A few random observations from the past two weeks of Sprint Cup competition. Walking through the garage area at Michigan International Speedway a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by a number of things, the least of which was the tool crib of the No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Team. One thing that is …
Employing strategy similar to the Penske Racing cars, David Gilliland had to scratch and claw for his 12th-place result at Infineon. Gilliland ran in the top 10 much of the afternoon and held off stiff challenges from Juan Pablo Montoya and others to score a commendable top-15 effort. This track has been good to Gilliland in the past, with a second-place finish back in 2008. With a solid effort today, he gives his Front Row Motorsports team a bit of breathing room in the Top-35 owner points battle.
While it doesn’t have much to do with this weekend’s race, it has everything to do with NASCAR history. It was sad enough to hear that a piece of history, Smokey Yunick’s Daytona Beach garage, was lost in a fire, but it’s heartbreaking to hear that that fire was intentionally set. With one act of selfishness, the Best Damn Garage in Town stands no more. Luckily, its legacy will stand for much longer.
Juan Pablo Montoya wants an oval win in NASCAR, and 2001 is looking more and more like the year he could do it. Montoya grabbed and held onto the pole, and when all was said and done, finished 10th, keeping his eighth-place points standing and altogether looking like a legitimate contender early on with three top-10 finishes in five races.
After more than three years, Juan Pablo Montoya racked up his second career Cup win, this one coming on the winding road course in the wine country of western New York.
Sad but true: the 2010 NASCAR racing season, for all intents and purposes, is over.
Let’s not waste any time after an action-packed Texas; instead, it’s time to figure out who’s in the best position to capitalize on their late-season success – or run from their failures – with Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in NASCAR.
It may have been the curse of the ancient Indian burial ground popping up once again on Sunday, as Talladega saw some crazy twists and turns that led to a rather unpredictable ending. Clint Bowyer had his nose in front at just the right time while AJ Allmendinger was busy going upside down, winning the …
Even a day later, I’m still amazed: NASCAR actually made a yellow-line call right at Talladega.
The anti-climactic final moments of the Race to the Chase left a feeling in NASCAR fans’ mouths like they’d kissed their sister Saturday night. There wasn’t any of the built-up excitement that was promised from all the ESPN hype, and the oft-rumored, rarely intense battle for 12th place never materialized.
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