The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2011 Coke Zero 400

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is at one of NASCAR's crown jewel tracks, Daytona, for the Dancing with the Stars version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, minus the hosts of that show. You'll have to put up with me! Actually, it's Florida BBQ-style, washed down with (what else?) PLENTY of Coke Zero. Enjoy!


THE GOOD


David Ragan: he FINALLY gets to take home the trophy! And the first slot in the GBU for the first time in his career! Because it's his first win, I decided to put him ALONE in this spot. He had a stout car from the time it was unloaded all the way to the checkered flag. It's only fitting that a Coca-Cola driver (he replaced Kevin Harvick when Budweiser became Harvick's sponsor) gets into Victory Lane. Congratulations David, you earned this one! GREAT JOB!


Matt Kenseth: he also was stout, and decided that he was better pushing Ragan home. Wise move by a crafty veteran. He was at point for a number of laps.


Kevin Harvick/Paul Menard: they were stout together. They were by far the smoothest of the tandems; it seems that no matter which one was in front with the other pushing, they were smooth in their hookups. Both drivers led laps and it seemed like when Menard was pushing, they went to the front at will. They ran both lines equally well, but got bit by the last restart when they were shuffled back and could never regain their position. Because of Carl Edwards' poor finish (as a result of a wreck), Harvick gains the points lead going into Kentucky.


Joey Logano: no matter who he drafted with, whether it was Kyle Busch or someone else, he was able to get to the front. Although he didn't lead a lap, he put himself in position to win.


Kasey Kahne/Brian Vickers: the Red Bull duo ran at or near the front for much of the race, until Vickers was taken out in the Big One. No problem. Kahne and Logano hooked up and Logano very nearly stole the race.


Kyle Busch: see Joey Logano. The one difference, Kyle Busch led a lap.


Joe Nemechek/Travis Kvapil: gotta give a shoutout to ole Front Row Joe. Because of last-minute sponsorship, Nemechek was able to run the whole race. And he did well, even leading for a time. He got caught in a late race accident (The Big One) that caused him to lose a lap due to repairs.


Honorable Mention: Jeff Burton/Clint Bowyer , Landon Cassill/Casey Mears, and Kurt Busch/Regan Smith.


THE BAD


TNT's coverage: WTH are you guys doing going to commercial breaks when there's 10 laps to go?? Gotta give you guys a Bad for that.


THE UGLY


Brad Keselowski/Greg Biffle: Biffle first. He needs to take lessons in bump drafting from Kevin Harvick. His attempt at bump drafting sent his teammate Carl Edwards into a spin. The subsequent damage to the 99 car later caused Edwards to be sick in the car due to the fumes entering the car and not coming out of the exhaust pipes. Edwards is more sick after losing the points lead to Harvick. Now Keselowski. Line up behind Biffle for your lesson in bump drafting from Harvick. Instead of being on Trevor Bayne's right rear bumper, he went to Bayne's LEFT rear bumper. You know what happens next. Bayne gets turned into the wall, and his night ends much earlier than he expected. A sub-Good for Kes and Da Biff for finding each other and being competitive. They actually worked quite well together.


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