kaseyI love Saturday night racing! There is just nothing better than 800 horsepower under the lights no matter where you race. A night in the home of Nascar is always special though, with the points not being a factor, the racing is just more intense. I thought that there would be more cautions though. Even without the cautions I still think it was a great evening. Some pit stop decisions took out any chance for some people to win though didn’t it?

Kasey

For the first time ever, the fans vote driver has won the all star race. Not only did Kasey Kahne make that history but he also gave Dodge their first victory in an all star race. Crew Chief Kenny Francis made the right call in the pits by taking on fuel only. Later that call would propel Kasey into history as Denny Hamlin lost his engine allowing Kasey to take the lead again. Greg Biffle might have had a chance to take the one million dollar plus purse had this been a longer race, as he was making a charge on the Budweiser Dodge in the closing laps. There just wasn’t enough time left to make the pass.

Gibbs Engine Woes

Tony Stewart was the only Gibbs Racing Toyota left running at the end of the night. Engine problems got the teams of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. The Home Depot team knew ahead of time that there were problems withthe Gibbs engines because they found a broken rocker arm after qualifying. They changed the engine causing them to have to drop back to the back of the field for the start of the race, but they were there in the ending up in fifthplace at the waving of the checkered flag. Kyle Busch had the car to beat as he was just spanking the field before he too broke a part in his engine. Shortly later the same thing for Denny Hamlin. It does make me wonder why they didn’t all three change engines when they knew that there might be a problem in all of the Gibbs engines? With a car that dominant, Kyle surely could have gotten back to the front couldn’t he have? He had a much better ride than Tony, and Tony got back up to 5th.

Dale Junior’s Night

I have said this before so without knowing what the radio traffic was between Dale Earnhardt Junior and Tony Eury Junior, I will have to say that Tony Eury Junior just cost the junior nation another victory with another bad call in the pits. Four tires? Let me get this straight ok? Tony Eury Junior put on four tires for a twenty five lap shootout? That put Junior solidly in the back half of the field on a surface that is still not really cured up enough to make a lot of passes. I am beginning to wonder if he is just guessing at it! I will hold off asking for a new crew chief for a couple of more races, but I have said it before, Tony Jr. is Nowhere near the  crew chief that his father was. I have my doubts that he ever will be. That was just a really dumb call in my opinion!

Crossing The Finish Line

Here is how they crossed the line.

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 24 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser PE 100 Running
2 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network PE 100 Running
3 14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT NANO Technology PE 100 Running
4 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools PE 100 Running
5 12 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot PE 100 Running
6 8 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel PE 100 Running
7 23 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 PE 100 Running
8 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Nat’l Guard Citizen Soldier / AMP Energy PE 100 Running
9 13 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army PE 100 Running
10 19 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot PE 100 Running
11 16 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Pennzoil Platinum PE 100 Running
12 10 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker PE 100 Running
13 17 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST PE 100 Running
14 15 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit PE 100 Running
15 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont PE 100 Running
16 4 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker PE 100 Running
17 22 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull PE 100 Running
18 9 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s PE 100 Running
19 6 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal PE 100 Running
20 7 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility PE 100 Running
21 18 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS PE 100 Running
22 3 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite PE 100 Running
23 20 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight PE 84 Out of Race
24 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s PE 50 Out of Race

Next week its the Coca Cola 600 from the Lowes Motor Speedway. The longest race on the circuit.

I’ll be back with a preview somewhere around qualifying. Until then stay safe out there on the Big Road!

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