Congratulations to Brad Keselowski for his first Sprint Cup Series victory. It was a wild, wild finish. Keselowski was drafting behind Carl Edwards. Junior was drafting behind Ryan Newman. There was some distance between the first two cars and the second two cars that were drafting.
Edwards was trying to block high and Keselowski went low. When Edwards' went low to try to block, Keselowski hit Carl sending him into Newman which sent him literally flying through the air and up into the catch fence. Because of the contact with Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took over second place. Just a crazy, crazy finish.
When Edwards' car came to a stop on the infield, he couldn't get the car going so he got out of his car and ran across the finish line. He finished 25th, one lap down. Had Edwards crash happened earlier in the race, there surely would have been a red flag for repairs to the fence.
Here's a caution breakdown:
Only seven laps into the race and the big one happened. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon got together and a chain reaction followed. Involved in the first caution were: Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Max Papis, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Scott Riggs, A.J. Allmendinger, David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte.
Debris brought out the second caution of the day.
Michael Waltrip tried to squeeze in front of Marcos Ambrose. The only problem was, he wasn't at all even close to being clear. He got loose and went spinning through the infield but didn't hit anything bringing out the third caution. I couldn't tell if he slightly hit Ambrose or not.
Kurt Busch got up on the track a little too high and into the marbles which sent him also spinning down through the infield. He, too, didn't hit anything. It brought out the fourth caution.
The fifth, sixth and seventh caution flags were for debris.
Jeff Burton got into the back of Kyle Busch sending him spinning which brought out the eighth caution. During that same time, Martin Truex Jr. also spun. Neither Truex or Busch hit anything but Busch couldn't get his car restarted. He needed a push to get going and went a lap down.
The ninth and final caution, big one #2, happened with about nine laps to go. Denny Hamlin got into Juan Pablo Montoya and a chain reaction followed. Involved in the wreck:
Robby Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish, David Stremme, Jeremy Mayfield, Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip, Bobby Labonte
Some other thoughts:
-- The square butt Burger King commercial MUST go. I'm so sick of it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, and if you watch racing, I have no idea how you couldn't know, here it is:
It simply needs to go. It's just horrible and they play it like 243 times during a race. Uugh.
-- Rookie Watch: I was glad to see that Scott Speed made the field and had a solid finish of fifth place. He also moved up two positions in the point standings. Good job, Speed! Joey Logano also had a solid run, finishing the day in ninth place.
Did you catch the Nationwide race?
Congrats to David Ragan for his win on Saturday. Joey Logano took out my faves chances of winning. Logano hit Michael Waltrip sending Waltrip into Clint Bowyer.
Did you see that Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed his pit stall again? Yup, he did. Isn't that the third time this season? I'm losing count.
All for now. What did you think of the racing this weekend?
The "king" in the Burger King ad is just plain creepy. Should be in a Stephen King movie, not a children's ad.
Scary crashes this past weekend for Edwards and Kenseth. NASCAR needs to put its thinking cap on and look at this, especially since cars went airbourne in both races.
I don't want to see the plate racing every week- but like road racing and short tracks- it is fun here and there on the schedule.
Let's face it- plate racing isn't really racing: guys hang out at the back for 95% of the race and can still win, luck is way too big a factor.
But is very "watchable".
Edwards is right; they are going to kill someone- but I don't know what else to do. If you take the plates off, they'll go 240mph and literally fly the moment they get off line.
The only fix is to cut them down to about 160 or do away with both tracks. Do we want that?
The small fuel cells didn't work, the car of tomorrow goes faster than the car of yesterday, and drivers can't be trusted to police themselves. A smaller spec motor will cost money. Maybe an aero package that causes a disadvantage in the draft? How about parachutes?
Nascar is in a dmned if they do,damned if they don't situation.
Anyway, congratulations to Keselowski. That kid earned that win. He is such a class act. I hate to say that I willed that crash on Edwards when I saw who was pushing him. I was hoping for a spin to finish second.
What NASCAR needs to do is prohibit Carl Edwards from racing at Talladega. He caused the wreck in the Fall by bump drafting Biffle in the corner. Then, he caused the wreck on Sunday by blocking down when Brad clearly had position on him.
On a serious note, I think NASCAR could consider pushing the start/finish line back to the trioval like Daytona. It is a bit dangerous for people to be jostling for position while hitting a corner going 190 mph right before the start/finish line.
The guy that comes out on top always has a more positive opinion.
I agree with you completely Frank. It's a necessary evil for them to race at Talledega and Daytona. The winner may not always be the best racer, but it sure separates the men from the boys. I have more respect for Newman, Jr., Busch and Busch for running up fron most of the time than the guys who sit in the back. Even Tony Stewart is guilty of that this week.
At the end of the day they get paid to drive wrecklessly and on the edge of danger. I wish I made a quarter of the money they made to do that. They need to suck it up.
ARCA race not as exciting as we thought it would be.
Nationwide:
Denny Hamlin had Joey Logano in bump drafting school during practice. Looks like he learned his lessons. Congrats to Ragan for his win. Kerry Earnhardt was good all day and finished 12th. Junior did miss his pit during the first stop in the Nationwide. On the 2nd round of stops, he hit it perfectly and everybody in the grandstand stood up and cheered. Kenseth's wreck was pretty scary.
Cup:
Saturday night we accidently got locked in the speedway and were trying to find an open gate when we came upon Larry Mac and Chad doing promos for SPEED. I don't have the Speed Channel to see the spots, but if anyone can see people lurking in the background, that would be us.And the car behind them is fake.
Sunday, nobody hung out in the back this time, Frank. It was full out, all or nothing racing right from the first lap. Only cars at the back were cars that were not handling right.
If Junior has done anything right, it was hiring Brad Keselowski.That kid will be a superstar.
Cousin Carl was out signing at his merchandise trailer. The huge amount of 65 autograph tickets were handed out.Wow. Hope he didn't develop carpal tunnel.
Only one person that we saw was transported to the hospital after Edwards' accident. And that person was walking. Most people were treated in the stands. That was really lucky. Car and fence debris flew everywhere.It looked like an explosion.
If Edwards or Johnson had won, they would have said how great the racing was and how much fun they had. They both were doing their share of bump drafting and going 4 and 5 wide in the pack. Stinks to be caught in the "Big One" but they should know it is going to happen at Talladega. Always has.
The race cast clearly showed Carl in the back ALL day. I believe he even said it himself on the radio and the post race. He waited until about twenty to go before he made his move.
Get a grip. Even though "you" were there, we saw it up close and personal on TV. That is why I choose to watch it from home. Criticizing the drivers after the fact is bogus. Bravo to JR and his protoge, and thank goodness Carl is alright. Leave it alone, everyone. "That's racin" in Brad's words. NOT Jr.'s or Johnson's as quoted here.
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.
Subscribe