The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2011 Auto Club 400

We are California Dreamin' for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, brought to you by Crappafoni Pictures. Help yourselves to plenty of SoCal-style cuisine, and Grab Some Buds to wash it down along the way. (But be sure to have a designated driver BEFORE partaking!) Enjoy! THE GOOD Kevin Harvick: as this week's winner, he gets first billing. He started from fairly deep in the field (24th, to be exact). By Lap 55, he was in the top 10 at tenth, as he was a beneficiary of the longest green flag run to start a race in the track's history. The 29 was stout on the long runs, and he was able to make up ground on those long runs. You knew late in the race he was coming, especially when Kyle Busch started fading and dropping off speedwise. Happy benefitted from Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch racing each other late. Harvick passed Jimmie Johnson on the final lap coming out of turn 4 and took the checkered flag for his and Richard Childress Racing's first Cup win at the track he considers his home track, as Bakersfield is two hours north. (Harvick has won there in the Busch Series for RCR.) With the win, Harvick moves from 15th to 9th in points, and in the last two weeks, he has gained 11 spots in the points. Apparently, the engine woes at Daytona were an aberration. When he took the checkered flag, that was the ONLY lap Harvick led in the entire race. He gets 43 points for winning, plus the three bonus points for the win, plus one point for leading a lap. Way to go Happy!! Jimmie Johnson: like Harvick, he got stronger later in the race, but he wasn't as strong coming out of Turns 3 & 4 as Harvick. He was able to hold off Harvick until Turn 4. He was able to track down Kyle Busch with two laps to go. Kyle Busch: he led the most laps by far but faded at the end, being passed by both Harvick and Johnson. It looked like he was going to run and hide from the field, but on the last long run of the race, his speeds dropped off drastically, while Johnson and Harvick were the fastest cars on the track. Matt Kenseth: he took a page out of Harvick's book as he started 11th but went backwards, then his crew righted the car and in the second half of the race the 17 ran much better. Ryan Newman: he was solid all day, even leading a couple of laps during green flag pit stops. He drove a smart race, took what the car gave him, and rode it to a very solid fifth place finish. The race itself: you had the funny feeling that even though Kyle Busch led nearly every lap run, he would either a) barely hang on to win; or b) Johnson and Harvick would run him down. With three laps to go, Johnson caught him, and they were racing each other, which allowed Harvick to catch and ultimately overcome both Busch and Johnson. SWEET crossover move by Harvick! (Johnson thought Harvick was going to pass on the outside and Harvick dove inside, aided by a tremendous run coming off turn 4; Johnson was a sitting duck at that point.) Best finish at ACS ever! Honorable Mention: Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, Juan Pablo Montoya (a sub-Good for winning the pole). THE BAD JGR engines: the JGR engineers HAD to be on pins and needles all day when Joey Logano had a previously undiagnosed engine problem this morning and they had to go to the rear of the field due to the ensuing engine change. That cost him the third starting position. Then Denny Hamlin's engine went away. Then Kyle Busch faded at the end. Logano ended up finishing 25th, the last driver on the lead lap. Phantom cautions: the first two cautions were for "debris" that WASN'T EVEN THERE or didn't affect the flow of the race. I can see debris cautions if an ACTUAL piece of debris came off one of the cars and affected the flow and integrity of the race; THEN you throw a debris caution. One of the three debris cautions WAS correct, when an axle came off the 78 car and shot across the track. Otherwise there would have been only THREE cautions, the other two being for both Bobby Labonte and Andy Lally slapping the wall in separate incidents. (Both Labonte and Lally cut tires and they led to the cautions.) This writer: I HAD changed from JJ to Happy in the Trifecta, then did ANOTHER change, to Carl Edwards. Should have stuck with Happy, as I would have had a chance to win. Oh well, it is what it is. I give myself a bad for changing from Happy to Cousin Carl. THE UGLY Tony Stewart: what happened Smoke? You were third going into the final restart and had a chance to win but dropped back like a stone and finished 13th. THAT in itself merited an Ugly. And you wouldn't explain WHY you dropped back, instead leaving without answering questions--ANOTHER Ugly for that! We get you want to win, but at least I'd have wanted an explanation WHY you dropped off the pace on the last restart. Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in with yours (and razz me in the process for my picking Edwards).

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2010 Pepsi Max 400

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew is California Dreamin' at Fontana (insert bad Mamas and Papas joke here) for this week's serving of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, with fish tacos (we're close enough to San Diego), salsa, and the toppings of your choice, washed down with Pepsi Max, of course! Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Tony Stewart: he gets first billing as the race winner. Smoke pulled ahead of Clint Bowyer on the final restart and had enough juice to hold off Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson for his first win at Fontana. With the win, Smoke bolsters his chances of a third championship. He has matured into a solid leader and that has helped him immensely in his racing. Could he be the modern-day A.J. Foyt? (Smoke was a former pole-sitter at the Indy 500.)

Clint Bowyer: he had a stout car from the time it was unloaded until the checkered flag, and it looked like he was going to win his second Chase race of the season. But Stewart overtook him on that last restart. What DOESN'T help Bowyer is that Jimmie Johnson finished right behind him, and he was only able to gain five points on Johnson. Bowyer could win the rest of the Chase races and if Johnson keeps ripping off top 3 finishes, Bowyer won't win the title.

Jimmie Johnson: this guy keeps ripping off top 3 finish after top 3 finish. Maybe there was something to what Kevin Harvick said early in the season about JJ and the lucky horseshoe. (Perhaps JJ played Frontierville on Facebook earlier in the season and got the horseshoe that way...just a thought.) And with Jimmie's House aka Charlotte looming, don't expect things to change anytime soon.

Kasey Kahne: where have you been Kasey? Long time no see in this category! Although he didn't lead a lap (he got as high as second position), he hung around in the top 10 for pretty much the whole race.

Ryan Newman: he capped off a great day for Stewart-Haas Racing by finishing fifth. He started 14th and quickly worked his way into the top 10. Great way to rep Tornados (a frozen Mexican-style wrap made in the central California town of Dinuba) in its home state by finishing in the top 5! Newman seems to run his best when Tornados is on the hood: a win and a fifth place finish.

Kevin Harvick: he started 21st, then had to overcome a speeding penalty exiting pit road during a round of green flag pit stops to finish seventh. The penalty dropped him to 28th, the last car on the lead lap. He was about to get lapped when a caution came out. A sub-Bad to his crew for NOT helping him gain spots on pit road. He made up all those spots on the track.

Denny Hamlin: I had to include the Hamster in here because he started in the back of the pack due to a transmission change. He charged his way up the field, eventually finishing eighth. But when you have the leader ripping off top 3s, it's impossible to catch him.

Honorable Mention: Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, David Reutimann, Joey Logano, Regan Smith.

THE BAD

Roush-Fenway Racing: it was a BAD day for them. Greg Biffle blows an engine and finishes 41st. Carl Edwards has ignition issues and finishes 34th. Then David Ragan, who was running solidly in the top 15 late in the race, triggers an accident that delivers a serious blow to Kurt Busch's title hopes. (Busch would finish 21st.) Matt Kenseth limped home in 30th, the last car on the lead lap and RFR's best finisher. Biffle's done, Edwards and Kenseth's title hopes are in serious jeopardy. They're THAT close to being done.

THE UGLY

Issues: many of the Chasers had them. Biffle and Kyle Busch blew engines. Edwards had ignition issues. Kurt Busch was collected in an accident not of his doing. Harvick and Jeff Gordon had speeding penalties. Kenseth limped home in 30th. Jeff Burton finished 23rd and is pretty close to being done. Hamlin had to have a transmission changed and started at the rear of the field.

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

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- Auto Club 500

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew serves up this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly SoCal style, complete with a heaping helping of fish tacos and salsa. Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jimmie Johnson: as the race winner, he gets first billing. It took him 30 laps to get to the front, but once he got there, he pretty much stayed there. Ironically, it was his 48th win of his career, but his first at Fontana in the spring. Good job Jimmie!

Kevin Harvick: finishing in second to JJ, there is no shame in that. That win will come sooner rather than later, I'd say by the spring race in Bristol. He had a stout car, and led 27 laps. He now moves to first in the points.

Jeff Burton/Richard Childress Racing: Burton and RCR are BACK, and in a big way. With Burton's third place finish, and Clint Bowyer's eighth place finish, they proved Daytona was no fluke. This was the best RCR has run at Fontana, especially considering the lack of success RCR has had in the past.

Mark Martin: he ran strong throughout the race, and led five laps en route to a fourth place finish.

Joey Logano: although he didn't lead a lap, his crew got the #20 car better and better as the race wore on. The fifth-place finish was a career best for Logano at Fontana. Good job kid!

Honorable Mention: Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle.

THE BAD

Aric Almirola: he was the first to start and park.

Denny Hamlin: he was never really a factor, and late in the race he was black flagged by NASCAR for a pit road issue. (If someone knows what it is, please tell me!) The black flag cost him a lap. Plus, he started in the rear due to an engine change.

Richard Petty Motorsports: they only had ONE driver on the lead lap--Paul Menard. Kasey Kahne had issues and finished 29 laps down. Elliott Sadler and AJ Allmendinger finished a lap down each. (Ya think Kasey might want to go to Stewart-Haas Racing in a third SHR car?)

THE UGLY

The weather: there was one caution for rain, and it threatened to rain throughout the second half of the race. A sub-Good for the rain missing the track and allowing the race to go the distance.

Engines: there were several drivers that blew engines, most notably Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya led the first 29 laps of the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr: only in the sense that on his final pit stop, a rear axle broke and there was no replacement axle. OOPS. Someone's going to get either chewed out, or lose his job for not bringing a replacement axle. He finished 12 laps down in 32nd place as a result.

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

Gas and Go--Fontana

This week's Gas and Go has a Southern California flavor. More laid back than the usual G & Gs. I will offer some short insights and takes leading into this race.

1. Roush, Roush, Roush. Roush drivers have seemingly dominated this race almost from the get-go. Matt Kenseth is the defending race champion. Kenseth has won three times at Fontana. Carl Edwards has won once, the spring race in 2008. Even Kurt Busch and Mark Martin have won while driving under the Roush banner.
2. Not to be outdone, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won a total of eight times. One of Jimmie Johnson's very first Cup wins came at Fontana, on April 28, 2002. Johnson has won four times, Jeff Gordon has won three times, and Kyle Busch became the youngest winner in NASCAR history at the time by four days (since broken by Joey Logano, 18 at the time) when he got his first Cup win on Labor Day weekend of 2006.
3. Speaking of Roush, I look for the Roush drivers to show their strength, particularly Carl Edwards. He is itching to get back in Victory Lane. He'll have several drivers to contend with.
4. Jeff Gordon was the inaugural winner at Fontana, on June 22, 1997.
5. Thinking of you: Dan Gurney.
6. Look for some wide-open racing, especially since there are no restrictor plates and multiple grooves.
7. While RCR hasn't had very much success in the past, I look for them to be strong. Having three teams seems to agree with everyone at RCR, from Richard Childress on down.

Predicted Race Winner: Greg Biffle. He started the season strong at Daytona and I look for him to continue the trend. I look for him to start within the first three rows and quickly move to the front and stay at or near the front. Biffle has won at Fontana once, in February 2005.

Information courtesy of www.nascar.com.