Reiser's agony and ecstasy revisited atop No. 99 box

Toyota's first victory in Sprint Cup racing was, uh, a big story last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

And race winner Kyle Busch, who on a day-to-day basis only continues to build his mark as possibly the most spectacular driver in NASCAR today, was certainly a great chapter.

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You want sideshows? It doesn't get any better than Tony Stewart, after a scintillating on-track performance, launching into a tire-blistering rant, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. playing straight man.

But unfortunately we missed a chance at the best story of the weekend when Carl Edwards' No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford's engine went "poof" with 51 laps to go in the Kobalt Tools 500.

When you talk about Edwards' chance to one-up all the naysayers who rose out of the ground after Lidgate at Las Vegas, this would have been it -- provided his car passed post-race tech.

No offense, Carl, owner Jack Roush and suspended crew chief Bob Osborne -- but you just know NASCAR would've been slathering to get their prying mitts on Roush Fenway's Fusion for the third week in a row following a Victory Lane celebration.

Yep, they would've been good stories, all.

But not as good as if Robbie Reiser could've gone to Victory Lane in his return to the pit box as a crew chief.

Most everyone knows the background on Reiser, a Wisconsin native and hard-core racer who grew up in the sport, drove his family's cars, then teamed with fellow Wisconsinite Matt Kenseth as his car owner in the Busch Series. Then when Kenseth moved up to Cup racing with Roush, Reiser moved up as his crew chief.

They made more than 280 starts as a tandem before Roush decided at the end of 2007 that Reiser would be better utilized in a management position overseeing all five Roush Fenway Cup programs than just Kenseth's No. 17 group.

But getting back on track, and back to Sunday -- I don't know if the part that torched Edwards' engine was worth 50 cents or $50, but I guarantee you it cost us all a million-dollar moment.

Because I've seen few brighter sunrises than Reiser the Racer's face after a victory. For a guy who's usually bulldog-focused, it's a sight to behold.

This is a guy who, if you heard a rattle in his throat in the middle of the night, it's probably lug nuts and fasteners, not phlegm.

Reiser eats, sleeps, drinks and breathes racing; and says as much, even though, as he headed off to his new role after last season -- as a winner, by the way, thanks to Kenseth's victory in the Homestead finale -- he was also craving more time with his family.

But after Sunday's nut-cracking heartbreaker, he was looking for more time to settle into his job.

You'd have to think that going through the agonizing burn that's a crew chief's worst nightmare -- engineering a car nearly to perfection, calling a strategy that puts you in position to win, having a driver up on the wheel who's totally capable, and then pffft, it all goes up in a puff of smoke -- would cure him of any desire to get back on the box full time.

Is that a massive case of heartburn or, in the case of a guy with a heart as massive as Reiser's has proven to be, a demand to come back and win?

Robbie Reiser

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With Roush and his management team still mulling an appeal of the penalties that put Osborne off the pit box for five more weeks, Reiser has little choice but to seize a few more chances.

Bristol this weekend, and then Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Talladega -- which on the one hand presents a virtual cornucopia of fear and loathing for a lesser crew chief.

But I don't think that would be the case for Reiser. And despite what many outside the Roush Fenway organization have surmised, I don't think he'll be leaving his new role any time soon.

All he's managed to do is place three of his five cars, those of Greg Biffle, Kenseth and Edwards, in prime position -- if momentum means anything -- to be serious Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders in 22 more races. Plus he has a fourth, youngster David Ragan, with only 42 career starts, within 72 points of a Chase spot today.

Disrupting that, I also believe, is a price that Roush won't be willing to pay.

Reiser doesn't appear to want to, either -- as much as he enjoyed being out in the sunshine, at a racetrack, and up to his elbows in racecars and race strategy at Atlanta.

He said he's been hearing a lot about role changes -- but not from where it would matter.

"I've heard it from everybody else [but Roush]," Reiser said. "It's just that everybody has to understand that I've been in racing my whole life. I always went to the racetrack with my father [John Reiser, who passed away in November 2005] and my own racing stuff through the Busch years and then the Cup years with Roush.

"It's a way different program [now]. I don't know what to tell you. I'm not an office-type guy and I've just got to learn the role."

When he does, that might be even bigger trouble for the competition, judging by the way he's come out of the gate -- while mostly "being in an office" or a meeting.

And if it brings back that smile, a lot of people will be able to more easily deal with a little less of Reiser around the racetracks.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.