gNA$hCAR Notes
Week 33 -- Atlanta
There aren't many things you can count on in the world today. Not the presidential election, not the availability of the next hot toy this Christmas, and certainly not the winner of the Nextel Cup. But you can make book on the Hendrick teammates rising to the challenge this weekend at Hot-lanta, which will be the first Cup race since last Sunday's tragedy-marred Martinsville race. What sweeter tribute to the memories of your loved ones than a trip to Victory Lane? And I know just the guy who's gonna get there...
Glenn's Ten:
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- OK, I had him pegged to win last week and his car didn't perform. But Jimmie Johnson's did. All the more reason to believe that Jeff will have a good day Sunday. Time's running out to close the deal on his fifth title, and he needs to pull off a big finish on a track where he can win. Darlington might be the last hope after Atlanta. It's now or never. He also needs Kurt Busch to cooperate, and with the points leader starting in the middle of the field he has a chance.
The rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Jimmie Johnson -- Will keep the momentum rolling for the Hendrick family.
* Ryan Newman -- Three straight poles. So now we know Ryan is consistently fast in qualifying, but when does it start translating to consistent victories?
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Picking him did the trick last week to curse his race. Maybe I can do it two weeks running. You think? Seriously, he ran a top-5 here in the spring.
* Joe Nemechek -- A former Hendrick driver now driving with Hendrick engines. Joe runs well here.
* Kasey Kahne -- Starting 32nd, but he had a strong Busch race Saturday and, with a decent car, should get around here well.
* Bobby Labonte -- Six of his career victories have come at this track, most of those in the fall race.
* Dale Jarrett -- Why not?
* Matt Kenseth -- Even for Matt this is a little far back in the pack. 39th? He won the Saturday race so don't count him out.
* Tony Stewart -- Tony's letting us all down lately. Can the Gibbs cars break through Sunday?
Missing from the list... Mark Martin (Qualified well and second fastest in final practice. He's doomed.)... Elliott Sadler (Might surprise me, but I'll say top 15)... Kurt Busch (Has been too charmed. This is the race that will bite him.)... Jeremy Mayfield (Almost forgotten he's part of the Chase.)
Tragedy and Martinsville
Sunday's race at Martinsville will be remembered less for the fact that Jimmie Johnson went to victory lane for the sixth time this season than for the plane crash that claimed the lives of his car owner's son and nine others.
Ricky Hendrick, who was the guy who was supposed to one day carry on the Hendrick Motorsports legacy, was killed in the crash while on the way to the speedway Sunday morning. Many in the sport are likening this to Dale Earnhardt's death at Daytona 3-1/2 years ago. While it is tough to draw such comparisons when one was a race-related crash and the other wasn't, the impact of any death in the racing community is felt profoundly by all, including the fans. Also killed was the organization's top engine guy. What effect these deaths will have on the future success of such teams as Johnson's, Jeff Gordon's, Terry Labonte's and Brian Vickers' will only be seen over time.
The tragedy overshadowed the race, which brought about some noteworthy developments in the Chase for the championship. Johnson didn't have a proper opportunity to celebrate in Victory Lane, as he was informed about the accident beforehand. There were no post-race interviews on NBC. We'll just have to do the best we can.
GLENN'S TEN: (3-for-10... shows what happens when you count out the Chase contenders.)
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- 9th, The frustration mounts for Gordon fans. He keeps getting decent finishes, but he continues to lose ground on Kurt Busch, who also had a good day. What is more frustrating is that Jeff is struggling on the very tracks he should be dominating, such as Kansas and Lowe's, and now Martinsville. I suppose struggling is a relative term; he did get a second last week, but only after running in the tank most of the race. Same at Martinsville, where he slid back from a 15th-place start and was a lap behind at one point. The only reason he led at all was because he stayed out at a point where everyone else came in. The car never looked good. Just a miracle he got a top 10. Moves up to second in the Chase, however.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 33rd, Aaah! The Glenn's Ten curse works! This was an absolutely miserable race for Junior. The car handled poorly, he got roughed up on the track more than once, he knocked into Dale Jarrett when his brakes locked up, he left part of his transmission on the speedway, then finally he took it to the garage after a crash. He never led a lap, and more notably he slipped to third in the standings, 125 points behind Kurt Busch. Guess the 25-point penalty don't mean s*** right now, to use Dale's own words.
* Ricky Rudd -- 14th, Guess Ricky's car was running loose, because he spun a couple of times Sunday. Managed not to damage it, however, and got a decent finish.
* Bobby Labonte -- 18th, Another mediocre day for the Interstate Batteries Chevy.
* Dale Jarrett -- 37th, Maybe the 32nd starting spot was too far back. He got into a couple of altercations on track, including the contact with Junior. Spend ahile behind the wall, but he did finish the race.
* Ryan Newman -- 3rd, I'd love to have been a fly on the wall after the race to hear the "discussion" between Ryan and teammate Rusty Wallace. Ryan clearly had a good car late in the race, if not good enough to win, but was it better than Rusty's? Guess we'll never know, because Ryan muscled Rusty out of the way on the last restart. Rusty went from a sure second place to 10th, and the two "teammates" started playing destruction derby after the checkers. And for what? Ryan is still ninth in the Chase, 266 points out.
* Rusty Wallace -- 10th, Here's the guy who has every right to be ticked off after getting roughed up by the #12 in the final five laps. Do you think Rusty and Ryan get along behind the scenes? I have a hunch they probably don't.
* Jeff Burton -- 11th, Just missed the show. I hope the off-season is good to the AOL team, because Jeff could be a threat again in 2005.
* Mark Martin -- 12th, Yaaaawwwwn. Mark's getting decent finishes, but he's losing ground to Busch. This one not as painful as last week's ground-loser at Lowe's.
* Tony Stewart -- 15th, Another snoozer. Tony barely touched the top 10 after the early part of the race. 246 points out will need Busch to screw up if he's to have a shot at the championship.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Jimmie Johnson -- 1st, First short track win for the #48. He jumps four spots in the standings, but still hopelessly out of contention. The Hendrick plane tragedy overshadows a fine day for this team.
* Jamie McMurray -- 2nd, I keep counting him out now that he's not in the Chase. Shouldn't keep doing that. If Newman hadn't been in the way those last few laps, I wonder if Jamie would have caught Johnson.
* Sterling Marlin -- 4th, Played the pit strategy game all day and it got him his best finish in months. Old tires not a good way to go at Martinsville, however.
* Kurt Busch -- 5th, Waiting for the bad luck to bite. When you are at the top of the heap your confidence level goes up. Can he keep the momentum for the final four races?
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 6th, Another guy I counted out here. He had a solid if not spectacular day.
* Jeff Green -- 7th, I almost forgot how to spell his name.
* Kevin Harvick -- 8th, Led a bunch of laps... for a change.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Matt Kenseth -- 16th, This was a good finish, considering he was deep in the field most of the day.
Next week... Atlanta, and maybe the last hope the Chasers have that Busch will screw up.
Week 32 -- Martinsville
Remember way back last spring when the gNA$hCAR guys visited Martinsville and Jeff Gordon was stinking up the place with another great performance before a chunk of concrete ruined his day? That was the day Rusty Wallace broke his winless drought. A lot has changed since then, especially the track surface, which has been repaved to prevent what happened to Gordon from happening again. Wallace, meanwhile, is another of the also-rans in the championship chase, while Gordon is sitting pretty to make a run at the title. Just five races to go, and the champ will be decided most likely by which of the top three guys doesn't screw up between now and then. Let's see who is likely to take the fall this week. Not a lot of guys seem to drive this track well, which may be a factor in who finishes.
Glenn's Ten:
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- Jeff got robbed of a trip to Victory Lane here in the spring and has yet to win in the 10-race Chase. This may be his best shot of the remaining tracks. Even though he qualified a disappointing 15th, he is still poised to make a good run at a track where he has won two of the past three races.
The rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Junior has a streak of about a dozen top 10 finishes. He should do well here, but perhaps my picking him for a good finish will be his undoing (fingers crossed!).
* Ricky Rudd -- Fatback McSwain's got Ricky back to being competitive. Rudd ripped off a top-10 qualifying lap Friday after nearly wrecking his first lap. If he can keep the car in one piece he'll be a serious threat Sunday.
* Bobby Labonte -- He doesn't have Fatback, but he shouldn't need him. This is a Bobby-type track.
* Dale Jarrett -- Starting 32nd, but don't count him out. Not the way he's been running lately.
* Ryan Newman -- Starting on the pole with a new track record. But it's not where you start, as the saying goes. Will Ryan be able to keep it together for 500 laps? I'm frankly a little worried.
* Rusty Wallace -- Rusty hasn't been running well lately, but he's psyched about this place because he last win came here. He'll either make the top 10 or he'll be in the garage early.
* Jeff Burton -- Made the show last weekend, and here is another track where Burton used to be a dominant factor.
* Mark Martin -- It's do well or start thinking about next year.
* Tony Stewart -- Where are you, Tony? Something's lacking from his championship run this year. Wins? Yeah, those too.
Chasers I didn't pick: Kurt Busch (Might get close because he knows he has to, but this track might be the biggest bullet he has left to dodge.); Jeremy Mayfield (What's left to lose? Hope the SAFER barriers are in good shape.); Jimmie Johnson (You'd think I'd give him more of a shot, being that his boss knows this place pretty well, but I fear for Jimmie on Sunday.); Matt Kenseth (Can't finish every race in the top 10.); Elliott Sadler (If DJ does well then maybe Elliott will too, but more likely in the 20s.)
Just like the All-Star
Saturday night's UAW-GM Quality 500 had all the excitement of the May All-Star race, with the top points contenders running into their share of heroics and heartbreaks. And when it came down to the checkers, two guys who hadn't had much to cheer about all night were chasing each other across the finish line. (I have some other thoughts on that in a moment...) Now it's time to see how I did for the weekend. Not bad, with 9 of my 10 picks finishing in the top 14.
GLENN'S TEN (6-for-10):
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- Winner! When I look back at my accurate predictions of winners at season's end, I think Jimmie and his teammate Jeff Gordon will account for most of them. The #48 looked sort of mediocre much of the night, but when Kasey Kahne's race ended prematurely Johnson was there when it counted. Fifth win of the season, but he gains little ground on Kurt Busch in the Chase standings.
* Ryan Newman -- 14th, These guys can't seem to buy a break. Ryan had a car that looked like it would challenge for the win until he got sandwiched into the wall trying to avoid Jimmy Spencer's wreck right in front of him. The car limped along for the final 20 laps and was the final car on the lead lap. More points lost in the Chase.
* Jeff Gordon -- 2nd, Jeff wins the How-The-Heck-Did-He-Do-That? Award for getting his battered and bruised car up near the front by the end of the race. At one point before the last caution he was challenging Jimmie Johnson for the lead. He got roughed up in the lap 1 crash, then later spun and was broadsided by Rusty Wallace. That crash took out Rusty, but Jeff somehow managed to continue and, after being a lap down at one point, managed to get back onto the lead lap and fixed the car enough to work his way to the front. He never led a lap, unfortunately.
* Mark Martin -- 13th, Mark had a top 5 car until he got caught up in the wreck that wounded Ryan Newman's car. He struggled to the finish and was clearly morose in the post-race interview. Mark announced before the race that he will retire at the end of next season, so this might truly be a now-or-never championship season for him. Right now he is probably thinking never.
* Matt Kenseth -- 11th, Spinning out didn't help his finish, but it could have been much worse. Still in the hunt for another title -- sort of.
* Kasey Kahne -- 32nd, Will this kid ever catch a break? He led the most laps and clearly had the best car before he blew a right front tire and plowed the wall on lap 267. The up side was that with Kahne out the finish was much more interesting.
* Kurt Busch -- 4th, He was among the drivers involved in the lap 1 crash and went to the rear of the field, but he worked his way to the front and led a few laps. He holds onto his points lead.
* Tony Stewart -- 10th, This might have been the only time Tony was in the show all night. Clinging to title hopes, but he just hasn't been much of a threat the first five races of the Chase.
* Jeff Burton -- 9th, Burton's back. Might be awhile before he's back in Victory Lane, but a race like this one is a place where you would expect him to do well.
* Joe Nemechek -- 5th, Gambled with two tires on the last caution to come out in front, and then held on for a good finish.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 3rd, His team couldn't remember that he was supposed to have a World Series paint scheme this night, so they stripped the hood of its traditional red and white and created some sort of weird hybrid scheme -- the bloodshot baseball? Didn't affect Junior's performance as he ran a strong race all night. But that's what he needs to do to have a shot at the title. Also needs to have Busch have bad luck.
* Dale Jarrett -- 6th, I nearly picked him in the top 10, and he showed why I should have.
* Elliott Sadler -- 7th, Followed teammate Jarrett to a good finish. Very much alive in the Chase.
* Jamie McMurray -- 8th, Another guy I almost picked, as this is the race he won two years ago. He was quiet most of the evening.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- 15th, Only car one lap down. Great night, and no one mentioned him at all.
* John Andretti -- 22nd, Took the heat for taking out Greg Biffle on the first lap crash, but wasn't really his fault.
* Scott Riggs -- 38th, The real cause of the lap 1 wreck. The car didn't go when the green flag fell.
* Brian Vickers -- 40th, Pounded the SAFER barrier on lap 22, forcing a red flag while crews repaired the wall.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 30th, Crash not of his making further compounds his problems in Chase.
More thoughts on the finish... Is it just me, or did that Johnson win look a little fishy? I mean, just before the last caution, Gordon was coming on strong and had a fender underneath him preparing to take the lead. Then after the caution Jimmie just drove off and left him in the dust. I hate to think this, but what if Jeff "backed off" to let Jimmie win because Lowe's is the #48's sponsor and this was their track? Gordon has always been very sponsor-conscious (witness the victory celebration at Indy when he didn't go to Victory Lane to avoid having to be shown with Powerade on the roof of his car -- a Coke product whereas he is a Pepsi-sponsored guy). I could see Jeff thinking, "I've got second and will gain points on Kurt Busch, and Jimmie needs to win because he's got more ground to make up, and Lowe's is a big sponsor and we'd like to keep them happy." Or maybe that's just how it appeared. After all, Jeff was probably just fortunate to be where he was with his mangled car. But you can't blame me for speculating.
Next week.. Short-trackin' for the last time this season at Martinsville.
Week 31 -- Lowe's
We're into the home stretch now, and here's where guys like Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon will have to shine if they are to be crowned champion at Homestead five weeks from tomorrow. I have my reservations about Junior, but Busch and Gordon both run these tracks well, as does Mark Martin. Lowe's may not clarify the top of the Chase picture, but it does give the frontrunners a chance to step it up on a track that has been friendly to many of them.
Glenn's Ten:
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- Am I being overly optimistic? Don't know what it is about Jimmie and Lowe's, but he always steps it up a notch or three when he's running at his sponsor's track. He's pretty much done for the season as far as his title hopes go, but a win would ease some of the pain of an otherwise horrific past two months.
Rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Ryan Newman -- He shattered the track record with his pole run. Like Johnson, he has little to lose at this point.
* Jeff Gordon -- Car didn't look that good in qualifying or practice, but winners have a way of finding their stride when the heat is on.
* Mark Martin -- In days of yore Mark was a dominant force at Lowe's. Still very much alive in the Chase.
* Matt Kenseth -- What's good for Martin is good for his protege.
* Kasey Kahne -- Needs the good finish to go with all these great runs he's had lately.
* Kurt Busch -- Points leader will find a way to make it into the top 10. Wants to stay ahead of Earnhardt and Gordon.
* Tony Stewart -- Ran down Newman on his way to a victory here a year ago.
* Jeff Burton -- Richard Childress Racing's 35th anniversary. Burton used to dominate on tracks like Lowe's. Been running better now with the #30 team.
* Joe Nemechek -- Two poles and a win last week, these guys are stepping up. Maybe he can sneak into the top 10.
And what about... Elliott Sadler? (Maybe, but I think more like at top 15)... Dale Earnhardt Jr.? (Prove it. Still convinced last week was a fluke)... Jeremy Mayfield? (Might surprise me, but more likely a victim of calamity.)
Nemechek clicks heels together three times, wins
What a great finish on Sunday! The margin of victory was a fraction of a second and for once the two guys slugging it out at the end weren't named Earnhardt, Gordon, Kenseth or Kahne. Who ever would have predicted Joe Nemechek and Ricky Rudd? Certainly not me. And who could have predicted some of the have-nots who made a decent showing while the Chase contenders struggled, some mightily. Well, my amazement shows in my results for the week, which were a disappointing 4-of-10.
GLENN'S TEN:
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- 14th, Tony just didn't have a car to win with. He got up near the top 5 but never looked strong, and paid the price in the shuffle of pit stops as various strategies played out to his disadvantage.
* Jeff Gordon -- 13th, Battled a "temperamental" car all race long and never got it perfect. Think he cracked the top 10 once, but only after losing a lap mid-race. Still in the hunt for the championship, but he needs to have some stellar performances at the tracks where he runs well. This was supposed to be one of them, but Lowe's and Martinsville are coming up.
* Kurt Busch -- 6th, He's making a Kenseth-like run at the title. He got his five bonus points for leading, and got a decent finish to broaden his lead over Earnhardt Jr.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 32nd, I hate to say this, but I think Jimmie's chance at the championship went out the window today. The car wasn't handling well before it spun out the first time, and the wreck several laps later assured an abysmal finish. Here's a guy who righteously can claim that the new Chase format sucks.
* Kasey Kahne -- 12th, Looked like a car that could contend for the win early, but as is so often the case with Evernham teams he got swallowed up in traffic and never recovered.
* Ryan Newman -- 33rd, Jimmie Johnson has plenty of company this week. Time to start thinking about 2005. He had a top 5 car until he got into the wall late in the race. No one to blame but himself.
* Dale Jarrett -- 8th, DJ is another one of those who got lost in the caution flag shuffle. He led a few laps and was a serious top 5 threat, plus he nipped Dale Jr. on the final lap to steal 5 points from one of the Chase contenders.
* Elliott Sadler -- 4th, Huzzah! Championship hopes not yet dead. Maybe the Wizard of Oz paint kept him from getting swept up in a twister like he found himself in last week at 'Dega.
* Matt Kenseth -- 17th, I'll tell you what the problem was this week -- he started too close to the front. Matt needs to start 25th or worse in order to be in the top 10 by the end of the race. 15th was too close. Title hopes hurting.
* Jamie McMurray -- 7th, Nothing to lose, so why not a top 10? When's this guy gonna break out and get another win?
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Joe Nemechek -- 1st, Front Row Joe does the Kansas sweep, winning the Busch race on Saturday and then capitalizing on pit strategy to get up front when he needed to. First time a car numbered 01 has ever won a gNA$hCAR event.
* Ricky Rudd -- 2nd, (Obligatory plug for Fatback to follow...) Here's the surprise performance of the day. Just when everyone is thinking the guy's career is about toast he comes back from nowhere to almost steal the win. This came after he almost crashed on the next-to-last restart and made a great save through the grass. On the final restart he was able to chase down Nemechek from over a second back with less than five laps to go and almost powered his way past the #01 at the scoring stripe. Think Fatback McSwain is overrated as a crew chief? Watch out for this team next season.
* Greg Biffle -- 3rd, When I pick him he crashes, when I don't... More time and he might have been the winner.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 5th, So what? He led the most laps. So what? He's in the Chase for the Championship. So what? He's 10th in the standings and far enough behind that it doesn't matter anymore. And his dogs are ugly too.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 9th, I take back all the evil things I said about DEI not doing well here. Oh yeah, he's now 29 points behind Kurt Busch, which would still be second place even without the 25 point penalty for swearing.
* Brendan Gaughan -- 10th, Uh-oh! Keep this up and they might actually think he's capable of a good finish every week.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Michael Waltrip -- 11th, See my earlier comment about DEI.
* Bobby Labonte -- 16th, Life without Fatback just hasn't been the same.
* Mark Martin -- 20th, Didn't need this sort of finish, especially after the car was running well all day. A victim of running over debris that cut two tires and then left him stuck in traffic.
* Casey Mears -- 31st, The Breast Cancer Awareness pink has to go. Scraping the wall is a good way to not finish well.
* Sterling Marlin -- 34th, Blew his clutch at the drop of the green on lap 1. Crashed later.
Next week... Saturday night under the lights at Lowe's.
Week 30 -- Kansas
This has been a bad week for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. First he won at Talladega and took over the points lead. Then he let a certain four-letter word slip during his Victory Lane interview. Then gNA$hCAR finded him 10 grand and took away 25 points. Now he trails Kurt Busch by a dozen points. And the pain doesn't end at Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval silmilar to those on which DEI teams have struggled for years. This is the week that Junior's title hopes start to evaporate, and during which the next champ steps up his game.
Glenn's Ten:
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- Don't let the 24th starting spot fool you. Tony runs well on these tracks and has the ability to work his way to the front. If he starts well and moves up quickly, he could be out front much of the day.
The rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Jeff Gordon -- Starting 30th. Ugh! But this is one of Jeff's best tracks and something tells me his crew will get the car to where it needs to be come race day.
* Kurt Busch -- Here's the guy to watch. We're entering a stretch of tracks where Busch runs well, and being in the points lead gives him extra incentive. He says he wants to make sure the 25 points Junior lost won't factor into the championship. A good finish will help insure that they won't.
* Jimmie Johnson -- Title hopes almost gone, but Hendrick cars do well at this place and Jimmie needs a solid finish.
* Kasey Kahne -- Starting second in both this and Saturday's Busch race. The Saturday seat time should help a lot. Plus, he's still looking for that first trip to Victory Lane.
* Ryan Newman -- Defending race champion will be hanging around the front near the end.
* Dale Jarrett -- Another top 5? Starting an awesome 8th.
* Elliott Sadler -- Jarrett's teammate has more incentive as a Chase contender.
* Matt Kenseth -- Because I have to. He's starting 15th, which is about 12 spots better than his average. This bodes well for a good day.
* Jamie McMurray -- Has been stepping up his game of late.
Missing in action: Joe Nemechek (second straight pole after a four-year drought, but it's not where you start...), Jeremy Mayfield (title hopes are over, dude.), Mark Martin (I just don't see him in the top 10, but a solid top 15 is possible.), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (looking at about 22nd. This could be ugly.)
Junior fans can celebrate (for now)
Talladega never fails to provide action, and most of it seems to come in the final lap as it did this time. Let's see... We had two separate crashes after the white flag, one driver managed to cross the finish line on two tires (after skidding on his roof), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. grabbed the points lead with his fifth Talladega victory. A busy recap day, so I'll get to it.
GLENN'S TEN (5 for 10):
* Dale Earnhadrt Jr. (winner) -- Winner. This was just too easy. Nice way to celebrate his 30th birthday this week, dominating the race, winning it and taking over the points lead. Little E obviously expected to win this race and it just raised his performace a notch. That makes five victories for the season, but obviously not enough that he's learned to control his post-race antics. Wonder if NBC will think about adopting ABC's 10-second delay policy after the Nextel Cup heir apparent swore on camera? Don't get too excited about Junior taking the top spot, however, because he still has to get by Kansas, Atlanta and Lowe's -- none of which favor the #8 but heavily favor the #24 and #48.
* Jeff Gordon -- 19th, Arrrgh! Had a great car all afternoon until he lost his drafting partner in Jimmie Johnson. Then he got bogged down around 11th until the last-lap crash in which he got tangled a bit with Kasey Kahne and lost a few more spots. Kansas will be a welcome sight after this one.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 37th, If there is one argument against gNA$hCAR's Chase format it is the #48. Jimmie got into it on pit road with Kasey Kahne and had to make a couple stops for fender repairs. Then the engine went south with about 30 to go. Now Jimmie is 172 points out of the lead after having been up by over 220 several weeks ago. These guys probably wish they could have saved some of their good fortune earlier in the season for now.
* Elliott Sadler -- 22nd, Elliott wins the day's style points for his flip coming to the checkers. He slid a couple hundred feet on his roof and then landed on his wheels just as the car crossed the finish line. Not as spectacular as his barrel roll here last year. Lost maybe seven spots at the finish, and the low finish won't aid his title hopes.
* Kurt Busch -- 5th, Did what he needed to to stay out of trouble and grab a good finish to stay second in points.
* Mark Martin -- 15th, Didn't hurt his cause too much.
* Dale Jarrett -- 3rd, Ahhh, the magic has returned to the #88. I know I keep saying this, but today saw a Jarrett who was in the thick of it for the win after hanging back most of the race. I would be willing to put money on DJ winning one before the season is over.
* Tony Stewart -- 6th, Pretty much followed my prediction, hanging back around 35th until about 30 to go, then suddenly was up front pushing Junior.
* Kevin Harvick -- 2nd, Best finish at a restrictor track. He didn't have enough to catch Junior at the end, but showed he can run here.
* Michael Waltrip -- 25th, Was up near the front much of the day, but his role was mainly to push the #8 to the win. When the heat got turned up late in the race he got shuffled back.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Brendan Gaughan -- 4th!, Best career finish. Won't keep him in the car though.
* Casey Mears -- 7th, Likes finishing in this spot. Ran well, leading a few laps.
* Joe Nemechek -- 8th, Front Row Joe was mediocre all day. Until the end.
* Robby Gordon -- 9th, Good teamwork to get the #29 up to second. I was waiting for the #31 to trigger the Big One and it never happened.
* Ward Burton -- 10th, Finally, a good finish for the NetZero squad.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Ricky Rudd -- 12th, Qualified on outside pole and nearly challeneged for the win before getting lost in the shuffle. Fatback's making a difference.
* Matt Kenseth -- 14th, About where I figured.
* Ryan Newman -- 16th, Can't blame him for being cautious at this track with his past history. This was about as high as he ran all day after hanging out at the back.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 38th, I think we can safely write off his chances at winning the championship. Second time in three weeks he was victimized by accident not of his making. We can feel for him, but the ability to avoid problems is what separates the champs from the... non-champs.
Next week... The Rainbow Warriors take heart and search for the wonderful wizard's miracle cure in the land of ahs: Kansas Speedway.
Dover recap
Still catching up on the past two weeks. I am, of course, ecstatic about the outcome of this race because Ryan Newman is my boy, my preseason pick to win it all. Yes, he's got a hole to dig himself out of, but the other Chase candidates can't get through the next eight races unscathed... can they?
GLENN'S TEN (an awesome 7-for-10):
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- 3rd, Started 21st and complained about his car all day, but still got a great finish out of it and takes the points lead by 1.
* Kurt Busch -- 5th, Led a few, but couldn't keep it up front when it counted.
* Ryan Newman -- 1st, Only led 325 of 400 laps and won by more than 7 seconds. They're going to have to change his nickname from Rocket Man to The Dover Kid.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 10th, Just snuck in. Penalty didn't help.
* Matt Kenseth -- 32nd, What might have been. Had one of the strongest cars before nailing the tire barrier guarding the entrance to pit road.
* Tony Stewart -- 6th, He and Robby Gordon seem to have a thing going after the incident at Loudon last week. They were mixing it up again early in this race and Tony was none too happy with Robby in the postrace comments. Wonder where this will lead? Another probabtion for Tony, probably.
* Mark Martin -- 2nd, Couldn't repeat the July win but gave it a good run. Mark sounds way too happy these days. Moves up a couple notches in the points...
* Rusty Wallace -- 13th, Was in the top 10 for quite a while before unscheduled stop for tire problems.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 9th, A quiet, solid day.
* Kasey Kahne -- 42nd, Engine blew apart after 13 laps.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Dale Jarrett -- 4th, Snagged this spot from Kurt Busch three laps from the finish, thus handing the points lead to Jeff Gordon. DJ is going to surprise some people these next few weeks.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 7th, Yawn.
* Jamie McMurray -- 8th, Fighting for 11th spot in the points just isn't as much fun as racing for a title.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Ricky Rudd -- 12th, Is the Fatback factor starting to become a factor?
* Bobby Labonte -- 14th, See Ricky Rudd. With McSwain on board this might have been a top 10.
* Elliott Sadler -- 20th, A wrinkle in the Chase.
* Jeff Burton -- 33rd, Haven't seen a guy that pissed off with his car for hitting the wall in a long while.
Next week... Checkers and wreckers at Talladega.
Week 29 — Talladega
Joe Nemechek is on the pole, but who cares. This is Talladega, where your starting position means nothing and your ability to dodge disaster means everything. The 10 drivers in the Chase all fear this race (well, perhaps nine of them) because it is a crap shoot as to where you'll finish, regardless of how good your car is. One thing we do know for certain: DEI is still the envy of the other teams at the superspeedways.
Glenn's Ten:
* Dale Earnhadrt Jr. (winner) -- Driver 8 owns this track, and April's controversial loss to Jeff Gordon is all the motivation Junior needs to get back to victory lane. Expect him to run up front all day and be there when it counts on lap 188.
The rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Jeff Gordon -- Trying to keep his nose clean and protect his points lead.
* Jimmie Johnson -- Hendrick cars run well here, and Jimmie needs a good finish.
* Elliott Sadler -- Will overcome last year's aerial antics to finish in the top 10.
* Kurt Busch -- Might surprise someone.
* Mark Martin -- I've just got a feeling that Mark's not going away before the end of the season.
* Dale Jarrett -- DJ can win here. He's overdue and just might.
* Tony Stewart -- Here's Tony's day: Laps 1-180, 35th place or thereabouts. Laps 181-188, claws way to top 5 finish.
* Kevin Harvick -- If bad luck doesn't bite him early he could be a factor.
* Michael Waltrip -- Gotta pick him here, but wouldn't be surprised if something happens before the checkers to ruin his day.
Chasers I didn't include: Matt Kenseth (He'll be around, but will miss the cut); Jeremy Mayfield (Puhleeese); Ryan Newman (I'd love to pick Ryan after last week's win, but this is a dangerous place for the #12).
Sleeper picks: Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle.
Talladega prediction delayed
I'm still catching up on the past two weeks. I'll post my predictions for the EA Sports 500 before I watch the race, but for the record I'm going with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win.
Week 28 -- Dover
This race has already happened as I write this, but I don't know the results so I'll see if I predicted correctly.
Glenn's 10:
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- Dover is home base for DuPont and he wants to put on a good show for the corporate wonks.
Rest of the top 10 (in no particular order):
* Kurt Busch
* Ryan Newman
* Jimmie Johnson
* Matt Kenseth
* Tony Stewart -- will bounce back from last week's wreck
* Mark Martin -- Confident of his chances
* Rusty Wallace
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Could steal a win.
* Kasey Kahne
New Hampshire recap
I'm trying to get caught up on two weeks. Here's the results with minimal commentary:
GLENN'S TEN: (4 for 10)
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- 11th
* Jeff Gordon -- 7th
* Carl Edwards -- 20th
* Kasey Kahne -- 4th
* Mark Martin -- 13th, Wanted to finish in top 15 and did.
* Matt Kenseth -- 2nd
* Ryan Newman -- 33rd, had the look of a winner until the engine blew with less than 35 laps to go. No one could catch Kurt Busch after that.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 3rd, Takes over points lead.
* Jeff Burton -- 15th
* Dale Jarrett -- 27th
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Kurt Busch -- 1st, Dominant car all day. Same as July winner. No one could catch him. Tied with Junior for the points lead.
* Jamie McMurray -- 5th
* Joe Nemechek -- 6th, Best run of the season?
* Elliott Sadler -- 8th, Good showing in first Chase race.
* Michael Waltrip -- 9th
* Kevin Harvick -- 10th
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Tony Stewart -- 39th, Wins the self-restraint award for not punching out Robby Gordon after the race. Chase hopes took serious hit (no pun intended) when caught up in the Gordon-inspired wreck early in the race.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 35th, Another Chase contender caught up in the Gordon wreck.
* Robby Gordon -- 32nd, Penalized two laps for rough driving after retaliating against Greg Biffle for an earlier spin-out. The payback resulted in Stewart and Mayfield getting caught up in the crash. What a bonehead.
Next week... The sparks fly at Dover.
