| 1 |
3 |
 |
Mark Martin |
Tell ya what. If you win the title, you can send us all the spam you want. That is you sending it, right? |
| 2 |
2 |
 |
Tony Stewart |
He admitted that he followed Biffle into the pits. If he followed Biffle all the time, he wouldn’t be fifth in the points. |
| 3 |
1 |
 |
Jeff Gordon |
It’s just a thought, but those new Dupont hats look like the one Marty McFly Jr. wore in Back to the Future II. |
| 4 |
8 |
 |
Kasey Kahne |
This kid is going to be under a tremendous amount of pressure at RIR, but if any 24-year-old can handle it, he can. If not, then we doubt the chicks will mind. |
| 5 |
10 |
 |
Jamie McMurray |
We wonder why he hasn’t won this summer, because he has been right there, but maybe he is waiting until the spring, when the announcers will pronounce his name right in victory lane. |
| 6 |
4 |
 |
Matt Kenseth |
His qualifying times have gotten worse in each of the last three seasons, and yet, he seems to get better. So next year he's just going to take a past champion's provisional at every event, although that strategy didn't work for Darrell Waltrip. |
| 7 |
12 |
 |
Elliott Sadler |
Great. Another excuse not to get a haircut. |
| 8 |
5 |
 |
Dale Jarrett |
He wore sunglasses in the car at Fontana. Unlike most people his age, they didn’t come from a drugstore. |
| 9 |
7 |
 |
Jimmie Johnson |
He is going to go with Jeff Gordon when the four-time champion races Michael Schumacher in Paris in December. Gordon has joked that he will be in F1 only when Schumacher retires. Which means Johnson is going to convince Schumacher not to retire. |
| 10 |
6 |
 |
Kurt Busch |
We are the kings of negative stats. Here’s one more – his four top-fives are easily the fewest of anyone in the top 10. |
| 11 |
11 |
 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Sadler has an excuse as to why he can’t cut his hair. You don’t. |
| 12 |
14 |
 |
Ryan Newman |
He sure did race the No. 99 Ford hard there in the closing laps with a Chase spot on the line. Which means he forgot he was racing a kid who was in a Nextel Cup car for only the third time. |
| 13 |
9 |
 |
Jeremy Mayfield |
NBC had a couple of graphics goofs this weekend. One was when they called Kevin Costner’s 1990 epic Danceing with Wolves. The other is when they showed “Jeremy Mayfield.” |
| 14 |
18 |
 |
Robby Gordon |
We’ll be surprised if he doesn’t return to RCR next year. Remember, he has one less win there then Kevin Harvick. In fewer starts. |
| 15 |
13 |
 |
Greg Biffle |
Greg, in case it helps, even the boys in the booth wondered at first why so few people pitted when you did on Lap 28, so you weren’t the only one fooled. |
| 16 |
25 |
 |
Carl Edwards |
We bet a co-worker a few bucks that Carl would beat Jeff Burton head-to-head for the remainder of the year. Carl, we’re telling you now, we’d rather explain to Greg Biffle why pit road was closed than lose this bet, so drive good. |
| 17 |
15 |
 |
Jeff Burton |
That same co-worker claims Burton is a lock to win at RIR. So if you enjoy winning bets at 25-1, place your bet now. |
| 18 |
21 |
 |
Rusty Wallace |
The weirdest thing happened last week. During Rusty's retirement announcement, the song "Oney" came over the radio. For those of you under 70, Johnny Cash sang it, and it details a man who retires after 29 years on the job, then beats up his boss. Although we don't expect Rusty to slug Roger Penske.
|
| 19 |
19 |
 |
Michael Waltrip |
He got hit by Dale Jr. in the pits. It was the first time they’d been seen together on camera since Daytona. |
| 20 |
17 |
 |
Bobby Labonte |
The good: Labonte has been one of the best at RIR in recent years. The bad: If he misses the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Fatback will be there to rub it in. |
| 21 |
16 |
 |
Kevin Harvick |
We will have to check, but we think that his fall at Fontana – seven spots in the standings – is a second-half record for a Cup regular. It showed just how tight the Race for the Nextel Cup really is. |
| 22 |
NR |
 |
Brian Vickers |
We never got an adequate explanation during the broadcast as to how this kid fell so far back that he had to take two tires to get back into the top five. |
| 23 |
NR |
 |
Scott Riggs |
That might have been the most anonymous seventh-place finish in history, because Scott passed about 89 cars in the final three laps. |
| 24 |
22 |
 |
Casey Mears |
Funny headline of the week: Ganassi extends Mears. Which means he has extended both of his short drivers in 2004, in hopes they get to closer Sterling Marlin’s height. |
| 25 |
23 |
 |
Terry Labonte |
In case you care -- and we do -- his race with Brian Vickers for No. 4 at Hendrick is only an eight-point race. |
