By Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
Teams used simple math near final laps in Dover while trying to add a top finish to their points quest for the 2011 NASCAR season.
The top three race cars to take the checkered flag at Dover International Speedway Sunday got there on a two tire stop or less.
Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards dominated the lead in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks for many of the total laps, but it was the last 17 laps after the final pit stop that made the race exciting for mid-pack drivers. Both Johnson and Edwards took four tires to complete the race and relinquished their leading ways.
Many other teams took only two tires on the final pit stop.
Matt Kenseth came out quickly with a two tire pit stop and never gave up the lead to win for Roush Fenway. Mark Martin took no tires and claimed his second place finish for Hendrick Motorsports. Marcos Ambrose parlayed a two tire pit stop into a season best third place for Richard Petty Motorsports.
The finishing order of these top three drivers may have surprised some NASCAR fans, but their words before and after the race might offer explanations.
Photo credit: Dwight Drum at Racetake.com
FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of motorsports topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. Quotes derived from team and sanction press releases.
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford) Finished first.
Before the green flag: “I have always really liked this track,” Kenseth said. “We have done fairly well here, although it has been sort of feast or famine. It is a track that I enjoy. You have to have fast cars.”
After the checkered flag: “Obviously it was a great day for us and exciting for me to win here at Dover, especially the way we did it,” Kenseth said. “It seems like we have lost more that way than we have won. It really turned out good and I was happy we were able to pull it off.
“The other guys that got two were all running behind us and I felt like we had a better car than most of the guys that got two if I could just get a clean restart. That helped.
“There were times we ran good and times we didn’t. At the end we made good adjustments to get it better again.
“I knew one of the front three cars on the restart was going to win the race because the rubber builds up and makes it almost impossible to pass, at least for me compared to early in the race. The last few races here you have seen that track position was really important at the end of the race.”
Mark Martin (No. 5 Chevrolet) Finished second.
Before the green flag: “I loved it the first time I went there,” Martin said. “A lot of things have changed there, but one thing that’s stayed the same is it’s a wonderful place to race. Wonderful racetrack, one of my favorite places to go. It’s the only concrete track that I really love. And I loved it even more when it was asphalt, but I still love it. It’s one of my top-of-the-list favorites.”
After the checkered flag: “It was another great race at Dover,” Martin said. “Golly, I love this place. I always get excited about coming here to race. You know, we had a really fast racecar. Today we finally got a finish.
“This is the era of NASCAR racing that we have today. Twenty years ago, there weren’t so many cars the same speed and passing and overtaking was easy. Not so easy now because you have the world’s greatest drivers, 40 deep, 40 darn good racecars out there, too. That’s to be expected.”
Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 Ford) Finished third.
Before the green flag: “Dover is a great track. I really enjoy going there and it’s one of my favorite tracks of the year. It’s always a tough race and a long race with 400 laps around the one-mile concrete oval. Physically it’s demanding and mentally it’s challenging. It’s a different style of race track with high banking and it’s a place where there is no such thing as a small crash. I really feel like this is the weekend my luck is going to change at Dover.”
After the checkered flag: “On concrete I think it is the steeper banking that helps me feel the tires,” Ambrose said. “Today was a tough day though. The track was changing every run throughout the run. The car was getting really slick on that rubber. It wasn’t much you could do. You couldn’t ask for much change on the car because you knew it would be that way all day. You just had to change your line and keep searching.
“I am learning how these cars work. This result today I am really excited about because I think it is going to lead to a great Charlotte, Pocono, Indy, Kansas, all those tracks coming up I feel like we are suited to those tracks and I am excited about it.”
The Final Lap Weekly 