by Darrell Waltrip

During the second caution at lap 21, Dale Jr. wasn't happy with his car so he made a pit stop, and the No. 8 crew fixed it. That's the time to do it. You don't want to ride around because there was a long way to go. He restarted 28th and drove right back through the field. It was a really great call early in the race, which made his car much better. And it kept getting better all night long.

Sign up now and create your free fantasy team and league. More NASCAR

Dale Jr. impresses the heck out of me because he is so apologetic when he does something wrong on the racetrack. He doesn't want anybody to think he's not a fair driver. He goes out of his way to be fair, and he doesn't like controversy. He decided that he couldn't get by Kevin Harvick so after he bumped him on lap 325, he apologized and let somebody else try to take the lead.

Back in traffic, Dale Jr. was awfully cautious. Once he got out front on lap 356, he really stepped it up. His winning run will do more for that team than anything else that could happen to them. Once they regain their confidence and get back to their winning ways, look out.

No place like home for Hamlin

The end of the race was almost like the duel between Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart in last spring's Richmond race because Denny Hamlin probably wouldn't have the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing ride if it wasn't for Dale Jr. who drove against him in an online racing league. No two guys wanted to win worse than they did on Saturday night.

Hamlin was good on the bottom. The rookie could get alongside and worry Dale Jr., but he wasn't able to pass him. Drivers needed the whole racetrack to make the pass, and that was Hamlin's problem. When you get under somebody, you just don't have enough room. Once the field sorted out a little bit and cleaned off their tires, it was hard for Hamlin to get to the leader.

I was really impressed with Hamlin. I talked to him on Thursday night when we first got to Richmond, and he was really worried about running both nights. After Wednesday's test at Lowe's Motor Speedway, he ripped open his left hand running around the No. 11 team's hauler. It took 19 stitches to close the wound. He was driving on adrenaline and determination with that hurt wing. The car was a little bit tight which was good because he didn't want to turn left and right. The crew just let him tug to the left.

Although he didn't win, he should be tickled to death to run 2nd at his home racetrack. I know I was back in the day at Nashville. He was concerned about not being able to make an appearance at a Richmond hospital to see a sick boy because he was in the hospital. He was really upset about that, but he couldn't do anything about it. Hopefully the boy watched the race.

One on One with point leader

You seem to be a much wiser driver this year. So far, you've been in the Chase both years, and you haven't won the championship yet. What do you guys have to do to keep that momentum all the way to the end of the year and not fizzle out in those last 10 races?

Jimmie Johnson: "I think, in some ways, we just can't beat ourselves. We can't get too caught up in each individual race and what's taking place at the time. We've just got to keep working on our racecars. We're having a good stretch, still keep trying to advance the cars, not be content and don't panic if we kind of lose some momentum. All in all, we're a smarter team. I'm driving with the right mentality. The team is holding their own on pit road. Everybody's just a lot wiser — including myself ׫ so hopefully we can take all that knowledge and experience we've had over the last four seasons, roll that into 10 good ones at the end of the year and be a champion."

Ask DW
AskDW Subject: Comment/Question: Name:  Email:  Hometown:

(Editor's note: For more on Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the top-15 finishers in the Crown Royal 400 race at the Richmond International Raceway, check out DW's second Richmond column.)

Proud of my race team

Jeff, Larry and I always talk about it, but this NASCAR on FOX deal is just like being on a great race team. It's a team effort. This isn't just one monkey. Believe it or not, one monkey doesn't stop this show. Congratulations to all of the people behind the scenes that never get on camera for winning three Emmys last week for the 2005 season.

It's nights like Saturday night when I'm really glad that I'm in the broadcast booth, doing what I'm doing. It's exciting and fun to be part of this team. Larry, Mike, Jeff, Chris, the pit reporters and everybody on the crew did a great job. It was a good night.