedway

Tagged with: Brad Kesolowski, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch

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A Monster Facelift at Dover Downs

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

May 27, 2009 11:04 am CDT No Comments

The Monster Mile got a much needed safety upgrade since the the fall race. New SAFER Barriers have been installed on the pit wall and the configuration of the pits has been improved.

I wonder how much effect that will have on past top performers here. Three Roush-Fenway drivers have the numbers at Dov-ah.

Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards lead the way when it comes to the last eight races at the fast one miler.

Best Average Finish - Click here for full list

Greg Biffle - 4.9
Carl Edwards - 6.4
Jeff Burton - 8.0

Most Laps Led - Click here for full list

Matt Kenseth - 627 or 19.6%
Greg Biffle - 422 or 13.2%
Carl Edwards - 285 or 8.9%

Best Average Start - Click here for full list

Kurt Busch - 7.0
Ryan Newman - 8.1
Greg Biffle - 9.1

Below are some pics of the just-completed work at the speedway.

: Dover International Speedway's pit road wall as seen in September 2007.

: View a diagram of the new-and-improved Dover International Speedway pit road configuration

: The SAFER barrier (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) is supported by a new 1,592 ft. concrete wall

: The new pit wall is 432 ft. longer than the previous steel boilerplate wall

: Seven stalls now sit directly in front of grandstand sections 116-126 in Turn 4

: Track officials were able to reconfigure the 43 pit stalls and make them longer

Photo credit - Round girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dover International Speedway, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Autism Speaks 400, Dover Downs, Fantasy racing stats, Monster Mile, NASCAR Loop Data, Round girl Jen, SAFER barriers

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Fishing for Darlington Stripers with Wall Bait

by Charlie Turner

May 16, 2009 6:09 am CDT 4 Comments

Mark Martin’s winning Hendrick Motorsports Chevy was pretty pristine at the end of the Southern 500. Not many of his competitors could say the same. The Darlington wall bait was tempting to the Cupsters.

The Wallie award for Darlington goes to Carl Edwards. Cousin Carl couldn’t resist a nibble on the Lady in Black on lap 22, causing Wallie favorite Michael Waltrip to spin out too.

You might think that Start and Park specialists would be likely Wallie winners. But those guys - just look at the first seven cars out every week - are just trying to get off the track in one piece. If this were the “No Brakie Award” or something, they’d be shoe-ins.

The Bench Racing blog is considering a “I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Pit Box Award” - tentatively called the “Junior”. The trophy would be a BIG PINK PIT BOARD. Let us know what you think about that.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darlington Speedway, Michael Waltrip, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Junior, Lady in Black, start and parkers, Wall Bait, Wallie

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A Talladega Wall Bait Feeding Frenzy

by Charlie Turner

May 1, 2009 3:09 pm CDT No Comments

Maybe someone was chumming the backstretch at Talladega Sunday. Seven laps in and the wall-sharks looked pretty hungry.

There is a temptation to give the Wallie to Carl Edwards, if for no other reason than the spectacularity (yes I know, but this is a blog) of his “moment”

But Carl loses on a technicality. He didn’t really hit the wall. This isn’t the “Fencie” award after all.

I gotta go with Mark Martin. Lately - except at Phoenix - it always seems to be something getting in Mark’s comeback way. This time, it was Wall Bait.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series, Talladega Superspeedway

Tagged with: Aaron's 499, Talladega, the big one, The Wallie, Wall Bait

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Joey Logano and Kyle Busch Steal Another Nationwide Series 1-2 Finish

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

April 14, 2009 7:33 am CDT No Comments

Nashville SuperSpeedway saw Joey Logano attempt to right his listing Sprint Cup season with a win in the Nationwide Series.

Logano held off fellow Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch for his first win of the year. Nationwide full timer Brad Keselowski finished third to take “first in class” honors. Nashville was the first of eight stand alone events; if you count O’Reilly Raceway Park as a stand alone.

NASCAR has tried to help full time NNS drivers with their bonus for winning. We’ll see if any NNS regular ever wins a race to pick up the purse. Carl Edwards wondered aloud after the race why guys like Kelly Bires, who finished fourth, were having a tough time landing full time rides in the NNS.

Look in the mirror Carl. And that leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

What, if anything, should NASCAR do to give The Nationwide Series its own identity?

We’ll look into this and much more on this weeks radio show. Let us know what you think and we could use your answer on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. You can listen LIVE every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, NASCAR, Nationwide Series

Tagged with: Kelly Bires, Nashville Superspeedway, O'Reilly Raceway Park

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Mark Martin vs Carl Edwards: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up

by Charlie Turner

March 23, 2009 12:24 pm CDT 7 Comments

This first round pairing feature two drivers still active in the NASCAR competition. One is already a member of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers and the other is one of the best of NASCAR’s young guns and you decide which moves on in the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Mark Martin may have irritated a few NASCAR fans with his on again-off again retirement plans. But there is no denying his legacy. 35 Sprint Cup series wins in 726 starts with 243 top fives and 296 top tens. 49 Nationwide victories and four-time Sprint Cup Series runner up. Two big ones have eluded Mark: the Daytona 500 and that Cup championship.

Carl Edwards finished second in the ‘08 Sprint Cup Series championship to Jimmy Johnson. Carl was spectacular in ‘08 and in a little more than four full Cup seasons has 16 wins, 54 top fives and 85 top tens 157 starts.

With what should be a long career ahead of him, it isn’t a stretch to imagine Edwards surpassing Martin’s Cup Series results. But who do you take today? Tough first round match for both drivers. Leave a comment.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends

Tagged with: NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers

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