Feud of the Week: Busch's three-way; boring Pocono; Michigan - Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Pete Pistone	Brian De Los Santos
Frady asks: Was Kyle Busch's attempt to run three races in three different states in three different days too much for him?
Yes. Not only was it too much, it was unnecessary and risky to the big prize of winning the Sprint Cup Series title. Now I'm not saying running at Texas and Nashville the two days before was the cause of Busch's incident that knocked him out and gave him a 43rd place finish at Pocono at Sunday, but it will always be questioned whether or not his focus was off after his cross-country journeys. Management at Joe Gibbs Racing will certainly be looking at this situation and I would not be surprised if they tell their young star to slow down the pace as the season progresses and concentrate on what's really important, and that's winning the Cup championship.	Only Kyle could truly answer that one, but he sure looked a wee bit drained at Pocono on Sunday. Regardless of whether he had finished first in every race, it didn't seem like the wise thing to do, no matter how much he loves to race. That's a lot of miles to log (air and ground) on a weekend, and I'm sure it had to wear him down. I wouldn't go so far as to say it’s the reason he crashed Sunday, but it certainly could have been a factor. I really don't see the point of doing what he did. He's not racing for a Truck championship so it was definitely a triple-header weekend that could/should have been avoided. If I'm the boss at Joe Gibbs Racing I say enough is enough. Double-headers and triple-headers at the same track, fine, but it's time to cut down on the frequent flyer miles.

What would you like to see done: Keep both Pocono races but shorten them, eliminate a Pocono race or change the track?

How about a little of all three? First and foremost is the shortening of races to 400 miles. Dover did it, Rockingham did it a while back when it was on the Cup tour and Pocono needs to follow suit. No sporting event in the world should last for 4 1/2 hours, and Pocono provides some of the most boring races on the schedule. I'd like to see the track stay on the schedule but with one date at 400 miles. Take the second date and give it to Las Vegas or when a track gets built in the Pacific Northwest or Rocky Mountain areas. Finally the track needs to be repaved and upgraded; it's without a doubt the poorest on the tour on both counts. Simply put, Pocono needs to shape up or get shipped out.

Most people, not everybody mind you, see Pocono as one of the least exciting races on the schedule. I'd say I'm probably one of the leaders of the anti-Pocono contingent. But since NASCAR seems intent on keeping two events at the track because of the market, the first option I'd try is making changes to the track. Flat tracks are generally a bore on the NASCAR circuit. I'm not an engineer so I'm not sure if this would work or not, but how about some Daytona-like banking in the corners? In my head at least that seems like a terrific idea. Barring that though, NASCAR has to see that 500 miles at Pocono as it's currently designed is much too long. But sometimes it seems that the more of a push there is by fans, media -- and sometimes even drivers -- the less inclined NASCAR is to make changes.

Who do you think will step it up this weekend at Michigan?
Let's see, intermediate track, new Sprint Cup car -- sounds like a Carl Edwards kind of weekend to me. In fact, the entire Roush Fenway Racing squad looks like the team to beat this weekend at MIS, a place Jack Roush has owned over the years. Greg Biffle is back in competitive form, and if he can eliminate the incredible bad luck he's endured, he'll be a factor along with teammate Matt Kenseth. Looking for a sleeper? Let's hope it's someone like Casey Mears, who runs well at Michigan and not just the race itself, which has the potential to be a dull one with the new car again the culprit.	I have to agree with Pete that the Roush-keteers should all be strong this weekend. That group always picks up its game when it heads to Michigan International Speedway, considered the home track for the three U.S. automakers. Roush-Fenway's Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards have all visited Victory Lane at Michigan. This could be a good track for Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr. to get off the schneid. Stewart has finished top 10 in six of his past seven and nine of his past 11 trips to Michigan, while Truex was runner-up in both events last season.
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