FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks

Hello Angels,

Sunday’s FedEx 500 Benefiting Autism Speaks race at Dover International Raceway marks the end of Segment One for the Charlie’s Angels Fantasy Racing League.

Congratulations to Evelyn on earning this year’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD for the first segment of the 2011 Sprint Cup season. You took a commanding lead and beat CorWin, the RUNNER-UP ANGEL, by 66 points.

Kelly took third place, while Vivian and Julie tied for the No. 4 Angels’ spot.

Kris took sixth, followed by Gibbons, Mr. Munday, Madison and Alex to round out the Top-10 Angels.

Just 10 points separated Madison in ninth and Pete, who finished in 11th place. Candy Man and Mr. X were separated by just four points while I brought up the rear earning the Segment One CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD – 266 points behind Evelyn.

Congratulations again Evelyn!

Speaking of congratulations, two drivers were rewarded handsomely at the end of the race. Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin took a chance with pit strategy by taking only two tires on the final pit stop and went from a 14th or 15th place finish to a first and second place finish respectively. The strategy for these two drivers, and the others who took a chance with two tires only was to try to get a better finish than they would’ve had they taken four tires like the leaders did. What no one expected was that those two tires would outrun those drivers like Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer – who up until lap 365 or so, dominated the race with Johnson leading the most laps at 207 – who took four tires.

For the record, Dover International Raceway is known as the Monster Mile, but unlike Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, there were no real “Monster” moments and only five cautions during the race, three of them for non-competition incidents like debris on the track or once for rain.

Our final congratulations of Segment One go to Candy Man, who took the final Top Angel Award. Your drivers earned you a 10.4 average finish. As mentioned above, Martin was a surprise second-place finisher for you, while Edwards faded from a first or second place finish down to seventh. Jeff Burton took four tires on that last pit stop and faded from fifth to 11th. Brad Keselowski had his best finished ruined by pit strategy and he went from a top-10 finish down to 13th. Greg Biffle rounds out your team with his 19th place finish – the last car on the lead lap. Congratulations on your TAA!

Madison, your drivers earned you this week’s RUNNER-UP ANGEL Award with their 10.8 average finish. Kyle Busch was your top driver with his fourth place finish. Martin Truex Jr., had himself a decent finish after battling up front for most of the race – he finished eighth. Dale Earnhardt Jr., took four tires and finished 12th, while Keselowski finished 13th. Jeff Gordon struggled with the handling of his car and stayed in the top-15 for most of the race, but even with the gamble of a two-tire pit stop, in the end, it was the wrong call and he faded quickly to a 17th place finish.

Kelly, you earned the No. 3 Angels’ spot with your 13 even average finish. Martin was your top driver with his second place finish. Earnhardt earned a 12th place finish, while Kurt Busch somehow finished 14th after struggling with his car for most of the race. Denny Hamlin finished 16th, while Ryan Newman rounds out your team with his 21st place finish – two laps down.

Evelyn, for you this week, Marcos Ambrose had himself one heck of a race. He finished third, but had a car that ran up front all race long. It’s not a matter of if he’ll win a race, but when. Edwards finished seventh, while Kurt Busch finished an improbable 14th place. Ryan Newman and Casey Mears rounds out your team with their 21st and 23rd place finishes respectively.

 Vivian, Kevin Harvick was your only driver to finish inside the top-10 – and he barely did so by finishing 10th. Burton finished 11th, while Earnhardt finished 12th. Jamie McMurray and Newman round out your team with their 20th and 21st place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 14.8.

CorWin, you had two drivers – Martin and Edwards – finish inside the top-10. Martin finished second, while Edwards finished seventh. Hamlin made an appearance in the top-10 a couple of times during the race, but ultimately finished 16th. Paul Menard and David Ragan had their issues and finished several laps down in 24th and 27th place respectively. Your average finish is 15.4

Mr. X, the two drivers that led the most laps both got beat by pit strategy. Edwards was poised to win the race but finished seventh instead, while Johnson, who led the most laps at 207, finished ninth. Earnhardt finished 12th to Bobby Labonte’s 18th place run, while Regan Smith had electrical issues and finished 34th overall. Your average finish is 16 even.

Mr. Munday, you had two drivers in the top-10 – Martin and Johnson. Martin stole a second place finish, while Johnson lost the race on pit strategy and finished ninth. Gordon finished deep in the pack in 17th, while Joey Logano and David Ragan were two of only three drivers to have on-track crashes Sunday. Logano spun and damaged his right-front and Ragan spun trying to get onto pit road clipping the inside retaining wall hard. Both drivers fell multiple laps down and finished 27th and 28th respectively.

Julie, Ambrose and Edwards were the only two drivers on your team to finish inside the top-10. Ambrose finished third, while Edwards finished seventh. Earnhardt fought hard for his 12th place finish, while Tony Stewart just fought an ill-handling car and fell several laps down to a 29th place finish. Smith didn’t have the magic of last week’s win this week as he had electrical issues and finished 34th. Your average finish is 17 even.

For me, Johnson was my only driver to finish inside the top-10 with his ninth place finish. Earnhardt and Gordon finished 12th and 17th, while Menard finished 24th and Ragan finished 28th. My average finish is 18 even.

Kris, Kyle Busch is your only driver to finish in the top-10 with his fourth place finish. Keselowski was poised for a top-five finish until that last round of pit stops – he finished in 13th place instead. Gordon would’ve been lucky to get a top-10 finish and unfortunately for him, and you, his luck ran out as he finished 17th. Stewart fell several laps down and finished 29th, while A.J. Allmendinger ended a good run Sunday with a blown motor mid-way through the race. He finished 37th. Your average finish is 20 even.

Gibbons, your 20.2 average finish is a result of having only one driver – Johnson – in the top 10 on Sunday. Johnson led the most laps, but when the one that counted the most passed, he was back in ninth place. Busch and Hamlin finished 14th and 16th respectively, while Ragan finished 28th after spinning on pit road and Smith finished the race early in 34th place with an electrical issue.

Alex, you had two drivers finish inside the top 10, but it is Ragan and Kasey Kahne who kept your average finish to 20.4 – Ragan finished 28th, while Kahne had an electrical issue and finished 36th. Martin and Johnson finished in the top-10 with their second and ninth place finishes respectively. Logano rounds out your team with his 27th place finish.

Pete, that brings us up to you. Unfortunately you had no drivers finish in the top-10 and because of that your average finish of 26.4 is by far the worst average finish of any of the Angels Sunday. It’s also this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE Award earning average finish. Earnhardt’s 12th place finish was the closest your drivers came to a top-10 finish. Biffle finished 19th, while Ragan finished 28th. Kahne and Allmendinger round out your team with their 36th and 37th place finishes respectively.

Again, congratulations to Evelyn on earning this Segment’s TAA and to Candy Man on his earning I believe his first TAA this season.

Next week’s race is a non-points race – The All-Star Classic – on Saturday night.

The next points race is the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend in two weeks.

Don’t forget that with the new segment start with the Coca Cola 600, you will have to pick your Segment Two drivers before the start.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie