The Best Day of the Year and picks

For auto racing fans, today is the best day of the year. If you can handle watching the Formula One cars play follow the leader after they get into the first turn, there's the Turkish Grand Prix this morning. Actually, I liked it better when this race was the Grand Prix of Monaco, a top event for the Formula One guys and actually a race worth watching for that circuit.
Then at 1 p.m. today there is the Indianapolis 500. The Indy Car leaders did all they could to ruin their series in the 1990s and early 2000s by having split series, but the Indy 500 is still the Indy 500 and the winner gets over a $1 million, so you know, that's nothing to sneeze at. And Danica is in the race, so when she gets mad at somebody for cutting her off, that's always entertaining, whether it's her radio chatter or confronting them in the pits during or after the race.
Look for a Penske or Ganassi car to win there. Ganassi is trying to win the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 in the same year, which would be quite an accomplishment. And Penske and Ganassi also have an outside chance to win the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day, which would also be quite a feat.
And speaking of the Coca-Cola 600, here's a look at my picks for tonight's endurance test.
Kyle Busch - Probably not patient enough, but he's just too good not to pick.
Jimmie Johnson - He's been so good at this place, it's stupid not to pick him.
Jeff Gordon - Got his first career win in this race and it would be sort of appropriate for him to win here as he is undergoing a bit of renaissance.
Kurt Busch - Looked good in the All-Star race and if Penske wins at Indy, this would give him the Daily Double.
Kasey Kahne - A Ford has got to win a race sometime this year.

Word of Mouth

There have been plenty words written about Dale Earnhardt Jr. and there plenty of matching theories on his struggles in recent years. Of course, Junior is frustrated with his recent results and the feedback he at times gets from crew chief Lance McGrew. For instance, at Dover, Earnhardt thought something might be broke on the car, but when the crew looked at it during the race, they found nothing.
Later that week, McGrew said he wasn't looking for a change at Hendrick Motorsports and that was an important message to send to Junior.
Just because he's had a some tough results (running 30th or worse is no fun), it doesn't mean instant changes are needed. Junior and McGrew have been together for just over a year. It's important for Junior to learn some patience here and to build some trust in his crew chief. Sometimes it takes more than a year. And if they do endure and good finishesm, including a victory every now and then do come, then it will be all the more rewarding.

More later on auto racing's best day of the year

NASCAR All-Star Race 2010

Kurt Busch won the million, but the biggest news out this event is Kyle Busch saying on his radio that "Somebody better keep me away from Denny Hamlin. I swear to God, I am going to kill (him). All his ... fault. I had this race won! It was won!” Busch was upset at Hamlin for blocking him on the high side during the late stages of Saturday night's all-star race in Charlotte. It's generally a fun event to watch because there is none of the so-called points racing, it's just about getting the win and isn't that how it should be anyway.
But there could be another reason that Kyle Busch was upset, besides simply not getting a chance to win the race. Maybe Kyle was feeling a little pressure to win the $1 million prize so he could gain some cash to help fund his trucks teams. Even though Busch regularly dominates when he runs in that series, he's had sponsorship issues and is basically running the team out of his own pocket. Even the deep pockets of star NASCAR drivers aren't bottomless.

Some quick impressions on Dover race

It looked like it was Jimmie Johnson's day, but Kyle Busch didn't assume the No. 48 was going to Victory Lane like it has so many times here. He kept the pressure on and it at least contributed to Johnson making a mistake by speeding out of pit lane.

Still no wins for Ford this, but a third today. If you count Johnson, it was really the fourth best car though.
Speaking of Fords, a nice run by Biffle who started 24th and finished sixth.

The official attendance estimate was 88,000. That seems a little high going by the empty seats.

Just 13 cars finished on the lead lap, a testament to how dominating Busch and Johnson were throughout the day.

Johnson has been a little snakebit the last few weeks, but he's still a major contender to win the Chase. He's been one of the fastest cars each week, so he'll get it together in time for the last 10, you can count on that.

Live at Dover, the finish

Here's the unofficial rundown
1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeff Burton
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Denny Hamlin
5. David Reutimann
6. Greg Biffle
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Carl Edwards
9. Tony Stewart
10. Joey Logano

Live at Dover through 375 laps

On green flag stops, Johns too fast off pit road. That's a drive through penalty and no win for Johnson. Too bad, it would have been a great dual at the finish between Busch and Johnson. Now it's Busch's race to win. Everything's got to go perfect to win one of these things and Johnson's speeding penalty was a big mistake.

Live at Dover through 350 laps

Kyle Busch still hanging on to the lead. Johnson still right there. I would be surprised if Johnson doesn't have a little something left at the end if he needs it.