David Gilliland
Race Re-Cap: Muscle On The Monster Mile
I’m honestly not sure that big wreck on lap 18 really did much to affect the outcome of today’s race. Today’s real contenders were nowhere near this mess as it seemed that before we even got here, the race at Dover was about the Roush-Fenway Racing team, the old guard at Hendrick Motorsports, and the ever-present Kyle Busch. He wrestled the Monster Mile and made it cry “Uncle.”
Did you ever have a premonition? I swear when they went to Elliott Sadler’s on-board camera, I was thinking “Watch- he’s gonna wreck.” Sure enough, ol’ “Rabbit Release” moves down on David Gilliland, goes sideways on the track- and next thing you know, a collection of racers- including top runners like Kevin Harvick, Junior, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer are all wadded up. Could this change the outcome? Note the absence of Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Jamie Mc Murray from this mishap.
Did you catch Tony’s interview? Some fans were saying, “Wow, this is a different side of Tony. He’s taking responsibility for the mess. Why?” I think they missed the sarcasm. Basically, Tony was so much as saying that it’s his fault for being anywhere near Elliott Sadler. That’s the second time in the last few weeks the two have gotten together. I also got a kick out of Smoke’s “dune buggy” line. I appreciate his sense of humor about the whole thing.
By the time the smoke cleared, and Smoke was cleared, it was obvious that there was really only three serious contenders for the win at Dover. Greg Biffle put together another fine effort before mechanical problems set him back. Teammate Carl Edwards once again showed himself to be light on his wheels on concrete. The Roush Gang sure got it done today. Not only did Biffle and Edwards shine, but Matt Kenseth is becoming the 2008 edition of Lazarus as he seems to be bringing his Chase hopes back from the dead. Jamie Mc Murray is running like a guy who wants to stay with the team. But really, but late race, it was obvious that barring a catastrophe, there would be only one real serious contender.
Kyle Busch is just on one of those runs that drivers have from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, you have to be talented and have good equipment to do it, but it also helps to have Lady Luck in your corner. She’s got a real affinity for “Wild Thing” right now. But again, remember that “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
If you don’t like him, give him credit for this much: he spread the love around. Busch was quick to credit his crew for good stops, to Joe Gibbs for their top flight organization, and for all his fans and all NASCAR fans.
Maybe’s he’s learning something. Nobody likes a champion who is not gracious.
The way he’s going right now, I wouldn’t bet against him. All the ingredients are there to take it all in 2008. I still think Edwards, Junior, Jimmie and maybe even the old guard like Gordon, Smoke, JB or even Biffle may have something to say about that- right now, it’s “Rowdy’s World” and we’re living in it.
Other random thoughts…
Brian Vickers’ pit penalties sure screwed up a good opportunity to have an awesome finish….did you see Paul Menard weave through that big wreck? Dinging the inside barrier looked like a better altnernative than getting crumpled up in the middle of the crash….FOX reported their NASCAR ratings were up this year, so much for the death of NASCAR, huh?….Jeff Hammond made a good point and I must concede that I agree. Unlike free-agent-to-be Greg Biffle, who’s stated he’d prefer to stay at Roush, you don’t hear how Smoke want to stay at Gibbs. He may be gone- or he’s screwing with the media big-time…The speculation that Franchitti will give up NASCAR was something I foudn interesting. There seems to be a school of thought that this “stock car thing” is harder than it looks…According to Darrell Waltrip, even Sam Hornish is not sure a sure bet to stick around.
It’s all the drama that keeps us watching, and helps us endure a race like today.
Race Re-Cap: Raisin’ Kahne (Here’s to The End of a Long Dry Spell)
Kasey Kahne is back! Fans are witness to a transformation as a rising NASCAR star gets his career back on track. It’s hard to believe that it was only two short years since Kasey Kahne won 6 races in one season. After a winless streak of 52 races, the 5th year driver follows up an encouraging All-Star effort with a win in the 2008 edition of the Coca- Cola 600. If you include last week’s non-points win, Kahne won his 4th race at Lowe’s. It bears repeating: if Lowe’s is Jimmie Johnson’s house, then Kasey Kahne must be renting out a floor from Jimmie.
Kahne looked like a finisher from the green flag. I have to admit, the action was slow enough in the opening laps, I snuck in a power nap. I awoke to find I didn’t miss much. However- over time- I’ve learned some races run in stages and it pays to stick around. After “Rowdy Shrub” Busch played Pied Piper for the first 100 laps or so, things began to get interesting. Kahne hung around, but we got looks at Brian Vickers up front, Kurt Busch looked as good as I’ve seen since Daytona, and Jimmie Johnson and Junior looked predictably good. We had a lot of drama and craziness along the way, but Kahne ran a smart race and he was there to capitalize on troubles for Stewart, Earnhardt and Busch. “The Coke” is a battle of attrition, and the team of Kahne, Kenny Francis and Ray Evernham had it all going for them today.
“The Rocky Balboa Award” has to go to Lil ”E.” I must admit that while Junior was ”rolling fly and lookin’ phat” there was a part of me saying “I wonder how it’s going to fall apart on Junior this week.” And sure enough, Earnhardt brushes the wall and gets rammed by J.J. Yeley. BUT after all that, Dale hung in there and pulled out a 5th place. He will win soon Junior Nation, you can bank on it. Just remember, Junebug is 3rd in points, finishing races and running well. I’d take that over Kyle Petty’s problems any day of the week. Kevin Harvick also had another solid finish, in spite of the fact that “Happy” once again seemed to have a mediocre race car. Harvick looks like he’s been taking lessons in survival from teammate Jeff Burton.
What a bummer for Brian Vickers. It’s obvious that the “83″ really likes Lowe’s and he sure looked like a top 5 today, but what a wreck! That crash will make its way to plenty of crash montages for years to come. Poor David Gilliland takes the loose wheel on the hood and it lands in the infield with the campers. It’s kinda funny, but I’m just glad no one got hurt. It was also an unlucky day for Jimmie Johnson (HMS’ first blown motor since the Bronze Age), and Tony Stewart (blown tire).
It would have been nice to see an old hoss like Mark Martin, Dave Blaney or Bobby Labonte win today, but by the same token I’m happy for Kasey Kahne.
There was a lot of wheel and tire troubles today. It will be interesting to hear what the drivers have to say about this over the course of the next several days.
I may be a West Coaster and get to see the race earlier than a lot of you, but even I was wornout by race’s end.
It wasn’t the best race I’d ever seen, but perhaps we can say it was the best mile and a half race we’ve had all year.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! AND TO ALL YOU VETS OUT THERE, WE SALUTE YOU. THANKS TO YOU, WE CAN ALL ARGUE ABOUT NASCAR INSTEAD OF TILLING CROP IN KOMRADE PUTIN’S GARDEN.
Race Re-Cap: “Cowboy” Carl Is King In “The House of Roush”
Alright, alright! Those talking heads that predicted a Carl Edwards victory are smarter than I am. I’m o.k. with that. Today was a day of vindication for a couple of men who had taken a beating over a couple of incidents this season. A couple of good men.
Add those 100 points that Edwards got docked and he’d be 4th in the Cup standings now. Deduction or not, regardless of how of why the oil tank lid came off at Vegas to produce the deduction of points, you’d have to agree that Carl Edwards looks like no less than a top five driver in the 2008 season. The 28 year old roped the wind and held on on a day that a lot of people could not.
For a while, Junior looked like the man- the #88 looked every bit as stout at the onset as it did Friday, with Edwards and Kyle Busch giving a push. Unfortunately for Lil’ “E,” he kept fading on long runs and with the speeds at Texas that produce few cautions (I lost track but I think we had a new record for fewest cautions), Earnhardt was just cursed. The longer they’d run, the looser Junior would get- and there just didn’t seem to be an answer for it. Busch’s story wasn’t radically different. I thought Darrell Waltrip’s comment that Shrub would’ve wrecked that car last year was a keen insight. Busch fought the car, and the car won- but this time Kyle wasn’t stupid about and held on for a solid 3rd place finish.
Edwards’ teammate Matt Kenseth looked as though he might have something for the Missourian. Until a near miss with Juan Pablo Montoya, Kenseth had a good stretch of leading. I’ll bet Kenseth misses Robbie Reiser. It just seems weird to have one of the best pit bosses ever making calls for somebody other than the #17. Kenseth was strong, but like the 41 others that didn’t have the #99 painted on the car- he wasn’t quite strong enough.
Jimmie Johnson looked as good today as he has all season. Johnson took a nice long turn as leader and made some exceptional moves today. Johnson really threaded the needle on a couple of passes and did a great job of hanging onto his Chevy when it got loose. Still, in post race interviews, Johnson admitted he just didn’t have anything for Edwards.
Though Texas Motor Speedway is a track known for parity- we’ve had 13 different winners in 15 Cup races- the Fort Worth track is truly “The House of Roush.” Edwards is the only 2-time winner at TMS, joining Jeff Burton in this select company. Burton’s 1st win at Texas came while driving for “The Cat In The Hat.” Today’s win gives Jack Roush 6 wins at Texas- Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Mark Martin have won in Roush cars here.
This give me occasion to cut Jack Roush a little slack. I know I’ve made some nasty comments about Roush over “Sway Bargate,” and “Oil Tank Lidgate,” but at the end of the day, he’s one of the savviest minds in the motor sports business. Being the son of a welder/metal fabricator, I can see how Roush might feel a little protective of his handiwork. Roush comes at this with the perspective of an engineer, and it has to be maddening when you find things that you created in somebody else’s shop. I’m not sure the sway bars have done Michael Waltrip any good, but I am growing to understand why Roush made a big deal of it.
Some other random thoughts:
It was nice to see Mark Martin run well today to remind us he’s still got it….It’s a crying shame to see 3 cars in the field with no sponsor on the hood (John Andretti, Travis Kvapil, and David Gilliland)….Nice day for Gilliland to run 15th…David Ragan’s 13th place run proves he’s learning something out there…For all of you that think Jeff Gordon whines too much, I’d say you should’ve seen his in-race interview. No pointing fingers, no whining about the “new car,” just no whining. Period……Some Young Guns sure made some noise…That was quite a dash between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer at the end…What happened to Kasey Kahne????….
I don’t know this is the best race I’ve ever seen, but as a radio sports guy, I give credit to the FOX boys for some smart insights today. Today was a real education about how a fan could learn about how a car is handling by watching a driver’s hands on the steering wheel.
My “Rocky Balboa Award” goes to Junior and Kevin Harvick. Both of these guys had cars that were horrors and still finished in the top 15. Happy and Earnhardt earned their check today.
I’m not real sure I’m ready to call Edwards a front runner for the Chase this year. And while it’s true that championships aren’t won in April, they can sure be lost in April.
Carl Edwards looks like he really wants to win one.
