Phoenix Recap.

   The second race of the 2011 season, is officially in the record books, with Jeff Gordon as the winner.

Jeff Gordon snapped a sixty six race winless streak, Sunday. So heartfelt congratulations to him and his whole 24 team. It was well deserved, and earned also. After he crossed the finish line he said “We actually beat Kyle Busch” , it was pretty evident that Kyle and Jeff, have a mutual respect for each other, in my opinion that’s a good thing.

Being a fan and watching that race; your heart had to be pounding, with an early crash that took out the majority of the field and bring out red flag conditions. Many drivers weren’t a fan of the three wide racing 67 laps into a race. Clint Bowyer even went on to say “It’s ridiculous to race that hard, 67 laps into the race.”

  It made for exciting racing? In my opinion? Yes, it was, but I think it would have been more exciting had it been later on in the race. It was a shame to see, so many great drivers leaving there with torn up race cars. They say ‘rubbin is racin’, and I agree, and there was plenty of that. It was all came down to, if you could handle the car after getting “bumped” and “rubbed”, some drivers could more so than others.

Some drivers rebounded from tough breaks in Daytona. Drivers such as Kevin Harvick, who suffered engine failure, last week, and spun out this week and rebounded to a 4th place finish. Kudos to him. Dale Earnhardt Jr., suffered a loose wheel, pitted and went a lap down. Got the lucky dog, and rebounded to a 10th place finish. Just to name a few. Other drivers, came out and got decent place finishes.

  One person leaving with much disappointment was the 20 year old Trevor Bayne,driver of the famous number 21 for the Wood Brothers,  who wrecked his car early on, giving him a 40th place finish. How about poor Joey Logano? Suffering engine failure, he was able to milk it out until it finally let go, leaving him with a 33rd place finish.

Driver Kasey Kahne had an awesome 6th place finish, at what he deems is his worst track, as a Kasey Kahne fan, I couldn’t be more happier, when he brought home that 6th place finish. Even though it was only 6th place, it felt like a win, after the year that he had last year. So congrats to him, Kenny Francis, Keith Rodden, and the other members of Team Red Bull!

What did fans like most about the race, well I asked them via twitter and here’s what they had to say:

-ClayMakeKahne4 said : Kasey finishing 6th, he deserved that finish and Jeff almost crying in victory lane.

-Laura_sspeedfan said : Watching the last laps and seeing the intensity and drive to be number 1.

With the conclusion of this race, Phoenix International Raceway, will be dug up and repaved for the fall race. Many drivers like the track surface, and want them to just let it alone. Driver, Carl Edwards said he “would lay down in front of the excavator”. They will be adding banking and widening the front and backstretches. So when we get back there in the fall, it’s going to make for some exciting racing.

But as of right now, this season is shaping up to be the best one yet, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Whether it will be sitting at home, or at the track, I’ll be there cheering for my favorite driver!