The Aarons 499 at Talledega Speedway was rained out on Sunday so it was run on Monday. The main thing at Talledega is the cars run in packs like at Daytona so winning is more of a chess game than who has the fastest car. And if someone makes a mistake, THE BIG ONE can take out half the field in a second. So the key is to avoid THE BIG ONE and be in a position to win at the end.
THE BIG ONE came early at Talledega. Guys shouldn't be running five wide ten laps in. It's just stupid. So they were five wide going into turn three and Kyle Busch-#5 Kellogg's Chevy got loose and took out Ryan Newman-#12 Alltel Dodge & Martin Truex-#1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy. Fourteen cars were involved in the crash including Kasey Kahne-#9 UAW Dodge Dealers Dodge, Mark Martin-#6 AAA Ford & Clint Bowyer-#07 Jack Daniels Chevy from the top ten in points.
Things basically settled down until the end of the race. Three Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jimmie Johnson-#48 Lowe's Chevy, Brian Vickeres-#25 GMAC Chevy & Jeff Gordon-#24 Pepsi Chevy, were at the front along with Jamie McMurray-#26 Irwin Tools Ford & Tony Stewart-#20 Home Depot Chevy. When the caution came out at lap 166 for Bobby Labonte-#43 STP Dodge's blown engine, half the lead lap cars pitted and the fresh tires really helped them get to the front.
The second BIG ONE on lap 174 was also caused by five wide going into turn three. Denny Hamlin-#11 FedEx Chevy was penalized a lap for going under the yellow line and causing the crash. A total of seven cars were involved. A lot of the guys who stayed out on the previous caution pitted this time. The lead went back and forth between Stewart, Gordon, McMurray & Vickers. When it finally looked like Vickers might get his first Nextel Cup victory, Jimmie Johnson got a push from Stewart to take the lead on the white flag lap for the victory. Jeff Gordon was shuffled back to 15th place.
Congratualtions to Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and car owner Rick Hendrick on the victory. And Johnson is leading the points again. Big top ten finishes for Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Scott Riggs & Robby Gordon. Nextel Cup will be in Richmond this Saturday night. Here's the top ten of the race.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.#48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
2.#20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
3.#25/Brian Vickers/GMAC/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
4.#31/Jeff Burton/Cingular/Chevy/Richard Childress
5.#26/Jamie McMurray/Irwin Tools/Ford/Jack Roush
6.#17/Matt Kenseth/DeWalt Tools/Ford/Jack Roush
7.#2/Kurt Busch/Miller Lite/Dodge/Roger Penske
8.#99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
9.#10/Scott Riggs/Stanley Tools/Dodge/Ray Evernham
10.#7/Robby Gordon/Menards-Turtle Wax/Chevy/Robby Gordon
No comments:
Post a Comment