Gateway Int'l Raceway - Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250
Danni
RESULTS
1. Carl Edwards
25. David (34LD)
28. Brandon (DNF - TRANSMISSION)
30. Scott (DNF - ACCIDENT)
It's so exciting to watch one of your drivers make a charge to the front, throw down the fastest laps on the track and lead the field. Race night in St. Louis was just that! David backed up what he showed off in practice and immediately the #99 team declared their place in the Nationwide series. We loved every minute of it! David led twice for a total of 33 laps, clearly the dominant car. But unfortunately, as the term, "That's racin'" implies, sometimes things just don't turn out right.
It all started during a mid-race pit stop. The rear impact wrench malfunctioned and lost David several spots in the running order, putting him back in traffic where trouble usually starts. On the restart, he ran into the back of Reed Sorenson, causing quite the jam-up behind him. Those two have a slight history in Cup, but I'm not too sure what David was thinking right there. While Scott was attempting to pass Sorenson on the bottom, rookie Landon Cassill ran into the back of the #29 Holiday Inn Chevy, turning Scott sharply up into Sorenson and hard into the wall. Mike Bliss also joined in the melee when Scott's impact sent him back down into other cars. Bliss hit so hard his wheel came off! It was pretty horrifying to watch and despite the disappointment I was just relieved to see Scott and Mike get out of their cars okay. The massive crash brought out the red flag for nearly 25 minutes, but it wasn't the end of hell breaking loose.
David continued his march forward, now with Brad Keselowski trailing him. He got up to 4th place and then reached Jamie McMurray. Cue frustration! Shy of running into the back of him, David tried everything he could to pass the part-time #17 car. McMurray acted like he wasn't even there, constantly shutting the door on him even though he must have known that the Dream Machine was much better than him! Lap after lap passed. Eventually, Keselowski got impatient and went to the outside of David. After a couple more laps it was obvious Keselowski wasn't going to go anywhere. Coming off of Turn 4, David was going to beat him down the straight when all of a sudden, he swung up into the #88 and hooked himself into the wall.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn't blame Brad. It was very clear that David turned into him. It was numbing to watch - you didn't know whether to scream or cry, so you just sat there and stared at the sparks. David limped back to the garage for repairs. It all happened live, too. That always makes things worse.
Wait. No. It got worse. Friggin' McMurray broke an oil belt a handful of laps after the next restart. He acted nonchalant, even perky, about it when he was interviewed in the garage area. I think it was that that made me want to rip his head off and throw it across the infield! He acted like he didn't even care that he broke! So why was he blocking like hell?! UGH!!
So by now I was seething and wallowing in misery. Brandon running like typical crap added to my boiling mood. But like a good race fan I stayed until the end. David got back out on track to pick up a couple more positions. It doesn't sound like much but those six points could be crucial come Homestead.
Carl Edwards won his second race of the year. I know a lot of people say, "Oh, Carl. What a 'golly-gee shucks' goody two shoes." But you know what? He's one of the only drivers that will mention a competitor in Victory Lane and that's exactly what he did Saturday night. He stood there, in what should've been his time to shine, and acknowledged that David had the best car. I really appreciated that! The #99 crew got some more attention from Keselowski, who also said that David was the fastest one out there and he was intent on following him to the front. He explained the wreck like it happened and you could tell he felt bad. Really, if Keselowski wanted to crash David he had plenty of opportunities to plow into his bumper. He didn't. Keselowski might have an arrogant streak, but he didn't mean harm on David.
As expected, David lost a lot of points. It's pretty discouraging to look at, but I know that the #99 Aaron's Dream Machine Team can overcome it!
POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
4. David -266
1. Carl Edwards
25. David (34LD)
28. Brandon (DNF - TRANSMISSION)
30. Scott (DNF - ACCIDENT)
It's so exciting to watch one of your drivers make a charge to the front, throw down the fastest laps on the track and lead the field. Race night in St. Louis was just that! David backed up what he showed off in practice and immediately the #99 team declared their place in the Nationwide series. We loved every minute of it! David led twice for a total of 33 laps, clearly the dominant car. But unfortunately, as the term, "That's racin'" implies, sometimes things just don't turn out right.
It all started during a mid-race pit stop. The rear impact wrench malfunctioned and lost David several spots in the running order, putting him back in traffic where trouble usually starts. On the restart, he ran into the back of Reed Sorenson, causing quite the jam-up behind him. Those two have a slight history in Cup, but I'm not too sure what David was thinking right there. While Scott was attempting to pass Sorenson on the bottom, rookie Landon Cassill ran into the back of the #29 Holiday Inn Chevy, turning Scott sharply up into Sorenson and hard into the wall. Mike Bliss also joined in the melee when Scott's impact sent him back down into other cars. Bliss hit so hard his wheel came off! It was pretty horrifying to watch and despite the disappointment I was just relieved to see Scott and Mike get out of their cars okay. The massive crash brought out the red flag for nearly 25 minutes, but it wasn't the end of hell breaking loose.
David continued his march forward, now with Brad Keselowski trailing him. He got up to 4th place and then reached Jamie McMurray. Cue frustration! Shy of running into the back of him, David tried everything he could to pass the part-time #17 car. McMurray acted like he wasn't even there, constantly shutting the door on him even though he must have known that the Dream Machine was much better than him! Lap after lap passed. Eventually, Keselowski got impatient and went to the outside of David. After a couple more laps it was obvious Keselowski wasn't going to go anywhere. Coming off of Turn 4, David was going to beat him down the straight when all of a sudden, he swung up into the #88 and hooked himself into the wall.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn't blame Brad. It was very clear that David turned into him. It was numbing to watch - you didn't know whether to scream or cry, so you just sat there and stared at the sparks. David limped back to the garage for repairs. It all happened live, too. That always makes things worse.
Wait. No. It got worse. Friggin' McMurray broke an oil belt a handful of laps after the next restart. He acted nonchalant, even perky, about it when he was interviewed in the garage area. I think it was that that made me want to rip his head off and throw it across the infield! He acted like he didn't even care that he broke! So why was he blocking like hell?! UGH!!
So by now I was seething and wallowing in misery. Brandon running like typical crap added to my boiling mood. But like a good race fan I stayed until the end. David got back out on track to pick up a couple more positions. It doesn't sound like much but those six points could be crucial come Homestead.
Carl Edwards won his second race of the year. I know a lot of people say, "Oh, Carl. What a 'golly-gee shucks' goody two shoes." But you know what? He's one of the only drivers that will mention a competitor in Victory Lane and that's exactly what he did Saturday night. He stood there, in what should've been his time to shine, and acknowledged that David had the best car. I really appreciated that! The #99 crew got some more attention from Keselowski, who also said that David was the fastest one out there and he was intent on following him to the front. He explained the wreck like it happened and you could tell he felt bad. Really, if Keselowski wanted to crash David he had plenty of opportunities to plow into his bumper. He didn't. Keselowski might have an arrogant streak, but he didn't mean harm on David.
As expected, David lost a lot of points. It's pretty discouraging to look at, but I know that the #99 Aaron's Dream Machine Team can overcome it!
POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
4. David -266
