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    A win is a win is a win? (Part Five)

    Sunday, May 11, 2008, 09:53 AM EST [General]

    Kyle Busch is truly on an incredible roll.  Last night at Darlington, he won his eighth race of the season - BEFORE MOTHER'S DAY.  He also had two earlier Nationwide races in the bag before suffering mechanical problems, and he could have easily won last week's Cup race at Richmond had he and Dale Earnhardt Jr. not tangled with three laps to go.

    Obviously, Busch's success is not only a result of his considerable driving talent.  Joe Gibbs Racing has been the dominant team in NASCAR in 2008, with the kind of combined dominance of the Cup and Nationwide Series that we saw from Hendrick Motorsports at the Cup level in 2007.  If Kyle keeps it up, could he make a run, albeit an unofficial one, at THE most unbreakable of NASCAR records - Richard Petty's 27-win season?

    I already broke down the King's 1967 season here to distill how many wins that year were comparable to today's NASCAR, but I would say the King's record still holds up when you look at the entire body of a NASCAR season.  During 1967 season, Petty was the only driver to run more than 46 races, and while the King was running the maximum of 48, only nine other drivers ran more than 40, which means in several races he was one of only a handful of top-level drivers competing.  (David Pearson and Cale Yarborough won four races in only 39 COMBINED starts that year.)

    What that tells me is that, while it isn't considered THE highest level, today's Nationwide and even Truck Series races are comparable to some of those old races the King gets credit for.  Wouldn't you say that Tony Stewart's Nationwide win Friday night - beating plenty of Cup drivers including Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and others - is just as impressive (moreso, actually) than, say, winning the 1967 Columbia 200 - which had five or six top drivers in the field among its whopping NINETEEN competitors, in a race that was shorter than any Nationwide Series race today?

    Over the years, there have been several Cup racers who have run enough to put together impressive win total in the Nationwide/Busch Series.  Dale Earnhardt won five Busch races in 1986.  Harry Gant won five Busch races in 1991.  Mark Martin has won as many as seven Busch races AND six Truck races in a season (although not the same one).  And just two years ago Kevin Harvick nearly tied the all-time Busch Series record with nine wins.  In fact, that season was the MOST wins in a season since the Busch Series was created in 1982.  Here is the list.

                           YEAR   CUP  NWS  CTS TOTAL
    Kevin Harvick          2006     5    9    0    14
    Jeff Gordon            1998    13    0    0    13
    Darrell Waltrip        1982    12    1    0    13
    Dale Earnhardt         1987    11    1    0    12
    Mark Martin            1993     5    7    0    12
    Bill Elliott           1985    11    0    0    11
    Dale Earnhardt         1990     9    2    0    11
    Jimmie Johnson         2007    10    0    0    10
    Jeff Gordon            1997    10    0    0    10
    Jeff Gordon            1996    10    0    0    10
    Rusty Wallace          1993    10    0    0    10
    Harry Gant             1991     5    5    0    10
    Dale Earnhardt         1986     5    5    0    10
    Mark Martin            1997     4    6    0    10
    Sam Ard                1983     0   10    0    10
    Mark Martin            1998     7    2    0     9
    Darrell Waltrip        1984     7    2    0     9
    Carl Edwards           2005     4    5    0     9
    Greg Biffle            1999     0    0    9     9
    Jimmie Johnson         2004     8    0    0     8
    Ryan Newman            2003     8    0    0     8
    Rusty Wallace          1994     8    0    0     8
    Bobby Allison          1982     8    0    0     8
    Jeff Gordon            1999     7    1    0     8
    Tim Richmond           1986     7    1    0     8
    Kasey Kahne            2006     6    2    0     8
    Dale Earnhardt Jr.     2004     6    2    0     8
    Dale Earnhardt         1993     6    2    0     8
    Jeff Burton            2000     4    4    0     8
    Kyle Busch             2008     3    3    2     8
    Mark Martin            1999     2    6    0     8
    Jack Ingram            1984     0    8    0     8
    Sam Ard                1984     0    8    0     8
    Mike Skinner           1996     0    0    8     8
    Mike Skinner           1995     0    0    8     8

    There's Krazy Kyle - and it's worth repeating, but that's before Mother's Day!

    Now, I know you're kind of thinking that Harvick "only" won five Cup races, so he doesn't really belong in first, and I would only say you obviously need to put some perspective into it.  Would you try to say Bill Elliott's 1985 season somehow wasn't as good?  Of course not.  BUT, Eliiott could have run some Busch races if he felt like it, right?  And think about some of those wins the King got - twelve cars on a track, sixty miles, those count as much as last night's Dodge Challenger 500, in NASCAR's eyes.  Shouldn't the reverse be true, at least to some degree?

    To try and put Harvick's 2006 win total in some perspective, here is the list of most wins in a season, all-time, including all Busch and Trucks.  This is the top-twenty.

                     YEAR  WINS
    Richard Petty    1967    27
    Richard Petty    1971    21
    Richard Petty    1970    18
    Tim Flock        1955    18
    Bobby Isaac      1969    17
    David Pearson    1968    16
    Richard Petty    1968    16
    David Pearson    1966    15
    Ned Jarrett      1964    15
    Kevin Harvick    2006    14  
    Richard Petty    1963    14
    Buck Baker       1956    14
    Darrell Waltrip  1982    13  
    Jeff Gordon      1998    13
     
    Richard Petty    1975    13
    Junior Johnson   1965    13
    Ned Jarrett      1965    13
    Mark Martin      1993    12
    Dale Earnhardt   1987    12
    Darrell Waltrip  1981    12  

    Herb Thomas      1954    12
    Herb Thomas      1953    12

    Now, the BOLD totals all came after NASCAR stopped sanctioning those small field/short distance-races.  Kevin Harvick won the most NASCAR races in a season in 36 (!) years in 2006.  Kyle Busch is ALREADY over HALF-WAY to Harvick's total, with six months of racing still to come.

    I realize Kyle Busch isn't exactly lacking for media coverage lately, but Kyle - and really all of today's drivers - get short-changed the way NASCAR refuses to acknowledge the vastly different landscape of today's NASCAR vs. that of the 1950s and 1960s.
    0 (0 Ratings)

    JJD's updated points standings after Richmond

    Monday, May 5, 2008, 08:25 PM EST [General]

    First things first - if what I saw at Richmond Saturday night was "real racin'", give me that ol' fake plate-racing EVERY weekend.  Good grief.  Maybe this was a race you would have appreciated more in-person than on television.  Denny Hamlin dominated the entire race.  The top-five positions BARELY changed hands but for a few occassions, even after pit stops.  That was the most boring Richmond race ever.  That is, of course, until it wasn't.  (But it was for a LONG time.)

    There are so many guys to feel badly for in the aftermath of the finish, and all those guys also can take some blame, depending on your point-of-view.  Hamlin having a tire go down on his way to sure victory - horrible, shades of Danica Patrick's Michigan race last year, where she was poised to win only to be forced to pit with a deflating tire with a few laps to go.  Unfortunately, just like Bad Danica, Bad Denny took root in the seat of the FedEx Toyota after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch split his wounded car on lap 383.  I don't have a problem that he tried to nurse the car around the track, hoping for a caution to come so he could pit under yellow, and also hoping that the tire would hold out for the rest of the run.  But Denny, STAY AT THE BOTTOM, for crying out loud!  I saw the #11 car in the middle and on the outside far too much, and of course the tire let go right AFTER the pit entrance.  Even if you weren't trying to force a yellow for your teammate (I don't think he was doing THAT so much as a forcing a yellow for himself), it still looked REALLY bad and plenty of people are questioning your character after that happened.  I think the two-lap penalty Denny received, dropping him to 24th from probably 19th, wasn't really AT Denny so much as a "don't anyone ever do that again".  Besides, Denny's IN the Chase, probably no matter what, so a 25 or 100-point penalty after the fact wouldn't really amount to anything in the end, anyway.

    As far as Kyle and Junior's dust-up, I thought it was good, hard, CLEAN racing.  Both guys tried to slow the other's lap - Junior moreso than Kyle - and that stuff is going to happen.  Obviously, Junior was denied his first victory on two years, again, but Kyle might have beaten him, anyway.  And Kyle has a history of close finishes where when hasn't wrecked an opponent - he really only gets into trouble when he pushes his own car past the limit or into a space that isn't totally there.

    Add it all up, and you've got Denny denied a home sweep of the Nationwide and Cup races, Kyle denied a win that would have been a ridiculous #8 on the year (five in as many weeks, too) and back-to-back in the Cup Series, and Junior denied a chance at victory for the second straight week.  The good news?  They'll all be back at Darlington Sunday.

    Oh, and hey - Clint Bowyer actually won the obesely-titled "Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400".  (Viva gimmicky race names.  Not.)  The win was Clint's second career Cup victory and ninth overall, and puts him in with a big mess of drivers looking for third-place behind Kyle and Carl Edwards.

    SPRINT CUP (DRIVERS)

    Rank                         Points   LW

     1 Kyle Busch                   111    1
     2 Carl Edwards                  90    2
     3 Denny Hamlin                  78    4
     4 Jimmie Johnson                76    3
     5 Jeff Burton                   73    6
       Dale Earnhardt Jr.            73    5
     7 Clint Bowyer                  72    8
       Tony Stewart                  72    7
     9 Jeff Gordon                   54    9
    10 Ryan Newman                   53   11
    11 Kevin Harvick                 50   11
    12 Greg Biffle                   48   10
    13 Mark Martin                   34   15
    14 Kasey Kahne                   31   13
    15 Matt Kenseth                  26   14
    16 Martin Truex Jr.              24   20
    17 David Ragan                   20   15
       Kurt Busch                    20   15
    19 Brian Vickers                 19   18
    20 Juan Pablo Montoya            17   19

    Junior's crash really hurt Hendrick Motorsports in the team standings, as they lost a sure top-two finish and were led by Jeff Gordon's ninth-place result.  Last year, Hendrick only had three races where their best car finished ninth or worse.  This year they already have two and Joe Gibbs Racing has a 20-point lead on HMS.

    Richard Childress Racing's win was their second of the season (more than Hendrick, who amazingly have ONLY Jimmie Johnsson's mileage win at Phoenix), and they are solidly fourth in points.  Dale Earnhardt Inc. has surged in recent weeks, and with Mark Martin third and Martin Truex Jr. fifth, they were the only team with two cars in the top-five.

    SPRINT CUP (TEAMS)
    Rank                           Points
     1 Joe Gibbs Racing               162
     2 Hendrick Motorsports           142
     3 Roush Fenway Racing            131
     4 Richard Childress Racing       115
     5 Penske Racing                   56
     6 Dale Earnhardt Inc.             49
     7 Gillett Evernham Motorsports    33
     8 Chip Ganassi Racing             30
     9 Red Bull Racing Team            20
    10 Yates Racing                    18
    11 Robby Gordon Motorsports         8
    12 Petty Enterprises                6
    13 Michael Waltrip Racing           5
    14 Bill Davis Racing                2
       Haas CNC Racing                  2
    16 Front Row Motorsports            1
       Furniture Row Racing             1

    NEW FEATURE (maybe) - JJD's IMPROVED TOP-35 RULE

    A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that the top-35 rule would be improved if they limited it to the five most recent races run.  Right now, here is the "danger zone" over the last five:

    31 Michael Waltrip                358
    32 Matt Kenseth                   354
    33 A.J. Allmendinger              354
    34 Dave Blaney                    352
    35 Reed Sorenson                  344
    36 Michael McDowell               338
    37 Kurt Busch                     335
    38 Patrick Carpentier             323
    39 Sterling Marlin                310

    40 Joe Nemecheck                  281

    Look at who is in 37th - the #2 Miller Lite Dodge of Penske Racing.  That's what five weeks of 33/23/23/39/42 will get you.  He could have been forced to suffer the ignominity of using a provisional this week.  Also, Sterling's in his old #40 for Chip Ganassi this week, so he's listed in 39th.


    Denny Hamlin *did* get his coveted home-state win in the Lipton Tea 250 Friday night, using a late caution to pit for tires while the leaders remained on track, passing Kevin Harvick for the lead with nine scheduled laps to go, and holding on through a green-white-checkered finishing for his sixth career Nationwide/Busch Series-win (tenth overall).  Kevin Harvick nearly took his own car to Victory Lane for the first time, finishing second, while Steve Wallace, coming off a then career-best tenth in Mexico, finished fifth for a new career-high.

    NATIONWIDE SERIES
    Rank                         Points   LW

     1 Kyle Busch                   126    1
     2 Clint Bowyer                  92    2
     3 Carl Edwards                  80    4
       Kevin Harvick                 80    5
     5 Tony Stewart                  74    3
     6 David Stremme                 49    7
       Denny Hamlin                  49   16
     8 Brad Keselowski               45    6
     9 David Ragan                   43   14
    10 Mike Bliss                    42   10
    11 Jeff Burton                   40    8
    12 David Reutimann               39    9
    13 Scott Wimmer                  37   12
    14 Dale Earnhardt Jr.            36   11
    15 Jason Leffler                 33   13
    16 Matt Kenseth                  32   14
    17 Greg Biffle                   24   17
    18 Kasey Kahne                   23   21
       Bobby Labonte                 23   18
       Brian Vickers                 23   18
       Mark Martin                   23   18

    It definitely wasn't the dominating performance we've come to expect, but the #20 team won their fifth Nationwide race in a row.  Additional bonus for JGR:  Joey Logano, the 17-year old wonderboy who is poised to take the #20 seat after his 18th birthday, won the pole and led 257 of 312 laps in the ARCA race at Rockingham Sunday, so it apparently just keeps getting better for that team.  Harvick's runner-up finish moves his team up to third in the standings.

    NATIONWIDE SERIES (TEAMS)
    Rank  Car#  Owner                         Points

     1    20    Joe Gibbs Racing                 139
                Drivers:  T. Stewart (5 starts), Ky. Busch (3), D. Hamlin (3)

     2     2    Richard Childress Racing          92
                Driver:  C. Bowyer (11 starts)
     3    33    Kevin Harvick Inc.                85
                Drivers:  K. Harvick (8 starts), C. Gale (2), R. Hornaday (1)
     4    60    Roush Fenway Racing               80
                Driver:  C. Edwards (11 starts)

     5    29    Richard Childress Racing          77
                Drivers:  S. Wimmer (6 starts), J. Burton (5)
     6    18    Joe Gibbs Racing                  67
                Driver:  Ky. Busch (5 starts)

     7     5    JR Motorsports                    59
                Drivers:  D. Earnhardt Jr. (5 starts),
    L. Cassill (3), M. Martin (1), M. Truex Jr. (1), A. Fernandez (1)
     8    32    Braun Racing                      53
                Drivers:  B. Vickers (3 starts), D. Hamlin (3), Ky. Busch (3), J. Buescher (1),
    M. Jourdain (1)
     9    64    Rusty Wallace Inc.                49
                Driver:  D. Stremme (10 starts), M. Papis (1)

    10    88    JR Motorsports                    45
                Driver:  B. Keselowski (11 starts)

    11     9    Gillett Evernham Motorsports      44
                Drivers:  K. Kahne (5 starts)
    , P. Carpentier (3), C. Miller (2), E. Sadler (1)
    12     6    Roush Fenway Racing               43
                Driver:  D. Ragan (11 starts)

    13    17    Roush Fenway Racing               40
                Drivers:  M. Kenseth (3 starts), J. McMurray (1), E. Darnell (1)

    14    99    Michael Waltrip Racing            39
                Driver:  D. Reutimann (10 starts)

    15    16    Roush Fenway Racing               37
                Drivers:  G. Biffle (4 starts), J. McMurray (3), C. Braun (2)


    David Ragan's fourth-place finish led the Jack Ingram Cup crew and puts him back into the points lead ahead of Brad Keselowski, who finished 11th.  David Reutimann finished 18th and fell from a first-place tie all the way to fourth in the standings.

    TOP JACK INGRAM CUP FINISHERS
     1 David Ragan        (4th)
     2 Steve Wallace      (5th)
     3 David Stremme      (6th)
     4 Mike Bliss         (8th)
     5 Scott Wimmer       (10th)
     6 Brad Keselowski   
    (11th)
     7 Mike Wallace       (13th)
     8 Sam Hornish Jr.    (15th)
     9 Jason Leffler      (16th)
    10 Bobby Hamilton Jr. (17th)
    11 David Reutimann    (18th)
    12 Jason Keller       (19th)

    NATIONWIDE SERIES POINTS RESET ELIMINATING SPRINT CUP RACE WINNERS
    Rank                         Points

     1 David Ragan                 1699
     2 Mike Bliss                  1650
     3 David Reutimann             1646
     4 Brad Keselowski             1633
     5 Jason Leffler               1571
     6 Mike Wallace                1516
     7 David Stremme               1417
     8 Jason Keller                1385
     9 Steve Wallace               1381
    10 Kelly Bires                 1379
    11 Bobby Hamilton Jr.          1377
    12 Marcos Ambrose              1347
    13 Brad Coleman                1262
    14 Kenny Wallace               1151
    15 D. J. Kennington            1070

    OFFICIAL JACK INGRAM CUP PRESENTED BY JJD STANDINGS
    Rank                         Points

     1 David Ragan                  118
     2 Brad Keselowski              106
     3 Mike Bliss                   102
     4 David Reutimann              100
     5 Jason Leffler                 88
       David Stremme                 88
     7 Scott Wimmer                  64
     8 Mike Wallace                  48
     9 Kelly Bires                   45
    10 Dario Franchitti              44
    11 Bobby Hamilton Jr.            42
    12 Steve Wallace                 41
    13 Marcos Ambrose                35
       Patrick Carpentier            35
    15 Stephen Leicht                34

    Toyota and Chevrolet exchanged 1-2 finishes in the two races at Richmond, but Toyota picked up three points on Chevrolet for the weekend by leading the most laps and winning the pole for the Cup race.  Ford (Carl Edwards) led the most laps and a Dodge (Kasey Kahne) took the pole for
    the Nationwide race, a bright spot for Dodge in an otherwise dreadful season.

    MANUFACTURERS
    Rank                         Points   LW

     1 Toyota                       451    1
     2 Chevrolet                    436    2
     3 Ford                         340    3
     4 Dodge                        192    4
    0 (0 Ratings)

    JJD's updated points standings after Talladega (part 2)

    Thursday, May 1, 2008, 07:56 PM EST [General]

    I ought to put SOMETHING here so it doesn't go right into the stats and all that right on the main page, right?  That will just mess the whole thing up.  I've probably put enough.  Two intros for the same post is harder than you'd think.

    The winningest crew chief in NASCAR in 2008?  How about Joe Gibbs Racing's Dave Rogers, who is ONLY the crew chief for the #20 Nationwide team and doesn't appear to have any other at-the-track responsibilities for JGR.  His team won their fourth race of the season at Talladega, their second in a row and third with Tony Stewart behind the wheel.  Many of the usual suspects ended up at the front of the field, but the #70 (who finished fifth) and the #01 (twelfth) scored their first points of the season, thanks to a combination of the wackiness of plate-racing and Kevin Lepage's old lady move.

    NATIONWIDE SERIES (TEAMS)
    Rank  Car#  Owner                         Points

     1    20    Joe Gibbs Racing                 118
                Drivers:  T. Stewart (5 starts), Ky. Busch (3), D. Hamlin (2)

     2     2    Richard Childress Racing          88
                Driver:  C. Bowyer (10 starts)
     3    29    Richard Childress Racing          74
                Drivers:  J. Burton (5), S. Wimmer (5)
     4
       60    Roush Fenway Racing               71
                Driver:  C. Edwards (10 starts)

     5    33    Kevin Harvick Inc.                68
                Drivers:  K. Harvick (7), C. Gale (2), R. Hornaday (1)
     6    18    Joe Gibbs Racing                  67
                Driver:  Ky. Busch (5 starts)

     7     5    JR Motorsports                    59
                Drivers:  D. Earnhardt Jr. (5 starts),
    L. Cassill (2), M. Martin (1), M. Truex Jr. (1), A. Fernandez (1)
     8    88    JR Motorsports                    43
                Driver:  B. Keselowski (10 starts)

     9     9    Gillett Evernham Motorsports      42
                Drivers:  K. Kahne (4 starts)
    , P. Carpentier (3), C. Miller (2), E. Sadler (1)
    10    64    Rusty Wallace Inc.                41
                Driver:  D. Stremme (9 starts), M. Papis (1)

    11    17    Roush Fenway Racing               40
                Drivers:  M. Kenseth (2 starts), J. McMurray (1), E. Darnell (1)

    12    99    Michael Waltrip Racing            39
                Driver:  D. Reutimann (10 starts)

          32    Braun Racing                      39
                Drivers:  B. Vickers (3 starts), D. Hamlin (3), Ky. Busch (2), J. Buescher (1),
    M. Jourdain (1)
    14    16    Roush Fenway Racing               37
                Drivers:  G. Biffle (4 starts), J. McMurray (3 starts), C. Braun (2 starts)

    15    38    Braun Racing                      33
                Driver:  J. Leffler (10 starts)
          21    Richard Childress Racing          33
                Drivers:  B. Labonte (5 starts), S. Leicht (4)


    With several of the Cup race-winners in the field caught up in the big one, some JIC drivers had vvery strong finishes, including runner-up David Stremme, Bobby Hamilton Jr. with his best finish since he returned to the series last year, finishing third.  Mark Green had only the second top-five finish of his career (236 races!) with his fifth-place result.  Kertus Davis nearly scored his second career top-ten finish, coming home twelfth, and at 45, Donnie Neuenberger had his best career finish in 25 races, finishing 14th.

    TOP JACK INGRAM CUP FINISHERS
     1 David Stremme      (2nd)
     2 Bobby Hamilton Jr. (3rd)
     3 Jason Leffler      (4th)
     4 Mark Green         (5th)
     5 Mike Bliss         (7th)
     6 Patrick Carpentier
    (8th)
     7 Scott Wimmer       (9th)
     8 Mike Wallace       (10th)
     9 Kertus Davis       (12th)
    10 Donnie Neuenberger (14th)
    11 Eric McClure       (15th)
    12 Mike Harmon        (17th)

    Are these standings close enough at the top for you?

    NATIONWIDE SERIES POINTS RESET ELIMINATING SPRINT CUP RACE WINNERS
    Rank                         Points

     1 David Reutimann             1516
     2 David Ragan                 1514
     3 Mike Bliss                  1490
     4 Brad Keselowski             1483
     5 Jason Leffler               1433
     6 Mike Wallace                1370
     7 Jason Keller                1258
     8 Kelly Bires                 1255
     9 David Stremme               1252
    10 Bobby Hamilton Jr.          1243
    11 Marcos Ambrose              1238
    12 Steve Wallace               1211
    13 Brad Coleman                1156
    14 Kenny Wallace               1072
    15 Dario Franchitti            1035

    Not close enough?  How does a three-way tie for the lead grab you?

    OFFICIAL JACK INGRAM CUP PRESENTED BY JJD STANDINGS
    Rank                         Points

     1 David Reutimann               98
       David Ragan                   98
       Brad Keselowski               98
     4 Mike Bliss                    90
     5 Jason Leffler                 84
     6 David Stremme                 74
     7 Scott Wimmer                  54
     8 Kelly Bires                   45
     9 Dario Franchitti              44
    10 Mike Wallace                  42
    11 Bobby Hamilton Jr.            39
    12 Marcos Ambrose                35
       Patrick Carpentier            35
    14 Stephen Leicht                34
    15 Jason Keller                  30

    Holy smokes!  A Craftsman Truck Series race!  And since Kyle Busch was at Talladega, Ron Hornaday saw fit to gamble on fuel, getting the caution laps he needed to stretch his last fuel run to win the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 from Kansas Speedway.  The win is Hornaday's series record 34th in the Truck Series, and he extended his record for "wins by a driver with zero Cup wins" to 38.  The next active driver on that list, Jack Sprague (29 wins), finished second, followed by Colin Braun, who shook off the disappointment of Mexico City to finish third.  Scott Speed, who won the ARCA race at Kansas, finished eighth for his best career result.

    Hornaday's win means Kyle Busch is one point shy of leading the JJD points in all three NASCAR series.

    CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
    Rank                         Points   LW

     1 Ron Hornaday                  62    3
     2 Kyle Busch                    61    1
     3 Todd Bodine                   45    2
     4 Johnny Benson                 43    4
     5 Rick Crawford                 31    7
       Mike Skinner                  31    8
     7 Dennis Setzer                 28    5
       Matt Crafton                  28    5
       Jack Sprague                  28   16
    10 Chad McCumbee                 24   10

    After splitting the first two races of the weekend, Toyota and Chevrolet looked to be neck-and-neck after the Cup race, with Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. sharing the lead for much of the day.  Unfortunately for Chevrolet, the end shook out with a Toyota winning, followed by a surprisingly strong Dodge, who if nothing else have their plate-racing program together.  The leading Chevy was surprisingly Casey Mears, who finished seventh in the Hendrick Chevy, giving Toyota a 12-point lead headed to Richmond.

    MANUFACTURERS
    Rank                         Points   LW

     1 Toyota                       410    1
     2 Chevrolet                    398    2
     3 Ford                         319    3
     4 Dodge                        182    4
    0 (0 Ratings)

    JJD's updated points standings after Talladega (part 1)

    Thursday, May 1, 2008, 08:18 AM EST [General]

    I have a question.  The Aaron's 499 (I get it, but the name is still stupid) was Sunday, and it brought the usual complaints and compliments about restrictor-plate racing.  Personally, I thought the race was awesome even though it was very disappointing to see Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. get shuffled to the back of the pack - those guys trying to get back to the front pretty much caused the first "big one" - and not be able to be there at the end.  So far I've only read about two things coming out of that race:  the fact that two cars drafting by themselves could pick up ten miles per hour and blow by the whole field, and complaining that Kyle Busch put two wheels under the yellow line when he was making the pass that ultimately led to the win.  (IMO, Jimmie Johnson CLEARLY forced him down there, AND they had been a little liberal with cars touching the line all day, even warning a couple of the Dodges about it before one of the last restarts.)

    So, here's my question:  Anyone remember the 2007 Daytona 500?  You remember - restrictor-plate race (obviously).  Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin out front.  The whole field wrecks behind those two.  Clint Bowyer upside-down and on fire.  Remember how they ended that race?  I know you do.

    WHY DIDN'T NASCAR LET THEM RACE BACK TO THE CHECKERED FLAG?

    Same circumstances happened, except this wreck was further back in the back, and it was in turn 2.  The spotters would have gotten everyone slowed down going back into turn 2, you'd have to think.  No one was upside-down or on fire this time.

    I'm not saying NASCAR was completely wrong, but just like we're always complaining:  where is the consistency?  I'm totally shocked NASCAR threw the yellow when they were headed to a dynamite finish to end an incredible race.  Too bad.

    Kyle Busch won the Aaron's 499.  What more can you say about the kid.  Not even 23 years old, he's won seven times already this season.  His second win of the season moves him into the JJD points lead.  As often happens at plate races, some surprising names were in the top ten.  Juan Pablo Montoya - not getting nearly enough credit for outfoxing Jeff Gordon with two laps to go, finished second, David Ragan fourth, Brian Vickers fifth, and Travis Kvapil sixth.  The guy with the strongest car all day, Denny Hamlin finished third, and unfortunately (because they are two fan favorites and each would have been a great story) moke and Junior led a combined 107 laps but got caught up in the first "big one".  Junior rebounded to finish tenth, but Smoke was stuck with a 38th-place result.

    SPRINT CUP (DRIVERS)

    Rank                         Points   LW

     1 Kyle Busch                    95    3
     2 Carl Edwards                  84    1
     3 Jimmie Johnson                76    2
     4 Denny Hamlin                  74    6
     5 Dale Earnhardt Jr.            72    5
     6 Jeff Burton                   71    4
     7 Tony Stewart                  60    7
     8 Clint Bowyer                  51   10
     9 Jeff Gordon                   50    8
    10 Greg Biffle                   48    9
    11 Kevin Harvick                 45   11
       Ryan Newman                   45   12
    13 Kasey Kahne                   28   13
    14 Matt Kenseth                  26   14
    15 David Ragan                   20   20
       Kurt Busch                    20   15
       Mark Martin                   20   15
    18 Brian Vickers                 19   20
    19 Juan Pablo Montoya            17   36
    20 Martin Truex Jr.              14   17
       Casey Mears                   14   20

    Joe Gibbs Racing's big weekend, with only Joe Nemechek's surprising pole run preventing them from maximum points, puts them back in front of Hendrick Motorsports, who themselves had a surprisingly lackluster day on a track they typical dominate.  Junior was up front with the leaders all day, and obviously Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson were playing the "coast in the back for 150 laps"-strategy, but Mears' seventh-place finish was their best result of the day.  David Ragan's fourth-place finish salvaged a dreadful race for Roush Fenway Racing, as Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth finished 40th and 42nd with cars that couldn't keep right front tires (though Jamie McMurray was a very strong car all day).  Nemechek's pole was the first point of the year for Furniture Row Racing, but on a day where TWENTY drivers led laps, Nemechek failed to do so.

    SPRINT CUP (TEAMS)
    Rank                           Points
     1 Joe Gibbs Racing               143
     2 Hendrick Motorsports           137
     3 Roush Fenway Racing            125
     4 Richard Childress Racing        94
     5 Penske Racing                   48
     6 Dale Earnhardt Inc.             35
     7 Gillett Evernham Motorsports    30
     8 Chip Ganassi Racing             29
     9 Red Bull Racing Team            19
    10 Yates Racing                    18
    11 Robby Gordon Motorsports         8
    12 Petty Enterprises                6
    13 Michael Waltrip Racing           5
    14 Bill Davis Racing                2
       Haas CNC Racing                  2
    16 Front Row Motorsports            1
       Furniture Row Racing             1

    Saturday's Nationwide race, the Aaron's 312, will be remembered for a couple of incidents moreso than the actual race.  First, on lap 10, Dario Franchitti blew a tire and spun.  After the entire field missed him and Dario came to rest on the infield, Larry Gunselman came out of nowhere and drilled him like he was Cole Trickle and Drio was Rowdy Burns.  Thankfully Dario suffered ONLY a broken ankle, but he's out of the car for probably a month.

    That was only a warm-up for the REAL memorable wreck.  Kevin Lepage's "merging onto the freeway at 35 mph"-move right into the lead pack, obliterating a ton of cars.  They played the spotter audio and Lepage clearly just was daydreaming or something, and they call it an "accident" for a reason, but WOW was that one of the dumbest things I've EVER seen on a race track.  (Made worse by Lepage's inital denial of responisbility - "SOME cars missed me, so I don't know what the problem was."  At least he recanted that the next day.)

    Anyway, everyone who wants to shut down Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series, let me ask you this:  You expect me to believe that there are really guys being FORCED out of the Nationwide Series by "Buschwacking", when guys like Lepage and Gunselman and Morgan Shepherd are still making races?  Lepage, 45, at least has a couple of Busch Series wins on his resum
    0 (0 Ratings)

    Buschwacker Watch '08 (and Who's Who for Talladega)

    Thursday, April 24, 2008, 07:35 PM EST [General]

    Is it just me, or do there seem to be generally fewer Cup drivers driving Nationwide cars this year?  Last year, it seemed as though a top-ten finish was generally as good as a Busch-only driver was going to get, but this year we've already seen Scott Wimmer win a race, and top-five finishes from Marcos Ambrose and Brad Keselowski.  Sure, there are Cup drivers in every Nationwide race, but it FEELS like there are less than last year.

    One way to tell is by comparing last year's points after nine races with this year's points.  Last year, the top-20 in points looked like this.

     1  Carl Edwards             1525   CUP
     2  Dave Blaney              1101   CUP
     3  Kevin Harvick            1076   CUP
     4  Matt Kenseth             1048   CUP
     5  David Reutimann          1034   CUP
     6  Kyle Busch                970   CUP
     7  Mike Wallace              925   BUSCH
     8  Marcos Ambrose            921   BUSCH
     9  Bobby Hamilton, Jr.       920   BUSCH
    10  Denny Hamlin              917   CUP
    11  Regan Smith               894   CUP
    12  Stephen Leicht            866   BUSCH
    13  David Ragan               860   CUP
    14  Jason Leffler             852   BUSCH
    15  Jeff Burton               840   CUP
    16  Greg Biffle               840   CUP
    17  Juan Pablo Montoya        828   CUP
    18  Jon Wood                  793   BUSCH
    19  Steve Wallace             788   BUSCH
    20  Shane Huffman             786   BUSCH


    That was only EIGHT Busch drivers in the top-20 - not too many at all.  This year's top-20 looks like this.

     1  Clint Bowyer             1339   CUP
     2  Carl Edwards             1330   CUP
     3  Kyle Busch               1273   CUP
     4  David Reutimann          1195   CUP
     5  David Ragan              1165   CUP
     6  Brad Keselowski          1153   NWS
     7  Mike Bliss               1136   NWS
     8  Jason Leffler            1062   NWS
     9  Mike Wallace             1039   NWS
    10  Kelly Bires               996   NWS
    11  Kevin Harvick             977   CUP
    12  Jason Keller              944   NWS
    13  Marcos Ambrose            943   NWS
    14  Steve Wallace             922   NWS
    15  Bobby Hamilton, Jr.       890   NWS
    16  David Stremme             857   NWS
    17  Brad Coleman              839   NWS
    18  Kenny Wallace             817   NWS
    19  Dario Franchitti          785   CUP
    20  Kevin Lepage              713   NWS

    So, that's thirteen non-Cup drivers in the top-20 in 2008.  That's got to be pretty solid proof that the Nationwide Series is being run by less Cup drivers this year than last year.  No chance you'll read that on ESPN.com, though.

    Despite losing four drivers last week, we've still got sixteen drivers who have made all nine starts this season. Here is the list of guys who have run every Nationwide Series race this year, which will update next week to reflect the above driver changes.

    Carl Edwards
    Kyle Busch
    David Ragan
    Clint Bowyer
    David Reutimann
    Mike Bliss
    Mike Wallace
    Kelly Bires
    Brad Keselowski
    Jason Leffler
    Bobby Hamilton Jr. - skipped Mexico City
    Jason Keller
    Brad Coleman
    David Stremme - skipped Mexico City
    Marcos Ambrose
    Steve Wallace
    Robert Richardson - skipped Mexico City
    Eric McClure - skipped Mexico City
    D.J. Kennington
    Kertus Davis


    Here are the cars they are driving this week.  Combinations in
    RED have been in EVERY Nationwide race this year with the same driver, while combinations in BLUE have been in every race with various drivers.  Drivers who have started every race appear in BOLD.  These are ranked by NASCAR's owner points, but without points penalties deducted.

    Rank  #     This week's driver   Team
     1    2     Clint Bowyer         Richard Childress Racing
     2    60    Carl Edwards         Roush Fenway Racing

     3    20    Tony Stewart         Joe Gibbs Racing
     4    29    Scott Wimmer         Richard Childress Racing

     5    99    David Reutimann      Michael Waltrip Racing
     6    33    Cale Gale            Kevin Harvick Inc.
     7    6     David Ragan          Roush Fenway Racing
     8    88    Brad Keselowski      JR Motorsports

     9    5     Dale Earnhardt Jr.   JR Motorsports
    10    9     Patrick Carpentier   Gillett Evernham Motorsports
    11    40    Dario Franchitti     Chip Ganassi Racing

    12    38    Jason Leffler        Braun Racing
    13    22    Reed Sorenson        Fitz Motorsports
    14    7     Mike Wallace         Germain Racing
    15    1     Mike Bliss           Phoenix Racing
    16    47    Kelly Bires          JTG Racing

    17    21    Stephen Leicht       Richard Childress Racing
    18    32    Denny Hamlin         Braun Racing
    19    64    David Stremme        Rusty Wallace Inc.
    20    16    Greg Biffle          Roush Fenway Racing
    21    59    Marcos Ambrose       JTG Racing
    22    25    Bobby Hamilton Jr.   Team Rensi Motorsports
    23    11    Jason Keller         CJM Racing
    24    66    Steve Wallace        Rusty Wallace Inc.
    25    27    Brad Coleman         Baker Curb Racing

    26    61    Kevin Lepage         Specialty Racing
    27    4     Robert Richardson    Jay Robinson Racing
    28    41    Kyle Krisiloff       Chip Ganassi Racing
    29    28    Kenny Wallace        Jay Robinson Racing
    30    24    Eric McClure         Front Row Motorsports

    31    81    D.J. Kennington      MacDonald Motorsports
    32    18    Kyle Busch           Joe Gibbs Racing
    34    01    Kertus Davis         J.R. Motorsports
    38    52    Donnie Neuenberger   Means Racing
    39    05    Brett Rowe           Day Enterprises Motorsports
    40    90    Johnny Chapman       MSRP Motorsports
    41    91    Larry Gunselman      MSRP Motorsports
    42    89    Morgan Shepherd      Faith Motorsports
    43    70    Mark Green           ML Motorsports
    44    84    Mike Harmon          Elite2 Racing
    45    0     Dwayne Leik          J.R. Motorsports
          57    Justin Ashburn       Beahr Racing Enterprises
          75    Johnny Sauter        Bob Schacht Motorsports
    0 (0 Ratings)