gNA$hCAR Notes
That feels better
Maybe I should stop dissing Pocono. If I can emerge with days like this one more often then they can run all the races at this track and I'll only complain about the boring race action.
Seriously, the first three quarters of this race was about as dull as it gets, and I don't think it had everything to do with the guys in the TNT booth. Benny, Wally and the guys rarely get the blood pumping like they do on FOX, but even D.W. would have been hard-pressed to make this one exciting. Kurt Busch led a bunch of laps and won the race, a few other guys had real good cars and ran near the front all day, and a bunch of other guys had mediocre cars and brought up the rear all day. Yawn.
What saved the day was the "50 million cautions" -- as Mark Martin put it -- over the final 50 laps, which kept the competitors close and assured that I escaped with my first 7-for-10 day in months.
GLENN'S TEN (7-for-10... How'd that happen?):
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- 7th, Tony never said his car was great, but he never said it was bad either. He ran in the top 10 all afternoon. Now second in points and on the move.
* Carl Edwards -- 4th, Carl charged from the back and was at mid-pack after less than five laps. He never quite got to the front and spoiled Kasey Kahne's day when the two made contact in the next to last lap, but this was a tremendous run.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 32nd, My one low spot. Junior had an awful car all weekend. By the time his crew got the bugs worked out on race day he was already two laps down and never recovered. But he was fast for being a double-lapper.
* Ricky Rudd -- 10th, I feel real good about nailing this pick. Rudd got trapped a lap down when a caution flag flew in the middle of green flag pit stops, but he eventually made it up and stormed back into the top 10. It looked like he might have a car to challenge for the lead until it started to push. He never was as strong after that, but he snuck into the show after Greg Biffle and Michael Waltrip had their problems.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 12th, Considering that he was a lap down for a time and never had a good car, this was a monumental achievement. He used some two-tire stops to move forward. Hangs on to the points lead.
* Ryan Newman -- 5th, I'm starting to think that this is the new Newman -- hangs out in the top 10 most of the day, never has the strongest car, but stays out of trouble and picks up the good finish to stay in the thick of the points race. Not sure what I think of his three-wide pass on Ricky Rudd and who was it? Brian Vickers? late in the race.
* Bobby Labonte -- 8th, Bobby should have more days like this at tracks he runs well at. Another step in the road to recovery.
* Greg Biffle -- 17th, The dust-up with Michael Waltrip that put Mikey out of contention also stuffed Biffle, although less seriously. He had to pit and fell from the top 5. Recovered a few spots over the final couple of cautions.
* Mark Martin -- 3rd, Mark got tired of all his second-place finishes here, so he finished third instead. He might have challenged Kurt Busch for the win, but he wasn't able to get by Rusty Wallace so we'll never know.
* Kurt Busch -- 1st, Should have gone with my intuition. At least I picked him for the show, but it was clear early on that he wasn't going to be denied. He dominated the race and overtook Rusty Wallace with less than 20 to go to seal the deal.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Rusty Wallace -- 2nd, I had him on my original list, but passed in favor of Earnhardt Jr. Pffffth! Rusty is the wild card in the Chase picture. He's been solid to this point. I keep waiting for the big choke, but probably won't see it until Talladega or Atlanta.
* Kevin Harvick -- 6th, Oh yeah, almost forgot that he's occasionally very good. A little luck never hurts either. Should be good momentum going to Indy in two weeks, where he has won before.
* Mike Bliss -- 9th, He can thank Kasey Kahne, Michael Waltrip and Greg Biffle for this one. Probably won't do anything to keep him in the car next season. Might not be thanking Mikey when he gets this ride in '06.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Jamie McMurray -- 11th, Couldn't back up his pole. Just missed the show.
* Jeff Gordon -- 13th, The car was mediocre all day. He didn't deserve a finish this good. Pit strategy only gets you so far. Loses more ground to Jimmie Johnson.
* Michael Waltrip -- 26th, Crashed twice in the space of 10 laps after Greg Biffle cut a tire and bounced Mikey into the wall. He'd been as high as third. Needed a good finish and didn't deserve this.
* Kasey Kahne -- 27th, Needed a good finish and didn't deserve this. He made a run on Karl Edwards for 4th on the green-white-checker restart and Carl got into him, turning him into the wall.
Next week... Freedom! We've got a rare bye on the schedule before the Brickyard 400 Aug. 7, so you've got time to cruise with Kyle Petty on his charity ride... or do whatever it is you find personally rewarding. See you in two weeks.
Week 20 -- Pocono (again)
I will never understand why we have to run this track twice a season within six weeks of the first race. With places like Kentucky Speedway champing at the bit to get a Cup race, it seems like gNA$hCAR could afford to dump a Pocono date to spread the wealth. Ahhh, but the wealth is what it's really all about, and the real reason why tracks like Pocono will keep their second date for the foreseeable future. Let's just expand the season to 52 weeks and it truly will become a gNA$hCAR Nation.
I'm ranting already. Time to make my picks for Sunday's latest installment...
GLENN'S TEN:
* Tony Stewart -- Am I going out on too much of a limb? I mean, four wins in five races would be quite a feat. I'd say yes, except that it's hard to pick against Smoke right now, and this is a good track for him.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Carl Edwards -- Carl won the first race here this season, but if he's going to repeat then he'll have to cover a lot of ground. Bobby Gerhart qualified the #99 and only brought it home in 41st -- which is two spots better than Carl will start after they send him to the tail end of the field Sunday following the driver change.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Dale's another guy I don't like to pick against right now, even though he does start an abysmal 38th. He'll find some way to make it to the show by the end of the race.
* Ricky Rudd -- I've been waiting for this one. Ricky can win here, but his current ride is still highly suspect. But Fatback and the boys have been improving the situation each week, and this may be Ricky's best shot since Sonoma for a good finish.
* Jimmie Johnson -- Jimmie's always a threat to win here. Don't think he will this time around, but a top 5?
* Ryan Newman -- Ryan's slipping. Only starts 4th tomorrow. Is that a good thing? I always like to be optimistic.
* Bobby Labonte -- Bobby's been stepping it up. With teammate Tony on a tear it only stands to reason that Labonte will have a good day at a track he's won at multiple times.
* Greg Biffle -- The Biff can do little wrong, it seems.
* Mark Martin -- Will he be back next year or won't he? Who cares. He's having fun right now and still has a shot at winning his first Cup.
* Kurt Busch -- I've got a rotten feeling that Kurt is due for a big day. He could win this one.
AND WHAT ABOUT... Jamie McMurray (Surprised everyone by winning the pole. I'll be more surprised if he's still running at the finish.)... Dale Jarrett (Could make a quiet run to the front.)... Jeremy Mayfield (Knows how to win here, but does his car?)... Jeff Gordon (I shouldn't give up on him, but this clearly isn't his year. I fear more that the team is giving up, and a 21st place start doesn't do much to disprove that.)
New Hampshire recap
Now that was a good race. I'm not just saying that because I
finally managed to get more than four of my picks correct, but because there was some good, hard racing all day. I've never been much of a fan of New Hampshire, and I'm not sure why. I seem to predict fairly well here, as it looked like I was going to do today.
I say "looked" because my superb afternoon got spoiled over the final 100 laps. Would you believe that as late as lap 198 I had nine(!) cars in the top 10 and all of them in the top 15? With 50 laps left i still had 8 of 10. But alas, when the checkers fell I had just six left.
GLENN'S TEN (6-for-10... Shouldn't be disappointed, but I am.):
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- 13th, Jimmie had a top 10 car most of the day, but he drifted back with less than 40 to go.
* Jeff Gordon -- 25th, When things are going bad they seem to go bad in a big way. Jeff was poised for a top 5 and seemed ready to get his season back on track. But with less than 15 to go he lost his brakes and limped around to dinish a lap down, knocking him further behind Johnson and away from the top 10. With just 7 races until the Chase I think we can safely assume that Jeff's chances are toast.
* Ryan Newman -- 7th, Hung out in the top 10 all day. A good, solid run if not a spectacular one.
* Kurt Busch -- 2nd, Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Kurt spun out once, had two horrifically bad pit stops, and each time clawed his way back to the front thanks to the fact that he had the best car in the field. But he didn't have enough to keep pace with Tony Stewart.
* Brian Vickers -- 11th, *Sigh* I thought Brian had an excellent shot at a top 10, but he came up just a bit short, as did all the Hendrick drivers.
* Kyle Busch -- 4th, Kyle had one of the three strongest cars most of the afternoon, but he had handling issues near the final few laps that prevented him from challenging for the lead.
* Greg Biffle -- 5th, Biff was one of Kyle's handling problems. These two were beating on each other over the final 30 laps or so, with Busch nearly wrecking on at least two occasions. They had a little discussion on pit road at the end of the race. No fists, but you might wonder.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 9th, Junior did what Gordon needed to do, having a decent finish in a car that wasn't quite right. Difference is that Gordon couldn't hang with his bad equipment down the stretch.
* Tony Stewart -- 1st, When Tony climbed the fence at Daytona two weeks ago he said he was too big and fat to be climbing fences. If he keeps this up, he'll slim down enough to climb the fence and accept his Nextel Cup at Homestead in November. That's three wins in four races for the Home Depot bunch. His car dominated the race. This is the Smoke we all know and love -- cocky, confident, joking with the reporters and celebrating with the fans. The fence-climbing routine is gonna get old in a hurry, though. Hey, Tony, stick to winning races and leave the fence antics to the IRL guys.
* Mark Martin -- 15th, Until Gordon's disappointing finish, Mark was the only one of my drivers who clearly wasn't top 10 caliber. He rand between 15th and 20th most of the day.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Bobby Labonte -- 3rd, Nice to see Labonte having a good race. Maybe all of Tony's luck is rubbing off on his teammate. He was in the top 5 all afternoon.
* Kasey Kahne -- 6th, I nearly picked him, but Istill don't trust the consistency of this kid yet. He's not going to make the Chase, so he should start working on getting more finishes like this so he'll be poised for a championship run next season.
* Rusty Wallace -- 8th, Rusty is making his title bid count with unglamorous finishes like this one. Usually he's just outside the top 10 (when I pick him) or just inside it (when I don't).
* Matt Kenseth -- 10th, Nothing personal, Matt, but you screwed my day over by edging out Vickers.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Michael Waltrip -- 17th, He won't be back in the #15 next season. I hope he lands with a decent team and can get more finishes like this or better.
* Joe Nemechek -- 18th, Last car on the lead lap at the track where he got his first career win.
* Robby Gordon -- 30th, Roughed up a couple of cars on pit road. Roughed up a car or two on the track. Got roughed up by Jeff Gordon, who gave him the chrome horn at one point. Robby, for today at least, was a menace.
* Elliott Sadler -- 39th, Late crash may have dealt a devastating blow to his hopes for making the Chase. Still in the top 10, but it ain't by much.
* Jamie McMurray -- 40th, Had a little help from Kenseth finding the wall.
Next week... Back to Pocono.
Week 19 -- New Hampshire
It's a new seaon (well, the start of the second half of it at least) and time for a new attitude. Frankly, I'm tired of losing. Maybe not as tired of it as Jeff Gordon, who may be close to making vacation plans for the Chase, but I'm fed up with this 4-for-10 business. I haven't had a six or better weekend with my predictions since... since... I think it was something like Vegas. It has been downright embarrassing. I'd love to turn that around Sunday at Loudon.
This is one of those confounded impound races, where they qualify Saturday night and then lock the cars away so that no adjustments can be made until race time. That means the teams that hit their race setups right for qualifying may not have shown well for the pole, but they just might claw their way through the pack and lead all afternoon. This has been a good thing for the Roush drivers. Roushites have won most of the impound races so far this year, and Kurt Busch comes in with back-to-back wins at Loudon.
I can do better. I must do better. Will i do better? Let's see...
GLENN'S TEN:
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- The #48 swept the 2003 races at this track and is always a threat to do it again. There is a lot at stake for Hendrick right now, what with Jeff Gordon's woes, and you can make book on their drivers turning up the heat this weekend. I'm banking on Jeff to have a good race, and if he does then Johnson certainly should.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Jeff Gordon -- Desperation has set it. Frustration has peaked. No one steps up to a challenge like Super G. Jeff desperately needs to finish top 5 from here on if he has any gasp of a chance at the Chase. He'll break through today -- from the 21st spot on the grid.
* Ryan Newman -- Starts "only" fourth, which tells me the team was perfecting its race setup before qualifying. Look out.
* Kurt Busch -- Won't make it three in a row, but he'll be near the front.
* Brian Vickers -- On the pole. He'll back it up this week.
* Kyle Busch -- Vickers' teammate benefiting from the same car development program. And he's starting 7th.
* Greg Biffle -- Let's not forget the Roushers, especially the number 2 guy in the points.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- I know, I know... I said Junior stinks on flat tracks. But I gotta feeling he'll find a way to finish in the top 10 because he's on a positive vibe and it's his only chance to make the Chase.
* Tony Stewart -- He'll either lead a hundred laps or he'll be mired in the 20s all afternoon.
* Mark Martin -- We thought he was retiring this year. So did he. Now we aren't so sure. But we are sure that he is capable of a good run at New Hampshire.
ALSO WATCHING: Kasey Kahne (Starts 2nd and ought to run well here)... Rusty Wallace (As much as I hate to acknowledge it, Rusty is poised to make a championship run)... Carl Edwards (Bad luck ruined a potential winning day at Chicagoland)... Joe Nemechek (He says this is one of his favorite tracks, but he starts 22nd).
Junior does know how to win
We're halfway to crowning a new Nextel Cup champion, and we've learned a few things over the course of the first 18 weeks of the season: 1) The gNA$hCAR season is entirely too long; 2) Roush and Hendrick are the dominant forces behind the sport these days; 3) The Chase will include 10 and no more than 10 drivers; 4) My predictions really have s*cked this year; and 5) rumors of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
Here you have a team that could barely stay on the lead lap most of the first 16 races, then on the heels of a third-place finish at Daytona a week ago, Junior comes up with an improbable victory and everyone is penciling him in the field for the Chase. Better keep that Bud on ice, guys. Two decent races does not a championship make. Ol' Driver 8 still has a deep hole to dig out of and only eight races left to do it. He could, but I won't put my money on him. Not with places like Watkins Glen, New Hampshire and Bristol still in the wings.
But why should you listen to me? A guy who on his best weeks now manages a meager 4-for-10 on his picks. I feel like I was robbed with this one. Much of the day I had 7-of-10 in the show, but there were "issues" that took my guys out of contention.
GLENN'S TEN: (4-for-10... and this was a good day.)
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- 29th, *Sigh* Ryan had a decent car, but he made an unscheduled pit stop during a caution sequence that left him deep in the field and he had to use pit strategy to work his way back up. Then he got to racing hard on 2 tires and scraped the wall, which took him out of contention.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 3rd, An unscheduled green-flag stop left him trapped a lap down when the caution came out. He eventually got the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap and stealthily made his way to the front, but he didn't have quite the car he needed to overhaul the leaders. Hangs on to the points lead.
* Greg Biffle -- 11th, The Biff ran in front for several laps, but pit strategy shuffles left him too deep in the field to mount a late-lap charge.
* Matt Kenseth -- 2nd, Best finish in ages. Matt led the most laps and might have run down Junior given another couple of laps. Taking four tires on the final caution might not have been the best strategy, but that's 20/20 hindsight.
* Mark Martin -- 10th, Sneaks in to the top 10.
* Kevin Harvick -- 19th, Looked good early, but got shuffled steadily backward.
* Tony Stewart -- 5th, Had to start at the rear of the field because he didn't qualify the car after his Friday wreck. Still, he roared his way through the pack in his backup car and did everything short of lead. His car wasn't quite as strong late as it had appeared earlier.
* Kyle Busch -- 14th, He had been in the top 5 early, but I think he may have been dinged for speeding on pit road once. The car went backward on one sequence, so he was running about mid-pack the last half of the race.
* Jeff Gordon -- 33rd, Should have followed my instincts on this one. **Double sigh** This was an abysmal race for Super G. The car was loose all day. They tried to tighten it to no avail. They tried a 2-tire stop, which didn't work. He was mired deep in the 30s most of the day, and then he got spun into the wall less than 20 laps from the finish. This is becoming the rule rather than the exception. Jeff himself said he didn't "know what we were doing back there anyway" all day. Someone needs to start working on his race-day setups. Worst news is that he's behind Junior in the points chase -- and Junior is a dark horse to make the Chase...
* Carl Edwards -- 39th, Carl himself said he had a car capable of winning. That was before he blew a right front tire and smacked the wall. Doh!
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 1st, Little E started a forgettable 25th and kept tweaking the car all race to get it to the front. He stayed out on the final caution to keep track position, which was the difference. Kenseth struggled to get by Jimmie Johnson and that was all the delay that Junior needed. I'm (obviously) not a big Junior fan, but it was nice to see him in high spirits after his return to Victory Lane.
* Brian Vickers -- 4th, I considered taking him, but I just never know who I'm gonna get. He proved his worth today.
* Jerey Mayfield -- 6th, Sows what a little pit strategy can do. He's in the top 10 in points now. Ugh!
* Ricky Rudd -- 7th, Things are happening again for this team. Can't wait for Pocono.
* Kurt Busch -- 8th, I knew I'd kick myself for not picking him. Ah well. He was in the top 10 all day.
* Casey Mears -- 9th, Started third, so he should have been here, but he didn't make it look easy.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Rusty Wallace -- 12th, Fourth in the Chase picture. Should I care? If he's in contention on Week 36th, then I will.
* Bobby Labonte -- 13th, No one ever mentioned him.
* David Stremme -- 16th, The next Sterling Marlin makes a memorable Cup debut...
* Jamie McMurray -- 22nd, ...And the next Mark Martin doesn't. At least not today.
* Kasey Kahne -- 41st, Doesn't have Tony Stewart to blame for this year's Chicagoland crash.
Next week... New Hampshire. A flat track. Junior hates flat tracks. Jimmie Johnson loves them.
Week 18 -- Chicagoland
There have been just three winners in the short history of this track, and all of them will be on hand Sunday. But will we see another repeat winner or will there be a new face in Victory Lane? I'm going to take my lead from Saturday's Busch race in shaping my Cup picks this week...
GLENN'S TEN:
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- There's no time like the present for Ryan, and there's no track like Chicagoland, where he has a win and a couple of strong finishes. He led most of the Busch race Saturday before a penalty cost him track position and he had to settle for third. He missed the pole (which always bodes well) and is still looking for the first win of the season. It's gotta come eventually.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Jimmie Johnson -- He's on the pole and has that consistency thing in his favor, although the bigger motivation is...
* Greg Biffle -- Second in points and coming off a disappointing finish at Daytona in which he lost the points lead. He finished behind Kevin harvick in the Busch race Saturday.
* Matt Kenseth -- I'll roll the dice and take him this week. Also ran well here Saturday.
* Mark Martin -- Another Buschwacker who, if he can avoid calamity, will find a way to finish in the show.
* Kevin Harvick -- Two-time winner narrowly missed three in a row and would like to return to form (if only for a day).
* Tony Stewart -- Defending race winner here looking for third win in a row. He suffered a crash Friday and did not qualify the car, but he will be in it Sunday. But will he be up to snuff?
* Kyle Busch -- The young'uns seem to do well here. He's starting 24th, however.
* Jeff Gordon -- He simply can't afford to have any more dismal finishes. This is one of the few tracks at which he's never won, so there'll be extra incentive. But I worry about this one.
* Carl Edwards -- I haven't picked him in a while, but he has the advantage of having run Saturday's race and this track has many similarities to Atlanta, where he won.
ALSO WATCHING... Brian Vickers (Will Hendrick cars have a great day?)... Joe Nemechek (Running well lately)... Kasey Kahne (Should do better than he probably will).
We're Smokin'!
I feel somewhat vindicated that I was able to come up with the winner in this one despite the fact that most of my picks suffered a horrendous evening that started when the raindrops fell just before the scheduled flying of the green flag.
I hate rain, and Florida seems to get a lot of it in the summer. Sort of makes you wonder why they don't just put a big Plexiglass roof over the whole doggone track to avoid stuff like happened tonight with a 4-hour rain delay. I don't think I can remember a Cup race that finished after 1:30 in the morning local time. As long as they kept the beer flowing I'm sure the fans didn't mind.
GLENN'S TEN (4-for-10... Not bad, considering.):
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- Winner! Haven't nailed many this year, but this one didn't even look tough. Tony led from the opening lap until somewhere around the 60th lap, and he set a record for laps led in this race. He blew by the rest of the pack after the final caution to grab the lead for good. First-ever restrictor track win, and he's up to third in the standings. Loved his climb of the fence to celebrate after he took the checkers.
* Greg Biffle -- 36th, We had the good, now for the bad and the ugly. Biff got caught up in a wreck and spent lots of time behind the wall. He also lost the points lead he gained last week because of it.
* Jeff Gordon -- 7th, Jeff's car was never strong. It got progressively worse as the night wore on. He was indirectly to blame for the big wreck triggered when he signaled his intention to come to pit road and Jamie McMurray missed the sign. A bunch of cars had to check up and the result was a big crash. Jeff struggled back to get a decent finish, thanks to high attrition and the fact the car was good on short runs.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 6th, Jimmie might have had the second best car on the track, but he made the mistake of trying to pass Jamie McMurray late in the race and no one drafted with him. He fell back to where Gordon was running and then was able to draft back to the lead pack, but too little too late.
* Michael Waltrip -- 40th, Mikey's night was ruined when a tire went down and he collided with a couple of cars, including Biffle. He was a contender before that.
* Kurt Busch -- 37th, He got tangled up in the crash that Jeff Gordon triggered.
* Joe Nemechek -- 15th, He got some crash damage, but he was able to recover for a decent finish.
* Mark Martin -- 39th, A victim of the Gordon crash, he woved high on the track to avoid trouble and got crunched by Scott Riggs.
* Elliott Sadler -- 21st, For the night the tally was one spin, two lucky dogs and a handful of laps led. An eventful evening if not a successful one.
* Dale Jarrett -- 5th, Haven't seen a smile that wide on DJ's face in a long time. He's in the top 10 in points. Gotta be lovin' it.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Jamie McMurray -- 2nd, Considering the number of incidents he was involved in, this was a superb finish.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 3rd, Knew I was making a mistake not picking him. He had some flu bug during qualifying, but he'd shaken it off by Saturday night and was able to move quickly from his 39th starting spot. Didn't have much for Tony, though.
* Rusty Wallace -- 4th, Final Daytona race ends pretty darn well.
* Mike Wallace -- 8th, Never would have picked him, but a great finish all the same.
* Matt Kenseth -- 9th, Had a strong car most of the evening, but got shuffled back in the late laps.
* Ken Schrader -- 10th, Every dog has his day. Schrader spun through the soggy grass at least once, so this is a fine finish.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Jeff Burton -- 11th, Still looking for that elusive win. Ran well most of the night, coming from 42nd on the grid.
* Ryan Newman -- 14th, Suffered some sort of tire problem or something late in the running that took him out of contention. He recovered from the mid-twenties.
* Jason Leffler -- 18th, If he could run the restrictor tracks and nothing else he might be having a decent year. Still wondering when Gibbs will throw in the towel.
* Kevin Harvick -- 24th, Got wrecked, but had been running well.
* Boris Said -- 28th, Another driver who went hydroplaning through the infield. Road racer still has a ways to go on the ovals.
Next week... Can Tony make it three in a row by winning at the track where he won last year? We head to Chicagoland.
Week 17 -- Daytona
We're under the lights tonight for one of the best (in my personal opinion) gNA$hCAR races of the season -- the Pepsi 400. One of the best because everyone loves night racing, everyone loves the wide-open high speed thrills of the restrictor tracks, and at 400 miles it is one of the shortest races of the year.
Now, for who's going to win? How about who's NOT going to win. Answer: Anyone not involved with Roush, Hendrick or Gibbs. Those are the three teams that have been dominant lately, with Gibbs the late entry in the persona of Tony Stewart, who won last week, finished second the week before and sits on the pole today.
GLENN'S TEN:
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- I think this might finally be Tony's day... er, night... at Daytona. He wants to win a restrictor race very badly, and since the Busch victory at Daytona back in February he's looked stout in practice and qualifying. He got hung out to dry in the Daytona 500, but if he has any of his teammates around to help him at the end he'll be able to pull this one off.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (in no particular order):
* Greg Biffle -- New points leader and former Pepsi 400 winner will back it up with a good finish.
* Jeff Gordon -- Hendrick cars didn't look all that dominant in qualifying, but don't be misled. Gordon is the defending winner here and has dominated the plate tracks for the past two seasons. He has every incentive to do well, given his recent slump. He's just a few points outside the 400-point threshold for making the Chase.
* Jimmie Johnson -- Best Hendrick qualifier at third. May be a dark horse to win.
* Michael Waltrip -- Mikey always runs well here. But will he get help from the #8, which doesn't look strong today?
* Kurt Busch -- Always finds a way at the plate tracks. Just wonder if he'll be in position to make the winning move for a change rather than pushing someone else across the line.
* Joe Nemechek -- I'll chance it and pick him. He has a strong engine program, and that's a large part of what you need to run well here. Historically he's been a top 10 finisher.
* Mark Martin -- Last call for this track. He'll go out well.
* Elliott Sadler -- I keep underestimating Elliott. Not today.
* Dale Jarrett -- If Elliott can do it, so can his teammate. DJ has won this race before and seems to be turning up the heat ever so slightly.
ALSO WATCHING: Scott Riggs (#10 always fast here, but seems to be fraught with bad luck)... Kevin Harvick (Starts near the front, but he'll find a way to screw it up)... Rusty Wallace (No plate track wins, and that record will stand)... Brian Vickers (If he avoids the Big One he might sneak in.)
SENTIMENTAL FAVORITES: Boris Said (Starts an awesome 4th, but won't last there too long)... Ryan Newman (Just doesn't qualify well here (27th), but he might finish well if he catches some breaks. I'm predicting he won't. 8-( )
