Well, to say I’ve enjoyed the first six weeks of competition would be both part truth, and part lie. Sure, there’s been some exciting racing, and some well deserved victory celebrations, but I haven’t exactly enjoyed all the racing week in and week out.
That’s not to say it’s been all bad, but things could have gone different in some aspects. From the start of the season, all the hype of the Daytona 500 suddenly came to a halt because of the rain at the track. Sure, that’s something that can’t be controlled, and that unfortunately took away a lot of momentum that NASCAR had coming off 2011. The night race certainly brought some of that back, and the fact that an incident with a jet drier got more talk than the race winner showed me that this year is going to be one of unexpected things.
One thing I never expected was some of the early struggles by some drivers that were very strong all of last year. The two guys that stand out the most after the first six races in this aspect are Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch.
I’ll begin with Busch because let’s face it, as far as pure driving ability, he has every driver beat. The ability of this kid when he gets behind the wheel is unlike anything I have seen.
But, this year, he’s not been exactly the “Rowdy” type that he has been seen in years past, at least not since he signed on with Joe Gibbs Racing. He won the season-opening Budweiser Shootout exhibition race, but after that it’s been a downward spiral.
He’s wrecked, had engine problems, and has simply not run well.
He has cut back on the races he’s doing in the lower tier events, which shows he wants to get his Sprint Cup championship sooner than later, but unfortunately things have not worked out, at least not yet. The off week before Saturday night’s race at Texas is likely the best thing to have occurred for Busch, since he is a strong contender at the Texas Motor Speedway.
At the same time, the other surprise struggling driver so far has been Gordon, but not because of lack of speed or ability. Simply put, it’s just been bad luck.
Caught up in wrecks, wrong place-wrong time instances, or just bad handling have the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet outside the top-20 in points. It’s unlike Gordon to be in that position, the worst he’s ever been in his 20-year career. He’s certainly trying, and the confidence he has in the team putting his car together each week is at an all-time high. But it’s always something outside of his control that’s put a bad end to a strong run.
Just last week at Martinsville, in the lead heading to the final green flag of the day, and he gets caught up in a wreck that sends the fastest car to a 14th-place finish. Simply put, his best run of the year was ruined by anxious driving.
Unfortunately, the next race isn’t exactly his best track. He only has one win at Texas, but aside from that race, his luck at Texas is much like that of many people who want to win big in Las Vegas…often coming home disappointed and empty handed.
Hopefully Gordon and Busch took the week off to relax and get themselves prepared for the next stretch run of the season, because the next off-weekend doesn’t come until mid-July, which ends up being the only other off-weekend of the entire season.
Let’s see what happens come Saturday night. Maybe the week off is exactly what they, and the rest of the drivers, needed.