The thing I love the most about NASCAR is that from year to year, things change drastically. Take the 2008 seasons of Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch for instance. Carl won nine races while Kyle won eight for a combined total of 17 races and both drivers made the Chase. In 2009, Carl did not win a single race and Kyle won a grand total of four races. Carl finished 11th in the standings while Kyle finished 13th. As far as anyone can tell, there were no real drastic changes to either the 99 or 18 teams until late 2009 when Kyle Busch’s crew chief, Steve Addington, was replaced with Nationwide series crew chief Dave Rogers.

As you can see, two drivers with a lot of talent didn’t make a lot of noise in 2009. One didn’t even make the Chase. When you look at the big picture, there were probably a lot of little things that led to such poor performance in 2009 compared to 2008.

Looking ahead to 2010, it is not difficult to make guesses and conjectures about who will win and who won’t do very well in the coming season. But we have to look at it objectively. Going into this season, who is more determined and who seems to be getting a little too comfortable?

We’ll begin with defending 2009 Daytona 500 champ Matt Kenseth. He won the first two races of the season right off the bat and was less than consistent for the remainder of the season. He had only seven top fives and twelve top tens the entire season. Average finish? 15.4. These numbers do not speak well for a Daytona 500 champion. However, as I’ve always said, Kenseth is one of NASCAR’s most underrated drivers. He is the 2003 cup champion as well as one of the top drivers at RFR. Look for this team to pull together and pull out some wins in 2010.

Kyle Busch had a stellar season in 2008 with 8 wins, 17 top fives, and 21 top tens, but finished a rather dismal 10th in the Cup standings. In 2009, he had 4 wins, 9 top fives, and 13 top tens and didn’t even make the Chase. My take on Kyle is that he tends to get really comfortable really late in the season and tends to slack off a little. However, he has shown a certain amount of maturity when it comes to his racing. He’s definitely one of the most passionate drivers on any of the circuits and all he wants is to win but it looks like he’s beginning to realize that consistency is just as important as winning. He’s got the talent, now if he can keep his head cool, he could easily be another consecutive 4 time champion.

Tony Stewart and the entire organization of Stewart-Haas Racing was the underdog story of 2009. Very few people expected the 14 and 39 teams to even come close to winning. With Stewart being crowned as the regular season champ, it was definitely an unexpected but pleasant surprise. Stewart ended up winning 4 points races, and one non points race. He had an astounding 15 top fives and 23 top tens which is virtually unheard of for an owner/driver. Stewart’s teammate and driver, Ryan Newman saw 5 top fives and fifteen top tens. The 2009 season also was Newman’s ninth consecutive year to win a pole award. He, in fact won two. Solely based upon 2009, both the 14 and 39 teams will be strong race contenders in 2010.

Hendrick Motorsports has been a powerhouse in NASCAR for so long that one can hardly tell you a time when HMS did not dominate the Cup series. They’ve won four consecutive championships and their cars dominated a good part of the Chase. Martin and Johnson won a combined total of five races in the Chase. The top three drivers in the Cup standings were all HMS drivers. Only a fool would believe that HMS can be easily over thrown in 2010.

Richard Childress Racing had a dismal year. Not one of the drivers for RCR had a single race win and for the most part, none of the teams were very consistent. Until the very end of the season, they didn’t run very well at all. Harvick had 5 top fives and 9 top tens, Bowyer had four top fives and 16 top tens, Burton had 5 top fives and 10 top tens, and Mears had just 4 top tens and no top fives. Stats like these don’t make one very confident in this organization but they definitely have the talent and resources to win races and championships and be very consistent.

Joe Gibbs Racing saw several wins, four of them from Kyle Busch, four from Denny Hamlin, and just one from Raybestos ROTY Joey Logano. This team definitely has the potential to be the next great team in NASCAR if the drivers had just a little more discipline on the track and if so many technical issues didn’t plague them. This team will be strong again in 2010. Look out for young Logano, he is finally finding himself behind the wheel and will probably break out and win more races this year.

You can probably expect to see a few breakout drivers this season as well. Here’s some of the drivers that had unexpectedly good stats in 2009.

Marcos Ambrose had 4 top fives and 7 top tens in his JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota. He started third and led several laps of the Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway before technical issues got the best of him, giving him a 35th place finish.

AJ Allmendinger had just one top five that came at Daytona International Speedway in the 500 and 6 top tens this season. He’s already come a long way since his first season in Cup in 2007.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the sport’s most popular driver and many people blame the drop in viewer ratings on his lack of consistency and wins in 2009. This is a driver with 18 career wins. Yet he hasn’t had a win since 2008 at Michigan. However, he still managed to find the consistency he needed to finish 12th in the standings. He finished 25th in 2009. This is a driver that’s hungry for a win and his fans are ready to see him win.

I fully expect 2010 to be a much better, more exciting season for both the fans and the drivers. With the new rules NASCAR has implemented, it should make for some very exciting racing! Here’s to 2010!

Victor Plfuger is only 18 years old and he’s been racing longer than I’ve had my license. He’s one of the best there is, having won the ASA Speed Truck Championship in 2007. He’s also been ranked 5th among 36 drivers from all over the country in the 2009 Local Track category on the influential DavidSmithMotorsports.com scouting report. And yet, he hasn’t even been able to find a sponsor for 2009.

So what gives? Blame it on the economy or what have you but this young man is loaded with talent and deserves a chance to race. I got the opportunity to ask him a few questions which he was gracious to answer and replied in a prompt manner.

Victor has raced just about everything under the sun.

“I started racing when I was 10. I am 18 now. I have raced karts, dwarfs, speedtrucks, late models, and Camping world cars,” he told me in an e-mail. He also finished high school early to pursue his dream of racing.

“I finished school at age 16 to better further my career and started taking college classes online. I am going for a degree in fluid engineering.”

It is definitely a smart move to have that to fall back on if racing doesn’t work out. In the current economy, things have been rough on everyone. Even race car drivers. Victor has unsuccessfully been searching for a new sponsor for a while now.

“Its tough. It really does get discouraging sometimes that no one other than my parents is willing to take a chance on me,” he says but he remains optimistic. “At the same time you have to keep your head up to look forward. So that’s exactly what I do, get up everyday and do the best I can to help forward my career. I have to believe that something will work out in my favor.”

Finding work and sponsorship has become increasingly difficult for everyone. Victor says its been harder lately than it was before to find sponsorship.

“Its definitely harder to find sponsors now than it was before. This economy is hurting everyone,” he says. But it isn’t just the smaller race teams.

“Even the top teams are having a hard time finding money right now. So I feel a little bit better when I think about that fact.”

He has an amazing attitude toward his current situation, especially for someone so young. Still, for anyone, its a tough and uncertain situation. Still Victor believes that things will work out.

“I have to believe something will happen in my favor. I have a backup plan but I am no where near ready to give up on my dream. However I am a realist and realize that time is working against me. The way I see it is if I do the best I can everyday to help myself, then eventually someone will take the chance on me.”

Still, he hasn’t been sitting idle all this time. He’s filled his time with other things and kept himself in racer mode.

“I have been keeping my time filled with improving and getting my race equipment in top shape so that if the call comes in to go racing we are ready. We just recently took delivery of our new ASA Late Model so I have been getting it race ready.”

Things haven’t always been this dull for Victor though, in 2007 he won the ASA Speed Truck Championship.

“It was completely amazing. I couldn’t believe it. We won that championship in the last race of the season in the last half of the race. So to have a whole season come down to that one race was really intense. Handling the attention was not very difficult. Its a lot easier to deal with everything when you win. Its a lot harder to answer after a loss, but you take the good with the bad and on the bad days you remember the good. You just have to smile no matter what.”

He certainly speaks with a voice well beyond his 18 years. It sounds like he has had some great people to learn from too. With heroes like Carl Edwards and Ron Hornaday, it is easy to see why.

“I try to take the good traits of a few great drivers and put them to my own use. Carl Edwards is great and keeping his equipment in good shape until the end of the race. I try to do the same and have won a few races using that tactic.”

He has definitely learned from, and raced with, some of the best like Ron Hornaday.

“Ron Hornaday can drive any car no matter what handling problems he may have he drives thru them. A good driver can change his driving style, line, etc. to make his car do what he wants.”

Victor raced against Hornaday in Tucson in 2008 and beat him in an epic battle. He definitely had something to prove that night and he did it in style.

At the same time, Victor has not forgotten where he came from and how he got to where he is.

“My heroes off the track are my parents because of what they have sacrificed to keep me on the track,” he says, and they have sacrificed a lot.

“My parents have given up everything to keep me on the track. I personally have to dedicate almost every minute of my time to racing or doing school online.”

Even at a young age, he has all the right stuff to make it: talent, class, and a true appreciation for the people that have helped make it happen for him. He also has faith in himself.

“No matter what your dream is you can never give up on it or yourself. You have to believe with every fiber of your being that you will make it where you want to go.”

 

If you would like to view the video of Victor’s race against Ron Hornaday, you may do so here.

I would like to thank Victor for taking the time to grant me this interview. He has been very gracious and patient with me while I prepared it! You can visit his website online at VictorPfluger.com and his twitter account is @VictorPfluger.

I also have to thank Victor’s PR girl, Becca Gladden. She’s been so patient with me and has helped me to get this all written up. Thanks Becca! She can be found online at BeccaGladden.com and on twitter @nscrwriter

It has taken several hours but I have finally managed to pull myself and my brain together enough to put together a coherent blog post about today’s race.

After only five starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and running for a part time single car team, Brad Keselowski won his first Cup race. It was in true underdog fashion with Brad pushing Carl to the lead, blowing by the drafting team of Ryan Newman in the 39 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 88, that he found his way from mid-pack to second place. Keselowski had been running mid pack most of the day with a couple of stints in the top five. However, the last lap is the only lap that matters.

In what is sure to become an infamous move, Brad decided to go low to make the pass on Edwards. However, Edwards threw a block and Keselowski was just smart enough not to go below the double yellow line. This caused Edwards demise and, ultimately, a very frightening wreck. Debris from the crash, which you can view on NASCAR.com’s video page, flew into the stands and injured 8 people. Thankfully no one was seriously injured.

I am pretty certain that this race will be one for the ages. As many of my friends, especially those on Twitter, know, I have become a big Brad Keselowski fan in the recent months. I have thoroughly enjoyed the day and receiving the happy messages from friends all day.

I just want to be clear- just because I am thrilled about Brad’s win, that does not take away from the utter fear I felt watching Carl’s accident. There was actually a point where I had to shut my eyes so not to be reminded of my own which was not quite as spectacular. It seems a lot of Brad’s fans are getting attacked and while I generally don’t care what people really think of me, I have to stick up for him

Brad did what he was supposed to do according to the NASCAR rules- he held his line and did not drop below the double yellow line. Carl doesn’t blame him. Brad doesn’t blame himself. NASCAR doesn’t blame him. So why should we? The next time you are in a position like Brad’s, then you can say whatever the heck you want but until then, leave the driving to the drivers.

Here is a quote from NASCAR.com and Brad:

"I've got to apologize to Carl for wrecking him, but, man, the rule is you can't go below the yellow line," Keselowski said. "He blocked, and I wasn't going to go below. I don't want to wreck the guy, but you're forced in that situation. There was nothing else that I could do.

"We had a lot of fun [Sunday night]. Man, was that fun. This is NASCAR racing, and that was cool."

Congrats to Brad Keselowski, James Finch, and the entire 09 team on their well earned win!!!!

MA couple of months ago, I met a very neat lady through a friend of mine on Twitter. She goes simply by the name of Z. Her son is Moses Smith, driver of the number 16 HASA Toyota in the NASCAR Camping World West Series. Took me a while to think of it, but I finally asked Z if she and Moses would grant me an interview.

Let me first say, Z and Moses, I really appreciate that you both took the time to answer mine and a couple of fan’s questions. You guys are awesome.

Moses:
What is the best and worst part of being on a racing circuit?

Well, if we are comparing it to driving on the highway, the best part is that everyone on the track is there doing the same thing, and concentrating 100%. This makes things much more predictable. The worst part...I don't know I have never thought about it...Probably have to be that there is no Air Conditioning in the racecar, and it can sometimes reach temperatures in excess of 140 degrees F.

What got you started in racing?

My dad used to work on Off Road Trucks, so I got to go to races all the time. But my dad did it as a hobby, and I thought it would be cool if I could it for a living. My dad taught me how to drive the "PreRunner" when I was 10 years old...I couldn't push the clutch in and shift at the same time, so dad had to help.

What kind of sacrifices have you had to make to continue living this dream?

Sacrifices...what sacrifices...I am living the dream. Actually the only real difference is that there is not a lot of security in my line of work, therefore I have had to be very conservative in the way I live...nothing to extravagant, not to many vacations either.

*Submitted by Naomi* Has any part of your body ever gone numb while driving?

Just my Butt...you realize real quick if your seat is not mounted correctly, or there isn't enough padding...haha...

*Submitted by Aaron* What are your prospects for moving into the Big 3 in NASCAR?

Well, it really comes down to sponsorship. HASA and I have talked about doing some Truck or Nationwide races when they come to the west, to basically get my face out there. But that is a big step financially, I would definitely need to find some additional funding. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Z

So I know you go to all of Moses' races. How does that affect your life?

Well it makes me very very busy; but I must say that the affect has always been a positive one. Traveling to the races can be grueling. Sometimes we have three races in a month. nevertheless, I love NASCAR, I love racing, and I really adore my two sons.

It can be tough getting to the track at six in the morning and not leaving until after midnight, but the rewards are well worth it. I cherish the feeling of accomplishment I harvest from being part of the team, part of the racing community. Every achievement Moses reaches on the track is considered a team triumph. The team was delighted when Moses finished second at the NASCAR Camping World Series West season opener on March 14th. The activity does not stop on race weekend. I do a lot of my son's PR stuff also. I am in charge of his website, help process his hero card request, help with press releases and author my own blog NASCAR Race Mom. Like I said upfront, racing keeps me very busy!

 

You seem like a very supportive and dedicated mother. When you go to a race, how do you look at things as a driver's mother and as a race fan?

That is a very interesting question. In the beginning I approached my role more as a protective mother. Moses was on a 'pit crew' by the time he was three. He and his father would work long hours for Off-Road racer Malcolm Vinje. Moses started competing in organized go kart races at the age of twelve. Right off, I was struck by the level of competitiveness out there at the go kart track. I felt it was my role to level Moses' playing field, so to speak, by making sure everything was on the up and up. However, Moses has been on his own since he was eighteen. He has not only progressed as a driver, but as an astute businessman as well. He no longer needs his mother to protect him. So while I will always be a driver's mother when I am at the track, I do not mother him at the track.

It is hard for me to be a race fan when Moses is racing, because honestly, I never watch the race, I keep my eyes on Moses. I become the race fan when I watch a race that Moses is not participating in.

 

Is it hard knowing that when he climbs into the car he might not climb out?

Your choice of the word car (instead of race car) is very insightful. My thought on the matter is that Moses is probably safer in his #16 Hasa Pool Products/White Flyer Toyota Camry on the track than most of us are on the freeway in our family vehicles.

That is not to say that I do not worry. As a mom, I worry about my sons all the time. They still have to call me and let me know they made it home safe after a trip. However, I feel much better having Moses in NASCAR. It is nothing like Moses' Star Mazda Formula Mazda series races. Open Wheel racing can create some wicked crashes.

What kinds of sacrifices have you had to make to support Moses' career?

We are a working class family with modest means. So we have never been able to support Moses' racing financially. Even in the very beginning, Moses had to race with used equipment and on a tight budget. I personally feel it made him a both a better person and better driver. He knows how to race what he has - good or bad.

I really cannot think of any sacrifices I have had to make. My husband and I have always enjoyed watching Moses work towards his goals. While we have not made 'sacrifices' Moses has. He puts his all into his craft and has forgone a lot of the luxuries in life to pursue his profession
in auto racing.

 

Thanks so much once again to Moses and Z for their gracious interview and the time they took to answer these questions! Good luck in the future Moses!

You can find Moses online at http://www.mosessmith.com and you can find Z online at http://www.nascarracemom.blogspot.com.