I dont think that things could have gotten any more bad for Kasey Kahne this weekend at Bristol.

During the Sharpie 500, he was involved in a 7 car crash that very well could have ended his chances at entering The Chase.

“We had a good racecar and it’s a shame that we got caught up in that mess. The crash happened so fast. I just saw cars wrecking everywhere in front of me and there was nothing that I could do. It’s disappointing because we’re going to take a hit in the Chase points, but that’s the risk you run here at Bristol.”

As a result of this crash, Kahne finished in 40th place and dropped to 14th in the point standings…56 points and 2 places shy of that all important 12th position.

This past weekend at the Sharpie 500, there was more action going on than just what was on the race track.

The massive crowd of 168,000 people completed the world’s largest wave.  Beating the old record by almost 50,000 seats, the sell out crowd solidified the record just before the race began.

In a show of shear skill, Carl Edwards pushed his way to the front of the pack during the last 30 laps the Sharpie 500 this past Saturday.  This was his second victory in a row as he struggles to close the points gap on Kyle Busch who remains at the top of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings.

Busch, having dominated the first 400 laps of the race and having been bumped out of the way by Edwards, was not happy.

During the first lap after the race ended, Kyle Busch bumped into the side of Carl Edwards, who retaliated by spinning Busch out…much to the joy of the 160,000 person audience!

After the race, Busch stated he was unsure whether the incident would lead to fines or point penalties.

“I couldn’t tell you. That’s NASCAR’s decision.  I just got into him a little bit and let him know I didn’t appreciate the way he pasted me. And he retaliated and ended up spinning me out. So I couldn’t tell you.”

Edwards seemed to have a cool head over the whole situation…

“He’s mad, and I can completely empathise with his anger. I probably would have done the exact same thing.”

This victory marked the 5th win for Edwards this year, closing the gap between he and Kyle Busch to 212 points.  Dale JR managed to move up to 3rd even though he came in a disappointing 18th place AND 2 laps behind.

Another highlight of the race was the huge crash that Kasey Kahne was in which ended his night early.  The crash was a HUGE hit for his team as he now lies in 14th place in the point standings, 2 places shy of the all important 12th position.  The crash also gave way for Denny Hamlin and Clint Bower to move into 11th and 12th place respectively, leaving David Ragan trailing in 3rd with a mere 8 points seperating him from Bowyer

So it all comes down to next weekend’s race at the Pepsi 500 in California which promises to leave drivers fighting for their lives to make The Chase.

No doubt the Pepsi 500 should be very exciting this year.  Carl Edwards, a few weeks ago, said that he wanted to win the remaining race before The Chase starts.  After back-to-back wins at Michgan an Bristol, he now is on his way to California Speedway holding the ranking as the top ranked driver on the PreQ forecast.  Having won 3 out of the last 4 races, he has been on quite a role and is definitely a favorite heading into the Pepsi 500.

Matt Kenseth on the other hand is currently considered to be “on the bubble” for The Chase.  If he does a good job at California during the Pepsi 500 next week, he should be able to solidify his position for The Chase.  In 13 career starts he is averaging a 10th place finish with two wins and nine top 10s – including six straight. Kenseth has posted back-to-back top 10s and looks to be picking up steam at the right time. 

For Jimmie Johnson, this has not been the season he expected.  Keeping in mind that he had back to back championship season recently, this year has fallen short of many expectations.  Its not that he wont prove a good competitor once The Chase begins, but some consistency would certainly be required to give him the extra edge he seems to have been lacking all season.  This season, he has yet to get a top 10 finish in half of his starts.  He even has had 6 finishes where he was outside the top 20!   Perhaps, one thing playing in Johnson’s favor is the fact that he loves this track.  In 11 career starts Johnson has had 7 top 3 finishes with 2 wins as he averages a 6th place finish. Also, Johnson is the defending race champion. Expect Johnson to begin a run of successful finishes starting this weekend at California.

While Johnson loves the California track, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s wishes he felt the same way. In 13 career starts he is averaging a 20th place finish with just four top 10s. Earlier this season he had a 40th place finish at this very same track which so far has turned out to be his worst finish this season.  He has been struggling lately having posted only 1 top 10 finish in the last 9 races, and 3 outside the top 20! If he is looking to break his slump, maybe he should avoid the #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet for this race.

Finally, Casey Mears is most likely on his way out of of driving the #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet. Mears has yet to show ANY of the results that Kyle Busch did a season ago in the same car and has been lacking in his performance with Hendrick Motorsports in his career. This season, he only has four top 10s this season and ranks 24th in the point standings. He would like to get back on top of the scoring pylon but that is doubtful at California. In 10 career starts at the track he is averaging a 24th place finish with just two top 10s. Like junior, Mears had one of his worst performances of the season at California earlier this season recording a 42nd place finish. The end of the 2008 season cannot come soon enough for Mears.

Since the dawn of the sport, NASCAR has always had “bad guys” around the track…

Throughout every era of stock car racing, it seems that there remains a villain, who not only rubs fan the wrong way with their attitude or style of driving, but continues to win, win, and win agian.

There was “Jaws,” “The Intimidator” and “Wonder Boy,” and Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon earned those nicknames with hard driving, remarkable success and their personalities.

Now, Sprint Cup Series has found its latest poster “bad boy” - “Kid Conceited”….or so it would seem.

Kyle Busch is a driver race fans love to hate, and hate to love.

“I’d rather people dislike me for who I am than like me for someone I’m not,” Busch said. “Everyone wants to be cheered, but I can certainly handle it if I’m not because I know I go out there and put out my best effort each time I race.”

Busch consistently wins at such a young age, and his contemporaries cant match that.  He is a young rockstar climbing to the top, and his fellow drivers are looking to knock him back down into his rightful place.

Having 8 Sprint Cup victories tis season, he has gained a serious points lead, with 242 points seperating him from the 2nd place Carl Edwards.

Jimmie Johnson, a former teammate of Busch’s, holds him in high regard…

“I think it’s an amazing story, what he has done.  I worked with him as a teammate and I know he’s a special, special talent. I told him a couple of years ago, ‘Once you figure out how to win you’re not going to stop, but you’ve got to stop knocking the right side off your cars, crashing in practice and taking unnecessary risks.’

“He’s figured that out this year and he’s been on fire.”

It’s not just the Sprint Cup series that Busch has had success in this season.

Having won at Watkins Glen last weekend, Busch now has a record 16 wins this season amongst NASCAR’s top 3 series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Trucks.

No one can deny Busch’s ability, including former teammates Jeff Gordon and Johnson.  Both of them were overtaken by Busch during restarts late in the race 2 weekends in a row.  While they shrugged off the matter, either could deny that Busch had simply made a bold move that neither of them could counter.

The fact is that once you truly learn how to win a championship, you recognize it and seek to maintain that ability.  It seems Busch is beginning to come into his own, and will remain a tough competitor to beat from here on out.  

While some might not like his arrogance, NASCAR has been running on empty when it comes to bad guys.  Certainly, the passion that these characters bring out in fans provides the sport with some added excitement that it needs to thrive, but what makes Busch so special is not that he is quickly becoming the new bad boy, but that he is currently NASCAR’s most talented driver.

After all, you don’t have the honor of being booed if you’re not within booing range. And booing range doesn’t extend much past Victory Lane.

Gordon seems to not have much of a problem with Busch’s new found stardom…

“I think we’ve been missing the good guy, bad guy,” Gordon said. “Earnhardt was sort of the tough guy, and I was sort of the young, clean-cut kid. It’s a little different scenario now. But still it’s a rivalry. It’s opposites. It’s somebody everybody can base an opinion on, and that’s what our fans need.

“To be an avid fan, you’ve got to have somebody to love and somebody to hate.”

So as Busch keeps winning, fans will continue to love to hate him and hate to love him.  However, none can deny his talent as well as the added fire he seems to be bringing back to the sport.