1. Carl Edwards – Delivered the knockout punch to his teammate on lap 238 and went on to win the championship belt. That’s two back flips in six days and it’s also two victories with “creative alterations” on the car. The 99 team is proving that pushing the envelope pays…so far.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.- Finally figures out Vegas after years of bad finishes here. Jr. was clearly disappointed with his 2nd place finish and it was good to see him hungry for the checkered flag. He is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver in the top 10 in the Sprint Cup Standings. Who would have bet that?
3. Roush Fenway Racing – The most dominating team on Sunday. Edwards wins, Greg Biffle comes in 3rd, David Ragan finishes 6th and Matt Kenseth had a dominating car all day right up until Gordon nicked him and sent him spinning. Jack-pot!
4. Travis Kvapil- Ran a solid, smart race and his crew improved upon the unsponsored #28 Yates machine throughout to grab an 8th place finish. Can there really be anything left in NASCAR that is unsponsored? Especially a car in the top 35!?
5. Kasey Kahne- Fighting the flu, Kahne was undoubtedly “hot” with a fever but he battled back from being a lap down and brought home his Budweiser Dodge 7th. He hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 yet this year and so far has covered the spread each race in the Palms Casino Resort’s “Battle of the Beers” betting line.
NOT
1. The Wall – Tony Stewart wrecked twice this weekend seriously bruising his foot but at least he kept his pelvis in one piece. Kurt Busch’s tire exploded and he also took a hard lick into the outside wall. Finally, Jeff Gordon took a wicked hit near an opening on the inside wall and the front end of his car disintegrated. They were all shaken up, but thankfully okay.
2. Jimmie Johnson – Chad Knaus uttered three words over the team radio that described Johnson’s Vegas race perfectly: “pit stop practice.” The Champ is left hoping what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
3. Michael Waltrip Racing – 31, 37, and 39 were not lucky gambling numbers for the 55, 00, and 44 teams, it was their respective finishing positions. While the other Toyota teams have shown improvements, MWR is still struggling.
4. The Rookies (AGAIN!) – This time it was Dario Franchitti that finished highest among the rookies in 33rd followed by Regan Smith (34th), Patrick Carpentier (40th), and Sam Hornish, Jr. wrecked again (41st ). Déjà vu!
5. Pit Road – Many drivers were caught speeding on to or off of pit road or pitting too soon. There were incidents with too many crewmen over the wall, crewmen hitting the pavement, and a cameraman interfering with Edwards’ front tire catcher. It was like “The Strip” on a Saturday night.
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
Kristen,
Once again you do not fail to impress ma'chere. Girl my boy JJ is having a rough start to this racing season, it's disgusting. Gordons wreck Wow! that's all I can say other than thank God he or nobody else was seriously injured because of it. Good job sweetie as usual.
Super views, I wish to add:
I am wondering why Jimmy didn't go with Jeff's set up?
Hoping Jr. learns NOT to spin his wheels.
Drivers should not end up like Muhammad Ali, Gordon's crash was terrible and could have been worse, another driver should not have to die, Safety barriers are a MUST! Drivers must take a stand and we should help.
Hi Kristen: The wind was also wicked at the race track and I had odds on having a bad hair day. I won !!! LOL. Now I know I am from the windy city but that really got on my last nerve !! I actually felt the hit that Gordon took, and am still feeling it !!!! Francitti was up there for a while and he is the one crossover that I root for.
I was happy for Kvapil, good drivers out there struggling, its a shame.
Kristen - Nice Hot or Not column this week. Like all your picks, Rousch Fenway was certainly the team to beat this past weekend. And the wall definitely deserves the top honors for NOT this week.
Lori- Your nearly always the first to comment and I thank you for always starting it off so well! :)
Gambit- Your boy really struggled last week and I still don't know why. Million dollar answer...I havent forgotten, just havent found one I like yet! Its coming...
Vol- Those pesky computers! I have been out of service at my office so I have been a bit scarce too. Thank you!
Yee- LOL! I thought about putting the wall in HOT but then thought better of it! Glad you liked my attempts at pulling Vegas into it!
life raft- Thank you for commenting! I am not sure why JJ struggled, my guess is they will find something broke or ?? b/c it made no sense. I think Vegas will be getting safer inside walls too.
Firefly- I was surprised the show girls didnt lose their hair feathers or Jack Roush lose his hat! I hope your recoving along with your driver. He seems sore but ok today. Thanks for coming by!
Gerrel- Roush was on their game...only one not was Jamie which PAINS me as I just love him to death but alas, he is not performing well.
Kristen,
I'm not sure what's happening with JJ and all that but somebody needs to figure something out soon. As for the pic, you sound like me with my artwork. I never find anything I like but everyone else loves it. Trust me by the time I am done with it you'll love it. Whatever pic that may be, just ask Lisa she can vouche for that.
Last edited by gambitxxx on March 5th at 12:50 PM.
Kristen I just love that Jamie McMurray also, he has had a ton of bad luck the past few weeks and I will always stand by my feelings that luck plays out alot in the race game. I will always remember when Kurt's wheel came off right before pit road that year when he beat JJ for the championship by 9 points I believe. Kurt had the luck and JJ was still looking for that 4 leaf clover LOL. (PS Kurt had the luck and the skill that year to be champ :) but 9 points holy cannolli !!!!
gambii, I never watched the front cars because I was in a state of shock looking at JJ and hoping he was actually in the top 10, you know how you wish for something real hard and then actually believe it will happen LOL. I am sitting there and wondered if I got up and clicked my heels 3 times he would take the checkered.
LOL Kristin, bet the men at the race kept their eyes closly on those beautiful feathered show girls. Hey if you didn't want to pay the price for a driver hat, just sit still for a while and one would come flying by.
Kristen now that Carl has been fined and smacked down what is your take on it? As for Robby, I remember him saying he had the right nose by the book and everyone else had the wrong one, how will Nascar get out of that one LOL !!!
Firefly- Racing luck is very elusive but very good to have. I bet you increased your collection of driver hats this weekend! LOL So, if you were at the race, YeeMum heard a rumor that they announced Vegas was getting a second race THIS year. Did you hear that??
Tez- I thought I said "hasn't finished outside the top 10 yet this year"?? =) The back up car I missed though...
FireFly- Well, clearly the oil cover was a much bigger deal than the extra bend around the tires. Seems that the punishment fit the crime this time, IMO, and happy to see they took the 10 bonus points away so it essentially wipes out the win. I doubt this is the end of creativity though!! The teams are really struggling to get that car to hook up so they will try anything once I am sure.
Yee- I am waiting the Robby ruling, NASCAR has the opportunity to do right here but I dont trust them to do it!!
Forensic- Thank you...I am not sure how much advantage that really gave him, he still drove the wheels off that car so I will give him a hot and Bob Osborne who made the call a NOT!
It was on Nascar Now a few minutes ago, Chicago Time. The only thing I heard was that they were considering ixnaying the Fontana race in August due to heat and low attendance, it is also hot in LV but has a huge fan base and I would go in August, heck I would go to Las Vegas for every race if they had it every month LOL. Now Kristen if you come to Chicago in July for the night race let me know, I can get a comped hotel room from my sponsor friend for you !!!
GREAT POINTS, WAS GLAD TO HEAR HENDRICK RECOMMEND NOT GOING BACK IF THEY DON'T FIX THE WALLS. YOU KNOW THEY WILL, BUT CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WAS OVERLOOKED TO START WITH.
Kristen,
Just send both because I'm not quite sure which will workout best just yet. You still have my email addy? If not let me know I'll send a messege to your inbox here.
Kristen - Wow! You really thought through these things! Great job as always.
Do you think that all the good luck the Hendrick teams had last year is finally being balanced by bad luck this year? It seems like teams have years where everything goes wrong, then are golden.
IowaGirl, it is the color green that is all over Hendricks, racing superstitions says that green is unlucky in the race world. And isn't there some stigma attached to being on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Hey I am Italian and very superstitious, I better walk around the garage with some garlic cloves to get rid of the bad mojo.
Firefly- I'll be sure to let you know if I make it to Chicago ever! I am still working my "connections" to see if I can get some hot passes. I think NASCAR increased the money to make it hurt for not paying attention to details. NOt great but at least he got his points back. And its going to charity!!
GUNNY- I was also glad to hear Mr. Hendrick come out so strongly, I think Vegas will be changing that ASAP! Thanks for coming by!
Gambit- I've saved your emails...hope to do send a few tonight, just have to get on my other computer.
Iowa- Thanks! I try! LOL I do think "racing luck" is very streaky, I also think HMS might have been pretty distracted with Jr coming on board and some of their usual detail orientation may have gone out the window and the other teams caught them.
Kristen, good Hot or Not. I can't disagree with your choices, particularly Travis Kvapil. Great top 10 finish for a team that's in the top 35. They should have no problem staying in the top 35 for a good part of the season.
Kristen,
Great I'll be looking for your mail then. As soon as I get it I'll get right to work on it. Be sure to also include who your Fav. Driver is in that as well.
I needed one driver to fill out my roster for one of my fantasy teams. After cruising the lineup one last time I went with Travis Kvapil, and he finished 7th. What a stroke of luck. Great post, Kristen.
Jon- Thanks! It is sometimes very hard to just pick 5 but glad most folks agree with this list! Kvapil did great and got himself a sponsor for one race at least.
Gambit- hope to email you tonight!
DeG- Thank you! Look for it every Wed on the front page (at least thats the plan)
Kristen- I usually dont get sick. But the flu kind of snuck up on me. I guess it was all of the the tears of Jr's fans raining down on me after he wrecked. Ooops. Or did it actually rain.
Not = Hot Wheels fantasy racing team. Gordon, Kenseth, and Burton all in the top7 until "the crash". Burton finished in 5th, the rest of my team finished 20th and beyond.
That's not so good.
Definitely need good results at Hotlanta this week!
A rare SF NASCAR fan who loves her Arizona Wildcats as well. By day, a well respected Psychologist, on weekends "Start Your Engines!!"
Winner of the 2007 "Miller Lite Next Great Sportswriter" Contest and contributing writer on FOXSports.com .
