gNA$hCAR Notes
Bristol's greatest hits
Am I the only one who thinks the last 50 laps of this race stunk? For a race that had so relatively few caution flags, to have a 2-lap shootout to the finish line where there was zero chance of a lead change just didn't do it justice. I think NASCAR had the right idea red-flagging it at 6 to go, but there should be a minimum number of laps after the red based on the size of the track, and anything less than 10 laps at Bristol is too few. I share Rusty Wallace's frustration, because had the caution not come out when it did I think he would have eventually gotten by Kurt Busch and broken the winless drought.
I dozed during parts of this race (pretty tired, not just because of all the green-flag laps) and didn't feel I missed much.
Here's how my picks did (5-for-10):
* Kurt Busch (Winner) -- Winner! That's two weeks in a row I've nailed it. Have to like the fact he ignored his crew chief on pit strategy and bailed himself out with the trip to victory lane. Had he lost, I would have loved to hear the post-race comments from Jimmy Fetig. That makes four of the last five for Mr. Bristol.
* Jeff Gordon -- 9th, Had problems with the car early and made a mistake on his last green-flag pit stop, which put him a lap down. Got it back, but didn't have enough time to get up front. Never led a lap. A rarity for him here.
* Ryan Newman -- 7th, Up to 5th in the points chase after a solid day. Don't think his driving style is suited to the short tracks, but this by far is his best Bristol finish. Benefited a position from Jamie McMurray's dust-up with Matt Kenseth on the final lap.
* Rusty Wallace -- 2nd, Would have been first if not for ill-timed cautions. But California is coming up...
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 11th, Was a top 10 car all day, until the last hundred laps when he had the tire problem and wound up spinning to bring out the caution. (Hmmmmm.) Stayed on the lead lap, but couldn't get back into the top 10.
* Elliott Sadler -- 14th, Was in the top 10 for a while, but faded a bit.
* Ricky Rudd -- 37th, My first casualty of the day. Blew a tire and hit the wall, taking Casey Mears with him.
* Kevin Harvick -- 3rd, Another 30 laps under the green and he might have won.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 16th, Not quite sure what happened to Jimmie. Think he got lost in the shuffle of pit stops.
* Tony Stewart -- 24th, This is the day that Tony the Temper showed up, and it cost him in a black flag penalty that effectively ended his day. Got two laps down after roughing up Scott Wimmer. The car wasn't very good, and he spent a lot of time being teed with other drivers. Classy move to let the leaders go by on the second to last restart.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Sterling Marlin -- 4th, Good pit strategy got him a top 5.
* Matt Kenseth -- 5th, Knew I should have saved a spot for Matt. How cool was it seeing Mild Mannered Matt trying to pay back Jamie McMurray for the bump-and-run?
* Ken Schrader -- 6th!! Best finish is six years.
* Jamie McMurray -- 8th, Temper, temper, temper... Post-race spin of the #17 will cost him some bucks.
* Michael Waltrip -- 10th, A top 10 for Mikey. Finally.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Greg Biffle -- 12th, Led a few laps and had a good car, but the pit stops burned him.
* Brendan Gaughan -- 20th, Mid-pack finish doesn't do justice to a guy who was in the top 5 much of the day.
* Dale Jarrett -- 21st, Had a top 10 going before contact that put him in the wall late in the race. Finished on the lead lap.
* Derrike Cope -- 26th, Finished the race, and only 3 laps down. This team is looking stronger this year.
* Brian Vickers -- 35th, ROTY candidate savaged again by poor equipment. Hendrick needs to take a serious look at this program beyond the driver.
* Kasey Kahne -- 40th, Man did I feel for this kid. He was running well until the incidental bump from McMurray put him in the wall. FOX cameras showed him shaking in the pits, probably from shock as much as rage. He promised payback on the #42, but don't think it was intentional. He's got too much potential to spoil it on a vendetta. Hopefully Ray Evernham will settle him down. Drops out of the top 10 in points, but he's not too far out of touch with the leaders.
Next week ... The spot where Ryan Newman took the first of his eight wins in 2003: Texas Motor Speedway.
Week 6 — Bristol
Take 43 cars, dump 'em into a half-mile salad bowl and mix well. The result is Bristol, arguably the best track on the NASCAR circuit -- for the fans. The drivers, on the other hand, often leave the track more steamed than their smoking radiators after getting bashed around for 500 laps. I can't wait.
Watched the Busch race this afternoon and wonder if that's an indication of tomorrow's Sharpie 500. At least three wrecks in the final three laps. A first-time winner in Martin Truex Jr. And the bizarre event of Mike Bliss going from a solid (and guaranteed) second-place finish to about 17th because he PITTED on the final lap under caution. Call it a mental error, but that's what this place breeds.
Here's Glenn's Ten for Bristol:
* Kurt Busch (Winner) -- He's won here three times already and he's due for a victory, so why not? He'll probably spin out Jeff Gordon or Ryan Newman on the last lap to take the checkers.
The rest of the top 10, in no particular order:
* Jeff Gordon -- Knows this track well and can win. Might win tomorrow.
* Ryan Newman -- Won the pole, but not betting on a top 5.
* Rusty Wallace -- Wants to win badly and this is a good track for him (if he stays out of trouble).
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- His protege won Saturday's race, so at least a top 10.
* Elliott Sadler -- Only career win in this race.
* Ricky Rudd -- Driving #21, which is always good here.
* Kevin Harvick -- Keep him away from Rudd and he'll be "Happy" Harvick. For that matter, keep him away from everyone else as well.
* Jimmie Johnson -- Coming off a win and looking good. If this a championship year?
* Tony Stewart -- Tony can run well here, although he got into a Happy Hour dust-up with Scott Riggs. He'll either have a great day or be in the garage midway through.
Sorry, no room for Matt Kenseth this week. Probably a mistake on my part. Greg Biffle is another sleeper pick.
And in reply to Sean's post here earlier, bad news: Not only will Andy Hillenburg be in the field tomorrow, but he posted a qualifying lap of a little over 110 miles per hour, or roughly 18 mph slower than Newman's pole run. Over the course of a 3-hour race, if there were no cautions to otherwise interrupt the race's progression, that would leave the #80 about 54 miles or 108 laps behind! That's just wrong. Of course, Andy will probably drop out (or more likely crash out) by lap 20 and this will all be a moot point.
Out of Action
I've been out of the Nascar posting action just about as long as John Andretti has been out of the 43 car field. I've been missing races and will miss next week's also due to school related issues. Just a couple quick comments about "filler" drivers:
Andy Hillenberg shouldn't be allowed to drive around in the piece of junk he has. Last week his car stalled on the pace lap and couldn't be restarted. You know something's wrong when a car can't even travel normal every day driving speeds. This past weekend he caused Jeff Gordon to wreck.
Nascar should not be stuck on this idea of a 43 car field, especially on the shorter tracks. Nascar should set a minimum qualifying speed and any car that doesn't meet that speed should not be allowed to compete, period. There are other Nascar series where these guys can compete (Busch, Arca, etc) and try to make their cars better. The Cup series is the top tier, but under the current system guys are allowed in who belong in the single A equivalent of auto racing.
I would set up the minimum qualifying speed as having to be a certain percentage of the average qualifying speed of the entire field. Therefore, if the average run was 190 miles per hour and you only ran a 165, you'd be out!
The other thing I would do is set-up a co-op for these independent one car teams so they could pool their resources in order to better compete with the big boys. Some guys like Ricky Craven have real talent, but have the deck stacked against them.
Darlington recap
You sort of have to wonder why NASCAR canned the September race at this track when the spring races here are always so thrilling. This one didn't quite measure up to last year's Ricky Craven/Kurt Busch duel in the last three laps, but there was plenty of excitement and strategy throughout.
My predictions didn't quite pan out. I nailed the top two, but everything else fell a bit short. Here's my post-race review of Glenn's Ten:
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- Winner! The car ran well all day and had the look of a winner early on as he made his way up through the field. Nice to see Jimmie in victory lane early in the season -- and up to 6th in the points.
* Kasey Kahne -- 13th, You had to know this trip couldn't last forever. Looked like a top five car much of the day, but the tire problem and subsequent spinout late in the race hurt his chances. Still, managed to keep it off the wall twice.
* Greg Biffle -- 12th, The car looked better early, and in fact led a few laps. He is definitely running better this year.
* Rusty Wallace -- 29th, This pick fell flat. Rusty never moved up much, and then the car started going south. Wound up three laps down.
* Tony Stewart -- 17th, Tony got a few mentions on air, mostly for being involved in incidents with other drivers. He was the instigator in the Andy Hillenburg crash that took out Jeff Gordon, and later he got into it with Kasey Kahne. I think Tony was a bit frustrated today, and it showed. Car ran in the top 20 all day, but little better.
* Jeff Gordon -- 41st, *sigh* Victimized by the Hillenburg crash that was not of his making. He spouted off afterward about the "field fillers" having no place in these races, but I don't think you can entirely blame Hillenburg. I mean, Jeff had plenty of time to move low but stayed in the outside groove and plowed into the #80. Just bad luck -- which knocked him down to 13th in points. 8-(
* Bobby Labonte -- 2nd, Atlanta
was a fluke. He had a legit shot at the win, but Johnson beat him out on the last set of pit stops and that was the difference. The last caution didn't leave him with enough laps to make up the difference.
* Matt Kenseth -- 31st, No, that's not a typo. The unflappable defending champ got flapped. He had a tire go down, then screwed up and passed the pace car before his pit stop and got held for a lap. Then he developed a tire rub and the car started having other problems. But, of course, he's still the points leader.
* Dale Jarrett -- 32nd, Dang! DJ had a top 10 going until he encountered tire problems.
* Jeff Burton -- 11th, Double Dang! One more spot and I would have looked like a genius. The car was in the top 20 all day. Couldn't quite get beyond there.
THE REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Ryan Newman -- 3rd, I should have picked him instead of his teammate. Led for a while and looked good all race. If not for the bobble getting to pit road that cost him a drive-through penalty and a lap midway through, he might have won this thing. Cracks the top 10 in points (9th) for the first time this year.
* Robby Gordon -- 4th, At Darlington? Still 24th in the points.
* Elliott Sadler -- 5th, Likes Darlington, and now I see why.
* Kurt Busch -- 6th, Ran better than I expected. Led for a while, but faded late. Slow pit stop on the final segment didn't help. Bristol's next week...
* Mark Martin -- 7th, Quiet, solid top 10 run.
* Kevin Harvick -- 8th, How did this guy finish in the top 10? He was down a lap much of the race. Benefited from the lucky-dog rule.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 9th, Ran well but faded late. Suffered a little body damage. Look out, but he's still 7th in points and within 100 of the lead.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 10th, Triple Dang! If he and Jeff Burton had swapped I would have been happy. He ran well enough pass Stewart into second in points.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Ward Burton -- 18th, He was in the top ten for a while. I thought he might make it stick, but nope.
* Terry Labonte -- 19th, Last fall's winner was mediocre today.
* Derrike Cope -- 25th, Halfway decent finish after rolling off 5th.
* Michael Waltrip -- 35th, Best finish this year so far is 23rd.
* Ricky Craven -- 36th, Last spring's winner ended his day in the wall.
Next week... fender bending in Thunder Valley.
Week 5 — Darlington
I'll tell you right now that this week's picks will either make me look like a genius or a fool. Darlington is one of those tracks where anything is likely to happen because of the tight racing conditions and high speeds. Even a guy like Ricky Craven can't be considered a longshot, given last year's thrilling victory by two-thousands of a second over Kurt Busch. And then there are guys like Derrike Cope, who hasn't run a competitive race in years yet qualified fifth here on Friday.
You will note, however, in this week's Glenn's Ten that while I don't have Craven, Busch or Cope among the picks, I do have a few oddballs. Here they be...
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- He had some trouble at this track early in his rookie year, but something tells me he'll find a way into Victory Lane on Sunday.
The rest of the best (in no particular order):
* Kasey Khane -- I'm nervous about this, but who can argue with a kid who's on the roll he's having? First career pole start.
* Greg Biffle -- Won the Busch race Saturday. Extra practice time pays.
* Rusty Wallace -- No good reason, but think he's gotta get tuned up for California in a few weeks.
* Tony Stewart -- Seems focused. Always a threat.
* Jeff Gordon -- Won here couple times before.
* Bobby Labonte -- Atlanta was a fluke.
* Matt Kenseth -- Think I'll just pencil him in each week.
* Dale Jarrett -- Yeah, I know. Has been a disappointment so far, but if Terry Labonte could win here last September then DJ certainly has a chance.
* Jeff Burton -- How low can we go? Starting deep in the field, but runs very well here (4-time Busch winner and runner-up Saturday). If the car doesn't blow up first, Jeff might even get his first win in over two years.
Sleeper candidate: Ward Burton.
What of Craven? Starting 30somethingish, and not running well this year. Not the same position he was in a year ago when he won.
Busch? Did some damage to the car in practice. I don't think this bodes well.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Think you're champion material you're gonna have to prove it, buddy! He qualified second, but I don't have a good feeling about this. Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger.
Ryan Newman? This pains me, but it's still early in the season and... down, up, down, up...
All right... Atlanta recap
Here we are four races into the 2004 season and we know two things: (1) Matt Kenseth can win, (2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. can win. The former is the points leader for another week, the later is the guy that emerged at the right time to capture Sunday's victory.
The race shaped up to be a snoozer, thanks to a long green-flag segment in the first half that left just 15 cars on the lead lap. The end proved to be pretty good, except for the part where Junior won. Thought for a while we might get a first-time winner in Casey Mears, but then Atlanta's penchant for blown engines caught up with him late in the race.
Here's how my picks fared (6 of 10):
* Bobby Labonte (winner) -- 18th, Ouch! Who would have predicted this? He started heading backward from the drop of the green and never recovered, winding up a couple laps down. Guess now I know why I gave up fantasy racing leagues.
* Tony Stewart -- 7th, Looked like the car to beat most of the race, but after his dust-up with Junior late in the race the car was never as strong as it had been. He's due to win one soon, though.
*Jeff Gordon -- 10th, Just made it! Jeff was whining all day about the car being too loose or too tight, which usually mean he's good for a top 10 and little more. It would be nice to see him comfortable with his ride some week, but don't expect him to dominate up front till we get to Bristol or Martinsville.
* Jamie McMurray -- 37th, Like his teammate Mears, bitten by the blown engine curse. Looked very strong until then.
* Matt Kenseth -- 6th, Ho-hum... Might have been even better if not for the spinout on pit road that put him a lap down for a while.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 1st, What's this? A non-restrictor win? Now that he's back to 3rd in points the Little E fans can start talking about the championship again. But let's see if he can tame Darlington this week.
* Brian Vickers -- 21st, I may just have to rethink my Rookie of the Year pick. I'm not bashing Brian, because the talent is clearly there, but figure the expectations have to be pretty stiff following the Busch championship last year and going for Hendrick in the shadow of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Also remember that this is the same #25 team that is on its third driver in a little more than a year. It takes time for the chemistry to gel. Just better not take too much longer if he hopes to be around for the Chase -- 28th in points and 355 behind Kenseth.
* Kasey Kahne -- 3rd, Is this kid awesome or what? Gordon Junior is 4th in points and making a bid for ROTY. When's that first win coming?
* Kevin Harvick -- 32nd, Problems at Atlanta continue. What happened to that late-season surge last year?
* Ryan Newman -- 5th, Down, up, down... up! First top five of the year moves him to 11th overall. Needs to have more runs like this one. FOX crew said he blew a chance for the win by pitting too late in the final segment, but his car wasn't as strong as Junior, Kenseth or Kahne.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 2nd, Maybe Kahne's success is rubbing off on him.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 4th, I underestimated him again. Back in the top 10 in points.
* Greg Biffle -- 8th, Good run by a team that needs one.
* Dale Jarrett -- 9th, Where did they dig up that puke-green paint scheme? A quiet but solid run for DJ.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Dave Blaney -- 11th, Unsponsored and unheralded, but nearly made the top 10.
* Michael Waltrip -- 23rd, This was supposed to be a good car. Better take notes from his teammate before the fall race.
*Casey Mears -- 34th, I feel for Casey, especially after he actually led a few strong laps laps. Bad day for Ganassi teams, except Sterling Marlin (16th).
Next up... Darlington stripe time!
Computer woes 8-(
Was going to post my Atlanta recap Monday night before I suffered a software crash. Still trying to recover, so I'll hold off on the analysis for now. Needless to say, Junior fever is back in full swing.
Week 4 -- Atlanta
Ryan Newman is on the pole for the 20th time in his career. Is anyone shocked. I mean, qualifying took place on the 12th day of the month, so it only stands to reason that the #12 would be the fastest.
OK, here's Glenn's Ten for Sunday's Golden Corral 500-miler:
* Winner: Bobby Labonte -- Why don't they just rename this place the Labonte Motor Speedway? The guy just knows how to win here. If the wheels stay on it, he'll find his way to Victory Lane on Sunday.
The rest of the best (in no particular order):
* Tony Stewart -- Gibbs rules.
* Jeff Gordon -- Hendrick, too.
* Jamie McMurray -- Time to turn up the heat.
* Matt Kenseth -- despite the 30th starting spot.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- gotta bounce back after last week.
* Brian Vickers -- #25 always runs well at Atlanta
* Kasey Kahne -- can the magic last?
* Kevin Harvick -- won first race here in 2001. Time to snap the bad luck.
* Ryan Newman -- See Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Vegas recap
Matt Kenseth is backing up that championship so far, capturing his second win in as many races. Not as exciting as the Rock two weeks ago, but a Kenseth-like performance as he came from mid-field to snag the lead and run away from the pack at the end. I'm not a big Kenseth fan, but the guy does make for a good victory lane celebration.
OK, here's how Glenn's Ten fared:
* Bobby Labonte (winner) -- 8th, I really thought I had this one until he started fading after the last restart. He'd worked his way up to third in very quiet fashion. Wait till next week...
* Matt Kenseth -- 1st, He could start 43rd each week and would probably still make the top 5.
* Kurt Busch -- 9th, Hometown boy makes good -- sorta. He was in the top 5 much of the afternoon before the car fell off near the end.
* Jeff Gordon -- 15th, Hampered by a car damaged during qualifying and engine trouble in practice, he managed to get into the top 5 briefly and then faded on the final green flag run.
* Kasey Kahne, -- 2nd, Deja vu finish for the kid. Maybe Ray Evernham has found his next Jeff Gordon.
* Ryan Newman -- 27th, now we get to my bogus picks. You always know Ryan's in for a bad day when he starts sliding backward on the first lap. Only got worse from there. He was never in a position to be the "lucky dog" once he got a lap down, which is pretty atypical of this Young Gun. Had a brilliant save on a spinout that would have left many drivers squashed against the wall.
* Kevin Harvick -- 21st, Drat! I'd forgotten until now that I picked him for a top 10. He would have had one too, had it not been for a fuel shortage three laps from the end. Went from 2nd to 21st as he coasted around the track.
* Sterling Marlin -- 18th, Not a good day for the Coors Light Dodge...
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 35th, ...and worse for the Budweiser Chevy. Hope Little E enjoyed his three-week fantasy ride as the points leader, because reality bit hard this weekend. How many times did he pit in this race? Twenty? Seemed like it. Ah well, Talladega is only a few weeks away.
* Tony Stewart -- 3rd, Nice run for Smoke.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Jamie McMurray -- 4th, Don't know why I didn't pick him. In the top 10 for points after this week. He could be a factor this season.
* Mark Martin -- 5th, Must have been taking his Viagra this week.
* Elliott Sadler -- 6th, I don't give Elliott enough credit sometimes. He's got good equipment and the team is starting to gel. Maybe at Bristol?
* Casey Mears -- 7th, Don't look now, but he's in the top 10(!) in points. A year of experience appears to be paying off. Best Cup finish of his career.
* Rusty Wallace -- 10th, Still looking for that elusive 55th win. Maybe at California?
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Kyle Petty -- 12th, When was the last time a Petty Enterprises car finished this well? I had to do a triple take on this stat.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 16th, Overcame fender damage from a pit road collision to move into the top 10. Mistaken decision to take two tires on final stop cost him.
* Bill Elliott -- 20th, Would he have had better luck in the 9 than in the 91? It's really time for Bill to go into full retirement.
* Kyle Busch -- 41st, Cup debut was a disappointment. But wait until he gets Terry Labonte's ride in a year or two...
Looking ahead... Next week we take a look at Atlanta.
Week 3 -- Las Vegas
It's too early in the season to be taking weeks off. I feel like this is Daytona weekend all over again, except the general populace doesn't care about Vegas. Even I find it tough to get excited about this race. It's not like when they used to run the No Bull 5 events and a million bucks was on the line for the five Talladega winners from last season. Winston ended the program a year ago. Too bad. Now it's just the 43 regulars running for the checkers. Make that about 39 regulars and a handful of field fillers.
I was shocked to read this week about the Joe Ruttman controversy at the Rock. Seems he was black-flagged on the first lap for -- get this -- failing to bring a pit crew to the track. NASCAR is so desperate to fill the starting grid that they'll overlook something that major? How can you
not have a pit crew, let alone get it past the officials? I understand there are some rule changes in store this week as a result. Not enough changes to keep the likes of Kirk Shelmerdine and Morgan Shepherd out of the field this week. Sheesh, I just might suit up for a ride Atlanta next week. Can't do much worse, and it wouldn't be bad pocketing 50 grand for just showing up.
...Better stick to pontificating. Here's Glenn's Ten for this week:
Winner: Bobby Labonte -- Don't know why, but he's got a decent starting spot (7th) and he seems to run well at places like this.
The rest (in no particular order):
Matt Kenseth
Kurt Busch
Jeff Gordon
Kasey Kahne -- won his first pole on Friday, and almost won the Busch race Saturday. This kid rocks.
Ryan Newman
Kevin Harvick
Sterling Marlin
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Tony Stewart
I could have picked Jimmie Johnson, provided he doesn't go spinning through the infield on the final lap this year!
