The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- Kobalt Tools 500

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the heart of the South, the ATL, for this week's edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with all the fixin's. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Kurt Busch: as the race winner, he gets first billing. He led 130 laps and benefited from a bottleneck on the last restart when Juan Pablo Montoya spun his tires. With the win, Busch moves up to tenth in the points standings, and reestablishes himself as a title contender. Good job guys!

Matt Kenseth: he hung around the top ten for most of the race, then when it was go time, he went. Although he never led a lap, he was pretty consistent. Kudos go out to the #17 crew for consistently good stops.

Juan Pablo Montoya: this was a MUCH needed strong run by JPM. He led three laps, got the five bonus points, and was consistently in the top 5 throughout the race. The real test is in two weeks at the bullring known as Bristol.

Kasey Kahne: he led the most laps (143), but was snakebit by that bottleneck on the final restart. Another driver that needed a strong run and got it. The ATL was the tonic this team needed.

Paul Menard: I'm usually putting this guy in the Bad or Ugly category, but not today. He had a VERY strong run, even leading a couple of laps. He belongs in the Good category today.

AJ Allmendinger: the Dinger started out slowly, but got better as the race went on. He escaped a mini-Big One late in the race.

Richard Petty Motorsports: a GREAT day for The King, with drivers finishing 4th through 6th. Even Elliott Sadler had a top 20 run, finishing 19th.

Kevin Harvick: his car was a piece of crap to start with. He started 36th and was stuck in the lower half of the standings, even falling a lap down at one point. Late in the race, he got a wave around, then got a quick caution that he sorely needed. The 29 crew showed their mettle in sticking with the car, and it got better as the race went on. It also helped that many other drivers had tire issues, and Harvick didn't. To battle back to a ninth place finish is nothing short of amazing. Harvick keeps his points lead going into Bristol, with Kenseth in second place. Could this be the year that Happy dethrones JJ as champion?

Honorable Mention: Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, and Scott Speed.

THE BAD

Carl Edwards: what was that, racing and eventually dumping, Brad Keselowski? You were OVER 100 laps down. Yes, Kes made contact with you early in the race, but you should have remembered from Talladega last year he doesn't back down. NASCAR was right in parking your ass for dumping Kes, costing him a top 10 finish. I'd say a one-race suspension is appropriate.

Michael McDowell: he was the first start and parker. Thanks for playing.

THE UGLY

Carl Edwards: see above.

Tires: there were MANY drivers that had tire issues. Even Jimmie Johnson was having issues. The issues affected Hendrick and Gibbs drivers the most.

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