This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the capital of NASCAR, Charlotte, for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Served slow-cooked, with hickory-flavored BBQ sauce and corn on the cob. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jeff Burton: as the winner of this race, he automatically gets first billing. He stated before the race that he needs to win races in order to have a shot at winning the championship. Tonight was an excellent start. Additional props go out to his pit crew; they were ON tonight. On every pit stop, they gained at least one position. And on three stops alone, they opted for gas only. Pit stops like that throughout the race WILL get it done. They also gained two positions in the points and now are less than 70 markers behind Jimmie Johnson. Great job, Jeff and the #31 crew!

Kasey Kahne: after the very last pit stop, his car came to life and he rapidly moved through the field. He just didn't have enough laps left to catch Burton. Still, second place is nothing to sneeze at.

The Busch Brothers: Kurt finished third and Kyle finished fourth. Like Kahne, Kurt Busch's car got stronger as the race went on. Kurt got as high as second before settling for third. Kyle started 11th and immediately charged to the front. He led 14 laps and got out of the Chase basement with that strong run. While I'm not normally into pink, Kyle's pink M&M's paint scheme was SWEET.

Jamie McMurray: he rounded out the top 5 and for once didn't have idiots surrounding him. When he has a strong car, and he did tonight, he knows how to run up front. A lot of his bad finishes are due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting caught up in someone else's mess. Props to McMurray for not overdriving the car and knowing what kind of car he had.

Jimmie Johnson: he led the most laps in the race, 67, but faded a bit down the stretch as he was racing with Burton for the lead after the last caution. He used up too much of the car and faded from second to sixth. Still, he didn't take a major hit.

Mark Martin: not bad for a part-timer. He still knows how to run up front and still is competitive. Now that he'll be driving for Hendrick Motorsports in the #5 full time next season, look for him to win a race and make the Chase. He spent almost two-thirds of the race in the top 10.

Paint Schemes: Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte, and Elliott Sadler sported pink paint schemes for breast cancer awareness. For further information, go to Susan G. Komen For The Cure. 

Honorable Mention: Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, David Ragan.

THE BAD

Carl Edwards: he had ignition issues that kept him on the pits for an extended period of time. When he returned to the track, he was 16 laps down in 40th place. A sub good to Edwards for gaining seven spots through attrition. While he took a major hit in the points, dropping from second to fourth, it could have been MUCH worse.

Casey Mears: he was the Field Filler of the Day. Zero laps led. Zero laps in the top 10. He finished three laps down.

Bill Elliott: I admire that he still has the fire in the belly to race, but the Wood Brothers are no longer among the top owners in NASCAR and haven't been since Kasey Kahne was in diapers. He was competitive as recently as 2003, but he's no longer competitive. With the Wood Brothers being a single car operation, it's much harder to be competitive in today's NASCAR. A sub good to Elliott for finishing eight spots higher than he started.

Dave Blaney: he narrowly misses winning the Field Filler of the Day because of his higher finish than Mears. Plus, he finished higher than he started. Like Mears, zero laps led, zero laps in the top 10.

THE UGLY

AJ Allmendinger: that was a doozy of a wreck he was involved in early in the race. He had a one-race deal with Michael Waltrip Racing and the race ended VERY early for him. He did lead one lap early on, a sub good for that.

Mike Skinner and Ken Schrader: the two veteran drivers tangled in a wreck in which neither gave the other position. It all started when Michael Waltrip made contact with Skinner as they were three wide down the stretch. As Skinner was regaining control, he made contact with Schrader, who wasn't yielding his position. Had Schrader yielded, there wouldn't have been a wreck.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: he cut a tire just before he was about to pit anyway, wrecked, and caused major damage to the #88 Chevrolet. While he didn't lose a position in the standings, he lost MAJOR points due to his 36th-place finish.

Matt Kenseth: he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got tangled up in a five-car accident on lap 194 that caused major damage to his #17 Ford. He finished 41st and dropped to 11th place in the standings.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours! 

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew presents to you this week's version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Served Southern-style, with all the fixin's. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Tony Stewart: as the winner of this race, he automatically gets first billing. The win broke a 43 race winless streak. This is Smoke's first win at Talladega. Way to go Smoke!

Regan Smith: finished a career-best second place. While he never led a lap, he gave it his best effort to win the race, but came up just short.

DEI: with Smith, Paul Menard, and Aric Almirola, they finished 2-3-4. A HUGE shot in the arm for the organization.

Elliott Sadler: he had a strong car all day and led four laps en route to a fifth-place finish. Excellent effort.

Scott Riggs: he's very rarely been mentioned in any of these categories. He finished tenth and led four laps. A good job by a driver that's looking for a ride next season.

Honorable Mention: David Ragan, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Bobby Labonte. 

THE BAD

Ryan Newman: as the last place finisher, he gets this dubious spot. He had mechanical issues all day. I wonder if he's counting down the days until he joins Stewart-Haas Racing?

Sterling Marlin: while he did well to qualify, his car also had mechanical issues.

THE UGLY

The Big One: the first one happened on Lap 69 and involved nine cars. It started when Brian Vickers' right front tire exploded and the following drivers were involved: Vickers, Martin Truex, Jr., Almirola, Kasey Kahne, David Gilliland, Terry Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Mike Skinner, and Tony Raines. NASCAR threw a red flag that lasted for 17 minutes.

The Big One, Part 2: this happened on Lap 174, and unlike the first one, this one had HUGE championship implications, as several Chase drivers were involved. A total of 12 drivers were involved: Carl Edwards (who started it), Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil, Joe Nemechek, Reed Sorenson, and Juan Pablo Montoya. The first six are all Chasers. Another Chaser, Jimmie Johnson, NARROWLY escaped being involved. IMO, this clinched a third straight title for Johnson. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and Johnson was LUCKY. How he escaped, I have no earthly idea. I'll have something for Edwards later on.

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew serves up a smoking hot slab of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, BBQ style, complete with corn on the cob, baked beans, and a side of salad. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jimmie Johnson: as the race winner, he automatically gets first billing, and a healthy cyber helping of ribs, baked beans, salad, and Pepsi to wash it all down. He started from the pole after Juan Pablo Montoya's pole-winning qualifying effort was disallowed (more on JPM in a later blog). He led the most laps in the race. Great job by the #48 and his crew!

Roush Fenway Racing: I'm putting ALL the RFR drivers together in this category. Four of them (Edwards, Kenseth, Biffle, and Ragan) finished in the top 10 and with Jamie McMurray, all of them finished on the lead lap.

Jeff Gordon: not a bad finish for someone battling flu-like symptoms throughout the race. He was edged out at the line by Greg Biffle for third.

Kevin Harvick/Jeff Burton: the RCR teammates both started at the back of the field (Harvick started 36th and Burton started 43rd after a tachometer change as he began to leave pit road). It didn't take them long to charge to the front and stay there. While they didn't have the oomph to contend for the win, they had enough to stay in the top 10. But the way Edwards and Johnson are running, top 10s won't be enough to stay in the Chase for long.

Clint Bowyer: he had an eventful day to start. First he was black-flagged for passing on the start of the race. Then he goes a lap down. He gets a free pass, then he starts working his way towards the front. Unfortunately, he faded to a 12th place finish.

AJ Allmendinger: he finished a career-high 9th place in what may have been his final race for Team Red Bull. Whoever ends up with Allmendinger will be getting a driver starting to find his groove in the second half of the season.

Elliott Sadler: a very good, and much needed, top 10 finish for ESad. Had a strong car throughout the weekend; he started fourth and finished 10th.

Honorable Mention: Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Casey Mears.

THE BAD

Scott Riggs: had mechanical issues throughout the race, including spending time in the garage for an extended period. He finished 42nd.

Kyle Petty: if Petty Enterprises is to become a viable team again, he needs to find a quality replacement for him in the #45 car. It's become very painful to watch him race. A bright future awaits him in the booth, as he is one of the better commentators.

Joe Nemechek: what was this #### doing RACING with the leaders at the very end of the race? Dude, you're a field filler now, let Johnson and Edwards race to the finish and move the *bleep* out of their way.

Robby Gordon: consider his little experiment of owning a one-car team over. He was halfway decent when he was driving for RCR, winning some races and putting together some top tens. He's a field filler now. He's been rumored to go to DEI next season.

THE UGLY

Kyle Busch/Tony Stewart: both JGR teammates had their issues today. Busch had issues early in the race with a sputtering engine. Fortunately for Busch, the issues worked themselves out and he even led a lap. But they didn't work themselves out well enough, as he later fell two laps down. He finished 28th. As for Stewart, he and Brian Vickers were involved in an incident in which Vickers and Stewart made contact, sending Stewart sideways into the infield grass and damaging his front splitter. His car lost downforce as a result and he spent two minutes in his pit stall as his crew repaired the damaged splitter. In the process, he lost six laps.

Martin Truex, Jr.: he had such a strong run in which he was in the top 10 much of the race; in fact, he led some laps and got the five bonus points. Unfortunately, a transmission failure relegated him to a 43rd place finish. That's UGLY.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours. 

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew goes to the most hallowed ground in motorsports, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for this week's spaghetti western version (be sure to avoid the debris from used tires!) of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

THE GOOD

Jimmie Johnson: as the winner of this race, he automatically gets first billing. He had the best car all weekend and showed why he isn't ready to give up his title without a fight.

Carl Edwards: on numerous occasions, he had come up to Johnson's back bumper but couldn't pass him. When Johnson inherited the lead after the final pit stop, Edwards could come no closer than a car length. Still, he had a very stout race car all day.

Denny Hamlin: as much as I've been ragging on him all season, he deserves and has earned his props. Used brilliant pit strategy to finish third. Great finish, and it comes at a much-needed time.

Elliott Sadler: a very solid top 5 finish. He stepped his game up and stayed in the top 10 for 102 of the 160 laps.

A.J. Allmendinger: have to give him props for his first career top 10 finish (he finished 10th), at the Brickyard, no less. Perhaps he can use this to turn his season around.

Roush Fenway Racing: if not for Matt Kenseth's right rear tire exploding on him, they would have had all five drivers in the top 15. More on the tire issues later.

Honorable Mention: Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne.

THE BAD

Tires: I normally put the 43rd place driver here, but the tires were so bad, NASCAR had to impose competition cautions throughout the race. The tires kept wearing out much faster than usual, leading to both Juan Pablo Montoya and Matt Kenseth bringing out cautions due to the bad tires. It's time for NASCAR to open up the competition for other tire companies to come in, like Hoosier, Firestone, etc. This is what happens when you have a monopoly.

Michael Waltrip: he finished last after getting in a wreck with Paul Menard very early in the race.

THE UGLY

Tires: because of the competition cautions, the race was choppy and had no rhythm to it. Who was good on short runs? Who would have been good on long green flag runs? A sub good to the last few laps' shootout between Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.

Kurt Busch: he got loose and hit the wall, collecting Kevin Harvick in the process. A sub good to Harvick for gaining several positions through attrition.

The race itself: aside from the shootout, it was long and drawn out due to the tires. It wasn't the typical Brickyard 400.

Those are my nominations. Feel free to come in with yours.

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!   

Crappafoni Pictures proudly presents this week's version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, presented with a Michigan twist.

THE GOOD

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: as the race winner, he automatically gets first billing. Congratulations on breaking a two-plus year winless streak! I've said that he'd win at a track that he wasn't expected to win at. Michigan qualifies for that! This was Chevrolet's first win at Michigan since June 2001, when Jeff Gordon piloted his Chevrolet into Victory Lane.

Kasey Kahne: had a strong car both early and late. Fuel strategy allowed him to finish a strong second.

Roush Fenway Racing: four cars in the top 10 will get you in this category. Jamie McMurray got a free pass, and his car got stronger as the race went on.

Red Bull Racing: Brian Vickers finished 4th, and A.J. Allmendinger finished 19th. Vickers may have had the car to beat had it not been for that last caution.

Tony Stewart: his car ran in the top 10 much of the day, culminating in a strong 5th place finish.

Elliott Sadler: finished strong in 9th. He had a strong car much of the day, spending much of it in the top 15.

Honorable Mention: Jimmie Johnson.

THE BAD

Dario Franchitti: as the last-place driver, he gets first billing in this dubious category. Better luck next week, D.

Juan Pablo Montoya: I think he unloaded a bad car and it got much worse as the race went on. He finished nine laps down.

Bill Elliott: the former champion has turned into a field filler. As recently as 2002 he was in the hunt for a championship. As much as I like Bill Elliott, I think it's time for him to hang up his helmet and enjoy retirement.

THE UGLY

Ryan Newman: the Daytona 500 winner had mechanical issues and spent a LOT of time in the garage. He finished in 42nd, 89 laps down.

Robby Gordon: a hard crash on Lap 152 ended his day early. He'll be a factor next week at Sonoma.

J.J. Yeley: had mechanical issues and spent time in the garage. He returned to the race to finish 87 laps down.

Dave Blaney: he brought out the first caution of the race when a rear axle broke. He returned to the race and actually picked up four positions through attrition. A sub-good for that.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours!