H
Happy29
Guest
Just in case you were wondering, yes I'm staying on racing-forums and No I am not going to re-sign with Panther Racing :lol: ! Little joke there; Well, you may have gotten the inkling by now, Happy's notes is still up and running !
Mountain Dew Southern 500
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Darlington Raceway
1.366 egg-shaped oval, 367 laps, 501.3 miles
2002 Pole Sitter: Qualifying rained out, Sterling Marlin started 1st
2002 Race Winner: Jeff Gordon
2003 March Winner: Ricky Craven
- The points race isnt even close, the points lead that Matt Kenseth has is so large that it isnt even funny anymore. Well, Matt Kenseth couldve had a winning shot at Bristol last week were it not for a few derailments, all in all he finished 4th in that race after a late-race charge to the front. Kenseth finished 8th in the March race, his points lead is 351 over 2nd place Dale Earnhardt Jr. With those numbers Kenseth is on great footing to win the final Winston Cup.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a nice top 10 finish last week at Bristol, but it wasnt enough to try and narrow that huge point lead Matt Kenseth holds. He led the most laps in the March Darlington Race (91 laps to be exact) and finished 6th, but he finished out of the top 10 in the 2002 August race. If he wants to narrow the gap, then he has to start mixing it up.
- The race for second in the championship is heating up, last week at Bristol, Kevin Harvick finished 2nd, his 4th second place finish of the year and he has been on a hot streak ever since his win at Indianapolis. Harvick did wreck in the 2002 August Darlington race and he had some trouble in this year's March race. If he can avoid some trouble, then he'll be on pace for another top 5.
- Jimmie Johnson finished 5th at Bristol and adds some more good finishes to a solid year. With some of the contenders for the championship having trouble (Jeff Gordon), Johnson collected 4th in the Winston Cup Standings. He finished 9th and led 17 laps in last years Southern 500.
- If anyone expected to have a great summer but it ended in heartbreak, it'd have to be Jeff Gordon. The 4-time Champ ever since the Pepsi 400 has been seeing a streak of finishes outside the top 30, at Bristol he was spun by Matt Kenseth and that ended his day. With his championship hopes all but crushed, Jeff will look to try and end the season on a high note. Gordon won last year's Southern 500.
- Kurt Busch has swept both this years races at Bristol and advanced his position by 3 spots in the standings. He is now up to 6th and looking to chop further in the standings. Of course he finished 2nd in the closest and most spectacular finish in NASCAR history to Ricky Craven in the March race. He finished 8th in last years Southern 500.
- Ryan Newman finished second in last year's Southern 500. He's been getting great fuel mileage and great strategy by the crew at Penske Racing. Dont count this guy out for the win.
Other Notables:
- Ricky Craven, winner of the March race.
- Jimmy Spencer, back on the track after post-race incident at Michigan
- Michael Waltrip, sank 3 spots in the top 10 standings and is now 8th.
Guys to watch:
- Matt Kenseth boasts a 351 points lead over Dale Jr. He looks to get his second win of the 2003 season
- Kurt Busch, ready for round 2 with Ricky Craven, or will it be a different one this week ?
- Ryan Newman, if this does become a fuel mileage race or comes down to a close finish then Flyin Ryan will probably be the one to watch.
- Jeff Gordon, winner of last years Southern 500, will he suceed again or will he fail ?
- Kevin Harvick, still on a top 5 spree; could be another driver to watch at Darlington
- Ricky Craven, in a fast machine for the Darlington race. He may be on track for the win or a solid top 5 finish
Mountain Dew Southern 500
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Darlington Raceway
1.366 egg-shaped oval, 367 laps, 501.3 miles
2002 Pole Sitter: Qualifying rained out, Sterling Marlin started 1st
2002 Race Winner: Jeff Gordon
2003 March Winner: Ricky Craven
- The points race isnt even close, the points lead that Matt Kenseth has is so large that it isnt even funny anymore. Well, Matt Kenseth couldve had a winning shot at Bristol last week were it not for a few derailments, all in all he finished 4th in that race after a late-race charge to the front. Kenseth finished 8th in the March race, his points lead is 351 over 2nd place Dale Earnhardt Jr. With those numbers Kenseth is on great footing to win the final Winston Cup.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a nice top 10 finish last week at Bristol, but it wasnt enough to try and narrow that huge point lead Matt Kenseth holds. He led the most laps in the March Darlington Race (91 laps to be exact) and finished 6th, but he finished out of the top 10 in the 2002 August race. If he wants to narrow the gap, then he has to start mixing it up.
- The race for second in the championship is heating up, last week at Bristol, Kevin Harvick finished 2nd, his 4th second place finish of the year and he has been on a hot streak ever since his win at Indianapolis. Harvick did wreck in the 2002 August Darlington race and he had some trouble in this year's March race. If he can avoid some trouble, then he'll be on pace for another top 5.
- Jimmie Johnson finished 5th at Bristol and adds some more good finishes to a solid year. With some of the contenders for the championship having trouble (Jeff Gordon), Johnson collected 4th in the Winston Cup Standings. He finished 9th and led 17 laps in last years Southern 500.
- If anyone expected to have a great summer but it ended in heartbreak, it'd have to be Jeff Gordon. The 4-time Champ ever since the Pepsi 400 has been seeing a streak of finishes outside the top 30, at Bristol he was spun by Matt Kenseth and that ended his day. With his championship hopes all but crushed, Jeff will look to try and end the season on a high note. Gordon won last year's Southern 500.
- Kurt Busch has swept both this years races at Bristol and advanced his position by 3 spots in the standings. He is now up to 6th and looking to chop further in the standings. Of course he finished 2nd in the closest and most spectacular finish in NASCAR history to Ricky Craven in the March race. He finished 8th in last years Southern 500.
- Ryan Newman finished second in last year's Southern 500. He's been getting great fuel mileage and great strategy by the crew at Penske Racing. Dont count this guy out for the win.
Other Notables:
- Ricky Craven, winner of the March race.
- Jimmy Spencer, back on the track after post-race incident at Michigan
- Michael Waltrip, sank 3 spots in the top 10 standings and is now 8th.
Guys to watch:
- Matt Kenseth boasts a 351 points lead over Dale Jr. He looks to get his second win of the 2003 season
- Kurt Busch, ready for round 2 with Ricky Craven, or will it be a different one this week ?
- Ryan Newman, if this does become a fuel mileage race or comes down to a close finish then Flyin Ryan will probably be the one to watch.
- Jeff Gordon, winner of last years Southern 500, will he suceed again or will he fail ?
- Kevin Harvick, still on a top 5 spree; could be another driver to watch at Darlington
- Ricky Craven, in a fast machine for the Darlington race. He may be on track for the win or a solid top 5 finish
