Gee, what a surprise...
So Tony Stewart wins again. Only the fifth time in the past seven races. You've gotta sort of wonder if he's going to keep this up through the Chase or if he's shooting his wad now only to suffer the disappointment that Jimmie Johnson found in last year's championship drive.
That remains to be seen. But for now, suffice it to say that Tony is at the top of his game. I, on the other hand, am not. It wasn't that I went 4-for-10 that bothers me so much as the fact that I managed to miss a few guys I very nearly picked while the ones I actually picked suffered problems that left them deep in the field.
GLENN'S TEN (4-for-10... but at least I got the big one right!):
* Tony Stewart (winner) -- Winner! Sort of seems like a no-brainer, given Smoke's current streak. But there was some question as to whether he could make it to the finish line when the race went to a green-white-checker shootout and he was reporting problems with his alternator or somesuch. He overcame the heart-stopping moment and closed out a dominant performance that saw him lead all but about 10 of the 92 laps. No fence climbing this time. Perhaps even Tony regrets having started that fad.
* Jeff Gordon -- 14th, Can't buy a break. Had the only car capable of challenging Tony and suffered a tire problem less than 40 laps from the finish. Then he tried to dive for the pits when it looked like Greg Biffle was going to bring out the caution, which would have been a race-winning move except for the fact that the pits were closed when Jeff entered, so he had to restart at the tail end of the pack. Still, 14th is a monumental achievement that keeps him (barely) alive for a spot in the Chase. Four races and he needs to chop off about 70 points to get in. We'll see.
* Ryan Newman -- 30th, Two words: Bad brakes. Once that started to become an issue there was little hope of a good day.
* Kurt Busch -- 39th, A broken sway bar among other things forced the future driver of the Miller Lite Dodge to go behind the wall for a spell. Rotten afternoon. (snicker)
* Greg Biffle -- 38th, How often do you see two Roushers finish this far back? Biff got off track once and had other issues that kept him behind the wall for a bit.
* Robby Gordon -- 2nd, It may be the last time this year we talk about Robby Gordon in a positive light. He had no problems with the car (except for those caused by shortcutting the corners a couple of times) and was putting the pressure on Stewart for the win, but he just didn't have anything for him on the final restart.
* Boris Said -- 3rd, Best career finish. Always fun to watch. He was second on the next to last restart, but Stewart brake-checked him and hosed his chances of vying for the win.
* Ron Fellows -- 25th, I picked the wrong "ringer." Ron was briefly in the top 10, but this car just wasn't good enough to make the cut.
* Mark Martin -- 7th, Mark has another quiet but solid day.
* Casey Mears -- 23rd, I admit, it was wishful thinking.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Scott Pruett -- 4th, I feel rooked! I didn't know until race time that Pruett was subbing for Sterling Marlin, who was on funeral leave. I probably would have picked him over Casey Mears. No, I definitely would have picked him over Casey.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 5th, Got the good finish he needed after last week's debacle. I should have seen this coming.
* Rusty Wallace -- 6th, I know Rusty likes the road courses, but I just didn't feel good about this one. He apparently felt better.
* Brian Vickers -- 8th, Another guy I should have picked over Mears. Next year will be interesting to watch.
* Joe Nemechek -- 9th, Nice to see Joe in the show for a change.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 10th, Makes last week's crash at Indy all the more disappointing. We didn't hear much from him all race, but he was there when it counted.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Elliott Sadler -- 12th, Close to the top 10 in points, and at a track that could have been disastrous to his season.
* Jamie McMurray -- 13th, Sneaks into the 9th spot for the Chase.
* Terry Labonte -- 37th, Not even the veteran can salvage a good day for the FedEx team.
* Michael Waltrip -- 41st, Had a decent run going until Kasey Kahne nudged him into the wall on the straightaway. Poor Mikey, he's had that happen a few times this season.
Next week: Let's see how Tony does at one of those big cookie-cutter ovals -- Michigan.
