Sofa Sideline – Jimmie Johnson; Winner Again at Dover
For the second time at Dover and the third time this season Jimmie Johnson
takes the checkered flag. Winning the MBNA All American 400; puts Johnson in a
tie for the most wins during a rookie season. The tie is with Tony Stewart from
his 1999 season.
Unfortunate incident — Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, was fined $5,000
for using "inappropriate" language during the post race television
interview.
Dover puts on a great pre-race, no doubt; flags a waving, everybody singing,
the National Anthem sung well; but somehow the racing still is a bit of a drag.
It just seems to take forever for this race to get finished; not sure why that
is. It is one of those race tracks, where you can go take a nap in the middle of
the race and come back and not have missed very much.
The most exciting thing going on is the championship race. Let’s face it, any
one of the top five or six can still come out the victor. My money’s still on
Stewart; my son said awhile ago it would be either Rudd or Martin; I’m thinking
he’s sticking with the quiet, composed Mr. Martin who is ever so slowly building
a lead; after garnering a second place finish.
Sterling; there seems to be a problem here. He never showed anything at all;
finished 21st; that’s not championship form and the pace will have to be stepped
up in order for him to recapture the top spot. He slid back two more spots, with
Jimmie Johnson moving into second place; Stewart into third.
The other fun thing happening is the rookie race; albeit just two drivers
really, Newman and Johnson. Newman had a great save after just loosing it going
into the turn; barely missed getting into the wall, however came back to finish
in 8th place.
Jeff Gordon wound up with no where to go when Bodine lost it, everyone
checked up, and he got hit by Park and the spun into the front retaining wall;
hid day ended early.
So the battle moves to Kansas; things will no doubt be heated up by the time
they get to Talladega; and with the smaller gas tanks, still wondering how that
will all play out.
Other Notes:
It was good to see Scott Wimmer capture that first win in the Busch Series
race on Saturday. He ran a great race, and congratulations go out to him. He
came close at Bristol; but at this race, once he got the lead, he just took off.
Way to go!
The Rudd and Sadler switch in rides may happen sooner rather than later;
maybe that would be a good thing as both are appearing to be in a sort of
"lame-duck" mode; just getting on with it might yield improved results
for both teams.
Have been reading where Jerry Jones has been talking to the folks at DEI
about buying the organization. Apparently the much publicized deal with Andy
Petree never came about, but Jones’ is still looking for the "big
name" to ensure the glitz and glamour; and has reportedly talked to the
folks at DEI. Again my status as a NY Giant fan is showing; but would like to
see this guy just stick to football…in Dallas!
The ARCA RE/MAX series teams / owners / drivers have been working on some
fundraising efforts to help their Chaplain of seven years, Bill Krick. Chaplain
Krick and his wife, Dianna, have formed their own ministry in an effort to
continue to provide services to this race series. A silent auction is being
planned for race week in Charlotte; full details to be announced soon. All
proceeds from the auction are solely for the purpose of helping this newly
formed ministry named FOCUS MOTORSPORTS MINISTRIES, and if you are planning on
attending the race in Charlotte, be sure to stop by Fast Track Performance
Driving School on Friday, October 11th to purchase memorabilia gathered from
various race series including Winston Cup, Busch, ARCA and others.
Time and specific details will be posted on www.arcaracing.com
the first part of October – we look forward to seeing you there!
That’s it for now.