NASCAR BANKING 500 WATCHES JOHNSON BREAK THE BANK

I’ve come to the decision that I should be psychic! If I may cite my last blog, I noted that I would be “incredibly surprised if Jimmie Johnson doesn’t win this race.” This guy continues to set records; his most recent feat? The first NASCAR driver to win 3 of the first 5 races in the chase format, which was adopted in 2004.



To no one’s surprise, Jimmie Johnson was the fastest driver in all 3 practice sessions before the race, and proved to be the strong horse in the race, beating Matt Kenseth (surprisingly) by over 2 seconds in the final 17 laps. Once again, Jimmie Johnson accomplished the almost unthinkable feat of becoming the first driver to win the fall race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway from the number one starting position since Harry Gant did it in 1982.

The turning point of the race, which Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett revealed at lap 125 involved Mark Martin and Juan Montoya (who finished 2nd and 3rd the prior week) ended up with damage on their cars during a restart. One of the concerns early in the season involved trust with the lead driver on a double file restart. The announcers pointed out that Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a very slick race track, which had a tendency to be inconsistent with grip. Jeff Gordon caused an accordion effect while bringing the field to the flag, resulting in two driver’s chase hopes being tarnished.

The ABC crew gets an 8 out of 10 this week. A lot more action in this race as compared to the California race, but unfortunately many fans probably turned the race off once Jimmie Johnson assumed the lead for good (including my mother, who is an avid Jeff Gordon fan like myself). They couldn’t stress the implication of the wreck on lap 125 enough, but pointed out that many of the chase drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch still rounded up top 10 finishes.

On we go to the paperclipped half mile: MARTINSVILLE! The only short track race in the chase will bring the beating and banging back into the chase, especially with double file restarts at the track for the first time! I think Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin will have another battle to the finish. I will be optimistic and say Gordon will win it (without alluding to the fact that I’m a Gordon fan). Can’t wait to see if this chase turns around!