Kevin LePage, the driver of the No. 61 car, initiated the huge melee. In a post wreck interview he was sure he had done what was said in the drivers meeting…insisting he followed the rules of entering the track during a green flag run. I listened, and debated if the words were completely honest or embellished with words that he hoped would take the focus off of him. I couldn’t quite decide, but then shortly after he insisted he was correct in his judgment, NASCAR repeated their rule…and the two didn’t match…human error or arrogance? Either way, we had us a big bad ole’ wreck. But after we all held our breath for a minute and our hearts began to race, we watched as everyone involved turned out to be okay…ah, thank goodness.

Rusty Wallace, a former full time Cup racer, wasn’t in the race, but his son was. Steve Wallace, driving the No. 66 was okay, but his car wasn’t, causing Steve to miss the rest of the race from behind the wheel. So up on the pit box he went, grabbed a radio and encouraged his teammate, David Stremme for the rest of the race. Stremme, in his No. 64, brought home a very nice second place finish, bringing a huge grin to the face of Wallace, along with that heavy gut feeling as he wished he could have been riding out there right alongside Stremme.

There was an injury in Saturday’s Nationwide race, a wreck in lap eleven that involved Dario Franchitti in the No. 40 sent him to the infield care center, and then a trip to the hospital. A slight fracture in his left ankle will keep him from running the Sprint Cup race on Sunday at the Talladega Superspeedway…now that’s got to really be a horrible feeling. His car blew a tire and poof…now he’s out of the big one. Yuck. But as they always do, teams work together. Looks like David Stremme will be the replacement driver.

Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards, the top two fellows in the Nationwide points right now, were also caught up in the melee. As they watched in the garage area, they paced and sighed as they waited somewhat impatiently for their teams to get their cars moving again. Any lapse in completing laps isn’t a good thing when you’re competition is within a handful of points from passing you for the lead. Sure, we’ve got quite a few races to go, but try telling that to those guys…they don’t care…they want to lead in the points, every race. Bowyer was back out after 24 laps and Edwards after 47. They made it to the end with Bowyer in 25th and Edwards in 31st. It looks like Clint is ahead in the points by a mere 27 notches…told you it was close.

So what must have been going through Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s mind right about then? He’s the owner of the No. 88 Chevy. Driver Brad Keselowski, an upcoming young racer and driver of the No. 88, was caught up in the mess while Dale, Jr. was sitting in the No. 5 Chevy, trying to keep an eye in his mirror as the explosion of cars started spinning and squealing.

Being stuck in the No. 5, Dale, Jr. was at the mercy of his spotter and crew chief, as all he had to go by was what he could see in his mirror and up ahead as he waited for someone to fill him in on his driver. Talk about nerve wracking… I’m sure it wasn’t long before the message was relayed to him that Brad was okay and Dale, Jr. could finally take a breath of relief.

Sunday’s race should be a good one. The pressure has been put on Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win this one…so many more eyes than just those of the Jr. Nation will be watching him I’m sure. All that extra attention doesn’t seem to ruffle the man’s feathers too much. He remains focused, hopeful, and calm. The interesting thing about all the focus on Dale, Jr. is that it wouldn’t be there if they didn’t think he was going to bust out with a win any day…so who knows, maybe this will be his day, maybe it won’t…but you sure can’t deny the guy has one heck of a support system going on.

So grab your binoculars, your signs, your hats, your cameras, your sunglasses, your sunscreen and whatever else you have to have and head on over to Dega…if the Sprint Cup race follows suit, it looks like we’re in for a very entertaining day.

NOTE: I'm a one man show, not supported by anyone. If you wish to donate to help offset expense, it would be appreciated:

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