We Get Bluegrass Fast Laps for a Change
by Charlie Turner
I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.
July 14, 2008 9:55 pm CDT 4 CommentsIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Two weeks off until the Cupsters resume at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
That was a hell of an end to the Lifelock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Kyle Busch once again won the last lap dash to the checkered flag. This time he bested his old teammate, Jimmy Johnson. It was impressive.
But I get the feeling that Johnson is taking the measure of the Shrub. Dialing in, along with the best crew chief in the business, Chad Knaus, the #48 Lowes Chevrolet for when it really counts. The last ten races. The Chase to the Sprint Cup. Just like 2007. Can’t hardly wait, myself.
Until then, we’ll have to cope. Cope with unrelenting silly season stuff. Wade through a hip-deep slop of rumors about who will drive for whom. And in what car, painted in whose colors.
Enough for now. Watch the Craftsman Trucks and the ARCA RE/MAX cars at Bruton’s new baby, Kentucky Speedway, this weekend. And maybe sip on a Bourbon while thinking about these four, fast left handers .
1: Is Kyle Busch’s seventh win good for racing like Tiger Woods winning every week is good for golf?
2: How did the TNT coverage stack up to the Fox coverage
3: Should Kyle Petty take a full time broadcast gig in 2009, if offered?
4: Over or under-Michael Waltrip Racing will field two and a half cars in 2009.
It’s the Fast Lap and these questions will be a big part of this week’s ON PIT ROW. The best answers and comments will be considered for a brand new video segment OnPitRow.com. So don’t hold back. Kyle Busch doesn’t.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.
Fast Laps in the Lair of Al Capone
by Charlie Turner
I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.
July 8, 2008 10:12 am CDT 2 CommentsFor a long time I thought the trips to Chicagoland for NASCAR races felt odd. You just don’t think of NASCAR when you think the Windy City. But I’ve changed my mind. Stay with me now.
Chicago of the 1920’s was the home of one of the most notorious gangster-bootleggers of all time - Al Capone. I don’t know if any of Scarface’s drivers ever aspired to take their Duesenburgs and Packards to the race track or not. But not much more than a generation later, bootleggers of a different sort took to the tracks of the south just fine, thank you. And Bill France built an empire from that.
I doubt that Capone’s guys could put the muscle on the Sprint Cup Series any stronger than Kyle Busch has so far in 2008. The season is officially half over, and the Race to the Chase is two races deep. Six wins in eighteen races is more than a trend. The Shrub is putting his stamp on this thing. Of course, Jeff Gordon did the same in 2007. And Jimmy Johnson got hot in the Chase and took the Cup. As Big Al may have said - it ain’t over ’til the shootin’ stops.
Here are this week’s Fast Lap questions, brought to you by the fine folks at ON PIT ROW and the all new BenchRacers home for wayward racing lovers. We hope you will check them both out, repeatedly.
1. Could NASCAR continue, as is, without involvement from the big three?
2. Was TNT’s “Wide Open Coverage” of the Coke Zero 400 distracting or a model for others to emulate?
3. What purpose does it serve NASCAR to impound all cars after qualifying, when only a few have to really qualify to get in the race?
4. What fate does NASCAR hold for the Martin Truex team after having their car confiscated for illegal roof height?
Limit your answers to 100 words or less. But remember also, to come back and comment on the opinions of others and be prepared to defend your own positions. This is the Fast Lap. We are going to be using the best of the commentary here in a new feature ON PIT ROW. We want your absolute best shot. Bring it on.
Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.




