Over the last couple years, we have certainly seen on-track issues between competitors and sometimes even teammates.
I go back to the 2010 Sprint All-Star Race and the problems with Kyle Busch and his teammate Denny Hamlin. As mad as Kyle was at the moment, if he could have gotten to Denny it would have been ugly.
Now the situation Sunday between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his teammate, Mark Martin, was totally different than that of Kyle and Denny. Anyone who has ever raced against him knows that Mark Martin will race you as clean as you have ever been raced. He’s been in our sport since 1981 and I don’t think you can find anybody that would say anything bad about Mark.
Dale Jr. certainly was frustrated with Mark, but he knows the incident between the pair wasn’t deliberate. It might have been a miscalculation on Mark’s part, or maybe even a spotter error, that caused him to drift toward Junior's car and squeeze him into the wall.
Dale didn’t have a great run going, but he was having a good run. Unfortunately what happened took away a potential top-10 finish.
There’s probably no one out there that has a better respect level of Mark than Dale Jr., so after talking to Mark he got a much better perspective and understanding of what had happened. I would even wager to say the book on that incident is closed and won’t be brought up again.
Drivers are only content when they do what Denny Hamlin did Sunday at Michigan. They only care about winning the race. So when another driver causes you problems in reaching that goal, then sure these guys are going to be upset.
For drivers who haven’t won yet this year, like Dale Jr., the tension and frustration will only increase as we get deeper into our season and near the Chase cutoff in September.
We preach it to you every week that wins are so hard to get and this year, more then ever, so vitally important. Look how Denny’s perseverance has paid off and changed his season around. Last year he won eight races and unfortunately let the 2010 championship slip from his grasp.
At Michigan, that No. 11 car led the most laps and Denny got his first win. You have to know that they probably feel they have finally gotten the proverbial monkey off their backs. Remember earlier in the season they were even outside the top 20 in points. Now all those concerns are a thing of the past. They have their first win and Denny jumped three spots up into the top 10 in points.
The other example of turning things around is Kurt Busch and the No. 22 team. There was one point earlier this year that I even wondered if Kurt would finish the year as a Penske Racing driver. Now, he and that team have won three consecutive pole positions. They are running strong and with a lot of confidence. They are racking up the points and becoming a factor in this year’s championship.
So the teams of Hamlin and Busch are perfect examples of sticking together, keeping their heads down and literally turning their seasons around.
They were both a factor this weekend. Sunday's race at Michigan was one of the better races we have had in a long, long time. Quite honestly, with 10 laps to go, I didn’t know who was going to win. Even after that last restart, I didn’t know who the winner was going to be.
So that was exciting and I can’t wait until we get back here again in a couple months.
