Dover Observations

Is Jimmie Johnson The Greatest Of All-Time?- I know it's a hard question to ask let alone answer; but is Jimmie Johnson going to be the greatest driver the modern era has ever known? He's already done what many people thought could not be done and that is win three championships in a row. In all honesty he may win four in a row if this year is any indication. Bottom line...Johnson and the 48 team are a serious threat wherever they go. Just when you think they are out of contention or won't pull it off they make a banzai run to the front and end up in victory lane. Yesterday was a prime example of just how good this team is. After a pit road miscue dropped them towards the back of the Top Ten on the final restart, JJ put on a show as he hunted down and overtook Greg Biffle then Tony Stewart with three laps to go. If this team stays together and keeps doing what they are doing the championships and wins will rack up and there will be no doubt that Jimmie Johnson will be the greatest driver the modern era has ever known.

The New Tony Stewart-The laid back, more mature Tony Stewart has made a change for the better and is clicking on all cylinders in his first season as a driver/owner. For the first time in his career he is leading the points before the month of July and is not as brash or as confrontational as we've seen him in the past. I realize the episode at Charlotte with "Billy Bad Butt" was shades of the old Smoke, but it was mild in comparison to incidents of the past. Even when he gets beat or loses a race in the final laps (as he did at Dover) he doesn't fly off the handle or start complaining. We all know Tony Stewart is the real deal. He wins in everything he gets in and the only thing his career lacks is a Daytona 500 and Indy 500 win. Maybe now that he's the boss he can focus on making those dreams a reality.

Dale Jr And McGrew Off To A Good Start-The saga that is Dale Jr and his 88 team finally took a turn for the better yesterday as the team overcame an ill-handling car and soldiered home to a top 15 finish. Even though they struggled at the drop of the green flag Lance McGrew, Brian Whitesell and company didn't panic and got the car better as the race unfolded. At one point the team even found themselves in the top 5 and a factor for the win. Even after the handling went away and the car started to go backwards the team didn't panic and worked their way back towards the top 10 before finally coming home in 12th. On the surface it may not seem that much has changed, but watching HotPass on DirectTv you could hear a change in terminology and see a change in attitude. Dale Jr fans need to realize McGrew isn't going to rebuild Rome in one day; but yesterday's performance laid the foundation towards making Dale Jr a contender again.

No Pit Road Issues-Dover's new pit road was a success. There were no incidents coming onto pit road and no one got together coming off. The wider pit stalls and wider pit area made for a safe and incident free day on pit road. Nice work Dover!!

Dover Winner Gets The Coolest Trophy-Is there a better trophy in all of motorsports? Miles The Monster holding the die cast of the race winner's car is the most creative trophy the Cup guys get a chance to win. The Grandfather Clock (Martinsville) and the Harley J. Earl (Daytona 500) are spectacular, but the Miles The Monster trophy is in a class by itself.