Well, Kasey "The Kandy Man" Kahne proved the fans that voted him into the All-Star race knew what they were doing with his surprising victory last night even though most of his competitors had newer tires than he did during the final segment. His many fans can only hope this was a precursor to better days ahead as he recaptured his Lowes Motor Speedway magic.
I think there were four other "Big" surprises last night and the engine problems of JGR were not one of those surprises. TRD has proven they are ahead of the curve with their engine program this year and what better event to experiment with additional changes that might tweak out a few more horsepower. That effort will continue to pay dividends for all the Toyota teams.
Here are the other four big surprises I saw last night:
Sam Hornish, Jr. looked like he finally belonged in Cup racing last night. He has done little to show me he has grown as a Cup driver before last night but he was very racy finally. He has plenty of talent so last night was a long time coming.
Jeff Gordon was last among HMS drivers and never seemed to improve his car through any of the segments. You have to wonder how Jr. and his suspect crew chief can continue to outperform the 24 team but it may be time for a new crew chief for Jeff.
Kurt Busch was woeful and that is probably being kind. He just wasn't competitive and looked like someone who has continued a long downward career slide for quite some time.
Richard Childress Racing didn't have anyone looking competitive last night either. Harvick was eleventh, Clint was 18th, and Jeff Burton was 20th. Not the way any three car team wants to leave such a big event, especially at Lowes.
The good news for Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and the Childress guys is that it was a non-points race but the bad news is there is a huge points race next week on the same track. I know all their fans hope the surprise next week is positive while Kasey and Sam just want to perform at the same competitive level.
OK, I know every Cup fan could come up with a different list of "The 20 Most Talented Active Drivers in Cup Racing" so I'll throw my list out and look forward to hearing who you think I left off that should be included and who I included that you feel shouldn't have been.
The only caveat is that you must realize there is a difference between listing The 20 Best Active Cup Drivers and The 20 Most Talented Active Drivers in Cup Racing. I'll illustrate that significant difference while presenting the list.
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have to be the top two on my list. Their winning percentage and championship runs speak for themselves. Johnson gets my nod for number one but boy would I have liked to seen the difference if they had swapped crew chiefs the past couple of seasons.
My next two are Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. While Kyle hasn't been around long, I give him a slight edge over Smoke.
Carl Edwards gets my nod at number five although his most recent win was certainly tainted with compelling evidence that there was intentional cheating.
Sixth through Tenth in Order: Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Dale Jr., Ryan Newman, and Mark Martin.
I'd put Kenseth, Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Kasey Kahne in the next group but I have to add Juan Pablo, Dario, and Sam Hornish as being arguably more talented than any of those four. While they haven't shown their full talent in a Cup car yet, they proved plenty in open wheel cars to earn spots on this list (which again is not a list of the Top 20 Cup Drivers but instead is a list of the 20 Most Talented Drivers in Cup Racing).
That leaves three spots and my picks are Denny Hamlin, a 3-time Cup race winner and two guys with single victories so far in Cup racing, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers.
Notably Absent: Robby Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex, Jr. and ???
I know Robby has tremendous car control and talent but what has he really done with it? As for Bobby, his winning percentage is 12th best of the drivers listed above, but he is with a bad team and on the down side of his awesome career.
So, now it's your turn and I look forward to reading your comments.
