Sunday, July 26, 2009

And they do it Again

 Jimmie Johnson…
 …won his second Brickyard race in a row today. He is now the only driver to have accomplished this. It was not another one Johnson’s dominant wins. In fact, he did not take the lead until less than 25 laps to go. Johnson took the lead on a restart from teammate Mark Martin and had to hold him off for24 laps to take the win. Martin was stronger in 2 and 3. Johnson was stronger in 3 and 4, but it was the clean air and smart driving that brought Johnson to the checkered first.

Juan Pablo Montoya…
…was caught speeding on pit road late in the race which opened the door for Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin to duel for the win. This is the second time this year Juan has been caught in this situation. And once again he claims it was a mistake on NASCAR’s part.

Joey Lagano…  
…surprised us all with another great finish. Due to an engine change, Lagano started 42nd. He drove his car to a 12th place finish battling with the veterans along the way. And to top it all off, his post-race interview was enjoyably humble. It seems that this rookie will be around for a while.

Dale Jr….
…suffered another poor finish today. However, the poor finish was not due to a bad car or a frustrated driver or a bad pit stop. Dale Jr. qualified the 88 Chevy 3rd despite an illness and kept the car in the top ten most of the day. It was looking the 88 team would get a more than decent finish, but with less than 40 laps to go a blown engine took the team out early. Dale Jr. calmly and respectfully claimed it was probably his mistake. But all in all today’s race shows great promise for the 88 team.