5150 in NASCAR

Sheesh...it is getting plum nuts in NASCAR.  Tony Stewart lost his primary sponsor, then resigned Newman. My boy Kez is getting cred for calling out the slight variances in tolerance for Hendrick car set ups.  Of course the icing on the cake is the official announcement of Kenseth to JGR sending Lagono to the 22.  I might have possibly missed some of the minor action, but I think these are the big things that warrent some futher commenting.

Office Depot leaving SHR? Wow.  Right after a championship season.  Weird.  And sort of out of the blue.  Not like there has been any talk of Office Depot being in "play" with other teams.  This seams to be a financial move for Office Depot.  So I checked some financial data and realized that the company, which has been with Stewart since 2009 has had lackluster sales throughout the poor economy.  The OD announcement doesen't say "Gone for good".  So maybe they will be back in some capacity.

Very glad to see Ryan Newman resign a one year deal with SHR.  News is that he has races open for sponsorship.  Newman hasn't been real flashy this year, but has managed one victory.  He stands 17th in points and is very doubtful for the chase. 

The departure of the ARMY sponsorship is a hard hit for SHR.  It is also kind of sad.  Newman spent a lot of time visiting bases and hospitals and extending a warm welcome to military personel in the pits.  A lot of this never made the news.  NASCAR fans tend to be very patriotic and conservative.  I really hate to see the ARMY go.

My boy Kez done called 'em out!
Reckon the news that NASCAR is placing "limits" on rear suspension movement is in NO way a reaction Kez calling them out after Bristol.  The Hendricks driver were none to happy with Kez.  But my Granny Fussell always said a bit dog will bark.  Now all you Junior fans, no hate mail.  Looks like NASCAR wasn't willing to let the Hendrick engineers travel any further into the "gray area" also known as cheating.

Way to go Kez!!

Kenseth leaving Ford...to drive a Toyota????
I would have never believed this one.  And I'm thinking when I see it at Daytona, then it just might be real.  I've never seen Matt Kenseth drive anything that didn't have a blue oval on it.  What were you detroit idiots thinking??  Kenseth might be a little on the oatmeal side, but he has been a solid player for Ford and Roush for years.  I still can't quite wrap my brain around him leaving.

But on the other hand, I have a tremendous respect for Joe Gibbs.  He has a team that I would gladly work for. (Scott says I'd work for any of 'em.  I'm old an have gotten a bit ticky.)  Coach Gibbs is an amazing man of integrity...a Godly man...and places a very high value on family.  With Kenseth and wife Katie's family growing, maybe this is a good fit for them.  I truly wish him success.  I think Matt will bring some maturity to the Gibbs team and will allow them to grow and attract sponsors.

The Kicker, Lagano to Penske
Well, well.  I admit I didn't see this one coming.  By far, this might be the best decision this kid has made in his career...other than moving down south!  Penske's very well oiled and structured environment has proven to be successful for several young drivers, most recently Keselowski.

The kid needed more time in the Busch series to mature as a driver and young adult before being thrown in the Cup series.  He has struggled and probably wouldn't have made it this far had it not been for Joe Gibbs.  So I applaud this decision Joey.  And it makes it even better that your team mate kind of picked you out too.  Kez will be a good mentor for Joey.  I think the two of them will be able to work together and bring the Captain his 2nd series title.

That's right...my pick is still the Kez for the big trophy!!  All the way to Homestead Kez and bring home that hardware!