Sofa Sideline – It’s About Time Someone Said “Hello Newman”!
Once again – traveling caused me to miss watching this one. But, how could
you not know a win by this young man would come to pass this season! The way
Ryan Newman has been running these last few races, it was inevitable he would
pick up that first win. Congratulations on winning the New Hampshire 300, and I
suspect there will be another posted in the win column before year’s end.
Quiet, yet determined Mark Martin eased into the points lead. He finished
16th, but with Sterling Marlin’s 21st place finish it was enough to capture the
top spot. The championship race will no doubt be a race to the wire; it has been
fun to follow.
I’m reading the track was better; but not good. The rain shortened event
probably did not provide an appropriate measure as to whether the surface would
eventually tear up in turns three and four, but from what I’m hearing there was
still a great deal of excitement during the final laps of the race. Still, would
like to see more banking in the turns; I think that would improve the racing
even more.
Other Notes:
They are coming out of the woodwork to haunt Tony Stewart – for sure! Enough;
just let the guy drive. And for those of you not smart enough to know to give
him a little time after the race; have at it, but just remember the potential
consequences for your actions.
I’m siding with the notion that when it’s race time; all fans out of the pits
as the drivers have a job to do.
I had the good fortune to be able to lend a hand, albeit very minor, with the
Andy Belmont team during the ARCA RE/MAX race out in Salem, Indiana this past
Sunday. In the past, I’d only had occasion to watch this race on TV; but what a
great place to go! Short-tracks rank high on my list of favorites, and this
track provided that same measure of excitement enjoyed at places like Bristol
and Richmond.
Andy finished second; had the car to win that race, but a late race bounce
off the wall screwed up the handling a bit, and he wound up in the runner-up
position. But Andy’s known for awhile he’s had a fast car; the luck just hasn’t
been there, although it appears the tide has turned. He also runs the best line
of anyone on that track; some of the moves he makes are downright scary, but he
seems to know what he’s doing. It was an amazing piece of driving.
I watched from the grandstand side; that’s my preference most of the time.
You can just plain see more of the action. I’ve barely gotten to know the
"crew" over the past couple of weeks; but it sure was fun watching
their reaction when Andy took the lead and led for many laps. After the second
pit stop, Andy charged right back to the front; they were clapping and cheering;
it was kind of cool. All that hard work; all that disappointment over the past
few weeks, just seemed to vanish when the number one brought it home in second
place. It’s been a pleasure to "hang" with this group the last few
races; an interesting and entertaining experience (especially during dinner),
and I’m looking forward to the season finales at ‘Dega and Charlotte.
Now if Speed Channel would just get the spelling corrected on Bryan Smith’s
(crew chief) when they interview him, life would be grand!
That’s it for now.