Joshua and Cheryl have been offering up their own personal sets of HeartRacers~HeartBreakers for each race. The moments that stirred them for whatever reason will fall in the HeartRacers category, and anything that makes them wince, cry, or throw stuff will be HeartBreakers. All cawsnjaws readers are invited to add on their own to share with everyone.

In the cool days of early fall, sometimes that can mean falling precipitation in New Hampshire. But the sky was clear and it was a beautiful day for racing. On with the Chase!

HeartRacers:

  • Dave Blaney (No. 22 Dodge) started 21st, but raced a good race and finished in ninth position. Wow! Two top tens in the last two races. Good job, Dave!
  • We are thinking that Denny Hamlin will hesitate on holding up a hard-charging Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevy) in the future. Since he and Jeff Burton (No. 31 Chevy) were apparently taking too long to do whatever they were doing, on lap 35 Harvick tore through the two of them to get to the front. Hamlin lost his momentum and slipped back a few spots, but powered his way back and finished fourth. He moved up three spots in the Chase standings to second. Additionally we think that Hamlin may avoid Harvick off of the track, especially if there are any pastries in the vicinity.
  • It was hard to decide whether to mention Matt Kenseth’s (No. 17 Ford) day in the HeartRacers or HeartBreakers category. Despite having break problems throughout much of the race, he still managed to finish tenth. He did fall two spots in the Chase standings to third, but it could have been so much worse. NHIS isn’t the best place in the world to have less-than-stellar brakes. Therefore we thought he deserved a HeartRacers hooray.
  • Brian Vickers’ (No. 25 Chevy) started the race in 12th place, and finished in fifth. It was nice to see him running up front, and we are sure that his fans left happy with his performance. The word is, though, that his teammate Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevy, wasn’t pleased with him through the race for allegedly holding him up. We bet that Vickers is smiling anyway.
  • Speaking of Jeff Gordon, he was the big mover and shaker in the Chase standings, moving up five positions to fourth, after having a good race (finishing third in the race). It is bad news to all of the other Chase contenders that Gordon may have found a stash of those super-strength Spacely’s Sprockets somewhere.

HeartBreakers:

  • Benny Parsons wasn’t in the booth. It was reported he had been in the hospital, but was home and feeling better. We hope to see you in Dover, Benny.
  • Where the heck was Wally’s passenger in ‘Wally’s World’? Has Dallenbach scared them all away? If he’s looking for riders, my son, Josh, and I would be happy to oblige.
  • On lap 28, Joe Nemechek (No. 01 Chevy) was seen in a familiar scene: in the wall, with lots of damage. Nemechek can’t seem to buy a break these days. He started 17th, but finished 32nd.
  • It didn’t take long for Kyle Busch’s (No. 5 Chevy) day to fall apart. By lap three he got tangled up with Jeff Green (No. 66 Chevy), and following that was on pit road multiple times to try to get his car straightened out. His bad luck wasn’t over yet, though, as on lap 198 he spun hard into the wall, and had to take his car to the garage. Ultimately he finished 38th, and fell six spots in the Chase standings to 10th.
  • On lap 45, Jimmie Johnson’s (No. 48 Chevy) day began to go sour. Radio reports said he’d lost a cylinder. By lap 81 he was in the garage with his crew working on the problem. Things only got worse for him, though, as he went hard into the wall on lap 88. In pre-race interviews he seemed calm, and determined not to let this inauspicious start to the Chase get him down. Johnson held a brave face despite finishing 39th and falling seven spots in the Chase standings to ninth.
  • Nothing like waiting to the last lap to make a dramatic exit. Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Chevy) wrecked, and then got tangled with Travis Kvapil (No. 32 Chevy). We’re sure both of them will have a few sore muscles for a few days.