They had a race and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not in it. Why bother? Should this not have been a day of universal sobbing, hand wringing, and “woe is me?” Of course, it should have been, but there was a race to be run in New Hampshire.
Instead of Junior, 23-year-old Alex Bowman got the best seat of his 72-race Cup career. Would the car make the difference? It appeared that way until a tire made the difference and sent him into the wall. A possible Top Ten wound up 26th, but the young man got to show that he appears to have the right stuff.
At almost the same time as Bowman’s misadventure, Chase Elliott had a left front go down to help ruin his day. Elliott has the right stuff, but it is points he could use and 34th does not award too many of them. Still, with a pad of more than 50 points to the good, the 20-year-old has nothing to worry about.
A late game of billiards was not helpful to a pair on the outside but seeking a place on the inside. Ryan Newman touched Carl Edwards who clipped Kasey Kahne who then turned Kyle Larson. While Larson recovered to salvage 17th, Kahne was left in 25th. With Earnhardt sitting out due to his concussion issues, it was time to make hay. Instead, it rained on some. Junior sits it out and still sits in the final Chase spot, 14 points better than Trevor Bayne, who was 23rd on Sunday, with Ryan Blaney, Kahne, and Larson with even more work to do in Indianapolis if they hope to break some hearts.
We said a star would win in the sunshine and Matt Kenseth did just that with his third at Loudon and second on the season. It could have been won by Martin Truex Jr. He was solid, dueling with Kyle Busch much of the way. That is, until, his shifter snapped. It is pretty tough to set sail stuck in fourth gear. That left him in 16th, while Busch faded to wind up eighth.
As expected, the likes of Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick recorded Top Fives. It might have been somewhat surprising to see Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle do the same. It does not change things for anybody, with Logano, Harvick, and even Stewart pretty much locked in, while Biffle needs a win to advance.
Heading to Indianapolis, the big story will be Junior. Does he return, or might Jeff Gordon step back out of retirement to fill the seat? If Junior remains on the sidelines, who will take advantage of his absence to grab hold of that final Chase place? We should know by Wednesday who is behind the wheel. As for June Bug, his mind is as sharp as a tack but has balance issues and some nausea. He also is not going to rush things. It would be nice to see him back soon, to make the Chase, but there are more important factors at play just now.
