NASCAR Nuggets: STP Gas Booster 500
By Ryan Frisco
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| Photo Cred www.northjersey.com |
The First Loser: Give it up for Clint Bowyer. You see what his car looked like at the end of the race? It's amazing how well he was able to drive that thing almost to victory. A good finish for him. Clint is doing a great job of being consistent yet again, and proving he and Michael Waltrip Racing can compete with the monopolies of Hendrick, Gibbs, Rousch and Penske.
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| Photo Cred www.lubbockonline.com |
Bronze Medal: I'm putting a segment in here for Jeff Gordon, who finished third. He worked his way up to the front early, then had trouble in the pits and wound up halfway through the field. With less than 50 laps to go, Gordon drove his way through the field up to second place. With less than 20 laps to go, he was the fastest car on track and was within 3 laps of passing Jimmie Johnson for the lead. Right then, disaster struck, as Brian Vickers cut down a tire and spun out. That left a sprint to the finish, which was no good for Jeff's car, which was good on the long green flag run. Very, very close. But, he settled for a 3rd place podium finish. Not too bad, as he's working himself back into the Chase hunt.
Pat on the Back: Lot's of these to give out today! Let's start with someone we haven't had her before, Jamie McMurray. For those who don't remember,
McMurray became the fastest winner ever, winning a race in his third
career start after taking over for an injured Sterling Marlin. Fans
expected great things after that, and they have been dazzled at times,
but disappointed most of the time. Three years ago, Jamie won the
Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Coca Cola 600, arguably the three
most prestigious races the sport has to offer. Aside from that year,
along with 3 other wins, McMurray has over 10 years in the sport and his
highest points finish is 11th. He's never made a Chase. These two Top
10s early in the year are baby steps, but it's big for this kid, who's
still looking to jump start his career.
Mark Martin. He's old enough to be my grandfather, and still racing at a premier level! Filling in for Denny Hamlin this week, Mark somehow ended up with a 10th place finish. That was after a miscommunication in the pits where he drove off without one of his tires and a penalty for pitting outside of the box left him two laps down. He made up both laps and ended up with a Top 10. Had he not encountered those problems, he may well have won the race!
And lastly, Danica Patrick: No matter what you think of her, you have to admit that she drove that car Sunday. She fought her way back from an early spin, from going a lap down, from being a pinball between two other cars. You name it, Danica drove through it Sunday, including three quarters of the field. A great 12th place finish for her, here's hoping she can nab a few more Top 15 finishes this year.
So that's it. An eventful day in Virginia! As promised, here is video of one of the more severe crashes from the race. Enjoy!
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| Photo Cred www.bleacherreport.com |
Now, Marcos Ambrose. The Aussie started on the outside front row and led the first lap of the race before fading. He rallied back in a hard fought race to finish 8th, a nice Top 10 for Marcos. He needs to keep racking up these types of finishes on the oval tracks to stay in the Top 20 in points. He'll most likely win at least one of the road course races, which should put him in contention for one of the two Wild Card slots in the chase.
Mark Martin. He's old enough to be my grandfather, and still racing at a premier level! Filling in for Denny Hamlin this week, Mark somehow ended up with a 10th place finish. That was after a miscommunication in the pits where he drove off without one of his tires and a penalty for pitting outside of the box left him two laps down. He made up both laps and ended up with a Top 10. Had he not encountered those problems, he may well have won the race!
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| Photo Cred www.sbnation.com |
Brian Vickers: A correction from my earlier article, Vickers ran the #55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota this week, not the #11 Joe Gibbs Toyota belonging to Denny Hamlin. That will be his ride from now on until Hamlin is able to come back. But man, Vickers had quite a day! He was smashed all around in an accordion effect crash that saw over 10 cars receive severe damage. He had tape all over the car, most of his fenders missing, he was spun out with less than 20 laps to go and after the Checkered flag dropped, but still managed to come home 11th! Great drive by Vickers, he's doing himself well to get back to full time driving.
And lastly, Danica Patrick: No matter what you think of her, you have to admit that she drove that car Sunday. She fought her way back from an early spin, from going a lap down, from being a pinball between two other cars. You name it, Danica drove through it Sunday, including three quarters of the field. A great 12th place finish for her, here's hoping she can nab a few more Top 15 finishes this year.
So that's it. An eventful day in Virginia! As promised, here is video of one of the more severe crashes from the race. Enjoy!
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