Another wild afternoon of auto racing in the books. We have our heroes and our villains, and it was a battle until the last lap. For the third straight race at Eldora Speedway, the conditions failed to cooperate, and it was a mad dash for the finish. The good news is that the track was a bit wetter than usual for this time of the year, and that helped a lot. Let’s take a quick look at the highlights and lowlights.
Highlights
– After a slow start, Kyle Busch stormed to the lead on the lower half of the track. He quickly opened up a lead of nearly two seconds. The rest of the field followed suit, and it was clear that nobody was going to catch Busch. He became the first man to win three straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Eldora.
– Martin Truex Jr. started the last lap from third place and quickly moved into second. He was looking for a way to pass Busch on the final lap and get that one more point on the board. As the two battled for position, Truex made the move on the final turn, and it appeared he may have gotten by Busch. That is, until the checkered flag. It was later disqualified when NASCAR determined that Truex had illegally blocked Busch on the final lap. After the disqualification, Busch finished the race in third place. Truex was penalized four spots in the race and docked a point.
– There were a few more incidents of blocking on the final lap, and that is a bad habit that NASCAR wants to eradicate. While blocking is common in other sports, it is usually not tolerated in auto racing. The officials at Eldora were tough on this one, and it is clear that they do not want to see it any time soon.
Lowlights
– After almost running out of gas, Juan Pablo Montoya made a mistake on the final lap and wrecked. He crossed the finish line in 20th place. It was the Colombian’s first DNF in 34 races at Eldora. He suffered a broken right leg in the accident and missed the rest of the season. It was a heartbreaking end to a promising season.
– After starting 11th, Jamie McMurray finished last. That is his worst starting position in 26 races at Eldora. He was looking to bounce back from a disappointing season, and it did not happen. He drove all night to make up positions, but he was unable to move up any higher then the 22nd spot. McMurray was furious with himself after the race. He blamed himself for being passed by multiple drivers in the first few laps and said it was “embarrassing” to come home last place. He felt he should have been able to salvage something from the weekend.
– There was a scary moment at the start of the race when Mike Annett’s car collided with a utility truck. Annett was not injured in the accident, and he was able to walk to his car after suffering a few minor scratches. He finished the race, and it is not known if he will be penalized or not.
– There were a few more close calls during the race. For example, on the last lap, Chris Buescher and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun out, and it appeared both men may have hit other cars. Fortunately, everyone walked away from those incidents without serious damage.
– We knew the conditions were bad before the race. Rain and lightning were a frequent sight on TV, and we even got a few drops of rain right before the race. Yet, the track still dried up in spots, so it was a combination of up to three inches of rain and two parts mud. It was tough to drive or walk on the track because it was so slick. There were multiple accidents, and it was a mad dash to the finish. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt, but it was one of the nastiest races we have seen at Eldora in a long time.