#48-Jimmie Johnson became our second “Sweeper” of the season today at New Hampshire International Speedway as he captured the Sylvania 300 in fine fashion. It was his 6th career win (he’s now solo in 59th on the all-time win list) and 3rd of the season. It was also win #115 for Hendrick Motorsports. In what can only be termed as a “wild time” in the pits, Johnson joins Kurt Busch as the only repeaters this year (he swept Bristol). After having three of his crewmembers hitch a ride on top of Jeff Gordon’s car, the Lowe’s team (appearing completely unflustered considering how dangerous that situation could have been) came through at the end with a flawless “gas and go” and they were home free. #21-Ricky Rudd (2nd) had his best finish since he won at Infineon Raceway in June of 2002. #25-Joe Nemechek (3rd) had his best finish since he won at Richmond in May. #9-Bill Elliott (4th) had his best finish since he was 4th at Infineon Raceway in June. #38-Elliott Sadler (8th) had his best finish since he was 5th at Martinsville in April. #1-John Andretti (12th) had his best finish since he was 8th at California in April. #77-Dave Blaney (14th) had his best finish since he was 9th at Pocono in July. #41-Casey Mears (17th) had his best finish since he was 16th when we were here in July. #43-Christian Fittipaldi (31st) had his best finish since he was 24th at Pocono in July. STREAKIN….Matt Kenseth has 6 Top-10 finishes in the last 7 races. Ryan Newman has 5 Top-10 finishes in the last 6 races. The Rookie Report: Jamie McMurray (10th) captures the top award for the 13th time this season (he’s got a 13-9 lead over Greg Biffle). He was followed by: Casey Mears (17th), Tony Raines (33rd), and Greg Biffle (43rd). Larry Foyt was a DNQ again this week. Time for Biffle to get on his horse or this race will be over. This week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Ricky Rudd (+29), followed by Joe Nemechek (+22), and Bobby Labonte (+21). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Greg Biffle (-39), followed by Jeff Burton (-27), Michael Waltrip (-21), and Sterling Marlin (-20). A relatively slow day in the shaft. Dale Earnhardt Jr sliced 14 points off Matt Kenseth’s lead today….but he’s gonna need bigger pieces of the pie than that if we’re gonna have a race past Halloween. Matt’s lead is down to 404 markers, and that “Magic Number” is up to 8th. Got a few more emails this week wanting to know just what that means….it’s the position that Matt can finish every week and can’t be caught, no matter how good you do. If he finishes 8th or better, Jr can’t win the Championship. Elliott Sadler (22nd to 19th) made the best move forward this week, while Johnny Benson (23rd to 26th) fell the same number of spots.( Stockcarfans.com )(9-14-2003)
