The Final Word – Winning Talladega is fine, but I guess just not wrecking has its own rewards
The south has a reputation of being somewhat conservative, and after the weekend’s action in Talladega, Alabama, one Carl Edwards might fit in just nicely. After riding around at the back of the pack most of the day, Cousin Carl settled for just outside the Top Ten, and that suited him just fine.
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[/media-credit]You see, as long as you improve the gap between you and the next guy, especially with just four races left in the season and a championship in the balance, 11th place can work for you. Kevin Harvick started the day just five points back, but when he and Kyle Busch both got a good piece of A.J. Allmendinger’s spin they ended up outside the Top Thirty. Another Chaser, Kurt Busch, nailed the spinning Bobby Labonte to end his day with a bang. Ryan Newman was sailing along until his boss sent him sailing into the infield to tear up the front end. All finished back in Nemechek country, which is fine as long as winning is not a consideration.
Only three Chasers finished ahead of Edwards. Brad Keselowski was fourth, and is now third in the standings 18 points back. Matt Kenseth did not do well, as his 18th place finish leaves him 14 in arrears. Tony Stewart had a Top Ten, and is 19 away, as did Denny Hamlin but the damage to his hopes coming into Talladega had him already in next year country. He joins Newman and Jeff Gordon more than 80 out.
Dale Earnhardt Jr was pushing Jimmie Johnson, but in the end they discovered they had nothing for the big boys on the day, both more than twenty spots behind at the line. While Harvick is “just” 26 out of the hunt, the rest are done. If you are Kurt Busch and you see that you are next, 40 back, you are not working on that acceptance speech, at least barring some pretty bad things happening to at least one guy, maybe three or more.
Clint Bowyer is off to be part of Michael Waltrip’s group next year. However, he did manage to slip by team mate Jeff Burton at the line to give Richard Childress his 100th victory as a team owner in this, the 100th year since race car driver Louis Chevrolet started pushing his autos out the door. NASCAR tried to mess with the cars to make two-by-two driving a tougher thing to do on the superspeedway. They failed.
Junior and Jimmie were a team, but the once dominant Earnhardt only led two laps at Talladega, Johnson one as the five-time defending champ now sits 50 points out. The fat lady is now on the stage and the opening bars of her song are being played. Johnson needs more than just Edwards to falter, and it is doubtful to expect that much bad can be expected to come to that many people on the tracks at Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead.
We stay in the south another weekend, as they move on to Virginia. Harvick won there in the spring, Kenseth was 6th, and Edwards was 18th. That would work. Keselowski hopes to improve, as he saw Edwards finish just ahead of him at Martinsville in April. Edwards has never won on this track, was third once three years ago and had a pair of eights in 2010. It could be a track someone might make up some ground, but my conservative estimate is that time is running out for someone to show me they can make a move on the man from Missouri.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Carl Edwards: Edwards avoided danger for the duration of the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega, hanging back for most of the race before capturing an 11th-place finish. His finish was better than all but three Chase rivals, and left him with a 14-point lead in the Sprint Cup point standings.
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[/media-credit]“I’m still winless in the Chase,” Edwards said. “In this case, though, I ‘won’ for losing. But who says you need to win races to win the Cup? I plan to keep ‘doing what I’ve been doing.’ I feel that should be enough to keep Jimmie Johnson from doing what he’s been doing.”
2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth moved into second place in the point standings with an 18th at Talladega. He led 21 laps early, and lost ground after the final restart with three laps remaining when he lost contact with draft partner David Ragan. Kenseth lost a bit of ground to points leader Carl Edwards, and now trails his Roush Fenway teammate by 14.
“Under most circumstances,” Kenseth said, “I would be happy with this much ‘separation’ between Edwards and myself. It takes the appeal of another Sprint Cup championship to make me want to ‘get close’ to Carl.”
3. Brad Keselowski: With a fourth-place finish at Talladega, Keselowski leaped right back into the championship conversation. He moved up three places in the point standings to third, and trails Carl Edwards by 18 with four races remaining.
“You’re darn right I’m in the conversation,” Keselowski said. “I’m being talked about as a legitimate contender for the Sprint Cup. There was a time in my career when ‘being in the conversation’ meant I was arguing with another competitor, like Carl Edwards or Kyle Busch. I may not be the most popular driver in the garage. Heck, I’m probably even less popular in my car. But I know how to win. That doesn’t necessarily give me an advantage over anyone else, because it’s surely possible to win the Cup without actually ‘winning’ anything.”
4. Tony Stewart: Stewart led 30 laps at Talladega, and was up front with victory on his mind with a restart pending with three laps remaining in the race. But Stewart’s No.14 Chevy lost the draft and was shuffled back as Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer left the field. Stewart recovered to finish a solid seventh, and is now fourth in the point standings, 19 behind Carl Edwards.
“Much like a good day of business for the Mayfield clan,” Stewart said, “I had a lot of good pushers. I hooked up with Paul Menard late in the race, but he abandoned me due to team orders. Team orders? I thought I was done with Formula 1 after driving Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren in June. Suffice it to say I’m not happy with Menard. A little warning would have been appreciated. He’s not, and there is no, ‘Paul revere.’”
5. Kevin Harvick: After five-straight finishes of 12th or better to start the Chase, Harvick’s luck ran out when he was collected in a lap 104 crash. After a visit to the garage, Harvick eventually finished 32nd, 13 laps back, and dropped four places in the point standings to fifth, 26 out of first.
“The No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet was solid,” Harvick said. “I was leading on lap 100, than by lap 104, I was wrecked. Much like Jimmy Johns quick delivery, we were ‘on the doorstep,’ and before you could blink, we were ‘out of there.’”
6. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 26th in the Good Sam Club 500 after he and Hendrick drafting partner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. found no luck making a run to the front. Johnson is now seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, and now trails Carl Edwards by 50.
“A ‘Big One’ happened at Talladega on lap 104,” Johnson said. “The ‘Big One’ happened on October 15th at Charlotte when I slammed the wall.”
7. Kyle Busch: Busch’s No. 18 Toyota was damaged in the same lap 104 wreck that took out Kevin Harvick. Busch finished 33rd, and is now sixth in the point standings, 40 out of the lead.
“Harvick and I found ourselves in the same boat,” Busch said. “And it now appears we’re up the same creek.”
8. Kurt Busch: Busch slammed the spinning car of Bobby Labonte on lap 173, ending the day for the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. His day was done, and his 36th-place finish dropped him one place to eighth in the point standings, 52 out of first.
“Despite such a horrible finish,” Busch said, “my language on the radio was clean and profanity-free. That’s because I didn’t even have time to curse before ramming Labonte’s car.”
9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer dove around Richard Childress teammate Jeff Burton on the last lap to snap a 34-race winless streak in winning the Good Sam 500. Bowyer and Burton pulled away from the field on the final restart and cruised around Talladega’s 2.66 mile circuit unchallenged until Bowyer’s winning move.
“I’ve said my goodbye’s to Richard Childress Racing,” Bowyer said. “I felt it only fitting that I gave Burton a personal farewell.”
10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt, always a threat to win at Talladega, finished a disappointing 25th, as he and drafting partner Jimmie Johnson never found a groove to take them to the front. Earnhardt remained ninth in the point standings, where he is 60 out of first.
“It’s too bad I couldn’t help Jimmie,” Earnhardt said. “But I take full responsibility. With the laps winding down, Jimmie said, ‘It’s do or die time!’ Unfortunately, I thought he said, ‘It’s Diet Dew time!’”
Rockingham Speedway Hosts Toyota Test Session
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[/media-credit]Monday morning I was at home doing the usual housework when all of a sudden it hit me. Why am I in the house on such a beautiful day when I could be at ‘The Rock’? So I ditched the chores, hopped in my car and drove out to Rockingham Speedway.
I arrived around 2:30 pm and decided to check in at the office. One of the best parts of the day was the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Andy Hillenburg. His vision and perseverance combined to bring NASCAR back to this historic track.
After parking my car I walked to the grandstands, took my seat and joined the others who were there to watch the testing session. As I sat and watched, I couldn’t help but smile. ‘The Rock’ is an integral part of NASCAR history and a sense of awe immediately enveloped me.
While I was thinking about all that had come before, a father and son walked past me and caught my eye. I listened as the father patiently explained to his son what was happening. The young boy gazed into his father’s eyes, determined not to miss a single word.
That’s when it dawned on me. Maybe I had been looking at this all wrong. Maybe it’s not the past that’s important but the new memories that this young boy and others like him will make when NASCAR returns to ‘The Rock’.
That reunion will take place when Rockingham Speedway hosts the Camping World Truck Series on April 15, 2012. Tickets are available for pre-order now at www.rockinghamspeedway.com.
Drivers who participated in the test session:
NASCAR Sprint Cup – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Nationwide – Steve Wallace, Michael Annett, Darrell Wallace Jr.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Kyle Busch, Brian Ickler, Timothy Peters, David Starr
