Vegas recap
I'm beginning to think that we've reached a point in this sport where the two or three dominant teams are becoming more dominant while the also-rans are rapidly becoming more also-ranish. If you could take the Roush drivers and the Hendrick drivers and put them all in their own league (and probably DEI too), what would you have left?
I only ask this because look who paved the way at LVMS most of today. If it wasn't Greg Biffle or Kurt Busch, it was Jimmie Johnson (and Ryan Newman, but we'll get to that later).
Overall this was an interesting race, with a couple of good storylines taking place with the Busch brothers battling for bragging rights, and Kevin Harvick's penalty-laced weekend.
GLENN'S TEN (6-for-10):
* Kurt Busch (winner) -- 3rd, He had one of the cars to beat, but in the end he was no match for Jimmie Johnson or his younger brother, Kyle. Getting sent to the end of the line for a pit violation late in the race didn't help matters.
* Matt Kenseth -- 8th, It's hard to believe that Kenseth was two laps down at one point. He developed a tire rub and the call was made to take four tires instead of the two he wanted. That put him deep in the hole, but he was able to make up both laps -- both of them earned by outracing the leader. He used his crackerjack pit crew to gain track position late in the race.
* Mark Martin -- 30th, Mark dropped a cylinder and was in the garage for a time for repairs. He never thought he had a car capable of winning.
* Greg Biffle -- 6th, This race looked a lot like Fontana two weeks ago when Biffle surged to the front. But he couldn't stay there. His strong car faded a bit in the closing laps. But still, nothing to be ashamed of here.
* Carl Edwards -- 14th, Rousch drivers didn't dominate here as they have in the past. Edwards had a decent race, but he got roughed up during a wreck not of his making. They got the dents banged out well enough that he got a good finish. He's in the top 10 in points currently.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 1st, The only spinning through the grass JJ did on Sunday was the doughnuts he made during his victory celebration. The Lowe's team clearly has something to prove and are showing why they are the class of the field with races like this one. Johnson hung around the top 10 all day, but while the competition started to show signs of fatigue late in the race, his car just kept getting better and better. No one was going to catch him at the end, even though Kyle Busch gave it a good effort.
* Jeff Gordon -- 4th, Jeff hurt his chances with pathetic pit times and some bad luck on the track. Every time he seemed poised to sneak up to the lead, there was a caution and a bad pit stop. Then there was the door-to-door duel with Ryan Newman that led to some bumper tag between the two. Ryan had to check up when he got bumped out of the groove and Jeff had to slow up too. They both lost three spots from which they never recovered fully. Otherwise, Gordon probably had at least a second-place car.
* Kasey Kahne -- 38th, Kasey was mediocre most of the day, and that was before he backed into the wall. The poor finish comes on the heels of 40th at Fontana. Nothing like last year's phenomenal start to his season.
* Kevin Harvick -- 5th, Trouble just seemed to find him on Sunday. He worked his way up from his 42nd-place starting spot, but then was penalized for speeding on pit road late in the race and had to restart something like 26th. The car was definitely good, but it's hard to be competitive when you lose that much track position.
* Jamie McMurray -- 15th, Yawn. Never ran very far toward the front. This is about all he was worth all day.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Kyle Busch -- 2nd, Awesome run for this rookie. It probably didn't hurt that he wanted to beat his older brother at their home track. I didn't pick him because I'm not convinved the #5 team is ready for prime time yet. But give it time. Best finish for anyone in this car since Terry Labonte won Darlington in September 2003.
* Casey Mears -- 7th, Whoever came up with the puke purple and pink Energizer paint scheme on this car ought to be forced to sit through an hour of DEI Vegas highlight films. Best of the Gnassi teammates just seems to like to finish 7th.
* Tony Stewart -- 9th, Knew I shouldn't have counted him out. The #20 team made a lot of tweaks to the car after a mediocre qualifying and practice series. Tony charged forward early, but he could never quite get over the hump, and was racing in the teens most of the day.
* Ryan Newman -- 10th, Barely hung on for a spot in the show afte being a dominant car much of the day. The laps he led came late in the race, but his brush-up with Gordon wasn't what he needed. The handling went away after that, and he was doing the rapid fade in the waning laps. At least he's into the top 10 after three races.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Joe Nemecheck -- 19th, Hendrick power got him as high as second late in the race. What the heck was he doing back here at the finish?
* Michael Waltrip -- 21st, At least he finished for the first time this season, which is better than we can say for...
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 42nd, What a fast exit! Lap 16 found him out of position as Brian Vickers worked the line above him, and the result was that Junior clipped Vickers and wrecked the two of them along with Bobby Labonte and Ricky Rudd. Even Junior admitted the error. As I said, Atlanta next week can't come soon enough.
Next week... Junior hopes to turn his luck around at the track where he won a year ago, Atlanta.
