Mark Martin celebrates. (from NASCAR.com)
Tonight’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway had the kind of happy ending millions of NASCAR fans would be delighted to see, veteran driver, Mark Martin, who intended to retire after the 2005 season but was coaxed into racing one more year by car owner Jack Roush for the 2006 season only to show up as a part time driver for the now defunct Ginn racing coming within a whisker of winning the 2007 Daytona 500 racing part time again for the 2008 in the #8 DEI Chevrolet decided to return to full time racing with NASCAR’s most dominant team, Hendricks Motor Sports, dominated the action leading 157 out of 312 laps despite a late race caution forcing a restart with less than ten laps to go. Also noteworthy was who was Martin’s chief competition finishing second, Tony Stewart who continues to get closer to victory lane with each passing race as his Stewart-Haas team continues to gel with each week. Kurt Busch once again looked strong in 3rd place driving the #2 Miller Lite Dodge. Showing how championships are won though only leading one lap, Jimmie Johnson secured a 4th place finish demonstrating the kind of consistent performance that puts drivers in a position to compete for the championship in the fall. Rounding out the top ten, were Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr., David Reutimann, Sam Hornish Jr. and Carl Edwards.
Points leader at the start of competition and last race winner, Jeff Gordon, had late race difficulties finishing in a distant 25th. Matt Kenseth who was starting to return to his early season prowess fell off to 27th.
The evening’s most frustrating performance belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr. who led 63 races looking like a possible winner during that stretch of the race possibly headed to his best finish of the year. However, it turned into more of the same old, same old for the #88 “Junior Nation” where mistakes on pit road led to increased frustration and falling out of competition winding up in a miserable 31st position. Apparently, the Hendricks organization has been trying to shake things up behind the scenes bringing in new pit crew members, but until the driver himself and his cousin/crew chief get on the same page together, more miserable races like this are inevitable. How long can terrible performance on the track continued to be rewarded with such adulation from the fans? If champions were awarded on who the real good guys in the sport are, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would always be in the running, but he now races for an organization that is capable of providing him with the best equipment and support in the sport, the same engineering that supports Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and won tonight with Mark Martin. Rick Hendricks is a very patient and wise leader known for his communication skills, but how much longer the scene around the #88 team can continue to flounder before he steps in an does some major reshuffling is surely just a matter of time.
Next week, the Sprint Cup racers return to Dixie for their next restrictor plate race at Talladega. As part of the continued restructuring of NASCAR teams brought on by the harsh economy, Earnhardt/Ganassi racing suspended the #8 team for lack of sponsorship leaving driver, Aric Almirola, without a ride joining the unemployed list with Travis Kvapil whose #28 team folded with the Yates organization. Even so, there were more cars signed up than starting spots in the race, always a healthy sign though even in the best of times, the bottom feeders are seldom factors to compete for the top ten in many races.
The Hendricks war room can celebrate Martin’s win and a solid finish by Jimmie Johnson while frustration is the word of the day for the #24 Jeff Gordon team and what we’ve noted in the #88 team. Additionally, Hendricks equipment run by Tony Stewart nailed down second place while Ryan Newman was strong enough to lead four laps before falling off later in the race to a 16th finish.
It was a tough week on the Roush operation beyond Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. For Joe Gibbs racing, Denny Hamlin held down 6th but Kyle Busch was never a factor in 17th. Perhaps the bright spot for Gibbs was that rookie Joey Logano finished in 21st one lap down as he continues to mature with the beastly Sprint Cup equipment.
Points leader at the start of competition and last race winner, Jeff Gordon, had late race difficulties finishing in a distant 25th. Matt Kenseth who was starting to return to his early season prowess fell off to 27th.
The evening’s most frustrating performance belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr. who led 63 races looking like a possible winner during that stretch of the race possibly headed to his best finish of the year. However, it turned into more of the same old, same old for the #88 “Junior Nation” where mistakes on pit road led to increased frustration and falling out of competition winding up in a miserable 31st position. Apparently, the Hendricks organization has been trying to shake things up behind the scenes bringing in new pit crew members, but until the driver himself and his cousin/crew chief get on the same page together, more miserable races like this are inevitable. How long can terrible performance on the track continued to be rewarded with such adulation from the fans? If champions were awarded on who the real good guys in the sport are, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would always be in the running, but he now races for an organization that is capable of providing him with the best equipment and support in the sport, the same engineering that supports Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and won tonight with Mark Martin. Rick Hendricks is a very patient and wise leader known for his communication skills, but how much longer the scene around the #88 team can continue to flounder before he steps in an does some major reshuffling is surely just a matter of time.
Next week, the Sprint Cup racers return to Dixie for their next restrictor plate race at Talladega. As part of the continued restructuring of NASCAR teams brought on by the harsh economy, Earnhardt/Ganassi racing suspended the #8 team for lack of sponsorship leaving driver, Aric Almirola, without a ride joining the unemployed list with Travis Kvapil whose #28 team folded with the Yates organization. Even so, there were more cars signed up than starting spots in the race, always a healthy sign though even in the best of times, the bottom feeders are seldom factors to compete for the top ten in many races.
The Hendricks war room can celebrate Martin’s win and a solid finish by Jimmie Johnson while frustration is the word of the day for the #24 Jeff Gordon team and what we’ve noted in the #88 team. Additionally, Hendricks equipment run by Tony Stewart nailed down second place while Ryan Newman was strong enough to lead four laps before falling off later in the race to a 16th finish.
It was a tough week on the Roush operation beyond Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. For Joe Gibbs racing, Denny Hamlin held down 6th but Kyle Busch was never a factor in 17th. Perhaps the bright spot for Gibbs was that rookie Joey Logano finished in 21st one lap down as he continues to mature with the beastly Sprint Cup equipment.
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