Larry Mac: Surprises and observations after Sunday's race in Richmond
I have to admit I kind of walked away from Sunday's race at Richmond with mixed feelings. I always get excited when I know we are going short track racing, especially when it's on a Saturday night under the lights. However, the problem was Mother Nature didn't cooperate once again, and the race was run on Sunday afternoon.
I have to say, after what I saw on Sunday, maybe Richmond should consider holding one of their two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup races under the lights on a Saturday night and the other on a Sunday afternoon.
I really enjoyed the race Sunday. I know it might be hard to understand when I say that, because we had one driver who led three-fourths of the event, but we still had a good race in my mind. We had a lot of what we call "comers-and-goers" throughout the day.
Obviously, the most consistent driver throughout the race was Kurt Busch. It didn't matter if it was a green track, rubbered up track, short runs or long runs, that No. 41 bunch had their act together.
It was fun to watch Jamie McMurray race his way back to the front after having to make an additional pit stop for missing lug nuts. Kasey Kahne started 40th, yet he worked his way up through the field.
I'll be honest, I don't really pull for one particular driver in a race, but on Sunday I was really glad to see Kurt Busch win.
Obviously a big portion of what he has been through the last several years has been somewhat self-inflicted, but it was just cool to me to see him dominate and win the race. When we saw his suspension lifted and what he did in his first race back behind the wheel at Phoenix International Raceway, we all knew it really wasn't going to be if Kurt won, but more of matter of when Kurt would win.
Probably the biggest thing that caught me off guard Sunday had to be the lack of performance from Joe Gibbs Racing.
We all felt they would be strong a Richmond because they had already swept both short track races this season with Denny Hamlin winning at Martinsville Speedway and Matt Kenseth winning at Bristol Motor Speedway. Then, when you saw they put three of their four cars in the top 10 after qualifying at Richmond, we all figured they would be strong in the race. Other than Matt Kenseth showing a little bit of life on Sunday, it really was a pretty dismal day for JGR at Richmond.
Once again Stewart-Haas Racing continues to show, with both Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch, that a lot like last year they are going to be championship contenders all season long.
