Richmond Cup Race Gets a B Minus

What a strange night at Richmond International Raceway. It was a pretty decent race, but man, one of the strangest things I've ever seen happen during a race, happened tonight. We're used to seeing five or six cars lose some set up during the race, but EVERYONE, and I mean almost at the exact same time, just went away. Almost every car on the track was running IDENTICAL SPEEDS. Therefore, no one could pass, no one could race, the guys were just hanging on for dear life. While FOX did an excellent job of mentioning this in their coverage, none of the "experts" even attempted to allude as to the cause of this phenomena. It was most likely the temperature change, but they could have at least told us that, and speculated as to why it hit EVERYONE at once.

In case you missed it, Kyle Busch won again. YAAAAAAAWN. Jeff Gordon finished second again. This is not a recording.

Now, a new feature: I'm going to hand out my awards, good and bad, for every race for the remainder of the season. I'm going to call them the RJ's (clever, huh?) until someone emails me with a better idea. And Yes, You will get your credit. So, without further adieu, here are the RJ's for the race that was Richmond:

THE WHAT THE $%&# DO YOU MEAN I FINISHED SECOND AGAIN? AWARD: Jeff Gordon. Man, this guy has had strong cars all year long, and he's mad and he's hungry. That makes him very dangerous to his fellow competitors at Darlington next week, where he runs very, VERY well.

THE IF IT WEREN'T FOR BAD LUCK I'D HAVE NO LUCK AT ALL AWARD: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He's racing around, minding his own business when some incidental, and unintentional contact caused him to cut down a tire, make an unscheduled pit stop and finish three laps down. He was having a solid, rebounding season up to this point. I hope he doesn't let this setback derail the tremendous progress he and that team have made.

THE FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE RACE AWARD: Jeff Burton leading forty-something laps and finishing 4th. It was good to see "The Mayor" running well again. The whole RCR gang has stepped it up this year and they are going to win some races.

THE I THINK I'M GONNA BARF AWARD: Seeing Kyle Busch in Victory Lane again. I don't know him personally of course, but there is something about him as a driver that makes me want to walk in front of a speeding bus.

COOLEST PAINT SCHEME OF THE RACE AWARD: Kasey Khane, running the retro scheme that Darrell Waltrip won the championship with 25 years ago. D.W. kind of embarassed himself when he asked Khane if he won the race, if he could join him in Victory Lane. Khane was gracious, and said Yes. What was he supposed to do being put on the spot on National television? Tell Him, Hell, No. Keep your old, retired ass in the booth where it belongs! Just a joke D.W. You bring more to the race than anyone, with the exception of Mike Joy.

THE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME AWARD: Kevin Harvick. After a strong start to the season, and then a two or three week drop off, he's back on top of the point standings. What do you want to bet that if he keeps this up, the wondering where he's going to race next season stops by the time the chase starts, and he's got a long-term deal at RCR, HMMMMMMMM?

THE HEARTBREAK AWARD: Mark Martin. After what he accomplished last year, it's sad to see him having the year he's had so far. I'm not giving up on him, it's just sad to see such a class act run in to so much garbage that's not even his fault. But I will have to put his Pit Road speeding penalty on him, though.

THE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE &%#@ YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AWARD: I'm gonna have to be fair and give this one to..........ME. I picked Tony Stewart to win, and he finished 24th, one lap down. Don't base your fantasy picks on me, gang.

Well, that does it for Richmond. On to Darlington next week. The Track Too Tough To Tame. The Lady In Black. The Darlington Stripe. This joint never fails to put on a great show. It's the first Superspeedway in NASCAR history. It's special. And it's Saturday night under the lights again.

My Pick: Jeff Gordon. He wants it. And even though I'm not a fan, he deserves it. He's worked way too hard to get his old magic back to finish second again.

Hope you all had a super weekend and enjoyed the race. We'll talk to you later this week.