Tag: John Jellinek La Jolla California

Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kasey Kahne

According to a recent article: Kasey Kahne was able to pull out a dramatic win at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday night on the way to his first checkered flag of the year, 17th of his career. Kahne is no stranger to being under pressure late in the year when the chance for the playoff chase is hanging in the balance. He made the most of his opportunity though on Sunday edging out Matt Kenseth who was also winless on the year.

In a night full of wrecks and cautions there was much excitement building up to the dramatic finish. With Kahne’s victory he rounds out the Hendricks Racing team to be qualified for the Chase, all four are now in the running.John Jellinek

The Chase consists of 16 possible spots available to be able to dance for the Cup. With the results on Sunday, Kahne fills the 13th spot, and Kenseth, with his second place finish, grabs the 14th spot on points.

Harvick led almost 200 of the 335 laps during the race, losing the lead during each of his pitts. With the pitts not serving him well, it seems to be a rolling trend for him this year as his car has been fast, but pitts been slow.

Restarts were what served Kahne well that night as he took advantage of race stoppage to make up lost ground and recompose himself.Apart from the drama in the ending of the race, another type of excitement found its way onto the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A squirrel scurried onto the track during the first half of the race causing the then leader Harvick to almost flatten him around Turn 3 and 4.

In the bigger picture of the point rankings, Jeff Gordon leads all drivers, 21 points ahead of second place Dale Jr. Gordon blew a tire out on lap 78 and was forced to rally to finish 17th overall.

IndyCar Crash Involves Racer and Spectators

John JellinekDario Franchitti, a three time Indianapolis 500 winner, was involved in a last lap crash that also impacted 13 spectators at the Grand Prix of Houston according to the New York Times. Franchitti suffered a broken back among other injuries while the other spectators were injured by flying debris from the wreck.

According to the article, “Franchitti’s car collided with Takuma Sato’s car and launched into a steel catch fence. Parts of his car, and the shredded catch fence, flew into a spectator area. Debris scattered on the track also hit E. J. Viso’s car, which careened into Sato’s. Several cars driving through the mess were also damaged.”

Franchitti’s was taken to a hospital in Houston where it has been stated that his injuries are not life threatening. He is being treated for a concussion, two spinal fractures and a right ankle fracture. The spectators who were hit by flying debris from the crash were not reported.

It is amazing that there aren’t more nascar crashes. Sometimes I am so surprised that some races don’t have any at all. These race car drivers push themselves and their vehicles to the limit. The speeds that they reach and the amount of maneuverability they have is remarkable. I’m glad to see Dario Franchitti will be ok after such a hard crash. I’m also glad no one spectating was seriously injured as well. Nascar is a dangerous sport and I give these guys a lot of credit for competing at such a high level.