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It was sure GOOD that
Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards were nice
enough to invite 41 other guys to their
exclusive party last Saturday night.
Heck, the pair were even magnanimous
enough to allow Jeff Gordon to lead a
lap at Bristol. Jeff and only Jeff, and
just for that one lap, as it turned out.
So, the boys didn't have a GOOD handle
on how to share, with Kyle claiming most
of the toys in the sandbox. 83% of the
time, it was all "mine, mine, mine", at
least until Carl cracked him upside the
head with his rattle to lay claim to the
pre-nap bottle when all was said and
done. Kyle did not take it well, but the
post-race tantrum fueled fender folding
tiff between the tots in the end only
got the fans more excited and itching to
watch what unfolds in California.
The Busch baby did not get the win, as
the Carl child is now just 30 Chase
points behind with just two events left
to determine who is in, and who is out
of championship contention. Too BAD
about the Las Vegas rules violation,
which cost Edward's the 10 Chase points
he would have had for that victory, or
we would have even be a tighter battle.
Have you ever wondered why, on the
start, more cars don't swing to the
outside to get the jump on the
competition? It might have something to
do with the fact that on the start doing
such a thing gets you black flagged.
Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr. After
putting his hopes in the toilet right
off the start, every time he got close
to a lucky dog, someone reached for the
handle and flushed his chances away
every time. In the end, his car was just
not GOOD enough to climb back out of the
porcelain, finishing 18th.
Not that Jimmie Johnson had things go
much better. He lost a tire early, along
with any hope to do well, to wind up
33rd. Kasey Kahne's hopes of keeping in
the Chase hunt turned UGLY when he got
caught up in a wreck. He finished 40th
at Bristol, is now 56 points behind
bubble boy Clint Bowyer, 44 behind the
13th place David Ragan, and his odds of
making the Chase are now only slightly
better than your own.
Greyhound is not part of NASCAR, but
that didn't stop Casey Mears from
throwing his spotter under the bus. When
the driver was told he was clear, it was
true. Well, it was, with the lone
exception of Michael Waltrip. When the
lad turned right, his destination
quickly became the garage, and he gave
credit were credit was due. Maybe it is
a GOOD thing that Mears is leaving for a
new ride next season. I'm thinking that
his spotter won't be coming with him.
Why does Clint Bowyer think Waltrip is
one of the worst drivers in NASCAR? What
he saw behind that wreck seemed to
differ from what the rest of us saw and
what Mears described. In fact, the 7th
place finisher even commented to his
crew that Waltrip is so BAD he was
surprised NAPA would even come back to
sponsor our Kentucky buddy. I think
Clint owes Mikey a big ole hug.
Denny Hamlin had a GOOD day, as his 3rd
place finish has him 57 points within
the Chase. Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon
had Top Five days to give them some
breathing room. Tony Stewart and Matt
Kenseth were Chasers who claimed a Top
Ten, while 10th place put Ragan within a
dozen points of Bowyer. It appears that
next week we'll have more to watch for
than just if Carl and Kyle can play
nice. Here's hoping they won't.
We have a GOOD battle remaining to
determine who gets the weekly free pass.
Sam Hornish Jr's ride is 35th in owner's
points, but the autos driven by A.J.
Allmendinger and Mike Skinner (formerly
by Michael McDowell) are within 25
points. On Saturday, Skinner was 28th,
Allmendinger 34th, and Hornish was
37th. In short, less than nine track
positions separate the trio. You know,
if slow and unsteady wins the race, they
all would be winners.
As we all guessed, 18-year old Joey
Logano takes over from Stewart next
season in the #20. So far, we know
Logano to be talented, young, and thus
far I don't hear anyone calling him a
jerk. Then again, there once was a time
when Kyle was thought of as the GOOD
Busch. Funny how things work out.
By the way, my brother and his wife
celebrated their Jeff Gordon wedding
anniversary earlier this week. That's
right, 24 years. I know who they will be
cheering for on Sunday when the boys
return to the sandbox in California.
While their Mr. Gordon had a Top 5 there
this winter, both Kyle and Carl were in
the Top 5 the last two events run at
Fontana, with Edwards the victor back in
February. Kyle was fourth. After
Bristol, it should be fun watching the
pair play in this bigger sandbox. I can
just feel the love, can't you? Enjoy the
race!
You can
contact Ron at
thornton@speedwaymedia.com
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