View From The Couch

What is it about Virginia drivers at their hometown tracks, Richmond and Martinsville? Sunday gave the state plenty to be proud of. Denny Hamlin won his first Cup race in his home state, a victory he said was without a doubt the biggest of his young career. Hamlin’s love for his local tracks is obvious. From his visible disappointment of past misses to his prominent support during last year’s Virginia Tech tragedy.

Another Virginian Jeff Burton nearly took home his second straight win, but held on for a third place. Burton also assumed the overall points lead for the first time this season. As impressive as Hamlin and Burton were, the day’s most impressive run might have belonged to Emporia, VA native Elliott Sadler.

Sadler suffered through back problems all weekend, painful enough for the team to keep subsitute driver Dennis Setzer on standby. Sadler stayed in the car and ground out 500 laps and a 15th place finish.

“You got to give the guy lot of credit. I mean pushing on that brake pedal a thousand times out there like that is not easy no matter what the conditions are like. And I’ve had some back issues, you know, in the past. Not quite that bad. But here and the road courses, places you don’t want to go to with a sore back,” said Jeff Gordon about Sadler’s gutty drive.

In many sports, players are willing to sit out with less serious injuries, but NASCAR drivers are in a different situation. Admittedly sponsors and points play a big factor in drivers getting in the cars each week, but that doesn’t diminish the physical toughness they have to drive in discomfort all afternoon. It’s one thing to simply drive for 250 miles scrunched into a car not known for comfort, but then add 42 other cars and the inevitable contact for three plus hours and it’s more impressive.

“I feel pretty good. I appreciate Dennis Setzer working with us the last two days giving me a little break on Friday and Saturday and that made a big difference today. I took a few Tylenol and I felt great during the race. I’m a little sore. I’ll definitely be feeling this in the morning. My back did not get any worse during the race; it stayed at the same level of soreness the whole time.”

I’m sure Sadler would have tried to drive at any track, but considering it was a home race for him had to be added incentive.

• Hendrick cars took 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th. Granted, Hendrick cars always run well at Martinsville, but can we finally stop talking about a mythical Hendrick slump? Dale Earnhardt Jr, Gordon and Johnson all sit inside the top 12. Prior to Johnson getting clipped by Ryan Newman, it was looking like a Hendrick sweep was possible. The wins will come.

• Martinsville is a tough race for anyone, but doubly rough for a rookie debut. Michael McDowell ran on the lead lap for 400+ miles but ran into trouble when the leaders closed in. After giving Jeff Burton a tough time, he then spun from a flat tire to finish three laps down in 26th place. To pile on, he drew the ire of Burton, one of the calmest and most level-headed drivers in the sport.

• What was up with Matt Kenseth? He was involved in at least three accidents, including an on-track spat with David Gilliland. That move resulted in NASCAR holding Kenseth for two laps. It’s no secret Kenseth doesn’t run well at Martinsville, but he sure didn’t improve the situation today.

• Jamie McMurray had a very solid weekend, qualifying fifth and then spending 499 of 500 laps in the top 15. His eighth place finish returned him to the top 35, knocking David Reutimann and the #44 team from their safe perch. Regan Smith also had a solid run, finishing 14th and dislodging Sam Hornish Jr from the top 35. It was by far Smith’s best race of the season.

• There are several reasons I enjoy the Martinsville races, but here’s one I realized today. It’s not a matter of keeping your car clean, it’s keeping it cleaner than everyone else. It’s great to see the top five cars all have donuts and dents on them, yet still run well. It’s not scientific, it just looks cool.

Check out more NASCAR news and opinion at Trouble in Turn 2.

RacingNation Crew

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