“The Shark.” That’s what Jimmie Johnson is. My good friend Shorty, from one of the NASCAR communities I hang out in gave him the name, and the Food City 500 in Bristol is further evidence the name fits.
For so much of the day, Kurt Busch looked like a back-to-back winner, fresh off his Atlanta victory, and running at the track where he owns five career wins. Piloting the “Blue Deuce,” Busch was adept at holding off challenges from Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, and Tony Stewart, but when is came to dealing with the four-time champion at the end, Busch rolled snake eyes.
You have to give the guys who made two-tire calls for taking the gamble. That strong early run by Keselowski on old tires would make one believe there might at least be a chance. Johnson cut through Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards like a knife through hot butter. Busch just couldn’t get through quickly enough.
Props have to go to Smoke, Kenseth and Edwards for their survival skills that gave them a shot at the end, and a solid finish to the day. The wreck that produced the eighth caution of the day mortally wounded the strong performances of Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon and arguably, Marcos Ambrose.
A seventh place finish has to feel like a moral victory for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. This is one of the few recent races he’s had where he was still in contention at the end. Eliminate a penalty for speeding on pit road, and who knows what could have happened? Would you believe Lil’ “E” is 8th in the points? The “88” team still has a ways to go, but they seem to be showing signs of progress.
Kevin Harvick still holds the slimmest of leads (ONE point) in the points. He was pretty close to invisible most of the day, but managed to wheel himself to an 11th place finish. Kenseth’s fifth place finish leaves him in second, and makes him the only other driver besides teammate Biffle to have finished top ten in every race this season.
Then, of course, there’s “The Shark.” He’s currently in third for the season, in spite of three wins in five races. Johnson’s 50th career win ties him with Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett for 10th on the all-time wins list. Even more satisfying for Johnson and his fans is that it is his first ever win at Thunder Valley. So much for the notion that Johnson is only good inside the Chase. The haters will have to come up with a better argument than that.
Busch said there’s 41 other drivers he’d rather finish behind than Johnson. Hmm, is there a rivalry brewing? The difficulty for Kurt is his history at Martinsville is not good, while Jimmie pretty well close to owns it.
OTHER RANDOM NOTES
Roush Racing has to be feeling good right now, with Biffle, Kenseth and Edwards finishing 4-5-6…Joe Gibbs seems to be headed the opposite direction. While Kyle Busch fought his way to a hard-earned ninth place finish, underperforming Denny Hamlin took 19th and pole-sitter Joey Logano fell like a rock to 27th…Another guy with a rough day was Clint Bowyer. Mechanical issues ended his day early, putting him 40th…Even worse was the fate of David Reutimann, who was running top five when he dropped a cylinder and dropped to 38th…Jamie Mac fought off illness and nausea to a nice bounce back race, taking eighth.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
how come u didnt make a perdiction for the bristol race
@andy. Family commitments this weekend. For the sake of disclosure, I would have proabably picked the Blue Deuce or Matty, so I would have missed it on this one.
If the Blue Duce had taken 2 tires like his crew chief wanted him to. It might have been a different outcome. Instead Kurt overrides the chief takes 4 tires gets mired in traffic. I guess he should have listen to his Crew Chief on that one.
@Chris. One thing for sure: I think Kurt will be more inclined to listen. You think Kyle wishes he had Addy back?
Why not just have a victory lap for Jimmy each week and forget about the rest of it?
Given the performance of multiple teams throughout the race that tried the two tire strategy, I think four tires was the right choice. Even if Kurt would have had the outside lane on the restart, I don’t think two would have held off four. The tire that Goodyear brought showed that balance was a problem and left side wear, although not as catastrophic as some rights, was definitely a factor.
And, the crew chief always has the final say. If he chooses to listen to the driver, it’s still his call.
Thanks for the props Jim, but I was hoping you’d use my description why I call him the shark! LOL
And thatnks for giving Junebug a mention, man he’s got to get his groove back.
GReat post!