5-Hour Energy 500

Hello Angels,

Going into Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 500 race at Pocono and seeing the cloud cover and fog, one might have thought the race would take five
hours, but lucky for all involved in the race – fans included, the race went crash-free and only had four cautions, all for debris. In all, I think the
entire race took about three hours to run.

Kurt Busch had a solid car all day long – especially for a back-up car. Busch crashed the primary car in practice and then went on to
win the Coors light Pole award in the back-up car. Busch led the first lap but that is where Denny Hamlin took over.

Hamlin had a stout car and basically checked out once he passed Busch after the first lap. Unfortunately a cut tire late in the race
ruined Hamlin’s chances of a win. In all, Hamlin led 78 laps of the 200 run. Busch led 40 laps and Gordon led 39 laps.

Unfortunately for Kyle Busch, the hits, if you will, keep on coming. Last week he was involved in the off-track incident with Richard
Childress where the latter was fined $150,000 and the week prior, Kyle was involved with a reckless driving incident where he was clocked going 128 mph in a 45 mph zone. This week, not only was he taunted by Kevin Harvick during the race with some close-quarters racing (when there was no need for it) and the two were subsequently warned by NASCAR to stay away from each other and race, but following Kyle’s third place finish, his car failed post-race inspection – having the left-front corner of the car too low by 1/16th of an inch. NASCAR impounded the car and will dissect the car at its research and development center in Charlotte, N.C. With being this is his last week on probation, you can bet if NASCAR deems it’s an intentional thing, you can bet there might be a suspension involved – even if Kyle Busch had nothing to do with it. We’ll see how NASCAR handles this situation in the coming days.

Other than that, the race was pretty much incident free. Hamlin dominated the early part, Kurt Busch dominated the middle of the race
and Gordon dominated the latter part of the race and won for the second time this season.

For the record, the top-10 drivers this week are Gordon, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. Carl Edwards broke a valve in his engine and finished 37th. This is important in the points because going into the race he was 40-plus points ahead of Johnson. Coming out of the race, Edwards continues to lead, but both Johnson and Earnhardt are only 6 and 10 points out of first place respectively.

With that, another congratulations need to be delved out – this week to Knox’Ville’ for earning his first-ever CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD – and doing so in dominating fashion. Not only did Knox’Ville’ earn the TAA, he did so by an astounding 4.4 points with his five drivers. Gordon of course won the race, while Kyle Busch and Johnson finished third and fourth respectively. Hamlin probably had the strongest car out there until he cut a tire during one of the cautions. He finished 19th. Landon Cassill led the race for a lap or two during a caution I believe. He finished one-lap down however in 24th place. Congratulations on your TAA winning average finish of 10.2.

Condolences can be sent to Vivian after only one of her five drivers finished inside the top-20 – earning her this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD.  arvick, who was warned by NASCAR for rough driving with Kyle Busch early in the race, was the only driver to finish not only inside the top-20, but inside the top-five with a fifth place finish. . Jeff Burton finished 20th, Tony Stewart finished 21st and Brad Keselowski finished 23rd. All three of them had transmission issues. Edwards rounds out your five drivers with his 37th place finish after engine issues. Your GCA earning average finish is 23.2.

This week’s RUNNER-UP ANGEL AWARD goes to Pete who had only two drivers finish in the top-10 – Gordon and Kurt Busch. Couldn’t have picked a better two drivers as the duo finished one and two respectively. That said, the remaining three drivers didn’t have stellar finishes – Mark Martin finished 18th, Hamlin finished 19th, while Jamie McMurray finished a dismal 33rd after his car developed engine and transmission issues. Pete, your RUA average finish is 14.6.

Kris, you continue to do well this segment with a No. 3 Angels’ spot this week. Gordon won for you, while Harvick finished fifth. Kasey Kahne, who ran in the top-10 for most of the race faded in the end to finish 12th. Brad Keselowski, who won his first race of the season last week, couldn’t back the win up this week as he had throttle issues going into the race and a possible broken axel mid-way through the race. He finished 23rd. Edward’s uncharacteristic 37th place finish Sunday brought your average finish down to
15.6.

For me, after a dismal start to the season a driver line-up was in order. Unfortunately when your star driver – Edwards – drops out of the race mid-way through, you know you’re going to be in for a tough day. Luckily, Kurt Busch and Johnson still finished inside the top-five with their second and fourth place finishes respectfully. Regan Smith had a fairly strong car throughout the race and finished 15th overall. Keselowski finished 23rd to round out my team. My average finish is 16.2.

CorWin, for you, Gordon won the race. Paul Menard and Smith both started in the front, but both faded just the same to finish 14th and 15th respectively. Hamlin had an unfortunate cut tire during a caution and finished 19th. Edwards rounds out your team with his 37th place to earn you a 17.2 average finish.

Madison, I want to again thank you again for your service to this great nation of ours and while you’re out on your “secret mission” I’m glad that you’re still able to participate in the league! That said, your five drivers – Kenseth, Kahne, David Reutimann, Hamlin and Edwards, didn’t do you very proud today as they finished eighth, 12th, 13th, 19th and 37th respectfully. All totaled, your drivers average finish is 17.8.

Gibbons, while your average finish is 19 even, it’s still good enough earn you this week’s No. 7 Angel’s spot. Johnson was at the top of your drivers’ list with his fourth place finish. Smith finished 15th, while Hamlin and Burton finished 19th and 20th respectively. Edwards rounds out your team with his 37th place finish.

Kelly, your top driver this week is Harvick who finished fifth overall. David Ragan finished 17th, while Hamlin went on to finish 19th after he cut a tire late in the race. Burton finished 20th and Edwards finished 37th to round out your team. Your average finish is 19.6.

Julie, Earnhardt continues to do well in overall points and is now only 10-points out of first place after he finished sixth on Sunday. That said, your remaining four drivers didn’t break the top-20 finishes Sunday as they each had either engine or transmission issues during the race. Burton finished 20th, Stewart finished 21st, while McMurray and Edwards finished 33rd and 37th. Your average finish is 21.4.

Mr. X, for you, Harvick was your only driver to finish in the top-10 with his fifth place finish. Ragan was a very distant 17th, while Keselowski and Greg Biffle finished further back in the pack with their 23rd and 27th place finishes respectively. Edwards rounds out your five drivers with this 37th place finish. Your average finish is 21.8.

Evelyn, you had only one driver that finished in the top-10 – Gordon, and his win! That said, your remaining four drivers finished way outside the top-10 with Burton and Stewart finishing 20th and 21st respectively. Marcos Ambrose broke his transmission and finished several laps down in 34th place. Edwards broke his engine, but they were  able to repair it with enough time for his to run the final three laps of the race and finish 37th. Totaled, your average finish is 22.6.

Candy Man, you are the only Angel this week to not have one driver finish inside the top-10 on their team. Kahne was the closest with his 12th place finish. Both Martin’s and Burton’s woes continue as they both are having horrible years separately. Martin finished a dismal 18th place, while Burton was even worse with his 20th place finish. Biffle had a transmission issue and finished 18th, while Edwards had an engine issue and finished 37th. Your average finish is 22.8.

For the record, our combined teams’ average finish this week is 18.61.

Next week’s race brings us back to the Irish Hills of Michigan for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 race at Michigan International Raceway.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stock Car Challenge website to see where you stack up against the other Angels after this week’s 5-Hour Energy 500 race at Pocono Raceway.

Good luck next week Angels,

Charlie