Running Out Of Gas At Pocono
Darrell Waltrip said that winning at Pocono might come down to fuel strategy.
Well, first and second places didn’t come down to fuel, but the rest of the finish did. Several cars ran out of gas on the last lap, including Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
It wasn’t quite the exciting ending anyone would have hoped for (has there been an exciting ending since the Car of Tomorrow debuted?) but it worked.
Congratulations to Carl Edwards for winning, and to Tony Stewart for somehow making it all the way up to second place after mentioning during the rain delay that the car probably wasn’t a top 5 car.
Jeff Gordon Wins At LMS
Ryan Newman made an awesome pass with about three laps to go, and the race was his to lose. Of course, he lost control and spun himself bringing out the caution and handing the race to Gordon.
Jeff Gordon conceded the win to one teammate, worried another would take it from him, then stressed about a fuel issue he feared would prevent him from finishing Saturday night’s race.
Despite all his concerns, Gordon made it to the finish line for his sixth win of the season, and staked his claim on the Nextel Cup title. Gordon’s win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway helped him widen his lead in the standings from nine points at the start of the night to 68 over teammate Jimmie Johnson.
“Just an incredible day for the team,” Gordon said. “We needed to get to the finish. We had such a hard time getting to the finish, whether we were wrecking or having a mechanical problem.”
All in all, even though Gordon won, it was a great race. I thought it was hilarious, listening to the announcers though. Everytime one of them complimented Jeff Gordon, it seems Rusty Wallace had nothing to say. Ha!
Gordon Captures Michigan Pole
Jeff Gordon saved the best for last to win the pole Friday for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup 3M Performance 400.
Gordon was the last car to make a qualification attempt at the two-mile Michigan International Speedway, and made the most of it by knocking Greg Biffle off the pole.
Gordon’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo was fastest at 189.026 miles per hour. That was almost a half-mile per hour faster than Biffle, who was the next-to-last driver on the track.
Why don’t I find this news surprising?
One thing I do find surprising is that Michael Waltrip qualified 11th. Way to go, Michael!