When racing at Virginia's Martinsville Speedway drivers must have the perfect set-up in order to contend for the top spot. On this edition of Fast Talk I had Hermie Saddler as my co-host. We also had the opportunity to chat with the self-proclaimed "Outlaw", Kurt Busch, and Eddie Gossage from Texas Motor Speedway.
The suspense started early at Martinsville when drivers made their way down the congested pit road on lap 45. Everything appeared to get backed up when Brad Keselowski bumped into the back of Kasey Khane's car while he was trying to pit. Busch had only one option and that was to go around the Keselowski/Khane tangle, resulting in a love tap as he passed by.
Needless to say, the tap from Busch did not sit well with Keselowski. Later on in the race Keselowski took a couple shots at Busch to settle matters the old-school way by trying to put Busch in the wall.
However, the "Outlaw was unfazed". Busch settled matters his way by passing Jimmie Johnson twice with 20 laps to go to seal the deal in victory lane. Hermie and I both agree that the Kurt Busch of a couple years ago would not have been able to compartmentalize his anger and still remain focused on winning the race. Busch has gone through his fair share of ups and downs over the years. His first season at Stewart-Haas Racing has been rough, as he failed to make it into the top 25 in the first three races. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong for Busch did. However, Sunday was a different story.
I truly believe the real story behind the Martinsville race is not the crazy antics pulled by Keselowski, but rather the comeback kid spirit of the "Outlaw", Kurt Busch. From the outside looking in Kurt's transition to Stewart-Haas Racing has revived his racing career. I think Kurt being handpicked by Gene Haas has really given him a shot in the arm - a confidence booster to propel him into the next phase of his career.
One of the most surprising events of the entire race was when Busch passed Johnson on two different occasions as the race was coming to a close. Jimmie Johnson came into the race heavily favored because of his previous track history of eight wins. Not too many people pass defending champion Johnson twice on a track he is known to dominate. I believe this shows just how great Busch drove his car to earn a spot in victory lane. After all the theatrical components at the beginning of the race, Busch was able to keep his composure and rely on his team to get the job done. Busch's victory made for the sixth different driver in as many races to win this season.
As we head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, we can expect one "Big Hoss" of a show-Literally. The action starts this Friday night under the lights with the Nationwide Series running the O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 and concludes Sunday afternoon with the Duck Commander 500.
My big bold prediction for this week is Joey Logano. Six races into the season he has finished in the top five three times. I am looking to see if he can carry the momentum he gathered at Martinsville and take it to Texas to earn a cowboy hat for Team Penske.