| 1 |
1 |
 |
Kevin Harvick |
The man’s hotter than a Penske engine on lap 499. |
| 2 |
4 |
 |
Ryan Newman |
Memo to newspapers, Internet sites and TV shows – you can retire the “Hello, Newman” kicker. We’re not kidding. It’s getting that old. |
| 3 |
2 |
 |
Matt Kenseth |
NASCAR’s searching on eBay under the search term “Fat Lady.” |
| 4 |
9 |
 |
Tony Stewart |
He came right out and said that fuel mileage racing sucks. God bless him. Glad someone said it. |
| 5 |
3 |
 |
Jeff Gordon |
They never let him get his lap back at Michigan. What goes around comes around. |
| 6 |
8 |
 |
Robby Gordon |
He’s offered to pay Jimmy Spencer’s $25,000 fine. Good thing Robby’s won twice this year. |
| 7 |
5 |
 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
He’s a big baseball fan, so he wasn’t pleased when Rusty Wallace picked him off on pit road. |
| 8 |
6 |
 |
Jimmie Johnson |
We didn’t remember him leading 50 laps. All that fire was distracting. |
| 9 |
10 |
 |
Michael Waltrip |
He’s nearly matched his top-10 total (9) from last year (10) already. And we still have another restrictor plate race to go! |
| 10 |
7 |
 |
Kurt Busch |
Busch. Got. Whacked. |
| 11 |
11 |
 |
Bobby Labonte |
Qualify bad, run good. Qualify good, run bad. |
| 12 |
13 |
 |
Jeff Burton |
He had the quote of the week: “It (the race) was pretty wild.” And that was before his teammate pulled into the garage. |
| 13 |
12 |
 |
Mark Martin |
Dude, Larry Foyt got more TV time then you did on Sunday. No joke. |
| 14 |
15 |
 |
Terry Labonte |
The top 25 streak has officially hit 17 races. Well, we just jinxed that. Nice while it lasted. |
| 15 |
14 |
 |
Rusty Wallace |
Did you get your engine from Newman? |
| 16 |
16 |
 |
Dale Jarrett |
He got up there at Michigan and led some laps. And they were under the green flag! |
| 17 |
20 |
 |
Greg Biffle |
Don’t be shocked if they win again before the year’s out. His first win was a shocker. The second one won’t be. Unless it’s at Martinsville. |
| 18 |
18 |
 |
Sterling Marlin |
Interesting stat: in 2003, with no top-five finishes, he’s completed 91.3 percent of his laps. In 2002, with eight top-fives, he completed 92.7 percent. Not a huge disparity. Now -– his height and Jamie McMurray’s height? That’s a huge disparity. |
| 19 |
17 |
 |
Jamie McMurray |
It’ll be real interesting to see if he can catch Greg Biffle for the rookie of the year title. Almost as interesting as the unsponsored Tony Raines (173 rookie points) vs. Casey Mears (176 points) race for third in the rookie chase. |
| 20 |
19 |
 |
Bill Elliott |
He’s been 17th in the standings for three weeks in a row. Still, it’s the highest he’s been all year. Rusty Wallace is 103 points ahead of him for 15th place. |
| 21 |
23 |
 |
Ward Burton |
He lists his hobbies as “hunting and other outdoor activities.” Which means he’s probably not a proponent of indoor racing. |
| 22 |
22 |
 |
Joe Nemechek |
He’s only 411 points behind Terry Labonte for the third spot at Hendrick. Or only three behind Jamie McMurray, which sounds a whole lot better than 411 points behind Terry Labonte. |
| 23 |
NR |
 |
Steve Park |
He's driving better now than at any time since his injury. |
| 24 |
25 |
 |
Elliott Sadler |
Ah, Bristol. Site of his first Winston Cup win. And John Andretti had finished second that day, and Jeremy Mayfield was third. Mark Martin had started in the pole. Wait, did all this really happen? |
| 25 |
24 |
 |
Jimmy Spencer |
He needs to spend his off-weekend fighting Butterbean on Pay Per View. Oxygen masks not included. |
