|| *Comments on the 2011 Goody's Fast Relief 500:* View the most recent comment <#140> | Post a comment <#post> 1. DXC posted: 04.03.2011 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good battle between Jr., Harvick, and Busch at the end. 2. Mike posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I never thought it would be so good to be disappointed about 2nd, but it does right now. Jr's ran decent all year and today was icing on the cake. Keep proving the haters wrong Junebug! 3. OldAsphalt posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Really good race. Nothing against Harvick, but too bad Jr. couldn't pull it off. Jst wanted to he or Montoya win. It was a breath of fresh air to see these guys up front a Martinsville in the final laps. 4. Schroeder51 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A scary crash for Martin Truex, Jr. and Kasey Kahne in this race. Truex's throttle stuck going into turn 3 and he flew into Kahne and absolutely pounded the wall, one of the hardest crashes I've seen at this track. Very similar to Jeffrey Earnhardt and James Buescher's crash in the Truck race yesterday. 5. DXC posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not a Jr fan (or a hater) but I was rooting for him in this race. 6. OldAsphalt posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race also has the record for most leaders and lead changes at Martinsville, with 31. 7. Sean posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the best Cup race in years, probably since the 2007 spring Martinsville race or the 2008 fall Richmond race. Actually, I think this was better than either... Stone. cold. classic. Too bad I don't like Harvick... Maybe Junior has some life left in his career... 8. Smokefan05 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good race. Junior gave the bumper to Baby Busch and Harvick, only thing is that he hit Busch harder then Harvick. Mr.JPM did well today, finishing 4th. Gotta give Robby a shout out, finishing 23rd at his worst NASCAR track is something and has sponsership for the rest of the month. 9. blaneyfan36 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I feel bad for Blaney. I'm sad. very Sad. Really Sad. :( :( :( 10. New 14&88 Fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So close and yet so far for Junebug, still he and Letarte are really on the ball and it won't be long before they finally get a win. Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne both had a heck of a hard wreck in turn 3 when the throttle on Truex's car hung wide open but both of them were alright.Thank God for the soft walls and the hans. 11. DaleJrFan19 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) An overall good race, though was marred by that scary crash around halfway. Thankfully no one was hurt. And yeah, I'm disappointed, but I can guarantee that Jr will win some time this season. It's only a matter of time... 12. Madison posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great battle for first with 30 to go. Is it me or has every race this year been better than the last 3 years combined? Very mature of all 3 [Never thought I'd say that about Kyle] to shake hands after the race, as all 3 were being really aggressive. I was quite torn for the winner; Kevin deserved something after his cheated championship last year, and Jr. has been flexing his muscles so far this year and had something to show for it. Other drivers who have been showing this season: David Ragan, Bobby Labonte, Juan Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, and Kasey Kahne. Shocking to see Jimmie speed. One helluva hit by the 4 and 56. Glad to see they're both ok. That's probably the hardest hit I've seen here in forever. 13. dalejrfan#1 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) why harvick? why did you have to get greedy like that? you already had a win this season and dale jr hadnt won in 98 races. it was his race to win and you ruined it for him. thats why nascrap is in the dumps. 14. Smokefan05 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Shocking to see Jimmie speed." Yeah i thought NASCAR "Fixed" things for Jimmie so that he gets every break and every call his way. So much for that theory. :-P 15. Android posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race. Kyle had the best long run car, but was like a 5th place car on the short run. That late caution killed him. Harvick is off to a great start again this year. The summer will be pivotal for JR, if he keeps up this consistency he'll easily make the chase. Also, what has happened to Baby Stewart at Martinsville? Last 3 races there an average finish of 28th? Bizarre. 16. Smiff_99 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a race! I'll tell you what, though......it was disappointing to see Junior lose this one. Still, it was a great run for him and if he keeps this shit up, he'll get that 'comeback' victory soon enough. Harvick continues to be Mr. 'Where-Did-He-Come-From?' 17. New 14&88 Fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 13. dalejrfan#1 posted: 04.03.11 - 6:22 pm "why harvick? why did you have to get greedy like that? you already had a win this season and dale jr hadnt won in 98 races. it was his race to win and you ruined it for him. thats why nascrap is in the dumps." Please tell me you aren't serious... 18. Madison posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Welcome all the tepid, obnoxious Jr. obsessors. I've got nothing nothing against Jr., mind you. In fact, I actually quite like him. 19. DieselDan posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) dalejrfan#1 posted: 04.03.11 - 6:22 pm why harvick? why did you have to get greedy like that? you already had a win this season and dale jr hadnt won in 98 races. it was his race to win and you ruined it for him. thats why nascrap is in the dumps. Hey dalejrfan#1, you were watching something called racing, a competitive event where the object is to get to the finish before everyone else. You're confusing racing with the Salvation Army, a religious charity to help others. It is so sad to see the amount of posters that don't have a basic understanding of racing. 20. ShavedBusch posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch has 4 top-3 finishes so far this year. Surprised Jimmie Johnson hasn't won in more than a dozen races dating to last year. 21. TLarson83 posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) AWESOME race!! Was rooting for Earnhardt Jr at the end, but I'm cool with Kevin Harvick winning, his first win in the Budweiser colors (last week was Jimmy John's). Thank god Kasey Kahne was their to soften the blow for Truex, scary wreck. Too bad Kurt Busch ruined a good run for Bobby Labonte. 22. Bronco posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One of the best races at Martinsville since it wasn't just the #11 and #48 running up front, in fact both of them shockingly finished outside the top 10. The last time Jimmie finished outside the top 10 in a Martinsville race was his debut race in 2002, meaning his streak of 16 straight top 10 finished just ended. Second straight race where Shrub led 151 laps, but fell to 3rd at the end. Carl Edwards finally leads his first laps at Martinsville, leaving Watkins Glen as the only track where he has yet to lead a lap. Wish Dale Jr would have held off the #29 but it was nice to see him competitive and running for a win rather than fighting to stay on the lead lap. I wish he would have used the chrome horn on the #29 but being in a precarious points position it was understandable that he decided to race clean. If he can qualify better then I think he'll get to the front sooner and will win a couple of races this year. If he had won, it would have been 6 winners in 6 races this year. Incredible, a Phil Parksons owned car was listed as "running" for only the fifth time in the team's history. Equally incredible was Ragan getting a top 10. McMurray finally gets his season going with a pole and a 7th place finish. 23. GDR posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Junior tried to use the "chrome horn" on Kevin in 3 and 4 after Kevin cleared him but Kevin's bumper was bashed in from getting hit by the 27 in the wreck with the 22 earlier, so he had no bumper for him to it, it just went under. Great job by Harv and his team, especially Gil Martin, who adjusted up a bad race car and made it competitive, and if he continues to lead less than ten laps and get trophies, that's fine by me. 24. Eric posted: 04.03.2011 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is now tied with Biffle and Hamlin with 16 career cup wins. It is the first since fall race at Richmond & New Hampshire Motor Speedway that Kevin has back to back wins. Great race. If it wasn't for improvements in safety since 2000, I think Truex would have been a goner. 25. Patrick posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) fun race, hard hit for MTJ today was glad he made it out of that unscaved. congrats to Harvick on back to back wins. and as for the #66 team, Mcdowell wants to run the full race and make a name for himself, he shouldn't do it running over Marcos Ambrose like he did. that was just BS. 26. Rusty posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch had a HORRIBLE car, he was lucky to finish 16th and salvage a decent points day. 27. 18fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle has now led 150+ laps in three straight races but only has one win to show for it. He did pick up his career best finish at Martinsville with a 3rd after 4 4th place finishes. Before the Daytona 500, I didn't even know there was a penalty for changing lanes before the line, but there were three of those penalties in this race. AJ Allmendinger got screwed by that last caution. He ran top 10 all day long and was running sixth but was on pit road when the caution came out and had to settle for 14th. I bet he'll win a race this year, don't know where or how, but I think he'll pull it off. 28. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with post #25 and should add, why doesn't NASCAR penalize people for taking others out through sheer stupidity? Moving someone out of the way is fine, but dumping them like that? The threat of a drive through or stop and go penalty would mean brain dead drivers like McDowell would actually have to think about what they're doing, rather than just charging in and ruining someones day. Something like this would also result in more compeditive racing, as drivers would be aware that you can't just wreck someone, they would be forced to race hard and clean. In summary, I simply can't believe that NASCAR lets people get away with things like the #66 today. It's not safe when everybody knows that they can punt someone into the wall and get away with it without a penalty. 29. joey2448 posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, I was pulling for Junior so hard at the end there....so close. I really would like to see Bobby Labonte have a good year. He's been pretty solid this year so far, but luck isn't always on his side... Montoya's looking strong this year... 30. 00andJoe posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #66 actually managed to stay on the lead lap past halfway, before getting caught up when Keselowski decided he needed to take out Paul Menard. Hermie Sadler gets the #71 into a tie for 35th place in the points. 31. Jarrett88fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Save for a blown engine in the Daytona 500 and missing the setup/perhaps testing at Vegas, Harvick is on point this year. Letarte is again making Jr. look good and maybe, just maybe the son of Big E is motivated and hungry for wins. I still stand by my prediction that Jr. will win before Mark Martin does and I looked good until four to go. Martinsville delivered an excellent race. We need Wilkesboro or Nashville fairgrounds back on the Cup schedule ASAP!!!!!! 32. Schwab posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin's 800th Cup Start. 300th Cup start for Jamie McMurray & Greg Biffle. 33. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.03.2011 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now that was a race. Once again, thank you Martinsville for picking up Bristol's slack. I love going to that track. Sure I'm sunburned as hell, but it is worth it. That is what short track racing is all about. And kudos to Martinsville for the new restrooms. The old ones were small and smelled bad. The new ones are spacious and don't have lines hanging out of them (even the Men's room!). So glad to see NASCAR realize what an old treasure they have in this place, and are investing in it, just like they are at Darlington. Intersting end. The big Martinsville hitters (Gordon, Johnson, and Hamlin) all got screwed on pit road at the end. JJ screwed himself, Hamlin got horrible luck, and Gordon got bad luck that could have been much worse. I thought June had it once he passed Kyle. 34. blaneyfan36 posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sad race. By far one of the worst I've ever seen. You all just like this for the wrecks. Come on guys. I'm sick of the crappy racing when there's either 10-15 car wrecks, or 10 one car wrecks. It's just sad. My week: 48- Johnson 11th (come on, you sped? Fool.) 5- Martin 10th (made something outta nothing) 1- McMurray 7th (not pleased) 78- Smith 31st (moron) 35. lugnut posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently Robby Gordon mistakenly retaliated against Menard by brake checking him, causing the 27 to run into the back of Gordon, puncturing his radiator, causing his engine to overheat. Menard said that he owes Robby one. 36. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #34, see post #28. I really wish NASCAR would harden up. 37. Kevin Conway posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) hehehe.........harden. 38. irony posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR needs to stay out of things, except for those like Carl Edwards who disregard safety. Best race in a long time, and I'm not usually a fan of single groove ovals like Marty. Good runs for Bobby Labonte and Regan Smith until they had problems. 39. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That battle for the win between Busch, Jr and Harvick was NASCAR racing at its finest. I was pulling for Jr to win, because perhaps he'd have given his interview with more emotion then. Shrub and Harvick show emotion all the time in their interviews no matter where they finish. Jamie Mac finally starts to get his season on track with a pole position on his way to finishing in the top 10. 40. rw posted: 04.03.2011 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Blah Jr could have won, did the choke job, but nonetheless he's going to win this season! Props to Harvick. 41. Schroeder51 posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McDowell was actually on the lead lap up until about lap 300 when he had a tire problem. Is it just me or on the radio after he turned Ambrose, did McDowell say this was the only race he would be running the distance in this year? 42. Schroeder51 posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, what happened to Tony Stewart? He was only three laps down with fifty to go, what happened to him? I do not remember FOX saying what happened to him. 43. BLabonte47 posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby was having a great day until that idiot Kurt Busch took him out like a mad man. 44. Kevin Schram posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #40, that's right. 45. 18fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Vickers sort of turned Kurt, although it was Kurt's fault. 46. Ryan posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "why harvick? why did you have to get greedy like that? you already had a win this season and dale jr hadnt won in 98 races. it was his race to win and you ruined it for him. thats why nascrap is in the dumps." Wow dude, go get the titty out of your mouth. 47. Ryan posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What an awesome race. Kevin Harvick is starting to remind everyone of David Pearson. Is he the new Silver Fox??? Sure looks like it this year. The last two races he has won he has led a total of 7 laps or 5 miles. He also keeps building on his impressive Hall of Fame resume'. He has proven he can win on a variety of different tracks. He is very versatile and can save his equipment for the end of the race while everyone else wears their stuff out. Back to back wins, way to go Harv. I'm a Jr. and Harvick fan, and while it would have been really nice to see Jr. win, it's great for Harvick to prove the doubters and haters wrong, as well as Jr. Harvick really has came a long way. And with his success and "near miss" last year (easily should have won title last year if Nascar had any type of credible scoring system), it's easy to see and say that he is the hottest driver and best driver on the circuit. 48. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Moving someone out of the way is fine, but dumping them like that? The threat of a drive through or stop and go penalty would mean brain dead drivers like McDowell would actually have to think about what they're doing, rather than just charging in and ruining someones day." Yeah, but then they'd need to take away the Greatest Policy In Sports History "HAVE AT IT, BOYS!!!!1!" which doesn't diminish or cheapen the sport in any way at all. McDowell showed what a Good Christian Man he is by dumping Marcos Ambrose. I enjoyed seeing that after Darrell basically got on his knees praising McDowell for putting the MRO on his car at Daytona. 49. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "it's great for Harvick to prove the doubters and haters wrong, as well as Jr." How exactly does Junior choking with three laps to go and getting loose all by himself prove "the haters" wrong? You think Kyle Busch or Jimmie Johnson would have lost the race in the same situation? 50. irony posted: 04.03.2011 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does the last lap of the 2008 Truck race at Homestead ring a bell? 51. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regan Smith just doesn't have any luck this year. 52. 88forever posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #49, You suffer from memory loss. Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson lost in the final laps at Auto Club last week. Kyle Busch lost the lead to Jimmie Johnson 3 laps to go. Jimmie than lost the race to Kevin on the final lap. 53. Smokefan05 posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How exactly does Junior choking with three laps to go and getting loose all by himself prove "the haters" wrong? You think Kyle Busch or Jimmie Johnson would have lost the race in the same situation?" How did Jr. choke? In case you couldn't see Jr. car was half-a$$ sideways in the turns. Jr. didn't choke, he got beat. And if its anything, if Harvick had any rear bumper left, Jr. may have gotten the win. 54. blaneyfan36 posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow smokefan05. Wow. So you actually believe that Harvick would've lost WITH a rear bumper??? You make me laugh. 55. Jarrett88fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A Jr. dominated RR page discussion in t-minus 3,2,1 ... 56. 18fan posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) irony, if you are talking about the Homestead truck race that Kyle ran into the wall coming to the white flag, that was 2007, but you point is accurate. 57. Schroeder51 posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess whatever happened to Stewart is a mystery. 58. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Re: Kevin Harvick - "(easily should have won title last year if Nascar had any type of credible scoring system), " As the old saying goes; "If your Aunty had a pecker, she'd be your Uncle" 59. Ryan posted: 04.03.2011 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How exactly does Junior choking with three laps to go and getting loose all by himself prove "the haters" wrong? You think Kyle Busch or Jimmie Johnson would have lost the race in the same situation?" Yes, because they would have been sideways as well. Harvick put some distance on Jr. And if that's the case, what was Busch's excuse last week and this week, and what was Johnson's last week? What I thought. As the old saying goes; "If your Aunty had a pecker, she'd be your Uncle" Nice one, last time I heard that one I fell off my T-Rex. 60. Android posted: 04.03.2011 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jr looked depressed after the race, he needs help. 61. Red posted: 04.03.2011 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jr looked depressed after the race, he needs help." Junior looks depressed if he finishes 1st, 2nd, 17th, or 40th. The guy just doesn't give a shit as much as his fans wish he did. Plus, he seems to be horribly out of shape, and these long races just wear him out more than other drivers. Forgive me for sounding like a prick, but I was happy that he got passed at the end. I hate how every time Junior takes the lead, FOX cuts away from the racing just to show all the Junior fans losing their minds for their overrated driver. Nothing against the man personally, I just enjoy watching him lose because everyone else wants him to win. 62. BON GORDON posted: 04.03.2011 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon ties Darrell Watrip for 5th on the all-time win list with 276. 63. BON GORDON posted: 04.03.2011 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I mean top 5 list...oops! 64. potatosalad48 posted: 04.04.2011 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) great race, thought it was all johnson until the speeding penalty. was cheering for jr. at the end but he flat got beat. 65. JP88 posted: 04.04.2011 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man...so close. I was so gutted, I thought he was gonna do it. I can care less what #61 says...Jr wants to win and you can see how dissapointed he was that he couldn't hold off Harvick...if Kyle could of held him off a couple more laps. 66. Rusty posted: 04.04.2011 - 12:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "43. BLabonte47 posted: 04.03.11 - 9:25 pm Bobby was having a great day until that idiot Kurt Busch took him out like a mad man. " Come on, Vickers got into the back of him and he was out of control. It's not like he went flying into the turn trying to wreck people. 67. I Love Japan posted: 04.04.2011 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race even tho my boy Menard had trouble. The racing was competitive, the action was hot, and the finish was good. Plus Jimmie is 0-for-6. What more could I want other than a great finish by Menard? 68. DaleJrFan19 posted: 04.04.2011 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "why harvick? why did you have to get greedy like that? you already had a win this season and dale jr hadnt won in 98 races. it was his race to win and you ruined it for him. thats why nascrap is in the dumps." Wow, seriously? I'm a Jr fan and I even think you're pitiful. Go park the wahmbulance somewhere else. This is big-boy talk. 69. John Royal posted: 04.04.2011 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man that was a good race. Loved every bit. 70. Brad24 posted: 04.04.2011 - 8:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @DSFF (#33) "And kudos to Martinsville for the new restrooms. The old ones were small and smelled bad. The new ones are spacious and don't have lines hanging out of them (even the Men's room!)." I still had to pee on the wall. They never put a new restroom near my seat. :( I've been going to almost every Martinsville race since the Fall of 1995 and this race ranks right up there. Great effort by Little E. A win will be here before you know it. The next two races are very good tracks for Jr. and a win could very well happen. Congrats to Harvick...again. 71. Android posted: 04.04.2011 - 11:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch is off to the best start in his career with a 9.2 Average Finish after 6 races. We'll see how that lasts. 72. CBASS posted: 04.04.2011 - 12:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors- #37 Tony Raines- Raymond Key Construction (on the hood) #66 Michael McDowell- racehp.com (the team's new website, on hood & quarter panels)) 73. Smokefan05 posted: 04.04.2011 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wow smokefan05. Wow. So you actually believe that Harvick would've lost WITH a rear bumper??? You make me laugh." You make me laugh dude, your reading skills are lacking cause i said "MAY have gotten the win." He MAY have. If you couldn't notice, Jrs front bumper was under Harvicks a$$ in turn 3. If Happy had any rear bumper left, he would have been rooted. But Harvick would have returned the favor since he had the faster car. But i said "MAY" have won. I wouldn't guarentee it. 74. Anonymous posted: 04.04.2011 - 2:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lmao @ post 13. 75. Frank posted: 04.04.2011 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite I think that who's running behind is responsible for contact, talking about Kurt Busch & Bobby Labonte incident it's worth to mention that Smith hit brakes way earlier than Kurt anticipated. And Kurt did everything he could to keep inside while jumping over the kerb. Race was awesome, obviously. Martinsville is my favorite track - close intense racing and remarkable atmosphere. Hope to go there soon! 76. Talon64 posted: 04.04.2011 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick's led 50 laps so far this season, 11th overall, but is the 1st driver this season to get 2 wins. Kyle Busch has already led 481 laps this season, as much as 2nd (Jimmie, 251) and 3rd (Tony, 233) combined. He's only got 1 win to show for it but he's leading the points and could've won every race except for Daytona (blew an engine at Vegas but wasn't he running 2nd when it blew?). 7 drivers have led over 100 laps this season. Three of them are 1-2-3 in the standings while the rest are 11th, 12th, 16th and 19th. Harvick gets his 16th career Cup win, tying him with Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin for 46th on the all time wins list (T-14th among active drivers). It's his 1st Martinsville win in 20 starts and only his 2nd top five. It's RCR's 96th win in Cup, 7th at Martinsville which is tied for their 5th most at any track. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s winless streak extends to 99 races after getting his 4th runner-up finish since his last win. It's his 9th top five, his most at any track, in 23 Martinsville starts. Dale Jr. was 10th in points at this point last season. Kyle Busch gets his best Martinsville finish and leads the most laps for the first time there. It's Kyle's 23rd top five in 38 short track starts. JPM collected his 20th career top five, 2nd in his last 4 Martinsville starts. Jeff Gordon has led at least 36 laps in his last 10 Martinsville starts (940 laps but no wins in that stretch). It's his 24th top five in 37 Martinsville starts. Matt Kenseth gets his 1st top ten in his last 5 Martinsville starts, but his 3rd top ten overall this season. Jamie McMurray won his 8th career pole, getting his 1st top ten of the season and 10th in 17 Martinsville starts (only 1 top five). David Ragan gets just his 6th top ten in his last 79 Cup starts, his 1st top ten in 10 Martinsville starts. Clint Bowyer finishes in the top 10 for a 2nd straight race, climbing from 24th to 16th in the standings in that span. It's his 6th top ten in 11 Martinsville starts. Mark Martin made his 800th career start in Cup, picking up his 1st top ten since finishing 10th in the Daytona 500. It's his 25th top ten in 47 Martinsville starts. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin's 17 and 9 race top 10 streaks, respectively, come to an end as they finish 11th and 12th. That leaves the longest active top 10 streak at Martinsville at... two! By Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joey Logano gets his best finish of the season in 13th but has only 1 lead lap finish in the first 6 races. Kenny Schrader's 22nd place finish keeps Frank Stoddard's Cup team in a respectable 33rd place in the owners standings, especially considering they failed to qualify for a race. Based on their average finish on the season (24.2) they would be 30th without the DNQ. 77. Talon64 posted: 04.04.2011 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) oh and Harvick becomes the 7th active driver to have won at Bristol, Richmond and Martinsville (Johnson, Gordon, Stewart, Martin, J. Burton and Kurt Busch). 78. Ken posted: 04.04.2011 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #51, you're right, poor Regan Smith always has a problem during Sunday, but they sure do have qualifying down. AJ Allmendinger was clearly the best Ford, but the caution screwed him over. 79. Schwab posted: 04.04.2011 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick breaks Jimmie Johnson's record for fewest laps led in back-to-back wins in series history. Johnson previously held the series record with 17 laps led in back-to-back wins at Atlanta and Texas in the fall of 2007. Harvick led a total of 7 laps between these two wins at Fontana and Martinsville. 80. Ryan posted: 04.04.2011 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I've been going to almost every Martinsville race since the Fall of 1995 and this race ranks right up there." That was a good one. When Earnhardt beat Rusty at the end. 81. blaneyfan36 posted: 04.04.2011 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) SmokeFan05, you are an idiot MAYBE. Does that make a huge difference than saying you are an idiot. Not a huge deal, and you still make me laugh sir (women, man, thing, donkey, whatever you are.) Still what would make you think he'd even HAVE a chance with a bumper? Jr. had a 95% chance of winning. He just showed his own self. 82. Android posted: 04.04.2011 - 7:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon, I think he was in 2nd for most of the race at Vegas until he blew that tire relegating him to the end of the lead lap. That's when his motor failed. Harvick wasn't a factor the whole race until the bottom portion of his rear bumper peeled off. The same exact thing happened to Mark Martin in the Fall Martinsville race last year. They were both two tenths quicker than the rest of the field. 83. 00andJoe posted: 04.04.2011 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Texas entry list is up. The 13 is out of the top 35 this week; the 37 is in. 45 cars entered provisionally (including Brian K. in the #92, who will probably withdraw). -Schrader in the 32 -The Onion in the 60 -Lally in the 71 -David Starr in the #95 Ford 84. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.04.2011 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) June said he didn't rough up Kevin because he had already bumped Kyle out of the way to get the lead. C'Mon dude, you have a 99 race winless streak and this is Martinsville, which is all about bumping and banging. I'm not saying he had to spin or wreck him, but in that situation at this track, you get rough. Look at how JJ handled Denny in '09. And he was the three time defending champ at that time. The fact is assholes finish first. JJ, Smoke, and Gordon are all assholes on the track, and former drivers like Rusty, DW, Cale, and most certainly Dale Sr were assholes on the track. All of the listed drivers didn't think twice about using the chrome horn when it came down to crunch time. They are also some of the greatest champions ever. I've said it before, to be ultimately successful, you have to be mean (to an extent). We've seen a few "clean" champions pop up every now and then (the Labonte Brothers, Bill, DJ, Kenseth) but they usually wind up as aberrations. "Is he the new Silver Fox???" Absolutely not. David Pearson's legend of not showing up until the end has been way overblown. He has led only about 100 less career laps than Dale Earnhardt in 100 less starts. Hell, in his 105 wins, only in 44 of those did he lead LESS THAN 100 LAPS!!! Only twice did he have single digit laps led in a victory. Pearson could dominate as well as anyone. I don't know why this has been lost in history. I guess it is because he looked and acted so cool in and out of the car, his heart rate actually LOWERED once he stepped in the car and would light up a cigarette under cautions, people assumed he couldn't be a hard charger on track. That simply isn't true. Harvick, on the other hand, is the true definition of "only when it counts". Of his 16 wins, only 3 times did he just take it to the field. His second career win at Chicago, and his '06 wins at Loudon and Phoenix. Also, he has led less laps in his career than Pearson led in 48 races in '68 alone. I take nothing away from what Kevin has accomplished lately. But let's not proclaim him "The Greatest Closer Ever". It is unfair to Kevin and everyone else. Besides, this is just his 16th win. Somebody mentioned this win ties him with Hamlin and Biffle. They both entered Cup after Harvick, Denny entered 5 years after Harvick. Also, we have seen Carl and Kyle enter after him, and surpass him in wins. Plus, his fellow rookie from '01, Kurt Busch, has more wins and a championship. And do I even need to mention what JJ, who came one year after Kevin has done? So let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Kevin is doing good and is on his way to having a nice Cup career. Let's just leave it at that. 85. Ryan posted: 04.04.2011 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Is he the new Silver Fox??? Absolutely not. David Pearson's legend of not showing up until the end has been way overblown. He has led only about 100 less career laps than Dale Earnhardt in 100 less starts. Hell, in his 105 wins, only in 44 of those did he lead LESS THAN 100 LAPS!!! Only twice did he have single digit laps led in a victory. Pearson could dominate as well as anyone. I don't know why this has been lost in history. I guess it is because he looked and acted so cool in and out of the car, his heart rate actually LOWERED once he stepped in the car and would light up a cigarette under cautions, people assumed he couldn't be a hard charger on track. That simply isn't true." Well DSFF, they don't call him the Silver Fox for no reason. Ask DW or Richard Petty about him. They talk all the time about how he would "sneak" (like a fox) up on you out of now where. I know he dominated a lot of races, but numerous times he would appear in their rearview mirror with about 20 laps left especially in big races. Dale Earnhardt also had a reported pulse rate of about 55 when the race was about to begin. Harvick, on the other hand, is the true definition of "only when it counts". Of his 16 wins, only 3 times did he just take it to the field. His second career win at Chicago, and his '06 wins at Loudon and Phoenix. Also, he has led less laps in his career than Pearson led in 48 races in '68 alone. I believe it was Dale Earnhardt that said the "money lap" (last lap) is when it counts. Who cares if he just "took" it to the field three times?! I'd rather him do what he does now than do what Kryle Busch does and race every lap like its his last and wear out his equipment before the race is over. You can't win the race in the first turn. Leading a lot of laps can be overrated. You could easily have the best car and know you have the best car in the field and elect not to race hard until the last 50 miles/laps of the race. It's called saving your car for the end, like Mr. Harvick has done the last two races and throughout his career. He really has matured a lot over the last five years. "I take nothing away from what Kevin has accomplished lately. But let's not proclaim him "The Greatest Closer Ever". It is unfair to Kevin and everyone else. Besides, this is just his 16th win. Somebody mentioned this win ties him with Hamlin and Biffle. They both entered Cup after Harvick, Denny entered 5 years after Harvick. Also, we have seen Carl and Kyle enter after him, and surpass him in wins. Plus, his fellow rookie from '01, Kurt Busch, has more wins and a championship. And do I even need to mention what JJ, who came one year after Kevin has done?" What do all those drivers you mentioned have in common? They have all been in with the BIG 3 owners of Nascar the last 10-15 years, while Childress has struggled a lot of the time. Those three teams of Gibbs, Hendrick, and Roush have been the top tier for a long time. So, that makes what Harvick has done over the last decade even more impressive. He has been able to win that many races during that time period when those three have dominated the sport. Together they have won 15 out of the last 16 titles in Nascar with the exception of Jarrett with Yates in '99. So tell me, who else has won 16 races since then that hasn't drove for those owners? 86. Smokefan05 posted: 04.05.2011 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "and you still make me laugh sir (women, man, thing, donkey, whatever you are.)" And your still making me laugh. Keep it up. BTW congrats to UConn on winning and for Butler not a hitting a damn thing out there. I'm not a big basket ball fan but holy crap, shooting 18% for the game is HORRIBLE. 87. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 04.05.2011 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "why harvick? why did you have to get greedy like that? you already had a win this season and dale jr hadnt won in 98 races. it was his race to win and you ruined it for him. thats why nascrap is in the dumps." I hope you're only joking. NASCAR has never been in any danger simply because of who the race winner was. To win, you have to always race your ass off and earn it. He actually had an opportunity to bump Harvick out of the way and take the lead back, but he didn't do it. I guarantee you Harvick would have done so had the roles been reversed. "Leading a lot of laps can be overrated." If you generally lead a lot of laps but not win, yes. 88. Bronco posted: 04.05.2011 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "June said he didn't rough up Kevin because he had already bumped Kyle out of the way to get the lead. C'Mon dude, you have a 99 race winless streak and this is Martinsville, which is all about bumping and banging. I'm not saying he had to spin or wreck him, but in that situation at this track, you get rough. Look at how JJ handled Denny in '09. And he was the three time defending champ at that time" I get what you're saying and I wish he had roughed up the #29 a bit more, but on the flip side you have to consider that he didn't want to take them both out and the hand the win to the #18, especially on a day when he was poised to make up a lot of points. No matter the outcome, he proved his doubters wrong by showing that he hasn't forgotten how to drive or thrown in the towel on his career. So far this year, it has been incredible to see him not finish outside the top 12 (Daytona aside) despite qualifying like crap. It definitely looks like he got the best deal out of the crew chief swap. 89. ES posted: 04.05.2011 - 2:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Some of these posts are just brilliant. For starters, I'm not a Junior fan. I'm also not a Junior hater. I'm a Junior Fan hater. There's no need to make excuses. He ran well but got passed at the end. Jeez...that's sounds a little like racing. There's a huge double standard with you Junior fans. (When I say Junior fans, I'm speaking generally. Not all of you are ignorant to the other 42 drivers.) If Harvick would have shoved him up the race track and got him real loose, then you would all be on here talking about how big of an asshole Harvick is. On the flip side, had Junior done that to Harvick, you all would have been on here saying "Hell yeah! That's just like his daddy!" Come on guys. He lost the race. He'll win again. Sunday just wasn't his time. 90. b4il3y posted: 04.05.2011 - 2:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) newbs...listen up. a good race... too bad your idol Dale Jr got passed by Kevin.. in b4 whatever... i like the racing. i go to hooters cup events when they come by my area and i can make them. my goodness so many nascar newbs on here... 91. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.05.2011 - 11:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First of all, something I meant to mention earlier. The #11 team had a bad day on pit road with slow stops. So Mike Ford swapped one of the tire changers with somebody from Logano's team. Irony? Isn't that one of the things he publically ripped Chad and the #48 team for doing after Texas before he and Denny submitted one of the greatest championship collapses ever? I know Chad swapped the entire crew while Mike swapped one guy, but still. If he is going to trash those guys for doing it, shouldn't he submit some form of public statement saying he was wrong for saying that last year and that he is following their lead? Two more thoughts: What does that say about JGR's feelings about Logano and his capabilities? He was still on the lead lap, not out of contention, and they sent him a tire changer that wasn't performing at a track where track position is crucial. Secondly, Denny once again publically trashed the team's car preparation, which is ultimately Mike Ford's responsibility. When are they finally going to a) split those two up, they hate each other or b) have a "milk and cookies" meeting at the JGR shop like Hendrick did with JJ and Chad after their '05 Homestead collapse? Why don't they send Zippy to Denny and Mike to Joey? The Logano/Zippy combo isn't hitting on much, and Denny and Mike can't get along well enough to reach their true potential. And yeah, last night's title game was tough to watch. On his Twitter page, Brad retweeted where somebody posted something to the effect of "I went to throw away my drink can but missed the garbage can. I'm gonna try out for Butler now". I've never seen so many layups missed in my life. 92. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.05.2011 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Well DSFF, they don't call him the Silver Fox for no reason. Ask DW or Richard Petty about him. They talk all the time about how he would "sneak" (like a fox) up on you out of now where. I know he dominated a lot of races, but numerous times he would appear in their rearview mirror with about 20 laps left especially in big races. Dale Earnhardt also had a reported pulse rate of about 55 when the race was about to begin." That's true, and I agree. He had a knack for it. But my point is just that it has been overblown. He also kicked a lot of ass. As far as Dale, he used to fall asleep in his car before races. Hell, I was watching one of those rememberance pieces about the '01 Daytona 500, and when they gave the command to crank the engines, he was visably dozing (for some reason he wore clear goggles that day even though it was sunny). The biggest race of the year, and he is dozing off right as it is about to start. I guess that is the last nap he ever took :( "Who cares if he just "took" it to the field three times?! I'd rather him do what he does now than do what Kryle Busch does and race every lap like its his last and wear out his equipment before the race is over. You can't win the race in the first turn. Leading a lot of laps can be overrated. You could easily have the best car and know you have the best car in the field and elect not to race hard until the last 50 miles/laps of the race. It's called saving your car for the end, like Mr. Harvick has done the last two races and throughout his career." Also a good point. The point I was trying to make is that we need to avoid hyperbole. Kinda like the reverse hyperbole (hypoberle?) about Pearson. Kevin is doing a damn good job lately. But I think the talking heads are getting way too carried away. He hasn't won enough to be the greatest anything ever. "So tell me, who else has won 16 races since then that hasn't drove for those owners?" June won 17 races at DEI from '00-'06, including 15 in his first 5 years. They weren't a huge money company (they had a lot, especially from the Budweiser sponsorship, but not as much as most. Big E once told his employees they could never afford him as a driver, AND HE OWNED THE DAMN COMPANY!!!). Kasey Kahne entered the sport 3 years after Kevin, hasn't driven anything resembling a top ride, and has 11 wins. And RCR is pretty good. Since 2006 they have sent a lot of drivers to the cha$e (except for '09). 93. Android posted: 04.05.2011 - 11:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Shrub wearing out his equipment? He hasn't done much of that this year, and that's why he's been so consistent. 94. Rusty posted: 04.05.2011 - 12:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are people really comparing Kevin Harvick to David Pearson? Come on.... 95. Ryan posted: 04.05.2011 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race should also quiet all the Nascar favortism critics that are against Jr. 96. Talon64 posted: 04.05.2011 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt Jr. might still fall off and miss the Chase and I'm 100% sure Mark Martin will fall off and miss the Chase, but as it stands all 4 HMS cars are in position to make the Chase for the first time (and hence have a shot at all finishing top 10 in points for the 1st time for Chase haters). Jimmie 3rd, Dale Jr. 8th, Mark Martin 10th and Jeff Gordon in 12th would get in as a wild card thanks to his win. With Newman and Stewart, that would be 6 Hendrick cars making up 12 Chase spots. But that'll be tough to maintain for the next 20 races. 97. Ryan posted: 04.05.2011 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "he was visably dozing (for some reason he wore clear goggles that day even though it was sunny). The biggest race of the year, and he is dozing off right as it is about to start. I guess that is the last nap he ever took :(" Yeah, I remember him wearing the clear goggles. I don't remember any other time him wearing those clear goggles. I was wondering if anyone else picked up on that as well. How ironic he wore those and what happened. Rick Mears was another one that took naps quite often while waiting for the race to start. "June won 17 races at DEI from '00-'06, including 15 in his first 5 years. They weren't a huge money company (they had a lot, especially from the Budweiser sponsorship, but not as much as most. Big E once told his employees they could never afford him as a driver, AND HE OWNED THE DAMN COMPANY!!!). Kasey Kahne entered the sport 3 years after Kevin, hasn't driven anything resembling a top ride, and has 11 wins. And RCR is pretty good. Since 2006 they have sent a lot of drivers to the cha$e (except for '09)." It's hard to believe that as much as Jr. has fallen off the past 5-6 years how successful he was in the early get go. And easy to forget. So you have named one. Sending guys to the chase is one thing, being able to win it is another. "Are people really comparing Kevin Harvick to David Pearson? Come on...." Yes, and I'm not the only one. 98. Ryan posted: 04.05.2011 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Shrub wearing out his equipment? He hasn't done much of that this year, and that's why he's been so consistent." No wins after dominating three races. There is a reason he is getting tight at the end of all those races he dominated. 99. Ryan posted: 04.05.2011 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "No wins after dominating three races. There is a reason he is getting tight at the end of all those races he dominated." I know he won Bristol, but he ran his stuff too hard at Phoenix, California, and Martinsville. 100. GDR posted: 04.05.2011 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick isn't David Pearson, he's Kevin Harvick. He's had a good enough career on his own merits (16 wins on 13 different tracks, wins on all manner of tracks, Daytona 500/Brickyard 400/Winston 500 triple, etc.). It's the media trying to pin a label (the closer, Mr. Where Did He Come From, etc.) on him not Kevin himself. 101. JimmieJohnsonsNeatlyTrimmedBeard posted: 04.06.2011 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I know he won Bristol, but he ran his stuff too hard at Phoenix, California, and Martinsville." Maybe you can say that about Martinsville, the other two he just plain didn't have the best car at the end regardless, but it's not like the way he was running automatically cost him the race. If the cautions work out right he still could have won any of those races. And who knows if he would even be in position to win at the end if he hadn't run so hard throughout the race. I give Busch credit for being a guy that gives it all he's got all race, because even if it costs him a few races, it still wins him enough of them to balance it out. That's just the kind of driver he is. 102. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 04.06.2011 - 12:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kevin Harvick isn't David Pearson, he's Kevin Harvick. He's had a good enough career on his own merits (16 wins on 13 different tracks, wins on all manner of tracks, Daytona 500/Brickyard 400/Winston 500 triple, etc.)." That's exactly right. He's had a good enough career without having to be compared to anyone else, and let's just leave it at that. Besides, that is a never-ending debate when you discuss two different drivers who drove in different eras. 103. Cornys posted: 04.06.2011 - 9:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #34 - Hardly ture.. Half of the crashes were from cars who over heated their bead and blew a tire. 3 of the yellows were from the same car. That was a much greater than average race if you ask me. 104. Android posted: 04.06.2011 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Do you even watch these races Ryan? He didn't even have the best car at Phoenix, Gordon did. The reason why he took the late was because he's the best at getting on and off pitroad, and Jeff had a bad pitstop. Gordon had the vastly superior car throughout the whole race. At California he had the best car during the first half of the race. Gradually, cars started to reel him in, and his car started to fade with changing weather conditions. It had nothing to do with him "wearing out his equipment". Cars can change throughout the course of the race. At Martinsville he wore out his equipment? Huh? It's the best performance he's ever had at Martinsville. The car was the best on the long runs. Often he would get off pit road first, and then drop back to 4th or 5th the first 30 laps of a run. Then the car would come in, and he would make up spots. Late in the race the exact same thing occurred. Got off pit road first, the car wasn't that great on a start of a run and he dropped to 3rd. With 5 laps to go, he noticeably began to catch Harvick and Jr. Once again displaying that he had a long run car. He has worn out his equipment many times throughout his career, however, he has yet to do that this year. 105. blaneyfan36 posted: 04.06.2011 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks smokefan05, I love how you can believe how the truth is funny. :P 106. Ryan posted: 04.07.2011 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I give Busch credit for being a guy that gives it all he's got all race, because even if it costs him a few races, it still wins him enough of them to balance it out. That's just the kind of driver he is." Just not in the Chase. "Do you even watch these races Ryan?" Slightly. "Gordon had the vastly superior car throughout the whole race." JG just wanted it more at the end. He put the pressure on Busch when he hadn't had it most of the day. "Gradually, cars started to reel him in, and his car started to fade with changing weather conditions. It had nothing to do with him "wearing out his equipment". Cars can change throughout the course of the race." That's because he ran his stuff too hard and don't give him an excuse for the weather changing or whatever, if that's the case they should have set it up for that weather. No excuse, they change because of the driver's ability or non-ability to conserve it or be easy on it in the early get go. "At Martinsville he wore out his equipment? Huh? It's the best performance he's ever had at Martinsville. The car was the best on the long runs. Often he would get off pit road first, and then drop back to 4th or 5th the first 30 laps of a run. Then the car would come in, and he would make up spots. Late in the race the exact same thing occurred. Got off pit road first, the car wasn't that great on a start of a run and he dropped to 3rd. With 5 laps to go, he noticeably began to catch Harvick and Jr. Once again displaying that he had a long run car. He has worn out his equipment many times throughout his career, however, he has yet to do that this year." Regardless if it was his best career finish at Martinsville he still wore his stuff out. He didn't save his breaks, he was too hard on them. Experience and saving tires and breaks won the race at Martinsville. And yes he has wore out his stuff this year. 107. b4il3y posted: 04.07.2011 - 4:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) newbs.. 108. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.07.2011 - 11:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "JG just wanted it more at the end. He put the pressure on Busch when he hadn't had it most of the day." You are right. Jeff turned back the clock on that day, smelled the win and went after it like a shark. He even roughed Kyle up to make sure he would win. It looked just like a Jeff Gordon race from the mid to late 90s, during their "Refuse To Lose" days where, no matter what would happen throughout the day, if he were there at the end, he would win. (For anyone looking for who the true "Closer" of NASCAR is, look at some races from '97 and '98) I thought that would be the spark for his return to relevance, but so far that hasn't panned out. I know just 4 races have happened since then, but he seems to be having chemistry issues. 109. Android posted: 04.07.2011 - 1:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol Ryan. I guess every driver who leads the most laps in a race and ends up losing, it's because they wore their stuff out, right? There's absolutely no evidence to support your "argument," and it's all based on your distorted and biased views against Kyle. Sorry Ryan, but I live in the world of objectivity. 110. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 04.07.2011 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I thought that would be the spark for his return to relevance, but so far that hasn't panned out. I know just 4 races have happened since then, but he seems to be having chemistry issues." Seems that way. I know he got a top 5 in this race, but the 3 races in between Phoenix and Martinsville were pretty mediocre. If they don't get it together by Chase time, they'll never be a factor for the title this season. 111. Talon64 posted: 04.07.2011 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fortunately the Phoenix win puts Gordon in good shape to make the Chase. Texas is going to be a good indicator of where the #24 team is going with their intermediate program. Kevin Harvick could be the 1st driver to win 3 races in a row since Jimmie's 4-peat in the Chase in 2007. 12.4 average finish in 16 starts but only 3 top fives with a best of 3rd in 2006 and 4 races led for 5 laps. 112. JimmieJohnsonsNeatlyTrimmedBeard posted: 04.07.2011 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "lol Ryan. I guess every driver who leads the most laps in a race and ends up losing, it's because they wore their stuff out, right?" I have to agree that the "wearing out equipment" argument is pretty baseless most of the time (unless you're working for a Cup team and looking at all the parts yourself). There are only a few tracks where wearing out brakes is going to be an issue at all. And neither California and Phoenix are one of them. Tires are a different story. If Busch wants to run hard on a set of tires to take the lead, because his team expects a late caution, that's just strategy. If Johnson's team didn't plan on a late caution and decided to stay back and let Busch wear his tires down before he makes his move, that's also just strategy. Both strategies work as much as they don't, and since no one can plan on when the last caution is during a race, you can't hardly place the blame on any driver for trying to go as fast as they can with what they have to work with (isn't that the whole point?). Does anyone think that if the other drivers had the same opportunity to go and lead a bunch of laps with a fast car, they wouldn't run those races exactly like Busch did? What are they going to do, hang back in 5th because they don't want to push it, just because the off-chance the race goes green for the last 100 laps and they can maybe chip away at the lead because they saved their tires? No way. Every point can make the difference in making the Chase, and leading the most laps in a race could end up making all the difference. The best way to win a race is by being out front for as much of it as possible. Isn't that what every driver is trying to do? There's no telling if Busch would even be in contention for a win if he didn't "run his equipment so hard", so how can you say that he cost himself a win just because he ran "hard" throughout the race? Plus, who wants to support a driver that DOESN'T want to lead every lap, and win every single race? I understand that's a lot of Busch's appeal to fans. Jimmie Johnson regularly runs races exactly the way Busch did at Phoenix, California, and Martinsville, but you know what makes all the difference for him in the end? His crew chief always seems to make the right decision on 2, 4, or no tires. And a lot of times cautions just seem to work out in his favor(I won't argue that), which is just luck and there's nothing you can do about that. But I doubt we'd see Ryan in here claiming that Jimmie Johnson "wears out his equipment". I don't really like Busch (just respect), but I watched those races, and with a little bit of luck with cautions, Busch would have 4 wins already this year. Just like Jimmie had 3 in the first 5 races last year. By being a great driver, getting cautions at the right time, and his crew chief making the right calls. You win a lot of races by running your ass off to lead as many laps as possible, and in that way Busch and Johnson are pretty similar. That's why it's no coincidence that Busch and Johnson are the two winning-est drivers of the last 5 or 6 years. That's also why Tony Stewart is a 2-time champion with nearly 40 wins. Some might argue that Mark Martin lacks that same killer instinct throughout a race, which could explain why he's a 5-time bridesmaid rather than a 5-time champion. His win total is very respectable because he's still a great driver, but Johnson has already surpassed it, Stewart will surpass it soon, and I have no doubt in mind that Busch will also one day surpass it, probably on his way to at least a couple titles. And they'll win all those races in a lot less time than it took Martin to get where he is today. I will give Martin credit, he's almost universally liked and respected, while Johnson, Stewart, and Busch aren't exactly widespread fan favorites. But they do win, a lot, and it's because they try to get everything they can out of a car during a race. I didn't plan on this post becoming such a long rant, so just to sum things up, it's almost always stupid to claim a driver wore out their equipment just because they were running hard during a race (certain few tracks are the exception). You can't physically see the parts, so don't talk about them as if it's a given that they are worn in any significant way more than their competitors. And bagging on a driver because they ran hard to try to win a race runs contrary to everything this sport should be about. 113. Cooper posted: 04.08.2011 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll add two cents into the pot on this one. This isn't 1974, where your car isn't reliable. Teams spend millions of dollars on these cars to last 500 miles. If your "saving" your car, theres probably something wrong with your team. I'm 99% sure that you can run balls out for 500 miles and still have no fall off in your car. It was different 10-15 years ago. That's the only thing I respect about this aformentioned driver. 110% all race long. 114. Smiff_99 posted: 04.08.2011 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Posts 112 and 113......spot on. 115. DaleSrFanForever posted: 04.08.2011 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Plus, who wants to support a driver that DOESN'T want to lead every lap, and win every single race?" Harvick fans. "This isn't 1974, where your car isn't reliable. Teams spend millions of dollars on these cars to last 500 miles." You are exactly right. If something breaks on a car nowadays, it was gonna break even you spent the race running half speed on the apron. The only way to "wear out" a car is to hit the wall really hard. The deal with Kyle is that he wears himself out over the course of the year, physically and mentally, by trying to run so many races per year. That is why he is never the same at the end of a season. He has a short fuse as it is, and by season's end he can't mentally handle any type of adversity anymore. 116. JimmieJohnsonsNeatlyTrimmedBeard posted: 04.08.2011 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The deal with Kyle is that he wears himself out over the course of the year, physically and mentally, by trying to run so many races per year. That is why he is never the same at the end of a season. He has a short fuse as it is, and by season's end he can't mentally handle any type of adversity anymore." The mental fatigue I agree about, not so sure about the physical. I know Busch is working some long hours 36 weekends a year, but compared to your average blue collar worker doing manual labor 9 to 5 every week, it's nothing. These drivers have a lot more time off compared to them. And a lot of these guys are in pretty good shape. So with all the time they off compared to most regular people, I don't think any driver is really getting worn out physically throughout the year, even Busch. But the pressure of being a successful driver, and staying focused through 500 miles at 200 mph when its 115 degrees inside your car every week, that's going to wear on your mind after awhile. The question is, do we even want a Kyle Busch that is focused solely on Cup racing? One of these days he's going to figure out how much better he can be if he scales back those other races, and it could be scary. And what really sucks is he's so damn young, even if he doesn't do it for another few years, he'll still be at the age that most drivers are only beginning to make it to Cup anyway. I think I like the dynamic in place now, with Jimmie Johnson dominating, while Kyle Busch wins 3 or 4 races a year and fades at the end. 117. Jarrett88fan posted: 04.08.2011 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Excellent point JimmieJohnsonsneatlytrimmmedbeard! Very articulate and right on the money especially after KB's great Cup start this year. "The question is, do we even want a Kyle Busch that is focused solely on Cup racing? One of these days he's going to figure out how much better he can be if he scales back those other races, and it could be scary. And what really sucks is he's so damn young, even if he doesn't do it for another few years, he'll still be at the age that most drivers are only beginning to make it to Cup anyway." 118. the_man posted: 04.08.2011 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on an 8th place finish: ??It was a long day, but I felt like we had a top 10 car going into the race. We were fortunate to make it back and pass a lot of cars and to end up in the top 10 is certainly a good run. I thought there with 100 to go like man, we had run good all day and we were going to finish 20th. Our UPS Ford was very fast and Drew really made some good pit calls there at the end when things were cycling through with those green flag pit stops to be on the good side of things. It was a good day and our car was a top-10 car.? 119. Watto posted: 04.09.2011 - 4:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's the best performance he's ever had at Martinsville. The car was the best on the long runs. Often he would get off pit road first, and then drop back to 4th or 5th the first 30 laps of a run. Then the car would come in, and he would make up spots. Late in the race the exact same thing occurred. Got off pit road first, the car wasn't that great on a start of a run and he dropped to 3rd. With 5 laps to go, he noticeably began to catch Harvick and Jr. Once again displaying that he had a long run car." It might've been the best on long runs in sections, but not at the end. Before the caution tightened everything up, Harvick gained second after second on Busch. Harvick was considerably faster than Busch at the end of the race on long runs. It was being reported on that Harvick was catching fast and closed within 5 seconds, and before you knew it, Harvick had cut it down to 2 seconds. Then of course you had the caution and all that, but Harvick pretty much deserved to win that one. 120. 00andJoe posted: 04.09.2011 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 'Owners points counting only a team's highest finishing car' 1. Gibbs, 250 2. Hendrick, 247 3. Childress, 244 4. Roush, 243 5. Stewart-Hass, 215 6. Penske, 205 7. Earnhardt-Ganassi, 204 8. Petty, 200 9. Red Bull, 189 10. Waltrip, 177 11. JTG-Daughtery, 138 12. Phoenix, 120 13. Front Row, 116 14. Wood Brothers, 105 15. Furniture Row, 105 16. FAS Lane, 99 17. Robby Gordon, 90 18. TRG, 77 19. Germain, 75 20. Baldwin, 72 21. Gunselman, 63 22. Wallace, 24 23. Whitney, 23 24. HP, 21 25. NEMCO, 14 26. K-Automotive, 9 121. 18fan posted: 04.09.2011 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watto, Harvick actually had fresher tires as he was the only one of the top 5 who could've made the finish without a pit stop if the race stayed green. 122. Ryan posted: 04.09.2011 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "lol Ryan. I guess every driver who leads the most laps in a race and ends up losing, it's because they wore their stuff out, right? There's absolutely no evidence to support your "argument," and it's all based on your distorted and biased views against Kyle. Sorry Ryan, but I live in the world of objectivity." Oh please Android, it's either Kyle Busch or nothing for you. FACT You're the one that defends Busch all the time whether he is right or wrong. FACT He wears his equipment out and wears his mind out. FACT He is fine when everything goes really well at the start of the race. FACT But when there is a little adversity involved he has always struggled. He's a front-runner in the beginning. FACT I could almost bet you without looking that he has blown a lot more races than he has won. FACT He isn't clutch. FACT He sucks in the Chase. FACT And it's not an argument, it's FACT. 123. Ryan posted: 04.09.2011 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But I doubt we'd see Ryan in here claiming that Jimmie Johnson wears out his equipment". The difference with Busch and Johnson is that Johnson meets adversity head on and Busch crumbles and buckles under pressure while Johnson thrives on it. Johnson and his team also do well throughout the race when conditions change (weather and track temps changes, tires). He lets his team know what's going on and what it needs, while Busch wonders all the time, "Why is my car starting to suck all of a sudden?" "Why are these cars passing me all of a sudden?" Johnson can adjust better than anyone throughout a race knowing what it needs while Busch struggles to do that. Knaus is a big reason why they have had a lot of success. That and his ability to cheat. Busch has even said he wants to lead every lap, that's fine if you don't gag in the end of a race or season most of the time. He wears himself out physically and mentally and then brings his team down bitching. 124. Watto posted: 04.09.2011 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Watto, Harvick actually had fresher tires as he was the only one of the top 5 who could've made the finish without a pit stop if the race stayed green. " Oh, really? Didn't know that. My bad. 125. JimmieJohnsonsNeatlyTrimmedBeard posted: 04.09.2011 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Oh please Android, it's either Kyle Busch or nothing for you. FACT You're the one that defends Busch all the time whether he is right or wrong. FACT He wears his equipment out and wears his mind out. [citation needed] FACT He is fine when everything goes really well at the start of the race. [citation needed] FACT But when there is a little adversity involved he has always struggled. He's a front-runner in the beginning. [citation needed] FACT I could almost bet you without looking that he has blown a lot more races than he has won. [citation needed] FACT He isn't clutch. [citation needed] FACT He sucks in the Chase. [citation needed] FACT [citation needed] And it's not an argument, it's FACT. [citation needed]" Back it up or shut up. Because those sound more like opinions based on subjective criteria there bud, not fact. 126. Anonymous posted: 04.10.2011 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan, You are very biased for claiming Kyle Busch wears out his equipment when he leads a lot of laps in a race and other drivers don't when they led a lot in a race. Matt Kenseth led 169 lap tonight and would have led even more if it wasn't for pit strategy by the 22 car. What Matt Kenseth did would be classified as wearing out his equipment because he led a lot of laps and his car was on a rail about all night. Kenseth won because his team kept up with track conditions and there wasn't a lot of cautions. Kyle has a history of not doing that. 127. Ryan posted: 04.10.2011 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Oh please Android, it's either Kyle Busch or nothing for you. FACT You're the one that defends Busch all the time whether he is right or wrong. FACT He wears his equipment out and wears his mind out. [citation needed] FACT He is fine when everything goes really well at the start of the race. [citation needed] FACT But when there is a little adversity involved he has always struggled. He's a front-runner in the beginning. [citation needed] FACT I could almost bet you without looking that he has blown a lot more races than he has won. [citation needed] FACT He isn't clutch. [citation needed] FACT He sucks in the Chase. [citation needed] FACT [citation needed] And it's not an argument, it's FACT. [citation needed]" Back it up or shut up. Because those sound more like opinions based on subjective criteria there bud, not fact. My bad grammar police! I didn't know I was in English 101 again. You're crazy if you don't know he's a choke artist in the Chase. "Kenseth won because his team kept up with track conditions and there wasn't a lot of cautions. Kyle has a history of not doing that." Thanks for proving my point. 128. JimmieJohnsonsNeatlyTrimmedBeard posted: 04.10.2011 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "My bad grammar police! I didn't know I was in English 101 again." ...is what the guy with no evidence to support his wild claims says. Nice cop out. I'll just keep waiting on those citations. 129. Spen posted: 07.06.2011 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A note to the webmaster: Nemechek started 37th, not 43rd. Everyone from Landon Cassil to Hermie Sadler should be moved back one posistion. 130. webmaster posted: 07.06.2011 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nemechek did start 43rd. Although he originally qualified 37th, Nemechek's time was disallowed and he was moved to the back of the field. 131. Anonymous posted: 08.18.2011 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) on post #13 as dale jr's father, and the driver of the #3 before it became the #29, Dale Sr said, 1st place pays more. 132. 00andJoe posted: 01.15.2012 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew: Derrike Cope (#75), Dennis Setzer (#92) 133. Robert Nelson posted: 07.12.2012 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) F1 points: Kevin Harvick 77 Kyle Busch 70 Carl Edwards 69 134. Robert Nelson posted: 07.12.2012 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correction: Kyle Busch has 77 and Kevin Harvick has 70. 135. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 04.24.2014 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew 75 Derriek Cope Dodge TBA Gary Keller 92 Dennis Sezter Dodge Holiday Inn/K-Automotive (Holiday Inn was on Deck-lid and Lower QP) Bob Keselowski (Wrecked in practice) 136. Anonymous posted: 09.16.2018 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) According to Brian Keselowski on Twitter, the car Dennis Setzer crashed in practice for this race is now being used at the Bonneville Salt Flats. 137. Anonymous posted: 09.16.2018 - 11:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Actually, it was wrecked in practice during the fall race in 2010. 138. Anonymous posted: 01.24.2019 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Weird fact about this race: Kyle Busch led 151 laps (the most of anyone) and finished third, for the second race in a row. 139. TrickyMario7654 posted: 06.11.2020 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Footage from this race was used in The Simpsons episode "Steal This Episode". 140. Rich posted: 12.19.2020 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda and Dr. Dick Berggren 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: