Clint Bowyer Takes Wild Ending at Dega

It took several minutes after the leaders crossed the finish line on Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega to determine a winner.

After checking the replay tapes and double-checking scoring loops, Clint Bowyer, driving a Chevrolet, nailed down his very first checkers at the big 2.66-mile track with teammate Kevin Harvick a very close second.

With 85 lead changes among 26 leaders with six caution periods, the action was three and four-wide, and while there were a few two and three car wrecks, the dreaded “big one” never materialized.

Some of the names out front included Dale Earnhardt Jr, Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, David Reutimann and a host of others.

It all came down to that high speed game of calculating just the right time to be out front before someone else makes it to the front with the help of a drafting partner.

You pull out from behind the guy you’ve been following for many laps and hope someone goes with you. If they don’t, you’re as they say, “hung out to dry” and drop back in the pack like a stone in water.

Several drivers, such as Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, stayed in the back of the pack waiting to move to front as late as possible. For Hamlin, the strategy almost backfired, as he lost the draft and got lapped, only to regain his lap and wind up ninth on the day.

Johnson decided to “go” to the front with less than 15 left with the help of teammate Jeff Gordon. The two rocketed to the front in just three laps, but Gordon’s car faltered, leaving Johnson to fend for himself, netting a seventh-place finish.

Perhaps the most amazing run on the day was for Harvick, as he was involved in two minor incidents, yet his crew was able to perform some Earl Schieb bodywork panels quick enough to rejoin the pack and nearly win the thing.

Notes: Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Burton worked well with each other, drafting to the front until late in the go, when Jr. just got it a little wrong, sending both out of the race. No hard feelings.

The race ended under caution after the white flag fell, a semi-big-one started with Kasey Kahne and others sending A.J. Allmendinger flipping across the infield. He was OK, but the race ended with officials scrambling to determine who was where. ‘Dinger’ was OK.

Chase Points—The latest results have only tightened up the standings with just three races to go. 

Johnson now leads Hamlin by just 10 points, and only 38 points ahead of Harvick. No Chase has been this tight in its seven year history.

Truckin’ —The Camping World trucks competed on Saturday afternoon at Dega, with three trucks crossing the finish line at the same time at the very end, and Kyle Busch picking up his sixth truck win of the season.

The win was just inches ahead of Aric Almirola and Johnny Sauter.

The three trucks ran nose-to-tail for the final dozen circuits, and it appeared Almirola was on his way to a second career win, especially with the TV commentators talking about how Aric and Kyle spoke before the race about how Aric helped push Busch to a win last year and it would only be right for Kyle to return the favor.

As the trio came off the final turn and a few hundred yards from the finish line, Busch jerked the wheel to the left and started to move by Almirola, while Sauter moved alongside the high side of the leader.

As Busch moved by, the two touched, with Busch moving over the “out of bounds” yellow lines just .002 sec ahead of Almirola for the win.

If this scenario sounds familiar from a Cup race two years ago, involving Tony Stewart and David Regan, you are correct, only the win was taken away from Regan, instead relegating him to a 15th place finish.

Sound fair? Not to me and many others. What do you think? Did NASCAR make the right decision? Drop me a line.

From Rumorville—Robby Gordon’s personal vehicle, a Toyota truck, was towed off the Dega premises because of having his sponsor SPEED energy drink displayed on the sides. It seems that the folks at race sponsor AMP didn’t like the competing advertising on a vehicle anywhere on the grounds. What nonsense!

The other Gordon, Jeff that is, had a press conference last week to announce his backers for the next three years. Insurance company AARP will back the four-time champ with a Stop the Hunger campaign for 22 races, while Pepsi and Dupont pick up the tab for the remaining venues. Will the then-41-year-old-driver pack it in after that? Gordon himself says no…I say maybe.

That’s it for this week. Next week’s RWR will review the NASCAR Cup, Nationwide and Truck action from Texas, along with more racing news from around the globe.
Questions? Comments? Contact Russ at [e-mail]