August 12, 2009
By Chuck Abrams
Another rained out Sunday race, another good race on Monday.
I am a big fan of the side-by-side double-file restarts and it is even better on a road course. That lets the leaders race each other and really makes them think about what they are doing. For example, Marcos Ambrose was outside Stewart on the last restart and instead of forcing the issue on the outside of Stewart, he dove behind him to keep pace and establish his position over Kyle Busch.
While it was a safe move for points, it was a smart move for points. In fact, while Monday was a good race, it also showed just how sensitive the drivers are to the points. Montoya desperately wants in the Chase this year and he ran like it.
The hit of the day definitely has to go to Sam Hornish Jr. after contact with Kasey Kahne. Hornish smashed the tire barrier then flew violently back on the track in front of the rest of the field. This sent Jeff Gordon spinning and then Hornish was also hit by Jeff Burton. Hornish’s car was just about destroyed and Gordon’s was severely damaged. Burton claims it was a very hard hit and Gordon was last out of the care center more than likely due to his back pain after the nasty hit.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his disastrous season when he lost his brakes and piled into the tire barrier as well. Junior fell two spots in the points and is in 25th place right now -- with little hope of breaking into the top 20 by the end of the year.
On top of all that, Stewart made history by winning more races at Watkins Glen than any other NASCAR driver. This guy is making a charge for the title this season folks and he appears in rare form. It will take the Chase to lose his lead and some great driving by the other 11 guys to overtake him.
Speaking of points, Stewart is now 260 ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Matt Kenseth is looking over his shoulder at Kyle Busch, just 58 points behind him and not a very happy camper, sitting outside the top twelve. Matt Kenseth drove his tail off at Watkins Glen only to fall to twelfth place. He was done in by teammate Biffle who drove more than his tail off -- for his best finish (5th) ever at Watkins Glen.
Michigan, next Sunday's race, is not known for great racing, so perhaps we should hope for it to be postponed to Monday. It is usually a great place for Roush drivers and Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are winless this year. But Mark Martin will be aiming for the sweep after winning the spring race. Biffle and Edwards are both running pretty well so they should be contenders for the win this weekend. But Michigan can also produce fuel mileage races, so even Dale Earnhardt Jr. could win this week.
Outside of a DNF, not much will change in points after Michigan. You might see some movement between Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Edwards since they are so close together. Ryan Newman, Biffle, Martin and Kenseth are also pretty close together and a astrong run by Kyle Busch and a weak performance by Kenseth, Martin or Biffle could change the refection of the low end of the Chase contenders.
Unfortunately for David Reutimann, 'The Franchise' will not make the Chase this year after running so well earlier in the year. He will no doubt want to improve on his top 20 finish in the spring, but that will not likely change his placement in the points this week.
Enjoy the rest of the week and let’s get ready for Bristol!
Well, that's all for now. Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
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