At the Track

We'll note happenings at the national and local levels of racing.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Endurance day pays off for Mears

Well, the endurance race of NASCAR has come and gone and it was nice to see some “new” names in the top five. OK, not exactly new names but not-so-regular top five finishers.

What a gamble on fuel Casey Mears took. And that little roll of the dice paid off big with his first NASCAR Nextel Cup win! Just how nice was that to see. Of course, he ran out of gas just after crossing the finish and had to be pushed to Victory Lane.

Following Casey across the line were J.J. Yeley, Kyle Petty – yes at long last – Kyle Petty, Reed Sorenson and Brian Vickers in a Toyota.

Who’d have thought you’d see a Toyota that high in the finishers this season. Toyota hasn’t exactly been tearing up the tracks.

As happy as you were for Casey’s first Nextel win, you had to grin from ear to ear and let out a happy giggle for Kyle Petty. It was the first time in 10 years he’d finished in the top five and went to the post-race press conference.

And in the nation’s midsection earlier in the day, the Indy 500 had a Kentucky connection with winner Dario Franchitti. He’s married to Ashley Judd of the Ashland Judd fame.

During the FOX broadcast, Darrell Waltrip offered his congrats to his Franklin, Tenn., neighbor Franchitti. Dario just doesn’t sound like he lives in Tennessee. I guess the Judd accent hasn’t rubbed off on him yet.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What gives with the other Joe Gibbs Racing guys? Stewart and Hamlin were upset they had to pit for fuel? Boo-freakin-hoo guys! If I didnt have to stop for gas, food and drink, I could make it to Florida in less than 11 hours. Feather the throttle guys, it was 400 laps, not 40 laps at the local short track. Sunday night was proof that sometimes brains and a little gambling can still win races in NASCAR. As far as the grumbling from the 11 and 20 camps, I say shut up and figure out how to win with what you have. Maybe talk to Yeley, he didn't seem to have a problem with fuel conservation. Is the miserable Redskins attitude beginning to follow Gibbs to the race shops in North Carolina?