Kobalt Tools 500

Hello Angels,

Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 race at the newly reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway was supposed to be a “wild-card” race for all involved.

Instead the race turned out to be a game of cat and mouse for the two drivers still in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship – Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. The two battled each other for most of the race with Stewart leading the race and Edwards trailing just behind in second. In the end, Stewart led the most laps, but Edwards finished one-spot ahead of Stewart in second place to maintain his lead over Stewart, who finished third, by just three points going into next week’s Ford Championship Weekend and the year’s final race.

Congratulations to the best-running non-Chase driver – Kasey Kahne – who won his first race with the Red Bull organization, his first race of 2011 and his first race since Atlanta in 2009. Kahne didn’t dominate the race, but he did keep himself in contention all race long. That strategy paid-off in the end when he out-pitted both Edwards and Stewart and coasted to the win.

The only real wild-card moment happened mid-race when Matt Kenseth received payback from three races ago when Kenseth got loose in the new dogleg of Phoenix International Raceway. There to “help” Kenseth into the wall was none-other than Kahne’s Red Bull Racing teammate, Brian Vickers – who felt he owed Kenseth a hit into the wall after Kenseth and Vickers had a racing incident at Martinsville two weeks ago.

I’m sure the hit Vickers put against Kenseth will be compared last week’s Kyle Busch hit against Ron Hornaday at Texas in the NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series race that ended with Busch parked for the weekend and M&M Mars Inc., opting out of their primary sponsorship of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota for the remainder of the year. For the record, I didn’t agree with what Busch did to Hornaday and I don’t agree with what Vickers did to Kenseth. The difference between the two and why Vickers wasn’t parked is because while Busch pushed Hornaday under caution at more than 150 mph, Vickers pushed Kenseth for less time and didn’t necessarily spin Kenseth. Kenseth did “slow down” in front of Vickers causing the two to touch. NASCAR may still penalize Vickers however because he did “threaten” to do exactly what he did to Kenseth (according to Kenseth) prior to the race.

So, it’s down to just one race for the Sprint Cup Champion and as it turns out the CHARLIE’S ANGELS FANTASY LEAGUE Championship as well.

Kris and Julie are in a two-way race for the league championship as Kris leads Julie by only 43 points. I say only because in Sunday’s race at Phoenix, Julie made up 33 points. So, going into the Ford 400 race next week, one misstep by Kris’s drivers can open door for Julie to sneak a title into her belt.

While neither Kris nor Julie earned this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD Mr. X’s team of drivers did with their 7.6 average finish. Of course having the second, third and fourth place drivers on your team definitely helps toward that TAA earning average finish. Edwards and Stewart finished second and third, while Jeff Burton, who contended for the win last week before running out of fuel, finished fourth. Joey Logano finished just outside the top-10 with his 11th place run, while Brad Keselowski had handling issues and finished 18th. Congratulation on your latest TAA, Mr. X.

On the flip-side of the coin is Sabrina who earned yet another CHARLIE’S ANGELS GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD after her five drivers teamed up for the worst average finish of the 14 Angels with their 21.4 average finish. Doing well were Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Stewart and Ryan Newman. Both drivers had top-five finishes with their third and fifth place runs. Unfortunately Dale Earnhardt Jr., couldn’t capitalize on his good runs of late and finished deep down in the pack in 24th – two laps down. Kenseth finished 34th after his run-in with Vickers, while Joe Nemechek finished 41st after only running a handful of laps of the race.

This week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ RUNNER-UP ANGEL Award goes to Mr. Munday who had all five drivers’ finish 13th or better. Finishing in the top-spot is Kahne who took advantage of pit strategy to win the race. Clint Bowyer, Logano, Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle round finished 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th respectively to round out your five drivers. Combined, they averaged a 9.4 finish.

Vivian, four of your drivers finished in the top-10, but keeping you out of the TAA’s spot this week is David Gilliland’s 31st place finish. Edwards, Stewart and Newman finished in the top-five with their second third and fifth place finishes, while Bowyer finished 10th overall. Your drivers’ average finish is 10.2.

Candy Man, for you, former teammates Edwards and Burton finished in the top-five together with their second and fourth place finishes. Biffle and Mark Martin finished 13th and 16th respectively, while Keselowski finished two spots behind Martin in 18th place. Your drivers’ average finish is 10.6.

Julie, as mentioned before, you made up 33 points on Kris this week with your drivers 11.8 average finish this week. Edwards and Stewart finished second and third, while Jimmie Johnson finished 14th to Jamie McMurray’s 17th place finish. Vickers finished 23rd after his entanglement with Kenseth. Good luck to you next week in your chance to earn the 2011 title.

For my drivers, they earned a 14.6 average finish after Edwards finished second and Marcos Ambrose earned another top-10 finish with his eighth place run. Johnson recovered from a lap down to finish 14th, while Martin Truex Jr., and Landon Cassill struggled and finished 20th and 29th respectively.

Gibbons, you had two drivers – Stewart and Ambrose – finish in the top-10 with their third and eighth place finishes respectively. Johnson and Martin teamed up to finish 14th and 16th respectively, while David Ragan crashed on the first lap with Regan Smith and finished several laps down in 33rd place. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.8.

CorWin, three of your drivers – Edwards, Ambrose and Paul Menard – finished in the top-10 with their second, eighth and ninth place finishes respectively. Kevin Harvick really struggled to control his car and finished 19th, while Smith finished 38th after his lap-one run-in with Ragan. All totaled, your drivers’ average finish is 15.2.

Pete, you had two drivers finish in the top-10, two in the top-20 and one driver, Kenseth, who didn’t deserve to finish 34th. Kenseth of course was the “victim” of payback from Vickers and you Pete, paid the price (along with many other Angels this week). Finishing in the top-10 are Stewart and Ambrose who finished third and eighth respectively. Martin and McMurray round out your team with their 16th and 17th place finishes. Your drivers’ average finish is 15.6.

Knox’Ville, your five drivers averaged a 15.8 finish with two of them – Edwards and Ambrose – finishing in the top-10 on Sunday. Edwards finished second, while Ambrose finished eighth. Johnson finished on the lead lap in 14th place, while Vickers also finished on the lead lap in 23rd place. Jeff Gordon rounds out your team with his 32nd place finish after he ran out of brakes mid-way through the race.

Evelyn, you had three drivers finish in the top-10 and then your other two drivers who crashed on lap-one of the race. Those two drivers are Smith and Ragan who subsequently finished 38th and 33rd respectively. In the top-10 are Edwards and his second-place finish, Stewart and his third place finish and Ambrose with his eighth place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 16.8.

Kris, as mentioned earlier, you lost 33 points to Julie and now have your own battle going on for the league championship next week. That said, this week, your top-two drivers – Edwards and Stewart – are having their own championship battle as they head into next week’s race just three points separating them after they finished second and third respectively on Sunday. McMurray nearly doubled his finishing position after blowing an engine last week, but finished well behind this week still in 17th place. Gordon lost his brakes and finished 32nd, while Smith crashed on the first lap and finished 38th. Your drivers’ average finish is 18.4.

Kelly, you only had one driver – Burton – finish in the top-10 with his fourth place finish. Hamlin and Biffle finished 12th and 13th respectively, while Ragan and Kenseth finished 33rd and 34th respectively after the latter was taken out by Vickers and the earlier crashed on the first lap. Your drivers’ average finish is 19.2.

Well, Angels, as mentioned it all comes down to one race – next week’s Ford 400 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stock Car Challenge website to see where you stack up against the other Angels after Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie