All News Bobby Labonte Brian Vickers Casey Mears Dale Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Gordon Jeff Green Jimmie Johnson Joe Nemechek Matt Kenseth Ricky Rudd Rusty Wallace Todd Bodine Tony Stewart

StockCarFans.com – Rumblings – Richmond:

May 15, 2004 at 12:00 AM
  • Track position is rapidly becoming “the” catch phrase when it comes to Nextel Cup racing….and tonight’s Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway re-inforced that theory to the fullest. Dale Earnhardt Jr stayed out on lap 346 as most of the leaders pitted for fresh tires and pulled away from Jimmie Johnson for the victory. It was the third win of 2003 for Earnhardt, the second for him at Richmond (he won this event in 2000), and the 12th of his Cup career (he’s 45th all-time). While he may not yet be a “gazillionaire”, this victory was worth $285,053 from the over $4.8M in posted awards.
    And now, about the pre-race show…..Hooray for Tony’s tirade against the booth. I [note: thought of Von form Stock Car Fans ….NOT Jayski] praised Rusty Wallace a couple weeks ago for speaking his mind, and the same goes for Stewart tonight. While it’s nearly impossible to fight battles against people who buy ink by the barrel, the only person Tony has to please is the one looking back at him in the mirror in the morning. And, he is entitled to a self- defense. Tony’s talked to Rusty….and it’s over. NASCAR looked at the situation and found nothing wrong. Both of those drivers are emotional and driven to win, and I don’t think either one took umbrage at the other speaking their mind. But, for you new fans, fans with short memories, and TV commentators, here’s what Tony was referring to in his “discussion” with Darrel Waltrip.
    Tony Stewart (4th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Las Vegas in March.
    Brian Vickers (8th) had his career-best finish tonight, his previous best was 12th at Texas last month. We’ve now had 29 drivers score a Top-10 finish this season….last year’s number was 42.
    Ricky Rudd (11th) had his best finish since he was 10th at Kansas last October.
    Todd Bodine (33rd) had his best finish since he was 11th at Homestead last November.
    STREAKIN….Jeff Gordon has 6 Top-10’s in a row. Jimmie Johnson has 5 Top-10’s in a row. Bobby Labonte has 4 Top-10’s in a row.
    This Week’s Elevator….UP: The Operator of the Week is a three-way tie (a first in the long and storied history of “The Shaft”) between Bobby Labonte (+24), Tony Stewart (+24), and Matt Kenseth (+24). DOWN: The Big Dropper (for the second race in a row) was Jeff Green (-34), followed by Joe Nemechek (-28), and Casey Mears (-23).
    Ricky Rudd led tonight for the first time since he led once for 26 laps when we were here last September. We’ve had 39 different drivers to lead a lap this season vs last years number of 48.
    Only 11 races into the Chase prelims and we’re already down to only 14 drivers within 400 points of the leader. Any time the points leader wins the race, it’s gonna make it tougher for those drivers down around the “Stayin’ Alive” line to stay in the hunt.
    No change in the Top-4 after tonight’s race. Brian Vickers (27th to 23rd) made the best move forward and Joe Nemechek (20th to 25th) fell the most spots.(StockCarFans.Com Nextelcup Newsletter)(5-15-2004)