Matt's Thread of Racing...

[Soundwave]

Great racing yesterday. Congrats to Kevin Harvick for finally getting that monkey off his back. Most competitive race Nascar has ever had. If McMurray only raced at Daytona and Talladega he would win the points championship. He's a terrific plate racer.


My pick to win at Richmond is Kyle Busch.

 

[Alex The Great]

My money is on Jeff Gordon. You know that poor bastard wants a win, he should have won a couple times already this season, so expect Jeff to go all out

 

[El_Citrus]

My money would be on Jeff Gordon and Jr. The past two tracks have been good to Jr., and he's won at Richmond in the past.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

I'm gonna go with Hamlin.

 

[El_Citrus]

Hamlin is a definite favorite for this race. He had the best car at Dega and won Martinsville and Texas. Gordon though had near wins at Mville, Phoenix, and had the dominant car at Texas. He was on the charge at Dega before being cut off by Johnson, so he is hungry and due for a win.

 

[Soundwave]

For a darkhorse i'd go with Clint Bowyer.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

My darkhorse would be Ryan Newman. I know he won already, but it was through pit strategy.

 

[Soundwave]

My darkhorse would be Ryan Newman. I know he won already, but it was through pit strategy.

Newman has a fairly decent record on short tracks. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see either of the Stewart-Haas cars in Victory Lane this week.

 

[El_Citrus]

This car ought to look pretty good running out there in the July Daytona race:

Jr's driving it in the nationwide race, which is also they debut of their COT's, which look great, btw.

 

[El_Citrus]

Gordon loses another race. That's the fourth out of five races that he should have won and lost in the closing laps. I would hate to be the guy who runs out there in 20th all day every week, but I'd hate to be Gordon right now as well with FOUR wins left on the table.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Congrats to Kyle. I was at the bar and saw Gordon was passed on the final restart. He's gonna be in victory lane soon enough.

 

[Soundwave]

I have a feeling Gordon's gonna break through and win at Darlington on Saturday night. He knows that track better than anyone else and he's running too well to keep having this string of bad luck.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

I have to agree about Gordon being in victory lane this Saturday. He's running well and deserves a victory. It would be nice to see him get a victory at a historic race track like Darlington.


I'm just loving this season so far. Double file restarts, G-W-C finishes and the competition has been more competitive than ever. It seems like anybody can win these days.

 

[El_Citrus]

Agreed. I can't see Gordon not being in a position to win this race at Darlington. I'm curious to see how Montoya does this weekend. He was 21st in points at one time and is now only 104 out of the Chase. He and Mark Martin have come on strong to bounce up in the points.

I have a feeling Gordon could have the race at Darlington that Kyle Busch had at Richmond and Denny Hamlin had a year before and just spank the entire field.

 

[Soundwave]

I can see Montoya heating up over the summer and maybe even getting a win or two, especially with the road courses coming up and the Brickyard. Those are some of his best tracks.

 

[El_Citrus]

Montoya will be my pick to win the Brickyard this year. I wonder if haters will still say he can't win on an oval track if he does win at Indy, since Indy is technically a big rectangle.

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah if not for a speeding penalty he would have won easily at the Brickyard last year. He will eventually get a win on an oval. He's been close a few times. It's only a matter of time before he breaks through.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Watch out for Jeff Burton tonight. Just have that feeling he'll be in victory lane.

 

[El_Citrus]

You hush with your feelings, NYS. You've made enough correct predictions this season, already. Jeff Gordon is going to win this race tonight because I picked him earlier in the week and it's time I got one right.

Ouch. Hard wreck into Johnson's driver door. Great to see him walk away.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

And coincidentally , the two drivers we picked are running 1-2.

 

[El_Citrus]

I think I'm gonna schedule myself for knee surgery and head for the nearest race track. Denny Hamlin wins AGAIN. Sweeps Darlington on a bad knee.

He is definitely looking like the contender to dethroning Jimmie Johnson that many, including NYS, were expecting him to be. Great race for JMac and Montoya as well. Gordon gets left wondering what could have been once AGAIN.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

This race should have came down to Gordon and Burton if it wasn't for pit road mistakes. Congrats to Hamlin. This is a race car driver that deserves all this success. It's nice to see him win a different tracks for a change.

Great night for EGR. McMurray has really surprised me this season. I expected him to run decent, but he's really showing he can contend for wins. I'm also impressed with MWR. Truex and Reutimann show strong performances week in and week out.

 

[El_Citrus]

This year looks like everyone has finally caught up to Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports except for Roush. Gibbs is contending for a championship, Childress is back, MWR is improving, and EGR is showing strong, but Roush is still miles behind it seems.

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Roush has definetely took a step back. This was a team that won 11 races in 2008. Then 3 in 2009. Now they're winless to start the season. They've fallen off the radar.

 

[El_Citrus]

It's weird that they have 3 out of 4 in the Chase, yet don't seem to be competitive at all. Then again, Earnhardt is barely back into the Chase, and he's been running mediocre to horrible this season other than Daytona and Dega, with a few sparks at Texas and other tracks.

Gibbs or Childress are going to have to be the ones to upset Johnson, though Gordon is looking to be in 2001 form, despite not having the wins yet.