AAA 400

Hello Angels,

Sunday’s AAA 400 race at Dover International Raceway had the promise going into the race to bunch up and change the standings for the Sprint Cup championship. And the Monster Mile didn’t disappoint.

Going into the race, Tony Stewart was leading the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship by seven points over Kevin Harvick. Coming out to the race, Stewart now trails Harvick by two points as Harvick is tied with Carl Edwards in points for the lead, but because Harvick won more races in the regular season, Harvick is the Chase leader.

Winning Sunday’s AAA 400 race is the Kurt Busch, who I pegged last week as being pretty much done in the Chase after his No. 22 was held at pre-race inspection for being late to inspection and then failing the inspection. Adding to his misery was his horrible run during the race and subsequent 22nd place finish. This week, he and his on-track rival Jimmie Johnson battled it out on restarts for first place. Johnson won one and then when it counted the most, Busch won the restart and went on to win the race to earn his second win of the season. With Busch and Johnson finishing one and two respectively, they both are back in the hunt for the Championship with the two of them jumping up five positions each 13 and 14 points behind Harvick respectively. For the record, Johnson led the most laps of the race at Dover for the sixth consecutive race.

Edwards rebounded from his very first pit-road penalty of the season (speeding off pit road) with a third-place finish, while non-Chase driver Kasey Kahne finished fourth. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch finished fifth and sixth respectively. Non-Chase drivers A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose finished seventh, eighth and ninth respectively with Harvick rounding out the top 10 with a 10th place finish.

As mentioned earlier, Harvick is now the points’ leader and tied with Edwards. Stewart is in third – nine points behind – while Kurt Busch is in fourth place, also nine points behind Harvick. Johnson is now 13 points behind Harvick and one point in front of Brad Keselowski, who finished 20th on Sunday. Matt Kenseth is in seventh place, -14 points from Harvick, while Kyle Busch dropped two spots to eighth in points. Jeff Gordon dropped four spots to ninth place overall – 19 points behind Harvick. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin round out the top-12 with Earnhardt dropping two spots to ninth place overall — 34 points behind Harvick; Newman and Hamlin stay in 11th and 12th place respectively with the earlier now 41 points behind and the latter now 68 points behind.

No one is mathematically eliminated from the Cup championship yet, but Earnhardt, Newman and Hamlin find themselves mired down in points and could possibly eliminate themselves next week in Kansas.

For us Angels, the concrete Monster bit us as well – with the exception of Knox’Ville.

Knox, your drivers all finished in the top-15 on Sunday to help you earn this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD. Johnson and Edwards finished in the top-five with their second and third place runs, while Ambrose had a decent run at with his ninth place finish. Jeff Gordon started the race in 34th place and while he didn’t have a great race, he salvaged a 12th place finish in the end. Brian Vickers rounds out your five drivers with his 14th place finish. Congratulations on your TAA earning 8 even average finish.

Sabrina, this is the week where I get to tell you that the proverbial “honeymoon” with you and Stewart is over. It’s also where I tell you (and the other Angels, for that matter) that you earned your first CHARLIE’S ANGELS GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD, since your return, in the process. Kenseth finished fifth, which is really the only good news for your drivers today. Newman finished 23rd, Earnhardt finished 24th and Stewart finished in 25th place. Joe Nemechek rounds out your five drivers with his 39th place finish. Your GCA earning average finish is 23.2. Much better luck next week Sabrina!

Kris, your drivers earned you this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS RUNNER-UP ANGEL AWARD with your drivers’ 10.4 average finish. Edwards and Kyle Busch finished in the top-10 with their third and sixth place finishes respectively. Gordon finished a not-so-decent-for-him 12th place finish, while Brian Vickers finished 14th. Regan Smith rounds out your team with his 17 even finish.

Gibbons, you were perfect for your first two drivers of Busch and Johnson. They finished first and second respectively – and raced each other cleanly in the process. Jeff Burton had a decent finish with his 11th place run. Paul Menard and Stewart round out your team with their 16th and 25th place finishes respectively. Your drivers earned an 11 even average finish.

Evelyn, you only had one driver finish in the top-10 this week. For you, it’s Johnson and his second place finish. Burton and Gordon finished outside the top-10 with their 11th and 12th place finish respectively, while Menard finished 16th. Martin Truex Jr., had the Coors Light Pole to start the race, but he had handling and tire issues that caused him to fall back three laps to finish 30th. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.2.

Pete, you had two drivers finish in the top-10 – Busch and Ambrose. Busch scored his second win this season, while Ambrose scored a ninth place finish. Hamlin didn’t have a good race once again and finished well outside the top-10 in 18th place. Greg Biffle was poised for a great run, but an ill-timed spin and crash cost him a chance of winning the race and instead ended with a 27th place finish. Pete, your drivers’ average finish is 15 even.

Julie, for you, Edwards is the only driver on your team who earned a top-10 finish. In his case, a third place finish. Burton finished 11th, while Mark Martin finished 19th. Keselowski had a power-steering issue and while his team was able to get the car fixed, he wasn’t able to recover and could only manage a 20th place finish – the last car on the lead lap. Stewart finished two laps down in 25th place and in doing so, rounds out your team. Your drivers’ average finish is 15.6.

Julie, Edwards is your top driver of the race with his third place finish. Burton finished 11th, while Martin and Keselowski finished 19th and 20th respectively. Tony Stewart had a miserable race – which he anticipated going into the race – and earned a 25th place finish run. Your drivers’ average finish is 15.6.

Candy Man, like Julie, you also have Edwards, Burton, Martin and Keselowski on your team. They finished third, 11th, 19th and 20th respectively. The difference is that you have Biffle on your team. He finished in 27th after spinning into the inside wall after getting loose coming off turn four. Your drivers’ average finish is 16 even.

Vivian, for you, Edwards and Bowyer finished in the top-10 with their third and eighth place finish respectively. Newman finished 23rd, while his boss, Stewart, finished two spots behind in 25th. David Gilliland rounds out your team with his 28th place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 17.4.

Mr. X, Edwards was the only driver on your team to finish in the top-10. He finished third. Burton had a decent run with his 11th place finish. Keselowski finished 20th, while Stewart and Joey Logano had horrible finishes for them, and you, with their 25th and 29th place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 17.6.

CorWin, for you, Harvick was the only driver on your team with a top-10 finish. He finished barely in their however with his 10th place finish. Menard finished 16th, while Martin finished 19th and Keselowski finished one spot behind in 20th. Biffle rounds out your team with his 27th place finish. Your average finish is 18.4.

For me, Johnson was the best driver on my team with his second place finish. Gordon finished outside the top-10 with his 12th place finish. Keselowski finished 20th, while Truex finished 30th. Landon Cassill rounds out my team with his 31st place finish. My drivers’ average finish is 19 even.

Kelly, your top driver is Edwards and his third place finish. That’s the good news. The bad news is your remaining four drivers finished 20th or worse. Keselowski finished in that 20th place, while Newman finished 23rd. Bobby Labonte brought out an early caution flag when he made contact with the wall and finished 26th. Truex finished several laps down in 30th place. Your drivers’ average finish is 20.4.

Our combined teams’ average finish this week is 15.86.

Next week’s race is the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stock Car Challenge website to see where you stack up against the other Angels after Sunday’s AAA 400 race at the Monster Mile.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie