QuickTakes Reaction from Today- Kobalt 400

Today was a serious rollercoaster of emotions. I'm kind of drunk and trying to process it all right now. Here are my initial reactions, maybe y'all agree or think differently.

1. Man this season is gonna be fun- riding with the #2XDaytona500Champ this season basically assures that our driver will be in the Chase. That means that winning is the only thing that matters. Taking chances is gonna be the name of the game this season and that means we'll have some serious highs (Dale will win more races this season, I guarantee it) and some lows...which I'll get in to now

2. I was ok, then I was real sad- I was telling myself through the last 50+ laps that it didn't matter if we ran out. Then we got to the last lap and I got really excited. I figured since Dale ran out on the last lap a few years back at Charlotte, this time he'd catch a break and not run out on the last lap again. I let my excitement get the best of me and forgot that Stevie had projected he'd run out with a half lap to go. Of course he's a great crew chief and was right on the money and riding that high left me disappointed. You could tell Jr. felt the same way in his post race interview. Don't worry man you're still having a great season and will win some more this season.

3. Those last 58 laps were real fun- even if it didn't end up with a win those laps after the last Jr. pit stop and especially after the last caution were awesome! Watching Dale pull away from the pack was so exciting. Then watching Dale trying to save gas and letting Keselowski catch him was pretty scary. Dale reminded us all that he had a great car once Keselowski caught him though and easily held him off/ran away from the deuce.

4. 2nd is still better than 5th- At the end of the day, if you can't get a win you still want to get as many points as possible. @jeffmeintzer brought up a great point.

@Thedaleguys if we got fuel we woulda finished 5th.
— Jeff Meintzer (@jeffmeintzer) March 9, 2014

If the 88 team hadn't risked it and pitted with everyone else they would've restarted 5th and may have moved up to 3rd or 4th like Joey. At a track like Vegas you aren't catching the leaders from a few spots back. Dale still finished 2nd today, which is as good (probably better) than he would've finished if he had played it safe and pitted during the last caution.