The Wins And Records Still Matter
6/02/2014
Jim Fitzgerald
Last September, Jimmie Johnson became the driver with the
most wins at Dover International Speedway, breaking a tie with Richard Petty
and Bobby Allison who have seven victories at the one mile oval. Last week, he became the driver who had won
the most point paying races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Joey Logano, this weekend at Dover, had the opportunity to
join the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Jack Ingram if we were to
win the Buckle Up 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover. The win would have meant he had won five
consecutive races at a certain track, Do drivers really care about making those types of marks in
the NASCAR record books, or is the day at the races just another day behind the
wheel? Well, here’s a clue.
Remember when Jeff Gordon tied Dale Earnhardt in career wins after
winning his 76th career race?
He flew a Dale Earnhardt flag in honor, and got pelted with beer cans
from fans for his effort. And then of
course, when he won the next race, they pelted him again, but that was at
Talladega, so…yeah. What about Terry Labonte.
In 1996 at North Wilkesboro, he was set to break Richard Petty’s streak
of consecutive starts at 513. His car
was painted silver. Guess what? He won that race. Then there was Bill Elliott in 1985 who figured out how to
win three out of four select races to win that thing we call the Winston
Million. Faced with the same challenge a
decade later, Jeff Gordon was able to repeat the feat after a spirited battle
with Jeff Burton in the closing laps at Darlington. Drivers seem to be able to rise to the occasion, especially
when the occasion is a special one.
Regarding his ability to tie Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, and Jack
Ingram, Joey Logano was excited, yet humbled. “Hopefully we get the win tomorrow,” he said during driver
availability on Friday at Dover.
“Hopefully our Hertz (car) will be fast later on here in practice. This has been a great race track for me. It is one of my favorite race tracks because
of the success here. To be in that group
of guys that have won five races in a row at a race track, with Dale Earnhardt,
Kyle Busch, and Jack Ingram, it would be an honor to be there.” And then there is Jimmie Johnson, who spoke about the eight
Miles The Monster trophies he has in his “man cave,”
which he said was as big as a warehouse, complete with a bar. After he was unnecessarily reminded of what
he accomplished last September at Dover and last week at Charlotte, Johnson was
then asked if those records, as well as any other, meant more to him that just
another race win. “No, no, they definitely have a ton of meaning. When I look at the people that I’m tying or
have the opportunity to beat for those great titles, it’s the heroes of our
sport and the guys that are put into the Hall of Fame. When you look at their stats, and what they
have done for our sport, household names, it is no small feat to tie or have
the opportunity to beat these guys for races won at any track.” There is no doubt that any of us would step up and play the
games we play a little bit harder and more competitively should there be some
sort of carrot dangled out in front of us.
For our NASCAR drivers, though, it seems that the carrot can be made out
of green or gold.
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