Stewart kisses the bricks
Well, they don't call Indy a flat track for nothing. There were a lot of flats in Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard -- which is a real crappy name for a race of this stature, BTW -- in the form of shredded Goodyear Eagles that led to 10 cautions and not a whole lot of excitement.
Speaking of flats, I was flat out of luck in my abysmal predictions that found me with my worst showing of the season on the heels of one of my best performances last time around with Pocono. But then I knew I was probably in trouble picking so many back-markers in the starting grid.
Tony Stewart made the most of his popular hometown victory, embellishing his new trademark fence-climbing gimmick with a backward victory lap that included a layover at the second turn grandstand for a little face time with his fans. And then there was that unique post-race interview on his back with a golf towel wrapped around his head. Let's hope this doesn't set the trend for other race winners, with longer and longer victory routines. It would be nice to leave some air time for the runners-up to chat about their day as well.
GLENN'S TEN (2-for-10... No comment.):
* Ryan Newman (winner) -- 34th, I am embarrassed to say that I missed what happened to Ryan to leave him two laps down at the checkers. The front end was taped up pretty good, so I'm assuming he hit something or something hit him. Needless to say, he was never a contender in this one.
* Greg Biffle -- 21st, Biff had a rocket early in the race until he suffered an ignition problem. He got that fixed, but then encountered more trouble later that left him at the middle of the pack.
* Rusty Wallace -- 25th, I missed the fact that Rusty crashed in practice and that was why he started so deep in the field. His backup car ran like one and he never made it too close to the front.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 38th, That's a big DNF for the former points leader. Jimmie was working to salvage a so-so day from his 42nd-place start, but he cut a right front tire on lap 143 and took a hard lick. He appeared very shaken in the pits afterward. Not sure if he was so emotional because of the crash or the fact that no driver wants to s*ck at Indy. What a forgettable weekend.
* Kurt Busch -- 18th, Kurt did just what we expected him to do, taking two tires to get track position. This looks like a decent day.
* Jeff Gordon -- 8th, This race was so Jeff. He lingered in the bottom half of the top 10 much of the race when he wasn't mired deeper in traffic. He used some off-sequence pit strategy to take four fresh tires and get his car right to gain a few spots in the waning laps, but he never led at a track where he has won four times before. He wants to win five, but his pattern here has been every two or three years. He'll be due again in 2007.
* Tony Stewart -- 1st, Why didn't I pick Tony? Looks like a pretty lame choice of Newman over Smoke now, I'd say. Still, Tony almost met my prediction of coming up short when he got passed by Kasey Kahne with less than 20 to go. I think this win was more one of raw determination on his part. He'd led the most laps and waited so long to win here that when he got in position to do so he wasn't about to be denied. That's four wins in the last six races for the new points leader.
* Jamie McMurray --17th, Didn't hear much from Jamie in this one. Not much incentive anymore now that he's locked up a deal with Viagra in a couple of seasons.
* Dale Jarrett -- 14th, Not much to write home about here, except that a decent finish keeps him in the top 10 in points.
* Kevin Harvick -- 19th, I knew Harvick would burn me here yet I took him anyway. He was one of the early pretenders with a car that looked decent, but there were other cars on the track that were a bit more decent.
REST OF THE TOP 10 (This is a long list. 8-/ )
* Kasey Kahne -- 2nd, The Second Place Kid comes up with another one. But perhaps it is fitting that the loss was to the man he beat to get his first win at Richmond three months ago. Kasey was in the thick of things all day. He just lost to a car that was better on the long run.
* Brian Vickers -- 3rd, I have to stop overlooking him, but it's hard when they run that hideous lime green paint scheme!
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 4th, Still in the top 10 in points. Please, not another Chase where we have to watch Mayfield. Should have figured though. This is a Dodge track.
* Matt Kenseth -- 5th, Where did he come from? Oh yeah, 20th. Matt's been stepping it up. Too bad he didn't start the season out this way.
* Casey Mears -- 6th, Defending qualifying record holder recovered from a qualifying crash and a 40th-place start to wind up here. He may be a Mears running at Indy, but he still ain't Rick.
* Mark Martin -- 7th, I said I'd probably regret not picking him and guess what? I do.
* Sterling Marlin -- 9th, Look at all these Dodges. Sheesh. And I picked all the
wrong Dodges.
* Kyle Busch -- 10th, Yet another day when the Hendrick B crew outshines the A teams.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Kyle Petty -- 13th(!), A Petty car has a good day and no one cares.
* Jeff Green -- 15th, Two Petty cars have good days and still no one cares.
* Elliott Sadler -- 32nd, Talk about major disappointment. Elliott thought he had the best car of his career under him and was set on at least a top 5 before he suffered problems in the last few laps that dropped him quickly off the pace.
* Jason Leffler -- 33rd, It came about a month later than I predicted, but Gibbs has finally swallowed its pride and accepted what most of the Cup community learned four years ago: Leffler can't race. At least not well enough to be a contender, which is what doomed his future with the team. A fittingly forgettable final race in the #11 Fed-Ex Chevy.
* Ricky Rudd -- 41st, I could have (and did almost) picked Ricky for the top 10. He looked decent until he encountered carburetor problems. They replaced the problem part in the pits under caution, but he lost a lap in the process. He regained it, but later suffered a crash that took him out.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 43rd, Remember Chicagoland, where everyone was saying the #8 bunch were back? That they still had a decent shot of clawing their way back into the Chase? They aren't saying that after Sunday. Junior got dumped (inadvertently) by Mike Skinner and took out teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the process. When things are going rotten they just seem to keep going that way.
Next week... Get out yer Dramamine. It's back to the road course at Watkins Glen. Can Tony get number five? I guarantee he'll be somewhere in my picks.
