Newman takes Chase Round 1
This is pretty old news now, but I have been vacationing for two weeks and taped the race to see it when I got home, and the wait was definitely worth it. I'm a huge Ryan Newman fan and have been down much of this year about his performance on the track. He barely squeaked into the Chase, but at Loudon he proved that he deserves to be here.
I'm trying to make up for lost time, so here's an abbreviated recap of my picks...
GLENN'S TEN (6-for-10... a good day):
* Jimmie Johnson (winner) -- 8th, This is what he'll need to do the next nine races.
* Kurt Busch -- 35th, The first casualty of the race, put into the wall when Scott Riggs got loose. Don't count him out of the championship yet.
* Jeff Gordon -- 14th, New crew chief didn't get him a top 10, although he ran near the front for a while. Will be interesting to watch how the chemistry of this team gels over the final nine races.
* Ryan Newman -- 1st, Ryan shows he doesn't have to win the pole to have a winning day. His late-race duel with Tony Stewart was some great racing, and it was Ryan who prevailed after getting passed for the lead with about five to go. I'm psyched.
* Tony Stewart -- 2nd, Tony had perhaps the car to beat until he clipped Dale Earnhardt Jr. when the latter was pitting. Loss of aerodynamics probably kept him from winning.
* Matt Kenseth -- 3rd, Stuck lugnut set him back, but didn't keep him down.
* Greg Biffle -- 4th, A good start to the Chase.
* Mark Martin -- 7th, Slugged it out with Rusty Wallace but couldn't get the 6th spot in the final laps. Had Kurt Busch's winning car from Richmond.
* Kyle Busch -- 27th, Got into Kasey Kahne and then got roughed up in a retaliatory move by the #9. Then he wrecked on his own a few laps later.
* Kasey Kahne -- 38th, Kyle Busch took him out inadvertently, but Kasey's "payback" was uncalled for.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 5th, Reunited with Tony Eury as crew chief. Seems to have worked this time.
* Rusty Wallace -- 6th, Solid performance. I don't give him enough credit.
* Jeff Burton -- 9th, My dark horse gets a top 10.
* Kevin Harvick -- 10th, He had a good car, but he had bad pit strategy.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Robby Gordon -- 37th, Had an altercation with Michael Waltrip and blamed Mikey for putting him into the wall. Threw his helmet at the NAPA Chevy and used a certain four-letter word to describe Mikey's actions. Same behavior cost Dale Earnhardt Jr. cash and points a year ago. They could dock Robby, but he's so far behind in the standings what good would it do?
Next week: Can Newman make it two in a row at Dover?
