Cross' Words: Daytona (cont'd)

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

• Kasey Kahne -- Welcome back to the top 10! After posting 41 top-10s in three seasons entering 2007, Kahne kick-started his year with a seventh-place run in February. Hard to believe, but Saturday night was his first top-10 since the Daytona 500.

• David Gilliland -- His 2007 restrictor-plate race finishes: fourth, eighth and 11th. In his other 15 starts, nothing better than 17th (Michigan) with an average finish of 30th. Hopefully he can ride the momentum this time; his average finish following plate races this year: 33.5.

• David Ragan -- The kid likes the superspeedways (though maybe not as much as Gilliland); his top two finishes of the year have come at Daytona: fifth in the 500 on 12th on Saturday night. Anyone notice that Ragan leads Juan Montoya, 8-7, in top-20 finishes?

• Martin Truex Jr. -- His average finish in the past eight races, since Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his exit strategy from DEI, is 9.1. Junior's is 13.5. ... So, Agent Mulder, does this suggest the new face of DEI getting the best equipment of the litter?

• Robby Gordon -- If you're scoring at home, that's four consecutive top-20 runs (and five in six races) for Gordon, including two top-15s. He's 24th in points and only 98 from cracking the top 20.

• Johnny Sauter -- Daytona has been kind to Sauter this year, yielding two of his five top-20 finishes this year; 16th in February and 18th on Saturday night.

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

• Boris Said -- The song says it never rains in Southern California; it says nothing about Northern Florida. ... Dude, you (and a few others) got hosed by a qualifying format that needs an overhaul, pronto.

• Joe Nemechek -- His car carried a tribute to the firefighters who lost their lives in the Charleston, S.C., blaze. It's been tough finding Nemo in the past few weeks (more through-the-field coverage, folks), but it was heartwarming to see the No. 13.

• Scott Riggs -- The good news was that he made the race, his first start since Michigan. The bad news was that engine problems resulted in a 41st-place finish, his fourth fortysomething in 15 starts.

• Tony Raines -- He's now finished 39th three times this year (all in the past seven races). As a point of reference, Rusty Wallace finished 39th three times ... in 706 starts (June 13, 1993, at Pocono; Aug. 18, 1996, at Michigan; June 1, 1997, at Dover).

• Reed Sorenson -- With four DNFs, he's already matched his total from 2006. On Saturday night, he managed to finish, albeit 67 laps in arrears, but that 42nd-place showing was his sixth fortysomething of the year.

• Sterling Marlin -- Saturday night's late-race spin ended with his 36th DNF since the start of the 2003 season. That's one full season -- and a lot of woulda, coulda, shoulda moments for a guy who not so long ago was a championship contender.

And finally ...

Thanks to Bill Marx of the Sporting News Wire Service for this jewel:

Eight drivers who have raced in 2007 who have accumulated enough miles in their Cup careers to reach the moon. At its closest, the moon is about 238,857 miles from Earth, which means Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip can get there (but not get back). Rudd leads the way with 317,828.8 miles. Waltrip has 241,044.1. If Dale Jarrett can get back his qualifying mojo, he's next in line with 230,724.9 miles.

... Did you know: Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevy, finished seventh on July 7, 2007?

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.