1. Kyle Busch – Rowdy was the first non-Roush-Fenway driver to lead multiple green flag laps at Dover and when he did on lap 236 he said “buh-bye” to the rest of the field and cruised again into Victory Lane. He continues to be the most exciting driver on the track and showed he is listening to feedback--his post race interview was polished. Take another bow, Kyle!
2. Roush Fenway Racing – Had all five drivers finish in the top 15 and had several moments of the most domination during the race on Sunday. Greg Biffle led the most laps of the race, but had an alternator problem that left him third. However, he made the biggest jump in points to sixth. Carl Edwards dominated the middle of the race, and despite some entertaining hand gestures, he couldn’t quite catch Rowdy at the end. Matt Kenseth had hisbest run of the year as he finished fourth and is up to 16th in points. JamieMcMurray qualified fifth and kept his car up front most of the day to finish 10th. David Ragan rounded out the bunch,continuing his solid string of finishes as he came home 15th.
3. Jeff Gordon- Team DuPont showed why they are champions as they made big changes and dialed in the No. 24 Chevrolet to finish a solid fifth. Big Daddy had the most consistent Hendrick Motorsports car on Sunday and made the smart call to stay out on track to get those 5 bonus points for leading a lap when they knew they had nothing for the race leaders. Gordon vaults up four spots to sixth in the points.
4. Martin Truex, Jr. – The reigning race winner started 20th and fought an ill-handling race car much of the race. He managed to stay on the lead lap and was the only Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver to finish in the top 20. Truex was the last car on lead lap as he finished sixth and is only 83 points out of 12th.
5. Dave Blaney- The driver of the No.22 Caterpillar Toyota was in the top 10 all day long and kept it there to finish ninth. Blaney moved up four spots to 31st in the point standings and is now solidly in the show without having to qualify on time. I will say it again--a Toyota other than Gibbs will get to Victory Lane this year.
NOT
1. The Race – Half of the top 12 drivers in the championship were wrecked on lap 17, leaving Roush and Rowdy to battle it out up front without any drama whatsoever. Long green flag racing and dominant cars left only six cars on the lead lap at the finish. Worse, most of the passing that took place up front was the leader putting cars a lap down and not cars battling for position. BORING!! NASCAR had better do something to help this car get racy and adjustable because it has become a game of track position and follow the leader—and that is not racing.
2. Elliott Sadler – The driver of the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge came down on David Gilliland on lap 17, spinning himself into the wall and caused Dover’s “big one” that ended up involving a total of 11 cars. Sadler got T-boned by Tony Stewart and hit hard from behind by Denny Hamlin. Three wrecks in four weeks, for Sadler’s sake, lets hope bad things come in threes.
3. Denny Hamlin- Apparently Denny forgot where the brake pedal was on the No. 11 FedEx Toyota as he came flying around turn 2 and drove right into the back of Elliott Sadler without slowing during the lap 17 wreck. Hamlin said he couldn’t get the car to stop, but I am not sure he even tried. Hamlin finished 43rd and took a huge hit in points falling five spots from fourth to eighth.
4. The Demolished - Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kevin Harvick, all had major damage from the lap 17 wreck and drove around the rest of the race with beat-up race cars logging laps for points. They all finished in the back of the pack and only Junebug kept his spot in the point standings (third). Smoke and Happy both dropped three spots to 11th and 10th respectively.
5. Clint Bowyer- Was involved in the lap 17 wreck and had brake problems, yet he was able to make it all the way back up into the top 10 before he cut a tire and then he went several laps down with a broken right front shock absorber. His 36th place finish dropped him three places in the point standings to eighth. That is two bad races in a row—time to step it up.
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.
Hi Kristen: Great list, as always! I'm glad to see Jeff on the "hot list". Hopefully he can keep it up. I'm not a Tony Stewart fan, but even I had to feel bad for the guy. He just can't seem to catch a break. But mid-season is around the corner and we know how well Tony does the second half of the season. Have a great week!!
Dwindy- You'll get used to the whinning, its always about someone in NASCAR! Last year it was about JG and JJ winning everything...Pocono is strange, lets hope its more exciting than usual but I doubt it...another race likely to end up on the NOT list! Thanks...
Broomy- HA! I knew you and Hoosier would be sweatin bullets about those comments! LOL
24fan- Jeff and crew did a whale of a job adjusting on that car to get that finish. I hope Tony has a good race at Eldora at least! Thanks for coming by...
I don't know Kristen. There isn't much NASCAR can do about races at Dover - COT or not. I've been to 8 races there and have never seen more than 7 cars finish on the lead lap.
Bobby Labonte won on fuel mileage in the spring of 1999 and Jeff Gordon was the only other car on the lead lap. The fall race that year, Bobby was the last car on the lead lap and finished 4th.
It's Bristol without all of the cautions. Lot's of green flag racing and some attrition, which I prefer. If it was still a 500 mile race, there may only be one lead lap car.
moseby- Dover may always have few cars on the lead lap but there has been so little passing on the track among the leaders and that is the COT's fault. Once someone gets out front, game over it seems unless they run into bad luck. Thanks for your insights and history about the track.
Lori- Oh come on...I was thinking just short term for tomorrow night! =) You and I both know Tony is about to get hot in the summertime. Biff was hot for Cup but not for NW agreed 100%! Thanks girl.
Now this is a great one, kris. Superb writing, a joy to read. Four stars. OK, I'll stop. Amazing how Rowdy's post race interviews changed overnight. I guess winning cures all ills.
Yee- Sad state of affairs when we have to applaud the fans for not throwing stuff, but they did show some class...perhaps Kyle is winning some fans over with his bad-boy-self.
Hanahan- Winning or getting all of Gibbs PR help certainly changed his tune...thanks for all the kudos!
JW- Aw shucks...thanks! One of these days our boy Jr will be on the hot list...hopefully Kurt too!
It seems there would be more than one at fault with Denny ramming into the bunch. 1st spotter, was he asleep, 2nd are there not yellow lights around the track to signify a caution and lastly it doesn't appear that Denny slowed down, nor do I see skid makes from the brakes.
Pardon my inexperience if this sounds stupid but isn't one of the most impressive things this year about Kyle's continuing run, ALSO that he has finished every Sprint race?
People talk as you have about the lack of drama when numbers of big name drivers are involved in big wrecks and it either puts them out or makes them non competitive. Yet so far Kyle has been lucky and not involved. Is this because he has such a good car qualifying and usually starts near the front so he's not in a pack early on that piles up?
As an ESad fan, it hurts me to agree, although that incident really goes on the spotter. Still his car at fault, though. I'd have to include Smoke in the "Not", not for getting caught up in the crash, but for his juvenile comments afterward. Every time I think I'm turning the corner on liking him, he opens his mouth and behaves like a 19-year old. Hopefully ESad will be the bigger person (as he usually is) and not even respond.
Hey K -- I'm still trying to figure out why Denny had such an issue stopping when he seems to do it just fine during a race & desperately needing cautions... ;)
Great list again this week. There has been surprisingly a lot to talk about after a boring race. Good call on Truex Jr. I thought he really fought hard all race to get that good finish. I think he'll grab one of those chase spots.
Nique- I don't know if it is the MOST impressive thing about Kyle's run (that he has finished all the races) but it helps. I think the most impressive part has been his ability to deal with adversity and still finish in the top and how he tends to stick his car in places most drivers wont, and he reaps the benefits of driving aggressively. There are no stupid questions! Not sure what others opinions are...everyone should feel free to chime in!
Tez- Kasey could have joined the others in "The Demolished" catagory but I was running out of room...LOL! Fair enough...Denny did stop eventually!
Sweetk- Glad someone agrees with that statement! Hope your feeling better these days...
I'm actually planning on watching the F1 race from Montreal on Fox. (Ever since Monte Carlo, I'm hooked on F1) Pocono is BORING. Pocono should LOSE one of its two dates. Michigan? See Pocono. The next interesting race is the roadie at Sears Point.
Dover was one of the most boring races I've ever seen. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON DENNY HAMLIN. This ######## plowed into the crash scene AT FULL SPEED. Denny had NO issue with wanting to play demolition derby. If there is such a thing as karma, Hamlin won't make the Chase.
s2d- The ESad fan club is in the house again! Sorry man...agree with you on the spotter. It really is too bad the drivers can no longer see on either side of their cars anymore, but safe seats are more important. Tony was in rare form in all of his interviews on Sunday...that is one of my least fav things about him too.
spdfrk- Hey girl! Good to see you here. JJ *almost* made the hot list, he did well to finish 7th but thought Truex and Blaney deserved the nod. Love the comment about Denny! LOL
Tyler- ah...yup that sounds just about right unfortunately.
Mayer- I hope Truex makes the Chase, he is a good guy! Luckily with 43 different stories on the track each week we will always have stuff to talk about! LOL
Marty- =) Thank you my friend...
Jon- I know, your preachin to the choir now, I hate the Pocono races and I will have to suffer thru every min. to write H/N! My only consulation is that I will be in the garage at Sonoma!! We wont get you started on Hamlin but I knew you would agree with that one...karma can happen.
Good picks for the hots and nots. Oh. On Eldora. Lets hope the severe storms and Tornado warnings didn't wash or blow the track away. Noahspop is there too.
On the POCONO race this weekend. I got some hot tickets in turn 4 at Pocono. $25.00 is all it cost and are mid way up. Let me know. They won't last long.
photo- Agreed, sounds like the Midwest is getting pounded with weather these days. Hope everything goes off safely and dry. So your not going to Eldora on the press pass then?
Tickets!! Photo has TICKETS everyone!!! Get your tickets for Pocono here!!
Hi all, I'm new here, but would like to express my pleasure on reading comments that aren't bashing Busch, or applauding the losing efforts of Jr. Jr.s having a rough time and I don't know why. He is a respectable driver, but in the wrong car, obviously.
I want to thank Hendricks for letting a gem of a driver go to a place with great personal assistance by the name of Joe Gibbs.
I want to wish all the drivers that are going to Eldora Raceway the best of luck, and a safe exciting race. I raced at Eldora when it first opened, and at that time it was a third of a mile dirt track. So much dust the farmers couldn't see their fields the next day. lol. Also at that time it was called Rosburg Speedway, I believe.
Elliot's car was at fault Sunday. Either by driver error or spotter error. Tony was a jerk acting like a child in his interview.
Pretty much agree with the rest of the comments.
Hope Kyle does good in his triad this weekend, and at Eldora. Good luck to all, and hope your driver has a great, safe race.
kristen - Guess I am the one out to lunch on the Sadler crash. Everyone (including yourself) is saying the spotter was at fault. Heard the audio several times and could have sworn he said "looking inside" at least three times. You thought ESad was already contacted when transmitted. Not sure if there was a transmission delay for TV. Oh, well wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. Can you ask any TNT folks at Sononma if the audio is delayed when showing in-car shots?
One of the problems about TV claiming that Dover is a "self-cleaning track", is that the transition off turn 2 is so steep that it comes fairly flat on the backstretch. It is hard to see in overhead camera shots. The point of that wreck has the least banking. If that incident had happened on the front stretch or in between the turns, Elliott would have breaked all the way down to the bottom. They carry so much speed off that turn it is extremely hard to stop in time.
Hello Kristen!
I can do nothing but agree with you.Kyle Busch has been dominant, and Rousch-Fenway, Jeff Gordon and others are being consistent. The only racers that are doing poorly that surprise me are Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. They have been having some tough luck throughout the year so far. And honestly, someone needs to respond to the dominance of Rousch-Fenway because right now, they're not just good...they're scary good!
kd- Welcome to the NASCAR blogs! Looking forward to hearing more of your experiences, very cool you raced at Eldora. Thanks for all of your insights.
moseby- You make an excellent point, I will ask the TNT people if there is a delay, because I was sure ESad had already made contact when the spotter was saying "inside." A TV delay might explain it!! But then it puts it solidly on Sadler as why he didnt hold his line. I also agree with you about the track itself, but other cars didnt seem to be barreling in there as fast as Denny was...he was definitely notable.
Awaaay!- Thanks! Couldn't agree with you more, the Championship will come down to Kyle v Roush (probably Edwards and Biff). Jr's consistency isnt going to help much when those boys get their 30, 40, 50, ?? bonus points at the start of the Chase.
I'm getting pretty sick and tired of all this discrimination and bigotry going on. In this case, your (likely unknowing) bigotry regards people who happen to have broken right front shock absorbers.
As a fellow broken-right-front-shock-absorber afflicted driver, I strongly admonish you to stop negatively categorizing all of us broken-right-front-shock-absorber drivers as "not (hot)".
For God's sake, we have a highly diverse slate of candidates for President of the United States yet this form of ignorance continues to persevere.
great stuff. I was busy when the race was going on, but was ticked to see Smoke's troubles continue. I'm hoping his latter-half of the season rally makes up for it. Which one of our drivers will win his first cup race? Smoke or Junior?
Broomy- Fair enough, although I was assuming he was just trying to drive the price down over at HAAS on Tony's behalf.
moseby- I esp.love it when Broomy comments and tells me he will come worship me in CA if Blaney wins, everyone be rootin for Blaney now!! LOL
Dave- ok, ok, you caught me Dave...I cannot STAND people with broken right shock absorbers! I had no idea you were one of them however, so alas, I am challenged to rethink the NOT hotness of 'you people' and will get back to you. (LOL)
Lisa- thanks for popping by! I read your NBA blog and I am pulling for you! I can imagine being a Smoke fan at the moment is a bit like it was being a Jr fan last year but at least Tony is doing better than Kurt! Oy! Pocono will be a wash for both Jr and Tony, Jr seems to do better at MI and Tony better on the road courses...its a toss up!
I, too, was glad to see Truex Jr. on your list. Apparently he is crediting his top 10 finish(instead of all the bad luck he has had) to turning his underwear inside out, as his mother suggested. Is that so cute and funny or what?
He is good at Pocono so I am hoping to see him on the list again next week.
sooner- TOO FUNNY! I had not heard that...too bad FOXSports couldnt find a picture of his inside-out undies to put in the picture gallery! LOL Thanks for coming by and commenting.
Photo- Bummer on the reporting gig. :(
(and I know all about your tricky tickets, was just trying to help you out a little! its like when we used to sell elevator passes to the freshman in HS for the no elevator building! lol)
I have no idea what was going on with Denny Hamlin - he did say in an interview at the track that he had someone in his mirror, but heck I'd rather have someone get into the back of my car a little bit under braking than to piledrive myself into wrecked cars in front of me! wtf Denny? Can't be all the spotter's fault, can it?
Are the rumors getting stronger that Truex will leave DEI? I think that might be a good move for him, but we'll wait and see I guess.
The #24 and the #48 cars are starting to show some signs of life. You just know eventually one of them will be a player in the Chase.
bc- Yup, Denny claimed he didnt slow down because he didnt want the 43 to hit him from behind...ah...right. I never heard the audio from his spotter so who knows what they were telling him, I am SURE they were saying to back it down and clearly there were yellow lights going off on the track. Bonehead move for sure.
I hope Truex leaves DEI, I dont think that DEI is keeping up with the Joneses at all and will only get worse. JJ and JG are persisting...still hard to believe Jr, JG and TS have not won this year though.
KLV - Sorry to be late in commenting...but I havent seen the whole race yet. Well just through to the first caution. I can understand the situation of the pileup at the beginning. Otherwise, I will have to use your HOT or NOT to fill me in on what I missed. Hopefully I'll get to see the rest of the tape before this weekend gets here.
Kind of makes it hard to comment on a lot of blogs when you havent seen the race :)
Gerrel- I would imagine so! Your not missing much, dominance by Biffle, then Edwards then Kyle. You could always just watch the shortened highlights video on the nascar page here on foxsports!
I have been a Hendrick and Jeff Gordon fan for 9 years. I am getting sick and tired of hearing about Dale Jr. being the most popular driver in Nascar. What I cant figure out is why. He has never won a championship. He does not win many races. He cant talk english. HE gets away with stuff that nobody else can. His fans are a bunch of pop belly, beer drinking red-necks. It must be because he inherited all the Dale Sr. fans. I didnt like Dale Sr. either, but at least he was a winner on the track. I didnt like the fact that he ran over everybody, but thats what the fans liked. I dont wish jr any bad luck, but I wish the media would quit talking about him like he was a god. He is just a nice looking, fun loving guy who happens to be rich and famous, but is not a championship racer.
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 .
