Sofa Sideline – Dodge Must be Happy Now
Finally, Dodge gets the win they were
looking for – Bill Elliott takes the Penzoil Freedom 400 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. Michael Waltrip finished second, with Casey Atwood coming in third. At
least Mr. Evernham had a good day. The Dodges’ had the advantage, no doubt!
The race was the usual boring event, and
the only real "racing" lasted all of four laps when Kevin Harvick and
Tony Stewart battled for the lead. Tony eventually took the lead, but after four
"debris" calls by NASCAR officials, a bad set of tires, and a penalty
for crossing the grass, they were finally able to defeat the number 20. Then we
thought for sure Atwood would be the winner, but a Kurt Busch spin with 18 laps
to go brought out the caution. Elliott got by Casey with just five laps left in
the race, but who would a thought??
Rounding out the top ten were; Jeff Burton
4th, Sterling Marlin 5th, Dave Blaney 6th,
Kevin Harvick 7th, Bobby Labonte 8th, Jeff Green 9th
and Jason Lefler 10th.
Jeff Gordon finished a dismal 28th
after suffering damage to the left front fender after being bumped by Jeff Green
while leaving the pits during a caution, and as a result, not able to
"officially" clinch the championship. But all he has to do is start
the remaining races, so it’s pretty much a done deal.
An unfortunate incident occurred during a
round of pit stops on Lap 111. Ward Burton pulled out from his stall, made
contact with Casey Atwood, which caused his car to veer to the left and hit
three crew members from Ricky Rudd’s team as well as a NASCAR official. Bobby
Burrell, front-tire changer, was the most seriously hurt when his head hit the
concrete retaining wall. Burrell was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital and
was listed in serious condition. John Bryan, jack-man, was transported to
Baptist Hospital in Miami for treatment of a mild concussion and knee injuries,
but suffered no broken bones. Kevin Hall, front-tire changer, was treated and
released from the infield care center. NASCAR official, Kenny Lawson was also
treated and released from the care center. Our thoughts and prayers go out to
all, including Ward Burton, who was so visibly upset after the race.
Other Notes:
The latest news on Steve Park is that he
might not be ready to compete as soon as the Daytona 500 in February. DEI is
expected to announce this week that Kenny Wallace will remain in the Penzoil
car, and when Park comes back, there will be a second Penzoil car added to the
DEI team. We’re glad to see Kenny get this opportunity, and look forward to
Steve Park’s return when the time is right.
Still no final decision on what’s going
to happen with the Mobil One team and the number 12. It would be nice to see
Mike Wallace get a ride with a good team as well.
Safety issues remain at the forefront,
particularly in lieu of the incident on pit road this week. Mandating helmets
for over-the-wall crew members is a good idea, and one that shouldn’t take a
year to implement.
Christian Fittipaldi got his first taste
of NASCAR after starting in the Busch Series race on Saturday. The winner of a
Formula 3000 Championship, three years on the Formula One tour, and seven
seasons with the Indy Series, said he just plain liked driving the car. Well, it
was good to see you in the series, so come back again!
Throughout the year I defended over and
over again the actions of NASCAR to friends and family, when questions arose
regarding some rule change or action taken by this organization. But racing has
turned into a major sports venue and the "business" cannot continue to
run like the old days. This race raised so many questions as to how much of a
hand the "higher ups" had in the outcome of this race (I’m being
polite here), and it would take a lot of explaining to convince me that this did
not occur. Decisions need to be made regarding safety, track conditions, and the
manufacturers’ playing field needs to be leveled. And obvious contempt for a
particular driver should be left at home. It has no business at the office.
Rock on Tony!!!