Lap 379. There is a call over Denny Hamlins radio that he thinks he has a flat tire. Oh no after leading all of these laps how could this be happening? Please not me! I have totally dominated this race. I have had perfect pit stops. I have done nothing wrong. Then when he least expected it. The racing gods poured down there wrath on Denny. And why him? After all he had done nothing wrong to this point. Could it be that maybe, just maybe these same god's could see into the future. Even if just for a few laps.
Who could ever forget the late Dale Earnhardt spinning in the grass to bring out a caution just to keep from going a lap down? Im sure he isnt the only driver who has done that. It seems that this season is more about team racing then in the years past. We seen it at Daytona when Kurt gave Ryan that last push to get him to victory lane. While all of that was going on. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr who usually work well together. Were nowhere to be found at the end of the race.
Instead Tony left Jr to hook up with his teammate Kyle Busch. And as we all know. Tony and Kyle ended up 3rd and 4th while Jr had to settle for a 9th place finish. Just last weekend at Dega again we seen those Toyota boys hook up for a 1-3 finish with Juan Montoya sandwiched between them.
Which brings me to this one big question about saturday night's race? Why didnt Denny pit on lap 383 after he had already lost the lead to Jr? He had already said that he had a flat tire. He had to have known that the tire was gonna blow. So why risk an accident when he could have come in and changed it? Hmmmmm! Maybe it was because an HMS driver was not only leading a race. But also was about to win it. Not just any driver. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. Now how many can actually say that some of the drivers are happy with all the publicity that Jr gets while not winning? Im sure it has taken its toll on some of the drivers.
Especially when week after week you hear the same story. When is Jr gonna win? Or the classic. What is up with HMS? Especially when Toyota who has already won a few races dispite all of the negativity when the season first began. Denny brought that last caution out when his ooops. Tire went down. Which in turn bunched up the field and gave Kyle a chance to keep that dreaded losing streak intact. Did Denny take one for the team? It sure did look obvious when you think about it? So who is really to blame for the wreck betwwen Jr and Kyle? You can't blame Kyle. Because after all racing is rubbing. He did what any other driver would have done with 12 laps to go. Put someone else in those 2 cars and guaranteed there would nt be this much controversy.
Did maybe Jr try to push the issue knowing that whatever the outcome. Kyle would get the *%#T end of the stick? Jr could have easily given Kyle a little more room. After all he was on the high line. Im not putting the blame on JR. But sometimes you have to look at what happened from a neutral point of view. In other words put all of your feelings aside and realize that Nascar has had many incidents as this one. This wont be the first one, and it wont be the last. But it just happened to involve of all drivers. Kyle and Jr. You cant hate Kyle for racing him hard. Just like you can't blame Jr for doing the same. Im sure that the Kyle fans feel as though Jr was to blame, just the same way the Jr fans feel that it was Kyle's fault. The fireworks flew and it seems as though we have 2 drivers who just raced there hearts for the win. And we all know that one will win and one will lose.
But in this case it was Clint who walked away the winner. Congrats to RCR and Clint Bowyer on there win. It may have been a lucky one. But sometimes its better to be lucky then good. Opps I almost forgot about Denny. Good job Denny. I hope that you are happy for that call to stay out when you knew d a m n good and well that the tire was gonna blow. Is that the way you take one for the team? Im Out
3fan...nice take on the 'incident' between Jr and Kyle. You hit it on the head. The same type deal happens at every short track race. Maybe not between such big names, or with 3 laps to go, but they happen.
I believe Denny was just trying to take it easy, and make it to the end of the race without having to pit. He sat on the track and waited for the yellow. Long time fans like of us have seen just about every driver in NASCAR do that same thing.
A couple of years ago, at Bristol, JR spun out and got a caution. After the race he said in an interview that he did it on purpose to get the yellow. NASCAR then docked him 25 points. Wonder if they will fine Denny?
Hanahan- Yeah thats true. But also remember in the Nationwide race that the whole talk was about tires and how well the drivers ran with fresh ones. Denny had plenty of race left. There were still 27 laps left when he started to fall behind. That was plenty of time to get the tire fixed and still get a good finish. We seen that in the Nationwide race. It just seemed odd to me that he would stay out there. Especially for as fast as he was losing ground. Thanks
Empty- I can tell that you must be a Jr fan. But thats cool. What was Kyle supposed to do? Try to turn left when his car wouldnt let him? Jr should have used some of his patience and racing knowledge and figured out for himself that the tires were already worn out and given a little more. After all there were still 12 laps left when that incident happened. He still would have had time to catch him and pass him. Its not like it was the last lap. Kyle had no where else to go. Besides if you look at the replay. Jr started to turn down to go into the corner sonner then Kyle.
Had it been 2 other drivers and not Kyle and Jr. Or for that matter. Had Jr ran up Kyle. I am sure that you would have a whole different attitude. Probably saying something like, Kyle deserved it. But thats what short track racing is all about. Kyle and Jr were both racing hard. And isnt that what we want to see. Some good close hard racing? Or would you rather watch them race the way the Indy cars race. I am a fan of Jr. And what happened last night has and will always continue to happen on these short tracks. Its all part of racing
Yayyy! I found ya hun! Another great blog...of course! But as usual I cant say I totally agree with everything so here's my take...or part of it anyway..LOL.
Well here’s my take on the whole situation that went down tonight. I know I’ll be slammed and what-not but oh well. It’s all just my opinion, and last time I checked, we are still allowed to have one…..
Denny had the race in the bag. He had a tire going down but Mike Ford was tellin him it looked good on t.v. and to stay out there. He was trying to salvage at least a lead lap finish. Woulda Shoulda Coulda and all that. I dont really think it was all a finely tuned orchestration to “get Jr.” by the whole Gibbs organization. Yeah..that was their plan the whole time..Denny go out there and spank em all for 380 laps, then we will give you a bad tire, you cause a caution, and Kyle will go out and destroy Jr. Give me a break.
As for the rest…did Kyle do it on purpose or was it just hard racing? I dont know. I’d like to think it was racing, and with someone other than KB I’d say for sure it was, but Kyle is a hothead and needs some maturity to go with his talent.
I dont really see why there has to be such a fuss about it. My God, if he’d spun out Mark Martin no one would have cared. But because it was Jr., the whole Jr. Nation is up in arms. I like Jr. He’s a good guy. He’s got talent, but like one other guy said here earlier, Jr’s also had 2 years worth of races to win before tonight. And they’ll be another next week. That in no way suggests that Jr. sucks. It in no way suggests that Sr sucked cos he went winless for
Kena- Its good to see you. As far as what Denny did. It was obvious to Nascar since they parked him for 2 laps. They dont just park someone for getting a flat. After his tire eventually went flat. He purposely sat at the top the track like he couldnt move. After all was said and done. He casually drove to his pit to fix his flat. The only one who could actually feel if the tire was going flat would have been Denny. Why else would he be losing positions unless there was something wrong?
Had Denny come in when he first felt that there was problem. He would have had alot better finish then what he had. On short tracks. Fresher tires will always prevail.
3fan, I didn't get to see the races. However, I read tonight that Hamlin got tires in the NW race and that helped him to win. Wonder why he didn't in the Cup race? Would he have had time to charge to the front again if, when he first noticed the problem, he had come in for tires? Just wondering.
I am a Nascar fan from Cali hoping to bring a diffrerent perspective to Nascar. And if not. At least I tried. I also love football, baseball, golf and basketball. I try to attend as many races a year as I can. Ive been to Kansas,Infine on,Phoenix,Ve gas,Californi a just to name a few. Ive been a fan going on about 20+ years. There is nothing like short track racing at Irwindale on saturday nights. Also love to watch and attend drag races. Of course John Force is my favorite driver. Im also a fan of Tony Schumacher. Maybe someday to be able to write about Nascar.
