Top Row Seat - Brickyard 400

Congratulations to Ricky Rudd on picking up the richest race in NASCAR history. On the cool down lap Ricky said "This is probably the biggest thing that has ever happened to me." Even though I have not liked some of the things that have happened with people around Ricky (For example Billy Ingle, then Rudd's crew chief, punched Ted Musgrave in the head after a race in Martinsville a couple of years ago) I am glad to see one of the independent racers outsmart the better funded teams and get a big win.

A difficult decision

I happened to be listening to Mark on the scanner when the caution flew with just 20 laps to go. I had already heard DJ and PosterBoy say that they were definitely going to pit for a splash of fuel.

Going into turn three Mark asked if he should pit. In the short chute between three and four Steve Hmiel said "No, let's go for it!" Then he came right back on and said "Do what the 24 does." And then came back a third time and said "It's up to you." This left Mark with a very tough call to make; Pit, and settle for a safe top five finish, or, don't pit and risk a 25th place finish if he runs out of gas.

Mark dove into the pits at the last second saying "I don't want you guys to be mad at me." Steve came back with "Yeah, you came from 31st to 3rd. We're real pissed." This is a really cool example of why Mark Martin is a regular front runner. Here you have a driver who is doing everything he can not to let down his crew, and a crew that has complete faith in their driver. This is what they mean when they talk about that elusive "chemistry" within a race team.

Championship Update

In the last two races Terry Labonte has finished 35th and 40th and has fallen from the top of the points battle to 4th place some 231 points behind the leader. This is exactly the type of bad streak that you must avoid in order to win the Winston Cup Championship. If Terry doesn't get back into consistent top five form his title hopes will quickly disappear.

Dale Earnhardt's 29th place finish has effectively eliminated him from the championship race because he is now in 6th place 343 points back. It may not be impossible for him to come back, but the cars in front of him are just too consistent for him to make up that much ground.

Go Fast, Turn Left (And Right), Stay Safe!

Send your tips, rumors and comments to me at nascar.guide@miningco.com.

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