A few days have passed since the Samsung 500 at Texas, and flying under the radar is the Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin tangle on the final lap.
Bowyer had bypassed Hamlin the lap before, and was trying to maintain his fourth position. Hamlin attempted to pass Bowyer on the high side, and as they exited turn four, Bowyer’s car slipped into Hamlin and neither driver finished in that fourth position that they both so doggedly fought for. Instead, Ryan Newman sneaked past the pair of third-year drivers.
Hamlin finished in the fifth position while Bowyer limped home with a tenth place finish. While the incident is hardly an indication of an impending rivalry, the two young drivers offered up different opinions regarding the skirmish.
“Clint (Bowyer) just pinched me up there on the final lap. I had to turn left or I’d have gone into the wall. There was really no place to go,” said Hamlin.
Bowyer viewpoint differed. “The Jack Daniel’s Chevy was in position for a top five finish but, when we were coming off turn four, the number 11 (Denny Hamlin) clipped us in the right rear and that was it.”
It is doubtful that a rivalry will emerge from this.
Carl Edwards secured his third victory of the season by absolutely dominating the Samsung 500. It was the tenth victory of his career.
Jimmie Johnson finished second; however, he appeared disgruntled with the new car.
“Did you enjoy the race today? That's the ultimate judge of it. We're all afraid to run side-by-side, and you can only get so close to the guy in front of you and we just sit there in a safe spot and ride because you can't go anywhere,” said the two-time defending champion.
Not many drivers will admit that they are ‘afraid’ to run side by side.
Ryan Newman finished fourth on Sunday, but NASCAR levied a 25-point penalty due to a rules infraction that involved the car measuring and eighth of an inch too high. Newman drops from eighth to tenth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship standings.
"We had an issue in post-race inspection on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. It is always our intention to follow NASCAR's rules, and we regret this mistake. We look forward to getting back to the track this week and are focused on having a strong run in the #12 Alltel Dodge at Phoenix International Raceway,” said Michael Nelson, Vice President of Operations for Penske Racing.
Quote of the week
Carl Edwards on all of the different complaints regarding the new car and its difficulties
“I'm tired of the media making up stories about how bad it is. It's auto racing. It's not supposed to be driving down the interstate. I feel like I can make a difference lap to lap.”
