Nascar

Sprint Cup drivers remained tightlipped rather than second-guess NASCAR for the no-caution finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week. Kevin Harvick passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his third victory of the season when Earnhardt ran out of gas in the final lap, but wouldn't even acknowledge any controversy over the decision not to throw a yellow when Jeff Burton spun in traffic. Earnhardt likely would have coasted to his first win in almost three years had the caution come out. He also steered clear of the issue, though he noted his fans' bitter disappointment.

Clint Bowyer put the trophy from last year's victory at New Hampshire in his house. The rest of his memories from that weekend, well, they're not so good. Bowyer's winning car in the Chase opener flunked inspection and NASCAR levied penalties that ended his championship hopes days after he had positioned himself as a top contender. Bowyer defended the legality of the car this weekend in his return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but he's mostly put the fiasco behind him. Bowyer is seeking a spot for the Chase and hopes a repeat win at New Hampshire, minus the ensuing drama, can lift him back into championship contention.

NASCAR heads to Cali this week and boy does Clint Bowyer need a little SoCal sunshine to shine on his race team, instead of the black cloud that seems to be stuck there right now. Clint is not having bad runs for the most part, but he is having a lot of bad luck. So maybe California is just what the doctor ordered. I 10 career starts at the Auto Club Speedway, Bowyer had never finished worse than 20th, and 6 times he had finished in the top 10. He finished second last time NASCAR visited.

What makes Daytona special from other races? It's the history, it's the pageantry, it's knowing that you are racing, where all the greats raced before you. That's why, generally speaking more people show up at this race than any other all season long. It is the essence of NASCAR, anyone with a car and a dream (and NASCAR approval) can race here. Now truth be known, I have never been much of a Brad Keselowski fan. I always thought he was brash kid who's equipment and ego always out weighed his talent.

Okay I get it, the idea of a NASCAR driver having a cell phone in his car at 200 MPH sends all the wrong messages. I understand why they say no cell phones in the cars. But here's the rub for me, there isn't a person that spend more than 5 minutes around the sport that didn't know that Brad Keselowski had his cell phone in his car. So why wait until the second to the last race of the season to fine him for doing so? Just last month when ESPN asked NASCAR Vice-President Steve O'Donnell about Keselowski and his red flag use of twitter in the Daytona 500 he said: "I think a lot of it was seeing the reaction from race fans.

When Kevin Harvick joked about Jimmie Johnson having a golden horseshoe last season, he problably wasn'r that far off. Because winning a Sprint Cup championship is not just about having an incredible amount of driving talent. It's also about team work, strategy and luck. Just ask Denny Hamlin. "We've just honestly been stricken by a lot of bad luck,' said Hamlin. "We've ran out of fuel, we've gotten in wrecks, we've cut tires, things like that.  We've blown engines, we've had mechanical parts that have failed, had so many different things that's bitten us this year.  I can't pinpoint one reason why those things have happened.

NASCAR has the best All-Star event in all of sport. Yeah I said it. Who is going to argue with me. I mean come on now. They are thinking about getting rid of the Pro Bowl. The NBA and NHL All-Star game are both just a bunch of guys out there trying not to get hurt. And baseball had to create something to for the guys to play for to generate some false excitement. So back to my original statement, NASCAR has he best All-Star event in all of sport. "Our All-Star race is a lot different than other sports," said Kevin Harvick.