As the King of Siam said to Anna, "It is a puzzlement." Of course, he wasn't talking about the rash of engine failures in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series so far this season, but he had the right word for it.
Poor Mark Martin has been the victim of blown engines in the past two races, even after the Hendrick engine department had supposedly identified and fixed the problem they encountered at Auto Club Speedway the previous Sunday.
And Roush-Fenway Ford motors were popping like firecrackers on the Fourth of July at Las Vegas last weekend, spoiling Matt Kenseth's shot at making NASCAR history by winning the first three races of the season.
There was also the precautionary replacement of five Toyota power plants prior to the start of the race.
A puzzlement, indeed.
Whether you are a Kyle Busch fan or a Shrub hater, you have to admit the kid can drive a race car. With his victory in Las Vegas, he has now scored wins in all three major NASCAR series in just three race weekends.
His was one of the Toyota engines replaced before the start of the race, so he had to relinquish his pole starting position and start from the back of the pack to win ... no problem.
Defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's season is already looking pretty ugly, but that team always seems to be able to turn things around.
Congrats to Jeff Gordon on taking over the points lead, the first time he has done that since October 2007 (which was also when he scored his last race win). Even though victory has eluded him so far this season, his team is on top of their game again, and we may be looking at the fifth championship for the former Boy Wonder.
Engine failures aside, last Sunday's race was less than an artistic triumph, with America's best drivers (plus a couple of furriners) caroming off walls and each other with alarming regularity. At times both the Cup race and the Nationwide race could have easily been mistaken for a Saturday night bullring Bomber race in East Overshoe, Iowa.
I sincerely hope that they get their act together for this weekend's Atlanta festivities, because I for one am tired of seeing the pace car get credit for leading the most laps.
This early in the season, the point standings don't mean a whole lot for most of the field. However, for those who are struggling to stay in the top 35 in owner points, the standings loom ever larger on their horizon. With just two races to go before the points reset (teams are locked in for the first five races based on their 2008 finishing order), a number of teams are hanging on by their fingernails and several others are on the outside looking in. There are three teams that you would expect to be well clear of the 35th position cutoff that are flirting with being out in the cold: Mark Martin's number 5 Hendrick Chevrolet, victim of two engine failures, is currently 34th; Ryan Newman's Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy is 33rd; and Joey Logano's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is 32nd heading into Atlanta.
For you open wheel race fans, the season is still a ways off. The Formula 1 season debuts March 29 with the Australian Grand Prix, and the IndyCar Series season opener takes place the following Sunday, April 5, at St. Petersburg. However, IndyCar's television partner, VERSUS is "banging it hard" leading up to the season, according to Charlie Morgan of IMS Productions. Starting today and running every Saturday until race weekend, VERSUS will air a one-hour pre-season special at 11 a.m.
Today's special is titled "Danica: Five Years Running". You can guess the subject. Next Saturday is a retrospective on the top 10 closest finishes in IndyCar Series history; "Crashes and Conflicts" is the subject of the March 21 show; and on March 28 we will be treated to a tour of all the tracks on the schedule for the 2009 IndyCar Series. Check your local cable or satellite provider for the VERSUS channel information.