About life and fairness, and how it is for a racer's racer (cont'd)

Piling on in the pits

It's tough picking on Carl Edwards' pit crew, but then you realize what the biggest difference was in winning and losing at Texas. Injuries have hurt the 99 crew, sure, but you'd be surprised if something hasn't changed by Phoenix in 10 or 12 days. Steve Letarte, the winning crew chief Sunday, laid it out without pulling any punches when asked about the intensity of the last pit stop in the race.

"That's what we do, that's what it's all about," Letarte said. "That's why you work seven days a week, all winter long, to come here to race. The first 300 laps are fun, but there's nothing like the last pit stop or last adjustment.

"That's why I race. That's why I've always raced. The races are a little longer than what I grew up with, but that last pit stop I always tell my guys -- and I can always tell, when I was on the pit crew I noticed this -- there are guys that belong on a pit crew and there are guys that [don't], and you need guys that want the ball, they want to be play makers, they want to make the difference.

"We have seven of those guys who go over the wall, and we have a good group of them behind the wall. When I was looking for suggestions while we were running there before the [last] caution came out, no one was afraid to speak up. Everyone had an idea. It's actually a little bit harder to stay focused early in a race, [but] if you can't get focused on the last pit stop, then you're in the wrong business."

Kyle Busch Victory Watch

Despite Busch's stunning 2008 NASCAR record for victories in a season, this writer thinks Busch in 2009 will eclipse his total of 21 wins (eight in Cup, 10 in Nationwide, three in Truck).

After Texas, which had great possibilities for Busch the Younger in both divisions he raced and resulted in a bit of track history when he won the Nationwide race from the pole, it's six down (2 Cup, 2 Nationwide, 2 Truck), 16 to go. His 2008 win total at this point was four: 1 Cup, 1 Nationwide, 2 Truck. Nashville was the site of another 2008 Busch tantrum, which means it's a place where he's good enough to win.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.