Hey everyone, this is the VP of FanIQ's NASCAR Nation with a new daily segment called The Daily NASCAR Digest. This will be posted daily (I hope) for all you NASCAR fans to stay up to date on the latest happenings in NASCAR's top 3 divisions.
Today's healines:
John Bookie was an avid Michigan State football fan and a diehard Jeff Gordon fan. John sadly passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning and had his ashes cremated. His wish was that when he died, his ashes would be spread at a race track. The track wishes to remain anonymous, but John's final wish was fulfilled. John's girlfriend Christine got her boyfriend's ashes to the track with the help of a few very generous Earnhardt fans who stopped messing with her after she told them she had her boyfriend's ashes in her pocket. Working together, they figured out where to spread John's ashes in order to carry out his dying wish.
Jimmie Johnson wins Best Driver ESPY
2-time defending NEXTEL Cup Series champion (yes I said NEXTEL Cup, because nobody has won the Sprint Cup yet) won last night's ESPY Award for Best Driver. Johnson won the award over Kyle Busch, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, and NHRA superstar Tony Schumacher. Jimmie was the only NASCAR driver to win an award at the ESPYs this year. Kyle Busch was also nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete, but I guess more people don't consider NASCAR a sport than those who know it is a sport. Shrub's season so far has been one for the record books, but he lost out on the award to another very deserving candidate, the 2007 NFL ROTY Adrian Peterson.
I always knew Johnny Benson was better in the Truck Series
Saturday, Johnny Benson won the Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway. He also took the points lead away from Ron Hornaday. Benson moved up 3 positions in the standings with his win, and is just one measly point ahead of Matt Crafton for the series lead. Benson who is a former BUSCH Series champion (again nobody has won the Nationwide Series title yet) moved up to what was then the Winston Cup Series, and never lived uup to expectations. He did win one race at Rockingham, and thus he's one of the drivers who have won in all 3 series. However, he's driving in the Truck Series like he used to drive in what was then the Busch Series, and he found his niche...not surprisingly it isn't in the Cup Series. Benson will now try to be the next has-been (or never-was) Cup Series driver to win the championship in the Craftsman Truck Series, joining Ted Musgrave and the late Bobby Hamilton.
The Chase Starts Here...at the Brickyard
There's only 7 races left in the race to the chase, and while NASCAR.com claims the focus is on driver in positions 7-15 in the points, I say it's up for grabs from 6-16, adding both Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman into the uncertainty. I'd add Truex, but he just got his final blow. The top 5 IMHO are safe, and it's a scramble behind them. For Shrub, Dale Jr, Burton, Edwards, and Johnson, they look to be in great shape. It would take a 1992-style Bill Elliott collapse for any of these 5 drivers to miss this year's chase.
Martin Truex Jr. and company appealed the #1 car's penalty for the opening day no-nos found during inspection. Truex loses 150 points, Teresa loses 150 owner points, team member Gary Putnam is given a 6-race suspension and probation until the end of the year, and crew chief Kevin Manion is out for 6 races, placed on probation until New Year's Eve, and fined $100,000. Teresa, Kevin, Martin, and Gary...I don't know what yinz did to improve the performance of that car, but for future reference, stop taking pointers from Chad Knaus and Todd Berrier!
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