Turn 4 Transitions
Friday, April 16, 2010
By Natalie Anthony
Samsung
Mobile 500
April 18, 2010 (Sunday) 3:00 pm – Fox
Jeff Gordon - 2009 Samsung 500 Winner!
Kasey Kahne. Hendrick Motorsports.
Kasey Kahne.
Hendrick Motorsports. Kasey Kahne. Hendrick
Motorsports. Say it with me: Kasey Kahne. Hendrick Motorsports.
Now doesn’t that combination have a nice ring to it? Hendrick
Motorsports (HMS) was already considered the leading team in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup series since it housed drivers such as Jimmie
Johnson (4 time Cup Champion), Jeff Gordon
(4 Time Cup Champion), and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
(Favorite driver of NASCAR Nation), but with the addition of Kasey Kahne, HMS is clearly
the dream team of stock car auto racing.
Will Kasey be able to keep his Budweiser sponsorship? That remains to be a question that Rick Hendrick himself will have to answer because he is the only
person that can make that happen. The
other question on everyone’s mind is whether or not Kahne
will fall into the same pit as Dale Jr. and not be successful with HMS. I don’t foresee Kasey falling at all. Kasey Kahne has had
to endure a lot of changes with his current team (Richard Petty Motorsports)
and with these changes; Kasey has remained competitive and has even produced
checkered flags and trophies for his legendary owner. Kasey may have taken over Jr.’s
sponsor (Budweiser), but he will not take over his lack of performance. I am not at Dale Jr. hater by any means, but
I have to call it like I see it.
Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) seems to
play favorites to a few of the drivers that haven’t found their niche at other
tracks. Jeff
Burton, who usually spends his season in the Top 15 likes a little bit
of the Ol’ West. Jeff finished in the Top 10 last season for
the Spring and Fall race (actually 9th
place both times) and is a previous winner of the mile and half track. Matt Kenseth who completely snuck up in the points to be in
second behind last year’s champion (Jimmie Johnson) likes cowboys and
tumbleweed. Matt finished his last two
races at TMS in the Top 5 and he also has fashioned himself with a win.
Now, all these predictions and
suggestions may go right out the door if the drivers don’t have enough
experience with the new spoiler. The
spoiler was reintroduced two races ago at Martinsville Speedway, but it wasn’t
ever needed there or the next week at Phoenix International Raceway. TMS is the first track that has down force
that will really see exactly what the new spoiler is made of.
Track Stats
Samsung 500
(April 5,
2009)
Top 10
Results
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Greg Biffle
4. Tony Stewart
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Mark Martin
7. Juan Pablo Montoya
8. Kurt Busch
9. Jeff Burton
10.Carl
Edwards
Dickies 500
(November 8,
2009)
Top 10
Results
1. Kurt Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Mark Martin
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Tony Stewart
7. Clint Bowyer
8. Greg Biffle
9. Jeff Burton
10.AJ Allmendinger
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& Comments to:
NASCARNATALIEANTHONY@yahoo.com
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