Samsung 500 Review
by Virginia Vroom of Predictem.com
If you haven’t yet already, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jeff Gordon back to victory lane! Thanks to the strength within the team, Gordon pulled across the checkers in first place in Texas on Sunday for the Samsung 500. With a dominating performance and a faulty pit stop by Carl Edwards’ team, Gordon was able to conquer a track that he has never won at. In fact, Gordon has not won period in 47 races, which is astonishing for someone who is essentially a living legend.
Gordon seems to be back in championship form. It was easy to see that Gordon was going to make a win happen this year with his consistent top 5 finishes in almost every race this year. He managed to extend his points lead this weekend as well, as we head to Phoenix, which is another great track for Gordon.
Texas proved to be unforgiving for a few drivers, although Edwards, who I picked to win and just about did, botched his last pit stop, leaving him fighting from 11th place. Teammates Kenseth and Biffle, who were also contenders, failed to show at the end because of their own problems on pit road with lug nuts. Gordon ran strong and held off the only other contender, teammate Johnson, who finished with a strong second-place.
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With these guys running in 1 and 2 in the points and very often that same way on the track, even last weekend in Martinsville, it’s like we’re back in the good ‘ole days. It’s pretty exciting seeing these guys compete for wins again and for Gordon, who only has one other track to win on and that is Homestead.
This weekend, though, was definitely a bad weekend for the Roush guys. Talk about pit issues! Specifically, it was like the Roush pits couldn’t get it together when it came to lug nuts. Edwards had an uncharacteristically long pit stop because of those issues as did teammates Kenseth and Biffle. Lug nuts did not stay glued on. It was pretty crazy because of how universal it was in the pits for that particular group of teams.
Gordon knew he had a break when those guys made mistakes. It seems fitting that Gordon would end his winless streak on a track that he has never won at before. He was extremely grateful to his crew and complimented their job on the car they built for this track. He said that he has never had such a strong car at Texas. It’s good to see him back where he belongs.
Johnson finished a strong second, but Gordon still managed to extend his points lead to 162 over Johnson. Every week, the gap gets larger it seems.
There were a total of 6 caution flags, due mostly to crashes and a few engine failures, including Robby Gordon.
All in all, Texas proved who is and isn’t ready to be part of the Championship chase. We are seeing the weaker guys falling off the top 12 while many maintain their positions.
Here are your top ten finishers from the race:
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Greg Biffle
4. Tony Stewart
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Mark Martin
7. Juan Montoya
8. Kurt Busch
9. Jeff Burton
10. Carl Edwards
With those finishes, let’s recap the top 12 in points:
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kurt Busch
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Tony Stewart
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Kyle Busch
8. Carl Edwards
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Kasey Kahne
11. David Reutimann
12. Jeff Burton
This weekend, the Cup guys get a break for Easter. We get back to the action on the 18th this month when we head to the blue walls of Phoenix. Stay tuned for your preview and some great racing action from the diamond in the desert!
