Jeff Byrd 500

Hello Angels,

Get the brooms out – Kyle Busch swept another Bristol weekend by winning Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 race at the half-mile racetrack. With this win and Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, Busch has now won five straight races at NASCAR’s shortest track – being the first driver to win the three top-tiered NASCAR series in the same weekend to start this five-race winning streak.  Also, with Sunday’s win, Busch becomes the fourth different driver to win in the four Sprint Cup races this year.

Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson put up a decent fight – Johnson leading the most laps of the race, but the final pit stop proved pivotal as Busch and his M&Ms’ team outdid themselves and beat Johnson and Edwards to the line. Edwards finished second to Johnson’s third place finish.

Honorable mention has to go to Kevin Harvick and his comeback from a crash that took out a couple of cars midway through the race. He tore up his left-rear quarter panel, but after repairs were made, he was able to stay on the lead lap and ended up with a sixth-place finish. The same can’t be said for Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton. The latter had a slow car once again and early in the race ended up being what amounted to a pin-ball bouncing off cars left and right to bring out the first or second caution flag. In the same wreck that Harvick was a part of, Bowyer couldn’t get slowed down in time to avoid his spinning teammate and plowed into the rear quarter panel of Harvick’s car. Burton finished 20th, the first car one-lap down, while Bowyer finished 35th, 42 laps down.

One more note on the RCR drivers – Paul Menard is the class of their four-team operations right now as he not only led several laps early on in Sunday’s race, but finished fifth and in doing so, has four straight races with a top-10 finish. Menard is currently fifth in points, just 14 points behind Busch.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention another streak that continued this week – but not a good streak considering it’s Kris’ continued slide in points after earning her second straight CHARLIE’S ANGELS GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD after winning the first two CAFL TOP ANGEL AWARDS to start the season.

Kris, this week’s GCA comes with your 16.6 average finish. Keeping you and your team from complete disaster is the fact that Busch won his first Sprint Cup series race this week. That’s the bright spot. Jeff Gordon was never a factor as he could only muster a 14th place finish. Brad Kieslowski’s car was torn to pieces, but he still managed to stay on the lead lap with his 18th place finish. Tony Stewart was up front in the beginning of the race, but during one of the crashes crashed into his teammate and damaged the nose of his Chevy Impala. He quickly faded and finished the last car on the lead lap in 19th place. A.J. Allmendinger went for a spin early in the race and never recovered. He finished 31st to round out your team. Much better luck to you soon!

Earning this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS TOP ANGEL AWARD is CorWin, who had the pleasure of literally watching his five driver team earn his award live. This week CorWin, your five driver team of Busch, Edwards, Menard, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Mark Martin combined for an average finish of 6.2 after Busch won, Edwards finished second, and Menard finished fifth. Earnhardt and Martin finished outside the top-10 in 11th and 12th places respectively. Congratulations on this week’s TAA!

For me, I earned this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS RUNNER-UP ANGEL Award after my team earned me an 8.4 average finish. Johnson tops my list, while Menard and Kurt Busch also finished in the top-10 with their fifth and seventh place finishes respectively. Bobby Labonte and Gordon round out my team with Labonte’s 13th and Gordon’s 14th place finishes.

Gibbons, you earned this week’s No. 3 Angels’ spot with your teams’ 10 even average finish. Edwards was your top driver with his second-place finish. Johnson finished third, while his Hendricks Racing teammates of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Martin finished 11th and 12th respectively. Rounding your team out is Regan Smith who finished 22nd.

Evelyn, you had two drivers finish in the top-10 – Edwards and Newman. Edwards finished second, while Newman finished 10th. That said your remaining three drivers – Martin, Gordon and Marcos Ambrose – finished in the top15 with their 12th, 14th and 15th place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 10.6.

Pete, you had four drivers finish in the top-10 Sunday, but it is Trevor Bayne, who is the “Bain” of your existence this week. He was running on the lead lap for most of the race – even giving Gordon a hard time passing, but got caught up in the late-race wrecking where cautions breed cautions as Darrell Waltrip always says. Bayne finished several laps down in the 34th spot. That said, Edwards tops your drivers’ list with his second place finish. Matt Kenseth held on to earn a fourth place finish, while Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne round out your team with their eighth and ninth place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 11.4.

Julie, for you, Edwards was your top driver with his second place finish. Kahne was your only other driver in the top-10 with his ninth place finish. Martin, Martin Truex Jr., who lead several laps early, and Stewart round out your five-driver team with their 12th, 17th and 19th place finishes respectively. Your average finish is 11.8.

Mr. X, you have the top-two drivers of the race on your team as Busch beat out Edwards to the checkered flag earning his fifth-straight Bristol race win in as many tries. Edwards finished second. Earnhardt finished 11th, while Stewart and Bill Elliott finished 19th and 29th respectively. Your average finish is 12.4.

Alex, you had two drivers – Johnson and Kahne – finish in the top-10. Johnson fared better than Kahne did with his third place finish. Kahne finished ninth. Martin finished 12th while David Ragan finished 16th. Joey Logano went for a spin after cutting a tire, but lucked-out, if you will, when he spun right onto pit-road and was able to get the necessary repairs to his car. That said, he fell two laps down in the process and finished 23rd. Alex, your average finish is 12.6 this week.

Vivian and Mr. Munday, you both tie for this week’s No. 9 Angels’ spot with your average finishes of 13.6. The amazing part is that you don’t share any of the same drivers.

For Mr. Monday – Johnson was your top driver with his third place finish. Martin and Gordon finished 12th and 14th, while Ragan finished 16th. Logano finished well behind them two laps down in the 23rd finishing spot.

Vivian, for you, Harvick was your top driver with his sixth place finish. Newman and Earnhardt finished 10th and 11th respectively, while Burton and Jamie McMurray suffered damage in two separate crashes and finished two laps down in the 20th and 21st finishing spots.

Kelly and Madison, you both tie for the No. 11 Angels’ spot with your 14.6 average finishes. You both share Earnhardt and his 1th place finish on your teams respectively.

Madison, for you, Edwards is your top driver, followed by Earnhardt, Gordon and his 14th place finish, and then Stewart and his 19th place finish. David Gilliland rounds out your team with his 27th place finish after he went several laps down from the hard hit he had with the wall.

Kelly, for you, Kurt Busch was your best driver of your five-driver team. He finished seventh. Newman finished 10th, Earnhardt finished 11th and then Martin finished 12th. Denny Hamlin got spun early in the race and never recovered. He finished several laps down in 33rd place.

Candy Man, that leaves you this week with the No. 13 Angels’ spot with your 15.2 average finish. Edwards and Biffle finished second and eighth, while Martin wasn’t too far outside the top-10 with his 12th place run. Burton had a horrible car all day and finished the first car not on the lead lap – two cars down – in 20th. Bayne was the recipient of the 34th place finish and the dubious honor of being the driver who finished last among your five-driver team. Better luck next week.

This week’s combined teams’ average finish is a very nice 12.26.

Next week’s race is the Auto Club 400 race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stockcar Challenge Web site to see where you stack up against the other Angels after Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 race at Bristol.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie