By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

In what’s getting to be a pretty repetitive storyline, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in today’s Nationwide race. The last several laps were fast and furious, and the race ended up going to a green-white-checker finish–but Kyle’s No. 18 was fast, and he held off charges by Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, who respectively finished 2nd and 3rd.

As an aside, the crowd seems to be warming up a bit to Busch this season, his ongoing histrionics and hissy-fighting notwithstanding. People don’t seem to hate him like they used to, and you don’t hear that resonant “Boooooooo!” from the stands like you did when Busch was winning races, say, two years ago.  It’s been a long road for Kyle, though–this will be his 50th win across NASCAR’s three series. That’s a pretty long time to get race fans to the point where they barely tolerate him.

How about you? Do you still hate Kyle Busch?

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Continue reading "Kyle Busch Wins TECH-NET 300" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Damn, I was really enjoying that battle between Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch–that was an extremely cool show to watch in person, and I’m sure it was great on TV as well. Too bad it was cut short by Jimmie’s pit road speeding penalty near the end of the race, because it’s unlikely that he and Kyle wouldn’t've given each other a run for their money in place of what turned out to be a cruise-control finish. Still, Kyle Busch deserves a big congrats for proving himself in Sprint Cup on the heels of his victory in the Nationwide series yesterday. Oh, and Dover still gives the coolest trophy in NASCAR.

NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Following a big wreck and a bout of uncharacteristic fisticuffs between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer, and amidst a crazy last few laps, Kyle Busch rocked the final restart and grabbed the win for the Nationwide race, delivering a solid “so there” to Joe Gibbs for pulling him off his full-time Nationwide Series schedule. Kyle has showed that even if he doesn’t get to run every race, he’ll deliver on those he does run. In the post-race press conference, Kyle said it’s frustrating to not get to compete for the championship this year, it doesn’t stop him from running the same race as he would otherwise–he’s in it to win. Congrats!

NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

We thought we’d heard the last of him after he fell on his face mid-season, missed last year’s Chase for the Cup by a few measly points, and lost his superstar crew chief Steve Addington to his own big brother. But the younger Busch has been slowly creeping his way back up, and last weekend’s Sprint Cup race at Phoenix saw him slip into the all-important top twelve in points after leading 113 laps of the race. After watching him win the previous night’s Nationwide race at the same track, we almost thought he’d have it in him to seal the deal on Saturday, and some say he easily could have if it wasn’t for that late-race bad call for a four-tire pit stop (Addington never would’ve let that happen). So, I’m wondering if this is even on your radar: are we to hear more from Kyle Busch this season?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’m guessing that mine wasn’t the only living room in America that erupted into cheers during the final lap of the 4th of July’s Sprint Cup race. Still and all, I was relieved to see Kyle Busch able to walk in a straight line after being slammed into the wall by race winner Tony Stewart, flung onto the windshield of Kasey Kahne, and T-boned by Joey Logano–a violent sequence of events that transformed his until-then dominant racecar into a heap of smouldering junk. And after all that, he was still able to do his usual post-wreck routine of storming off the track without speaking to anyone–at least until he was wrestled off to the infield medical center by a gang of NASCAR officials. In that last-lap pandemonium, I think I even caught a glimmer of the old-school Tony Stewart, prior to the whole I’m-a-nice-guy-now schtick, the one who didn’t take crap from punks and would sooner put you in the fence than look at you. All told, it was a pretty incredible race. It was cool to see Richard Petty’s vintage STP Pontiac out on the track, too! More pics below the jump, courtesy of Getty Images.

Continue reading "Daytona: Final-Lap Fireworks Leave Kyle Busch Junked" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Today, Kyle Busch became the winner of the awkwardly-named Camping World RV Sales 200 (who comes up with these things?), not to be confused with Sunday’s Sprint race, the Camping World RV 400. Today’s race was a harrowing, crashy one that saw early achievers get laid low, and during the last couple of restarts, Kyle left the pack in his dust every time. I watched the No. 18 team celebrate in Victory Lane, and, and while it’s true that they splash nasty, sticky Gatorade over everyone, it won’t get you (or your camera) unless you’re down in the first few rows. Advice if you’re ever there: go high, unless you brought a change of clothing! See more pics below the jump, as well as a video clip of the No. 18 Toyota rolling into the circle.

Continue reading "Kyle Busch Dominates Nationwide Race" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’ve never been one for wanton groupieism, but I was struck with a mild case of starry-eyed surprise earlier today when I saw the Sprint Cup drivers lined up on pit row waiting for their turn to qualify. And yes, their presence made it kind of difficult, at times, to get the whole car in the shot. Hey, cut me some slack—just because you do this for a living doesn’t mean you’re not human, and when my dog Clint got to within about a foot of me, I couldn’t help but go a little wobbly. If you’re curious to see some candid shots of NASCAR’s big guns alongside their race-winning rides, check them out below the jump.

Continue reading "Top NASCAR Drivers, With Rides" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Sunday marked the final race of what’s called NASCAR’s "regular season," and now we’re on to the Chase for the Cup, the ten-race showdown that determines this year’s Sprint Cup champion. Only the top twelve drivers who emerge from the pre-Chase season are eligible for the championship, so there was no small degree of scrambling in the final run at Richmond, particularly among the drivers who were close to falling off the bottom of the top twelve. A three-way battle between Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, and David Ragan for that all-important twelfth spot ended with Bowyer alone moving on to the Chase, after battling his way back from a fifteen-position loss when he got boxed in at his pit stall by Juan Pablo Montoya’s lousy parking job. My boy Clint was overwhelmed with relief, and I couldn’t be happier for him! More cryin’ and crashin’ after the jump!

Continue reading "Countdown To The Chase Wraps Up, With Relief, Just Desserts, and a Sweet Tony Stewart Tantrum" »

In today’s Top Three, Buck Fever and Bass Masters from Rowdy.com explain the sweet move that Kyle Busch pulled on Jimmy Johnson at the end of the Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend. Larry Mac and Tim Brewer may need a telestrator, but not Buck and Bass. What do you think—after seven Sprint Cup wins for 2008, is Kyle Busch the shizzle or fizzle?

Well, John went and dumped beer on the server again, so somehow our blog is stuck in July 8th! Woo-hoo, the summer’s hardly begun! But wait, you’re not trapped here forever. Click here to be propelled into the future, while we stay here and work on getting everything un-stuck. See you in 1985!