This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew traveled to Chicagoland. Now that the race is over and the film has been edited, we present to you, deep dish pizza style, this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

THE GOOD

Kyle Busch: as this week's winner, he automatically gets first billing. He led 165 of the 267 laps, but had to overcome Jimmie Johnson in a two-lap shootout at the end to win his seventh Cup race of the season. At the rate this season's going, he may be at this spot the rest of the season. 

Jimmie Johnson: his car got stronger as the race went on. Led 15 laps and may have won if not for the last caution (David Gilliland blowing an engine).

Kevin Harvick: night time was the right time for Happy. He started 13th and quickly worked his way up through the field; at one point he was in second place. He finished third, right on Johnson's back bumper. This was a MUCH needed result for Happy; he is currently in ninth place in the points.

Greg Biffle: led 43 laps in this race. At one point he was a lap down but got a much-needed long green flag run to get back into the top 10. Gambled on pit strategy to get track position and a caution shortly thereafter helped lock him in. Finished a strong fourth.

Tony Stewart: the announcement of his future seemed to relax him. He drove like the Smoke of old. Had a great car on short runs but faded on long runs. Spent all but three laps inside the top 10. He'll find Victory Lane soon.

Honorable Mention: Red Bull Racing, Ryan Newman, Roush Fenway Racing, Martin Truex, Jr., Jeff Gordon.

THE BAD

Michael McDowell: as the last place finisher, he gets this dubious distinction. He's a field filler.

Travis Kvapil: just when I was about to be sold on him, he comes up with this turkey of a race. Especially when he's so close to his native Wisconsin.

Sam Hornish, Jr.: he seemed to be out there admiring the track and its scenery a little longer than the other drivers out there. TRANSLATION: he was SLOW.

Terry Labonte: I know he's doing the best he can with crappy equipment. Let's face facts, PE has crappy equipment. He's probably thinking, I came out of retirement for THIS? The only positive is that he has younger brother Bobby for a teammate. Hell, I even put him in the Good category of an earlier GB&U.

THE UGLY

David Gilliland: blew an engine with 8 laps to go to bring out the final caution of the race. He blew it in the worst possible place: right after he passed the entrance to pit road.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: started second and went steadily backwards as the race went on. Although he finished on the lead lap, he was never a factor. His crew totally missed on the setup and when that happens, it's going to be a LONG evening. His car was tight and no matter how much they did to loosen it up, it stayed tight pretty much the whole race.

Denny Hamlin: his car lost power early in the race due to ignition issues. His crew changed the entire ignition system in the #11 FedEx Toyota. When he returned to the race, he was threatening to be the first driver in the Bad category. Through attrition, he gained a few spots, finishing 40th. Took a serious hit in the points due to Harvick, Kenseth, Biffle, and Stewart finishing in the top 10.

Clint Bowyer: he's going in the wrong direction in the points. A few weeks ago, he seemed to be a lock to be in the Chase. Now he's 13th in the standings after a 22nd place finish. Spent only two laps in the top 10. 

Jeff Burton: started third and quickly went backwards. At one point in the race, he was 37th. It took a free pass for Burton to get back on the lead lap. Did manage to finish 19th, but it could have been much worse.

Carl Edwards: was in contention for the win until his splitter broke. He lost a lap under green when he went to the pits to repair the splitter. He lost another lap due to the tremendous aerodynamic disadvantage this gave him.

Those are my nominees for the race! 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 presents to you the northeast edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The spaghetti is on the side, with the main course being an authentic Philly style cheesesteak sandwich. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Kasey Kahne: as the winner of this race, he automatically gets first billing. He had the best car all day and earned his win. Way to go Kasey!

Red Bull Racing: both of its drivers finished in the Top 15. Brian Vickers finished 2nd, and A.J. Allmendinger finished a career-best 12th.

Labonte Brothers: Bobby piloted the #43 General Mills Dodge to an 11th place finish. Elder brother and teammate Terry finished on the lead lap in his first race in a year. Good job guys!

Kurt Busch: a very solid top 10 finish for the 2004 champion. Perhaps this will turn his season around.  

Kevin Harvick: he started 42nd due to a battery issue. Fought his way to a 13th place finish, a great finish considering his car was a marginal top 20 car. Kudos to Harvick's pit crew for getting the car better as the race went on.

Honorable Mention: Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Burton.

THE BAD

Kyle Busch: what was he thinking when he was trying to beat Jamie McMurray to a spot early in the race? Bad Kyle. BAAAAD Kyle. He and McMurray made contact and Busch hit the wall, effectively knocking him out of the race. He came back later in the race but was unable to gain any positions, finishing 43rd.

Sam Hornish Jr.: he was involved in more than one accident. He finished 42nd, 69 laps down. Hopefully he'll rebound from this race and have better results.

Dario Franchitti: like Hornish, was involved in more than one accident. He couldn't seem to stay away from Hornish as they were involved TWICE.

Jason Leffler: finished 59 laps down driving the #70 Haas-CNC Chevrolet.

THE UGLY

Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya: their crash started when Bowyer got loose on lap 82. Montoya had nowhere to go and t-boned Bowyer, causing major damage to both cars. Montoya's car eventually caught on fire. They both would eventually return to the race but would finish many laps down. For Bowyer, his Chase chances took a major hit.

TNT: the coverage was inconsistent at best, horrible at worst. The racing on several occasions was interrupted by unscheduled commercials that would run a few seconds before someone realized their mistake. OOPS! Since it was TNT's first race of the season, perhaps their coverage will get better.

Those are my GBU nominations for the race. Feel free to come on in with yours!