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!)
