Did big weekend deliver? By most accounts, it did (cont'd)

It's hard to say if the rest of the Memorial weekend's racing measured up. Darrell Waltrip's cohorts were kidding him about getting up early enough to watch the Formula One race from Monaco, but that ended up being a realistic concern.

Despite a very cool venue, as is the case in most F1 races, the start and the first lap or two are really the biggest attractions in watching. Didn't even get close to achieving that, and you have to have some doubt about a series in which the biggest concern is whether the winner -- who's won five of six events this season (yawn) -- can jog far enough to reach winner's circle.

And what of the Brickyard? The Indy 500 had plenty of drama, but in the end was it really that great of a race? I guess it's something about NASCAR that's allowed me to appreciate all kinds of other minutiae in a race as fascinating, and Indy certainly had that.

Patience is a virtue for race car drivers, but you certainly need that as an observer, as well. I was already looking forward to finding Chip Ganassi at Dover this weekend and congratulating him on his latest Indy 500 success when, lo and behold, the last hand was dealt and Penske and Castroneves prevailed.

In what had to be one of the most disjointed post-race scenes in a long while, and maybe ever, it was great that Castroneves prevailed over Indy's officialdom to perform his signature fence-climbing stunt. It was also great that the eminently professional Jack Arute gave a highly emotional Castroneves plenty of time -- and plenty of space -- to unload once he reached Victory Lane.

Pride. Honor. Respect. The weekend showed that in the proper doses, it can cover a lot of ground.

KUDOS FOR NEMCO
This weekend's feel-good story had to be the sponsorship that flowed, at least for a weekend, around the veteran Joe Nemechek's NEMCO Motorsports. Nemechek started the year hoping to run full-season programs in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series and I'll be darned if, a third of the way through the season, he's succeeded.

Both cars started the Lowe's Motor Speedway weekend blank, but by the time the Nationwide Series' Carquest 300 took the green flag, LubePro's, an Illinois-based quick-service oil change franchise, was on board the car that's 24th in Nationwide owners' points. And G.P.'s Enterprises, a Georgia construction firm, was on the Cup car.

"We've been working hard to secure sponsorships in this tough economy," said Nemechek, who ran all of both races until they were stopped by rain. "And it is sure gratifying to see results."

KYLE BUSCH VICTORY WATCH
Despite Busch's stunning 2008 NASCAR record for victories in a season, nothing he's done so far this season makes this writer think Busch in 2009 won't eclipse his total of 21 wins (8 Cup, 10 Nationwide, 3 Truck). But what has called it into question is what it takes to close the deal -- and the most frustrating aspect of that is that oftentimes it's totally out of Shrub's control, as it was this past weekend when weather nullified strong efforts in Cup and Nationwide. Thus, it's still 8 down, 14 to go.

His 2008 win total at this point was 9, so now the crunch begins. The early summer was a dry period in 2008 for Busch in Truck and Nationwide, but he thrived in the Cup Series. And it needs to start at Dover, where he's the defending champion in the Autism Speaks 400 and will race a triple.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.