Fresh off winning the 2007 TNQC, Jimmie Johnson set about making sure he stayed on top by snagging pole position for the Daytona 500 with Michael Waltrip alongside him. Dale Earnhardt Jr and Denny Hamlin shared the second row of the grid as they quickly got to terms with their new rides for '08.
Rain was the main course at Fontana so the points from Daytona stood as they headed to Vegas. Hometown boy, Kyle Busch, showed that he's doing his best to prove to Rick Hendrick that he made a mistake by letting him go last year as he took the pole while Carl Edwards would start next to him. Dale Jr, by dint of Johson and Waltrip struggling to find the one lap pace to start near the front, leads the Qualifying Championship with Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Busch and Johnson nipping at his gearbox.
"I'm sorry, your name was Jimmie who again?"
Tez's NASCAR Qualifying Championship - standings after 3 rounds:
1 - Dale Earnhardt Jr, 81 points 2 - Carl Edwards, 78 points 3 - Jeff Gordon, 75 points =4 - Kyle Busch, 72 points (1 pole) =4 - Jimmie Johnson, 72 points (1 pole) 6 - Mark Martin, 66 points 7 - Michael Waltrip, 60 points =8 - Denny Hamlin, 45 points =8 - Casey Mears, 45 points =10 - Ryan Newman, 39 points =10 - Mike Skinner, 39 points =10 - Reed Sorenson, 39 points =13 - Greg Biffle, 36 points =13 - Tony Stewart, 36 points 15 - Scott Riggs, 33 points 16 - Kurt Busch, 27 points =17 - Kasey Kahne, 24 points =17 - Elliott Sadler, 24 points 19 - Patrick Carpentier, 15 points =20 - Bobby Labonte, 12 points =20 - Matt Kenseth, 12 points =22 - David Ragan, 9 points =22 - David Reutimann, 9 points 24 - Juan Montoya, 6 points 25 - Kevin Harvick, 4 points 26 - Dale Jarrett, 3 points 27 - Kenny Wallace, 1 point
After a rather unexpected victor in Ryan Newman won at Daytona, it looked like we were back to business with HMS being the team to beat as first Jeff Gordon and then Jimmie Johnson took turns at the head of the field. But it was to prove irrelevent in the end as the weather made the race go into Monday. And, it was the Roush team who ended up going to victory lane again at Fontana as Carl Edwards took the eighth win of his career.
He didn't have to wait long to win his ninth race either...just six days in fact. Now, there is a little black (fluid) cloud over his Vegas win so we'll see what happens with that. Vegas had me scrambling around for clarification over who finished sixth; Kasey Kahne or David Ragan. Sites were split as to who finished in front ofthe other while the foxtrax gave them the exact same time for crossing the line...but I've gone with Ragan in sixth and Kahne seventh, so tough bikkies if you lose out by two points at seasons end, Kasey.
With the win, Edwards flipped over Kyle Busch who is having a similar start to this season as last; having a great car but not closing the deal.
I still say one of these days he'll misjudge that.
Tez's NASCAR Race Championship - standings after 3 rounds:
So there we go, every driver who has scored points in both titles is there...I shall just list the top 20 each week after this I think. Thumbs up to Kvapil for a great finish at Vegas and thumbs down to no one mentioning it...guess that's due to not having a sponsor on the car which is a pathetic reason but very much in keeping with NASCAR.
I did manage to find one article that ralated to Travis's finish but I still reckon he deserved more of a mention on the day - might have even helped the team find a sponsor.
Like seeing Mark Martin in sixth. Well at least he had a great qualifying position last week. Unfortunately he wont stay up there in your standings, since he's only racing part time this year. :(
I do believe that one of the commentators said that Carl's Car Owner or crew chief asked him to do the flip out into the grass and not on the track. I noticed that he did that these last two wins, I think. Of course either way, landing on his head, won't do him too much good.
Tez is a rare creature; an Australian who was living in New Zealand before moving to Canada. He's also a Civil Engineer who is hoping to spend his Monday to Friday sitting in front of a computer surfing the inter...uh, working hard for an Engineering Consultant or Contractor when he finds a job. His heart is torn between his two loves; F1 and NASCAR.
Due to his high interest in those, his blogs will likely focus on them with the occasional foray into sports that don't get much (if any) mention on this website. All blogs and/or comments will more than likely have his usual dollop of sarcasm and general Aussie spin on them.
Amazingly, he also managed to score 2 MiB nominations on consecutive days (August 5 & 6, 2007) after announcing he had been keeping track of them...he's considering hiding under his bed as a result.
