With such a controversial Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, I want to give my perspective and seek out your view on a variety of topics about what happened in the Auto Club Speedway this past weekend. Then, looking ahead, I give three of my favorites for the Sprint Cup race at Martinsville this coming weekend – who is your favorite?

With Brain Vickers again being sidelined from a blood clot in his leg, what does his NASCAR future hold?

Very sad news about Brian Vickers this week, anytime you see somebody sidelined from doing something they love from an illness, it really is hard to see. That being said I think this is the end of Brian Vickers career as a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup Series. We may see him finish this season if his doctors release him to race. but who’s to say the blood clot won’t reoccur again. With an organization struggling as much as Michael Waltrip Racing, ‘seat time’ is essential and now, it’s Brett Moffitt benefiting tremendously. Moffitt is doing very well in terms of racing, and certainly not any worse than Vickers was in the No. 55. So as an organization the team needs to go with the man who is able to stay in the car, as bad as that sounds.

That said, I would not be surprised to see Brian Vickers back in select races in the coming years. He is somebody who excels on the short track and you may see him run a part-time schedule as he did two years ago with Mark Martin. Bottom line, I hope to see Brian Vickers back doing what he loves, but the realist in me says, it’s not going to happen, at least not full-time.

What was your thought on the way NASCAR handled the caution flag situation at the end of the Auto Club 400 Sunday, resulting in a win for Brad Keselowski?

I was absolutely appalled that the caution was not thrown when Greg Biffle spun Sunday. I think NASCAR is very lucky he was able to get his car off the track because if he hadn’t, there would be so much more controversy than you see now.

Say Biffle doesn’t get moving, then NASCAR has to call the caution, with the front running drivers in turn three or four – does Brad Keselowski still win the race? If NASCAR called the caution when the spin initially happened, would Kurt Busch have won the race?  As a fan, I am always glad to see the race end under green. but I also feel the situation on Sunday was almost mishandled by NASCAR. Since Greg Biffle did get his car off the track, it leaves me with no real argument.

Going along with that, Brad Keselowski and Paul Wolfe absolutely won that race Sunday, with the four tire call and Keselowski driving from 14^th after the second-to-last-caution to win. Give credit where credits due.

Sunday’s race at Auto Club saw a sellout crowd, Kevin Harvick talked about having some tracks host only one race per year instead of two. What are your thoughts?

As a season ticket holder for Michigan International Speedway, it is hard for me to say that this is a good idea because I really love going to that track twice during the summer.

As somebody who covers this sport, I think it is a great idea. I say this because we could see races at new tracks such as Iowa or bring back an old track such as Rockingham. Wouldn’t this help level out the playing field for some teams that are struggling? I understand that if you’re fast, you’re probably fast anywhere, but I think we could see some real exciting racing on tracks that are new to even some of the Cup veterans. Personally, I think there are way too many 1.5 mile track races on the circuit and would love to see more short tracks brought into play.

To tie into what Harvick said, I think attendance would be up at these tracks because people will have to make it more of a priority to get to their ‘home track.’

In implementing this kind of change in the track schedule, I think it would do nothing but help the sport. The only exception I see to this idea is Daytona. I would definitely feel something’s missing if we did not run the 400 mile night race on the July 4^th weekend.

Although it’s early who is your favorite to win the Sprint Cup race this weekend at Martinsville?

Kurt Busch: is on a roll now and his team is as hooked up as is his teammate Kevin Harvick. Look for these two to run the same setup Sunday. I think Jimmie Johnson will also be a big contender Sunday as he has shown how good he is at Martinsville.  That said, I think Kurt is a man on a mission and locks into the Chase with a win this weekend.

So now it’s your turn, I would love to hear everybody’s answer to the four questions above,via the comments section below and/or by voting on each poll.