Who … should you be talking about after the race?
55 long years. To the day, it was more than five decades since the No 43 visited victory lane for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Until Sunday night, when the Lady in Black once again gave it a spot on her dance card.
On September 4, 1967, it was Richard Petty driving the car to take the checkers; this time it was 26-year-old Erik Jones driving the car still owned in part by the King himself.
Jones has shown flashes of brilliance this year; the Next Gen has been the equalizer NASCAR needed and smaller teams like Petty GMS Racing are benefitting. Sunday night, Jones ran in the top 10 for most of the night and when the caution flew for Cody Ware’s third adventure of the race, Jones’ team put him in exactly the right position. He came out of the pits in second place with fresh tires.
Jones didn’t have the car to beat former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and race leader Kyle Busch head to head; neither did anyone else for much of the night. But as the cars circled the track under that final caution, a puff of blue smoke trailed from under Busch’s No. 18. The smoke got thicker and heavier as Busch’s engine detonated, putting Jones in control at the green with just over 20 laps to go. Jones had to hold off Denny Hamlin, another former JGR teammate, lap after lap, and he did it flawlessly. Hamlin made a last-ditch move on the final lap, but couldn’t quite make the move. Victory lane was painted Petty blue once again.
The best feeling there is 🎉@Erik_Jones | @getfocusfactor pic.twitter.com/FTtaL5Uh0K
— Petty GMS (@PettyGMS) September 5, 2022
And don’t forget: Michael McDowell. In the wake of a sixth-place finish Sunday night, McDowell’s 10th top 10 is not only double his previous career best, but he’s not more than five playoff drivers, including Hamlin. The new car certainly agrees with the veteran McDowell, whose lower-budget front Row Motorsports team has had modest success but not been particularly consistent. Until now.
Great effort by everyone on our @fr8auctions @team_frm Ford tonight pic.twitter.com/wT3Ht6NJtF
— Michael McDowell (@Mc_Driver) September 5, 2022
What … is the buzz about?
Give credit where it’s due, and this week, NASCAR deserves some credit for listening to teams and upping the time on the damaged vehicle clock from six minutes to 10.
Teams had asked for the change because they can change the toe links, parts which fail easily in a crash, in less…
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