This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the desert this week (drying out from Daytona, no doubt) for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, southwestern-style.
THE GOOD:
Denny Hamlin: he gets first billing as this week's race winner. He redeemed himself after dominating the fall 2010 race there but ran out of gas late. He is now the points leader. Good job Denny!
Kevin Harvick: he led the most laps in the race and had a stout car. David Reutimann bringing out the caution for blowing an engine did not help, as Harvick had to pit just outside his pit window. He ran out of gas as he was taking the white flag and was on Hamlin's rear bumper. Still, he has a good start to the season.
Greg Biffle: he had a strong car early in the race, faded a bit, then came on strong at the end. He was running some of his best lap times late in the race. He's looking like the Biffle of a few years ago when he was a consistent finisher in the top 10, mixed in with winning a few races each season.
Jimmie Johnson: he came into Phoenix on a mission after his awful Daytona. He was in the top ten for pretty much the whole race, and it looked like he had the car to beat early on. But as the track got hotter, he couldn't run on the bottom as well as he did early in the race. Still, the fourth place finish gets him out of negative territory.
Brad Keselowski: not bad for starting 28th at a track where you need a good starting position. Through good pit strategy and smart adjustments, the Blue Deuce got better as the race went on. Good job BK!
Honorable Mention: Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Joey Logano.
THE BAD:
Michael McDowell: the Phoenix native drew the short stick at the start and parkers' meeting held in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room. Too bad for the hometown fans. He ran a total of eight (out of 312) laps before declaring himself done for the day.
THE UGLY:
Clint Bowyer: not so much for him, but for the tire issues he had early in the race. He cut the right front tire twice within the first 30 laps. He found himself several laps down and never recovered.
ECR Engines: three cars that had ECR horsepower had engine issues: Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann, and Jeff Burton. McMurray and Reutimann blew engines, and Burton finished the race on seven cylinders. Burton was having a stout top 5 run when he lost a cylinder.
Those are my nominees for the week. Feel free to come in with yours!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
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