Carl Edwards Wins, Fail Inspection
What Happened To Jimmie Johnson?
The Roush Fenway Racing driver won his second consecutive race of the season, and his first race at Las Vegas. He has won two out of the first three races in the 2008 Sprint Cup season. Edwards’ teammate Greg Biffle finished third, while David Ragan posted a season-best 6th. Matt Kenseth was running third right before contact from Jeff Gordon sent him spinning with five laps remaining.
Yates Racing driver Travis Kvapil posted a noteworthy eighth place finish on Sunday. Yates Racing currently shares engine and chassis data with Roush Fenway Racing. Despite the solid showing by Kvapil and Yates, the acclaimed number 28 was without sponsor decals for the second week in a row. Come on corporate America, somebody slap a logo on that number 28 Ford Fusion.
Carl Edwards’ Ford Fusion failed post-race inspection, which could result in a penalty that may drop him from the lead in the championship standings. The lid for the oil reservoir encasement was reportedly missing. NASCAR will announce any penalties and fines later this week. For now, the drivers will spend Monday and Tuesday testing at Phoenix.
The surprise of the weekend was not Mark Martin initiating a wreck late in the Nationwide Series race, though it was a close second. The fact that Jimmie Johnson struggled so badly with the setup was downright bewildering. In the past, Johnson has dealt with ill-handling cars, however, as the race progresses; Chad Knaus is able to find the missing link that turns the handling around. Not this time! Even Knaus was dumbfounded at the severity of the handling woes that his driver faced.
Is this a sign of things to come? It is normal for a frontrunner to miss the setup, but not to that extent. It is reminiscent of 2005 when Jeff Gordon and Robbie Loomis completely missed the mark on the intermediate tracks. Gordon missed the Chase for the Championship that season.
In all likelihood, Johnson and Knaus will bounce back at Atlanta where they swept both races in 2007. There is no reason for Johnson fans to panic. They are one of the most resilient teams in NASCAR.
Hendrick Motorsports as a group did not fair very well. Other than Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s second place finish, it was a nondescript weekend for the team that dominated the 2007 NASCAR season. Casey Mears posted a 13th place finish, but he spent most of the afternoon battling for the Lucky Dog. Jeff Gordon hit the wall after he tangled with Matt Kenseth and ended up with a dreadful 35th place finish. Johnson’s handling issues relegated him to an uncharacteristic 29th place finish.
The Hendrick Motorsports satellite operation, Haas CNC Racing, enjoyed a positive day. Scott Riggs spent most of the day in the top ten before an accident took him out. Jeremy Mayfield posted a sixteenth place finish.
Quote of the week
“I tried to knock the fence down yesterday in the Nationwide race and thought I'd made some ground on it and tried to finish it off, but it shows how good the soft walls are.”
Tony Stewart on his vicious wreck on Sunday. By the way, Stewart is okay, though a little sore.
Latest Articles