NASCAR Cup Series

Martinsville was hazardous for Chasers

Published Oct. 31, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Larry McReynolds

As in every race we run, there is only one winner and 42 losers.

However, with the end of the 2011 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup being only three races away, some guys lost more than just the race Sunday in Martinsville.

Matt Kenseth is the first to come to mind. I feel bad for Matt.

Unlike in the past, Matt and his Roush Fenway Racing team enjoyed a good run at Martinsville Speedway for most of the day. He was up there in the top 10 and in the top five at times.

Unfortunately, he and Brian Vickers have had problems in the past, and it came to a head on Sunday. Actually, of the 18 cautions on Sunday, Brian was involved in six of them.

So starting the day, Matt was second in the Chase points, but Martinsville cost him dearly. He finished 31st in the race, fell to fifth in the points and is 36 points out of first. Is a championship still possible this year for his No. 17 team?

Sure it’s possible but a pretty tall mountain to climb with only three races to go.

The other I feel bad for is Brad Keselowski.

They worked to improve that No. 2 Penske Racing car all race long. Now they didn’t have a car that could win the race, but they definitely had a top-10 car that would have really helped in the points battle.

Unfortunately, there was the spin with two laps to go and no caution. So Brad actually has to feel lucky that he is only 27 points out.

Eventual race winner Tony Stewart has to be extremely happy.

Naturally, the rained-out qualifying got him a good starting spot as well as a good pit selection. Early on during the race, while the track was still somewhat green, he led some laps.

I just have to say, though, by the halfway mark of Sunday’s race, Tony was scratching and clawing to simply stay on the lead lap. That Stewart-Haas Racing bunch worked on that car all day long and trust me, those 18 cautions played right into their hands.

They got that car to come to life and Tony now has his third win of this year's Chase.

This win is huge in so many ways. Tony has moved past Matt Kenseth, taken over second place and is only eight points behind series leader Carl Edwards.

Don’t for a minute think that Tony doesn’t realize that eight points behind Carl is still really tough, because he does. Tony does have a lot of confidence right now after a pretty dismal regular season. He never won a race in the first 26 but has three wins in the past seven events.

It just goes right along with our 2011 season being one that is full of surprises.

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