Nice piece in the pre-race on Jr. I only heard part of it, but what I heard was nice. Also nice of them to send him out alone in the back of a pickup to salute the fans.
Congratulations Dale Earnhardt Jr on making the best decision for you and your family. You will be missed as a driver. You’ll be around as an owner, but it won’t be the same. Continued good fortune as an owner and I wish you and Amy and your family tons of happiness and love. And that’s as sappy as I’ll get about that.
I believe Matt Kenseth is going to be shocked at how great his life unfolds from this point forward. He’s said this wasn’t the decision he felt ready to make, but came to believe it was time to make it. Congratulations on being the mature, healthy guy who can recognize when life is leading him in an unexpected direction and following.
Congrats to Danica ‘Lil Dude’ Patrick on all she has learned and grown during her time as a full-time NASCAR Cup series driver. She received a tremendous opportunity and gave her best to it.
Congratulations also to KHarv and Delana who are expecting their second child in 2018.
Denny said he wants to win the race to show he should’ve been in the final four. Poor deluded Denny. He doesn’t understand that his actions which cost him that position proved he should not have been in the final four. He’s not Brad ‘It’ Keselowski. He has to act right to get right. Seems like he’s frequently a recipient of instant karma. Apparently ‘It’ is on a layaway plan. He keeps cheating and gimmicking his way into situations that allow him to show his true character and he’s shameless enough to not be embarrassed by what he shows. So he never improves, grows as a human being. One day those birds will come home to roost and he will reap what he has sown.
They’re saying on MRN that the track isn’t taking rubber. That could make for an interesting – or a very, very boring – race, depending on how the drivers handle it.
Dale Jr is getting high fives from folks on pit road, including NASCAR officials as he drives off to the race track. It looks like just about everybody is out there to greet/salute him.
Dale’s rubbing his eyes as he follows a truck tailing a banner that says Thank You.
Winston Kelly said Richard Petty compared this race to King’s last race in 1992.
All the fans are on their feet.
Dale has the visor down now.
The stages for this race are 80-80-107 laps though stages mean nothing in this race. Maybe NASCAR might want to use the stages for something next year, to encourage the championship four to give up the conservative racing for most of the final race.
Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr will lead the field to the green flag.
Caution on lap 5 of 267 Joey Gase for hitting the wall in the 83 car.
Restarting on lap 9 of 267.
Green flag pit stops underway on lap 38.
Jimmie Johnson has pitted for a second flat tire on lap 67. Jimmie says he’s having brake issues. He reports having to pump the brakes in the corners. He also brushed the wall around lap 36.
13 cars are on the lead lap with five laps left to go in stage one. Boring.
People frequently mention that Homestead and Atlanta are similar. I have to say today Homestead is reminding me of Atlanta where whomever gets the lead runs away from the field and the rest string out in a follow-the-leader configuration. We saw a couple of passes on the start and restart, but overall, not much action.
‘Kutey’ Kyle Larson wins stage one.
Restarting on lap 86 of 267.
Green flag stops underway on lap 120.
Caution on lap 141 of 267 for Lil Dude becoming a flaming wreck – literally – after hitting the wall. Kasey Kahne also has some damage after getting into the back of her. She drove the flaming car to the entrance of pit road, before bailing out. The car wouldn’t turn so she couldn’t make the left turn onto pit road.
There are 14 cars on the lead lap before the wave-around. 20 cars will take the wave-around.
Looks like Kim Coon is yelling at Danica. For some reason lately tv has decided to show the radio reporters doing their interviews. As usual Claire B managed to get on camera. At least this time it was due to her usual shenanigans.
Restarting on lap 150 of 267, ten laps from the end of stage 2.
Restarting on lap 165 of 267.
Martin Truex Jr is first off pit road and holds on to the lead. Kyle ‘KyBu’ Busch passed Martin Truex for the lead.
Sunset is at 1732 EST.
David Starr lost a tire and Kevin Harvick may have hit debris from the incident putting a hole in the right front fender of his car. Kevin seems to have slowed a little bit.
Green flag pit stops underway on lap 197 of 267.
KyBu’s crew chief decided they were going to pit one less time than everyone else so he stayed out that cycle remaining in the lead.
Green flag stops underway on lap 214 of 267.
KyBu comes in this cycle on lap 216. Martin Truex Jr inherits the lead. The idea is to give up the lead now and outlast the rest of the field who will have to come in for another stop.
Caution for flat tires for Kurt ‘KuBu’ Busch, Daniel Suarez and Erik ‘Da Brat’ Jones on lap 228 of 267.
Martin Truex Jr wins the race off pit road, followed by Kevin ‘Happy|KHarv’ Harvick.
Restarting on lap 233 of 267.
Homestead has some beautiful sunsets. When the shot includes the sky its absolutely gorgeous.
Daniel Suarez says he “didn’t have any warning” before his tire let go.
KyBu is in second chasing down Martin Truex Jr. ‘Kutey’ Kyle is in third being a nuisance.
One thing that NBC does that I like is turn the lap counter white on the last lap since I usually can’t read the numbers from a distance because they’re so small.
With 3 to go Kutey got KyBu loose. Nuisance.
White flag is out with Truex leading KyBu by six ca lengths or so.
Martin Truex Jr wins the race and the championship.
Congrats to the 78 team!!! They have had an awesome year. It’s Martin Truex Jr’s eighth win this year.
Crew-chief Cole Pearn is crying. Martin appears to be crying in the car. Owner Barney Visser is still recuperating from his recent heart attack and heart surgery. Sherry is losing her mind. Johnny Morris is down there for Bass Pro Shop who’s colors are on the car tonight. Sherry finally got to him.
The 88 team has a cold beer to celebrate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
They just showed an old Budweiser commercial of Jr’s (from the 8 car days).
Dale Jr gave Martin a congratulatory bump. He then presented the helmet to Rick Hendrick and the had a big, big hug.
Jr said he got into the fence late, got a flat and messed him up.
He said he had a deal with Rick Hendrick that if he finished the race then Rick gets the helmet and Dale gets the car.
And of course Claire B has gotten into the camera shot and won’t get out of it.
Dale says he didn’t cry until he was hugging Rick. He said he’s been like a Daddy to him and done more for him personally and professionally than anyone will ever know.
Dale says he’s been texting Elliott Sadler all morning about what they’re going to do next year at JRM. He told Elliott to get his head together during the off year,
The fireworks are gorgeous.
Martin has been one of my favorite drivers for years – since his Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing days. I was lucky enough that a friend who worked at a place Martin visited got my an autograph and some pictures.
Cole said he’ll be glad for the playoff beards to go away. He said people have told him that it makes him look older and that’s not something you want to hear.
Krista Voda seems to be unaware that it’s never about her and her in-jokes and personal comments are inappropriate when she’s supposed to be working. Good for her that she knows Sherry and they talk, but during coverage of Martin Truex Jr’s victory, it’s not okay for her to act as though they’re just having a girlfriends chat while interviewing Sherry. She’s supposed to be a professional broadcaster. On NASCAR’s big finish, she could try to act like it for a change.
KyBu said the 22 of Joey “Squinty-Douchey” Logano blocked him every single chance he got and caused him to spend too much time getting back up there. He said, “that’s racing”. He’s so frustrated and angry.
KHarv seems okay with the season overall. Of course he wanted to win the championship, but he recognizes the excellent performance of the 78 team all season.
I’m looking forward to next year with NBC and hoping and praying they will improve their announce team. Stevie and Jeff talk entirely too much. Krista Voda is not at all suited to that job. It’s above her pay grade. Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett and Rutledge Wood have some of the most grating voices this side of Samantha Busch. I know only Dale Jr’s joining NBC Sports, but a girl can hope for reason and an eye for talent to join the party and allow them to have a (or a couple of) quality broadcast team(s).
NASCAR News:
- France, Dewar Meet the Media.
- NASCAR drivers bid farewell to retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr..
- Earnhardt on NASCAR finale: ‘This is gonna be a weird day’.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s top-10 retirement gifts include puppies, pickles and a musket.
- Why is Dale Earnhardt Jr. retiring from NASCAR?.
- Earnhardt, Kenseth, Patrick not only NASCAR drivers saying goodbye.