 | | Greg Biffle has five wins so far this season. Credit: Autostock |
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
July 15, 2005
10:02 AM EDT (14:02 GMT)
For some reason, many folks still consider the 18th race of the season the midway point. How can that be, when the points are reset following a 26-race regular season? Wouldn't that mean that Race 13 would mark the halfway point? How can one bestow a midseason grade upon a team when, as far as most teams are concerned, midseason was five weeks ago? Forgive me. I am overanalyzing the situation. Regardless your personal definition of "halfway," the boss man tells me it's time to dole out the third-annual midseason MartDawg Awards. Hence, it's halfway for me whether or not I want to believe it. The first half of 2005 was a tangled web of back flips and butchered seventh-inning stretches, and silly-season was amped up like never before. My buddies at the watering hole begged me to award "Best hair piece." I chose against it. Enjoy. The Mike Piazza: Greg Biffle. Few personal favors have paid dividends quite like Piazza and Biffle have. Piazza was drafted in 62nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a favor by then-manager Tommy Lasorda, who is godfather to one of Piazza's brothers. Piazza is now a perennial all-star and widely considered the greatest-hitting catcher in Major League history. Biffle's story is quite parallel. Jack Roush hired Biffle on a suggestion from former NASCAR champ Benny Parsons, who had seen Biffle race and taken a liking to the kid. Roush never seen him so much as take a lap. Two years later Biffle delivered Roush Racing's first NASCAR championship, a Truck Series triumph. Two years after that he won the Busch Series title, too. Now, with five wins already in 2005, he's making a helluva run at the Cup championship. The Ashlee Simpson: Jeff Gordon. Simpson wasn't singing on Saturday Night Live. Gordon wasn't signing at Wrigley Stadium, er, Field. Neither, it seems, will ever live it down.  |  | | Not exactly the world's biggest baseball fan. Credit: Autostock |
|
The Doogie: Kyle Busch. Busch wrecked several times last season attempting to qualify for Nextel Cup Series races, and didn't fare much better in race trim. In six starts he finished outside the top 30 five times. Therefore many folks -- me included -- considered his promotion to the No. 5 Chevrolet premature at best. Shows what I know. Busch has already enjoyed more success this season than I thought he'd have all year. I just didn't think he was ready. Yet, here he is with a pair of runner-ups, four top-fives and the admiration of a NASCAR legend. "Twenty-year olds aren't supposed to be that good," Mark Martin said after a third-place finish at Dover, just behind Busch. Honorable mention: Reed Sorenson. He's in the Busch Series title hunt as a 19-year old rookie, and it is speculated he may be moving to Nextel Cup in 2006. Lazarus Award: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The Chicago win was the biggest of his career, and marked a rebirth for Team No. 8 in the Race for the Chase. The Flat Stanley: Jimmie Johnson. If he turns sideways you can't see him. Those of you wondering what the heck Flat Stanley is, click here . The Pitts (formerly The Bennifer): Sterling Marlin. The only higher-profile split than Sterling Marlin/Chip Ganassi during the season's first half was Brad n' Jen. And for a time it was messy, too. For weeks Marlin claimed Ganassi wouldn't return his phone calls, and said unequivocally he'd have a new address in 2006. Since then, though, Ganassi and Felix Sabatas have offered Marlin a six-figure contract to hang out and make them laugh, along with a few appearances on behalf of the company. Oh, and they threw a Busch ride in the fold, too, if he so desires. Not a bad gig if you can get it. But Marlin desperately wants one last shot in a quality Cup ride, and word is he has more than one such opportunity. Wonder who'll play Angelina to Sterling's Brad? The Lassie: Martin Truex, Jr. He easily could've jumped ship, taken the eye-popping cash and elite racecars Penske Racing was throwing his way, but instead chose to remain loyal to the folks that got him here. The Britney: NASCAR. The sanctioning body remains dead center between high-end and hill jack, so for the second straight year they bring home The Britney. The Mary Lou: Carl Edwards. The back flip hasn't gotten this much ink since Mary Lou Retton. The Samuel L. Jackson (Shaft): Casey Mears. Ganassi holds the option to retain Mears' services for the 2006 season, but hasn't yet exercised said option and won't tell the driver concretely whether or not he's going to. Ganassi has said publicly that Mears is in his plans for '06. If that's the case, hand the boy a contract. He needs to act. Now. Because if Ganassi's plans change and the Nos. 2 and 11 cars are already filled, Mears will be left with no ride. |  | | No more calls. We have a winner. Credit: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images |
|
Hottest Celebrity Sighting: Jamie-Lynn DiScala. This was an extremely difficult category, given that the racetrack has been Hollywood who's who this year. Pamela Anderson, Lindsay Lohan, Toni Braxton, Matthew McConaughey, Nick Lachey and Ashton Kutcher have all made cameos at one track or another in 2005. But in the end, this was a no-brainer. DiScala, who plays Meadow Soprano on HBO's The Sopranos, is hotter than a four-alarm fire and sweet as a Georgia peach. Sign marketing has completely taken over NASCAR: David Stremme's appointment to the No. 40 Coors Light/Long Star Steakhouse Dodge. Following the announcement that Stremme would replace Marlin in the No. 40 Dodge in 2006, Sabatas was asked whether marketing played a role in the decision. His response was telling. "That was the only reason, really," Sabatas said. "Coors came to us and said their marketing strategy had to be changed to young people. That's who buys beer today. You don't find many 50-year old men, old guys, drinking beer. "This business is a young man's sport today. Coors brand is catering to the 22-to-30-year old crowd. Unfortunately we all get old. Not that Sterling is old, but he's not a marketing dream." Cold. Down. Easy? Not so much. Brass Award: Jamie McMurray. Anybody gutsy enough to announce his intentions for 2007 halfway through 2005 has more brass than the New York Symphony Orchestra. That's all, folks. Congratulations to the winners. You'll each receive a Marty Smith bobble head doll, if we ever actually produce such a thing. Marty Smith is a senior writer for NASCAR.COM. His column appears each Thursday. The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. | 
