Sunday's AMD At The Glen NASCAR Nextel Cup race at the Watkins Glen road course was typical for a Nextel Cup race on a road course. Pit strategy is always important and it actually decided this race. A couple of guys got killed by pit strategy too and hurt an already slim chance of getting into The Chase. Of course you always have the road course ringers to make things interesting. Kurt Busch won the pole.
We almost had a big problem at turn one of lap one. In an attempt to block Ryan Newman-#12 Alltel Dodge, Kasey Kahne-#9 SRT Dodge got into the back of Kurt Busch-#2 Miller Lite Dodge and almost spun him out. Busch got the lead back by lap 8. He clearly has the fastest car and leads the first part of the race. Greg Biffle-#16 Subway Ford busts his radiator when Kyle Petty-#45 Victory Junction Gang Dodge spun him into the inside guard rail. Biffle finishes 38th and is now a real long shot for The Chase.
One thing that's different about a road course is pit strategy. On an oval, if you make a green flag pit stop and a caution comes out, you're a lap down. On a road course, because the track is so long, if you make a green flag pit stop and a caution comes out, you lead the race. So Kevin Harvick-#29 GM Goodwrench Chevy, Jeff Burton-#31 Cingular Chevy, Jamie McMurray-#26 Crown Royal Ford, Scott Riggs-#10 Valvoline Dodge & Reed Sorenson-#41 Target Dodge made green flag pit stops on lap 53. A caution came out on lap 54 when Joe Nemechek-#01 Army Chevy hit the tire barrier. The pit stops during the caution put those guys up front and they weren't stopping again.
Kurt Busch's crew chief Roy McCauley saw Nemechek's spin and told Busch to pit before the caution came out to stay up front. The caution came out just as Busch hit pit road. Pit road was closed and Busch had to go to the back. Then it got worse. Kevin Harvick passed Reed Sorenson for the lead on lap 58. Then a big wreck on lap 62. Dave Blaney-#22 Caterpillar Dodge, Matt Kenseth-#17 DeWalt Tools Ford, Sterling Marlin-#14 Ginn Resorts Chevy, Scott Wimmer-#4 Chevy, Joe Nemechek, Brian Simo-#34 No Fear Chevy and...uh oh...Kurt Busch were all involved. Kenseth & Busch were able to continue but Busch finished 19th & Kenseth finished 21st. Ouch!
Kevin Harvick still leads but Tony Stewart-#20 Home Depot Chevy passed Jamie McMurray for second. After a Casey Mears-#42 Texaco Havoline Dodge spin brings out a caution on lap 78, Stewart takes the lead from Harvick when the green comes back out on lap 82. Caution comes out again when Michael Waltrip-#55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge hit the tire barrier on lap 83. Harvick takes the lead from Stewart on lap 88 and wins the race. But pit strategy got that win for Harvick.
Congratulations to Kevin Harvick, crew chief Todd Barrier & car owner Richard Childress on the win. Harvick moves up to third in the points. Jimmie Johnson finished 17th but Matt Kenseth had trouble so Johnson still leads the points. Robby Gordon had a top ten finish. Kyle Busch & Elliott Sadler both had trouble early in the race but recovered for top ten finishes. And Sadler will replace Jeremy Mayfield in the #19 Dodge next week in Michigan. And top ten finishes for road race aces Boris Said, Scott Pruett and Mississauga, Ontario's Ron Fellows. Way to go Ron. Pruett & Fellows were filling in for regular drivers David Stremme & Travis Kvapil and both guys did a great job. The Nextel Cup boys are in Michigan next week. Here's the top ten of the race.
#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.29/Kevin Harvick/GM Goodwrench/Chevy/Richard Childress
2.20/Tony Stewart/Home Depot/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
3.26/Jamie McMurray/Crown Royal/Ford/Jack Roush
4.7/Robby Gordon/Jim Beam/Chevy/Robby Gordon
5.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
6.60/Boris Said/No Fear Energy Drink/Ford/No Fear Racing
7.40/Scott Pruett/Lone Star Steak House/Dodge/Chip Ganassi
8.38/Elliott Sadler/M & M's/Ford/Robert Yates
9.12/Ryan Newman/Alltel/Dodge/Roger Pemske
10.32/Ron Fellows/Tide/Chevy/Cal Wells
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