Third time's a charm
There were plenty of tears to go around Sunday when NBC and the gNA$hCAR community paid tribute to the victims of last week's Hendrick plane crash in Martinsville. But it would be difficult to shed any tears for Jimmie Johnson after his stirring victory that not only honored his fallen comrades but also pulled him back into the hunt for a championship.
It was a day when six of the ten Chase contenders suffered setbacks of varying degrees (more on that in a moment) and a qualifying field of 58 drivers left a couple of Cup regulars sitting on the sidelines.
GLENN'S TEN (4-for-10... eh):
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- 34th, Arrrgh! As horrible a day as it was for the DuPont boys, Jeff still manages to gain ground on the points lead. But oh what might have been! With Kurt Busch making an early exit, Jeff could have gained big-time ground on the other Chasers. He could have finished the day with the points lead. But alas, the car suffered a broken shock absorber and spent 25 laps behind the wall. If Jeff somehow does win the title he will be scratching his head wondering how he did it with so much mediocre luck in the final 10 races.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 1st, I knew one of the Hendrick cars would finish the day in Victory Lane, I was just wrong as to which one. Jimmie's third consecutive win was a stirring moment that will long be remembered in the sport. He, crew chief Chad Knaus, and the rest of the Hendrick drivers had difficulty composing themselves when it was all over. But as Jimmie said in Victory Lane, winning is the best medicine for their pain.
* Ryan Newman -- 17th, One of the first Chasers to have problems Sunday, he dropped suddenly to the pits under green to change tires because of a vibration. Problem fixed, but it left him a lap down and he never got it back.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 33rd, Little E looked like he would emerge from the day as the big winner. His car was running in the top 5 much of the day and he was poised to regain the points lead with Gordon's and Busch's woes. That was until with 15 laps to go when he tangled with Carl Edwards. The #8 spun down the backstretch and rammed the inside wall. Game over for the Bud boys, but he comes away with a net gain in points.
* Joe Nemechek -- 4th, Another solid day for the U.S. Army car.
* Kasey Kahne -- 5th, Starting 32nd didn't affect him much. Just tuning up for Homestead in three weeks.
* Bobby Labonte -- 20th, Guess I overestimated Bobby's chances. Can I just blame it on the Fastback McSwain factor? I'll be kind and just overlook it.
* Dale Jarrett -- 15th, Frankenstein looked good on the hood. The care looked average on the track.
* Matt Kenseth -- 41st, One of two Roushers with engine failures. Matt is still barely alive in the Chase.
* Tony Stewart -- 9th, A quiet day for Tony, who makes a big jump in the points.
REST OF THE TOP TEN:
* Mark Martin -- 2nd, Had the strongest car, but late tire strategies on the final two cautions wound up costing him the victory. Somehow I don't think he's too upset about it. The solid finish puts him within 80 points of the lead.
* Carl Edwards -- 3rd, Best career finish and he took out Dale Earnhardt Jr. to boot. Not a bad day overall.
* Jeff Burton -- 6th, I was surprised to see him here after he had to head to the back of the field for an engine change. This is definitely a team to watch in 2005.
* Brian Vickers -- 7th, Best finish in ages for rookie of the year candidate whose season has been less than stellar.
* Jamie McMurray -- 8th, And once again I overlooked him.
* Greg Biffle -- 10th, Mark Martin was upset with his teammate late in the race when Biffle got in his way on the restart and cost him the lead.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Robby Gordon -- 16th, Won't be returning in the #31 next year. Who is Richard Childress going to replace him with? Hopefully someone who is less of a road hazard.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 26th, Remember when he poured it on in September to make the Chase? Seems like so long ago.
* Kevin Harvick -- 35th, Nice day until he blew his engine.
* Elliott Sadler -- 36th, One of the cursed Chasers. He ran into Joe Nemechek coming onto pit road, broke the steering linkage, then wound up facing wrong-way-in to his pit stall while the crew worked to repair the problems. He finished mucho laps down.
* Kurt Busch -- 42nd, Up in smoke on lap 51. Guess he didn't want younger brother Kyle to feel lonely on the sidelines after a failed timing chain took that car out seven laps earlier. The #97 looked in jeopardy of losing the points lead to Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr., but with so much bad luck to go around, Kurt winds up clining to a 59-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, who is back in the hunt.
Next week... Jimmie goes for four in a row in the heat of the desert... Phoenix.
