Top Row Seat - Martinsville
Dateline: 10/04/99This season's final short-track battle left many wrinkled fenders and hot tempers around the .526 mile "paperclip oval" in Martinsville, Virginia.
The most abused bumpers of the day were painted orange with a yellow stripe. Tony Stewart reminded the world that he is still a rookie with his childish temper tantrum. Certainly Kenny Irwin is not without blame in the incident too, but it was Tony who went too far, actually attempting to climb into Kenny's car to get at him after Kenny retaliated for being spun twice by Tony.
Tony should take a lesson from "The Iceman" Terry Labonte. After Terry got punted from a sure win in Bristol he was certainly annoyed, but kept his head and handled the interviews with class.
NASCAR should slap Tony Stewart's wrist, maybe including a small fine to reinforce this valuable learning experience for Tony.
Rookie Victory
The other big story of the day was Jeff Gordon's first win without long-time crew chief and mentor Ray Evernham calling the shots. Brian Whitesell inheritied the position after Ray announced that he was leaving Hendrick Motorsports to start his own team in 2001.
All eyes were on Brian to see if he measured up and proved that he is up to the task. It was his critical decision not to pit during the final caution period that handed the Rainbow Warriors the victory. A tough call to make in any situation, but with the entire racing world ready to second guess his every move this was extremely brave and bodes well for the future of Hendrick Motorsports and the #24 Dupont team.
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