Weekly Review and Power Rankings
Week 9
By Richard Tix
My reaction from Saturday night? That. Was. Fun. Saturday night at Richmond was short track racing at its best. How do I know this? Well for one, the racing was great down the stretch, but you can truly know when you see all the emotion after the race.
Whether its Marcus Ambrose throwing hay makers or Brad Keselowski letting his emotions go, the short track racing on Saturday got everyone fired up. On that note, I do want to share one opinion. I maybe a fan of Brad Keselowski, but I do not always agree with him. But one thing gets me when it comes to NASCAR fans, and that is the issue of letting emotion out, or how others put it, "whining."
Every season I hear fans constantly say they want drivers to be more vocal, let there individual self out and there voices and opinions be heard. We want to hear them be human and not NASCAR robots. Yet, when a guy like BK lets his emotion and passion go literally just minutes after a race people get on him and attack him for whining. He was racing for the win, maybe his point wasn't the right point, but he was letting it go, getting it out there. I mean, this is the same emotion that built NASCAR to what it is today!
Dale Earnhardt let people know what was on his mind because he was passionate about racing, and I hate to say this, but he was not always right and a lot of time it was just because of how great a competitor he was. He wanted to win and you could tell that by what he said after the race whether he was right or wrong.
So why are there some fans out there who ask for more out of drivers until a driver says something they don't like? You can not always have your cake and eat it too. I m not a Busch brother fan, but I do not chastise them for speaking there mind, especially after the race (where I get into it is if you throw your team or someone under a bus). I don't mind when Denny attacks NASCAR's ideas.
I like it. I definitely do not turn around and call them whiners and complain just because I do not like them. If NASCAR is to truly move on and try and get back to its glory days, then fans also need to decide what they want. Do you want emotion and passion, or just more NASCAR robots? Programs to do and say what NASCAR officials want them to say.
To end this rant, I am not saying you can't disagree with BK (or anyone in the past or future) and dislike him, but telling him to shut up or calling him a whiner or baby because he shows fans how much he loves his sport is crazy in my mind. If you do want to chastise him, then don't be the fan who cries that drivers don't let out enough emotion or talk enough after a race about what happened on the last couple of laps.
Moving on, did anyone see Marcus Ambrose's punch on Casey Mears coming? Wow, I didn't think Ambrose could connect like that. A side note, this was a fight between 18th and 19th, so you know the racing was intense.
But, enough of all this non race winner talk, the real winner this weekend was Joey Logano who became the second driver to win multiple races this year and actually lock himself into the Chase. JoLo has easily had his best start to a season in only his second year at Penkse. Moving to Penske seems to be the best move he, and Penske, has made. The way it is looking Logano could possibly be a Championship contender this season. No one is happier with the way this season has started more than Roger Penske.
So lets move onto this weeks Power Rankings. Is you missed it here is the full race result (If you did miss it just search for a video of the last restart, because it was some amazing racing). Also, Check out the Richmond Preview.
Pit Road: Power Rankings Week 9 (Week 8)
Every season I hear fans constantly say they want drivers to be more vocal, let there individual self out and there voices and opinions be heard. We want to hear them be human and not NASCAR robots. Yet, when a guy like BK lets his emotion and passion go literally just minutes after a race people get on him and attack him for whining. He was racing for the win, maybe his point wasn't the right point, but he was letting it go, getting it out there. I mean, this is the same emotion that built NASCAR to what it is today!
Dale Earnhardt let people know what was on his mind because he was passionate about racing, and I hate to say this, but he was not always right and a lot of time it was just because of how great a competitor he was. He wanted to win and you could tell that by what he said after the race whether he was right or wrong.
So why are there some fans out there who ask for more out of drivers until a driver says something they don't like? You can not always have your cake and eat it too. I m not a Busch brother fan, but I do not chastise them for speaking there mind, especially after the race (where I get into it is if you throw your team or someone under a bus). I don't mind when Denny attacks NASCAR's ideas.
I like it. I definitely do not turn around and call them whiners and complain just because I do not like them. If NASCAR is to truly move on and try and get back to its glory days, then fans also need to decide what they want. Do you want emotion and passion, or just more NASCAR robots? Programs to do and say what NASCAR officials want them to say.
To end this rant, I am not saying you can't disagree with BK (or anyone in the past or future) and dislike him, but telling him to shut up or calling him a whiner or baby because he shows fans how much he loves his sport is crazy in my mind. If you do want to chastise him, then don't be the fan who cries that drivers don't let out enough emotion or talk enough after a race about what happened on the last couple of laps.
But, enough of all this non race winner talk, the real winner this weekend was Joey Logano who became the second driver to win multiple races this year and actually lock himself into the Chase. JoLo has easily had his best start to a season in only his second year at Penkse. Moving to Penske seems to be the best move he, and Penske, has made. The way it is looking Logano could possibly be a Championship contender this season. No one is happier with the way this season has started more than Roger Penske.
So lets move onto this weeks Power Rankings. Is you missed it here is the full race result (If you did miss it just search for a video of the last restart, because it was some amazing racing). Also, Check out the Richmond Preview.
Pit Road: Power Rankings Week 9 (Week 8)
- Jeff Gordon (LW-1)- I am keeping Gordon a top the rankings for another week. Once again he was one of the cars to beat, and was right there in the end, but for the second time this season he finished 2nd to Joey Logano.
- Matt Kenseth (LW-2)- Kenseth looked to be in a great position at the end of the race, but on the last restart it looked liek BK had him, or maybe Gordon had him? Either way, Kenseth was trying to block both drivers and lost position eventually. Still a great run.
- Joey Logano (LW-9)- Huge jump for JoLo this week, but think about this, in 3 races he has 2 wins. His issue in the middle of these wins was a front hub so there is only so much he can do.
- Kyle Busch (LW-3)- Harsh, a drop for KB after finishing 3rd? Unfortunately someone had to slide for the red hot Logano. In no way is this Kyles fault, in fact they made a brilliant move at the end of the race to go with 4 tires. He rocketed through the field, and with a few more laps, he most likely would have ended up winning at Richmond.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-4)- 7th place finish on Saturday by Jr, led a few laps, and still sits 5th in points, not a bad day for Dale. Also, nothing special so he wont be moving around in the rankings too much this week, but a solid finish keeps his momentum moving in the right direction.
- Carl Edwards (LW-5)- Carl was quiet but finished in the top 10 on Saturday (9th). Interesting to note, Carl doesn't really have a bad finish all year and that is why he is third in points.
- Kevin Harvick (LW-8)- Harvick had a pretty good car on Saturday (he won the Nationwide race on Friday, holding off rookie Chase Elliott) but he couldn't bring it home at the end of the race. He finished just outside the top 10 (11th).
- Brad Keselowski (LW-12)- BK finally broke out of his slump by leading 114 laps (second to Gordons 173) and looking like a real contender in the closing laps. Bk just couldn't get around Kenseth and finished 4th.
- Ryan Newman (LW-NR)- Newman has finished every race (except the 500, 22nd) in the top 20. He has not been amazing nor has he been bad and that was the case again Saturday at RIR where he finished 8th. Overall it was a very solid night for the 31 team and they should get a top 5 sooner rather than later.
- Jimmie Johnson (LW-6)- JJ finished 32nd on Saturday after his night was thrown out when he had to pit over concern about his right front. He started to worry right around the window where teams were having tire problems. I know 32nd is better than 42nd but I wonder if they should have chanced it a few more laps hoping someone else went down first?
- Greg Biffle (LW-11)- The Biff has been quiet all season but he has found himself in 11th in points. The #16 team will need to find some more speed if they want to contend for a win but, at least they're hanging around.
- Kyle Larson (LW-10)- His day started out on the pole and then looking the opposite way after Clint Bowyer spun him around. Larson stayed calm and worked his way back up to the top 10, ending his night in 16th.
Dropped Out: Tony Stewart
Just Missed: Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger (great run by the #47 team to get a top 10, almost top 5).
Honorable mention: Martin Truex Jr and Jamie McMurray
Finally, NASCAR Behind the Wall went two races, or about 55 votes without someone getting it right. Well Matt Aleza (also, with ThisSportz) predicted Saturdays winner! I didn't get many votes this week, so I will be trying to ask a few extra times on my twitter account. Keep em coming in!
As always, thanks for checking the blog out. Come back for more daily as I will have the Talladega TV/Race Schedule, Entry list, Preview, and a special Dega article this week!
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