It was the MyLifeSucks 500 at Charlotte, or at least it turned out that way for a bunch of our NASCAR heros last Saturday night. Taking to the track is a lot like feeding hay to cattle; you could wind up with steak or maybe end up with nothing more than a steaming pile of B.S. Let us just say the flies were busy.
If on-track performance, that winning or losing thing is what drove souvenir sales, I'm afraid Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have a tough time outselling Joe Nemechek. The good news out of North Carolina is that Junior never was a factor at anytime on Saturday, so when the fan favorite's transmission needed replacing we did not have to ponder "what might have been." It already was a day for the dogs, so a little time in the kennel was no big deal.
It was that way for a couple of real contenders. Juan Pablo Montoya looked real good early, while Mark Martin gave some indication that he had something in the tank. Then Martin got a snootful of Montoya's rear end, giving him a taste of his own when he pushed Montoya into a Clint Bowyer butt rub. Martin was just happy to finish in the top 20, while Montoya could only dream of such a thing.
Oh, and ask Brian Vickers how his day went. Maybe Carl Edwards might have a few choice words on the subject. Let's put it this way. Belvedere the Bull don't give milk and none of those boys picked up any steak.
Jimmie Johnson snacked well, but when does he not? He won his sixth of the season, with Matt Kenseth just behind and Jeff Gordon at least picking up some hamburger for his trouble. With five to go, Johnson has a 90-point lead over Martin, is 135 ahead of Gordon, with Tony Stewart 150 points off the pace. As for the rest, well, as of now they just don't matter.
As I mentioned in an article last week, NASCAR got it right with their initial five picks to its Hall of Fame. You got the guy who started it, the guy who turned it into what it was to become, and two guys many consider as its greatest champions. Add to that quartet a fellow who was a winner as a driver and an owner, and you got some pretty good picks. Oh, Junior Johnson was probably pretty good delivering moonshine, too, but I don't know of any available statistics to back that up.
At Daytona, you got everyone and their mother, and sister, too, putting an entry together. At Martinsville, there is only one extra fellow looking for one of those 43 positions. 52-year old Sterling Marlin will attempt to earn his 7th start for James Finch while 50-year old Mike Wallace is seeking his 3rd race for Larry Gunselman. Then you have Derrike Cope. The 50-year old former champion crew chief is hoping to make his first race in three years under his own banner. I'm starting to feel younger and younger. Heck, I might just enter myself.
This Sunday, the boys venture north to Martinsville where the defending champion is a guy whose name rhymes with Jimmie Johnson. Funny, isn't he the same boy who won at Phoenix last fall? Carl Edwards is the defending champion of two of the final five, but unless the pace setter becomes Jimmie the Jinx in a hurry, that should prove too little too late.
