Martin wins Kansas yawner
Think I'm being too harsh in that assessment? I'm not yawning because Mark Martin won a race he deserved to win; I'm yawning because mile-and-a-half ovals in general make for dull race, and because this one in particular reached new depths in dullness. On a scale of 1 to 10 on the snoozer scale I'd rate this one about an 8.5. No passing, few surprises, and a predictable finish with the Roush cars nabbing four of the top five spots. Is it any wonder at all that gNA$hCAR is planning to limit the number of teams allowed in multi-car operations starting next year? Nothing against Roush. Those guys have their act together and are clearly the class of the field this season. But who wants to see a Chase with nothing but Roush cars -- or Hendrick, DEI, Penske or anyone else for that matter -- which is where the free market eventually will lead if nothing is changed. You'll wind up with two or three mega corporations owning all the 43 teams. Then why bother running the races at all? You could do what they did today, which was basically watch the Roush parade around Kansas Speedway from green to checkers, then shell out the championship checks to the big corps to let them buy yet more teams.
I didn't intend for this to be a rant, but that's one of the dangers of watching boring racing. Leaves the mind free to wander. I expect boring races from my local dirt and asphalt tracks, but not from the entertainment geniuses who have built gNA$hCAR into the multi-billion dollar operation it has become. But enough. I have to review my picks.
GLENN'S TEN (7-for-10... and I could have done better if I'd added Rusty Wallace.):
* Carl Edwards (winner) -- 3rd, The car was getting better toward the end, but he didn't have enough time to run down his teammates. I didn't realize until today that Kansas is sort of like Carl's home track, as he is from Missouri.
* Ryan Newman -- 23rd, Couldn't make good on his pledge to avoid wreckage. He got sandwiched against the wall by a spinning Brandon Ash, who was punted from behind by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan was behind the 8 ball from the start, having been sent to the rear of the field for changing a transmission. The car never looked very good, but the crash sealed the dismal day. Still second in points, but lost 71 of them.
* Matt Kenseth -- 5th, Got shuffled back for a while after leading most of the first 60 laps when he developed a tire vibration. Got back together in pit stops and fought to a great finish.
* Jeff Gordon -- 10th, Just squeaked into the top 10. A better run than many he's had lately. After starting 3rd it looked like he would grab the lead and run with it for a while. But the car started fading, as it always seems to do, and for a long time he was running in the high teens. This isn't where he should be running, but it's a start.
* Greg Biffle -- 2nd, He had a shot at catching Martin, but lap traffic got in the way.
* Tony Stewart -- 4th, By finishing here, other Chasers make little or no progress toward the top spot today. Tony's loose and having fun.
* Kurt Busch -- 14th, More trouble for the defending champ. He got caught a lap down, but managed to make it up and got back quite a few sports he lost. One Roush car not in the show.
* Joe Nemechek -- 20th, Finished about where the car deserved to. Joe two-tire stopped his way into the top 10, with predictable results.
* Mark Martin -- 1st, I can't fault Mark for winning his 35th victory in such dominant fashion. I just wish he wasn't the guy in Victory Lane. First points win since Dover last year. He thinks it doesn't matter because after last week he is too far out of first to make a bid for the championship. I think that's just four times as runner-up talking. If Tony Stewart suffers a bad race it will change the whole dynamic.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 6th, Jimmie gets the good finish he needed... and still loses ground to the points leader.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Rusty Wallace -- 7th, As usual, I counted him out when I shouldn't have.
* Casey Mears -- 8th, Remember him? Yeah, still likes to finish 7th or worse when he does make the top 10.
* Ricky Rudd -- 9th, Backed up last year's 2nd place finish.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Ken Schrader -- 17th, Ran up in the top 10 for quite a while.
* Dale Jarrett -- 38th, Not what you want to do after pulling a huge victory.
Next week: The last Saturday night action of the season as the Chase heads to the unpredictable racing surface at Lowe's.
