NASCAR Nation

The Auto Club 500 in Fontana was pushed off to this afternoon after 87 laps of the 250 and after they tried to dry the track for 5 hours. But the rain wouldn't hold up, and it'll give me the opportunity to write this short track post. Ryan Newman was in the right place at the right time last weekend in Daytona as he got a nice push from Tony Stewart's enemy and Newman's teammate Kurt Busch for the win. Busch's brother Kyle easily had the best car at the Great American Race, but his over aggressiveness may have caused him to lose the race. It was the debuts of all the open wheelers last week, and ESPN's Terry Blount talked to SOS about how all the rookies fared:
"Hornish was great, Dario not so hot, Carpentier didn't make the race, Villeneuve is out of a ride and JPM was his usual wild self."
Sam Hornish was in the top 10 for a lot of the race in a supremely good showing for Roger Penske's Dodges, but the rest of the guys weren't so great. Jimmie Johnson was leading the race after 87, and will be in front when they restart today. ESPN's David Newton spoke to me about the race's biggest factors:
"I'll be looking to see how the Dodges do. After taking six of the top eight spots at Daytona expectations are high. But they struggled on the mile and a half to two mile tracks last year and this will be their first true test. I'll also be curious to see how Hendrick Motorsports bounces back. Other than Earnhardt Jr., it was a horrific day."
Let's hope that it turns from horrific to terrific today at 1pm eastern, 10am pacific from Fontana. Enjoy a race Monday here at NASCAR Nation...