Fans In The Stands - My ORP Experience!

For the last three years, my mom and I have scored two free Brickyard tickets. This year, we weren't so lucky. My mom had told me that we would go to the Brickyard this year even if we didn't get free tickets. The weekend of the Brickyard 400 was upon us and my mom told me that we wouldn't be going to the famous track this year. I was bummed but I understood why we weren't able to go. Then she said we would be going to the Nationwide Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park aka ORP! I was so excited because I had never been to ORP and I had learned that Kyle Busch would be driving in the #18 Toyota Camry!

The following day, I learned that Lacy Keyser, a fellow writer for Skirts & Scuffs, would be flying out to Indy for her first ever NASCAR race weekend by attending the Nationwide and Cup races! We had gotten to know each other on Twitter and had become good friends. I was excited to meet her! I had tweeted Ashley Allgaier, Nationwide driver Justin Allgaier's wife, that I would be attending the race because I had wanted to meet her. We had talked on Twitter a few times and had wanted to meet each other at Eldora but it didn't work out. The Friday before the race, Ashley had direct messaged me on Twitter saying that if my mom and I needed tickets that she had 2 free extra tickets and wanted to know if we wanted them. I said yes that we would love them and thanked her over and over again. It was so nice of her to give us the extra tickets! Ashley is such a nice and down to earth person.


Saturday, July 24, 2010, I woke up early and got ready for the Nationwide race. Oh man, I was so excited. I had been talking to Lacy and Ashley before we got there so we could make arrangements to meet up. First my mom and I met Ashley Allgaier. She meet us by the gate and handed over the tickets. We talked for a little bit and then she had to go get ready for qualifying. I was so shy and didn't talk much, I felt bad after she left. She was so nice. Then, my mom and I walked around for a little bit and I got a direct message from Lacy asking where I was and I was getting ready to reply back and I noticed a girl walking around with a Amp #88 hat and a Brad Keselowski shirt on.

"Lacy?", I said and she said "Kiara?".

We talked for a little bit and then parted ways. She was very nice and funny. I was glad that I got to finally meet her. My mom and I walked around some more and then made our way to our seats to watch qualifying. Kyle was right there in front of me and I was freaking out...like always :) I was also talking to Lacy through direct message on Twitter, we were talking about qualifying and what we were going to do after qualifying. Qualifying ended and Trevor Bayne was on the pole! I was happy because I had meet him two days before! He was very sweet! Mom and I got up from out seats and walked around to find my moms friend.

While I was sitting there, Lacy dm'ed me and asked if I wanted to meet up again and get a picture for S&S! I said of course and I went and found her. We took some pictures together and got some NOS energy drink (yum!). Then we walked around for about 20-25 minutes just talking about different stuff. It was great, Lacy is a wonderful person to talk to! She is very nice and I hope to one day meet her again! We parted ways because driver introductions were about to start. I got back to my seat and looked on pit road, Kyle Busch's Toyota Camry was right in front of our seats. It was great! Drivers introductions ended and then it was time for the command!

Now it's race time! Kyle started off great and moved to second behind Trevor Bayne early. he kept on saying that he was having a hard time passing Trevor Bayne for the lead and then he finally passed him! I sprang to my feet and screamed! I was so happy. Kyle was having a great race. Day turned to night and the laps were counting down. Soon it was 50 to go, then 30 to go. I was starting to get really nervous and I had a knot in my stomach. I felt like I was going to pass out or something!

Now it was 20 to go, then 10 laps to go. My eyes were starting to fill with tears as I watched Kyle lap after lap. Carl Edwards was coming fast and then there was a caution. I screamed in disbelief. Could I walk out of here seeing my favorite driver Kyle Busch winning or walk out here upset. Even though I do like Carl, Kyle had run up front all night. The restart was so nerve racking, I was shaking so bad and my heart was pounding away. I started to get a lump in my throat like I was gonna puke. White Flag, I'm almost ready to die. I'm standing on my seat jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my lungs with my scanner in one hand and my other hand in the air. Can Kyle do it? Can he win for me?

Checkered Flag, KYLE BUSCH WINS! I burst into tears. I couldn't believe it! I had finally seen Kyle Busch win in the 18! I was shaking so bad and screaming at the top of my lungs. Everyone was looking at me but I didn't care, My favorite driver and hero had just won the race. I switched my camera to video and I could barely keep the camera straight while I recorded his amazing burnout because I was shaking so bad. I'm screaming so loud in the video!! (You can see the video on my Facebook Page!) My mom and I quickly got down to Victory Lane and I just stood there taking pictures. I was so close to my hero while he was celebrating with his crew. It was just an amazing site.

I'll never forget this race ever. From meeting Lacy Keyser and Ashley Allgaier to crying over my favorite drivers win, it was amazing.


Picture 1 - Kyle Busch's Qualifying Lap!
Picture 2 - Kyle Busch standing by his car during qualifying (he's in his Cup firesuit)
Picture 3 - Lacy and I! I'm in the white Kyle Busch tank top and Lacy in her Brad Keselowski shirt!
Picture 4 - My hero, Kyle Busch in Victory Lane!!

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Fans In The Stands - My Michigan Experience.

Every time Michigan International Speedway rolls around, I get so excited. MIS is my favorite track. The track is so much fun to be at and the staff is wonderful. They have so much that fans can do at the track and have made this a fan-friendly environment. I just love going to MIS.

The race day started out normal for me, wake up early and be out on the road before 7 a.m... Michigan International Speedway is only about two and half hours away from Warsaw, IN, so my mom and I always stop at the same Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way to MIS. I encourage all of you to eat at Cracker Barrel is you are ever near one, it’s delicious! After we ate breakfast, we were back on the road and headed towards the track. We were about 4 miles from the track and we hit traffic. Which is kind of normal but we normally don’t hit traffic.



After we parked and got our race bags ready, we headed towards the discount tents! You can find great deals in the tents but I only bought a shirt because I wanted to save my money for the souvenir trailers! We left the discount tents and headed towards the souvenir trailers. We stopped at Kyle Busch’s, Denny Hamlin’s, Jimmie Johnson’s, Joey Logano’s, and Clint Bowyer’s. I only bought a tank top from Kyle’s trailer because I’m just one of those people who can’t make up their minds and want everything! All of the other souvenir trailers were having sales, but Kyle’s wasn’t which made me mad! Haha! My mom got three shirts which I was happy about because she normally doesn’t get anything. We walked around some more and it was starting to get humid and sticky but the sun would only peak through sometimes. We walked around till we found the Sprint Experience Tent! Since we are Sprint customers, we got to get free gifts! We each got a Sprint Cup bag, hat, sticker, and a lanyard. We also got to take this quiz about the 2009 season. I scored 5 out of 5 and my mom scored 4 out of 5!

It was getting close to race time, so we decided to go and find our seats. We always sit in Turn 1 and we love sitting there. This time, we were around a lot of people. Which was alright but it was still humid and my mom didn’t want to sit there anymore so we moved down to where some empty seats were. Before we moved, a couple rows in front of us was a guy who looked just like Dale Earnhardt! I mean, it was shocking! I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t take a picture of him!

Driver introductions started, Kyle came around and I screamed my head off. I must add that when Kevin Harvick came around, I yelled “TEAM LOGANO!”. I seriously doubt he heard me but had to get it out there! The flyover came and went, then it was time for the command. Adam Sandler and Kevin James are two of my favorite actors and I was so excited that they were there! Their command was amazing and everyone around me loved it! Before their command, you could hear Adam Sandler say into the microphone “Michigan” several times in his iconic voice! I loved it!

It was race time and my mom and I had our scanners so we could listen to our favorite drivers! For some reason, my moms scanner wasn’t switching to Sprint Cup because it was stuck on Nationwide radios from when we went to Nashville in April. She had to run down the radio and scanner trailer to get it fixed. While she did that, I moved our stuff down to the empty seats. Without my scanner, I listened to the engines roar as they went by and loved it. My mom finally came back with the scanner fixed and then I programmed the numbers for my favorite driver’s radios. I listened to Kyle Busch most of the time, but I would switch around to Denny, Joey, Carl, and Clint. As the race went on, Denny Hamlin showed his strength and went to the lead. I was completely happy. Denny Hamlin is my second favorite driver. As Denny soared to the lead, Kyle was stuck. For awhile, he would be gaining ground and then he would be losing ground. I was upset because I just wanted to see Kyle run well at MIS. He hit the wall twice and I knew it was over for him.

The checkered flagged waved and it was Denny Hamlin crossing the finish line first! I was just so excited and happy! This was my second time seeing Denny win in person. Seeing him win at Martinsville in 2008 was amazing but seeing him win at my home track was bitter sweet. I’m so proud of Denny Hamlin and the #11 crew!

As we walked to the car, my shoulders, chest, and face were sun burnt as always. We got out of the parking lot fast and we headed south to Indiana. I had a great time even though I woke up Monday morning with blisters on my shoulders, but I have had worse sunburns...The Brickyard! I can't wait to go back to Michigan International Speedway in August!


Picture #1 - The cars rolling off Pit Road!
Picture #2 - The Sprint Experience Tent!
Picture #3 - Kyle Busch during Driver Introductions!
Picture #4 - Denny Hamlin's Burnout!

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Fans In The Stands – My Eldora Experience.

When we got our tickets for Eldora, I was completely excited! This was my second time going to the charity event and I was hoping for Kyle Busch to win! He had done great in the 2009 race so what’s to say he couldn’t win the whole thing?! June 9th was going to be a great day!


There was only one thing in the back of my mind that could spoil the whole event: rain. It had rained in the morning when I was getting ready, I mean complete downpour. I was starting to get worried that the event would be rained out like it was last year in June. The rain had passed and I was so happy! Even though it had rained, the sun was out and the humidity was on full blast. By the time we got there, it was well into the 80s maybe even 90s. And of all colors, I wore my black Kyle Busch shirt. My mom and I were completely hot and sweaty and by the numbers of people there … I was starting to get frustrated. I’m just one of those people who can’t stand to walk behind people who walk slow and soak up the scenery. That’s my biggest problem, especially attending a NASCAR event because I have no patience. I eventually got over it, though.

We had walked around, bought some stuff and found our original seats in Turn 1. I looked at the dirt late models … and I couldn’t find Kyle’s car! I thought well maybe his car is on the other side. So mom and I walked to Turn 4 and still no sight of Kyle’s late model. We had loved turn 4 because we could see everything there. We decided to abandon our turn 1 seats and got out chairs that we had packed and set up in turn 4, in the grassy area. This time, my mom could watch her favorite drivers Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer work on their cars and watch the other races. I had gotten to watch Kyle last year so I think it was only right if she got to this year. (We couldn’t find Kyle’s late model because the decals weren’t on it yet!) Plus, Travis Pastrana was on this side as well. (I have always been a Travis Pastrana fan. I even have his book “The Big Jump: The Tao of Travis Pastrana”.) I actually was freaking our when I heard he was going to be racing in the Prelude to the Dream and that he was on Kyle Busch’s team: Team Levine!


Time went on, drawls for qualifying started and then hot laps. As I was looking at Clint Bowyer’s and Ricky Carmichael’s haulers, I noticed a guy on top of RC’s hauler. He was kinda short, had dark hair, and had on a head set that you could talk into. Then I found out that Mike and Austin Dillon were the owners of the #4 of Ricky Carmichael's dirt late model. I made the connection and it was Austin Dillon on top of the hauler! I was overwhelmed because I’m a big fan of Austin Dillon! I started being a fan of his when he ran some Nationwide Races for RCR! Anyways, I kept an eye on him the whole time. He gets into the races and he is kinda goofy, from what I can tell though.


Day turned to night and it was time for the heats! Kasey Kahne won the first heat, Ryan Newman won the second heat, and KYLE BUSCH won the third heat! I couldn’t believe that Kyle won the 3rd heat! Kyle and Justin Allgaier had a very nice and clean battle for the lead! It was amazing. I was screaming so loud!


Then it was time for the Prelude to the Dream! Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch stayed out front the whole time. It was amazing because all of the cautions would stack them back up. Jimmie Johnson ended up winning the whole race and I couldn’t be anymore happier for him! Jimmie was a part of Team Levine so Kyle’s team came out on top! Tony Stewart started from the back because he wanted to win the $50,000 for his team if he could come from the back and win the whole thing. He was very impressive to watch because he ended up finishing 6th! Drivers like Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards were nice to watch as well. Both drivers ran very well and I was happy for both of them for their great finishes! Congrats to Clint Bowyer, too, because he is the owner of Jimmie’s dirt late model.


I had a great time at Eldora Speedway and can’t wait till next year! I want to say thank you to Tony Stewart. You created this event and it has brought numbers of people out every year. You are an amazing person and you have a very big and warm heart. You’re a hero to so many fans out there.


Picture #1 - Eldora Speedway from Turn 4!
Picture #2 - Finally getting a look and a shot of Kyle's dirt late model!
Picture #3 - Jimmie Johnson's dirt late model in Victory Lane!

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I Love My NASCAR Driver(Series)

Here is another great story of a dedicated fan! This story is that of Kiara Boal and her love and passion for the driver of the No. 18 Kyle Busch. Here's her fantastic story!!

Kiara:

"NASCAR has always been apart of my life and when I was child I cheered on the sports favorites like Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, and so on. (I really only cheered on Rusty cause he was my moms favorite until he retired and her 2nd favorite driver become her 1st favorite…Jimmie Johnson!) I was young and wanted to search for my own driver to cheer on. In 2003, an impressive rookie came onto the scene in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. His name was Kyle Thomas Busch and he is now my favorite driver to this day. That ARCA Race wasn’t his first time being in NASCAR because he had previously been in a ride at the age of 16 and was kicked out of the ride because of the sponsor of that race. I watched him flourish into this unstoppable, talented NASCAR driver that I had grown to love.

As many think that most Kyle Busch fans only like Kyle cause he can put his car into Victory Lane many times during the NASCAR seasons, its not true…at all. I like Kyle cause of his personality and his driving skill. The way he can put his car where no other driver, most likely, dares to go is just phenomenal. He isn’t afraid to go for that win and his determination each week is something many take for granted. Kyle may get really mad after a race if things don’t go his way but I for one love that about him. I love his passion for NASCAR and racing. He would rather finish 1st every week than 2nd. I love the fact that my driver isn’t happy with an average finish…cause I just wouldn’t be happy if my driver was “happy” or “content” about a 30th place finish each week. I also love Kyle’s smart-aleck type of personality that he has with some reporters.

On July 22, 2009, I met Kyle Busch for the first time at the Warsaw Toyota Dealership. That day I was totally in heaven because I was finally going to meet my hero and the guy that I cheered on each week. I had butterflies all day even though it was just so nasty outside. It was raining off and on and it was humid, my hair did not look great either. Ha. No matter what, that rain and humidity wouldn’t damper my attitude. I waited about 3 hours in line just to meet Kyle and when he finally showed up, my heart just skipped a few beats. We followed the line to his Rowdy Trailer and waited until it was my turn to meet him. I had my camera ready for my friend to take a picture of us together and when I got the chance to meet him, I could barely talk. He asked me how I was doing and I was shaking but I managed to get the words “Can I take a picture with you” out and something happened to my camera. It didn’t take the picture. I walked away feeling so angry about my camera not taking the picture. I told my mom when we found her and then she told us to get back in line because she knew that I would never get over the fact that I couldn’t get my picture taken with Kyle…so we cut back in line! Once again I was headed towards another meeting with Kyle in the same day.

When I got up there, Kyle said “Back again?” And my heart just melted because he remembered me. I said “Haha yep. I wanted to say that I thought it was awesome when you smashed that guitar.” Kyle smiled and said “Well thank you, some liked it and some didn’t.” And then finally, we got our picture together. I walked away feeling like I could just float away because I couldn’t believe that I had just met Kyle Busch…again. That day changed the way that I thought about Kyle and the way that I looked at Kyle too. He may be a cocky but confident driver on the track but away from the track, he is just so sweet and nice. My head going into our meeting was that he is gonna be rude or mean or something, but walked away thinking the complete opposite. That day made me become an even bigger fan of Kyle’s….if that was even possible.

I think Kyle and I are a lot alike. We both have that “Im gonna put you in your place” attitude about certain things or that funny but smart-aleck sort of way we talk. We don’t really care about what you think of us or if you don’t seem to like us. But I will never have that drive to race with all my heart like Kyle does….so I put my “drive” into something else..being one of his most passionate fans. I can say that when Kyle wins, I am overjoyed, smiling for hours, and just being so proud of what Kyle did that race or even that season like the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season. Now, that’s a season that I will never forget. There is no better feeling like watching your driver when his first NASCAR Championship. I even have a cat named “Rowdy” after Kyle! But there is also when Kyle has something go wrong, Im so mean and angry. You can ask any of my followers on Twitter. I take pride in my passion for being one of Kyle’s fans but there also comes a time when I do have to stand up for him when someone tries to tell me that my driver sucks, cause you know that the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion sucks. I fight to the death with some of NASCAR’s nastiest and meanest fans out there. I have even had a few threats, but that doesn’t stop me from cheering him on.

Nothing will change the passion and dedication that I have for my driver, Kyle Thomas Busch."

Thats certainly passion when you call your driver there full name!!!!

The two pictures are Kiaras and here is her description.
"The first picture is of Kyle and I. To this day, I still cant believe that I actually met Kyle. My face looks so red cause I was shaking and my heart was beating so fast! The 2nd picture is of Kyle at Eldora Speedway for the Prelude to the Dream! We had a really great view of the boys while they drawled for their qualifying spots. His hauler was the last one the side we were on and I got to watch him and his crew through the whole Eldora race!! It was awesome!"

I want to thank Kiara for her story of passion and dedication, be sure to check her out on Skirts and Scuffs and stay tuned for another fantastic story from a fan!!

If you want your story to be part of this series, send me an email to
missmander88@hotmail.com

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Passion

Passion.

It's a seven-letter word that means so much. It can be your biggest asset or your worst enemy. I know that I have passion and sometimes it gets the best of me.

My passion floors what I say or what I do, and I pay the consequences later. For instances, I tend to make rude comments about a driver who messes with Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin. Even after the fact, I hold that grudge and never let it go. Examples: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski ... and most of you know that.

My passion has also hurt me. I got something stolen from my page on Myspace and sent to a certain fan site on Myspace along with my url. Long story short, threats had been said to me.

But, my passion has also given me so much happiness and joy. The passion for me to stand out in the rain at MIS (Michigan International Speedway), brave the heat and have second- to third-degree burns from being in the sun all day at IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), and standing in line for three hours just to meet that one special driver, Kyle Busch. But I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My passion for Kyle Busch gets me in trouble a lot, but what's a girl gonna do ... it's Kyle Busch! :D When Kyle is mad, I'm mad. When Kyle is thrilled after a win, I'm most likely turning on the computer to brag about my driver's accomplishment. When Kyle won the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship, I cried because after all Kyle had gone through that phenomenal 2009 season with the triumphs at TMS (Texas Motor Speedway) and the heartache at BMS (Bristol Motor Speedway) with Chase Austin, he had finally gotten his championship that he had been wanting.

I may not be the easiest fan to get along with because of my strong personality and opinions ... but I'm mostly likely one of the happiest fans to be around when Kyle Busch ends up in Victory Lane.

So I end this blog asking you this ...

Passion, how bad do you got it?

(Picture was taken by myself at Michigan International Speedway August 16th, 2009)

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Kiara's 2010 Championship Picks

Here at Skirts and Scuffs we have opinions. That's what happens when you get a bunch of female race fans together. We understand the Chase is months away, but still we thought it would be fun if our panel of writers made their predictions for the 2010 Champions before the season begins.

Today Kiara shares her predictions for 2010. Let her know what you think of her picks in the comments below.

Sprint Cup Series: DENNY HAMLIN

I choose Denny Hamlin because of his capability of being the driver that can beat Jimmie Johnson! He is one of the only drivers that can contend with Jimmie. Denny's talent has grown so much in the past couple of years. There is a newfound confidence in his voice and the way he races. Denny proved in the 2009 season that he will be one of the drivers to beat. I believe that Joe Gibbs Racing is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2010 season. JGR is going to be the organization to beat. Mark My Words!


Nationwide Series: KYLE BUSCH

Yes, he is the reigning NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and has not put out that he will be competing the whole 2010 NNS season. Kyle is talking to Joe and J.D. Gibbs about racing in the #18 Z-Line/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for the whole season. I hope he does because Kyle is just amazing. Weekend after weekend he has been the man to beat! Kyle is an amazing racecar driver with so much talent. Everytime he wins it's like more and more confidence is added under his belt and more experience. Kyle will be a Sprint Cup Series champion one day! Kyle is the future of the sport, and the future looks bright :) If circumstances don't go my way, which they might not... My other pick would have to be Carl Edwards. Carl is the last driver to win the championship when it was called the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007. He has proven that he can regain that championship again and will be one of the drivers to beat in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

Camping World Truck Series: RON HORNADAY JR.

With the loss of Rick Ren for Ron Hornaday Jr., it's going to be exciting to see who can step up to the plate and challenge Ron. Or it could be easy for the competition because of Rick moving to Kyle Busch Motorsports as the director of competition. As a Kyle Busch fan, I must say it could be a driver from KBM. Taylor Malsam has a very, very bright future ahead of him. With Kyle at his side, he is going to be learning so much and gaining experience under his belt. Also, Matt Crafton. He finished 2nd in the 2010 CWTS points. I will stick with my gut and say Ron Hornaday Jr. There are so many drivers that could be the 2010 Camping World Truck Series champion. We will just have to sit back and watch!

I picked these drivers because all of them have made an impression on me. Yes, I could have said that Kyle is going to win the Sprint Cup championship but Denny Hamlin was a fan favorite after we saw that he could beat Jimmie Johnson. In my opinion, Denny is more consistent then Kyle and is in the position to become the 2010 Sprint Cup champion. It may break my heart to say that but its the truth. Kyle will be a Cup champion one day and I can't wait til that day to come!

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Opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and may not reflect this site or its other contributors
photos courtesy of NASCARMedia

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Your Top 5 Best & Worst Moments of 2009

Since the season ender at Homestead-Miami Speedway, I have been going over the season in my head. For example, what happened to Carl Edwards, what happened to RCR, who is at fault for Kyle Busch and Steve Addington mix up? Then I realized that this year wasn't all that bad, at least for me and my drivers. All of them had their ups and downs but mostly all of them won a race either on the Cup side or Nationwide side. Other than my drivers, many drivers had amazing seasons, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, and the list goes on. The 2009 season was full of controversy whether that be between drivers or crews or just a single driver that brought drama to the track every weekend. Of course everybody can remember "The Plot" against Jr at Hendrick Motorsports. We even saw some first time winners on the Cup side: Joey Logano, David Reutimann, & Brad Keselowski.

For the first time in my many years of loving NASCAR Racing, I wasn't impressed with NASCAR. It was a repeat every week, a driver would get out in front and would most likely end up in Victory Lane. Except for the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. These 2 series had some of the most exciting races of the whole season! Drivers duked it out each week and we had the repeat offenders that be wrecking or even tangling up on the track. I loved watching these 2 series each weekend because I knew that I would most likely be satisfied with the racing.

After all that thinking, I came up with my Top 5 Best and Worst Moments of the 2009 Season. Out of all the 3 Series or even something that happened off track, my list was complete! There were so many moments to choose from but these important 10 facts made my list! So here it is:

Best:
1. Meeting Kyle Busch July 22, 2009 [One of the best days of my life]
2. Kyle Busch becomes The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion and Wins the race in the same day.
3. Kyle Busch smashes the Gibson Guitar after winning at Nashville Superspeedway June 6, 2009.
4. The Drivers Call Out NASCAR [My personal favorite hands down is Ryan Newman after his horrific Talladega wreck]
5. Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series Racing.

Worst:
1. The Flips of 2009
2. NASCAR Makes Rule Changes
3. Kyle Busch's Wreck at Daytona
4. NASCAR's Lack Of Rough Driving Penalties
5. Favoritism Of Drivers.

So mine had to do with Kyle Busch a lot but what can I say, I adore him! :)

I told you my Top 5 Best & Worst Moments of 2009, so what's yours?

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Kyle Busch Gets A New Crew Chief?

Yes, You heard correctly. The relationship between Steve Addington and Kyle Busch has come to an end. As many of us Kyle Busch Fans are sad to see Steve go, we will look forward to see what Kyle's New Crew Chief, Dave Rogers as Of Texas Motor Speedway, can do to help this #18 crew out, but wonder..what happened? We all know that Kyle has his temper tantrums from time to time but it seemed that Steve was a good match for Kyle. Steve calmed Kyle down when he needs to be calmed down or just basically was quiet when there was no reasoning with Kyle. The 18 M&M'S Crew has not been the best this year and simply not the worst either. Yes they didn't make the Chase this year but was it really necessary to fire Steve Addington and to lower his position and move Dave Rogers up? No. Steve hasn't always been with the best drivers but seemed to really jell with Kyle even collecting 12 wins together in less than 2 years. Steve was simply there when Kyle needed someone to help show the world that just because Kyle was let go from his contract at Hendrick Motorsports, he was still a good driver and was still capable of winning races at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Then again, Dave Rogers could be very good for Kyle. Dave has proven in the past to be an excellent crew chief. On the Nationwide Side, Dave and Joey Logano have been unstoppable when Joey is in the #20 Gamestop Toyota. Speaking of Nationwide, why not Jason Ratcliff? He is obviously someone who could of been Steve's replacement. Jason already is Kyle's Crew Chief in the Nationwide Series and they both of won together 7 times just this year. Jason would of been a perfect candidate in my mind & maybe in other Kyle Busch Fan's mind too. It's been said that Kyle didn't even want a change and Steve had this to say about this unfortunate and shocking decision:

"You sit back and you wonder, you know, what do you gotta do because you beat a lot of great guys in this garage in the past 18 months and you start questioning what do you gotta do to be successful in this business?" Addington said on a radio interview. "And I’ve been with the #18 car for five years and the past two years have been awesome and I think it’s just, you just question what you have to do to make it over here. And I understand that and I’ve talked to a lot of people, and I’ve got a lot of support and I’ve got a lot of respect in this garage area.”

Kyle had this to say:
”I never lost faith Steve," Busch said. "He was always trying 100 percent, giving 100 percent and trying his all, working his people to death. I don’t think it was Steve (Addington) that didn’t give me what I needed, I don’t think it was the engineers – it was just something didn’t click."

As us fans look forward to the next 4 races until seasons end, we possibly all have some questions in mind...Will Dave help Kyle and understand him in the way that Steve did? Is this a good move on Joe & J.D. Gibb's part?

On an ending note, we look on to Talladega this weekend. Kyle & Steve's last race together..wouldn't it be awesome if they won? :)

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual writer and do not reflect those of the group.

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