Full Throttle

If you’re going to start at the beginning of the showdown in Phoenix you have to start with what NASCAR Nation thought was the greatest injustice since the Heidi Game on November 17, 1968.

(It wasn’t BTW, Boudreaux’s Butt Paste not being a Cup sponsor is butt but that’s a story for another day - ed)

“I was ready to kill the bartender,” said Jarrod Rios, a 22-year-old Yankees fan watching the game at the Lion’s Head Tavern on Amsterdam Avenue. “I thought he switched to NASCAR.

“Who the hell wants to watch NASCAR?”

Who the hell indeed, I’d bet equal to or more than Sox/Yank fans but that’s speculation ’til the ratings come out. The odd thing, despite Fox Sports contractual obligations, about this episode is the plug apparently wasn’t pulled in some markets. Based on the Fox in-race chat room some people saw the green flag and others didn’t. That indicates some local affiliates said the hell with the network and gave their viewers the start of the Cup race.

Regardless, both sides need to get over themselves. Missing the green, or the last inning of the game isn’t heart stopping by any means.

Anyway, there was a race, really. And J.J. won, so can we please stop with the “what’s wrong with Hendrick” whine, please? He led the most laps and made the most of his fuel load you can’t ask for more than that.

But he didn’t have the fastest car at the end either. Martin was done in by pitting too late, after gasing up the #8 was 2 1/2 mph quicker than everyone on the track. If the DEI crew had called Martin in ten laps earlier it may have been a different story.

And that Edwards fella may have had the race of the day, after getting caught in the pits he dropped back to the mid-thirties and drove his way back to forth at the finish, and like Martin he was bullet fast (just short of 2 mph quicker) after the last stop but ran out of time.

As for the rest of the field, well, Phoenix may be 170 some miles south Northwest (thanks John) of the legendary town of Tombstone, but you couldn’t tell that by Ryan Newman’s race. He was bushwhacked and out gunslinged by his Mopar powerplant, shot down on the tarmac like Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury at the OK Corral.

Elliot Sadler, Newman’s front row mate, didn’t fair any better his Dodge engine went boom just after half-way and the #19 finished 41st.

Those two were far from lonely, six others were 14 or more laps down to the leader at the finish and out of the eight total four were Dodges.

Not. A. Good. Day. For . The. Dodge. Boys, to say the least.

The standout race headline of the day is (avert your eyes Junior Nation), Junior literally can’t put No. 8 behind him.

I’m jealous, very jealous.

More later…

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