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Well Darlington didn’t disappoint did it? Between the edge-of-your-seat suspense of waiting for the next car to hit the Lady in Black’s turn four exit wall and the plain gorgeousness of the spectacle of Darlington at night - if Saturday didn’t have it all, it sure had most of it.

The popular favorite to win - Greg Biffle - made an early exit. Biffle edged out Elliott Sadler for pickle-boat status. Not at all what Greg’s fans pictured when he was topping 200 mph at the Darlington Speedway tire tests back in March.

The front of the race belonged to Kyle - boo me, throw beer at me, because I don’t care what you think - Busch. Again. NASCAR is better with someone successful to hate, don’t you think?

We’ll find out what you think. This is the Fast Lap after-all and that’s what the Fast Lap is all about. What do you think of the following four fast, made for the internet questions about what’s hot on the Cup Racing scene?

1. Should the Darlington race stay on Mothers Day weekend or move back to Labor Day?

2. Should NASCAR be concerned with Jeff Gordon’s complaint about Carl Edward’s car looking as if it is going down the track sideways?

3. Is Greg Biffle’s frustration with getting 2nd rate equipment a reason for not signing a contract extension yet?

4. Which retro paint scheme looked best at Darlington; Junior’s, Elliott’s or Kvapil’s?

Tell us what you think. Limit each answer to 100 words or less. Then come back often to defend your positions from the slings and arrows of your fellow Fast Lapper’s. This is the Fast Lap ON PIT ROW. We have plans for the best - and silliest - of the comments we get here. You might just get an invitation to defend yourself on the radio - live.

Darlington just might be my favorite race track in the world. Or maybe it’s Richmond. Both are traditional and unique in their own ways. But the Track Too Tough to Tame is quirkier, which gives Darlington the edge in my mind.

There was a lot to like about Saturday’s Dan Lowry 400 from Richmond International Raceway though.  I liked the way it looked - Richmond under the lights just looks good.  The Speed Racer #43 with the newly re-upped Bobby Labonte at the wheel was spiffy.

Richmond was heartbreaking too.  What else could you call Nationwide race winner, Denny Hamlin’s flat tire after leading the Sprint Cup race all night and getting almost within sight of sweeping his home town weekend.

And the disappointment of Green Nation and Dale Earnhardt Jr himself was palpable.  So close they both were to ending the winless streak at two years, only.  Now it goes on, with Kyle Busch a target to transfer the frustration to.  Racing deal or not, the Shrub took out NASCAR’s most popular driver.

Next up Darlington.  Newly paved and soft-walled the old Lady will be different than before.  While waiting to see, try testing your NASCAR chops on these four newly paved Fast Lap questions.

1.  Was NASCAR’s two lap penalty to Denny Hamlin adequate for stopping on the track to bring out his own caution?

2.  Is Kyle Busch’s style similar to Earnhardt Sr’s?

3.   Will Joey Logano’s domination of the ARCA Carolina 500K vault him into a full time Cup ride before the end of 2009?

4.  Kyle vs Junior or Kyle vs Steven?

All loyal Kyle Busch apologists are saying Rubbin’ is Racin’ this week.  It is.  And the Fast Lap is about rubbin’ too.  Rubbin’ other NASCAR  commentors the wrong way.  Rubbin’ your superior NASCAR knowledge in the faces of your friends.  Bring it on.  We’re planning a new Fast Lap podcast for the new OnPitRadio Page at OnPitRow.com.  We need you more than ever.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

The NASCAR traveling carnival is heading next to Richmond International Raceway.  The Richmond folks advertise “Racin’ perfection” and I can’t say I argue that.  The racing at RIR is, year after year, some of the best action and - important to me, best looking racing - on the circuit.

But Richmond this time has one, tough act to follow.  The Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Super Speedway was one exciting spectacle.  Kyle Busch’s performance was breathtaking.  Just ask Darrell Waltrip, who had to be reminded to “breathe Darrell” by broadcast partner Larry McReynolds during the race.

That was one wild race.  It seems that Jimmy Johnson may be right - Talladega is indeed the ultimate New Car track.  Second place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya was quoted saying restrictor plate racing is the best racing he’s ever done.  Maybe NASCAR should plate-up a couple more venues - California for one - that need a bit of excitement.

Richmond’s Fast Laps will be of a different nature, for sure, but exciting none-the-less.  While you wait for them, let us know what you think of these four flat lefties.

1.  With 52 lead changes among 20 drivers, will fans finally embrace restrictor plate racing?

2.  Was Joe Nemechek’s pole more surprising than Kyle Busch’s win?

3.  Joe Gibbs says that Tony Stewart will be with Joe Gibbs Racing throughout his contract.  What are the odds of that happening?

4.  Has Joe Gibbs Racing taken over as the restrictor plate kings or are they just taking advantage of extra Toyota horsepower.

I have some pretty strong opinions on some of those questions, how about you?  The Fast Lap is all about opinions.  There are no right or wrong ones.  Well, except for maybe Steve’s.  Let us know what you think.  We want to argue with you.  We have plans for the best of the Fast Lap and want you to be part of it all.

Remember to check out the verbal version on the Fast Lap every week ON PIT ROW.  You can listen to the live stream here at 5pm EDT or the re-broadcast at RaceTalkRadio on Thursdays at 7pm.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Scott Pruett wasn’t able to hold off a hard charging Kyle ” the Shrub ” Busch in the closing stages of the Corona Mexico 200, but at least this year he didn’t whine about it. 

Pruett finished third, passed by the “Australian Turtle” (man, I loved those old Busch Series commercials) , Marcos Ambrose.  Ambrose claimed he just needed a few more laps to run down Rowdy.   Yeah, and I only need a few hairs to be a bear.

It was Busch the Younger’s first road course win and third consecutive Nationwide Series win and he did it on the track - not ON PIT ROW.  Whew, I was tryin’ to figure out how to get that link in there.

Next weekend the Cupsters take to the high banks ofTalladega Super Speedway and a return there of the New Car.  Well, kind of a return.  The last time there it was called theCoT, among other less complimentary things.  Jimmy Johnsonsays ‘Dega is the perfect CoT/NC track. I guess we’ll see Sunday.  While awaiting that verdict, try on these fast, highly banked Fast Lap questions.

1.  Chevy has pulled the new Camaro (and, incidentally, the Corvette) from contention as bodies for NASCAR competition.  Does that kill the “Pony Car” Nationwide Series?

2.  Do you like the “foreign” trips the the Nationwide Series is making?

3.  Danica Patrick won an Indy Car race, finally.  Will NASCAR see a competitve female driver in the next 5 years?

4.  Jimmy Johnson says that Talladega is the “perfect” track for the New Car.  Is that a good thing?

This is the Fast Lap so remember you get 100 words or less to answer each of these debate topics.  But make sure you come back often to defend your positions and slam the hell out of every other idiot (yes Steve will be answering too) who gets it wrong.  We just might use your best stuff on the next ON PIT ROW radio type program.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Now the Hendricks Haters finally have something to focus on.  Jimmy Johnson and Chad Knaus fueled the field, doing just enough to win the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and grab the first win of 2008 for the outfit that many look upon as the evil empire.

Speaking of evil - the recently evil handling new car looked pretty racy to me Saturday night.  Three races and a few test sessions on the flat miler in the dessert paid dividends for drivers and fans of the Sprint Cup Series.  Now if NASCAR would just set up some additional tests on the intermediate tracks, we might see better racing on those as well.

This would be the perfect time for just such testing, with an idle weekend on the Sprint Cup schedule this week.  The Nationwiders are heading south - way south - to Mexico City and one of my favorite races to watch at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course.

While waiting for that action, and listening for private Sprint car testing news, try your digital hand at this week’s Fast Lap questions.  Four turns, some left, some right.  Put up your dukes, it’s debate time, ON PIT ROW style.

1.  Is the anticipation at the end of a fuel mileage race as exciting as door-to-door racing at the end of an event?

2.  Did FOX handle the overlapping baseball and racing coverage adequately?

3.  Was NASCAR’s scheduled start time for the race at Phoenix too late?

4.  Mark Martin said his crew chief didn’t know how much fuel  he had saved during the end of the race.  Should Martin have over-ridden the call from the pits to come and get fuel?

We look for the best Fast Lap comments to be used on a future broadcast of ON PIT ROW.  Give it your best shot and you might just get a guest shot on the show, which can be heard online live right here on  Tuesdays from 5-7 pm EDT and on re-broadcast at Race Talk Radio Thursday nights at 7 pm.

Remember the rules - comments are limited to 100 words or less, but there is no limit on attacking other commenters.  Just be nice - like Jimmy Johnson. 

Carl Edwards loves NASCAR’s new car. Can’t say that I blame him. He has three wins out of seven 2008 Sprint Cup races and he could have had at least one more. The best part - for Carl - is that yesterday’s Car of Tomorrow is so in the heads of every other team on the track that Edwards is starting every race with a half lap lead.

Jeff Gordon finished dead last. That statement ought to be followed by exclamations of “liar” or at least “no way”, but the statement is true. The Rainbow Warriors had their asses handed to them and they still don’t have enough answers, apparently, to restore their confidence. Going to Phoenix isn’t likely a remedy as that is not one of Jeffey’s best tracks.

NASCAR moves on and so does the Fast Lap. Check out the four tricky, flat and fast lefties below. Tight in or loose out doesn’t matter - but your opinions do. Be prepared to stick up for yourself though - cause nobody else wiil.

1. More names have been thrown into the Richard Childress Racing fourth car sweepstakes. Who will it be?

2. If you owned a race team, would you hire Kyle Petty as your driver?

3. Who will be the focus of Chip Ganassi’s promised “sweeping changes” if his teams don’t start performing better?

4. Should NASCAR consider making mid-season changes to the new car?

The Fast Lap feature has been a regular part of ON PIT ROW for over seven years now.  The debates and arguments that Steve and I get into during Fast Lap segments are pretty heated more often than not.  Your input would just make it better.  Don’t expect a bunch of Kumbaya agreement though.  That’s not what this blog is all about.  Bring your best and bring it on!

Man, I love races at Martinsville.  I admit that it is often hard for me to maintain my focus for the three and a half hours of most Sprint Cup races.  But it never seems a problem at the little paper clip in Virginia.  Sunday was fun to watch.

I am a bit shocked that Jeff Gordon failed to win the thing.  Both he and Jimmy Johnson had to work back, through the pack, to the front.  The relentless way that they did so showed they ain’t as dead as the haters had hoped.

Nice comeback by Jamie McMurray and ditto for Casey Mears.  There were plenty of short track tempers shown and the carnage within the fleet was a joy to behold.  Too bad it’ll be so long before they go back again.

Next up is something completely different, as they use to say on Monte Python’s Flying Circus.  Heading down to the home of the Thunder Lounge at Texas Motor Speedway.  One of NASCAR’s fastest tracks will be a real change of pace for the cupsters.  Try out TMS with four highly banked Fast Lap questions and you might just be featured ON PIT ROW.

1.  Even without a win at Martinsville, is Hendrick Motorsports back?

2.  In retrospect, should Michael Waltrip Racing have handled the Dale Jarrett/David Reutimann owner’s points swap situation differently?

3.  With the awful weather conditions so far this year - is it time for NASCAR to look at wholesale schedule changes?

4.  Was NASCAR’s in-race penalty sufficient for Matt Kenseth’s retaliation towards David Gilliland or should they levy additional punishment? 

Go to the comments section and give us your best answers to our four Fast Lap questions but remember you are limited to 100 words or less for each.  Then remember to stop back throughout the week to defend yourself from the fender banging of your friends.  While here, feel free to bump draft fellow Fast Lappers too.  We use the best - and sometimes the worst - comments on the radio version of ON PIT ROW.  You can listen live on Tuesdays from 5-7 PM EDT at OnPitRow.com.

Photo credit - Icon Sports Media, Inc.

With Richard Childress Racing taking the top three spots at 2008’s first short tracker at Bristol, do you expect Chevy domination at legendary Martinsville Speedway this week? 

Maybe a better question is, can Jeff Burton actually string together multiple wins - something missing from his career so far - and put some kind of RCR stamp on the early Race to the Chase for the first Sprint Cup Championship?

Last year, the first Martinsville finish was a scene that turned ominous for non-Chevy, non-Hendrick competitors as Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon went one-two in a Car of Tomorrow tour du’force.  Can they do it again - at Martinsville or anywhere - in 2008?

 While we wait for the answer, bang fenders with your fellow internetters through the following flat, drag-strip connected Fast Laps and we might just put your opinions on  a future edition of ON PIT ROW.

1. Which Hendrick Motorsport driver will kick their “slump” quicker - Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon or Casey Mears?

2. Should Aric Almirola get more DEI seat time after his eighth place finish in the Food City 500?

3. Kyle Busch was the biggest positive surprise of the first five races.  Who will shine over the next six, leading to Charlotte?

4. Whose fortunes will turn downward before Memorial Day?

Go fast - you only have a hundred words to use - turn left and slap fenders with your playmates.  The Fast Lap blog is blogging’s version of short track racing.  Play rough.

Chevrolet is on the Sprint Cup board thanks to a last lap, Fast Lap by Jeff Burton at Bristol Motor Speedway.  Burton has been lurking in the Cup shadows.  Jeff never seems to dominate a Cup race, though he often stomps the Nationwide Series competition.  He won this one though and led a Childress phalanx of himself, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer to Chevy’s first win of 2008.

The early laps were a Toyota story with Tony Stewart leading the most and Denny Hamlin taking the sloppy seconds.  Those two couldn’t close the deal though - which is getting repetitive for all but Kyle Busch in the Toyota camp - as Stewart got bumped by Harvick and Hamlin had fuel pick-up problems at the end.

The Cupsters will take a break for Easter this week and we’ll have to find our Fast Laps elsewhere.  Nashvillle Super Speedway seems an OK place as the Nationwide Series camps out in the land of the Grand Ol’ Opry.  ‘Course if you are afflicted with insomnia, you could opt for the Formula One race in Malaysia.  Tune in at 2:30 am edt Sunday morning.

I have a Fast Lap option to help tide you over to the weekend.  Take these four fast ones flat out and maybe we’ll put you ON PIT ROW!

1.  The tire test at Darlington saw speeds over 200 mph. What should NASCAR do about that?

2.  Was Harvick getting into Stewart a “racing thing” or retaliation for a similar incident at Indy in 2007?

3.  Is Sam Hornish at his best with his back against the wall?

4.  Has Richard Childress Racing taken over as the number one Chevy team?

Four fast little gems to ponder and pontificate over. This is the Fast Lap - NASCAR debate in the digital world.  Wade on in and be prepared to defend your position  and counter-attack as you see fit.  Just remember, only 100 words or less, per comment.  ON PIT ROW speed limit strictly enforced.  Or not. 

The pump has been primed.  Kyle Busch won the Kobalt Tools 500 and grabbed the first win for Toyota in Sprint Cup Series competition.  That should have been the biggest story ON PIT ROW in Atlanta, but it wasn’t.

Like an old Paul Simon song, those New Cars were slip-slidin’ away, all day long and a cadre of drivers led by Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and  Dale Earnhardt Jr let loose on Goodyear for bringing an inadequate tire to the party.

Smoke didn’t complain - he attacked Goodyear and in the end did everything but blame the California weather on the Akron tire maker.  Tony was pretty hot for someone who actually finished second to his rowdy teammate, Kyle Busch.

On Monday, several drivers, current and former, stepped up to defend Goodyear.  Michael and Darrell Waltrip along with Ryan Newman praised Goodyear for erring on the side of safety with the Atlanta tire compound.  It seems kind of funny that Stewart and Gordon, the drivers most recently involved in hard crashes, would be the ones on the flip-side of that argument.

The first Bristol race of 2008 is on tap and it’s a near certainty that heads will be hot in the post-race pits on Sunday.  Goodyear could use the diversion of some hotly contested Fast Laps.  Let these four high-banked testers divert you for a few hundred words.

1.  Is Tony Stewart’s criticism of Goodyear justified?

2.  Now that Toyota has it’s first win, are Jack Roush’s worst fears set to come true?

3.  Was Kyle Busch the right guy to get Toyota’s first win?

4.  Was the #99 team of Carl Edwards, guilty of premeditated down-force addition?

Four Fast turns and you get 100 words or less to respond.  Of course, you can use as many words as you want to put your fellow commenters into the wall.  The Fast Lap blog is about NASCAR debate.  Bring your best and we may use it on our next show.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

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