He's BACK!
Sometimes I just have to wonder if the entire Nextel Cup deal is scripted. Picture this; Nascar's favourite driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has
gone winless in 27 races. He has slowly been picking his way back to the front, and at Richmond this weekend, site of the Crown Royal 400, he finished his return with a trip to victory lane - on prime time television no less.
"I think we are there,'' Earnhardt Jr. said after destroying what was left of his rear tires in a spectacular burnout on the front straight. "We keep taking our shots, but we're pretty competitive. Everything is working really great. I couldn't ask for any position on this team to be any better. I'm just glad to be back in victory lane, it feels really great.'' Jr. added.
Along with the win, Jr. moved up two spots in the points to sixth, and has a real shot of making the 'chase' this year.
The car
to beat all night was Kevin Harvick, who won the Busch race earlier in the weekend. Harvick led 272 of 400 laps, but a bad call on a pit stop - he stayed out, everyone else came in - cost him the race. "Just got tight," Harvick said after the race, clearly choosing to stay quiet rather than expanding on what he really thought. Harvick has just signed a three year extension with Richard Childress Racing, and keeping quiet right now was the best choice. Harvick, like Earnhardt Jr. has seen his fortunes improve as of late, and both are hoping the trend continues for the rest of the year.
Coming out of Richmond, the points leader is still Jimmie Johnson by 55 over Tony Stewart. Kenseth is third, Mark Martin
fourth, some 176 points back, then come the boys on the move, Harvick and Earnhardt Jr. Kasey Kahne had his second bad race in a row, finishing five laps down at Richmond, which cost him three spots in the standings - Kahne is now seventh. Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears round out the top 10, while Dale Jarrett and Jeff Burton are still under the 400 point margin to qualify for the chase.
Motorsport Quick Hits...
.... Jarrett to Toyota? Dale Jarrett is the talk of the town as of late. The rumour mill still says that he'll team with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, as part of the Toyota camp. "Michael and I have always
been friends," Jarrett said recently. "I can see us working together. I told my wife Kelley that Michael Waltrip is getting ready to pull off the biggest thing that's happened in NASCAR in quite a while. It would be fun looking at the opportunity to build something there, but we'll see what happens here shortly," Jarrett added.
.... McLaren looks at Hamilton - seriously. Lewis Hamilton, some devoted fans may remember him as the up and coming star of the McLaren sponsored karting series several years back. McLaren signed Hamilton at age 11, and in the GP2 race at the Nurburgring this weekend Hamilton dominated both races, even beating up on his much more experienced teammate Alexandre Premat. McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, was asked about the possibilities of an F1 ride in 2007 for Hamilton, and Dennis deflected the question saying he was still worrying about 2006. So, where did this year's golden F1 boy, Nico Rosberg come from... ahh, GP2, so there could be an incentive for Dennis to take a close look at Hamilton for the second McLaren seat in 2007.
Sometimes I just have to wonder if the entire Nextel Cup deal is scripted. Picture this; Nascar's favourite driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has
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| Dale Earnhardt Jr, driver of the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, wins the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. (Photo: Bob LeSieur) |
"I think we are there,'' Earnhardt Jr. said after destroying what was left of his rear tires in a spectacular burnout on the front straight. "We keep taking our shots, but we're pretty competitive. Everything is working really great. I couldn't ask for any position on this team to be any better. I'm just glad to be back in victory lane, it feels really great.'' Jr. added.
Along with the win, Jr. moved up two spots in the points to sixth, and has a real shot of making the 'chase' this year.
The car
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| Earnhardt Jr's win seemed almost scripted. (Photo: Bob LeSieur) |
Coming out of Richmond, the points leader is still Jimmie Johnson by 55 over Tony Stewart. Kenseth is third, Mark Martin
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| A long time coming, Earnhardt is back in victory circle. (Photo: Dorsey Patrick) |
Motorsport Quick Hits...
.... Jarrett to Toyota? Dale Jarrett is the talk of the town as of late. The rumour mill still says that he'll team with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, as part of the Toyota camp. "Michael and I have always
 |
| Dale Jarrett chats with crew chief 'Slugger' Labbe. (Photo: Autostock) |
.... McLaren looks at Hamilton - seriously. Lewis Hamilton, some devoted fans may remember him as the up and coming star of the McLaren sponsored karting series several years back. McLaren signed Hamilton at age 11, and in the GP2 race at the Nurburgring this weekend Hamilton dominated both races, even beating up on his much more experienced teammate Alexandre Premat. McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, was asked about the possibilities of an F1 ride in 2007 for Hamilton, and Dennis deflected the question saying he was still worrying about 2006. So, where did this year's golden F1 boy, Nico Rosberg come from... ahh, GP2, so there could be an incentive for Dennis to take a close look at Hamilton for the second McLaren seat in 2007.
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