It is interesting. Here I was dripping wet, and once I thought of Kyle Busch as something of a drip. Well, no more. Shrub might be only slightly more popular than brother Kurt in some circles, but the cheers after the race indicate some love Kyle the BAD, as compared to Kyle the GOOD in the broadcast booth. Man, that boy sure knows how to wheel a car around, even when he has to turn right a few times. The 23-year old was just that GOOD on Sunday, winning his 5th of the season as nobody had much of anything for him at the end.

Tony Stewart might have, but things turned UGLY when both he and Jamie McMurray got clipped Soprano style by Kevin Harvick. Actually, it looked like bowling legend Billy Hardwick, not Harvick, was driving when he spared the pair in the late frames. Stewart, who had been running second, dropped back to 19th before storming back to salvage a Top Ten.

It is just too early for Jimmie Johnson to get all that excited. With the Chase still almost two months away, the defending two-time champ tinkered with the lead for 27 early laps before fading back to 15th. Cautions coming out at BAD times did him in.

Still, it was a pretty GOOD day for the Hendrick boys. Jeff Gordon's crew turned a lemon into lemonade to allow the five time Sonoma winner to claim third. Casey Mears, who the rumor mills have being jettisoned after this season, was fifth. Michigan winner Dale Earnhardt Jr managed to get out of Dodge, er, San Francisco, with a 12th place finish.

Best ever Cup finish for David Gilliland, taking second for Yates Racing. The last guy GOOD enough to finish that well for the outfit was Elliott Sadler more than three years ago. Clint Bowyer maintained his hold on a Chase spot by coming home fourth, as Ryan Newman and defending race winner Juan Pablo Montoya both settled for Top Tens. Two others actually extended Top Ten streaks. Matt Kenseth is at six straight while Carl Edwards has a run of seven in a row.

GOOD news for Kenseth, who moves into the bottom Chase position as Harvick drops out by a couple of points. However, we still have ten races to go to shake things out, with Stewart (18 points ahead), Bowyer (34), and Kahne (68) all well within range for Happy.

Road course expert Max Papis sat in for Scott Riggs on Sunday, but that car remains twenty points away from a free pass to next week. A 35th place finish might not be GOOD, but it was three spots better than what Scott Pruett managed while replacing Reed Sorenson for a day as they become the new bubble boys. Actually, none of Sunday's ringers finished in the Top 25.

Well, none if you don't count Terry Labonte. In my books, he more deserves the free pass for this upcoming weekend for finishing 17th than Sorenson does in his return. Too BAD most of my books are written in crayon. Meanwhile, the guy Labonte is replacing this month, Kyle Petty, along with the rest of the TNT crew continue to do a great job in keeping things interesting. I love the chemistry. For my money, and as we just bought new windows for the house there isn't much of that left either, they are the best NASCAR broadcast crew on television.

So the table is set for this Sunday's action in New Hampshire. If Riggs can make it in on time, he has a GOOD shot at picking up the invitation for the July race at Daytona. Last year, Denny Hamlin was the winner in a race that had real equality, as each of six drivers lead at least 30 of the 300 laps.