Good Sam RV Insurance 500

Hello Angels,

“Man Up!” That’s the quote from Brad Keselowski who won Sunday’s rain-delayed Good Sam RV Insurance 500 race at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, despite breaking his ankle during a test at Road America raceway on Wednesday.

Keselowski was testing his No. 2 Dodge at Road America in preparation for next week’s road course at Watkins Glen International Raceway when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a non-SAFER-barrier retaining wall clocked at about 100 mph. The impact sent Keselowski’s legs into his midsection and fractured his left ankle with which he brakes the vehicle with. He said in the interview after winning Sunday’s race at Pocono that while his ankle hurt, his midsection and back hurts the most.

Regardless, he “manned-up” and won the race in grand style – holding off Kyle Busch to win his second race of the year and jump from 21st to 18th in points and, if he maintains a spot in the top-20, will most likely earn a berth into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship wild-card spot.

From the Sporting News Wire Service story on Keselowski winning Sunday, Keselowski was quoted downplaying what he did was heroic.

“I’m no hero,” Keselowski said. “The heroes are the guys [who] died in Afghanistan this weekend. I want to spend time thinking about them. They’re my inspiration for this weekend, the things that those guys do.

“I’m glad that we could win today, but those are the heroes. I just drive race cars for a living.”

Besides Keselowski’s winning the race, there was great racing throughout the day – even with an hour-and-a-half delay mid-way through the race for rain. The most “testy” racing came between Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch with three or four laps to go. Johnson was in third on the outside and Kurt Busch was on the inside in fourth place. The latter didn’t give Johnson much room and tried squeezing Johnson into the wall off a corner. Busch went on to pass Johnson, but not before he let Busch know he wasn’t  pleased with the maneuver.

Johnson developed a tire rub and backed off to save his vehicle for the finish. Kurt finished one spot behind his younger brother in third place.

Kyle Busch recovered from an early-race spin to finish second, while Johnson had a solid run with his fourth place finish. Ryan Newman had a quiet fifth place finish, while Jeff Gordon recovered from a loose race car to finish sixth. Carl Edward, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Paul Menard round out the top-10 with their seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place finishes.

Up until the rain delay, the Joe Gibbs racing teams of Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Hamlin dominated the first 124 laps by leading 110 of them. Unfortunately for two of them, cut tires led to their demise. Logano finished 26th, while Hamlin finished 15th.

For us Angels, driver parity played a key role in how we lined up with our average finishes this week. While none of us tied average finishes, there was only a 10-point difference between top and bottom on Sunday.

Earning the CHARLIE’S ANGELS TOP ANGEL AWARD is my team with an average finish of eight even. Keselowski won the race while Kyle Busch finished second. Johnson finished fourth, while Gordon came back from deep in the pack to finish sixth. Landon Cassill led the race twice on Sunday, but during a green-flag run was black-flagged and had to make a pit stop for a missing lug nut after pitting. Cassill fell one-lap down, but finished on the lead lap in 27th place.

Pete, while you were enjoying Hot August Nights in Reno, your drivers weren’t minding their business, if you will, as they earned you this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD with their 18.6 average finish. Edwards signed a new deal with Roush-Fenway Racing this week. He was rewarded with a seventh place finish and maintains his top-spot in the Championship chase points. Hamlin led a large portion of the laps Sunday but came home with a 15th place finish to show for it. Jeff Burton did well on Sunday and showed some promise by running in the top-10 for most of the race. When it counted though, he fell back to 17th place where he finished. Logano won the Coors Light Pole, but an ill-timed cut tire caused the pole winner to finish outside the top-25 in 26th place. Kasey Kahne rounds out your team with his 28th place
after he made contact with the wall and Juan Pablo Montoya at the same time. Better luck next week.

Gibbons, your drivers earned you this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ RUNNER-UP ANGEL AWARD with their average finish of 10.6. Kurt Busch, Johnson and Biffle were your top-10 drivers with their respective third, fourth and eighth place finish. Burton and Regan Smith finished 17th and 21st to round out your team.

Knox’Ville, you had three drivers – Kyle Busch, Johnson and Gordon – finish in the top-10 this week. Kyle Busch led some laps, but fell short of the win with his second place finish. Johnson felt Busch’s older brother Kurt ran him over to take the third spot and showed his displeasure in the process. Johnson finished fourth. Gordon had a decent finish despite running mid-to-late pack all day after finishing sixth. Hamlin led the most laps of the race but finished 15th when the checkered flag flew. Cassill had to
make an extra pit stop for a missing lug nut and finished 27th. Your drivers average finish is 10.8.

Kris, you continue to maintain your overall Segment II points lead even though your drivers finishes earned you the No. 4 Angels’ spot with their 11.2 average finish. Keselowski won, Gordon placed sixth and Edwards maintains his championship lead with his sixth place finish. Kevin Harvick had an uneventful day with his 14th place finish, while Kahne crashed mid-way through and finished 28th overall.

Julie, had it not been for a blown motor for Brian Vickers, you very well could’ve been Sunday’s TAA winner. Instead though, your drivers, with Vickers, earned you the No. 5 Angels’ spot with their 13.4 average finish. Keselowski won, while Edwards, Earnhardt and Tony Stewart finished seventh, ninth and 11th. Vickers finished 39th.

Mr. X, for you, Keselowski won, while Edwards is your only other driver in the top-10 with his seventh place finish. Matt Kenseth finished 16th, while Burton finished 17th. Kahne rounds out your team with his 28th place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 13.8.

Vivian, unfortunately for you, Edwards is your only driver to finish in the top-10 with his seventh place finish. Stewart just missed a top-10 finish with his 11th place finish, while Harvick and Burton teamed up, if you will, to finish 14th and 17th respectively. Jamie McMurray rounds your team out with this 22nd place finish. Your average finish is 14.2.

Candy Man, you had two drivers finish in the top-10, another two finish in the top-20 and then Kahne, who finished 28th. In the top-10 are Edwards and Biffle, who finished one-two to each other in seventh and eighth place. In the top-20 are Mark Martin, who finished 13th, and Burton, who finished in 17th place. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.6.

Kelly, it’s always a good thing to have the race winner on your team. In this case, that’s Keselowski. Unfortunately for you, you had two drivers finish outside the top-25 this week. They are Kahne and Logano, who finished 26th and 28th respectively. Gordon finished sixth, while Hamlin finished outside the top-10 in 15th place. Your average finish is 15.2.

Evelyn, you only had one driver finish in the top-10, but four drivers total finished in the top-20 this week for you. Gordon is your top driver of the week with his sixth place finish, while Martin Truex Jr., finished 12th, and Harvick and Burton finished 14th and 17th respectively. Kahne rounds out your team with his 28th place finish. Your average finish is 15.4.

CorWin, you had two drivers finish in the top-10 with Biffle and Menard on your team. They finished eighth and 10th respectively. Truex finished 12th, while Logano and Kahne finished well outside the top-10 with their 26th and 28th place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 16.8.

With that, Madison, rounds out our Angels this week with her No. 12 Angels’ spot. Edwards is her top driver with his seventh place finish. Hamlin finished 15th, while Kenseth finished one-spot behind in 16th place. David Reutimann finished 24th to Kahne’s 28th place finish. Your average finish is 18 even.

Next week’s race is the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen road-course race at Watkins Glen Raceway in New York.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stock Car Challenge website to see where you stack up against the other Angels after this Sunday’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500 race at Pocono Speedway.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie