FMCM
During the NASCAR weekend at the Dover International Raceway we saw exactly why Las Vegas bookies are saying Jimmie Johnson is going to win that fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship. We sang another rousing chorus of “Mark Martin is the man” and we witnessed exactly why NASCAR’s Car Of Tomorrow is so important to the sport. With all that in mind let’s begin with:
HOORAH for driver Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the entire Lowes/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team. Their performance during the AAA 400 was virtually flawless and was clearly the work worthy of the name “champions.”
HOORAH for Johnson and his policy of remaining so focused on the Chase that he refuses to watch any NASCAR news on television or read any printed reports. He simply doesn’t want the distraction these news report could possibly provide. In case you’re wondering the answer is yes: I’m perfectly fine with the thought that he will never read a word of this column.
HOORAH to this team’s sponsors, Lowes Home Improvement Stores, for using their NASCAR Sprint Cup and American LeMans Racing Series team’s performances last weekend as the foundation for donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The particular focus of the campaign was aimed at aide for the flood victims in Georgia.
Lowes donated money based on their team’s performances with a major criteria being the amount of miles they drove. Johnson ran the full 400 miles in Sunday’s Dover race which created a $4,800 donation to the Red Cross. A similar formula was used with Lowes drivers Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz who combined to drive 353 in last weekend’s American LeMans Series at Road Atlanta. The total donation from both races exceeded $29,000.
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HOORAH for Mark Martin for more reasons than I have room here to list. The pride of the 50 plus set scored an impressive run in the Dover race, including a second place finish, and will move on to round three of the Chase as the number one seed with a slim ten point lead over Johnson. A Martin-Johnson showdown at the conclusion of the Chase is exactly what NASCAR needs. We’re talking about team mate versus team mate, old school versus young lion. The prospects for story lines would be without limit.
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HOORAH for the multiple safety features that inspired NASCAR to create their Car Of Tomorrow to begin with. Those very same features allowed Joey Logano to climb out of his car and walk away uninjured after his Home Depot-Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota barrel rolled seven times across the Dover raceway.
HOORAH for Logano and his demeanor during the post wreck live television interview. Despite that horrific accident, he remained calm during the interview and even managed to flash that now famous smile of his.
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Now, members of the Junior Nation, cinch up your seat belts because the first WAZZUP of the week belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr. It seems that MRN, the Motor Racing Network, taped Junior from his in car radio asking for the National Football League scores. Apparently he was interested in how he was doing with the NFL fantasy league he belongs to.
At the time of this radio request Earnhardt was riding around the track somewhere between the 20th and 25th position. I suppose when you’re that far in the field, while making no impact whatsoever on the race, you have time check the NFL stats.
But there are two positive aspects to this story. First, it’s one more reason why we frequently find Dale Jr so entertaining. Secondly, it’s at least one thing that the members of the Junior Nation can’t possibly blame on former crew chief Tony Eury Jr.
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