The Toyota All-Star Showdown last night at Irwindale was, in a word, fun. Short track action is the only way to go when it comes to stock cars, and oh did we have action a-plenty. Making it all the sweeter was Irwindale’s configuration: short (half-mile) yet wide enough to create multiple grooves with cars running three abreast. All future tracks hoping to host a NASCAR event should be mandated by law to be an exact duplicate of the place.
Although Ron Hornaday Jr.’s penchant during the proceedings for driving dumb was lamentable in the extreme, the finish was something to behold. Sliced Bread went from marvelous to moldy in the eyes of all (including, thankfully, the NASCAR officials in attendance) when his impersonation of Carl Edwards’ kamikaze reverse dive bomb maneuver last year at Kansas took not himself out but Peyton Sellers, who certainly could have used the win far more than Logano. Meanwhile, Matt Kobyluck managed to miss the mayhem and came in second behind God’s Gift To Racing™. Within a matter of seconds second turned into first as the driver pretty much guaranteed to have the loneliest souvenir trailers at every race this year no matter how much NASCAR promotes him as racing’s equivalent of Barack Obama (reference: The One) was politely informed he would be officially scored as finishing fortieth only because finishing forty-first in a forty car field was a tad problematic math-wise.
Nothing against Logano, but the hype on his behalf is inevitably going to result in a backlash. Tony Stewart fans will never accept anyone else behind the whell of the #20 Home Depot car, and the “he’ll win multiple Sprint Cups before he’ll be asked to be one of the Gillette Young Guns because he won’t have to shave for at least another five years” propaganda has worn mighty thin. We rat bastards prefer to choose our own rave faves, thanks.
