Dealing with rain two weeks in a row. How frustrating. I really wanted some cautions here and there because the race was a sleeper, but not rain cautions. Quite obviously, Mother Nature is NOT a NASCAR fan.
In the end, it was the same winner two weeks in a row, Matt Kenseth. Only this time, it was a much more deserving victory than it was in Daytona. He held off Jeff Gordon in those last laps making this his third California win. He led the final 38 laps of the race. Great job, Matt.
I'll be honest. As most of you that have been following this blog know, I'm not much of a Kyle Busch fan. But I will say that I was kind of hoping that he could pull off a threepeat this weekend. And I'm not just saying that. He won the Nationwide race and the Truck race on Saturday, becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win two national series races in one day. It would have been even better if he could have pulled off a win last night at Fontana. Simply incredible.
Hendrick Motorsports had their round of bad luck. Poor Mark Martin blew up and Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had engine woes and had to go to the garage because he couldn't maintain a decent speed.
Happy Harvick wasn't so happy at the end of the night when he blew a tire and smacked the wall ending his night early. He finished 38th.
ROOKIE WATCH: Scott Speed ended the race in 41st position many laps down. What happened to him? Joey Logano did better than last week at Daytona. He finished the race in 26th position only two laps down.
Big CHEERS to Tony Stewart for another eighth-place finish. Not bad for a new team owner/driver. I think there was a lot of question on how he would do this year and nabbing his second top-ten finish in two weeks is really respectable. He's off to a great start.
Angie Harmon did a great job waving the green flag but may have overstayed her welcome just a bit. She was flailing her arms and jumping so much that I thought for sure the real flagman was going to get punted right off the stand and into traffic. Just sayin.
I started writing this blog entry last night. Only, the frosty mugs were going down a little too smoothly for a Thirsty Thursday evening and this morning when I reread what I had written, I couldn't figure out what I was trying to say. (I know, I know, what's new, right?) Anyway, I had to dump it and start fresh this morning.
Another late running race this weekend since it's at Fontana, California. Let's hope this race doesn't end short because of rain. Here's the broadcast schedule for the weekend events.
Based on how Jimmie Johnson annihilated the field here in September of last year, I am going with him for the win this weekend. In reading back through some of my old blog posts on the races at California, there's one common theme: I fall asleep during the race almost every time. It kind of made me laugh when I was reading through them. Who's your pick this weekend?
Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson for his win at Fontana. He simply dominated the race. There's not much more I can say about him in regards to the race. He was in a league of his own. Period.
Luck must be on my side. That's two correct picks to win in three weeks as I picked Johnson to win this week. I'm now 2-for-25.
Here are a few random thoughts of the race:
-- I think 10 p.m. is far too late to air a race. I just can't stay awake. I relied on my DVR Monday morning to watch what I missed, which was most of the race.
-- Greg Biffle seemed to be the only driver that could run with Johnson but he just didn't have enough umph to stay in front of him.
-- What happened to Tony Stewart? He was a brick all night long.
-- I watched three drivers during most of the race: Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and David Ragan. Those three are fighting hard to get in or stay in the top 12 in the point standings. It is really going to be an exciting race to watch at Richmond International Raceway this weekend. I know that I will be sitting on the edge of my seat.
-- Kevin Harvick has really been going well. This was his fifth consecutive top-10 finish. He only needs to start the race at Richmond and he has clinched a spot in the Chase. His consistency has paid off. Way to go Harvick!
I hope you had a nice holiday weekend. What did you think of the race?
Here's the NASCAR Newscast: Auto Club Speedway Preview
To clinch a spot in the chase, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson only have to finish 40th or better. Shouldn't be a problem.
There are too many scenarios for the rest of the drivers trying to clinch a spot to try to explain it. I'd end up confusing the heck of you if I tried.
The only other thing I will say about being able to secure a spot in the Chase that won't confuse you is that Clint Bowyer under no circumstance can clinch a spot in the Chase at the Auto Club Speedway this weekend, if David Ragan starts the race.
Who am I going with to win the Pepsi 500? Hhhmmm...
I'm going with Jimmie Johnson who has the best average finish here of 5.3.
It's finally over. We can now put this rain-delayed NASCAR fiasco behind us and move on... Carl Edwards got his first victory at the Auto Club Speedway, formerly known as California Speedway. (They announced the name change last Friday.)
I'll admit it, I didn't watch the entire race today. I just saw bits and pieces of it. AND I was too grumpy this morning to set the DVR or even figure out what was going on with racing so that I could watch it tonight.
My pick for the race, Kurt Busch, finished 13th. Here are the unofficial results.
One more hour ... one more hour ... that's all they kept saying. It is so bogus that NASCAR kept us hanging ALL night long. Enough is enough. I felt completely toyed with.
I went to bed around midnight. I gave up. Seriously, did anyone stay up until 2 a.m. when they finally called the race?
I will tune in today at 1 p.m. from the newsroom but there's a big part of me that doesn't even want to watch it now because I have such a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing. Ridiculous.
Aaaahhhh.... to be picking my picks for the race again. I feel so rusty. So rusty in fact, that I forgot all about picking them last week. I've got to get in a groove here and figure out all the stuff I used to look at in determining my picks last year. Actually, now that I think of it, it didn't really help me last year because I'm pretty sure I never picked a winner. Oh well.
My pick this week at Fontana: Kurt Busch. He's has had three poles here and one win. I think he had a slight sniff of victory when he followed his teammate Ryan Newman to the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 last week. I think it made his mouth water in anticipation like mine does from the smell of the kitchen when I'm cooking brownies.
I think historically this track has been good to Hendrick drivers. So another driver that I will be keeping any eye on, as with most of the world, is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Last year he finished 40th -- two guesses why -- yup, you got it, ENGINE. I bet he'll have a solid finish this weekend under the Hendrick umbrella. Here are the race results from last year.
Did anyone watch the Dale Earnhardt Jr. 500? Seriously, like any other Junior fan, I would love to see him be in the Chase. But even being a fan, I have my limits. It is getting old.
Whether it's talking about him changing his number or him being on the bubble of the Chase... It seemed that if Junior wasn't in the main view he was in the split screen or we were in his in-car camera...uugh!
Jimmie Johnson won at California, his fifth victory of the season. Here's the rundown.
I'll admit I fell asleep toward the end of the race and had to watch the taped version of it in the morning. When I fell asleep, Kyle Busch was leading the race and I was thinking to myself, I will vomit if he wins this race. So I was almost relieved to see that Johnson had won when I checked in the morning.
Here are the point standings after the completion of the AQUOS 500.
Speaking of Kyle Busch, what about him letting the cat out of the bag about Gibbs move to Toyota??? He has so much to learn. Honestly, I really think he should've known better than to take it upon himself to let the media know.
And on a different note, tonight is the airing of "Dale the Movie." It's airing at 8 p.m. on CMT. It looks like it is going to be a pretty good movie. I'm going to watch it. Will you be watching it?
AAAhhh...I'm back. Finally. Had a real hectic week so I apologize for not updating a post throughout this week.
So we're off to California Speedway for the Sharp AQUOS 500. Since I've been out of touch this week and not paying all that much attention to what's going on, I'm not going wild and crazy on my pick for this weekend. I'm playing it safe and going with Matt Kenseth, who has won two of the last three races in Fontana.
According to NASCAR, if after the completion of the AQUOS 500 a driver has a 196-point lead over 13th position, they will have clinched a spot in the Chase.
Qualifying is 6 p.m. tonight on ESPN and the green flag is scheduled to wave 8 p.m. Sunday, on ESPN.
Have a great Labor Day weekend folks! I'll be back to posting daily next week...
Jennifer is the newsroom
administrative assistant and
executive
assistant to the editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She is married, lives in Pownal with her husband and son, and has been following NASCAR for many years.
About this blog:
I am hopeful that this will be a place where people can air their two cents' worth about a race, catch up on the gossip and share their opinions on the rules and regulations of NASCAR. I have always felt that there has been a need for such a place in Maine and that this blog helps to fill the void.