As opposed to the usual Nationwide recaps on Sunday mornings, we are going to do something different here. With luck, this segment can become sort of a written Windtunnel every Sunday night. So without further ado, you can find the weekend recap after the jump!
Raceweek Rewind I
Sprint Cup Series
Stage two of the Sprint Chase for the Championship ran at Dover on Sunday afternoon to mixed results. On the positive side, the Monster Mile created tight racing across all four turns. The track developed two and a half well-defined grooves and the race never really became a sleeper. Reversely, the tight racing led to an incredibly scary accident on lap 31 that witnessed Joey Logano flipping several times after contact with Martin Truex Jr. and Reed Sorensen. Fortunately, everyone walked away clean.
For better or worse, Jimmie Johnson did his Superman Thing Sunday afternoon, leading 271 of 400 laps including the last one to take home his fourth trophy of the 2009 and first of the Chase. Right behind him was Mark Martin, who is doing his Superboy thing. The Kid finished second and maintained a slight 10-point advantage over HMS teammate, Johnson.
“I’m pretty sure that dude is Superman,” Martin said of Johnson. “I’ve seen that dude up close and I see why he’s so successful. He works harder at it than anybody else, I think, on the circuit.”
Fellow Chasers Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart also had solid runs. Denny Hamlin did not, finishing 22nd, two laps down, capping off what, for him, was a terribly unlucky weekend for the Gibbs Toyota driver. That of course leads us to Saturday’s Nationwide Series.
Nationwide Series
The Nationwide Series was not quite as exciting as Clint Bowyer chased down Kyle Busch over the final 100 to win the Dover 200 at (where else?) Dover International on Saturday afternoon. The race saw a dominant Busch lap over 2/3 of the field before falling back to field for the finish. Bowyer passed Busch at lap 117 and held off Mike Bliss, Brad Keselowski, Busch and Carl Edwards to win his second Nationwide Series victory of 2009.
The big story (and most of the excitement) was around a heated conversation between Hamlin and Keselowski. The two former Cup race-winners made contact late in the race that ended Hamlin’s day. This was not the two’s first tussle.
“I wanted to talk to him,” Hamlin said. “He obviously needs some sort of guidance on what he needs to do to make it.”
Keselowski blamed Hamlin for the accident.
“He cuts me off like he always does,” Keselowski said. “He’s Denny Hamlin.”
Off Topic
To Minnesota Vikings fans; don’t get too excited just yet. Remember that QB Brett Favre also led the 2008 Jets to an 8-3 start before tapering off due to injury or excuses. Don’t be too surprised to see an immensely talented Vikings squad fall the same way.
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