Busch wins! (No, the other Busch)
Looks like I missed the boat on Kyle Busch this week. I didn't pick him because despite being good in his best races, he's been very bad in his clinkers. I didn't think this would be a good week, and boy was I wrong. Kyle dominated at the front once the Roush parade of leaders got broken up.
Not a lot else to say about this race (other than comments below) except that it was lacking in drama until about the final 20 laps. California Speedway may seat a lot more fans than Darlington, but as a substitute for the now-defunct Southern 500 that was a Labor Day tradition until two years ago, it is a yawner. The NBC crew struggles on its best days to be entertaining, but BP, Wally and Bill seemed to be seeking ways to fill dead air more than usual. There are only so many times they can take us "through the field" before we want to shout "Show us a danged commercial already!" Oh yeah, there were plenty of those too. Maybe it is the 500-mile format. If they kept it to 400 miles I might not have to pry my eyes open for the finish.
GLENN'S TEN (6-for-10... A decent night -- for me, at least):
* Greg Biffle (winner) -- 2nd, Biff just came up short against Kyle Busch. Nothing to be ashamed of here, as he's back up to second in points.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 16th, Jimmie seemed to suffer the Jeff Gordon Curse (more on that in a moment) at the end of this one. I think he got beat by guys who popped on four tires on the final round of pit stops.
* Joe Nemechek -- 10th, Wasn't the win he might have had back in February, but he did just make the show. The car wasn't worth much most of the evening.
* Kasey Kahne -- 6th, Can't believe that Kasey never led a lap in this one. The car looked top-fiveish all night. There were a few cars that were stronger.
* Brian Vickers -- 3rd, Vickers is getting closer to a first win. I shouldn't be surprised that he and Kyle both did well here this time, after they both met with bad luck in February.
* Elliott Sadler -- 17th, The car never looked very strong, but this finish could have been better. Chase possibilities look about done.
* Kurt Busch -- 12th, Kurt looked like he had the intention of leading a lot of laps early. But the car went away in the later runs. Spinning through the grass in the front stretch didn't help matters any.
* Ryan Newman -- 18th, Ryan needed a better finish to keep his position in the Chase picture. Now he finds himself 11th, 1 point behind Jamie McMurray.
* Matt Kenseth -- 7th, I have to root against Matt because his success of late is killing the chances of Newman and Jeff Gordon to make the Chase. He started farthest back of all the Roush cars (23rd) and still managed to lead some laps. (All the Roushers did). A few cars slipped by him in the green-white-checker finish, but he still sits comfortably positioned for the Chase in 8th.
* Carl Edwards -- 4th, Looked to be coming on in the waning laps. An untimely flat tire earlier in the race while he was leading forced him to pick his way through traffic, which probably hurt his finish.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Kyle Busch -- 1st, A well-deserved win makes him the youngest in the history of gNA$hCAR to find his way to Victory Lane. Won't be the last time.
* Tony Stewart -- 5th, To think that I doubted him. Smoke held little back in grabbing the lead. Couldn't get there for the win.
* Jamie McMurray -- 8th, This was about the only time all evening he was in the top 10. Late tire change made the difference. But can he hold on to 10th in points next week?
* Ricky Rudd -- 9th, Another good showing. This team is clearly becoming a contender once again.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Mark Martin -- 11th, All the Roush drivers led a lap or two. Mark is in solid shape for the Chase.
* Sterling Marlin -- 19th, Was in the top 10 most of the night, but lost a few spots in the final sequence.
* Jeff Gordon -- 21st, The Jeff Gordon Curse rears its ugly head again. Jeff said it best during the post-race interview: "We sucked tonight." Can't argue with that. He rolled off 6th and looked good initially, but then the usual handling problems cropped up. Jeff got loose and lost a bundle of positions. He was running in the 30s for a time. The crew got the car dialed in, or so it seemed, as the race wore on. But the final 50 laps found the DuPont Chevy sliding steadily backward. So much for fighting his way back into the Chase picture. Now Jeff has to find a way to scoop up about 30 points on Newman and McMurray next week or he's going to be watching the New York banquet on TV instead of from the head table.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 38th, The engine blew up in spectacular fashion on lap 211, ending his bid for the Chase.
* J.J. Yeley -- 39th, Doesn't matter who they stick in the FedEx car, they still get crappy finishes. J.J. brought out the first caution of the race on the first lap.
Next week: Go or go home. Richmond will fill in the final pieces of the Chase puzzle.
