1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.- The No. 88 team took a huge gamble not pitting for fuel late in the LifeLock 400 on Sunday and then sweated bullets while Junior babied his AMP Chevrolet around the track during a caution with only two laps to go. The fan favorite benefited from a wreck on the final lap and Junebug coasted right into Victory Lane, snapping his 76-race winless streak. What a perfect Father’s Day gift for Dale Sr. and Mr. Hendrick.
2.Kasey Kahne- The No. 9 Dodge spent much of the race in the top 10 and saved fuel for the last 50 laps to grab a second-place finish at Michigan. He would have won (again) had the caution not flown during the Green-White-Checker finish, and climbs two spots to seventh in the championship standings. A nod to his teammate, Elliott Sadler, who finished ninth. At least one Dodge team is hot, hot, hot!
3. Matt Kenseth- Kenseth was back to his patented racing style as he stalked quietly until he got the lead. Even with a mishap in the pits hitting an official and then later with uncharacteristic trouble on a tire change, the No. 17 Ford finished a strong third and is effectively back in the Chase hunt only 14 points out of 12th. Another nod goes to his Roush-Fenway teammates: Carl Edwards (seventh), David Ragan (eighth) and Jamie McMurray (10th).
4. Brian Vickers- Vickers started 18th and came flying to the lead 33 laps later, showing that the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota was the car to beat on long runs. He kept it up front and finished fourth and is sitting only 97 points out of 12th in the standings. Vickers had the conspiracy theorists licking their chops during his post race interview by saying NASCAR told him to let Mark Martin go by or get black flagged with two to go. The truth is out there…
5. Tony Stewart- Smoke battled a tight Home Depot Toyota for much of the race but he stayed persistent and used good pit strategy to finally get a top 5 finish moving up one spot in the standings to 11th. Even better, Stewart donated his earnings to the American Red Cross for the Midwest flood victims. If that isn’t hot, I don’t know what is.
NOT
1. Penske Racing- The Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman broke his drive train on lap 76 and went on to finish 42nd, 68 laps down. The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge was junk coming off the hauler and so scary loose that Kurt Busch spun out mid-race but managed to hold on for a 21st place finish. Sam Hornish, Jr. was a bright spot as he led some green flag laps late in the race until he spun off turn 4 causing the caution with two laps to go. This Dodge team is still struggling.
2. Chip Ganassi Racing – Dario Franchitti was off the pace on lap 25 with a broken valve spring and was soon black flagged and out of race, finishing 43rd. Juan Pablo Montoya was lapped early and often as the No. 42 Big Red Dodge was not set up right and finished 38th. ReedSorenson was never a factor and as usual, finished in the back of the pack in 34th. This Dodge team is toast.
3. Jeff Gordon – Big Daddy did not have a good Father’s Day as the No. 24 Dupont team is still searching for the right setup. With water gauge problems, being way too tight, an ill-advised pit strategy, and a pit road speeding penalty, the best Gordon could do was an 18th place finish sliding him to ninth in the point standings. Thank goodness the road course is up next!
4. The No. 16 Pit Crew- Greg Biffle was having another stellar run but on the last pit stop, his crew chief, Greg Erwin, made the call to “go on the drop of the jack.” Well, the Biff did as he was told, but the front tire changer wasn’t clear and got the air hose caught in the splitter. Biffle ran over the hose, the crewman hit the deck, and it resulted in a penalty that dropped the No. 16 Roush- Fenway Ford to a 20th place finish. Hexed, I tell you, hexed…
5. Debris- I do not understand why debris, specifically hot dog wrappers, is such a constant problem at Michigan. It is ridiculous that trash on the speedway greatly affects the outcome of the race by altering when cars have to pit to avoid overheating. I don’t know what the answer is but NASCAR has plenty of power to wield to fix this and they should…what Mr. Helton? No complaining? Oh, ok, I will just shut up and write…
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.
Wow Kristen, your top five on the Hot list were the top five finishers. What a stretch. Actually can't really fault any of the Hot or Not picks but I sure get tired of Matt Kenseth being such a cry baby. First, the official in front of his car did NOT delay him enough to cost him a position on the track and then he had to whine about the pace car situation. What a baby.
Thanks Kristen for your sweet comment about Smoke. His portion of the winnings Sunday came to approx. $55,000.00.
I was hoping Kurt would do better. He seemed to show a glimmer of that old determination at Pocono. Maybe he can bring it home this weekend for the 20th running at Infineon. I hope you have an awesome time!
Yee- Doubt they will stop selling hot dogs...gotta be something they can do! Thought you would be happy to see Kasey finish a strong second.
1824- Sorry, I cant be brillant every week (LOL)and they all deserved it. I almost snuck Menard in there with an 11th place finish but who to boot? I think Kenseth is pretty frustrated this year and its showing...thanks for reading and commenting!
Lori- Smoke did a very cool thing! Thanks for posting the amount he donated...I am hoping Kurt can make a run for Victory Lane this weekend. I would LOVE to be in there!! You bet I will have an awesome time, I will have reports up from the garage starting Friday! Thanks girl!
I think I know what hexed the #16 .... I picked him for my fantasy racing team! Good to see the #17 Ford team remembering how to race again. The #9 Dodge is hot, and the #83 Toyota is hot too, not much to argue there. Kv, I see you working the #2 Dodge into every Hot or Not, somehow it's almost like you know that team or something .... lol.
Lemme guess who you'll be cheering for in Sonoma? The #20 car? Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger!
p.s. I finally bought the BSG season one boxset. Awesome show!
Thanks for the positeve comment on Dale Jr...now let's see how the momentum carries him on to Daytona...I dont count Infineon as a race he has always done well in, but Daytona...YES! Pioneer
If the non-GEM Dodge's merge together, do you think they can come up with one good team? Maybe they can split Kurt-Ryan-Bobby-Juan-Reed for the rest of year at their favorite tracks and still make the chase?
Is it me or does really dumb stuff seem to always happen with Greg Biffle's team? Perhaps the Biff needs to write up a list of people he has wronged and answer to "karma"?
bc- I wish I could be working the #2 into the Hot list more often but alas...I try to call them like I see them. Oh and guess again! LOL (I *told* you you would love BSG!! I cant believe you werent watching it...)
Hanahan- Plenty o' updates coming this weekend from whine country! Its going to be hot so expect drivers to be not complaining about that. Love your fix for the 'dawgs!
Pioneer- Don't count him out at Infineon, he has done better there of late but I think getting in that wreck/burned did do somethign to his psyche. Thanks for coming by!
JW- Jr will be topping the list more in the future I am sure...as long as you dont jinx him in your blog!
moseby- I wondered if anyone would remember the X-files! I dont think the Captain wants Ganassi but the way Ganassi is running Chip might want to dump the whole thing! The Biff is on a bad karma roll...perhaps someone is trying to tell him to move on from Roush!
Hey K! -- Awesome! JJ HOT with his own spot! And now the "Kristen is biased & hates Tony" people can shish lol. Hubby will indeed be happy he made the list. :) Man, Kasey almost had it -- & he would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those darn kids! Watch those Hot Dog sticks --you could put an eye out with that!
Congrats to Jr & am looking forward to your Sonoma postings. Somebody have some cheese???
BTW -- I'll take the blame for Kurt -- I put him on my team this week. Sorry.
B&R- Thanks! I promise to share as much of the garage experience as I can!
spdfrk- I *knew* you would get on me about JJ not being hot...he was on the short list for sure and did lead the most laps. I hold him to a higher standard given he is the 2x champ! LOL "Whine" and Sonoma Jack Cheese is on the menu!
Actually, K, yes, he should have had the win & was disappointed to see him drop to 6th -- not sure what went on there, but I hold his entire team to a higher standard! :))
Now, wouldn't have been really funny if Sam hadn't spun out & taken the checkers??? I can just imagine the absolute stunned dead silence at the track & in living rooms & bars around the country -- he WON???? lol BUT, since he's on my other team, of course -- well, you know the ending to that story.
Comment from crivaro posted on the wrong blog:
"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."
Tyler- I am just trying to get sent to the Big Yellow Truck so I can get inside it this weekend! LOL Letarte is killing you I am sure...
Sweetk- Tony did an awesome thing! I am not digging thru wrappers though...LOL
jaywhawk- CONGRATS on getting famous in Jeff Hammonds blog!! Take care of that foot my friend.
spdfrk- He lost first gear and ?? I dunno what else. I would have LOVED seeing Sam win on his first fathers day...but the crowd wouldda been stunned! I am dying to hear Gerrels report from the race...
crivaro- Pretty bombastic statements about Jr and his fans (he has won a lot of races, he clearly speaks english and I am no pot belly ####...) and I would guess he might change his "status" as a racer this year with a championship...Thanks for reading.
kristen ~ nice write up and thanks for the good words on smoke.
I think you got it right with biffle, bad karma indeed, she has really been smacking him down lately. Don't know what he did but he better make amends.
I'll be looking forward to your report from sonoma, if helton doesn't ban you for the negative hot dog comments. lol
Maybe crivaro really meant "pop belly"? You know, like a soda.
...And I'm sure the media is willing to just stop "talking" about the most popular anything (movie star / pop singer / entertainment figure / business leader / politician / talk show host / sports star). While else would they be in the business?
K, great list. (I especially like Hot #3!) Hey, did you hear the Vickers interview today? NASCAR had temperature sensors in cars and had people monotoring the drivers for carbon monoxide at the Michigan race. I guess they are listening some, huh? As always, thanks for doing this.
yes, first and second from what it sounded like -- but ran quite a bit of the race that way & up front -- can only guess the final restarts did him in -- burned it up. :(
Looks like Kyle got his nappy poo in during the race this weekend. ;)
Hope EVERYone had a happy Father's Day -- esp the moms that have to play dad, too.
Great job Kristen. Jeff Gordon seems to have to Jr's old DEI jinx on him now. It's not like he's running poorly. Just bad timing and luck in each race.
Maybe you need a Rot category to go with Hot and Not for the drivers that complain each week.
Congrats to Junebug. Hope he gets a few more of em before easons end.
elad- Thanks...I think Biff is kinda a neurotic driver and his crew doesnt seem to be up to snuff, interestingly neither does Edwards. You would think the Roush organization would have stellar crews.
moseby- AHHH, yes, clearly he probably meant AMP belly!
vol- I *knew* you would like Hot #3...LOL Well deserved effort by Matty this week. I did hear they were monitoring heat and fumes. Sounds like there will be some heat to monitor this weekend, forecast is toasty. Thanks!
Dwindy- Well, Kyle had a neither hot nor not week and unfortunately Kurt is lumped in on Not...will be interesting to see shrub on the road course with his new found "confidence!" Wish you all were here too!!
spdfrk- I think there were 3 too many cautions at the end for him...JJ can get around the road course tho, have hope!
Cuda- "ROT" ...FUNNY! I really need a category for when a driver is hot most of the race then not. (ex. Stewart last week, JJ this week...)
Well the old Pot bellied sasperilla with a dash of cherry silver back thought this was a good hot or not list.
Oh yes. Dale Jr. won a race. That is nice.Now Mikey was really hot this week. He made it to 17th place and even led a lap or two. Too bad he got bumped on the last lap. Still he was able to garner better than his usual 35th place or worse. I tell ya. This boy is going places. Ok. well maybe.
Nacar would not have problems with wrappers if they out lawed foods that required wrappers. I'm a thinkin, they should start selling Bananas
Kristen i would agree with you on the crash that could have taken his life. I went back to one of 60 Minutes interviews that i recorded. Jr talked about how much he wants people too know that he can win on a road course. He did very well last year. It came down to fuel mileage. He has better cars then he had at DEI since 05. I dont think he will have that wreck in the back of his mind. I really believe he will have at least a top 15 finish or better.
Great list as usual. Hopefully Tony will be at the top of the hot list next week.
More merger mania- with Verizon buying Alltel, we all know what's going to happen with Ryan Newman and the #12, but I saw in the financial pages that both the SEC and DOJ have signed off on a merger between Miller Brewing and Coors. What effect will this have on Kurt and the #2?
photo- I think I saw Mikey as high as 11th and thought you would be very pleased if you werent asleep at the time! Naners are a good idea for track snack food...
jayhawk- I too would be Jr will be in the top 15, I would even say top 10...
SP20- Tony has a good chance at topping the list this weekend. Miller will continue to have the majority of the company so it doesnt affect Kurt but might affect the 40 car...I will ask around!
spdfrk- LMAO!!
Noahspop- Vickers will make the Chase, Bowyer seems to be losing his mo'...
Some great stuff in your Hot-Not-Rot photo gallery too Kristen. Do they not allow you to post those in the blog recap?
The one of Jeff Gordon makes him look like he's getting old. He's exactly one day short of being 2 years older than I am, so i shouldn't be surprised hes starting to get gray hairs, because i am too.
After an extensive view of the pic for the debris. i have comfirmed it was a Gor-illas Gone Wild Racing employee in row 12, section 42 that was throwing all the trash on the track. It was banana peels, not hot dog wrappers. I wont name any names but i'm sure you'll recognize her.
We will never be let back in to NASCAR now. Great hot picks Kristen, are we still dancing ? If not I thnak you very much for the dance. Tell your man he is a very lucky man. Like always have fun next week and always use your ears as extra eyes.
If you get the chance maybe ask about what we talked about last week about the insdie of the car, it might have to be off the record now.lol cheers
Cuda- Those photos are all professional shots and is what makes it the main article...I could post some of my own from the garage next time tho!
Hmmm...I DO recognize that mon.key....bad girl!
Forensic- We can keep doing the happy dance until this Sunday! LOL I bet the drivers dont know what the data said on those sensors but I will be askin!
Kristen - Another great list here! I was surprised to see Vickers come up thru the field so quickly at the beginning and be able to stay in the lead pack for the whole race. Looks like RB racing is really hot.
You should have heard how loud everyone was cheering for JR. I bet most of the fans in the stands were Jr. fans.
Texascudaguy ROFL LMAO!! TOO funny! Yes I think Jeff can do well at Infineon without the Viagra! Dale is on a role and pray he gets another top 5 also!! Pioneer
It is amasing that when Jeff Gordon was doing good and was in top 5 before somthing broke on the car or got in someone else's accident mess noone said that he was runing great but the bad fortune at the end. Almost everyone said " he is not doing good this year." But those same people jump on the "Stewart" wagon when he get involved in someone else's mess and say he had a great car if he was not in that accident. Or say he came through alot to get that 5th place battling an ill car and so on. Give me a break everyone was battling an ill car. Gordon has been runing a lot of times may be not lately in the top 5 but bad luck in some big races put in th 9th place in the ranking. If he did not have the problems that were out of control of the crew and Gordon, then he would have been in the top 3 or 4 in points. and we still have 10 races before the chase is on do not count him out yet.
#24 Biggest fan,
I'm a huge Jeff Gordon fan as well but he and Tony are both on the downhill side of their careers. Tony especially if he tries to own his own team next year instead of staying with the best team in Cup right now. I doubt either will ever win another championship but hope Gordon does.
who ever told letarte he was a crew chief, its almost like he is messing up Jeffs car on purpose,I think if Letarte would go byby Jeff would be back in the winners circle
Gerrel- You saw a great race! Vickers was impressive roaring thru the field for sure. At least you didnt have to do "the wave!" LOL
pioneer- Top 5 at Infineon for Jr would be like a win for him for sure...I hope he gets at least a top 10!
#24- Gordo has been bit by some bad luck but mostly he and Kurt seem to be the two struggling the most with setups off the hauler. LeTarte isnt helping Jeff any this year either but I am not counting him out, he will be a contender in the Chase for sure.
MJR- ever go to a race and go to the Viagra tent? None of the guys would go near it, cracked me up!
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 .
