Kasey Kahne Tames the Lady While Drivers Brace for Bristol Stomp

Racin’ with Russ:

Just as Clint Bowyer mentioned a few years ago during one of the Toyota’s dominating performances, something to the effect of, “A monkey could drive that thing,” this week’s monkey was Kasey Kahne piloting Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Camping World Truck to victory at Darlington.

The weekend started mid-Saturday afternoon with newbee Cole Whitt taking his first ever NASCAR pole position, besting the likes of Kahne and Johnny Sauter. While young Whitt led some of the opening laps, Kahne was quick to illustrate his speed by leading early and often, ala his boss Busch, who was out of the country with his wife in Cancun.

Ex-Cupper Elliott Sadler led 16 laps on the day, Whitt 30 and Kahne posted 95 laps out front before collecting his second consecutive truck win at the ‘Lady in Black’, just in front of Ron Hornaday Jr, a hard charge from Todd Bodine, points leader Matt Crafton and an impressive run by James Buescher to cap the top five runners.

Notes: Ex F-1 pilot Nelson Piquet Jr, Ricky Carmichael and Johanna Long all had tough days with endings in the fence and on the hook.

Next race for the pick ‘em-ups is slated for the ever-so-tight Martinsville in two weeks.

Bristol Stomp - The Nationwide and Sprint Cup drivers probably needed a week off before taking to the high banks of Bristol this weekend.

The well banked half-mile track is a far cry from any track they’ve competed on this year such as Daytona, where the mentality is foot-to-the-floor-turn-left. Many drivers have equated running at Bristol akin to jet fighters in a gymnasium or frogs in a blender.

It’s fast, it’s furious and the tempers will come out in a heartbeat. And paybacks? Yes, this is the place to settle some scores without trying to kill someone. Maybe Carl Edwards will have an opportunity to thank Kyle Busch for taking him out a few races ago or will there be some paybacks to Matt Kenseth for some on-track indiscretions a few weeks ago?

Buckle up, strap in and enjoy the shows this weekend.

Straight Line Scoop - During Kurt Busch’s weekend off from NASCAR competition, he spent most of it in Florida at the famous Gatornationals as a Pro Stock drag racer.

This is certainly a switch from going left, left, left or left and right at the two-road courses, it’s a passion to go fast in a straight line started last year in a 1970 Dodge Challenger Sportsman race.

Friday’s qualifying rounds saw Busch in his bright red and yellow 1400 hp Dodge make some rookie mistakes, coming up short to making the 16-car field. Saturday’s final round saw the rookie Pro Stock driver qualify solidly in 12^th for Sunday’s final.

Unfortunately his weekend ended in the first round when he went up against veteran racer Erica Enders, but just by a half-car at the finish. He and his crew were thrilled with their first taste of big-time drag racing and will return when time allows.

Typical times and speeds in this division are mid-six-second runs in the quarter mile with top speeds in excess of 210 mph!

From Rumorville - All those rumors of the German car maker Volkswagen coming to NASCAR can now be put to rest. Company reps recently announced any branching out in F-1 or NASCAR is just not in the cards now or anytime in the future. There goes any Love Bug sequels in NASCAR.

--- Greg Biffle and his entourage escaped a potentially serious situation just after landing last week in his Falcon 20 private plane. His two pilots skillfully brought the plane to a stop after the left landing gear collapsed while taxiing. Biffle noticed looking out the left side windows the wing dragging on the ground in a shower of sparks.

That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will review the carnage left over from NASCAR racing from Bristol along with more racing news from around the globe.