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Making the Grade Watkins Glen
8/12/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Dennis Michelsen "DMIC" (RaceTalkRadio.com)
What an incredible weekend of racing at Watkins Glen! The Daytona Prototypes got things off to a great start on Friday. We saw history with STP returning to Victory Lane on Saturday as Marcos Ambrose won for the first time in NASCAR action. Then the weekend was capped off with Kyle Busch adding another win to his resume! Stroll the grounds at Watkins Glen and some of the greatest drivers in the history of racing will whisper to you. But I am not sure this old track ever saw a weekend quite as great as this one for a long time.
Race Grade: B
While I am not a huge fan of road racing in NASCAR this race was entertaining. Hopefully NASCAR will get Goodyear to come up with a tire that does wear out to reduce the gamesmanship of fuel mileage in Cup action. But the best driver and car combo won on Sunday at the Glen!
F for Gordon and Gordon
What if they held a road course race and the Gordons were slow? Did you ever think you would see such a thing with both Jeff and Robby Gordon battling Paul Menard for 27th place! This is either the sign of the pending Armageddon or advance warning of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series!
D for Bobby Labonte's Luck
Sometimes in racing your day goes from average to horrible in the blink of an eye. When Michael McDowell spun David Gilliland all hell broke loose at Watkins Glen. As the smoke cleared we all stared in amazement that no one was seriously hurt especially Bobby Labonte whose luck had him in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time!
C for Boris Said
Is it possible that in stockcars Boris Said is a very average driver? Once again Said missed out on qualifying because of rain. (Why NASCAR doesn't hold a special Saturday morning qualifying session ONLY for the "Go or Go Home" guys is beyond me) Perhaps Boris is a great teacher and not such a terrific racer in a stockcar.
B for Marcos Ambrose
Kangaroo Meat showed everyone that the trouble with the Wood Brothers is NOT the cars! Put a great road course racer in the car and you will see great results. But if you play the past champion game do not be shocked when your car is slow all day. Now we get to see just how talented Marcos is on the ovals as we head to Michigan.
A for Kyle Busch
If before the season started you tried to place a bet in Vegas that Kyle Busch would sweep the road races the odds would have been astronomical! Kyle Busch might run out of fingers before he runs out of post race celebrations. Did I notice fewer fans booing after the race? Maybe that Kyle Busch bandwagon is filling up after all!
Extra Credit for AJ Allmendinger
It is not very often we see a driver able to race his way back into the Top 35 after missing several races! Since AJ Allmendinger was put back in that seat at the No. 84 this team has finally looked as if they belong at the Cup level. Will AJ be resigned by Red Bull or will they leave him behind and promote Scott Speed? Allmendinger is turning into a pretty decent Cup driver! AJ's average finish is two spots better than his own teammate Brian Vickers over the last five races!
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