Little E

I'm not surprised that Little E has won so soon and would have been stunned if NASCAR had allowed 2000 to pass without at least one win for little ironhead. The fan base he has enjoyed ever since he became a Busch star has been uncommonly large and supportive. Fair play to him.
I am, however, a little suspicious about the timing of the win. In the weeks preceeding Texas, Winston Cup racing was stupefyingly boring. Grandstands were less than full at one of the tracks, and apparently TV figures were less than impressive. I'm a European who's fascinated by Winston Cup racing and very envious of the popular and commercial success it's currently enjoying. I much prefer Champ Car racing and am saddened at that series current difficulties (On the bright side though, at least it isn't half as dire as IRL)

Bob, get the conspiracy theories out of your head. Little E is an awesome talent that was consecutive NASCAR Busch Grand National champion in 1998 and 1999. He qualified 4th for the race and guess where Little E got his first Busch Grand National win? Texas, the same track.

Little E is just awesome. I watched him in qualifying at Atlanta which is a very fast, dangerous 1.5 mile track that sees speeds up to 200mph entering the corners. He basically stood on thr throttle in the corners on his qualifying run, to the extent that his car just about got sideways on him in the middle of turn 3 & 4 but somehow he saved it, held on and stood on the throttle again to take the provisional pole with that lap.

He also beat veteran road racer Ron Fellows at Watkins Glen last year when he had to hold his car in gear in the waning laps of the race.

Bob, your comment of "In the weeks preceeding Texas, Winston Cup racing was stupefyingly boring?" Say what? NASCAR had one of the closest finishes in the history of the sport when Dale Earnhardt beat Bobby Labonte by .009 seconds at Atlanta a few weeks prior to the Texas race. This season has seen seven different winners in the seven races held so far, two of which were first time winners. You basically don't know who is going to win each week. I would say that this season has been exciting so far and more exciting than in years past leading up to the Texas race. Too many people are equating the series as boring this year based upon first two races of the season, most notably the Daytona 500. Chevy introdurced a new car this year and was behind with the Monte Carlo adjusting to the new aerodynamics.

[This message has been edited by Joe Fan (edited 08 April 2000).]