|| *Comments on the 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500:* View the most recent comment <#64> | Post a comment <#post> 1. T-Mac posted: 04.19.2009 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nice to see Martin finally end his winless streak. 2. NazRacePhan posted: 04.19.2009 - 8:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) What an awesome win for Mark... almost as popular a win as Terry Labonte at Darlington! I don't think this will be Mark's last win of the season either.... MM '09 champion!!!! 3. Neal posted: 04.19.2009 - 8:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Mark Martin, but what a boring race. It was your typical COT fare, with follow the leader racing most of the night. I think I can count on one hand the number of green-flag lead changes that happened on the track. 4. WillG46 posted: 04.19.2009 - 8:50 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Fire Eury Jr! The 88 was a beast when it got out front, but it was one of the worst handling cars I have ever seen when it got in traffic. The thing was loose on the damn straightaways. Also, Casey Mears is a no driving fool. 5. Bronco posted: 04.19.2009 - 9:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty cool to see a veteran driver win again after such a long time and after the heartbreak of the '07 Daytona 500 and last year's Phoenix race. Major heartbreak to see Dale Jr lead all those laps and come up short once again. Did anybody hear Robby Gordon's comment about Michael Waltrip saying "Looking forward to a new driver for the 55 next year". Like he hasn't caused wrecks before. And nobody mentioned this yet, but Sideways Sam finally scores a top 10! 6. Anonymous posted: 04.19.2009 - 11:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Boring race. Mark Martin becomes the oldest cup driver to win a race since Morgan Shepherd did at Atlanta in 1993. Sam Hornish, Jr. gets his first top 10 of his career. Good runs by Martin Truex, Jr.,Jamie McMurray, Reed Sorenson, and Marcos Ambrose. Joey Logano gets his best finish since Las Vegas. Waltrip has been causing cautions on the track for the last few races. What is happening with RCR lately? Burton has been the only driver to finish in the top 10 or top 15 on the cup for the last 2 races. There is something wrong when Harvick finished 30th on one of his best tracks. He also struggled at Bristol before that wreck early in the race. There are some issues with that team and that organization. Bowyer is starting struggle too now. There are some serious problems the 88 team. I getting sick of this team every week. It seems like they screw up one way or another. 1.) The pit crew can't do a pit stop correctly. 2.) How does a car look so good in the lead, has some of the worst handling I ever seen in a stock car? That is a problem with the crew chief and the driver in communication, or the crew chief is making the wrong adjustments. 3.) Dale Jr needs to get punished by Nascar for wrecking Casey Mears after the race ended. Dale Jr. wanted to get back at Casey Mears wrecking him near the end of the race. If I am Hendrick, fire Tony Eury Jr. if the team doesn't improve by end of July. If that doesn't help the team in 2010, than fire the driver. 7. dUDE gUY posted: 04.19.2009 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin dominates the beginning of the race, fades to low top 5 in the middle, then goes petal-to-the-metal the last 100 laps and wins it. That was an excellent win for Mark, breaking a 4-year, 97-race long winless streak. Great runs for Martin Truex, David Reutimann and Sam Hornish (Who started 35th!), all finishing the race in the top 10. 8. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.19.2009 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to the Old Man. It was so cool to see Mark win this race. He had the car all night, and he drove a smart race. He never pushed it too hard until he had to, then he just drove off and left them. Great job by the whole #5 team to keep their heads up after the two engine failures and a tire failure in the first 4 races. If they keep improving like this the rest of the year, they might be dangerous in the cha$e. Tony Stewart finishes 2nd. They have jumped out of the gate way stronger than I expected. The key to that whole team is Bobby Hutchens. He has assembled one hell of a cast. Kurt Busch has another strong race. that #2 team could be dangerous this year, if Kurt keeps his head on his shoulders (a big IF). 9. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.19.2009 - 11:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now the bad: I agree Neal, it was pretty ridiculous to see Dale Jr pull away from the field like that while out front. That #88 car was a pile of junk all night, yet in clean air was dominant. They really need to redesign this stupid COT. And speaking of the #88 team, Dale Jr and Tony Jr are the alternate universe versions of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. He goes from leading to lapped in about 40 laps. Casey Mears wrecked him, but that only cost him about 5 positions. The broadcast mentioned that a lot of the Hendrick braintrust was on his pit box trying to fix that team, yet they still totally shit the bed. What an embarrassment. And speaking of Casey Mears, he has turned a Top 10 car into a backmarker, just like he did with the #5 car last year. What the HELL was Childress thinking?? Actually all the RCR cars were junk in this race. I was surprised because this is normally one of their best tracks. Kyle Busch once again costs his team a good finish and a chance to win. As much as he throws his team under the bus, he sure has been screwing up a lot. Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house. 10. hyperacti posted: 04.19.2009 - 12:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone go check, when was the last time Hendrick has won 3 races in a row all with DIFFERENT drivers? Did it happen in 2007? And I'm sure Hendrick has never won 4 consecutive races with 4 different drivers before right? Talladega is comming up next, and well, despite how much JR has had trouble this year, if there was ever a time to rebound it would be next Sunday. HMS might go 4 for 4 with 4 different drivers. 11. hyperacti posted: 04.19.2009 - 12:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just did a quick check, in 2007 Hendrick DID win 3 consecutive races with 3 different drivers: Johnson, Gordon, and Mears. 12. Baker posted: 04.19.2009 - 12:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Junior should be punished with probation for his little episode after the race, same goes for Casey Mears. We all know that won't happen though because their names aren't Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick. We've all seen time after time Gordon and other with things like this after the race never and Nascar turn the other cheek. Mark Martin is the only driver I'm happy to see beat Tony Stewart. Great run. Imagine that Joey Logano has his best finish(aside from Vegas) on a track he has the most career racing laps. It's going to take time and he's going to be a good one. When is Reutimann going to fade? Wow am I impressed by him. Eight races in and he's still in the Top 12. 13. 18fan posted: 04.19.2009 - 1:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good win for Mark, but it was handed to him. Kyle Busch beat him off pit road at the end and Kyle didn't speed on pit road. If Kyle was behind Mark instead of Tony, I think Mark doesn't win because Kyle would've gotten a better jump on the restart than Tony did. 14. New14&88 Fan posted: 04.19.2009 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alright Mark!!!!! Atta boys all around for the whole 5 bunch for maintaining their cool after the rough start to the year and putting themselves back into the thick of things. "There are some serious problems the 88 team. I getting sick of this team every week. It seems like they screw up one way or another." Tell me about it,as a fan of Dale Jr. it absolutly sickens me to see them dig themselves deeper and deeper into the hole of suckitude.At least last year they ran up front and lead lots of laps before Tony Jr. "adjusted" the car into a backmarker.They should be grateful that Mr. Hendrick tolorates this...any other owner would of been canned the whole bunch,especially the two Jr.s. Speaking of backmarkers,Casey Mears has transformed the 07 team into a field-filler.Worst his lack of drive seems to be affecting the whole RCR camp.Even Jeff Burton ran like crap at what is normally one of the Childress teams better tracks. "Kyle Busch once again costs his team a good finish and a chance to win. As much as he throws his team under the bus, he sure has been screwing up a lot. Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house." Ain't that the absolute truth.Kharma has been handing Shrub his ass for the last few weeks in all three series. 15. Anonymous posted: 04.19.2009 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DaleSrFanForever, There is some good news about Childress having Casey Mears. Supposedly Childress signed Mears for 1 year. 16. Bronco posted: 04.19.2009 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ""There are some serious problems the 88 team." The biggest problem this season (aside from pit road mistakes) is qualifying. So far Dale Jr is yet to start a race in the top 10, so that when the race starts he has to battle his way forward instead of racing for the lead. Most other teams compensate for bad qualifying runs with pit strategy but we all know how much the 88 team sucks on pit road. Moving to the 88 team was supposed to improve Dale Jr 's career. So far, it looks as if he was better off driving that 8 car. Consider this - since his Michigan win he only has 3 top 5s! Here's hoping Talladega is better. 17. hyperacti posted: 04.19.2009 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I only like JR because he drives for Mr. H. And guys, Mears isn't doing THAT bad... he's still 22nd in points afterall. Its not like he's teetering on the edge of falling out of the T35. Harvick himself is only 16th with an average finish only 2 spots better than Mears this year. He is also ultra consistent... at getting 20th-25th place finishes :D But so far this season, he's doing much better than last year at this time. This time last year, i believe he actually WAS teetering on the 35-line but rebounded to finish off the year 20th. 18. Red posted: 04.19.2009 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hyperacti, Mears IS doing that bad. He's driving for a team that made the Chase the previous two years and yet he hasn't even sniffed the top 10 in any race this year. In fact, since Daytona, Casey hasn't finished a single race on the lead lap, which is just pathetic. Moreover, he's led 0 laps and has an abysmal qualifying average of 31.9. And look at the #5 car Mears sucked in last year - it won the race with a REAL driver. I feel so sorry for the guys on the #07 crew. What did they do to deserve Casey Mears? 19. Anonymous posted: 04.19.2009 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hyperacti, Mears is doing that bad. Now granted RCR has been struggling as an organization lately, but Mears hasn't been doing good all year long. Harvick finished 30th or worse 3 out the last 4 races. Harvick wasn't doing back in the first 4 races. When the crash happened in California, he was running near the top 10. Casey is a driver on a team that finished in the top 5 in points for the last 2 years with Clint. He qualified poorly like his teammates do, but he finishes much worse outside of Harvick for the last 3 races. Mears hasn't finished higher than 20th since the Daytona 500. Clint was doing great with a new team before the last 2 races. That is pathetic considering how good the team was with Clint. Casey also did bad with the #5 car. Kyle Busch and now Mark Martin did great with the car. Casey also had the same crew Chief as Kyle and Mark Martin did. That means there is a problem with the driver with being the amount of talent the driver has as a cup driver. 20. Ambrose_fan posted: 04.19.2009 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Decent race, good to see Mark Martin get the win. Very impressed by Tony Stewart's progress this year, doing much better than expected. Solid run for Marcos Ambrose as well. Oh and 18fan, tell me you're joking. You can visibly SEE Kyle Busch speed past the 14 on pit road. Even if he hadn't have been penalized, the 5 still came out in front. 21. Zac posted: 04.19.2009 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears is terrible. I'm hoping he gets the boot soon or RC changes some things around. Harvick was literally yelling at Childress during this race, and I'm fully expecting some changes this week with both the 07 and the 29 teams whether it's crew chief changes or team engineer changes. Congrats to Mark Martin! A deserving person finally won a race this year (next to Gordon). 22. WillG46 posted: 04.19.2009 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Oh and 18fan, tell me you're joking. You can visibly SEE Kyle Busch speed past the 14 on pit road. Even if he hadn't have been penalized, the 5 still came out in front. " 18fan is delirious. Then again he is an 18 fan... 23. hyperacti posted: 04.20.2009 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Mears hasn't finished higher than 20th since the Daytona 500." Actually, he has. Besides, only 8 races into the season, I think its too early to decide that Mears sucks just because he's with a team that won one measly race last year... not to mention a lucky one at that. Remember, although he's not doing as good as Clint did, Casey still only has 8 races under his belt at RCR. Clint finished 17th in points his first year driving the car that Casey is in now. Casey is very capable of finishing 17th or higher in points this year. At least Casey has been running at the finish in all 8 races this year, something Clint didn't even do in his first 8 races in that car. Oh yeah, and once again, RCR as a whole is struggling so far. Casey Mears has completed more laps this year than these notable drivers: Dinger, Sadler, Reutimann, Vickers, JR, Kyle Busch, Harvick, McMurray, Biffle, Martin, and Kenseth. Not to mention 26 others. I just think its too early to judge is all. If we get to say, 18 races in, or 26 in and he's like 25th in points and nowhere near the chase then I'll totally agree with all of you. As for now, despite not having any top tens, he's not in a bad spot points wise. 24. Kit posted: 04.20.2009 - 3:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And guys, Mears isn't doing THAT bad" He's getting 20th-30th place finishes in a car that's capable of winning, and drivers like Ward Burton can't even get a Cup ride. Yet you're telling us he isn't doing that bad? 25. hyperacti posted: 04.20.2009 - 10:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The car is hardly capable of winning if at all. Clint won one race in it two years ago at New Hampshire, good job, but since then the only other win, which was almost a whole year ago, came through luck, being in the right place at the right time. So just because it won one race in 2006 makes it capable of winning all the time? Plus, added on top of that once again, RCR is STRUGGLING. So indeed, he isn't doing that bad. He's new to the team, the team is new to him, the organization is struggling, yet despite that he's 22nd in points, and has been running at the finish in every race. And once more, the team had only won 2 races prior to his arrival, one was lucky one. It's not like they won 10 races in 06-08. And for the 9 millionth time, its too early to judge. 26. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.20.2009 - 11:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You can't compare Casey Mears this season to Clint Bowyer in 2006. Clint was a rookie in '06 without a whole lot of stock car expierence. Plus the #07 team had just come off a terrible year with Dave Blaney. Conversely, Casey is experienced having drove in Cup since 2003 and the #07 team he is in now has finished in the Top 5 in points the last 2 years. Granted they haven't won much, or even threatened to win much, they were always at least a Top 15 car and rarely embarrassing. Casey has been spending a lot of time in the 30-35 position before taking advantage of attrition. I agree with Red, the #07 team has to be PISSED!!!! "Harvick was literally yelling at Childress during this race" Really? What was he saying? RC really needs to make some changes because Harvick isn't the kind of person to be steady when things are going bad. 27. CarlEdwards99 posted: 04.20.2009 - 1:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If there was one thing you could give the COT credit for it was that it put on a good race at Phoenix. Now it can't even do that. Wouldn't be surprised if the COT makes Talladega boring next week. At least Mark won which was cool. 28. Bronco posted: 04.20.2009 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wouldn't be surprised if the COT makes Talladega boring next week." I would be. The only redeeming thing about the CoT is that it provides great racing at Daytona and Talladega. Last year's fall race came close to the record for the number of lead changes. "Clint was a rookie in '06 without a whole lot of stock car expierence." Not entirely true, he had a year and a half of Nationwide under his belt, not to mention late models before that. But I do agree that Mears sucks and the 07 team must feel pretty mad to be in the position that they're in. "the #07 team he is in now has finished in the Top 5 in points the last 2 years." Lol that doesn't mean a damn thing. With the damn cha$e anyone can finish high or low in points depending on luck. The reality is that the 07 team is a 10th-15th place car at best. 29. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.21.2009 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Not entirely true, he had a year and a half of Nationwide under his belt, not to mention late models before that. But I do agree that Mears sucks and the 07 team must feel pretty mad to be in the position that they're in." Ummm, I don't consider that "a whole lot". Most of his racing before then was in dirt cars. Casey has had 5 years in the Cup Series plus one year in Busch prior to that. "Lol that doesn't mean a damn thing. With the damn cha$e anyone can finish high or low in points depending on luck. The reality is that the 07 team is a 10th-15th place car at best." the fact is that there is an undeniable pattern with Casey. Look at the #5 car. It ran great with Kyle, winning, contending for wins, and finishing in the Top 10 in points. Casey gets in and it becomes a backmarker. Now Mark is in and they have won already and are 13th in points after 8 races despite having two blown motors, a blown tire, and a bad pit call at Daytona with the rain coming. Same with the #07. Yes it is a 10th to 15th place car, but Casey is running 25th to 30th in it, usually to be saved by attrition. 30. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.21.2009 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to Jayski, NASCAR says they will not penalize Dale Jr for spinning Casey Mears out after the race. That just proves it, Dale Jr operates under a different set of rules than everyone else. We always knew it, but it is official now. Just six months ago, NASCAR fined Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards for bumping each other after the race at Bristol and put them both on probation, now nothing. This is pathetic and a big reason why fans are being turned off to NASCAR. Add the fact they didn't penalize him at Daytona for a similar move that got Jason Leffler a 5 lap penalty the DAY BEFORE, they didn't penalize him at Talladega in 2003 for going under the yellow line after penalizing Sterling Marlin for the same move at Daytona 2 months earlier, and many other examples. Just ridiculous. 31. Baker posted: 04.21.2009 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thats such garbage. The only reason they didn't get jack is because they are the sons of two racing legands. Oh and they fact they drive for Hendrick and RCR. If that was someone driving for Gibbs or Roush they would have been on probation as we've seen time after time already. Nascar plays favorites and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. 32. Bronco posted: 04.21.2009 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not sure how you can say that Dale Jr operates under a different set of rules. If that were true, he would never have been penalized for swearing at Talladega in 2004, which could have, but didn't, cost him the championship. Imagine the uproar from the fans if he lost the championship by less than 25 points! The bottom line is this - NASCAR doesn't really play favorites, they're just wildly inconsistent which makes it look as if they play favorites. Example 1 - It was ok for Benson to pass Kvapil on the final lap under the holy yellow line for position at Daytona in 2007, but not ok for Regan Smith to do the same to Stewart on the last lap at Talladega for the win. Example 2 - It was ok for Shrub to pass Johnson under the holy yellow line at Talladega last year, but not ok for Todd Bovine to pass the 6 truck at Daytona this year. Example 3 - It wasn't ok for Shrub to slam into Carl after the Bristol night race, but it was ok for Kenseth to wreck the Dinger and many others after last year's fall Phoenix race. Example 4 - It was ok for Jeff Gordon to win the Daytona qualifying race despite having a car that failed inspection, but JPM was stripped of his Kansas pole when his car didnt pass inspection. 33. Zac posted: 04.21.2009 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Really? What was he saying? RC really needs to make some changes because Harvick isn't the kind of person to be steady when things are going bad." At one point, Kevin said, "Richard, if you're listening, this [running bad] **** has to change," to which Childress came on the radio and briefly said, "Just drive the car right now." Among other things, Harvick said: -Berrier had no idea what he was doing with the changes most of the time -he doesn't forget how to drive from Nationwide to Cup overnight -he'll fire everyone on the team this week Sometimes I forget why I started liking Harvick to begin with, lol. :p 34. Bronco posted: 04.21.2009 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess both you guys (DaleSrFanForever and Baker) can shut up now. http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/official/04/21/dearnhardtjr.cmears.probation/index.html Pretty stupid of NASCAR to do that. Really, on the one hand they said they want drivers to show emotion and then they punish two guys for bumping and banging a little bit. 35. Anonymous posted: 04.21.2009 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to Jayski, Dave Blaney got replaced by Michael McDowell. The good news is McDowell is racing for a team that usually starts and parks. 36. Kit posted: 04.21.2009 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Probation is a joke, Bronco. Everybody knows that. It means nothing; it just gives NASCAR the illusion that it did something. But honestly, I don't think Dale Jr. should get punished because he is in a Hendrick car, is performing terribly, and is banging fenders with Casey Mears. That is punishment enough. Pretty soon he'll be racing alongside his old teammate Michael Waltrip. 37. Kit posted: 04.21.2009 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So indeed, he isn't doing that bad. He's new to the team, the team is new to him, the organization is struggling, yet despite that he's 22nd in points, and has been running at the finish in every race. " You seem to forget that Mears was with the best team in the sport last year and did not do jack shit with them. I'm not sure what you're getting at here: Mears did jack shit with the same team that Mark Martin just won with. There is no way you can prove a point with this. It's hard for me to agree with Harvick when he spends so much time playing around in Nationwide and the trucks. 38. Bronco posted: 04.21.2009 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Probation is a joke, Bronco. Everybody knows that. It means nothing; it just gives NASCAR the illusion that it did something." I agree Kit, but I was merely trying to tell DSFF and Baker that Dale Jr doesnt have his own set of rules. If that were true, he wouldn't have been penalized for swearing, he would have been given the Talladega win in 2006 and he wouldn't have got penalized for CoT modifications at Darlington two years ago. Anyway, the fact is this, NASCAR should not interfere with probation or fines when drivers have little skirmishes here and there. And yes I agree Mears sucks. Won't be long before Truex takes over the 07 and restores it to some respectability. Final thought - I wonder how bad UPS feels about their new driver being 30th in points while their ex-driver is 9th in points. 39. Baker posted: 04.22.2009 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 6 weeks probation is a joke. Tony Stewart gets probation until the end of the season every time he breathes too hard on a Nascar official. He only deserved it once which was the media punching episode haha, and I wouldn't blame a single driver for doing what he did anyway. Those guys are out to push buttons(aside from a few good ones) 40. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.22.2009 - 11:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr didn't get fined like everyone else does. It IS pretty obvious NASCAR has their own set of rules for Dale Jr. Yes they penalized him after Talladega in 2004, but there are many other situations where he has been given a free pass. Often literally. How many times has a "debris" caution come out just in time Dale Jr to get his lap back. 41. dUDE gUY posted: 04.22.2009 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm starting to wonder more and more if RC simply signed Mears as a seat-filler until he can sign a better driver. I certainly hope so. Richard needs a better driver in that 07 car. And Mark becomes the first multiple winner at Phoenix who hasn't won them in consecutive races. In fact his two wins at Phoenix are over 15 years apart! 42. Bronco posted: 04.22.2009 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr didn't get fined like everyone else does." I don't recall fines for the Kurt/Tony incident, the Shrub/Edwards incident or the Harvick-Edwards scuffle. Not to mention there were fights in previous years and no one got fined. To fine a driver for spinning someone out after the end of the race (and on the track, not pitroad) is just stupid. "How many times has a "debris" caution come out just in time Dale Jr to get his lap back." And how many times has an invisibris caution come out so Johnson and Gordon and other big name drivers can get their lap(s) back? 43. Rusty posted: 04.22.2009 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch's 300th career Cup start results in a 3rd place finish. 44. Kit posted: 04.22.2009 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "if RC simply signed Mears as a seat-filler" Then RC still made a dumbass move because there are better drivers out there who would love to drive the #07 right now. 45. Frank posted: 04.22.2009 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first time there wasn't an 8 car in the field since the 1999 Pennzoil 400 at Homestead. It's such a shame that there won't be an 8 car in the field next week at Talladega, of all the places. 46. Anonymous posted: 04.22.2009 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Havick and Mears switched crews and Crew chiefs now. This is according to Jayski. 47. New14&88 Fan posted: 04.23.2009 - 1:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That sounds like a step in the right direction...we'll have to wait to see how it works out at Talladega. 48. hyperacti posted: 04.23.2009 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reed Sorenson 12th. gj 49. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.23.2009 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They should have given Clint Bowyer his old team back then given Harvick the #33 team and Casey Mears the #29 team (and a pink slip). You just can't measure chemistry in racing. Clint had it with Gil and the #07 team. No, they didn't win much, but with the exception of Harvick in 2006, nobody has at RCR since 1995. 50. Ben posted: 04.23.2009 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Marks 400th top ten. 51. Bronco posted: 04.23.2009 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Then RC still made a dumbass move because there are better drivers out there who would love to drive the #07 right now." So true. Regan Smith, Scott Wimmer, Travis Kvapil, any one of those guys would have been a better choice. Also Mark's 400 top tens ranks 4th all time, behind Earnhardt, Allison and the King. Depending on how much longer he races he could very well pass Earnhardt. 52. Matt G posted: 04.24.2009 - 2:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) When I see how poorly Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip are running compared to their teammates, it really makes me wonder just how good the equipment at DEI was in 2003 and 2004. I always knew it was good but now after seeing the way those drivers have performed on other teams since their departure, it makes me wonder if it was even better than Roush or Hendrick equipment for a couple of years. It sure would explain a lot. 53. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.24.2009 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt G, I have been wondering the same thing. Everyone in Junior Nation wants to say that DEI was only a mid level team and that the business decisions by Teresa Earnhardt held him back. And yes, in the last two years DEI has fell to shambles as they have struggled to keep sponsors due to a bad public perception. But look at Junior at HMS, the premier team in NASCAR. Behind the wheel he has been nothing but a whiny spoiled brat, giving no feedback to Tony Jr except saying the car is terrible, leading to many late race fades. Yet he managed to win 17 races at DEI, 15 after Teresa had to take over. That says something. Most importantly, look at what they did for Michael Waltrip, one of the worst race car drivers ever. They turned him into a winner (albeit on the plate tracks which are notorious for surpise winners) and a somewhat consistent Top 10 finisher. When you realize this is the same guy who started the Wood Brothers nose dive from respectability to near extinction, and was outperformed by a rookie named Johnny Benson who replaced him in the #30 car in 1996, that is exceptional. 54. Kit posted: 04.24.2009 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not to mention that Kulwicki started the same year as Waltrip and still has won more races and a championship. I'm starting to really lose respect for Dale Jr. He's turning into a media circus. 55. Daniel posted: 05.22.2012 - 10:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #64 Todd Bodine Out using fastest 43: #96 Bobby Labonte 56. CBASS posted: 02.03.2013 - 8:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #42 Target/ Polaroid #43 Auto Value Parts Stores #98 PEAK Antifreeze/ Menards http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0909 http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/photos/main-gallery/?s=5&y=2009&r=3580 57. LASTCAR posted: 04.23.2013 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Raines picked up the 4th last-place finish of his career in Saturday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway when his Quality Concrete Dodge suffered a brake failure after completing 56 of the race's 312 laps. The #73 team, owned by Barry Haefele, came together late in the 2009 offseason and, with stock car veteran Mike Garvey behind the wheel, attempted the first three NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Daytona, Fontana, and Las Vegas. When Garvey failed to qualify for these races, the team took some time off and returned at Phoenix with Tony Raines taking over as driver. Raines performed admirably in qualifying, beating five go-or-go-homers with a speed of 131.406 mph. The speed gave the Haefele team its first Sprint Cup start, and they would roll off in the 43rd and final starting spot. In the race, both car and team worked to get up to speed and Raines was lapped midway through the first green-flag run. During the first caution for Sterling Marlin's crash, Raines pulled behind the wall with brake problems. Marlin returned to the track, but Raines did not, and he finished last as a result. Besides being Haefele's first last-place finish as a team owner, the race was Tony Raines' first last-place finish since he drove Joe Auer's #51 Marathon Oil Chevrolet in the 2004 UAW-GM Quality 500 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. This season, Raines is the second-straight last-place finisher to fall out with brake problems and the third straight to have started in the 43rd spot. Coming into the Phoenix race, the #73 had not finished last since Steve Moore's Franklin City Music Park Pontiac lost oil pressure just three laps into the 1982 Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta. On the plus side, however, Raines completed the second-most laps of any last-place finisher this season, trailing only Joey Logano's 79 laps in this year's season-opening Daytona 500. 2009 RANKINGS 1st) Dave Blaney (2) 2nd) Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines (1) Visit http://brockbeard.blogspot.com/ for more. 58. spinpsychle posted: 04.22.2014 - 9:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski claims it was this race that made him realize he wasn't going to replace Martin in the 5 for 2010, which is why he left Hendrick for Penske. 59. DH101 posted: 08.28.2014 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newmans team attempted 2 tires vs everyone else's 4...Lets just say that DID NOT work. 60. RaceFanX posted: 04.15.2016 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This victory marked the eighth and final time Martin won a race after starting on the pole. This was the first time he achieved the feat since his dominant win at Dover back in the fall of 1998. 61. Minnowfur posted: 04.19.2018 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 18 car gets a speeding penlty costing them a chase spot lol 62. Mannoroth posted: 04.20.2018 - 7:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 61. You mean that due to penalty, he didn't make the Chase? Come on... We all know that the reason why he wasn't in the Chase was his mistake at Daytona, where he blocked Tony and got wrecked. If he didn't do it, he would have a top 5 finish and enough points to make the Chase after Richmond. 63. TeamDCRfan posted: 09.27.2020 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first Cup Series attempt in 15 years for Trevor Boys. 64. Rich posted: 12.17.2020 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: