Another Saturday night race is in the books. Crappafoni Pictures presents to you the spaghetti western version of Darlington, served with a Palmetto State twist. Welcome to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Darlington style.

THE GOOD

Kyle Busch: as the winner of the race, he gets first billing. Also had to overcome numerous issues in the pits, mainly involving lug nuts. Also had to overcome a pit penalty. At 23, he becomes the youngest driver to ever win at Darlington. He tamed the "Track Too Tough To Tame." 

Roush Fenway Racing: aside from Greg Biffle, the other four drivers finished in the top 20. Great run by them. Even Biffle led numerous laps before his transmission blew.

Jeff Gordon: very strong run by the four-time champion. Showed why he's a four-time champion by fighting an ill-handling car much of the race to finish third.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: a very strong run all race long. Had a top-five car and finished about where he should have. A win is coming very soon.

Travis Kvapil: he went old-school by displaying Fred Lorenzen's original paint scheme and did him proud, finishing in the top ten. Maybe Kvapil hit on a great idea..

Honorable Mention: Dave Blaney (his best run of the year), Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart/Juan Pablo Montoya (both made up a lap the hard way--by being faster than the leader and passing him near the end of the race).

THE BAD

Kyle Petty: as good a guy as Petty is (and he is one of sports' great humanitarians), it's time for him to step out of the car and run Petty Enterprises' racing operations. It pains me to say that because he is such a good guy.

Robby Gordon: had a bad car all evening and finished six laps down. Was hardly mentioned and seldom got "face time", meaning that his car was hardly shown on TV.

Reed Sorenson: a season of maddening inconsistency continues. He'll run well one week and horrid the next. He's got the talent to compete on a consistent basis, but he's got to learn to put together consecutive good races.

THE UGLY

Kevin Harvick: was running sixth when his car suddenly and inexplicably snapped loose and crashed, rearranging the car's rear end in the process. After major repairs, he finished 39th, 102 laps down. He also took a hit in the points standings as far as number of points. He only lost two positions in the standings. A silver lining: he keeps his streak of consecutive races without a DNF alive at 55 races. (He holds the record at 58, and if memory serves me correctly has finished 113 of his last 114 starts) 

Greg Biffle: was leading the race when he reported a vibration and came on to pit road. A few laps later, he was done, the victim of a transmission failure. He finished dead last.

Patrick Carpentier: was having a very strong run until he blew an engine; in fact, he led at one point in the race after starting 43rd. Give this guy time; he has shown flashes of talent.

Those are my nominations. Feel free to chime in with yours!  

Crappafoni Pictures presents to you the spaghetti western version of Richmond, with a mid-South flavor. Sit back and enjoy!

THE GOOD

Clint Bowyer: as the winner, he automatically gets first billing. He was the beneficiary of a late caution involving Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch. On the restart, he sped away to let Mark Martin and Busch battle it out.

Mark Martin: speaking of Martin, he was consistently in the top 5 throughout the race. A very solid finish.

Jeff Gordon: he battled a very ill-handling car, at one point going a lap down. Battled back from that to finish in the top 10.

Richard Childress Racing: besides the winner, the other two cars (Kevin Harvick, 8th and Jeff Burton, 11th) had very solid finishes. As of tonight, all three of the RCR drivers are in the top 5 in the point standings.

Joe Gibbs Racing: has all three of its drivers in the top 8 in points. All three cars ran well tonight, particularly Denny Hamlin. Hamlin ran a near-perfect race until he had a tire go down very late in the race. Hamlin led a track-record 381 laps in tonight's race.

Honorable Mention: Martin Truex, Jr., Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Reed Sorenson.

THE BAD

J.J. Yeley: he was the one that started the big one on lap 230 when he went into the wall after making contact with another car. Cars behind him started checking up, creating an eleven car accident. I'm sure he feels pretty bad about it.

Michael Waltrip: he was parked by NASCAR after he and Casey Mears were involved in a wreck. Waltrip intentionally pushed Mears the length of a straightaway after the accident; hence Waltrip being in effect ejected by NASCAR. I have a special treat for Mikey tomorrow.

Matt Kenseth: his bad season continues. Was caught up in that 11-car crash on lap 230. Fortunately, he was able to improve a few positions once his crew fixed the car enough to warrant him going out and turning laps.

Jimmie Johnson: was never a factor in this race. Missed the setup on the car and never really recovered. Finished 30th, 9 laps down.

THE UGLY

The Big One: no, this isn't Talladega. But the 11-car accident on lap 230 sure had the makings of a Talladega-style accident. The accident brought out a red flag that lasted 21 minutes while the track was being cleaned up from liquids and assorted debris. Patrick Carpentier got the worst of it, getting hit multiple times from multiple angles. He'll be a hurtin' unit come tomorrow morning! 

Denny Hamlin: after leading a track-record 381 laps, he suffered a heartbreaking flat tire and tried to hang on as long as possible. Finally, the tire gave up and he parked himself on the high side of the track, bringing out a caution as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was catching up to Kyle Busch. NASCAR parked him for two laps for intentionally bringing out a caution. I say good for NASCAR! 

Michael Waltrip: seriously, WHAT THE F*** WERE YOU DOING pushing Casey Mears after he got loose and made contact with you, causing an accident? Then dumping him into the wall afterwards? YOU WERE NOT ON THE LEAD LAP!!! Mears WAS on the lead lap! And what the F*** were you doing RACING him in that situation?? I'm glad NASCAR parked your #### for the rest of the race. Then your #55 team should have to serve a one-race suspension for your antics. I have a special treat for you tomorrow. 

That's all I have for this race. Feel free to come on in with your nominees!