Busch goes back-to-back

Another Coca-Cola 600, another dominant performance for the winning car. Kurt Busch backed up last week’s All-Star win with a dominating performance Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway to win NASCAR’s longest race. Busch became only the seventh driver to win the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 in back-to-back weeks, joining the ranks of Dale Earnhardt and Darrel Waltrip. Busch led for a race-high 256 laps with the next highest number of laps led by a driver being Jimmie Johnson with 36 laps led.

“This has been a dream come true to be able to wrap up this special weekend,” Busch said. “This was a fantastic job by my guys to keep us up front all day. This was a race for the ages. To have a car as good as it was in the daytime, I was afraid of what it would do at night. It’s unbelievable that we swept both races.”

“It’s a prestigious race, it’s a tough race, and most important, it’s a team race.”

For a while, it looked like Kyle Busch might score another comeback win. Busch came from almost three laps down in Saturday’s Nationwide Series to get his fifth win in six tries at Charlotte. Sunday night, it looked like he might do it again. While leading, Busch got tangled up with Brad Keselowski on lap 168 after a two-tire stop and seriously damaged his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota. Busch meticulously made his way through the field though and worked his way up to a third-place finish to move within 29 points of series leader Kevin Harvick.

“We had a really good race car, I thought we were one of the best to be able to keep up with the two and the one,” Busch said. “We made a lot of changes to it (the car), we kept making swings at it to try and make it better, and we got a third place finish out of it.”

Jeff Burton was among the late race challengers, but on a late restart, it looked as if Kyle Busch got into Burton’s left rear tire in a three-wide situation. Burton proceeded to cut the tire down and finish 25th.

One of the evolving stories of the night was the run of Jamie McMurray and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. Earlier in the day, Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 to make Chip Ganassi the first car owner to win both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in the same year. And with McMurray making a run to the top at Charlotte, it looked as if Ganassi might win the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day, an unprecedented accomplishment in auto racing. McMurray finished second behind Busch and moved up two spots to 15th in the points standings.

“We had a great car, you know I was worried after happy hour. Our car had really good speed but it just didn’t drive very well,” McMurray said. “We did a great job of making adjustments though and put the same setup we ran in the All-Star Race. The car was really good and they did a nice job of adjusting on it all night long.”

Starting the race fourth in points, Johnson looked poised for another win at Charlotte early in the race but tagged the outside retaining wall on the front stretch just under 100 laps into the race. Johnson rebounded back into the top 20, but got loose on the back stretch on lap 274 and slammed into the wall, effectively ending his night.

“I was trying to run from the leader, and I had the leader on my tail coming through,” Johnson said. “We made some big adjustments to the car and basically adjusted it to free it up there and I just spun out off of (Turn 2).”

Point leader Harvick picked up an 11th-place finish to retain a slight points lead over Kyle Busch. Other points movers were Jeff Gordon, who moved up two spots to fourth after a sixth place finish while Busch moved up three spots with the win to sixth.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway next week for the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target.

Photo courtesy of Wilson Herlong

Geoff Bodine to race for share of $1 million

Yes, you saw that right. 61-year-old Geoff Bodine has signed on to race for the largest U.S. Legends purse in grassroots racing history. Bodine will compete in the Legends million at Charlotte Motor Speedway July 15-17 behind the wheel of the Florida Alzheimer's Association car.

Bodine has an illustrious NASCAR career that includes 18 series wins, including the 1986 Daytona 500 and 1982 Rookie of the Year. The event will feature Legend car Series regulars as well as up-and-coming drivers in a 100-lap dash for the cash. The only other auto racing series that compete for a $1 million prize is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide and IndyCar Series.

The main event will be nationally telecast on SPEED TV on July 17, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. The telecast will include the entire live A-Main race as well as highlights from Thursday and Friday night's racing action. The winner of the A-Main event will pocket $250,000 with the final spot assured $10,000.

For the Legends Million, Bodine's race car will showcase his commitment to helping those in need. Bodine's car will carry a special paint scheme for the Florida chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and Bodine has pledged to donate his entire prize winnings to help the organization.

"The only way my friends got me to agree to run in the Legends Million was is I could give the money to a charity," Bodine said. "I've been involved in a lot of charities over the years and want to influence people who do good things. I hope we're able to help those affected by this terrible illness."

Bodine's first experience in a Legend Car came in 1997 in a celebrity race. His son, Barry Bodine went on to win the series championship that year. Bodine's final Sprint Cup Series win came in August 1996 in the "Bud at the Glen." Bodine raced in his final Sprint Cup Series race in 2004 at the MBNA America "A Salute To Heroes" 400 at Dover.

3 drivers to watch in the Coca-Cola 600

Now that it's raceday for the Coca-Cola 600, here are my three drivers to watch in the season's longest race.

Darkhorse: Kasey Kahne

Sure, Kahne is 19th in the points standings, but he's always been strong at Charlotte. Kahne was dominant in yesterday's Nationwide Series race before alternator problems eliminated any chance of a win. Three of Kahne's 11 career wins have come at Charlotte, so don't be surprised if the No. 9 Budweiser Ford is in the mix near the end.

Contender: Kyle Busch

Busch doesn't have a strong track record at Charlotte in the Sprint Cup Series, but who can argue against four straight wins in points races in NASCAR's top three series. Busch has six career Nationwide Series wins at Charlotte and has picked up two Sprint Cup Series wins this season. After his late-race run in with Denny Hamlin last week, Busch is poised to pick up his third win of the season.

Winner: Jimmie Johnson

He's fourth in points, but Jimmie Johnson is always a solid winning pick at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A winner of four straight points championships and six Sprint Cup Series races at Charlotte, Johnson is hard to bet against at the 1.5 mile oval. After three straight wins in NASCAR's longest race, Johnson hasn't picked up a win at the 600 since 2005 and seems overdue for a victory.

Busch wins Tech-Net 300

Kyle Busch was two laps down, almost three. But he never gave up. The self-proclaimed “Old Kyle” might have packed it in, but this is the new Busch. After falling nearly three laps behind in the early going because of a pit road penalty, Busch came over the radio and said of still winning the race, “I’ve never done this before. Let’s do it.”

Busch proceeded to plow through the field on the way to his fourth win in his last five tries on the Nationwide Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Tech-Net Auto Service 300. That fifth time, Busch finished second to Mike Bliss.

"We don't like to make them too easy I guess," Busch said following the win. "It's a testament to this team and these guys and Jason Ratcliff. They gave me a good piece today."

Busch held off Brad Keselowski and several late restarts for the 35th win of his Nationwide Series career. The win was the 50th of Busch’s career in a Toyota across all three of NASCAR’s series’. The win also moved Busch within one point of Keselowski for the series points lead; however Busch declared this week that he won’t defend his title so he can focus on the Sprint Cup Series. Busch now has six wins in 14 tries at the 1.5 mile oval and is tied with Mark Martin with six wins at CMS.

Keselowski posted his fifth top-10 finish in eight races at Charlotte and 11th top-10 in 2010.

"It was a great day. We led a bunch of laps at the start and there towards the end," Keselowski said. "A great day for us here at Charlotte. If we would have had one more lap, we would have had a shot at it."

Joey Logano, who entered Saturday’s race eighth in points, finished third. It was his second top-10 in four career races at CMS.

I wish we could have turned it up just a little bit and would have had at leas something for him (Busch)," Logano said. "We thought two tires was going to make the difference there at the end. We were sitting in good position, just not fast enough."

Carl Edwards started on the pole but had a mediocre day on the way to a ninth-place finish while second place starter Trevor Bayne finished 17th.

The Nationwide Series heads to Nashville, TN next weekend for the Federated Auto Parts 300.


Photo courtesy of Wilson Herlong

College Player Watch: Jake Locker

The Washington Huskies football program got a boost in the offseason when quarterback Jake Locker decided to return for his senior season rather than declare for the NFL Draft.

At 6-3, 226 pounds, Locker is a game changer and has been a springboard for the Huskies' floundering football program over the last three years.

After an abbreviated season in 2008 because of a thumb injury, Locker returned in 2009 and led the Huskies to a five-win improvement over the 2008 season in which they went 0-12. Locker's big arm gives him the ability to get the ball downfield quickly and allowed him to throw for 2,880 yards, 21 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. Locker is also very athletic for his size rushing for 388 yards and seven touchdowns in 2009.

Locker showed great improvement in 2009 under head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Huskies will be looking for an even bigger improvement in 2010.

Deegan has aspirations for NASCAR

After making a huge mark on Freestyle Motocross, Brian Deegan wants to try his hand at stock car racing. The most decorated medalist in X-Games history announced today that he plans on making the transition to stock car racing and eventually wants to race in the Sprint Cup Series.

To move up to the Sprint Cup Series, Deegan announced that he will be joining the NTS Motorsports driver development program. Deegan will become part of a two-car program that NTS will field, along with current driver Brennan Newberry.

"When NASCAR chairman Brian France told the world that NASCAR 'is a contact sport...we're going to loosen it up,' I'm not sure Mr. France knew what he was getting into," Deegan said. "I took that as a personal invitation for guys like me. I love racing, I love going fast, I love pushing the limit and that's what I'm going to bring to NASCAR."

In coming to NASCAR, Deegan will bring an entirely new group of fans to the sport.

"Brian is a winner and is going to bring the same commitment and passion that took him to the top of Motocross and the X-Games," NTS Motorrsports Team Owner Bob Newberry said. "We are similarly committed to putting Brian in world class equipment, getting him the seat time to ensure his success, and moving him through our development process to Sprint Cup."

Deegan founded a group called the "Metal Mulisha" and despite numerous injuries and almost dying three separate times, went on to win 10 X-Games medals.

As a precursor to his move into NASCAR, Deegan founded the Rockstar Energy/Metal Mulisha/Lucas Oil short course off-road truck racing team where Deegan won the championship in 2009.


Photo courtesy of Wilson Herlong

College Player Watch: Ryan Mallett

To continue the early college football look ahead, I'll look at the Arkansas' Ryan Mallett. This 6-foot-7-inch, 238 pound gunslinger has it all. A big pro-style arm, tremendous size, and the potential to take the Hogs to a whole new level.

After taking a year off because of a transfer, Mallett exploded out of the gate in 2009. Highlighted by a 409-yard, five touchdown game in a loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Mallett was the key to the Hog's renewed success in 2009, completing 56 percent of his throws for 3,624 yards, 30 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

The only weak spot in Mallett is that he shrunk in the big games. Against Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, LSU and in the bowl game against the East Carolina Pirates, Mallett completed just 39 percent of his passes and threw only five touchdown passes; never throwing for more than 254 yards.

If the Razorbacks want to contend in the battle for the SEC West title, Mallett will need to show more poise in the big games.


Photo courtesy of MCT Campus

I know it's early

It's very early, only May 27 in fact, but it's never too early to talk college football 2010. My first college player watch for 2010 was one of the surprises of the 2009 season, and if not for a dim-witted move of an established starter, this player might not have seen nearly as much action.

When LeGarrette Blount punched a Boise State player following Oregon's season-opening loss, he kicked open the door for freshman running back LaMichael James. In what was one of the best freshman seasons by a Duck running back in a long time, James tore opponents up.

The 5-9, 180 pound freshman used Blount's dense move as a springboard for a huge season. James rushed for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns and also caught 17 balls for 168 yards. James' small frame was useful in eluding defenders and helped him rush for more than 100 yards in nine of the Ducks' final 10 regular season contests.

James' season was highlighted by a season-high 183 yards against USC as well as a 166-yard, three touchdown performance against Oregon State in the season finale that helped the Ducks clinch a spot in the Rose Bowl.

James is a heat-seeking missile out of the backfield and hits the hole with authority. While he looks small, don't be fooled. James has exceptional strength and won't be brought down by arm tackles; he also has the ability to make defenders look down-right silly in the open field with his quick moves.

Now a sophomore, James will be looking to make national headlines as one of the top tailbacks in the country. However, he won't be able make those headlines until week two because of a one-week suspension due to a domestic violence charge.

Harvick looking for solid weekend

Kevin Harvick has had his troubles at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the past. And that's exactly the Sprint Cup Series point leader is looking for a solid finish this weekend.

"It's just one of those places that has been tough for me to interpret and communicate the right feel of the race track and what I need in the car," Harvick said. "Usually that's my strong point in helping them (the crew) and helping guide them in the right direction, but this place has been a little bit tougher for us."

Aside from Harvick's sixth-place finish in Saturday's All-Star Race, he hasn't fared well at all at CMS. In his career, Harvick has averaged just a 21st place finish and has recorded only three top 10's and one top five in his career at the 1.5 mile oval. Now facing the longest race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, Harvick is ready for a fight with the elements and obstacles that will stand in his way.

"There's just so many things that you go through in a 600-mile race," Harvick said. "Just with the fact that you start during the day and you wind up being later at night than a lot of races go. This track is very temperature-sensitive, so your car has to be very adjustable."

For most drivers, the Coca-Cola 600 ranks right up there with the Daytona 500 or All-Star Race. But Harvick, a winner of both, doesn't place it very high on the list of races he would like to win in the future.

"On my list it ranks pretty low," Harvick said. "But I guess I'm a little bit biased the wrong way I guess because it's been just such a tough place for us. In the sport, I think it's obviously an important race just for the fact that that it has a lot of history, it's a really long race and it's right in everybody's backyard."

After struggling to a 19th-place finish in 2009's final series standings, Harvick has made a complete 180 and now sits at the top of the point standings. Maybe his luck at CMS will do the same.

"Hopefully we have a good weekend; a good, solid weekend is what we're looking for this week."

Busch talks Denny Hamlin

Kyle Busch spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday since his run-in with Denny Hamlin in Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race. Here's a quick summary of some of the comments Busch had about the incident.

On initial incident with Hamlin

"Well apparently it was the All-Star race and it kind of surprised me at the way my teammate wanted to race me. Seeing as how I thought I had a good shot to win the race with a great race car, my guys did a phenomenal job on that last pit stop right before the green. I felt like they gave me the opportunity to win the race and we were going after it there and unfortunately we ran out of race track. I was heated after the race. It surprised me and I wouldn't have expected my teammate to race me that way. But he was the leader, had the race track, and I now understand that."

On why he was surprised at what happened

"I think that last week could have, should have went a little bit differently. I felt like Joe Gibbs Racing, either he or myself had a great shot to win the race and bring home $1 million to Joe Gibbs Racing and win another race for the team. Unfortunately it didn't happen and we move on and try to work towards the goal which is winning a championship this year. We're going to work together and share our information the same as we always have."

On whether he and Hamlin will be able to work together

"Yeah I feel like we can move on and work together. A little dissatisfied with his quote about how I would have done the same thing because you can't put words in a person's mouth. I don't feel like I would have done the same thing. I race with respect because I learned from Mark Martin and those guys. I have had my bad points but since learning from Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and those guys, I feel like I've gotten better. Even though it is an All-Star race, I was surprised that it happened. I don't think I would typically run myself into the fence and I think it was just the nature of the race."

If he regrets what he said over the radio

"Do I regret what I said over the radio? Absolutely not. It was the heat of the moment, that's who I am, that's my expression. I'm not gonna be sorry for what I said. It's freedom of speech and I was frustrated. It wasn't joking, but it wasn't going to happen. What am I going to kill him with? My good looks?"

3 drivers to watch in the Tech-Net Auto Service 300

The NASCAR Nationwide Series comes to Charlotte, N.C. for week 12 of the season and the Tech-Net Auto Service 300 on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Points leader Brad Keselowski will look to build on his slim 11-point lead on Kyle Busch, who ranks second in the point standings. Here are my three drivers to watch for Saturday's Tech-Net Auto Service 300.

3. Carl Edwards: Although a Ford has yet to win on the Nationwide Series in 2010 in 11 tries, Edwards might be prone for a breakthrough at Charlotte. Edwards finished 10th last May at Charlotte in the Carquest Auto Parts 300 and bettered that by coming in fifth in the Dollar General 300 in October. Edwards has two top-10 finishes in his last three starts with the third finish being 11th last week at Dover.

2. Joey Logano: Logano has been hot in his last three starts on the Nationwide Series. After not racing at Darlington or Dover, Logano is poised for a win at Charlotte. In his previous three starts on the Nationwide Series at Richmond, Talladega and Texas, Logano finished sixth, second and second, respectively. Logano finished 14th in the Dollar General 300 in October after an early accident but logged a fifth-place finish last May in the Carquest Auto Parts 300.

1. Kyle Busch: Easily the most talked-about person in the sport, Busch already has four wins on the Nationwide series in 2010 and won the October race in Charlotte in dominating fashion. Busch led 137 of the 200 laps in the Dollar General 300 and proclaimed Charlotte as "His house" after his win. Busch picked up a win last week at Dover and finished second the previous week at Darlington Raceway. To put it all in perspective, Busch has three wins in his last six starts and has finished outside the top four only once.


Photo courtesy of MCT Campus

Kurt Busch take All-Star title

$1 million can make people do a lot of crazy things. Saturday night, it made NASCAR’s best do just that. Among a slew of crashes and exciting racing over the final laps, Kurt Busch and the No. 2 Miller Lite Vortex Dodge emerged victorious, beating out Martin Truex Jr. and a hard-charging Joey Logano for his first victory in NASCAR’s premier event.

“This is huge,” Busch said. “These are one of the big marquee events….this, Daytona, the 600 and Indy. Just to be able to do it in front of the Penske Racing organization. This is phenomenal.”

Jimmie Johnson dominated most of the night, leading 56 of the 100 laps, but was beat off pit road by Denny Hamlin after the mandatory four-tire stop before the final 10-lap segment. That’s when the madness began. Hamlin and Johnson, now in second and third, respectively, were coming off turn four when Johnson spun down into the infield.

“I knew I had to clear the No. 11 on the outside of me so I just kept my foot in it,” Johnson said of the incident with Hamlin. “I could feel them on the outside of me kind of pulling the back end of my car around but I said, ‘the hell with it, it’s the All-Star race.’ I kept my foot on the floor and hoped that I made it off the turn and I didn’t. It turned around on me.”

On lap 94, perhaps the most controversial accident of the night happened. With Hamlin in the lead and Kyle Busch following closely in second, Busch appeared to be headed for the lead on a good run out of turn two. But his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate blocked him, forcing Busch into the wall and out of contention. As Busch and Hamlin collided, Kurt Busch flew past both and into the lead for the final time.

The night was virtually accident-free before the final segment. But just as the 10-lap final segment began, a multi-car wreck exploded on the front stretch, collecting seven cars before a green flag lap was completed. Because a green flag lap had not been completed, the cars restarted in the same order with Hamlin leading.

Kurt took the first 50-lap segment with a pass of his brother Kyle on lap 49. Johnson won the second segment by a wide margin, followed by Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin and Hamlin.

The third segment was a near mirror-image of the second, as Johnson came home first again, followed by Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin and Kyle Busch.

By virtue of rain showers on Friday, Kurt Busch won the pole for Saturday’s All-Star event. Saturday night, he was covered by a shower of Miller Lite in victory lane. Most people might put $1 million into savings. But how will Kurt Busch celebrate?

“I don’t know. A million Miller Lites!”

Truex wins Showdown

Martin Truex Jr. won the Sprint Showdown while Greg Biffle finished second Saturday night. The top two finishers in the 29-car field will advance to the All-Star race at 9 p.m.

Fast-moving Juan Montoya and Regan Smith were involved in the evening's first caution when the two made contact heading into turn one. Montoya had moved up to fourth and looked as if he was threatening for the lead and a spot in the All-Star race.

After the Montoya-Smith caution just before the end of the first segment, leaders David Ragan and Biffle opted not to pit and take on tires, which looked like it might be costly.

"I thought we were a sitting duck," Biffle said.

After Ragan was involved in a brush-up with David Gilliland, Truex and Biffle moved to the front and never looked back. Biffle led the first 12 laps of the second segment while Truex led the final eight laps.

"It was a good run for us, we made some good adjustments on that pit stop that helped us a lot," Truex said. "We're excited to be in the field tonight. I think our car is pretty good, we've got some things we're going to work on. Excited to be in this race, its a lot of fun not racing for points."

The All-Star race is slated to start at 9:10 p.m.

Childress and Harvick announce contract extension

Richard Childress Racing Team owner and driver Kevin Harvick announced a multi-year contract extension for Harvick to continue driving the No. 29 Chevrolet.

"We are very excited to have Kevin back," Childress said. "He has written a lot of history for RCR."

Harvick struggles in 2009 and there was speculation about a possible movement away from RCR. 2010 has been a turnaround season for Harvick, as he finds himself leading the points heading into tonight's All-Star race.

"I think for us," Harvick said. "It was great to put away all of the questions that I knew there were"

"The last time we were doing this, I didn't do things very well. I think that, this time, I did things the right way."

Terms of the contract were not disclosed and a sponsor will be determined at a later date.

49ers home and away A-10 games identified

The A-10 athletic directors, men's and women's basketball coaches and conference staff concluded four days of meetings in Virginia today.

Highlights included the reconfirmation of the format for the 2010-11 A-10 Men's Basketball Championship as well as the approval of the 2010 A-10 men's regular season basketball schedule.

Charlotte will remain partners in conference play with George Washington, Xavier and Richmond and will play each team twice in 2010-11. Charlotte will play Dayton, Fordham, UMass, La Salle and Saint Joseph's at home while traveling on the road to play Rhode Island, Duquesne, Temple, Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure.

"The meetings were very productive and a healthy exchange of meaningful ideas and viewpoints," says A-10 commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.

"I look forward to working with John McCutcheon, our new chair of the executive committee, and thank Jack Kvancz for his outstanding leadership and work over the past two years."

The finals of the 35th annual A-10 Men's Basketball Championship will be played on Sunday, Mar. 13, and televised live at 1:00 p.m. on CBS for the second consecutive year. Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. will once again play as the host site for the tournament.

The complete conference schedule with dates and times will be announced at a later date.