Were Homestead races fixed?

A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I have noted that a few times you snuck in the line "everything happens in NASCAR for a reason" and I always wondered what you meant by that until this past weekend in Homestead when it finally hit me right in the face. We all know that Ford is in dire straights financially and across the board cuts are coming. How convenient was it that the race was called the Ford 400 and Fords won all three races – Mark Martin in Craftsman Truck, Matt Kenseth in Busch and with Greg Biffle's win in the main event on Sunday. Bud Bilack, Minneapolis

Dear Bud, If you mean did NASCAR fix the races so Ford would win and not cancel their NASCAR program? We have no idea, anything is possible we suppose, but it's quite transparent how things just seem to work out in NASCAR's managed racing environment.

We can tell you that new Ford CEO Alan Mulally got the royal treatment from Ford Racing personnel in a well orchestrated introduction to Ford racing's activities in NASCAR. (L to R) Alan Mulally, President and CEO Ford Motor Company with Edsel B Ford II and Dan Davis.

It was clear to everyone in the paddock that day that Mulally got in-depth exposure to Ford's involvement in NASCAR, so that they could live to race another day. The fact that they won all three races mind you, was just the icing on the cake that Ford Racing needed to see their funding continued. Mark C.