Capital City 400 Review: Virginia is for Drama
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[/media-credit]For the first half of the race, it looked like Carl Edwards would be the man in victory lane at the end of the Capitol City 400. However, after a late race penalty Edwards was put to the rear of the field, giving the lead up for grabs.
After leading for 206 laps, Edwards was black flagged for jumping the restart on Lap 320. He was forced to make a pass through penalty on pit road, which dropped him back to 15th place. The No. 99 team was very irate about the situation, but NASCAR wasn’t hearing it. Edwards’ team was confused about the situation and wanted to know if they received the penalty for jumping the restart, or for beating Stewart to the line.
Edwards may have jumped the restart however, the situation looked worse when Stewart spun his tires on the start – this bunched up the rest of the field and caused Edwards’ to jump out about three car lengths over the rest of the field.
Either way you look at it, this penalty gave Stewart the lead of the race. Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the Top 5. Stewart and Busch led the field with seven seconds over Earnhardt. It looked as if Stewart would drive to his third victory lane of the season until caution for debris flew once again with 14 laps to go. Edwards received the lucky dog during this caution and was back on the lead lap.
After problems on pit road for Stewart, Busch won the race off of pit road. Stewart spun his tires once again on the restart, allowing Earnhardt to take over second position and give the fans something to yell about. Earnhardt trailed Busch by half a second but wasn’t able to catch him when the checkered flag waved. Finishing second has moved Earnhardt to second position in point’s standings, just five points from the leader.
Busch took Richmond by storm, winning the Nationwide race as the car owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports, and winning as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch has been flying under the radar this season and is lower in points than we normally see him. Winning at Richmond gained him two positions in points, moving him to 11th position.
What’s On the Horizon for Talladega?
The good thing about Talladega is: it’s anybody’s race! It doesn’t matter where you start, because it only takes one lap for a driver to move from last to first position, or vice versa. Talladega is the biggest and wildest track on the circuit and it never fails to put on a good show. Jimmie Johnson won the Aaron’s 499 last year, and he could very well do it again. However, I’m looking at Michael Waltrip Racing in Talladega.
I believe that MWR will be a force to reckon with at the Superspeedway. Owner Michael Waltrip will get behind the wheel of the No. 55 to race at a track that he has won before. Everyone knows that Waltrip is a master at superspeedways and his drivers, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, aren’t too shabby either.
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[/media-credit]Bowyer has two career wins at Talladega, along with six top 10 finishes. Although Truex hasn’t won at Talladega in the Cup series, he has won the Aaron’s 312 Nationwide race three years in a row. Truex has been oh so close to reaching victory lane this season and I think Talladega will be where he gets his first win of 2012.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond
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[/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: With a 137-race winless streak still dogging him, Earnhardt nearly broke through at Richmond, finishing second to Kyle Busch in the Capital City 400. Earnhardt now trails points leader Greg Biffle by five points in the Sprint Cup point standings.
“What does Busch have that I don’t, besides a win at Richmond?” Earnhardt said. “A ‘checkered’ past.
“Anyway, I’ve got two second-place finishes and two thirds so far this year. They may not be wins, but in the eyes of Junior Nation, I lead NASCAR in ‘Little’ victories.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin followed last week’s win at Kansas with a fourth at Richmond, as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch won for the first time this season. Hamlin improved two spots in the point standings to third, nine points out of first.
“Kyle ran an unbelievable of a race,” Hamlin said. “He was patient, methodical, and in control. And that makes it unbelievable, because he was totally out of character.”
3. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 18th in the Capital City 400 at Richmond, handicapped by handling issues that proved unresponsive to adjustments. He maintained the top spot in the points, but now leads Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by only five points.
“Five points isn’t much of a lead,” Biffle said, “but it’s a lead nonetheless. And let’s face it, any lead over Earnhardt is a safe lead.”
4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson posted his third-straight top-6 finish, and seventh top-10 result of the year, with a sixth in the Capital City 400. He is now sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 24 out of first.
“I finished sixth,” Johnson said, “to move into sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, on the way to what will surely be my sixth championship. That’s three sixth’s, which is a hell of a lot, and certainly an omen of good things for me.
“As you may have heard, I was named Forbe’s most influential athlete. That means I can win, and ‘win over.’ That’s two more wins than Dale Junior.”
5. Tony Stewart: Stewart was sailing towards a win at Richmond, with a comfortable lead over Kyle Busch, when NASCAR flew a debris caution with 12 laps to go. A slow pit stop allowed Busch to exit with the lead, and Stewart settled for third, and later questioned NASCAR’s decision.
“I understand the ‘debris’ in question was a water bottle,” Stewart said. “That’s garbage. I’m not sure what was in that bottle, but whatever it was, it was ‘full of it.’ And, I guess I’ll have to ‘swallow’ it.
“Anyway, it’s clear NASCAR doesn’t want to see me run away with the championship. And, as my typical subpar runs that follow strong runs would suggest, neither do I.”
6. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished 25th at Richmond, his worst finish of the year, after an untimely caution on lap 311 cost him two laps. He tumbled three places in the point standings to fifth, and now trails Greg Biffle by 22.
“After five-straight top-10 finishes,” Truex said, “I was due for a mediocre finish. And I didn’t disappoint. But I hesitate to say I’ll ‘rebound’ at Talladega, because there may be a wall involved.”
7. Carl Edwards: Edwards led 206 of 400 laps, but lost any chance for his initial 2012 victory when he was penalized for jumping a restart on lap 89. Edwards battled back from the penalty and eventually finished 10th , but was left doubting the veracity of NASCAR’s decision. He is ninth in the point standings, 51 out of first.
“I was told I was the leader,” Edwards said, “while NASCAR insists that Tony Stewart was the leader. Apparently, they were just blowing ‘Smoke’ up my behind.”
8. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 11th at Richmond, just missing his sixth top-10 finish of the year. He holds the fourth spot in the point standings, 10 behind Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle.
“NASCAR said Carl Edwards jumped a restart with 89 laps to go,” Kenseth said. “I know exactly how that feels. ‘That’ being the restart, because I’ve been ‘jumped’ by Edwards myself.”
9. Kyle Busch: Busch took advantage of a late caution and beat Tony Stewart out of the pits, then pulled away to win at Richmond. It was Busch’s fourth-straight Richmond spring win, and first of the year, as he followed Joe Gibbs teammate Denny Hamlin’s win at Kansas last year.
“Thanks to NASCAR for a timely caution,” Busch said. “Usually, when NASCAR gives me a ‘gift,’ it’s probation instead of a suspension.”
10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 19th in the Capital City 400, the last car on the lead lap, after starting third. The No. 29 Jimmie John’s Chevy was solid early in the race, but faded late on a tough day for Richard Childress Racing.
“Right now,” Harvick said, “we don’t look like a true championship contender. We’re struggling, with an average finish of 11th. It seems the last positive I experienced was on a pregnancy test.”
