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It was a very tame race as those interested waited for the thrill of the Daytona 500. With just a handful of laps, it all came to light.
Joey Logano was declared the winner after a big wreck on last lap. Logano had Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. breathing down his neck, but there was no dash to the line for safety reasons.
On the bright side, there was a ton of three wide racing down the stretch as they jockeyed for position. It was a little like Talladega, just not as much carnage.
Coming up this weekend, they go to Atlanta. Kevin Harvick is the pick to win. Kyle Larson is the dark horse.
So, let’s go back to safety for just a second. One would think that all the walls, especially at a place like Daytona would have soft walls. Kyle Busch found out that answer the hard way. During the Xfinity race Saturday, Busch spun out of control and hit head on into the inside concrete wall. Busch broke his right leg and foot, which puts him out of racing for a few weeks. NASCAR said every wall should be soft. Well, you think they would implement that after Denny Hamlin’s wreck at California two years ago, but they didn’t.
Although, I wouldn’t say Kyle had the worse weekend of the Busch’s. His brother, Kurt Busch was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR after more details were released on his domestic violence charges. Not only will he not be allowed to race for sometime, but it’s pretty bad when NASCAR has his own team tape over his name on the car and NASCAR stops selling his merchandise. Whether he is guilty, I don’t know. With his temperamental past, I could see it is possible. If the charges are true, I completely understand why NASCAR wouldn’t allow him to continue in the series. It’s a big black eye to the sport, so NASCAR did what it had to do.
Kurt may get another chance after the legal situation is resolved and he must complete a recovery program per NASCAR standards. Once completed, who knows if a team out there will even give him a chance?
Prep Basketball Playoffs: Both Men’s teams were fortunate to get good draws in the first round of the playoffs.
R-S Central played a familiar foe in East Burke on Tuesday. The Hilltoppers have beaten East Burke two of three chances this season. If they make it past that round, it gets much tougher. Forest Hills, North Rowan, Salisbury and Randleman are all in their sectional.
East Rutherford came out about the same. They face Mountain Heritage in round one which is a great draw. Newton Conover or Trinity would be next. If they make it to round three on Saturday, it will likely be Shelby of East Lincoln. East Lincoln is unbeaten so far this season and the 2A favorite.
Girls: R-S Central has the best chance to make something happen. They open up with South Stokes at home and would play at home again Thursday. If they win both, then they could have to play at Mountain Heritage on Saturday (2/28) unless there is an upset. It is possible that they could play at home three times this week if all works out right.
East Rutherford received as best of a draw as they could have hoped. They will head to Burnsville and face Mountain Heritage well coached by Susie Shelton. If East Rutherford could make it past the first two rounds, they could have to face R-S Central in the third round on Saturday (2/28).
Wrestling: Sammy Peticos who won the 120 weight class in 2A and Stephan Phillips for finishing fourth in the state among the 2A Wrestlers in the 182 weight class. Both Chase students represented well and finished 41st overall in the state despite just bringing three grapplers to state. Josh Best was the other Trojans to make state.
Over at R-S Central Kaleb Hines took the 2A title among the 220 weight class in 2A. Teammate, Austin Neal took the 2A title in the 113 weight division. The Hilltoppers had four to represent them at state. R-S Central finished 25th overall at state. Micah Hines and Kaleb Spears also represented the Hilltoppers.
Nathan Daisley represented East Rutherford. He went 2-2 over the weekend. Congrats to all of those wrestlers!
