1. Tony Stewart- The heavens smiled down upon Smoke as he finally got that winless #### off his back at Talladega. Zippy and the No. 20 crew worked hard to save their primary car after a wreck in practice on Friday and Stewart made the most of it on Sunday. One of the few Chasers to avoid the wrecks, Stewart gained four spots in the standings but might need a little more divine intervention to catch the Chase leaders.
2. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.- DEI started with all four drivers in the top 10 on Sunday and all were running well until Martin Truex, Jr. got caught up in the first big one. “Team Inexperience”--Regan Smith, Paul Menard, and Aric Almirola-- were lined up behind Stewart for the G-W-C finish and Smith wowed the crowd when he blew by Stewart under the yellow line at the checkers. NASCAR penalized him and placed him 18th but it sure was a gutsy move and many believed he should have won.
3. Jimmie Johnson- If this team isn’t Championship material, I don’t know what is. JJ went to the back of the pack to start after making post-inspection adjustments and by lap 10 he had completely lost the draft. But Johnson did is best “turtle” impression, the No. 48 was so slow he missed all the wrecks, and yet steady enough to come home ninth. JJ increased his lead in the Chase to 72 points and they race at “his house” next week. Uh-oh…
4. David Ragan- The only Roushkateer that did not get wrecked --probably because he did a little of the wrecking himself-- brought his No. 6 Ford home third on Sunday. If Ragan can eliminate those pesky “rookie” mistakes that still plague him, he might be the Cat in the Hat’s most talented driver and that is quite a compliment!
5. Jeff Burton- The wily veteran was feeling his oats this weekend as Burton was uncharacteristically racy at Talladega. His No. 31 Chevrolet was always near the front and he went toe-to-toe with Stewart for a few exciting laps. His fourth-place finish keeps him within spitting distance of the points lead and he might be crafty enough to win it all. A nod must go to his teammate, Clint Bowyer who also avoided the trouble and finished fifth.
NOT
1. Carl Edwards- Cousin Carl was worried about “idiots” racing this weekend, who knew he would be talkin’ about himself. It looked like another ill-advised video game move when Edwards pushed his teammate Greg Biffle right into a huge wreck-- taking out all of the Roush Chasers and most of the others. Certainly brings new meaning to “All for one, and one for all.”
2.NASCAR- Once again, NASCAR’s ineptitude explaining their own rules caused yet another controversial finish. Was Regan Smith forced below the yellow by Tony Stewart on the final lap? Was there a precedent set by the previous night’s truck race that anything goes as long as you could see the checkers? Did they really have to punish Smith by placing him 18th instead of second? Will they ever penalize themselves for “actions detrimental to stock car racing?
3. Denny Hamlin- Hamlin was looking sporty leading the race when the right front tire blew on his No. 11 Toyota sending him hard into the outside wall. Hamlin was clearly injured and taken to a local hospital to check his ankle and to observe him after he reported a “headache.” Let’s hope Hamlin fully recovers and is able to safely compete in the rest of the Chase because being taken out of championship contention by this sort of wreck is definitely not hot.
4. Blown Tires- There were six blown tires during the Talladega race weekend, accounting for massive carnage on the track, two red flags, and one trip to the hospital. These were not your everyday blown tires, every one of these sounded like bombs when they exploded. Goodyear seemed mystified by the problem and blamed the “tremendous contact” in the draft. Given their track record this year, they won’t get much slack.
5. Penske Racing- Sam Hornish, Jr. did not even get his No. 77 Dodge into the race, Ryan Newman was in the garage by lap 50 with an engine problem, and five laps later after being pushed to the lead, Kurt Busch dropped a cylinder and went several laps down as the Brew Crew worked to salvage the engine. Busch managed an impressive 21st-place finish on seven cylinders but this season if it weren’t for bad luck, Team Penske would have no luck at all.
Continuing reading my blog for an insiders view of what went down at Dega this weekend...
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.
Kristen-You seen the best race of the year. I want
to Thank You for all your hard work. Running all over the track and doing H/N. I for one wouldnt want your job. The one you do for FREE!! Another excellent job. But thats what you do every week.
Jay
Last edited by jayhawk67 on October 7th at 11:55 AM.
I hope im not the only one that thanks Kristen for
doing a very difficult job. At the track all day. Then write about what we cant see or know about.
Its real easy to say Thank You for all your hard
work Kristen.
Jay
Last edited by jayhawk67 on October 7th at 12:50 PM.
Even though it is "his house", Jimmie Johnson hasn't faired that well lately at Charlotte. I don't expect him to win that race. Also, I think it was totally unfair of NASCAR to place Regan 18th. He earned second place, and what NASCAR did was biased. I have enjoyed your reports all weekend and look forward to more in the future.
Last edited by gonger93 on October 7th at 3:32 PM.
Kristen, another GREAT H/N! Justice would be Edwards finishing in the 40's next week and taking a HUGE hit in the points. Lest I forget, Harvick getting a win where he hasn't won before. (Edwards cost Harvick a GOOD chance at a win by going ####)
My take on the 20/01 scramble to the finish line was that no car may gain a position by driving below the yellow line. Ever.
If you got forced below the line, well, cheers to the dude that forced you there because he protected his position. Passing is never easy, nor should it be.
"In sight of the checkered flag, anything goes" is far too ambiguous, and referencing the truck series or the nationwide series should be irrelevant to the Sprint Cup series. To me that's like F1 referencing what happened in the GP2 race - that wouldn't make much sense.
I raise my beer to Smoke for (mostly) protecting the lead, and I say he deserved the win. I understand Regan Smith's aggravation, but more over the severity of the penalty. He deserved 2nd, not 18th. He should've been forced to give back the one position he gained, and that's all.
Kristen-the first thing that i seen after reading that was her big smile. What a woderful person. I thought of her and Lisa at Dega. I am glad you added her in. She is happy that your doing what she
started.
Jay
Last edited by jayhawk67 on October 7th at 9:59 PM.
Kristen,
As usual you did a great job with all that was going on. I truelly appreciate what you do for us fans. Keep up the good work and thank God my boy J.J. didn't get caught up in the wrecks this weekend.
If J.j can lead lots of laps and win this weekend it might be hard to stop the three-peat!
Kristen - You certainly had a lot of activity to report on at Talladega this week. That is one race I would love to see in person. I think you and Lori brought Smoke some extra luck this weekend. Seems there has been more than a few races this year with Goodyear tire troubles.
Tracy,
Let me first aknowledge you are a very lucky person to have this job, IF IT PAYS. And if it pays your bosses are as stupid as you are you openly criticize Nascar for a move that is allready noted to have been a mistake and then smile like your breaking ground with this bunk. Wow my folks taught me " DON'T #### were you sleep. You may want to think about that and watch a race before you pick your Hot or Not. As for me no worries you will never here from me again as this #### is to stupid to bare, I would rather listen to Lee!
Sniff Sniff. Whats that smell. Everybody knows what going down. Another troll. It appears to me your mama never taught you any manners boy.
I see you have never made an important contribution to blog or posted a blog . What does that make you? Certainly not any one to be considered intelligent considering your language and manners.
I am no shrink but Klvalus is. I am sure she can council you for therapy to get your head out of you self righteous self centered back end. Grow up and do something creative.
bc- I agree with your take on the yellow line rule but the fact that there could be that much hubbub about the finish is still a testament that NASCAR's rule book is still awfully unclear. Oh and BEAR DOWN ARIZONA!!!
jayhawk- you are another one I knew wouldnt miss that Cindi reference!
Gambit- Thanks for the recognition...You should be pretty psyched about JJ's resurgence. He is playing it pretty smart these days.
Gerrel- I certainly didnt bring any luck to Smoke, trust me, I was rootin as hard for the "field" as I could...LOL Lori made it happen for the Great Pumpkin who looked more like a Banana last weekend! LOL
Mr. Cowboy- Who the heck is Tracy? I think I am still lucky even though this job DOES NOT PAY. I am a fan and can tell it like it is with no fear of repercussion from NASCAR...I think its pretty clear I watch the races, perhaps you should read my stuff a bit more carefully? Oh forgot, your not reading my stuff anymore...poor Lee!
Hey Kristen......I want to talk tires here....Not that I support a sole provider....But....there is a whole lot of blame being place at Goodyears' doorstep.....I think the combination of the heavier cars and teams still gathering data at the superspeedways should be a part of the whole deal...
I look back to NHRA Top Fuel....where teams and their competitive spirit...pushed the tires beyond their limit.....Goodyear is constantly working to provide a safe tire......But sometimes trial by fire speeds up the process.
Nascar has to have a hand in the deal too......Open testing is needed....where more than a select few teams can help in the tire testing process.
The end result will be a heavier tire.....slower lap times.....If you ever get a chance...pick up one of those mounted wheels......The lighter is better mentality has caught up with the COT...
Hey WW- I agree with you that Goodyear has taken the rap this year for what is probably at least 50% NASCAR's doing. The dynamics of the COT are as much to blame as the tires are and the teams are pushing the limits on camber etc. to try to get those front ends to turn.
The teams seem much less upset with Goodyear than the fans are and I didnt hear a peep out of the teams about the tire problems at Dega. In fact, several of the mechanics on Kurt's team were 100% against Hoosier coming in b/c they felt they lost too many good drivers on Hoosier tires and Goodyear is definitely safer.
I have tried to pick up those tires with the inner liners and I cant do it! LOL I can pick up the ones they used at Sonoma though...
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 .
