Carl Edwards

Gibbs looking for a Tony Stewart replacement

Sources tell NASCAR FanZone that Joe Gibbs Racing is now heavily pursuing a driver to replace Tony Stewart, who appears will be leaving at the end of the season.

We were told the Carl Edwards was high on their wish list, but he has since signed an extension with his current team Roush Fenway Racing. However, during Carl’s contract negotiations there was another team that placed a bid for Edwards, and it turns out that that team was indeed Joe Gibbs Racing.

When reached for comment about the Carl Edwards bid, JD repeatedly said, “We don’t discuss driver negotiations.”

Greg Biffle could be the next on JGR’s wish-list.

****CORRECTION:  I wasn’t thinking straight.  Greg Biffle isn’t 100% happy at Roush, he complained of faulty parts last weekend, which led to his 43rd place finish.  My bad.****

Race Re-Cap: Busch Dominant In Darlington

This weekend at Darlington broke the mold in so many ways. On the re-paved surface, we got a new qualifying record, a surprisingly low number of cautions and DNFs, and a new race speed record.

I couldn’t have been more off the mark. I picked the wrong Busch brother (Kurt) to win, and in a message board pool, I picked Kyle to finish dead last. I also figured that a lower division nameplate to do well here, I just didn’t expect it to be Ford instead of Dodge. I also said that the kids wouldn’t run well tonight. David Ragan and race winner Kyle Busch proved me wrong.

I was with Greg Biffle’s spotter. He suggested Biffle give up the lead early in the race to “Wild Thing” because there was no way he’d finish it. Once again, the guy who wouldn’t finish it was The #16 3-M Ford. The younger Busch, coming off a controversial 2ndplace finish in Richmond, looked like he was going to use his car up before he ever got to the final lap.

It’s weird to think that the guy with the most wins here (David Pearson) was known for conservation and cunning. The 23 year old from Las Vegas runs more in the tradition of Fireball Roberts (notorious for using up his cars) and Junior Johnson (his racing philosophy was to get up front as quickly as possible…and stay there).

We may be witnessing a driver re-writing the rulebook for how races are won in the new car. Lord knows Busch broke all the old ones. Did you see all that brake dust coming out of his right front? And how about the way he was brushing the wall? I was expecting “Shrub” to bust into a chorus of the Johnny Cash tune “I Got Stripes” at any time. It just didn’t seem like he should win when you also throw in the pit violation and his complaints about his “pathetic” car. Oh, that Dave Blaney’s car could be that pathetic.

Besides Busch, a lot of guys we don’t talk much about should get some credit for a good race. Though the Roush team was plagued with wheel problems, upstart David Ragan finished 5th in addition to Edwards in 2nd. Teammate Matt Kenseth shook loose of a few demons and ended up 6th. Journeyman Dave Blaney ran his best race of the year in crossing the line 9th. Travis Kvapil, who’s making a Cup comeback this year after a solid career in the Craftsman Truck Series finished 8th on a fitting night where he was sponsored by Lafayette Ford, sponsor the #28 back in the Freddy Lorenzen days.

Some the other name drivers deserve a shout out for their performances. Carl Edwards’ finish is amazing when you consider he started at near the back of the field. Jeff Gordon has a great race to vault himself into the top 10 for the point standings. And Dale Jr.? Well, he was consistent again, racking up another top five and ready to strike if anyone faltered.

But above all else, Tony Stewart gets the “Rocky Balboa” Award- fighting, gouging and clawing his way to a respectable 21st after tangling with Elliott Sadler on the 3rd lap.

No- this race was definitely NOT what I expected- however, I was not disappointed with the racing and the thrill of a Saturday race under the lights.

 By the way- Happy Mother’s Day to the two best Moms in the world- my mom, Lenore Pittock of Keizer, Oregon. Thanks for believing in me, and letting me test out my ever-running mouthon your longsuffering ears. Then of course, there’s my lovely wife Lynnae, without whom I would not be a dad to the cutest kids in the world.

To all you Moms- HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY FROM THE BOYS AT ‘THE FINISH LINE.”Zooooom…

 

NASCAR Stocks: The Top 10- Moving Up, Going Down

Races like we had in Richmond really make this mor art than science. The stats that are sued to hel determine performance will never reflect that Denny Hamlin and Dale Jr. were the class of the field. But because this is MY system, I’ll do it how I see fit.

There’ll be some changes this week.  

#10- Ryan Newman (unranked last week)- “Rocket” fought his way back with a 6th place finish at Richmond. Newman has sown signs of life the last two weeks, and his recent results are good enough to bump Greg Biffle- who’s weaker in average finish, has no wins and has the same number of top 10s as Newman. Ya have to like this guy, so maybe I’m biased. The dude never complains, no matter how bad things are.

#9- Kevin Harvick (up 1 from 9th)- “Happy” is hangin’ tough. His presence in my top 10 with teammates Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton is a testament to the depth at Richard Childress- quietly putting them in a league with Hendrick and Gibbs.

#8- Jimmie Johnson (down 3 from 5th)- A 30th place finish will hurt you, no matter how good you are. trust me, I still maintain Johnson will be a top 5 by season’s end, he’s just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, he’s too good to stay down long.

#7- Carl Edwards (unchanged)- The circuit leader in wins (3) didn’t hurt himself with his 7th at Richmond. That’s more than I can say for his image, which took a hit in the Carpentier incident.

#6- Tony Stewart (up 2 spots from 8th)- Smoke just barely cleared Edwards, but that 4th Saturday night, helped him in this tight pack of drivers. Stewart really needs a win. I think it will come soon.

#5- Jeff Burton (down 2 from 3rd)- It’s a shame, because this guy’s remarkably consistent. Nonetheless, there are guys making just a little more noise. I feel perfectly justified in ranking J.B. where he is below the guys that I think have been perhaps a little more daring.

#4- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (unchanged)- Junior’s finish obviously doesn’t reflect how good he was. Same story for Denny Hamlin. The win will come soon enough, I just hope he doesn’t press too hard.

#3- Denny Hamlin (down 1 spot from 2nd)- What a bummer! Denny should have won Saturday, a victim of the worst luck. Even with this 24th at RIR, Hamlin’s average finish of 7.2 over the last 5 races is second only to….

#2- Clint Bowyer (up 4 from 6th)- Bowyer is the hot pick of hot week. He’s been hanging around like a stalker for the last several weeks, and he finally got that elusive first win of 2008. Bowyer has an average finish of 6.4 over the last 5 races, best on the Sprint Cup tour. Bowyer’s 7 top 10s ties him with Junior and the #1 guy….

#1- Kyle Busch (unchanged)- Shrub is also #1 a new category “Most Hated Driver in NASCAR.” He’s helping elevate the likes of Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon to sainthood. No matter what you think of him personally, his 6 top 5s are easily the best at the Cup level. People, get over the incident- that was racin’. If he just keep his fool  mouth shut, he might be able to give the new title up.

I just can’t dismis Busch’s talent and performance- hopefully proving to you that this Jeff Gordon fan is not guilty of bias.

Ready to Strike- The aforementioned Gordon showed life at Richmond. Kasey Kahne continues to hang around. Greg Biffle may be down is far from over.

What will happen next? There’s only one way to find out.

 

NASCAR Stocks: A New #1 Is Crowned!

This will be a more difficult group to rank as some unusual suspects had great finishes at Talladega- with many of our top 10 dropping back.

Here’s my take. I’d be interested to see what you think of my conclusions. This was a difficult top 10 to assess.

#10- Kevin Harvick (down 1 from 9th)- “Happy” is still living off of his early season work. His 24th place finish hurt him. Harvick continues a slump that has seen him not crack the top 10 in a race since Bristol. He’s got a gaggle of drivers cooling his heels, but the Californian still has a better overall “body of work” than the others who just missed the cut.

#9- Greg Biffle (up from 10th)-  The driver of the #16 Ford Fusion didn’t exactly shower himself in glory with his 18th at Talladega, but if “Biff” goes, Harvick goes too. To show you how weird Sunday’s results were, Biffle still gained two spots in the Cup standings, despite his pedestrian finish. But then again, given the kind of race you get on a restrictor plate track, it may well be argued that ANY finish in the top 30 should be viewed as a good one. The Roush veteran did make some nice runs Sunday.

#8- Tony Stewart (down 1 from 7th)- “Big Orange” deserves better than this. Stewart led for 61 laps, tops at last Sunday’s donnybrook. this is a classic case of a driver with a better performance than his numbers indicate. The good news for “The Rushville Rocket” is that the cream always rises to the top and there’s plenty ‘o’ season left.

#7- Carl Edwards (down 4 from 3rd)- Before you castigate me for this ranking, look who’s ahead of him. It just shows you the ever so slight degree of separation between the top drivers in this season where parity is the rule of the day- at least among the top racers. It’s mind-boggling in a way that the leader in wins for 2008 lands here. The Missourian’s DNF wasn’t even his fault- the result of faulty camber leading to his demise.

#6- Clint Bowyer (up 2 from 8th)- The “07″ is modeling remarkable consistency. Teammate Jeff Burton must be rubbing off on him. The driver of the Jack Daniels’ Chevy has 6 top 10s, tying him for 2nd with Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton among our power poll drivers. Bowyer has finished no worse than 10th since finishing 28th at Las Vegas. A win and some top 5s (Bowyer’s only has two compared to 4 each for messrs. Hamlin, Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch has 5) would help vault the 3rd year Cup driver higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if that comes along soon.

#5- Jimmie Johnson (down 3 from 2nd)- This is no reflection on his Talladega performance of 13th. Well, maybe it is. When you look at the top 4, you’ll understand. Johnson still has an average finish of 7.6 over his last 5 races (including his Phoenix victory), only Bowyer, Burton and Hamlin are better.

#4- Dale Earnhardt Jr.- (up 1 from 5th). I came darn close to putting “Lil ‘E’” in 3rd. Having led 46 laps, we have another guy who came ooooh so close. Junior’s 7 top 10s pace all Cup drivers. He just needs a win. Ya gotta believe Earnhardt will get it soon, ending a 71-race dry spell.

#3- Jeff Burton- (down 2 from 1st). J.B. is the quietest stud on the circuit. Only Denny Hamlin has a better average finish over the last 5 races, and the Sprint Cup points leader has the best average finish overall for the 2008. So why isn’t Burton hanging on to the top spot? Permit me to explain….

#2- Denny Hamlin- (up 2 from 4th). The driver of the FedEx “11″ is NASCAR’s hottest driver. Consider these numbers, and you’ll see why the Virginian has vaulted past the likes of Johnson and Burton. Hamlin has his win at Martinsville, an average finish of 3.6 (!) over his last 5, and 6 top 10s. Remember, Hamlin started out at 28th after California. While teammate Kyle Busch is more spectacular, the numbers seem to indicate that Hamlin has been a little more consistent. Since that 41st place disaster at Fontana (caused by track moisture), Hamlin has been no worse than 15th.

#1- Kyle Busch (up 5 from 6th)- “Shrub” has a performance more uneven than the stock market. That said, you can’t ignore 2 wins and the fact that even when he finishes poorly, he’ still been a factor in every race he’s run. Add to that the fact he has 5 top 5s and 6 top 10s. Just short of his 23rd birthday, Kurt’s younger brother has led the way in a NASCAR youth movement towards domination that also includes teammate Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards. Of course, with youth comes inconsistency, so don’t be too alarmed if he falls to 10th next week.

This is a tight group at the top. ALL of these guys are legitimate Chase threats. To me, this is what is making 2008 a great season.

Ready to strike: Juan Pablo Montoya (his 2nd at ‘Dega may be a sign of things to come), David Ragan (he’s not going away).Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne have hit a patch of track debris, but they are FAR from out. Add Jeff Gordon to that list as well.

Stay tuned. Next week could be a brand new game.  

 

 

 

NASCAR Stocks: Who’s Contending? Who’s Pretending?

We’re coming off a Sunday break from Cup racing, so there’s no real sense in attempting to update the power poll going into Talladega. However- this break in the action allows us to assess how the field is shaping. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say how I think is contending and who is pretending.

The Gladiators: The personalities and nameplates differ, but here’s what I think ALL of the front runners have in common: they’ve got a fire in their belly and an iron will to make victory lane. Right now- I’ve got to think the most serious Cup contenders are: Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. You have to love the diversity- we have a Toyota, a Ford and two Chevy guys. You’ve got the personable Edwards, the business-like Johnson, the bad boy Busch, and the popular Earnhardt. These guys have demonstrated the total package- equipment, funding, skill and passion.

Ready to pounce. There’s a second group of drivers close behind that stand poised to capitalize on any mistake by the first group, and frankly they’re no less contenders. Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, and Denny Hamlin are all right there- and Burton and Hamlin havewins to boot. Stewart is a notorious second half runner, Burton is a savvy driver (and also solid first-half guy) and Hamlin has charged hard as of late.  

Still on the lead lap: Just a little further back are guys who shouldn’t be counted out, because they know how to win and they’re due for some good luck. Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick need to put something together and they have the teams to do it.

Lucky dogs: These guys could all make runs and make it interesting. At times, they’ve all looked very promising but can’t seem to close the deal. Martin Truex Jr., David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Jamie Mc Murray and maybe even Bobby Labonte or Brian Vickers still have a small chance. I never really imagined the elder Busch on the outside looking in, but he’s been invisible since Daytona. Mc Murray and Ragan look determined in the chase not to be cut by Jack Roush, Ragan may have more upside. Tuex may break the top 12 yet. Sentimentally, I’d love to see Labonte get in, but there are doubts about the equipment he’s got.

So there you are- there’s 18 drivers who are at least somewhat in the mix. The field may be even deeper than that if Juan Pablo Montoya, Elliott Sadler and Paul Menard can put something together.

What you have is a season with more twists and turns so far than Watkins Glen. Here’s hoping we still have something to talk about by the final turn.

 

“Finish Line Throwdown” Re-Buttal: Lighten Up!

Now that I’ve made sure that my health coverage is in place (you tread lightly in the presence of Tagoo48), I have a few things to say amount the comments seen in Thursday night’s post.

Car of Tomorrow: The “Car of Tomorrow” addresses not only addresses safety concerns, it also addresses cost reduction and performance upgrades as well. Tagoo, I think even you’d agree that you can never be TOO safe. Yes, the old cars were not suicide machines. Well, actually, I’d say the HANS device has had as much to do with the absence of driver deaths since that fateful day in Feburary, 2001 as anything else. By the same token, if you can make a car safer, should you not do it? I thank God today I did not have to write a memorial post for Michael Mc Dowell two weeks ago. As far as I’m concerned the safety features did much to enable able the rookie to sit behind the wheel in a back-up car the following Sunday instead of watching the race from a hospital room. That wing on the back has also done a lot of good as a safety feature in spinning crashes. The new car is a safer car. Period.

I’m far from an authority on the cost of putting (and keeping) a car together, but I do know that cost reducation has also factored into the this car’s creation. There are now fewer cars in a team’s fleet than there once were. This car is a tank. More cars are finishing races, and more cars make for better racing.

The new car is still a work in progress. The lack of testing at Texas in the new car was evident by the race we saw, but I think we saw last weekend how the experience was shown by the quality  of race seen in Phoenix where the new car ran twice in 2007. There’s only one way to develop the “new” car into a better racing car- and that’s to get it out there to run races!

That brings me to my next point. To say that this season has been boring is to say that the races at Martinsville, Bristol and Phoenix were not good. I beg to differ! These were good races filled with lead changes, bumper bangin’, dangerous passes and the whole 9 yards! For the love of Mike- can someone please tell me why NASCAR fans are so quick to complain about races and tires when things go wrong and yet they say nothing when things go well??? Has anybody besides the media made comment how we’ve had no tire manufacturer issues since Atlanta? Shouldn’t Goodyear be commended for getting it right the VAST majority of the time? Concerning Texas- have we ever really had a great race there? I haven’t seen one. Is it not a little too simplistic to blame it on the car? Jimmie Johnson complained about the car after that race. Funny- where was this complaining about the “new” car when he was winning the Chase last year in it? Hmm. Interesting.  

Fundamentally, I think the fan base of NASCAR has an attitude problem. If you watch other sports, you see games that aren’t good. Heck, we’ve had boring Super Bowls. Does that mean the NFL should change their qualifying rules? Should baseball change it’s rules because of the 22-inning snooze fest that was the Rockies-Padres game this week? No!

Having said that- NASCAR should allow for change if over the course of time it’s PROVEN that the car in it’s present state is not a good racing machine on the intermediate tracks- the places where the races have not been up to par. But again- I think we need to give racing teams time to get it right. Testing won’t do it. We’ve got to race the doggone thing out there to really get a handle on it. Changes now would create a moving target nobody could hit.

As for race coverage quality, the smart network is the one who gives race fans what they want. I’ll tell you why we know about Junior every time he so much as breaks wins- because the overwhelming number of race fans LOVE Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Junior is the most popular driver in NASCAR- BY A MILE! FOX, TNT and ABC/ESPN would be stupid to ignore him. I actually watched last Saturday’s race with a VERY critical eye, and I thought FOX did a good job of filling me in on the drivers fighting to get in or stay in the top 35. I saw passes deeper in the field…but let’s be honest. Most people really want to know what’s going on up front. 99% of the audience doesn’t care one whit about the battle for 40th between Joe Nemechek and Robby Gordon.

You mentioned Kyle Busch Tagoo, maybe he’d get his own “personal” camera man if he didn’t act like a butt-munch towards the camera anytime he has a bad race. Carl Edwards, Junior, Jeff Gordon and even Michael Waltrip get the coverage they do because these drivers get it. They know that you have to take the good with the bad.

As for victory celebrations- I’m sorry you hate the backflip. It demonstrates orginality. Something that I will agree is seriosuly lacking in NASCAR, but I’m not sure you’re proposed solution will cut it. The best I’d ever seen was Dale Earnhardt’s celebration after he’d finally won the Daytona 500. Now that was cool!

Overall, I think this has been a good season. NASCAR is as competitive as it’s ever been- even though the most serious contenders come from the top 4 or 5 teams. Still, we really have no idea who’s going win it all this year, and that’s good for racing.

We’re going to have good races, we’re going to have bad ones. This is no different than any other sport. I think the sooner we have the attitude of looking for the good in something, rather than getting all bunged up over the bad, the better off we’ll be.

So- be patient. We’re not even out of turn one for the 2008, and a lot of what we’ve seen so far has actually been pretty interesting. I don’t think anyone could have predicted some of the story lines we’ve had so far- whether it be Ryan Newman’s victory at Daytona, HMS only having ONE victory out of 8 races so far, or whether it’s the performance of Richard Childress, Carl Edwards or veteran Jeff Burton.

There’s a lot of season left. As of right now, I wouldn’t change a doggone thing.

NASCAR Stocks: Moving Up, Going Down (Top 10 Drivers)

If the top driver rankings were a race it would look like this: there’s a pack of drivers shifting spots like a draft pack on a super speedway. While they shift a little, it’s still the same group of guys. Then there’s a driver in between packs, followed by another group of drivers fading back, but ahead of the rest of the field.

As we make our way deeper in to Turn One of the 2008 season, we may be able to identify trends that will set the stage for the remainder of the season. A driver can always zig-zag his way from the back a la Dale Earnhardt, but I think we have a pretty good idea who the top contenders are.

Here’s how my Top 10 shapes up this week:

#10- Greg Biffle (down from 9th)- I must admit that I’m surprised to re-discover that Biffle finished 9th at Phoenix. That has to be about the quietest top 10 there is. You may take out of this that the Vancouver, Washington native is still very solid, but there are others moving past him. Still, Biff is having a much better season than 2008 as he and his Roush teammates log one solid finish after another. He may not be a front-runner right now, but he’s looking like a Jeff Burton-type, hanging around, in position to win should somebody up front mess up.

#9- Kevin Harvick (down from 8th)- After a run of 4 top 10s and a 2nd place finish at Bristol, “Happy” hasn’t been so joyful over the last 3 events. His 19th place in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 is once again testament to his ability to overcome challenges, but Harvick’s got a group ahead of him getting better results.

#8- Clint Bowyer (up from 10th)- Bowyer snuck his way up front to a 2nd place finish Saturday- his 5th straight Top 10, and the closest the Kansan has come to victory lane in 2008. His recent average finish over the last 5 races of 6.2 is quite impressive and gives one the impression he may kick the door down soon.

#7- Tony Stewart (down from 4th)- Though the 3 place drop may seem dramatic, the fact is “Smoke” is just getting warmed up for his second half run. After the Atlanta debacle, Stewart has put forward a yeoman’s effort with an average finish of 8th over the last 5 races. Nothing to get real excited about, but 7th is still a very good place to be at this juncture of the season.

#6- Kyle Busch (down from 3rd)- Joe Gibbs’ newest addition hasn’t quite attained the same lofty results he’s had in the other series, as “Shrub” is fighting off a bit of inconsistency. He can be great one race, and pretty ordinary by Busch standards the next. By the same token, I’m sure there are 50 other NASCAR drivers who’d love to be 2nd in the point standings.

#5- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (no change)- I was just sure “Junebug” had a win in the bag Saturday. Earnhardt led for 87 laps before giving way to Mark Martin, and eventual winner Jimmie Johnson. Junior hasn’t closed the deal yet, but Talladega is in his “wheelhouse”, so look for #88 to keep building on a good start in 2008.

#4- Denny Hamlin (up from 6th)- I really like what Hamlin is doing right now. He’s reminding me why there was so much hype over he and Clint Bowyer at the beginning of 2006. Denny has 3 top 5s in a row, including the win at Martinsville. So….who thought #11 would be Joe Gibbs hottest driver at this point in the season? Hey- don’t lie to me! I’ll watch with interest how he handles the high speeds and wide open racing at Talladega.

#3- Carl Edwards (down from #2)- He may have never led at Phoenix, but he fought his to 4th, another nice finish after the 42nd place debacle at Atlanta. If not for the 100 point penakty resulting from the loose oil tank lid at Las Vegas, 2008’s leader in wins would be 2nd in points.

#2- Jimmie Johnson (up from 7th)- Johnson’s performance is becoming too difficult to ignore. While a “3-peat” may be asking too much of ANY driver, no matter how GOOD he is, there can be no question that the Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevrolet will be a factor. In fact, I’ll go as far as to predict that the final top five (not necessarily in order) will be Johnson, Edwards, Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart.

#1- Jeff Burton (no change)- I came very close to giving this spot to Johnson, BUT you have to give J.B. props for being the most consistent driver of 2008. This is what sets Burton apart from upstarts like Edwards and Busch, who may be more spectacular. The 40-year-old just doesn’t drive himself into trouble. that can work two ways though, and if the aforementioned youngsters keep piling up the wins, Burton will eventually fade.

Ready to Strike: Martin Truex, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman are all poised to move up. Truexmay be the guy to really watch in this mix with some good recent runs. Kahne, Newman and Kenseth have been snake bit of late. But as Frankie Stallone used to sing “I am down, but far from over.” (Pop culture reference of the day). 

We may have had some races that haven’t been that thrilling, but you must admit- there’s a lot more suspense in the driver’s standings than we’ve had in some time. You can’t get around the fact that the drivers at Roush, Childress, Hendrick and Gibbs are head and shoulders above the rest, but I still see Penske, Evernham and maybe even Ganassi, or Red Bull or perhaps even Michael Waltrip pulling off wins in 2008.  

 

 

Race Re-Cap: They’re Baaaack…..

Well, to be totally honest with you, I never thought Jimmie Johnson went anywhere. The driver of the Lowe’s #48 Chevrolet has the total package- the team, the crew chief, the driver. You may keep a man like Jimmie Johnson down for a little while, but you won’t do it for long.

Phoenix was a war of attrition. While we didn’t TOTALLY lose many cars, several good drivers were knocked out of contention for one reason or another. Guys that we’re accustomed to seeing towards the front. Matt Kenseth missed an extended stretch after bending the wall, Ryan Newman’s power steering squandered his pole position, and Kasey Kahne was victimized by late race troubles.

For a while, I was just sure we would see a Victory Lane visitor who hadn’t been there in a while. I haven’t seen ol’ Mark Martin run like that in a long time. It’s just my opinion (and one of many unpopular ones I hold- but you know me), but I think you can put away your DEI obituary and save it for another decade. Not only did Martin’s 5th place finish impress, but Martin Truex Jr. put together a solid performance. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Kyle Busch looked like contenders at times too.

Ol’ “Junebug” just missed it. Junior, Newman, Martin, Carl Edwards, Johnson all had their runs and the good news for Earnhardt was that he finished with a car that was NOT 100 times worse than what he started with.

There was some good battling going one, and it seemed like there a boatload of cautions, but the real story was a gas- and no, I’m not talking about Tony Stewart’s pre-race Subway sandwich. I’m talking about the drama over fuel mileage and who had enough to finish, and how much drivers coming in would need.

Let’s just say it right now- Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are the smartest driver/crew chief combo in NASCAR, unlike any other I’ve ever seen. The #48 team looked like they were taking a chance, but Knaus guided Johnson through those final laps with juts enough to cross the finish line ahead everybody else. It was so reminiscent of Johnson’s late 2007 run when he won 4 races in a row.

This team always finds a way to win and overcome mistakes. In a post-race interview, Knaus admitted that keeping the El Cajon, California native out on the caution at lap 129 was a mistake, but they found a way to recover.

That’s what champions do.

 I’m outta here. I”ve run a 10-mile race today, watched my daughter’s soccer game, helped coach my son’s soccer team, spent two hours working on my weekend job and tended to a sick wife (flu).

Keep it tuned right here. during the offweek, I’m cooking up a spirited debate with a couple of people whom I greatly respect, but profoundly disagree with.

Good night.

NASCAR Stocks: Moving Up, Going Down (there’s a new #1!)

My Top 10 rankings look a little bit like the finish in Texas: There’s one guy out front with a traffic jam behind. Look out for that lapped traffic boys!

I’m doing something different this week. I’m inverting the order- a nasty trick on my part to make you read the whole thing before we get to numero uno.

Here goes:

#10- Clint Bowyer (#10 last week)- You know if he hadn’t got into Denny Hamlin on the green/white checkered, the Jack Daniels Chevrolet might be sitting a little higher. That aside, Bowyer is just enough better than Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman or Matt Kenseth to make the rank. Like my son at one of my daughter’s slumber parties, ol’ Clint just keeps hanging around.

#9- Greg Biffle (#2 last week)- Biff’s 39th at TMS didn’t do him ANY favors. Couple that with the finish at Martinsville, and you have a guy going south on a northbound road. Thanks to the point deduction to Ryan Newman’s team for a violation at Texas, Biffle is 8th in the points standings.

#8- Kevin Harvick (#3 last week)- Hey, this isn’t bad when you remember how Harvick’s race started Sunday. The idea he took his crummy car to an 11th place finish in the Samsung 500 is actually pretty impressive. “Happy” really could use a good race at Phoenix.

#7- Jimmie Johnson (#7 last week)- J.J. racks up two in a row in the top 10, not bad for a guy who started as badly as Johnson did. Perhaps Johnson SHOULD be rated higher, but I still have to see a couple more impressive finishes to be convinced. I still believe Jimmie will be a top 5 driver when the 2008 season goes in the books.

#6- Denny Hamlin (#8 last week)- Hamlin is starting to put a nice run together. We’re beginning to see once again why we all liked him when he first came up a couple of season ago. The 5th place finish Sunday establishes him as a solid contender.

#5- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#1 last week)- Whatever Harvick had wrong with him, Junior had it too. Earnhardt’s drop in the standings really isn’t his fault, his car was junk at the end Sunday. Lil “E” is 4th in the standings, I still can’t help but think that a win will soon follow.

#4- Tony Stewart (#5 last week)- Smoke fans, don’t worry about your driver, he’s just getting warmed up. Tony always until July to really heat up. Any wins he gets before then are gravy. I still think Stewart has a darn good shot at a Cup title. “The Rushville Rocket”, Shrub, and Burton are among the most consistent on the 2008 circuit.

#3- Kyle Busch (#9 last week)- The Nationwide win doesn’t count for the purposes of my standings, but it reminds us once again that Busch has a winning touch. He’s continuing to put very strong run together, but I would have to agree with what his crew chief said. It’d be nice to see Kyle save a little for the late runs and not necessarily show off all his speed early and show everybody how much he has under the hood. In other words, Kyle needs to be a little more David Pearson and a little less Fireball Roberts.

#2- Carl Edwards (n/a last week)- It’s funny what a win will do. Edwards is 9th in the standings (after the Newman penalty), but Cousin Carl would be 4th if not for “Oil Tank Lid-gate.” A Cup high 3 wins in 7 races is hard to argue with, but there is one guy who’s been a little more consistent. His name?……

#1- Jeff Burton (#4 last week)- With 1 win, 3 top 5s, and 5 top 10s, Burton’s lapping the competition in terms of consistency. His average finish of 5.0 over the last 5 races puts him well ahead of the class, only Dale Jr.’s 5.6 comes close over that span. Is it any wonder J.B. tops the points standings?

Going Down: Only Jeff Gordon bows out of the top 10 after just the second 43rd place finish of his legendary career. I wouldn’t worry about this guy. He’ll turn it around. Remember, Gordon picked up the win in last spring’s Phoenix race.

On the radar: Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth are all just oh-so-close. One or two good races could change their fortunes in Daytona minute. Penalty or not, Newman’s 4th place at Texas bode him well after a few lackluster runs.

Dark Horse: Don’t look now, but David Ragan is showing signs of life. Just imagine, in light of how young he is, how good he could be if he keeps it up. Being on the Roush-Fenway team sure doesn’t hurt.

 

 

Race Re-Cap: “Cowboy” Carl Is King In “The House of Roush”

Alright, alright! Those talking heads that predicted a Carl Edwards victory are smarter than I am. I’m o.k. with that. Today was a day of vindication for a couple of men who had taken a beating over a couple of incidents this season. A couple of good men.

Add those 100 points that Edwards got docked and he’d be 4th in the Cup standings now. Deduction or not, regardless of how of why the oil tank lid came off at Vegas to produce the deduction of points, you’d have to agree that Carl Edwards looks like no less than a top five driver in the 2008 season. The 28 year old roped the wind and held on on a day that a lot of people could not.

For a while, Junior looked like the man- the #88 looked every bit as stout at the onset as it did Friday, with Edwards and Kyle Busch giving a push. Unfortunately for Lil’ “E,” he kept fading on long runs and with the speeds at Texas that produce few cautions (I lost track but I think we had a new record for fewest cautions), Earnhardt was just cursed. The longer they’d run, the looser Junior would get- and there just didn’t seem to be an answer for it. Busch’s story wasn’t radically different. I thought Darrell Waltrip’s comment that Shrub would’ve wrecked that car last year was a keen insight. Busch fought the car, and the car won- but this time Kyle wasn’t stupid about and held on for a solid 3rd place finish.

Edwards’ teammate Matt Kenseth looked as though he might have something for the Missourian. Until a near miss with Juan Pablo Montoya, Kenseth had a good stretch of leading. I’ll bet Kenseth misses Robbie Reiser. It just seems weird to have one of the best pit bosses ever making calls for somebody other than the #17. Kenseth was strong, but like the 41 others that didn’t have the #99 painted on the car- he wasn’t quite strong enough.

Jimmie Johnson looked as good today as he has all season. Johnson took a nice long turn as leader and made some exceptional moves today. Johnson really threaded the needle on a couple of passes and did a great job of hanging onto his Chevy when it got loose. Still, in post race interviews, Johnson admitted he just didn’t have anything for Edwards.

Though Texas Motor Speedway is a track known for parity- we’ve had 13 different winners in 15 Cup races- the Fort Worth track is truly “The House of Roush.” Edwards is the only 2-time winner at TMS, joining Jeff Burton in this select company. Burton’s 1st win at Texas came while driving for “The Cat In The Hat.” Today’s win gives Jack Roush 6 wins at Texas- Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Mark Martin have won in Roush cars here.

This give me occasion to cut Jack Roush a little slack. I know I’ve made some nasty comments about Roush over “Sway Bargate,” and “Oil Tank Lidgate,” but at the end of the day, he’s one of the savviest minds in the motor sports business. Being the son of a welder/metal fabricator, I can see how Roush might feel a little protective of his handiwork. Roush comes at this with the perspective of an engineer, and it has to be maddening when you find things that you created in somebody else’s shop. I’m not sure the sway bars have done Michael Waltrip any good, but I am growing to understand why Roush made a big deal of it.

Some other random thoughts:

It was nice to see Mark Martin run well today to remind us he’s still got it….It’s a crying shame to see 3 cars in the field with no sponsor on the hood (John Andretti, Travis Kvapil, and David Gilliland)….Nice day for Gilliland to run 15th…David Ragan’s 13th place run proves he’s learning something out there…For all of you that think Jeff Gordon whines too much, I’d say you should’ve seen his in-race interview. No pointing fingers, no whining about the “new car,” just no whining. Period……Some Young Guns sure made some noise…That was quite a dash between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer at the end…What happened to Kasey Kahne????….

I don’t know this is the best race I’ve ever seen, but as a radio sports guy, I give credit to the FOX boys for some smart insights today. Today was a real education about how a fan could learn about how a car is handling by watching a driver’s hands on the steering wheel.

My “Rocky Balboa Award” goes to Junior and Kevin Harvick. Both of these guys had cars that were horrors and still finished in the top 15. Happy and Earnhardt earned their check today.

I’m not real sure I’m ready to call Edwards a front runner for the Chase this year. And while it’s true that championships aren’t won in April, they can sure be lost in April.

Carl Edwards looks like he really wants to win one.

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