1. Kasey Kahne – Lowe’s Motor Speedway is now Kahne’s house as he became only the sixth driver ever to win the All-Star Race and the 600 back to back. Kahne methodically worked his way through the long race and had his No. 9 Budweiser Dodge up front to take advantage of Tony Stewart’s mishap with two laps to go. He climbed two spots to 12th in the point standings and got a celebratory bath from his Gillett Evernham Motorsports teammate, Elliott Sadler, who also had a good run finishing eighth.
2. Kyle Busch- Once again, Rowdy proved he has matured by battling through handling problems that put him a lap down mid-race and he didn’t need no stinkin’ free pass to get back on the lead lap either, he got it back the hard way. Busch also battled a bad battery but brought his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota right back to the front to finish third. The candy man won the Nationwide race the night before to make that a grueling 900 laps this weekend--your points leader is driving like a champ.
3. Gas Gamblers – Jeff Gordon knew his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet was a 10th place car at best as he was mired one lap down most of the race. He gambled on fuel and it paid off with a fourth place finish and Big Daddy maintained his10th-place spot in the points. His teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. looked to finally win as he led the most laps on Sunday but blew a tire, smacked the wall, and got a “no-call” gift from NASCAR that allowed him to hang around and play the fuel mileage game as well. Junebug finished fifth with a beat-up National Guard car and retained his third place spot in the standings. Sometimes it pays to be lucky, good, and the favored son.
4. Greg Biffle- Seemed destined to have a frustrating night as he nearly lost his No. 16 DISH Network Ford with a flat tire, then lost a lap after having to stop when a ¾-ounce wheel weight came off the right front. Add to those headaches, he had to use Denny Hamlin’s race car to #### debris off his grill to avoid overheating and later feared he had yet another loose wheel. Good thing this race was 600 miles because the Biff needed every one of them to get this second-place finish. Always the bridesmaid—and to the same bride!
5. David Reutimann- Maybe some of Big Brown’s speed is rubbing off on the No. 44 UPS team as Reutimann got a solid 10th-place finish on Sunday night. It was his best finish ever in his Cup career. All of the Toyota teams had moments of brilliance during the Coca Cola 600 and with runs like this, a Toyota other than one owned by Joe Gibbs Racing will find Victory Lane.
NOT
1. Tony Stewart – Smoke worked hard to stay on the lead lap while he waited for the sun to go down so he could get his car to turn. He amused himself by beating up on Juan Pablo Montoya and by bringing the field to the green WAY too slow on lap 305, causing the drivers behind him to stack up and wreck. The No. 20 Home Depot Toyota was a lock to win until he blew a right front tire with two laps to go and ended up one lap down in 18th. Karma?
2. Jimmie Johnson- Chad Knaus said he took the speed out of the No. 48 Lowe’s machine to get it to drive better and J.J. was up front at the 500 mile marker. Unfortunately, not only did they give up speed, but the motor also gave up with 49 laps to go and Johnson ended up with a 39th place finish and fell three spots to ninth in the points. Teammate Casey Mears, the defending race winner, did not even get a mention the entire broadcast--I am not sure which is worse.
3. Leading- The Beast of the Southeast had it in for the leaders during the Coca Cola 600. Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart were all out front when they blew tires or broke wheels and smacked into those SAFER Barriers, eliminating their chances to win despite having dominant cars. Perhaps the track itself was angry at the loss of its favored leader, Humpy Wheeler, and got some payback…stranger things have happened.
4. Brian Vickers- The No. 83 Red Bull Toyota was racy early as Vickers led 61 laps. Unfortunately, his All-Star pit crew didn’t get those lugs tight and he lost his entire left rear wheel and hit the wall hard. The wheel was hit by David Gilliland and took a scary ride over the infield fence into a camper. Luckily, no one was injured. His 42nd place finish dropped him three spots in the standings to 20th.
5.Clint Bowyer – The No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet had a horrible qualifying run, bad practices, and was on pit road by lap 19 with an overheating problem. Bowyer went down several laps early and was never a factor in the Coca-Cola 600. Bowyer and crew need to step it up to stay in the race for the Chase or Cinderella won’t be returning to the ball this season.
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.
I THINK YOUR RIGHT ON...SMOKE WAS READY TO GO TO VICTORY CIRCLE..AND BAD LUCK STRUCK HIM AGAIN..IF NOT FOR THE BAD LUCK..HE WOULD HAVE AT LEAST 3 WINS THIS SEASON..AND THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT FOR HIM SEEING HE USUALLY DOENST START WINNING UNTIL JUNE AND JULY
K, I like the list again. I especially like Hot #5! That young man is racing his heart out each week and he keeps improving. I think he 'got messed over' by NASCAR when they wouldn't let him take his points to his car after he changed cars. JMO
Smoke- Tony has had some incredibe bad luck this year, but since most don't expect him to win til after May, I guess it could be said he is doing ok! Thanks for coming by and commenting.
Lori- =) Wait to you see my GGW blog! LOL Its good we are friends...Smoke had the worst of it with the tire going with 2 laps to go. I read he was kicking cabinets in his hauler...I didn't do the HAAS cars, too many other notables. Montoya and losing his cc could have been on there too.
Vol- Thanks! I agree, David has been improving by leaps and bounds and should have been able to take those points.
Kristen,
Just your normal, average, perfect list again. I sort of looked at this one from a team perspective and would have to reluctantly give Roush Racing the hot team award. I think they had four cars in the top twelve if I remember correctly.
Also, you know I'm not a Smoke fan but I actually felt bad for both Tony and Vickers. Those guys both had heart breaking finishes to their otherwise strong performances.
So I guess what you are saying is that if Jeff Gordon does it is is ok, but when Stewart did it is was wrong. Rowdy and Gordon even got into it after the race, but I guess Gordon now gets a pass on the things he does.
Kristen- Good stuff. Smoke along with the other Toyotas of JGR once again looked tough. Smoke really good until bad luck once again caught up to him. He deserves alot of credit for waiting late in the race to make his move. Back in the day he would have burned out his car trying to run up front whether he had a car that could or couldn't.
It is really starting to get me thinking about my next blog about Toyota. Hmmmm. Even though Jr did get an early Xmas present. It was good to see him get that 5th place finish. His car looked something out of a demolition derby. Sam Hornish Jr also had a good run early in the race.
Lori- Your additons are always welcome! As is everyone elses! I am pretty sure it was Tony who turned them in to get a better deal on buying the team! LOL
Dave- I am sure it wasnt advertised in Indy...did you go to the 500?
Hoosier- Roush was impressive with their runs but not as impressive as they had been in the past. It is difficult to only pick 5 sometimes. I felt bad for all the leaders, Smoke got the worst of it with only 2 to go, but Kurt looked great up front only to get snake bit, Jr and Vickers both wanna win too...bad bad bad to be a leader. Thanks H!
Oh, PS- HOOSIER- Now admit it, when it looked like Blaney might inherit the win late in the race were you and Broomy sweating bullets you just might have to come out to CA and worship me?!?!? LMAO
Liz- Not sure what you are referring to that Jeff did or didnt do?
Ellory- Ah ha, THANK YOU for catching that...you are correct, he maintained his 10th place spot in the standings. I will go and fix it in the blog.
3fan- Smoke was putting together a calculated run there but alas, to no avail. Sam Hornish, Bobby Labonte and David Ragan all had good runs on Sunday too. Thanks for coming by...
I guess I have to disagree with the comment that Kyle Busch has matured.
I watched him give Jeff Gordon the finger for racing him hard. Earlier in the night, he raced his brother pretty hard but no finger passed back and forth.
The Shrub has to grow up. He's certainly driving like a champion, he just has to stop acting like an ####.
Doesn't NASCAR issue additional penalties for each race a few days into the following week, if there are any handed out? If so, when will they issue any additional race penalties for the 600? Inquiring minds...
Bobb- Noted...I did say driving like a champ, he is dealing better with adversity with his own race car but yes, he still is 23 and feeling his oats these days. Thanks for commenting!
Dwindy- NASCAR will levy penalties and fines usually on the Tues or Wed following the race. I assume you are waiting on the HAAS penalties?
Nique- That is a good guess...perhaps he can promote the carpenter that fixes his hauler cabinets? (Just kidding all you #20 fans!!)
From Dirtsquirt...that was posted on the wrong blog:
Kristen,
Kasey didn't benefit from Tony Stewart's mishap any more than Tony benefitted from Kasey's bad green-flag pit stop. Also, Tony was most likely a victim of same setup that brought him to the front. He probably was able to lift a little less because he had more camber in the front, and the camber came back to bite him when it wore the tire out.
Let's give Kasey credit for a great race. He earned the victory, it wasn't a gift.
And from Adventureous1, also on the wrong H/N Blog:
Tony Stewart is a big cry baby. He whines and crys, and drives like a spoiled brat kid. I think his team should let him go, and bring up another young driver. I can outdrive Tony. He would more than likely wreck, if he was on the track by himself, lol.
Gambit- I am sorry your boy is having such a tough season...I don't think he will be the one most on the NOT list but I am sure it feels that way now!
(Fav. person in the world! wow...that is sayin something. No need to thank me...what shall I sing next?)
Dirtsquirt- Kasey could not have won if Tony didnt blow that tire, otherwise, Kasey gets all the credit for being up front and racing well. He is #1 on the list afterall!
Adventureous- I can see your not a #20 fan...To his credit, he drove a patient race on Sunday and to have a tire blow with 2 to go is a heart breaker.
Great list again this week, kris. I'm glad you found a way to get E Sad on the Hot side. Also I would submit Bobby Labonte for Hot this week. You wouldn't know it by watching the TV broadcast, but he did finish 11th.
GoKyle- Yup, he got it back the honest way...you missed a good race for your driver!
Nique- Some would say really cute drivers are always hot...now the definition of cute depends on who you ask! Kasey is a cutie for sure...
Hanahan- Thanks...I had to get ESad in there for s2dsayer and Sadler Nation! I had Labonte (and Hornish Jr) on the short list for Hot, glad others noticed his stellar run in very subpar equipment.
Great stuff ! I know its a broken record from me but its true.BUT ! You knew a but was coming. Do we know it was the pit crew on Brian Vickers car, cause like me Hanana and others are up in arms to why this is happening. So just wanted to know if that was inside info ??
Forensic- Thank you. What I heard DW speculate was that the crew didnt tighten the lugs on that wheel early on in the race so over time it wore out the threads and they could never get it tight enough, so it kept wearing down the threads on the stud until they just snapped. Much like what happened with Jr at Atlanta. I haven't heard anything different yet...I will be asking about that adhesive in the garage at Sonoma though!
Gambit- ...love shack, baby love shack...hop in my Chrysler, its as big as a whale! and were about to set sail!
Tyler- Ok, I laughed out loud with that comment! He was on the hot list until lap 597!
Tez- =) Thanks for giving my boy some props! Kahnetoad! Come on...something more like Kasey-poo would be better! Your boy is on fire at Lowe's though!
JW- LOL, you look cold in that avatar! I think you could have been a fly in anyone's garage within 10 stalls of Tony's and still catch what was going on...Thanks for coming by!
Smoke is getting the bad karma from his two bratty teammates. Then of course he has said Goodyear is lousy too and they were for him Sunday night. My opinion...Zippy and the guys are working hard. Smoke passed a ton of drivers so....it's only a matter of time he wins. Remember beer bottles were flying on the track, one hit Kasey that was meant for Kyle. Who is to say Smoke didn't run over some leftover glass? All I can say is if he has to keep putting up with those two brats and now add Joey Lagano to the mix and he's the odd man out with these young upstarts who think they should get respect before giving it.
But in all seriousness... how is Kyle Petty not on the HOT list? He finished 36th! And they say he shouldn't drive anymore! That 36th is for the doubters!
You're spot on about Bowyer. He was NEVER a factor in the race. Harvick was almost the same way. He had to get TWO free passes by the time the night rolled around. But when it did, his car came to life.
smokes- I agree he and Zippy worked long and hard to get the #20 up front, and have been all season, but he has no luck. He sounds like he is jumping ship before he becomes the old man on the team...I just hope he doesnt go the way of Robby and struggle worse as a team owner. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Tyler- you are on fire today boy! =)
jon- Bowyer was outstanding in how off he was...Happy at least dialed it in but I know it bugs you to watch him need those free passes! Thanks!
Gerrel- Welcome back from Indy! Love your new avatar...Your defnitely one of my loyal readers if you can tell when I have a new name on the list!
Noahspop- Yep, they were very lucky that tire didnt hit the BBQ that was right there up against the fence...
Kevdog- Finally Dodge is back in Victory Lane...hope that means those Dodge boys are hitting on some good setups finally. Not sure if Smoke even wants a Toyota win! LOL Thanks for coming by...
Im late to the party..lol. Great list as usual. I was heartbroken for Smoke but that's all part of racin. Glad to see some people who dont usually get them get some props for the good stuff they're doing this year. On to Dover...
Kristen, you can bet your sweet dollar that had there been no free pass, the leader would have kept Harvick two laps down. That's part of old-school racing and I'd understand why he would have been two laps down.
Yeah, I was bagging on the free pass in an earlier blog; how ironic that Happy needed TWO of them to stay in the race!!
At least Tony didnt stay on the track to bring out a caution. When Hamlin blew a tire no caution was called as well, I guess they didnt want a repeat preformance of richmond. As for Jr he did catch a break,and its about time he has had a lifetime of bad breaks rolled into a few years. As for Brian Vickers I feel for him he definately had the best car in the field his time will come.
sweetk- Your just fashionably late! Smoke will get his, no worrries!
jon- Irony is nothing new in NASCAR eh? Happy wont need them this weekend I hope!
smoken- :) You Smoke fans...thanks for coming by!
tokken- Tony brought out the caution instantly so he didnt have the option of staying out...but I doubt he would anyway with 2 to go. Jr is due for sure, maybe with his 300th start at Dover he will get the win. Vickers would be my bet to win in a Toyota. Thanks for reading and stopping by!
I think you are CLEARLY biased. MANY drivers do the same thing on restarts, and Montoya is as rough a driver as they come. Tony got screwed but thats okay he usually comes back...with a VENGENCE.
BIB20- Well, I call them like I see them, so whenever someone else brings the field to the line so slow and wrecks everyone, they will get a Not too...Tony will be back with a vengence...no argument there! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
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 .
