'The Shrub' sees his season go up in smoke

By Roger Diez

Appeal Motorsports Writer

I hate to say, "I told you so" (no, that's a lie; I LOVE saying that), but it looks like the Gibbs Racing No. 18 and driver Kyle Busch are done for the season. The racing gods reached down and smacked them with back-to-back mechanical failures that will put them out of the hunt for the Sprint Cup championship.

Busch himself said, "We're done," in an interview shortly after his championship hopes went up in a cloud of oil smoke last Sunday. Other Chase drivers aren't quite so sure. If Kyle wins the next three or four races and the drivers who are currently in the top five have problems, there's still a chance for him " a slim chance, to be sure, but a chance nevertheless.

- Although Toyota (thanks mainly to the Shrub) had a very strong regular season, Ford seems to have found the handle on the COT for the Chase. Carl Edwards showed Ford's promise earlier in the year, but all of the Roush-Fenway Fords have been awesome recently. Their 1-2-3 finish at Dover last Sunday might have been a 1-2-3-4 if Jamie McMurray hadn't been caught up in an accident. At this point, it seems as though the only non-Ford driver who can run with the Roush guys is two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

- In one of the most convoluted bits of logic (or illogic, as the case may be) the FIA's International Court of Appeal has ruled that McLaren's appeal of Lewis Hamilton's 25- second penalty that moved him from first to third in the Belgian Grand Prix is inadmissible. Their rationale is based on a paragraph in the International Sporting Code that specifies drive-through penalties may not be appealed.

"But he didn't get a drive-through penalty," I hear you shout. Ah, but the twisted logicians of the FIA have decreed that since it was too late in the race to assess a drive-through penalty, the 25-second substitute punishment is to be treated as a drive-through and hence is not subject to appeal. I am tempted to make a comment about lipstick on a pig, but you know where that would go.

- If you have ever wanted to see what it's like to drive a real race car on a real race track, here's your chance. Reno-Fernley Raceway is kicking off their "Arrive & Drive" program with Chris Evans, Incorporated (CEI). The CEI Driving Experience is available to anyone with the need for speed.

You need not be a racing driver, but you'll feel like one at the end of the day. The program will teach you in one day how to achieve your own personal best performance in one of their race-prepared Ford, Chevy, or Dodge stock cars. They also provide all the safety equipment (helmet, HANS device, driving suit, etc.) and expert instruction to get you up to speed. I was fortunate enough to participate in a Ride-along with one of their instructors earlier this year, and I highly recommend it.

A full-day course, with the opportunity of participating in Great American Stock Car Series race at the end of the day (based on your skill, ability, and desire) is $2500, and is cheap at that price. For a Ride & Drive session, the cost is $1000, and a Ride-along is a mere $100. The program runs September 29-30, October 6-7, and October 10-13. For more information call Dee Dee Cutler at Reno-Fernley Raceway at 775-575-7217, or e-mail her at dcutler@reno-fernleyraceway.com

- Finally, here's a brief report on the Carson City team that attempted a Bonneville speed record last week. After qualifying runs at 175 mph, they were allowed to run the "long course" for a record attempt. Bill Inman was at mile marker three and 184 mph when something went amiss with the engine (yet again) and put a halt to any further runs.

Robby Shelton of Shelton Racing & Fabrication, who went along to crew on the car, told me that they were pitted next to Dan Webster, another Carson City racer. Webster ran 195 mph one way in his Ford flathead-powered streamliner, but engine problems prevented him from making the return run.