Charlotte, NC. Last night, NASCAR put on the longest race of the campaign so far, and it wasn’t without the NASCAR police. There were several speeding infractions, and there were several cautions. Even a seven-time champion and his crew chief got busted after screwing around in an area that they know better than to mess with. It was a problem with the rear of the car which caused seven time champion Jimmie Johnson to be relegated to only one point on the night in 40th place, instead of second place, where it looked like he would finish, behind the Rochester Hills, Michigan native Brad Keselowski. This was the Michigan native’s first win on one of NASCAR’s crown jewels. The other crown jewels are the Southern 500, which is held at the Commander’s track in Darlington, and the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, which will forever be known as the Yard of Jeremiah. This year, the Southern 500 also happens to be the first race of several that will make up the title chase in the fall, which will end in the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix, AZ. Other suspects last night included number 11, Denny Hamlin, who was having parts of his car being spewed out on the track, which Fox’s Jeff Gordon deemed to be very dangerous. Hamlin was unable to take the green flag, which made for an ugly evening for the Chesterfield, VA native, who finished eight laps down in 35th place. When you have problems with the car, it can lead to drivers being hot under the collar. Kyle Busch finished fourth, after finishing second the week before in the PD region of South Carolina. The seven time champion and his crew chief Cliff Daniels know better than that, and they got what they deserved for making a mockery of the NASCAR rule book. Jimmie should have fallen off the Cliff! The series director Jay Fabian took to the internet and explained why they removed the number two finish from Johnson.
The boys of the cup series have no rest for the weary. They will run the Alsco Uniforms 500 on Wednesday night, before moving on to Bristol, TN on Sunday, where they will run the annual Food City 500.
