The Crappafoni Pictures crew is at the nation's auto capital, Michigan, for a second helping of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, northern BBQ style. Enjoy your postrace meal!
THE GOOD
Carl Edwards: as the race winner, he gets first billing. He had the best car, and his pit crew gave him consistently quick pit stops. A special shout out goes to his Roush Fenway Racing teammates: David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and Jamie McMurray. All five Roush Fenway drivers finished in the top 10. Good job, Cousin Carl and Roush Fenway!
Kyle Busch: for once (it only seems that way) he's not in the top spot. He did have a strong car and led 34 laps. But he didn't have quite enough for Edwards at the end; he thought he had "bad" tires.
Brian Vickers: early on, he looked like he was going to get Toyota's first win at Michigan. He started from the pole and led 21 laps. He spent all but ONE lap in the top 10, when he fell out during a round of green-flag pit stops.
Kevin Harvick: he started somewhere near downtown Detroit (Not really, but it seemed that way. He started 38th.) and worked his way up to an eighth place finish. He was easily the mover of the race, moving up 30 spots. He also gained three positions in the Chase. All in all, a very good points day for Happy and the #29 crew.
Elliott Sadler: he started third, and had a strong car much of the day. He was in the top 10 for 177 of the 200 laps. A very good run for E-Sad. Good job.
THE BAD
Marcos Ambrose: he blew an engine very early in the race and his day ended almost before it began. As the last place finisher, he gets this dubious slot.
Jeff Gordon: the #24 team is in freefall. A 42nd place finish leaves him in ninth place in the points standings, dropping three spots and his bubble is growing larger and larger.
Denny Hamlin: what looked to be a good points day went the other way when his engine blew with five laps to go. He now sits in the hot seat of 12th place in the Chase standings. Nice job of throwing your pit crew under the bus there, pal. I know you're frustrated and that you want to make the Chase oh so bad. The bright spot is that two of the last three tracks are at tracks where he runs well.
Kasey Kahne: he needed a strong finish to solidify his Chase chances. He didn't get it. His car was uncharacteristically bad. In fact, he was off the track for a period of time. When he returned, he was nearly 40 laps down. A 40th place finish just made his bubble a little larger.
THE UGLY
Marcos Ambrose: hate to put him in this category, but I must. We hardly knew ye. He was done so early, he could have been called The Phantom Race Car Driver. All part of the pitfalls of a Cup rookie--he runs very well one week and very bad the next.
Jeff Gordon: unless the #24 team can get out of the death spiral they're in now, they'll be on the outside looking in. While I think they will, they're no lock to be in the Chase.
Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours!
The ONLY good thing I get from that is they had an awesome car before that last pit stop that put Gordon back in the pack, so fast that I was watching the live race laps and he went about 20 straight laps as the fastest driver, something I haven't seen this year since Martinsville. Hopefully this is a sign that he'll do good again at the Auto Club Speedway, and if he can just get through Bristol and Richmond I think he'll be fine.
Tyler, as good as Ambrose ran last week, he was just as bad this week. THAT was ugly! As for Gordon, I still think he's going to make it, but I don't see him being a factor in the Chase itself. But it seems like positions 10-13 don't want to get into the Chase.
Another frustrating race for "Blaniac Village", (we are no-where near a nation). We get used as a pit lane bumper car, then we start moving past everyone like there's no tomorrow, before Paul Menard (in Webster's under "Field Filler") decides the race is getting boring and decides to cause an accident.
Even when Dave doesn't screw it up by himself, someone always helps him out.
Death spiral is a good use of terminology. As I said before, on my blog, I think the #24 team has been in the "protect" mode, kind of like being in a "Prevent" Defense, and its come back to bite them in the butt. They tried to play the points game to ensure they would have a spot, and now they are close to being "bubblemen". You could hear the palpable desperation in Jeff's voice during the race, on the radio, and also in the interview he did while his car was being loaded up. His pit crew had terrible pit stops and his team is in turmoil. Only 3 races left, but the odds are not good for the 4-time champ.
jbroomy, Paul Menard's picture is under the definition of "Field Filler." Blaney did look good early on before the wreck. He was an innocent victim of someone's screw up.
I'm not so sure you can quickly rule out Gordon as a Chase contender...
Loudon- Top-5 car all day long earlier this year, and two seconds last year, all in the COT, he should run well there.
Dover- Top 5 all day long, just a tick off the pace of the leaders, should have a solid run there.
Kansas- Sister track to Chicagoland, where he had a top-15 car all day long and if he could have gotten track postition possible a top-10. Should get at least a top-15.
Talladega- Do I really need to explain this? lol
Charlotte- Top-5 earlier this year, though on strategy. BUT his lap times were close to those of the top-10 all race long, he just never had the track position.
Martinsville- ^^See Talladega explanation above^^
Atlanta- Earned pole and ran top-5 all day long earlier this year, should expect at least a solid top-10.
Texas- Wee can afford a mulligan, can't we? lol, I don't think he'll be as bad as he was in April, but I wouldn't expect more than a top-20 regardless.
Phoenix- Last year won here in COT, and had a solid top-15 car earlier this year here.
Homestead- Gordon's 1.5 mile and 2 mile program seems to be improving lately, which leads me to believe he'll have a solid top-10 run here as well.
If Gordon can just avoid engine troubles and wrecks, who knows... consistency DOES pay off.
Of course, first he needs to MAKE the Chase, lol.
Last edited by tylerhead24 on August 17th at 4:07 PM.
Roy, if Gordon does make the Chase, he'll be limping in with zero momentum. It's a battle of attrition. He has to really dig deep and decide if he wants it that badly or if he wants the season to end.
Tyler, he has to have a solid top 10 finish in Bristol; otherwise, his Chase chances may be done.
Good list Jon...Although JJ and JR need to join JG on the Bad list IMO. JG will be alright, no one but Edwards and Kyle have any 'MO heading into the chase except maybe your boy Harvick. JG's team is a class act all the way.
As long as he avoids DNF's these next three races he should be fine, he's got an ok cushion for now on 13th, and he also has three other drivers between him and Bowyer/Ragan.
Kristen, thanks. You did a great job yourself at Michigan! JJ was never a factor after that cut tire. If not for a late caution, he'd have finished around 30th. If Harvick can somehow get a top 10 at California (he SELDOM runs well or has bad luck there), he'll be fine for the Chase. I think he wins either at Bristol or Richmond.
Tyler, that's the key--avoiding those bad DNF's. It's not that both Bowyer and Ragan aren't that far off, it's that they have to beat other drivers just as hungry.
Photogr, Michigan is the house that Roush built. Thankfully it's done till next year. I see one of their drivers slipping up before the Chase.
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.
