Top Row Seat - Rockingham
Dateline: 02/24/97
This was a pretty typical
Rockingham weekend. Mark Martin continued to show that he OWNS Busch
races at The Rock by winning Saturday's show convincingly. That win
means he has now won 7 of the last 10 BGN races at The Rock. I'd
call that pretty impressive.
On the Ropes
Neither Chad Little nor Mike Wallace have qualified for a race yet this
year. That's no way to satisfy the sponsors. They'll both be
pretty desperate to get into the show at Richmond.
One other guy who needs to get it going is Dale Earnhardt. DE hasn't
won a race since last spring's Atlanta event. That makes 29 races
and counting. For most other guys that wouldn't be a big deal, but
Dale needs to get back into victory lane to prove to his critics (myself
included) that the wreck last season didn't take his spark away.
I don't think he's as aggressive as he used to be.
Behind the wall DE has made a bunch of changes trying to get the mix right.
Bringing in McReynolds as crew chief was a scary move for the rest of the
field. Putting that much talent in one place should mean championships.
But I predicted in my season preview that it would take most of the first
half of the season for those guys to click and bring home the win.
I noticed during this weeks broadcast that Chevrolet is still running the
Labonte brothers commercial ("Who's the better actor? Who's
the better singer?...) Hey guys, Bobby drives a Pontiac now.
Leading the Pack
Bill Elliott backed up his Daytona performance with another impressive
run at The Rock. He had to use a Champions Provisional to get into
the race but moved from 43rd to 5th in about 50 laps. Unfortunately
the handle went away and he finished 22nd. But still an
impressive run nonetheless.
Now nobody has been more critical of Jimmy Spencer than I have but I've
got to say I believe this is a new Jimmy. It has taken some time
but now when I see my driver on the outside of the 23 car I no longer cringe.
I was rather outspoken in my criticism a couple of
years ago and I just want to give the man some credit now. Jimmy
Spencer is no longer a threat to everyone else on the track. Now
if I only could say the same thing about Ernie Irvan....
And the Hendrick Boys have done it again. Craven had another remarkable
day and Terry finished 7th to put all 3 Hendrick cars in the top 7.
These guys are going to be tough again this year. I just hope they
let somebody else play this year. It sucks to see the same idiot
up front every week.
The race itself
What can I say. He-Whose-Name-I-Refuse-To-Use did it again.
And it wasn't even that good of a race. Dale Jarrett absolutely dominated
(yawn) the race leading 323 of the 393 laps. That's pretty impressive.
But the 24 got the setup just right after his last pit stop and took it
to go 2 for 2 this year.
For some reason Rockingham lends itself to real dominating (and boring)
performances. Jarrett, Earnhardt, Martin and Terry Labonte have all
checked out on the rest of the pack in the past. Every year it seems
like one or two guys hit the setup just right and the rest just try to
hang on to the lead lap. What is it about The Rock? If somebody would
like to explain it to me send me e-mail.
Quote of the week
Somebody from TNN asked Ernie Irvan what it took to go fast at Rockingham,
he replied "Just don't slow down in the turns." Simple
huh? Thanks Ernie.
Next up on the schedule
This week it's off to Richmond International Raceway (which by the way
has an EXTREMELY COOL website at http://www.rir.com Be sure and check out
the "virtual tour") Historically, Fords run well there.
Let's see if somebody besides PosterBoy can find his way to
Victory Lane this week. Last year Team Rousch ran up front and finished
with all 3 cars in the top 5 but it was the 24 getting his first win of
the year. Maybe Ted Musgrave can put it together and get his first.
But more realistically my prediction is ... Terry Labonte.
Go Fast, Turn Left, Stay Safe!
