Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson for getting his fourth win of the season. He also managed to sweep both of the year's Dover races for the second time in his career. As expected, he dominated from the time the green flag dropped until the checkered flag waved. The only other driver who could have possibly been a threat for the victory was Kurt Busch. The reality is starting to sink in to all of us fans that Jimmie is more than likely going to win a fourth straight championship. His expression in the picture above isn't one of utter excitement like most drivers; he just has a look of plain satisfaction knowing that everything is working out according to plan...
Joey Logano's wild ride through the air was like the only exciting part of Sunday's race. His crash looked scarily similar to the one Michael McDowell had in Texas qualifying last season. Tony Stewart appears to be the villain in this incident, but there was absolutely nothing he could do to prevent it because the cause of the wreck was a chain reaction. If anyone takes blame, it should be Bobby Labonte based on my analysis from the replays. This isn't the first time there has been a disastrous multi-car incident at The Monster Mile. I have decided that Dover is Talladega's little brother...
Denny Hamlin's 22nd place finish on Sunday made me change my mind about saying that he is a true threat to win this year's championship. Dover has always been a track that trips him up; however, with the top four drivers in points being so consistent each race, perfection is the only way for Hamlin or any other Chaser to stay in the hunt. I know it seems early for me to say this, but I think this year's title has already become a battle between Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson and possibly Juan Pablo Montoya...
While scrolling through this week's results, I found it interesting to look at the different excuses the Start and Parkers used when making their dash for the garage. They tell NASCAR that their machines have everything from electrical to brake to transmission to even overheating problems. Joe Nemecheck went as far as using wheel bearing as his reason a few weeks back at Bristol.Interesting, interesting, interesting...
That's all I have for the Dover edition. The next two races on the schedule are Kansas and Fontana. Expect both of those races to be even more boring than this one. Also, expect pretty much the same finishing order with a tweak here and there...
Congratulations to Mark Martin on getting his first ever victory at New Hampshire. His fifth win of the season was a hard earned one as he had a side by side duel with Juan Pablo Montoya in the closing laps. I don't know how Mark managed to beat him on the outside groove, but only a driver with his level of skill and experience would be able to do something like that. Sunday's victory made us all realize that Jimmie Johnson isn't the sole Chaser to outdrive when it comes to winning this year's championship. This is the best chance Martin has and will ever have at achieving the thing he has most sought throughout his entire racing career. The problem I have with Mark is he tends to take being humble a little too far. I will make a bet that if he wins this year's championship, the first thing he will say in his interview is "Allen Gustafson is the one who won it..."
Even though Juan PabloMontoya got a solid third-place finish, he wasn't too happy with the outcome of the race when it was all said and done. Montoya felt that Mark Martin raced him dirty for the win, but all it came down to was Mark having the fire in him to be extra aggressive in order to secure the victory. I felt there was nothing dirty about it and liked seeing a flame ignite in Martin that has been latent for most of the season. Juan in addition to Mark seems to be a driver who is peaking at just the right time and has a legitimate shot to win this championship. He was the closest this weekend he has ever been to his first victory on an oval, and I have a feeling it is coming in these final nine weeks of the season...
Kasey Kahne without a doubt gets my sympathy vote for this week. A blown engine is a helpless feeling to a driver because there is absolutely nothing he can do about it. The blame in a situation like that goes all the way back to the Dodge shop. Even though Kahne's chances in the Chase seem to be gone with the wind, I wouldn't count him out just yet. Every driver seems to have a bad week some time during the ten race stretch, including Jimmie Johnson (usually at Talladega). Perfection is the only option for Kasey from this point forward since his mulligan has already been used up, but his dreams are still within reach...
After race one of this year's Chase being in the books, I am starting to have my doubts about Tony Stewart. His poor streak of performances over the past couple of weeks seems to be carrying into the postseason. That is a reason why momentum plays such an important role over the course of the 36-race season. Stewart's rear axle trouble on Sunday led to a 14th place finish and a drop to sixth position in the points standings. He still has plenty of time to get back on track, but it is already starting to look like "Smoke" is going to be the Kyle Busch of 2009...
It's time to criticize ESPN this week after raving about them at Richmond. Their post-race show was one of the poorest I have ever seen because they only interviewed the first and second place drivers. Obviously the network was pressed for time, but they left too many things hanging; it is like a research paper when someone forgets to write the concluding paragraph.Even though FOX's coverage seems kind of cheesy, I really like it that they always make sure to wrap everything up...
That's all I have for the New Hampshire edition. In my opinion, next week's trip to the Monster Mile is one of the most critical races for the drivers in the Chase. If you have noticed from past years, the guys who survive Dover are the ones still alive at Homestead...
Congratulations to Denny Hamlin on getting his second victory of the season. The Virginia native's dreams finally came true by getting that long sought after victory at Richmond. For the past couple of years, late race obstacles have constantly taken him out of contention just when he thinks he has the win in the bag. Hamlin's eyes in the picture above show how much this victory means to him.It didn't come easy either as he fought tooth and nail with Jeff Gordon for most of the night. A spark in this team has ignited over the past month that will definitely make them a force to be reckoned with throughout the next ten weeks. Remember, the driver who has won this race the past two years has gone on to win the championship...
Kyle Busch drove his heart out to a fifth place finish, but the strong run still wasn't enough to put him in the top 12 in points at race end.It just doesn't seem right that the guy with four wins missed the Chase, but all that does is once again prove the importance of consistency week in and week out. He showed the most maturity I have ever seen from him in his post-race interview. Busch realized that it was pointless to kick himself over the results of one race because he has had 25 other races where he could have done better. One day, I hope all of these misfortunes will be the medicine he needs to propel himself to a championship. He reminds me a lot of Tony Romo; they both seem to falter at the times when perfection is crucial. These next ten weeks will be very interesting for us fans. Kyle Busch is out to prove a point to NASCAR nation, and absolutely nothing will be on his agenda except getting ten consecutive victories to add to his racing resume...
Brian Vickers achieved something this year that never would have happened if he hadn't been dumped by Hendrick Motorsports. Many people thought that when he signed with Red Bull Racing he would just turn out to be another Jamie McMurray or Reed Sorenson, but this season he has reached a talent level higher than anyone ever expected. Don't be surprised if he is one of the guys still in the running when Homestead comes around; just remember what Clint Bowyer did two years ago under the radar...
Ever since Matt Kenseth kicked off the 2009 season by winning the first two races, the rest of his year has been nothing but downhill. It was no surprise by the way Kenseth has been running lately that he missed his first ever Chase after making the postseason for five consecutive years. These next ten races need to be time for him to regroup and get his act back together. I thought it was kind of funny how confident Rusty and Brad were in the pre-race show about Matt's chances from a 28th place starting position...
I have to say that I think this was one of the best short-track races I have ever seen. It was the most intense cut-off race since the Chase has been in existence; one position could make or break a guy's season. We got to watch side by side racing for the lead all night long; I thought that battle between Hamlin and Gordon would never end. ESPN also did a fantastic job with constantly keeping us up-to-date on the points situation and taking the time to interview all 12 Chasers in the post-race show. I can see why Richmond is almost every single driver's favorite race track; it might just become mine too...
That's all I have for this week. We are just days away from the start of the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. This is the time of the season when drivers really step up their game. Who will be this year's Greg Biffle? Will Jimmie Johnson win a fourth straight championship? The answers to these questions plus many more are going to be revealed over the next ten races...
This week's edition of The Speeding Bullets comes to you high up from Turn 3 of the Atlanta Motor Speedway with a panoramic view of all the racing action. Enjoy!
Congratulations to Kasey Kahne on getting his second win of the 2009 season. He started from the shotgun position and stayed near the front most of the night. Kasey was the beneficiary of the late race debris caution which was just what he needed to set up his race-winning pass on Kevin Harvick.This victory pretty much solidifies Kahne's spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and will give him some extra breathing room during Saturday night's showdown in Richmond, Virginia...
Kevin Harvick got a hard-earned second place finish on Sunday night. This team needed a confidence boost in the midst of what his been an incredibly disappointing season. Since Kevin is out of Chase contention though, his stout performance just feels like another loss because all he seeks is a trip to victory lane. He definitely had the car to beat all race long but totally got screwed over by NASCAR when they decided to throw the debris caution in order to tighten up the field. The yellow flag proved to be so devastating to him because Harvick seemed to have more of a long-run carwhereas Kahne's short-run car propelled him to victory in the 11-lap shootout.Even though I was really rooting for Happy to break his painfully long winless streak, the final restart made it extra exciting to be in the stands...
Juan Pablo Montoya came one step closer with a third-place finish to making his first ever Chase. He led quite a few laps throughout the evening and looked as if he might take the checkered flag. Montoya is racing top-notch every week and will sooner or later get that much-wanted victory on a NASCAR oval. With him being at eighth place in the standings, making the postseason is not a guarantee as anything can happen in a short track Saturday night. Juan just needs to not let the pressure get the best of him and make sure he continues to stay on top of his game...
Even though Carl Edwards sits at a solid fifth place when it comes to points, this season continues to go more and more downhill for him. His 37th place finish this weekend gives me the opportunity to dog him once again; Atlanta is supposed to be one of his best tracks!I don't know whether it is being married or having the Aflac duck on the hood of his car every week, but something is obviously affecting his performance week in and week out. At some point, I hope being winless after 25 races will finally hit him hard in the head, so his old fire will return to the Sprint Cup Series...
I want to wrap up this week's edition by talking about just how successful of an event this was for Atlanta Motor Speedway. I read an article in the newspaper saying that the track had the largest crowd it has seen in at least six years. Even with a tough economy, 116,000 fans hungry to get their racing fix filled the stands.The track owner said he took a huge risk by moving his second race from Halloween to Labor Day, a risk that paid off in a way that will be remembered for years to come. I found out an interesting fact the other day: my great-grandfather attended the first day race ever held at AMS, and my dad and I just attended the first ever night race there...
That's all I have for this week. The final race before the Chase cutoff is only three days away. Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers will be doing anything and everything to get inside the Top 12 in points and continue on in their quests for the 2009 Sprint Cup championship...
I arrived home in the wee hours this morning from an action-packed and awesome trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Sprint Cup race. I have taken quite a few pictures from the event to share with all of you. Enjoy!
This first shot is of A.J. Allmendinger at his pre-race autograph session. Since tickets were only sold in advance, I could only see him at a distance...
This next one is of the boys on the set of NASCAR RaceDay setting the stage for the night's 500-mile showdown...
In the next hour or so, my dad and I walked around and took advantage of all the free stuff. We were handed everything from Goody's headache powder to mini-sticks of Degree V12 deodorant. My dad even managed to win a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. mouse pad. Our favorite part though was getting free pork barbeque at the Prilosec booth. The tasty sauce just left us wanting more....
This next one is of the Sprint Cup trophy on display. They happened to be throwing out a bunch of ballcaps when we went in the Sprint zone. I didn't catch one, but it is amazing what some race fans will do for a free hat...
We wrapped up our pre-race musings by watching a motorbike show and saw the guys do some amazing flips. By then, it was time to make the walk to our seats on the third turn. They were nine rows from the top of the grandstands and gave us a bird's eye view of all of the action...
After watching the driver intros, it was finally time to get the race under way. This next picture is of the planes zooming right over our heads during the flyover...
These next pics are of the actual race. I tried to only post the ones that didn't turn out too blurry.
An interesting part of the event as a spectator was when this guy in our section threw a beer can down onto the track. I don't know if you saw it on t.v. or not since it was below the yellow line. I was surprised that the safety crews didn't notice it and come pick it up...
This is of Reed Sorenson when he blew a tire to bring out one of the yellow flags. It happened right by where we were sitting, so the blow sounded like a sonic boom!
Overall, I found the whole race to be pretty exciting. There were side-by-side battles for the lead all evening long, and each double-file restart got all of us fans on our feet. The last bogus debris caution added a bunch of drama to the finish. Too bad for Harvick; he was totally sabotaged. I was really rooting for him to get that victory...
On our way back to our car we got to watch a post-race fireworks show to top off our night. My dad and I had a great time and will want to go back again next year.
