Bowyer won with a tough fight and good luck
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He started deep in the field, but Friday during practice, you could tell they had a very good race car. If Denny Hamlin didn't have the problem with his tire going down, everyone else would have been racing for second place. After Kyle Busch and Dale Jr. got together, Clint was at the right place at the right time and won the race.
One thing I always work hard at and something I have stressed to my son Brandon when he races is if you put yourself into position enough times to win, then circumstances might fall in your favor. That certainly is what happened to Clint. Those guys worked their way to the front, kept making their car better and at the end, they were in position to win the race.
Another guy in my book that had a good solid night was Tony Stewart. He started 15th and it didn't take long to realize that he had a good solid car, too.
One of the more pleasant runs we saw Saturday night was Mark Martin. Mark qualified second, ran in the Top 5 all night long and finished in the Top 5 for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Don't underestimate what Martin is doing. It's hard. He basically is stepping in and out of that race car and running a part-time schedule, so that was two races in a row where he had a strong car and was a contender to win.
When you look at three of our past champions — Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch — all three won races and made the Chase last year. But this year is completely different and all three have not had a good season so far. Kurt finished second in the Daytona 500, but that's been the only highlight of his season. Meanwhile, Kenseth has struggled all year and Gordon has been hit and miss.
I will say that Jeff and the entire No. 24 team at Richmond are living proof that you never give up and never quit swinging for the fences. They worked on that car all night long and were able to end up with a Top 10 finish. But Gordon, Busch and Kenseth all have to be wondering when the bleeding is going to stop. The other unique thing about this scenario is that those three guys are driving for different manufacturers — Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford. All three also have a teammate that is running good.
Busch's teammate, Ryan Newman, is running decent. Kenseth's teammate, Carl Edwards, is running strong and won races already this season. Gordon's teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is having a real solid year and is currently third in the points race. I just think that this new car at certain race tracks with this new generation of race tire has thrown these three guys for a loop.
Folks ask all the time, "If one teammate is running so good, how come the other isn't?" It's all about the feel in the race car that the driver wants and the driver has. When I worked at Richard Childress Racing, Mike Skinner wanted a different feel in his car than what Dale Earnhardt wanted.
I have to tell you, my heart absolutely bled for Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford in that No. 11 car Saturday night. That was as dominate a performance that we have seen out of anybody in a long, long time. They led 380 laps out of 381 laps before that tire went down. Unfortunately, that's not the first time misfortune has hit those guys.
Did I agree with NASCAR penalizing him the two laps for stopping on the track and bringing out the caution? You know what, I did. He did what he needed to do and took the risk. NASCAR did what they felt was right and I think it was right, too.
I also think what NASCAR did to Michael Waltrip was absolutely right. I have preached and I have preached — you don't retaliate with your race car. It's the guys in the shop who put in endless hours that are the ones that suffer when you retaliate with your race car. What Waltrip did was totally uncalled for. NASCAR was right to park him for the rest of the race because he tore up more of his race car and he destroyed what was left of Casey Mears' car.
| Speed Mail Larry McReynolds |
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Obviously the biggest controversy coming out of Richmond was, as I see it, not a controversy at all. I saw two guys — one who is hungry for a win because he hasn't won in two years and then one guy who is hungry to win every week and will do whatever it takes to get there.
I saw two guys racing hard for a win at a short track. I am confident in saying that Busch didn't come off Turn 3 side by side with Dale Jr. on the outside thinking he was going to wreck him on purpose. What people tend not to remember is when you try to intentionally wreck someone, probably 70 percent of the time you end up wrecking yourself.
Our NASCAR on FOX replays clearly show that Busch's car got loose when he dove down into Turn 3. He corrected it, but then it walked up the race track and he got into Dale Jr. I don't think there was anything intentional. I call it good, hard racing for a win.
But here is where I climb up on my pulpit and bang my fist. There has been a huge group of NASCAR fans for the last few years that have been moaning, groaning and complaining because we don't have good racing. We don't have side-by-side racing. We don't have guys beatin' and bangin' like we used to. We don't have people racing hard.
Well, there you have it people! That's what we had Saturday night at Richmond. I bet there are still a large group of those fans that still aren't happy. I realize there are a lot of Dale Jr. fans who are upset. Trust me, I want to see Junior win, too. But you know what? It was simply two guys racing hard. Busch didn't do anything that Dale Earnhardt Sr. hadn't done for years.
FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.
"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.
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