Question:
Still looking for the results lineup, but here is my recap in the meantime.
Are we ready to Rrrrrumble! (Sorry, couldn't help myself!)
Anyone who knows about Boston Sports fans know they are among the most avid, and rabid fans there are! Kurt Bush found out first hand as he threw out the first pitch in a game last week. His introduction to the Fenway Faithful was met by a chorus of boos! The game went on and Pedro Matinez had his first complete game of the year.
Ok, Matt Kenseth is on the pole due to Isabell. However, he has said he did not have a good enough car for the starts, but should be OK on the long runs. He proves this as Kevin Harvick takes the lead on the first lap.
The first caution comes quickly on lap 3 as M Skinner tries to go under Todd Bodine in the corner. Bodine comes down into Skinner sending him around. As he recovers and gets it in gear, Kenny Schrader who had also spun around after getting bumped from behind when he checked up for Skinner, slides down the track just in time to get clipped by Skinner!
Kevin Harvick still leads on the restart, but on lap 12, Ryan Newman takes the spot from him.
Mark Martin goes a lap on lap 41 when he cuts a tire down. Newman passes car after car. He appears to have really dialed the thing in!
Newman continues to tear up the track, but suddenly his car gets real loose and has to pit to take on four tires on lap 44, as he has a flat. Despite a 13.1 second pit stop, he goes from 1st to 41st, a lap down.
"The tire just exploded!" said Joe Nemecheck after hitting the wall in turn two as hard as it could be hit! He lost the entire right side of the car after the impact and slide around the top of the track, giving him his 7th DNF of the year. This, however, has trapped Newman down a lap as Todd Bodine is the victor in getting his lap back. (How do you like the rule after seeing it in action?) It takes several laps to get the wall repaired after Nemechec's hit.
Since this was the first caution in over 60 laps, all the leaders pit. Harvick leads out of the pits, with Jeff Gordon second and Bill Elliot third.
The caution lasts for about a half hour and twenty five laps.
On lap 136, Newman passes Jimmy Spencer for 22nd place. This puts him as the first car a lap down so he will be in a good position to get a lap back in the event of another caution.
We get that caution on lap 165 when Bobby Labonte cuts a tire and hits the wall. As Ricky Rudd had just recently been put a lap down, and Newman did not have a chance to get around him as yet, Rudd will get the free pass.
Jeff Gordon wins the race out of the pits with Bill Elliot in second and Harvick right behind.
M Waltrip breaks something in the engine on lap 172 and heads for the pits, then to the gararge and to the transport. He is done.
As Casey Mears cuts a tire and heads for the pits on lap 181, Dale Jr. makes a move on Jeff Gordon for the laed and takes it. But Gordon does not go easy and fights to get it back, but to no avail. His car is loose and he reports he can just hang on. On lap 185, Tony Stewart takes the second spot from Gordon.
Lap 199, as Stewart is complaining about being tight, he still manages to pass Jr. for the lead after three laps of trying. Jr. takes the lead back on lap 213.
Caution on lap 235 for debris. Ricky Craven gets the free pass to get his lap back. It's Jr, Gordon and Stewart out of the pits.
Restart on lap 242. Jamie McMurray drops back to 18th place as he had a problem on the pit stop. Seems he caught part of the air hose on a tire valve and it went flat forcing him back into the pits.
We have a real race now. Gordon in the lead, but Stewart comes around both Gordon and Jr for the lead. Jr reports his car is real, real, real loose, but still manages to pass Gordon for second.
Ricky Craven loses an engine and drops out of the race.
Jeremy Mayfield is suddenly coming on big time and takes the second spot from Jr. After many laps of trying, Gordon takes third from Jr. Jr's car is not handling well at all. While they fight it out, Stewart and Mayfield check out of the picture.
Caution for debris on lap 287. Newman finally gets his lap back as Kenny Schrader loses the rear bumper cover off his car.
Mayfield goes back to fifth out of the pits. Stewart is still the leader.
Kenny Wallace gets loose after a Gregg Biffle gets into him. He slides up the track but manages to miss the wall. I assume the caution is due to Wallace slowing so much to keep control of the car.
Newman does not pit and is now the race leader! It took him what, 245 or so laps to retake the lead after going a lap down for the flat? Jr. takes only two tires and is first out of the pits with Stewart right behind.
Stewart quickly takes the second spot from Jr, who is now falling back. The two tire decision was his, and now may be paying for that.
50 laps to go. Mayfield powers around Stewart for the second spot and sets his sights on Newman.
40 to go. Jr. has fallen back to 19th and is in danger of going a lap down. Gordon had fallen back to 10th out of the pits, but is now back in fifth.
37 to go and Jr. goes real high too fast as Newman was putting him down a lap. He goes around and into the wall. He is apparantly knocked out and has to be helped from the car and onto a stretcher. He regains consiousness in the infield care center and later airlifted to the hospital, more for traffic reasons than anything else.
Tony Stewart, running in third, decides to pit. He takes on four tires and adjustments as his last set of tires would not handle. Newman stays out, leaving everyone questioning his fuel strategy.
Newman gets a great start on lap 373 and continues to lead. Mayfield is right behind. Try and try again as Mayfield gets run after run on Newman, but Newman holds him off. 17 to go. Newman and Mayfield are still fighting it out. Things are real tense. Newman needs to save gas, but Mayfield will not give up! Mayfield goes low into the corner as he builds up a run, but gets loose and slides up into Newman. They hit again, but both hang on. Mayfield's car is now too tight from the damage to keep racing like this. Newman gets a car length on him.
10 to go, Stewart up to 4th! Newman's lead has grown just a bit, but does he have fuel?
3 to go, Stewart takes third, but he will not finish any better than second, and that is only if Newman runs out of fuel!
106 laps on a tank of fuel and Newman still has enough to do some donuts, take a victory lap and drive into victory lane for his 7th win of the season, and the fifth in the last 11 races!
Mayfield might find himself on the losing end of NASCAR regulations as well as he utters several profane words while being interviewed after the race. "I feel like sh**! On the one hand I am real pissed, on the other I am real happy finishing this high!" said Mayfield. Can't say I really blame him considering how hard he raced and how much he really wanted that race!
Thanks to the new rules, Newman was able to get his lap back, and the pit strategedy and fuel milage placed him in the winners circle. Several other drivers, including Todd Bodine also got laps back during the race. How do you think this new rule worked in it's first cup trial?
«"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."»
Last edited by Ramman on Mon Sep 22, 2003 3:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

Answer:

I took the results from thatsracing.com this week as NASCAR.com has not yet posted them:
Posted on Sun, Sep. 21, 2003
Race results and points awarded
ThatsRacin.com Report
Results and points awarded in Sunday's MBNA America 400 at Dover International Speedway:
1. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 180 - 5 bonus points
2. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 170
3. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 170 - 5 bonus points
4. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 170 - 10 bonus points
5. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 160 - 5 bonus points
6. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 150
7. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 146
8. (4 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 142
9. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 143 - 5 bonus points
10. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 134
11. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 130
12. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 127
13. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 129 - 5 bonus points
14. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 121
15. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 118
16. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 115
17. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 112
18. (8 Dale Jarrett, Ford, 109
19. (3 Elliott Sadler, Ford, 106
20. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 103
21. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 100
22. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 97
23. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 94
24. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 91
25. (0) Jason Leffler, Pontiac, 88
26. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 85
27. (4) Kevin Lepage, Pontiac, 82
28. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 79
29. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 76
30. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 73
31. (1 Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 70
32. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 67
33. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 64
34. (1) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 61
35. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 58
36. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 55
37. ( Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 57 - 5 bonus points
38. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 49
39. (02) Hermie Sadler, Pontiac, 46
40. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 43
41. (01) M Skinner, Pontiac, 40
42. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 37
43. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 34
«"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."»

Answer:

thanks for the recap ramman i enjoy these as i like the way you write .I watched the race and for the most part it was a good race other then mark finishing way back again
Was great to see ryan and jeremy racing as close as they was in the closing laps .Did you hear jeremy say the s word during his interview i thought that was funny
"When everything seems to be going against you,
remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."
Henry Ford.
"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there."
-Indira Gandhi

Answer:

Was great to see ryan and jeremy racing as close as they was in the closing laps .Did you hear jeremy say the s word during his interview i thought that was funny
That was some good racing! I understand how Mayfield must have felt though. He has probably the best car on the track and I am sure he felt he should have won, but when you get so loose trying to pass on the inside, there is not much you can do unless you are looking to take your opponent out, and yourself as well!
Did you hear Ryan's comment about how clean they were both racing? Now who comes to mind when you think of someone taking out the car in front? Hmmmm! (Yeah, I know! There are a few to choose from!) It was clean though. Jeremy pretty much avoided the question when asked about the idea of taking Newman out when he had the chance. I get the idea that he never considered it, or at least dismissed the idea if it did come to him. I give him a lot of credit for that.
And yes, I certainly did hear him utter the profanity, however, I hope the officials don't go after him on it! This was simply another case of getting the microphone in his face before he had a chance to cool down, nothing more. In addition, Jeremy is not all that used to the post race interview as it's been a while since he was in that position!
I am sure he thought about it afterwards and will be a good boy from now on!
Oh, and thanks for the roses!
«"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."»
Last edited by Ramman on Mon Sep 22, 2003 3:28 pm; edited 1 time in total

Answer:

Turning into the Squat to Peee racing series!
That is sad they didn't earn the lap back by track position!
They are going to be worse than the NFL with all of they're rule variations!

Answer:

That is sad they didn't earn the lap back by track position!
In a way, they did have to earn the track position. Take Ryan Newman as a good example. He set himself up to be in a position to get the lap back when the next caution came out. It took a couple turns before it happened, but the rule definatly laid the groundwork for this type of strategy.
Newman went down almost two laps with the flat tire. He drove his way up to be the first car a lap down. This was a deliberate move, not something that happened by chance. Newman never had the chance to get around Rudd when the caution came out just after Rudd was put a lap down so he had to wait for the inevitable caution flag to drop again before he could get the lap back.
There was no real question about Newman having a car good enough to win the race, though Mayfield probably wishes other wise as his car was as good, if not slightly better. All Newman had to get was the right track position to place himself back in the front. I heard from one guy who said that Newman's win was unfair because he would not have won if the new rule had not been in effect. I beg to differ. I believe he would have gotten his lap back without the new rule, probably a lot easier under the old rules. Even still, if he did not have the car, he could not have set himself up for the free pass and when he finally got it, he could not have made his way to the front and stay there.
Fuel milage played as much a part in his victory as any other factor as he was able to stay out when everyone else had to pit. Once he got in front, he had to keep the position. Mayfield had a very good car and if he did not get so loose while trying to get under Newman, he might have been able to get the pass and win the race.
If Jr. had not had such a poor handleing car, he would have also been a strong contender, as would Gordon.
«"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."»