Hey there, sorry I wasn’t around last week but I was on vacation with my family.
Next Up Watkins Glen, But First Let’s Recap
While I was away enjoying better weather than we are having here I missed two great races at Indy and Pocono.
Let me tell you I really feel for Juan Montoya after giving up the lead and essentially the win at Indy because of a speeding penalty on pit road, but the rules are the rules and if you are speeding on pit road then you must pay the fine.
More after the jump!
Jimmie Johnson won his third Brickyard race while holding off teammate Mark Martin in the final 24 laps. I don’t know, but if I were Martin I probably would have picked the outside lane to re-start from as he was beaten on an earlier re-start while in the inside lane, but then again I’m not the one sitting on top of the pit box making the calls and I’m also not privy to all of the info and tech data available to the teams so they can make those type of calls and construct their race strategy.
What is interesting about the Indy race is that 7 of the winners in the previous 15 races have gone on to win the Championship in the same year, including last year’s winner and cup Champ Jimmie Johnson.
Could this win by Johnson be an indication of a record setting fourth consecutive Cup Championship? I’m not making any predictions here, but I certainly wouldn’t count Johnson out of the running for the Championship.
Last week’s race at Pocono certainly was a good one with lots of passing and emotion, especially in victory lane. Denny Hamlin ended a long winless streak last weekend at Pocono but it wasn’t that that was in his mind when he climbed out of his car after winning on Monday, it was his grandmother who had passed away a few days before. Hamlin dedicated his victory to her and to the mother of Joe Gibbs Racing’s tire specialist Patrick Mullen who also passed on a few weeks ago.
The race this weekend will be at the road course of Watkins Glen International. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I like road courses and I think NASCAR needs more of them in their main series – especially in The Chase.
The drivers to look out for at this track are the usual road racing suspects; Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Robby Gordon, but I wouldn’t count out anyone who finished in the top 10 two months ago at NASCAR’s other road course Infineon Raceway, especially race winner Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Juan Montoya, and Marcos Ambrose.
In the "where did he come from category?" I’d be looking for teammates Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick as well as Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and any of the road racing specialists hired for this race only like Canadian Ron Fellows who will be in the #09 Hendrick supported team owned by James Finch.
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