Bristol Motor Speedway - Food City 250
RACE WINNER: KASEY KAHNE
David Reutimann: 3rd (started 10th)
- He was just awesome all night. After fighting his way to the front, he led 33 laps but had to give it up to make his last pit stop. Then he fought all the way back to the front! Unfortunately, his tires had fallen off quite a bit at the end of the race, but he still took part in a thrilling 4-way battle for the lead with Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Coming off of Turn 4 on the last lap, Leffler got loose trying to pass leader Kahne and checked up. David, apparently remembering ORP, never let off and ran into the back of the #38, sending him spinning across the finish line. I had to laugh a bit, but I was really glad Leffler didn’t hit anything and still got 2nd place. If he had wrecked, it wouldn’t have bode well for David and would’ve just continued their rivalry. I hope that was the last payback David gives Leffler and that this is done. Leffler took it like a man, but he did hint that David was dwelling on their rough battle at ORP. Plus, it is true that Leffler never actually wrecked David there, so David just flat spinning him out may have been a little overboard. Still, such a great run for the #99. I hope they get that win this year. I can tell it’s starting to frustrate David.
- Quotes:
“Our car was pretty good today. Everybody that worked on this car did a great job. We lost a little bit on our tires there at the end, but I was pretty happy. It was a lot of fun.”
- On Leffler:
“He had a run on the No. 9 (Kahne), but had to check up to keep from getting into him. I had a run and got into him. I don't think it had any outcome on the race, like it did with us at ORP. It was a little different.”
- David takes back 2nd in points and gained on Carl Edwards. He is now 690 points from a championship…ha. He is still 6th in owner points.
Scott Wimmer: 5th (started 25th)
- Pit strategy helped Scott get to the front. Once he was there, he stayed there. A good night in the #21!
Casey Mears: 19th (started 24th)
- The night was okay for the #24 team. Casey, while trying to pass Mike Wallace, got loose underneath him and wrecked him. It was just another one of those races at Bristol.
Dale Jarrett: 23rd (started 38th)
- He really struggled early and through the midpoint of the race and went 2 laps down at one point. However, caution after caution put him back on the lead lap and he made up positions for a solid night in a rare Busch series start.
Brian Vickers: 36th (started 28th)
- The team was having a hard time at the beginning of the race, but began improving as the night went on. Brian was just starting to look like he was going to have a decent finish when Kyle Busch insisted on passing him immediately. He roughed Brian up and ran into the side of him before passing him. Brian attempted to go after him and was just inches from running into the back of him when the earlier contact blew a tire and he hit the wall. Night = over. I like Kyle, but I was not happy with that move at all.
Other Notes:
- NASCAR made a big screw-up when they penalized Kyle Busch for violating the commitment line rules during a pit stop. They claimed he had his left-side tires on the yellow line when he swerved away and stayed on the track. He was sent to the end of the pack. However, ESPN showed a replay and it was very clear that Kyle never touched the line! By the time NASCAR realized this, they could do nothing to help the #5 team because the race had been going green. It was during this time that Kyle, probably royally pissed off, wrecked Brian. Kyle made it back to 4th place and likely would have challenged for the win if he hadn’t been penalized. Despite me being unhappy with him, he handled the penalty like a man and didn’t freak out on NASCAR.
- ESPN is a bloody joke. I just couldn’t believe that blackout with 2 to go! Unreal! And then to come back as the checkers were flying to see Leffler spinning and having no idea what was happening was just a classic. Showing a replay of the last two laps was a complete anticlimax since we already knew who won. ESPN, for being such a great sports network, sure can’t spend any extra money on their video and audio quality. They are constantly having issues with sound and video skipping or scrambling. Combine that with their cruddy coverage and horrid pit reporters and you’ve got a great way to watch NASCAR.
- Who knew Bristol could get better? That was the best Busch race I have ever seen there! The new concrete with the progressive banking was just genius. Two-wide, even some shaky three-wide racing! Whether it will translate to great racing with the New Car remains to be seen until tonight, but I was just floored by the success the resurfacing provided.
David Reutimann: 3rd (started 10th)
- He was just awesome all night. After fighting his way to the front, he led 33 laps but had to give it up to make his last pit stop. Then he fought all the way back to the front! Unfortunately, his tires had fallen off quite a bit at the end of the race, but he still took part in a thrilling 4-way battle for the lead with Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Coming off of Turn 4 on the last lap, Leffler got loose trying to pass leader Kahne and checked up. David, apparently remembering ORP, never let off and ran into the back of the #38, sending him spinning across the finish line. I had to laugh a bit, but I was really glad Leffler didn’t hit anything and still got 2nd place. If he had wrecked, it wouldn’t have bode well for David and would’ve just continued their rivalry. I hope that was the last payback David gives Leffler and that this is done. Leffler took it like a man, but he did hint that David was dwelling on their rough battle at ORP. Plus, it is true that Leffler never actually wrecked David there, so David just flat spinning him out may have been a little overboard. Still, such a great run for the #99. I hope they get that win this year. I can tell it’s starting to frustrate David.
- Quotes:
“Our car was pretty good today. Everybody that worked on this car did a great job. We lost a little bit on our tires there at the end, but I was pretty happy. It was a lot of fun.”
- On Leffler:
“He had a run on the No. 9 (Kahne), but had to check up to keep from getting into him. I had a run and got into him. I don't think it had any outcome on the race, like it did with us at ORP. It was a little different.”
- David takes back 2nd in points and gained on Carl Edwards. He is now 690 points from a championship…ha. He is still 6th in owner points.
Scott Wimmer: 5th (started 25th)
- Pit strategy helped Scott get to the front. Once he was there, he stayed there. A good night in the #21!
Casey Mears: 19th (started 24th)
- The night was okay for the #24 team. Casey, while trying to pass Mike Wallace, got loose underneath him and wrecked him. It was just another one of those races at Bristol.
Dale Jarrett: 23rd (started 38th)
- He really struggled early and through the midpoint of the race and went 2 laps down at one point. However, caution after caution put him back on the lead lap and he made up positions for a solid night in a rare Busch series start.
Brian Vickers: 36th (started 28th)
- The team was having a hard time at the beginning of the race, but began improving as the night went on. Brian was just starting to look like he was going to have a decent finish when Kyle Busch insisted on passing him immediately. He roughed Brian up and ran into the side of him before passing him. Brian attempted to go after him and was just inches from running into the back of him when the earlier contact blew a tire and he hit the wall. Night = over. I like Kyle, but I was not happy with that move at all.
Other Notes:
- NASCAR made a big screw-up when they penalized Kyle Busch for violating the commitment line rules during a pit stop. They claimed he had his left-side tires on the yellow line when he swerved away and stayed on the track. He was sent to the end of the pack. However, ESPN showed a replay and it was very clear that Kyle never touched the line! By the time NASCAR realized this, they could do nothing to help the #5 team because the race had been going green. It was during this time that Kyle, probably royally pissed off, wrecked Brian. Kyle made it back to 4th place and likely would have challenged for the win if he hadn’t been penalized. Despite me being unhappy with him, he handled the penalty like a man and didn’t freak out on NASCAR.
- ESPN is a bloody joke. I just couldn’t believe that blackout with 2 to go! Unreal! And then to come back as the checkers were flying to see Leffler spinning and having no idea what was happening was just a classic. Showing a replay of the last two laps was a complete anticlimax since we already knew who won. ESPN, for being such a great sports network, sure can’t spend any extra money on their video and audio quality. They are constantly having issues with sound and video skipping or scrambling. Combine that with their cruddy coverage and horrid pit reporters and you’ve got a great way to watch NASCAR.
- Who knew Bristol could get better? That was the best Busch race I have ever seen there! The new concrete with the progressive banking was just genius. Two-wide, even some shaky three-wide racing! Whether it will translate to great racing with the New Car remains to be seen until tonight, but I was just floored by the success the resurfacing provided.
