Joe Gibbs Racing

Raise your hand if you remembered that crew chiefs Dave Rogers and Jason Ratcliff were still serving their suspensions from NASCAR.

Some of you may have forgotten but officials at Joe Gibbs Racing have not.

The two are serving indefinite suspensions from NASCAR after they placed magnets under the gas pedals of their Toyota's in the Nationwide Series last season at Michigan. They were attempting to manipulate the horsepower the cars were making when NASCAR decided to test them.

Weeks earlier NASCAR limited the horsepower made by all cars in the Nationwide Series after complaints by many in the series of Gibbs and the Toyota domination. Then after each race NASCAR would test select cars from each manufacturer for a reading on the horsepower they were making.

Ratcliff is the crew chief for the No. 18 car driven by Kyle Busch and Rogers is the crew chief for the No. 20 driven by Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Brad Coleman. Five other crew men were also suspended.

NASCAR suspended them and so far they have not been reinstated. However, J.D. Gibbs said that when they are, the Gibbs organization will penalize them for an additional race.

"When NASCAR officially says—which they haven’t—[that] it’s over, we’ll hold them one more race,” Gibbs said. “They haven’t said what they’re going to do. Hopefully they will say they’re reinstated for next year and we’ll probably hold them from Daytona.”

The team filed for reinstatement last week but no decision has been handed down by NASCAR as of yet.

The reaction by some fans is that the suspension should last longer, perhaps another year or two in order for them to fully learn their lesson. Others are saying that it's time to go back to work to support their families.

While the two were gone, the No. 18 car went on to win five more races by the end of the year. Kyle Busch won four of them and Denny Hamlin won the other with interim crew chiefs.

Joey Logano has been called the next big, the next Jeff Gordon, and nicknamed “Sliced Bread”. But can he live up to all the hype when Logano makes it to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series?

At the age of six, Logano began racing by driving a quarter midget in Connecticut in 1996, and won the championship in 1997 in the Eastern Grand National Jr. Stock Car Division. That was just the beginning. In 1998 he won the Jr. Honda Division Championship and in 1999 he won the Late Model Division Champion and three New England Regional Championships (Sr. Stock, Lt. Mod, Lt. B).

The Logano family then relocated to Georgia to spend more time helping his sister with her figure skating career, which in return gave Logano an opportunity to continue his success. This allowed Logano to win a Bandolero Bandits Series Championship. A year later at the age of 10, he raced the Legends cars, where he won the Lions National Championship and set a 14-consecutive winning streak track record at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Then at the age of 12, Logano won the Southeast-based Pro Legends National Championships. He then spent the couple of years following that racing various forms of pavement Late Model cars.

While Logano was racing in the Late Model Series, Mark Martin tagged Logano as “the real deal” and said, "I am high on Joey Logano because I am absolutely, 100-percent positive, without a doubt that he can be one of the greatest that ever raced in NASCAR. I'm positive. There's no doubt in my mind."

The following year, Logano ran one NASCAR Pro-Truck Series race at New Smyrna Speedway, doing well as he started first and finished second. That same year he also raced in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, competing seven times in the Northern Division and winning once at Mansfield, two Southern Division races and all five Championship Series races. The following season, Logano continued racing in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series Southern Division, winning twice at South Georgia Motorsports Park and at USA International Speedway.

In 2007, Logano ran in the Camping World East Series where he won the championship by winning five races (Greensville-Pickens, Iowa, New Hampshire(x2) and Adirondack) while ending the season with 3 poles, 10 Top 5’s and 10 Top 10’s. While on the way to winning the East Championship, he made one start in the NASCAR West Series and he won after starting second. Logano then entered the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway and led 87 laps—going on to win after holding off runner-up Peyton Sellers.

2008 would be a big year for Logano, making his debut in many of the major series.

On May 4th, Logano made his first start in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in the Carolina 500 at Rockingham Speedway—and won, driving for Venturini Motorsports.

On May 31st, 2008, Logano made his first start in the Nationwide Series at Dover International Speedway ,in the Heluva Good! 300, just after turning 18. In his third start, he won the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway and by doing that, he became the youngest driver to win a Nationwide Series race at the age of 18 years and 21 days old.

The 2008 year continued to be a big year for Logano. On August 25, 2008, Joe Gibbs Racing called a press conference to announce that Logano will drive the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series. On September 5, 2008, Logano was schedule to make his first start in Sprint Cup Series at Richmond International Speedway but due to tropical storm Hanna and the #02 not being in the top 35 in owner’s points, he didn’t get to make his debut. He did, however, get to make his first start the following weekend in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, driving for 'Hall of Fame Racing' where he qualified 40th and finished 32nd. Logano has three Cup starts to date and his finishes were 32nd, 39th and 40th, therefore not living up to the hype.

A lot of people say that Logano didn’t do that well because 'Hall of Fame Racing' was not a stellar team while Joe Gibbs Racing is. The question now though remains is, can Logano live up to all the hype and do well. The question will be answered in 2009 when he’ll drive the #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, with veteran crew chief Greg Zippidelli and Tony Stewart’s entire team from last season.

The #20 team proved that they can be a top contending team. Everything will all rest on Joey’s shoulders because if he doesn’t do well, there’s nobody else to blame in this situation.

I obsess about NASCAR.  It may seem an unhealthy habit to some, but it’s an adrenaline rush to me.  

I go into a slight phase of depression during off-season and literally go into, what best can be described as a sugar high, when I arrive at the track.   Race Days are MY days. 

I don’t talk work, school, family; I don’t even discuss what’s for dinner – only racing talk is allowed.    I cannot be the only one, but sometimes I feel alone in my ways of thinking.

Talking to my friends and co-workers, I just don’t see the same enthusiasm or fixation that I have.  The excitement level seems to fading with many of them and I am finding it harder to actual carry-on an intelligent conversation about the race with anyone anymore.  

Conversations with my peers are focused on how someone did Dale Jr. wrong, Kyle Busch is just a punk or Jeff Gordon has lost his guts for racing.  Small meaningless talk for a true diehard race fan, but sometimes I have to settle.  

It started me contemplating why so many fans are becoming detached to the true NASCAR.

1.  No relate ability?   I hear it from fans a lot.   There is no driver out there to relate too.  The days of Dale Sr. are gone and today’s drivers are multi-millionaires with giant houses, 100K cars and private jets.  

I don’t think the fact that these guys make the money actually bothers the fans; it’s that some of them walk around like they are worth that amount of money.    It reminds of a story that my boss told me. 

He received a garage pass and during that time, he was a Kasey Kahne fan.   Kasey wasn’t engrossed in a conversation with anyone or had his hands full, he was just standing around. 

When my boss tried to approach him, a young lady (which he could only assume was a PR person) stepped in between Kasey and him.  My boss asked if he could get an autograph and the lady turned to Kasey to make sure that was okay.  He shook his head and the lady motioned for him to leave.  

Another time, I was in Nashville attending a Nationwide race when Carl Edwards came out of the garage area down “fan row”.  As hundreds of his fans yelled for him, he turned his head and kept on walking – no wave, no smile, no nothing. 

Drivers don’t have to act “stuck up” to not be relatable to fans.  Just looking through Jeff Gordons website in his Fab 5section, he list some his favorite magazines as Robb Report – Luxury Homes, Yacht International and Conde Nast Traveller. 

Besides the fact he’s married to a supermodel that probably wouldn’t look twice at him if he didn’t do what he does, or the fact that he charges over $100.00 for a bottle of wine that most of his fans couldn’t (or wouldn’t) be able to afford just pushes him further away from those fans that have spent their life supporting this sport.   

I don’t mean to just pick on Jeff, just turn on CMT and check out the new episode of Cribs.   Did you see Kevin Harvick"s pad? 

Don’t know about you guys, but if someone came to my house, they’d see blankets on the couch, snacks on the table and dogs running through my yard.    The house seemed like something I’d see in an issue of Homes & Garden magazine, not the home of a NASCAR driver.   

I was excited when I heard they were featuring Kevin, Denny and Kyle’s homes, but is it really how they live?   I wanted to see the guys hanging out with friends, NOT Miss Hawaiian Tropic, playing poker, maybe some Nascar 09 on the X-Box, having a cook-out, tearing down some cars.. something that made them seem real.  

I started thinking about the thousands of fans that have been hit hard by the economy.  Was that just another blow to their pride? 

2.  Nothing to cheer for? Or no one to boo for?   I can remember a time where Dale Jr. fans would NEVER be the same as Jeff Gordon fans.  Where there would be no way Jr. would leave his fathers team and head to the enemy team (team Hendrick). 

Well, that day has come and gone - So have the days of true rivalry.  Fans got excited to see the confrontation between Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick last season, but it was short lived as they made up on Tony Stewart Live at the end of the season.   

Although getting along and loving each other may be the most politically correct thing to do, it just isn’t fun for the fans! Keep in mind that wrestling has lasted so long due to the antics, rivalries and drama.

3.  To root for the team or the driver.   With drivers switching teams on a whim, teams having to disassemble or merge just to keep going, it is hard to have and hold onto loyalties.   

Many fans couldn’t imagine a season without a Petty or Earnhardt team, and although the names will probably live in for years, it’s just not the same.  Now it’s Earnhardt-Ganassi racing with no Earnhardt racing under the banner and being led by the likes of one Juan-Pablo Montoya.  

Same goes for the soon to be merged Petty Enterprises with Gillette-Evernham Motorsports.   Kyle Petty was released during the negotiations which left a team of up and comers like Kahne, Sorrenson and Allmindinger.   

This year I am feeling the struggle to maintain my love of Joe Gibbs Racing with the addition of young Joey Logano.   The struggle for me comes from team Gibbs passing on some great drivers that were in a need of a ride for someone who, I personally feel, hasn’t put in his dues to be a Sprint Cup Racer.  I hear that other fans struggle with the same issues.

4.  Talking about dues – where are the boys that work on their cars and then go out and drive them?  They are a dying breed.   You just wonder how much some of these guys really know about cars anyway.  

5. The semi-ugly beast of corporate NASCAR.  I understand the need for high dollar corporate sponsors to keep NASCAR running smoothly, pay those outrageous salaries and to make it more widely available to a wider larger audience, but there are some downsides to the corporate influence. 

First of all, since money is so important, some drivers are being kept around only because of their marketability, not their driving ability, while many drivers are passed over for rides because they are virtually unknown.  A good example is the recent situation with Elliott Sadler.  

Elliot has fans that will always follow him, yet his less than average performances should have forced Gillette to kick him to the curve and replaced him with another driver that has some potential.   Well, we all saw how long that lasted.   

Same goes for Casey Mears.  Mears couldn’t keep up with his teammates for one of the top teams so how is he going to make it at an organization that does not have the same resources?  

Corporate NASCAR forces drivers to speak with the reporters and crews of TV, radio and print media, but also prevents the drivers from saying what they really think.   They have to be more careful on what they say as not to offend sponsors that are keeping them in operation.   Watching some of those post race interviews seem so rehearsed.

So what can be done to keep the loyal fans and to broaden a loyal fan base?   That’s what they hire those big boys as NASCAR marketing for.   Once they get that figured out, the better the sport will be.

Just a personal note to the drivers:   I know you get tired of fans walking up to you, asking for photos and autographs and gawking at you like you’re a new species that has just been discovered, but coming from a fan that spends 80% of her vacation savings each year on NASCAR races, pit passes, hospitality passes and buying countless unneeded NASCAR memorabilia, please treat fans with some respect. 

I will never forget the kindness that Greg Biffle showed me during my first pit road visit.   During that time, I was struggling for money, but still managed to come up with the over $100.00 needed to purchase a pit road pass just so I could get as close as I could. 

After qualifying, he pulled up and jumped up out of his car.   I was so excited since I was wearing my #16 hat and really thought if I ever had the chance to meet Greg, I would tell him what a wonderful man he was for supporting the animals through his foundation since that is where my heart lies too. 

I finally conjured up the nerve to walk up to him, only to spit out the words “would you mind signing my hat?” I actually interrupted him speaking to his crew and could have easily ignored me or said no, but he turned around and signed my hat with a smile. 

It made me feel so wonderful and it didn’t matter if I saw anything else the rest of the day.   My point being – you never know if that fan may have spent their dinner money to be able to afford a pass to a race, or maybe that day is the only day of the year they were able to get out an enjoy themselves from their lives of working 2 full-time jobs just to keep food on their tables. 

It is amazing what kind of influence you may have on someone’s life today.  You never have to apologize for what you have, where you live or what you drive, just remember that we are all family, part of the human family and each of us deserve to give and receive respect from each other. 

Many of today's Sprint Cup drivers come from the short track days. They can probably relate many stories about good 'ol beating and banging racing. Whether it's sparks flying on the asphalt or mud slinging from the dirt tracks, everyone loves a good shootout.

On Feb. 7, 2009 NASCAR will hold their own shootout when the 31st Annual Budweiser Shootout is held in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Shootout officially kicks off each years Speedweeks. The context of the race is simple, it's a flat out, Saturday night dash for cash. There are no points on the line, the only thing that matters is going fast to get the cash.

In 1979 the first race was run under the name Busch Clash and Buddy Baker won the inaugural event. In 1998 the name changed to Bud Shootout and Rusty Wallace took home the prize. And in 2001 it became the Budweiser Shootout and Tony Stewart won his first of so far three event wins.

The Shootout used to consist of all pole winners from the previous season as well as past winners of the event. However, NASCAR changed the eligibility for this years event, opening it up to only the top six drivers from each manufacturer—Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota-from the previous years final owner points standings.

What this means is that drivers who were once in are now out and drivers that were once out are now in. Take for instance Tony Stewart and Joey Logano. Stewart would have been in the Budweiser Shootout driving his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota but when he decided to form his own team and drive a different car, Logano got the shoe-in.

Another interesting drivers note for this years race is Juan Pablo Montoya who is eligible for the Shootout but will not be in the race. Montoya earned a spot with his Ganassi Dodge team however, when Ganassi merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and decided to run Chevrolet's, he became ineligible.

So, let's settle who's in and who's out.

Chevrolet

• Jimmie Johnson (48)
• Kevin Harvick (29)
• Casey Mears (07—Takes Clint Bowyer's spot. Bowyer out.)
• Jeff Burton (31)
• Jeff Gordon (24)
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88)

Dodge

• Kasey Kahne (9)
• David Stremme (12—Takes Ryan Newman's spot. Newman out.)
• Kurt Busch (2)
• Elliott Sadler (19)
• No driver yet named (10)
• Reed Sorenson (43—The sixth spot will be for the driver of the No. 43 if there is one. Robby Gordon would have gotten the spot but he has switched manufacturers to Toyota for 2009. This would have been Montoya's spot.)

Ford

• Carl Edwards (99)
• Greg Biffle (16)
• Matt Kenseth (17)
• David Ragan (6)
• Jamie McMurray (26)
• Travis Kvapil (28)

Five of these cars are the five Roush-Fenway cars and Kvapil runs a Roush-Yates engine.

Toyota

• Denny Hamlin (11)
• Joey Logano (20—Takes Tony Stewart's spot. Stewart out)
• Kyle Busch (18)
• Brian Vickers (83)
• David Reutimann (00—Reutimann returns to 00 this season)
• Michael Waltrip (55)

The format for the Budweiser Shootout is not run like any other race and NASCAR has changed the format for this season's event. The race will consist of 75 laps broken up into two segments with the first being 25 laps and the final segment being 50 laps.

"Fifty laps is forever on that track," Dale Earnhardt Jr. says. "It would be a lot more exciting for the fans and a lot more fun for us if we only did 10 laps at the end."

Denny Hamlin agrees. "Only racing 10 laps at the end would be better. The tires go away pretty fast at Daytona, but they still would have a lot of grip for just 10 or 15 laps. We could really go out and the racing would be a lot closer."

Between each segment there will be a 10 minute pit stop in which the only changes allowed done to the car are those that would normally be done during a pit stop.

The starting lineup will be determined two days before the event on Thursday night on the Speed Channel when the drivers will randomly draw numbers which will be their starting spot.

And this seasons event will feature only four past winners, Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., all from Hendrick Motorsports, and Denny Hamlin from Gibbs Racing.

Look for any Hendrick or Gibbs driver to start Speedweeks off in victory lane.

1. Kyle Busch, he will rebound from the chase and beat both Jimmie Johnson and Carl  Edwards to the checkers in 2009.

2. Jimmie Johnson, don't see him winning a fourth title. Nope, with the tough competition in 2009. I see a new champ in Busch raining on his parade.

3. Carl Edwards, I think he will come up short to Busch, but will win the Nationwide Series Title.

4. Mark Martin, will make the Chase and finish in the top-5, in his full time year in the No. 5 car.

5. Kevin Harvick, don't see him winning any races but will still have a very solid year.

6. Greg Biffle, will carry his amazing 2008 Chase success into the 2009 season, but I don't see him being "unbelievable".

7. Denny Hamlin, will maybe win a couple of races in 2009, but will finish the usual way in the Chase.

8. Jeff Burton, will win a race in 2009, but he won't lead enough laps, as that's his weakness.

9.Tony Stewart, won't win a race. But will make it into the Chase, over Ryan Newman in his first year with his own team.

10.Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will win a race. But I don't ever see him dominating, though you never know.

11. David Ragan, the kid will make it into the Chase this year with out a win but will have a great future.

12. Jeff Gordon, will continue to disappoint his fans and watch his teammates in Victory Lane.

Now my dark horses in the Chase are:

Junior could break out and dominate if he can run the bottom more. 

Martin could do very well with the new and great equipment at HMS. 

Smoke could win some races and be more of a factor than I see him being. 

Not in the chase:

Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth, I don't see them making it with Martin and Ragan going for it this year.

Busch is my pick to be NASCAR's Sprint Cup Champion in 2009. Don't see the part failure in the chase continuing and the kid will dominate again!

He just needs to peek at the right time, then don't let Edwards do many back flips and beat Johnson in the Chase.

Which can and will happen. The kids got a bright future and it's his time, don't hate him because he wins. Remember its the driving and not the "attitude" that makes him so good.

NASCAR couldn't have written it any better even if they scripted it themselves. The 2009 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year battle will be between two drivers that arrive with much fan attention. And will be decided between two drivers so different to each other that they only thing they have in common is they love to race.

But while it's great for the sport to have a competitive Rookie battle that will finally get attention not just the last few weeks of the season, it is also a little depressing that there will only be two drivers instead of a handful, battling it out.

Except, we may not need that.

This year's Rookie class will feature a man who pampers himself and an 18-year-old kid. It will be Scott Speed, driver No.82 Red Bull Toyota from Red Bull Racing vs. Joey Logano, driver of the No.20 Home Depot Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing.

Scott Speed was hired by team Red Bull to replace AJ Allmendinger in the No.84 Red Bull Toyota, which becomes the No.82 this season. Speed arrives in NASCAR from the open wheel ranks where he drove for Red Bull Racing in Formula One.

In 2007, Speed came back to the United States where he signed a developmental deal with Eddie Sharp Racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He earned his first of four wins at Kansas in 2008. He also won at Kentucky, Berlin and Nashville Super Speedway.

The biggest surprise of 2008 and biggest accomplishment for Scott Speed was on May 30th at the Dover International Speedway when he brought his Red Bull Toyota Truck to victory lane. It was only his sixth career start, "I'm having an awesome time trying to learn this sport," he said.

By late 2008 Red Bull Racing in the Sprint Cup Series announced that Speed would drive full time in 2009 replacing AJ Allmendinger. He got an early start when he was put in the car with five races left in the season.

NASCAR rules state that in order for a driver to be eligible for Rookie of the Year, you can run no more than seven races in a season before your first full season. Speed ran only five which makes him eligible for 2009.

His counterpart and rival will be 18-year-old Joey Logano who gets the keys to what was Tony Stewart's kingdom for the last 10 years.

Logano has won in everything that he's sat in since he started racing and he was the 2007 Busch East Series champion. Just days before his 18th birthday, which would make him eligible to race in the Nationwide Series, Logano ran his first ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Rockingham.

He won.

Now allowed to enter a Nationwide Series race, he began driving the No.20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He earned two poles and became the Series youngest winner by visiting victory lane at Kentucky in only his third career start. With Logano's continued success it was an easy decision for JGR in choosing Tony Stewart's replacement for 2009.

And just like Speed, Logano was able to run some Sprint Cup races at the end of the 2008 season. But neither driver did anything spectacular.

It comes down to Rookie vs. Rookie, Toyota vs. Toyota, Red Bull Racing vs. Joe Gibbs Racing. Your 2009 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year candidates: The Speed Demon vs. Sliced Bread.

Rick Hendrick has made a living because of his decision making and witty fixes to his Nascar owned franchises and car dealerships.When the decision to let Kyle Busch leave his stable after the 2007 campaign where he finished 5th overall a red flag of caution was wandering over his head.

Hendrick decided to let Busch go to the highest bidder which happened to be Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Motorsports. In the meantime in the back of his head he had a plan to bring in Dale Earnhardt JR,who could sell t-shirts, hats,sun glasses,jackets,etc;but he also hadn't won a race in almost 3 years.

Dale JR, won one race in the 2008 campaign at Michigan due to fuel mileage. Busch, 23, went to victory lane a record-tying 10 times in the Nationwide Series, winning five times after a NASCAR rule change reduced the horsepower of Toyota engines.

With three victories in the truck series to go with eight in Cup and 10 in the Nationwide, Busch racked up an aggregate 21 victories in NASCAR's top three touring series.

Dale Jr is a major hit with the fans being voted driver of the year for 4 consecutive years.Sometimes there is time when you go out and branch out of the shadows(DALE EARNHARDT SR,) of someone else and make your own idenity for your own fans. Two fuel-mileage wins in four years doesnt do that for you!

Earnhardt is 32 years old while Busch is only 23.When you rank drivers on talent alone JR  is nowhere in the top 10, while busch 9 years his younger is.Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards,Kyle Busch,Greg Biffle,Kurt Busch,Mark Martin,Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin would rank in the top 10.

Rick Hendrick doesnt make many bad decisons when it comes to the world of stock car racing but this time he may have dropped the ball.

Only time will tell!

Nascar Tidbits

Tony Stewart seems to be picking up great personnel to help run his team. Darian Grubb was brought over from Hendrick Motorsports to be crew chief. Grubb led Jimmie Johnson to two victories in the four races he was atop the box while Johnson's regular crew chief Chad Knauss was suspended during the 2007 campaign.

Also brought in was Jeff Mendering, the other crew chief who filled in for Steve Latarte (Jeff Gordon's crew chief) when he got suspended during the 2007 season and led Gordon to a win in four races.

Mendering will serve a car chief on the Office Depot No. 14 chevy driven by Stewart. Bobby Hutchins will run the day to day operations of Stewart-Hass Motorsports.

Hutchins was a longtime member of Dale Sr.'s team in its hay-day and as of late been the key player in the Childress-DEI motor alliance, serving as the  director of competion at RCR.

In 2009 much attention will be given to 18-year-old Joey Logano and his much anticipated first full-season, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. A little advice for Logano would be to take interest in another driver that showed up with almost as much hype as he is.

The lesson being that just because you can talk the talk doesn’t mean you can drive the car.

Ray Evernham was told that he had the next Jeff Gordon. Who to be a better judge of that then the man who had helped Gordon to three Sprint Cup Championships? Evernham needed a driver that could replace Bill Elliott who would be retiring at the end of the 2003 and leaving his No. 9 Dodge seat vacant.

Enter Kasey Kahne.

Kasey Kahne was a Sprint Car star when at age 14 he began racing.

By 1998 he was racing in the World of Outlaw Series, All-Star Circuit of Champions, and Gumount Racing Series. By 2000 he was the USAC Midget Series Champion and Driver of the Year. Soon he would be moving on to bigger and better things.

In 2001 he entered the NASCAR world, after gaining attention from owners. He paired with Yates Racing to run a limited Nationwide Series schedule in 2002 and a year later, now driving for Akins Racing, he scored his first career win during the last race of the year at Homestead-Miami. He ended the year seventh in the final standings.

He got the call to inherit Elliott’s ride for the 2004 season in the Sprint Cup Series. In only his third career start, at Las Vegas in March, he earned his first career pole.

Soon, he was contending for wins and he would finish second five times over the course of the year, including a controversial finish during the second race of the year at Rockingham. Matt Kenseth beat him by a nose, but many raised questions about the pit sequence that allowed the two to be in those positions.

Kahne would end 2004 by missing the Chase for the Championship by just 28 points and still in search of his first career win. He did, however, pick up the Rookie of the Year award.

He had to wait until May the follow season at Richmond to capture his first checkered flag. But while the season seemed promising, especially coming off his stellar freshman performance, and finishing second to Tony Stewart at the Brickyard, Kahne became victim of the sophomore slump. The team’s performance was only good for twenty-third in points.

Once again he failed to make the Chase. “As soon as I got through the disappointment (of the 2005 season), all I’ve wanted to do was get back in the car,” Kahne said.

When he did get back in the car he went out and won, and kept on winning. He led the series with six wins-Atlanta, Texas, Lowe’s, Michigan, California, and then Lowe’s again-and had six poles. And for the first time he made the Chase by finishing eighth in the final standings. It now looked like Kahne and the No. 9 UAW-Dodge Dealers team had finally hit their stride and chemistry as a team.

But looks can be deceiving.

These days, it seems Kahne is more known for his many commercials, you know the ones with the crazy All-State girls, then for his performance on the track.

Or at least, he’s not known in a good way. He went winless in 2007, the first time since his rookie year in ’04 and had six DNF’s which led to another disappointing points finish-ninetieth. 

However, late in ’07 Anheuser-Busch announced that they would be paring with Gillette-Evernham Motorsports for the 2008 when deciding not to follow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports. With new sponsor and look on board the team turned toward the new season as a way to start over.

Ironically, it took their failure to actually start their success.

During the All-Star weekend, Kahne and company had to once again race their way into the big show later in the night. He failed to do so and had to hope that the fans would vote him in. They did and Kahne went out and shocked everyone by winning the big event. He became the first driver to ever win the race after being voted in by the fans.

“I would have loved to race my way in, but we have great fans, and it’s cool they voted for us and got us in the race,” Kahne said in victory lane, which sits coincidentally right in front of the grandstands on the front stretch.  “We need all the fan support we can have. They’ve stuck behind us. I was going to head home, drink a couple of Budweiser’s and watch the All-Star race.”

One week later, at the same track he was three laps away from finishing second to Tony Stewart in the Coca-Cola 600 when Stewart suddenly had a flat tire, Kahne blew past and was back in victory lane for the second time in eight days.

This time though, it counted in the points and in the win column so the media attention was all the better. Budweiser was back in the winners circle and so was Kahne and his Gillette-Evernham team; things were finally looking up after two seasons of heartbreak.

Two weeks later Kahne not only sat on the pole but won at Pocono, after coming through the field from a pit road mishap. “The fans gave [momentum] to us in the All-Star race when they gave us that boost,” he said. “It has done a tremendous amount for our confidence in the last month.”

By the end of the summer the momentum was gone and so was his chance at making his second career Chase, missing out to Clint Bowyer by 69 points.

He seems to do a lot of hit or missing in his career and it became clear by the end of 2008 that not only was his team in trouble, but the whole Dodge organization had lost their magic.

When one thinks about Kasey Kahne, do you think about how he swept both races at Lowe’s in May? Or do you think about how he once again missed the Chase?

Maybe all of his commercials stand out most. The one where he’s chased by the All-State girls, where they pull him over in a cop car to take a picture of his behind or the more popular one, which I’m sure he will never live down, the one where he dances in a pretty pink and blue fire suit.

Then there’s the one, only one, that he did for new sponsor Budweiser in which he looks strangely out of place. A question mark coming into this year was whether or not Budweiser could market someone like Kahne who doesn’t look old enough to drink. And he has a personality of being quiet and shy so how they try and put Kahne’s face on the bottle now, after following Dale Earnhardt Jr. was huge.

The potential is there; he has the looks, the good guy personality and has the talent and drives for one of the most successful and well respected men in the garage area. He’s hardly in the news for anything negative, nor does he have problems with other drivers on the track.

What makes all of this important and relevant to Joey Logano is that nothing is a sure thing in this sport. Logano is coming in after being highly praised by many veterans in the Cup Series, such as Tony Stewart and Mark Martin. Kasey Kahne used to be Joey Logano but once the spotlight started to wear off and move on to others he blended in and became just another driver, one that is now struggling.

This is not to say that Logano will fall flat on his face in 2009, he may he may not. It’s a lesson in the reality of NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing. Don’t take anything for granted, don’t feel too comfortable in the equipment that you have.

Just don’t get too comfortable at all, because when it all comes crashing down, as Kasey Kahne is learning, you’ll be scratching your head wondering what went wrong.

Oh, how winning can do so many things to a man. Why must you conflict us, Mr. Victory? With your great feeling and wonderful accomplishment.

You can make you feel things we've never felt before. You can make us believe things that we probably wouldn’t believe. And of course, you make us say things that we may or may not say otherwise.

You see, when things are going well, one is on top of the world, dancing on cloud nine, laughing, smiling and enjoying their success.

However, when things are going bad then a whole new side emerges. The one that gets nasty, ugly, frustrated, and insulting.  The one that not only makes the headlines, but makes every journalist's job for a couple days as they all try to be the one to break and complete the story.

Yes, Mr. Victory, you can certainly do many things to a man.

NASCAR’s Kyle Busch and the NFL’s Terrell Owens have been the headline makers for their respective teams in 2008.

Kyle Busch found boat loads of success in 2008 when he joined Joe Gibbs Racing. It took four races, at Atlanta in March, to find victory lane. After that he kept winning and winning and winning. By season's end in November, he had 21 wins between all three of NASCAR’s top Series.

But it wasn’t the winning that Kyle encountered problems with. It was when he started to take on the fans that things went downhill. He was viewed as having a cocky and arrogant attitude, and every time he won, he loved to egg on the fans with the celebrations he thought of.

He would bow; put his hand to his ear encouraging them to make noise and many more. During the pre-race introductions, he was always booed (his mother was even booed at Darlington) and he smiled about it and even stuck his tongue out at fans.

You never knew what he might say when giving interviews, but you almost always knew how we would react and what he was going to say if and when he lost.

He lashed out at everyone and everything around him and never took blame for a mistake or problem that might have occurred.  

When involved in a wreck with a teammate during a Nationwide Series race, Busch told the TV viewers that “I just have a teammate who can’t stand to be No. 2,” almost insinuating that he is the No. 1 driver and everyone else should follow him.

When later asked if he thought his teammate had been racing him too hard, Busch replied, “Duh.”

Although it’s fair to say that by the end of the season, it appeared that Busch had matured and clammed down just a little bit. Maybe it was because he was no longer contending for a championship, his ego was batted down.

Either way, it should also be pointed out that while Busch has problems being the good boy on the track he does plenty of things off it.

He donated money to an ailing star of the Nationwide Series after tying the man's single season wins record, and he regularly contributes to charities and makes many trips to participate in events. But somewhere between there and the race track he changes personalities.

He’s the T.O. of NASCAR. So what about the T.O. of the NFL?

Owens, just like Busch, has created his own celebrations for when he scores a touchdown. He’s used the football as a pillow, autographed it and occasionally spiked it.

Last season, in wake of the New England Patriots “Spy Gate” he hid behind the goal post and used the football as a camera and as entertaining as it was, he would later be fined for his actions.

He once danced with a cheerleader’s pom-poms and dumped popcorn in his face. But everyone remembers when he ran out to the Dallas Cowboys star not once but twice while playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

The second time he was knocked on his ass by a Cowboys player. It's one of the most viewed and popular clips on YouTube.

Owens had accomplished what he set out to do: get a reaction.

And just like Busch and many other athletes, he doesn’t take well to losing. And you can count on the fact that Owens will always seem to make it about him.

He calls out his quarterback and teammates, saying if he gets the ball then they’ll win. After being knocked out of the playoffs in 2007 he attempted to cry while talking to reporters.

However, those were fake tears and he played it up as much as he could by wearing Elvis-like sunglasses…inside.

Sure, he was probably upset, but he milked it for all it's worth.

Once again, he was looking for a story, and he wanted to be the headline.

Just as he’s doing this season by running his mouth on the side-line and accusing people of stiffing him. He must not realize they’re other players out on the field.

Ironically, off the field he too contributes to charity, and is an entirely different person then the one whom charges through the tunnel each game day.

That’s the similarities between these two, they could have been separated at birth...or maybe not. They’re too young, too rich and too fast and they want too much attention.

They demonstrate how some people just don’t know how to handle all of that. That comes from being egotistical, “ME” attitude athletes.

“I’ll watch the highlights every now and then but, as far as watching the game, I feel like I am the game,” Owens says.

If they’re always looking to put on a show then they should go into the entertainment business. If they enjoy the drama and being the center of attention then they need to join the Soap Operas.

If none of those sound appealing then shut up and play the game. Do your job as a professional athlete, and hey, while you’re at it, act like a professional. You’ve got plenty of examples, good ones, around you who can teach you how to be one.

It certainly is interesting that athletes can have two different personalities. Says Owens, “A lot of people think I’m stuck up. Pretty much that I’m arrogant. I only do that when on the field.”

Why? Why is it so hard to carry one over into the other?

Some will say that they get competitive on the field and they’re just being who they are but it just seems hard to believe that they can’t find a way to be the good guy, the one easy to root for.

Or maybe they don’t want fans? Or do they feel the need to live up to a reputation and act a certain way?

Either way, they make it hard for us to look at all the good things they do when they’re constantly writing headlines with the bad.

HOMESTEAD-The 2008 NASCAR season has come to a close at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida and history has been made. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No.48 for Hendrick Motorsports, has won the championship for an incredible third year in a row, tying legendary driver Cale Yarbourough for most consecutive championships.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus struggled in the earlier part of the season, posting only thirteen top ten finishes in the regular season (26 races). They were able to grab four wins but lost many points in races where everything seemed to go wrong.

“It’s what we work for, it’s what we do,” said Knaus, who became the first crew chief to win three titles in a row. “We don’t want to do anything but race and win races and win championships”.

“From the first lap on track I knew we had a car that was in the ballpark and a car that I could drive to the front with,” said a happy Johnson. “I felt really good once the race started. There were a couple of times when it was dicey, but all in all, I really felt like I was in control of where this car was on the track.”

“It’s the ultimate reward. We worked so hard to put ourselves in this position. I can’t thank Chad enough. It’s total teamwork and dedication.”

The playoffs, also known as the Chase for the cup, began at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 14. Johnson and Knaus got their act together and came back to their old selves, being very dominant in New Hampshire until getting passed by Greg Biffle in the closing laps to finish second.

The tide immediately turned for the No.48 team, posting eight top tens and six top five finishes in the last ten playoff races, including three wins. 

 Throughout the Chase for the cup, it was a tight battle between Johnson and the No.99 team driven by Carl Edwards, driver for Roush Fenway Racing. After winning on the short track of Martinsville, Virginia, Johnson took a nice point lead no one thought he could lose. Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne never quit and were able to stay in the hunt, but even winning three of the last four races wasn’t enough to catch Johnson.

            “I don’t know what to say,” Edwards said. “Second place in the championship is not what we came here for, but…Johnson deserved to win. We got beat by a true champion.”

Both drivers had three wins in the playoffs, Johnson never finished worst than fifteenth; Edwards however, crashed in Talladega, Alabama and had ignition problems in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was the differential in deciding the championship.

Roush Fenway Racing driver of the #16, Greg Biffle, started the Chase for the cup with a bang winning the first two races at Loudon, New Hampshire and Dover, Delaware. He became a threat immediately but started slipping halfway.

Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 for Richard Childress Racing, also became a threat after winning in Charlotte, North Carolina, but quickly lost the championship the next week having a really bad race in Martinsville.

The biggest surprise of the playoffs was Kyle Busch, #18 for Joe Gibbs Racing. After being so dominant all season long with eight wins and sixteen top ten finishes, Busch went into New Hampshire hoping for a good start to his championship quest. But problems to his sway bar caused him to have an awful handling race car, eventually crashing and finishing thirty-fourth.

The next week at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware was no better, when the engine simply blew up in smoke, ending his day with a disappointing last place finish.

The next week in Kansas was his last chance to pick it up and make a comeback. But a bad handling race car and a small miss of horsepower in the engine caused him to finish twenty-eighth. He needed a miracle if he was to win the championship.

He was able to post four top ten finishes in the remainder of the playoffs but more disappointing finishes at Talladega and Martinsville eliminated him from the hunt and what seemed to be a perfect season went down the drain.

The biggest story at the beginning of the 2008 season was Dale Earnhardt Jr. making his debut with Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt had left his late father’s race team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., because of issues between him and his stepmother, Theresa Earnhardt after the 2007 season. Dale joined the powerhouse of Hendrick Motorsports with fans expecting him to become even better.

Earnhardt started well winning the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duels in Daytona, Florida, but unfortunately these are only exhibition races and doesn’t count as a career win.

Earnhardt began the season well, ahead of his teammates for the first half of the season. It took him a while but he was finally able to grab his first win with his new team in June at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Unfortunately it would be his only win. He was able to make the playoffs but finished twelfth in points, the lowest of the playoff contenders.

This season was also a rare struggling one for former champions Jeff Gordon (#24, Hendrick Motorsports) and Matt Kenseth(#17, Roush Fenway Racing).  

For the first time since his rookie season in 1993, Jeff Gordon was not able to win a race. The four-time champion came close on a number of occasions but was never able to capitalize.

            “We need to get better,” Gordon said after finishing fourth in the season finale. “There are just moments of greatness that are there; it’s just we can’t ever seem to pull it all together. That’s where we know we’ve got to get better, and that’s where we’ll focus in the off season.”

Matt Kenseth, champion in 2003, was not able to visit victory lane for the first time since his rookie season in 1999.

Even though the off season is only two months, it is going to be a long winter for race fans until NASCAR tames the Daytona International Speedway, for the 51^st running of the Daytona 500 in February to begin another chapter in the history books of NASCAR.  It was a very interesting season and will be one to remember with plenty of great races, drama and hatred; what NASCAR is all about.

By: Richard Deveau