Johnson Hitting His Stride Three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson has overcome his trademark “slow” start and climbed to fourth in the points standings. His win at Martinsville last Sunday enabled him to jump five spots. At this same time last season Johnson was 10th in the standings. Currently, he is 142 points behind his teammate and standings leader Jeff Gordon.
Johnson heads to Texas with a good chance of continuing to shrink his teammate’s points lead. Johnson won the fall race in 2007 at Texas, and has posted five top fives and eight top 10s in 11 starts.
Johnson has finished second twice at Texas including last season’s spring race. Barring some unforeseen mechanical problem; watch for Johnson to be up front this weekend.
Against The Odds: Stewart-Haas Racing Continues To Impress
Starting a new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team isn’t easy, nor is being the owner/driver for said team. But Tony Stewart and his teammate Ryan Newman are not only meeting the expectations, they’re exceeding them. Stewart’s third-place finish at Martinsville was his first top-five and fourth top-10 finish of the season. He is seventh in the series standings, 161 points behind Jeff Gordon. Stewart won the fall Texas event in 2005 and has posted three top fives and eight top 10s in 14 starts at the 1.5-mile speedway.
His teammate, Ryan Newman, is on the move. He gained nine spots with his sixth-place finish at Martinsville, putting him in 18th. Newman has posted two top 10s this season and looks forward to Texas where he won in 2003. Newman has 11 starts at Texas, posting two poles and three top fives.
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The Final Lap Podcasts
The Final Lap CHAT Show #58 – Tue, 31 Mar 2009
Kyle Busch needs to grow up, Denny Hamlin already has, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick take home Martinsville wins, a full Texas preview and special guest from Twitter – Genna, Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop
I’ll say this Kyle Busch never ceases to amaze me in so many ways. He is one of the most incredible drivers to ever hit the NASCAR circuit, but at the same time his personality needs a little work. If Kyle wonders why most fans have not taken to his persona, it’s because of what we saw after Monday’s Truck Series race at Martinsville. (See Video Below)
First the back story, Kyle got damage to his #51 from contact with eventual race winner Kevin Harvick. During the next caution he decided to try to pull the fender away from his left rear tire, by scrubbing his truck on the inside wall. Only one problem with that, while doing so, he crossed the pit road commitment line, which means you must come in to pit per NASCAR rules, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
So of course he was penalized, Kyle complained on the radio to no avail and was sent to the back of the pack. In true Kyle Busch fashion, at the end of the race he emerged from his truck, threw his helmet and HANS device across his truck and ran, and ran. As if he was a little child stomping his feet for not getting his way, Kyle ran down pit lane, across the track and left without speaking to anyone.
In my opinion this is one of the most childish, unprofessional things I have ever seen a race car driver do in this sport. An act like this degrades the sport and is uncalled for. GROW UP KYLE BUSCH, you are a man, a professional race car driver, making millions of dollars, and oh by the way, this was entirely your fault anyway!
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