No wins this week for the League, but lots of action at Michigan International Speedway. Harvick seemed to be the class of the field, but In the end it was Johnson... sounds like my bachelor party. But seriously folks...
Top Picks:
Harvick finished 2nd for the 3rd time in 5 races, giving Asleep and Ideal the top pick for the week. A late pit strategy seemed to be the reason Asleep is shorted his 4th win and Ideal his second. Asleep isn't losing any sleep though as he is the biggest mover this week jumping 3 spots to 4th. Ideal jumps up a spot into 9th and is now only 10 points out of 7th. Congrats fellas!
Locked in Chaser, Rowdy, took Keselowski who finished 3rd. The #2 car ran well all day and gave Rowdy a nice points day. A win at this point will not do Rowdy much good... unless she keeps climbing into one of the qualifying spots. Remember the new rules will allow a Wild Card team into the Chase, but they will not receive any Bonus points. Starting with 1000 points as a wild card vs. 1002 (for a 7th Place Qualifier) + (3 wins *3 Bonus Points = 9) = 1011 points to start the Chase. Last year's Championship was decided by 1 motherf*$%ing point, so will she try to keep climbing or coast on into the Chase? I can't wait to find out.
Graziano, Dust and Beef took the 4th Place #27 car of Paul Menard. Menard ran strong all day and had an impressive finish. Graziano stays in 3rd, but is now only 12 points out of the top spot. Dust climbs up a spot into 8th, but he and his 2 wins are only 2 points out of 7th. Beef is in a similar situation to Rowdy, but only 33 points out of a qualifying spot. With 11 races to go before the Chase, will he put the hammer down or slide on in to Chicago with his top drivers available???
Rasta took Kahne (5th). A nice finish, but a win would have been much nicer. With 0 wins and 48 points out of a qualifying spot... more days like this will be a requirement for our defending Champ if he is to make the postseason and defend his title.
Penguin put the jinx on Dale Jr. who was going for his 3rd win of the season and 2nd in a row. However, a 7th place finish was nice enough to get him (me) to within 1 point of 1st place team Chonk. I like the points and will never complain, but I want my 2nd win already.
Pursuit and Shepard took my new favorite driver and rookie of the year runaway (in my opinion) Kyle Larson (8th). Pursuit and his 2 wins have not been in the top 7 since week 3 in Vegas. Week 6 (Martinsville) he was in last and 40 points out of 7th ... that was only 9 races ago. Shepard continues his climb up the leaderboard... now only 21 points out of a qualifying spot with 2 wins.
Eh...:
Piston took 12th place McMurray and slides back a spot to 6th. I have to think team Piston is feeling the pressure of having only the one win and being surrounded by Chase qualifiers and 2 win teams within striking distance. The next few weeks will be interesting to watch how team Piston navigates these rough waters.
Skidmarks and Rusty took 20th place Biffle. Biffle has a great history in Michigan, but disappointed last Sunday. Skid (Locked in Chaser) slides back a spot to 5th and Rusty (2 wins) stays in 12th. Not a great day for two teams in good shape for the post season... but it can always be worse.
DOOTW:
Kiss drops 5 spots this week to 10th with a pretty ballsy Austin Dillon pick. The rookie of the year runner up (in my opinion) finished 30th giving Kiss and his 2 wins the Dutch Oven Award this week.
BSOTW:
Book end bed shitters this week with Chonk (1st) and A-Game (last). I thought Vickers was an excellent pick this week. Mostly because Chonk picked him, but... he qualified in the top 10, had good practices and has ran well this year... even though he hasn't always finished well. Chonk hangs on to the top spot by a point while A-game seems to be fading out of site. The great thing about the rules this year is that he is only 3 wins away from forgetting about the last 15 or so races.
Empty winds up with the most poo in the bed this week with his DQ. The new rules state that he has to take the top available driver and receive 0 points for the week. He basically burns his 1st Gordon pick as Gordon was leading the standings prior to Michigan. Father's Day distractions were the cause... Time for some wins amigo!
Other Ramblings:
Sonoma this week on Sunday. I wonder what Vegas has the over/under on Ambrose picks for our League.
I got my second hole in one last Saturday while playing with my Dad and a former golf pro at our local course. The ball mark was about 5 inches behind the hole and all we saw was the ball taking two hops and disappearing into the hole... simple game. This completes telling everyone I know...
You guys will have to correct me if I'm wrong, but i think A-Game and Rasta collaborated last year for the title. Technically, both defending champs are in a bit of trouble this year and are employing very different strategies. Rasta still can rally and grab a qualifying position, but I have to think A-Game is looking for wins (153 points out of 7th). He is staying poised at the back of the pack, but when will he make his move? He still has a boatload of top drivers left, so I am looking for a big charge from A-Game in the races to come. 3 wins needed with 11 to go...
Good luck everyone!
Cheers!
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