This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the Irish Hills of Michigan for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, BBQ-style, with all the fixin's and washed down with PLENTY of Coke Zero. Enjoy!
THE GOOD
Kevin Harvick: he gets first billing as the race winner. He had the strongest car and led 59 laps en route to the win. With the win, he clinches a spot in the Chase and becomes the first RCR driver to win a Cup race at Michigan since the late Dale Earnhardt won in June 1990. To give you an idea of how strong a car the 29 was, he was able to pass cars on OLD TIRES.
Denny Hamlin: he started way back in the pack (33rd, to be exact), and methodically worked his way towards the front. He led late in the race, but Harvick was too strong, and was sent a message by the #29 on a bump while Hamlin was leading. The message was (IMO): You're going to have to beat me and I don't think you can. Still, a second place finish worked to his favor, and Hamlin moved up three spots in the standings.
Roush-Fenway Racing: Carl Edwards (3rd), Greg Biffle (4th), and Matt Kenseth (5th) rounded out the top 5. David Ragan just missed a top 10, finishing 11th. This was huge for the organization overall, Kenseth in particular. Kenseth's hold on the Chase was tenuous coming into the race, but with other drivers in a similar position having issues, he was able to improve a position and solidify his hold on making the Chase.
Elliott Sadler: ESad started in the middle of the pack (23rd to be exact) and stayed in that area until later in the race. His car came to life at that point, and he benefitted from good pit strategy in the last third of the race. He even led a couple of laps at one point before finishing 9th. Good job ESad!!
Joey Logano: this was his third top 10 finish at Michigan in his young career. He started 27th and showed great patience in finishing 10th. He and Ryan Newman made contact, sending Newman's car around and bringing out a caution. Needless to say, Newman wasn't happy. Logano showed maturity and as always, his sense of humor in the postrace interview.
Honorable Mention: Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Martin Truex, Jr.
THE BAD
Joe Nemechek: Front Row Joe has evolved into Field Filler Joe into Start and Park Joe. He ran a grand total of 14 laps before he declared himself done for the day.
Kurt Busch: it didn't help that his engine blew on Lap 32. The blown engine early on cost him six spots in the standings. He's now in 10th.
THE UGLY
Mark Martin: he and David Reutimann made contact on Lap 4 and his day was never the same after that. For a time it looked like he was going to be nearly 100 points behind Clint Bowyer for 12th place. But Bowyer had issues, and Martin had his strongest run of the race in the final 40 laps, keeping pace with the leaders and passing several cars. A sub-Good to Martin for minimizing the damage.
Dale Earnhardt Jr: it seemed like he was merely posting laps rather than make a serious run at a good finish. He offered NO resistance when Harvick put him a lap down. The postrace interview said it all: he didn't give a **** about his Chase chances. Which begs the question: does he REALLY want to race?
Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours!
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9 comments:
Well, I think Joey is a piece of sheet. Not because he lost control and spun Ryan out. But because of his post race comments. Dumb, immature statements about the racing style of Newman, from the perspective of the "all so wise", Joey.
Congrats to Kevin and Richard! Makes me feel good anytime they get to Victory Lane.
Good one jon!
Jeff Gordon was all set for a "Good" then the reign of terror for him continued...
The way he's going, I have to say Junior playing out the string with HMS and then retiring would be best for everyone involved. His win at Daytona in the Wrangler Chevy should be his swan song...
CR... You own stock in Stewart-Hass? lol
Thanks jon!
That engine expiring was definitely ugly but not nearly as ugly as Kurt's 6 spot fall in the standings. Thank GOD Bristol is up next...he should kick booty there
Junior is definitely frustrated - would love to see him get out and own instead of drive - he has to change something up.
Congrats to Happy! He looks like a real contender for champ this year
I'll give props to Marcos...37th to 15th isn't too shabby and, had he cleared Smith on that final restart and gotten a gap to the Roushies, he *may* have been able to sneak a top 5.
it can't have done his 'contract hunting' much harm though with a solid effort, lol
I hope Harvick fares better than last year's regular season champ.
Every driver out there will tell you that Newman is the absolute worst guy to try and pass. Most of the other guys know that it's a long race, but Ryan has to fight for every position whether its the last lap or the first. That's the main reason Tony hired him... he was tired of fighting him for 25 laps over 20th position.
CR, I was waiting for Ryan to break him in half. Logano's always talking shee-ot and doesn't have the balls to back it up. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since RC was at Victory Lane as an owner (Dale Earnhardt, June 1990).
Dwindy, no problem! I was all set to put JG in the Good category until the bad racing luck slapped him in the face. I don't see Jr being at HMS beyond his current contract. In fact, I can see him retiring and focusing on JR Motorsports.
Kristen, I was thinking of you when Kurt's engine gave up the ghost. I was surprised that it was so early in the race. Bristol is a very Kurt-friendly track and he should do well Saturday night. As far as Happy, he's looking great, and when you can pass cars on old tires with no grip on the track, you know you have a stout car. I can see him win at least one more race before the Chase.
Tez, Marcos pulled a Kevin Harvick in the sense that "where did he come from?" He came from WAY back to be in the top 5 at one point. He got a better result than what the 47 actually had. He gets props!
Gene, I hope so too! As far as Ryan goes, I think he's been used to having to fight for position in crappy cars. Now that he has Hendrick horsepower under the hood, he doesn't necessarily have to fight now. I don't blame Tony for hiring him one bit. It's a good fit for Ryan.
I didn't see the race, just followed Dwindy's play by play and the FOX leaderboard with comments from Lee Spencer (sigh) but from CR's unbelieveable response to Joey's post race comments, I must have missed something big!!! CR, you need to calm down! Thank God Harvick won or you & Jon together would cause an earthquake out there!!!lol♥
Beverly, better that Harvick won rather than Hamlin--that's a swing of 20 HUGE points in the Chase. That's 10 extra points Harvick gets for winning, and denying Hamlin those 10 points.
My take on Logano is that if he felt Newman was racing him rough, it WAS late in the race and it's every man for himself. That being said, if Logano was faster, Newman should have given him a couple of laps to prove Logano was faster, and vice versa. But for someone that's won ONE Cup race, he talks a LOT of junk, IMO.
This race was a sleeper but glad to see Harvick win one.
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