It was only three years ago when Tony Stewart caught fire, won Sonoma and went on to win four other races and ultimately, the championship.  Because of that, and the fact that Tony has, I believe, six career road course wins, Tony is my pick to win today.  With that said, Tony seems to be distracted this year with all of the silly season stuff but he has managed to remain in the chase.  Currently, he is in 11th place only 10 points ahead of Clint Bowyer.  Tony qualified 39th today but he can still make it to the front of the pack.

As I sat down to watch the race today, I was somewhat excited and sad at the same time.  This would be my first race in HD since my cable company doesn’t have FOX or Speed in HD but they do have TNT.  I was a little sad because Darrell Waltrip is one of my favorite guys in the booth but, I’m willing to give TNT a chance.

When the race started, I quickly remembered why it was so easy for me to quit watching races at about this point last year.  Kyle Petty, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Bill Weber are in the booth for today’s race.  I have to admit, in past years, I haven’t been incredibly impressed with Wally Dallenbach Jr. in the booth but I like Kyle Petty and I like Bill Weber much better than I did Chris Meyers so I had high hopes.

Well, my high hopes and expectations were quickly dashed with the start of the first lap.  Personally I love the excitement that Larry McReynolds and DW bring to the race, starting as the field takes the green flag.  Actually, I’ve gotten used to it which is probably why I’m so critical of everyone else.

When the green flag dropped at Pocono, the was silence.  Haunting, deafening silence for about the first lap or two.  No one from the booth said a thing.  Not one word….  Then, for several laps around lap 10, there was no audio at all.  TNT then cut to commercial and when they returned the sound was horrible.  Which, of course, they apologized for but still was horrible.

As I sit here watching I just think, maybe it’s just me but the TNT coverage sucks.  Oh well, Daytona is only about eight months away.

Since we’re 13 points races into the season and FOX is done for the year, I thought it would be a good time for my recap and reflection on the season so far.  When I started this season, I did so with mixed feelings.  About halfway through the season last year (after the FOX Sports half that is), I got so disgusted with NASCAR, I basically gave it up for the first time in many many years.  I have to admit, this gave me quite a bit of free time on the weekend but sadly, I missed racing. 

Fast forward one season to January of this year.  I decided to give my old sport another chance.  Well, to start the season off, the Wood Brothers 21, a staple at Daytona, heck NASCAR was failing to make the field for the first time since 1962.  I mean, these guys invented the modern pitstop and here they are sidelined.  Even so, I still found myself drawn by the news of the off season.  Dale Jr. was going to Hendrick, Tony was driving a Toyota and the Car of Tomorrow was here today.  And, man how I hated that car.  This was a train wreck waiting to happen if I ever saw one but I thought surely someone could cut through this load of poo poo and restore my faith in the sport. 

Early on, I thought this was going to be Carl Edwards.  He was hell on wheels early on this year.  Well, after cheating in Vegas by leaving his oil tank cover off, he was 100 points down.  This seemed to take some of the wind out of his sails.  He’s still doing good and is contention but not as strong as I had first thought.  Overall, Rousch Racing is far from the force that they used to be.  Other than Carl, they really hadn’t been very impressive at all this year. 

Then, there was Kyle Busch.  This was the guy that Hendrick Motorsports basically threw away last year in favor of Dale Jr. and here he was winning no matter what he drove.  Hendrick was now no longer the powerhouse that they had been for the last several years.  Well, so far, Dale Jr. still has not won a points race for Hendrick and for that matter, his teammates score isn’t much better.  Jeff hasn’t won a race and Jimmy won Phoenix on fuel mileage alone.  I know, a win is still a win but all things being equal, he would not have won that race.

I was thinking back to the controversy between Kyle and Dale Jr at Richmond.  Could you blame Kyle if he did intentionally take Dale out?  He’s got to be a little bitter and here comes Dale in his old ride, taking away a win that’s his.  Honestly, I could understand a little anger.  Overall I’ve really enjoyed watching Kyle this year.  He’s really matured as a driver and he has incredible equipment under him.  I’m almost ready to call him my pick for the championship this year. 

Kyle’s teammates Tony and Denny haven’t been doing great this year though.  Tony’s got a couple of bad finishes this season so far.  Plus, he can’t seem to avoid Elliott Sadler for anything.  Tony’s even talking about leaving JGR at the end of his contract.  A move that I think would be a huge mistake if he hopes to win championship number three or beyond. 

Now Denny’s shown a little more of his character that isn’t as nice as we’d seen when things were good.  When he had tire problems while in the lead in Richmond, he threw a fit and stopped on the track, bringing out an intentional caution.  Once the yellow came out, he drove on to the pits.  Now, NASCAR is a fairly smart bunch.  They saw this and held him for two laps.  This move, of course, put Dale Jr. and Kyle in each other’s world which led to the hit heard round the world.  That would be the "Dale Jr, Kyle Busch, did he intentionally spin him question".  As late as the Nationwide race last week, Denny intentionally ran into the JR Motorsports 88 car, triggering a pit road fight that ended with penalties for the crew.  Oddly, Denny received no penalty.  I’m not sure I understand that one.

A good surprise of the season so far has been Richard Childress Racing.  Richard seems to be one of those just good guys in the sport.  All of his cars are in the Chase so far.  Jeff Burton is another one of those guys you can’t help but like and he was even leading the points during the beginning of the season.  Kevin Harvick has matured and is a great competitor to watch, although, I do miss some of his edge from the earlier years.  I hope the same thing doesn’t happen to Kyle Busch as he gets older.

In addition to the Wood Brothers, another troubling sign of the New NASCAR was the Petty Enterprises performance.  First of all, during the off season, they moved the shop from the family home at Level Cross to Mooresville to be with all the other teams.  They may be closer to the other teams but their soul is back in Level Cross it seems.  Kyle Petty’s 45 ride slipped out of the top 35 in owners points and he actually failed to qualify for some races.  General Mills left the 43 and is heading to a new RCR team next year.  Just doesn’t seem right.

Just in case you’re keeping score, I now absolutely enjoy and appreciate the CoT but, originally, I hated it.  Unfortunately, I lost my old content when I changed blog formats or I would repost my original rant on it.  I think I even included the Green/White/Checkered, the Lucky Dog rule and Toyota entering Cup in that post if I remember correctly.  All of which I hated as well along with the Chase.  Well, I now like the Lucky Dog and the Green/White/Checkered for the most part even though I think they both could use some refining.  I can’t believe I’m saying this but I even think Toyota has been good for NASCAR Sprint Cup.  One thing that hasn’t changed though is the fact that I still hate the Chase.

When I started this season, I told people around me that NASCAR was on probation with me this year.  So far, I’d have to say they’ve done pretty good and, unless coverage sucks horribly with TNT or ESPN (now, I am worried about TNT), I’m planning on finishing the season.  I hope your season has been as good for you.  Feel free to post a comment and let me know of your reflections so far.