September 23, 2009
By Chuck Abrams
Before I get into the race, thank goodness Stewart echoed my 5-year long rant about the points leader not getting any love going into the Chase. Hello! It is about time that NASCAR does something about this travesty. NASCAR has admitted (two years ago) that they would consider it. Well, time is up and they need to make that happen.
Look at Montoya for example. Montoya has admitted that they were points racing just to make the Chase.
After Atlanta, Montoya was 549 points behind Stewart. He enters the Chase 40 points behind Martin and 30 points behind Stewart. After Loudon, he is 55 behind Martin and 19 AHEAD of Stewart.
Where is the sense in that?
But with that said, Loudon has to rank as one of the best races of the year and probably of recent Chase history as first races go. Because of drivers like Montoya, there was no -- just go out, play it safe and grab the most points you can. Montoya grabbed the pole, led all three practice sessions and drove like Dale Earnhardt would have, sliding around the track and willing himself over his competitors to gain position.
While Jeff Burton took umbrage to the driving style at one point, you have to hand it to Montoya – he came out here to win.
That driving style and desire drove other Chasers to fight for all they could. Mild mannered Martin took the offensive and held off all comers late in the race when multiple cautions caused double file restarts that bunched the leaders together. Martin used every trick in the book, as well as his significant talent, to keep the competition at bay.
I think we all knew Hamlin would be going for gold in this race and you can never count Johnson out. But the fact that Montoya pushed the issue hard all race long made for a great race. Plus you can add in the fact that this was a 300-mile race (not 400 or 500) and you had a definite sense of urgency the entire race.
Is NASCAR listening?
Now on to other fodder. Reutimann – dang, I love that the guy races hard and has been the light at the end of the tunnel for Michael Waltrip Racing. But gees, the guy cannot hold his line. This week, he wrecked Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ruining a great race for the No. 88 team. Earnhardt was obviously upset immediately after the incident and still after Reutimann apologized. I have to agree with Earnhardt – Root plain ol’ ran out of talent at that point in the race. Let’s hope that Reutimann doesn’t wreck one of the Chasers in the coming weeks.
Kasey Kahne had a decent race going until his engine failed. Too bad because he looked to be gaining on a top 10 finish. I think Kahne will leave RPM or whatever the new iteration of the team will be in 2010. If they do not get that ship righted, and fast. He is young, has more talent than Sadler, Menard, Mears, Gilliland and several other drivers combined.
Kurt Busch will be lucky to finish the year in the top 10. Since crew chief Tryson is leaving at the end of the year and has been relegated to coming in on Tuesdays only, this can only hurt Kurt’s Chase dreams even more. If he places any better than 10th, it will be a real tribute to Tryson and Busch for working through a most difficult (and that is an understatement) situation.
Chase stealers – this week, it was Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler, Clint Bowyer and darned near Earnhardt. Those top position stealers kept Vickers and possibly Stewart out of the top ten. And it kept Jeff Gordon from anything better than 15th place.
This week, it could be Bowyer again as well as Truex, Earnhardt, Mears and Kyle Busch. Dover is a tough track and accidents and bull driving (Montoya) could be a key factor in which Chasers get a top 10 and which get a top 15. Or worse.
Let’s hope that Montoya shows up like he did this week again and forces everyone to drive like mad for 400 miles.
That’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
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