30 Degrees of Banking

Playing Catch Up!

By Ryan Frisco

To all of my loyal NASCAR followers (I believe there are 8 of you) I apologize for my lack of presence the past couple of weeks.  I have slacked severely, and there is no excuse for it.  I will try to get back to my consistent ways with timely previews and reviews of each race.  I mean come on, without NASCAR what would the Sports Eye View Blog be?  This is totally the Cash Cow!

Let's start with a quick review of Pocono two weeks ago.  Jimmie Johnson dominated and won the

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race, Tony Stewart continued his hot streak with a Top 5 finish.  Enough said.

Last week, NASCAR endured a tragedy in the death of driver Jason Leffler.  He died while racing the Sprint cars on the dirt tracks, something he was looking forward to getting heavily back into.  He leaves behind a young son.  What is NASCAR to do in an event like this?

NASCAR isn't like other sports.  Yeah, other athletes run the risk of serious injury or death, but not like in NASCAR.  The death of an athlete in this sport happens more often than in other professional sports.   I've seen it too much in my lifetime.  First I saw Adam Petty die in a crash, the grandson of NASCAR's King Richard Petty.  Then it was Kenny Irwin, and Dale Earnhardt, Sr., one of the sport's top 2 most famous, popular and decorated drivers of all time.  It happened at NASCAR's grand stage, the Daytona 500.  Within the past couple years, Dan Wheldon, and Indy 500 Champion and beloved Indy Car Racer, was killed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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So, what is NASCAR to do?  What they've been doing since the beginning, and what they've continued to do nonstop: make the sport safer.  They have added technology to all of the tracks to soften the impact on the wall when a driver hits it.  They have reinforced the roll cage to protect the driver inside.  They have implemented a HANS device around the drivers head/helmet to keep their neck from snapping forward.  They have found numerous ways to keep the cars from going airborne.

Yes, there have been deaths in the sport, but it is obvious that there have been many more deaths prevented by the hard work NASCAR has done to make the sport safer over the years.  But, events like this bring light to the fact that every single one of these drivers runs a serious risk each and every Sunday they step into that car.  Jason Leffler, we are praying for your son and those close to you.  We enjoyed having the opportunity to see you race at the NASCAR level.

Photo Cred www.usatoday.com

In light of these events, the race went on as planned Sunday at Michigan.  The track was primed for one of the four Hendrick cars to win, but that was not to be...

The Victor: The Bif!  Greg Biffle somehow pulled out victory Sunday.  He may not have had the fastest car out there, but he put himself at the front near the end and held on for dear life.  Second two weeks ago, first this week...Biffle's Summer so far is heading in the right direction, with a spot in the Chase!

The First Loser: Kevin Harvick.  He just keeps doing this, finding himself near the front at the end.  Happy Harvick is looking like his old self...which is bad news for everyone else not named Jimmie Johnson.

Hendrick Motorsports: So, I mentioned that Hendrick was supposed to dominate?  Check out these stats.  Jeff Gordon, great car, crashed on lap 6, 37th.  Kasey Kahne, dominated, cut a tire while leading, 36th.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was running away with the lead, blown engine, 35th.  Jimmie Johnson, runner up with 3 laps to go, cut tire, 28th.  Each and every one of these drivers had a legitimate shot to win, it just wasn't in the cards this week.

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Shout Outs: Gotta give a shout out to Martin Truex, Jr. He came home third, which moved him up four spots in the standings.  I'm confident he'll find himself in the Chase this year.

I'm going to keep mentioning Tony Stewart until he has a bad finish.  5th place Sunday. The string continues, as he is now 10th in points!  Five races ago he was outside the Top 20.  What a run!

I've got one more shout to Sports Eye View writer Caleb Musselman.  He turned 23 on Tuesday!  Exciting birthday, right?  Now he can...nevermind, he's just a year older.  Happy Birthday!

Okay, that's enough for this week, I think we're caught up enough.  Next week, we're going road racing!  It's a whole different ballgame, tune in this weekend for the Sonoma Preview!

Ryan Frisco is a co-founder of Sports Eye View, as well as the Head NASCAR Analyst.  He can be reached at ryanafrisco@gmail.com