There was plenty of talk about Atlanta not deserving two dates. I agree that Atlanta the city doesn't deserve two date but Atlanta the race track does. It is a beautiful facility with great ticket prices and fantastic racing (more on that later). Now that the Rock is gone Atlanta replaces it as the track with the best racing but the worse weather. I guess I need to be glad we weren't there this weekend. To everyone affected by the tornado in Atlanta, our prayers are with you.
On Atlanta the city...SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT SUPPORTING THE RACES. Way back we would go to Atlanta for the races and stay with my sister. I would have to call Charleston to find out about qualifying. The TV and the AJC wouldn't have any info about it! My sister told me that she could rarely find out anything about the races thru local media. It was even worse when the races were held in other cities. I have met 100 people at an Atlanta race from Georgia and about only five of those were from the Atlanta area. So what's up with that? Sorta like the whole Fontana/Los Angeles thing I guess....
There also seemed to be a few articles that they weren't more than 50,000 fans at the race....I do disagree with that number. There was probably that many in the infield alone. I sat in Earnhardt on row 6 and there were no empty seats by me down low. Elliott Grandstands were about 90% full. Was the whole place full? No. But can you blame some one for not buying tickets given the weather for the weekend even if Sunday ended up being beautiful? OH that's right only California Speedway gets to use that excuse.
The first 2 cautions were for "debris". And the debris was in turn 2 where there are no grandstands so there are no fans to call them out on it. The fuel run was 45-50 laps and at the time the leader was stinking up the show. The 2 mystery debris cautions fell right about that time. Wow does that surprise anyone?
What was up with Dale Jarrett blocking Kyle Busch in the final laps? You know the Toyota bigwigs were freaking out.
So Montoya and Newman butt heads or should I say cars again.
Once again Tony had a valid point but delivered it in a not so valid way.
Man oh Man Kyle Petty is running bad. How is Bobby Labonte running so good?
Kyle Busch and JGR gets Toyota their first cup win....wow now there is something no one thought would happen.
On the race: Goodyear tires ruined the race. That is the bottom line. Atlanta Motor Speedway is racy, fast and always produces side by side racing. That is until two weeks ago. Goodyear needs to get it together. There simply has to be a happy medium between tires blowing out and tires so hard they don't wear out. There is no way it is acceptable that one of the few tracks we have that produces great racing was reduced to that boring spectacle.
On Bristol:
The tribute to Dale was cool but when you sit in the grandstands that are part of the card stunt it's like work. They oughta take off the $7.00 service charge for the folks who sit there.
I am sure it wasn't shown on TV but man there were a lot of empty seats at Bristol. The scalpers were giving the tickets away at the track....
Too bad Dale's last run was so bad.
So I hear Darrell Waltrip had laryngitis....man too bad I was at the track. I would have finally listened to the TV.
Kenny Schrader and Casey Mears can't buy a break.
What the heck was up with Montoya trying to race past Denny Hamlin when the caution came out?
And why wasn't there a penalty?
Man oh Man Kyle Petty is running bad. Yeah I just copied and pasted this one...
And on running bad, I think Jamie McMurray needs to update his resume.
For a good part of the race, Joe Gibbs Racing was sitting in the penthouse and by the end of the race it was outhouse time.
So Harvick got into Stewart and pretty much ruined his day. According to Harvick he didn't mean to do it. But it always cracks me up when something like that happens that the guy who causes the wreck always brings up when the other guy did the same thing to him....Harvick was quick to point out that Tony did the same thing to him at Indy.
Denny Hamlin had a fuel pickup problem and Jeff Burton stole the win but a win is a win. He made a pretty smooth move to get by Harvick and Stewart during their brouhaha to put himself in that position.
I also like that the AT&T car won a Sprint Cup race.
JGR leads the most laps again and again doesn't close the deal. Man I bet the team meeting on Monday wasn't a happy place.
Boy did Jimmy and I do good on the fantasy picks this week.
All in all it was a sedate Bristol race. That seems to be the theme this year.
But I tell you what, those last 5 laps made the cost to get there worth it. It seems like the new improved Bristol can still be the same ole Bristol.
SURPRISES OF THE RACE:
David Gilliland and Aric Alimorla had top ten finishes. Good for them!
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon still aren't up to par. I bet they are glad Martinville is next.
There wasn't any tire talk!
WHERE'S MY GOODYS?
Denny Hamlin had a fuel pickup problem and lost the lead on the final restart.
Kyle Busch finally got the lead and lost the steering then hit the wall.
Tony Stewart was running second when Kevin Harvick got into him.
All in all, Joe Gibbs really need a maximum strength Goody's by the end of the race. Make that a double.
Dale Jarrett closes out his career running really bad without having a wreck to blame it on.
REAL LAP LEADERS:
According to nascar.com there were 17 lead
changes among 8 drivers. Only 9 of those came
under green flag. All of them by RCR or JGR
cars. The rest of the lead changes happened
under caution. (Info gathered at
READERS DIGEST VERSION OF THE RACE:
A RCR car takes the lead. A JGR car takes the
lead. A RCR car takes the lead in the pits and
sprints off to almost a 2 second lead. A Debris
caution flies (big surprise). Waltrip stays out to
lead. A JGR car retakes the lead. A different
JGR car takes the lead, gets a big one then
gets caught up in a wreck. Yet a different JGR car takes the lead in the pits. He wrecks. A third JGR car takes the lead. A RCR car takes the lead. The JGR car retakes the lead. RCR back to the lead. JGR car back to the lead. A different JGR car takes the lead. A RCR car spins a JGR car and brings out a caution to set up a green/white/checker flag finish. A RCR car that hasn't lead all day takes the lead and wins!
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