Arkansas women doubly proud of NASCAR race results

Danica Patrick at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York City at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Mark Martin may be the man but Danica Patrick is the woman!

Not only did we women of Arkansas get to watch our native son, Mark Martin from Batesville, AR win the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas, but we watched Danica Patrick make NASCAR history.

Mark Martin brings it home

It was great to watch Mark Martin back in victory lane, a place he has been 95 times before.

His #32 Dollar General Chevy owned by Turner Motor Sports finished first at Las Vegas, ending a long winless streak. Martin hasn't won since 2009 at Phoenix. He went without a win during his entire 2010 season.

Martin was in the right place at the right time Saturday, as led only one lap during the race--the only one that really counts. Taking every advantage, he was nearly out of gas when he passed Brad Kezelowski, the race leader, who cut a tire, allowing Martin to cruise to victory.

It was a first win for Turner Motor Sports who enjoyed a good finish last week as well when Ryan Newman brought the #30 car home in fourth place.

And for the ladies, the big news of the day

Saturday's race has made history, as Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy Chevy, finished the race in fourth place. It is a career-best finish for her, and makes her the first woman driver in NASCAR ever to achieve such a finish.

Patrick broke a record that has stood since 1949 when Sara Christian came in fifth.

Patrick said she was secretly hoping for a finish in the top 10, but instead it was in the top five. In reality, what she really accomplished was a history-making fourth.

Daytona thoughts

Alright, so Daytona proved not to be the race where Ryan Newman would cast aside whatever brings out the evil at Super speedways. I have to say that I am getting pretty tired of watching the carnage. If NASCAR wants to sponsor a demolition derby, perhaps the speeds are a little high.

My previous blog post may have been just a little too optimistic, but my hope really does spring eternal. I cannot imagine a Chase for the Championship without Ryan Newman in it. So I won't. He is only 80 points out of 12th, and there is plenty of time. So, we who watch the #39 so enthusiastically will just have to eat a few more tornadoes and just bide our time. It won't be easy, but is anything worth doing ever easy?

At least Newman didn't have to endure the spoils of Daytona's bad side all by himself. He was able to commiserate with the other 18 drivers whose cars also got wrecked.

I'm glad my Arkansas neighbor Mark Martin was OK. His role in the drama apparently looked much worse than it was.

My congratulations to Kevin Harvick who ran a great race. And how 'bout that Dale Jr.--finishing 4th? There will be plenty of people happy about that, although according to the post race interview, he didn't seem to be one of them.

Ah, Lady Luck. Someone should put her name on the front of their race car, or perhaps a decal on or near the spoiler or rear quarter panel. She seems to contribute more to races than just about any sponsor.

On to Chicagoland. Make it a good one Ryan Newman and tell Lady Luck where to shove it.

2009 Season wraps up at Homestead

The 2009 NASCAR season is one for the record books.

For the first time ever, Jimmie Johnson won an unprecedented fourth consecutive title in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Sunday when he crossed the finish line in fifth place in the race at Homestead, FL.

Johnson ran a conservative race, at times seeing what the field looked like from near the end of the field of cars. At one time, he fell back to 23rd place, which was flirting with disaster, since his guaranteed championship was dependent on a 27th or better finish.

It didn't take Johnson long, however, to make his way back up the field into the top five where he ultimately crossed the stripes.

The only other contender for the championship, as of the Homestead race, was veteran driver Mark Martin. During his long career, he has come close, but so far, the championship has eluded him. Many thought this was going to be his year. But it wasn't to be.

Despite Martin finishing just 141 points behind the four-time champion, Martin didn't complain. He had a dream season, after coming back from semi-retirement into a car owned by Rick Hendrick, with a team he worked well with. Martin and his crew chief Alan Gustafson enjoyed five wins during the '09 season. Martin seemed to revel in the fun he was having being a full-time racecar driver again.

Past-champion Jeff Gordon achieved third in the points ranking, finishing 169 points behind Johnson. The top three winners are teammates at Hendrick Motor Sports giving owner Rick Hendrick a trifecta in the points standings.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is also a Hendrick teammate, but the sports' most popular driver who is the son of Dale Earnhardt who was killed in a crash at Daytona in 2001, did not make the chase this year. Earnhardt, Jr. finished the final race in 28th place, giving him a ranking of 25th in the points standings.

Denny Hamlin won the race at Homestead, giving him a boost in the points ratings to eighth place.

Nationwide Series

In the Nationwide Series, Kyle Busch finished off his stellar season by winning the final race and taking home the championship trophy. Busch was nearly unstoppable as he enjoyed nine trips to Victory Lane.

Carl Edwards came close with five wins during the regular season, but finished 210 points behind the leader after the final race Saturday at Homestead.

Both drivers ran dual programs—in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series.

Camping World Truck Series

In NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series, Kevin Harvick was the big winner. Harvick is an owner/driver. As a driver, he won the race. As an owner, his driver won the championship.

Not only did he drive his own truck to victory, but he enjoyed celebrating with his driver, Ron Hornaday, that series' champion for the fourth consecutive season.

The only other contender for the title in that race was second-place driver Matt Crafton who finished 215 points behind.

Season's end

The final checkered flag at Homestead marked the end of the 2009 season, though already plans are underway by the various race teams to prepare for the 2010 season. It will start at Daytona with the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, 2010--just 81 days from now.

Newman remains in 7th position

I was only mildly in-tune to Sunday's race at Dover. My husband and I had out-of-town company. Although we all watched, it wasn't with the intensity that I generally devote to race day.

Still, I saw enough to appreciate the high points.

I was certainly glad to see Joey Lagano walk out of that hideous crash. Wow!

Chalk up another win for Jimmy. But Mark Martin remains at the top of the points standings. This could be the year for him.

And chalk up another top 10 for Ryan Newman. It is always nice to watch Newman lead laps. It felt really good to watch him in the lead with Kurt Busch behind him. It really brought back great memories. I had hoped for a better finish for Newman, as did he, from what I understand, but he was able to maintain his points standing -- at 7th.

I cannot believe we are only 7 more races til the end of the season. I'm trying not to think about it. So, on to Kansas.

Mark Martin wins at Loudon

Two races in one
Sunday's race at Loudon, NH was one of the most exciting Cup races I've seen in some time. There was even a little drama as some of the drivers seemed to be very aggressive.

It seemed there were actually two races in one. One was a typical race with 43 drivers, but the other -- the championship race with only 12 competitors -- was really the one to watch.

The top 12 drivers in stock car racing competed in a knock-down, drag-out race to the finish. There was no hanging back in a comfortable spot clocking laps, measuring time. Instead there was a real effort by each of the dozen to pass as many cars as possible to get to the front of the field. There seemed to be almost a frenzy to do so. It is clear that each and every one of these drivers want to win the championship, and wants it badly. And if this race is any indication of the good racing we will see in the coming weeks, certainly count me in.

Congratulations to a very contented Mark Martin. Martin is probably not second-guessing his return from the lap of retirement, fleeting as it was. Martin is old enough to own an AARP card, but mature enough to show the younger race car drivers how to get it done.

Martin was able to maintain and improve his points lead. And it doesn't hurt to enjoy the momentum of winning the first race of the 10-race championship shoot-out.

Martin is probably lucky that three years ago, he acted as a mentor for Juan Pablo Montoya. The respect Montoya has for Martin may be the reason Montoya didn't run Martin over. I was a little surprised at how aggressive Montoya has been. He seemed to plow through the field, not letting anyone stand in his way.

Denny Hamlin was very aggressive, and it earned him a 2nd place finish. David Reutimann was aggressive, but all he got for his trouble was a tongue-lashing from Dale Earnhardt Jr., whom he tangled with and Ryan Newman who escaped a potential melee.

Hello Newman
Speaking of Newman, he had a great 7th place finish that resulted in a jump of three spots to 7th in the points standings. Way to go Ryan! Newman said in a post-race interview that had it not been for the incident between Reutimann and Earnhardt, which cost him four spots, he would have had a better finish.

Newman passed cars all day long, as did boss man Tony Stewart, who pulled out a 14th place finish after his long pitstop to tighten a loose axle-cap. The long pitstop was needed to tighten the thing; it took Stewart's potentially-winning race car out of contention.

Kurt Busch did an admirable job as well, wheeling his car into 6th place with its face crushed in during a pit road incident.

Kasey Kahne got the rawest deal of all as his car's engine blew up less than 100 laps into the race. He is now in the 12th spot in the standings.

Championship Prediction

I am going out on a limb, to make a prediction for the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship. It will either be Tony Stewart or Mark Martin. Anything can happen in the next ten races, and probably will.

Tony Stewart is, in my opinion, probably the best driver on the track. He can drive anything, as evidenced by his recent successive win at his own race track, earning top points in the regular season, and cruising into Victory Lane three times. Stewart has really come into his own this year. There is something different about his temperament, his attitude, and what seems to be a new approach to racing as an owner/driver. He has already won a championship, so he knows how to get it done. Winning this time, in his new status as owner/driver would be like winning it for the first time. Stewart's being top in points is acknowledgement for his ability to get it done.

Besides, I'm partial to Stewart-Haas Racing because Stewart's teammate Ryan Newman is my favorite driver. Nothing would please me more than for Ryan to win the championship, but realistically, as much as that would be the greatest thing, I don't see it happening. Winning a race in this next series of races is certainly within the realm of possibility, however.

Mark Martin winning the championship would be an ideal scenario. This goal has long eluded him. It is the one thing he has not achieved in his long and storied career. This could be the time. Mark knows how to get it done. He has proven himself in the regular season with four trips to Victory Lane. He is happy with his race team and with himself. It would be really nice to see it happen for him.

Mark Martin is a genuinely nice man. I feel a sort of kinship to him, since by about 100 miles, he is my neighbor. And, I've visited his museum where he stores his immense number of trophies, cars, and other racing memorabilia.

I also expect a win or two from outside the Chase for the Championship from Kyle Busch. Kyle has something to prove since he was squeezed out of the chase this year. And, I suspect he will come back in fighting form.

To see the results of the Race for the Chase, check out the following:
NASCAR Chase Decided