The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2011 Showtime Southern 500

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew goes old-school for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Southern-style, and you're seated on the newest furniture, courtesy of Furniture Row! Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Regan Smith: he gets this spot as the race winner. First it was Trevor Bayne getting his first Cup win at the sport's most prestigious race. Now it's Smith getting his at one of NASCAR's crown jewels, the Southern 500. Smith didn't take the lead until very late in the race when he stayed out after a late caution while the leaders pitted. Smith ran the fastest lap of the ENTIRE race on the white flag lap. All on old tires. That will get it done. GREAT JOB REGAN AND THE #78 CREW!!

Kasey Kahne: he led the most laps but was shuffled back a bit on the final restart. He recovered in time to a fourth place finish. He looked like he had the car to beat throughout the week: he won the pole, and was fast in a brief practice.

Carl Edwards: he was stout throughout the evening. He looked like he had the car to beat in the second half of the race, as he checked out on the field. But a caution with 10 laps to go bit him in the rear. He took two tires and it appeared it would pay off. Then another caution with three laps to go for Kyle Busch wrecking, er, making contact with RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer appeared to favor Edwards. But he didn't count on Brad Keselowski (his old rival) giving Smith a great push to clear him. Congratulations to Carl and Kate on the birth of their first son, Michael!

Brad Keselowski: he'd been hanging out mid-pack until the latter half of the race. Then the Blue Deuce crew got the car better and better. He gave Smith that shove that catapulted him to the lead. The third place finish was by far his best finish of the season.

Ryan Newman: Rocketman was racing in the Tornados paint scheme. That usually means a very strong run and a spot in this section. I'll be sure to save Newman a spot in this section next time he runs in the Tornados paint scheme! He was stout, and led early. He fell back mid-race but rebounded to a strong top 10 finish.

Kevin Harvick: Happy led 47 laps, by far the most he's led at Darlington in his career, and it looked like he was a certain top 3 finisher until Kyle Busch got loose and made contact with Happy, who in turn took out Clint Bowyer. (Busch was trying to make it three-wide on the outside and he had no room. Not a smart decision.) He and Kyle Busch had some post-race fireworks of their own as they had a staredown with their cars. Then as Harvick got out of his car, Busch wrecked the 29, Harvick threw a punch at Busch but missed, and the crews nearly engaged in an all-out brawl in the garage area. You can bet there WILL be payback, as Busch would be wise to keep his head on a swivel. The reckless move by Busch cost Harvick a sure top 3 finish. (Harvick finished 17th.)

Honorable Mention: Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, and Martin Truex, Jr.

THE BAD

Kurt Busch: normally I would put the first start and parker here, but he was REALLY bad tonight. It appeared they missed on the setup and the Double Deuce kept getting Darlington Stripes. Kurt finished six laps down.

Matt Kenseth: as good as his Roush Fenway teammates were, he was almost as bad. He and Marcos Ambrose made contact in lap 2; when Kenseth went to pit, he missed the committment cone, costing him a violation (he pitted after passing the committment cone on the outside). He was never a factor, finishing 25th, 4 laps down.

THE UGLY

Kyle Busch: he caused two wrecks in the closing laps of the race trying to improve his position: the one where he wrecked Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, and where he wrecked Marcos Ambrose after that. In the first wreck, he had a run on the outside and tried to make it three wide, but got loose. I partly blame Harvick's spotter for not seeing Busch coming on the outside of Harvick and alerting his driver. Because Busch was driving so hard, he got loose, made contact with Harvick, who in turn made contact with Bowyer, putting his RCR teammate into the wall. Then shortly after the final restart, he flat out tried to wreck Ambrose for no apparent reason. He was fortunate Ambrose held his line. (Ambrose finished 13th.) Yes, I get that you're trying to get as many positions as possible, but you're trying to pass guys in areas of the track where it's simply NOT possible to pass.

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

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- Showtime Southern 500

This week, the Crappafoni Picture crew brings to you, in High Def, this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with a Hollywood flair fused with a Deep South flavor. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Denny Hamlin: as the race winner, he gets first billing. He had a stout car throughout the weekend. He was strong in practice, strong in qualifying, and strong in the race. So much for ACL surgery. He LOOKS like a championship contender. A Darlington Sweep is something he can hang his hat on. Now he's tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most wins this season. (Hopefully there will be beautiful weather next week in Dover, as Hamlin has won on either a Saturday or Monday.)

Jamie McMurray: he started on the pole and led many laps throughout the race. Finishing second to Hamlin at Darlington, there is no shame in that. Cupcake was stout in qualifying, strong in practice, and strong in the race. Being back with Chip Ganassi seems to agree with Cupcake.

Kurt Busch: he started 14th and quickly worked his way towards the front. Although he didn't lead a lap, he put himself in a position to have a strong finish. All in all, a good job by the Blue Deuce and his crew. Good job guys!

Jeff Gordon: he led the most laps in the race but was snakebit (again!) on the final caution. He lined up as the final car on the lead lap. He did a great job in finishing fourth. I was convinced that this was the weekend he would win.

Juan Pablo Montoya: he's been a regular here in recent weeks. He drove the wheels off the Target Chevrolet to a fifth place finish. I wouldn't count him out of Chase contention yet. He gained another spot in the standings. One thing that helps him immensely: Richmond is the final race before the Chase, and he runs very strong there. He was stout, and this was easily his best run at Darlington. This bodes well for him in the future. He'll get that win in the not too distant future.

Kevin Harvick: he was buried deep in the field, starting 35th. Happy slowly worked his way to the front, and even led a lap through green flag pit stops, getting the five bonus points. That was HUGE. He also took advantage of Jimmie Johnson's misfortune when Johnson was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got plowed into by AJ Allmendinger. With his sixth place finish, he has opened up a 110-point lead in the standings, the largest margin in Cup this year, and the largest of Harvick's Cup career. (In 2006, he won the Busch Series by nearly 1,000 points.)

Regan Smith: despite driving for an underfunded team, he managed a top 20 finish at FREAKING Darlington, NOT an easy track to do well at. (He finished 17th.) For a time, he was running in the TOP TEN, before fading. He was running as high as sixth. He was very strong throughout the race and kept the 78's nose clean. Kudos to him for running a smart, efficient race. What helped was that he had the ECR engine package underneath the hood. The top 20 finish was HUGE for that team. Good job Regan!

Honorable Mention: Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, and Brian Vickers.

THE BAD

Dave Blaney: he was the first one to start and park. Poor guy, ended up drawing the short stick in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room. He deserves better. I would have put Reed Sorenson here, but his day ended due to an early accident.

Sam Hornish Jr: Darlington wasn't too kind to him, as he was the cause of multiple cautions. I think he wanted to stay in bed and skip Darlington altogether, as he looked like someone on his fifth Jack and Coke.

THE UGLY

Sam Hornish Jr: see above.

Bobby Labonte: he also was the cause of multiple cautions. As much as I've always liked Labonte, could the end of his career be near? He's been a great champion, but IMO this is a case of hanging on too long. It's kind of like Willie Mays playing center field for the New York Mets. (That visual is BRUTAL, as Mays hung on for FAR too long; he should have retired after the 1971 season, his last good season.)

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

Gas and Go--Darlington

This week's Gas and Go comes from The Track Too Tough to Tame, aka Darlington Speedway. I will give some short insights and takes leading into the race, and offer up some unusual facts, along with predicting my winner for the race.

1. Kyle Busch comes into Darlington on a roll. He showed his mettle and patience last week in winning at Richmond. Could this be the beginning of a newer, more patient KB? If so, he'll be a threat to JJ's dominance.
2. Mark Martin comes in as the defending race winner. Although he's just won twice, in over 50% of his starts at Darlington he has finished in the top 10 (26 top 10's in 43 races). This track is ideal for his patient, methodical approach.
3. Jeff Gordon is the current master of The Lady in Black with seven wins. He is the only driver ever to win four consecutive Southern 500s, 1995 to 1998. In that span he won five times at the track. To give you an idea of how dominant he was in that stretch, no one has even won the Southern 500 three times in a row. He also won the Southern 500 in 2002, and this race in 2007. Don't be surprised if he wins his eighth Darlington race. He's coming closer to that win.
4. Although Martin won last year at age 50, he's not the oldest winner at Darlington. Harry Gant won the 1991 Southern 500 at age 51. If you thought Martin had an amazing year at 50 (which he did), Gant won five races in 1991, including a record-tying four STRAIGHT races, which started at the Southern 500. At 51!
5. The all-time master of Darlington is David Pearson, with 10 wins. The Silver Fox often dominated; in one of his wins, the runner-up was 13 laps DOWN. Which brings me to:
6. Thinking of you: David Pearson.
7. Kevin Harvick comes in as the points leader. However, he has struggled at Darlington in recent years. In his first six starts, he had four top 10 finishes, including a second place finish in the 2003 Southern 500. He hasn't had a top 10 finish since.
8. Terry Labonte got his first Cup win at the 1980 Southern 500. He got his final Cup win at the 2003 Southern 500 as his career was winding down and a young buck named Kyle Busch was waiting in the wings. The 2003 Southern 500 would be the last race run at Darlington on Labor Day weekend.
9. Look for the usual suspects to run up front: Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Martin, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin.

Predicted Race Winner: Jeff Gordon. He breaks his winless streak and shows the young studs how to tame the Lady in Black. With his eighth win at Darlington, he moves to within two of Pearson. The rest of the top 5: 2) Martin; 3) Biffle; 4) Harvick (he's running very well and continues the momentum); 5) Kyle Busch.

Darkhorse top 10 finisher: Marcos Ambrose. He noses out Carl Edwards for the final spot in the top 10.

Those are my observations. Feel free to leave your insights and takes.