For the final time this season, the Crappafoni Pictures crew brings you The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, south Florida style, served up with a Cuban sandwich and paella. Enjoy!
THE GOOD
Jimmie Johnson: rarely do I put a non-winner in this spot, but as the first four-time champion, he belongs there. He IS the definition of a dynasty. Considering he's in his early 30's, he could very well end up rewriting the NASCAR record books in terms of number of championships. Had he won the race today, it would have been his 48th career win.
Denny Hamlin: not a bad way to end the season for The Hamster. He took the checkered flag and gained momentum for next season. To start the race 32nd and win is a testament to his crew. They did a fantastic job. He'll be a force next season.
Jeff Burton: although he was faster than Hamlin the last 20 laps or so, he didn't have enough to catch his fellow Virginian.
Kevin Harvick: he unloaded a stout car, was quick in qualifying, practice, and the race itself. He led a total of 56 laps en route to a third place finish, nipping Kurt Busch at the finish line.
Kurt Busch: he was strong, and considering this was his last race with Pat Tryson as his crew chief, the Brew Crew dug hard and showed their mettle. Good job Kurt and crew!
Martin Truex, Jr.: this was his last race in the #1 car and he made it a very solid one. This team has struggled pretty much the whole season, and the ninth place finish erased some of the disappointment. Plus, he ran the fastest lap of the entire race.
Honorable Mention: Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, AJ Allmendinger.
THE BAD
ABC: BAD coverage as usual. Where was the coverage of the exciting duel between Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick to finish third? I'm thankful that ABC's not covering the Daytona 500 next year.
Juan Pablo Montoya: it's been a long time since I put him here, but I must. He rammed Tony Stewart in the rear after Stewart slid in front of him. Stewart didn't like that, so he retaliated in kind by making contact with Montoya, cutting his tire in the process and causing him to wreck. Later, Montoya punted Stewart, drawing a black flag from NASCAR and serving a two-lap penalty.
Erik Darnell: he caused a multi-car pileup ON A CAUTION. He was in front of a line of cars when he apparently realized he was about to miss his pit. He slammed on the brakes, causing a multi-car pileup on pit road. Elliott Sadler was one of the victims of Darnell's idiocy, suffering severe front end damage and knocking him out of the race. (And yes, Paul Menard was also in the middle of it!)
THE UGLY
Marcos Ambrose: he had issues early in the race. First it was a cut tire that caused him to go a lap down, then he had to go behind the wall for an engine issue. He returned to the track, finishing 16 laps down. Two sub-Goods: first for leading four laps early in the race, then gaining eight spots through attrition.
Those are my final nominees of the season. Feel free to come in with yours!
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11 comments:
that was heartbreaking for me; I thought Marcos might go backwards at the start so to watch him take the lead only for it to all go wrong....ahh well, he ends up 18th overall and hopefully bigger and better things are to come in 2010 for the #47 crew :)
Tez, Marcos' struggles were heartbreaking for a lot of fans. At least he was able to return and actually gain some positions. I see bigger and better things, including his first win next year.
Jon...great job all year long!
It appeared that JPM had a good run on Tony when Tony slid up and blocked him....WAY early in the race for that, Smoke!
Gene, thanks. I agree, it was WAY too early in the race for Smoke to be racing. He should have let JPM go. But Montoya should have kept his cool. As everybody in the schoolyard knows, the kid that hits second is the kid that always gets caught by the teacher. Montoya hit second and got caught by NASCAR.
Nice job Jon.
But if I could add a category I would add the unnecessary. Which was Kurt Busch calling out Tryson after the race. Sorry Klval but I think that would have been a good time to be quiet
Well we goat a few months off to ponder next year. Let shope it is not a rerun of the Jimmie and Chad show.
Socal24fan, Kurt could have been much more gracious, and thanked Pat for the years they were together. I don't think we'll be seeing Tryson working with Busch again.
Photogr, I think you're going to see Denny Hamlin as a legitimate threat to win it all, IF he is more consistent in the Chase. But I'm picking Jimmie to win until someone knocks him off.
Spot on this week!
Being Thanksgiving week, I am very thankful ESPN does not have the Daytona 500. The way they closed the broadcast Sunday made me wonder if there was going to be a race next week. Not a goodbye or anything.
I too was thrilled to see Ambrose take the lead, then it seemed everytime I turned around he was dished out another round of bad luck. Hopefully bigger and better things are ahead for that team.
Great GBU Jon! Way better than the ABC coverage!! They didnt even interview Mikey either after his final FT race.
Socal - I think Kurt was being sarcastic in his interview - his sense of humor is VERY dry. But agree he could have actually thanked him. Being a smart arse is what he does best tho!
I dont understand why JPM got sat for 2 laps and Tony did not...
Marcos was a heartbreaker!
Can you do a GBU for the banquet!?
Hey Jon,
excellent job all year by you and your Crappafoni team.
I couldn't be happier if there weren't anymore races with the phrase "chasing history" in every sentence by the comment-taters
jmayer, thanks! ABC/ESPN's coverage all year was horrible. Made me long for the days that NBC/TNT had the last part of the season! If it wasn't for bad luck, Marcos would have had no luck at all!
Kristen, thanks! What was up with ABC not interviewing Mikey after his final F/T race? For the first time in what seems like forever, there won't be a Waltrip in the field (actually 1973). I think either sit both down or neither of them. If I see the banquet, I will. (Fridays are the craziest days for me as far as work goes!)
RA6AN, thanks! I'll be glad when the term "chasing history" is eliminated from the NASCAR lexicon! (On a side note, my faves are "they are who we thought they were" and "If you're going to crown them, then crown their @$$".) Me and the crew are looking forward to next season!
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