The Frontstretch: Bubble Breakdown: Michael Waltrip Racing Finally Delivers by Matt Taliaferro -- Sunday June 17, 2007

October 6th - October 10th, 2008

Monday: Did Regan Smith get the short end of the rulebook at Talladega? And what about Goodyear's explosive weekend? Bryan Davis Keith gives the rundown on NASCAR's low down day in Alabama.

Tuesday: The Voice of Vito tells you why Talladega was a microcosm of the Chase in 2008 - and how that spells championship for Jimmie Johnson.

Wednesday: Did your driver survive the Talladega carnage, or did the Big One spell disaster for his spot in the Top 15? Find out where the Frontstretch Staff rates your favorite in this week's Power Rankings!

Thursday: Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off about whether a broadcaster's interest in a race team constitutes a conflict of interest when they're on the air.

Friday: Our John Potts tells it like it is in racing because he lived it - and he'll share it all with you in Driven to the Past.

Click here for all the David Starr Diaries. Only on the Frontstretch

Click here for all the Rick Crawford Diaries. Only on the Frontstretch

This week on the Frontstretch!
Looking to see when and where your favorite columns (and columnists) pop up every week? Click here to find out all the details!
Advertise With Us!
Want your products and services to be a part of one of the fastest growing racing website on the net? Get all your questions answered about advertising here.
Write for Us
Think you have what it takes to write for the Frontstretch? Follow this link for more information on how you can become a weekly columnist for the site!
Driver Diary Schedule
Want to know when your favorite drivers are telling their latest stories to the Frontstretch? Check out the schedule link to figure out when David Reutimann, David Starr, Rick Crawford, and Kenny Wallace are stopping by.

Subscribe to The Frontstretch Newsletter

Email:

Visit this group

RaceTalkRadio.com

See the rest here!

Bubble Breakdown: Michael Waltrip Racing Finally Delivers

Tracking The Top 35 In Nextel Cup Owner Points · Matt Taliaferro · Sunday June 17, 2007

Although five teams on "Bubble Watch" secured Top 15 finishes at this weekend's Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway, only one â€” Robby Gordon Motorsports â€” was able to make meaningful movement in the owner points. Who would have imagined that a race at Michigan that was unimpeded by gas mileage issues would net Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Paul Menard, and David Reutimann prime property on the final scoring pylon? Unfortunately, those four are with teams that appear to be too far back for it to matter in the Top 35 season standings.

For the rest of the Bubble Boys, it was more of the same this weekend: Mediocre finishes that witnessed no movement in positions 35 through 37.

Biggest Mover(s)
Technically, the biggest mover was David Reutimann, whose impressive 15th-place run vaulted him three spots to 41st. Realistically though, Michael Waltrip's 10th was the jaw dropper of the week and gives the beleaguered Toyota point man a giant boost in confidence. However, don’t get visions of the Top 35 dancing in your head quite yet. Waltrip’s No. 55 remains mired in 48th, 665 markers and a blizzard in hell from catching the No. 70 team and Johnny Sauter in 35th.

David Reutimann (No. 00 team) â€” Moved from 44th to 41st in owner points.

Honorable Mention
Everyone's favorite single-car owner/driver, Robby Gordon, wheeled it to a 13th-place finish, his second Top 15 run in the past three races. That gained him one spot in the standings to 31st, expanding his cushion over the 35th-place team of No. 70 and Johnny Sauter to 134 points.

Biggest Loser(s)
It's feast or famine for Brian Vickers and his merry band of bulls, and this week was famine. Vickers was involved in Michigan's version of "The Big One" on lap 75 and finished 41st. That hit dropped the No. 83 team two spots in the owner rankings, to 40th.

Honorable Mention
Ricky Rudd and the No. 88 team was a disappointing 22nd and lost a spot to their No. 38 brethren. Rudd’s No. 88 now sits a perilous 68 points ahead of No. 70 and that 35th-place bubble standing.

Tracking Toyota
Michigan was much kinder to you when you drove a Ford, huh Dale? Four-time MIS winner Dale Jarrett did not qualify for this week’s event, a misfortune which dropped him to 42nd in owner points. Ditto for 2005 victor Jeremy Mayfield, who I hear may be getting a little antsy at BDR.

But aside from the usual slate of DNQs, there was plenty of reason to celebrate within Toyota’s camp this week. On the whole, this may have been Michael Waltrip Racing's best showing since the Gatorade Duels, as both Waltrip (10th) and David Reutimann (15th) notched Top 15 runs. Dave Blaney snuck in 18th, his third Top 20 of the year. However, Team Red Bull struggled once again, finishing 31st (A.J. Allmendinger ) and 41st (Brian Vickers).

Breaking Down the Bubble

Pos	Owner	Car #	Driver	Points	Points +/- of 35th Place
31	Robby Gordon Motorsports	7	Robby Gordon	1,290	+134
32	Haas CNC Racing	66	Jeff Green	1,263	+107
33	Robert Yates Racing	38	David Gilliland	1,235	+79
34	Robert Yates Racing	88	Ricky Rudd	1,224	+68
35	Haas CNC Racing	70	Johnny Sauter	1,156	0
36	Evernham Motorsports	10	Scott Riggs	1,115	-41
37	Bill Davis Racing	22	Dave Blaney	1,038	-118
38	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	15	Paul Menard	1,004	-152
39	Glen Wood	21	Bill Elliott Ken Schrader Jon Wood	961	-195
40	Team Red Bull	83	Brian Vickers	946	-210
41	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	David Reutimann	771	-385
42	Michael Waltrip Racing	44	Dale Jarrett	756	-400
43	James Finch / Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Ward Burton	716	-440
44	Furniture Row Racing	78	Kenny Wallace	707	-449
45	Team Red Bull	84	A.J. Allmendinger	591	-565
46	Bill Davis Racing	36	Jeremy Mayfield	589	-567
47	BAM Racing	49	Mike Bliss	537	-619
48	Michael Waltrip Racing	55	Michael Waltrip	491	-665
49	Front Row Motorsports	37	Kevin LePage	363	-793

Still haven’t joined the Frontstretch Forums? Here’s a peek at what you’re
missing this week:

How do you feel about A.J. Allmendinger’s release from Red Bull Racing?

Are you surprised to see Paul Menard leaving DEI?

If you’d prefer to stay out of controversial NASCAR topics, feel free to join us in The Infield, where we talk about everything from politics to stick and ball sports to jokes and odd news from around the world.

And for those of you that might visit The Frontstretch Forums to kill time, feel free to join in our Games forum. It’s the perfect place to waste away countless hours playing word association, hangman, and much, much more.

Click here to join the forums and tell us what you think. Don’t miss out on a chance to share your opinion with a growing community of fans just like you!

Message Board Quote of the Week: “I don’t see how Rusty + DEI + COT = competitive on the racetrack in 2009. I do see how Rusty could hook a sponsor, though, which DEI needs more than ever with Paul Menard leaving and taking the Menards money with him.” Scott B on rumors that Rusty Wallace would be making a return to NASCAR behind the wheel of a DEI-owned machine

Judy Ette
06/18/2007 09:55 AM
permalink

Way to go Mikey!! You did a great job. Hope to see you in more races soon!

4x4s
06/18/2007 11:27 AM
permalink

Just curious – why are the standings you cite here different from those on the Nascar on-line web site? For example, NOL shows Robby Gordon in 29th, not 31st as you state here. Also, NOL has Micheal Waltrip at 51st, while you list him here at 48th.

Who’s got the correct standings?

Paul
06/18/2007 02:05 PM
permalink

Hey 4X4s,

Did you happen to notice that NOL only goes through Pocono?

Matt T. -- FS Staff
06/18/2007 02:24 PM
permalink

Just another reason to not bother with NOL, 4X4. Here you can get timely info without the obvious bias!
Paul is correct: NOLâ€™s standings had not been updated; you were viewing the owner points as of Pocono.

â€” Matt T.

4x4s
06/18/2007 06:58 PM
permalink

Well, I just checked again and the NOL site says “Official Standings after the Citizens Bank 400 at MIS”, and still shows different than what you show here.

Still confused. I’d certainly like to trust you here on FS (great site, good reporters, nice columns) but I don’t see any full standings listed here either.

Ren
06/18/2007 09:29 PM
permalink

You’re either looking at the driver points and not the owner points, or your looking at the owners they have listed. We’re listing the owners as the team they race for, not the name on the entry sheet.

ChromeHorn
06/18/2007 09:39 PM
permalink

I gotcha 4X4. You are viewing the Driver Points, not the Owner Points. Owners are awarded points based on the performance of their cars as well. The Top 35 cars (not necessarily drivers) are guaranteed a spot in each week’s race. Here’s the full rundown is listed here

Have a question for Matt's Fanning the Flames?>Just click here! and Matt may answer YOUR question right here on the Frontstretch.

Like what you see from Matt? Well you're going to love what you hear from Host Patrick Snow, Matt and Frontstretch's own Tom Bowles every week on the Athlon Inside Racing Powered by Pepsi podcast!

Contact Matt Taliaferro