Top Row Seat - Richmond
Dateline: 09/09/97Saturday Night Short Track Racing
Four weeks ago Dale Jarrett had never won a Winston Cup short track race. Now he has won the last two short track races and leads all drivers in points earned in 1997 on tracks under a mile. What caused this "miraculous" turnaround? Nothing. DJ has always been good on short tracks. It was just a matter of getting some breaks so that he could finally get to Victory Lane.
As for the quality of the race itself, Richmond International again displayed why it is one of the toughest tickets in NASCAR. Lap after lap of side-by-side racing kept me on the edge of my seat all night long. Bobby Hamilton and Bill Elliott had a great door-to-door race that was reminiscent of the classic Earnhardt/Wallace battles from a couple of years ago. In all, this weekends racing action ranks as one of the best races so far in 1997.
Welcome To Winston Cup
One of the big stories from the weekend is the debut of Robert Yates' future star Kenny Irwin Jr. While Kenny is no stranger to going fast, this was his first opportunity to slide into the seat of a Winston Cup race car. The results were scary: Kenny qualified on the outside of the front row, lead several laps early in the race, and ran strong all night long finishing eighth (could have been a top five if not for a minor mistake in the pits.) Why scary? Because Kenny showed a natural talent for handling a race car that hasn't been seen in a rookie's first race since Atlanta in the fall of 1992. That day it was Jeff Gordon who impressed his future car owner Rick Hendrick by bringing an extremely loose race car home in one piece.
Kenny Irwin Jr. has the potential to be as good or better.
Notes From The Weekend
Ernie Irvan, the man that Kenny Irwin will replace in the Robert Yates Racing stable, did it again this weekend. When Jeff Burton spun in the middle of the track Ernie Irvan stayed on the gas and tried to improve his track position instead of concentrating on getting through the wreck in one piece. Everyone slowed in front of him and Ernie dove to the inside trying to pass. Unfortunately, Mark Martin, who had already slowed, went for the same hole and Ernie drove into the side of him. Robert Yates must giggle himself to sleep at night dreaming of 1998.
One scary moment from the weekend came from the in-car camera of Mike McLaughlin's Busch series car on Friday night. Smoke and then flames erupted inside the car while Mike frantically tried to unbuckle his harness while steering his car out of harms way. But if you noticed, even in his frenzy to get out of a burning race car, the last thing Mike did before bailing out the window was reach over past the flames and grab his hat.
Sponsorship Rule #12: While bailing out of a burning car, make sure that you get the sponsor on television.
Go Fast, Turn Left, Stay Safe!
Send your tips, rumors and comments to me at nascar.guide@miningco.com.
