Monday, March 29, 2010

Sprint Cup 2010: Race 6 -- Martinsville Madness -- Hot Finish for Rain Delayed Race




For fans who could watch today’s’ Goody’s 500 at Martinsville, the delay was worth the wait particularly in the final laps when the old short track bump and grind was at its best leaders changing, tempers flaring, and quite a remarkable finish for a driver who would have been undergoing knee surgery were it not for yesterday’s start being rained out.

The race turned out to be a strong one/two finish for Joe Gibbs Racing with Denny Hamlin bringing home the grandfather clock and Joey Logano finishing second. An angry Jeff Gordon finished 3rd. While Ryan Newman who was angry at Gordon, finished fourth.

Looking at the last ten official laps and the laps added on for facilitating a green/white/checker finish, the drama played out in a most entertaining fashion.

Lap 490, Jeff Burton would not pit though it appeared he was experiencing tire trouble. He and fellow Virginian, Denny Hamlin had been fighting for most of the second half of the race for the lead spot. Two laps later, Burton’s tire gave out forcing his car into the wall bringing out the caution flag. In what would seem a surprise move, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin entered the pits for four fresh tires turning the lead over to Jeff Gordon. They would line up Hamlin 9th and Busch 10th for the restart.

When the green flag dropped for lap 496, Gordon led with Matt Kenseth 2nd, Ryan Newman 3rd, Ryan Newman 4th, and Joey Logano 5th. The following lap, Newman jumped to 2nd while Denny Hamlin was knocking his way through the field with fresh rubber reaching 4th place by lap 498.

Lap 499 brought out the next caution as Kyle Busch, perhaps a bit over anxious spun sideways collecting Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose ruining his top 10 finish.

Seven laps would be run under caution with the green flag dropping for lap 506, Jeff Gordon in 1st, Ryan Newman in 2nd, Matt Kenseth in 3rd. Denny Hamlin in 4th, and Joey Logano in 5th. As the white flag dropped for lap 507, Denny Hamlin pushed aside Ryan Newman as Matt Kenseth rushed for the corner attempting to take the lead causing Jeff Gordon to full control of his car as Kenseth’s car slid along the wall removing his car from the action. Thanks to this tangle, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano sped past Gordon, to achieve the one/two finish for Joe Gibbs, the team’s first win for 2010.

To say tempers were a little short after the race would indicate….well, it was a NASCAR short track race. The drivers will have an extra week to recover with the Easter break falling before their next race in Phoenix, Arizona.

So where’s Jimmy? Wasn’t Jimmy Johnson Mr. Inevitable after Bristol especially given his success at Martinsville?




Jimmie Johnson was never a factor in the race struggling with an ill-handing race car languishing in the middle of the pack for most of the race, but with each pit stop, Chad Knaus and crew continued to work adjusting the car for the better resulting in a 10th place finish making it Jimmie Johnson’s 15th straight top 10. For what was looking like what was intended to be a lousy day for the #48 team, Johnson’s consistency along with a major mishap for former points leader, Kevin Harvick and second place driver, Matt Kenseth getting pushed aside by an irate Jeff Gordon in a late race skirmish for the win allowed what seemed inevitable with every race after a difficult Daytona 500. Jimmie Johnson now holds the points lead.

Also of note was the horrible finish for Kevin Harvick whose car troubles dropped him to a distant 35th finish moving him from 1st down to 4th in the standings. Despite his late race tire trouble, Jeff Burton gained two positions in the standings, now in 5th and Jeff Gordon who was one unhappy camper at the end of the race gained four positions in the points standings. Joey Logano came back forcefully after a couple futile weeks picking up four positions to stand in 13th place just outside the chase field. Ryan Newman whose season started so horribly gained four positions closing in on the top 20 now in 22nd.

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