July 4, 2007
By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

I am back after a weeklong Canadian fishing trip and I am sorry that I missed the Sonoma/Infineon/Sears Point race. Sounded like one heck of a race and I am one of the few that enjoys road races.

Breaking a nearly yearlong drought, Denny Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford won this past weekends race at Loudon. You are most likely reading this mid-week so it is no real news by now.

But the race had a several interesting aspects to it so let’s dwell on those.

First, Gordon and Johnson had interim crew chiefs since Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus were suspended for infractions at Sonoma. Those violations had to do with how the new Car Of Tomorrow (COT) template “claw” sits on the cars and identifies several key positions the cars must meet. And theirs did not meet those standards. Gray area? Not in NASCAR’s eyes. As with the #8 team previously, NASCAR dealt with the COT infractions pretty evenhandedly with 100-point losses, $100,000 fines and suspensions.

But if we have learned anything from the Hendrick organization over the years it is that the company has talented people ready to step in to fill those situations. Jeff Gordon finished second at Loudon and gave Hamlin all he could handle over the last few laps while Johnson finished 5th. I really don’t see any drop off with the Hendrick teams during the suspension period.

Second: While Gordon was a contender all day, he did tweak the Car Of Tomorrow once again. When asked about how he drove the car in hard in the final turn to try to overtake Hamlin, Gordon did not mince words saying that you can’t overdrive these cars like that; a clear swipe at the differences between the COT and the current model.

NASCAR and COT fans will point out the closeness of finishes between the new and current models again as Gordon and Hamlin were neck and neck at the finish. Frankly, it has more to do with the track and the situation than with the car itself. There were few cautions in the race on Sunday and it made for some long green flag racing. That tends to separate the field a bit and allows for the lead cars to do battle if in range of each other as in this case.

Once Gordon got around Truex, Jr., he zeroed in on Hamlin and caught him quickly. That would most likely have happened with any model of car. Enough of that argument.

Third: Chevy wins and other COT race and there was only tw other makes in the top 10; the Ford of Matt Kenseth and the Dodge of Ryan Newman.(9th and 10th)

Fourth: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets his 5th top 5 in 6 races climbing to 12th in points for the return of crew chief Tony Eury, Jr. for the Pepsi 400.

Fifth: Sterling Marlin looked like he was going to crack the top 15 but finished 24th…still ten places above his normal comfort zone..

Sixth: Dave Blaney gains his and Toyota’s first pole of the year and ensures its place in the Bud Shootout next year.

Seventh: Montoya ran well after his remarkable win at Sonoma.

Eighth: Kasey Kahne is once again in more than his share of commercials during the race. That is the only time we even see young Kasey during the race.

Ninth: Reutimann and Mayfield put their Toyota’s in the field but Waltrip, Jarrett, Vickers and Allmendinger fail to make another race. This is getting more than embarrassing for the Waltrip organization.

Tenth: Carl Edwards car falls off the jack and he goes from a potential winning run to hanging on for a thirteenth place finish. When asked if he could describe his frustration during the 47-second pit stop, he replied “…not on network television…”.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any other racing topic.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at his forum at www.turnleftracing.com/forums or email him at Insider Racing News and at Turn Left Racing.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.