Saturday night at Richmond was a runaway with the Joe Gibbs Racing #18 Combos Toyota. With that win at Richmond, ol Kylie, aka TLVW(The Las Vegas Weasel) became the youngest driver, 24 years old, to gain 15 victories at the Cup level. He also become only the second driver in Cup history to win on his birthday! The only other driver to accompolish this feat is none other than Cale Yarborough. Cale did that twice in his career, 1977 at North Wilksboro Speedway and in 1983 at Atlanta!
Not only did TLVW win Saturday night at the Cup, race, but he also smoked the field on Friday night in the Nationwide Series! If that doesn’t make you think that just maybe TLVW and his crew are back on track for another run at the Cup championship, TLVW beat Denny Hamlin at Hamlin’s own charity race earlier in the week!!! It is quite evident that TLVW can really wheel a race car around the track, that really pains me to admit that fact!! But the facts are the facts, plain and simple and he is poised to make a huge run to the front!
The race at Lowes Motor Speedway over Memorial Day weekend will mark the 1/3 mark in the 2009 Cup season. It looks like it has been fairly even matched, with no one driver dominating in the wins column. But there are some drivers who are very consistent in their finishes, most notably Jeff Gordon. Is this his year to complete “the drive for five”?
Could this be the year for the Busch brothers? Could Kurt Busch win his second championship and the first for Penske Racing? You might be saying that Penske driver Rusty Wallace won a championship in 1989 for Penske. Rusty’s 1989 championship was with Raynmond Beadle as the owner of the #27 Pontiac. You might remember Raymond Beadle from his NHRA days as the driver of the funny car BLUE MAX.
Could TLVW win his first Cup championship? Ol Kylie seems to bet getting his “race on” these days! If the driver and the team can keep their focus and not succumb to the pressures of The Chase, it might be their year.
With almost one third of the season under their belts, it would appear that the top twelve are shaping up. What are your thoughts on just how The Chase is looking? Who has the best chance to win the Cup Championship? Will we see a “fourpeat” by Johnson? Or will this year be a first time cup champion?
Sound off, what are your thoughts on the 2009 Season so far?