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Author: Ron Thornton

  • The Final Word – Jimmie Johnson, the Queen of Daytona

    The Final Word – Jimmie Johnson, the Queen of Daytona

    When you see Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, I swear a Queen song can be heard in the background. “We Are The Champions”, they seem to be once again serenading the rest of the field during recent events. Johnson has been so dominant this season, he even has tossed away a few races he should have claimed while he proved selfish enough to grab his 4th victory of the season Saturday night in Daytona. He owned that race, and maybe he is about to reclaim that title he had owned for five straight years before loaning it out to Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski.

    Stewart, who might lean toward pudginess from time to time, yet has never reached Meat Loaf proportions, might be thinking that “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” The 2011 king (and in 2002 and 2005) was second at Daytona and moved back into the top ten in the standings. Keselowski, on the other hand, continues his big chill, falling just out of the top ten. After a 21st place finish on Saturday, he may be only 11 points back of Stewart, but since leaving Kansas the defending champ’s average finish has been 22.4. That includes six outcomes where he wound up outside even the top twenty. When Foreigner sang “Cold As Ice”, they were singing about Brad.

    It was a CCR end of the day for Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Kasey Kahne. They all started in the sunshine but in the end all saw a “Bad Moon Rising,” At least they all lasted longer than Paul Menard, who went up in smoke on just lap 23.

    Rating Daytona – 10/10 – It was Daytona. It was a visual spectacle. We do not watch to see them wreck. We watch due to the lap by lap promise that all hell just might break loose, and while often it does we are amazed when it does not. I am not even talking about the last lap where, as Dirks Bentley mentioned, things more often than not go a little bit “Sideways.”

    Will things get tamer in New Hampshire on Sunday? Last year’s summer and fall victors, Kahne and Hamlin, sure hope so. Jeff Burton has the most wins there, with four, while Stewart. Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Kurt Busch, who has newly arrived in the top ten this season, all have three.  So does Mr. Johnson. The good news for the rest of the field is that he has been blanked there in his past five attempts. All he did last year was finish 7th in July, 2nd in September, and last year sucked for the team. I mean, they only finished third in the standings. Last night I dreamed of Chad wearing a Freddie Mercury jumpsuit atop the war wagon singing “We Will Rock You.” I woke up screaming. Enjoy the week.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett were great drivers but it is Kyle Petty who is a great announcer

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett were great drivers but it is Kyle Petty who is a great announcer

    In recent weeks I have run across articles by some scribes offering up alternative vocations for Kyle Petty, other than his present announcing gig. I ask those folks one simple question, “Are you nuts?” Where are those same brains when it comes to Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett, who will soon be blessing us with their verbal skills later this month?

    As I have mentioned before, Kyle, along with his TNT partners, provide us the best NASCAR announcing crew in the business. I tune in just to hear what they say, and some days the race actually is almost as entertaining as their commentary. You will never hear anyone say that about Rusty and Brad Daugherty…ever. Dale is not bad, but his commentary will not keep you watching if the race is not a spectacle on its own. Monday Night Football was not always great, but Howard, Dandy Don, and Frank kept us tuned in even for the duds. So does TNT. ESPN will not. Trust me.

    As for Petty’s comments regarding Danica Patrick, what is there to argue? She is a 31-year old great looking marketing machine, but she is presently not a great driver, or even a good one. What separates her from the rest are her gender and her looks, not with just a single IndyCar win in 115 tries to her credit. Can she be great, or at least be given credit for being a driver who can race? Sure. I think Kyle could be wrong about that, but he is not wrong about her present status.

    Among our hot 20 you will not find Danica, but to be honest you will not find the defending Cup champion, either. Brad Keselowski might be 13th in the standings, but there is no sign of hope for a resurgence, or a win, or much of anything. He is 23rd over the past ten events, averaging 23 points per race.

    I am sure Petty would still consider the slumping Keselowski a racer, even if his publicity photos do not quite measure up to Patrick’s. Clint Bowyer takes over the point as we head to Daytona on Saturday, with Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards part of the lead pack. Clint and Carl have yet to win there. No time like the present.

     

    Name Points POS. LW Rank W T5 T10
      Clint Bowyer  361 1 3 (3) 0 4 7
      Kevin Harvick  352 2 2 (4) 2 4 8
      Jimmie Johnson  341 3 4 (1) 1 4 6
      Carl Edwards  338 4 1 (2) 0 2 5
      Martin Truex, Jr.  327 5 5 (8) 1 4 6
      Matt Kenseth  324 6 6 (5) 3 3 6
      Kurt Busch  312 7 9 (14) 0 2 5
      Jeff Gordon  306 8 12 (12) 0 3 4
      Tony Stewart  299 9 7 (17) 1 3 4
      Joey Logano  297 10 13 (10) 0 3 6
      Ryan Newman  279 11 8 (18) 0 1 3
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  278 12 17 (6) 0 1 4
      Jeff Burton  276 13 14 (21) 0 1 2
      Juan Pablo Montoya  274 14 15 (23) 0 2 3
      Aric Almirola  271 15 11 (16) 0 0 4
      Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.  271 16 19 (20) 0 0 0
      Paul Menard  253 17 16 (15) 0 0 1
      Greg Biffle  250 18 10 (9) 1 2 3
      Kyle Busch  249 19 18 (7) 1 3 5
      Jamie McMurray  247 20 22 (19) 0 1 2
      Kasey Kahne  246 21 20 (11) 0 2 3
      Brad Keselowski  230 23 23 (13) 0 1 2
  • The Final Word – Kentucky gives Kenseth his fourth as Johnson gives away a second

    The Final Word – Kentucky gives Kenseth his fourth as Johnson gives away a second

    How do you win four races in a season? You Matt’er down of course, which is exactly what Mr. Kenseth did at Kentucky on Sunday. He might not have had the best car on the day, but he did when it counted as he claimed his 28th career victory. The victory moves him to fifth in the standings and, even more important, three bonus points up on Jimmie Johnson in re-calibrated Chase points.

    Johnson, he of so many wins he can just give them away. He beat the late re-start at Dover, and wound up 17th. He spun out late at Kentucky, and came home ninth. He will be at 65 soon enough, so why rush? 182 laps leading and then just giving it away.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr would not do that. Maybe early in his career, he might have, when he claimed 16 wins in his first 201 races. However, not since then. Not since the past 285 events have produced just three victories, the last one more than a year ago. Junior started from the pole, he was leading the race, but when the carcass of Denny Hamlin’s tire slapped him up side the splitter he was just glad to hang on to 12th.

    Hamlin will not make the Chase. After his hurts, he keeps getting hurt points-wise and physically. He eventually crashed out, got his bell rung a little, and finished 35th. Hamlin has nine races to make up 44 points (to make the Top 20) and win a couple. It is not going to happen.

    Brad Keselowski will not make the Chase. The defending champ with the big Twitter may be only 14 points out, but he has been deplorable over the past ten. He might have a couple of Top Tens, but he also finished 33rd at Richmond, 32nd at Darlington, 36th at Charlotte, and 33rd on Sunday. His next nine will have to be as awesome as the recent past has been awful.

    For the first time in 35-years, since 1978, a Labonte failed to start a Cup race. With Bobby sat down in favor of A.J. Allmendinger, his streak of 704 consecutive starts came to a close. Allmendinger finished 22nd. I hope the feedback was worth it.

    Rating Kentucky – 8/10 – It was a day late, but you hate to fly through the race as you might miss something the TNT crew brings up. I wish I had missed Carl Edwards’ guest selection from Saturday. Thanks to fellow writer Kelly Crandall, I did not, sharing the joy that is Turtleman. To be fair, she did indicate that it was a train wreck, but I still might have to remove Kelly as a Facebook friend. So, who will be on next week, Honey Boo Boo?

    This Saturday night is the Firecracker 400 at Daytona. Johnson won there last spring, Tony Stewart a year ago, and Kenseth in the 2012 season opener. Jamie McMurray was second in Kentucky, and has won twice on the track at Daytona. Back in the Top 20, he sure could use a third about now. Enjoy the week!

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Not even Kurt Busch could solve the problems at JTG-Daugherty from the driver’s seat

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Not even Kurt Busch could solve the problems at JTG-Daugherty from the driver’s seat

    It has been since forever since Bobby Labonte had made this list. In fact, to include him, we would have to talk about the Hot 30, which would truly be a misnomer if I ever heard one. After blowing up on the opening lap at Sonoma, he even slipped a spot to sit one position and 21 points behind Danica Patrick over the past ten events. Labonte has been able to pick up just 15.2 points per race over the term. In short, his season sucks.

    So, why am I a tad upset the 2000 champion gets parked this Saturday night? I mean, Bobby has not even finished ranked in the top ten since 2006. Since the 1996 Daytona 500 Labonte has answered the call, 704 consecutive races. That is just one short of Jeff Gordon, and third best all-time behind Ricky Rudd’s 788 consecutive string. That ends Saturday, and even that is not the reason I am upset.

    The 49 year old, who won his 21st and final race back in 2003, he is being removed from the car in favor of A.J. Allmendinger. They want Allmendinger’s feedback on what they might be missing, how they might become more competitive. The winner of exactly zero Cup races is going to come up with a solution? A car that can not complete a single lap due to a blown engine needs another driver’s perspective on what the problems might be? Bobby Labonte has driven substandard cars since he left Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005, cars that seem to have gotten worse over time.

    I strongly suspect the problems with the cars put forth by JTG-Daugherty Racing are the same experienced by James Finch, Mark Smith, Bob Keselowski, Joe Nemechek, Brandon Davis, Bob Jenkins, and Tommy Baldwin. They can not compete because, at present, they do not have the funding to do so. Labonte, Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, or the good Lord himself could not change that from the driver’s seat. Labonte’s streak comes to an end, and maybe mercifully so, because an owner can not accept where the problems truly reside. That is just this one man’s opinion.

    The official standings show Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski sitting in a Chase place, but that has nothing to do with how they have done lately. Junior remains 34 points to the good, while Kyle has a couple wins as a cushion, but neither are even warm right now. The defending champ is another story. He is ice cold at present, averaging less than 23 points per race over the past ten, is winless, and just nine points out of 11th.

    Kurt Busch still sits 28 points out of the Chase, but after clawing back to finish fourth on Sunday he has climbed from 21st to 9th among our hot hands. He is gaining about five points per race on Keselowski, and with ten to go you never know.

     

    Name Points POS. LW Rank W T5 T10
      Carl Edwards  355 1 4 (2) 0 3 6
      Kevin Harvick  349 2 3 (4) 2 4 7
      Clint Bowyer  349 3 2 (3) 0 3 6
      Jimmie Johnson  342 4 1 (1) 1 4 6
      Martin Truex, Jr.  327 5 9 (10) 1 4 6
      Matt Kenseth  309 6 5 (5) 2 2 5
      Tony Stewart  298 7 6 (15) 1 3 4
      Ryan Newman  284 8 14 (18) 0 1 4
      Kurt Busch  281 9 21 (17) 0 1 4
      Greg Biffle  280 10 10 (7) 1 3 4
      Aric Almirola  279 11 11 (16) 0 0 4
      Jeff Gordon  277 12 13 (13) 0 3 3
      Joey Logano  272 13 16 (14) 0 3 6
      Jeff Burton  272 14 8 (20) 0 1 2
      Juan Pablo Montoya  270 15 12 (23) 0 2 3
      Paul Menard  266 16 15 (11) 0 0 1
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  260 17 20 (6) 0 1 4
      Kyle Busch  258 18 7 (8)  1 3 5
      Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.  248 19 18 (19) 0 0 0
      Kasey Kahne  246 20 19 (12) 0 3 3
      Brad Keselowski  229 23 22 (9) 0 1 3
  • The Final Word – Truex left his heart, Montoya left his gas gauge, in San Francisco

    The Final Word – Truex left his heart, Montoya left his gas gauge, in San Francisco

    Martin Truex Jr has the best sideburns in the business, and now he has the shortest losing streak. That 218 race gap between victories came to an end as he drove away in the hills of Sonoma, just outside of San Francisco on Sunday. Have there been longer droughts? Certainly. Michael Waltrip went 462 before he finally won a Cup race. J.D. McDuffie went 653 and never won. In fact, in 1991 he died at Watkins Glen in his final attempt.

    Kurt Busch roars in to the pits, way over speed, and gets a drive through penalty. He again roars in to the pits, way over speed, and gets a stop and go penalty. All he did after that was drive through the field, got his lap back on the track, and wound up fourth. A bad day just three positions behind the guy with a great day. I wish I was that bad.

    So does brother Kyle. He got spun by Juan Pablo Montoya early, then stalled on pit road, got punted by Carl Edwards, and went for a spin in the dirt. Some Busch’s finish fourth, others 35th. One consolation is that Kyle finished just one position behind Montoya. Funny how one can be second at one moment and 34th at another when the fuel runs out on the final lap. Yes, I bet his team thought it real hilarious.

    Just in case you were wondering, Jacques Villeneuve was entered at Sonoma, my mother was not. The former F1 champ lasted 19 more laps than Mom did, and picked up three points to Mrs. Thornton’s zero. Neither are slated to run at Kentucky on Saturday night. Just keeping you informed.

    So, JTG-Daugherty Racing sat Bobby Labonte so A.J. Allmendinger could provide them some feedback as to what the team might be missing. On Sunday, Labonte was back in and the damn car blew its engine on the first lap. So, unless the former Cup champ did something real stupid real early, or the problems with that team has nothing to do with who is driving but rather who is working on it. Just an observation.

    Rating Sonoma – 9/10 – Can you beat the rolling hills in the background? Can you beat the surprises that often lurked in the turns, especially that last one? Is there a better crew than Adam, Kyle, and Wally, or better tech analyst than Larry, or better track-side reporters? Any worse? I will let you think about that for a few weeks. I am sure some names will come to you.

    As they venture to Kentucky Brad Keselowski might consider repeating his win from last year. Presently, the defending Cup champ is just nine points to the good, with no wins in 2013. A hiccup on Saturday night, especially should Paul Menard, Kahne, Jeff Gordon, or Joey Logano do very well, could prove to be rather nasty. As for two-time winner Kyle Busch, he remains 16 points within a Chase place, but another bad day for him and things could start getting complicated. Enjoy the week.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Where is that vain, obnoxious, temperamental Kurt Busch we used to love to loathe?

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Where is that vain, obnoxious, temperamental Kurt Busch we used to love to loathe?

    I like Kurt Busch. There, I said it. Do not get me wrong. The Kurt Busch who mouthed off and got punched in the head by Jimmy Spencer, he I did not much care for. The Robo-Kurt, who acted as phoney as a $3 bill, only to show his true colors by mouthing off a respected reporter like Dr. Jerry Punch a couple of years ago, I did not much care for that jackass either. The underdog, driving for a single car operation out of Denver, Colorado, he I do like.

    Barney Visser’s Furniture Row Motorsports has been around since 2005, participating in 214 Sprint Cup events over that time. They have just 16 Top Tens, but half of that number have come in the 21 races Busch has been behind the wheel. Regan Smith had the others. They have just 6 Top Fives, half of them claimed by Busch over the first 15 races of the current season. Smith had the other three, but in 84 contests. So, either Smith found more money sitting around when Smith drove for him, and then found a bunch more the past couple of years, or they finally got a driver who can take their equipment to new heights. I am guessing Kurt Busch is that reason.

    While Smith gave Visser his only chance to visit Victory Lane at Darlington in 2011, Busch seems poised to match that sometime this year. He has one pole and four times he has started on the front row. He might be sitting 20th in the standings, but he is only 33 points out of the Top Ten. A win or two, and a place in the Chase would be their’s.

    In fact, their effort is not even reflected in the standings. When they have raced, they mattered. Too bad they finished 20th or worse to start the first three races of the current campaign, Four times since they have been 30th or worse, including last week at Michigan. Three times they have been bad, four others have been awful. As for the remaining eight, their worst finish has been 15th. If they could just keep the parts together and keep away from the things that turn fenders into so much trash, they would do so much better.

    Will they do it, will they make the Chase? They could, but they are an underdog. It is a role that fits Busch well, one that appears to have finally matured him. For a man who turns 35 this August I guess it is about time, but some prima donnas never do mature. It is truly refreshing to discover one who appears to have done just that.

    What he needs to do at Sonoma on Sunday is to get hot again, as Busch slips out of our Top 20. Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski are two other boys who are a lot colder lately than what they are ranked over the season.

    As some drop, others rise, and sometimes the numbers do not make much sense. Juan Pablo Montoya finishes 20th last week, yet rises eight positions on this chart. Huh? Horrid days experienced by Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jeff Gordon helped, especially when a good day is replaced by a bad one in our ten race window. Montoya was 18 places better at Michigan than he was Fontana, while Gordon was 28 worse, Kahne 29, and Junior 35. That will do it.

    Jimmie Johnson remains the one with the hot hand and our top five remain the same as they take on the road course in California.

     

    Name Points POS LW Rank W T5 T10
      Jimmie Johnson  355 1 1 (1) 2 5 6
      Clint Bowyer  352 2 4 (3) 0 3 6
      Kevin Harvick  346 3 3 (4) 2 4 6
      Carl Edwards  343 4 2 (2) 0 2 5
      Matt Kenseth  315 5 5 (5) 2 2 5
      Tony Stewart  309 6 8 (10) 1 3 4
      Kyle Busch  289 7 7 (6) 1 4 6
      Jeff Burton  285 8 11 (17) 0 1 2
      Martin Truex, Jr.  283 9 16 (13) 0 3 5
      Greg Biffle  279 10 15 (8) 1 3 4
      Aric Almirola  279 11 10 (15) 0 0 4
      Juan Pablo Montoya  278 12 20 (22) 0 2 3
      Jeff Gordon  275 13 6 (16) 0 3 3
      Ryan Newman  268 14 14 (18) 0 1 4
      Paul Menard  261 15 17 (11) 0 0 1
      Joey Logano  259 16 18 (14) 0 3 6
      Jamie McMurray  250 17 19 (21) 0 0 2
      Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.  250 18 21 (19) 0 0 0
      Kasey Kahne  248 19 12 (12) 0 3 3
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  248 20 9 (7) 0 1 4
      Kurt Busch  247 21 13 (20) 0 1 3
      Brad Keselowski  243 22 22 (9) 0 1 4
  • The Final Word – Michigan, where it all went to “H” for Mr. H.

    The Final Word – Michigan, where it all went to “H” for Mr. H.

    1000 victories. That is a pretty hefty number no matter what you are talking about. For Ford, Greg Biffle’s performance at Michigan allowed the manufacturer to hit the milestone, 64 years after Jim Roper was declared the winner at Charlotte in the first ever NASCAR event. For the Biff, it marked his first win of the season and the 19th of his career to leave him eighth in the standings.

    The only guys who had something that might have challenged the Ford driver was the Chevy boys from Hendrick. Sadly for them, they each had rather less than stellar finishes. Jimmie Johnson was tracking Biffle down, until a tire went down and the challenger creased the fence with two to go. Johnson finished 17th. Dale Earnhardt Jr had a car to contend with, but he went from first to a bug smudge as his engine let loose. Junior was finished in 37th. Kasey Kahne had a car that could anywhere, but he went from the front to the wall when a tire let go. He wound up 38th. That left Jeff Gordon, but he got pinched into the fence when Bobby Labonte broke loose just six laps in. Gordon was to end his day 39th. It was one hell of a day for Mr. Hendrick.

    We had folks do well. Jeff Burton had gone 12th, 11th, and 11th in recent weeks before coming home 10th last Sunday to be within 20 points of a Chase place. Austin Dillon took his fuzzy cheeks out there and brought grand-dad’s car home in 11th. Danica Patrick looked like crap early (okay, her performance, not her own perky self) yet finished 13th.

    They dumped Labonte from his regular ride to see if A.J. Allmendinger could find some answers. How did Bobby respond? Well, Labonte wrecked early while driving for James Finch to end up dead last. Allmendinger was 19th to be the best among the 30-something entries; those usually found 30th or something beyond that. Expect Labonte back for Sonoma, while former open wheeler Allmendinger is not listed driving for anyone.

    As expected, road course ringer Ron Fellows is back. Making their Cup debuts will be Puerto Rico’s Victor Gonzalez Jr and former Craftsman driver Paulie Harraka. Also on track will be former CART, Indianapolis 500, and Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve. 43 spots are open, just 43 cars are entered for this Sunday.

    Rating Michigan – 8/10 – Dear Lord: It might be too much to ask for, but might we have an entire season broadcast by TNT? While we might tune in for the action, often we stay watching a race due to insightful and entertaining commentary. We might not miss much on the track, but we know we might miss something from the broadcast booth, thus we stay watching. Lord, I think those folks on ESPN are wonderful people, but I shudder to think what the Pocono and Michigan experiences will be like with them in August. Anyway, if you could perform a miracle here and keep Wally, Kyle, Adam, Larry and their track side colleagues on the air this summer and fall, I sure would appreciate it. Love, Ron. PS: I hope you had a great Fathers’ Day.

    Next time out, they will be turning left…and right. Tony Stewart has won a pair at Sonoma and Jeff Gordon has done it five times, but the last time for them was back in 2005 and 2006. Since then, winners include such names as Montoya, Busch (both of ‘em), Kahne, Johnson, and Bowyer last year. You do not have to be a ringer there, just a great driver, like some guy named Earnhardt was back in 1995. Any one of those past winners entered could pull it off. Mark Martin won in 1997 but more often than not he also enjoys a Top Ten day in California. The boys and girl take to the track just north of the streets of San Francisco this Sunday. By the way, in case you were wondering, the last Ford winner there was Ricky Rudd, in 2002. Enjoy the week.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – As we turn to Michigan we are reminded of our mortality

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – As we turn to Michigan we are reminded of our mortality

    Last Sunday at Pocono, Jason Leffler finished last in his only Cup start of the season and the 73rd of his career. It proved to be his last, as he died during a dirt track race Wednesday in New Jersey. The native of Long Beach, California competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 over the course of his career, with wins coming in the Nationwide and Craftsman series of NASCAR.

    While, as I write this, we do not know the cause of the accident. It appears his crash into the wall on turn four resulted in some invasion of the cockpit, such as crushed car components. We are reminded of the extensive safety features we now have in NASCAR, features not always available in the lower divisions of racing. We are also reminded of the inherent dangers of the sport. Jason Leffler was just 37, and leaves behind a five year old son.

    This Sunday, the Cup series returns to Michigan, to where Dale Earnhardt Jr was a victor one year ago.  While we expect to discover that Tony Stewart has heated up in these standings after the results of the past couple of weeks, it might be surprising to find Jeff Burton moving up eight positions. Burton finished 12th at Charlotte, and 11th the past two weeks. Heading the other way is Paul Menard, from eighth to 17th, who followed up a 20th at Dover with a 30th place finish last week. Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr are two others in the ice box.

    They will no doubt remember Jason Leffler at Michigan, as we remember him and those who we have lost over the years. Let us never forget their sacrifice and the courage of all those who take to the track.

     

    Name Points POS LW W T5 T10
      Jimmie Johnson  370 1 2 2 5 6
      Carl Edwards  346 2 1 0 3 5
      Kevin Harvick  336 3 4 2 3 5
      Clint Bowyer  324 4 3 0 3 5
      Matt Kenseth  315 5 6 2 2 5
      Jeff Gordon  303 6 9 0 3 3
      Kyle Busch  297 7 7 2 4 6
      Tony Stewart  293 8 14 1 2 3
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  282 9 12 0 2 5
      Aric Almirola  282 10 15 0 0 4
      Jeff Burton  278 11 19 0 1 1
      Kasey Kahne  276 12 5 0 3 4
      Kurt Busch  276 13 10 0 2 4
      Ryan Newman  276 14 13 0 1 5
      Greg Biffle  269 15 17 0 2 4
      Martin Truex, Jr.  268 16 11 0 2 4
      Paul Menard  267 17 8 0 0 2
      Joey Logano  265 18 18 0 4 5
      Jamie McMurray  263 19 16 0 0 3
      Juan Pablo Montoya  260 20 22 0 2 3
  • The Final Word – If TNT can make Pocono enjoyable, there is hope for Michigan

    The Final Word – If TNT can make Pocono enjoyable, there is hope for Michigan

    Pocono. Jimmie Johnson. His 63rd career Cup victory. Did I leave anything out? Sunday was all about Johnson pretty much all of the time.  Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr, who both won at Michigan last season, were the runners up at Pocono as Five Time claimed his third checkered flag of the season.

    Johnson and Matt Kenseth are tied for most wins, one more than Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Four others have single wins, with Tony Stewart able to convert his into a wild card berth for the Chase. With last week’s Top Five, he is now just 17 points out of tenth place in the over-all standings.

    David Ragan has a win, but sits more than a hundred points out of the Top Twenty. As for Denny Hamlin, he needs wins to make the Chase, but has 76 points to make up before they can do him any good. Not only does he need some victories, but he could use some bad luck to hit Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Newman, and Jamie McMurray for good measure.

    Not all race teams are created equal, which brings us to the 30-somethings, those we usually find buried 30th or worse. Sometimes good things do happen to bad… or underfunded… teams. On Sunday, that team was the #93 of BK Racing, driven by Travis Kvapil. His 20th place finish marked their best effort of the season.

    With rain forcing the Nationwide race to Sunday, and Joey Logano back to Pocono, the Iowa event was won by Trevor Bayne. It marked only the third time this season a series race was not won by a Cup regular, and only the eighth time in 14 runs the winner was not Kyle Busch.

    For those of us who think having Cup drivers competing in the other circuits as being just plain stupid, back in the day the Grand National series was like Cup, Nationwide, and even the trucks all mixed together. In 1964, for example, Richard Petty won nine races in running 61 of a 62 race campaign. His first win was the Sunshine 200 at Savannah, beating 21 others, half of which never did win a Grand National race and for two it was their only such race. The season was longer and the fields could range to over fifty to less than twenty entries. As for the talent level, it was similar to having the likes of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Brad Keselowski being challenged by Kyle Fowler and Tanner Berryhill. Sound familiar?

    It was a great weekend for the sons of former Cup stars. Ward’s son Jeb Burton won the truck race, while the ARCA event was claimed by Bill’s son Chase Elliott. Hey, even Dale Earnhardt’s boy did not do so bad over the weekend.

    Rating Pocono – 8/10 – Starting in Brooklyn back in 1950 and continuing to describe the action of the Los Angeles Dodgers today, 85-year old Vin Scully is the absolute pinnacle of play-by-play artistry. Armed with an almanac’s worth of informational tidbits we weaves a narrative that not only compliments the action on the field, but often transcends it.

    Pocono was a one man race with Johnson dominating from start to finish and the rest of the field strung out behind him. Action filled, it was not. Yet the TNT crew of Kyle Petty, Wally Dallenbach, Adam Alexander, and Larry McReynolds kept us entertained and informed as they presented the story of the race. Their chemistry is spot on. That is how it should be done. FOX is good, TNT was better. ESPN? Let us not go there.

    Too much? I don’t think so. This race had none of the action provided on the high banks of Daytona or Talladega, or the fender rubbing we see at Bristol, nor was the field even in the general proximity one might expect at Charlotte. Yet, it was an enjoyable broadcast to sit through. If the action did not keep us tuned in, it must have been the narrative provided by the broadcasters.

    Michigan is the venue for this upcoming Sunday. It is where Junior won last June. Is it an exciting track to watch a race? If history is any indication, nope. Here is hoping the TNT crew is up for another challenge. We know that ESPN most certainly would not be, but that is a cross we won’t have to bear for a few more weeks. Enjoy this week.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Logano hopes his track of dreams in Iowa helps him repeat at Pocono

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Logano hopes his track of dreams in Iowa helps him repeat at Pocono

    Pocono is where those with the big boy (and girl) pants run this Sunday, though Joey Logano got his hands on a plane. He will be flying off seeking his second straight Nationwide win Saturday, this time in Iowa. It is interesting to note that Sam Hornish Jr and Regan Smith are the only full-timers to win on the junior circuit this season. Joining Logano as victors are Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, and six-time winner Kyle Busch. Logano is the only Cup driver at Newton, just east of Des Moines, as he prepares to also defend his Cup win at Pocono last June.

    Despite having three Top Tens in the past six, he also has finishes of 39th, 35th, and 22nd. That leaves Logano 18th, 34 points out of a Chase spot. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson swapped positions since last week, with Edwards now having the one point advantage. Clint Bowyer moved into third, with Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne filling out our hottest five.

    Jeff Gordon and Stewart were our biggest movers this week. Gordon finished 22 positions better than in Las Vegas by taking third at Dover. Smoke shocked everyone in pulling out all the stops last Sunday, moving 14 points ahead on this chart and jumping up into essentially a three-way tie for 14th.

    One of the trio is Jamie McMurray, who dropped down from tenth after finishing 20 spots worse than he was in Nevada. That blown engine moved Matt Kenseth down to sixth. Juan Pablo Montoya was second best at Dover, but that was still not good enough to move him into our Hot 20. He remains 22nd, a dozen points out.

    Despite some Top Tens over the run, Brad Keselowski actually dropped one spot out of our top 20, one ahead of Montoya. The penalties hurt, but three times outside the Top Thirty have caused even more pain.

     

    Name Points POS. LW W T5 T10
      Carl Edwards  345 1 2 0 3 5
      Jimmie Johnson  344 2 1 1 4 5
      Clint Bowyer  334 3 6 0 4 6
      Kevin Harvick  331 4 5 2 3 4
      Kasey Kahne  315 5 4 1 4 5
      Matt Kenseth  306 6 3 2 2 5
      Kyle Busch  302 7 8 2 5 6
      Paul Menard  289 8 9 0 0 3
      Jeff Gordon  282 9 15 0 3 3
      Kurt Busch  280 10 12 0 3 4
      Martin Truex, Jr.  279 11 7 0 2 4
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  279 12 11 0 1 5
      Ryan Newman  273 13 13 0 0 5
      Tony Stewart  266 14 19 1 1 2
      Aric Almirola  266 15 14 0 0 4
      Jamie McMurray  266 16 10 0 0 3
      Greg Biffle  260 17 16 0 1 3
      Joey Logano  259 18 17 0 4 5
      Jeff Burton  257 19 21 0 1 1
      Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.  256 20 20 0 0 0