Memorial Day has come and gone. The official start of summer will soon be here. And that means NASCAR is about to turn up the heat.
We're 12 races into the 2008 season. We've taken on tracks like Daytona, Las Vegas, Bristol, and Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. Now for the fun stuff.
In the next ten weeks, NASCAR's finest will beat and bang at the "Monster Mile", a triangle, and two very different road courses. Oh yeah, don't forget about Indianapolis and Daytona...again.
NASCAR is testing this week at Pocono, the 2 1/2 mile triangle. Right now, speeds are down almost 6 miles an hour over last year's pole. The first of two road courses will come later in June at Infineon, with a stop at Watkins Glen in early August. If the open wheelers have any shot at Victory Lane this season, these two tracks may be it. We return to Daytona on July 5th, and you can expect another close finish under the lights there. Then there's Indy. If the track temperature is not close to boiling under the Indiana sun in late July, just wait until drivers like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick unleash their tempers at the Brickyard.
The first dozen races have opened our eyes to some surprises. Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress, and Rick Hendrick each have 3 cars in the chase right now, Jack Roush has 2 cars in, and Ray Evernham has 1. Not a bad top 12. But this may not be the final dance card come September.
You have to wonder if Hendrick Motorsports has really turned the corner. They stumbled out of the gate, with just one win so far in 2008. And how many more times will Dale Earnhardt, Jr. come close to a win before it's snatched out from under him?
Joe Gibbs Racing has a different problem. None of their four victories involves Tony Stewart. It looks like Kyle "Rowdy" Busch is the leader of this team right now.
Expect to see fireworks over the next ten weeks (and I'm not talking about after the checkered flag flies). Juan Pablo Montoya is on his third crew chief this season, "Rowdy" Busch is public enemy #1 for Jr. Nation, and we're reaching prime time for NASCAR's "Silly Season" to begin..just who will kick it off: Stewart, Greg Biffle, or will Bobby Labonte jump ship first?