Daytona finish puts Robby within reach to move up

Robby's 22nd place finish tightened him up in the points to pull with 36 points of 31st in Owner Points. Paul Menard moved ahead of Michael Waltrip & David Stremme into 31st.

(30th place has a 150+ point lead over 31st)

RGM also increased it's lead over 36th by quite a distance, making the Top 35 out of any jeopardy for a while.

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Permalink Reply by alan4s on July 5, 2009 at 12:22pm

No problem with building his own cars, but he needs to practice the damn things more. I was roundly chastised for criticizing RG on the race thread during practice, because I suggested he should run more than the dozen or so laps he usually does. Perhaps if he had run 30+ laps like most of the top finishers did, he would have been able to predict how the tires wear, and how his cars performance falls off after many laps. Knowing that, the team could be ready to adjust for it. When they learn it under race conditions, then they are just guessing in the heat of battle.

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Permalink Reply by TOG on July 5, 2009 at 12:28pm

He had tire issues one time, as did many other top teams, including ones who ran many more practice laps. Running 10 more laps in practice wouldnt have made ANY difference to his finish.He could have ran 100 more laps in practice than anybody else and he would have used the same strategy last night as he did and would of had the exact same results.

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Permalink Reply by Mike/WC77 on July 5, 2009 at 4:23pm

Yep, agreed. I hope Robby sees the light after this one,& we don't throw away the next 'Dega race the same way. It's a crapshoot anywhere. At least if he did that gamble near the front, he get some tv time for those sponsors. I wasn't home last night, but watched the race this morning. Looks to me like he had a capable car, but he was "just crusin" in the back again.
Remember this Rob, you can lay in wait the whole race. That just means ya got 30-40 cars capable of wrecking in front of you. You stay in the front theres a lot less, thus decreasing your wreck/finish ratio. Also the closer you are to the front, thats a lesser # of cars to pass en route to the checkers. Thus increasing your contend/compete ratio....It's all very simple

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Permalink Reply by Bigzoom on July 5, 2009 at 1:43pm

The biggest difference I see is over the last 8-10 races, He's running Top 25 but, so much has to do with luck and timing.
At Sonoma he had a Top 5 car hands down, caution came out and ruined everything. Plate tracks are a crap shoot, last year the strategy made Robby the 2nd best in plate racing. This year he got wrecked in all 3 while making a charge. I hate the ride around the tailend strategy, but atleast if you ride around and let others get wrecked, when the time comes to charge you can get a great finish or even if you get wrecked then you don't fall as far...Robby got wrecked last night and still finished 22nd. Had he tried to run up front and got wrecked early it would have been a 30-43 place finish. So the strategy is better...even though I hate it.

The first part of the year RGM was getting aquainted to Toyota nd made a engine supplier change.

The positive is over the last 10 races, Robby has an average of 24th...with being caught in 4 accidents and his worst finish coming at Sonoma! If they can continue on that type of performance you'll see RGM start to climb the rankings.

Going back to tracks again should be better results, but again luck, timing with cautions and pit calls can effect the outcome. RGM looked smart when they stayed out at Charlotte, but cost them at Sonoma. That's racing!

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Permalink Reply by Greg Jones on July 5, 2009 at 3:02pm

At this point in the season what difference does it make if he finishes 22nd or 34th? A top 20 might mean something, a top 10 definitely would, a win is the only big deal left to get out of this season. The lay back strategy may have worked in the past (I can only remember once) but, it doesn't anymore. The competitive guys run up front and one of them wins the race.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Jones on July 5, 2009 at 3:25pm

I watched most of the race from a recording so, I didn't hear the scanner after the first 50 laps or so but, here's what I saw. At the start of the race he went forward, up to about 24th or so, then dropped back to the tail of the field where he stayed until the cation with about 15 to go. He looked to be trying really hard to go forward at that point but there was just too much traffic, 2 and 3 wide, just too many cars to try to get by. I think the days of the Earnhardt back to the front in 2 laps miracle are over and just like at every other track you finish well by working your way to the front all race long. Robby and Kirk obviously don't agree but, to quote Dr Phil "Hows that working for you?"

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Permalink Reply by TOG on July 5, 2009 at 3:11pm

There is more blocking in the final portion of plate races, so coming through the field is tough to overcome.

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Permalink Reply by Bigzoom on July 5, 2009 at 8:21pm

Actually the lay back startegy works alot of times, worked for Jimmie Johnson last year at Dega. Carl Edwards almost won last year. Had Robby not got wrecked he would have had a Top 10 at Dega. It's a whole different animal plate racing...if you don't like it wait until about the last 20 laps to watch. Robby usually has a car that will really suck up in the draft, but he has to have help. Vickers was helping him and then left him hung out...by the way Vickers finished inside the Top 10.

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Permalink Reply by Zippy on July 5, 2009 at 4:25pm

and the #12 is slip sliding down the points.........
Robby has been unlucky to be in 3 from 3 wrecks on the super speedways. Still, as long as he keeps beating the teams he needs to in points then it should keep him going. He's doing ok.