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33-years old. 41
victories in just his eighth full
season. 3 Cup championships. I'm
starting to get the feeling that being
Jimmie Johnson isn't all BAD. With an
impressive use of the fender horn, he
slid Denny Hamlin up the track in the
late going, then put some distance
between himself and the runner up to
claim victory at Martinsville. Though
Johnson was a tad defensive when later
asked about the maneuver, the victim was
duly impressed.
After being punched up into the marbles,
Hamlin knew he wasn't coming back.
However, he was GOOD enough to keep Tony
Stewart in the rear view, with Jeff
Gordon and Clint Bowyer next in line. It
was a case of the rich getting richer,
with everyone in the top five holding
down a place among the top twelve in
points. Not as rich as, say, the CEO of
GM and the $20 million in retirement
benefits he will be pocketing, thanks to
you and your tax dollars. Our boys will
have to be content in being just a hell
of a lot more successful at doing their
jobs.
Ryan Newman had a slow start to the
season, but he is back in the top twenty
after finishing sixth. Mark Martin was
near the bubble not so long ago, but the
seventh place finisher now owns a
healthy gap over the go or go homers. It
seemed things were going real BAD for
Dale Earnhardt Jr if you believed what
you read over the past week. Still, his
eighth place conclusion has him within
50 of a Chase berth. A.J. Allmendinger
is even closer, as the ninth place guy
at Martinsville continues to erase the
memories of a disappointing 2008. Jamie
McMurray isn't in any danger of missing
a race, but a Chase place is another
story. Finishing tenth has to help his
cause.
At the other end of the food chain, you
got those who continue to fight for
their right to party on Sunday. David
Gilliland had it, but he was 36th on a
day when Paul Menard was 25th as the
pair swap spots on the charts. Menard
has the invitation to Texas this Sunday,
with Gilliland three points back and
needing to qualify. Remaining on the BAD
side of the line are Aric Almirola and
Scott Speed by 27 and 28 points
respectively. UGLY is being so close to
the goal, only to finish even worse than
Gilliland. Ouch. With 48 entered for
this Sunday, qualifying isn't exactly
going to be a slam dunk.
Talking about UGLY things, $20 million.
Isn't that the going rate for a primary
sponsorship? Maybe if GM wanted to toss
away cash they don't have, maybe they
should have slapped their new slogan on
the hood of a Cup entry. "GM - We are
really, really sorry for pissing it all
away." Trouble is, I really don't think
they are sorry.
Kyle Busch was 24th on Sunday, but was
challenging for the win in Monday's rain
delayed truck race. Kevin Harvick
roughed his tail gate a bit in making
the pass for the eventual win, and Busch
tried to make some repairs by rubbing
his rear against the inside wall to
scrape off the scrap metal. However,
when his front tires crossed the
commitment line, the rules said he had
to go to the pits whether that had been
his intention or not. Instead of the
Happy Kyle, the one who bows and takes
the checkered flag, we got to see the
UGLY one on Monday. Talk about blurring
the line between tragedy and comedy.
What does one have to do, what
accomplishments must one have on the
resume to deserve a $20 million payout?
Feed the hungry? Come up with a free and
renewable form of alternative energy?
Save the world? All GOOD arguments, but
apparently wrong. What you need to do is
lose tens of billions of dollars, take
billions more from taxpayers, then cut
tens of thousands of jobs. I bet that
until this moment, you didn't realize
how many of us are potentially worth $20
million. Pick me next, Mr. President!
Texas is next on the dance card, a race
owned by three guys last season. Ron
Hornaday won both truck races, Kyle
Busch the Nationwide dates, and Carl
Edwards both Cup events. While the pick
ups don't make their initial visit until
June, both Busch and Edwards (26th at
Martinsville) will be looking for this
weekend to be a tad better than the last
one. Busch was second in that Cup race a
year ago. Some guy named Johnson was
second. Enjoy the race! |
