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Taming Monster’s is what all heroes want to do and this weekend will be no different for the the fans favorite drivers at Dover and from the looks of qualifying, the Toyota teams have a very real chance at making the Monster mild. The weather is going to be a bit warm and this fan expects to see some handling problems along with one or two engine failures. After all, the speeds are going to be up and it is still a little unknown what to expect for engine life on an unusually warm day in the Northeast.
The Monster is an interesting track, (at least from this fan’s view), and it can either be an exciting day or one that is a bit ho hum. Actually, I like this track, but I am sometimes a little disappointed by the racing. As has been the case a lot this season, timing of the caution flags has proven to be a race maker or a race breaker.
From this fan’s view (and in my humble opinion) I don’t really know what to expect on Sunday afternoon. If I decide to take the info from the first practice and qualifying into consideration, I would say the Toyotas have a great chance at making a very strong showing. What I mean is that both the Joe Gibbs Toyotas and the Michael Waltrip Toyotas are looking extremely tough and could walk away with many of the top spots. Matt Kenseth has been fast all weekend so far and even Denny Hamlin and Kyle Bush haven’t looked too shabby.
As for the Michael Waltrip teams, both Martin Truex Jr and Mark Martin both showed signs of being able to run up front on Sunday and could make a run at the checkers by the end of the day. So far, I’m not willing to stick my neck out very far and say they can win it all this weekend. I do have to admit, they, along with the other Toyatas, have a lot of speed and that could lead to a trip to victory lane.
Of course as is the case often on a race weekend, you can’t always judge how a race will go by the first day’s practice and qyalifying sessions. Saturday had quite a different feel to it and all round and the Chevys looked as though they might make a fight of it on Sunday afternoon. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon all looked much better than they did on Friday. Why I’d even go so far as to say they looked a lot better and should figure high on the list when it comes to being competitive by the end of the race. Even Dale Jr could end up in Victory Lane (and I don’t mean that to sound as trivial as it does at the moment. He could take the win and no one would be surprised.)
The RCR teams of Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard looked consistent and that good mean something good for either one of them when it comes down to cruch time. Of the two, Kevin Harvick would be my first pick if the winner was to come out of the RCR camp, but I’m not even counting out Jeff Burton either. It seems they are on to something and it could translate into a trip to Victory Lane for any of the three.
Kurt Bush has been one of the strongest cars over the last several weeks and I just can’t leave him off the list of possible winners in Sunday afternoon’s race. It would not surprise me at all and I think it would be a great thing for him to take the Furniture Row Chevy to
Victory Lane at the Monster Mile. I’m sure this is not just my opinion but, they have worked hard for it and it could very well happen this weekend.
Once again, the Ford’s just don’t seem to have the speed or the handling they need yet. Of course, we all know that can change this weekend and none of us would be all that surprised. Sometimes, all it takes is stumbling onto something on raceday and every Ford team can benefit and one of them end up leading the pack to the checkered flag. It’s not that they haven’t shown some muscle over the last 12 weeks, it’s just that they have been very inconsistent in performance.
Even Brad Keselowski hasn’t looked all that good lately (but many attribute that to the penalties they’ve served over the last few weeks. Now this is just this fan’s opinion but, I do think there is more to it than that. Sure, I know Joey Logano has been running quite well over the last several weeks and that just tells me the Penske teams aren’t completely lost. Time will tell whether they go on a tear or just continue on as they have.
Personally, this fan just thinks B K is in that “after winning the Cup Championship” rut that many seem to face in the year after they win it. (Well that is most everybody but 5 Time… )
See ya next time…
All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer
© June 1, 2013 – all rights reserved
Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com and Justafansview.com
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