Source: http://www.16thandgeorgetown.com/2013/05/bump-day-recap.html
Saturday
Friday
Thursday
Power Rankings: Does anyone want to challenge Jimmie again?
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 now, shall we?
1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1): Johnson recovered nicely from his practice crash and steadily started moving towards the front as soon as the green flag fell. Hell, he was in the top 10 when he started to have engine issues. That's why he gets to stay at the top again this week. Well, maybe it's more because no one else wants to take the top spot from Jimmie yet again.
2. Kurt Busch (LW: 11): Oh why not, right? Who else was going to go here? Three straight top 10s have put Busch in the Chase without having to have a win and his future racing destination is now the silly season topic du jour. And this time, Busch's performance and conduct mean he's got many more options.
3. Kevin Harvick (LW: 8): Lots of movement at the top this week, and Harvick moves back up after three straight finishes outside the top 10. Cupcake got close to Logano over the final laps but wasn't able to get close enough to make a challenge, and when Logano inherited the lead, Harvick's best-case scenario was where he ended up.
4. Kasey Kahne (LW: 5): As the highest finishing Hendrick car, Kahne gets to move up a spot this week. The seventh was good for his Chase chances -- Kahne moved up a spot to 11th -- though he never challenged for the lead. And given that Jeff Gordon was the only other Hendrick driver in the top 20, being the highest finishing Hendrick car wasn't too much of an achievement.
5. Kyle Busch (LW: 2): And once again, the streak lives. Busch was running near the back of the top 10 when he spun and crashed in turn 2. After the team fixed the damage, he spun again, and then his race ended while he was limping the car to pit road with a cut tire.
6. Carl Edwards (LW: 3): Being dropped three spots after finishing 10th is harsh, but Edwards needs to get it in gear if he's going to be mentioned among guys with a championship shot when the Chase begins. He's having a great points season, no doubt, but right now it's one of those seasons that may be a top half Chase finish and nothing more.
7. Matt Kenseth (LW: 6): Kenseth is still on track to start the Chase tied with Johnson, but right now, where would you rank him amongst the 12 driver field? It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if Kenseth won the championship, but it'd be one if he opened Chase betting as a top three favorite.
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 4): Four spots may be harsh for Junior too after he ran well (again) at Michigan and suffered a cut tire, ending his chances at a win. However, he's now getting awfully close to that Chase bubble line. Yes, he's still got a very good shot at making it in, but thinking the opposite was, well, unthinkable a few weeks ago.
9. Clint Bowyer (LW: 9): From first lap spin to fifth place finish. Not shabby at all, and a nice follow up to Watkins Glen. With Johnson's troubles, the gap between he and Bowyer is now less than a full race's worth of points. Just think, Clint could be leading the points after Bristol!
10. Joey Logano (LW: NR): We like to put more stock in the most recent events, so it's a natural tendency to feel that Logano's victory is somehow more significant for the Chase than Martin Truex Jr.'s or Ryan Newman's. But taking recency out of the equation, it's not all that crazy to like Logano's Chase chances the best.
11. Ryan Newman (LW: 7): As long as Truex was inside the top 10, Newman had nothing to worry about as long as a winless driver in 11th-20th didn't get a win. Oops. Now Logano has that win and Truex is out of the top 10. The only scenario that now has Newman likely controlling his own destiny? Winning another race.
1
2. Brad Keselowski (LW: 10): Safe trumped aggressive in back-to-back weeks for Keselowski, though there was much more of an immediate risk to the potential reward at Michigan. A 12th place finish held serve for @Kes, and he's heading to one of his best tracks.
Lucky Dog: Yes, that really was Paul Menard near the front of the field in the final laps. PFM finished fourth.
The DNF: In the non-Hendrick division the award goes to Bobby Labonte, who finished 35th after a cut tire and spin a week after AJ Allmendinger got the team's first top 10 of the year.
Dropped Out: Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR video from Yahoo! Sports:
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Stewart-Haas Racing providing enough silly season drama for all
? Ty Dillon moving to Nationwide Series full time in 2014
? Preseason football to interfere with some NASCAR fans' viewing
Wednesday
Brian Vickers to drive the No. 55 full-time in 2014
After driving for the team in a part-time capacity in 2012 and 2013, Brian Vickers will be the full-time driver for Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 in 2014.
The team announced Vickers' role on Tuesday, as well as the renewal of sponsor Aaron's, which will be the primary sponsor for all 36 races in 2014 and 2015. That full-time sponsorship agreement is a rarity in the era of split sponsorships. It also makes Michael Waltrip Racing the only team in the garage (with the exception of in-house sponsorships) that has two full-time primary sponsors.
?I can?t put into words how this makes me feel,? Vickers said in a team release. ?I?ve really found my home at MWR over the past few years, and I've enjoyed getting to know the Aaron's associates and customers. I am honored that Aaron?s is welcoming me into their family full-time. Knowing that I have a top-notch team and a dedicated sponsor for a full season is a really great feeling every driver dreams about, and like everyone else, I want to win races and win a championship. Michael and co-owner Rob Kauffman are really building something special at MWR and are giving me the tools to accomplish those goals.?
Over the past two seasons, Vickers has shared driving duties of the No. 55 with Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip. In July he won at New Hampshire, passing Tony Stewart late and driving away from him on green-white-checker restart. In 17 starts in those two seasons, Vickers has four top fives and eight top 10s.
Vickers made the Chase in 2009, but in 2010 was sidelined with blood clots. He struggled in 2011 with Red Bull in the team's final season, and was without a full-time ride in 2012. In addition to the part-time schedule for MWR this season, Vickers is driving full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series.
Related video from Yahoo! Sports:
Related coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
? Hot/Not: Was Brad Keselowski too cautious at Watkins Glen?
? Austin Dillon to sub for Tony Stewart at Michigan
? Power Rankings: Kyle Busch crashes the Hendrick party
Tuesday
Monday
Jeff Gordon falls out of the top 10 thanks to an early crash
Sunday's race at Watkins Glen was during the PGA Championship, golf's final major, and just 90 minutes away. If this is not an appropriate time to make a golf analogy, when is?
So here it goes. The cliche goes that the third round of a golf tournament is moving day, as the contenders post good scores to position themselves for the final round. Now, with four races to go before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins at Chicago, the Glen could be seen as the Cup Series' version of moving day.
Jeff Gordon was on the downward trend. After finishing second to Kasey Kahne -- who joins him this week going the wrong way -- Gordon crashed through the esses while following Denny Hamlin in the early stages of the race. As Gordon was behind Hamlin, he said the air just came off the front end of the car -- he drifted into the grass, grazed the right-side guardrail and then hit the left-side one with the front end of the car.
8. Brad Keselowski, 634 points (+4 positions): Second place will do that for you, and Keselowski is temporarily in the safe zone without a victory.
9. Greg Biffle, -7 to Keselowski (+1): About the only time Biffle was the focus was when replays were shown of Max Papis's spin off Biffle's bumper in the inner loop. He finished 16th and is heading to the place where he won in June.
10. Martin Truex Jr., -9 (+4): Other Junior ties Keselowski for biggest mover after finishing third. He's got a win, but being in 10th means he can count the bonus points for that win in the Chase. For now.
11. Kurt Busch, -11 (+2): In the late stages of the race, Kurt was apologizing profusely for his team for screwing up and hitting the wall. Well, he finished ninth.
12. Kasey Kahne, -12 (-4): And here come the guys who moved the wrong direction. Kahne's now in Wild Card spot numero uno after that Craziest Moment.
13. Jeff Gordon, -24 (-4): The number for Gordon is now 15, as that's how many points he's out of the top 10.
14. Ryan Newman, -29 (+1): Newman's now in Wild Card spot #2. He and Biffle can fight for who had the most nondescript and uncovered day. Newman was 14th.
15. Jamie McMurray, -34 (+1): Hey, there's McMurray. After an 11th place finish he's back in the conversation, but without a win, it's one of those conversations that take place to fill the time.
16. Joey Logano, -36 (+1): The same goes for JoLo as it does for McMurray. Solid finishes (7th, in Logano's case) are great, but a win is going to be ultimately necessary.
Conny Andersson Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews
Sunday
Raikkonen has doubts over Lotus pace at Monza | F1 Fanatic Round-up
In the round-up: Raikkonen concerned over low-downforce performance ? Lotus expect to keep him ? Van der Garde says he learned from Canada mistakes
Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/08/31/f1-fanatic-round-up-3108/
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