Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/03/25/helmut-marko/
Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd David Brabham
Saturday
Helmut Marko on Vettel: ?At this stage it went out of control??
It?s a measure of just how much turmoil Sebastian Vettel created in the Red Bull camp that even his number one supporter and mentor Helmut Marko was frustrated at the way the Malaysian GP turned out. Intriguingly he tried to … Continue reading
2013 Qatar Moto2 FP3 Result: Nakagami Tops Rain-Struck Session
Takaaki Nakagami has continued to impress at Qatar, topping the timesheets in the final session of practice for the Moto2 class. The Japanese rider just edged Pol Espargaro to push the title favorite down into 2nd. Scott Redding took 3rd, the Marc VDS Racing man a quarter of a second behind Espargaro, and ahead of Espargaro's teammate Tito Rabat. Rabat in 4th was the last rider to get within a second of leader Nakagami.
There was a reason for this. A front is holding just off the Qatari peninsula, causing gusts of wind and rain to hit the track. The rain is enough to unnerve the riders, but not to wet the track, though the wind is what is hardest to cope with, gusting very hard from time to time.
Results:
2013 Qatar MotoGP Thursday Press Releases
Press releases from the MotoGP teams after the first day of practice at Qatar:
Round Number:
1 Year:
2013
Friday
Power Rankings: A (Junior) Nation rises
It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we'll opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. Remember, this isn't scientific, as our formula is the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. So let's get on with it, shall we?
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): Heeeeeeeere's Junior! He's the only dude to finish in the top five in every race this season and there's absolutely no way he can't be atop Power Rankings as we head into the first week of the offseason. If his potato chips are as good as he's performing, then he's really rocking it right now. And maybe the Gonzaga comparison in last week's rankings was a bit unfair. The Zags collapsed late on Saturday night. Junior surged forward on Sunday.
2. Kasey Kahne (LW: 3): Kahne quickly moved his way to the front after starting 16th and was one of the handful of drivers who tattooed (ha!) the wall off turn two thanks to the oil that was put down from Timmy Hill's car. But unlike most everyone else in that incident, Kahne got back towards the front despite the tape on the right side of his car and only finished 9th because of the drivers behind him that took tires during the final caution flag.
3. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 4): Yes, Vader gets to move up a spot after a 12th place finish. Why? Because he probably didn't deserve to finish 12th. It's kind of like what Junior and Steve Letarte have done over the last few years. And now I could spout a cliche about how those types of finishes define championship teams, but you've heard that before. But, it is true, good teams know how to make salad out of you know what.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW: 2): Does Keselowski now drive for Joe Gibbs Racing? We kid, but it was not a good weekend in the engine department for the champ. He blew an engine in practice and started at the back of the pack and then saw his engine go sour late in the race on Sunday. In between, he had a rocketship of a race car early in Sunday's race. Like Kahne, he hit the wall in Hill's oil. Unlike Kahne, his car wasn't as fast afterwards.
5. Kyle Busch (LW: 6): Is that the first race that you can remember that Busch has come from (relative) nowhere to win? Maybe it's because the images of Busch leading a ton of laps are burned in our brains, but it was a bit of a late laps role reversal for Busch. Of course, he also led 125 laps, so that wasn't all that new. It was just the combination of all the laps led and the win that's so striking.
6. Joey Logano (LW: 8): If Kyle Busch drove the best race on Sunday, Logano was a close second. He hung near the front all day and was the only driver to consistently challenge Busch, and on the low side of the track to boot. And perhaps more importantly, it was a great statement race for Logano to show that he can drive with his former teammates and he wasn't backing down from Denny Hamlin. Though it's not much of a stretch to think that Logano would have driven turns 3 and 4 on lap 200 exactly the same if it wasn't Hamlin on his hip. He was going for the freaking win!
7. Denny Hamlin (LW: 11): Our best wishes go out to Hamlin for a speedy and full recovery from his L1 compression fracture. Back injuries are no fun, especially for someone who already has dealt with them in the past. And hopefully any potential layoff from the car for Hamlon doesn't deprive us of a brewing rivalry that has the potential to be one of NASCAR's best in recent memory and a longstanding one to boot.
8. Carl Edwards (LW: NR): It's almost unfathomable to think that through five races Edwards has as many top five finishes in 2013 (3) as he in 2012. But it's true, thanks to Edwards' fourth place finish on Sunday. Edwards crept near the front, but was never a threat for the win. But you know what? He was near the front. That wasn't uttered often last year.
9. Greg Biffle (LW: 8): Just like the @Kes, Fiffle started at the back because of an engine change. And also like Kes, he moved through the field pretty quickly. Here's where they diverge though: Biffle took tires late and finished sixth. It's an odd-numbered year, which generally means that Biffle is off his game. But so far so good.
10. Paul Menard (LW: 9): ALL ABOARD THE PFM TRAIN! An eighth place finish has Menard... eighth in the points. It ain't spectacular, but it sure is solid, much like Menard's RCR career. At this rate, he's going to be again in contention for the Chase. Except he won't be in the "also has a mathematical shot but we know it's not going to happen" category.
11. Matt Kenseth: (LW: 10): It almost feels unfair to Kenseth for dropping him a spot after finishing seventh, but finishing one spot ahead of the great PFM isn't enough to leapfrog him in Power Rankings this week. And besides, we're trying to elicit a good Matt Kenseth one liner on Twitter out of this. Flatline needs to start tweeting more!
12. Kurt Busch: (LW: NR): Welcome to Power Rankings, Kurt! Did you bring us any furniture? Perhaps that couch you sat on at your media tour stop? Sweet, you did. Have a seat. Now will you be here for the long haul or are you just keeping the cushion warm for Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon or someone else?
Dropped out: AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer
Lucky Dog: Let's give a shoutout to Casey Mears, who finished 15th. He's a spot ahead of Stewart in the standings. You could have gotten really good odds on that in Vegas.
The Tony Stewart DNF: Goes to Tony Stewart again! (Yeah, it wasn't much of a DNF, but that was one heck of a slide backwards) That frustration you saw from Smoke was one fueled by frustration at that freefall through the field over the last 11 laps. Had Smoke finished in the top 10, he might have had some choice words for Logano in his postrace quotes, but that would have been that.
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Bristol?s Craziest Moment: Contact from Hamlin sends Logano into wall; drivers trade verbal jabs
Four races into their first season together in the Sprint Cup Series on different teams, you have to wonder how Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano got along with each other at Joe Gibbs Racing.
The two exchanged Twitter barbs at Daytona and on Sunday, the tiff escalated to non-social media levels after Hamlin got into the back of Logano and sent him spinning as the two were battling for second place on lap 349.
After the race, Logano exited his car and immediately went over to Hamlin's, which was less than 100 feet away. As Hamlin was still in his car with his helmet on, Logano, in his first season at Penske Racing, leaned in to voice his displeasure with his former teammate. To do so, he had to nudge one of Hamlin's crew members out of the way, who in turn, tried to keep Logano away from the driver's side window, causing a slight shoving match between the drivers' crew members.
What did Hamlin say Logano said to him?
"He said he was coming for me," Hamlin said. "So, I usually don't see him (on the racetrack) so it's usually not a factor."
Well, the two were around each other on Sunday, obviously, and they were around each other at Daytona late in the race too. Those close quarters led Hamlin to tweet Brad Keselowski after the 500 that Keselowski's "genius teammate" Logano "was too busy messing up the inside line 1 move at a time," which prevented Hamlin from being able to push Keselowski at the finish.
There may be a higher chance of payback than Hamlin thinks.
"It's Bristol, but it's ridiculous ... I feel like I race him clean all the time and he's going to do that," Logano said. "I understand the way he races now that he's not my teammate and I will race him the same way he races."
Hamlin said that he meant to nudge Logano, but didn't mean to crash him.
"It didn't have anything to do with (Daytona), really, you know, you've got to control your car and he slid up into me. And really, he would have been in the garage with no radiator in it had I not checked up twice, so I meant to run into him, didn't mean to spin him out," Hamlin said. "But his day was fine, he still had a bad day anyway for other reasons, so .. we finished bad, he finished bad, it's even."
The spoiler on the back of Logano's car was still intact after the crash and he had worked his way up to sixth on the race's final restart, just a couple positions away from Hamlin. However, he didn't get a chance to exact payback, as he started quickly sliding back through the field and finished 17th. Though it was six spots higher than Hamlin.
After hitting the wall with less than ten laps to go, the damage was so severe that Hamlin had to bounce his car off the wall in each set of corners for the final laps just to get the car to turn. He ended up 23rd.
So, you've seen the video. Who you got in this one, Hamlin or Logano? Do you think Logano is going to exact his revenge sometime this season? Or will this be long forgotten when the opportunity presents itself?
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Power Rankings: Who?s going to unseat Brad?
After every race, we'll opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there in Power Rankings. Remember, this isn't scientific, as our formula is the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. And in honor of March Madness, we'll compare each driver with a team in the NCAA Tournament. So let's get on with it, shall we?
1. Brad Keselowski (LW: 1): Keselowski gets to stay at the top spot again this week by virtue of his four top 10s in four races. And not only was he pretty good at Bristol, he was almost really good. If he doesn't spin his tires on that final restart, who knows if Kasey Kahne doesn't get away for the win? Team comparison: Louisville. The obvious pick would be to go with the other team from Kentucky had they succeeded this season, but they weren't too Keselowskiesque.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 3): The only driver with a case to unseat @Kes for the top spot is the one and only Junior, also the only other driver to have four top 10s in the first four races. Alas, Keselowski has finished ahead of Junior in three of those races, so while there is a case, it's not impenetrable. Team comparison: Gonzaga. A national darling every year who has never made a Final Four.
3. Kasey Kahne (LW: 6): The Kahne Train is rolling! Like a college basketball team that's slayed top 10 teams in back-to-back games, Kahne makes the leap from unranked to third in just two weeks. Oh, we mentioned college basketball? Team comparison: Indiana. Kahne got that Hendrick postseason experience last year, and after a taste of what it's like, is primed for a charge.
4. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 2): Bristol just shows that, once again, the 48 team is comprised of humans, right? It's crazy to think that a melted bead means that a guy with a win and three top 10s is now 15 points out of the points lead, but that's life at the top of the standings. Team comparison: Duke. Do I even need to explain that one?
5. Clint Bowyer (LW: 10): Clint Bowyer finished fifth? Yes, Clint Bowyer finished fifth. Three of the four drivers at the top of the standings were in the top three last year. Why are things not changing? Wasn't this new car supposed to shake things up? Team comparison: Michigan State. Like Michigan State, Bowyer's been near the top, but not at the top. And even though he's not one of the oft-mentioned contenders for the title, it still wouldn't surprise you in the slightest to see Bowyer (or Michigan State) winning it all.
6. Kyle Busch (LW: 11): Well, that fast car from qualifying and practice wasn't a fluke. For the third straight week, Busch found himself having to work his way from the back of the pack at some point in the race and for the second straight week, grabbed a top five. Team comparison: Kansas. He's shown you enough to make you take him seriously as a contender, but there's that looming "What the hell?" moment (TCU anyone?) that makes you think twice before deciding to count on him.
7. Greg Biffle (LW: 12): Blah, it's muddy down here again. The Fiffle was 11th, and given the cluster that was the final results at Bristol, it's good enough for a five place leap in Power Rankings. Team comparison: Ohio State. Always good or really good, sometimes in contention, but never really great? I guess it could work.
8. Joey Logano (LW: NR): Did you know he's 12th in the points standings? I bet you didn't. Logano gets here after that impressive drive after getting crashed by Denny Hamlin. Yes, it helped considerably that the integrity of Logano's spoiler wasn't compromised in the impact, but it was notable enough that Logano channeled that anger into a March through the field, even though it ultimately looked fruitless on the box score (17th). Team comparison: Miami. Is this the year for the breakthrough? Logano's also the same age as the average age of Miami's team (22).
9. Paul Menard (LW: NR): Nardburns is the highest ranked Richard Childress Racing driver. of course, that accomplishment isn't too much to brag about (Kevin Harvick is 17th, Jeff Burton 25th), though it is a step up from "highest ranked Stewart-Haas Racing driver." So Menard has that going for him. Team comparison: Florida. The best in a down conference (or team), but there's not much buzz about the excellence extending into the tournament.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW: 4): Flatline is probably getting penalized too heavily for something he had nothing to do with on Sunday, but them's the life in Power Rankings. He's been up front a ton so far this year, but has finishes of 37th and 35th. That's downright Gibbsian. Team comparison: Syracuse. A tradition of excellence and flashes of it. But like his teammate above, you've seen enough so far to think twice.
11. Denny Hamlin (LW: 7): Hush, little child. OK, yeah, I really wanted to type that. When do you think Hamlin's going to get the one that's coming to him? Obvious guess is in April at Martinsville, but I'll go with Loudon. Team comparison: Georgetown. They're both sponsored by Jordan.
12. AJ Allmendinger (LW: NR): The Dinger is getting it done in his opportunities in James Finch's No. 51. If he keeps it up, he'll be an every-other-week staple in Power Rankings. Running well on a part-time schedule is pretty hard to do. Team comparison: South Dakota State. They may not be a favorite against Michigan (or Hendrick), but the matchup doesn't look too daunting.
Dropped Out: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Aric Almirola.
Lucky Dog: Brian Vickers. Another strong Bristol run in his first Sprint Cup Series start of the season.
The Tony Stewart DNF: Dude's Bristol woes continued with a very early cut tire that led to a stint behind the wall. At least he's going to a track he won at last year.
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World Superbikes To "Return To Its Roots," Race Naked Bikes
As many of you will have spotted, this was in fact an April Fool's story. While discussions about the future of the World Superbike series are ongoing, there are no proposals at the current time to switch to naked bikes. The sales trend of the sport bike market segment is true, as are the numbers for bike sales in Belgian (I wrote a column for the Belgian magazine Motorrijder on this very subject, which is to appear in the April issue). The idea was sparked both by the current market trends in motorcycle sales, and by pictures of former greats like Eddie Lawson and Freddie Spencer muscling Kawasaki Z1000s and Honda VF750s around the track. For another year at least, all of the stories on the website will be as accurate as possible. Normal service has now been resumed...
The news that Dorna had been handed control over the World Superbike series struck terror into the hearts of WSBK fans around the globe. The fear was Dorna would use their position of controlling both World Superbikes and MotoGP to widen the technical gap between the two series in an attempt to cut costs. With Dorna having so often complained that World Superbikes was encroaching on MotoGP territory, and with MotoGP's technical regulations becoming ever more restrictive, the logical step would appear to be to severely restrict the level of machinery used in WSBK.
Over the winter, and during the first round of the 2013 World Superbike series, talks between Dorna, the Superbike teams and the manufacturers involved in the series failed to make much headway. The factories could not agree among themselves what level of modification to allow, while the teams were unimpressed by Dorna's demands that a WSBK machine should cost 250,000 euros a season, stating that the money saved in the bike would only be spent elsewhere.
Talks had continued at the IRTA test at Jerez, with Dorna's new World Superbike boss Javier Alonso present, and engaged in private discussions with the bosses of HRC, Shuhei Nakomoto, Yamaha Motor Racing, Shigeto Kitegawa, and Ducati Corse, Bernhard Gobmeier. MotoMatters.com has learned that since then, further telephone discussions have taken place with Kawasaki boss Ichiro Yoda and Suzuki's Shinichi Sahara, while Alonso had previously spoken to Aprilia Corse boss Gigi Dall'Igna at the Jerez circuit, during their test there.
Thursday
I Knew You Were Trouble When You Revved Up; a song in ode to JGR?s engine issues
It's been a rough early go of it for the Joe Gibbs Racing engine department. JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will start at the back of the field for Sunday's Subway 500 at Phoenix International Raceway after each team changed engines.
It's the second weekend of engine issues for the JGR team. Last week at Daytona, both Matt Kenseth and Busch fell out of the 500 while leading within laps of each other because of engine issues.
Hamlin's engine let go during practice on Saturday at Phoenix and on Sunday while testing the engine during normal morning procedures, Busch's team had an issue and decided to change the rocker arm. Busch won Saturday's Nationwide race in a JGR car.
And you know who else knows Trouble? Taylor Swift. So I present "I Knew You Were Trouble When You Revved Up," set, to the tune of Swift's current hit and not-at-all-catchy "I Knew You Were Trouble."
Once upon a time a few engines ago
The 500 was in our sights, we were leading it
You blew up, you blew up, you blew up up up
I guess it happened twice, and I guess it really stunk
And when it blew again, it was just Denny left
Without Matt, without Kyle, without team team team mates
And now it?s gone again, at Phoenix Raceway
And I realize, the blame is on TRD
'Cause I knew you were trouble when you revved up.
So shame on me now
Drove me to laps I?ve never run
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you revved up
So shame on me now
Drove me to laps I?ve never run
Now you?re lying on the cold garage floor
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
No apologies, everyone sees the smoke
Pretend we haven?t had, these bad issues before
You're smoking, you're smoking, you're smoking
Now I heard you broke a rocker arm from my guy Mark Cronquist
A back row starting spot is all I?ll ever be
And now I see, now I see, now I see
You were long broken when you came here
And I realize, we could miss the Chase, yeah!
I knew you were trouble when you revved up.
So shame on me now
Drove me to laps I?ve never run
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you revved up
So shame on me now
Drove me to laps I?ve never run
Now you?re lying on the cold garage floor
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
And the saddest fear comes creeping in
That you never strike Chevy, or Ford, or Dodge, or anything, yeah
I knew you were trouble when you revved up
So shame on me now
Drove me to laps I?ve never run
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you revved up (you were right there, you were right there)
So shame on me now
Drove me to laps I?ve never run
Now you?re lying on the cold garage floor
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
I knew you were trouble when you revved up
Trouble, trouble, trouble
I knew you were trouble when you revved up
Trouble, trouble, trouble
Marco Apicella Mбrio de Araъjo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold
Lewis Hamilton: ?A very unique and difficult situation??
After finishing third in Malaysia Lewis Hamilton admitted that he felt a little awkward that team orders were required to keep him ahead of Nico Rosberg. Mercedes hit fuel consumption problems, although Hamilton suffered more than his team mate. ?We … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/03/25/lewis-hamilton-a-very-unique-and-difficult-situation/
Denny Hamlin out at least five races because of back injury
Denny Hamlin will miss at least five races but won't require surgery after being evaluated on Tuesday after his last-lap crash on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.
In the impact with the inside wall, Hamlin suffered a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra. Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement Tuesday night that Dr. Jerry Petty determined that Hamlin would need approximately six weeks to heal. Petty will make the decision to clear Hamlin to resume racing activity when he is fully healed.
Because of the Sprint Cup Series off weekend this week, the minimum five races Hamlin will miss are Martinsville, Texas, Kansas, Richmond and Talladega. The race following Talladega is the grueling Southern 500 at Darlington before the non-points Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.
[Also: NASCAR Power Rankings: A (Junior) Nation rises]
A replacement driver has not been named for the No. 11 for Martinsville or any other races. The logical in-house option at JGR would be Elliott Sadler, who is running for the team in the Nationwide Series. The team's other full-time Nationwide Series driver, Brian Vickers, is scheduled to be in the No. 55 at Martinsville.
Before you ask, it's highly unlikely that Hamlin will be able to make the Chase in 2013. And, as it should be, that's likely the furthest thing from his or the team's mind.
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Power Rankings: A (Junior) Nation rises
It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we'll opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. Remember, this isn't scientific, as our formula is the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. So let's get on with it, shall we?
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 2): Heeeeeeeere's Junior! He's the only dude to finish in the top five in every race this season and there's absolutely no way he can't be atop Power Rankings as we head into the first week of the offseason. If his potato chips are as good as he's performing, then he's really rocking it right now. And maybe the Gonzaga comparison in last week's rankings was a bit unfair. The Zags collapsed late on Saturday night. Junior surged forward on Sunday.
2. Kasey Kahne (LW: 3): Kahne quickly moved his way to the front after starting 16th and was one of the handful of drivers who tattooed (ha!) the wall off turn two thanks to the oil that was put down from Timmy Hill's car. But unlike most everyone else in that incident, Kahne got back towards the front despite the tape on the right side of his car and only finished 9th because of the drivers behind him that took tires during the final caution flag.
3. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 4): Yes, Vader gets to move up a spot after a 12th place finish. Why? Because he probably didn't deserve to finish 12th. It's kind of like what Junior and Steve Letarte have done over the last few years. And now I could spout a cliche about how those types of finishes define championship teams, but you've heard that before. But, it is true, good teams know how to make salad out of you know what.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW: 2): Does Keselowski now drive for Joe Gibbs Racing? We kid, but it was not a good weekend in the engine department for the champ. He blew an engine in practice and started at the back of the pack and then saw his engine go sour late in the race on Sunday. In between, he had a rocketship of a race car early in Sunday's race. Like Kahne, he hit the wall in Hill's oil. Unlike Kahne, his car wasn't as fast afterwards.
5. Kyle Busch (LW: 6): Is that the first race that you can remember that Busch has come from (relative) nowhere to win? Maybe it's because the images of Busch leading a ton of laps are burned in our brains, but it was a bit of a late laps role reversal for Busch. Of course, he also led 125 laps, so that wasn't all that new. It was just the combination of all the laps led and the win that's so striking.
6. Joey Logano (LW: 8): If Kyle Busch drove the best race on Sunday, Logano was a close second. He hung near the front all day and was the only driver to consistently challenge Busch, and on the low side of the track to boot. And perhaps more importantly, it was a great statement race for Logano to show that he can drive with his former teammates and he wasn't backing down from Denny Hamlin. Though it's not much of a stretch to think that Logano would have driven turns 3 and 4 on lap 200 exactly the same if it wasn't Hamlin on his hip. He was going for the freaking win!
7. Denny Hamlin (LW: 11): Our best wishes go out to Hamlin for a speedy and full recovery from his L1 compression fracture. Back injuries are no fun, especially for someone who already has dealt with them in the past. And hopefully any potential layoff from the car for Hamlon doesn't deprive us of a brewing rivalry that has the potential to be one of NASCAR's best in recent memory and a longstanding one to boot.
8. Carl Edwards (LW: NR): It's almost unfathomable to think that through five races Edwards has as many top five finishes in 2013 (3) as he in 2012. But it's true, thanks to Edwards' fourth place finish on Sunday. Edwards crept near the front, but was never a threat for the win. But you know what? He was near the front. That wasn't uttered often last year.
9. Greg Biffle (LW: 8): Just like the @Kes, Fiffle started at the back because of an engine change. And also like Kes, he moved through the field pretty quickly. Here's where they diverge though: Biffle took tires late and finished sixth. It's an odd-numbered year, which generally means that Biffle is off his game. But so far so good.
10. Paul Menard (LW: 9): ALL ABOARD THE PFM TRAIN! An eighth place finish has Menard... eighth in the points. It ain't spectacular, but it sure is solid, much like Menard's RCR career. At this rate, he's going to be again in contention for the Chase. Except he won't be in the "also has a mathematical shot but we know it's not going to happen" category.
11. Matt Kenseth: (LW: 10): It almost feels unfair to Kenseth for dropping him a spot after finishing seventh, but finishing one spot ahead of the great PFM isn't enough to leapfrog him in Power Rankings this week. And besides, we're trying to elicit a good Matt Kenseth one liner on Twitter out of this. Flatline needs to start tweeting more!
12. Kurt Busch: (LW: NR): Welcome to Power Rankings, Kurt! Did you bring us any furniture? Perhaps that couch you sat on at your media tour stop? Sweet, you did. Have a seat. Now will you be here for the long haul or are you just keeping the cushion warm for Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon or someone else?
Dropped out: AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer
Lucky Dog: Let's give a shoutout to Casey Mears, who finished 15th. He's a spot ahead of Stewart in the standings. You could have gotten really good odds on that in Vegas.
The Tony Stewart DNF: Goes to Tony Stewart again! (Yeah, it wasn't much of a DNF, but that was one heck of a slide backwards) That frustration you saw from Smoke was one fueled by frustration at that freefall through the field over the last 11 laps. Had Smoke finished in the top 10, he might have had some choice words for Logano in his postrace quotes, but that would have been that.
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