This is the Statt Mann Baby!!  Time to Scatt a little bit.

Is horsepower is the most important thing in racing?

Take the Hendrick program.  Those same powerful engines are in Tony Stewart’s car and he’s leading the points in NASCAR Sprint Cup.  They’re also in Jimmie Johnson’s car and he’s second, and in Jeff Gordon’s car and he’s third in points.

But they’re also in Mark Martin’s car and he’s 11th and Dale Earnhardt’s car and he’s 25th.

So horsepower must not be the total answer.

They say the same thing about drifting: “You need about 500 horsepower to make a dent there.”  Some brag about seven or eight hundred horsepower but they’re not leading the championship.

The championship leader in Formula Drift is Chris Forsberg and he puts his horsepower at less than 380 at the rear wheels.

So what’s the most important thing in a motor race?

It’s the people.  It’s the drivers, the crew chief, the guys back in the shop, the man paying the bills and making the resources available.

Racing is as much a human endeavor as any stick and ball sport.  Every time we forget that, we get smacked with realities like Dale Junior, Kyle Busch, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick.

Peace.