First, what a relief not to have weather issues cause havoc on the race weekend. Secondly, congratulations to Carl Edwards on winning the race. He's definitely had the best car on the track 2 races in a row now. They'll head to Atlanta next week to try and make it three straight.
Let's move on to this week's race awards:
Surprisingly Good Finish: I'm giving this one to Travis Kvapil. He took the unsponsored #28 of Yates racing to a top-10 finish. Honorable mentions go out to David Ragan and Jeremy Mayfield.
Most impressive performance: Going to give this to one of the Roush drivers. And that's Greg Biffle. He had that #16 near the top 5 the entire race, and wound up in a much-deserved 3rd.
Perserverance: I'm also going to give this one to Kvapil. The first 100 laps, this car was mired outside the top 30....a 100 laps later, the car was in the top 15. He took what was barely a top 20 car and turned it into an 8th place finish. Honorable mention to Kasey Kahne, for taking a car that was at one time 1 lap down and finished in the 6th position.
Deserved a Better Finish: For the 2nd time in 3 races, this one goes to Jeff Gordon. Had a top 5 headed his way, until his car slid up and made contact with Matt Kenseth late in the event and had to settle for a 35th place finish. Honorable mentions to Kenseth, Scott Riggs, & Kurt Busch
Should've Stayed in Bed: While some would say Jimmie Johnson, I'm going in the direction of Clint Bowyer. Bowyer spent most of the first half of the race running outside the top 35, and it wasn't until the very end of the race that he finally cracked the top 30. Johnson & Tony Stewart get honorable mentions in this category.
Surprisingly Bad Finish: I mentioned his name in the previous category. None other than Tony Stewart, who finished in the shotgun position, 43rd. Let's add Gordon, Busch, Johnson and Bowyer as honorable mentions.
From Saturday's Nationwide race, my impressive performance recipient is David Stremme, taking a 5th place finish.
Next week it's Atlanta. Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks. For one reason, it's one of the quickest, if not the fastest track on the circuit, and it offers side by side racing. All 3 of NASCAR's national series will be taking to the track with Trucks on Friday, and the Nationwide Series on Saturday joining the Cup series.
Carl had the better car cause his cover was off his oil pan box. His car has failed post inspection and last week his car was past with NASCAR making notes, due to how much metal was around the wheel wells and warning teams not to push that spot on the car.
Monday...I like your post. It's a great idea.
I would like to recognize Ken Schrader for staying on the lead lap all day in the most underfunded team out there. Started 19th, 21st place finish.
I think NASCAR should get some sort of award for turning an exciting Sunday afternoon into nap time.
Thanks to NASCAR and their Cookie Cutter tracks...same track different city...they have helped me catch up on much needed sleep....2 weeks in a row. Thanks to NASCAR, I don't have dark circles under my eyes today.
Very nice blog. Some of the drivers who finished in the top 10 certainly was a surprise. And the 43rd finish for Stewart was a heartbreaker for this team. Well hopefully Atlanta will have better results for this team.
