Subway Fresh Fit 500

Hello Angels,

With the conclusion of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 race being run Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, most of the Angels are probably saying the real start of the 2011 Sprint Cup Season is upon us.

Three things come to mind post-race to talk about – Jeff Gordon’s 66-race losing streak is over; who saw half of the field being taken out of contention for the win with only a quarter of the race being run; and Kyle Busch had another phenomenal weekend and almost pulled off the trifecta for the second time in NASCAR history.

Congratulations to Gordon on not only winning his first race since October 2009, but for completely living up to his nickname, “The Dominator.” Gordon led the most laps of the race and was able to dominate Busch on Busch’s specialty – restarts. Busch however was leading late in the race after a caution bunched the field up, but Gordon was on the prowl and beat Busch through the center of the third corner with eight laps remaining, passed Busch and then went on to win his 83rd race of his now 19-year career.

Busch on the other hand, while losing to Gordon Sunday, dominated Saturday’s Nationwide Series race by leading all 200 laps and then won Friday’s Camping World Truck Series race. Busch is the only driver to win all three races of NASCAR’s premiere series on the same weekend doing so in 2010 at Martinsville I believe. He fell just short of a repeat Sunday.

Of course most of us Angels were affected by the early-race wrecking that took out nearly half of the field out of contention by lap 69. The big one happened when Brian Vickers got loose and the chain-reaction crash that ensued took out 13 cars including Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and a few others. Another crash involving Busch and Carl Edwards sent the Coors Light Pole winner to the garage for many laps. Edwards went down about 60 laps or so, but because of the big crashes was able to come back and finish 28th. Busch was able to continue on to that second place finish.

Ok, Angels, there’s one of you who I’m going to let a secret out about.

Kris, you said to me that you weren’t going to come back this year to Charlie’s Angels Fantasy League because you didn’t think you’d be competitive this year. Well, how’s this for being competitive?

Kris, you earned your second CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD for the second week in row, completely dominating all of us Angels in the process with your 6.8 average finish. In doing so, you had four drivers finish in the top-10 and all five of your drivers finish in the top-15. Brad Keselowski was involved in one of the eight cautions of the race, but was able to finish in 15th place, one lap down. A.J. Allmendinger finished ninth, while Tony Stewart led parts of the race but faded in the end to a seventh place finish. Gordon and Busch round out your team with their first and second place finishes respectively. Congratulations Kris on your second TAA in a row.

Earning this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ RUNNER-UP ANGEL AWARD is Evelyn after her drivers earned her a 12.8 average finish. On top of your leader board is Busch and Ryan Newman with their second and fifth place finishes respectively. Martin finished 13th after his early-race mishap, Marcos Ambrose avoided the melee, but could only muster a 16th place finish, one lap down. Edwards was poised to repeat his late 2010 victory at PIR, but contact with both Busch and Gordon (ironically the two finished second and first) sent the Coors Light Pole winner to the garage and ultimately a 28th place finish. 

For me, well, I lucked out with Busch earning a second place finish and then Jimmie Johnson finishing third. This is because Edwards crashed out early in the race. Luckily he was able to gain about 10 extra spots after the big one took out a bunch of other cars and finish 28th overall. Bobby Labonte and Ambrose round out my team with Labonte’s 21st place finish and Ambrose’s 16th place finish. Labonte had damage from the big crash on lap 69. My average finish is 14 even.

Kelly, you had two drivers – Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – finish in the top-10 with Newman’s fifth and Earnhardt’s 10th place finishes. Denny Hamlin missed a top-10 finish with his 11th place run, while Martin finished two spots behind Hamlin in 13th. Jamie McMurray crashed out of the race when he had heavy front-end damage following the lap 69 crash and was slated with the 35th place finish. Your average finish is 14.8.

CorWin, you earned the No. 5 Angels’ spot with your 15 even average finish – even though three of your drivers finished in the top-10.  Finishing outside of the top-10 are Regan Smith, who crashed out in the big one, finished 34th, while Edwards crashed out a few laps earlier, but was able to come back onto the track later to finish eight spots ahead of Smith in 28th place. Busch tops your drivers with his second place finish, while Newman and Kasey Kahne finished fifth and sixth respectively rounding out your team.

Vivian, for you, Harvick, Newman and Earnhardt are your best three drivers of the race after they finished in the top-10 with their fourth, fifth and 10th place finishes respectively. Burton improved his finishing spot to 26th place after he was involved in the big crash on lap 69. McMurray rounds out your team with his 35th place finish after he couldn’t continue after the big crash. Your average finish is 16 even.

Mr. X, you earn the No. 7 Angels’ spot with your 16.8 average finish. Busch finished second, while Kevin Harvick, who went for a spin early in the race, came back to finish fourth. Earnhardt earned a 10th place finish, while Edwards finished 28th. Trevor Bayne, who won the Daytona 500 last week, brought out a caution flag early in the race when he backed his car into the outside wall and crashed out of the race. Bayne finished 40th.

Mr. Munday, you had two of the top-three drivers on your team with Gordon and Johnson earning the No. 1 and the No. 3 spots Sunday. Their teammate, Martin, finished 13th, while Joey Logano had an engine give out and finished 33rd. David Ragan rounds out your team with his 36th place finish after he crashed out of the race. Your average finish is 17.2.

Madison, your top three drivers to compete on Sunday are Johnson, Tony Stewart and Earnhardt who finished in the top-10 respectively in third, seventh and 10th. Clint Bowyer was visibly upset and backed it up when he was interviewed after the big crash when his crew was making repairs to his car. Bowyer spent many laps in the garage, but was able to get repairs made and went on to finish 27th. Bayne was on top of the world last week with his Daytona 500 win, but this week, was humbled by an early-race crash and 40th place finish. Your average finish is 17.4.

Julie, your five drivers – Newman, Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., Edwards and McMurray – yearned for a win on Sunday, but earned you the No. 10 Angels’ spot instead with their 17.8 average finish. Newman and Stewart avoided the carnage and finished in the top-10 with their fifth and seventh place finishes respectively. Truex finished 14th, while Edwards and McMurray weren’t able to avoid said carnage and finished 28th and 35th respectively.

Alex, for you, the numbers are all about threes and sixes for you as your drivers all had either a finishing spot with a three or a six or in Ragan’s case, a three and a six with his 36th place finish. Unfortunately for Logano, and you, he had two threes with his 33rd place finish. Martin literally had one three in his finishing spot of 13, while Kasey Kahne only had one six in his finishing spot of No. 6, while Johnson only had one three in his finishing spot of No. 3. Your average finish didn’t have a three or a six in it however when it all averaged up to 18.2.

Gibbons, for you, McMurray and Regan Smith crashed out of the race for the second race in a row, this week finishing 35th and 34th respectively.  Edwards was on top of the points last week, however after Sunday’s crash, and 28th place finish, he’s nowhere near the top this week.  Johnson and Allmendinger had top-10 finishes with the latter finishing ninth, and the former finishing third. Your average finish is 21.8.

Candy Man, last week you only had four drivers in the race and was awarded appropriately. This week, all five of your drivers picked made it into the race, but the end result was still the same – a bunch of crashed-out drivers and an average finish worthy of another award. That said, Martin finished on the lead lap, the last car to do so, and finished 13th. Greg Biffle was picked by one of the TV personalities to win the race, unfortunately he finished 20th instead. Burton finished 26th, while Edward finished 28th and Bayne finished way back in 40th place. Your average finish is 25.4.

Pete, unfortunately for you, your drivers’ average finish of 28.8 earned you the least wanted weekly award of CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD. The good news is Kurt Busch finished eighth – even though I believe his car didn’t have a scratch on it. Your remaining four drivers – Edwards, Logano, McMurray and Bayne – all had damage to their cars and unfortunately for you and them alike, no better than a 28th finishing spot. In that 28th place finish is Edwards followed by Logano and his 33rd place finish after his engine let go. McMurray finished 35th, while Bayne finished 40th. Your GCA earning average finish is 28.8.  Better luck next week.

Our combined teams’ average finish this week is 17.34.

Next week’s race is the Kobalt Tools 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada.

Don’t forget to check out the ESPN Stockcar Challenge Web site to see where you stack up against the other Angels after Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 race in Phoenix.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie