gNA$hCAR Notes
Tony smokes 'em at Sonoma
I stink.
There. I admit it. I had about as much luck with my positively pathetic predictions on this road course Sunday as Hendrick Motorsports had getting its drivers out of third gear. Fortunately for Tony Stewart, he had no such difficulties in running up front most of the afternoon and grabbing the lead for good when he needed to. About time we saw Tony celebrating in Victory Lane this season instead of talking trash about guys who he felt did him wrong on the track.
But if Tony won't talk trash this week then I guess I'll have to instead. Maybe I'll start by trashing my picks...
GLENN'S TEN (3-for-10... Yes, it
can get worse!):
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- 33rd, An all too familiar story for Jeff, who came to one of his best tracks and suffered mechanical problems that ruined his day in a big way. He led the first third of the race before his car got stuck in third gear or somesuch and lost a lap getting repaired. He got the free pass and was clawing his way back to a top 20, but then the transmission went south again in the waning laps and left him here. So instead of moving back into the top 10 and closing the gap on the points lead, he lost more ground. Still 10 races to get it together, but this isn't encouraging.
* Tony Stewart -- 1st, All the scuttlebutt about Tony was true. He did have the car to beat today. And once Gordon fell out of contention there was no one who could hold a candle to him. When he chased down Ricky Rudd with less than 20 laps to go there was little question that he'd get by him. He did so with 10 laps remaining and never looked back. His first victory since Watkins Glen last August.
* Kurt Busch -- 3rd, Nobody talked much about him today, probably because he stayed out of trouble and folks were watching the Jeff and Tony show.
* Mark Martin -- 15th, Think pit strategy by others cost him a top 10. The car was decent but not dominant.
* Rusty Wallace -- 4th, A more Rusty-like finish on the road course. He was out of the top 10 most of the day, but the closing laps saw him move up.
* Boris Said -- 17th, This guy shot himself in the foot more than once. His aggressive driving style saw him banging fenders with others as he worked his way through traffic, but the big hit came when he tried to duck into the pits as the caution light came on. Had it worked, he would have been sitting pretty fro winning this thing. But the officials said he entered the pits when they were closed, so he had to restart at the end of the longest line -- something like 34th. He worked his way up to 13th after that before overdriving and going off track getting by Greg Biffle, which dumped him back to 19th without enough laps left to get a better finish.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 36th, Another bad day for the Hendrick standard-bearers. Jimmie was the first to suffer the stuck-gear syndrome and sank like a stone from a top 10 spot. He wound up a lap down and loses the points lead to Greg Biffle.
* Michael Waltrip -- 22nd, Had a decent run going before he spun out.
* Greg Biffle -- 14th, Played the pit strategy game again, but didn't get the breaks he needed to finish in the show. But finishing 22 spots ahead of Johnson makes him the point man atop the point standings.
* Scott Pruett -- 31st, He was in the top 10 for a bit, but the pit strategy thing left him in the Dumpster when it mattered.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Ricky Rudd -- 2nd, Boy did I call this one wrong! Ricky nearly pulled off an upset with fuel strategy that saw him run out of gas just after crossing the finish line. I'm disappointed, because I'm eager to see Fatback McSwain celebrating another win. Best finish in years.
* Dale Jarrett -- 5th, Strategized himself into a good finish on a track that hasn't always been kind to him. Within 400 points of The Biff.
* Elliott Sadler -- 6th, Followed his teammate's strategy. And to think, he started 42nd.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 7th, Count me among the shocked that he finished this well.
* Ron Fellows -- 8th, Started dead last. See what pit strategy can do. Highest-finishing "ringer."
* Ryan Newman -- 9th, I'm pleased he finished well, but I'm dismayed I didn't pick him. He ran incident-free all day. Too bad it didn't work out even better for him.
* Brian Simo -- 10th, Another ringer. Best finish for the Richard Childress drivers.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Robby Gordon -- 16th, Had some mechanical issues, but by far one of his best runs with this self-owned operation.
* Kyle Busch -- 40th, Wasn't immune from the Hendrick Jinx, although he suffered the most. His car broke down on pit road and spent a few laps behind the wall.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 42nd, Before the race FOX presented him with a plaque for winning its Sexiest Driver contest. There was nothing sexy about the way he hit the wall after getting into Mike Bliss as he tried to pass him on lap 3. I think it's pretty safe to say that today we saw the 8 team kiss its Chase chances goodbye.
Next week... Gordon, Earnhardt and Johnson can forget about Sonoma when they get back to the friendly confines of Daytona on Saturday night.
Week 16 -- Sonoma
I have come to appreciate this race much more than I did when I first became interested in gNA$hCAR. It used to be I didn't like the fact that many teams bring in road course specialists — or "ringers" — to drive their cars in place of the guys that run them normally. Seemed sort of like cheating. But the fact of the matter is that it makes the races more entertaining, because some of the ringers are pretty darn good and it becomes a challenge to the regulars to see how they can perform with the stiff competition.
In recent years the ringers haven't had much effect on the final outcome. All the races have been won by regulars like Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart. Will that trend continue in 2005?
My record of predictions at the track formerly known as Sears Point has been pretty abysmal. I've been lucky to get two or three right here. But seeing as four has been my average much of this year with the oval tracks I don't think I could do much worse.
GLENN'S TEN:
* Jeff Gordon (winner) -- Jeff is an up-one-week-down-the-next sort of driver, but one thing we know for sure is that he is dominant at the road courses. And when he's on the pole -- as he is Sunday -- the rest of the field better sit up and take notice. Jeff is the defending winner of this race and has won it four times. A former Bay Area boy, a lot of his fans will be there to cheer him on. He'll make it five wins here Sunday.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Tony Stewart -- Fastest in Happy Hour and 7th on the grid. Folks saying he's the car to beat. He'll be somewhere near the front at the end.
* Kurt Busch -- Don't know why, but this kid is good on the road courses.
* Mark Martin -- Crafty old veteran going out in style. A dark horse?
* Rusty Wallace -- Crafty old veteran who's going out. He'll get style points if he can avoid last year's disaster of running the tank dry before the finish.
* Boris Said -- I like Boris, but I don't like his car. Let's see if he can keep it running to the finish.
* Jimmie Johnson -- Nearly won the pole Friday and he'd been improving his road game. He'll be a factor, but probably not for the win.
* Michael Waltrip -- No slouch at road racing, despite the disadvantage of starting 34th. His new crew has been helping him turn things around this season.
* Greg Biffle -- This was almost the site of an early Biffle victory. A couple of years ago his crew used good strategy to get him toward the front, but his luck didn't pan out. He is having such a good year that I can't bet against him, even though he starts 41st and had problems in practice. Pit strategy is the key!
* Scott Pruett -- Ganassi always gives him good equipment, and Scott runs this course very well. A threat for the win a couple years ago. Only "ringer" I'm picking.
Others to watch: Robby Gordon (I didn't pick him because his crappy equipment continues to hamper his performance, which is a shame because this is one of his best tracks)... Ryan Newman (Usually runs well here, but I've got a bad feeling)... Joe Nemechek (Running better of late, but will he be able to avoid the mistake that takes him out of contention?)... Jamie McMurray (He can drive this course, but see my note on Nemechek)... Ricky Rudd (Last win came at this track three years ago and I was there. The drought is in no danger of being broken Sunday.)
Biffle makes it five
Tony Stewart may have had the best car, but Greg Biffle had the best strategy in capturing his fifth win of the 2005 season at Michigan on Sunday. He chose to stay out when all the other leaders came in for fresh tires on the final caution, and the result was his fifth victory of the season. (Yawn!) Oh, pardon me! I’ve got nothing against Biff, but it would be nice to see some variety in Victory Lane. If not for Rousch and Hendrick there’d be no winners in gNA$hCAR these days. Just a thought...
I should have given more thought to my picks, it would appear...
GLENN'S TEN (4-for-10... This is becoming the rule rather than the exception):
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- 15th, Ryan started out with the fastest car and couldn’t close the deal. He fell back from the drop of the green and never got out of the lower end of the top 10. He drifted back a few spots late in the race to end here. And this was one of his best tracks last year.
* Brian Vickers -- 41st, Bri had a great car, as they say, until he drove it in too hard on pit road and whacked the water barrels. Tore it up pretty good and was off track quite a while.
* Kyle Busch -- 9th, Kyle didn’t make a lot of noise Sunday. He got caught at the tail end of the lead cars thanks to an untimely caution for Sterling Marlin’s flare-up in the middle of pit stops. He recovered well enough to get the top 10.
* Kasey Kahne -- 18th, Kasey’s car was junk in the beginning of the race and he never recovered.
* Mark Martin -- 3rd, Maybe the bat wings on the hood worked. Mark has looked good in just about every race this season. He bides his time and slowly works his way to the front. His fifth-place spot in the points proves it.
* Bobby Labonte -- 14th, This is a good finish for Bobby. Things are slowly improving. but Michigan is a place where he used to be competitive.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 19th, An unusually quiet day from the points leader. The car wasn’t that stout and he didn’t spend a lot of time in the top 10. An off day for Hendrick teams all around.
* Jeff Gordon -- 32nd, Did I say an off day? Jeff’s car was loose and the condition deteriorated. He wound up three laps down, one of those which he lost to Tony Stewart under the green. Very dismal day.
* Greg Biffle -- 1st, Looks like I should have favored the Roush teams over the Hendrick guys. Biffle started 25th and did what he has done so often this year -- marched his way steadily to the front. The no-stop strategy at the end proved to be the winning move. A well-deserved victory.
* Elliott Sadler -- 8th, I worried about this pick for a while, but Elliott (sans his hood decal, which blew off on the track) got a good finishing spot after all. The pit crew has been turning in some great stops this year.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Tony Stewart -- 2nd, I shouldn’t have doubted Tony when he qualified so well. But he couldn’t turn all those laps led into his first win of the year.
* Matt Kenseth -- 4th, Hopelessly out of contention for the Chase, but about his best run of the year.
* Carl Edwards -- 5th, All the Roush cars were up near the front today. Only Kurt Busch couldn’t finish in the show.
* Joe Nemechek -- 6th, Just ‘cause he’s had a pair of top 10s in the past two weeks, don’t think I’m suddenly gonna start picking him. Although I will say that his good performance isn’t just due to luck, not with his improved equipment this season.
* Michael Waltrip -- 7th, Anyone think Dale Jr. wants his old crew back about now?
* Rusty Wallace -- 10th, Should have picked him this week instead of last!
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 17th, Dale’s car was junk all day. He persevered to get an OK finish. But his Chase hopes may be about gone.
* Robby Gordon -- 39th, They say his engine package is improving. The engine might be, but something else in the car kept it from finishing on the lead lap. And after an 8th starting spot too. Sonoma is next week, where he has been a dominant force. I can’t see him threatening with this sort of continued luck.
Next week... We visit the undulations of the road course in the hills at Sears Point. (No, I refuse to call it Infineon!)
Week 15 -- Michigan
It's Father's Day, and what better way to celebrate than by letting Dad pop a cold one and kick back to enjoy some gNA$hCAR on the tube. Unfortunately that won't be me. I have projects that beckon today, so I will tape this race and do a fast-forward through later. I might linger a bit longer than with other races, however, because Michigan is a blast to watch. The track is wide and fast, and there is usually plenty of action.
GLENN'S TEN:
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- Another race, another pole for the Rocket Man. What else is new? Getting the win to go with the top starting spot, which is what Ryan will do today. We've seen the best and worst from the Alltel Dodge at this track -- fiery engine failures and stirring comeback wins. I think Ryan's got his act together enough this time round that he won't need a miracle comeback. He'll just run away from the competition at the end.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Brian Vickers -- The kid has been proving he's to be taken seriously. OK, I'll take him seriously this week.
* Kyle Busch -- KB and Vickers have the same car development program. Kyle is hammering on the door for a win. Young guns love Michigan.
* Kasey Kahne -- Can Kasey overcome Evernham's engine woes?
* Mark Martin -- With his "Batman Begins" paint scheme he'd like to win one for the race sponsor. He'll fly like a bat toward the front.
* Bobby Labonte -- Bobby's narrow loss to Jimmie Johnson a few weeks ago wasn't a fluke. The crash at Pocono robbed him of a good finish. Labonte's program is on the mend, and this week he'll prove it.
* Jimmie Johnson -- A big day for Hendrick? Why not. He made big gains in the points last week.
* Jeff Gordon -- Should do well here, but will he be griping all day about the car being too tight in traffic? You bet. And he'll still grab a top 10.
* Greg Biffle -- Every driver has a bad day, as Greg did at Pocono. However, most drivers aren't the Biff, who will right the ship this weekend.
* Elliott Sadler -- I wanted to pick Dale Jarrett. I really did. But if i can't bring myself to take him, I'll take his teammate instead.
Also watching: Tony Stewart (had an awesome car in practice and qualifying. But I fear something's gonna ruin his day)... Kurt Busch (should never underestimate the Roush drivers)... Dale Jarrett (multi-Michigan wins, but I just don't feel the love here this week).
And where is... Dale Earnhardt Jr.? 41st(!) This weekend will tell us if the wheels truly have fallen off the wagon.
Results from the Flat Tire 500
I'm getting bad about keeping up with these races. Things have been busy lately, hence the excuse for this late update. I taped Sunday's race and condensed a five-hour telecast down to about two-and-a-half hours by fast-forwarding through the dull moments. But were any of them really that dull? With all the flattened Goodyears littering the garage at the end of the day they could have ground them up to resurface the the track and make it more "grippy" for the July race at Pocono. That was a pretty ugly stat, all those flats. I saw something like 15 near the end of the race, many of them belonging to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart got his fender ripped off like a sardine can being opened after his tire went down. And then there was "Flyin'" Ryan Newman, whose flat late in the race put him into the wall and spoiled a good finish.
My lackluster performance ought to teach me not to pick off the top of my head next time...
GLENN'S TEN (3-for-10... thanks to a few flat tires):
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- 6th, Jimmie's car wasn't dominant as it was here twice last year. In fact, he never led a lap. Not a horrible finish, but unexpected.
* Jeff Gordon -- 9th, At least it's not a DNF. He had to come from 31st on the grid, and most of the move forward was due to pit strategy. He two-tire stopped his way into the top 10, but never led.
* Bobby Labonte -- 26th, There are two things you can count on with Bobby when he's having a decent day -- either he'll be right up near the front at the checkers or he'll put himself into the wall on the last lap. He chose the latter approach, bringing out the final caution that allowed the race to finish under the yellow.
* Ryan Newman -- 34th, Ryan blew two tires. The first didn't hurt him too bad, but the second one sent him cruising into the SAFER barrier with five laps to go.
* Rusty Wallace -- 11th, Ol' Rusty was just mediocre enough to miss the show. Thanks, Russ.
* Mark Martin -- 7th, Mark looked like he might be the guy to sneak up and get the win. He kept moving forward through the pit stops, but I think he got overhauled on the final restart when he had been running third.
* Tony Stewart -- 29th, Tearing up the fender thanks to a flat tire didn't help his day.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 33rd, Junior played the flat tire game too, but he had other problems that put him five laps down early. At the end of the race he was asked if there would be any more crew changes, given the recent string of disappointing performances. Dale's reply: "I just hope they don't change the driver." He's 500 points back now, and fading fast in the race for the Chase. Can this season be saved?
* Elliott Sadler -- 21st, I put my faith in him and he has a poor day. Being penalized for speeding in the pits didn't help.
* Greg Biffle -- 30th, The hood went up on Biff's car and killed a shot at a decent finish. He had been a top-5 car. Bad news for Biffle, but good news for Jimmie Johnson, who gained a bunch of points.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Carl Edwards -- 1st, Second win of the season came as Brian Vickers was stalking him and the caution flew for Labonte's crash. First time the king of the backflip had ever raced at Pocono, so not too shabby a performance, coming from a 29th starting spot.
* Brian Vickers -- 2nd, OK, I'll admit that Brian's finally for real. He led the most laps in this one, and very nearly had the victory. Wonder what might have been if the caution hadn't flown on the last lap.
* Joe Nemechek -- 3rd, What an awesome finish for the #01. If Joe could have more days like this one he could be a contender.
* Kyle Busch -- 4th, My prediction that the rookies would struggle here didn't come to pass. This kid's gonna win one soon.
* Michael Waltrip -- 5th, Qualified on the pole(!) and at one point had an 8-second lead over the rest of the field. Alas, he couldn't overcome getting caught in traffic late in the race.
* Kevin Harvick -- 8th, Finished right where he started.
* Jamie McMurray -- 10th, Should have picked him over Rusty.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Terry Labonte -- 12th, Maybe part-time retirement is benefiting his performance.
* Kurt Busch -- 22nd, Hey, check those point standings... Where's Kurt? Not in the top 10.
* Jason Leffler -- 40th, This guy can't buy a break. He spun out and looked like it would be without incident, then Kyle Petty somehow managed to plow into him. Guess we can't blame Leffler for this one. Don't worry, Joe Gibbs Racing will give him plenty of time to contemplate his bad luck and lack of driving skills soon -- even if they are trying to convince the rest of us that no changes are planned. Yeah, famous last words.
Next week... Ryan Newman fans can take heart -- it's time for Michigan!
Week 14 -- Pocono
I'm gonna have some fun this week. I'm going to throw everything I might know about this race (which isn't much) out the window and just pick off the top of my head. I couldn't do a lot worse than I've been doing (could I?). Pocono is sort of a wild card anyhow, with its funky tri-oval configuration, It's got the longest straightaway of any track the Cup guys run on, and three turns that are each very different from the other two. It's a speedway and a road course rolled into one.
GLENN'S TEN:
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- JJ swept this track last year, and given his accomplishment of three in a row in the Coco-Cola 600 at Lowe's a couple weeks ago there is nothing to suggest he couldn't do the same here at Pocono.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Jeff Gordon -- Three straight DNFs. It's time to turn that stat around.
* Bobby Labonte -- Always rises to the occasion at Pocono.
* Ryan Newman -- Might surprise someone Sunday and get that first victory of the season.
* Rusty Wallace -- Just have a feeling.
* Mark Martin -- Has been running consistently well when bad luck doesn't intervene.
* Tony Stewart -- Can Tony have an uneventful day that ends with a top 10?
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Still trying to find the swing with his new crew chief. He'll either hit it or meet with calamity early in the day.
* Elliott Sadler -- Each week I don't pick Elliott he proves me wrong by getting a top 10, so this week I'll throw caution to the wind.
* Greg Biffle -- I'm not sure I feel comfortable with this pick, but I can't pick against a guy on the sort of roll he's on.
ALSO WATCHING: Dale Jarrett (Talk about throwing caution to the wind! Dale's been good here in the past, but I'm not sure about his ability to keep the car running)... Kyle Busch (Been hot lately, but this isn't your typical speedway)... Kasey Kahne (If the car is good he'll be good too, but Ray Evernham seems to have a tough time keeping his cars in good shape)... Jeremy Mayfield (Ditto.)
The Biff gets number four
I've decided that the way I can instantly improve my mediocre weekly predictions is to forget about the rest of the field and just pick Ryan Newman and all the Hendrick and Roush drivers for my top 10. Bet I'd get at least six or seven "hits" a week. The only hits we saw a lot of Sunday seemed to involve Tony Stewart, who was having one of his angry-Tony afternoons. Jimmie Johnson after the race described him as an angry pit bull, which I think is pretty apt. best to stay out of his way and stay out of trouble. Unfortunatelty, Jeff Gordon wasn't able to stay out of the way and got the raw deal of the afternoon. (More on that in a moment.)
Meanwhile, Greg Biffle did what he's been doing a lot this season -- finding his way to the front and into Victory Lane. My picks were a bit less victorious.
GLENN'S TEN (5-for-10... could have been better):
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- 8th, Ryan's car was good, but never a force to be reckoned with. He probably hurt his chances of a top 5 by not taking tires on his final pit stop. Some of the guys who took two or four tires blew by him in the waning laps. Still, he's fourth in the points and that's not a bad place to be.
* Kasey Kahne -- 35th, Kasey's car stunk all day. It stunk more once he hit the inside wall.
* Mark Martin -- 3rd, Mark drives this place well and did again Sunday, staying out of trouble and making a late run to snag a couple of extra spots.
* Jeff Gordon -- 39th, If you watch the replay and listen to Jeff tell the story, it looks an awful lot like Tony Stewart helped put him into the wall on lap 41. Whatever it was, Jeff wound up with a crumpled car and retired to the garage for his thirs straight DNF. He's fallen out of the top 10 and is getting dangerously close to the 400-point cutoff for the Chase. This is not a good situation.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 4th, Looked good all day, but he only took 2 tires on the last stop and that contributed to his inability to hang on to 2nd place.
* Kyle Busch -- 2nd, The kid is turning it on as the season progresses. He'll be getting his first win much sooner than Kasey Kahne got his, I predict. But let's see how he handles Pocono...
* Greg Biffle -- 1st, Typical Biffle day. He started outside pole thanks to the qualifying rainout Friday, and although he wasn't the early leader the car got better throughout the afternoon. This is his fourth win in 13 tries this season and inches him closer to the points lead.
* Tony Stewart -- 15th, Tony never had the car to run up front, and when he wasn't a lap down he was busily bumping into the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or Scott Riggs. Too bad there were no post-race interviews with Smoke. I would have loved to hear his explanation for why he turned today's race into a contact sport.
* Dale Jarrett -- 23rd, Things looked good early, but the car faded about midway.
* Carl Edwards -- 16th, The only one of the Roush drivers to struggle a bit.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Rusty Wallace -- 5th, For a while it looked like Rusty might made a bid for the win. He never quite got there.
* Brian Vickers -- 6th, Might be time to start picking him for some top 10s. But like his teammate, let's see how he handles Pocono.
* Matt Kenseth -- 7th, Nice to see the former champ with another good run.
* Kurt Busch -- 9th, KB made an early exit from this race in September. Not the case Sunday, as he ran consistently at the low end of the top 10.
* Elliott Sadler -- 10th, Set a career high for laps led in a single race. The power steering gave up late and he had to settle for this spot.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 14th, Fastest in practice, but as usual it doesn't get him the win.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 22nd, New crew chief. Gonna take some time for things to gel. He's running out of time.
* Dave Blaney -- 36th, Provided the harrowing moment of the race when he wrecked and then spun back up the track into the path of Ken Schrader and was spectacularly T-boned. Everyone was OK.
Next week... The track that's sort of a speedway, sort of a road course, sort of a mystery for the car setup guys... Pocono.
Week 13 -- Dover
This weekend we visit the white cliffs of Dover. I'm referring to those treacherous high-banked concrete corners at the track not-so-affectionately known as the Monster Mile. It's a good thing I'm not a driver in the Cup series, because if my record at this track in the EA Sports sim version of this race is any indication, I'd be holding up the walls before the end of lap 400. Sadly, that will be the fate of many drivers Sunday afternoon. But someone's gotta win it, so let's see if I can get one right for a change.
GLENN'S TEN:
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- Qualifying got rained out Friday, so the Rocket Man didn't get a chance to qualify for the pole at a track where he has dominated the past five visits. Three of those trips have resulted in victories. Ryan just seems to be one of those drivers who likes Dover. He's been running more consistently of late and is overdue for a win. Go, Flyin' Ryan!
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Kasey Kahne -- Might have won here last September if not for an oil spot on the track with about 15 laps remaining.
* Mark Martin -- Last points win came here in September. No reason to think he couldn't repeat.
* Jeff Gordon -- Gotta put on a good show for the sponsor. DuPont is headquartered a few miles from the track.
* Jimmie Johnson -- If Jeff can do it, so can Jimmie. Still trying to recover some of those lost leader points.
* Kyle Busch -- Perhaps he'll be more patient than he was Saturday in the Busch race. He had the car to beat and destroyed it with an ill-advised pass on Kevin Harvick. Hopefully he got the wrecking out of his system.
* Greg Biffle -- Leading a charmed existence. When things are going well...
* Tony Stewart -- Tony seems to come around when he comes to this place. He may take a while to get to the front, but he'll get there.
* Dale Jarrett -- I have to believe that his "practice" in the Busch race will pay off.
* Carl Edwards -- I can't think of anyone I like better for my last pick. I'll probably think of someone by Sunday night.
