Last week Toyota made NASCAR history when it recorded a one-two victory at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia, USA. This was the first time that a Japanese racing car won a NASCAR top series event. In 1954, Jaguar was the last non-American racing car to win a NASCAR top event. That was 54 years ago when NASCAR was in its infancy.
Kyle Busch drove Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota Camry Snickers No.18 to victory, followed by his team mate Tony Stewart in the JGR Toyota Camry Home Depot No. 20.
This was Kyle’s first win with JGR and his fifth career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory.
At 22 years of age, Kyle is the youngest driver to win a top series Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. On Friday, he also won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, and on Saturday he led 153 laps and dominated the Nationwide series before blowing a right-front tyre that dropped him to a disappointing 24th place. Over the three-day weekend, Kyle led a total of 365 laps covering 562 miles in three different races!
Goodyear tyres came for harsh criticism from second placed Tony Stewart. Several drivers were seen having difficulties keeping control of their cars throughout the Kobalt Tools 500 race. A few drivers were lucky that they did not brush the safety walls any harder, and they complained about the hard rubber used on the abrasive surface of the track.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who moved from his family’s racing team to Hendricks Motorsports finished third in his Chevrolet Impala National Guard/AMP Energy No. 88. He too was not happy with his tyres but was more cautious in his remarks.
After 325 laps, 41 drivers were still running out of the 43 who started the 500 mile race. There were eight caution periods for a total of 35 laps. NASCAR racing is one of the most popular forms of motor racing in the US, and apart from the top Sprint series and the Truck series, it also promotes a third series currently sponsored by Nationwide insurance.
Although in Malta the majority of motor sports enthusiasts favour Formula One racing, NASCAR racing is very interesting and entertaining. It is also very challenging and requires a lot of skill. F1 drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya found that they needed some time to adjust to this form of racing. Racing side by side, sometimes three or even four abreast, with a few inches between the cars racing at average speeds higher than 150 miles an hour on a banked surface is no mean feat. It is like rush hour traffic moving at breathtaking speeds!
Perhaps at some point in time the local agent of Toyota and Middlesea Insurance might consider a NASCAR race or demonstration run in Malta.