CUP: Homestead-Miami Speedway

Jess

RESULTS
Winner: Carl Edwards
20. David (-1 lap)
38. Michael (-3 laps)
41. Dale Jr. (OUT - Wheel bearing)

Wow, kind of a disappointing end to the season for our heroes. David led the first lap after starting on the pole (and fought Matt Kenseth - who I knew was going to be tough - tooth and nail for that honor! ) and although he faded back a tad he was still competitively inside the top 5 for much of the race. He even had to overcome not just the pressure of running so close to the front, but a spring on the throttle falling off! That must have been such a distraction, but David is so adaptable and he made do with what he had. Being in the top 10 just about the entire event impressed me twofold since he was dealing with this problem. However, crappy luck struck once more as the final laps turned into another fuel mileage race and David had to pit, relegating him back to 20th.

Dale Jr. ran pretty well after a rather depressing start where he struggled to crack the top-25. Tony Jr. must have made a great adjustment, for he was soon charging to the front! He quietly remained there for the remainder of the race until he began to realize something was going wrong with a handful of laps to go. He pitted and then came back in quickly after. It turned out that the wheel bearing had broken and the #88 went to the garage. During his interview, I found it curious he made a bit of a speech thanking everyone at Hendrick until I realized that his DNF meant he would finish last in the Chase, therefore keeping him from the stage in New York.

But at least David and Dale didn't have a day like Michael. Apparently Michael chose to use David's setup and the whole thing blew up in his face (as it has before - I don't quite understand why Michael thinks just because David runs well with a certain setup, he will too). He was horrible from start to finish. Not a good way to end the season but hopefully Bootie will bring in some fresh air to that team. To top it off, Marcos Ambrose made a mistake and crashed, dropping him out of the top 35. It may not make a difference if teams inside the top 35 shut down and Marcos is bumped up, but it was still disappointing.

While I'm at it, I'll mentioned a few other things about my other favorites:

- Man am I glad that Kurt Busch's year is over. I don't think I've ever seen him more miserable! It seemed like whatever could go wrong did go wrong. Kurt is a champion and one of the best drivers out there - I hope next season Penske can get back to winning form, or I doubt Kurt will return.

- With DEI and Ganassi recently merging, it will be interesting to see what happens with Martin Truex Jr. and his guys. Juan Pablo Montoya is a strong personality so I'm anxious to find how he and Martin will get along.

- Brian Vickers didn't have a very good finish, maybe because he wasn't even with his team, since he switched with Scott Speed. I can't say the whole car swap made me feel very good; although Brian publicly appeared to want to help, it bothers me that Speed has taken such a priority with Red Bull all of a sudden (funny that TRB wasn't so quick to help AJ Allmendinger ). At first I loved the way TRB did things but now I'm not so sure.

- Casey Mears' last ride with HMS ended well and I'm looking forward to next season with Richard Childress!

Congratulations Jimmie Johnson on his third Cup Championship!!

FINAL POINT STANDINGS
Champion: Jimmie Johnson (congrats!)
12. Dale Jr.
22. David
29. Michael

Homestead Qualifying

Jess

CUP LINEUP
Pole: David Reutimann!!!!!
22. Dale Jr.
42. Michael

Holy crap!!! Congratulations David, Ryan, the #44 team and MWR! This is David's first Cup pole and he did it in grand fashion - what a lap! I'm so proud of him and how far he and MWR have come in their second year.

(Hey UPS, are you having some doubts leaving him? You should be!)

Junior didn't qualify all that great, but I was really unhappy with how the rest of the MWR cars did. Michael said his car felt good, but unfortunately he got a little high and hit a bump, which send the NAPA Camry pancaking into the wall. There wasn't a whole lot of damage, thankfully. Marcos Ambrose also had a dismal lap and I'm so relieved he was locked into this race or he would have gone home. In fact, both Michael and Marcos would have gone home if qualifying was based on speed alone (which is one reason I'm glad there is a top 35 rule).

NATIONWIDE LINEUP
Pole: Joey Logano
7. Dale Jr.
27. Scott
33. David

David said the Dream Machine wasn't very good and despite some wholesale changes made by Jerry Baxter, the #99 still isn't a happy car. Hopefully they'll be able to work on it during the race today.

It's cool to see Dale Jr. back in the Nationwide Series - maybe he can pull off a win in his own car! I'm quite annoyed Scott is in the #21 instead of the #29...I still think it's a huge mistake for RCR to let him go. There hasn't been much news on where Scott will end up next year - I hope it's somewhere where he'll finally be appreciated.

Also nice that Josh Wise made the race, though his car doesn't seem very good, either.

NATIONWIDE: Phoenix Int'l Raceway -Thoughts on the Hefty Odor Block 200

Jess

RESULTS
Winner: Carl Edwards
20. Scott (-1 lap)
31. David (-4 laps)

Despite a starting spot near the back of the field, it certainly didn't take long for David to make a charge to the front! He was just beginning to peek into the top 10 when disaster struck in the form of a hit to the wall. The only replay ESPN felt was necessary to show was one where you couldn't actually see what happened, and they only chose to show it once (how helpful). It looked as if David was on the outside of Brad Keselowski coming off a turn but it's unclear if there was any sort of contact between the two. Whatever happened, David's pretty Best Western Camry was hurt and NASCAR waited until the tire shot off the rim and came to a stop before throwing the yellow, even though he couldn't get down into the pits and there was other debris on the track. Unfortunately, while the #99 boys worked hard repairing the car, David was never in contention again. I truly believe David is the best driver with the worst luck...and he doesn't deserve an ounce of bad luck.

To make my mood better, Josh Wise - in a second MWR car - was the next to go, taken out in an accordion-effect wreck during a restart. He'd been running very well all day so it was really disappointing to see his race ruined by something not of his doing.

Finally, Scott Wimmer blew a tire after being a top-5 car literally the entire race.

Did I do something bad to put a cloud over my drivers or something??

POINT STANDINGS
Leader: Clint Bowyer
7. David -713

CUP: Texas Motor Speedway -Thoughts on the Dickies 500

Jess

RESULTS
Winner: Carl Edwards
10. David
20. Dale Jr. (-2 laps)
27. Michael (-3 laps)

Although David and the #44 UPS team ran inside the top 10 nearly the entire race, it was not an easy event for them. At the beginning of the afternoon David was flying and man was it breathtaking to see him grab the lead away from Clint Bowyer! However, the car's handling was never where David wanted it to be and after restarts it took a while to come in, which made it difficult because he'd be passed and then have to re-pass while also battling lap traffic. Green-flag pit stops made it a challenge to make a charge after the leader even if he was running the fastest laps of the field for the majority of the race, but the pit crew was excellent every single stop and definitely made up some ground for him a few times! David was very frustrated with 10th, which at first sounds strange for a team that last season was missing races, but in fact it's very telling of how far they've come. They are a Chase-caliber team - they want top 5s and wins!

Dale Jr. had an up-and-down adventure that unfortunately ended with him coasting to pit lane after running out of fuel with a handful of laps to go. He was running very well to start but then the crew left a wheel loose during green pit stops. Luckily a caution came out soon after and he was able to pit again to get that potentially dire problem resolved. From then on it was a struggle to stay on the lead lap and the #88 team's chances of getting a good finish was low, even after receiving the free pass. As the laps drew to a close they decided to gamble on fuel, which bit them when they ran out while in 2nd place. Honestly these guys don't have much to lose, but it sure would be nice if Dale Jr. could be on stage for the awards ceremony...

My hopes for a great race for Michael after last weekend didn't come to fruition. He seemed to struggle from the drop of the green to the waving of the checkers. I guess it could have been worse but it was still a bummer. Thankfully Marcos Ambrose did a wonderful job, finishing 21st in only his second start with MWR! This was even after getting caught up in an accident! I feel some Frank Kerr magic going on with this team!!

Other than fretting about the #44, I didn't find this race all that exciting, but neither was the Nationwide race. I'm not all that crazy about races that end based on fuel mileage, either - especially ones like this where the leader is going so slow it's laughable - but you take 'em how you can get 'em, I guess!

One rather shocking moment occurred when David Gilliland and Juan Pablo Montoya got into it on Lap 263. From the replays, it looked like Gilliland (a lapped car) slid up into Montoya (on the lead lap), which can make anyone a little angry. Montoya gave him a bump to show his displeasure, which is fine, no one got hurt. Well, on the backstretch, Gilliland all of a sudden made a dead turn left and hooked the #42 straight into the wall! What was he thinking?! That was so dangerous it's not funny in the least - it's one thing to retaliate under caution, but during a green run? NASCAR initially held the #38 for five laps but then decided to park him for the rest of the race (good call) and call him to the hauler for a chat. The oddest part of this deal was his interview with ESPN, where he said it was simply a misjudgment and not revenge. Um...yeah, right. At the very least Gilliland should be docked a significant number of points and I would seriously consider a suspension, but it turns out NASCAR believed Gilliland's story since they're leaving it as is. I don't think I've ever been more shocked by a retaliation during my time watching NASCAR and it's ridiculous there was little consequence for such a violent act!

#44 Quotes of the Race

(Right before pit stops, Ryan tends to his driver)

Ryan: "You want an ice bag or a drink or anything?"

David: "Nah, I'm good."

Ryan: "Yeah, 10-4! You're great, you're great!"

Ryan always loves to encourage.

POINT STANDINGS
Leader: Jimmie Johnson
11. Dale Jr. -429
---
23. David (-129 from 20th)
29. Michael

Texas Qualifying

Jess

CUP RESULTS
1. Jeff Gordon
5. Dale Jr.
12. David
15. Michael

Hell yes! I knew David would have better starting spots if he could just qualify (wow, it's nice that it wasn't raining for once!), but I was shocked that Michael did so well! Way to go MWR! Better yet, Marcos Ambrose did a wonderful job making the show in his #47 and it was all the more impressive because he spanked a couple of "big boys" in big equipment: Brad Keselowki and Joey Logano. Both drivers just barely squeaked into the race. I felt a little for Logano - he looked just about sick. I guess there's nothing like having to be a star car to get you off your high horse. I'm willing to bet Logano is twice as thankful now he's going to have owner points next year!

Unfortunately Max Papis - in an MWR-supported car - didn't qualify and wasn't even close. I like Max a lot but I'm not quite sure what he and Germain Racing are thinking with this Cup ride. Sadly I don't think they'll be making many races next season unless the fields shrink significantly...it's hard enough for veteran drivers to qualify, much less a driver with little NASCAR experience.

NATIONWIDE RESULTS
1. Carl Edwards
10. Brian
15. Scott
19. David

Pretty decent for our guys. Josh Wise also made the race in the #00 NAPA Camry and I'm looking forward to watching him!

NNS Memphis Motorsports Park - Kroger On Track For The Cure 250

Jess

RESULTS
1. Carl Edwards
2. David
22. Scott (4 LD)
28. Brandon (5 LD)

I'm so proud to be a David Reutimann fan.

He didn't win, but he was just about as close as you can get, and worked about as hard as anyone could to get there. Because Josh Wise qualified the Dream Machine, David had to start in the back - but in less than twenty laps (including some caution laps) he was in the top 10 and causing Marty Reid, Rusty Wallace and Randy Lajoie to squeak like little girls in the booth! It was clear that this car, which happened to be the car David won with at Memphis last year, was the class of the field.

There was a small setback when some cars behind David pitted and with fresher tires they were able to get by. This was fine, since the #99 was still well inside the top 10, but when the caution never came out many cars were forced to pit under green. Poor Scott Wimmer had all kinds of bad luck during his green flag pit stop when he was penalized for speeding...and then caught again when he served his penalty. At a smaller track like Memphis this will wreck your day in a hurry and Scott would hang on but never fully recover.

As long as pit stops cycled completely it would have been okay, but a caution did fly and now David - in 7th - was two laps down! He made Carl Edwards look absolutely silly during the restart when he blew by him like he was sitting still and pulled out to an impressive lead to manually get one of his laps back. The caution came out again and now he only needed another to get back on the lead lap. This also eventually happened, but then he was at the tail-end of the longest line, which in a field were most of the cars are laps down is a long way from the front. It was an agonizingly long wait, but finally there was a wreck and David would restart on the high line, only a short distance from Edwards. He pitted for fresh tires to ready the pretty Aaron's/St. Jude's Camry for a driver ready to get it all he had.

In no time he was chasing down 2nd-place Joey Logano! The lapped cars gave him some trouble but you can't hold a good man down and he was breathing down Logano's neck right before another yellow waved. And then all of a sudden he was 2nd! Logano had pitted, hoping new tires would give him an advantage. David was now in the perfect place and it must have been a disheartening feeling for Edwards when he looked in his rearview mirror.

The green flew with less than ten laps to go and I sat squeezing a pillow to death, praying. Edwards restarted like he had a fire lit under his butt and David couldn't quite get to him - and then there was a wreck. Green, white, checkers.

Green: David stayed right with Edwards. All over him.

White: David was still all over him.

Checkers: Edwards crossed first. David never hit him. And he could have.

David looked unhappy during his interview, as any good racer with the best car on the track will look when he finishes 2nd. He said maybe he should have hit Edwards and Edwards would have probably hit him. But the big difference is David doesn't race like that. He's a hard racer, but he's a clean racer. Judging by Edwards's interview on the frontstretch, that can still be intimidating. He was thankful that David didn't knock him out of the way and he was likely very aware that with most other drivers he wouldn't have been so lucky. But David isn't just another driver.

David may have been honored by driving a car that was the class of the field, but every NASCAR fan watching this race was honored by watching a driver that is also the class of the field, and any field he enters. Congratulations, David. As a fan, I couldn't be more proud.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
6. David -615

Martinsville - TUMS QuikPak 500

Jess

RESULTS
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Dale Jr.
18. Michael (1 LD)
24. David (3 LD)

I just wrote this whole thing and it erased on me...I honestly don't feel like writing it all again (I mean, it's like the most frustrating thing ever when you write something out and then it's all gone) so I'm just going to summarize.

Dale Jr. had a great day, recovering from a speeding penalty on pit road during the first caution to be a contender for the win at the end! Michael had a good solid day and David was going to have a great day when he brushed the wall and then cut a tire after contact with Aric Almirola.

#44 Quotes of the Race

(Ryan praises the crew for their hard work even though the finish wasn't what they wanted...this is why Ryan is such a great crew chief!)

Ryan: "All right, nice job guys, nice job David. Good day for this weekend, that's Martinsville at its finest right there so, nice job guys."

David: "That one's on me, I apologize for that, guys."

Ryan: "It's okay man! We're doing all right! Running well, running... twelfth, you know what I mean, late in the race. It's okay! We'll just polish it up a little bit and we'll have some good finishes."

POINT STANDINGS
1. Jimmie Johnson
9. Dale Jr. -379
---
13. David Ragan
24. David -819 (-164 from 20th)
29. Michael -1187

Martinsville Qualifying

Jess

RESULTS
1. Jimmie Johnson
10. Dale Jr.
26. David
31. Michael

Rained out, again, for a record nine times this year. What. Fun. I would have liked for David and Michael to have gotten a chance, since track position is so important here.

Chalotte Motor Speedway - Bank of America 500

Danni

RESULTS
1. Jeff Burton
24. Michael (2LD)
32. David (13LD)
36. Dale Jr. (45LD)

From the results, it's obvious Saturday night did not shine too brightly upon our three heroes. At one point during the race, it appeared to hold much for the future, but problems forced themselves on all three drivers that were beyond their control.

Dale Jr. was having a fine night with his special orange AMP paint scheme glowing like fire under the lights. He ran easily in the top-10 until just after Lap 100, when all of a sudden a right front tire exploded and he hit the wall in Turn 3. Man! I don't know what the deal is with the blown tires on the #88, but it's getting to the point where I just wait for it to happen. The crew did a good job fixing the damage and Dale Jr. was able to at least finish the race. Unfortunately, I think this is the end of the championship hopes.

At the start of the race, David was awful. Just horrible. His stress over the radio was apparent and when the first caution came out he heaved a "Thank God!" By the time Ryan Pemberton worked out big adjustments on the #44, the car absolutely came alive. David had the fastest car on the track and drove from beyond 30th place into the top-10. It looked like another repeat of the spring race at Charlotte, where David scored is first top-10 finish. However, he radioed to the crew that he was having brake issues, but they decided the brakes were just cold. Sadly, it turned out to be the demise of his night. While green flag pit stops were occurring, David was far enough up in the field that he was able to stay out and lead a lap. When he dove onto pit lane, his brake pedal went to the floor and locked up, causing him to spin. He did an excellent job of not hitting anything, but after refiring the car it was clear the brake problem had to be amended before returning to the race. In the garage, the brakes suddenly came back and David was sent out again, where he continued to whip the field with fast times. It was immensely disappointing for everyone on the team - they could have won that race blindfolded! Still, they are proving themselves worthy of running (and passing) the big dogs if they would only get some luck!

The night for Michael began good. He drove through the field, but after the first pit stop the team chased the handling of the car for the remainder of the night. He had his own share of excitement when he went through the grass on the trioval while running three-wide with Ken Schrader and Mike Skinner (the latter two would wreck). Later in the race, several car drove over some oil exiting Turn 4. A big wreck ensued, involving Mikey. He made contact with other cars and afterward, it was simply conservation mode. With all the troubles, his finish turned out to be decent so it's just another block to add to the #55 team's foundation.

It was definitely a surprise to see Jeff Burton win by passing Jimmie Johnson, since Johnson seems to own the track! Burton is a silent threat and anyone who does not consider him as a potential winner is a fool.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Jimmie Johnson
10. Dale Jr. -354
---
13. David Ragan
24. David -786 (-203 from 20th)
29. Michael -1172

Charlotte Motor Speedway - Dollar General 300

Jess

RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
3. Brian
21. Brandon (3LD)
24. David (6LD)

The start of the race had both David and Brian moving forward, for Brian was in a backup car when he took the green for the race and David was fighting to enter the top 10. While Brian had a wonderful night, leading laps and finishing well into the top 5, David would be faced with trouble not of his own doing.

On a restart, Kyle Busch led the field off slowly, which usually bunches things up farther down in the pack. An accordion effect commenced when Busch took off and cars began to run into each other and eventually some wrecked. David was lucky enough to keep the Dream Machine going straight, but it sustained damage on its nose that the #99 crew had to repair.

Sometimes getting into a tangle strangle enough causes your car to run better and it certainly seemed to do that for David. He set to picking through his competitors and then settled into 11th behind Steve Wallace, David Ragan and Jeff Green. Wallace was attempting to get by Green (who was laps down, very slow and had already gotten run over once that night), while Ragan was on Green's right, trying to complete the pass. Watching David following Wallace, I said, "Wrong line!" and then all hell broke loose. Green wiggled and just about stopped in front of Wallace, who hit him (what else could he do?). This resulted in a rather frightening crash involving Justin Allgaier - who thankfully was okay - and David got a piece of it that would end his chances of finishing where he deserved. Seriously, can he just get some luck?

Of course Green blamed everything on Wallace. Give me a break and watch the replay - that was not Steve's fault.

Brandon hung on for a pretty decent finish - I'm happy to see that the team is improving enough to where it can finish races and finish them well. However, I often think about the future of the #61...they don't have sponsorship and a while ago the owner was being sued by Kevin Lepage. So...Brandon's future is still up in the air as far as I know. His website, as beautiful as it is, hasn't been updated since it launched...

Great job Brian!! He runs so well in the #32 when nothing silly happens and I would love to see him in victory lane sometime! I just hope Kyle Busch doesn't race so much next year - I understand that he just loves to race, but it gets frustrating seeing the same guys finish second or third every week because no one can catch the #18.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
7. David -670