NASCAR Notebook: Martinsville
Barry F. Hess
March 31, 2006
Take Two
For the second week in a row drivers of the Nextel Cup will visit a short track when they race in Martinsville this Sunday.
After just three drivers escaped Bristol last week without getting involved in a crash of some sort expect cooler heads and cautious driving this week, at least in the beginning.
After yet another top 10 finish last week look for two-time Martinsville winner Mark Martin to make a strong run at his first checkered flag of 2006.
Martin won both the 1992 and 2000 races in Martinsville and has been one of the most consistent drivers in all of NASCAR during that time.
Currently fourth in points Martin has finished inside the top 12 of every race this year and is putting together the type of season necessary in year three of the Race for the Chase.
After a less than stellar reunification between Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus the No. 48 Lowes team will look to get back on track after their first hiccup this season.
A blown tire on lap one last week at Bristol all but took Johnson out of the running for a good finish, despite managing to battle his way back to a 30th place finish, and for the first time all year he will not head into a Sunday race with the points lead.
Johnson has run well at Martinsville in the past and while he may not have a car capable of taking the checkered flag look for a solid top 10 finish.
After dominating the short track scene early in his career Tony Stewart has hit a streak of bad luck and misfortune when it comes to short tracks as of late.
Despite a solid run for most of the day last week Stewart, who sat on the pole and led 245 laps, fell back in line late in the race and managed to finish 12th.
Stewart has four top five finishes at Martinsville, seven top tens and last won here in 2000.
The No. 20 team is notorious for starting the season slow before making a run on the back stretch but with the competition more competitive than ever this season Stewart knows another slow start might just be enough to have him on the outside of the Chase looking in, and when the pressure is high Stewart usually performs at his best.
Prediction: If one driver was ever synonymous with Martinsville and winning it has to be Jeff Gordon. In 26 races Gordon has 20 top ten finishes and a remarkable seven wins. After what appeared to be a top five finish last week Gordon was bumped by Matt Kenseth on the last lap and dropped all the way back to 21st.
After running solid for much of the season look for Gordon, who won this race last season, to drive into victory lane for the first time in 2006. He?s told everyone he?s back from last year?s disappointing season and on Sunday he will make it official.
Busch Bashing
Kurt Busch has done everything right this season.
He?s stayed out of trouble on and off the track, he?s said all the right things at all the right times and he?s built a solid foundation with his new team after leaving Roush Racing to join Penske and the No. 2 Dodge team.
After finally finishing a race as well as his car was capable of finishing last week in Bristol Busch knew the routine like the back of his hand.
After all it was the fifth time he?d won in Bristol so he knew what to expect from the fans and they didn?t disappoint.
The boo birds were out in full force as Busch celebrated in victory lane and that is fine.
It?s easy to understand why NASCAR fans don?t warm up to the Las Vegas native.
He doesn?t fit the mold of a typical fan favorite and in the past he?s been known to speak his mind, no matter what anyone else thought.
But what is difficult to understand is why so many drivers, mainly underachievers like Kevin Harvick, continue to bash Busch in the media.
After getting together with Busch on a restart in Atlanta two weeks ago Harvick has decided to make it his life?s mission to trash Busch to who ever is listening.
After mocking Busch the entire week leading up to Bristol Harvick, who finished second, was worried more about Busch in victory lane than his best finish in almost a year.
I?m just disappointed to see [Kurt] Busch win,? said Harvick in a post race interview in pit road.
This after his comments during Friday practice when he was asked if he had any regrets in his career thus far.
I think I would have whooped Kurt Busch before now,? Harvick said. ?Obviously he forgot about getting punched in his nose last time from Jimmy Spencer.?
Busch responded Sunday in the best way possible, he drove past Harvick and took the checkered flag.
Afterwards he responded to both Harvick?s and Matt Kenseth?s, who felt he was unjustly pushed out of the way by Busch late in the race, comments.
There's no way either one of those drivers is going to take away the fact that I won today,? Busch said. ?If somebody catches you, maybe it's because you're slower and it's not going to be your day to win.?
In the end this situation can be easily put to rest.
Kurt Busch, while he may not be the most popular driver today, is one of the best.
He has already won a Nextel Cup title and has 15 wins in five years compared to Harvick?s five wins and failure to even come close at a Cup title.
Harvick has underachieved virtually his entire career and by spouting off about Busch he has managed to divert some of the media attention he?s received because of the fact he hasn?t won a race in over a year and he may possibly be leaving Richard Childress Racing sooner rather than later.
Nice try Kevin but just as you?ve done on the race track as of late?you failed miserably.
Harvick dished out some good advice last week and maybe if he just shut up and listened to his own advice he too could be in victory lane as often as Busch.
Until that point in time expect Busch to go home with the better finishes and Harvick to, well?.just go home.
No Respect
The King was right.
Last year in an interview seven-time Nextel Cup Champion Richard Petty expressed his concerns about the current state of rookie drivers in the Nextel Cup.
They have no respect for the sport or the veteran drivers around them,? Petty said in the candid interview.
Until last Sunday Petty?s comments could be perceived by some, including this writer, as just an older guy spouting off about the ever growing youth movement in the sport he dominated.
But that all changed, at least for me, last week in Bristol.
After rookie Martin Truex Jr. slid up the race track in front of Jeff Gordon midway through last week?s race he received the brunt end of what amounted to a rookie mistake.
You can?t just move up in front of someone at Bristol and not expect that type of thing to happen,? Gordon said after the race.
And he was right.
Truex didn?t agree.
After getting back on the track Truex made a B-line toward Gordon to extract revenge but the only thing he managed to do was spin himself out of control and crash into the pit road wall.
You really showed him Martin!
Not only did he make a fool of himself but he single-handedly took his race car out of the race for no reason.
This brings up the question whether or not drivers like Truex, two-time Busch Series Champion, come up to the next level without all the necessary skills and with all the unnecessary attitude.
Of course for every Truex there is a Denny Hamlin but sadly the rookies as of late have proven to be overly aggressive and underly talented.
So how does NASCAR fix this problem?
Unfortunately that is not an easy question with an easy solution.
Until drivers like Truex realize they aren?t the top dog beating up on the rest of the Busch Series anymore they will continue to get themselves into trouble and they will continue to make more enemies than friends.
At this point in his career Truex should more be concerned with learning all the ropes rather than getting into it with established drivers like Gordon and by doing so they are only hurting both themselves and the sport.
For the second week in a row drivers of the Nextel Cup will visit a short track when they race in Martinsville this Sunday.
After just three drivers escaped Bristol last week without getting involved in a crash of some sort expect cooler heads and cautious driving this week, at least in the beginning.
After yet another top 10 finish last week look for two-time Martinsville winner Mark Martin to make a strong run at his first checkered flag of 2006.
Martin won both the 1992 and 2000 races in Martinsville and has been one of the most consistent drivers in all of NASCAR during that time.
Currently fourth in points Martin has finished inside the top 12 of every race this year and is putting together the type of season necessary in year three of the Race for the Chase.
After a less than stellar reunification between Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus the No. 48 Lowes team will look to get back on track after their first hiccup this season.
A blown tire on lap one last week at Bristol all but took Johnson out of the running for a good finish, despite managing to battle his way back to a 30th place finish, and for the first time all year he will not head into a Sunday race with the points lead.
Johnson has run well at Martinsville in the past and while he may not have a car capable of taking the checkered flag look for a solid top 10 finish.
After dominating the short track scene early in his career Tony Stewart has hit a streak of bad luck and misfortune when it comes to short tracks as of late.
Despite a solid run for most of the day last week Stewart, who sat on the pole and led 245 laps, fell back in line late in the race and managed to finish 12th.
Stewart has four top five finishes at Martinsville, seven top tens and last won here in 2000.
The No. 20 team is notorious for starting the season slow before making a run on the back stretch but with the competition more competitive than ever this season Stewart knows another slow start might just be enough to have him on the outside of the Chase looking in, and when the pressure is high Stewart usually performs at his best.
Prediction: If one driver was ever synonymous with Martinsville and winning it has to be Jeff Gordon. In 26 races Gordon has 20 top ten finishes and a remarkable seven wins. After what appeared to be a top five finish last week Gordon was bumped by Matt Kenseth on the last lap and dropped all the way back to 21st.
After running solid for much of the season look for Gordon, who won this race last season, to drive into victory lane for the first time in 2006. He?s told everyone he?s back from last year?s disappointing season and on Sunday he will make it official.
Busch Bashing
Kurt Busch has done everything right this season.
He?s stayed out of trouble on and off the track, he?s said all the right things at all the right times and he?s built a solid foundation with his new team after leaving Roush Racing to join Penske and the No. 2 Dodge team.
After finally finishing a race as well as his car was capable of finishing last week in Bristol Busch knew the routine like the back of his hand.
After all it was the fifth time he?d won in Bristol so he knew what to expect from the fans and they didn?t disappoint.
The boo birds were out in full force as Busch celebrated in victory lane and that is fine.
It?s easy to understand why NASCAR fans don?t warm up to the Las Vegas native.
He doesn?t fit the mold of a typical fan favorite and in the past he?s been known to speak his mind, no matter what anyone else thought.
But what is difficult to understand is why so many drivers, mainly underachievers like Kevin Harvick, continue to bash Busch in the media.
After getting together with Busch on a restart in Atlanta two weeks ago Harvick has decided to make it his life?s mission to trash Busch to who ever is listening.
After mocking Busch the entire week leading up to Bristol Harvick, who finished second, was worried more about Busch in victory lane than his best finish in almost a year.
I?m just disappointed to see [Kurt] Busch win,? said Harvick in a post race interview in pit road.
This after his comments during Friday practice when he was asked if he had any regrets in his career thus far.
I think I would have whooped Kurt Busch before now,? Harvick said. ?Obviously he forgot about getting punched in his nose last time from Jimmy Spencer.?
Busch responded Sunday in the best way possible, he drove past Harvick and took the checkered flag.
Afterwards he responded to both Harvick?s and Matt Kenseth?s, who felt he was unjustly pushed out of the way by Busch late in the race, comments.
There's no way either one of those drivers is going to take away the fact that I won today,? Busch said. ?If somebody catches you, maybe it's because you're slower and it's not going to be your day to win.?
In the end this situation can be easily put to rest.
Kurt Busch, while he may not be the most popular driver today, is one of the best.
He has already won a Nextel Cup title and has 15 wins in five years compared to Harvick?s five wins and failure to even come close at a Cup title.
Harvick has underachieved virtually his entire career and by spouting off about Busch he has managed to divert some of the media attention he?s received because of the fact he hasn?t won a race in over a year and he may possibly be leaving Richard Childress Racing sooner rather than later.
Nice try Kevin but just as you?ve done on the race track as of late?you failed miserably.
Harvick dished out some good advice last week and maybe if he just shut up and listened to his own advice he too could be in victory lane as often as Busch.
Until that point in time expect Busch to go home with the better finishes and Harvick to, well?.just go home.
No Respect
The King was right.
Last year in an interview seven-time Nextel Cup Champion Richard Petty expressed his concerns about the current state of rookie drivers in the Nextel Cup.
They have no respect for the sport or the veteran drivers around them,? Petty said in the candid interview.
Until last Sunday Petty?s comments could be perceived by some, including this writer, as just an older guy spouting off about the ever growing youth movement in the sport he dominated.
But that all changed, at least for me, last week in Bristol.
After rookie Martin Truex Jr. slid up the race track in front of Jeff Gordon midway through last week?s race he received the brunt end of what amounted to a rookie mistake.
You can?t just move up in front of someone at Bristol and not expect that type of thing to happen,? Gordon said after the race.
And he was right.
Truex didn?t agree.
After getting back on the track Truex made a B-line toward Gordon to extract revenge but the only thing he managed to do was spin himself out of control and crash into the pit road wall.
You really showed him Martin!
Not only did he make a fool of himself but he single-handedly took his race car out of the race for no reason.
This brings up the question whether or not drivers like Truex, two-time Busch Series Champion, come up to the next level without all the necessary skills and with all the unnecessary attitude.
Of course for every Truex there is a Denny Hamlin but sadly the rookies as of late have proven to be overly aggressive and underly talented.
So how does NASCAR fix this problem?
Unfortunately that is not an easy question with an easy solution.
Until drivers like Truex realize they aren?t the top dog beating up on the rest of the Busch Series anymore they will continue to get themselves into trouble and they will continue to make more enemies than friends.
At this point in his career Truex should more be concerned with learning all the ropes rather than getting into it with established drivers like Gordon and by doing so they are only hurting both themselves and the sport.
Print
Email
