Jimmie Johnson had the dominant car once Mark Martin was speared by the pit wall opening in a scary, mid-race crash. But as J.J. was strolling to what would have been his series-leading fourth victory, a valve spring failed with less than 15 miles left to run. That handed Greg Biffle Christmas in August, gift-wrapping him a second victory after a green-white-checkered finish and a pesky push from Michigan native Brad Keselowski.
If there was a prize for tenacity, Kurt Busch would have been in Victory Lane to receive it. Busch, running for one of the most underfunded teams in the elite field, bounced off the wall early and finished near the back of the early segments. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Even with a damaged car, Busch raced like it was for the win, running three-wide and never backing down from anyone’s challenge. And Busch’s perseverance paid off: he finished seventh in the final 20-lap segment and eighth overall. A week after showing the worst of Kurt Busch, Busch showed the best in Charlotte.
He didn’t end up in Victory Lane, but Martin Truex Jr. has been knocking on that door for weeks, and it won’t be long now for the Mayetta, N.J. native, who finished sixth on Saturday night. Truex and his Michael Waltrip Racing team have been red hot since last fall at Talladega, when they snatched up four top-10 finishes in five races to finish the year. Truex picked up 2012 right where he left off, with five top 10s in the first seven races and no result lower than 17th. Truex led four times for more than 60 laps on Saturday, flexing his muscle and it looks increasingly like this driver is on the brink of not only a win, but more than one of them.
The season-opening Daytona 500 saw Bobby Labonte in contention to win, as he was right on eventual winner Trevor Bayne’s bumper coming off the final turn before coming home in fourth.
With seven races left in the Chase, Kansas marks a critical spot in the battle for the season championship.
Let’s sort through the drivers who have (or don’t have) momentum heading into next weekend at Kansas Speedway.
Strategy has always played a role in the outcome of Sprint Cup races, but in 2011, it’s more important than ever.
Did You Notice? Why so many races have switched towards a fuel-mileage strategy?
The Brickyard 400 sits behind only the Daytona 500 on most driver wish lists.
Jimmie Johnson finished fifth, wondering what might have been if he’d had the closing laps to race for the win instead of to recover at Loudon.
Welcome to another edition of Running Their Mouth, with some of the best quotes of this past week at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.
Remember Trevor Bayne? Daytona 500 champion? New face of NASCAR? The driver who disappeared from NASCAR?
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