once mentioned qualifying. It ended up with Rowdy on pole a whole mile and a half faster than second place Bliss. I hope The Daley Planet can come up with an explanation for this ESPN fiasco. I sure can’t.
During the essentially hour long pre race show a quick mention was made about being sorry for not covering qualifying due to schedule conflicts. It’s March Madness dontcha know. They finally got around to the actual race. Sorry, the commercial marathon interrupted by brief glimpses of the racing finally started. The race set a record for speed and the fewest cautions. There were a bunch of relatively new and inexperienced drivers in the race and they all deserve commendation for keeping their noses clean and tires weren’t a problem.
Rowdy shot from the pole position like a dragster and looked to be unbeatable. He and Clint Bow Wow played around with the lead for the first two thirds of the race. Rowdy was leading with sixty laps to go as Bow Wow started to go under him and Kiddie Kyle spun and headed for the infield. In virtually any other race the caution would have flown but, strangely, it didn’t this time and Busch was two laps down after pitting for tires and repairs to his left front.
This left the race to Bow Wow and a Scott Wimmer with Wimmer, Bow Wow’s team mate, having the better of the two cars at the end. As the race wound down it was a gas mileage race and the two front cars made it while third running David RotoRooterMan had to pit for gas and ended up fifteenth. At least my beloved Chevies finally won out over the Toys even if it was by a Claims Jumper.
Brad Keselowski still impresses in my Navy car with a good fourth place finish. Cale Gale was impressive in Kevin Havocks Chevy in eighth. The Wallace gang really disappointed and didn’t act like they were there to race. Morgan Shepherd set a personal record by running fifty four laps before parking.
Bow Wow took over the points lead with The Cuz in second by eleven points. Mike Bliss is the highest Nationwide regular in fifth and Keselowski sixth. Mike Wallace’s poor showing dropped him one place to eighth. Come on Mike, you have a good sponsor and switched to the Toys. What’s with your poor runs of late? Keep it up and Warren/Lauren will disown you as his cousin once removed.
I will give E$PN credit. When Rowdy was running away with the lead they managed to go back in the field and let us see some of the real action. I’m left wondering if this had been a CUP race with Junior leading if we’d have seen that over on FOX. They also had a pretty good set of post race interviews since the race finished well within the allotted time and left them nearly a half hour to kill. Regardless of the credit I’ve given them I can’t believe the amount of commercials and the often quite brief times of showing the race.
With this the only race of the weekend I found
that I wasn’t overly excited by the end product.
I was hoping to see the regulars have a shot at
the win. Overall it was a safe race and the only
cars off the track were those run and parkers we
see every week. This takes me back to Bristol
and the good racing we saw there. I read too
many reports that Bristol was another dud
because of the new car or the resurfaced track.
We saw two wide racing and passes to the
outside without the old style racing of bump and
run. All forty three cars were running on the final
lap with no run and parkers. I think the problem
is the complainers actually watch or attend
Bristol races for the wrecks. Here’s the deal folks. At any given track on any given weekend we’ll have races that turn into wreck fests. Stick around and you’ll get your fill of wrecks if that’s what floats your boat.
Until next time, be safe. Watch over those little ones and try and love your neighbor. My hope and prayer is that the horror of 911 is never far from your mind. Be aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious activity. Be safe, not sorry.
May God bless you and yours, this great nation, all who serve to protect and all victims of terrorism. While five percent of mortgages may be in default always remember that ninety five percent of us are still paying on time. What does that say about us as a nation of responsible citizens?
Freedom Isn’t Free...We are the Land of The FREE Because of The BRAVE
Mom, Apple Pie, John Wayne and NASCAR Racing. Now that’s America.
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