Hey everybody! Sorry about the long gap between articles. Had a lot to do, what with the end of my school year, and a 50th anniversary party for my grandparents. Congrats to them again! Now, I don’t have a ton of time, because this is apparently going to be a busy Summer, so I thought that over the Summer I’d get a little help from my old chums, Michael and Robert.

Me: So, guys, what a crazy past few weeks. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins the pole and race at Talladega, his first victory. Ryan Blaney wins his first career pole at Kansas, and loses out in a late race duel with Martin Truex Jr. And Aric Almirola shatters a vertebrae in the middle of his back in a late race accident with Joey Logano and Danica Patrick. Thoughts?

Michael: Nice to see you to. (Laughs) Well,we have a lot on our table here. Stenhouse and teammate Trevor Bayne have shown speed this year, and it was just a matter of time before one found victory lane. Stenhouse’s win gives Roush-Fenway Racing some of it’s former momentum, and places him in the playoffs. Really solid for that son of a gun.

Robert: And Blaney is once again proving he and the Wood Brothers team belong up top. Blaney almost won that race, but lack of experience out front cost him. Not that he is to be blamed. Experience is something you have to build, and that takes time, Not his fault by any means, and I do expect him to find victory lane this year. After all, his best tracks are the mile and a half tracks, and we spend half the season on those. He’ll get one.

Michael: As for Aric’s crash and injury, I think we all we’re a little scared. The sight of that was enough to scare you, but the fear on Joey Logano’s face and the horror at knowing Aric had been hurt were very hard to cope with. Nascar cares a lot about safety, and hopefully by studying Aric’s crash they can help improve the safety of these cars.

Me; Well said, and we send our prayers to Almirola. Now, Danica Patrick had good runs going at both Talldega and Kansas, an both ended with her being crashed, and neither was her fault. Any opinion on that?

Robert: Danica is a good racer. She’s proved that in ever series she’s raced in. Some say her looks are the only reason she’s made it, and while that helps, it isn’t the only thing keeping her going. I think she is just getting frustrated. To be running as well as she has, and to have things like that happen, it hurts.

Michael: And the fact that she has the worst team at Stewart-Hass Racing doesn’t help either. The changes on the 10 team have been constant, and she has been stripped of experience on the pit box. You can’t win with a rookie crew chief on the box every year. If SHR wants Danica to win, they need to actually put effort into her team, and the same money into her cars as those of Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch. After all, she’s more than just a sponsor magnet.

Me: Ok, so yesterday Nacar announced that due to the length of the Coca-Cola 600, they decided to make it into a four stage race rather than a three stage race. Each stage will be 100 laps, the last one included. Seem like a good idea?

Michael: I think so. The really interesting thing is not so much the number, but the lengths. Each is 100 laps. That means that teams can learn in the first three stages how their cars will handle the 100 laps, and thus be better prepared for the final stage.

Robert: While Mike has a point-

Michael: Don’t call me Mike.

Robert: -I do think the number of stages is the biggest change here. Teams are prepared for three. Now, they have to scramble to adjust their game plan to four. That may leave the door open for others to take advantage of the scramble. Also, is the rule that the race can be rain shortened after stage two still in place? Or is it stage three? A lot of questions come with the changes made for the longest race of the year.

Me: Very good points both of you. The playoff picture right now has a very interesting look to it. 11 drivers who are in right now made it last year, but several of them are either young guns or not consistent playoff contenders. Two drivers, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer, have been in the Chase before but missed it last year. And the final three who are in right now have never made it before (Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, and Ryan Blaney). Seeing as we have made it almost half way into the regular season, this is not random. Will things stay this way, or will changes occur?

Robert:: The heck if I know. Newman and Stenhouse both pulled out surprising wins, which have virtually locked them in. Blaney and Bowyer are running so well that for them not to win would be unheard of. Bayne is the one driver I harbor concerns for. He is very consistent, but that is for top-15s. If he can be a consistent top ten driver, I think he stands a better chance. And that is very possible. With Stenhouse locked in, Roush-Fenway Racing can afford to put more effort into Bayne’s no. 6 team.

Michael: I feel similar to Robert. Bayne is the one driver showing weakness. However, look who he is ahead of. Matt Kenseth, Daniel Suarez, Eric Jones, Kasey Kahne, Ty and Austin Dillon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Every one of them is capable of winning races, and they have shown that. But the randomness that stage racing has caused is unpredictable. Also, note the drivers just ahead of Bayne. Denny Hamlin, Blaney, Bowyer, and even Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are only about a race or two ahead of him. During the Summer, Busch and Hamlin are known to either feast or famine. If something goes wrong for any of these guys, and Bayne keeps clicking off top-10s, they could find themselves on the wrong end of the playoff bubble.

Robert: And don’t forget how good Jones and Suarez have run. They have their inconsistencies, but Jones in particular has been near the front. He could win a race, and that could change everything. And drivers like Dale Jr. and AJ Allmendinger have had some amazing runs this year, but find themselves mired in the mid-to-low twenties or even thirties  in points. Anything can happen.

Me: I like the randomness we’ve been dealing with here. Ok then, this weekend is the annual snooze fest we call the All-Star Race. Any thoughts on that?

Robert: Watch the qualifying and showdown, but don’t skip a party for the race.

Michael: Agreed. I think the race to get in will be a thriller between Bowyer, the Dillon brothers, Bayne, Blaney, Eric Jones, AJ Allmendinger, and many others. The qualifying will thrill with the no speed limit deal on pit road. And the race will most likely be a bore.

Me: All right then, with all this said, I have one final question. What do you think Nascar could do to make the All-Star Race better?

Michael: Put a real race in it’s place, with points or a playoff spot at stake.

Robert: Easy, put it on a track that’s good. Racing for a million bucks is no fun if it’s on a track that everyone gets spread out on. Put it at Talladega or Martinsville, which are actual race tracks. Charlotte is a bit more like Ring-Around-The-Rosie.

Me: Well, that’s one way to put it. Well, I’m looking forward to getting back racing, even if it is the All-Star race. All see you both in a week or two.

Michael: Bye!

Robert: Adios!

Me: Goodbye all, and as always, let’s go racing.