This week, Crappafoni Pictures heads clear across the country, to the great northeast, to present to you NASCAR's spaghetti western version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, served with a side of Bahston-style clam chowder. (Perfect for the rain at Loudon) Enjoy!
THE GOOD
Kurt Busch: as the race winner, he gets first billing. Used great pit strategy to inherit the lead right before the rain came; otherwise, he was a sitting duck. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
Casey Mears: had a strong car all day and was poised to steal a win before the rain came. Led more laps in this race than the entire season combined. He'll be a valuable asset to a team like GEM Racing. (Imagine the Casey and Kasey Show!!)
Elliott Sadler: E-Sad's car got stronger as the race went on. Like Kurt Busch, he benefitted from excellent pit strategy. A strong and much-needed top 5 finish.
Martin Truex, Jr.: while he was never really a factor to win, he kept the #1 Chevrolet in the top 10 much of the race.
Tony Stewart: led the most laps, but was snakebit again, this time by the rain. May have had the car to beat if not for the rain.
Denny Hamlin: spent nearly the whole race in the top 10. While he didn't lead a lap, he spent 267 laps in the top 10. Good job.
Honorable Mention:Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon.
THE BAD
Patrick Carpentier: a surprising pole winner, Carpentier quickly fell backwards, eventually finishing two laps down. He did lead the first four laps before giving up the lead to Kevin Harvick. On the bright side, he did collect 5 bonus points for leading a lap.
Haas-CNC Racing: both Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter finished at least three laps down. It won't be that way if Tony Stewart buys the team and puts himself and Ryan Newman in those seats.
Paul Menard: no laps in the top 10, and was getting in everyone's way; he nearly caused an accident that would have collected Kevin Harvick and others. A field filler. When TEI closes its doors, he'll be out of a job.
Terry Labonte: why, oh why, did you come out of retirement? And to an organization that's in disarray? I get that you and your brother want to be teammates again. But PE is not nearly the organization it used to be.
THE UGLY
The Rain: kept the race from reaching its conclusion.
Jamie McMurray: he was involved in the last accident that brought out the caution, right before the rain came. He plowed into Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as Junior was entering the pits. Then he came down into the path of his teammate David Ragan and clipped him, sending Ragan into the wall and ending his day.
Kyle Busch: he and Juan Pablo Montoya had a little tete a tete during the last caution. They decided to play bumper cars. I'm sure had they had a Harvick-style confrontation, Montoya would have snapped the Shrub in half like a twig. Busch's boneheaded move nearly collected a few other cars right behind them.
Michael McDowell: his blown engine capped a crappy day. He did a good job in steering the car to the bottom, below the apron, and exited via a service road.
Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to chime in with yours!
Nice list. Menard will always have a job as long as his last name is Menard, and as long as they give sponsorship money to whatever team he goes to.
I doubt Tony will hire Newman. They are far from friends, and other drivers, just as good as Newman are available.
I'm with Ty, JPM belongs in the Ugly. He also tried to wreck his teammate, Sorenson. Just because JPM stood up to, and pushed Harvick all around last year doesn't mean he could do it to Kyle.
Yeah, that JPM has a reputation that precedes him. My bad for not putting him in the Ugly. He and KB were playing bumper cars throughout that lap and it was going to come to a head sooner or later.
IF Smoke does buy Haas-CNC, who goes into the second car? Truex? That's very possible.
Athens, it's possible that the 88's spotter never warned McMurray's spotter that the 88 was about to pit. It's also possible the 88 decided to pit at the last minute and didn't give fair warning. Either way, it was unfortunate for McMurray.
I had the Kyle Busch thing the other way around- I thought it was Montoya's fault. But then again, I'm not a hardcore NASCAR guy, so what do I know? If it makes you feel any better, my friend predicted your boy Harvick would win today.
Oh, and by the way- congrats to those Fresno State Bulldogs! Unprecedented, and simply amazing!
TSI, I'm sure NASCAR took both Montoya and Busch behind the woodshed. I should have said there was enough blame to go around. Harvick got bit by the rain--he had a certain top 10 car, maybe top 5. The field fillers that stayed out on the last caution got lucky. When Waltrip finishes second and Yeley finishes third and those were the ONLY times they were in the top 10, it's sheer luck.
Hey did you hear..Jamie is trying out to be the fourth car for Gibbs...He was doing as Kyle did...Lol..Sorry couldnt resist. He didn't even take blame and say I a sorry.. What a guy...
Good point, Pop. Where is all the righteous indignation from Jr Nation? McMurray did not appologize, or even take the blame for knocking Jr into next week.
Photogr, thanks. Fuel strategy was becoming a factor before the last few cautions, then you had guys in the back stay out and ended up with excellent results. Michael Waltrip finishing second? J.J. Yeley finishing third? Those two NEEDED those results in the WORST way.
Kristen, thanks. I was thinking of you as well when NASCAR declared Kurt Busch the winner. Happy looked good early, struggled midway, and was looking good late.
Noahspop, there DEFINITELY was a miscommunication involving Jamie. How else do you explain the accident?
Gerrel, both Waltrip and Yeley NEEDED those results. It was Waltrip's best finish since leaving DEI. It was Yeley's career best finish.
Lisa, he made an excellent rally late--too bad the rain came. Otherwise he had the car to beat.
Volfan, thanks.
Falcons, I'm glad that Jamie Mac took full responsibility for the accident.
I am from Central California. I am passionate about sports, particularly the NFL and NASCAR. My favorite teams are: Panthers (NFL), Lakers (NBA), Flyers (NHL), and Dodgers (MLB). I am also a Kevin Harvick fan in NASCAR. I am a Fresno State honk. (I'll admit it!) And I am also a fan of MMA. Jackie Robinson to this day represents what is right about baseball. I also enjoy discussing the relevant (and sometimes irrelevant) issues of the day pertaining to sports. I will never understand why televised poker is so popular. Who wants to see a bunch of people sitting around a table, muttering to themselves? I do my best to keep politics out of my sports discussions. That is why I recently created a nonsports blog, cencalscribe. blogspot.com. That is where I post my nonsports topics.
