Alejandra Lee547

After a rainy Sunday at the monster mile in Dover the Autism Speaks 400 finally got started Monday at high noon. On a saddened note, the day will be more importantly remembered for the death of Bill France Jr., who was 74. He was the son of the creator of NASCAR and was then put in charged and was instrumental in getting it to where it is today.

The green finally flew with Ryan Newman jumping to the front, from the pole, and leading the charge for the first part of the race. Other front runners were Carl Edwards, who won the Saturday Busch race, and Martin Truex Jr., who lead the most laps. A Dodge, a Ford and a Chevy, It was quite a mix. Dale Jr. fans were disappointed as on two different occasions he had tires going down and had to make unscheduled pit stops. Kurt Busch brought out one of the cautions when he spun with a little help from Tony Stewart and went into the wall. As Stewart sat in the pits with his crew working on the cars damage, Busch pulled along side of Stewart and made it known that he wasnt happy with the exchange. NASCAR parked Busch for the day because of his actions.

Stewart never challenged after the wreck and was in the back of the pack for the rest of the day. With laps winding down, Jimmie Johnson also had a tire go down and had to pit. He finished the day in a respectable 15th. It wasnt all bad for the Hendrick team as Jeff Gordon finished 7th and maintained his large led in the championship point standings. After all the controversy at DEI, Truex makes a big statement for the team and may have solidified his position as the leader for the 2008 season with Dale Jrs departure. As TV switches to TNT for coverage and the circuit moves to the Poconos for next Sundays Pocono 500, the NASCAR world will take this week to mourn the death of the great leader Bill France Jr.

Tony Urso is an avid NASCAR and auto racing fan who founded http://www.TotalRaceFans.com a community for NASCAR fanatics.

# posted by alejandralee57788 : 3:51 PM