NASCAR Nuggets: Kobalt Tools 400
By Ryan Frisco
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| Photo Cred www.yahoosports.com |
The Victor: Check it out, for the second week in a row I predicted the winner! I'm getting pretty good at this. Matt Kenseth came from nowhere to win this race in the last 50 laps. I bet it feels great to get that first win with Joe Gibbs under his belt. Another highlight; this win was his 25th, and it came on his 41st birthday! Matt is only the third driver to ever win on his birthday. Good start to the season, he's gonna be around the top of the chase for the whole year I would imagine.
The First Loser: Kasey Kahne takes this spot this week. He ran a great race. Drove right to the front, led on and off for almost half of the race, and definitely had the best car out there on Sunday. Kenseth was just in the right place at the right time and did a superb job of blocking Kahne from getting around him. My preseason pick to take the Cup is heating up. Look for Kahne to get into the Victor segment soon.
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| Photo Cred www.motorsportsdigest.com |
Pat on the Back: The big story in the Top 10 this week? Paul Menard. We haven't really heard much from Menard since he won the Brickyard 400 two years ago. He's shown flashes of stardom here and there, but not enough to raise a fuss. This is good for him. It'd be cool to see him keep it up for a consistent timeframe.
Back to Relevance: A few guys with a rough start to the year scored a much needed good run this week to get back in the picture. Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. are two of those guys. They need to keep it up consistently to close the gap. Tony Stewart could have finished worse I suppose, but needs to score a little bit higher to get back to relevance.
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| Photo Cred www.zimbio.com |
On the Outside Looking In: Some drivers still haven't performed near the level they should be. Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman are the biggest names on this list. Newman gets a pass for now because the last two weeks haven't been his fault. A blown tire and blown engine are out of his control. Gordon is starting to worry me. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are all performing at a stelllar level. But where is Jeff, the fourth Hendrick car? Floating towards the back of the pack. Jeff needs to right the ship quick, or his quest for a fifth title may never come into the discussion again.
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| Photo Cred www.bleacherreport.com |
$25,000 Fine?!: That's right, Denny Hamlin was fined after last week's race $25,000 for remarks detrimental to racing. He exclaimed that it was hard to pass with the new Gen 6 cars. Does anybody truly think that steep of a fine was warranted? I surely don't. Yes, it's obviously going to be a bit difficult getting used to the new cars, and I can understand the frustration with them. I don't think Hamlin was wrong with stating a fact, but in the end it is against the rules, however fine that line is. Remember, we live in an era of sports where Frank Gore gets fined $11,500 for wearing his socks too short.
On to Thunder Valley for my favorite track of the season, Bristol Motor Speedway! Preview comes Saturday afternoon, let's see if I can score a Turkey and predict three winners in a row!
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