Trouble in Turn2

Casey Mears finally broke through with a win this spring at Charlotte in the Coca Cola 600. Before the year I questioned whether Mears would be able to make a smooth transition from Ganassi to Hendrick.

Entering next year[2007] with a new team poses an interesting question. Was it equipment that was holding back Mears or is he simply a mediocre driver? 2007 should help answer that question.

It probably wasn’t great motivation for him, but Mears has proven to me that he is a good driver. After a rough start to the season filled with crashes of all types, Mears is hitting his stride. He has four straight top ten finishes bringing his season total to 10. He also has 5 top five finishes, one less than his career total entering 2007. Mears’ success extends well beyond the past four races too. Since a 5th place at Chicago, he has finished in the top 15 in 9 of the last 12 races. His 1/5/10 line (wins/top 5’s/top 10’s) is already a career best and he still has six races to improve it. Charlotte is a good place to do that for Mears and the #25 car. Mears has three career top tens at Lowe’s. Further, his three best tracks statistically are all 1.5 mile tracks.

Other Thoughts

• It’s Return of the Rooster this weekend. Ricky Rudd will return to the #88 after recovering from a seperated shoulder suffered at California. Rudd is the active driver with the most top tens at Charlotte with 27, including his 7th place effort this spring. Despite 27 top tens and 9 top fives, Rudd has never won at Charlotte.

• The latest noise from Lowe’s Motor Speedway revolves around a drag strip. Track owner Bruton Smith wants to build it and the city of Concord, acting on behalf of the track’s neighbors, doesn’t. I don’t live next to the track so I don’t care either way, but it seems a little silly. The complex currently has a 1.5 mile oval, 2.25 mile road course,a 6/10 mile kart track, a 1/4 mile asphalt oval in the infield, a 1/5 mile oval outside of turn 3, and 4/10 mile clay oval across the highway from the main track. In other words it’s a major complex filled with races. It’s not like an additional drag racing strip would ruin the quiet sanctuary that makes up the neighborhood. Further, the track was built in 1960. The neighbors have had nearly 50 years to either adjust to the noise of motorsports or sell their property. It seems a little silly to get upset at this point.

• Jimmie Johnson and Lowe’s Motorspeedway blah blah blah. What more is there to say? 11 top tens in 12 races.

• Speaking of Johnson (if blah blah blah counts as speaking) he is entered in Friday’s Busch race. Last year’s Busch race was one of the best and wildest of the year. Carl Edwards dominated before getting tagged by Casey Mears while they raced for the lead. Crashes filled the night as only five cars finished on the lead lap and 15 DNF’s due to wrecks. Dave Blaney raced Matt Kenseth hard, but cleanly to the finish, Blaney narrowly passing while Kenseth spun out on the final turn. It marked Blaney’s first in NASCAR. It was also significant because it was the only Busch race that Kevin Harvick didn’t finish on the lead lap, although he did clinch the Busch Championship with four races left.

• In 14 starts Robby Gordon has never led a lap at Charlotte, has zero top tens and averages a 27.6 finish. After a solid start to the season, Gordon has slid back to 27th in the standings. After making strides last season, Gordon’s team has plateaued a bit this year. Obviously missing the Pocono race didn’t help, but with Roush-Yates engines I expected Gordon to take another step forward for his one car outfit.

• According to my wife Kyle Busch will win Saturday night’s race. Sounds smarter than anything I have to say (If I were to say something I would mention that I think Carl Edwards looks like a decent choice) so I’m going with Shrub. Busch can certainly win anywhere and his lack of good finishes at Lowe’s does not reflect his potential on intermediate tracks.

Who’s your pick for Saturday night?