Sofa Sideline – the #40 Silver Bullet Strikes Again
Sterling Marlin picked up his second win,
just five races into the season, at the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 in
Darlington, South Carolina yesterday. Marlin also remains solidly atop the
points standings with a 99 point lead over Ryan Newman.
As in recent weeks, Marlin will
undoubtedly, once again, become the subject of discussion just about everywhere.
First, the "fixing the car" incident in Daytona, then the speeding on
pit road miscue by NASCAR officials (prompting a new rule), and now there will
more than likely be much discussion about the one-engine rule. Marlin’s crew
found a problem with one of the lifters after final practice, and rather than
take the chance, they opted to switch out the motor and start from the rear of
the field.
But, you just can’t seem to wipe that
smile off Sterling’s face these days, and rightfully so. This team has worked
hard the past year and come together to show the racing community they have what
it takes to win a championship. If other teams continue to falter, and this team
stays the course, they are going to be tough to beat. It’s early yet, and a
lot can happen, but it’s nice to see this team in winning form and consistent
week after week.
Coming in second, also for the second time
this year, was the number 21 of Elliott Sadler. Sadler ran a good race, and will
no doubt be going to Bristol (home of his first win) on an adrenalin
"high" after finishing well at Darlington. Rounding out the top ten
were; Kevin Harvick 3rd, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4th, Ryan
Newman 5th, Jimmie Johnson 6th, Rusty Wallace 7th,
Matt Kenseth 8th, Jeff Gordon 9th, and Bill Elliott 10th.
An emotional return for Steve Park and the
#1 Pennzoil car took a bad turn early in the race. Park had taken the lead on
lap 18, but ran into trouble trying to pass the lap car of Stacy Compton.
Everyone seemed to "blame" Compton, but from what I saw, Park didn’t
go down far enough on the track to make a clean pass and shot up into the #14
car. It was a matter of Steve being too aggressive, too soon. It was too bad for
Steve as he had what looked like at least a top five car.
Unfortunately, this wreck also collected
Ricky Craven. Craven having no place to go, ran right into Compton, and caused
the day to end in disappointment rather than a win. Craven looked like the one
to beat, but apparently it was not meant to be.
The "young guns" continue to be
impressive. Ryan Newman – what can you say. After cutting down a tire in final
practice and backing into the wall, Newman had to go to his backup car for the
race. Starting from the rear of the pack he steadily moved his way to the front
ending with a fifth place finish. Jimmie Johnson managed to miss everything all
day, and finished well also.
The "big one" for the day
occurred on lap 225 when race leader, Tony Stewart, ran into Buckshot Jones who
was trying to gain control of the car after losing it coming off the turn.
Stewart had no time to slow the car, just ran right into Buckshot, and causing
several cars to be caught up in the mess. When all was said and done a total of
eleven cars were involved including Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Johnny Benson, Ken
Schrader, Dave Blaney, Jimmy Spencer, Ward Burton and Stewart’s teammate,
Bobby Labonte. Stewart, hit hard by the #41 of Jimmy Spencer, was knocked
unconscious for a few minutes and taken to an area hospital for testing. All
tests proved negative, but Stewart was kept overnight for observation. Needless
to say, we were glad to hear everything is okay with Tony Stewart.
Dale Jarrett had another disappointing
day. A broken belt caused the motor to blow, effectively ending DJ’s day. This
is Jarrett’s second DNF due to engine problems.
The announcers were bragging about what a
good day Rusty Wallace had. I’m not sure if one would call it a good day –
he just missed all the action and managed to be there at the end. Rusty’s car
just doesn’t seem to be up to speed, and something is definitely lacking. He’s
not doing badly, he’s just not being "Rusty."
Robby Gordon – four for five. On lap #90
Gordon hit the wall for the second time, but this time there was substantial
damage to the car with broken suspension and brake parts strewn on the track.
After going to the garage area, the RCR crew managed to get Gordon back on the
track to turn additional laps. Gordon managed to blame his troubles on the track
– saying he just hates Darlington, but I don’t know, maybe it’s just him,
eh?
Shawna Robinson – engine trouble, but
also had hit the turn two wall a couple of times. And once again, this car is
just not keeping the pace, and we’re still hoping it’s the engine and not
the driver??
Other notes:
Congratulations go out to Jeff Burton for
leading every lap of the Busch Series event on Saturday. Greg Biffle made a
great run for it with a couple of laps to go, but was not able to make the move.
Jason Keller, finished fourth and has
taken over the lead in the Busch Series points, leading Biffle by just twelve
points.
One Last thing:
About Jeff and Brooke – what’s going
on is their business, period. End of discussion.
Life is full of trials and tribulations
and I know of no one who has not had their share. One of the greatest life
lessons we learn is that we just have to do the best we can, live honestly, with
integrity and showing compassion for those around us.
That’s it for now.