Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400
Under picture perfect skies in the Delmarva, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 44th annual AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Surprising: Probably the biggest surprise was that the ‘monster’ that usually lurks at the track known as the ‘Monster Mile’ was nowhere to be found.
In fact, at a track where one driver’s misfortune can also collect others in the process, there were but 4 cautions for 21 laps, including 3 cautions for debris and one for fluid on the track from the Blue Deuce of Brad Keselowski.
“I’m not exactly sure what happened but something in the rear end housing went out and burned itself up,” the reigning champ said. “We tried to get off the track as fast as we could with the Miller Lite Ford to not bring out a yellow, but obviously wasn’t quite quick enough.”
“We’re getting all of our bad luck out of the way this year.”
Not Surprising: When your driver breaks record after record, including surpassing Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for eight wins at Dover, it is not surprising that the crew chief is proud. But Chad Knaus was absolutely effusive when it came time to talk about his driver Jimmie Johnson.
“It’s been an honor to be able to work with Jimmie over the course of the years,” Knaus said. “I think he’s able to pull out some things that are pretty spectacular.”
“He’s able to dig deeper, pull out his cape, make things happen in winning moments of these races that other people cannot do,” Knaus continued. “It’s pretty spectacular.”
“I think Jimmie is probably the most underrated champion we have in this industry,” Knaus said. “He is by far and above the most powerful driver over the course of the last 25, 35 years in this sport.”
Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. emerged from his second place run at the ‘Monster Mile’ with a renewed confidence and an obvious fire in his belly to get to Victory Lane.
“I feel we’ve been able to really show what our team’s capable of,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “The changes we’re making, everything seems to be going in the direction you want.”
“We came really close today,” Junior continued. “I don’t feel like today was a highlight for us.”
“I think this is how it’s supposed to be every week.”
Not Surprising: With his eye out the front windshield, it was not surprising that Joey Logano, who finished third had no idea what happened to his teammate Brad Keselowski. In fact, he did not even want to take the time to find out, adopting his version of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.
“I try not to ask questions,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet said. “I know for me, when I talk on the radio, I slow down a lot.”
Surprising: In spite of a pit crew swap with RCR-alliance Nationwide team partners, Kurt Busch had issues, again with a loose wheel. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet finished a disappointing 21st, the second lowest of all of the Chase drivers, losing two Chase positions from seventh to ninth.
“A loose wheel did us in,” Busch said. “Nothing went our way today.”
“This is the Chase and you can’t afford to have these problems,” Busch continued. “We need to regroup and get it together for Kansas next week.”
Not Surprising: While certainly disappointed to not be in Victory Lane, Kyle Busch was not surprisingly satisfied with his third straight top-five finishes in the Chase to date.
“Certainly, I wish we definitely could have gotten more,” the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota said. “We were about a fifth to seventh-place car much of the day and we ended up fifth.”
“The Interstate Batteries Camry got what it could out of it.”
Surprising: As a last minute addition to the Chase, it has been surprising to see Jeff Gordon progress in the way that he has, in fact climbing out of the basement to the fifth place in the standings due to his fourth place finish at Dover.
But even more surprising was the fact that the driver was having such a great time just watching his teammates battle for the win.
“All in all, it was a great day for the Axalta Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “I was having fun.”
“Congrats to Jimmie as he’s so tough here,” Gordon continued. “It was a great job by Junior too.”
“That was fun to watch.”
Not Surprising: When a driver competing for the championship has mechanical failures, it is not surprising that he becomes one of NASCAR’s biggest losers. But even with that, there is no quit for the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford.
And in this case, Carl Edwards, who experienced a broken left-rear hub, finished the worst of all Chasers in 35th, plummeting from fourth to eleventh in the standings.
“We did not need to have that trouble,” Edwards said. “Something broke in the left-rear, so that’s tough.”
“Overall, we gave it the best effort we could,” Edwards continued. “We don’t quit.”
Surprising: After convincingly clinching the first two races in the Chase, it was surprising that the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot ‘Let’s Do This’ Toyota pronounced his seventh place finish ‘decent.’
“We kind of missed it today,” Matt Kenseth said. “We got caught with being the last on two tires and restarting on the inside, which was really bad.”
“Still salvaged a respectable finish, but certainly I wanted to do better than that.”
Not Surprising: Even with his sponsor, 5-Hour Energy, renewing their relationship and in spite of his positive, image-enhancing yoga event for Living Beyond Breast Cancer prior to the race, Clint Bowyer was resoundingly booed by the crowd at the Monster Mile during driver introductions.
The driver of the No. 15 Raspberry5hourEnergyLivingBeyondBreastCancer Toyota finished top ten and moved two positions up in the standings to the eighth spot.
Surprising: Jamie McMurray followed up his top-five run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with an eleventh place finish at the Monster Mile. And with that, the driver of the No. 1 Liftmaster Chevrolet pronounced his season ‘pretty good.’
“Yeah, it’s been good,” McMurray said. “I think our cars have been even better than what they were in 2010 when we won some big races.”
“We were able to hit on a few things that has really worked well for us at a variety of different tracks.”
Not Surprising: With nothing to lose after losing his Chase spot, Martin Truex Jr. was proud of the ‘Hail Mary’ that he and his crew threw at the No. 56 NAPA Shocks Toyota Camry, finishing 15th.
“Chad (Johnston, crew chief) took a real chance with our set up and I am proud of him for it,” Truex Jr. said. “We had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
“Sometimes you have to think outside the box.”
The Final Word – Dover is over, now off to Kansas where Kyle’s dreams go to die
Dover in a nutshell? Well, Jimmie won, Matt did not, and Kyle had to settle for a mere Top Five. What has not changed is that the trio remain the only relevant drivers as they head to Kansas for Sunday’s fourth round of the Chase.
Johnson made it a record eight wins at that track in just 24 starts in Delaware. By claiming his fifth of the season, and 65th of his career, the five-time former champ is just 8 points behind Kenseth, who finished 7th at Dover. Busch was fifth last Sunday and is a dozen points off the pace. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick are next, 39 points away. So, until each and every one of the three leaders cough and sputter to somewhere beyond a Top Ten, at least, the rest of them remain just members of the supporting cast.
Dale Earnhardt Jr started from the pole and finished just behind Johnson. A win would have meant more to him than a great points day, as he sits 57 back in the waiting room. Most of the Chasers did well, taking all Top Ten spots, while Kasey Kahne (13th), Kurt Busch (21st after a loose wheel green flag stop), and Carl Edwards (35th after a broken wheel hub) were the outsiders.
As NASCAR no longer releases attendance figures, we are left guessing as to what those big bare patches in the grandstands meant in way of numbers. Considering Dover is a track situated within a hundred miles of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, somebody does not give a damn. A bunch of somebodies. Maybe stellar television coverage might entice them out to take a look at the real deal.
Rating Dover – 5.5/10 – Too bad, as the visuals of this track, with the dive down the hill into the corners before swooping up on the other side, can be rather breathtaking. I did enjoy watching Race Day, but unfortunately none of the SPEED announcers would later appear on the ESPN broadcast. Good reporting from the pits, but the main crew were, well, the pits. Same old, same old.
After 31-years, ESPN fired Marty Reid for mistaking the white flag for the checkered flag, and for one second declaring Ryan Blaney the Nationwide winner at Kentucky a lap early. Considering it did not detract in the least from the broadcast, that Blaney was leading by a large margin, or considering the amateur hour that is ESPN’s Cup coverage, you would have figured he might have got a bit of slack from the clowns in the suits. Then again, they might have done him a favor. Reid’s replacement? That would be Allan Bestwick. Good grief.
Kansas Speedway is next on the schedule. Matt Kenseth won the last two run there and has been in the Top Ten in each of his past six attempts.
Kansas Speedway, where Jimmie Johnson has a pair, including the fall of 2011. Where he has six Top Fives in 14 attempts, along with 10 Top Tens, and leads all active drivers with an average finish of 7.6.
Kansas Speedway, where Kyle Busch sucks. Sorry, but two Top Tens in a dozen starts does not cut it. Seven times he has failed to crack even the Top Twenty. This is where his Chase hopes go to die, unless this is the year he avoids his Chase jinx.
Congratulations to my mother-in-law, who turns 80 years old today. She will not be part of the broadcast of this race. To be fair, Fran doesn’t know a damn thing about NASCAR, but she would be a hell of a lot more entertaining than what we will hear this Sunday. Maybe she could fill in for Marty. Enjoy the week!
Johnson’s win marks another in history. What can we expect in Kansas?
We all knew Jimmie Johnson had an excellent chance to earn his 8th career Dover victory on Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t a matter of if Johnson had the car, but more of what could happen next. Johnson didn’t let those thoughts consume him as he scored a record-breaking 8th career win at the Dover International Speedway, breaking a tie with the King Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. It marked the 5th win of the season and the 65th victory of his career for Johnson.
As far as we know, Johnson should have snagged this record earlier in the season, but jumped the last restart which resulted in a pass-through penalty, thus giving the win to another Hendrick-related driver in Tony Stewart. Johnson can deny it all altogether as he has numerous times, but it was abundantly clear that he not only beat Juan Pablo Montoya to the line, but he also was just a nose ahead of the 42 in both restart boxes. It doesn’t matter anymore because Johnson has earned the record and no active driver is remotely close to achieving what the 48 has done here at Dover. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin have four wins here a piece, but their careers will soon some to a close.
What does this mean for the remaining races? It’s going to be a nail-biting finish between Hendrick and Joe Gibbs Racing. Next week, we are the Kansas Speedway. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth each have a pair of victories here, but it is Kenseth who has been on a roll with two consecutive victories with both Roush Fenway Racing and his current race team. Kenseth’s lowest finish in the past four events here has been an astounding 4th. That doesn’t mean that Johnson doesn’t have a shot. You can never leave the 48 out of any event and not consider him a threat to win. NASCAR fans used to look forward to restrictor plate races just to get a break from the 48 winning, but as proven from his sweep at Daytona this season, Johnson has put that behind him.
Kansas is a lot like the Las Vegas Motor Speedway which brings up another point. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth have had moments where they were completely dominating races there. Johnson won three consecutive events (05, 06, 07), and Kenseth won back-to-back events (03, 04). This is absolutely nerve-racking for fantasy players because one position could alter your prize winnings by a lot if you are wrong on one little thing. I’m riding high with confidence following my pick at Dover, but that wasn’t too difficult. I’m picking Matt Kenseth to win at Kansas, but watch out for the 5 of Kasey Kahne. This has been a real up-and down season for that man and what would feel better than defeating his rival for the first time this season? His luck has been utterly horrible at times this season, or he simply just loses control of the car and backs it into the fence. Kahne needs to focus and get back to racing. He isn’t out of the championship just yet mathematically, but he is certainly in danger. My dark horse pick will be the 56 of Martin Truex Jr. His avg finish at Kansas in the past two events has been 3rd. A win would certainly lift the spirits of Truex and the entire MWR organization after the fallout of the controversy at Richmond.
The late caution saved Jimmie Johnson. Fuel mileage races have not been Johnson’s forte, but I believe that Jeff Gordon had played that particular strategy out perfectly in case it came down to that scenario, but it didn’t happen for him. Gordon spun his tires on the final restart which caused Kenseth to get squirmy and that killed their momentum. Jimmie Johnson deserves all the credit for yet another record-breaking day this season and for this champ’s career. Who are you guys pulling for at Kansas? Let me know! I hope you all enjoyed the race.
Eric McClure Glad To Be Racing
Racer’s can barely withstand being out of the car for the work week yet out of it for an extended period. Eric McClure, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver, was sidelined from racing due to acute renal failure. The long hour waits thinking “Will I ever get back in a car” passed through Eric’s mind throughout the long period off.
But plotting a long-term future as a husband and father of five was more important now. After being hospitalized for 8-days Eric McClure became worried about his family, not just his racing career.
“There wasn’t anything I could do but sitting and waiting and trying to rest and that’s a hard thing because you’re waiting on God and nature,” McClure said “For me, at this point, it wasn’t as urgent as it would have been in the past. There was no ego or challenge to get back in the car this time. It was a little bit larger scare for us, so we wanted to make sure we were doing the right things that would allow me to be a husband and a father 20 years from now other than worrying about getting back in a car. Fortunately it worked out and we came back.”
McClure returned to racing action in Kentucky just last weekend where he finished 24th after complaining of physical conditioning being off balance. Severe dehydration and the affects in the car were the main concern of NASCAR officials for McClure as it could have been damaging to his kidneys.
McClure who suffered a concussion in a Talladega crash last year, has reason to think that his problems occurred from that crash.
“Since the accident in 2012 at Talladega I’ve had a lot of arthritis and problems set in my back and my feet and I was being treated with anti-inflammatories and a lot of that type medication,” said McClure. “I am told that if you’re not careful, those types of medicines can do a lot of damage over the course of time and it was nothing for me to take my regular medication and if I had some pains, to take some [over-the-counter painkillers] or something like that.
After getting back into the car in Kentucky, McClure came to a much more demanding track and physically tougher track of Dover. Doctor’s were skeptical about letting McClure race due to the way Dover has been known to be. Eric was able to start the race but was told to take it easy, but any racer wasn’t listening to that.
McClure rolled off from the 31st starting position in his No. 14 Toyota Camry and had a solid day finishing 26th. McClure slipped one spot in the owner standings, but is still 19th in driver standings despite being out a few weeks. McClure struggled throughout the race with a tight car in and loose when he got back on the throttle.
“Today was not a very good day for us. Something happened with the car and we spent all day nursing it. Kansas was good for us last year. Next week can’t come fast enough.”
McClure was back at the track on Sunday signing autographs for fans in the “Fan Zone” outside Dover International Speedway. It might not of been the best weekend for Eric but he has to be happy to still be in a race car and the bigger picture still be alive.
