AAA Texas 500

Hello Angels,

Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 Race at Texas Motor Speedway looked like it was going to be a gloomy day with a chance of rain. The only storm that actually took place however was the thunder of Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Office Depot Chevy as he roared into his fourth win in eight races and now sits just three points out of the Championship lead.

The race was billed to be a boxing match between Stewart and current Sprint Cup point’s leader, Carl Edwards. It wasn’t much of a fight as Stewart dominated the race by leading the most laps and in the end, out powered Edwards for the win.

Edwards didn’t just slouch over and take the body blows, but he was no match for the dominant car of Stewarts and finished second.

The biggest news came out of NASCAR on Saturday morning following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas. Kyle Busch, driving a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota got put into the fence by Ron Hornaday Jr., after the latter got loose and drifted up the track. Busch didn’t care for the bump and while under caution, pushed Hornaday down the backstretch and then flipped him into the wall causing a head-on collision between Hornaday’s truck and the SAFER Barrier.

Hornaday was officially out of the race because his engine block was cracked, while Busch was parked by NASCAR for rough driving. Saturday morning NASCAR president Mike Helton announced Busch would be parked for the remainder of the weekend – including Saturday’s Nationwide Series Race and more importantly, Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race. Busch had a mathematical chance of still winning the Sprint Cup Championship until this weekend. He’s now mired back in 11th place, 100-points behind Edwards. Consequently, Busch’s stunt put Hornaday out of the Craftsman Truck Series Championship as well as he is now mathematically eliminated from contention as well.

In Sunday’s race, Jimmie Johnson also eliminated himself from the championship chase after spinning through the infield with 100-laps remaining. He was running in the top-10 at the time, but after the spin and subsequent restart, he found himself mired in traffic and couldn’t make up very many positions. He finished 14.

The top-10 Sunday are Stewart in first, Edwards in second and Kasey Kahne in third. Matt Kenseth led the second-most laps on Sunday and finished fourth. Greg Biffle, who started the race on the Coors Light Pole, finished fifth. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, and A.J. Allmendinger round out the top-10 with their sixth through 10th place finishes respectively.

The standings with two races left in the season have Edwards in the lead; Stewart -3; Kevin Harvick -33; Kenseth -38; Brad Keselowski -49; Johnson -55; Earnhardt -79; Gordon -81; Kurt Busch -87; Denny Hamlin -99; Kyle Busch -100; and Ryan Newman -103.

For us Angels, for the first time this year, if my memory serves me correctly, we have a tie for this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS TOP ANGEL AWARD.

Pete and Evelyn, you both tie for the TAA with your 8.6 average finishes on Sunday.

Evelyn, for you, Stewart and Edwards were perfect with their one-two punch, err, finishes respectively. Marcos Ambrose had himself a heck of a race and found himself fighting for the lead, mid-way through the race. Unfortunately for him, his car faded in the end and he finished 11th. David Ragan also had a decent car throughout the race, but in the end faded into 12th place. Trevor Bayne, who won his first Nationwide Series Race on Saturday, finished 17th for you. Congratulations on your TAA tie this week Evelyn!

Pete, for you, three of your drivers – Kenseth, Biffle and Earnhardt – finished in the top 10 with their fourth, fifth and seventh place finishes respectively. Ragan finished 12th, while Paul Menard finished 15th to round out your five-driver team. Congratulations on your TAA tie this week Pete.

Mr. X, unfortunately for you, your five drivers earned this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD with their 18.2 average finish. Having Stewart win his fourth race in eight attempts and Edwards finish right behind him in second wasn’t enough for you this week. That’s because Keselowski finished 24th after a bad pit stop late in the race, while Jeff Burton went for the win and ran out of gas with three or four laps remaining to finish 27th. Joey Logano blew an engine and finished 37th. Better luck next week Mr. X.

Julie, you earned this week’s CHARLE’S ANGELS’ RUNNER-UP ANGEL AWARD with your team’s nine-even average finish. Stewart and Edwards were perfect with their one-two finish, while Biffle managed a fifth place finish after fall as far back as 17th during the race. Finishing in that 17th spot however is Bayne. Denny Hamlin rounds out your team with his 20th place finish.

Gibbons, for you, Stewart was your best driver of the race with his first place finish. Biffle finished fifth, while Biffle’s Roush Fenway teammate, Ragan, finished 12th. Johnson and Menard finished 14th and 15th respectively to round out your team. Your drivers’ average finish is 9.4.

Knox’Ville, you had two drivers – Edwards and Gordon – finish in the top-10. Edwards gave a charge to Stewart’s win, but ultimately fell short to finish second. For Gordon, at times during the race, he had the strongest car out there, but wasn’t able to capitalize on it when he got reshuffled during a restart and went from third to eighth. He finished sixth. Ambrose, Johnson and Vickers round out your team with their 11th, 14th and 21st place finishes respectively. Your drivers’ average finish is 10.8.

Vivian, your first two drivers – Stewart and Edwards – finished in the top-two positions with their one-two finish respectively. Bowyer finished ninth, while Ryan Newman went for the win late in the race and while he ran out of gas in the end, didn’t lose too many positions and finished 16th after making a late-race pit stop. David Gilliland finished well-down in the pack in 32nd place. Your drivers’ average finish is 12 even.

Kris and Kelly, you both tie for our No. 7 Angels’ spot with your average finishes of 13.6.

Kelly, for you, Kenseth and Biffle both led portions of the race, but both couldn’t compete with Stewart in the end. They finished fourth and fifth respectively. Their Roush Fenway teammate, Ragan, ran in the top-10 for most of the race, but finished outside in 12th. Hamlin finished 20th, while Burton ran out of gas while going for the win and finished two-laps down in 27th place.

Kris, your drivers were perfect in the one-two spots with Stewart winning and Edwards taking second place. Jeff Gordon finished sixth, while Regan Smith finished well down in the pack in 23rd place. Jamie McMurray had a mechanical failure and finished 36th.

CorWin, you and I tie for the No. 9 Angels’ spot with our 13.8 average finishes on Sunday.

For you, Biffle finished fifth. He would be your only top-10 driver as Ragan finished 12th, Harvick finished 13th and Menard finished 15th. Keselowski finished well back in 24th place.

For me, Edwards finished second, while Ragan, Johnson and Bayne finished 12th, 14th and 17th respectively. Keselowski rounds my team out as well with his 24th place finish.

Sabrina, you had three drivers – Stewart, Kenseth and Earnhardt – finish in the top 10. Stewart won the race, while Kenseth and Earnhardt finished fourth and seventh respectively. Newman finished 16th still on the lead lap, while Joe Nemechek checked himself out of the race after the first set of pit stops and finished 42nd. Your drivers’ average finish is 14 even.

Mr. Munday, you had three drivers finish in the top-10, but what mired you down in the No. 12 Angels’ spot this week is Hamlin and Logano and their 20th and 37th place finishes. Kahne finished third, while Biffle finished fifth. Rounding out your team is Bowyer and his ninth place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.8.

Candy Man, Edwards and Biffle finished in the top-five with their second and fifth place finishes respectively, but really hurting your team this week in points are Mark Martin and his 19th place finish; Keselowski and his 24th place finish; and Burton’s 27th place finish after he ran out of gas to finish two laps down. Your drivers’ average finish is 15.4.

All totaled, our teams’ combined drivers average finish is 12.54.

Next week’s race is on the newly reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway with the running of the Kobalt Tools 500.

Don’t forget to check out where you stack up against the other Angels after Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie