What an incredible week for the National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing. The story lines were simply amazing due to Bristol drama that we all expected from the Coliseum of Collision. We watched the return of a prodigal son,(to victory lane) and, more importantly, we watched the 2009 Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship hit new levels of drama. With those thoughts in mind let’s begin with:
HOORAH to Kyle Busch for stepping up when his Joe Gibbs Racing team needed it the most. By the sound of those boo berries after the race many NASCAR fans apparently are still having issues with NASCAR’s “rowdy one.” But even his harshest critics has to admit that he really came through big time Saturday night after winning Bristol’s Sharpie 500.
It was Busch’s fourth win of the season but, more importantly, it revitalized a campaign to make the all important 12 man line up for the Chase. Busch jumped from 15th to 13th in the current standings and is now only 34 points away frp, the official Chase lineup. Busch’s Chase status has been the talk of NASCAR for several weeks. It seems he hit a win, and top five finish, slump and there were many observers who seriously questioned whether or not this high profile team would make the Chase at all. They’re not out of the woods yet, but last Saturday night has made the comeback trail a lot easier.
Busch seriously had to fend off a final lap challenge from Mark Martin and in victory lane called Martin “a class act” and said “it was an honor to race with him.” Busch also made it a point to thank the members of his team, team sponsors, race sponsors and the fans. There was absolutely no trace of the surly arrogance we’ve seen in the past during these interviews. After crossing the start line for the final time, Busch climbed out of his car and retrieved the checkered flag. He passed it through the spectator fence to a young lady who was wearing a team M&M’s T shirt.
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Last week Mark Martin, and crew chief Alan Gustafson, received a rarely issued double WAZZUP for that fuel mileage gamble at the Michigan race that both failed miserably and cost them dearly. They arrived at the Bristol Motor Speedway 12th in the championship standings and perilously close to falling out of Chase contention.
This week we’re giving Martin and his team a triple HOORAH. The first is for his outstanding performance in the Bristol race where he led 240 laps and treated the fans to a Bristol style side by side finish during the final laps of the race. That second place finish elevated from 12th to 10th in the championship standings. Like Kyle Busch, he’s not out of the woods yet but that strong run gives the team a little extra Chase breathing room.
The second HOORAH goes to Martin for simply being the man he is. Kyle Busch called it right after the race: he is indeed a class act. He could have given Busch the Bristol bump and run during those final four laps but Martin has an outstanding reputation for being a clean driver who doesn’t do his business that way.
The third HOORAH goes to Martin in honor of his 1,000th career Sprint Cup start. In a pre race ceremony he was given a beautiful three foot crystal trophy and fuel for his airplane. He was also honored with the official Bristol sign display. This happens when the fans, from an entire section of the speedway’s grandstand, are given colored cards that spells out a phase. In this particular case the phrase was: “Mark 1000.” This sign display is a Bristol tradition that takes a very elaborate effort to arrange. It’s also a true honor to have your name on that display.
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We have three candidates for the combo WAZZUP/HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do this week.
WAZZUP with Jimmie Johnson’s #48 team and that awful pit stop? This is a team that rarely makes mistakes but this particular stop was simply amazing. The jack man dropped the car before the lug nuts on the right rear tire were completely tight and Johnson had to make a second visit to pit road for corrections. He initially entered pit road as the race leader and restarted 22nd. But this is the championship team who doesn’t know the word quit and they deserve a HOORAH for turning a tense moment into an eighth place finish and officially clinching a starting berth in the Chase.
WAZZUP with Jeff Gordon’s #24 running like a dump truck? There just didn’t seem to be a solution for Gordon’s car on this day and the team finished 23d, one lap down and fell from second to third in the standings. But the good news is they hung in there and officially clinched their berth in the Chase.
Also making chicken salad out of chicken do do was Brian Vickers. Here’s a rising Sprint Cup star that was having an excellent week prior to the Bristol race. The week before he delivered his Red Bull Racing team their first Sprint Cup victory at Michigan.Two days later he signed a multi year contract extension with the team. But the Bristol effort was not working and, only two different occasions, Vickers found himself a lap down. But, with the use of the lucky dog pass, he managed to get back on the lead lap again and rallied for a 12th place finish. He also preserved a genuine shot at making the Chase. With two races left, Vickers is only 39 points from that all important 12 man Chase line up.
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HOORAH to the drama developing with the bottom half of NASCAR’s Chase line up. It was highly anticipated that the Bristol race was going to impact these standings and the prediction came true.
HOORAH to Stewart Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman whose sixth place finish elevated the team to seventh in the standings. This will greatly bolster the team’s chances of making the Chase. Another HOORAH goes to Newman for being a Bristol iron man. He ran the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Camping World Truck Series race on Wednesday, the Nationwide Series race on Friday and of course the Sprint Cup Saturday night. The totals were well over 1000 laps and over 500 miles of racing.
HOORAH to Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle. His fourth place finish at Bristol bumped his team two spots in the standings to eighth. He’s not exactly in the Chase safety zone yet but the clean air is a lot easier to breathe at eighth than it is at tenth.
WAZZUP with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Juan Pablo Montoya and the bad luck that comes with a late in the race flat tire? That resulted in a solid top ten car finishing 25th and the team dropped two positions, to a precarious ninth, in the Chase standings.
WAZZUP with Richard Petty Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne and a Dodge that was so far off with the handling package that it finished in 28th three laps down? This was a car that was rock solid during prerace practice sessions. Kahne fell three Chase positions and is now in a precarious 11th in the standings.
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