This week, the Crappafoni Picture crew brings to you, in High Def, this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with a Hollywood flair fused with a Deep South flavor. Enjoy!
THE GOOD
Denny Hamlin: as the race winner, he gets first billing. He had a stout car throughout the weekend. He was strong in practice, strong in qualifying, and strong in the race. So much for ACL surgery. He LOOKS like a championship contender. A Darlington Sweep is something he can hang his hat on. Now he's tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most wins this season. (Hopefully there will be beautiful weather next week in Dover, as Hamlin has won on either a Saturday or Monday.)
Jamie McMurray: he started on the pole and led many laps throughout the race. Finishing second to Hamlin at Darlington, there is no shame in that. Cupcake was stout in qualifying, strong in practice, and strong in the race. Being back with Chip Ganassi seems to agree with Cupcake.
Kurt Busch: he started 14th and quickly worked his way towards the front. Although he didn't lead a lap, he put himself in a position to have a strong finish. All in all, a good job by the Blue Deuce and his crew. Good job guys!
Jeff Gordon: he led the most laps in the race but was snakebit (again!) on the final caution. He lined up as the final car on the lead lap. He did a great job in finishing fourth. I was convinced that this was the weekend he would win.
Juan Pablo Montoya: he's been a regular here in recent weeks. He drove the wheels off the Target Chevrolet to a fifth place finish. I wouldn't count him out of Chase contention yet. He gained another spot in the standings. One thing that helps him immensely: Richmond is the final race before the Chase, and he runs very strong there. He was stout, and this was easily his best run at Darlington. This bodes well for him in the future. He'll get that win in the not too distant future.
Kevin Harvick: he was buried deep in the field, starting 35th. Happy slowly worked his way to the front, and even led a lap through green flag pit stops, getting the five bonus points. That was HUGE. He also took advantage of Jimmie Johnson's misfortune when Johnson was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got plowed into by AJ Allmendinger. With his sixth place finish, he has opened up a 110-point lead in the standings, the largest margin in Cup this year, and the largest of Harvick's Cup career. (In 2006, he won the Busch Series by nearly 1,000 points.)
Regan Smith: despite driving for an underfunded team, he managed a top 20 finish at FREAKING Darlington, NOT an easy track to do well at. (He finished 17th.) For a time, he was running in the TOP TEN, before fading. He was running as high as sixth. He was very strong throughout the race and kept the 78's nose clean. Kudos to him for running a smart, efficient race. What helped was that he had the ECR engine package underneath the hood. The top 20 finish was HUGE for that team. Good job Regan!
Honorable Mention: Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, and Brian Vickers.
THE BAD
Dave Blaney: he was the first one to start and park. Poor guy, ended up drawing the short stick in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room. He deserves better. I would have put Reed Sorenson here, but his day ended due to an early accident.
Sam Hornish Jr: Darlington wasn't too kind to him, as he was the cause of multiple cautions. I think he wanted to stay in bed and skip Darlington altogether, as he looked like someone on his fifth Jack and Coke.
THE UGLY
Sam Hornish Jr: see above.
Bobby Labonte: he also was the cause of multiple cautions. As much as I've always liked Labonte, could the end of his career be near? He's been a great champion, but IMO this is a case of hanging on too long. It's kind of like Willie Mays playing center field for the New York Mets. (That visual is BRUTAL, as Mays hung on for FAR too long; he should have retired after the 1971 season, his last good season.)
Those are my nominees. Feel free to come in with yours.
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11 comments:
Good for Jamie!!! He's with the right guys in the Cup and NW!
What went wrong for Mark Martin?
Beverly, I think Jamie's in a very good place, being reunited with his first car owner in Cup, and driving for Jr in the Nationwide Series, with Hendrick horses under the hood. He's finally got a good ride, and he's showing what he can do with a good ride.
I feel the same way about Bobby Labonte, Jon. He WAS a great driver. Now, just sad to watch.
Martin Truex also was involved in a number of incidents... most due to his poor judgement. he did not look good out there.
Gene, IMO you could put Bobby in a Hendrick car and he'd get the same results. As for Truex, he could have had much better results had he shown some patience and taken what the track gave to him. He had a good car, but little patience.
JON,
GREATING POST, ONCE AGAIN YOUR COMMENTS ON LABONTE AND MINE ARE PRETTY MUCH MIRROR IMAGES OF EACH OTHER.
GUESS GREAT MINDS JSUT THINK ALIKE LOL LOL
GUNAQUAT
Gunaquat, thanks. I wonder if anyone else is thinking that re Labonte.
Hey Jon!
I found it interesting that in an interview the other day Denny Hamlin basically laughed off the notion that his Gibbs teammate, Kyle Bucsh is now a more mature person. His comments were that only when Kyle is in the winner's circle does he come off as more mature. He's still a hellion when he loses... My way of lookin' at it is the guy hates to lose more than anything. Kinda like Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt. Dude's a winner!
We'll see what NASCAR does if the Toyotas continue winning...
Thanks Jon!
Hey Dwindy!
I think the difference in Kyle this year as compared to years past is that he's willing to dig in and not give up when he doesn't have a good car. He's thinking more long-term. In years past, he would have a bad finish with a bad car. This year, he's racing for points in those circumstances, and getting the best finish he possibly can. When he has a great car, he looks to bury the competition. Nothing wrong with that. He'll pass Petty's record of 200 NASCAR wins before his career is done.
Lots of G's in your GBU this week! Love that Kurt was in there. Sam just had a weekend at Darlington that Junior usually has.
Agreed on LaBonte..sad stuff.
Woot on Cupcake!
Ugly on that JJ wreck - don't like seeing driver side direct impacts even on JJ
Kristen, Kurt ran a smart, efficient race, plus he had a very good car. Combine those two factors with a little luck and a top 5 finish is in order. I was hoping for Cupcake to win but the Hamster blew right by him. That JJ wreck was ugly--good thing for him that all these safety procedures and rules were implemented by NASCAR.
Good stuff as always. Really glad to see McMaurray run so well. Back when he first came up with Ganassi, Darlington was one of his best tracks and Saturday was one of the most complete races he has had in a long time. Still don't think he will be a Chase contender, but he may have a mathmatical shot come Richmond.
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