The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2011 5-Hour Energy 500

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the picturesque Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with plenty of BBQ, and washed down with plenty of Pepsi. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jeff Gordon: he looked like the Gordon of old in the last half of the race. He had a strong car to begin with, and got better as the race went on. When the 24 was in clean air, he consistently kept a 1-2 second lead over Kurt Busch (or whoever was running in second at the time). The win was Gordon's second of the season, and the 84th of his stellar Sprint Cup career. (He moves into a tie for third in all-time wins with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison.) Not only that, he all but locks himself into the Chase as one of the wild cards with that second win. Good job Jeff!

The Busch Brothers: with Kurt (2nd) and Kyle (3rd) finishing so strong, I put them together. Kurt: strong from the time the Double Deuce was unloaded to the checkered flag. Won his second straight pole. Led 37 laps en route to his second place finish. Had consistently good pit stops. Kyle: started somewhere around Philadelphia (just kidding; he actually started 34th), finished 3rd. He received good input and communication from the 11 team and credited them in the post race interview. The 18 crew got the car stronger as the race went on. Led 2 laps and also turned in the fastest lap of the entire race (158.999 mph).

Jimmie Johnson: JJ was strong, and led a lap during a round of green flag pit stops. Otherwise it was a ho-hum race for the 48 team. He maintains second place in the points behind Carl Edwards.

Kevin Harvick: this is the third straight top 5 at Pocono for Happy. (He finished 4th in each of the Pocono races last season.) He also started towards the back of the field in 32nd starting position and it wasn't long before he was in the top 10, thanks to a 2-tire stop on his first pit stop of the day. As long as it was cloudy, 2-tire stops worked. He fell back a bit when he had to pit early on a round of green flag stops but when they cycled through he was back in position. (He was fortunate a caution flag didn't fly.) It says something when on the final run, the car was the best it has been all day.

Juan Pablo Montoya: he was stout throughout the race. Had it not been for a questionable call for two tires instead of four, he may have been in a position to get that first non-road course win. Crew chief Brian Pattie went to the well one too many times. He saw that two tires was working, and late in the race, decided to gamble and go for two instead of four when it was sunny. The two tire strategy didn't agree with the 42 car, and he fell backwards in a hurry. He was able to hold off Matt Kenseth for seventh. Montoya led 38 laps after inheriting the lead from Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin: he led the most laps in the race (76) and it looked like he was going to run and hide from the rest of the field. But tire issues later in the race relegated him to a 19th place finish, something he did not need. He had to come in TWICE in a three lap period because he cut a left rear tire, once under caution and once shortly after taking the subsequent green flag. With each run like that, the pressure on the 11 team increases exponentially.

Landon Cassill: I've got to give a shout out to the Iowa driver. He led four laps late in the race, and even was the beneficiary of the free pass. He could have used the late caution to get gas and tires. He finished 24th, the last car on the lead lap.

Honorable Mention: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex, Jr.

THE BAD

Scott Riggs: he drew the short stick at the start and parkers' meeting in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room. He turned a few laps, then hotfooted it out of town with his earnings.

Greg Biffle: what exactly is going on with the 16 team? Lots of little mistakes that add up during the course of the race and put him in a bad position. Then when he tries to make it up on the track, he gets loose coming out of turn 3 and skids sideways past the committment line and has to pit under green. Because of that, he has to make one more pit stop while the rest of the field doesn't have to stop anymore. And the race stayed green for the duration.

THE UGLY

TNT's coverage: TOO MANY COMMERCIALS!!! There were more commercials than racing action!! Seems like every five laps they went to a commercial!!

Transmission issues: they affected a number of drivers, most notably Carl Edwards. To give you an idea of how long he was behind the wall, Edwards was listed in 34th when he came in. He finished 37th. He finally came back to the track, but only ran one lap before the issue flared up again. His lap speed? I don't know for sure, but it was VERY SLOW. Put it this way, he was actually very good as an analyst.

Gear issues: they affected Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. (Both drivers lost third gear; Stewart about 2/3 into the race, and Newman very late in the race. That's something the engineers at SHR have to figure out before the next Pocono race.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to read and comment from your perspective!

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly -- 2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500

This week's edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly comes right at you from the Valley of the Sun. GBU is served up desert-style, with plenty of southwestern spicy flavor, washed down with plenty of Pepsi and Pepsi Max. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jeff Gordon: he gets first slot as this week's race winner. What a way to break a 66-race winless streak! Gordon led the most laps, even after suffering damage due to a wreck on lap 60. He passed Kyle Busch with eight laps to go and cruised to his 83rd career win, tying Cale Yarborough on the all-time wins list. With Alan Gustafson as his crew chief, I can see a few more wins in Gordon's season, maybe another championship before he retires. Good job Jeff!

Kyle Busch: he had a GREAT weekend. Winner of the truck race on Friday night. Led EVERY lap in the Nationwide Series race last night. Finished second today. He leaves Phoenix with a three-point lead over older brother Kurt. It's the first time family has been 1-2 in the points standings since after the 1988 Daytona 500, when Davey (son) and Bobby Allison (father) were in the top 2 in the points.

Jimmie Johnson: he basically made chicken salad out of chicken(bleep). He had a HORRIBLE car all throughout the weekend. He struggled to get any speed in qualifying, struggled with it in practice, and struggled at the beginning of the race. But what helped is that he was able to escape two major crashes that affected over half the field. Today, he was more lucky than good, but his car got better as the race went on. After crashing at Daytona and leaving there with a bad finish, he gets a much-needed top 3 finish. Phoenix was the medicine the 48 team needed.

Kevin Harvick: he got affected by the first big wreck on lap 60 when Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch made contact. Harvick checked up to avoid the carnage when he was bumped from behind by Mark Martin, sending Harvick spinning. There was some damage to Harvick's rear bumpers, but not enough to adversely affect the car and he was able to stay on the lead lap. Then right after the restart, The Big One hit when Matt Kenseth flat-out wrecked Brian Vickers, sending him sideways. (Ya think there's going to be payback down the road? I think so.) Harvick avoided the carnage by stopping while the carnage was taking place. (He was at the rear of the field at the time.) Happy rallied to a fourth-place finish, a MUCH needed top 5 after the worst showing of his career last week.

Ryan Newman: he was strong in the Tornados paint scheme again at Phoenix. (Yaaay Dinuba, CA--where the parent company of Tornados is located!) Newman led seven laps en route to a fifth-place finish.

Tony Stewart: Smoke was stout for most of the race, and for awhile, he was the car to beat. But on the final pit stop he took on two tires and gambled on track position. Two tires wasn't the way to go, unlike last year, when Newman gambled and won. Smoke went backwards in a hurry. It's easy to second guess him now, but it's better to roll the dice now and fail than to roll the dice at Richmond and miss out on the Chase entirely as a result of a failed gamble. I thought it was a gutsy call myself. He gambled and lost. Simple as that. Still, a top 10 is good.

Kurt Busch: like Smoke, the Double Deuce was stout, particularly in the first half of the race. He was on the point for 31 laps total. Although he fell off a bit late, he was still strong enough to finish in the top 10.

Honorable Mention: Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmendinger, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

THE BAD

Joe Nemechek: he was the first start and parker, declaring himself done after running just 22 laps.

Dave Blaney: he was the second start and parker, turning five more laps than Nemechek.

Matt Kenseth: it isn't often that I put a lead lap car in this category. But he goes here because he caused the Big One by wrecking Brian Vickers and cutting his tire in the process. As soon as he did his damage to Vickers' #83 Red Bull Toyota, he drove off while cars were wrecking behind him. Understandably, Vickers wasn't too happy with Kenseth and hinted at payback down the road.

THE UGLY

The two wrecks: these two wrecks affected more than half the field, with the Big One causing a red flag to be thrown for 15 minutes for track cleanup. Carl Edwards was affected the most, because he had to go behind the wall for a whole new front end. A sub-Good goes to Edwards for returning to the track in 39th position and gaining 11 positions to finish 28th. (IF Edwards does win the championship, he can point to this race where he won it by gaining all those positions.)

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

The 12 Chase Drivers for 2011

Greetings my fellow NASCAR fans! A new season is upon us. This is where you hope SOMEONE will be able to dethrone Jimmie Johnson THIS season. Having said that, here are my 12 drivers that will make the Chase this season, in predicted order of finish, starting with 12th. (An asterisk next to their name denotes wild card.)

• Jeff Burton*: he'll finish just outside the top 10, but will make it based on his three wins going into the Chase. But there are too many other good drivers ahead of him for him to make serious noise in the Chase. Predicted finish: 12th.
• Clint Bowyer: he'll be more consistent than last season. Predicted finish: 11th.
• Tony Stewart: I'm probably going to catch some flak from Smoke fans, but I see him having one bad race early in the Chase that will have him trailing the field. That one bad race will cost him a chance to win his third title. He'll do his best to catch up, but I only see him gaining three spots. But, if he avoids that, he'll be in contention. (I hope he's consistent, and he's in contention heading into Homestead.) Predicted finish: 10th.
• Jeff Gordon: we'll see him in Victory Lane this season. Paired with Alan Gustafson, I won't be surprised to see him contend for the title. However, I see him falling a bit short. Predicted finish: 9th.
• Kyle Busch: he'll be the only Busch Brother in the Chase. It's either going to be hit or miss. He'll have a few misses along with a lot of hits. He'll run better than last year, but the competition is very intense, and he'll fall short. Predicted finish: 8th.
• Greg Biffle: we'll see Biff in Victory Lane a few times this season, and he'll be strong heading into the Chase. But I see a late season fade. Predicted finish: 7th.
• Denny Hamlin: last year had to be demoralizing, when he had the championship lead going into Homestead, but made that crucial error allowing Jimmie Johnson to overtake him. I see some hangover this year. Predicted finish: 6th.
• Matt Kenseth: he'll be his usual consistent self in the Chase. He'll finish where he started in the Chase. Predicted finish: 5th.
• Jamie McMurray*: he'll finish behind Burton in the regular season standings, but get in based on his three wins going into the Chase. I see him getting on a roll and winning a couple more races in the Chase. He'll be in contention heading into Homestead, but struggles at Homestead will cost him a chance at a championship. He'll learn and grow from this. Predicted finish: 4th.
• Carl Edwards: he ended last season on a roll, winning the final two races and establishing himself as a contender. IF he finishes as strong as he starts, he COULD end up dethroning JJ. But I don't see it happening, at least not this year. He'll be stout, but fall just short. Predicted finish: 3rd.
• Kevin Harvick: he had arguably the best season of his Cup career. He led the points for much of the season. Due to the bonuses in the Chase, he started in third and finished there. He'll start in third and improve a position. Predicted finish: 2nd.
• Jimmie Johnson: he'll be here until someone dethrones him. I look for him to win a very tight battle between him, Harvick, and Edwards. Your 2011 Sprint Cup Champion: JIMMIE JOHNSON. Predicted finish: 1st and still Champion.

Those are my 12 Chase drivers for this year. It was very hard deciding on WHO was going to make the Chase, as I think 15 drivers could be Chase contenders. Just as I see these drivers I think could win it all: Johnson, Harvick, Edwards, McMurray, Stewart, Gordon, Kyle Busch, and Hamlin. LET'S GO RACIN' BOYS!

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.

Gas and Go--Sonoma

This week's version of Gas and Go takes us to the California Wine Country; more specifically, Sonoma in the Napa Valley of Northern California. For us NoCals, it's the only time NASCAR comes to our neck of the woods. Here are a few observations about Sonoma and the track.

1. Infineon Raceway opened in 1968 under the name Sears Point Raceway on 720 acres of a former dairy farm. The Raceway hosted its first race, an SCCA Enduro, on December 1, 1968.
2. Infineon Raceway hosts 340 days of racing activity each year, making it one of the busiest tracks in the nation. It is also one of the premier racing venues in the nation.
3. The road course features more than 160 feet of elevation change: Turn 3a is 174 feet and Turn 10 is just 14 feet. So not only does a driver have to make both left and right turns, he also has to deal with the vast elevation changes, further testing his mettle.
4. Drivers will make 1,100 turns on the course should they complete all 110 laps.
5. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is one of the few races measured in kilometers. The race spans 110 laps, or 218.9 miles or 352.21 kilometers.
6. Ricky Rudd won the inaugural Winston Cup race at Sears Point in 1988. He would win his second Sonoma race 14 years later, in 2002. It would end up being his last career win.
7. The late Dale Earnhardt won his only road course race at Sonoma, in 1995.
8. Vallejo's own Jeff Gordon holds the career record for wins at Sonoma: five, including three in a row from 1998-2000. He also won in 2004 and 2006. Home cooking has served him well there. In addition to his five wins, he has also started from the pole five times (1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, and 2005). Could a sixth win be awaiting him in front of his home fans? (Infineon is Gordon's home track)
9. Juan Pablo Montoya won his first Cup race at Sonoma in 2007. He started 32nd, the farthest back that a winner has started. Typically, a prospective winner would want to start within the top 10.
10. Look for the usual suspects to run well: Gordon, Mark Martin, Montoya, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch (the defending race champion). My dark horse: Jamie McMurray. He always seems to run well at Sonoma, and is frequently the best running Roush driver there.

Predicted Race Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya.

Your comments and takes are always welcome!

Gas and Go--Dover (Spring Race 2009)

A few quick takes and observations on this week's race from Dover International Speedway, including some historical perspective.

1. Dover International Speedway first opened in 1969 as Dover Downs (still my preferred name for the track), a unique dual purpose speedway designed for both horse and auto racing. Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) race, the Mason-Dixon 400, on July 6, 1969.
2. All non-NASCAR sanctioned events are dropped from the schedule after 1971 to focus exclusively on the two 500 mile races.
3. The first of the two 500 mile races exclusive to the track was run on June 4, 1972, as the Mason-Dixon 500. Bobby Isaac was on the pole and Bobby Allison won in a Chevrolet from the outside pole.
4. Bobby Allison leads in all-time Cup wins at the track with seven. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four wins.
5. Thinking of you: Joe Ruttman.
6. Ruttman won the very first Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) race, the Sportsman 200, in June 1982. How time flies!
7. Dover Downs becomes NASCAR's first concrete paved speedway in 1995.
8. The Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) had its first race at Dover in September 2000. Kurt Busch won that first race from the pole.
9. Dover Downs becomes Dover International Speedway in 2002. Jimmie Johnson swept the Dover races in that year as a rookie.
10. Kyle Busch won last year's race, and David Reutimann sits on the pole for this year's race.
11. Look for Reutimann to be strong all race long, as well as Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, and Jeff Gordon.

Predicted Race Winner: Carl Edwards.