NASCAR races back with midweek Cup Series event

Previewing Wednesday’s Toyota 500, plus a reporter’s trackside take from Sunday.

Speed freaks

Well, was Darlington worth the wait? Godspeak (Kelly Godwin): It was good to see stock cars on the track again, but strange there were no fans. All things considered, it was worth the wait. Goodbye, cartoon races.

Ken’s call (Ken Willis): It was hardly a Darlington classic, but the subtle and unsubtle nuances of Darlington were there for hard-core fans. It beat the hell out of internet marble races.

Looking at the top 10 finishers, who stands out?

Godspeak: Tyler Reddick continues to impress. He took a probable 15thplace car and muscled it up to seventh. It was a great run for the rookie.

Ken’s call: John Hunter Nemechek finished 9th for a team (Front Row) that gets a top-10 once every 50-plus combined races in its 15 years. That’s my guy.

Questions & attitude

Kevin Harvick now at 50 wins. Will any other current driver get there?

Denny Hamlin is at 38 wins and pushing 40 years old, and he could, or he could stall a bit and run out of time. Joey Logano (nearly 30 with 25 wins) and Brad Keselowski (age 36, 30 wins) could also conceivably do it. But there are a lot of moving parts, on and off the track, and a lot of things have to go right for a driver to reach 50 wins. For all we know, Harvick might be the last for a very long time.

How do you rate Matt Kenseth’s comeback?

It’s like he never left. The guy could always roll off the futon, kiss the kids goodbye and go finish 10th, anytime and anywhere. It’s certainly admirable that Mild Matt, at 48, could go 18 months without racing and finish 10th (at Darlington, no less) without a warm-up, but frankly I’m just not surprised. Death, taxes and Matt Kenseth in the top 10. – Ken Willis

The Daytona Motor Mouths

Godwin Kelly and Ken Willis have covered NASCAR since bias-ply tires and Unocal kept things rolling. Follow their work at News-JournalOnline.com