Did money have something to do with this? Probably had a little to do with it. But, there are a ton of kids who show up with money and very few ever get one of these development deals. Let alone Penske. He's a self-made billionaire, worth like $3 billion. So, he's one of these people who sometimes sees the potential in things, before other people have and takes a chance on them. And if Craig is willing to reduce some of Roger's downside risk in this gamble, then it's a no lose situation. If Dakoda is a success, then the Captain ends up looking like a genius. If not, then no great loss. Bottom line, though, he wouldn't be taking the gamble if he didn't see some upside potential in the kid.

When I saw that Dakoda had this good finish and that Caleb had won his first USAC National event, the first thing I thought of was how much of an effect the influence of Kevin Besecker had to have had on all of this. At the time of his hiring, I remember having a lot of discussions with people and the general consensus was that this was a shrewd move on the part of the Armstrongs. I don't know too many people that like taking situations that have happened, breaking them down into pieces and explaining them, more than what Kevin does. Or someone who more understands the importance of a good mentor.

Only time will tell how this deal works out. Like Danny B and I were talking about on the hill @ Bloomington last weekend, racing is a microcosm of life. It's isn't always fair and it isn't always logical. If you spend all of your time being obsessed with this part of it, you'll miss a lot of the incidental, subtle good parts that happen.

Jerry