1. Kurt Busch- Brilliant calls in the pits by Pat Tryson allowed Kurt Busch to stay out during the final caution and get the rain-shortened race win. It wasn’t all luck though, Kurt had raced his way up to 11th before the pit strategy came into play and then had to deal with an aggressive Robby Gordon at the end. The win was exactly what the No. 2 Miller Lite team needed. Good Call!
2. Tony Stewart- Smoke had arguably the most dominant car of the day as he led 132 laps on Sunday and was looking to sweep the weekend in Loudon. Unfortunately, the call for fuel and two tires dropped him too far back to recover in the rain shortened race. He finished a respectable 13th and moved up two spots in the point standings.
3. The Gamblers- Michael Waltrip and J.J. Yeley were able to gamble on gas and stayed out during the final caution to finish second and third respectively-- their best finishes of 2008. For once, they both managed to stay out of trouble; giving them a chance to be there at the end and it paid off big.
4. Casey Mears- Days after his first top five of the season, Mears found out that he was out of a ride after this season at New Hampshire. So what does he do? Mears goes out at Loudon, leads 53 laps and finishes seventh--the highest of all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers. I would say his job audition is going pretty well so far.
5. Kevin Harvick- Happy was very happy with his No. 29 Chevrolet all weekend long. He looked stout as he led the beginning of the race but then struggled with handling issues. Todd Berrier made the right calls and had Harvick back in the mix before the rain came. He finished 14th but it was good enough to regain the 12th spot in the point standings.
NOT
1. Jamie McMurray- The ire of Jr. Nation will be squarely on the driver of the No. 26 IRWIN Ford for plowing into the back of the No. 88 AMP Chevrolet as Dale Jr. was heading to pit road late in the race. McMurray claims he never saw Dale Jr. on the apron of the track, so there is proof not everyone watches Dale Jr. every minute of every race.
2. Kasey Kahne- The No. 9 Budweiser tire changers had to suck in bucketloads of brake dust during pit stops as they struggled to setup their Dodge. Kahne, in the meantime, decided to beat up on rookie Aric Almirola--who later gave him some payback as the No. 8 then spun Kasey into the wall. Kahne finished two laps down in 30th and fell to 10th in the points. Message to Kasey: Don’t mess with an Army of One.
3. Juan Pablo Montoya- Mr. Juanderful was in a foul mood on Sunday. First, he knocked his teammate Reed Sorenson out of the way early in the race. Then he took out Kyle Busch during the last caution. NASCAR penalized him two laps for rough driving and the No. 42 Texaco Dodge finished right where he started in 32nd. Temper, temper!
4. Kyle Busch –Rowdy admitted the No. 18 Toyota was not set up right on Sunday and he never cracked the top 10. Then, he forgot his patience, egged on Juan Pablo Montoya, and ended up wrecked during a late caution. He finished 25th and his points lead has been cut to only 64 points. To win the championship, Shrub is going to have to play it smarter than that.
5. NASCAR - Allowing a sponsor to change the number of laps in a race solely for marketing purposes is absolutely ridiculous. Brian France’s love of the all- mighty dollar is showing up just a little too much at the track. What’s next? The Mobil 1 one-mile shootout?
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.
Perhaps if the #88 was NEON green, then all the drivers would know not to approach the favorite of Jr. Nation.
Shouldn't NASCAR rename Saturday Night's race to the FORMULA 409?
The only reason Smoke didn't win the race was because he didn't let a very important NASCAR Fox blogger and emerging superstar sportswriter have an autograph at last week's Sonoma race. The theme for this racing season is karma, and you better pay homage and respect to the racing gods...
Hey Kristen - Glad you get to have Kurt Busch in the HOT column again. Now if only he can be in victory lane again in Michigan come August...THAT would be a HOT race for you!
Like that your last NOT on the list...I was wondering why the race was 301 laps, seemed rather strange.
Congrats to the Blue Deuce. I thought Robby would cost him the win. Those open wheel guys get some fenders around them and they think they're Superman.
I'm sending a request for clarification to the Nation. It is OK for JPM to take out Busch under caution? But, not OK for Hamlin to take out Keslowski under caution, right?
Wonderful job as always Kristen. I see J.J. Isn't in the Not section this week. Then again he isn't in the Hot section either. What a aweful season this is turning out to be. Well I guess I'll be jumping on the Jr or Jeff Gordon bandwagon soon enough. take care ma chérie.
Hanahan- I was pretty worried about Robby myself! Kurt's post race interview about him was funny..."go on then get out of here already!"
tyler- I am just buttering him up so I can get the stink eye again at MI...
Lori- Rain was definitely a NOT, looked like a crazy storm. I cant believe all those race fans stayed in the metal stands with the lightening!
Gambit- Good to have you back here in the NASCAR blogs! JJ had a stout car for some of the race but not good enough for the Champ to make the Hot list...
Good picks for a rather unusual race. Now the drivers are actively taking out cars? We need more excitement granted but at what point does it go too far? JP Montoya? I think that would be a good start. Definitely an incident that needed follow up after the race with Boxing gloves.
I'll bet putting this weeks edition of Hot and Not together was a labor of love! Congrats to the two blue brew crew! lol
I've come to the conclusion based on his lack of input on the subject, that Jr. may have got caught being sneaky trying to enter the pits. McMurray certainly wasn't willing to take any blame for what happened... Jr. Nation is being mum on the issue too.
Photo- it was a difficult race to pick H/N for...I think Mikey and JJ at least had the pit strategy on their side, finishing 2/3rd is worth a Hot for once for them!
Dwindy- Yes, I loved this weeks #1! It has been surprising the "lack" of Jr Nation rage...not sure what thats about.
vol- I promise! I have nothing but I bet Penske would be interested in him if Ryan leaves, with his IRL family history...
races should be decided by racing, not rain. when a race is called for rain, maybe they should go back to the last caution to decide the positions. Everybody knows that Stewart should have won that rightfully, but someone who had no shot at winning got the trophy because this is nascar. wwf. nfl its all about the money.
Well It was a ####ING good race. Beating the cars into eachother. A little frustration takin out. It was good. Yea Poptart could gambled. So could have a few more. They didn't and Mikey got second...Lol..It was fun to watch.
All great but one. You need a LUCKY DOG, That being Kurt Busch. He said how his horse power was so great that it saved fuel. His horse's didn't want to run down the straightaways keeping him in the middle section of cars.
They still have not found it yet between Kurt and Pat and that is why I say luck instead of hot. Congrads on Kurt and Pat finding a way to win a race but lets hope they find each other and really turn this team around were it should be. Cheers
klv; now, as you know, I am a fan of the Kahnester but I have to agree with your reasoning. Kasey managed good strategy to run in the top 10 for the first part of the race but for whatever reason, got mad at Aric for racing him while letting the others go by him easier (at least, that's what Kasey thought I'd gather). So, in the grand tradition of NASCAR, he just shoved him out of the way....reminded me of when he did a boneheaded move on (I think) David Stremme and took both of them out a couple years ago *rolls eyes*
As for Jamie...I just thought that was a racing deal and the blame should be more on his spotter for not giving him the warning. However, I don't know if Jamie was having radio problems or whatever so just a racing shunt for me :)
With the way that the 20's season is going, I am beginning to wonder if they are ever going to put together the total package this season. From start to finish. Loudon and Daytona were perfect example o####ood weekend gone bad.
Hey all! Sorry for the delay in commenting...I was in Vegas for the 4th...lets get back to racing!
HMS- Everyone had the forecast and could have adjusted their pit strategy accordingly. Zippy just made the wrong call...but it is all about the money.
3fan- nice graphics!! You are getting pretty spiffy with those these days.
noahspop- It was entertaining at least...your lugs are on the way BTW.
Cuda- No worries! I am late to my own blog! I think Smoke isn't himself this year, I dont see him making the Chase without a win.
Tyler- exactly.
Golfan- Its not, its all bad...
Forensic- I know I could use a few more catagories! Lucky, Ugly...but Jon covers that pretty well! I agree, Kurt and crew still cant figure out the setup. They will but hte teams are really clammering for some changes on the COT.
Tez- It is rare Kasey does stupid moves like that but I think the frustration of not being able to pass gets to alot of those guys. Regardless if it was Jamie or the spotter it was a NOT incident...wrecked two perfectly good cars.
GUNNY- I am sure I could put NASCAR on the NOT list nearly every week...LOL!
HMS- But we dont want to live thru another California...that was way worse!
TSfan- It surely has been a difficult season for the 20 fans, very uncharacteristic of Tony to have this kind of luck. Has to be the contract distraction?? Or he really hates those Toyotas?? Or perhaps that silly Miller Lite chick in the garages is really driving him batty?? Hard to say....
I have to say, although I am a mega Jimmie fan, I admit I was happy to see the Biff have a good run. He really pushed hard and that showed some heart. I'm not gonna jump on the Biff wagon any time soon but you haveto give credit where credit is due. Good race Biff, I hope Jimmie kicks your butt next week, too.
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 .
