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Year of the sweep as Kenseth, crew dig deep
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It seems like the worse Kenseth qualifies, the better he races. It just means the crew works that much harder. The final pit stop was a pressure situation, and the No. 17 team made no mistakes. I saw a couple of little mistakes on a couple of other guys, but the No. 17 car's stop was clean.
Jimmie Johnson's car didn't get out of the pit well. He fell back in traffic, and it could have been the difference. Johnson wasn't very happy with his pit stop. It probably took him out of a chance to win the race. We saw the reaction from Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus, who wasn't a happy camper.
Suspended No. 17 crew chief Robbie Reiser has to be beside himself. As Jeff Hammond said, the depth of these teams is impressive. You've got to have the whole package. You can't have a successful business and be an absentee owner, but you can have a successful race team and be an absentee crew chief.
In Turns 3 and 4, you want your car to be a little bit snug, but in Turn 2, it can't be. Kenseth's car wasn't while Kevin Harvick's car was as they raced each other before the last caution. Kenseth ate up the white line, and he was able to get back in the gas quickly. He wasn't pushing the nose, and off he went. Kenseth was little better in Turns 1 and 2, and Harvick was a little better in Turns 3 and 4.
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Programs of the week
Sunday, 3/22 on FOX 1:30 pm: Food City 500 This week on SPEED Friday, 3/20 Noon: Cup practice 1:30 pm: N'wide practice 3:00 pm: NASCAR LIVE 3:30 pm: Cup qualifying 4:30 pm: N'wide practice 7:00 pm: Trackside Saturday, 3/21 11:00 am: Cup practice 12:20 pm: Cup practice Sunday, 3/22 11:00 am: NASCAR in a hurry 11:30 am: NASCAR Raceday 8:00 pm: Victory Lane All times ET | ||
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Richard Childress Racing has figured out the flat-track setup at places like New Hampshire, Phoenix and flatter facilities like California. It was incredible to see Harvick's blown tire before the final restart. What a shame! Childress was probably about ready to cry.
Races aren't over 'til they're over. It came down to the final restart. During the red flag, the cars sat a little while, the cold rubber picks up some dirt and debris. When they came down for the last green flag, Jeff Burton spun his tires. You've got to clean up the tires. Spin them when you're going down the backstretch. Swerve the car around and get off all of that dirt.
Jeff Gordon jumped up and went right by Burton, taking Jimmie Johnson with him. The No. 48 car had some speed, but Johnson wasn't able to get by his teammate Gordon. Tony Stewart's sticker tires were fine, but they didn't do him any good at the end of the race.
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Kenseth had to say, "Oh, what a relief." He doesn't get excited very often, but he looked pretty excited on Sunday. He was on a rail. It got dark at the end of the race, and he didn't have his clear shield on. It was getting pretty hard to see, but maybe that's the hot tip. Kenseth didn't know if they were coming or not. I enjoyed Jack Roush running to Victory Lane like Jumpin' Jack Flash.
I love this sport. We ran 500 miles. Seventeen cars finished on the lead lap, and we had a heck of a battle for which driver was going to win the thing.
The Las Vegas Nextel Cup race is going to be a crapshoot. They tore up a perfectly good facility, but pit road is closer to the grandstands so the fans can experience the pit stops a little better. Plus, the cars will be going over 190 mph.
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