All Jacked Up

Hendrick back in business

Posted by: Jason Randall

Sunday, March 30, 2008 5:40 PM

Virginia native Denny Hamlin delivered Toyota's second win of the season on Sunday at Martinsville, but what really stood out was all four Hendrick Motorsports cars were in the top 7.

Jeff Gordon finished second, followed by Jimmie Johnson (4th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6th) and Casey Mears (7th).

Memo to the rest of the Sprint Cup teams out there: They're baaaaaack.

Hamlin had one of the best cars out there Sunday, but probably should thank rookie Michael McDowell for his good fortunes. Once Hamlin got past McDowell's lapped car, the Michael Waltrip-owned machine kept second-place driver Jeff Burton behind him for far, far too long. He didn't have to move out of the way, but there is a gentlemen's agreement on the conduct of lapped cars when in the final stretch of a race. Burton had good reason to be upset in his post-race interview on TV. Burton said the rookie needs to learn to get out of the way ... and he can learn the hard way if he so chooses.

Now that was a good interview.

But by the end of the race, Gordon was the one who was bringing the heat. I'd say if the 24 had one more lap, he probably would have won the race. Johnson spun and still finished in the top 5. Earnhardt Jr. was involved in the lead pack all day and so was Mears. It was a banner day for Hendrick, and fans of those drivers have to be excited.

Sure, HMS cars traditionally have run well at Martinsville, and we'll know a lot more next weekend at Texas, but fans have to believe their favorite team is back on track.

Speaking of success at Martinsville, I finally picked a winner this season in Sunday's print edition of The News-Gazette. The way Hamlin was running in practice, in addition to his qualifying effort, made me think he had a winner under him. Sure enough. I'm now 1-5 on the season with four top 5s.

After a rookie season of picking eight races correctly (a News-Gazette record), I suffered through a Kasey Kahne-like sophomore slump. I picked only one race correctly last year, with a number of heartbreaking losses. Maybe I can carry this momentum over to Fort Worth, where the early favorite has to be Burton. Last year's winner in the Texas spring race has been running well of late. We shall see.

I'd like to thank all of you who read last week's post, and especially thank those of you who left comments. We've been getting a good response and I appreciate it very much. I did in fact listen to a good chunk of the race on MRN on Sunday. It makes things much less annoying.

When I did listen to the TV broadcast I heard Dick Berggren say something ridiculous ... as usual. He commented that the 48 was low on Sunoco or something to that extent. Um, Dick, Sunoco is a fuel company, not a fuel. That's like me saying "My tank is low, I need to go put more Super Pantry in my car." or "Hmm, before I leave for vacation, we need to stop off and fill up with Casey's." or "Hey guys, can I have a few bucks to put some Circle K in my car? I don't think I have enough to get home."

OK, so those examples don't totally work, but you get my meaning.

Anyway, keep those comments coming. I'll check back in sometime by mid-week. Oh yeah, and keep hittin' your marks!

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