Racin' With Russ
By Russell Schmidt

Busch Wins Back-to-Back-to-Back Nationwide
Monday, April 21st, 2008

In a race where many wondered if it would ever end, Kyle Busch out drove some of the best 'left and right' stock car talents on the planet to win in Mexico City, his third Nationwide series trophy in a row.

Amid numerous, read seven caution periods for 18 laps (nearly one quarter of the 80 total), two red flag periods for track repairs (28 minutes) the twisty roadcourse wound up the scene of many multi-car wrecks. The most notable between road racing aces Marcos Ambrose and Boris Said with Said sidelined and Ambrose going on to finish a close second. Said was rather vocal about a future retaliation.

Ambrose attributed his best finish to date to good hard racing… nothing on purpose.

The lap leader on the day was Scott Pruett in his Dodge, but his car faded in the waning laps when Busch's Toyota with more horsepower and more tire zipped on by.

Nineteen-year-old Colin Braun impressed everyone with earning his first pole, yet finished deep in the field in 33rd due to contact on the track. We will hear more about this young talent.

Points leader Clint Bowyer finished in sixth, just behind Patrick Carpentier and Carl Edwards.

The teams move on to Talladega with Bowyer topping the points, now nine ahead of Edwards and 66 ahead of Busch.

Open Wheel News
Certainly the highlight of this department is Danica Patrick winning the Indy Racing League race in Japan on Sunday. The 26-year-old walked into an economy run style win by having enough sips of fuel to pass Helio Castroneves with three laps remaining while all of the leaders had to stop for a splash and go.

Manica, as I affectionately call her, was around seventh to ninth all day when the crew, late in the go, decided to bring her in and stuff whatever gas they could in the car, rolling the dice on no cautions.

With less than five to go, the likes of long-time lap leader Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan got gas (ethanol), joined the field, but it was too little, too late as Manica passed a floundering Castroneves (nursing every ounce) with a few to go.

Patrick becomes the first woman to ever win an open wheel race of any major series. Certainly a dubious distinction, after all, her last win was more than ten years ago and in a go-kart. Yes, I said go-kart.

My opinion? I have said for several years that she would never win a race and if she did, it would be under some mickey mouse circumstances, like an economy run or someone being DQ'ed.

I maintain, until she can go wheel to wheel with another driver, male or female, and duke it out to the finish line and win, she lacks the talent to be called a 'real' competitive driver.

She has been and now will certainly be a marketable commodity in the world of racing, but fast or competitive right to the end? No. Disagree? Agree? Drop me a line.

Champ Car - Will Power won the final Champ Car race on the tricky street course in Long Beach, CA. The points from this race for the drivers were combined with the IRL results, yet Helio Castroneves still tops the list.

From Rumorville
BAM Racing appeared to be 'on track' to recovering back into some kind of full-time racing operation with Toyota and Microsoft backing. That concept only latest for one race and now the word is they may be back for a few races before the year is out.

Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 49 BAM car has been tapped to pilot the No. 70 for this weekend's Cup race at Dega.

The upcoming ARCA race at Rockingham Speedway is shaping up to be a real barn burner. Especially when you have 50 cars for 500 miles, ARCA regulars mixed up with the likes of Ken Schrader, Scott Speed, Joey Lagano, Bobby Hamilton Jr, Chad McCumbee and Bobby Gerhart among others. The Carolina 500 is slated for May 4th, marking the first big event since the purchase by Andy Hillenburg.

Did you know?
That in the same weekend Manica won her first race in the 'bigs', the winner of the Formula Atlantic race in Long Beach was Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro. Not since Katherine Legge won an Atlantic race in 2005 has a woman won an open wheel race of that variety and De Silvestro becomes only the second one to do so. Could she be challenging Patrick sometime soon? Time will tell.

That's it for this week. Next week's RWR will review the NASCAR results from Talladega, the IRL and Craftsman trucks competing in Kansas and more racing news from around the globe.

Questions? Comments? Contact Russ