The Frontstretch: And Then There Were Eight by Dennis Michelsen -- Monday September 18, 2006

Go to site navigation Go to article

And Then There Were Eight

Making the Grade : New Hampshire · Dennis Michelsen · Monday September 18, 2006

 

Pace Laps

Get well soon, Benny! We need you to keep the peace in the television booth!

The power outage at New Hampshire International Speedway was responsible for a weird opening ceremony at the track…Bill Weber did a good job of explaining that to everyone.

Can we spend just a few minutes mentioning the non-Chasers, please? Otherwise, sponsors will leave, and we will end up with fewer quality teams in a few years!

Race Grade: B-
There is no need for two races at New Hampshire International Speedway. Yes, they sell out, but so would a race at Kentucky Speedway, and the racing would be better. By NHIS standards, this was an entertaining race, however.

F for Bill Weber
Can he actually look out the window instead of only telling us what is on our television screen? Any reasonably intelligent fan can figure out what is going on right in front of them! Bottom line, it takes a quality play-by-play announcer to handle the job right, and Bill hasn’t been living up to that standard…unless, as suggested on www.doindonuts.com, somebody spraypainted his windows!

D for Jeff Green's Luck
It has been a rough year for the Best Buy team and Jeff Green, and once again, Green was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and took a huge hit as a result. Completing just two laps after his accident with Kyle Busch, Green finished 43rd.

C for Kasey Kahne
After facing constant pressure to race his way into the Chase, it was inevitable for Kahne to have a stale race to start the playoffs. So much was made about this team being the master of the 1.5-mile track and the fact there are five such tracks in the Chase; but if this team runs like they did Sunday on the other five tracks, they might be too far behind to make a run for a title before the 1.5-milers even arrive on the schedule.

B for Dave Blaney
A second Top 10 in a row for a team that has struggled all season is certainly worth this mention. The rabid fans of Dave Blaney, called the “Blaniacs,” will be partying big time all week! This might be one of the most underrated drivers in NASCAR, so watch out next year if the new Toyotas are fast out of the box!

A for Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick is in the “Zone,” that mythical place where every move turns into gold! When he stuffed his car in between Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin only 36 laps into a 300-lap event, you knew Harvick was hungry for the win! It is so refreshing to see a guy in the Chase racing for a win instead of points racing.

DON’T LET THE FINAL WEEKEND OF SILLY SEASON PASS YOU BY!

The Frontstretch Newsletter’s got you covered all weekend long as Managing Editor Tom Bowles gives you all the latest news from Homestead. And if you don’t get the Newsletter… now’s your chance to sign up. It’s action-packed with the latest in breaking news, commentary, and driver features from your favorite writers … and it gets sent FREE right into your email inbox! Click here to jump on board with content you won’t see anywhere else on the site.

 

©2000 - 2008 Dennis Michelsen and Frontstetch.com. Thanks for visiting the Frontstretch!

 

Chris2
09/19/2006 03:31 PM
permalink

Dennis, As much as I was excited to see Kevin Harvick racing for the win it worried me. If other drivers started to race for the win what would happen to points racing? I’d have to think that NASCAR would have to come out with the Chase II or something to award points to the guy that runs the safest during the week..

Lori
09/19/2006 08:30 PM
permalink

What covered Weber’s window was the splatter from the remains of Barney

 

Dennis no longer contributes to the Frontstretch, but you can Dennis's commentary at his website bio and archive page.