Whenever you have twenty of the best stock car drivers chasing a million dollars, with no points or championship implications, you're going to witness a demonstration of exhilaration.
Once again, Jimmie Johnson celebrates victory at the Charlotte track, which sponsor is also that of the #48 Chevrolet. Johnson would pull away from Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon in the final segment to win his second All-Star event, and his seventh NASCAR victory at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
It's been a while since one driver has been able to dominate a track like this. Yeah, Dale Earnhardt Jr dominated Talladega for a couple of years, and Jeff Gordon dominated Darlington in the mid to late 1990's, but what the #48 team have been able to do at Lowe's Motor Speedway is staggering, considering all of the changes that this track has endured over the last couple of years.
Hey, since Johnson is having so much success at Lowe's Motor Speedway, maybe Tony Stewart should petition to rename Indianapolis, The Home Depot Motor Speedway.
Speaking of Tony Stewart, he and Matt Kenseth continue to indulge in an antagonistic rivalry. After Stewart got into Kenseth during the final 20-lap segment, the two had dissimilar perspectives as to what took place.
"He put me in the wall head-on,'' Kenseth said. "He must have drove across the bottom, and he just wrecked me. Then he flipped me the bird.''
Stewart replied, "That's a pretty demented view in my opinion. I think he screwed up on this one. If he thinks I did that and that was my fault, he's screwed up in the head.''
This isn't the first time these two former champions have banged heads. I'm sure everyone remembers the fallout they had in the Daytona 500.
I really like Jeremy Mayfield's approach to Stewart. After the big wreck, for some reason, Stewart decided to rev-up his engine in anger directed towards Mayfield. Mayfield walked right over to Stewart and nipped it in the bud.
"I just told him I didn't have nothing to do with it,'' Mayfield said. "We're cool.''
Basically, with the season that Mayfield has endured, he's in no mood to be hassled, so he immediately set Stewart straight.
The All-Star Open was rather trite as Scott Riggs virtually was in a class of his own. The only real excitement occurred on the restarts, when Robby Gordon would attempt a three-wide pass.
The silly season rumor mill has heated up. Elliott Sadler, Casey Mears, and now Jeremy Mayfield have all been mentioned as future Toyota emissaries. Brian Vickers name has popped up as a possible replacement for Dale Jarrett in the Robert Yates Racing Ford.
Mark Martin will be back in the All-Star event next year. "I'll be here!" Were his exact words.
Even though Kyle Petty is far from an All-Star, it was refreshing to see him get voted in, for such a good cause. When Petty brought out that little boy from the Victory Junction Gang camp in driver intros, it no doubt was a touching moment.
Jamie McMurray had the quote of the week.
"It's very unfortunate to have one of your teammates do that, but Mark and me, even when I wasn't with Roush Racing, always had a good relationship and it'll stop here."
