Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson have been two of the most dominant drivers in recent memory in the sport, and often times, they’re in contention due to the decisions by their crew chiefs.
But every once in awhile, someone’s gamble pays off. This was the case last Saturday night in Phoenix, when a rare misjudgment by Johnson and Busch paved the way for Ryan Newman to end his seventy-seven race winless drought.
Newman gambled on the final stop, joining several other drivers in taking only two tires, to move into the leader’s spot and capture the victory in the Subway Fresh Fit 600.
The victory was Newman’s first with Stewart Haas Racing, and he was quick to note that following the conclusion.
“It was tough last year, I’m not going to kid you, when I come to a new organization and it’s the same organization for Tony Stewart and he won all those races,” Newman said. “We knew what we needed to do to make our team better. And I feel that we’ve done that. We proved that. This is the most emotional victory I’ve ever had in my entire career just because it’s been so long.”
The race length, now 600 kilometers, was increased in January from the previous 500 kilometers in year’s past to accommodate the preferred nighttime finish of track officials.
AJ Allmendinger captured his first career pole, but it was Juan Pablo Montoya who emerged as the strongest car early in the race. He was soon joined by Johnson and Busch, who both traded the lead for periods of the race.
As the race winded down, Busch began to build a steady lead over Johnson. When Scott Riggs brought out the caution with three laps remaining, Busch had opened up nearly a two second lead over Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet.
When the field came to pit road, Johnson and Busch choose to change all four tires. But several drivers, including Newman and Jeff Gordon, choose to change only two, allowing them to gain track position.
Gordon held off his teammate Johnson for second, while the No. 48 took home third. Defending race winner Mark Martin finished fourth, and Montoya was fifth. Kyle Busch, leading at the time of the final pit stop, finished eighth.
Martin Truex Jr. of Mayetta, New Jersey started eighth, but ran mid-pack for much of the race. He finished seventeenth. Denny Hamlin, who had surgery on his ACL just ten days prior to the race, finished in thirtieth, two laps down. After the race, he said that “My leg wasn’t the only problem today. We had a sub-par car, but we fought hard all day. It was just a miserable experience.”
Nationwide Series:
Kyle Busch overcame a bizarre penalty and a late race pit-road collision to win the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. He led 126 of 200 laps en route to his second victory of 2010. Kevin Harvick was second, followed by Brad Keselowski in third, Brendan Gaughan in fourth, and Greg Biffle in fifth.
Coming Up:
The Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams head off to Texas Motor Speedway for a weekend of racing in the Southwest.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
