Sorry Denny (Pgozzoracing)

Poor Denny.

He actually thought he "deserved" to win the Sprint Cup Championship.

Does anyone else remember when Hamlin said earlier this year, all we do is win"?

It's too bad he couldn't be more humbler. I think a lot more people would rout for him. That goes for all drivers and athletes for that matter. Ya sure, lots of people like a "bad guy" especially in racing, or an outspoken guy, but no one likes an arrogant guy. Denny started in with an attitude like he was a champion and a mouth like he already won one, long before the season was over. Unfortunately, that may be the closest he ever gets. Remember Carl Edwards in 2008 with 8 wins. How did he do the following year? -o- wins.

Love him, hate him, dislike him, bored with him, but ya have to respect if not, flat out admire, the 48 team and 5 straight championships. That is a dynasty. And, it is one that is not over....

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, chad Kanaus (http://chadknaus.com), and the entire Hendrick organization.

Paul Gozzo
PGozzo
PGozzoracing.com

Florida Stock Car Racing

This is a great website for information on Florida stock car racing of all different varieties!

www.karnac.com

PaulGozzoracing.com
PGozzo
PaulGozzo

Why do you like NASCAR?

Most of my friends and acquaintances just do not "get" my love for NASCAR and that is fine. I try to tell them that it is my reality show and I guess I understand where they are coming from when I think about how I just don't "get" watching shows about B or C list celebrity families (Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Real Houswives of New Jersey).

P.Gozzo
Paul Gozzo
PaulGozzoRacing.com

Nascar is "going green"

NASCAR will move from unleaded fuel to an ethanol blend in all three three of its national series beginning next season.

PGozzoracing
www.paulgozzo.com

www.nascar.com

Opporunity missed for Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick

This past weekend, Jimmie Johnson and his team demonstrated why they have won the past 4 championships. When he spun early, Johnson incredibly stayed off the walls and away from other cars. Then, his team helped him out by getting him on and off pit road without incident making the necessary changes and keeping up with the track in order to propel Johnson to a third place finish.

Meanwhile, the other Chasers all missed the opportunity to capitalize. At one point, and even for a few laps after Johnson slipped up on the track, it looked as though the Chase was going to be fun again. But, for a guy who qualified poorly and spun early, a third place finish and extending his lead really says it all. Jimmie Johnson and his team are very very good. Lucky, yeah, but they make their luck.

I almost feel bad for Gordon, but for Hamlin, because he wants it so bad and almost comes across as entitled to it, I cannot pull for him. And Harvick, with his mouth and ego, never.

So what's left?

I guess enjoying McMurray win was fun. Also seeing Kyle finish second is always fun because I know no one wants to win more than he does. But really, I wish Kyle was in it still and I really want to see him win one. Although he is brash, he is honest, and he is passionate, and at the heart of it all, he is a racer. Hamlin, Harvick, and a handful of others are a bit ego first and racer second.

PaulGozzo
P Gozzo
P Gozzo Racing

Racing To The Rescue

"When the time comes....Will you help"



I met with the founder and visionary for this new non-for-profit, Racing To The Rescue, yesterday and heard his vision firsthand. Allan is passionate about this project, but he needs our help! I highly recommend you go to this site, read about the mission, and sign up!



http://www.racingtothe/ rescue.org

Denny, Denny, Denny

Is it me or does Denny Hamlin make it hard for you to like him too?

In watching Denny get better and better each year, along with Joe Gibbs racing, I can't help but think of the way Jimmy Johnson raced so well for years collecting wins but not yet championships before he won 4 in a row. I thought this year, maybe Denny Hamlin finally will win this thing. But, and this is a big one, but I am not sure I want him to win it especially after his arrogant comments this weekend before the race at Dover. Why would he get involved in talking trash about RCR's problems? Yes, there is a psychological aspect of racing especially at the highest levels, but his comments served no psychological effect. They only served as a distraction for him and his team and gave the edge to.....not RCR, but ole 4 time, Jimmy Johnson. Yes, that's right, Jimmy Johnson was the winner in the Hamlin/RCR feud and until he is beat, Jimmy Johnson is the man to beat. So as much as Hamlin likes himself, his season so far, and his points lead, he isn't the authority yet until he wins a championship, so he is going to have to get a little more diplomatic with his mouth.

Ya know who else won the RCR/Hamlin battle this week? Denny's teammate, Kyle Bush. Ya that's right. Kyle is quietly putting together a championship season and doing it by not pissing anyone off. Well, anyone who could hurt him. He has ruffled a few feathers of the younger drivers, but that is part of the hazing/growing process at the top level. My point is that as long as the Bush is not in the spotlight for negative stuff, the lack of distractions will help him to perform.

Two races into the Chase, Hamlin is in the lead, Johnson in second, and this year's champion is somewhere between 3rd and 8th....because Kyle, Kurt, Kevin, Carl, Jeff or Jeff is going to win it.

No one is going to cut Denny or Jimmy any slack and as the racing gets tougher and tougher the closer we get to Homestead, the guy who has friends out there and can drive aggressively at the same time will win this year's championship. Does this sound like Kyle Bush? Kurt Bush (not sure about how many friends he has out there) ? Kevin Harvick? Carl Edwards? Jeff Burton? or Jeff Gordon??

You bet.

At least, I do.

Oh, and I am routing for Clint Bowyer to really do well the next ten races putting this stupid , message sending, penalty behind him.

P.Gozzo, Paul Gozzo, www.paulgozzo.com

Race 1 of The Chase

So my picks and the guys I like were running well all day....but that doesn't necessarily equate to a good points finish.

Stewart ran out of gas, but he ran so well, I am not counting him out.

Bowyer has that all important momentum and for a guy who is very consistent, look out for this wild card. We saw him start this way three years ago and Biffle started even better two years ago, but The Chase is a grind, and so we really can't pick a top 5 until after 3-4 races.

I still like Gordon, Edwards, and Bush (Kyle)....because of their ability to turn bad days into good ones, and good ones into top 5's. Although I do feel as though you will have to win a race or 2-3 to win The Chase and in the past this has proven true, because this year's Chase field is so even at the start, with all that parity, this may just be the year someone wins without a win....and the two of my three picks have proven that they are great points racers.

So onto Dover and The Monster Mile. Who do you like?

I'm sticking with my three picks (Bush, Gordon, Edwards) and the two that I want to see do well (Bowyer, Smoke). Everyone says that we must get through three races before looking at the picture and I agree. At this point you can't count out JJ, but let's be honest, the mojo/luck isn't there this year and other drivers are racing him A LOT harder.

It has been rough/aggressive and the racing will get even more so. Patience and an even keel like Hamlin displayed last week will help the eventual winner win a championship.

P.Gooz, PaulGozzo, www.PaulGozzo.com

So The Chase is set

So the Chase is set.

Who do you like?

There is a lot of talk about Hamlin dethroning Johnson and just as much talk about Johnson being the man until he loses but I argue both bandwagons.

While Denny Hamlin would be a great champion and represent the "younger drivers" well, his team will have to have a run like they had in the Spring of this year in order to do it. DH is consistent overall, but tough stretches have hampered him for years. IE: what drivers call, "bad luck." Remember, Jimmie Johnson was Mr. Consistency for years while battling bad luck before he finally won a championship. So, net-net, Denny is going to do well, win a race or two, but ultimately a couple of really bad finishes will prevent him from winning it all this year.

With JJ, what will prevent him from 5-peteing?? Simply put, other drivers. This year no one has cut JJ any slack and in the Chase it will get worse. This team is still the best, but they will not win it all. Look for Curt Bush to seek some revenge from Jimmie wrecking him early this year and others to cash in those chips including teammate and partial owner, Jeff Gordon.

This year's winner will not have one miserable race and will have to win 2 at a minimum.

My call is Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, or Kyle Bush. But I'm routing for Smoke and Clint Bowyer. I will explain more later.

P.Gozzo, Paul Gozzo, http://www.paulgozzo.com/

Congratulations Boris Said

Did you know that Sunday's Nationwide winner has actually trained several oval track regulars on the techniques of racing road courses? Boris Said has trained too many to mention including several road course winners like Carl Edwards who often show up to the track with better equipment because of the deeper and better funded teams they race for regularly. This past weekend, Boris Said, racing in an underfunded car, managed to keep his car relatively intact, and his mind focused well enough to get the lead back with one turn to go and win in a photo finish in Montreal. It was a great finish to a great race that was filled with a lot of emotion which in the stock car world means, beatin-n=bangin.

Congratulations Boris Said and your loyal Said-Head fans!

Paul Gozzo
PaulGozzo.com

Compelling weekend for series leaders...Bodine, Keselowlski, and Harvick (Paul Gozzo)

Todd Bodine, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick who are all series leaders in points, ALL win these weekend at very difficult tracks. All three series points leaders demonstrated why they are leading their respective divisions of stock car racing this past weekend in impressive fashion.

(Paul Gozzo)

While I believe Keselowski and Bodine will go on to win their series, Nationwide and Camping World, I DO NOT BELIEVE Harvick will win The Sprint Cup.....simply because of The Chase format. While consistency is rewarded in the other two series, it is not in The Cup series at the end of the year; simply put, ya must win. While the top 25 drivers in Cup are all great, and 12 make The Chase, the year will come down to a half dozen guys who can really win this year's championship.

Curt Bush
Kevin Harvick
Jimmie Johnson
Jeff Gordon
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Bush

All of these guys can win.

Pocono (Congratulations Greg Biffle)

Wow. (Paul Gozzo)

What a race.

The Pocono races often get a bad rap from fans. It is too long, it is boring. Well, all that has changed and why, I have no idea.

I went to Pocono in 2008 and it was a lot of fun. The fans were great and the venue very friendly, including the worlds largest urinal!

So the rain does play a factor every year. So what. It makes this track as unique as its 3 different corners.

Have you noticed who drives well at Pocono.....consistently well? It is the guys who can break well. It is also the same guys who perform on road courses.

Moving forward we will see this track get more and more publicity because BOTH races there this weekend were great AND because they are the first sports facility in the world that is truly GOING GREEN, as in their solar field investment will power the track annually leaving leftover energy to be sold back to the power grid!

Pocono should have a Chase Race! There, I said it. Yes, they already have two summer races, but a fall race would be gorgeous there and DIFFERENT than the warmer summer races...maybe they won't even have rain!

P.Gozzo
Paul Gozzo

O'reily Nationwide Race

Bristol Motor Speedway www.bristolmotorspeedway.com

Richmond International Raceway www.rir.com

Bristol and Richmond are two of the most coveted and talked about short tracks in NASCAR racing. www.nascar.com , but the last two Nationwide races at O'reilly Raceway Park www.oriellyreacewaypark.com have been awesome and this track deserves more respect. Yes, it is no match for its historical neighbor, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com in terms of historical significance, but the racing is......BETTER!! Seriously, if you like stock car racing, this was the race of the weekend. I am betting that yesterday's race will have more passing than today's Cup Race.

Short track racing is usually hyped up by the media for "rubbing" and tempers that flare. Yesterday's race showed that professionals can race hard and "cleanly." With all the talk of
Brad Kesolowski and Carl Edwards this past week, the end of the race battle between Carl Edwards and Kyle Bush showed how two excellent drivers can battle, even touch or "rub", and still finish without wrecking each other or the field.

And, the better driver (Kyle Bush) won!

Paul Gozzo
http://paulgozzoblogspot.com
http://paulgozzoracingblogspot.com
http://paulgozzocharityblogspot.com

This weekend at Indy by Paul Gozzo

Before any practice sessions. Before any qualifying. Here is the call for this weekend.....

Jeff Gordon, www.jeffgordon.com, wins this weekend. He ends his streak. And...he starts a new one leading to a dominating second half of the season with 6 wins and his 5th Championship.

You heard it here (Paul Gozzo) first!!

Reutimann is The Man!

Congratulations David Reutimann!

http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/victory_lane/07/10/cup_chi_high_winner.nascar/index.html

I have been following this cat for the past three years and liking him more each time I learned more about him and his family. He is a true racer racing at the highest level and living/racing beyond his wildest dreams. I was excited for him to win last year, but with the rain win it was sort bittersweet. Last night was the real deal and it could not have come to a more deserving guy and team.

I hope to see these guys build off of this win and string a few more along.

Last year they finished the regular season 13th, just one spot out of The Chase. This year they have run better but had some bad luck including 3 serious issues while running inside the top 5 during races.

Who knows, if they win one or two more and stay consistent, they could just sneak into this year's Chase and with a lot of momentum!!

Either way, look for this team to continue to get better and you will see more wins for sure.

#3 In Victory Lane at Daytona (P.Gozzo)

I am struggling to find the words that accurately describe watching the #3 Wrangler shuck and jive the competition at 190 mph amid the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.

Although there were not as many Cup drivers in the Nationwide race as the first time this series visits Daytona each year, it was a well stacked group of competitors representing the best teams in stock car racing. So Jr.'s win was not a layup. He and his time put together a one off for all of us fans and they took it all the way to Victory Lane.

I'm sure a lot of Jr. Nation is enjoying a nice early morning post celebration headache today and rightfully so. Congratulations to Jr. and all those who helped put it together and all of those folks who love Jr. and got to enjoy a moment of happiness. There have not been too many in the past three years, so I am happy for all of you who live for Jr.

The only thing better would be to win it again tonight!

Kyle Bush and Jeff Burton

Do any of you recall the previous weekends post race festivities and Jeff Burton pointing the finger at Kyle Bush (repeatedly) in his post race meltdown? So what's then to be said of last week's mishap when Jeff Burton, on old tires, and with plenty of racing experience, seemed to forget about those old tires and try to race hard at the end only to lose his grip and take out Bush. Retaliation perhaps, but more than likely a very similar "mistake" and eerily, well no, exactly what Burton previously accused Bush of doing to him. I guess Jeff Burton really does "race people the way he gets raced" OR perhaps that was retaliation? You know, these are4 the best drivers in the world and they do know how to make real action look like a "mistake." If any of you like boxing, you may think of the way a weaker opponent will constantly "tie-up" his stronger fo and not let his stronger opponent through any long combinations. Well, it is often during those "tie-ups" when the weaker opponent will use his head to soften the upper eye and brow of his stronger opponent and thus opening the door for swollen eyes and blood. Anyone ever put any though to Evander Hollyfield's constant head-butting of Mike Tyson when he tied Tyson up before Tyson finally lost it and bit Hollyfeields ear off? I digress, but hopefully you got my point. If not, for those of you who know baseball well, think of what leads up to a hitter charging the mound? Is it simply being hit by a pitch? Was he hit by a pitch for something his team did previously? Maybe the pitcher's team was hit by a pitch and so the pitcher retaliated. But maybe before that, the batter was crowding the plate and the pitcher had no choice but to "brush him back."

The point here is this, when you are dealing with the very best of the best in sport, "mistakes" are often really not mistakes, especially when it comes to veteran drivers.

Also, as much as you would like to think so press people, drivers do not always tell you the truth.

Marcos, Jimi, Road Courses

Well it wasn't a quiet weekend. For those of you who light short track beating and banging, you must have loved the rough driving that we saw this past Sunday in Sonoma. Did anyone catch Jeff Gordon punting people left and right? Do you think he wants to win badly?? Along those lines, I felt horrible for Martin Truex who has been working his way into The Chase for weeks now and because of Gordon, now faces that challenge much more difficultly.

Yeah, Jimi won! Yippie. Yeah, I am sick of him ,but ya can't knock the well rounded talent. He has won on a road course and a dirt track (Prelude to a Dream) racing against THE BEST drivers in the world. He is a 4 time Champion for A LOT of reasons one of which was on display Sunday. Despite having a top 5 car, Johnson was not the best on the track, Ambrose was and that was clear. As the end neared, Johnson was running increasingly loose so he decided, along with his crew chief, not to press the leader and in return making his car worse and potentially wrecking it, but rather he simply decided to stay back and keep enough pressure on the leader so that he could be there when and if the leader made a mistake.......which we all know ended up being the case and Jimi won....again.

I sympathize with Ambrose who is a great race car driver and a very humble and genuinely nice human being. He got some bad advice and it hurt him. However, Johnson simply deployed the tactics of a champion and by being there, he gave himself the best chance of winning. Think of how many cars Kyle Bush has destroyed by not deploying this tactic. How many more top 5's and 10's Bush could have had if he had chosen to be patient like Johnson.

Paul Gozzo

Denny, Denny, Denny he's the man...

...if Jimi can't do it, Denny can.

right?

I don't think so.

There is the regular season and then The Chase.

Although Denny does have great consistency and has finally learned how to win, I am still predicting that his teammate, Kyle Bush wins a Cup Championship before Hamlin. However, I am predicting that neither wins this year's championship but rather it will be won by none other than Jeff Gordon who is going to get hot at the right time and even play a little rough, especially on green/white checkered finishes, if he has to.

Kurt Bush, Kyle Bush, McMurray, and Reutimann

Kurt Bush - Congratulations on a great week. You speak well when in front of the cameras and I really liked your sincerity when thanking the US troops and their families for their commitments to our country. You had a heck of a week and are a deserving winner. I only hope you share some of that bonus with your crew and a lot of it with Steve Addington; He is making you look good!

Kyle Bush - You too had a heck of a week with two wins and a third in Cup at Charlotte where you did not have a third place car at all. You too sincerely thanked the US troops and I salute you for that. I also salute you for being patient when Jeff Burton stuck his finger in your face about 20 different times after the race. Because of who you are and how you race, people are going to come after you. Sometimes you are right, sometimes you are wrong. In this case, you certainly were not in the wrong for racing hard at the end of a long race. It was an unfortunate incident and I felt bad for Burton's finish because of what happened, but that was erased as soon as he had a temper tantrum in front of the cameras after the race. Look out, my guess is he will come after you in retaliation and probably make it look like an accident. Just keep in mind, Burton looked like an idiot and you handled yourself well.....like a champion. You also handled yourself well this week with your comments about your teammate and how he raced you a week ago. He came across arrogant and unforgiving, you came across as someone who learned a lesson about your teammate.

Jamie McMurray - Man, I wish you got the win for your boss and could have made a great an incredible day. You improved your car all day and that is what it takes to be an end of the race contender for wins and...championships. I sincerely hope you make the Chase. You are a good example of how important it is for a driver to have the right fit with owner and crew. You are a much better racer this year than you have been in the past with Roush.

David Reutimann - You started 6th and ran in the top 5 all day. You continuously fought hard on restarts but it was obvious you did not have the horsepower to get through the gears as fast as everyone else. Yet, after every restart, you fought back into the top 5 where you finished. I am excited for you and MWR as I truly believe that your teammate and quite possibly you, will make the Chase this year and combined, I am looking for MWR to have 2 wins this year and quite possibly 3 or 4.

Bush, Championships, JGR, MWR, tides have turned

Love him or hate him, Kyle Bush as an excellent racer. I say racer, because his skills are not just limited to stock car driving. Kyle Bush takes on many different forms of motor sports including ownership, which any true race fan knows, in order to be a successful owner, you must think like a racer; ie: you are a racer.

I wish Bush was running the entire Nationwide schedule this year but unfortunately, his Cup boss, JGR, decided that he needs the time on the Cup side to get his cars extra ready for the final push toward a championship.

In a sport where the barriers to entry are very difficult to overcome, and even more demanding to stay, winning races is special, and winning championships even more special. However, winning a championship is the key component to reaching the status of elite. Kyle Bush has a Nationwide Championship. Kyle Bush has Cup Chase births and Cup wins. But Kyle Bush doesn't have a Cup Championship and that is what he needs to truly become considered elite. Think of Charles Barkley.

Martin Truex has two Nationwide Championships. Would you consider Truex a more successful driver than Kyle Bush?

Brian Vickers has a Nationwide title. Who do you consider to be a better Cup driver?

With that said (written), I am looking forward to watching Kyle Bush win a Cup Championship because I think he is a special talent and I want to see him achieve the elite driver status. However, until recently, I do not think he could achieve this goal without cutting back on his Nationwide and Truck commitments. Now Kyle has put himself in the best possible situation to achieve the goal of a Cup Championship. And, by being a good teammate to Denny Hamlin and Joe Logano, he should reap the rewards of a team whose owners want that championship even more than any one of their drivers. If you have not figured it out yet, the tides have turned, and JGR with Toyota is the new Hendrick. As Hendrick's drivers and their reflexes age into the sunset, JGR's stable is just entering their middle years....and the team still has room to add a 4th driver to their stable.

Penske's program is getting better each weekend too as is MWR. I am looking for Brad Keselowski to win the Nationwide Championship this year and that will jump him into a new category, and then for Keselowski to slow down his Nationwide commitments next year in order to focus on Cup...ala Kyle Bush this year.

Penske and MWR are improving....Henrick has been on the top......something will change and I think it has already started. What cements all of these changes, just like what solidifies a driver to actual elite status is the same; Championships.

All-Star Race comments

Did you like the format?

I did.

Joey Logano finishes 3rd and Brad Kesolowski 7th. Not too shabby representing the newest young drivers.

And of course, Dale Jr. finishing 12th....that's kinda where he is these days....on average.

Watch MWR. All the talk lately has been about JGR and their recent success, but keep an eye on the other Toyota team with talent, MWR. I am expecting Reutimann and Truex each to win one this year with one or both of them making the Chase.

Paul Gozzo

"Backyard Brawl"

100 laps and nicknamed, "The Backyard Brawl", how could you not get excited to see this race?

"I like the format. I like the short race, and I love Charlotte Motor Speedway," said Newman, whose first big victory came in the 2002 All-Star event. "You get to haul the mail around there and that's what we like to do as drivers, to be able to push a car and use that banking. It's three-wide racing. And the track is probably the raciest it has ever been."

NASCAR All-Star race is better than The Indy 500

No points. Just a race. Winner take all! (Paul Gozzo)

Tonight's race is one of my favorite of the season because you have no larger agenda to race for other than a win. To begin, you have to have won in the past year in order to make the field. So, only proven recent winners are in the field. Because of this format, competing for the win are the teams who consistently get their driver to the front at the end of the race where/when he can win it. So, the racers and teams competing, all know how to race with give and take in order to preserve and improve their cars with the changing track conditions in order to have them near the front at the end with a chance to win. It absolutely does not get any better than this.

How many times have you watched your favorite driver race well only to see him preserve a top 5 or 10 finish by being conservative late in the race? If you like Tony Stewart, just watch in the next few weeks. After some bad luck and some terrible finishes, he is on the outside looking in for a Chase birth which is crucial for his young team and their ability to draw sponsorship in order to have the budget to compete. So, Tony Stewart will race conservatively to get the points necessary for his team to make the Chase. Juan Pablo did this all year last year while he ran up front. Instead of taking risk to run for wins, he protected top 10 and top 5 finishes late in the race.

So, that said, watch tonight's race and enjoy the best of the best in terms of organizations, teams, and drivers, compete for the top prize of $1,000,000.

(Paul Gozzo)

Humble Reutimann

....this guy give me hope for my Cup career. He raced his entire life, is a third generation racer, and caught his break in his 30's. I am in my 30's with no racing lineage, so maybe I will get to Cup in my 60's! So, I'm saying there's a chance!!!!

David Reutimann

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=jh-questions052010

Paul Gozzo

Reutimann in The Showdown!

REUTIMANN ON THE ALL-STAR RACE: “The All-Star race is a big deal. I’ve been on the outside looking in on that deal for a lot of years, so it’s going to be good to go there and be a part of that it’s such a huge deal. We had a really good test at Charlotte a couple weeks back and felt like our car was really good. Rodney Childers and the Aaron’s crew are bringing their A-game every week and we’ll just have to see what happens. This is a race that’s all or nothing, so that is the exciting part of it. I think that Sprint has done a great job each year coming up with something to keep the event fresh and it’s exciting as it gets for the fans and the drivers. Everybody is all in on almost every lap."

ON THE VICTORY BURNOUT CHALLENGE: “For me personally, I’m looking forward to the Victory Burnout Challenge. Last year when we won the Coca-Cola 600, that was my first Sprint Cup Series win. The officials wouldn’t even let me start the car to get it to our makeshift victory lane. So this is going to be great! I get to go out in someone else’s car and burn the wheels off it on the front stretch and not have to worry about the talking to that I’d get if I was doing that in a team car. That’s a pretty great deal if you ask me.”

• Reutimann is making his first career start in the Sprint All-Star race. Reutimann punched his ticket into the race by winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day last year. • This weekend Reutimann becomes the first 40-year-old driver to make his All-Star debut since Johnny Benson in 2003. And, he is only the fifth 40-year-old to start his first All-Star race since 1990.

• The No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine pit crew is participating in the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge at Time Warner Cable Arena in uptown Charlotte on Wednesday. SPEED-TV will broadcast the event at 9 p.m.

• The pit crew will use the Aaron’s/Alabama Crimson Tide No. 00 Toyota Camry during the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge. The car served as a backup at Talladega Superspeedway in April. The Aaron’s/Alabama Crimson Tide diecast cars are available for purchase at any Aaron's store nationwide.

• In the last four races, Reutimann has scored 539 points—the seventh most of any driver and moved from 30th to 20th in points. Has collected 15 bonus points for leading laps in three of the four races (five laps at Talladega, three at Darlington and one at Dover), recorded two top-five qualifying efforts (second at Richmond and fourth at Darlington) and has one top five and four top-15 finishes.

• Reutimann has finished 20th or better in eight of the nine races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in seven of the nine. In his three DNFs (Did Not Finish), Reutimann was racing in the top-five of all three races at the time he radioed of the issue leading him to retire from the race. (5th at Atlanta, 2nd at Bristol, 5th at Atlanta).

Bowyer placed on probation after Dover incident (Paul Gozzo)

I, Paul Gozzo, am a Clint Bowyer fan.

www.paulgozzo.com

Bowyer does not run a full time Nationwide schedule, so when he does race at that level, you can bet he is running to win. Most part timers are like this, especially the Cup guys who come down to The Nationwide for a race. Other "double duty" drivers who run full time in Cup and Nationwide generally run for championships with the exception of Kyle Bush who tends to do both. So, does putting Bowyer on probation for a few weeks in the Nationwide series really punish him for taking out Hamlin under caution last week in Dover? I think not. It is less than a slap on the wrist.

Both guys were running for the win and clearly not as strong as the leader and eventual race winner, Kyle Bush. The incident triggering event occurred on a restart near the end of the race when Bowyer, on older tires, spun them a little bit on the restart and Hamlin who was behind Bowyer, clipped is left rear in the process sending Bowyer up the track wrecking him and others in a chain reaction.

After watching replays, this does not appear to be a vicious attack but more the product of hard nosed racing. Bowyer spun his tires not because he is a rookie but because he had older tires, so not really his fault. Hamlin clipped Bowyer, not becasue he is a dirty driver, but because he mashed the pedal in order to give it his all for the win and to go after his teammate, Kyle Bush, who clearly had the best car all day. No one is at fault here.

However, Bowyer's reaction under caution was a bit much and implies to me that their is more to this story. Bowyer could have spoken with Hamlin later in the garage, but he chose to wipe Hamlin out instead....under caution....certainly knowing he would be punished by NASCAR.

What ticks me off about Bowyer is that I previously had liked him a lot as a driver who charges it in the Nationwide series and races for points in the Cup series. He is an old dirt tracker and those guys are my favorite. however, I have noticed an arrogance in Bowyer lately that was either not there in previous years or he kept it well hidden, but he acted like a champ would and he is not a champion....yet.

Bowyer also isn't intimidating anyone. There was only one guy in the past 20 years who could do that and everyone else who tries fails miserably.

Switching from Paul Gozzo to Paul Gozzo Racing

This is where Paul Gozzo will publish posts on racing from now on, not at Paul Gozzo the other Blog where Paul Gozzo will focus on something else.

Paul Gozzo has been a racer since childhood and plans to help others through racing. Paul Gozzo is a part time mechanic who likes to work on cars for fun. Whenever Paul Gozzo can, he likes to race himself, but like most racers, Paul Gozzo isn't always behind the wheel. Sometimes Paul Gozzo is in the pit, other times Paul Gozzo is in the stands.

What you will find from Paul Gozzo Racing in this blog is genuine novice knowledge and insight in stock car racing.