Thoughts from Martinsville Cup weekend
Posted Oct23, 2006 at 11:59 AM
Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew a golden opportunity--perhaps his last of the season--to make up a ton of ground in the Chase. With points leader Jeff Burton sidelined early with a blown engine and other Chase contenders--Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth--never getting a whiff of the top five, this was Earnhardt's chance to capitalize.
With 50 laps left in Sunday's Cup race, Little E wasn't going to win. For the second time in the race, pit strategy had buried him outside the top 10 when a number of cars took on two tires. Still, Earnhardt had a top three car--he ran there most of the day.
I closely monitored the live points standings, which were posted on a television screen in the media center all day. Earnhardt was going to leave Martinsville no worse than third, possibly second, in the standings and a few points shy of new leader Matt Kenseth.
Any such thoughts ended on lap 477 when Earnhardt drove up into Kasey Kahne and spun.
Earnhardt is now sixth, 94 points back. He'll have a tough time overcoming that with four races left, including the final one at Homestead where Earnhardt again this week expressed concerns about his car's ability to be fast.
After the race, Earnhardt conducted a TV interview and went up into his hauler for about 10 minutes before addressing several reporters, including me. "I'm out here racing and forget about points and The Chase," he said, after emerging out the side door. "My mind's just on trying to pass the next guy."
The irony in that statement?
The same Earnhardt told us media types outside his hauler on Friday that he was intent on avoiding mental errors, like the one with Carl Edwards in 2004 at Atlanta, that could cost him a title.
TIME TO CELEBRATE
Lost somewhere in all the hoopla of the Chase shakeup (nine of the top 10 spots changed Sunday) is the contrast between Jimmie Johnson's win and his only other Martinsville victory in this race two years ago. On that day, 10 members of Hendrick Motorsports were killed in a plane crash at nearby Bull Mountain. Johnson, who learned of the tragedy after the race, didn't even go to Victory Lane. This time, he was able to enjoy it.
SUNNY DAY
Perhaps more incredible than the Chase shake-up Sunday was the weather. Some outlets forecasted a chance of rain as high as 60 percent. Just after I arrived at the track at about 8:15, a drizzle began to fall from the cloud-covered sky. But shortly after the green flag waved, the skies turned a scenic blue and the sell-out crowd got to witness one of the more eventful races in the three-year history of the Chase.
NOT YOUR TYPICAL CHURCH SERVICE
I sat two seats down from Kurt Busch and his new bride, Eva, during the post-driver's meeting church service conducted by Motor Racing Outreach. Sitting on the end of the row, I was handed all the bulletins to be passed down the row. The person sitting closest to me? The 2004 Nextel Cup champion. Ahh, good times.
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