NOTE: THIS IS A REPOST. The original blog didn't show up on the blog lists.
This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew goes to the most hallowed ground in motorsports, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for this week's spaghetti western version (be sure to avoid the debris from used tires!) of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
THE GOOD
Jimmie Johnson: as the winner of this race, he automatically gets first billing. He had the best car all weekend and showed why he isn't ready to give up his title without a fight.
Carl Edwards: on numerous occasions, he had come up to Johnson's back bumper but couldn't pass him. When Johnson inherited the lead after the final pit stop, Edwards could come no closer than a car length. Still, he had a very stout race car all day.
Denny Hamlin: as much as I've been ragging on him all season, he deserves and has earned his props. Used brilliant pit strategy to finish third. Great finish, and it comes at a much-needed time.
Elliott Sadler: a very solid top 5 finish. He stepped his game up and stayed in the top 10 for 102 of the 160 laps.
A.J. Allmendinger: have to give him props for his first career top 10 finish (he finished 10th), at the Brickyard, no less. Perhaps he can use this to turn his season around.
Roush Fenway Racing: if not for Matt Kenseth's right rear tire exploding on him, they would have had all five drivers in the top 15. More on the tire issues later.
Honorable Mention: Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne.
THE BAD
Tires: I normally put the 43rd place driver here, but the tires were so bad, NASCAR had to impose competition cautions throughout the race. The tires kept wearing out much faster than usual, leading to both Juan Pablo Montoya and Matt Kenseth bringing out cautions due to the bad tires. It's time for NASCAR to open up the competition for other tire companies to come in, like Hoosier, Firestone, etc. This is what happens when you have a monopoly.
Michael Waltrip: he finished last after getting in a wreck with Paul Menard very early in the race.
THE UGLY
Tires: because of the competition cautions, the race was choppy and had no rhythm to it. Who was good on short runs? Who would have been good on long green flag runs? A sub good to the last few laps' shootout between Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.
Kurt Busch: he got loose and hit the wall, collecting Kevin Harvick in the process. A sub good to Harvick for gaining several positions through attrition.
The race itself: aside from the shootout, it was long and drawn out due to the tires. It wasn't the typical Brickyard 400.
Those are my nominations. Feel free to come in with yours.
Super Star