My how things have changed yet stayed the same.
Earnhardt Jr., who last won in June of 2008 at Michigan, was leading with four laps to go in the Goody’s 500 on Sunday when Kevin Harvick, driving a car that was reminiscent of the cars that Earnhardt’s father drove, pulled off a move that would have made The Intimidator proud (and probably a little ticked off too, since it was his son that Harvick beat).
“I could see the people just going crazy coming off of turn two when he took the lead from Kyle,” Harvick said about Jr. taking the lead with 20 to go. “And I as catching him and I'm like, ‘Man, I'm going to be the bad guy here.’ But I've got to do what I've got to do.”
Earnhardt Jr. was disappointed in finishing second, but told reporters he knew he didn’t have a car that could win.
“We really were not a top-5 car all day. We worked really hard to stay inside the top-10 all day. Made a lot of changes on the car, we made several changes trying to find that speed,” he said.
Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 car at Indianapolis last year
Earnhardt Jr. was close in the end, but noted the handling on his car started to go away, and Harvick caught up to him.
“We had an opportunity to win the race,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I'm disappointed that I didn't get the job done and it will probably bother me more and more as the night goes on.”
I’m sure Earnhardt’s finish didn’t bother his car owner Rick Hendrick, who made a dramatic three-car, three-team, three-crew chief swap after last season’s finale at Homestead. So far it’s paying off for two of the three teams, Earnhardt and Gordon.
Gordon and new crew chief Alan Gustafson visited victory lane in the season’s second race at Phoenix, and Gordon’s old crew chief Steve Letarte almost helped Earnhardt break a 98-race winless streak on Sunday.
So what gives for Mark Martin, who has an average finish of 13.8 this season? He’s teamed up with Earnhardt’s former pit boss Lance McGrew, and as I noted a few weeks ago, Martin and McGrew are just missing something.
Earnhardt Jr. isn’t though.
“I'm really thrilled,” he said. “I know it don't look like it, but I've got such a hell of an opportunity. This is such a great group to be around, and I'm having fun it. I'm racing cars. It's all I've ever wanted to do. I want to run like this.”
“I want to finish like this and run a little bit better than this on every weekend, and we are right on the outside of that, you know, and it's frustrating to be that close. It was frustrating to be leading the race with just a few -- inside ten laps to go and be passed,” he added.
“But there's definitely a brighter side to what's going on, too, and I won't forget to notice that.”
Sounds like he’s been taking notes from his teammate Mark Martin.
And speaking of Martins, how about the wreck that Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne were involved in on lap 222 that sparked a 25-minute red flag? That was one of the hardest hits I’ve ever seen at a place like Martinsville.
But I’m thankful that Truex and Kahne were able to walk away unscathed.
“Thanks to NASCAR and all the guys who build the SAFER barriers and these race cars, they are unbelievable,” Truex said. “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
More NASCAR news, notes and opinions as the week rolls on. This week’s race is the first-ever night race at Texas. Should be an interesting one for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment