Tums Fast Relief 500

Hello Angels,

Tony “Smoke” Stewart earned his nickname once again Sunday as he smoked Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon on the final restart in Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 race at Martinsville Speedway and showed that he hasn’t given up on his quest for the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship.

Stewart, restarting on the outside race leader Johnson on row 1, had fresher tires and was able to pass the leader in turn 2. Johnson got back to him and could’ve moved Stewart out of the way, but decided the better of it and settled for a second place finish. With the win, Stewart has three wins in the Championship Chase and is now up two positions to second in overall points, only eight points out of the lead.

Carl Edwards fell a lap down in the race early and then again later in the race, recovered with another “miracle-run” and a little help from the “lucky dog” to finish inside the top-10 in ninth. Kevin Harvick finished fourth and made a pseudo-recovery in points to jump back up two spots to third-place overall, 21-points behind Edwards.

Brad Keselowski had a great run at Martinsville this time around, but didn’t quite get the finish he was looking for at 17th place. Keselowski got reshuffled from a top-five finish on the same restart Stewart passed Johnson for the win and is now 27 points behind Edwards in fourth place.

Taking the biggest hit this week is Matt Kenseth. I’m not sure how many, but there were definitely a few drivers upset with the former Cup champion including Brian Vickers, who Kenseth booted out of the way when the two were battling for seventh place. Vickers played a little retaliation with Kenseth after both fell back several laps making repairs to their cars. Kenseth’s car was damaged in a separate on-track incident with Juan Pablo Montoya. After the retaliation, Kenseth was able to continue, but was down multiple laps and finished 31st and fell three spots in the points to fifth, 36-points behind Edwards. Johnson only gained seven points to Edwards with his second-place finish and is still 43 points behind. Kyle Busch finished 27th and is now 57 points back. Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Hamlin and Newman are 58, 73, 76, 80 and 89 points behind Edwards after Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 race at Martinsville.

Besides Stewart winning, Johnson finishing second and Gordon finishing third, Hamlin finished fifth, Jeff Burton finished sixth, Earnhardt finished seventh, Martin Truex Jr., finished eighth, Edwards ninth and Newman in 10th.

For us Angels, this week’s race at Martinsville earned our teams a combined teams’ average finish of 15.51.

This week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD goes to Julie, whose drivers earned a 9.6 average finish after three of them, Stewart, Burton and Edwards, finished in the top-10. Stewart won his third race of the Chase and the season, while Burton and Edwards finished sixth and ninth respectively. Regan Smith had an eventful race being involved in multiple incidents throughout the day – even falling back a lap early in the race. He recovered to finish 13th. Keselowski finished 18th to round out your team. Congratulations Julie on your TAA this week.

On the flip side is CorWin, whose drivers earned this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD with a 22.6 average finish. Besides Harvick’s fourth place finish, Clint Bowyer, who won last week’s race at Talladega, finished 19th after taking a spin on the last lap. Harvick’s and Bowyer’s Richard Childress Racing teammate, Paul Menard, finished 24th overall. Kenseth may have lost the championship after his race went awry and 31st place finish. Jamie McMurray crashed out of the race early and finished 35th. Better luck next week CorWin.

Mr. X, all five of your drivers finished in the top-20, with three of them in the top-10. Because of this Mr. X, your drivers had a 10.2 average finish to earn you this week’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ RUNNER-UP ANGEL AWARD. Topping your drivers’ list is Stewart and his third win of the season. Burton finished sixth, while Edwards finished three spots behind in ninth. Keselowski and Joey Logano finished at the back of the lead-lap in 17th and 18th respectively.

For my drivers, two of them – Johnson and Edwards – finished in the top-10 with their second and ninth place finishes. Smith finished 13th to Keselowski’s 17th place finish. Vickers, who hit “everything but the pace car” as the TV announcers said, finished 30th. My drivers’ average finish is 14.2.

Knox’Ville and Vivian, you both tie for this week’s No. 4 Angels’ spot with your drivers’ 14.6 average finish.

Vivian, for you, three of your drivers, Stewart, Edwards and Newman, finished in the top-10 with their first, ninth and 10th place finishes respectfully. Bowyer finished 19th, while David Gilliland finished 34th after crashing out late in the race.

Knox’Ville, for you, Johnson, Gordon, and Edwards finished in the top-10 with their second, third and ninth place finishes respectively. Bringing your average finish down are Marcos Ambrose and Vickers. Ambrose ran well at the beginning and middle stages of the race but got involved in some race shenanigans and finished several laps down in 29th place. Vickers rounds out your team with his 30th place finish after he had several run-ins with multiple drivers.

Pete, you had three drivers finish in the top-10 – Stewart, Hamlin and Earnhardt. Stewart finished first to Hamlin’s fifth place run. Earnhardt, who showed aggressive driving on the track not seen recently, finished seventh. Mark Martin finished 28th and David Ragan finished 33rd after the two drivers had separate incidents. Your drivers’ average finish is 14.8.

Candy Man, for you, Burton and Edwards finished sixth and ninth respectively to top your drivers’ list. Greg Biffle managed to finish 15th after he wrecked himself to avoid hitting another car after he got loose in the corner. Keselowski got shuffled from a top-five finish to a 17th place finish during the last restart of the race. Martin rounds out your team with his 28th place finish. Your drivers’ average finish is 15 even.

Gibbons, for you, Stewart and Johnson were perfect with their first and second place finishes respectively. Unfortunately, that was all that was perfect as your remaining three drivers – Bowyer, Montoya, and Ragan – had significant damage to their cars and the 19th, 22nd and 33rd place finishes respectively proving it. Your drivers’ average finish is 15.4.

Kris and Mr. Munday, you both tie for this week’s No. 9 Angel with your drivers’ 16.4 average finishes.

Mr. Munday, for you, Hamlin’s fifth place finish marks him as your only driver to have a decent finish. Biffle finished 10-spots down in 15th place, while Logano and Bowyer finished 18th and 19th respectively. Kasey Kahne rounds out your drivers with his 25th place finish.

Kris, for you, Gordon and Edwards finished in the top-10 with their third and ninth place finishes respectively. Smith recovered from a torn-up race car to finish 13th. Kyle Busch finished 27th, while Vickers finished 30th after his multiple spins and crashes throughout the race.

Kelly, for you, Gordon and Harvick finished in the top-five after both struggled early because of a lap-eight crash. Gordon had significant front-left damage and made more than 11 stops on pit road to make repairs – all under different cautions. He finished third and led a significant portion of the race. Harvick finished fourth. Keselowski had a great race going until he got shuffled out at the end with a 17th place finish. Martin and McMurray round out your team with their 28th and 35th place finishes. All totaled, your drivers’ average finish is 17.4.

Sabrina, since your return to CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ your favorite driver, Stewart, has now won three of the six Chase races and is securely in the Chase for the Championship in second place. Earnhardt had himself an eventful race, but managed to finish seventh, while Stewart’s teammate, Newman finished 10th. Kenseth finished 31st after he had a run-in or two with a few drivers including Vickers a couple of times. Joe Nemechek parked his car early and finished 41st. Your drivers’ average finish is 18 even.

Evelyn, for you, two of your drivers, Johnson and Earnhardt finished in the top 10. Johnson finished second while Earnhardt finished five spots further back in seventh. Bowyer finished 19th after he spun late in the race, while Ambrose and McMurray round out your team with their 29th and 35th place finishes respectively after their on-track shenanigans. Your drivers’ average finish is 18.4.

Next week’s race is the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Don’t forget to check the ESPN Stock Car Challenge website to see where you stack up against the other Angels.

Good luck next week Angels,

Charlie