What everyone thought would be a clinching of the Championship for Jimmie Johnson turned south. Johnson was saying prior to the race that their car was really good and fast and that they were not going to hold back, well as luck would have it, the #48 team struggled with an ill handling car all day and just could not get it done. Jack Roush has to be buying some new hats especially when his teams all finish in the Top 10 with the exception of David Ragan but heck he finished 11th. Did anyone else notice the lack of attendance in the stands at Texas? Isn’t this one of those tracks that sells out all the time? Yet just another sign of how tough the economy is on the sport and I am sure it will not get any better in the future.Here are some of my random thoughts on the race;
1. I’ll be your Huckleberry! I can just imagine hearing Carl say that as he won on Sunday at Texas as he closes in on Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Championship. Carl did not waste anytime moving up front and stayed up front for pretty much the entire race until the late pit stop where some teams opted for 2 tires vice 4. Despite being back in 7th place, Carl slowly but surely made his way back up to the front and there was no looking back. Hats off to the #99 Team, especially the gas mileage engineer, do you think he will be getting a bonus check from Jack?
2. An Eye for An Eye? Okay so Montoya fesses up that he was being a bit aggressive towards David Gilliland and giving him a shove here and a bump there but lets put this in perspective in that Montoya had a Top 10 car and the #38 was holding him up along with being a few laps down so do you really blame Montoya but when the #38 came rocketing down on the track and slammed into the #42 at over 185mph, that is just lunacy. I was happy to see NASCAR park the #38 and I wouldn’t be surprised if hefty fines along with points coupled with perhaps sitting out a race is not handed out. Drivers that do those types of things should be banned from the sport because both of them along with other drivers could have been seriously hurt if not killed. If you want to settle your differences, do it behind the haulers and NOT on the track.
3. The Beak was flying. David Reutimann showed that he belongs in the Cup series and may be the only glimmer of light over at MWR. David ran up in the Top 10 most of the day and finished 10th.
4. Crown Royal is Proud. Jamie McMurray looked like he was going to take home the victory but alas he could not close the deal but he has really come on strong since Dover and has been showing signs of improvement. He may not have had the most stellar season out of all the Roush drivers but he NEVER gave up and I am sure he will race his butt off in the last two races.
5. Ding Dong, the witch is not dead. Lets not give up on AJ Allmendinger, he could have had a Top 15 finish if not for his speeding penalty and still shows that he is one of those drivers that deserve to be driving in the Cup series.
6. Are Fords that good? Carl did mention about his fuel mileage from his Fusion and even teammate Greg Biffle was wondering how Carl lasted 8 laps more then he did. Okay Greg, did you see how Carl was racing the last 5 laps and it does matter on how heavy your right foot is on that gas pedal. The way Greg stated it in his post race interview almost sounded like he was accusing his teammate of cheating. Tip of the day Greg, make sure you clear those comments with your team owner first, he does write your paycheck.
7. Magic 8-ball. Does anyone else realize that with Carl’s win at Texas on Sunday, that ties him with Shrub? Both of them have 8 wins each this season but Kyle has come up short and is out of contention for the Championship. Consistency is the key.
Carl is only 106 points away from Jimmie Johnson and has made the Chase a bit more exciting to say the least. Next up is Phoenix where Jimmie does have a better record but lets not count out our Cousin Carl, he is going for broke. Watch that rear view mirror Jimmie, if you are not careful, you just may get passed.
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