Post by dalejrfan on Jun 6, 2005 15:12:47 GMT -5
DOVER, Del. -- All weekend long at Dover International Speedway, the talk was about how tough Evernham Motorsports was going to be to beat. After all, Kahne had last spring's Dover race all but won and Jeremy Mayfield dominated both of Saturday's practices.
Things didn't go that well Sunday.
Final lapsGreg Biffle takes the checkers and then hits the fence
Gordon, Stewart reactJeff Gordon and Tony Stewart share their side of the wreck
MBNA 400Catch all the highlights from The Monster Mile at Dover Kahne got loose coming off of Turn 4 and slammed the inside wall on the frontstretch with 115 laps to go. The spin looked similar to the one that Kahne suffered at this track one year ago in the closing laps when he was leading the race and slipped on oil laid down by an earlier wreck by Casey Mears.
"We just had a bad day," Kahne said. "We didn't hit on it this weekend. It's too bad."
Since his first career Nextel Cup Series win at Richmond last month, Kahne has struggled mightily. He finished just 35 laps in the Nextel All-Star Challenge before finishing 16th in that 22-car field and he finished 26th in the Coca-Cola 600.
On Sunday, Kahne was never really in contention. Of the 285 laps Kahne did run, not one was spent running in the top 10.
In all this season, Kahne has four top-five finishes -- but he also has four finishes of 35th or worse, including a 35th-place finish Sunday. At the end of the day, Kahne found himself 18th in the Nextel Cup Series standings, 164 points behind Kevin Harvick for that all-important 10th spot and 503 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
"I felt like Dover was going to be a good track for us," he said. "I thought we could gain some points [Sunday], but we ended up losing points instead.
Mayfield never on-track
For Mayfield, things started to go south even before the green flag flew. His crew chief, "Slugger" Labbe, came down with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and was replaced for the day by Kenny Francis.
In the end, it was more a case of moderate success, just not the success he or his team expected when they ruled Saturday. After starting 13th, the No. 19 Dodge spent 187 laps in the top 10 before settling in 14th.
"The car got worse as the day went on," Mayfield said. "It got up on the track and wouldn't get in it."
Not only that, but Mayfield said it was a physically draining day, as well.
"It beat you to death inside the car it was so rough," Mayfield said. "My butt is sore from hitting the seat."
While 14th wasn't the finish Mayfield was hoping for, it was good enough to move him up one spot in the Nextel Cup Series standings.
"It was a decent points day and we moved up to 12th in the standings," Mayfield said. "I ran my guts out [Sunday] and didn't go anywhere."
Things didn't go that well Sunday.
Final lapsGreg Biffle takes the checkers and then hits the fence
Gordon, Stewart reactJeff Gordon and Tony Stewart share their side of the wreck
MBNA 400Catch all the highlights from The Monster Mile at Dover Kahne got loose coming off of Turn 4 and slammed the inside wall on the frontstretch with 115 laps to go. The spin looked similar to the one that Kahne suffered at this track one year ago in the closing laps when he was leading the race and slipped on oil laid down by an earlier wreck by Casey Mears.
"We just had a bad day," Kahne said. "We didn't hit on it this weekend. It's too bad."
Since his first career Nextel Cup Series win at Richmond last month, Kahne has struggled mightily. He finished just 35 laps in the Nextel All-Star Challenge before finishing 16th in that 22-car field and he finished 26th in the Coca-Cola 600.
On Sunday, Kahne was never really in contention. Of the 285 laps Kahne did run, not one was spent running in the top 10.
In all this season, Kahne has four top-five finishes -- but he also has four finishes of 35th or worse, including a 35th-place finish Sunday. At the end of the day, Kahne found himself 18th in the Nextel Cup Series standings, 164 points behind Kevin Harvick for that all-important 10th spot and 503 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
"I felt like Dover was going to be a good track for us," he said. "I thought we could gain some points [Sunday], but we ended up losing points instead.
Mayfield never on-track
For Mayfield, things started to go south even before the green flag flew. His crew chief, "Slugger" Labbe, came down with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and was replaced for the day by Kenny Francis.
In the end, it was more a case of moderate success, just not the success he or his team expected when they ruled Saturday. After starting 13th, the No. 19 Dodge spent 187 laps in the top 10 before settling in 14th.
"The car got worse as the day went on," Mayfield said. "It got up on the track and wouldn't get in it."
Not only that, but Mayfield said it was a physically draining day, as well.
"It beat you to death inside the car it was so rough," Mayfield said. "My butt is sore from hitting the seat."
While 14th wasn't the finish Mayfield was hoping for, it was good enough to move him up one spot in the Nextel Cup Series standings.
"It was a decent points day and we moved up to 12th in the standings," Mayfield said. "I ran my guts out [Sunday] and didn't go anywhere."