In what some may view as out of character or some may not have seen at all, Dale Jr showed class and respect for Matt Kenseth on the final restart of the Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway this Sunday.
With just over 10 laps to go, the final restart was staged. Bill Elliott, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth led the outside row, while Dale Jr led the inside row of lapped cars. Could Kenseth hold on to 3rd and clinch the Title?
As you may know, Jr came into this race trailing Kenseth, but with a shot at the Winston Cup Title if Kenseth were to have problems. Jr raced around and near Kenseth a few times through out the day and each time raced Matt clean.
With the final restart coming and Jr not on the lead lap, his chances of winning his first Title were fading fast. But, he could charge hard into turn 1 inside the leader, Elliott, and battle him hard. This could cause a bottleneck behind him and possibly cause Kenseth some problems and keep Jr's hopes alive.
Dale Jr also could have raced hard into the turn knowing that the lapped cars behind him would be racing hard and they could cause Kenseth some problems.
Jr chose neither.
If you saw the race, and I am surprised that Alan "Championship" Bestwick didn’t mention it, as they came off of turn 4 for the green flag, Jr slowed down and slowed the entire inside line down with him. As the green flew, he let Elliott, Johnson and Kenseth go by and race amongst themselves before getting up to speed.
This eliminated the chance of him causing a wreck with Kenseth. This eliminated the chance of the other lapped cars causing a wreck with Kenseth. This also eliminated Jr's chances of winning the Title this season.
Granted, Kenseth would have only needed a 30-something place finish next week at Homestead to clinch, even if he had trouble that late in the race, but Jr didn’t push the issue and didn’t let anyone else push it.
Respect.
Class.
Sportsmanship.
Congrats to Matt and the #17 team, including Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, and Car Owner Mark Martin.
Notice I didn’t mention Jack Roush. Yes, we all know Jack owns the car, but he lied on paper to NASCAR and put Mark Martin as the owner so that the team could be eligible for bonus money in the Winner's Circle plan.
So, in my opinion, its Mark's trophy, not his. I wonder what is worth more to Jack? Will his name be in the history books as the owner or will it be Mark's?
