NASCAR off-week

This weekend was the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series off-week. So what did yours truly do in NASCAR's absence? Went to church and puttered around the house afterwards, bemoaning the fact that there was no Sprint Cup this weekend. There was a truck race yesterday but yours truly was very busy cleaning up the yard at the new house. (With much higher than normal rainfall weeds crop up all over the place!). Kasey Kahne, driving for Kyle Busch, won the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington. Matt Crafton (whose hometown, Tulare, CA, is half an hour away from me) extended his points lead with a solid top 5 finish.

With no Nationwide Series or Cup Series, I got down and dirty yesterday, tackling weeds, draining out murky water from the koi pond in the back yard, and planting new flowers. There's nothing like tackling yard work on a sunny and cool day; you could be outside for hours on end and not complain about it. Despite all that was accomplished, not everything is finished. But it's getting closer. Needless to say, I was exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time. It was close to 5 pm when I called it a day and sat outside enjoying a beer or two. (I drink just enough to enjoy the beer without getting a buzz.) Dinner consisted of BBQ chicken breasts, mixed veggies, rice, and garlic bread. (Yummy!) The time change really screwed up my sleep pattern, though.

Today consisted of church in the morning. (I go to the first service--early bird gets the Word!) The associate pastor challenged us and exhorted us at the same time. Then I got some cupcakes at a nearby cupcake shop prior to returning home. I puttered around most of the day and squeezed in a nap as well.

Next week, the crew will be refreshed and ready to go from Bristol aka The Bullring. (Picture the Roman Colosseum on steroids and you have Bristol.) Ya think there will be some short tempers, especially with the new points system and EVERY point at a premium? I look for some guys to be called out, other guys to be called idiots, morons, etc., and the puntees into the wall to call the punters idiots, morons, etc. I'll even go out on a limb and predict the winner at Bristol: Juan Pablo Montoya. JPM gets his first NASCAR win on an oval at an unlikely venue by holding off a hard-charging Carl Edwards. (I may well be wrong, but I can dream. He won at Sonoma in 2007 and at the Glen last season.) While he's done well at Martinsville, he's not done well at Bristol, but this is where he changes his luck.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2010 Heluva Good! Snacks 400

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the rolling hills of Upstate New York for this week's version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with LOTS of snacks from the race sponsor, washed down with plenty of Coke Zero. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Juan Pablo Montoya: dominant doesn't even begin to describe his performance today. Every time he got in front he checked out on the field. He took the lead at Lap 5 and dominated from there, leading 78 of the final 86 laps. Everyone else was racing for second place today. This was one of the most dominant performances this year. He becomes the first foreign-born driver with multiple Sprint Cup wins. (He also won at Sonoma in 2007.)

Kurt Busch: he was strong all day, and the Blue Deuce got stronger as the day went on. Although he didn't lead a lap, he finished a career-best second place on a road course. He improved in the standings for the Chase.

Marcos Ambrose: it looked like he had something for Montoya, as he took the lead at one point and led for eight laps in the race. He faded near the end and lost second place to Kurt Busch due to a tire going down in the final lap.

AJ Allmendinger: he was in the top 10 pretty much the whole day. The 43 car was strong when they unloaded, strong in practice and qualifying, and strong on race day. This on the heels of the Dinger signing a multi-year extension with RPM. All in all, a great week for AJ.

Carl Edwards: he won his first career pole on a road course. Although he never led, he was in the top 10 for pretty much the entire race. Don't look now, but I think this team is starting to find its groove. I think a win is in the not too distant future.

Kyle Busch: although he was listed starting 10th, he had to drop to the rear of the field due to a loose part near the gear box. The 18 crew was able to tighten it through some improvisation just before the green flag dropped. He was able to make his way through the field all the way to an 8th place finish. (He ended up starting 42nd.)

Honorable Mention: Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, and Kevin Harvick.

THE BAD

Greg Biffle: although he started seventh, he quickly moved backwards and was never a factor. DISCLAIMER: Road courses are not one of Biffle's strengths. He'll be at a track much more friendly to him and his Roush teammates next week.

Jimmie Johnson: he started ninth but like Biffle, was never a factor. Since winning at Sonoma, this team is in the throes of a horrible slump, with just one top 10 since, last week at Pocono, where Johnson finished 10th. He did get mentioned once, when he crashed and collected Denny Hamlin in the process, ruining a possible top 10 for Hamlin.

THE UGLY

None. By all standards, this was a pretty tame race at the Glen this year. Actually I do have to give an Ugly to ESPN for its coverage and giving Carl Edwards more face time.

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

Gas and Go--Talladega (Chase Race 2009)

This week's Gas and Go comes from Big Bad Talladega. I will give you some insights and takes on this race and how it affects championship hopes.

1. This race is the wild card in the Chase. One slip-up by Jimmie Johnson (him getting involved in the Big One) could dramatically alter the landscape of the championship.
2. A driver could be leading the race with one to go, get freight-trained, and end up finishing in the 30's. Yes, it's possible to go from first to 30th in one lap.
3. Unlike most races, Talladega has qualifying on Saturday.
4. Last year's race involved the bonehead move of the year: Carl Edwards bump drafting Greg Biffle in the corner and causing the Big One that effectively ended half of the Chase field's hopes of winning the championship. Somehow, Jimmie Johnson escaped despite being in the middle of the melee. Kevin Harvick took exception to Edwards' move, calling him out for it on national TV. That led to a scuffle a few days later between Edwards and Harvick in Harvick's Nationwide Series garage.
5. Tony Stewart won last year's race when it was determined that Regan Smith improved his position when he went below the double yellow line just before taking the checkered flag. Just before the checkered flag, Stewart went to block Smith, who went below the double yellow. The lack of experience of Paul Menard and Aric Almirola prevented either one of them from taking the checkered flag. Had they worked together, Menard would have won the race.
6. Last year's race set a NASCAR record with 28 different leaders.
7. Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya made his NASCAR debut at Talladega in 2006, testing for Felix Sabates in an ARCA car one week before the ARCA race at Talladega.
8. Thinking of you: The Alabama Gang.
9. Look for the usual suspects to run well: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin. My dark horse: Casey Mears.

Predicted Race Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya. Three years after his first test in a NASCAR stock car, he drives the #42 Target Chevrolet into Victory Lane and wins over the old-school Alabama fans.

Gas and Go--Michigan (2nd race)

This week's Gas and Go comes from the Irish hills of Michigan. I will offer some brief pre-race insights and takes and come up with my predicted winner.

1. In recent history, Michigan is the House that Jack Roush built. Roush drivers have dominated this track in recent years. Here is a list of Roush drivers that have won at Michigan: Mark Martin (twice), Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth(twice), Greg Biffle(twice), Carl Edwards (twice). (Busch won in 2003 while driving the #97 Ford for Roush. Martin has won three times total.)
2. The tide is slowly starting to change on that. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won two of the last three Michigan races (Mark Martin earlier in the season, and Dale Earnhardt Jr last season).
3. Michigan is near the home of the Big Three, and there is extra incentive for the manufacturers to win the race. Bragging rights, perhaps?
4. This race is key for drivers that are eighth through 14th in the points standings: Kasey Kahne (8th), Ryan Newman (9th), Greg Biffle (10th), Mark Martin (11th), Matt Kenseth (12th), Kyle Busch (13th), and Brian Vickers (14th). All these drivers must have very solid runs tomorrow. Any slip-ups or bad runs, particularly by Busch and Vickers, and their Chase chances just got a lot more remote.
5. Look for the usual suspects to have good runs tomorrow: Edwards, Martin, Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
6. By taking the green flag, Stewart becomes the first driver this season to clinch a Chase spot.
7. Also, look for someone surprising to have a solid run, someone you don't usually think of.
8. Unlike last year, the race for the top 35 is pretty well set. Scott Speed currently is in 35th, and John Andretti is 47 points back in 36th. You have to go just over 300 points down to see David Gilliland in 37th. Even then, the battle between Speed and Andretti could be more interesting than the race to the championship. I say Speed holds on to the 35th spot, guaranteeing him a spot in the field for the first five races of the 2010 season.

Predicted Race Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya wins on an oval for the first time in his career, and greatly solidifies his position to make his first Chase. Michigan is somewhat similar to Indy, and Montoya ran very well at Indy until the gaffe.

Gas and Go--Pocono (2nd race)

This week's Gas and Go comes from the hill country of NE Pennsylvania. I will offer some insights and short takes on this weekend's race.

1. Pocono Raceway is nestled in the hills of Long Pond, PA, several hours NNW of Philadelphia. The 2.5 mile tri-oval has three different turns, each with its own quirks.
2. To win at Pocono, you have to have a car that is adept at handling. Typically, drivers that do well at Indy also do well at Pocono.
3. Even though the races are only six weeks apart or so, the contrast is like night and day. The track is MUCH slicker in the summer race as compared to the late spring race. Grip is at a premium.
4. I have LONG been in favor of Pocono losing a date. Either that, or reduce the race to 400 miles.
5. One of the most spectacular wrecks in NASCAR history occurred at Pocono in the spring race of 2002. On Lap 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Steve Park, teammates with DEI at the time, hooked up for NASCAR's version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Most of the inside guard rail was torn off in the wreck, and the race was red-flagged for just more than an hour while the guard rail was being replaced. Amazingly, Dale Jr was still running at the end of the race, although his #8 looked more like a dune buggy than a stock car.
6. Thinking of you: Jimmy Spencer.
7. Look for the usual suspects to do well at Pocono: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, and my dark horse, David Reutimann.
8. The Roushkateers in Chase contention (Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth) need a strong run this week to bolster their chances of making the Chase. I'd say all three need AT LEAST a top 10.

Predicted Race Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya. He proves that Indy was no fluke and pulls away late to win his first oval race in NASCAR. He gets a bit of redemption for his gaffe at Indy.

Ganassi, DEI in alliance talks

A response to Sources: Ganassi, DEI in alliance talks

Until this happens, all this is hearsay. Let's say for argument's sake Ganassi and DEI merge. What would it bring? For one, it would consolidate two struggling operations into a bigger struggling operation. Or this merger could improve both operations, and perhaps Teresa Earnhardt may stay home and count her money she'd earn from the merger. Perhaps she would burn a few hundred $100 bills to warm herself up on a cold North Carolina evening. A merger would benefit the drivers from both operations with sponsorship and technical issues. Should this merger happen, Ganassi would switch from Dodge to Chevrolet.

For the sponsorship side, Ganassi would bring his current sponsors (Big Red and Target) to the new operation. In turn, Martin Truex Jr. and Aric Almirola would benefit by having Juan Pablo Montoya as a teammate. The technical side would benefit by having Richard Childress Racing engines and horsepower. (Imagine Montoya and Kevin Harvick sharing engine information!)

Here's what this really means: NASCAR is struggling, as is the economy as a whole. LONG gone are the single car teams, and in the words of Bruce Springsteen, "they ain't coming back." (In his song, My Hometown) You're going to see the weeding out of the weaker teams, perhaps seeing fields at less than 43 cars in several races. This is a trend that I don't see being reversed any time soon. With the COT costing a lot more than NASCAR expected, it has become a hardship on those teams that are struggling. Until NASCAR tightens its belt, expect this to continue.