Whew! I knew that the Cocoa Cola 600 was supposed to be the longest race of the year, but this was just too ridiculous. I needed a nap when it was over. After two days, six and a half hours, 224 laps completed, TONS of rain/rain delays and an incredibly risky but ultimately smart call by Crew Chief Rodney Childers, David Reutimann won the 50th race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the #00. In fact, three of the six caution flags were thrown for rain. This is so NOT the way I like to see a race end. My driver (Jeff Gordon) has won races under caution and in the rain and I still don't like it. It's quite a letdown. In a beautiful testiment to the men and women who lost their lives fighting for our freedom, at 3pm local time, all cars on the field stopped, turned off their engines and shared a moment of silence with those in the stands as well as the guys in the pits. It was a touching tribute and showed the importance of God, country and family that is at the core of the redneck nation behind NASCAR. Kevin Harvick had a rough race (finishing 41st), Dale Jr was probably VERY happy that the race was cut short by the rain since he was battling a rough car the entire time (finishing 40th) and Tony Stewart exhanged some words with David Reutimann as well as Reuty's "Billy Bad Butt" crew member on the caution before the last yellow flag due to what Smoke considered some seriously rough racing that was unnecessary so early in the race. But, this is why we love Tony so much. The only guys not to go into the last pit stop on the final yellow flag were the guys that finished #1-3: Reutimann, Ryan Newman (#38) and everyone's favorite bad boy, Robby Gordon (#7). Since the yellow flag turned into a red flag which eventually turned into the finish of the race, this was definitely the smart call to make. Even though Jeff Gordon finished 14th, he still retains the points lead by 44 points over Tony Stewart. Next Sunday, NASCAR goes to Dover for the final race on Fox (before it switches to TNT). Pre-race commentary starts at 1:30pm EST on Fox. I'll see you at the races!
Top 5 of the 2009 Cocoa Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte NC:
1. David Reutimann (#00)
2. Ryan Newman (#39)
3. Robby Gordon (#7)
4. Carl Edwards (#99)
5. Brian Vickers (#83)
Heather Chavez - Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around!
