NASCAR Cup Series

Don't buy conspiracy theory on late-race caution

Published Oct. 27, 2009 5:33 p.m. ET

Jeff Hammond

Sunday at Martinsville, I thought we saw typical short-track racing. We saw pushing and shoving. I think we saw things that race fans really want to see more of. The one that was impressive to me and the one that was going for it was clearly Juan Pablo Montoya.

I was impressed by his performance. He's a short-track racer now, and more importantly, he's a NASCAR driver now.

I am still in awe of the dominance of the No. 48 car. Jimmie Johnson qualified 15th but quickly made his way to the front. He got those always-valuable bonus points. These guys are like a model of perfection.

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It was also really neat to see Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing get back to Victory Lane. As we have documented before, winning in his home state of Virginia just makes it that much sweeter. I think Denny has shown everyone he is arguably the short-track king now. Just look at his and Johnson's record on the short tracks in recent years, and you will see that those two have simply dominated. Actually, truth be told, Denny should have had more wins that it shows. He's just really good at Bristol, Richmond and Martinsville.

Conspiracy Theory?

I know there are some fans that are upset with the late race caution Sunday. As a former competitor, I had one viewpoint for a lot of years. But in the last nine years working with the NASCAR on FOX team, I have come to realize there sometimes is more to the story. What might have been a reason for a caution one moment can be hit by another car and be gone the next moment. But, see, even though it may be gone in that split-second, the call has already been made to the NASCAR tower. My point is the process has already been put in motion.

Sometimes, that can easily be what happens. Some folks want to be negative and say NASCAR does that occasionally for a TV timeout. I personally have never seen that and would never be part of it if it was. In this day and age, when we bring cameras to the track to cover all areas, NASCAR knows it can't try to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. So it has to be very careful about phantom cautions.

We at FOX have tried really hard to show the fans watching at home what is or isn't there on the track that caused the yellow to fly. The problem is no matter how much you do, there will always be folks out there just waiting to point the finger at NASCAR and yell conspiracy.

I think the addition of the double-file restarts is making things very interesting and challenging these days. I know there are some folks out there saying that's why NASCAR is doing it. I don't buy that. I don't think that is what's going on.

Sweet home Alabama

So now we head to Talladega this weekend. We will finally get a chance to see whether the great equalizer will equalize anything. All the Chase drivers are asking the same thing, and that is what Talladega will leave in its aftermath. To be fair, I guess you also have to ask: Will there be an aftermath? Everybody believes there will be. But, hey, this is NASCAR racing, and sometimes you really can get surprised. As we keep telling you, this is what all we racers call a pivotal race. Monday morning after Talladega is always interesting to see where the chips have fallen.

Leading the way

Denny Hamlin won at Martinsville, but could anybody catch up to Jimmie Johnson? Charting the Chasers takes a look.

Setting that aside, my question is: Will anyone else other than a Chase contender win a race? So far, it's looking pretty doubtful. I also think it once again proves we have the right guys chasing this championship.

Don't expect to see that No. 48 car do anything crazy on Sunday. The team will do what it has done in the past and run in the back early. It will stay out of the eye of the storm until it really counts. Getting involved early in a big one is ridiculous when you have the point lead the No. 48 has and on the threshold of making NASCAR history by winning four championships in a row.

If you are going to get wrecked, get wrecked at the end of the race, when it is necessary to push things. Why would you want to get wrecked early? You would at least wait until the halfway point and it becomes an official race before you start pushing the envelope.

So look to the No. 48 to race safe and smart. It will hang out in the back and then as the race winds down, look for Jimmie to put the whip to the No. 48 and then you'll see just exactly what he's got.

No one can fault the No. 48 team for the way it is earning what looks to be its fourth consecutive championship. No one can ever say it just lucked into it. It has set the standard high. It is as near to perfection as you will ever see in our sport. It let everyone know it is King of the Hill, and if you want to be the King, well, come try to knock the 48 off.