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!
