Fontana Race Review, Oscars Style

In the spirit of the Academy Awards, Bump Drafts presents: a Fontana Race Review, with a Hollywood twist:

BEST PICTURE- Seeing NASCAR’s answer to that Hollywood “everyman” Jimmy Stewart win a second consecutive race. Not since Jeff Gordon, have NASCAR fans seen a driver go out and win the first two races of the season. All you critics may diss Kenseth’s Daytona win on pure luck- however, winning two consecutive races in Cup competition is truly is a mark of excellence.

Kenseth overcame his lackluster starting position,  a dominant early run by Jimmie Johnson and strong challenges from Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle to take the checkered flag.

BEST DIRECTOR- Drew Blickensderfer. Can you believe he’s a Cup rookie? He’s two for two now, and Kenseth was quick to credit Blick and the Gang on pit road for enabling him to beat Gordon off pit road.

BEST PRODUCER- Jack Roush. His teams have now won 7 races at Auto Club Speedway, tying him with “Team Hendrick”  for top performance by an owner. 

 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Matt Kenseth has taken  first at Auto Club Speedway for a 3rd time- tying him for the Cup career track lead with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

BEST DRAMA: Historic scenarios hung in the balance of the 2009 Auto Club 500. Could Kyle Busch pull off an unprecedented trifecta? He had already won the Nationwide and trucks races. Could the 4-time Cup champion Gordon end his winless streak in points racing that dates back to October, 2007? Could the 2003 champion (Kenseth) not only pull off a rare season-opening double, but also make new crew chief Drew Blickensderfer 2 for 2 to open his Cup career?

NEAR-MISS FOR BEST ACTRESS- Mother Nature looked like she might steal the show for a second consecutive week. Rain was the cause of the first four caution flags of the race, but she ultimately gave way to the leading man.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- Jeff Gordon, with his second place finish, has re- established himself as a serious player in NASCAR championship competition. It was the most complete run for the Rainbow Warrior in quite some time.

BEST NEWCOMER- After getting batted around like a pinball at Daytona, Joey Logano posted a respectable 26th. This performance was a classic case of no new being good news.

BEST DOCUMENTARY: All you critics can say what you want, but the pairing of Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. this week to discuss last week’s drama at Daytona and his standing within the support offered valuable insight into NASCAR’s most popular driver.

You can arguably call him overrated (he all but conceded that his popularity has outstripped his recent performance), you can find fault with his approach…

…but NEVER accuse him of being dishonest. I’ll take this guy for my wing man over A-Rod any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS- (and this has nothing to do with the fact my son has a crush on her) Krista Voda of FOX. She followed up the D.W.-Junior interview with an on-the-spot chat with Brian Vickers. Her conversation revealed what we have also learned from Junior’s comments about Vickers- these two do not hate each other and at least, in part, understand why each racer did what he did under the circumstances.

Speaking as a radio sports guy, I appreciate what Voda brings to the table. Her questions in the pits and garage demonstrate greater thought and imagination than what I see from the average reporter. (Dick Berggren is still my favorite though)>

Back to Earnhardt and Vickers, those of you in Junior Nation waiting for Lil “E” to crack a cue stick over Vickers head at the next gathering of NASCAR drivers can keep on waiting.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Considering the elements and considering the location, NASCAR managed to escape without any damage. If the powers that be really want to make racing fly in So Cal (and believe me, there’s enough of a racing culture there- see Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson for reference), they need to do something with the track that makes for better racing, and they really need to re-think their dates. Being a West Coaster, I can tell you NASCAR is taking its chances on timing. If it’s too warm, there’s too much else to do and people don’t want to melt in the heat. Too rainy and cold, they’ll go indoors.

What a bummer for Kevin Harvick. After his engine gave up and he smacked the wall, he ended up with his first DNF since 2006.

Championships aren’t won in February, but they sure can be lost in NASCAR’s opening month. Former champions Kenseth, Gordon, Kurt Busch (5th) and Tony Stewart (8th) have proven they’re not quite ready for dark socks with tennis shoes,  shorts pulled up to the gut, and complaining about the government full-time.

PHOTO CREDITS- Kenseth by Jessi K., Gordon by Henderson Images, Dale Jr. by aranem. More of their work may be found at flickr.com.