NASCAR

Wilson’s NASCAR Notes – Top Stories from New Hampshire Weekend

Miss anything that happened in NASCAR over the weekend? You don’t need to waste time scouring the ‘net and reading pages and pages worth of information: here are the biggest stories in NASCAR from Lenox Industrial Tools 301 weekend in New Hampshire, and I won’t just tell you what happened – I’ll tell you what I think, too!

Jimmie Johnson: Another Week, Another Win

The Story: After getting nudged out of the way on the final restart by Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson came back to put a bump-and-run move of his own on the No.2 car coming to the start-finish line with 3 laps to go – then driving away for his second win in a row, and fifth of the season.

Wilson’s Take: New Hampshire may not technically be a short track, but that was some good old-fashioned short-track racing we saw in the closing laps Sunday afternoon. Both the move by Busch and the response by Johnson were examples of good, hard racing, and we saw even more quality action further back in the field. As for Johnson – he just keeps on rolling along, although it will be interesting to see how the No.48 team does when we get to Chicagoland and Indianapolis – those will be a much better test of their spoiler setup.

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Juan Montoya vs., well…Everybody

The Story: Juan Montoya tangled with Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer while trying to hold on to a spot in the top-10 at New Hampshire. The contact he made with both cars didn’t help him out, though – Montoya fell back in the field, and then eventually got punted into the wall by – of all people – Reed Sorenson, who was a lap-down car.

Wilson’s Take: Montoya must have watching “Days of Thunder” before the race, because he ran into just about everything but the pace car Sunday afternoon. There is no question that Montoya was a bit aggressive, but the part that doesn’t make sense was the incident with Sorenson – Reed was not only off the lead lap at the time, but it was his first race back in the Cup series this season – so there was no recent history to justify the severity of his reaction. Reed needs to make a good impression if he wants to take advantage of this second chance in the Cup series, and this won’t help him very much – because there is a 100% chance Montoya will get him back, probably when Reed is finally having a good run.

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Danica’s (less than) Triumphant Return

The Story: Amid plenty of media attention, Danica Patrick made her much-anticipated return to NASCAR’s Nationwide series. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well; Danica qualified 25th, then got run into by Morgan Shepherd and eventually finished 30th, five laps down.

Wilson’s Take: Everybody is focused on the contact with Shepherd, but that had little, if anything, to do with Danica’s day Saturday. Patrick looked completely uncomfortable behind the wheel at New Hampshire, and even if she had been able to avoid the early-race spin, there is no question she still would have finished several laps down to the leaders. New Hampshire is a tough track on which to learn, but Danica is going to have to pick things up a lot more quickly if she wants to be successful. The verdict is still out whether her new approach to NASCAR is going to pay off or not.

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Bobby Labonte on the Move

The Story: Bobby Labonte announced this weekend that he was leaving TRG Motorsports and the No.71 car when the team told him they were planning on doing a ‘start-and-park’ for several races. Labonte drove the No.7 car for Robby Gordon Motorsports at New Hampshire, finishing 30th, and will race the No.09 car at Daytona.

Wilson’s Take: If I were a former Cup champion, I would have done exactly the same thing. Labonte knows he’s not going to get a ride at a top-tier team anytime soon, but even in the twilight of his career, it is an insult to ask someone who has accomplished as much as Bobby to start-and-park a car. It worked out well for Robby Gordon, who couldn’t make the race this week, but it is unclear where Labonte may wind up after this. If he would have given TRG the boot a few weeks ago, who knows – maybe he could have been in Brian Vickers’ Red Bull car. Maybe not – who knows. He is still a former champ, though, so someone will put Bobby in their car.

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Ford Continues to Struggle:

The Story: Ford’s NASCAR woes continued this week, with only two cars finishing on the lead lap at Loudon – A.J. Allmendinger in 10th, and Greg Biffle, who finished 16th. Carl Edwards and Paul Menard both managed to finish in the Top-10 for the Blue Oval contingent in the Nationwide race.

Wilson’s Take: This isn’t much of a surprise, and not just because of Ford’s recent struggles – Loudon has just not been much of a Ford track the past few years. Still – nothing against A.J. Allmendinger, but when he is the manufacturer’s best driver over the last month and a half – something is drastically wrong. Roush-Fenway Racing is still hanging on with three cars in the top-12, but if they don’t turn things around quickly, they could get completely shut out come Chase time.

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