Random Thoughts

4. Carl Edwards - a much needed top five for Edwards.

5. Bobby Labonte - the expectations were so high for LaBonte and the #43 team after all the off-season changes at Petty Enterprises and finally they've gotten a finish that matches those expectations. Just in time too as LaBonte was able to vault himself into the magic top 35 in owner points which will guarantee him a spot for the race at Martinsville.

6. Mark Martin- say, has anyone noticed that Martin is putting together a very strong start to the season? There's been a lot of talk about Kenseth, Edwards and Biffle's early issues but not a lot of talk about Martin. But it looks like even though he's only racing in Cup this season as a favor to Jack Roush he's not letting up one bit.

7. Greg Biffle- nice comeback from a cut tire and a speeding penalty.

8. Kyle Busch - it was a Busch brothers sweep at Bristol as Kyle won the Busch (the beer) race the day before.

9. Ryan Newman - Newman battled back to finish in the top ten from several problems including a tight race car and getting spun by Reed Sorenson.

10. Kasey Kahne - in five races so far this season Kahne's worst finish was 11th at Daytona. There were many who doubted whether Kahne would ever live up to his promise after he struggled so much last season but it occurs to me that these fine finishes are coming on all different kinds of tracks. Kahne will surely have some poor races too but it could be shaping up to be a career season for him.

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - I'm surprised. I really thought Junior was going to contend for the win but apparently the car wasn't all that great. Good enough to get him a top fifteen but not good enough to get him up front at the end.

12. Tony Stewart - Tony's car faded as the race went on which meant he could "only" finish 12th. There has been a lot of talk about other drivers who used the bump-and-run but very little discussion about Tony who used it at least twice. Once was when he turned Martin Truex, Jr. and he apparently also turned Brent Sherman. Both of those cars likely were getting in his way and if there's one thing that Tony has historically not had patience for it's cars that hold him up.

13. Elliott Sadler - Elliott was involved in a wreck but he and his team rallied to finish 13th. Elliott finished 4th at Daytona but otherwise the season hasn't been steller for this team. Not a disaster by any means but they're going to have to race better for sure if they want to be in the Chase for the Championship.

14. Denny Hamlin

15. Jeff Green - hard to believe but as far as I could tell Green didn't cause any incidents at Bristol. I say that because he often seems to target someone to go after at these tracks. Hopefully he stays away from Michael Waltrip next week at Martinsville.

16. Jeremy Mayfield - spun once but still finished 16th. Yes, this is his best finish of the season so far. Mayfield is just hanging on to a spot in the top 35. I am astonished that the results have been so poor for the #19 this season because they've been in the Chase the past two seasons. Or maybe I shouldn't be. Most of Mayfield's team is now with his teammate Kahne and vice versa. Kahne had a poor season last year. So maybe part of the problem is that some changes may need to be made to his team but I'd say it's a bit early in the season for that.

17. Sterling Marlin - apparently spun out because he had to avoid his former car, the #40 now driven by David Stremme, who was coming down on him which resulted in Michael Waltrip getting into the back of him. Another driver who just squeaked into the top 35. Marlin is in 35th and I have my doubts as to whether he's going to be able to stay there. Not because Marlin is a bad driver but because I'm not sure this team will be able to give him consistantly good cars at every race.

18. Kyle Petty - some feel that Kyle is in for a big season also after all the changes at Petty Enterprises but I'm not entirely convinced, as much as I'd like to see that happen.

19. Scott Wimmer - a pretty solid finish for this team. Every team wants to win but that goal is more realistic for some teams than for others. But if they could shoot for the top 20 each week maybe they'll end up surprising a few people by occassionally finishing even better.

20. Dale Jarrett - I would love to know why Nascar didn't black flag Jarrett when a piece of his back bumper was hanging off. It eventually flew into the stands where it luckily landed at a fan's feet instead of on a fan. Yes, it was only fiberglass but it still seems to me that there is a risk of injury when it goes flying into the stands. There is also a debate about whether Jarrett should have pulled over and led Kenseth and Busch go by when they were battling for the lead at the end of the race. Jarrett was fighting to stay on the lead lap so I don't think he should have just pulled over. But on the other hand I think Jarrett shouldn't have been a factor in the outcome of the race either.

21. Jeff Gordon - Gordon would have finished much better had he not been spun by Kenseth. So many people over the last year have doubted whether Gordon is still as committed to racing as he was in his younger years. But how angry he was after the race and how he shoved Kenseth indicates to me that the passion to race and the competitive fire is still very much there for Gordon as much as it ever was.

22. Reed Sorenson - a very tough day for most of the rookies. Sorenson was involved to some degree in three or four incidents. He's probably lucky to have finished 22nd.

23. Dave Blaney - considering the problems that BDR has not a bad finish but I think the entire season will be a struggle for Blaney.

24. Ken Schrader - he had a good car to start the race but a cut tire put him laps down.

25. Casey Mears - the car wasn't a great one to begin with but being caught up in two wrecks made for an even worse day for Mears, especially since one of the wrecks involved his teammate, Reed Sorenson.

26. Robby Gordon - where to begin? Robby missed the committment cone entering pit road and then didn't take well to Nascar giving him a penalty. In fact Robby was so heated on the radio that he earned himself a further penalty. Many people think it's ridiculous for the drivers to be penalized for things that they say over the radio but Robby's free speech rights don't apply in Nascar. But that wasn't the last of the penalties for Robby. After making repairs after being involved in a wreck, he once again was penalized. Drivers are always going to make mistakes and will occasionally be penalized but three in one race? Robby might be on his way to finishing in the top 15-20 in points which would be incredible for a single-car team but he can't get in his own way. This is the second race in a row that a penalty cost him a better finish. Unfortunately I don't think this will be the last time that Robby loses control of his emotions.

27. Terry Labonte - I'm not sure anyone has noticed but this team is 30th in points, which is good for a new team, and would be even higher if they didn't have 25 points taken away for an illegal carburator at Daytona. I believe Tony Raines takes over next week in this car and I'll be interested to see if they can hang on to a spot in the top 35. With support from Joe Gibbs Racing they may just do it.

28. Joe Nemechek - was involved in a wreck that damaged the nose of the car and ruined what could have been a decent race for him.

29. Clint Bowyer - another rookie involved in a wreck, though I think he was mostly an innocent victim.

30. Jimmie Johnson - definitely not the way that Chad Knaus wanted things to go in his first race back after being suspended. But the problems that the #48 experienced really didn't have much to do with Knaus. There's nothing he could do about a tire getting cut down during the first few laps of the race, nor does he have control over his driver brushing the wall which resulted in severe damage to the car.

31. Kevin Lepage

32. Michael Waltrip - I've discussed the problems for the #55 at length in a prior entry. They have a lot of work ahead of them to get to where they need to be but I'm hopeful that they will turn things around sooner rather than later.

33. J.J. Yeley - another rookie, another wreck. But for Yeley it was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

34. Jeff Burton - involved in the same wreck as Yeley. In fact I think it was Burton that got into Yeley.

35. Jamie McMurray - the car wasn't very competitive to begin with, then McMurray was involved in a wreck. I'm a little surprised that the car wasn't better prior to getting wrecked because this is Kurt Busch's old team and he won four races at Bristol with this team.

36. David Stremme - I wonder how long Ganassi is going to be willing to stick with Stremme? He's been involved in a few incidents with other drivers and I think that he could have used another year in Busch before bringing him up to Cup.

37. Brian Vickers - involved in a wreck that damaged the radiator on the car and sent him behind the wall for lengthy repairs.

38. Martin Truex Jr. - another driver that let his temper get the best of him and it was costly.

39. Stanton Barrett

40. Travis Kvapil - poor Travis. He was running fairly well and it seemed like he was well on his way to a top 15-20 finish, something that this team desperately needs. Then he got caught in a wreck. This team is in very big trouble unless they can manage to put together a big string of very solid finishes.

41. Scott Riggs - Riggs was in the top 35 in points but the finish in Bristol knocked him out. This is another team that can't afford any more poor races but at least they are slightly higher in the points than the #32 team.

42. Brent Sherman - spun four or five times. Looked completely overmatched at this track. I'm sure the car isn't very good but I don't know if Sherman is ready for Cup racing on a full-time basis. Another team outside the top 35 in points and I'm doubtful that they will get back in.

43. Hermie Sadler