Bump-Draft Blog Index
April 20, 2009
Phoenix thoughts and caution recap
Martin0420091_1.jpg Martin0420092_1.jpg

I'm not at all surprised that Mark Martin took the high road and didn't do a burnout after the race. He is such a class act. I found it incredibly touching that so many drivers and owners came to victory lane to congratulate him. He has the respect of so many. Congratulations Martin, it's really good to see you back in victory lane!

Here's a race recap from yours truly, Jenniepoo:

Sterling Marlin brought out the first caution. He had a right front tire go down and went up and hit the wall.

It wouldn't be a Sprint Cup race without a debris caution, which is what brought out the second caution of the race.

The third caution was from a spinning David Stremme.

A.J. Allmendinger spun and hit the wall for the fourth caution.

Michael Waltrip got into Robby Gordon causing him to crash into the wall bringing out the fifth caution. Waltrip got loose in the corner, over-corrected, and ran right into Gordon.

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. only had one mishap in the pits for a missing lug nut during the first caution of the race, he had a much bigger mishap on the track much later in the race. He got a tap from Casey Mears which sent him spinning up into the wall bringing out the sixth and final caution of the race.

It didn't look like much of a tap but Junior had such an ill handling car that it wouldn't have taken much to send him spinning. After the completion of the race Junior went up to Mears on the track and hit him, sending him spinning. Temper, temper. I would be surprised if there are no penalities for it but it does seem that NASCAR adjusts the rules according to which driver is breaking them. Junior finished the race in 31st position and fell three positions in the point standings and now is in 19th.

It's going to happen sooner or later. Tony Stewart is going to win a race this year. He finished in second-place.

Way to go, Sam Hornish Jr. for your ninth-place finish. Good to see you not wrecking this week!

Junior wasn't the only Hendrick car to have issues in the pits. Jeff Gordon also left the pits with a missing lug nut. Gordon had to go back into the pits to retrieve it during green-flag conditions, ruining any chances for a win for him. Gordon finished 25th.

Rookie watch: Joey Logano finished the race in 21st position while Scott Speed finished 34th. Logano has finished in front of my pick for the Rookie of the Year, Scott Speed, in every race. Logano moved up two spots in the point standings to 33rd. Speed is 38th. It's still early in the season though.

What did you think of the race?


Posted at 12:49 PM

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Comments

That was the best I can remember at that boring track but only the last maybe 60 laps were interesting I thought!

Posted by Robert Johnson
April 20, 2009 04:12 PM

The best part of the whole race was watching who was leading; Jr, Tony and Mark.

Congrats to Mark. That was great. Tony's going to get his first win next week.

With Zippy in control, Joey will get Rookie of the Year. I think you'll see him come on strong the second half of the season.I don't believe Speed is really serious about his Nascar career.

Robby said he'll be glad when someone else is driving the #55 next year. Will Mikey really retire?

Posted by racefan
April 20, 2009 04:14 PM

@R Johnson-Boring!?! A mile track is NOT boring. Maybe NASCAR isn't for you. you might want to go back to Monster Trucks and RCs.

Glad to see Mark get it, And Tony in second, sneakin' up on that first win. No penalty for Jr, so that means open season on Waltrip.

Posted by Mïk
April 21, 2009 01:57 PM

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Jennifer is the newsroom
administrative assistant and executive
assistant to the editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She is married, lives in Pownal with her husband and son, and has been following NASCAR for many years.

About this blog:
I am hopeful that this will be a place where people can air their two cents' worth about a race, catch up on the gossip and share their opinions on the rules and regulations of NASCAR. I have always felt that there has been a need for such a place in Maine and that this blog helps to fill the void.



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