So, here we are, already into the second half of the '99 season! Wasn't Daytona just a month or so back? Where DOES the time go??
This week found us in the upper righthand corner of the USofA, in New Hampshire. New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) is one of those flat one-milers that the NASCAR circuit is blighted with. The name of the game is not horsepower, so much as getting the handling set-up just right. Miss it by a little bit, and you're gonna look like a rock in a small stream as those who got it right go by you. By the same token, if you read the signs right, and get enough opportunities to adjust, you can turn a dog into a winner with a few turns of wedge, or pounds of air...
Oh, yeah, remember "Tiregate"? (Roush accusing Gordon's team of "tiresoaking") in 1998? This is where it all blew up...
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| drove real good once comfy... |
A couple other changes involved the #58 Turbine Solutions car, where Loy Allen, after 4(?) weeks was released and replaced by Hut Stricklin. Hut at least got into the field first time out... Ricky Craven put the #50 MidWest Transit car comfortably in the field. Good to see him back, he needs to show what he's capable of. Turns out the Monte he was drivin' was an ex-Hendricks 24 car, that the team had purchased. Since David Green's 41 car got bounced this week, KODIAK bought space on Joe Falk's 91 car, ably qualified by veteran Dick Trickle... Poor Bill Elliott - showed up with a spiffy new McD paint job for the race, qualified, stuffed it in practice, and had to use a back-up car, NOT painted in the new colours. We never did see the original - this oughta confuse the collectibles market!
Jeff Gordon grabbed the pole, his 6th in '99, and Rusty had to settle for the outside of row 1. Linin' up behind them, the next ten were Bobby Labonte, Ken Schrader - in blue livery this week, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace, Andretti, Mike Waltrip, Jarrett, Stewart, Park and Craven(!). A father/son combo made up Row 7, as Dales Junior and Senior lined up in 13th and 14th respectively.For "Little E", this was his second WC start - not bad.... Roush teamsters Mark Martin and Jeff Burton missed the set-up, and had to start 37th and 38th - leavin' them a huge task to get to the front, especially for the none-too-healthy Martin... Burton's an old hand at this...
Dave Blaney made the field in the #93 AMOCO machine. Four drivers had to pack it in, after not bein' able to crack the field - David Green, Dave Marcis, Robert Pressley, and Derricke Cope. Gotta be frustratin' especially when the likes of DEjr and Blaney get in, but....
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The next lap saw Labonte and Andretti pass Wallace, and front runners held until lap 20, when Bobby took the lead from Jeff, while behind them, Petty and Schrader got around Rusty. Rusty's rearward drift continued (see rock in stream comment above), as Stewart took sixth from him on Lap 26.
Now Stewart began to stalk the leaders, gettin' Petty and Schrader over the next few laps, and eying Andretti. Running order on Lap 39 had Bobby Labonte still out front, with Gordon next, then Andretti, Stewart, Petty, Schrader, Jarrett, Wallace - still backslidin', Park, Craven, Dale Jr, Skinner and Dale Sr makin' up the lead thirteen. Burton was up to 25th, and Martin had soldiered up to 30th.
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Meantime, out on the track, Chad Little was losin' friends real fast, as he hung around the leaders, either bein' lapped, or unlappin' himself, playing havoc with the leaders' tryin' to outduel one another, and at one point nearly sendin' Bobby Labonte into the wall, with a rear end bunt. If Chad had trouble findin' Dancin' Partners later in the race, he should go back and review a tape of this segment... although the lads on IWC felt he was justified in protectin' his place on the lead lap...
By Lap 59, Jeff Burton was up to 20th, and Martin to 25th. Top Twelve order on Lap 62 was Labonte, Stewart, who'd gunned by Andretti earlier, Andretti, Gordon, Jarrett - movin' up, Petty - hangin' in, Schrader - ditto, Park, Craven - good run, Wallace - cryin' "loose", Skinner, and Terry Labonte. Thirty-three cars were still on the lead lap.
Lap 65 saw Stewart blast by Bobby Labonte on the outside, to take the lead. Power move by Tony? or concession by Bobby to let Tony lead? nly Football Joe Gibbs knows for sure... Whatever, Tony stretched it out to seven-tenths of a second by Lap 65, and there were 27 cars left on the lead lap.
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| unless you're Joe Nemechek...... |
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| what Mark saw... |
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Under the yellow, all the leaders came in, giving Jarrett, who stayed on the track, the chance to regain track position. Thus, when the green flew on Lap 119, it was DJ leadin' JG over the line, with Bobby Labonte and Andretti in hot pursuit.
It all went well for about a lap and a half, then suddenly, Benson was looping, and Schrader was oilin' down the track, with a crushed nose on the SKOAL Chevy. Looked like Ward Burton and Benson tangled, with Johnny losing, and spinning Schrader in the process. Never did see what Kenny hit so hard as to tear up the front that bad...
Thanks to the oil, this was a longish stop, as Speedidry was laid down, then cleanup with a standard-issue street sweeper (No newfangled Jet Dryers in New England!) Jarrett, in an effort to get back in alignment with the lead crowd on pit strategy, gave up track position to come onto pit lane for tires 'n gas.
The race restarted on Lap 136, with Gordon, Labonte, Andretti and Wallace out front. Both Wallace and Gordon bobbled it in the speedidry still on the track, dropping back several spots.
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Under the caution, none of the leaders pitted, Nadeau parked, and the green flew again on Lap 150, the halfway point. Once again, the lapped car of Chad Little was in the mix among the leaders, along with Rudd's TIDE machine. Race leader Andretti was desperately trying to lap this duo, while defending himself from Earnhardt, and Labonte, with Petty and Jeff Burton stacked up behind them, also in lapped traffic. Rudd went down quickly, and on Lap 155, the leaders began to get clear of the John Deere machine of Little. Running order on Lap 157 had 23 cars on the lead lap, with the first twelve being Andretti, Labonte, Earnhardt, Stewart, Petty, Gordon, Craven, Jeff Burton, Dallenbach, Ward Burton, Terry Labonte and Kenny Wallace. Stewart began to turn up the heat, as did Gordon, and by Lap 166, The Home Depot Pontiac was second behind Andretti, and the Dupont Chevy was in fifth, challenging Earnhardt. On lap 178, Gordon took fourth from Earnhardt, but Stewart could not make an impression on the STP car at the front. Meantime, Jarrett was chargin' forward, and on Lap 187, was sitting in sixth, behind Earnhardt. On lap 188, Kyle Petty had a good run end, as something in the Hot Wheels Pontiac lunched, blowin' oil. Fortunately, KP hit an escape lane, leavin' no oil on the track to warrant a yellow, and we kept on racin'. Dale Earnhardt lost a couple spots, as first Jarrett, then Jeff Burton passed him, all before the Lap 190 mark.
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Fortunately, no one collected the Goodwrench car, and both limped back to the pits for repairs. On the replay, it looked as if Bobby, once again tryin' to lap Chad Little, pulled 'er down too low, and lost the tail, clipping Earnhardt, as he tried to get by on the high side... DE had only cosmetic damage, and stayed on the lead lap, Labonte had to pull the Pontiac into the shop for restyling... Bobby did not lay any blame in the PII, in fact was quite philosophical about it all... took reponsibility, in fact, for it. But I suspect Chad is not on his Xmas card list as of today...
Since we'd gone all of ten laps since the last caution, none of the lead cars came in. It was noted that Mike Waltrip came in for fuel, and could likely now make the distance, if it stayed green... not likely, the way things were unfolding...
The race started for the seventh time, on Lap 210, with Jarrett challenging Stewart inside for the lead, but gettin' beat back. On lap 214, top twelve in order were Stewart, Jarrett, Andretti, Jeff Burton, Martin(!!!), Gordon, Ward Burton, Hamilton(?), Dallenbach, Craven, Terry Labonte and Skinner. Earnhardt was thirteenth, and Bickle and Park fourteenth and fifteenth.
On lap 215, Rusty brought the battered Miller-Harley machine back onto the track.
We now got back into a long green run, with Stewart holding the lead, and Jarrett hangin' in second. Behind them, nuthin' much changed among the leaders, except Burton crept up into third place by Lap 245. Top twelve order on that lap was Stewart, Jarrett, Jeff Burton, Andretti, Gordon, Martin, Hamilton, Dallenbach, Ward Burton, Craven, Terry Labonte and Rich Bickle.
Now speculation began, and info was sought out, as to who could or could not make it with no stop. It appeared that among the leaders, only Stewart and Andretti felt they had a chance, all the others, Burton, Gordon, Jarrett, would need a splash 'n go. Of course, this info was useless, accordin' to Buddy, due to the gamesmanship that goes on...
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Three to go, and Tony was still 17 seconds out front! Andretti stumbled, had to pit, and stalled, losin' valuable time to a pushstart...
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| oh, what a feeling... |
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Behind Burton, things got a tad testy between Gordon and Jarrett, fightin' over the scraps. Replay showed a definite contact of JG's nose on DJ's tail goin' into corners three and four on the last lap.
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Update: JG got called into the NASCAR trailer on this one, and JG and DJ were said to have had words after the race...
the following from THAT'S RACIN' website:
"...Following the race, Jarrett confronted Gordon in the garage area and the two became involved in a heated exchange.
"It was just a little bit of rubbing there," Jarrett said later. "We'll see each other again. We've got a lot of racing to do, but we had a good day. I was trying to get by Kenny Wallace (who finished second), Jeff Gordon caught me and hit me a couple of times, but that's all right."
Gordon said there was blame on both sides. "He didn't like the way I made the pass, but I didn't like the way he ran me down low, either"' he said. "I got up underneath him on that last lap, and he ran me all the way down into the apron. When we got to (Turn 3), there wasn't enough room. I got in the back of him and made the pass." Your call, folks...
Final finishing order for top twelve was Jeff Burton, Kenny Wallace (benefitted from all the stops - his best finish?), Gordon, Jarrett, Elliott, Martin, Dallenbach, Earnhardt, Spencer, Stewart (Really hurt by late stop,,,), Terry Labonte, and Park. All in all, a good race, amazing how many races this year have turned into econoruns! Good showing by Stewart, he belongs here, glad to see Craven perform - he finished 13th, ditto Bickle in 14th...
In the Points Thing, Jarrett is still out front, with Jeff Burton second, 240 or so back. Martin, busted knee and all, took third from Bobby Labonte, now in fourth. Gordon hung on to fifth, and Stewart remains sixth.
And now we get a two weeks to catch our breath, before we head back into the wilds of Pennsylvania, for the second race at Pocono on July 25th... Will Chad make new friends?? Will DJ 'n JG be nice to each other?? Will Derricke make it in? We'll find out then...
See y'all there... From My
Couch!!
"Mr. NASCAR" |