All-Wreck Challenge results
What a wild night, as is typical of the all-star. I don't think I can remember a race where they didn't get to the scoring stripe before the big one occurred. Casey Mears lost his transmission on the green flag in the all-star open and gathered up 11 cars with him. Took out some of the favorites, but then it was fun watching guys like Derrike Cope and Kirk Shelmerdine running up front, however brief that run was. Another tough night for Kerry Earnhardt, who had he not been wrecked in the pile-up would certainly have gotten the fan vote to advance to the feature. I was sort of disappointed to see Ken Schrader get the nod over Jamie McMurray, who rightfully should have been there after that tough loss to Sterling Marlin after he got roughed up by Jeremy Mayfield. Funny thing, though -- McMurray was the only one of the Gnassi teammates to get his car on the hauler in one piece at the end of the night.
I can't say I'm excited about the outcome of the All-Star, being that I am a Ryan Newman fan, but it was a fun race. Here's how my picks went (and it is only coincidental that my order nearly mirrored the points standings even as the finishing order didn't):
1... Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 5th, Had a winning car until the final segment, when he faded.
2... Jimmie Johnson -- 17th, What a disappointment. Got taken out of contention in the Kurt Busch-inspired fracas. They never did get the car patched back together the way it was. DNF when he hit the wall on lap 55.
3... Jeff Gordon -- 6th, Wins my atta-boy award. There was more black duct tape than paint in his retro rainbow paint scheme. That he finished where he did is a credit to his crew and all the repair work they did on a very torn-up car.
4... Matt Kenseth -- 1st, See what a good qualifying spot can do? He started third, which is probably the last time all year he'll get a top-10 start. I was seriously beginning to wonder if he would take Ryan Newman at the end. Sadly, he did.
5... Tony Stewart -- 3rd, Tony ran out front a long time, but had trouble on the last restart and couldn't get caught up.
6... Bobby Labonte -- 15th, Last car on the lead lap.
7... Ryan Newman -- 2nd, Not taking tires when everyone else did the first time was a gutsy move. Not taking them twice was pure wishful thinking by Matt Borland. That Ryan led until the final three laps just shows the talent level behind the wheel of the #12.
8... Kevin Harvick -- 22nd, Victim of the Busch crash.
9... Mark Martin -- 10th, About where I picked him, although ran better part of the night.
10... Kurt Busch -- 20th, This was too kind a ranking, considering he was responsible for taking out three of the cars that finished behind him. What a bonehead move! You don't bump draft at Lowe's, especially on your teammate. Greg Biffle had every right to be pissed. Only redemption was that Kenseth, being a Rousch teammate, won the mil.
OTHER TOP 10 FINISHERS:
* Michael Waltrip -- 4th, Good finish for the NAPA crew.
* Kasey Kahne -- 7th, Got here because of Bill Elliot's win in the #9 last year and had a solid run.
* Elliott Sadler -- 8th, Quietly snuck into the top 10.
* Rusty Wallace -- 9th, Pole winner was a top 10 car most of the night, not much better.
Next week... The 600-miler at Lowe's.
