Updated July 17
The Tony Stewart saga at Joe Gibbs racing and his departure to form his own team sparked much interest from readers as did Ryan Newman's parting with Penske Racing and oh yeah, Kyle Busch's continued dominance.
From: Flipo
How much did money play into Tony Stewart's situation and will he be satisfied to be a middle-of-the-pack guy for a season or two?
Getting offered half of an existing Sprint Cup team is something I'm not sure anyone would turn down, so money certainly played a part in Stewart's decision, as he is now in line to be the highest paid driver in the NASCAR garage with his half-interest in Stewart-Haas Racing. But I really believe that if Stewart didn't think he could compete quickly, he wouldn't have made the move purely for financial reasons. I predict Stewart-Haas will be competitive in 2009 and wouldn't be surprised at all to see Stewart or his soon-to-be teammate Ryan Newman in the Chase.
From: 12Fanx In your opinion, did Ryan Newman make the right choice to leave Penske?
Based on the way the team has been going, despite the 1-2 Daytona 500 finish, I'd say yes. Penske looks to be far behind the other top teams in the sport and Newman, maybe in the team photo with Stewart as the most competitive drivers in NASCAR, was frustrated beyond belief. A fresh start with his pal Stewart and the well-funded new Stewart-Haas operation is exactly what Newman needed.
From: Ranfrtan
Is the experiment of bringing in open-wheel drivers to NASCAR over or will Roger Penske try and fill Newman's open Cup seat with an IndyCar driver?
If the invasion of open-wheel drivers isn't over its slowed down to a trickle. I don't see any other IndyCar drivers making a move to NASCAR and especially don't think Penske will fill the No. 12 seat with someone other than a seasoned stock car driver, whether it's Casey Mears, David Stremme or possible Martin Truex Jr. In fact keep looking for a return flow of IndyCar pilots heading back to the open-wheel ranks led by Dario Franchtti.
From: 88beck
Kyle Busch –- will he break the regular season mark of 13 wins held by Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon?
Yes. He has 7 now and I see three more before the Chase starts and four in the Chase, especially with the series going back to tracks where Busch dominated in the first half. And I also think he has at least three or four more Nationwide wins as well as a couple of truck victories up his sleeve before the checkered flag flies on 2008, which would give him more than 20 wins in NASCAR’s top three divisions, an unbelievable accomplishment.
