|
RACE 25 UPDATE The shrub gets a win! Yes, at 20 years old, Kyle Busch has become the youngest driver in Cup history to get a win! The previous youngest winner was Donald Thomas, who was 4 days older than Busch when he won at Atlanta in November of 1951. Before my time. Busch led a race high 95 laps. The win comes in just his 31st career start! Matt Kenseth had another strong outing. He rallied from way back in the pack to finish 7th, and possibly should have finished around 3rd. His car was that good, but after late cautions, it just didn't shake out that way. But, with the finish he moved from 11th to 9th and temporarily into The Chase. So, do you think the lights are dimming even more for Ryan Newman? Newman finds himself outside the Top 10 by just 1 point, in 11th. McMurray is in at the moment, jumping 2 spots to 10th. Only 62 points separate 9th place Kenseth from 13th place Sadler! Jeff Gordon occupies the 12th position. Jr.'s hopes of making The Chase went up in smoke (engine blew) and he has been mathematically eliminated. In the Cup standings, things changed a little up front, as Biffle passed Johnson. But, in our game, all of the Top 5 swapped positions. Up Front Ok, next week, it’s another Saturday night shoot out as the drivers come to Virginia and put on a show at Richmond! Back in May, It was all Kahne and Stewart. Kasey started on the pole, led the most laps, and finally got his 1st win! He was followed by Tony Stewart, who started 3rd. Newman started 2nd and finished 3rd, which is exactly what he'll have to do if he wants to try and make the chase. Sadler and McMurray also had good runs, finishing 7th and 10th. Gordon and Johnson both went out early (accident) and finished 39th and 40th. Taking a quick look back at last year, Mayfield raced his way into the Chase. He started 7th, led the most laps, and won! This year, he doesn't have to worry as much. He was followed by Jr., Gordon, Bliss, Martin, and Biffle in 6th. McMurray finished 9th, but fell about 12 points shy of making the chase. “You don’t have to look it up, cause I already did!” Analysts on nascar.com are putting their money on Newman this weekend, and not McMurray, to be the 10th driver in the Chase. They're predicting that Jeff Gordon will miss the chase as well, but will grab the 11th spot for the million dollar bonus. There is another Leader bonus payout following Richmond, that will pay after the points are reset (we should have a new leader). If you’ve been watching the Chase scenario on my web site, you know that the 2 leaders now won’t be the 2 leaders when the Chase starts. This week, it's Charlie Breeden, who has come out of no where with Kenseth and McMurray. Will he still be the leader after Saturday night when it counts? Check it out at https://nascar155.tripod.com/home.htm and click on the LB if Chase started… link. Also, please check out the new Weekly Race Updates link next to the Official Dream Team Leader Board link (same page as above). I'd like some feedback on this link because instead of this weekly e-mail, I'd like to move to it next season. A quick reply back stating a good idea or bad idea will do, but feel free to write more if you like. I enjoy hearing from the players.
Be sure to tune in Saturday night at 7PM on TNT for all the action from Richmond!
|