The Sprint Cup Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway is now over and the overriding theme was optimism.  Every team, driver, speedway and sponsor seemed to be buoyed by the great finish of the 2011 season.   TV ratings were up, the on track competition was compelling and in general there seems to be a new buzz surrounding NASCAR.

Even with all that optimism and excitement there was not a great deal of ground breaking news on the Media Tour. That not necessarily a bad thing. In my humble opinion, here are the top four stories to emerge from Media Tour:

#1. Kevin Harvick announced that his wife Delana is now 14 weeks pregnant.  That created a shockwave of excitement at the Childress media gathering.  Delana has no plans to have maternity version of her famous fire suit on display this year. Kevin also said the decision to shutdown KHI was tied to the arrival of their first child. NASCAR needs to expand the playground in the motor coach lots.

#2. Wal-Mart is set to sponsor Bill Elliott in the July Daytona race. Bill will drive the #50 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart has long been the great white whale in the sponsorship world, and many teams have spent countless resources trying to get Wal-Mart to the table.  It seems a bit ironic that Wal-Mart basically called it's on shot by selecting Turner Motorsports to field the team for Elliott.

#3.  Danica Patrick has elected to race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and will not compete in the Indy 500. I believe this move by Danica shows that she is now totally committed to her NASCAR career, leaving her open wheel aspirations behind.  I'm sure there were more than a few long faces at Indy when they learn that Indy Cars most popular driver would miss their biggest race.  Danica will run the full Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports and 10 Sprint Cup races for Stewart Haas Racing.

4. Ford rolled out the 2013 Fusion that will race in NASCAR.  The track version of the new Fusion closely mirrors the production model.  This marks a great departure from NASCAR's recent trend of building identical race cars and paying little attention to the manufacturers.   Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota also have plans to unveil their new models shortly.  It appears there is movement to put the stock somewhat back in stock car racing.

Let's hope that the optimism on display in January is realized by next November at season's end.

As the 2011 Sprint Cup Season winds down there are several prominent drivers that are still winless: Biffle, Montoya, McMurray, Earnhardt, Kahne, Martin and Jeff Burton.  To be totally honest, a couple of these shock me.  For others, it’s about what I expected.

 I remember at media day in Daytona, Greg Biffle was eager for the season to start. He told everyone that he felt like his team could win 4 or 5 races and fight for a title.

As the season dries up, Biffle is the only Roush Fenway driver without a win and is on the outside of the Chase.  The changes that the 16 Team made at the end of the 2010 never morphed into victories.  A winless Biffle is 10 on my 1-10 scale of being surprised.

In what has become an almost yearly ritual, the discussion of Dale Jr.’s  fate dominates the landscape.  Could he finally break out the funk that has plagued him for years and grab his piece of the pie?  

The first third of the season held promise.  There werd near wins at Martinsville and Charlotte, and he was a fixture in the top five.  Then the mid-season swoon hit and he found himself limping into the Chase.  Yes, there was improvement, and more importantly HOPE which has been in short supply,  but that’s not enough to hush the cries of Jr. Nation.  Jr.’s year  gets a 6 on my scale of surprise.

Next, there’s Mark Martin.  To be honest,  I didn’t see the 5 Team being a big threat to victory lane this year.  I love and respect Mark, but these lame duck deals almost never work out.  It’s like announcing you’re getting a divorce but you still live together for another year.  How much fun can that be?   A winless Mark earns a 2 on my scale of being shocked. 

I felt like Jamie McMurray really had his dream season last year and it’s apparent that Earnhardt-Ganassi has problems.  No wins for Jamie is a 4 on my scale.

Teammate Juan Montoya struggled everywhere.  I really thought he would he would  scratch out a win on a road course or maybe Indy.  For that reason alone, Juan’s years ranks as a 7 on my meter of surprise.   

Okay, Jeff Burton is just too good to go this long without a win.  I can’t figure this one out, but 2011 was a disaster by any measure for the driver of the 31. 2012 has to be better, right? Burton’s bobble earns him a 9.  I was really surprised this team didn’t have a pulse.  

Finally, Kasey Kahne is winless with 3 to go and I’m not shocked at that fact.  It’s that he’s winless considering  how good this team has been.  There have been ample chances for Kasey to grab a win for a team that may be shutting it’s door, and he took the ride knowing it was placeholder situation.   Kudos to Kahne and Red Bull for putting up the good fight when other teams would’ve folded the tents and retreated.   

Since we’re selling the Chase as NASCAR’s post-season…why don’t we kick if off with a big event?  Look, we start the season with the biggest event of the year.  Why not do the same thing with the Chase?  I’m thinking the Brickyard.

There has been a lot of talk about how the Indy crowds are way down…about how its’ lost its’ big event feel.  So, how do you get that back? I say, let it kick off the Chase.  Can you imagine how much fun that would be?

Starting the Chase at Chicagoland has all the appearances of NASCAR attempting to elevate the status and feel of an average event.  That’s all well and good, but it’s not Chicago…it’s Joliet.  It’s going to be interesting to see if the Chicago media embraces the event as something special.

If you let the Brickyard kick off the Chase, it’s would be a win/win for the track and NASCAR.  It will help Indy get back on fan’s must-attend lists.  It would give a major NASCAR event even more pop (which will help bring fans back) and take it out of the heat of the summer (which should also help attendance).

When NASCAR came to the Brickyard in 1994, it gave the series a boost of international credibility.  Letting it kick off the Chase would do the same for NASCAR’s post-season.  And, what better place to start the playoffs than at a track that embraces history like no other.

I really feel sorry for Regan Smith and Marcos Ambrose because their wins were both overshadowed by post-race altercations not of their own making. The headlines for both of their break through wins were diminished by off track side shows.

Regan Smith on old tires holds off Carl Edwards to win the Southern 500 in a super dramatic finish, should have been the stuff of legend! Instead the cameras were focused on Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick side show that was happening on pit-road.

Admittedly is was great theater but is was disappointing that their actions received the lion's share of attention. The lasting memory from the Lady in Black is about pit-road skirmish and not a bold first time winner.

Flash forward to Watkins Glen where Marcos Ambrose finally breaks through and scores a Sprint Cup win and suddenly his win is almost after thought. The glory of his day is clouded by the verbal altercation of Boris Said and Greg Biffle.

What a disappointment, you finally win a race only to play second fiddle to a sophomoric argument between a journeyman so-called road coarse ringer and Sprint Cup regular Greg Biffle. Amazingly 48 hours later the cable news channels have discovered the ranting of Boris Said and his 15 minutes of fame is extended to 30.

Imagine having a landmark birthday party, it's supposed to be all about YOU, it's your day until one of your guests discovers they have won the lottery. Suddenly you become invisible and you're be lucky if you get some cake.

We like the fights for the same reason we slow down to look a traffic accidents. While we're slowing down to see the wreck the better parts of the world can slip by, just like the attention for Regan Smith and Marcos Ambrose faded away.

I got into a pretty heated debate with my PRN co-anchor Mark Garrow about drivers being admitted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Mark is of the firm belief that if you win a Sprint Cup Title you should get into the Hall.

I, on the other hand, just don't believe that winning a single title should punch your ticket into the Hall.
Here are a few reasons why.

1. The magic season: Let's say a driver qualifies for the Chase, maybe without even winning a race.   Suddenly they get hot in the Chase, and everyone else struggles or even takes each other out of contention. Suddenly driver X is the new champion with only the benefit of winning only a couple of races. In subsequent years, the driver fades into the twilight an is really never be heard from again.

2. Litmus test: If we make winning a championship the litmus test for getting in, then shouldn't we hold all non-title holders to the same standard? Mark Martin has enjoyed a bountiful career, but has no titles to show for it. Let's suppose for arguments sake that Kyle Busch wins 50 or so races in his career, but never takes a title. Should he be excluded? In my humble opinion, stacking up a big win total is more impressive than a single title.

3. Freedom of thought: Selection to the baseball hall of fame is primarily a function of math: 300 wins for pitchers, 500 homeruns for hitters, and if you bang out 3000 hits you're in. If you achieve these benchmarks, you're pretty much a shoe in for Cooperstown. Frankly I'm glad that NASCAR doesn't employ rigid guidelines that must be adhered to. The merits and shortcomings of each applicant are weighed on their own, and not held to the standard of some mathematical equation.

I agree with my esteemed partner Mr. Garrow that winning a Cup title should gain you some serious consideration to the Hall. But at the end of the day, the act of winning a single title isn't always the stuff of legends.

That's what should occupy space in the Hall.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame has five new members, all very deserving in their own right: Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough , Dale Inman, Richie Evans and Glen Wood.

Waltrip and Yarborough are household names even for the most casual of race fans. The other three may require a little explanation to those that don't follow NASCAR on a daily basis.

In no way does it diminish their contributions to the sport. Not everyone gets to play quarterback, and football teams also need offensive linemen to win.

I believe that Waltrip and Yarborough represent the last of the low hanging fruit for admission to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the near future. The next class will be equally deserving, but when it's highlighted on Sports Center, most sports fans are going to say, "Who are they talking about, I've never heard of those guys!"

If I'm reading the tea leaves of the voting panel correctly, next year is going to be about the pioneers of racing and not necessarily the rock stars.

My early favorites for admission next year include Red Byron, Cotton Owens, Curtis Turner, and Fireball Roberts. In other words, if you saw them race on television, they probably won't be in the Hall next year.

I would personally like to see my longtime friend Benny Parsons get in, but I think we'll have to wait maybe one more year to see old BP get his ticket punched.

There will be five additional names on the ballot next year. Here are a few that I would like to see included:
Rusty Wallace, Ralph Seagraves, Bruton Smith, Smokey Yunick and Ray Evernham.

Let the lobbying and the games begin.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm employed by Speedway Motorsports and work for Bruton. That being said, even if didn't work for SMI I would like to think that his accomplishments have at least earned him consideration.

NASCAR's 3M driver is officially Greg Biffle of Roush-Fenway driver of the 16 ford, BTW 3M makes a lot of cool stuff including Post-it Notes but we're not here to talk about Greg Biffle, we're talking about the other 3 M driver, actually he usually drives a car with just two M's.

There has been a great deal of talk about the kinder gentler Kyle Busch we've seen this season. Now I realize that it's early in the year and anything can still happen. That being said I believe his new behavior is attributable to 3 M's, the first of which is maturity. It was only a matter of time until Kyle realized that his enormous talent was never going to be fully recognized until he did some much needed growing up. We've seen this time and time again with other professional athletes and on occasion our own children. Kyle has realized that he will never achieve championship greatness until he can curb his own temper demons, he appears to have done so.

The second M is marriage, Kyle has proudly shown off his wedding band on several occasions, saying it's the key to his recent about- face. If this is the case he wouldn't be the first man to be turned around by marriage vows, there is no doubt this has had a huge impact on Mr. Busch. the responsibility of marriage is ofter reflected in other aspects of our lives.

The third and final M is mentoring, you had believe that it was only a matter of time until the teachings and beliefs of team owner Joe Gibbs started to rub off on Kyle. Gibbs knows what it takes to win at life, okay that's cliché but it's true, I don't know what form that takes, if the Coach and Kyle have long talks about the meaning of life or just exchange texts. Joe Gibb's book is called the Game Plan for Life, I would bet that Kyle's picked up a copy along the way.

Here's the ying and yang of all this.  A kinder gentler Kyle Busch is going to be less entertaining on one level, but this newly focused Kyle Busch might just be a driver that doesn't fold in the Chase. This might possibly be the man that can end Jimmie Johnson's championship run at five. In the meantime Greg Biffle will continue to be the 3M driver but at the same time the driver of the M&M's car is representing for the m's of maturity, marriage and mentoring.

American sports fans are particular about their hero worship; there are three stages of fan adoration:

The honeymoon or ascension phase which Trevor Bayne is enjoying at the moment.  The new star can do nothing wrong.  Jeff Gordon enjoyed this phase once upon a time when he first exploded onto the NASCAR landscape.  He was hailed as the sport's newest star and indeed morphed into the face of racing.
It was new face to say the least. If you didn't happen to like Earnhardt, Waltrip or Bodine, now through Gordon, you had a fresh alternative.

Then Jeff Gordon committed his biggest mistake in his love affair with the fans.  In their minds he started to win too much.  From 1996 – 98, Jeff Gordon racked up and amazing 33 victories.  Suddenly with all his success came the inevitable backlash.

"I don't like him, he wins everything".   "I want to see anybody but Jeff win".  Trust me, those were the mild statements.  Jimmie Johnson is experienceing this same fan phenomena today.

It appears that after you win so much, you move from being popular to polarizing.   Gordon became the object of fan ridicule, and you only had to listen for the boos to know when he was introduced.  Fan adoration and discovery is phase one.  Phase two is the rejection because some folks have strange way of rewarding success.

The third stop on a driver's journey through fandom is the trickiest, how do you win back their love. You can't win it back by being nice or generous; there are only two paths you can go by in the long run, apologies to Led Zeppelin. You can become the victim, Darrell Waltrip getting turned by Rusty Wallace in the All Star race also turned his career around, DW went from villain to sympatric victim in a matter of seconds.

The other way to regain to the elusive fan love is to experience a long losing streak.  American sports fans are powerless to resist a good comeback story.

This same story played out for tennis bad boy Jimmy Connors.  In his prime he was hated.  But let him go a few seasons without winning then magically he's great champion of the game.

Jeff Gordon has just emerged from a career long losing streak of 66 races, and his Phoenix win is being proclaimed as a popular victory.  One of NASCAR's best still has what it takes to win, and he proves by beating bad boy Kyle Busch.   I guess Jeff Gordon is back, but to be honest he never really left.  He has stayed competitive and relevant during this winless streak.  But that's not the same as winning.

I promise that some of the fans cheering Gordon widely as he bettered the younger Busch in Phoenix were some of the same fans that used to curse and boo the loudest.  

I honestly don't think Jeff will ever be the villain again.  Those days are over.  He is now the proud champion looking for his fifth title.  Too bad it took a 66 race losing streak to make it happen.