The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly -- 2011 Kobalt Tools 400

This week the Crappafoni Pictures crew is in Sin City for this week's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, served buffet-style with any kind of food you want to eat, and any kind of beverage you want to drink. Gamblers especially welcome.

THE GOOD

Carl Edwards: this is his third win in the last five races, dating back to last season. (He was also second at Daytona and had the car to beat at Phoenix, but was in the wrong place at the wrong time.) As such, he gets first billing. He was stout, and was up front pretty much the whole race. (He was second in laps led.) He's looking more and more like the Edwards of 2008, when he was ripping off wins in bunches.

Tony Stewart: Smoke led the most laps in the race (163), but when he took four tires on the final pit stop, he lost his track position. But what was his ultimate undoing was a speeding penalty on pit road. He tipped his hand too early in the race when he took two tires to gain track position; the rest of the field saw that it worked and later on Stewart was cooked. He did real well in finishing second. Stewart felt that he gave the race away. I disagree. Edwards was too strong for the field.

Juan Pablo Montoya: he was unusually strong (by Vegas standards). LVMS has been a graveyard for the Colombian driver; usually this is one of his worst tracks. Not today. He was strong throughout, even leading seven laps en route to his third place finish. He's a legitimate threat to make the Chase this year IF he's consistent. An oval win is coming in the not too distant future. (Perhaps at Bristol?)

Marcos Ambrose: "Kangaroo Meat" (as Kevin Harvick nicknamed him when Ambrose broke into NASCAR) took advantage of a strong qualifying effort (2nd) and ran up front most of the race. Looks like the decision to drive for Richard Petty is paying off. Good job Marcos! Hope we see you in this category more often!

Ryan Newman: back to back top 5s! He followed up his fifth place effort in the desert with another fifth place finish in Sin City. Props also go out to his pit crew for consistently fast pit stops and more often than not gaining ground through pit stops.

Brian Vickers: in his third race back from battling blood clots and missing most of last year, he scores a top 10 finish, and has shown no ill effects from surgery last year to repair a hole in his heart and the medication he took for the clots. Good job Brian!

Sub-Good: Paul Menard, for running the fastest lap of the race, 176.039 MPH.

Honorable Mention: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, and Kurt Busch.

THE BAD

Greg Biffle: or more specifically, his pit crew. On more than one occasion, the gas man didn't put enough gas in the tank. Biff had to return the first time because it was under caution, and the second time it was during a green flag pit stop that cost him THREE LAPS. I'm sure that had one of the RFR cars been out of the race, Greg Erwin would have swapped crews a la Chad Knaus. Better to get the kinks out now rather than near the Chase. Biffle had a car that was capable of winning the race, but he had a ten cent pit crew, at least for today.

The race itself: BORING. Long green flag runs on a mile and a half track do not make for good racing. The Fox crew had to describe it somehow. The next guy that can comment with excitement on watching paint dry will be the first. That's how the racing was--like watching paint dry. Can we just have two 1.5 mile tracks, Charlotte and Atlanta, and either blow the rest of them up or shutter them?

Landon Cassill: he was the first start and parker. He was the unfortunate soul that drew the short stick at the Start and Parkers' meeting in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room. At least he went longer than the typical start and parker--he went 33 laps!!

THE UGLY

The race itself: see above.

Those are my nominees for the race. Feel free to come in and comment.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly--Shelby American GT 400

This week, the Crappafoni Pictures crew brings to you, from Glitter Gulch, the glammed-up version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, complete with glamor (Kim Kardashian, the co-Grand Marshal), glitz (Las Vegas), and grace (Jimmie Johnson). Race ya to the nearest buffet table! Enjoy!

THE GOOD

Jimmie Johnson: as the race winner, he gets first billing. While he didn't lead the most laps, and he was stuck in 20th to start, this win was as much the crew as the driver. The crew put him in a position to win by making the car better as the race went on. He also benefitted from going with four tires on the final pit stop while Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick each went with two. This is the seventh time in his career he has won at least two races in a row, and the 15th time he has won on a 1.5 mile track, breaking the record shared with Dale Earnhardt and Gordon.

Kevin Harvick: he got stuck towards the back by a poor qualifying effort, starting in 34th. But he slowly worked his way up the field to 17th at the first pit stop. Midway through the race, he and crew chief Gil Martin gambled on a no-tire stop to get track position, and it paid off, moving the #29 into the top 5. And he pretty much stayed there the rest of the race. He was able to overtake Gordon late for second, but didn't have the juice to catch Johnson. He leaves Las Vegas with the points lead intact. (I should just copy and paste last week's GBU!)

Jeff Gordon: he had the dominant car for most of the race, but a gamble on two tires on his final pit stop proved costly. He lost the lead to Johnson shortly thereafter, then lost second place to Harvick.

Mark Martin: he pretty much hung out in the lower half of the top 10 on back for most of the race, but got stronger when it mattered. Although he didn't lead a lap, he was able to keep out of trouble and had solid pit stops.

Matt Kenseth: could this be a sign that he's back and ready to contend again? He was strong throughout the weekend, qualified fairly well, and finished very strong. The move of Todd Parrott to crew chief has paid dividends for Kenseth and the #17 team, as he has run very well since the move. He had his typical Kenseth race: you don't hear from him until later in the race, then wonder, "Where did he come from?"

Joey (Kid) Logano: another strong race by The Kid. He has taken that next step in his progress as a Cup driver. He's becoming more consistent and is finding his groove. Could he make the Chase? He has a great chance if he leaves Bristol in the top 12.

Team Canada: although this isn't NASCAR-related, congratulations to Team Canada on winning the gold medal in men's hockey. And another Good goes out to the NBC hockey crew. They may be the best team of broadcasters in sports. Certainly the most underrated broadcasters.

Honorable Mention: Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle.

THE BAD

Aric Almirola: like the Good category and the winner, the first start and parker gets first billing in this category. Aric, claim your prize in the Todd Bodine Meeting Room.

Jamie McMurray: I was hoping I wouldn't have had to put him in this category all season, but I must today. He took out two good cars in Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya in a wreck. Montoya wasn't too pleased and had some sharp words for his teammate. I can imagine the tension in the EGR garage this week! Although both Busch and Montoya returned to the race, Montoya finished 20 laps down and Busch finished 18 laps down.

THE UGLY

The race itself: it was a snoozefest between Johnson and Gordon. Those of you that are sick of HMS dominance, raise your hands. (Raises hands) I was switching between the hockey and the race.

The Fox broadcast crew: as good as they were at Daytona, they were equally as bad in Vegas. It's like they're this antiseptic, politically correct, ballless crew afraid of calling anyone out. Put Mike Milbury of NBC's hockey coverage in the Fox booth and let him do his thing and get out of his way. I guarantee you, the broadcasts would be quite entertaining. I could picture him calling out the #88 crew in no uncertain terms after last week's axle fiasco.

NASCAR: what the HELL are you thinking having Kim Kardashian and Carroll Shelby CO-Grand Marshals? I wouldn't have KK as Grand Marshal for a FLEA race, much less a Sprint Cup race!! And to have an automotive icon such as Carroll Shelby SHARE the stage with KK? Are you FREAKING NUTS?? Mr. Shelby has worked in the automotive industry for a LOT longer than KK has been alive. He has designed some of the world's best cars and is STILL on the cutting edge of automotive design, even at 87 years of age. A sub-Good to Ms. Kardashian for marketing her new fragrance to a new audience.

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

Gas and Go--Las Vegas

This week's Gas and Go comes from Sin City. If you stop and listen closely, you can almost hear Elvis singing, "Viva Las Vegas." It's gonna be Viva Las Vegas for the driver that visits Victory Lane! Here are some short insights and takes leading into the race.

1. While Jimmie Johnson was last week's winner, it was the RCR drivers that are the big winners coming into Vegas. They come into Vegas with Big Mo on their side. Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer are 1-2 in the points coming in, and both drivers have been strong in Vegas. I expect the RCR momentum to continue.
2. No driver has ever won this race from the pole. Kyle Busch did win the pole last year, but had to start from the rear of the field. He charged through the field and won in his hometown.
3. Kyle Busch made his Cup debut at this race in 2004, but crashed out after 11 laps.
4. With 17 laps led in last year's race, Jeff Gordon surpassed 20,000 laps led, becoming only the seventh driver to eclipse that number. For his CAREER, Gordon has averaged nearly 40 laps led PER RACE.
5. Speaking of Kyle, I look for a brotherly duel with him and older brother Kurt at some point in the race. I expect both brothers to run well, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them visits Victory Lane.
6. Roush Fenway is the only organization that has had a driver in the top 10 every year of the race's existence. Look for that trend to continue.
7. Look for the usual suspects to run strong: Harvick, Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Gordon, Carl Edwards (2008 winner), the Busch Brothers.

Predicted Race Winner: Kyle Busch. He goes back to back in front of the home crowd. (Unless he runs that Pepto-Bismol pink paint scheme the little girl in the Toyota commercial thought up.)

Predicted rest of the top 5: 2) Harvick; 3) Burton; 4) Kurt Busch; 5) Johnson.

Darkhorse top-10 finisher: Sam Hornish Jr.

That's my G&G for the race. Your insights and comments are welcome!