1. Roush-Fenway Racing- The Roushkateers were racing 1-2-3 amongst themselves while putting on a clinic at the Monster Mile. Greg Biffle went from “I can’t drive it” to take the checkers for back to back wins in the Chase. Matt Kenseth was dominant mid-race and the Killer Bees were stout to earn a runner-up finish. Carl Edwards had another bad fast car late and finished third, keeping his lead in the Chase. Jack is one happy cat.
2. Richard Childress Racing –Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer were not flashy on Sunday at Dover, but they all put together good solid runs and at times were the fastest cars on the track. Everyone finished inside the top 10 as they launched themselves in the Chase standings up to fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Don’t take your eyes off these guys…
3. Michael Waltrip- Holy cow! Mikey stayed out of trouble and raced inside the top 20 all day long at Dover. His No. 55 NAPA machine was the highest finishing Toyota in the race as he crossed the finish line in 10th. Had his teammate not made a stupid mistake there would have been two MWR cars in the top 10 and pigs would have been flying!
4. Half of Hendrick Motorsports - Jimmie Johnson had a self-proclaimed “bad day” at Dover as he finished fifth after getting ganged up on by the Roushkateers in the late stages of the race. His “bad” finish was good enough to maintain his second-place spot in the Chase. Teammate Jeff Gordon won the pole and led early but had to adjust on his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet to get his seventh-place finish, moving him up to eighth in the Chase. Look out when these two have good days…
5. Mark Martin- The sentimental favorite started on the outside pole and kept his No. 8 Army Chevy in the top five all day. “Like a pit bull with a pork chop,” Martin gave it his all for the win, but had to settle for “best of the rest” honors in fourth. With runs like this, Martin will be a contender in the Chase next year.
NOT
1. Kyle Busch- With three little words (“I smell oil”) Rowdy and the No. 18 team checked into The Heartbreak Hotel as they endured a second parts failure in two weeks. The Toyota engine let go early on Sunday and Busch’s championship hopes went right along with it. He finished last and fell back to 12th in the Chase standings, a shocking 210 points behind the leader, Carl Edwards.
2.Denny Hamlin- The FedEx team was weeping right along with the rear end of their No. 11 Toyota as it sprung an oil leak. Later they had a right rear go down as Hamlin limped his way to the garage with no power under the hood. After replacing both axles and the drive shaft, Hamlin came back out to finish 38th falling five spots to 11th in the Chase standings.
3. David Reutimann- Another surprisingly good run for the No. 44 UPS team as Reutimann was racing inside top 10 but his third great run in recent weeks was ruined by a rookie mistake--pitting outside his pit box on the last stop. NASCAR held him for the one lap penalty and ultimately Reutimann finished 17th. No excuse for his crew chief to not to catch that costly mistake.
4. Race Wreckers- David Gilliland drove his No. 28 Ford too hard into the corner on lap two and clipped Kurt Busch, sending him backward into the wall and ruining a chance for the No. 2 to back up their solid run last week. Robby Gordon was a stinker to pass on the track despite being a lap down and then he got out of shape and rode Jamie McMurray right into the wall ending the great race the No. 26 was having. These two were lucky those weren’t Chasers they took out.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.- Oh how the mighty struggled at Dover—The No. 88 team missed the set up badly and Junebug fell through the field like a rock until he was lapped. Soon after, his right rear tire let go. Junior saved it, but he was never a contender, finishing three laps down in 24th. He lost five spots and now sits ninth in the Chase standings. What happened?
Also check out my latest FOXSports.com article for Miller Lite Racing explaining some of the mechanical problems the No. 2 car has suffered this year here: http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8595666
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.
Fabulous -- sorry about Jr :( and BAD BAD BAD Robby Gordon -- Jamie Mac would have been up there with the rest of the crew on HOT if not for that (intentional? complacent? hmmm) act by Robby Gordon (why do you make me do this Robby?) -- but Jamie Mac sure was HOT headed after that & rightly so! Drivin' for his job, the poor guy can't get a break. :(
And of course -- Yay JIMMIEEEEEEE! (bad day, huh? if only my bad days were that good!)
Lori- Hope your son had a fab bday party! You missed a good race, but Smoke didnt do much so maybe not. Green is bad luck!! You've figured it out!
Gambit- I can always count on you to make me smile! LSU-HOT!
spdfrk-Poor Jamie Mac, he cannot catch a break...Robby was rotten yesterday! Jimmie is still rollin and I am sure you're still smilin!
I am bad--not caught up on Meerkat yet...
Kyle's getting b'slapped is a good thing for racing.
Why? The Cup was set up to get the top drivers in the final races. Every race is sacred and anyone can win, just like the NFL playoffs.
Kyle stunk up the joint twice and deserves no pity.
The racing at Dover was great, especially that three way battle between Kenseth, Biffle, and Edwards. The 8 car looked for a while as if he might have something for them, but unfortunately it didn't happen. All in all one of the better races of the season to watch.
Way back I picked the 29 car as a darkhorse to win the title, and look who sits in 5th place now about a hundred points back. If Harvick can win a race or two and the top dogs have a bad race, it's still possible.
No they didn't. He is just plain goofey all the time. However, he may have been drinking some of the "Mystery" stuff that was found in the intake manifold last year.
Good to see Mark Martin have a great day, even if he's not in the Chase. Maybe it's not such a bad idea that he's gonna race full time next year after all. Although he will be with a different team.
I felt sad for you Kristen when I saw Kurt get tapped by Gilliand right at the beginning of the race. It seemed like he could have had a decent day, and then poof...wrong place at the wrong time.
Jayhawk- (blush) thank you my friend, however I think it is more like if Eury Jr could TUNE the car...LOL
Cuda- See below, da Prez is happy! Gibbs is sure not though. Parts implosion!
husker- Many seem to be taking glee in Rowdy's fall, personally I think its #### that he could win 8 and be out of the championship hunt with two parts failures...I am still a fan of the old points system. Good to see you over here!
bc- Harvick is a good darkhorse pick. I had him last year as my wildcard and he didnt come thru...I'll stick with JJ and Jr as the sentimental vote but looks like I will end up sad! = ( LOL
Unless of course GAMBIT and JAYHAWK keep up the love-fest for the rest of the season! LOL
Last edited by klvalus on September 23rd at 5:17 PM.
Kristen, another great Hot or Not as usual. Were the Roushkateers on a roll, or what? I thought of you when Gilly tapped the Blue Deuce and felt sick for you. And what the *#%&#*$ was Robby Gordon doing RACING Jamie McMurray when he's a lap down? The idjit Gordon took out a car that could have contended for the win.
Gambit- I know you will! LOL Better email me the dates you'll be out here!
jon- You've got to be happy with Happy's performance. I was pretty sick as I watched the 2 car's slow spin...Robby was Robby what can I say!
Hanny- You are right, I should have included Jamie Mac in the Hot Roush catagory instead of only blasting Robby. I loved seeing Jamie up front, "Cupcake" just cant catch a break.
Great calls Kristen, I was pulling for Mark Martin when Junebug hit a windscreen to win. Do you know if his crew chief at DEI is going to Hendricks with him? They have done well togather and with even better stuff he should be a sure thing to make the chase with the Gods of luck to boot.
Cheers
Kristen,
As soon as I have the final dates I sure will email you.
jaykawk,
She puts in a tremendous amount of work and you have to consider this isn't her real job. I'm sure it can be taxing at times for her.She just keeps on plugging away though, just another reason to love her.
Ahh...Yes... Everyone should #### about Rousch. He has an advantage, he cheated..Lol.. If it had been a Yoda sweep it would have been that way from him... Yea Rousch cars were the hot ones for that race.
Is the #24 and #48 getting chase for a cup? I hope so. Can almost gaurentee no Toyota hoisting this cup this year.
Forensic- I am not sure but dont think MM's DEI crew chief is coming with...DEI is falling apart! Who is left there?? Truex, Reagan Smith, Aric Amirola...yikes!
Jayhawk & Gambit- You are two of my biggest supporters! Cant thank you enough for the props...
noahspop- Seems as if Totoya is out of it, who would have thought!??
Hey Does anyone else actually watch racing no one mentioned to this fine analyst that Gilliland drives the #38, She must sit with Lee Spencer and dream this #### up.
I hope that everyone that makes a comment tells Kristen Thank You for taking the time for doing this. It takes a special person to take notes during the race. And lets not forget all the hard
work she does behind the wall at the race track. I
hope you have a blast at Dega this weekend.
Last edited by jayhawk67 on September 30th at 9:41 AM.
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 .
