NASCAR: Food City 500 Recap

A True Contender

The easiest trap to fall into becoming a prisoner of the moment.

That especially applies to the analyzation of sports, where whoever wins today is now suddenly the best team or player, the best the best the sport has to offer. Even the most recent of history can be thrown out in the interest of praising the shiny the new thing.

But there's a reason I picked Kasey Kahne as the next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion: because I like the dude's talent, his level-headedness, and the combination of crew chief Kenny Francis and Hendrick Motorsports equipment.

He put all of that on showcase Sunday, blowing past Brad Keselowski on the final restart and then pulling away from Kyle Busch over the closing 40 laps to score his first victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The win, coming one week after a runner-up effort at Las Vegas, propelled Kahne to seventh in the points standings. He ranked 32nd after four races last season.

What a difference a year makes.

Now, instead of having to play catch-up as he did for much of his inaugural year with Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne is in the thick of the Chase hunt from the get-go.

Sure, it's far, far too early to start punching tickets for NASCAR's version of a post-season just yet.

But the season is getting to that point where we find what kind of strength each team has.

The power Kahne has shown the last two weeks has to be scary for the competition.


Not Exactly Old Bristol, But Definitely Exciting Bristol

Anyone who complains about a boring Food City 500 was obviously not watching the same race I was.

No, the cars weren't lined up in a single file conveyer belt as they were in years past at the high-banked half-mile before the track was reconfigured with progressive banking in 2007.

Since then, many NASCAR fans have screamed to the heavens that racing at the beloved facility — which had the tendency to produce three-wide battles with the new surface at the expense of beating, banging , wrecking, and the hot tempers that made the bullring famous — was ruined forever, prompting track owner Bruton Smith to grind down the upper lanes of the track during the summer of 2012. In theory this was supposed to narrow the racing groove, forcing cars back to the bottom where they would have to push and lean on each other more.

Interestingly, grinding the surface didn't have the intended effect, but in spite of that, the racing at Bristol might be as entertaining as it ever was.

Rather than taking away the top groove, where drivers have had a decided advantage over the past couple of years, up against the wall became the only groove where speed could be made. This meant the only method of passing was for drivers to dive-bomb into the turn and hope that the car stuck and the car being passed was willing to concede the position.

When this move failed, it lead to side by side racing, with bottom car sliding around and struggling for grip as the car on the outside fought like hell to hold into his position.

And when the leaders caught lapped traffic, all bets were off as they went two and three wide to try to find grip with the competition closing in on them.

And the tempers are back, too. Last August, Tony Stewart threw his helmet at Matt Kenseth's car after the two wrecked each other while racing for the lead.

On Sunday, Denny Hamlin wrecked former teammate Joey Logano. Logano, who had gotten into a brief Twitter spat with Hamlin after the Daytona 500, met the driver of the No.11 Toyota in the infield to discuss things. Things got heated and the two were finally separated.

Bristol's back, baby. Sure, the racing isn't exactly the same as it was in years past.

But that old attitude is as existent as ever.


Bad Blood

The ever growing riff between Hamlin and Logano is actually pretty intriguing. Partly because of their history as teammates. Also partly because their presence in social media such as Twitter.

But mostly because both were very competitive today.

The on-track altercation happened while the two were racing for second place. While Logano isn't necessarily a familiar face up front, he is a former race winner who showcased the potential speed his new team at Penske possesses on Sunday.

If they continue to race around each other as the season progresses, things could get very interesting.

Martinsville is only two weeks away. Payback could be on the horizon.

Stay tuned.


See also: Kyle Larson is the Real Deal