WOW!!!!!! What a finish to a great race. I really had expected today's race to get really boring after having such an early BIG ONE. I was very wrong about that. I have to say that today's race was one of the most exciting I have seen in a while and what a finish. I thought yesterday's finish in the Nationwode race was one of the best but today's finish would prove to be the best. I still can't believe Bad Keselowski won the race. It had seemed that his car wasn't very fast most of the day since he about got ran over a couple times from going slow and appearing to be in the way. He did an awesome job of drafting with Mr. Ed Carl and pushing his way to the front. I was also impressed that Carl didn't blame Brad at all for what happened. He said it straight up that he didn't realize that Brad had gotten up that far beside him and since there is a standing rule that you can not go below the yellow line that Brad had to hold his position. I am still in awe over that finish. Congrats to Brad on his first sprint cup win. Congrats to David on getting his first win yesterday and Congrats to Jr. for a great finish and making it through a race without missing his pits. I can't wait for next week.Copy and paste link below to see a video of today's finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nlytg1bYI0
Brad Keselowski won his first Sprint Cup Series race Sunday after a dramatic final lap at Talladega Superspeedway when Carl Edwards' airborne car sailed into the fence near the finish line.
Seven fans were injured from debris that flew into the crowd, and Edwards warned that restrictor-plate racing is eventually going to kill someone.
Keselowski, racing in just his fifth career Cup race, hooked onto the rear of Edwards' bumper on the last lap to push him past Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Once clear of them, Keselowski peeked around Edwards to make a move for the lead.
Edwards tried to block the move by darting low, but Keselowski was too close to his bumper and the contact sent Edwards sailing up the track. His spinning car shot over Newman's hood and into the safety fence on the frontstretch.
The fence swelled toward the race fans but held, and Edwards' car landed back on the track. Officials said none of the injuries to fans was life-threatening.
Dr. Bobby Lewis, Talladega's onsite physician, said two people in the crowd were airlifted from the track to avoid the heavy traffic. One woman had a possible broken jaw, Lewis said, and another had an undisclosed medical issue.
Edwards, who climbed from his crumpled race car and ran on foot across the finish line, railed against the racing style at Talladega and Daytona, the two tracks where horsepower-sapping restrictor plates are used.
"We'll race like this until we kill somebody," said Edwards, "then (NASCAR) will change it."
Restrictor plates are used to combat the high speeds at NASCAR's two fastest tracks, and the plates typically keep the field bunched tightly together. One wrong move by a driver can cause a massive accident.
In addition to Edwards' frightening flight into the fence, Sunday's race was also marred by a 13-car crash on the seventh lap and another 10-car accident with nine to go.
"Talladega is short for 'We're going to crash, we just don't know when,"' said Newman, the third-place finisher, who also recalled Matt Kenseth's fiery tumble in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday.
"We saw that two times this weekend, so maybe we need to look at things that keep the car down on the ground."
Earnhardt Jr., a five-time Talladega winner and seven-time winner of restrictor-plate races, finished second but echoed concerns about the racing style. Drivers dread it because so much is out of their control, but Earnhardt said it's loved by fans because of the element of danger.
"For years, we've had wrecks like this every time we've come to Talladega. Ever since the plate got here. And for years it was celebrated," he said. "The media celebrated it, the networks celebrated it, calling it 'The Big One' just trying to attract attention and bring people's attention to the race.
"So there's a responsibility with the media and the networks and the sanctioning body itself to come to their senses a little bit."
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Another blow for Junior
NASCAR Sprint Cup has a dilemma.And the dilemma is a green and white Chevrolet with the No. 88 on both doors and the roof.The driver's name is Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he has a bigger fan base than the next nine drivers behind you combined. If there is a royal family of racing, Earnhardt certainly is the crown prince.He commands the largest salary in the NASCAR garage, and sponsors -- even in these tough economic times -- line up to have their names on the quarter panels of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.Heck, not even David Copperfield could change a sea of red into a sea of green at a NASCAR event faster than Earnhardt did when he changed sponsors from Budweiser to Mountain Dew last season.But he sits here this week waiting to race at his favourite track -- Talladega Superspeedway -- way back in 19th place in the championship, 399 points behind his teammate Jeff Gordon.And yesterday NASCAR announced that it has placed Earnhardt and Casey Mears on probation for the next six races as a result of their on-track incident last Saturday at the conclusion of the race at Phoenix International Raceway.Earnhardt and Mears, officials ruled, violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing; hitting another competitor's car after the race had concluded) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book.This comes at a time when "Little E" needs to start putting some big time numbers on the board. Earnhardt has won NASCAR's most popular driver award for the past five consecutive years, but has won only one race (Michigan 2008) in the past three seasons.There is a theory that the No. 88 car can do no wrong because of the heritage and popularity Earnhardt carries with him. In fact, there are more than a few conspiracy nuts who swear NASCAR does everything within its power to help the No. 88 win.But really, in what professional sport would a 19th place competitor be given that kind of star treatment?Earnhardt, if he wants to keep being on the receiving end of the love and cash that goes with his name, will have to take action to at least mollify his legion of fans who, frankly, just might be getting restless. There are four drivers in the Hendrick garage. Three of them have won races this season, but the No. 88 team can't even get a sniff.It's time for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to do some winning on his own, or do what Bill Elliott did when he stopped winning in the Cup series, and withdraw his name from the annual most popular driver award.
Martin races back to Victory Lane
I couldn't have been happier to see Mark Martin win the race here in Phx. Saturday night. OK well maybe I could have been happier if Dale Jr. would get his head out of his ass and start winning some races. Hell, some top 5 or even top 10 finished would be great. Never the less I have always been a fan of Mark Martin and it was awesome to see him get the job done in what looked to be a very easy fashion. I also have to mention that I am excited to see Tony Stewart doing so well as a first year owner/driver and that first win for him is in the very near future. Mark was to strong for him on Sunday but Tony definately had the second best car on the track.
Mark Martin puts in long hours in the gym and thinks the last time he ate fast food was a Burger King run some 15 years ago.
He lives his life like a man half of his age.
And drives like it, too.
The 50-year-old Martin became the third-oldest winner in NASCAR history Saturday night, snapping a 97-race winless streak with a dominating run at Phoenix International Raceway.
"I told the guys I don't have any problem keeping up with a 25-year-old - at least not for the next 15 minutes," Martin said. "I feel really good."
Martin, who has waffled on retirement several times in the last four years, started from the pole and led 157 of 312 laps. But a late caution erased his 4-second lead over Tony Stewart with 11 laps to go, sending the leaders into the pits and putting his victory on the line.
Ryan Newman stayed on track to assume the lead, and Martin won a frantic race off pit road to emerge in second. But he had Tony Stewart - Newman's car owner and teammate - right behind him, and only six laps to race to the front.
Martin only needed about 6 seconds.
Martin shot past Newman on the restart, then drove away to his first win since Kansas in 2005.
The last 50-year-old to win a Cup race was Morgan Shepherd in 1993 at Atlanta. Harry Gant holds the record as the oldest driver to win a Cup race. He was 52 when he won at Michigan in 1992.
Before Martin, only three drivers 50 or older won Cup races: Gant, Shepherd and Bobby Allison.
"Age is irrelevant with Mark," crew chief Alan Gustafson said. "I don't even think about it. It doesn't even come into the equation. Mark's enthusiasm, his energy, his drive ... he's incredible. He's as good as any of them."
Martin was visited by NASCAR president Mike Helton and several competitors in Victory Lane, including former boss Jack Roush and former teammates Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.
It was Martin's 36th career victory, but first without Roush. He spent 18 years driving for Roush, but left after the 2006 season because he had planned to retire at the end of that season, but Roush had filled his seat before he changed his mind.
"He seemed genuinely happy," Martin said of Roush's Victory Lane visit.
So did everyone else.
"There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," said Stewart, who finished second. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."
Busch was third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Biffle.
"There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," Stewart said. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."
The praise poured in from every corner of the garage for Martin, who is widely considered to be the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship.
Around the track
"The guy has been at the top of his game in the sport for 30 years," said Busch, who raced with Martin at Roush. "He's a tremendous athlete, a tremendous individual and he's definitely going to put together."
That elusive Cup title is what lured him to drive for Rick Hendrick this year for his first full season in three years. He spent the last two years in a part-time ride for Dale Earnhardt Inc., which re-energized him for another grueling 10-month season. After finishing second in the championship race a maddening four times, Hendrick offered him the No. 5 Chevrolet and likely his best - and final - shot at a title.
But his optimism was dashed after horrendous early season luck sabotaged strong cars and dropped Martin to 34th in the standings. His victory pushed five spots from 18th to 13th, and he's now just nine points out of the final qualifying spot for the Chase for the championship.
He didn't want to discuss his championship hopes afterward.
"I am not going to ruin a good time by worrying about," he said. "Let me enjoy this."
Martin received a congratulatory phone call in Victory Lane from Hendrick, who wasn't on hand to see an HMS driver win for the third straight race. Johnson won at Martinsville and Jeff Gordon won at Texas.
"He just congratulated me, man," Martin said of the phone call. "He makes dreams come true."
Martin celebrated his win with a backward victory lap as a tribute to his late friend Alan Kulwicki.
"You guys knew I wasn't going to do a burnout," he joked.
Mark Martin puts in long hours in the gym and thinks the last time he ate fast food was a Burger King run some 15 years ago.
He lives his life like a man half of his age.
And drives like it, too.
The 50-year-old Martin became the third-oldest winner in NASCAR history Saturday night, snapping a 97-race winless streak with a dominating run at Phoenix International Raceway.
"I told the guys I don't have any problem keeping up with a 25-year-old - at least not for the next 15 minutes," Martin said. "I feel really good."
Martin, who has waffled on retirement several times in the last four years, started from the pole and led 157 of 312 laps. But a late caution erased his 4-second lead over Tony Stewart with 11 laps to go, sending the leaders into the pits and putting his victory on the line.
Ryan Newman stayed on track to assume the lead, and Martin won a frantic race off pit road to emerge in second. But he had Tony Stewart - Newman's car owner and teammate - right behind him, and only six laps to race to the front.
Martin only needed about 6 seconds.
Martin shot past Newman on the restart, then drove away to his first win since Kansas in 2005.
The last 50-year-old to win a Cup race was Morgan Shepherd in 1993 at Atlanta. Harry Gant holds the record as the oldest driver to win a Cup race. He was 52 when he won at Michigan in 1992.
Before Martin, only three drivers 50 or older won Cup races: Gant, Shepherd and Bobby Allison.
"Age is irrelevant with Mark," crew chief Alan Gustafson said. "I don't even think about it. It doesn't even come into the equation. Mark's enthusiasm, his energy, his drive ... he's incredible. He's as good as any of them."
Martin was visited by NASCAR president Mike Helton and several competitors in Victory Lane, including former boss Jack Roush and former teammates Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.
It was Martin's 36th career victory, but first without Roush. He spent 18 years driving for Roush, but left after the 2006 season because he had planned to retire at the end of that season, but Roush had filled his seat before he changed his mind.
"He seemed genuinely happy," Martin said of Roush's Victory Lane visit.
So did everyone else.
"There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," said Stewart, who finished second. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."
Busch was third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Biffle.
"There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," Stewart said. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."
The praise poured in from every corner of the garage for Martin, who is widely considered to be the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship.
Around the track
"The guy has been at the top of his game in the sport for 30 years," said Busch, who raced with Martin at Roush. "He's a tremendous athlete, a tremendous individual and he's definitely going to put together."
That elusive Cup title is what lured him to drive for Rick Hendrick this year for his first full season in three years. He spent the last two years in a part-time ride for Dale Earnhardt Inc., which re-energized him for another grueling 10-month season. After finishing second in the championship race a maddening four times, Hendrick offered him the No. 5 Chevrolet and likely his best - and final - shot at a title.
But his optimism was dashed after horrendous early season luck sabotaged strong cars and dropped Martin to 34th in the standings. His victory pushed five spots from 18th to 13th, and he's now just nine points out of the final qualifying spot for the Chase for the championship.
He didn't want to discuss his championship hopes afterward.
"I am not going to ruin a good time by worrying about," he said. "Let me enjoy this."
Martin received a congratulatory phone call in Victory Lane from Hendrick, who wasn't on hand to see an HMS driver win for the third straight race. Johnson won at Martinsville and Jeff Gordon won at Texas.
"He just congratulated me, man," Martin said of the phone call. "He makes dreams come true."
Martin celebrated his win with a backward victory lap as a tribute to his late friend Alan Kulwicki.
"You guys knew I wasn't going to do a burnout," he joked.
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