Regular readers know that I’m strictly a Sprint Cup guy. It is rare for me to spend a couple of my Saturday hours watching a Nationwide race.
But this was one of those rare, unfortunate weeks with no Sprint Cup race, so I settled in for my weekly NASCAR fix. I have to admit the Nationwide race, at least this week, had everything that a Sprint Cup race has – just less of it. About 250 miles less.
Saturday night’s race was everything that we’ve come to expect from NASCAR. Great drivers hauling around the track at ridiculous speeds? Check. Thrilling near misses? Check. Exciting finish? Major check. Silly corporate sponsorship naming? Try “The Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250″. Check-a-mundo.
The real thrill of the (snicker) Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 came just seconds before the checkered flag waved. Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards were jockeying for the lead and Edwards just… blew through Keselowski’s car to take the finish. It looked like Keselowski’s car was a bug to be swatted aside.
Of course, most bugs aren’t made of a ton of metal moving at 200 mph. This swatting had a bit more of an effect. By the time it was said and done, ten cars were caught up in the carnage, Edwards was doing his trademark backflips in victory lane, and Keselowski was one unhappy camper.
Edwards, of course, tells the story a little differently. His side of the story is basically that Keselowski had it coming. It takes a little longer when he tells it, but that’s really the gist of it. This may not be the start of the great Edwards-Keselowski feud that will last for generations, but I’m thinking that we haven’t heard the end of this argument.
