Rearview: Martinsville

The first two-thirds of the spring short track season is now in the books with back-to-back races at Bristol and Martinsville. With the Virginia paperclip in the history books it should come as no surprise that Jimmie Johnson celebrated his first win of the year. He now has won five of the last six there and six of the last ten. In what was probably one of the most well executed races of his career, Johnson took the lead with 15 laps to go in a great side-by-side duel into turn three with Denny Hamlin. Contact was made and both cars slid up the track and both drivers did a great job keeping them pointed in the right direction. Johnson might be seen as too vanilla for some (including yours truly) but he did a masterful job on Sunday.

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Hamlin probably could have given Johnson a shot down the backstretch on the cooldown lap and then got out of his car and said what a dirty move it was that cost him the lead. But he didn't. A lot of people think Hamlin didn't pay his dues and that his rise to Cup was too quick. By conducting himself the way he did over the final 15 laps and in the post-race interviews, Hamlin is showing to be a coolheaded pro and more than deserving of his ride.

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For those wanting to see Kyle Busch make a mistake, Martinsville ought to have been your favorite weekend of the year so far. He overdrove turn three on Sunday and spun out, taking Scott Speed with him. On Monday, during the rain-delayed Truck race, he got into a late tussle with Kevin Harvick fighting for the lead and dinged the left rear fender into the tire. Trying to fix the damage without a trip to pit road, Busch scrubbed the inside backstretch wall. In doing so, he crossed the commitment line to pit road although he had no intention of pitting. NASCAR, rightfully so, penalized Busch to the tail end of the longest line. Say what you want about the commitment line (I think it's one of the most unnecessary rules ever implemented in NASCAR) but it's there and Busch crossed it. Since he did, the ruling was fair and just.

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Speaking of the commitment line, I laughed when I saw Hermie Sadler try to explain where it is located on NASCAR RaceDay. Sadler told the audience the commitment line is very close to the entrance to pit road, marked with an orange box painted onto the track that would ordinarily be an orange cone, and that it's very tricky because it doesn't give a lot of warning for the teams pitting inside turns three and four. It was a great piece...except that Sadler was really describing the line that tells the drivers they need to be running at pit road speed. The commitment line is about 150 feet back up the track at the end of the inside wall. Hopefully Sadler had it figured out by the time he strapped in for Monday's Truck race.

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Scott Speed was justifiably upset after being taken out by Busch's unforced error early on. He said following the race that it was the second time Busch had taken him out this year and was looking forward to a nice dinner or something from Busch as restitution. In all fairness to Busch, the first incident at Las Vegas was more like Busch crashing and Speed getting caught up in the aftermath. The incident on Sunday at Martinsville wasn't on purpose either, but Speed's anger is much more justified - particularly because he was running second when it happened.

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Isn't it odd how bad luck seems to find the same drivers week in and week out? Guys like Robby Gordon, who are otherwise talented and fast, but can't seem to get through a 500-lapper without flat tires and contact from other drivers putting him into the spin cycle.

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How about BrawnF1 picking up the win in the team's debut in Melbourne? The former Honda factory team nearly went out of business before former Ferarri designer Ross Brawn stepped in to purchase the team and keep it afloat. It's only the second time since 1975 that a team won a Grand Prix in it's debut. To put it into perspective, it would be something similar to someone buying out the assets of Bill Davis Racing on January 1 and then going on to win the Daytona 500.

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It was interesting to see Jason White race his way towards the front during the Truck race on Monday. White has been around the Nationwide and Truck series for almost a decade but has never driven in top-notch equipment. His current team might not be the most well-funded in the series but they are showing a commitment to be around for the long run. White's good run came to an end after a run-in with Matt Crafton. White moved Crafton out of the way in turns one and two, and Crafton immediately repaid the favor in turn three sending White around. It's no surprise because racing with the veterans at the front is a tough business but if White can show he can do it on a more regular basis he'll start to earn their respect. A nudge like the one he gave Crafton is the price of doing business at Martinsville when you're racing at the front, but so is giving the untested newcomer a trip in the spin cycle.