(Author’s Note: In my Flashback Friday articles the past few weeks, I have devoted my analysis to a race from the past at the track where the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series is competing. However, instead of doing an article about a race from the past at Kentucky Speedway, I decided to do something different. Today marks the seventeenth anniversary of Kenny Irwin Jr.’s fatal crash at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Irwin Jr. was practicing for the 2000 thatlook.com 300 when his #42 SABCO Racing Pontiac, which was in the process of becoming Chip Ganassi Racing, slammed violently into the outside wall and rolled over, which left him with fatal injuries. The crash took one of NASCAR’s rising stars before he was even at the peak of his Cup career. To honor Irwin Jr., we will analyze the first win of his NASCAR career. The win came in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Florida Dodge Dealers 400k at the Homestead Motorsports Complex in the third race of the 1997 season. As I chose to do this race for today’s article, I realized this race itself featured a tragic moment in the history of the sport. Late in the event, John Nemechek, the younger brother of Joe Nemechek and uncle of John Hunter Nemechek, slammed the wall hard in turn 1 with his driver’s side door. The crash left Nemechek with massive head trauma and he succumbed to his injuries five days after the conclusion of the race. I always write my Flashback Friday articles as if the races just happened so stage 2 of this analysis will cover Nemechek’s crash as a display of NASCAR’s increased safety protocol. Of course, I know the crash took Nemechek’s life and it wasn’t the ultimate example of how NASCAR has improved its safety procedures. However, on the day the race finished, it appeared both Nemechek and Jay Sauter, who crashed in a similar manner, would be okay thanks to the prompt work of the medical crews. Unfortunately, Nemechek lost his life and it is important for us to remember him twenty years later as we discuss this race. With that introduction, let’s hop into this analysis of Kenny Irwin Jr.’s first NASCAR win and take a moment to reflect on John Nemechek’s tragic accident.)
After 167 laps filled with caution flags and intense racing throughout the field, Kenny Irwin Jr. emerged in victory lane after passing Jack Sprague in turn 2 with two laps to go to take his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. The race was the second run at the Homestead Motorsports Complex for the NCTS and it was nothing short of spectacular. From the start, the lead was hotly contested as Joe Ruttman started on the pole and a field of contenders looked for the top position. As early cautions began to wave, it looked like attrition would decide the winner. As lap 50 approached, though, it looked like strategy would change the entire trend of the race. For the first time ever, truck teams completed green flag pit stops and, amazingly, they worked to perfection. However, positions were jumbled up and drivers quickly found out that pitting under green can lead to problems. Mike Skinner, who inherited the lead after the green flag stops, was forced to pit under the third caution on lap 63 after his team didn’t fill up his truck with fuel. Later, Mike Bliss ran out of fuel on track while leading and brought out the fifth caution on lap 81, which led to the halfway break in the event. At halfway, it looked like anyone’s race. After the restart following the fifth caution, several drivers cycled to the front and looked to gain a win in the third race of the season. Late in the race, it looked to be Skinner’s race as he was leading when the tenth caution waved on lap 143. Yet, when the race restarted, a hard charging Irwin Jr. took the lead on the frontstretch after battling three-wide with Skinner and Jay Sauter. When Sauter crashed hard on lap 156, a final dash to the checkered flag was set-up with Irwin Jr. leading and the field behind him. On what would be the final restart, Jack Sprague shot past the rookie driver for the lead, but the Indiana kid wasn’t going to settle for second. He passed Sprague in turn 2 with two laps to go and from there, he drove away from the drivers behind him to take an impressive win in his eighth career NCTS start. Today’s race epitomizes why fans have become so excited about the prospects of the NCTS in its third full year of competition. While the event featured two incredibly violent crashes that require prayers and thoughts for the drivers involved, the tight racing, historic moments, and comeback drives made this race one of the most exciting in the young history of the NCTS.
Stage 1:
Clutch Closer: Irwin Jr. Passes Sprague with Two to Go to Take the Victory
This year is the first full season for Kenny Irwin Jr. in NASCAR and he has already proven he belongs in the top levels of the sport. After running five races in the NCTS last year where he grabbed the pole at Richmond International Raceway, Irwin Jr. signed a full-time deal to run with Liberty Racing this year, which is co-owned by former NBA star Brad Daugherty. The team grabbed two Top 15’s to start the season, but the determined organization came into Homestead wanting a little more. Irwin Jr. rolled off in the fifth place and in the early runs of the race, he stayed consistently in the Top 5 through restarts, green flag pit stops, and the halfway break after the fifth caution. When halftime was over, though, Irwin Jr. made his move towards the top spot. He moved into the Top 3 and after a couple of cautions waved, he restarted the race second after the eighth caution. The restart turned out to be chaotic as Mike Bliss looked to get his second lap back from Jack Sprague, who was leading. The two drivers made contact and Irwin Jr. shot to the lead. However, he only led two laps before Sprague took the lead back. In addition to the melee between Bliss and Sprague, Irwin Jr. received some damage to the left front of his nose, but he didn’t let the damage affect him. He stayed near the front of the pack and even when strategy shook up the leaders following the ninth caution, he remained in the Top 5 with his eyes on the lead. Following the tenth caution on lap 143 and the subsequent restart, Irwin Jr. decided to make his final move towards the front for the win. He restarted the race third and in just a couple of laps, he made a bold three-wide pass on Mike Skinner and Jay Sauter to take first with only 14 laps to go. When the eleventh and final caution waved two laps later, Irwin Jr. was still holding the lead with only a final restart to contend with. When the green flag waved, Sprague immediately shot to the front in turn 1, but Irwin Jr. remained close to his back bumper. He stayed with the leader and with three laps to go, he began to battle for the lead again. The two battled side by side and on lap 166, Irwin Jr. took the lead with only two laps to finish. He ran away from the field and despite a late run from Mike Bliss, the Indiana driver took the victory thanks to hard driving on the final two restarts. To take his first win, Kenny Irwin Jr. drove clutch in the last twenty laps to close out today’s NCTS race with his first career win and momentum for his rookie campaign.
Stage 2:
Safety Showcase: Nemechek and Sauter Crash Hard and Show NASCAR’s Advancements in Safety
Potential tragedy is something that NASCAR and other auto racing series will always have to face. Cars running at high speeds with walls surrounding them will constantly create potentially fatal incidents. Yet, in recent years, NASCAR has worked to limit the injuries and fatalities in every series. In fact, since Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr tragically lost their lives in separate practices for the 1994 Daytona 500, no drivers have died from fatal crashes in any of the three top divisions in NASCAR. Today’s race offered NASCAR a chance to prove that the sport’s sanctioning body has worked to improve the safety features at tracks and in race vehicles because of two rough crashes. The first crash involved John Nemechek, who is the younger brother of 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series champion Joe Nemechek. The younger Nemechek started today’s race in ninth and he was consistently in the Top 10 throughout the race, except for when he dropped back during green flag pit stops. Yet, he rebounded from the stop to move back into the Top 10 with his unsponsored Chevrolet. Just before his accident, he dropped into the eleventh place, but his run was still exceptional. Then, the wreck came. Nemechek drove into turn 1 and his truck either broke loose or suffered a problem. Either way, the truck immediately spun around and without slowing down much, he slammed into the outside wall with his driver’s side door. His truck came to a stop and quickly, medical personnel arrived at the scene to treat the Florida driver. After several minutes of checking his condition, the safety crews cut off the roof of his truck and he was lifted out to be taken by helicopter to a local medical center. When the race restarted, another driver was faced with a very similar situation. Jay Sauter stayed out after the ninth caution on lap 124 and that put him out front for the first time all day. In the successive restarts, though, he dropped a few positions as drivers with better trucks passed him. By lap 156, he was sitting in fifth place when his race went completely downhill. Tobey Butler bumped him in turn 1 and Sauter immediately spun up the race track. He slammed into the outside wall with his driver’s door and came to a stop with a destroyed truck just like Nemechek’s as Butler also slammed the wall with his nose. Medical crews again arrived on the scene in a short time and they cut off the roof of Sauter’s truck to safely remove him. He was also flown to a local medical center for treatment. As violent as the crashes were, NASCAR showed how far along safety has come. Doctors and EMTs were on the accident scene in just a few seconds, which gave them the best opportunity to help the two drivers from getting hurt worse. Plus, NASCAR has made improvements to the race vehicles with improved roll cages and driver support systems. However, the sport really needs to work on a potential solution to the hard-concrete walls at most facilities to protect drivers even more. While the broadcast stated Sauter was okay, Mike Joy and Buddy Baker seemed a little more hesitant to speak on Nemechek’s condition. As the days progress, thoughts and prayers need to be directed to the Nemechek family as they look to support and help John recover. NASCAR has improved many of its safety procedures dramatically, but more work needs to be done to keep the sport even safer.
Stage 3:
Comeback of the Race: Bliss Comes from Two Laps Down and a Spin to Finish Second
Mike Bliss brought his Jim Smith owned truck home in the second place today, but the story of his race to finish there is the ultimate example of a comeback. He started the race in the sixth position and he took the lead for the first time on lap 39 from Joe Ruttman, who led the first 38 laps. Shortly after Bliss took the lead, the first round of green flag pit stops in NCTS history began as he looked to cycle back to the lead. Bliss ultimately cycled back into second place after taking one can of fuel with Mike Skinner in front of him. When the third caution waved on lap 63, Skinner pitted since his team wasn’t sure he could make it to the halfway break on fuel. That handed the lead to Bliss once again and he held it through two restarts before a crucial mistake cost him. Following the restart after the fourth caution, Bliss began to slow in turn 4 with an apparent problem. The problem turned out to be no fuel as the team had miscalculated its fuel mileage leading up to the halfway break. Bliss ended up stopping in turn 2 and brought out the fifth caution. In the time before the caution waved and the amount of time it took for him to get a push back to pit road, he lost two laps to the field after just being the leader. To make it back onto the lead lap, Bliss would have to use the restarts to pass the leader and hope for a caution two times to make it back to the front. However, Bliss had a fast truck and he began to prove it quickly. On the restart following the sixth caution, he made up his first lap and he only needed to make up one more to contend for the lead again. He was unsuccessful following the seventh caution, but he was prepared on the next restart. Yet, another mistake cost the Oregon driver. He bumped the leader, Sprague, exiting turn 2 on lap 115 and the contact cost Bliss a lot of momentum. He dropped behind first and second with Chuck Bown, the third-place driver, right on his bumper. Driving into turn 3 on the same lap, Bown bumped him and sent him spinning up the track. In a stroke of good luck, Bliss stayed off the outside wall and drove away, which allowed for him to remain only one lap down. The ninth caution waved just a few laps later and he was still in position to make it back onto the lead lap. On the restart following the ninth caution, Bliss powered past Dan Press and Jay Sauter, who had stayed on track instead of pitting, to make it onto the tail end of the lead lap. He remained there and when the tenth caution waved on lap 143, he made it back to the battle for the win as the 12th positioned driver. On the subsequent restart, he moved all the way up to fifth when the eleventh caution waved on lap 156. On the final restart, Bliss made quick work of Bown to slide into fourth. When Irwin Jr. took the lead in turn 2 on lap 166, Bliss made a three-wide move on Sprague and Skinner on the backstretch to shoot into second. He made a final effort to take the win, but he came up short as he crossed the line in second place. It was disappointing to wind up second for the team, but Bliss fought back from adversity to grab his best finish of the young season.
Stage 4:
Underdog of the Race: Skinner Takes Unproven Truck Team to a Top 5 Finish
Mike Skinner might be the 1995 NCTS champion, but he entered today’s race as an underdog compared to the rest of the field. In the past two seasons, Skinner has run the #3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the NCTS. However, after two successful years, RCR moved Skinner up to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series to compete for Rookie of the Year honors. That allowed Jay Sauter to take over the #3 in the NCTS and chase another title for RCR. Yet, Skinner still has a desire to compete in the series that gave him his big break. Because of that, he accepted Dana Dorman’s offer to run some races in 1997 with his brand-new truck team. Dorman appears to be focused on success in the series, but today’s race was the first for the truck and they would need to fight for an excellent start to the team’s tenure. With Skinner behind the wheel, the team would be ready to compete at the front. Skinner rolled off from 18th place and in the first run of the race, he began to move towards the Top 5. When green flag pit stops came around lap 51, Skinner’s team filled the truck with only one can of fuel, which allowed him to inherit the lead after the cycle of stops. However, when the third caution waved on lap 63, his team brought him back down pit road because they were unsure if he could make it to the halfway break on fuel. He was one of the only drivers to pit and that put him at the back of the lead lap. Throughout the next few runs and after halftime, he continued to make his way back up to the front and battle with Sprague, Irwin Jr., Bown, and others. By lap 123, Skinner was back in the lead after battling back from pitting off sequence. A lap after taking the lead, the ninth caution waved and he came back down pit road with all the lead lap drivers. However, Dan Press and Jay Sauter stayed on track, which took Skinner out of the top spot. On the restart, Press and Sauter battled hard for the lead before a hard charging Skinner took the lead in turn 3 on lap 135. Another restart followed and he maintained the lead before Kenny Irwin Jr. took it on lap 154. Yet, Skinner was still determined to take an impressive finish for his new team. A final caution waved on lap 156 and gave the California driver another opportunity to grab a win. He restarted third on the final restart and in the five-lap scramble, he battled hard to take the top spot back. However, he was unable to grab the first position from Sprague or Irwin Jr. and he ended up slotting into the fourth spot when the checkered flag waved. After leading 33 laps, it was disappointing that Skinner and the team didn’t bring home the win, but the brand-new team took home a Top 5 finish in their first NASCAR race.
Stage 5:
Historic Occurrence: Teams Pit Under Green in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for First Time
Pitting under the green flag in the NWCS and NASCAR Busch Grand National Series is a common occurrence for the entire field. Each of the teams in the Top 2 divisions are prepared to fuel their racecars and put on tires as quickly as possible with drivers running at full speed on the track. However, the stars and teams of the NCTS have never pitted under the green flag. Yet, today’s race changed that as truck teams would have the opportunity to pit under green for the first time. To avoid green flag pit stops in the first two years of competition, NCTS officials scheduled competition cautions on laps where trucks would be within their fuel window. In today’s race, though, there were no competition cautions scheduled, which meant teams would be forced to pit for fuel before the halfway break. Still, with the way caution flags usually fall in races, teams could work out strategy to avoid pitting under green. Two early cautions waved within the first twenty laps, but teams couldn’t make it to the halfway break if they pitted under those cautions. When the race restarted after the second caution, the event seemed to calm down slightly and the laps clicked by without any sign of a caution. As lap 50 approached, teams were preparing to pit under green and make series history. One benefit for the teams was that they wouldn’t have to change tires, but adding fuel to the truck was still a concern with strategy being crucial in the event. On lap 51, Mike Bliss, Joe Ruttman, Kenny Irwin Jr., and others began to lead the green flag charge down pit road. In the next couple of laps, the rest of the field came down and all the stops were surprisingly smooth. No drivers lost a ton of time and each team performed their service to near perfection. As the stops cycled through, Mike Skinner inherited the lead after taking only one can of fuel with Mike Bliss right behind him with only one can of fuel. After the stops, Skinner ending up pitting during a caution since he didn’t have enough fuel and Bliss ran out of gas on track. However, despite those two problems, the first green flag stops in NCTS history went very smoothly and as the series progresses through more seasons, pit stops under the green will become more common.
After 400 kilometers of intense truck racing at the Homestead Motorsports Complex, the NCTS heads to the track where the series held its first race: Phoenix International Raceway. Phoenix might be a mile in length, but it is home to fast speeds, short track racing, and even shorter tempers for NASCAR’s tailgate racers. Plus, since it is only the fourth race of the season, drivers won’t be too concerned with racing for points and the battle for the win will only become more intense. Plenty of driver storylines await the series as it heads to the Arizona desert. Kenny Irwin Jr. captured the win today and the rookie driver seems to have control of stock trucks as he looks to take his second consecutive victory. Mike Bliss fought back from endless adversity to finish second today, but he wants a victory as he chases the NCTS championship. Chuck Bown, the 1990 NBGNS champion, continues to look impressive in one of Jack Roush’s trucks and he will look to add a truck win to his career statistics. Finally, Jack Sprague came within a few laps of winning today’s race before falling to fifth, which will increase his motivation as he looks to win his third straight race at PIR. Today’s race at the Homestead Motorsports Complex was exactly what has made NASCAR truck racing so appealing to fans and competitors. Three wide battles for Top 5 positions, pit strategy calls, and impressive saves made the trip to Florida a memorable one for the series. John Nemechek and Jay Sauter’s wrecks were violent and those two drivers still need prayers and thoughts as we go throughout the next couple of weeks. Today’s race delivered some thrilling action for the NCTS and the series will look to deliver throughout the remainder of the season.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 13- Stacy Compton had a tire blow out in turn 3, which caused debris to scatter on the track.
2nd Caution: Lap 19- Dave Smith slammed into another driver on track in turn 2 after the field stacked up due to a Boris Said spin. Smith’s truck was heavily damaged and he stopped on track.
3rd Caution: Lap 63- Brian Cunningham slammed into the inside wall on the backstretch after spinning on track exiting turn 2.
4th Caution: Lap 70- Bryan Reffner shot up the track in turn 2 and slammed hard into the outside wall with his right front.
5th Caution: Lap 80- Mike Bliss came to a stop on the exit of turn 2 after running out of fuel.
6th Caution: Lap 91- Tammy Jo Kirk spun exiting turn 1 after contact on track.
7th Caution: Lap 105- Michael Dokken’s truck began to smoke in turn 2.
8th Caution: Lap 110- Barry Bodine broke loose in turn 1 and slammed hard into the outside wall.
9th Caution: Lap 124- Jack Sprague had a tire go down in turn 3, which scattered debris on the track.
10th Caution: Lap 143- John Nemechek broke loose in turn 1 and spun up the track. He slammed the outside wall hard with his driver’s side door.
11th Caution: Lap 156- Tobey Butler bumped Jay Sauter entering turn 1, which caused the two drivers to spin up the track. Sauter slammed into the wall hard with his driver’s side door while Butler piled into it with his right front.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kenny Irwin Jr.
2nd: Mike Bliss
3rd: Chuck Bown
4th: Mike Skinner
5th: Jack Sprague
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Ron Hornaday Jr.
8th: Rick Carelli
11th: Rich Bickle
13th: Jimmy Hensley
18th: Rick Crawford
19th: Jay Sauter
21st: John Nemechek
23rd: Tammy Jo Kirk
28th: Bob Keselowski
34th: Stacy Compton
36th: Dennis Setzer
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/1997_Florida_Dodge_Dealers_400K/C
-Image:
https://twitter.com/nascarmemories/status/501519776041033728
-Full Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwhA3mxuS88
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