30 Degrees of Banking

NASCAR Nuggets: Kentucky

By Ryan Frisco

Photo Cred www.floridasportstalk.com

The Victor: Another 1.5 mile track, another win for Matt Kenseth and the Joe Gibbs Racing Team.  They've really got these intermediate tracks down, as that is Kenseth's fourth victory of the season.  What does that mean?  It means he'll start out with at least 12 bonus points once the Chase starts.  In an era where most championships come down to less than 20 points (and some times the number of wins) every bonus point Matt can collect now bodes well for his standing after Homestead in November.

The First Loser: Jamie McMurray came home second at Kentucky, a nice run for the Chip Ganassi driver.  McMurray may not have had the second fastest car Sunday, but it was decent nonetheless.  In a season burdened by the obscure happenings, it's nice to see Jamie's finishing position mirror the kind of car he actually had.  He still has a looooong way to go to have any chance at the Chase.

Pat on the Back: I'll tell you what, Joey Logano is having a good year.  It seems the switch to Penske was almost as good for him as it was for Kenseth to move to Gibbs!  The kid is really coming into his own, and after so many well run races like his fourth place at Kentucky, I'm going out on a limb that he is not far away from a breakout year!

Also, Kurt Busch.  I bring him up every week, and I'm really close to just making him one of the guys who should be finishing in the Top 10 each week instead of a scrub in shoddy equipment.

Photo Cred www.nascar.com

Can't Start, Won't Start: Jimmie Johnson, the points leader, has dominated the season.  There is no doubt about it.  He has won three times, and that number isn't six only because of himself.  Restarts have been the death of Johnson this year, and Sunday was no different. After being the man to beat all day and leading almost 200 laps, Jimmie fell victim to the restart once again.  Blaming it on Matt Kenseth not starting the race fast enough (the truth is that Johnson couldn't get going and got in the way) he was spun out and went from the front row back outside the Top 20.  He was able to work his way back to 9th, but should have won the race.  Big mistakes so far for the 48 team.

Excitement at Kentucky Motor Speedway last weekend.  The Chase picture is starting to take shape.  I'll leave you with a nasty crash that took out defending champion Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle!

Ryan Frisco is a co-founder of Sports Eye View, as well as the Head NASCAR Analyst.  He can be reached at ryanafrisco@gmail.com