Cross' Words: Charlotte (cont'd)

Say what?

"I think I had a 10,000-pound gorilla jump off my back."
-- Casey Mears, who posted his first Cup Series victory in 156 starts. His best previous finish was as runner-up in the 2006 season opener at Daytona and at Kansas last year.

Figuratively speaking

9.561 -- Margin of victory, in seconds, for Casey Mears over J.J. Yeley. That'll skew the metric when comparing finishes for the current model vs. the Car of Tomorrow, Agent Mulder. ... The last time a winner had a larger cushion at the checkered flag: Oct. 1, 2006, at Kansas, when Tony Stewart gambled on fuel to beat Mears by 12.422 seconds.

Up Next

Autism Speaks 400 | Dover | 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX
Race No. 13 of 36 | Get tickets | Book travel

• Defending race winner: Matt Kenseth
• Most victories at the track: 4 -- Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Ricky Rudd
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Tony Stewart (8.9 in 16 starts)
Active drivers only

Mailbag

The mailman doesn't deliver on Memorial Day. Petty complaints and taking umbrage with a sport -- and it's really nothing more, in the grand scheme -- are not worth bickering about on this solemn day. ... Take a moment to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country; their unselfishness should not be forgotten. The gardens of stone dotting the landscape are more than cemeteries. They are memorials to the men and women who left behind family and friends so that we can enjoy freedom.

• Next week at Dover marks the halfway point to the Chase. With 13 down and 13 to go, make your predictions for who will be part of the Dandy Dozen -- and pick Unlucky 13, the driver who will just miss the championship cut. If anyone chooses all 13 in order, I'll send you three options from which to choose from the NASCAR.COM Superstore.

Six of one ...
Drivers with momentum heading to Dover:

• Ricky Rudd -- He posted his first top-10 finish since Oct. 15, 2005, at Charlotte -- and now trails fifth-place Mark Martin by five on the all-time list.

• Bobby Labonte -- Don't look now, but he's lurking: finished 13th at Charlotte and now is only 89 points outside the top 12. He also hasn't finished outside the top 20 in the past five races.

• Carl Edwards -- Among the drivers in the top 12 in points, he made the biggest move -- up two spots, to eighth. And he finished second at Dover in last year's fall race.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- He has four consecutive top-15 finishes, the team's best run since Race Nos. 10-15 last year. Could the end to the 38-race winless streak be near?

• J.J. Yeley -- Since the bar was upped for Yeley, his average finish in the past two races is 10th. The guy who upped the bar -- Driver 8 -- his average finish is 8.0. ... Not saying that Yeley got the message loud 'n' clear, but ...

• Casey Mears -- C'mon, the guy just won his first race; you know he's stoked! Bring on Dover ... and a 25.6 average finish in eight previous starts. And big ups to crew chief Darian Grubb.

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Greg Biffle -- Only 12 races into the season and he has as many DNFs (2) as he does top-10 finishes. Welcome to the Titanic, Greg Erwin.

• Ryan Newman -- Another pole ... another thirtysomething finish, his fifth of the season. His 39th-place finish -- the team's third DNF this year -- ended a streak of three consecutive top-10s.

• Elliott Sadler -- Believe it or not: three consecutive finishes outside the top 20 and only two lead-lap finishes in the past eight races.

• Juan Montoya -- He hasn't finished on the lead lap in the past five races. ... Eso no es una buena cosa, tipo. (That's not a good thing, dude.)

• Reed Sorenson -- He finished fourth! Why does he need a jump start? The only other time Sorenson posted a top-five (June 18, 2006, at Michigan) he followed it up with a 29th-place finish at Sonoma. Consistency, grasshopper.

• Michael Waltrip -- Fans and detractors alike need you back behind the wheel. ... One non-racer is enough on Inside Nextel Cup, which should be reason enough for NASCAR to change the qualifying rules.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.