Stewart, Busch epitomized the good and bad of NASCAR
By Don Coble | Morris News Service
Wednesday, December 7, 2005 ATLANTA - The engines are silent, the speeches done for the 2005 racing season. That only leaves memories.
There were plenty of twists and turns - most of them left-handed - during the year, creating a lot of winners and losers in a sport that generally doesn't slow down long enough to reflect.
First, the good. The winners were:
- Tony Stewart. The temperamental, but talented, driver harnessed all of his emotions to putting his Joe Gibbs-owned Chevrolet back on top of the Nextel Cup Series standings.
- Carl Edwards. NASCAR was doing flips - literally - over this newcomer. A couple years ago he was handing out business cards while looking for work. He finished third in his first full-time season on the Nextel Cup Series circuit, gaining fame by doing back-flips off his car after each victory.
- NASCAR's safety record. It's taken a lot of money and even more blood for NASCAR to develop its safety program. Neck restraints, modern seat belts and new construction mandates resulted in no deaths or serious injuries.
- Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd. The two 49-year-old drivers rode off into the sunset after the season finale at Homestead, Fla. Wallace wrapped up a yearlong farewell tour; Rudd kept his retirement secret until the final three weeks.
While their departures took different paths, they were able to leave on their own terms.
And now, the bad. The losers were:
- Kurt Busch. His boorish behavior with a county sheriff deputy near Phoenix International Raceway not only cost him his job, it made him the sport's new bad boy.
- Dodge. The new Charger wasn't competitive. It was so bad in traffic, two drivers - Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne - went back to the 2003 Dodge Intrepid during at the season finale.
- Shane Hmiel. After winning the sport's only reprieve for failing a drug test, he flunked another one.
- Menard engines. Robby Gordon picked the engines to power his team and that loyalty backfired. He started the year with a fine for an illegal engine at Daytona. He failed to make the starting lineup at seven races.
- Mark Martin's retirement. What was supposed to be his final year came with plenty of tributes, but he did an about-face and is going to return next year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~From KnowYourNascar
By Don Coble | Morris News Service
Wednesday, December 7, 2005 ATLANTA - The engines are silent, the speeches done for the 2005 racing season. That only leaves memories.
There were plenty of twists and turns - most of them left-handed - during the year, creating a lot of winners and losers in a sport that generally doesn't slow down long enough to reflect.
First, the good. The winners were:
- Tony Stewart. The temperamental, but talented, driver harnessed all of his emotions to putting his Joe Gibbs-owned Chevrolet back on top of the Nextel Cup Series standings.
- Carl Edwards. NASCAR was doing flips - literally - over this newcomer. A couple years ago he was handing out business cards while looking for work. He finished third in his first full-time season on the Nextel Cup Series circuit, gaining fame by doing back-flips off his car after each victory.
- NASCAR's safety record. It's taken a lot of money and even more blood for NASCAR to develop its safety program. Neck restraints, modern seat belts and new construction mandates resulted in no deaths or serious injuries.
- Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd. The two 49-year-old drivers rode off into the sunset after the season finale at Homestead, Fla. Wallace wrapped up a yearlong farewell tour; Rudd kept his retirement secret until the final three weeks.
While their departures took different paths, they were able to leave on their own terms.
And now, the bad. The losers were:
- Kurt Busch. His boorish behavior with a county sheriff deputy near Phoenix International Raceway not only cost him his job, it made him the sport's new bad boy.
- Dodge. The new Charger wasn't competitive. It was so bad in traffic, two drivers - Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne - went back to the 2003 Dodge Intrepid during at the season finale.
- Shane Hmiel. After winning the sport's only reprieve for failing a drug test, he flunked another one.
- Menard engines. Robby Gordon picked the engines to power his team and that loyalty backfired. He started the year with a fine for an illegal engine at Daytona. He failed to make the starting lineup at seven races.
- Mark Martin's retirement. What was supposed to be his final year came with plenty of tributes, but he did an about-face and is going to return next year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~From KnowYourNascar