For a brief moment on lap three, I thought Dale Earnhardt Jr had miraculously jumped from like fifth to first. The clamorous cheers from the grandstands were deceiving, as I saw the No. 48 Chevrolet limp to the garage. Jimmie Johnson was the victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is a rare occurrence in the closing stages of the season.
David Reutimann triggered the incident when he inadvertently ran into the back of Sam Hornish Jr, who would then run into the side of Johnson.
As the dust and smoke settled and fans realized that it was Johnson who wrecked, a roar from the grandstands ensued.
The question is, were these fans cheering Johnson because he wrecked, or were they simply cheering for the fact that we may now have a championship showdown as opposed to a runaway chase?
Unfortunately, countless fans cheer when a driver they dislike wrecks out of a race.
Dale Earnhardt detractors were famous for that in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and Jeff Gordon haters still find enjoyment when they see the No. 24 Chevrolet crumpled up on the infield.
I remember at
Richmond in 2001, Sterling Marlin sent Gordon spinning into the wall early in the race, and the cheer from the crown was resounding, at least it was from my point of view.
You would have thought that world peace had been declared.
While I desire a tight championship battle as much as the next guy or gal, I certainly did not cheer when Johnson hit the wall.
To be frank, I would have rather seem him blow an engine or drop a cylinder or two.
You just never know how violent a wreck is regardless of how innocent it appears.
I am sure the idiots who cheered when Dale Earnhardt wrecked at Daytona in 2001 felt pretty darn stupid just a couple of hours after leaving the track, at least they should have.
Mark Martin is now only 73 points behind Johnson.
While he is back in the picture, he still has an arduous task ahead of him.
Unless Johnson encounters another round of misfortune at
Phoenix or
Homestead, Martin has to outperform him, and not just barely.
He has to have two seamless races and outscore Johnson by an average of 37 points.
If Martin leads the most laps at
Phoenix and
Homestead, and Johnson finishes sixth in both races, Martin will win by a grand total of seven points, and that is assuming Johnson leads at least one lap in each race.
Jeff Gordon is still in the hunt, but after finishing thirteenth, a fifth title is unlikely, as he needs another terrible race from both Johnson and Martin.
Comments
Actually Jeremy I have been in the stands when Jeff wrecked really hard and the cheers were sickening. I have even had Jr fans say right to my face after Jeff wrecked, "I hope he is dead, then I will really jump up and down for joy! I hope I get to see that blankety blank die soon, maybe today" Then when they showed Jeff was fine, they booed, and screamed "Chit he's ok, I was hoping he was dead! Oh well, maybe next time" That is just sick! That has never happened with any other driver but Jeff I am willing to bet. People don't like JJ, but it is nowhere near as bad as it has been for Jeff his entire career.
Well, I certainly would not want him dead or hurt, but I am glad to see that there is a race to the championship, now ... I wanted to see Kyle Busch pull of the threesome, but I was happy with Kurt ... go Brothers Busch!
Reutimann inadvertently ran into the back of Sam Hornish Jr! LMFAO you got to be Fn'ing me! Sam being the boo-boo driver he is got himself in a stupid stituation and choked up. You watched the wreck right? Did you see the closing rate? Sam was backing up fast and Reuti had nowhere to go, he let off to try to get under him to avoid him but Sam was slipping so fast he was a rolling blockade, and coming out of a coner is the worst place to stop, cause no $hit people are going to hit you. Bottom line Sam was where he shouldn't have been given his experience level. Don't anyone try to reply with the Jr. at New Hampshire bull$hit either!
Never understood hating any driver. Dislike is ok, but not hate. But I can understand where the fans are wanting to see an exciting season finish at Homestead, like when Kurt Busch won a few years back.
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