- Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson on getting his first ever victory at Bristol. Just as he did a few weeks ago in Vegas, he cruised around in second position for most of the race. Jimmie made his power move on the final restart when he blasted into turn one like a rocket. It was interesting how taking four tires with only a few laps left proved to be so effective at a short track. Johnson currently sits third in the standings only 14 points out of the lead, and I won't be surprised if he overtakes the two guys above him next week at Martinsville...
- Tony Stewart gave Jimmie a run for his money but couldn't hold off those four fresh Goodyears. The second place finish anyway was his first top five of year and a step in the right direction when it comes to momentum building. Remember, Tony has never been known to be outstanding too early in the season. The wins start adding up for him when the summer rolls around...
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jamie McMurray finally got back on track with their seventh and eighth place finishes, respectively. Both of them have struggled the past several weeks after being the Daytona 500 winner and runner-up. I don't expect to see McMurray in victory lane anymore this season, but I think Junior will surprise us in one of these races. He's long due for a win, and statistics even say it's time (What comes after May 2006 and June 2008 ???)...
- The mid-race pileup that involved 13 cars looked like something we would see on a restrictor plate track. Greg Biffle and Mark Martin made contact, Mark slammed on the brakes to hit pit road that lap, and from then on it was a big chain reaction. Marcos Ambrose was the innocent victim of the whole collision which gave him a 33rd place finish instead of a possible top ten...
- The weather was a factor once again this week just as it was at Fontana. Thankfully, there were only a few mild showers that weren't severe enough to affect the finish. I have to give NASCAR credit this season for doing a great job making sure races are run the full distance. It seems like in the past there have been some they have called too early...
That's all from Thunder Valley. Next week, the track gets even shorter and the turns become even narrower as we head to the paper clip in Martinsville, VA. A lot of the racers who ran up front here will run up front there as well...
6 comments:
Good bullets this week. Johnson always seems to have four tires at the end of the race. I can't remember the last time they had to take two tires and hope they held up on the final sprint.
I also agree that NASCAR has done well with the weather so far this year. And, the early start times have saved them twice already this year. Both California and Bristol likely wouldn't have made it to the checkered flag had the races started later. I'm loving that change.
Great SBs, Gonger.
Quiz answer: May, 2006...June, 2008... July, 2010.
You thinking he will win at Daytona in July? LOL
Gonger, good Speeding Bullets as usual. I'll take a crack at the answer--it's July 2010, which means Daytona, Chicago, or Indy.
jmayer- Thanks. The earlier start times are nice for us on the east coast. I guess NASCAR realized how stupid they were starting last year's Daytona 500 so late. It probably could have been completed if they started it at the time they did this year...
Gene and Jon- Thanks. I'm thinking on the lines of Daytona or Chicago. Indy hasn't been too good of place for him...
No speeding bullet for dominant Kurt Busch!?!? The horror! =)
Only reason JJ won was because Kenseth didn't get a good restart on that inside line. Kurt had it in the bag.
July 2010 it is...good call!
Kristen- That final restart came down to luck of the draw, and Kurt happened to get the bad end of the deal. The reason JJ wins so much is because he still has luck on his side when he doesn't have the best car out there...
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