Talladega Superspeedway - Aaron's 499
Danni
RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
5. Brian
7. Casey
10. Dale Jr.
20. David
27. Michael
37. Martin (DNF)
39. Kurt (DNF)
I must start this off by saying how much I love Ken Butler, the president of Aaron's, and his willingness to allow the fans to give the drivers their command to start engines.
It's so much more meaningful and exhilarating to hear it as a roar!
As often happens at Dega, two packs formed after the green flew - the main pack (as Darrell usually puts it, the "hornet's nest") and then the single-file group that fell behind to wait out the crashes (Michael joined this one). It wasn't all too exciting in the beginning. Tony Stewart towed a line on the bottom that would hang anyone who tried to make an outside group out to dry in a hurry. After the first caution when Matt Kenseth blew a tire and hit the wall, though, the racing began. A second line developed and showed what it could do.
David made his way up through the pack, drafting a lot with Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman. Junior, of course, led plenty of laps and even Brian nabbed five bonus points. The race went green for quite some time, during which Kurt lost the draft.
That was pretty disheartening - Kurt has been having so many issues lately that team morale cannot be very good right now. Before pit stops broke out, Michael came in for a cut tire. Luckily, it wasn't long before other drivers came in for tires and fuel. Unfortunately for David, he took four while everyone else took right sides only in his group and he found himself all alone on the track. 
This is when he started complaining that the car wouldn't go by itself. At first I thought he was just venting and frustrated that he was out of the draft. But the power issue would plague him later.
However, the caution came out when Carl Edwards blew a tire (kind of like Kenseth... camber anyone?) and bunched the field back together. Cue wildness! There were so many lead changes after the restart that it was difficult to keep track of them all. Dale Jr. was second behind Tony Stewart... when all of a sudden Stewart hit the wall. I got nervous for a moment, thinking Junior ran into the back of him, but the replays clearly showed that the #20 blew a tire.
More chaos ensued when Juan Pablo Montoya ducked under the yellow line on the trioval and wrecked Paul Menard into the grass.
Well... I did kind of feel bad for him because that was a stupid move by Montoya and in all reality he should have been black-flagged instead of getting a simple slap on the wrist by NASCAR. Then again, I saw a lot of bump-drafting in the corners that I previously thought was forbidden. Hm.
Only a few laps after the next restart, the caution was out for debris. Why? Elliott Sadler peeled the back bumper off of Brian! I didn't know whether to laugh or get anxious because I feared no one would bump-draft him without a rear end. Based on his finish, though, it didn't appear to cause a problem.
But this is when David started having trouble staying with the field on restarts (he started to refer to his car as a "pig"
). On that last one, he dropped to 30th from 17th. Things looked a lot different for Michael, however! He began slicing his way through the field. When the big wreck occurred, he was ahead of it. Cars spread out on the straight and when they prepared to get into the turn, space ran out. Bobby Labonte, Stewart and Junior made contact, causing Labonte to lose control of his car and fly up into the rest of the field. Sadly, it collected both Martin and Kurt, who was just beginning to recover from his earlier problems. 
Junior had some fender damage, but was able to continue after some repairs. David, who was way in the back, barely made it through when Jamie McMurray shot back down the banking behind him. 
It reminded me of a wreck a year or two back when Scott Riggs appeared way too close to Michael's rear cam!
On the following restart, a train came - Michael and Jimmie Johnson! An interesting phenomena was noted through the duration of the race. If two cars got together, they could out-draft even a long line. I don't think I've ever screamed so hard for Johnson, but he was my hero Sunday. He pushed Michael all the way to the lead! The excitement got cut short when a debris caution came out, but Michael didn't seem to hear it. He drove out ahead of the field, obviously relishing the view.
Sometimes leading the field during a restart isn't the best place to be at a plate race, and it was proven when Johnson was able to pass Michael. But that didn't last long for him either, as Kyle Busch got a nose under him and took the lead. There was a lot of whining from the fans that Kyle passed under the yellow line, but Johnson forced him down. Meanwhile, David was struggling mightly, unable to work low. He was getting some help from Greg Biffle, but when teammate Michael McDowell jumped in front of them, they pretty much went backwards. Back up front, Jimmie and Michael hooked up again and started another charge when smoke began billowing from Michael's fenders. At first, I though it was another tire, but we learned later that the engine blew - with one to go!
Almost simultaneously, David and McDowell made contact while running three-wide with Biffle (so much for working together...). McDowell spun. 
Ugh. Nightmare.
The white flag lap got nasty. And of course, Junior started it.
While running three-wide, he ran into the back of McMurray in Turn 2 and instigated a big crash. Several cars were involved, including David. But it wasn't too bad - he ran into the stopped car of Harvick, barely causing harm to himself. He was able to keep motoring along. Actually, David benefitted from the crash and passed a lot of cars. Still, I'm not too happy with Junior. The broadcast danced around the idea that he caused a wreck and then later on Victory Lane the replay didn't even show the cause! It's crap like this that aggravates me as a Junior fan - don't treat him different! If he screws up, say it! It embarrasses me to be lumped in with psychotic Junior fans that shriek every time someone even suggests he did something wrong and write horrible emails and say terrible things. 
Kyle Busch won - good for him! But I got to say it... I am about sick of those fans at Talladega. Not all of them. Just the morons who think it's funny to throw crap at a driver who won fair and square. Kyle is focused on something fans should be thankful of: saluting FANS! When he wins, he gets out of the car and bows to the same idiots who boo him. So I was pleased to see him do this and a freakin' asswipe threw a full bottle at him just as he stooped. It flew over his head and lodged between the deck lid and the wing. I hope that damn coward got his ass arrested - what a waste of oxygen!
For some comic relief, Michael ended up pushing his own car down pit road! I don't know where the safety trucks were, but it sure was funny to see.
Have to give it to Casey, too. He was smart all day and got a lot of points as a result.
#44 Quotes of the Race
This happened before the last restart.
Shawn: "Biffle wants to know if he pushes you through the corner, will you keep it straight?"
David: "Tell him to come on, I've got it. Beat the back bumper off this thing - let's go!"
Now that's fire!
POINT STANDINGS
1. Jeff Burton
3. Dale Jr. -79
16. Brian -353
17. Martin -398
20. Kurt -444
24. Casey -460
29. David -583 (33rd in owner points +72 from 36th)
31. Michael -639 (31st in owner points +110 from 36th)
1. Kyle Busch
5. Brian
7. Casey
10. Dale Jr.
20. David
27. Michael
37. Martin (DNF)
39. Kurt (DNF)
I must start this off by saying how much I love Ken Butler, the president of Aaron's, and his willingness to allow the fans to give the drivers their command to start engines.
It's so much more meaningful and exhilarating to hear it as a roar!As often happens at Dega, two packs formed after the green flew - the main pack (as Darrell usually puts it, the "hornet's nest") and then the single-file group that fell behind to wait out the crashes (Michael joined this one). It wasn't all too exciting in the beginning. Tony Stewart towed a line on the bottom that would hang anyone who tried to make an outside group out to dry in a hurry. After the first caution when Matt Kenseth blew a tire and hit the wall, though, the racing began. A second line developed and showed what it could do.
David made his way up through the pack, drafting a lot with Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman. Junior, of course, led plenty of laps and even Brian nabbed five bonus points. The race went green for quite some time, during which Kurt lost the draft.
That was pretty disheartening - Kurt has been having so many issues lately that team morale cannot be very good right now. Before pit stops broke out, Michael came in for a cut tire. Luckily, it wasn't long before other drivers came in for tires and fuel. Unfortunately for David, he took four while everyone else took right sides only in his group and he found himself all alone on the track. This is when he started complaining that the car wouldn't go by itself. At first I thought he was just venting and frustrated that he was out of the draft. But the power issue would plague him later.However, the caution came out when Carl Edwards blew a tire (kind of like Kenseth... camber anyone?) and bunched the field back together. Cue wildness! There were so many lead changes after the restart that it was difficult to keep track of them all. Dale Jr. was second behind Tony Stewart... when all of a sudden Stewart hit the wall. I got nervous for a moment, thinking Junior ran into the back of him, but the replays clearly showed that the #20 blew a tire.
More chaos ensued when Juan Pablo Montoya ducked under the yellow line on the trioval and wrecked Paul Menard into the grass.
Well... I did kind of feel bad for him because that was a stupid move by Montoya and in all reality he should have been black-flagged instead of getting a simple slap on the wrist by NASCAR. Then again, I saw a lot of bump-drafting in the corners that I previously thought was forbidden. Hm.Only a few laps after the next restart, the caution was out for debris. Why? Elliott Sadler peeled the back bumper off of Brian! I didn't know whether to laugh or get anxious because I feared no one would bump-draft him without a rear end. Based on his finish, though, it didn't appear to cause a problem.
But this is when David started having trouble staying with the field on restarts (he started to refer to his car as a "pig"
). On that last one, he dropped to 30th from 17th. Things looked a lot different for Michael, however! He began slicing his way through the field. When the big wreck occurred, he was ahead of it. Cars spread out on the straight and when they prepared to get into the turn, space ran out. Bobby Labonte, Stewart and Junior made contact, causing Labonte to lose control of his car and fly up into the rest of the field. Sadly, it collected both Martin and Kurt, who was just beginning to recover from his earlier problems. Junior had some fender damage, but was able to continue after some repairs. David, who was way in the back, barely made it through when Jamie McMurray shot back down the banking behind him. It reminded me of a wreck a year or two back when Scott Riggs appeared way too close to Michael's rear cam!On the following restart, a train came - Michael and Jimmie Johnson!
An interesting phenomena was noted through the duration of the race. If two cars got together, they could out-draft even a long line. I don't think I've ever screamed so hard for Johnson, but he was my hero Sunday. He pushed Michael all the way to the lead! The excitement got cut short when a debris caution came out, but Michael didn't seem to hear it. He drove out ahead of the field, obviously relishing the view. Sometimes leading the field during a restart isn't the best place to be at a plate race, and it was proven when Johnson was able to pass Michael. But that didn't last long for him either, as Kyle Busch got a nose under him and took the lead. There was a lot of whining from the fans that Kyle passed under the yellow line, but Johnson forced him down. Meanwhile, David was struggling mightly, unable to work low. He was getting some help from Greg Biffle, but when teammate Michael McDowell jumped in front of them, they pretty much went backwards. Back up front, Jimmie and Michael hooked up again and started another charge when smoke began billowing from Michael's fenders. At first, I though it was another tire, but we learned later that the engine blew - with one to go!
Almost simultaneously, David and McDowell made contact while running three-wide with Biffle (so much for working together...). McDowell spun. Ugh. Nightmare.The white flag lap got nasty. And of course, Junior started it.
While running three-wide, he ran into the back of McMurray in Turn 2 and instigated a big crash. Several cars were involved, including David. But it wasn't too bad - he ran into the stopped car of Harvick, barely causing harm to himself. He was able to keep motoring along. Actually, David benefitted from the crash and passed a lot of cars. Still, I'm not too happy with Junior. The broadcast danced around the idea that he caused a wreck and then later on Victory Lane the replay didn't even show the cause! It's crap like this that aggravates me as a Junior fan - don't treat him different! If he screws up, say it! It embarrasses me to be lumped in with psychotic Junior fans that shriek every time someone even suggests he did something wrong and write horrible emails and say terrible things. Kyle Busch won - good for him! But I got to say it... I am about sick of those fans at Talladega. Not all of them. Just the morons who think it's funny to throw crap at a driver who won fair and square. Kyle is focused on something fans should be thankful of: saluting FANS! When he wins, he gets out of the car and bows to the same idiots who boo him. So I was pleased to see him do this and a freakin' asswipe threw a full bottle at him just as he stooped. It flew over his head and lodged between the deck lid and the wing. I hope that damn coward got his ass arrested - what a waste of oxygen!
For some comic relief, Michael ended up pushing his own car down pit road! I don't know where the safety trucks were, but it sure was funny to see.
Have to give it to Casey, too. He was smart all day and got a lot of points as a result.
#44 Quotes of the Race
This happened before the last restart.
Shawn: "Biffle wants to know if he pushes you through the corner, will you keep it straight?"
David: "Tell him to come on, I've got it. Beat the back bumper off this thing - let's go!"
Now that's fire!
POINT STANDINGS
1. Jeff Burton
3. Dale Jr. -79
16. Brian -353
17. Martin -398
20. Kurt -444
24. Casey -460
29. David -583 (33rd in owner points +72 from 36th
)31. Michael -639 (31st in owner points +110 from 36th)
