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In a return to yesteryear we were treated to a battle that has been waged more than any other in the history of NASCAR. Like old races on Speedvision we watched the Woods Bros.' #21 race the Petty Enterprises #43 to the checkers. This race it was Elliott Sadler in the #21 that emerged victorious. |
Mark Martin started the race with the fastest qualifying and pole position and quickly jumped out in front of Sterling Marlin on the outside pole. Marlin got caught outside on this one lane small track and so Kevin Harvick slipped by from 3rd too. But since this is Bristol and we got a hint of things to come after yesterday's caution filled BGN race, Jerry Nadeau got us started by doing the first pirouette of the day. It appeared he just plain lost it, slapped the wall and headed for pit road to get the fenders pulled off. Just before the yellow came out Harvick had rooted under Martin and forced him high to take over the point. Marlin followed him under the #6 car so as the green got the race back under way at lap 10 it was Harvick, Marlin and Martin.
Bristol. Short track. Caution #2 was just 15 laps later when Robert Pressley slapped the wall and Jeff Burton took a long slide to avoid Pressley's #77. Another restart at lap 29, more bunched cars and the yellow returned just three laps after Mike Skinner pulled my bonehead move of the day and ran about half way up to the rear window of Andy Houston before slowing up and watching the # 96 of Houston hit the wall hard. Nobody near the front was willing yet to give up track position so there were still no pit stops. Green flag racing at lap 39 saw Harvick still out front followed by Marlin, Todd Bodine, Rusty Wallace and Martin.
Tired of running 3 or 4 laps and then going yellow the field managed to stay out of each other's fenders (for the most part) over the next 40 or so laps and we began to see a pecking order begin to establish. Harvick seemed to be ready to hold the front come anything. Coming was another yellow at lap 80, this time for rookie Kurt Busch who looped and slapped the wall. And for the first time today it was pit stops for all. Harvick's Goodwrench team proved fast but the #40 Coors team of Marlin were a speck faster. As Marlin began to back slightly to get out from behind the #6 of Martin Kevin's crew dropped his jack and he leaped forward, grazing the rear of the #40. Harvick was forced to pit a 2nd time to pull sheet metal off the front tire.
Green at lap 86 saw Marlin out front followed by Kyle Petty (first atta boy of the day), Martin, Bodine and Jeff Gordon, who got the biggest help from his pit crew, pitting 11th and returning in 5th. With the cars all bunched up once more it was bound to happen and took all of 4 laps before Dale Earnhardt, Jr., struggling all day, bumped Kenny Schrader and caused the #6 M&M car to hit the wall hard. Schrader continued after extensive repairs but was virtually done for the day. The field remained the same when the green returned at lap 94 and calmer heads prevailed for a while. Marlin was able to hold off challengers as Kyle slowed and had his engine go sour on him. At lap 149 Brett Bodine and Ricky Craven bumped with Brett getting the wall and caution #6 was in the air. Pit stops were once more the most popular action of the moment.
Green flag racing returned at lap 156 with Marlin still leading and John Andretti (great stops all day!), Gordon, Bodine and now Ricky Rudd filling up the top 5. Andretti and Petty Enterprises seemed to be men on a mission, especially after Kyle had fallen from the front ranks. By lap 161 he rushed past Marlin and took his first lead of the race. Behind him though, Jeff Gordon was flying like his car was in flames (I know, poor pun), taking the lead away from John at lap 181 and opening up distance steadily afterwards. The longest green flag run of the day ended at lap 246 when Jeff Burton appeared to lose a tire and head straight for the wall. With the terrible luck he's been having all season, to add insult to injury, as he came off the wall he took out his teammate, Martin and ruined the day for both. Yellow #7 was out and pit stops were had by all.
Once more it was Gordon's crew that pulled off the quickest duties, getting Jeff out first followed by Andretti, Steve Park (flexing his muscles for the first time), Marlin and Rudd. Gordon kept Andretti down but coming on fast as the tires wore was Park. At lap 292 Park worked his way past Gordon and looked to put emphasis on his win from a couple weeks ago by running away with this one. Before he got too far away the yellow flew at lap 337 when the Frenchman "DeBris" was seen lying on the track. Caution #8 flew to pick up a hunk of aluminum in turn 2 and the field all took tires and gas. The Cheerios bunch of Andretti's pulled the fast one this time so when the race restarted at lap 343 the #43 was at the point, followed by Marlin (attaboy for the Coors crew, great stops all day), Park, Gordon and Rusty Wallace.
This green lasted all of 7 laps before Todd Bodine ruined his decent run by losing it, smashing Mike Wallace into the wall and bringing out the 9th caution at lap 350. Yellow for 6 more, green for 16 and yellow one more time at lap 370 when Jerry Nadeau completed his second "Triple Salchow" of the day and looping his #25. Todd Bodine was also slapping the wall for good measure about the same time. Caution #10 was out and green flag racing was just 8 laps away at lap 378.
Pit stops by all except Harvick, Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart and Ward Burton saw them line up out front and Marlin holding fifth. Of course where there's yellows followed by greens, there are greens followed by yellows. The field struggled to complete 2 laps before Matt Kenseth and Pressley got together. Kenseth tapped the wall, got straightened out and every brake check behind him saw bent sheet metal. Damaged in the ensuing melee were the cars of Kurt Busch, Dave Blaney, Rick Mast, DE Junior and Jerry Nadeau (for a change I think he did a "Triple Toe Loop" this time).
Racing resumed at lap 393 with Harvick, still leading but racing was halted once more at lap 422 when Jimmy Spencer wrecked Buckshot Jones. As before the front cars remained on the track, preferring track position over fresh tires. Dale Jarrett's team pulled a questionable move by stopping for tires. He dropped from 10th to 22nd and was forced to spend the rest of the race struggling through traffic. Green flag racing returned at lap 427 with Harvick still leading and Sadler chasing, both on old tires. Unfortunately for Harvick his old tires gave out just a lap or two later and he was forced to pit with a flat tire.
Elliott Sadler now found himself somewhere he hasn't had a lot of experience at, leading. The field was giving chase but Elliott, who seemed to have his car dialed in exactly where he wanted just ran the exact same line, lap after lap. Andretti stayed close on his rear bumper and Jeremy Mayfield made a last ditch effort to run down the front runners. Tony Stewart was cruising to a 4th place finish but Jeff Gordon was charging hard and looking for more than 5th. Despite every effort to run him down the #43 Petty Enterprises car could not run down the "Fox" in the Woods Bros. #21. And like so many times in the past history of NASCAR we were treated to the #21 battling the #43 to the finish line. Best of all though, we were treated to another first time winner as Sadler took the checkers and finally broke that ignominious string that he and the Woods have been stuck with for the past few years.
But racing wasn't over yet. Jeff Gordon was showing his win at any cost mentality and although racing for only fourth he decided to spin Tony Stewart and take that spot. Tony, showing his temper of the past met up with Gordon on pit road and spun him into the pit wall. A quick call to the NASCAR trailer will no doubt be followed by a stern lecture and fines for at least Stewart and maybe Gordon too. We will have to wait for that announcement.
(After careful analysis, I will admit that even as perfect as I am I may have made a bad call. I don't usually change things once I write them but since I was rushing to get my race report done so I could take a break I didn't re-watch the accident. I just did and must admit that I called that one wrong. Jeff was definitely up alongside tony's fender and Tony should not have come down at that point. So the Stooge finger point has changed to squarely on Tony's shoulders. Forgive me for hurrying and taking the quick way out.)
Kudos to John Andretti (2nd) who needed a good finish for Petty Enterprises after their horrid season start, Jeremy Mayfield (3rd) who came strong near the end to grab his second third place in a row, Jeff Gordon (4th) who wrecked Stewart to get there, Ward Burton (5th), Terry Labonte (6th) and Rusty Wallace (7th) who stayed in or near the top 10 all day, Rick Mast (8th) getting a strong finish in his new ride, Steve Park (9th) continuing his outstanding season, and Ricky Rudd (10th) getting his 4th top 10 of the year. But in another great finish for the 2001 season, a season that has seen the ultimate highs for many and the ultimate lows for others, the Woods Brothers and Elliott Sadler put the #21 back in victory lane. What a race series!
Next week it's out to Texas and a lot of lead changes. And since I have a headache I'm just closing with…
Keep The Shiny Side
Up!