Sofa Sideline – Love that Short Track Racin!!
"Tough times don’t last, tough people do" – you
did it man!
Ricky Craven wins Martinsville!!
Ricky Craven scored his first Winston Cup victory in the Old
Dominion 500 held in Martinsville, Virginia on Monday. Craven spent most of the
day in the top five, but took the lead with a daring move to make the pass on
Hamilton and Harvick as they were "duking it out" in the third turn.
Hamilton had tapped leader, Kevin Harvick, and Harvick responded by hitting
Hamilton sending him sliding up toward the fourth turn wall just as Craven was
overtaking him on the inside. A last lap challenge by Dale Jarrett looked like
it might be a problem for Craven, but Jarrett raced him hard but clean, with
Craven hanging on to the lead.
It was great watching the other drivers congratulate Ricky on
his win, and listening to him in victory lane you could hear the emotion and you
really felt good that it happened to such a nice guy. When he brought it down
off of the fourth turn, everyone in the stands was cheering for him. It’s
always nice to see a first-time winner, and there’s no one more deserving.
Okay now you got one – let’s see it again!!
Tough day for Bobby Hamilton who had a great car all day
long. He led for a total of 92 laps, but after the incident with Harvick, only
managed to finish 13th. Kevin Harvick, held one lap by NASCAR for
rough driving, ended up in 22nd place.
The Burtons’ both wound up with good finishes. Ward Burton
finished third, which is his best finish at Martinsville ever. Jeff Burton,
after crashing his primary car during "Happy Hour" practice on
Saturday, started at the back of the pack with his back up car, and wound up in
5th place.
Bobby Labonte ran consistently most of the day, had good pit
stops, and finished a solid fourth. His car was pretty battered, but still ran
okay after Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost it in turn four, collecting the back end of
Bobby’s car. The car sustained mostly cosmetic damage, and Labonte hung on to
fourth place. He’s getting better on these short tracks (whether he likes it
or not).
Dale Jr. on the other hand was scary at times. After starting
second, he spent the rest of the day struggling with the car, never getting a
handle on it. He was having a particularly bad time with the fourth turn, and
watching him come off of it practically sideways just about every time, you just
knew it was going to happen at some point. Tough day for the number 8.
It was also a bad day for two of the top point leaders in the
series. Tony Stewart was running second, but on lap 125 the engine blew and he
finished a dismal 41st, causing him to drop two positions to fifth
place in the standings. Ricky Rudd’s championship hopes are pretty much gone
after he lost his engine on lap 396. Jeff Gordon has a 334 point lead and only
has to finish 11th or better in the remaining races to win the
championship
Johnny Benson finished sixth, and it was good to see him have
a decent race after the past three finishes. For a moment, it looked like he was
going to have some trouble as I watched Robby Gordon try to drive right into
him, but Benson came out of it okay. Gordon, on the other hand, took himself
out. (Message to Richard Childress here…..get a different driver for the 31!)
Other notes:
For the most part, Tony Stewart acts as an irritant to the
media, and I’m sure, NASCAR as well. But sometimes some of the things coming
out of his mouth are things that others probably would like to be saying out
loud as well. I agree with him about the cookie-cutter tracks. The mile and a
third, basically flat tracks producing, more often than not, boring, monotonous,
strung out races. Maybe its me, but I just love the short track races in
Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol. There is always a lot of "racing"
going on, and there is "stuff" to watch all over the track. This may
be a product of growing up in the Northeast and spending a lot of time at half
mile dirt tracks, but to me its no contest, its just more fun! I’m on my way
to Talladega this week, and don’t get me wrong – I’ll watch the whole race
on my feet, with my stomach in my throat waiting for the "big one" but
everyone knows, that no matter how many times the lead changes, it doesn’t
really matter until about the last two laps. I just think the short tracks
create the best racing, with the three quarter mile in Richmond at the top of
the list.
Silly season is still well underway. The latest has Mayfield
going to Evernham Motorsports, but now there is speculation as to whether there
will be three teams or is someone going to be leaving. The rumor has been put to
rest regarding Michael Waltrip’s departure from DEI. Teresa Earnhardt wants to
honor the commitment that Dale made to Michael and the contract will remain in
place. I’m just wondering if this is the best move for either party???
And what is the fate of the number 12 car? And who will be in
the 31? And… I just forgot what I was going to write – way too many changes
to keep track of.
Upcoming this week – Talladega. We’ll see if the latest
changes by NASCAR will help the Pontiacs with the down force. Time will tell.
That’s it for now.