If you were like me, you were so miffed you didn’t even look real hard at the results from the race at Talledega. Behind Jamie Mc Murray was the familiar face of Kasey Kahne, but the finish got real funky after that. With the likes of Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, Michael Waltrip, Brad Keselowski, Elliott Sadler and Bobby Labonte numbered among the top ten, the results were truly the only "wild" things beside the wrecks in this so-called "wild card" race. Only having Greg Biffle in fourth and Jimmie Johnson in sixth gave the leaderboard any sense of normalcy.
Give them props for surviving. It definitely put this writer in an interesting position as far as quantifying a driver’s poll.
THE FAB FIVE
#5- Tony Stewart (ranked 5th last week)- Originally planning to employ the "Jimmie Johnson strategy", to hang in the back, then rush at the end, Smoke ended up with the finish (35th) many fans hoped Johnson would have. Like many on this list, he was victimized by circumstances and I suspect the old Stewart will show up at Texas.
#4- Mark Martin (ranked 4th last week)- Is Martin truly destined to be the Buffalo Bills of NASCAR? He ran his race for 187 laps, but "to finish first, you must first finish." Like Stewart, I expect we’ll see a return to form to the driver who, outside of anyone named Johnson, Gordon and Montoya, has run the most consistent chase. This fan only hopes that he becomes NASCAR’s John Elway, winning one on the way out.
#3- Juan Pablo Montoya (ranked 3rd last week)- Thanks toa 19th place finish, JPM did gain a spot over Tony Stewart. Mark my words, I honestly believe Montoya will get a win before the season’s out. The car is there, the skill is there. He just needs a break. The beauty of the points mess at this juncture is if I were any of these guys, I’d just haul for wins, screw the points.
#2- Jeff Gordon (ranked 2nd last week)- Oh, what might have been. Gordon sure looked like a winner Sunday. His post-race comments about getting enough fuel to go out and destroy the car said it all. How about going for the Lone Star sweep, after having never won at Texas before? There’s something to race for.
#1- Jimmie Johnson (ranked 1st last week)- I have to hand it to him, of all the drivers in this ranking, Johnson truly earned it for avoiding the carnage to finish sixth. If he isn’t the luckiest son of a gun on the Cup circuit, I don’t know who is. For the Jimmie haters, I just counter with the argument that when you’re good, you make your own luck.
If you’re suspicious I left the rankings the same, you are right. I did. Last Sunday’s race was an outlier, and there’s no other way to see it, in my opinion. Kahne raced well and so did Biffle, but overall, neither is consistent enough to overtake this group of five.
READY TO STRIKE
Ready to strike? That’s what I say about Joey Logano next year. At the rate he’s coming of age, i would not be surprised to see him in the Chase next year…Kasey Kahne has been up and down since the chase started, but this week he was up…Clint Bowyer shows signs he’ll be back in the hunt next year.
DISTANT THUNDER
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a loudly quiet 11th…Greg Biffle has his moments of brilliance, as does his RFR stable mates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth. Speaking of, isn’t weird to think that with one win, Jamie Mc Murray has more wins than Biff and Edwards, not to mention David Ragan, and yet its Jamie Mac who’s leaving.
PHOTO CREDITS- "Mulligan" by ACME- Nollmeyer. To see more, visit flickr.com or click on the link.
