Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- All-Star Race 2010

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the cradle of NASCAR, Charlotte, NC, to bring you this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in high-def crystal clarity (We're too cheap for this trendy 3-D stuff; hey, I'm just telling it like it is!), complete with a North Carolina-style BBQ, grilled corn, and all the fixin's. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Kurt Busch: as the race winner, he gets first billing. He did win the first segment of the Challenge, and was near the front for the whole 100 laps. Props go out to the Brew Crew(looking forward to seeing you guys at Sonoma) for doing a GREAT job in fixing the Blue Deuce during the 10 minute break after he slapped the wall hard. The Deuce may not have been a thing of beauty to look at, but for Roger Penske, it was the most beautiful sight in the world when the Deuce took the checkered flag. Good job Kurt and Crew!!

Martin Truex, Jr.: he was the winner of the transition race. That alone deserves a Good slot. While he hung out at the back in the Challenge, that strategy kept him in good stead, particularly when the Big One hit very early in the final segment of the race. Had there been one more lap to go, I think Truex could have pulled it out. This bodes well for Truex and the NAPA crew as the Chase nears. Another Good goes out to Truex for having the fastest lap of the race.

Joey Logano: although he didn't lead a lap, he managed to pick his way and did a great job in not being a part of the Big One. That alone put him in a position to win, and although he didn't win, he learned a lot about the race and what he can do in the future. Good job Joey!

Denny Hamlin: he led two laps and was in a position to win it, but he slapped the wall late and lost his momentum. He got into an on-track tiff with his teammate Kyle Busch when Busch had a run on him and Hamlin cut him off. I don't blame Hamlin; he's trying to win the race, and there was no contact made.

Greg Biffle: he raced his way into the Challenge with a second-place finish in the transition race. For awhile, it looked like he had a car that could win the All-Star Race. He avoided trouble for the most part and had a solid finish. Good job Biff!

THE BAD

Joe Nemechek: he was the first to start and park in the Showdown. You're beyond Field Filler Joe now; you're Start and Park Joe. You went from Front Row Joe to Field Filler Joe to Start and Park Joe. IT'S A FREAKING DISGRACE THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE START AND PARKERS IN THE ALL-STAR RACE!! AT LEAST GIVE AN HONEST EFFORT!! NASCAR SHOULD WITHHOLD YOUR EARNINGS FROM THE RACE; YOU STOLE MONEY FROM THEM YOU BASTARD!! AT LEAST NORM BENNING PUT FORTH AN HONEST EFFORT WITH AN UNDERFUNDED TEAM AND RAN ALL 40 LAPS OF THE RACE!!

THE UGLY

Start and Parkers: WHY do we have to have these guys in the All-Star Race? If you can't run a full race, THEN DON'T RUN THE RACE AT ALL!!!

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

11 comments:

SpeedBeagle said...

Which brings up the question

If the fans voted an S&P driver into the actual All Star Race, would that driver still park?

klvalus said...

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

and thats all I've got to say to that! =)

jon_464 said...

SB, in that very unlikely scenario, he probably would.

Kristen, I'll have to congratulate the Brew Crew at Sonoma! They did a GREAT job working on the Blue Deuce! Kurt had the right combo of patience and daring (not to mention he had a stout car).

Dwindy1 said...

Who won? LOL

Dwindy1 said...

Looks like trouble in River City (JGR).
What do you do as a team owner and your top two drivers (both in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series' Chase) seem to have an extreme dislike for each other?
Do you have a decision to make?

Thanks Jon...

jon_464 said...

Dwindy, thanks for stopping by. To my understanding, Mr. Gibbs went with Kyle to Denny's hauler with video of the "cutoff" in tow. He showed both Denny and Kyle the video and an understanding was reached. A potential implosion at JGR was averted. Had it been a points race, I think Denny would have given Kyle the high line.

Gene Haddock said...

Kyle Busch deserves a Bad or an ugly... take your pick.

Why is he blaming Denny? Kyle hit the wall all on his own. If he thought Denny was blocking him why didn't he ram Denny instead of hitting the wall?

Kyle lost it, and wants to blame Denny? Love his will to win... but he loses some of my respect for not sacking up and admitting what everyone saw anyway.

jon_464 said...

Gene, he gets an Ugly for trying to start crap with Hamlin. Hamlin gave him the low line because he (Hamlin) was running very well on the high groove. KB wanted the high groove but was blocked. That was just good racing by Hamlin. Thank God Gibbs has excellent people skills and was able to avert a possible implosion within JGR.

Gene Haddock said...

Jon...if Gibbs had that great of skills, he would have never let Kyle go into Denny's hauler while he was that mad.

Denny isn't exactly innocent either. If he gave Kyle the low line during this incident.... then why didn't he give JJ the low line later when he pinched JJ down and JJ spun?

tezgm99 said...

apologies for the loud cussing that may have drifted south when it was announced that Edwards, and not Ambrose, got the fan vote. I know Kristen was pulling for the Aussie given his sponsor was Cavalia, lol

jon_464 said...

Gene, I think Denny retaliated against JJ but what it was for I don't remember. And I think Kyle stormed into Denny's hauler before Joe Gibbs could get there. (I could be wrong, though.) What I'm saying is that it could have been much worse than it ended up.

Tez, I was BOOING when Edwards got the fan vote. You all know how I feel about him. I wanted ANYONE but Edwards (with the exception of the start and parkers).