iNSIDE SCOOP: Turkey Leftovers

Sitting here in Charlotte with no NASCAR racing to keep me busy, I had plenty of time to think over Thanksgiving.

Some of it was wondering, some of it was sort of re-running the season in my head and some of it was just plain weird.

The wondering was easy. You don't travel to 20-plus races a season without having plenty of time to wonder.

I wonder if anyone can beat Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and that 48 bunch. Sure, he was in a two-year title drought before he broke through for No. 6 this year, but you can make the case that they beat themselves two years running. That doesn't take anything away from Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski, because they stepped into the vacuum and won the title. But when they have their good stuff and a little bit of luck, they're darn near impossible to stop.

I wonder how the new aero package is going to work. So do a lot of you, I imagine. I hope this one does what needs to be done, which is let the cars race side-by-side and pass a little bit easier. That's all that's really necessary for NASCAR to rekindle the racing that is its hallmark. Restrictor plates do a good job of making it about even at Daytona and Talladega, but the cars can't pull the hat off your head without a partner. The tapered spacer will cut the power, but will it kill acceleration and the ability to pass? We;ll see.

I wonder if Tony Stewart is going to be all the way back come Daytona. Having knocked around with him since he was a USAC star in the mid-1990s, I would say he'll be in the seat if they have to staple his butt in and make him use a cane to push the pedal. But that's just me. 

This past season shows that you can always use a little luck. Marcos Ambrose had the Glen won before his rear axle snapped. Carl Edwards ran out of gas at Texas. A little bit of luck and it might have been different. Do I think anyone would have beaten Johnson in the end? Probably not.

The Gen-6 was pretty fast and pretty sporty, and it will only get better if they can find a way for the thing to make more downforce. They will, and it will be Good.

Kyle Busch is a race-drivin' son-of-a-gun, isn't he? Too bad he might not have a Nationwide Series team next season. He'll still have Trucks, but it's not the same if he's not changing driver's suits more often than Clark Kent changes into Superman.

As for the weird stuff, I came up with Road America in the Chase...even though you might have to use snowmobiles. Wisconsin gets pretty cold around October. But you could start the Chase there and move the Chicagoland race back a week or two. Bristol needs to be in the Chase, too, and I would put a wild-card track in somewhere. Like Eldora. 

Told you it was weird.