I have to give the IRL drivers at the front a lot of credit following this week’s race in Kansas City. Consistently going at those speeds side by side, being able to concentrate during long periods of green flag and not make contact with your opponents is a remarkable feat. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, this is what they do, after all. They are bread for these ovals and the guys up front are used to one another and the element of trust is there. They put on a good show, with Kanaan taking the checkered with his teammate Dan Wheldon right behind him. There’s little doubt that Vitor is the best driver of Rahal racing, even if he’ll never get 1/3rd of the attention that Danica and Buddy get. But, he keeps being quiet and let his driving do the talking and he’ll turn some heads, if he hasn’t already. Another fine Brazilian driver.

Technically, Danica should get the pole every race. With 50 pounds less than everybody, in a one lap qualifying session, it’s hers to lose every time. Don’t give me the ‘she’s a rookie’ excuse, because she has plenty of practice time during a weekend to find the right line (there’s only two!) and her team to find the right set up. Sure, it isn’t going to happen every race, but those 1.5 mile tracks or anything larger with horsepower being a factor, they are all hers to lose. Now, during the race, she’s starting to show that she’s a rookie. Nothing wrong with that. Well, nothing wrong, if the IRL didn’t place way too much pressure on her. Had they built her up properly (some attention this May. Not the blitz they put on), it could have been a long term project. But, in what looked like a desperate attempt at getting attention, they pushed and pushed and pushed her so she appeared on every show and magazine cover. Now, if she doesn’t win, she’s the Anakornikova of racing. If she doesn’t capture a win this season, all the attention will fade out. America loves their sweethearts and darlings, until the next one comes by and replaces the current ‘America’s darling’. She can hold that position for only so long.
Personally, I have enjoyed watching the media attention fade somewhat, simply so she can go racing without too many expectations. You can pound that ‘she’s a rookie’ phrase all you want, but it ain’t going fly in North America. They want her to win and they want her to win now. Now with a little more time for her to concentrate on racing, maybe she can start posting good results. I don’t want to be critical, but hovering around the top 10 every race isn’t exactly stellar. Especially considering the advantages she has. How many drivers in that series would like to have the equipment and team she has? We know Bobby loves her and wouldn’t dare replace her simply on performance, so her job is safe. That’s something else that nobody has as much as her, job security. She is a rookie, still learning the tracks, so expecting a top 3 every race is a little much. But, rookie or not, given what she has, she should be contending for top 5’s at every race.

Nice to see Jr. back in the ‘chase’ after this Saturday’s Pepsi 400. You know he wanted to make the move, but the thought better. He thought big picture and that’s a very hard a thing to do for a driver in the heat of the moment. But it’s a long season and he knows that a good solid result will help his confidence and the team’s confidence. Plus, let’s not kid ourselves, that race was Tony Stewarts!!! Man oh man, did he put on a great drive. A new record for laps lead. Its something you seldom see in NASCAR, given the lengths of their races and the multiple pit stops. Two in a row for Tony and, suddenly, there’s a new racing team in town and their name is not Hendrick or Roush.
2 and a half hour delay and not ONE person left the grandstand. 1:45am finish and not ONE person had left the Daytona speedway. Truly amazing. If you have any doubts as to the legitimacy of the popularity of NASCAR, all you had to do was tune in for that one. A more loyal fanbase could not be found. You’ve got to give the fans a lot of credit for sticking around. Then again, it was a Saturday night at the track and some of us can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend night. Some of us are single too.

For you canucks, I believe that myself, Tagliani and Bourdais will be on TSN’s Off the Record this Wednesday. I also think that Bronte Tagliani will be on Thursday’s show, but at this time I don’t know who else in the ‘racing’ world will be on that day. Should be fun.