Newman Wins, Hendrick Team Has Disappointing Day

Ryan Newman Wins the Goody's Fast Relief 500
Photo via Nascar.com 

All of the puzzle pieces were intact for a spectacular historic 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports in Sunday's Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The team won its very first race in 1984 here and were looking to capitalize on this beautiful sunny day in Virginia. Mr. Hendrick was all smiles watching his stable of drivers have a great run. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon already have 13 Martinsville victories between them.  The duo was a force to be reckoned with again today leading 440 of the scheduled 500 laps.

Then the proverbial bottom fell out.

The beginning of the end for this race for the Hendrick
Team
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

A late race caution came just as Gordon had taken over the lead from Johnson. On the green-white-checkered restart, Johnson was on the outside and Gordon on the inside with Clint Bowyer behind who got shoved by Ryan Newman. Bowyer made the “wtf” move of the race deciding to go three-wide under Gordon in Turn 1. Johnson inevitably squished into Gordon, who in turn got into Bowyer. Goodbye victory lane for all three of them as they could not recover from the resulting wreck. Ryan Newman, in the Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet came out of virtually nowhere and held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and AJ Allmendinger on the next and final restart. Gordon, who had led 328 laps, finished the race 14th, two positions behind Johnson, who led 112 laps. Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamelin, Matt Kenseth, Eric Almirola, Newman’s team mate/owner Tony Stewart rounded out the top ten.

Although Jr. had a fantastic showing once again, karma does not seem to be on Kasey Kahne’s side! Kahne, who had been racing in the top five, drove into the garage during the caution and later parked his car with engine failure, continuing what has been a gut wrenching season for the Hendrick driver.

Needless to say as a Team Hendrick fan this was not a good race. Martinsville has always been a sentimental place as this was the track that Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky, along with his brother John and his twin daughters along with 6 others died in a plane crash enroute to the track. The team always tries to pull together a win here in honour of all those lost. Today was not the day.

While many were angry with Bowyer’s bonehead move, many more were angry with the #10 driver David Reutimann. Following several laps of him hobbling around at ridiculously low speeds, he inexplicably drove past pit road and stalled on the front stretch. It was this move that caused the chain reaction mentioned early that took out the race leaders - all in the name of points.

Reutimann himself was genuinely unimpressed with his actions stating, “I don't even know how the race ended up finishing, but I just hate that I was involved in anything that changed the complexion of the race so I got to apologize to the guys that it affected.” He should have gotten out of the way and pitted. If nothing else, safety of all things comes to mind!

All that aside, congratulations to Ryan Newman on his 16th victory in 374 career race starts. The last time Ryan won was in New Hampshire July 2011. Tony Stewart probably has a smile a mile wide tonight and rightfully so!! 

Greg Biffle is still sitting on top of the leader board with, *GASP* Dale Earnhardt Jr. in SECOND place! I cannot believe my eyes! It’s about time we see him start to shine again!

Next week is an off week so that the teams may celebrate Easter with their families, then its on to the land of ten gallon hands and lots of bull (well riding anyway)...TEXAS!!! 

Ryan Newman does a victory burnout in the
#39 Outback Steakhouse Chevy
Photo via Nascar.com

Ryan Newman winner of the
Goody's Fast Relief 500
Photo via Nascar.com

By Sherri Breaton

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Smoke Rains on Kyle Busch's Parade....

Tony Stewart, winner of the Auto Club 400 by default due to rain.
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Well sort of... it was more like Mother Nature who did it but nonetheless Tony Stewart was deemed the victor in the rain shortened Auto Club 400 from Fontana, California. Stewart was in the lead when cars were parked due to the rain. Since showers were forecasted for the rest of the day and the halfway mark had come and gone, the defending Sprint Cup Champion earned the victory with only 129 of 200 laps run. Although Kyle Busch, led the most laps at the California track, he failed to become the first driver for Joe Gibbs Racing to win here.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had another impressive finish coming in third followed by Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards,  Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman (Tony’s team mate), Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top ten respectively.  

I was quite happy to hear that NASCAR has reduced the sentence to car/team owner Rick Hendrick for the “incident” at this year’s Daytona 500 involving the car not passing inspection and violating some body frame rules. Crew chief, Chad Knaus and car chief, Ron Malec, were both released of their suspensions and allowed to resume command on the pit box (although nothing every truly changed as they were allowed to remain there during the appeal process). The 25 driver points that were previously deducted were reinstated, however, the $100,000 fine remained intact.

As it stands this week in the overall points, fellow dog lover Greg Biffle is sitting in first place followed by expectant father Kevin Harvick (do you think this new baby will make him smile more? LOL), then Dale Earnhardt Jr. (can you believe I am saying this??), then Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth round out the top five.

Dale...the elves in the trees are waiting to make cookies... PLEASE SHAVE!
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

I kid about Dale Jr., but I really do root for this guy to have a good season. Years past rumours swelled that his lack of finishing in victory lane were directly attributed to his discord with his step-monster Teresa Earnhardt. Everyone expected great things from Jr., once he started driving for Hendrick’s in 2008.  While “great things” clearly have not happened, I do feel in my heart that they will. Dale is a talented driver, with the brains, experience and funds backing him from Hendrick’s that should enable this. I think he is still somewhat “gun shy” since his second degree burns in 2004. That was a pretty serious accident and I am sure beyond painful and I wonder how much this plays with his mind when driving still.  He just hasn’t seemed the same ever since. I think this might just be the year that Jr. finally shines through. I just really wish he would find a razor. Didn't he used to be one of Gillette's Young Guns?? UGHHHH it just does nothing for him...he looks like a cross between the Lucky Charms Leprechaun and a Keebler cookie elf. Come on Dale...I realize you can look like Sasquatch and the fans will still vote you number one favourite but can't you just clean it up a little for the female fans in the audience?!?!

This week NASCAR returns to it's southern roots as we head to Martinsville Speedway for the Goody's Fast Relief 500. Founded in 1947 by the late H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway is only track which has hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races every year since the division’s inception in 1949.  At .526 miles in length, Martinsville Speedway is the shortest track on the Sprint Cup circuit. But because of its size and shape – described most often as the shape of a paperclip – Martinsville offers some of the most exciting and close racing in the sport.  Also because of its size, fans are closer to the action than any other track. The cars are never more than a few hundred yards away and sometimes they seem close enough to reach out and touch. This track is on my "bucket list" of tracks to watch a race!!!


By Sherri Breaton

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