After watching Sunday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Montreal-Canada it appears that Christmas came early for Carl Edwards. The surprise win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is sweet redemption for Edwards considering the fact that his debut in the Grand American Rolex Series, held the day before, was a complete disaster. We also learned that Goodyear’s rain tire has grip even on portions of the track that were dry.
It’s very seldom that we begin this column with a WAZZUP but Marcos Ambrose hasn’t left us any choice in the matter.
WAZZUP with the “Tasmanian Devil” giving away that race win? Ambrose was brilliant all day long. He led the most laps and completely dominated the event. He endured one restart after the other late in the race due to wrecks that were either caused by wet surface conditions due to rain or the actions of drivers getting way too aggressive.
But it all unraveled in the final turn on the final lap when the Ambrose Toyota hit the rumble strip coming out of turn 14. With the black and white checkers in the air, the car careened precariously close towards the front stretch wall. Unfortunately Ambrose left an open racing line that was wider than an eighteen wheeler. It was more than enough room for Edwards to slip by and steal the win.
That leads to a HOORAH to Edwards for being a class act. During the final few laps of this race Edwards closed up on the race leader. On the final lap, heading into turn 13, he had easy access for activating the bump and run. He chose not to and you have to admire him for that.
However Edwards does get a WAZZUP for triggering the final caution flag with less than three laps left in the race. In an effort to catch Ambrose he did a dive bomber move going into a turn and created a three wide situation that launched a multi car spin and wreck. Among the victims was his Nationwide Series championship rival Kyle Busch.
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The ESPN2 broadcast team also noted that Edwards deserved the clean car award. In a race where drivers were running into each other left and right, there was hardly a mark on Edwards’ Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion.
Speaking of Roush Fenway Racing, WAZZUP with the engine blowing in Colin Braun’s #16 Ford? It’s understandable that a massive road course like the one in Montreal can be hard on equipment but this car only made three laps. That’s very uncharacteristic for this team.
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This week’s HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do goes to Kyle Busch who basically survived the race after getting collected a few times during the Nationwide Series race. This was especially true when he got collected in the melee that would turn out to be the final caution flag in the race. Despite the frustration Busch still managed to finish tenth.
Another HOORAH goes out to Busch’s pit crew for showing a magnificent sense of humor during adverse conditions. Busch made some contact with another car during the early portion of the race and had some damage on his left head light area. During an ensuing pit stop the team placed a tape patch on the damage but not before cutting it to form the shape of a smiley face. It’s doubtful that Busch was in the mood to enjoy a good joke, but the smiley face looked terrific on television.
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