The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2011 Lenox Industrial Tools 301

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in the picturesque hamlet of Loudon, NH, for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, served up New England-style, with clam chowder, lobster chowder, and any kind of chowder you can think of, and washed down with PLENTY of Coke. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Ryan Newman/Tony Stewart/Stewart-Haas Racing: Newman gets first mention, and Smoke goes in here as well because Newman and Stewart qualified 1-2 and finished 1-2. Both drivers worked on long runs in practice, and when they unloaded, they were stout. Newman set a track record in winning the pole. An extra Good goes to Newman for winning the Modified race (from where else, the pole) yesterday. SHR became the first team to qualify AND finish in the front row since the 1989 Daytona 500, when Darrell Waltrip (qualified 2nd, won race) and Ken Schrader (qualified 1st, finished 2nd) accomplished the feat for Hendrick Motorsports. With the win, Newman now has a win in hand, and that helps his Chase chances. GREAT job SHR!

Denny Hamlin: the victim of a spinout, the 11 team fought back and through sound pit strategy and timely cautions (more on those later) put themselves in contention to possibly steal a win. That didn't happen, but Hamlin goes here because the crew did a great job in the pits and Hamlin did the rest.

Joey Logano: did he steal Kevin Harvick's playbook? Because he was a nonfactor until very late in the race. He gets a much-needed top 5 run.

Jimmie Johnson: he still has that lucky horseshoe, because he was a nonfactor for about 250 of the 301 laps of the race. He took advantage of Kyle Busch's early accident, Kevin Harvick's troubles, and Carl Edwards' fade to take over the points lead.

Bobby Labonte:  he was solid today, and came away with a much-needed top 10 finish. For Labonte, it was his first top 10 finish since the Daytona 500.

Kasey Kahne: the driver of the #4 Red Bull Toyota was racy today. He was in the top 10 for a good portion of the race, even leading for a time. A good solid run.

Honorable Mention: Martin Truex, Jr, Marcos Ambrose, and Kurt Busch.

THE BAD

Jeff Green: he drew the short stick at today's start and parker meeting in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room. He ran a total of 11 laps before declaring himself done for the day and hotfooting it out of town with his earnings.

Debris cautions: EXACTLY one was warranted--when a piece of metal came onto the track and lay in one of the grooves. The one on lap 216 I did not see debris ANYWHERE. NASCAR, STOP throwing phantom cautions when green flag pit stops are coming up! (Had there been NO caution, and green flag pit stops, JJ would have lost AT LEAST two laps, if not more, because of a missing lugnut. This is a case of a favor being called in; JJ was struggling the whole race and NASCAR saved his bacon with that phantom caution. Just sayin'.)

THE UGLY

The race itself: there was no rhythm to the race; it kept getting interrupted by cautions.

TNT: we bid adieu to them for another season. Until they run the split screen on a consistent basis and get new announcers (Carl Edwards, please retire and join the TNT crew; you're better than what they have now!) they'll continue to be in the Ugly category. After a week break, ABC/ESPN will take over for the remainder of the season.

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

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- Subway Fresh Fit 600

After an unexpected week hiatus, the Crappafoni Pictures crew brings you this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, southwestern-style, complete with hot and spicy snacks provided by Tornados. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Ryan Newman: as the race winner, he gets first billing. He was the beneficiary of a very late caution caused when Scott Riggs slapped the wall. Crew chief Tony Gibson gambled by taking two right side tires and the #39 driver came out second, behind Jeff Gordon. He took the lead shortly after the restart and made it hold up. Newman's win was his first since the 2008 Daytona 500, and the first-ever win by a driver with the number 39. Those two laps were the only two laps Newman led the entire race. What makes this win sweet for this blogger is that Tornados snacks are manufactured in Central California. Good job Ryan!!

Jeff Gordon: try as he might, he wasn't able to overtake Newman for the win. I could say this as well for everyone NOT named Kyle Busch: he was the beneficiary of that late caution flag. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good; he turned a marginal top 10 car into a second-place car.

Jimmie Johnson: as usual, he was stout. Even though he started 16th, it didn't take him long to march to the front. He led the most laps in the race and got the extra five bonus points. But as the race wore on, the #48 car tailed off a bit. He actually increased his points lead a bit over Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle.

Mark Martin: night time was the right time for the driver of the 5 car. For much of the race, he was hanging out in low-2o'sville. But as day transitioned into night, the 5 car got stronger. He didn't have a car that could win, but he got the most out of the car en route to a fourth place finish.

Juan Pablo Montoya: he was at his best in the twilight part of the race, just before dusk. He led over 100 laps, but got bottled up on the last restart, running in seventh with two laps to go. He had a good rally to finish fifth. For the 42 team, that was huge. They needed a top 5 finish and got it.

Robby Gordon: I've gotta put him here. I've bagged on him many a time through the years, but not today. He was barely in the top 35 coming into the race. (He was 35th in points coming in.) But with Travis Kvapil losing his engine on Lap 314, that was the break he needed. He finished 14th, and was strong throughout. He's now 34th in points, and he's automatically qualified for Texas next week.

Honorable Mention: Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano.

THE BAD

The Fox announcing crew: Kyle Busch was within seven laps of taking the checkered flag when they said that Kyle Busch is the one guy that doesn't want to see a caution. Guess what? The caution flag flies!! DON'T JINX IT by saying that Kyle Busch (or whoever's leading late in the race, except for Jimmie Johnson--you can do THAT to him!) doesn't want to see a caution!! WHY do Fox, or ESPN, or ABC, or TNT's announcers DO this?? ESPN did the SAME thing last summer at Atlanta when they said the last thing Kevin Harvick wants to see is a caution. And guess what happened? Caution for Clint Bowyer spinning out. They get another bad for turning the race into a snoozefest.

THE UGLY

The race format: by extending the race another 100 km, it meant more face time for Fox's crew. The race could have started a half hour later, and under the old format, it would have still ended at night.

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

Gas and Go--Dover (Chase Race 2009)

This week's Gas and Go focuses on The Monster Mile, aka Dover. I will give you some insights and short takes leading up to the race, and give you my predicted winner.

1. It may only be one race in the Chase, but Kasey Kahne is in DEEP trouble. He enters Dover 161 points behind leader Mark Martin. That's just more than one race to make up. In years past, one could make up that margin, but not this year. Not the way Martin and the front runners have been running.
2. Besides Kahne, both Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards are also looking for strong runs, as is Jeff Gordon. Biffle won this race last year and has run strong in the past at Dover. Edwards is looking for a strong run to give the #99 team some badly needed confidence. Gordon is looking for a strong run to put himself back in contention.
3. While he didn't qualify exceptionally well (he qualified 16th, making up an all-brother Row 8), Kurt Busch has found some speed, topping the second practice session, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer. Busch is going to have to pick and weave his way around traffic tomorrow if he is to get up to the front.
4. Among non-Chase drivers, look for Bowyer, David Reutimann, and Marcos Ambrose to run well and play spoiler. I would put Kyle Busch here, but he's been too up and down this season. Kyle is certainly capable of winning, and I think he's going to do his best to play spoiler.
5. RCR found out this week that Jack Daniel's will not be returning to the 07 car as sponsor. No word on whether or not they have a sponsor lined up. One rumor is Bobby Labonte and Ask.com going to the 07 next season. (Personally, I'd have LOVED to see Labonte instead of Mears at RCR, with Labonte in the 33 and Bowyer staying in the 07.) Another rumor I've heard is Paul Menard in the 07 with Menards as the main sponsor.
6. Okay, enough of Silly Season for now. Guys to watch for: Johnson, Newman, Montoya, Biffle, Bowyer, and Kurt Busch.
7. IMO, Morgan-McClure should sell the #4 team to Stewart-Haas Racing so Smoke can have that third team. Scott Wimmer failed to qualify for the race at Dover, making him the only driver that failed to qualify. MMM is a shadow of its old self. They had a great run in the early 90s with Ernie Irvan and Sterling Marlin. Time to sell and relinquish the #4 to SHR.

Predicted Race Winner: Ryan Newman.