View From The Flagstand

What a wild, wild, weekend down in Alabama. Plenty of hard racing, hard wrecks, and I heard there was even some hard drinking in the infield.

Checkered Flag:

Rookie Brad Keselowski earns the checkers by holding his position at race's end, when Carl Edwards tried to block him low on the track. Edwards came down on him, which, in turn, got the #99 sideways, and, eventually, sailing upside down as Keselowski crossed the finish line.

Green Flag:

Dale Earnhardt Jr drove a smart race, dodged all the wrecks, and came home in second place. Marcos Ambrose, another rookie, finished fourth. Fellow rookies, Scott Speed and Joey Logano both had top-10 runs.

Yellow Flag:

The blocking that goes on during a restrictor plate race has become ridiculous. Matt Kenseth helped cause the big one, on lap 7, when Jeff Gordon made it four wide....in a turn!

Red Flag:

Cars getting airborne in some scary looking wrecks. Carl Edwards, on Sunday, and Matt Kenseth, on Saturday, both sailed through the air with the greatest of ease. NASCAR has worked hard to improve safety this decade. They must now find a way to keep the cars on the ground. NASCAR was very lucky that no fans were injured when the safety catch fence was impacted by Edwards car in mid-air.