Monday, August 10, 2009

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly--The Glen

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York to present to you the rain-delayed version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, east coast wine and cheese style. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Tony Stewart: as the race winner, he automatically gets first billing. With the win, he becomes the first NASCAR driver to win at the Glen five times. He led the most laps in the race, but had to hold off a game Marcos Ambrose for the win.

Marcos Ambrose: he finished a career-best second and led laps. He was stout throughout the weekend, and nearly completed a Glen sweep.

Carl Edwards: he finished a career-best third on a road course. He started 33rd and steadily moved his way up towards the top. Although he didn't lead a lap, he got stronger as the race wore on. The third place finish solidifies his spot in the Chase, as he SORELY needed a strong finish. The Glen was his make or break race. IMO, he clinched a Chase spot, as the remaining tracks are friendly to Edwards.

The Busch Brothers: both Kurt and Kyle got the five bonus points for leading a lap. Although Kyle had a better finish (4th vs. Kurt's 7th), both brothers had strong cars.

Max Papis: I've gotta give a shout out to Como, Italy's Mad Max. It not only was his career-best finish on a road course, it was his career-best NASCAR finish. He started 16th and finished 8th. Good job, Max!

Clint Bowyer: for a guy who admits road courses are not his best tracks, he sure did well! He started 38th and finished 9th, a MUCH needed top 10 that kept his flickering Chase hopes alive. He should still have a chance going into the final weekend before the Chase, as he goes to tracks where he runs strong.

Greg Biffle: Da Biff had a strong top 5 finish. With that finish, he improved his Chase chances. Historically, he has struggled on road courses. But not today. He was strong all weekend.

Honorable Mention: Brian Vickers, Jimmie Johnson, AJ Allmendinger, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano.

THE BAD

Start and parkers: you people know who you are.

Kevin Harvick: he was never a factor, finishing 35th, an unusually bad position for Happy at the Glen.

David Stremme: after leading early, he dropped like a stone, finishing 26th.

THE UGLY

The Crash: this one was a doozy, even by the Glen's standards. It involved Kasey Kahne getting loose and collecting Sam Hornish Jr. Hornish then careened across the track and Jeff Gordon hit him, then hit the guard rail at full speed. Fortunately, both Hornish and Gordon are okay. A sub good to Kahne for accepting full responsibility for the wreck that finished Gordon's, Hornish's, and Jeff Burton's days early.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: he had brake issues and slammed into the tire barrier, costing him 30 laps for repairs. He would finish 39th.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours!

9 comments:

Gene Haddock said...

Great GBU Jon.

Harvick shouldn't get a Bad spot. His day was ruined by Stremme driving way over his head....which leads to Stremme getting an Ugly for causing the first big wreck coming out of the bus stop.

Annette said...

Jon,

I didn't watch the race, but I guess the crashes were much harder than they have been in the past. I think it will be interesting to see how Gordon handles the back issue. I have a feeling each crash pushes him closer to retirement.

klvalus said...

Nice GBU Jon.

Agree with Hanny although Harvick was uncharacteristically outspoken when he said he didnt want the car to be fixed - so bad for that (he sounded like Kurt huh!)

Ugly should be squarely put on Kasey, he drove Sam right into the tires to cause that wreck. Surprised they walked away.

tezgm99 said...

as much as it pains me to say, I agree with ofi (again, lol) about Kasey. Also, I'd put Ambrose's radio chatter in 'bad' as staying out that first caution cost them any shot of mounting a challenge on Tony.

jon_464 said...

Gene, thanks. In retrospect, you're right. Stremme got thrown under the Bus for that!

Iowa-Girl, I think you're right. I can see Gordon racing one more season, tops. Brad Keselowski will be driving the #24 in '11, IMO, after driving a full season in the #09.

Kristen, thanks. Has Happy been hanging out with Kurt lately? Plenty of people threw Kasey under the Bus for that wreck.

Tez, that was a HORRIFIC wreck. If it were the old car, you'd be talking about some serious injuries to both Hornish and Gordon.

Anonymous said...

Jon...I missed the race but I caught all the post-race stuff. Tony has arrived!

Brent said...

Nice GBU as always. Missed the race once again...

Bowyer is becoming kind of a road racer. He also got an eighth place finish back at Sonoma.

Do you realize after two months with a new crew chief Junior still hasn't managed to get a top ten finish???

jon_464 said...

Beverly, a LOT of people missed the race. I caught some of the highlights on NASCAR.com. That wreck where Stremme took out Harvick and a couple of other cars really got my goat. It was unnecessary and uncalled for. No wonder Harvick was PO'd.

Gonger, thanks. Bowyer has certainly improved on the road courses since his rookie season, when he looked lost on the road courses.

Tsfanpc said...

Kasey Kahne's loose car gets thrown under the bus for causing that big pile up with Gordon, Hornish and Burton.