Hello, motorsports enthusiasts! Welcome to the another edition of Seven Points with Kobe Lambeth and Kenneth Lee Jr. We will provide a weekly discussion each Wednesday on various topics in motorsports. Most content will focus on NASCAR but other racing series will be discussed as well.
Lambeth is a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who is a Communications major with a concentration in mass media and minor in journalism. He is a contributor to The Podium Finish and RockinghamNow. Lee is a graduate of Tuskegee University with a bachelor's degree in Communications, an alumnus of the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program, and an Associate Producer in Content Development for the Motor Racing Network. 1. Kyle Busch went for a spin in the early laps of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. But it proved to be no issue for the 2015 Cup champion. Rowdy pulled a classic spin-and-win last Sunday. With three Cup victories, early in the season, how many wins do you think Busch will have at the end of the year? Lambeth: Call me crazy but I believe that Kyle Busch is capable of winning at least 10 races. He is really on a tear during this early portion of the season. Without a doubt, Busch is going to continue his winning ways moving forward. A special way to bounce back from an early race incident at Bristol to hold off his brother Kurt Busch. All he does is win, win, win no matter what! Lee: Rowdy went for a spin, on Sunday afternoon, in the early laps of the Food City 500. The first thing I said to myself, “You can’t count him out now, watch him “come back.” That’s exactly what he did. I think he can hit the double digit mark this season. I’m going with 12 wins for him. It’s a long way to go but Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing have been on fire in 2019. 2. Chris Buescher ran extremely well throughout the race last Sunday afternoon. He was running in the top-10, giving the No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 a great run, until some late-race issues cost him a chance at a great finish. Do you think people underestimate Buescher’s talent behind the wheel, given he is the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion? Lambeth: In my opinion, Buescher is one of the most underrated drivers in the garage. Remember his championship season with Roush-Fenway Racing in the Xfinity Series? His special year in 2015 proved that he was worthy of the opportunity that he has today with JTG Daugherty Racing at the top level. The issue late in the race was quite a shame, given he was on his way to a top-10 finish. However, the No. 37 team competed against some great cars throughout the race. They made their presence known. Lee: Despite the 22nd-place finish on Sunday, Buescher ran in the top-10 quite a bit for most of the race, until his unfortunate event. At times, I think people do forget that he’s quite a talented driver. I think JTG Daugherty Racing as a whole is going to slowly improve this season. I believe that you’ll see more of that out of him at the short tracks throughout the season. 3. Following Christopher Bell’s most recent Xfinity win at Bristol, his future remains a hot topic in the garage. The 24-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma continues to improve and show that he is worthy of a future Cup ride. Do you think he will move up to stock car racing’s highest level in 2020? Lambeth: Based on what team owner Joe Gibbs said, at Bristol, there appears to be a plan in place, regarding the future of Christopher Bell. While we do not know what the plan is at the moment, I would not be surprised if Bell is somehow involved with a Cup program in 2020. He is one of the most talented, brightest prospects in NASCAR. Lee: With the current situation at Joe Gibbs Racing, there’s just nowhere to put him at the moment. He’s in somewhat of a pickle because of this. Without a doubt, he’s a super talented race car driver. I really can’t see TRD letting someone like him go. If a team like Leavine Family Racing expands to a two-car team, that may open a possibility for him to move up to Cup in 2020. 4. Sam Mayer absolutely dominated the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East field, leading all but three laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, scoring his first-career victory. How important is it for a young driver’s career, dominating a race when the regional series shares the track with Xfinity and Cup? Lambeth: Rookie driver Sam Mayer never put a wheel wrong at Bristol. For a young driver, he looked like a veteran taking control of the race. It always does a good thing for a driver’s confidence when they have a dominating performance like Mayer had last weekend. With Xfinity and Cup owners at the track, it can never hurt to get more eyes on you, especially with FansChoiceTV showing the K&N races live to get young drivers more exposure. Lee: Sam Mayer took the field to school last Saturday at Bristol. I think it’s good for a young driver to be able to dominate at his level and let alone at place where he may be racing at in the big leagues one day. To do that at tracks like this is very “veteran-like.” It should help his young career out quite a bit! 5. Takuma Sato capped off an impressive weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, leading Team RLL to victory in Alabama. After starting on pole, on the front row with teammate Graham Rahal, Sato displayed tremendous form (minus an off-road incident in the closing laps) to battle his way to the top step of the podium. Any thoughts? Lambeth: Despite a little off-road racing, late in the race, Takuma Sato would not be denied as he took victory at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Sato truly earned this one. It was wonderful to see his passion in victory lane, celebrating with each crew member. There is no “I” in team. Sato always displays tremendous passion during his victory celebrations. No attack, no chance. Team RLL must be pleased with both cars qualifying on the front row. It should give them some momentum heading into Long Beach. Lee: Sato put on one helluva show at Barber Motorsports Park last Sunday to get his fourth-career win. You can definitely tell that he was hustling to get that win, especially after going off course for a moment. He earned that one for sure and should bring him a big boost of morale moving through the rest of the season! 6. On Monday morning, McLaren Racing revealed the livery of Fernando Alonso’s No. 66 Chevrolet for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, which looks strikingly similar to the team’s pair of Formula 1 cars. Good choice, right? Given McLaren’s new alliance with Carlin Racing, do you think they will benefit from the partnership versus doing a one-off program by itself? Lambeth: The No. 66 McLaren Racing Chevrolet is a gorgeous piece of machinery. It looks very similar to the Formula 1 cars of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris but I am not complaining! The livery is appealing to the eyes. The main question is, will it be as fast as it looks? Based on the early season performance, it appears that McLaren’s partner Carlin Racing has improved over the offseason. Fernando Alonso and McLaren Racing should enjoy having access to data from the three Carlin Racing entries: Charlie Kimball, Max Chilton and Patricio O’Ward. Lee: His ride for the Indy 500 looks quite similar to the Formula 1 cars. Not overly crazy about the paint scheme; personally it’s cool but I wasn’t super hyped about it. However, with the assistance of Carlin, it should bring some benefits for them heading into the 500. They have a pretty solid bunch entering the 500; they should be competitive in May! 7. Scott McLaughlin (Race 7) and Shane van Gisbergen (Race 8) collected victories last weekend at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania. The action Down Under never disappoints. Do you think SVG is one of McLaughlin’s biggest threats for the championship? Lambeth: Although Scott McLaughlin has a healthy early season lead, do not count out the likes of Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and Fabian Coulthard. McLaughlin is certainly the favorite to defend his title. But there is still time for his fellow competitors to gain ground. I thought the battle between Scotty Mac and SVG in Race 8 was magnificent. We should be in for a decent show at the upcoming race weekend at Phillip Island. Lee: McLaughlin has been on a tear all season long. It may be early but he is certainly the title favorite at the moment. It’s a long way to go in the season but I think his teammate (Coulthard) and Shane van Gisbergen are going to be his biggest competitors when it’s all said and done.
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