Mark Martin: Hendrick Teams Take Out The Only Team That Can Beat Them

If you follow the times in a race, and have a decent understanding of what they mean. You would of noticed that Juan Pablo Montoya's car was the fastest car in the long runs.

The No. 42 car was just like in practice. They had poor individual laps but they had a great multiple lap averages, and along with the great grip on the track.

This race was right on Montoya’s lap.

With all the long green flag runs in this race, it would of put the No. 42 in a position to win at the end.

Juan pablo Montoya had been proving he could run up front with the Hendrick boys from day one in this chase.

You could see this before the incident that basically put Montoya’s out of the chase. Jeff Gordon apparently had troubles with slow starts and Mark Martin ran out of stopping talent.

Here is a quote from the No. 42:

“Well they all kind of went and then they checked up and I checked up and I don’t know somebody didn’t slow down and just ripped off the whole rear of the car,” said Montoya.

“Then I got hit into the car in front of us. I don’t know, just one of those deals. It was weird, actually a lot of things on the race track you could see and the cautions never came out. I think they got criticized last week and I think they went too far this week. It is what it is. Whether you like it or not they are in charge.”

Asked exactly who was responsible, Montoya fired at Gordon.

“They all accelerated and they all checked up,” Montoya said.

“Every time the No. 24 (Gordon) restarted it was the same thing."

Just to make it clear , the guy that could not slow down was Mark Martin.

Which makes me wonder, why two of the best drivers in the history of NASCAR ran out of talent at that particular time, one can’t start and the other can’t stop, hm, just goes to show you how hard it is to drive a stock car.

Sorry, give me a second , I got to stop writing for a minute. I got something in my eye and I keep on “winking, winking“, ok there it is , it was a bug! I’m fine now, let me continue.

Life in racing has some funny twists, who would of thought the driver who may had the only chance to beat the Hendrick teams was unintentionally jacked by Hendrick’s drivers. Go figure.

Wait one more second please, I got another bug in my eye, winking, winking. There is gone!

There is also the bad luck of not getting a caution from NASCAR, according to Montoya.

There was “a lot things on the race track”, I didn’t see it, but I would venture to say they were bigger than the “gum wrapper”.

That “at times” brings out the NASCAR cautions, or as some drivers have call it “the phantom cautions”.

At times it appears to me cautions are issued on as needed basis, or to help a certain team and damn hang on a minute got another gnat in my eye. There I got it out.

Just saying, I’m probably wrong , I’m just making an uneducated guess.

Speaking of cautions, here is one I don’t understand, again my point of reference is the history of previous cautions.

I’m no expert, but am a little confused, stay with me on this please.

Remember the chase race that ended with a huge wreck with cars in the middle of the track driving at a crawl speed, well, there was no caution called, remember that?

During Saturday nights Lowes race Mark Martin was a lap down and in the lucky dog position.

David Gilliland hit’s the wall, bounces out, but I did not see his car turn, usually when a car hits the wall and doesn‘t turn, they just keep running.

If there is no debris or fluid on the track there is no caution agree?

At least that is what I remember from watching NASCAR the last three years.

Well guess what, a timely caution was called, it gave Martin the lucky dog and also keeps the No. 48 from running away from the field, a win win situation for the entertainment value of the race.

I want to be fair, so I have to say that ABC only showed the car hitting the wall , they did not show the car spinning, so I have to assume it never did and they could of kept gone.

If you know different please post a comment.

In summary, it was an eventful night for many chasers. I feel terrible for who is fast becoming one of my favorite drivers, Danny Hamlin, looking forward to seeing him next year.

Juan Pablo Montoya has virtually no chance at this chase, well maybe a 5% chance, but it has been a great 2009 for these folks.

Hope GM don’t cut the funding and EGR can stay in a Chevy and the Earnhardt-Childress Racing power plants.

Carl Edwards and Biffle could of not had worse luck, as the old blues song says “if it wasn’t for bad luck they’d have no luck at all”

The Hendrick group, as predicted by just about everybody, will win the chase, at this point it doesn’t matter if it is the Nos. 48, 5 or 24.

The other teams and NASCAR can save lots of dollars by just giving them the trophy, the various smaller awards and prize money on Monday morning.

So all the other teams can go home, catch a AL or NL Championship game, or there favorite NFL teams game, for the Nothern boys maybe a NHL game, or their favorite College teams football game and for a few just go home until next year.

Got to love the soap opera that is NASCAR!