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Pete Pistone
Brian De Los Santos
Is Joe Gibbs Racing making a mistake rushing 18-year-old Joey Logano into the Cup Series or do you think he's ready for a full-time ride?
For as talented a driver as he is and as good as he's been in pretty much every other series he's raced in, I wouldn't look for Logano to tear up the Sprint Cup Series next season. But Tony Stewart's departure really left JGR without any other viable options and it was forced to accelerate its plans for Logano. Originally Gibbs was going to have him run a full Nationwide Series season and run a title with a handful of Cup starts thrown in this year and next, setting the stage for a Rookie of the Year run in 2010. But when Stewart bolted those plans went out the window and Logano will now get a baptism of fire. We'll see if he's the next young star in the Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch mold or instead turns out to be more like Casey Atwood's disappointing flameout.
While I love Logano's talent and potential, I do think it's a mistake and wish they could have brought him along a little slower. It's too much, too soon. When he takes the track at Daytona next February he's not even going to have had a full Nationwide Series season under his belt. He's going to be a boy among men, with a long, grueling schedule of double-duty ahead of him. I don't want to begrudge anybody the opportunity of a lifetime as I'm sure it's everything he's ever dreamed of, but sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. I'm not predicting he's going to flame out in a few years like Casey Atwood, the poster-child for failed racing phenoms, but it's a lot of work and pressure to put on the shoulders of an 18-year-old. I wish him the best. In the long term, I think he'll be OK, he does seem to have a good head on him, but short term, don't be surprised if he struggles on the Cup side in 2009, maybe even into 2010.
Should Kyle Busch be punished for his antics following Saturday night's race at Bristol?
Absolutely not. NASCAR shouldn't do a thing to either Busch or Carl Edwards for their post-race hissy fits. That kind of emotion and excitement is exactly what the sport needs right now and is what we have all come to expect after the night race in Bristol. However, I do think Busch is way off on his thinking that what Edwards did to get the lead was wrong. We've seen the same thing done hundreds of times at places like Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond and Busch has employed the bump and run more than his fair share throughout his career no matter what series he drives in. Rubbin' is racin' as they say and Saturday night was the just the latest example of that game.
Punish him? How about giving him a bonus for putting NASCAR in the national spotlight. The highlight of that little post-race dustup was everywhere. While I don't believe Edwards did much of anything wrong in the way he passed Busch for the lead, I do understand why Busch would be upset. He had dominated nearly the entire race only to have the rug pulled out from under him with a well-placed bump from Edwards. NASCAR said it was going to lighten up this season and this is the perfect situation to lay off. Where I think it crosses the line is when a driver intentionally wrecks -- not bumps -- another driver during a race or on pit road. At that point, that's when NASCAR needs to step in. So if Busch ends up wrecking Edwards in the near future -- and considering these two seem to run first and second every week there will be plenty of opportunity -- that's when I'll get on my soapbox and rant.
Does Carl Edwards make it four wins in five races this weekend in California?
He sure has an excellent chance given his recent hot streak and the fact that Roush Fenway Racing, like it does at Fontana's sister track in Michigan, does pretty well at the two-mile California track. Edwards won last February's soggy visit to sunny California and with the momentum he has going right now I do see a three-peat back flip coming Sunday night. Oh, that No. 18 car will most certainly be in contention as well and if the Auto Club Speedway promoters had any sense, they'd be marketing the heck out of the Edwards-Busch rematch. But that will get even better in two weeks when the series head to the short track in Richmond.
I wouldn't go so far as to bet the house on it, but I feel pretty confident in saying Edwards will win Sunday night. Obviously there's no accounting for mechanical issues, pit road mishaps or wrecks, but if the 99 car is issue free, Edwards has to be the overwhelming favorite. Aside from the fact that in general he's on fire right now, his record at the track is stupendous. Seven finishes of sixth or better in eight visits, including a win back in February. He finished second in this event last year. Just two weeks ago he won at Michigan, a sister track which has similar characteristics. Only Jimmie Johnson has a record to trump Edwards at California. In 11 races, Johnson has two victories and finished third or better seven times.
For as talented a driver as he is and as good as he's been in pretty much every other series he's raced in, I wouldn't look for Logano to tear up the Sprint Cup Series next season. But Tony Stewart's departure really left JGR without any other viable options and it was forced to accelerate its plans for Logano. Originally Gibbs was going to have him run a full Nationwide Series season and run a title with a handful of Cup starts thrown in this year and next, setting the stage for a Rookie of the Year run in 2010. But when Stewart bolted those plans went out the window and Logano will now get a baptism of fire. We'll see if he's the next young star in the Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch mold or instead turns out to be more like Casey Atwood's disappointing flameout. 
Absolutely not. NASCAR shouldn't do a thing to either Busch or Carl Edwards for their post-race hissy fits. That kind of emotion and excitement is exactly what the sport needs right now and is what we have all come to expect after the night race in Bristol. However, I do think Busch is way off on his thinking that what Edwards did to get the lead was wrong. We've seen the same thing done hundreds of times at places like Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond and Busch has employed the bump and run more than his fair share throughout his career no matter what series he drives in. Rubbin' is racin' as they say and Saturday night was the just the latest example of that game. 
He sure has an excellent chance given his recent hot streak and the fact that Roush Fenway Racing, like it does at Fontana's sister track in Michigan, does pretty well at the two-mile California track. Edwards won last February's soggy visit to sunny California and with the momentum he has going right now I do see a three-peat back flip coming Sunday night. Oh, that No. 18 car will most certainly be in contention as well and if the Auto Club Speedway promoters had any sense, they'd be marketing the heck out of the Edwards-Busch rematch. But that will get even better in two weeks when the series head to the short track in Richmond. 
