Heluva Good! Sour Creams Dip at The Glen: Sprint Cup Race Recap

The Heluva Good! Sour Creams Dip at The Glen was scheduled to run Sunday April 14, 2011. But mother nature had other plans. On Sunday, opening ceremonies had just concluded when the rain began to fall. A couple hours later, NASCAR decided to postpone the race till Monday. Good or Bad decision? We were soon to find out.

Monday rolled around, and the drivers were ready to go. There was a slight drizzle on the track that morning, but nothing the guys couldn't handle. After two pace laps, the green flag was waved, and we were underway at The Glen.

Jim Utter via yfrog on Twitter

There were three early race spins, but all cars were able to get refired and continued on. The race went caution free until Kurt Busch spun for the second time, hitting the wall hard. Then the next caution wasn't till Lap 66, when Denny Hamlin had brake issues and his car ran straight into the wall. A hard hit, but Hamlin walked away with nothing more than a few body aches.

Kyle Busch had pole for this race. And we all know, if Kyle has pole, then Kyle's gonna be a competitor. And that he was. However, Marcos Ambrose was just as fierce. Most of today's race was dominated by Kyle and Marcos. Undoubtedly, the two best cars out there all day.

Other than Denny Hamlin's crash, the race was pretty calm for a while. Other than small scuffles between drivers, nothing major really happened. Then there was a late race caution by Paul Menard when he spun around and hit the wall with 5 laps to go. By this time, Marcos had been putting a lot of pressure on Kyle for the lead. So this restart was exactly what Kyle didn't want to see! NASCAR had already made the decision for a GWC finish.

On the restart, Ambrose spun his tires, and Kyle "King of The Restart", was flawless. It looked Marcos' chances were done when Brad Keselowski passed him. But Marcos held onto 3rd. Then when Kyle took the next turn a little to wide, Brad drove around him, followed by Marcos, and Kyle was in third. Then, the pressure was on for Brad. As the next turn came along, Marcos got under Brad and scooted him out of the way, taking over the lead. Then Marcos took the white flag. One more lap Marcos, and this was yours.

Photo by Getty Images

Well, Marcos didn't need one more lap. Coming out of one of the turns, Boris Said got David Ragan lose. David spun and hit the wall. Hard. But that wasn't the end of it. David came back and hit David Reutimann, who then spun and hit the wall. Then Reutimann flipped multiple times, was airborne at one point, and eventually ended up back on his wheels. NASCAR called the caution of course. This meant that due to a white flag caution, Marcos Ambrose was you winner. This was our 5th first time winner of the season, his first win in his Sprint Cup Series career, and it qualifies him for the Sprint Summer Showdown.

Now, while Ambrose was celebrating his win, there was a lot more taking place behind the scenes. When Boris Said had crashed David Ragan, which was bad enough it could have resulted in death if it weren't for proper safety precautions, he had trigger the angry side of one of Ragan's teammates. Greg Biffle was by no means happy by what had happened between David and Boris. Greg, being the good teammate he is, went to confront Boris about the situation. But before any major fights happened, crew members and NASCAR officials had stepped in. But it wasn't settled there. Biffle never commented on the situation, but Boris had plenty to say about it. He called Biffle, "The most unprofessional scaredy cat I've ever seen in my life.." But that was only part of what Said had to say. He also had many threats to "beat up" Biffle and give him a black eye the next time he saw him. Also saying that Biffle couldn't hide forever. Many people where unhappy with the way Boris reacted and what he said on live television.

However, after all the madness of the finish, this is how the top ten rounded out. Marcos Ambrose was your winner. He was followed by Brad Keselowski in second, Kyle Busch in third, and Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano rounding out the top five. Then it was Kevin Harvick in sixth, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya in seventh; then A.J. Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top ten. All of which had pretty much been running in the top ten all day anyways.

Now, the points leader coming into this race was Carl Edwards. But after the race we had today, you oughta know that there would be a pretty big shift in the points. Edwards ended up with a 12th place finish after NASCAR reviewed the footage for official placing. As for points....Mr. Kyle Busch is back on top this week. But he's not alone. He is tied with "Cousin Carl" for the lead with 752 points. A three point advantage over 3rd place Jimmie Johnson, our 5 time champ.

Congrats to Marcos Ambrose on his exciting win today at Watkins Glen. You deserved it Marcos, you really did. As for the rest of you, keep racing like you do. We all have our days. Until next time, "G'day mate!" -Reba :)