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What a day
I'm so mad I cant really think strait right now, but I'm going to put down my feeling about today and let it go.
First off, I totally agree with my crew chiefs call. I don't care what people say, what ever we did, everyone was doing opposite.
For all the cars running 15-20, grow a sack. How the hell can you come down pit road and pit with two laps to go. Your running dead last in a field of twenty and there are two laps to go. Have some balls and stay out, move up 10 positions and have a good finish.
One man has my respect after last night. Kenny Schrader. He was the only guy to stay out and gain positions when the whole field came down. I think he was running 20th. Last spot on the lead lap.
Here's the other problem. Roush had four cars on the lead lap. We come in, they all four go to the front. They come in as a team, and they stay out as a team.
I also find it funny that a Roush car spins to cause the caution, then another Roush car wins. Not only did Mark Martin spin with 4 to go, he ended up one spot in front of us.
Props to Ryan, any other driver would have finished 10th or worse, or even wrecked the car.
It still ercks me to think that with two laps to go, 15-20th pits. Why, you think your going to pass ten cars in two laps. Most of those guys hadn't passed ten cars all night.
OK I'm done now, Its off to Richmond.
May 8, 2005 in Race Day | Permalink
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Comments
i agree and disagree about how it went down. I think if Martin didn't spin, someone else would have. no way would it have finished under green without a caution flying somewhere in the last 10 laps. 10 to 15 to go and EVERYONE gets anxious.
no doubt biffle had the car to beat. that lead newman had built up was all he had going for him. the caution was the nail in the coffin. if he had pit like everyone else he still wouldn't have finished first. biffle with fresh tires was pretty much untouchable.
15 - 20 not pitting would have worked in your favor since you would have had some traffic between you and biffle. had biffle and the other leaders NOT gone in then by all means 15 - 20 should have went in for fresh tires. so i guess yeah i'm with you on the "what the hell?" factor on that. i'm rather shocked more than schrader didn't stay out.
what made me mad was the Fox crew jinxing the hell out of you guys. the last 10 to 25 laps before the Martin caution they were rattling off all these stats on the last time a Dodge won and how long since Penske won etc.... and i knew it was going to end badly for ya'll. i mean jeez it was bad enough they jinxed Kenny Wallace and Kyle Busch into the wall but couldn't they have left you alone? which sucks because i'd rather see a Penske than a Roush car win.
Posted by: mayorjimmy | May 8, 2005 11:20:03 AM
I disagree.
If not pitting was Proper- Schrader would not have fallen from 2nd to 18th(!!) in only 2 laps. That Proves getting 4 stickers was the way to go.
You are only mad because you had "hoped" 3-5 cars would stay out to block the fast cars from catching ryan. Only his good restart, kept him in top 10 and if it was one more lap , he would have been probably 15th.
Sorry. Pitting was the right call- Just because everyone else did not , no need to chastise the right call.
From 2nd to 18th and first to 7th in 2 laps, says it all.
Case closed.
Posted by: patrick | May 8, 2005 12:24:09 PM
I was happy to see Schrader up there! I was hoping he could have held on a bit longer and not dropped back so many positions! Way to go Kenny.
Posted by: Eddie Suarez | May 8, 2005 2:02:50 PM
"I also find it funny that a Roush car spins to cause the caution, then another Roush car wins. Not only did Mark Martin spin with 4 to go, he ended up one spot in front of us."
Is this a serious statement or is it possible are you attempting to enter a satire contest?
To imply Martin would intentionally spin while riding in the top 10, at his last Darlington race and in his last chance at a championship is ludicrous. Partisanship and driver bias truely is blind.
Mayor Jimmy: "what made me mad was the Fox crew jinxing the hell out of you guys..." ..."i mean jeez it was bad enough they jinxed Kenny Wallace and Kyle Busch into the wall."
Do you also believe in black magic, dolls stuck full of pins, and large black cauldrens containing eye of newt, the hair of three rabid dogs and the cremated remains of Vincent Price?
Geesh... refresh my memory as to who it is that deletes comments that contain "ignorant statements?"
As for the subject at hand, why shouldn't cars running in 15-20th pit? Your assumption, based on your driver getting "screwed," is they got new tires in an attempt to pass 20 cars and fight for the win.
Just might it also be possible they were in a race to gain 5 to 10 positions and not a win? Might it be possible they had an eye on gaining 20-30 points by a 7th to 12th place finish vice 15 to 20th they were at?
Only for some people I guess.
Posted by: Marc | May 8, 2005 4:11:47 PM
Marc it was a joke you moron.
why do you read ANY of the blogs on thatsracin? you never do anything but talk shit on any of our comment boards.
Posted by: mayorjimmy | May 8, 2005 4:32:34 PM
Kenny Schrader was 20th going into the caution. If he pits, he comes out 20th and finishes 20th. By staying out with us he finished 18th. You do the math.
Posted by: Trent | May 8, 2005 4:38:48 PM
Mayor: "why do you read ANY of the blogs on thatsracin? you never do anything but talk shit on any of our comment boards."
And of course in your world I'm the only one that does that. And this input:
"Just might it also be possible they were in a race to gain 5 to 10 positions and not a win? Might it be possible they had an eye on gaining 20-30 points by a 7th to 12th place finish vice 15 to 20th they were at?"
Doesn't add anything to the discussion.
Well.. Except offer a reasonable explaination vice wild conspiracy theories about drivers spinning on purpose to aid a teammate.
Oh and this ("you moron.") will have zero effect other than display the obvious.
Posted by: Marc | May 8, 2005 5:55:08 PM
I was at the Darlington race Trent mentioned in the previous post about the kill switch...it was terrible to see them lose that race, as bad as watching it slip away from the 12 team again last night!...A lot of people are 2nd guessing Matt Borland's call to stay out - and I've read other places that even Roger himself said to stay out...Matt's been known for making gutsy calls, and they've usually worked to the 12 team's advantage...he's not the first crew chief to lose this year on old tires - he just took a gamble...take pride in the fact the 12 team was strong last night - pit stops were fast, car was fast, driver was great, it was just an unfortunate spin by another driver that closed up the lead Ryan had built...I'm not going to speculate whether Mark spun on purpose or not - but I do question the fact that the yellow was thrown...there have been other spins like Mark's that didn't warrent a caution - why that particular one?...he didn't hit anyone or anything, it didn't look like there was any debries to worry about - he caught it and kept going, only losing a couple spots...I can't wait to see next weekend's race - you know the whole 12 team has to be fired up to win it!...its been a good track to them before...good luck Ryan, Matt, Trent and the entire 12 bunch!!
Posted by: Janelle | May 8, 2005 6:02:46 PM
And BTW Trent: "Kenny Schrader was 20th going into the caution. If he pits, he comes out 20th and finishes 20th. By staying out with us he finished 18th. You do the math."
OK I did the math. First of all if he was 20th at the time of the caution. You're making an assumption that he would not gain spots on pitroad and that new tires wouldn't have improved his position beyond 18th.
Chances are good advancing via a fast pitstop wouldn't have happened (based on his previous stops). But all indications show new tires would have. Look at the top fifteen finishers and count how many had pitted and rode out the last two laps on fresh tires in relation to those that didn't.
Simple fact, Schrader gambled and lost, as did Newman's crew chief.
Posted by: Marc | May 8, 2005 6:16:50 PM
OK, how long have all of you been watching NASCAR? This was a classic no-win for Ryan. If he comes in everyone else stays out, and if he stays out everyone goes in. That's the way it works. And to that the lead Ryan built up was all he had going for him is a pretty dumb statement too. How do you think he built that lead? Obviously Ryan had a pretty damn good car too, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to build up that lead.
Posted by: Shane | May 8, 2005 7:19:59 PM
Trent,
I can understand that you boys are probably steamed that the caution came out with 4 to go. It's the damned if you do and damned if you don't choice. I also have faith that when you calm down that you will probably want the comments about the Roush team back. I really don't think that Mark Martin would take a spin on purpose (with chances of hiting the wall) to help his teammate win. Plus, the way the points are going this year, 2 spots i.e. 10 points, can make the difference of racing for the championship or racing for 11th. Ryan was smart to slow-up that restart to get as much of a lead that he could. He probably figured that he was screwed so he did what he had to do to stay in the top 10. With the differential in tires I would have come in. The tires Ryan had compared to the tires Gordon, Kahne, and Martin had were 10 mph slower. There's really nothing you could do. Good luck in Richmond. I was there for your team win in '03, best race track on the tour.
Posted by: Mike | May 8, 2005 8:27:36 PM
Trent,
Try to look at it as a 4 on 1 fight.You had no chance of winning no matter what decision you made but you guys did a good job of holding your own.
Posted by: hostage94 | May 8, 2005 9:03:13 PM
OK let me say this. Im not implying Mark Martin spun on purpose. I dont think he is good enough to do that. All Im saying is that a Roush car spun and a Roush car won. No big deal, just pissed. Second, Janelle and Shane, I here ya. I agree with both of you. We were &^%$# the minute the caution came out.
Posted by: Trent | May 8, 2005 9:06:57 PM
Yeah, it's a shame the caution came out when it did - y'all were screwed period. I'm just getting tired of seeing Hendrick and Roush cars win all the time (yeah, so Childress won one, big deal).
While I'm being crabby here - aren't you getting tired of hearing continually about what a great racer Mark Martin is in his last year? Rusty is mentioned as an afterthought. Rusty is a past champion, and Mark isn't. I have nothing against either one, but it sure seems there is a bias towards Mark.
Best of luck to you at Richmond.
Posted by: Jeffro | May 8, 2005 9:47:09 PM
"Most of those guys hadn't passed ten cars all night."
Dale Jr started 39th, went to the top 10, fell back to 20th and finished 8th..he passed lots of cars! :D
Posted by: Kim | May 8, 2005 11:37:24 PM
Shane: "OK, how long have all of you been watching NASCAR?"
First race attended 1961 Daytona 500.
Trent: "OK let me say this. Im not implying Mark Martin spun on purpose. I dont think he is good enough to do that."
OK I'll buy that, you just thought it was "funny." Then you say he's not good enough. That could be also but he is good enough to be the all time leading winner in the Busch series and the IROC Series.
Jeffro: "aren't you getting tired of hearing continually about what a great racer Mark Martin is in his last year?"
There may be an explaination for that. Wallace pissed off alot of the media types on his way up. Martin never did.
What goes around, comes around.
Posted by: Marc | May 9, 2005 12:09:19 AM
Trent,
I am sure you feel the same way we all do and ask yourself this question...
"why every weekend does it have to be hendrick or roush?"
Why? Are they that far up on the curve? Is it a NASCAR conspiracy? Why for 9 out of 10 races has a Hendrick or Roush car won?
I was actually cheering for you guys and actually thought Ryan had enough for them. I thought he brake checked Schrader before the green came out but it was clear Kenny spin his tires.
It has to be a question that needs to be answered "Why always Hendrick and Roush?"
Posted by: Jason | May 9, 2005 8:41:14 AM
Trent,
I totally agree with you about Martin's spin. Why would a savy veteran like Martin attempt to go three wide in turn 4 at Darlington? Mark Martin knows damn well that you don't make it 3 wide at a 1 groove race track like Darlington. He has driven thousands of miles at Darlington and knows thats not the place to pass. I also like how the car "got away from him" in a spot on the track where it would be very unlikely for another car to hit him.
Posted by: Justin | May 9, 2005 8:57:07 AM
Trent,
I totally agree with you about Martin's spin. Why would a savy veteran like Martin attempt to go three wide in turn 4 at Darlington? Mark Martin knows damn well that you don't make it 3 wide at a 1 groove race track like Darlington. He has driven thousands of miles at Darlington and knows thats not the place to pass. I also like how the car "got away from him" in a spot on the track where it would be very unlikely for another car to hit him.
Posted by: Justin | May 9, 2005 8:57:07 AM
Justin: "I totally agree with you about Martin's spin. Why would a savy veteran like Martin attempt to go three wide in turn 4 at Darlington?"
First of all, all three cars had exited turn four so that negates your point right off the bat. Was it an ill timed move? Hard to say without being in the car yourself. But I sure wouldn't second guess anyone with his knowledge and experience.
Secondly it you choose to believe someone that has never won a NASCAR Cup Championship would hurt his chances by intentionaly spinning his car your welcome to it. And BTW if you read Trents last comment he has backed away from that train of thought.
Posted by: Marc | May 9, 2005 9:36:08 AM
Here's an even better thought. Did the caution even have to come out. Martin spun and never hit anyone and kept going. I garantee if JR. was in Newmans spot, the caution never would have come out. Nascar wanted a race to the stripe and they got one. Just sucks we were the ginny pigs.
Posted by: Trent | May 9, 2005 10:01:26 AM
Yeah, I agree that Martin saved his car and there was no need for a caution. If there was 150 laps to go, no caution would have been thrown. But Nascar needed a green-white-checkered finish because Ryan Newman was just burning up the field. He was by far faster than Greg Biffle on that last run. Roush and Hendrick have gotten the breaks all year. And people wonder why they are the only teams winning.
Posted by: Jay | May 9, 2005 10:43:01 AM
The point is... most drivers had nothing to lose either way... you are talking in cirlces Trent... I've always had respect for Kenny Schrader... I can almost say with certainty that you don't know that much about racin(just because you carry a tire doesn't mean you know the sport)... or else you would have had respect for him before Sat night... As for finding it funny that Mark spun out... YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR ANYONE... I guess we could also say that about Newman... causing a caution this year when his tire was going down. Mark Martin has more class and talent in his big toe than Newman and the 12 team will ever have... as for why Rousch had so many cars in top 10... maybe it's because that camp works together... Maybe Penske South INCLUDING THE 12 TEAM... not just the 2 team... needs to take their egos out of their butts and work together...
Posted by: M Benson | May 9, 2005 10:51:10 AM
Keep that head buried in the sand Marc, that old man spun that car out on purpose so his Rousch teammate could get some new tires. By the way was that Jack Roush himself sitting in Martin's pit box?, oh yeah it was. hmmmmm
Posted by: Justin | May 9, 2005 10:52:27 AM
As I continued to read... I hear the comment from Trent that Mark isn't good enough to do that... TRENT... you are crying like a spoiled baby... saying Mark Martin isn't good enough? lmao Why did he make it 3 wide... it was the end of the race... every driver wants ever position they can get at that point... I've seen Ryan go 3 wide when maybe he shouldn't... I've seen him spin other drivers out... and never once hear you say he shouldn't have done that... The point is... the 12 team gambled and lost... either way... pit or not pit... the 12 team would have lost... because Biffle on new tires was on fire... he was the car to beat SAT night... not the 12 team... yes Newman had a car that could win... but ONLY if the caution hadn't come out... I don't know why everyone tries to second guess Nascar... throwing a caution and not throwing a caution can depend on a lot... like where the car is that spins... how many cars they see "coming"... there is more to deciding a caution other than debris... take your top 10 finsish and be happy with it.
Posted by: M Benson | May 9, 2005 11:08:28 AM
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