Small Team Rankings - Week 2
Things were looking better in the world of the Small Teams:
* The second straight week with three Small Teams finishing in the top 20
* Robby Gordon's 18th-place finish boosted him into 32nd in owner points, which takes a little pressure off.
* If the Chase started today, Red Cow's Brian Vickers would be in.
* John Andretti and Joe Nemechek are *both* ahead of Casey Mears in the driver standings.
You know, it would be accurate to note that a few Small Teams are in trouble. The 28 (Yates), 22 (Bill Davis), the 21 (Wood Bros.) and the 45
(c'mon, Kyle, you can drive faster) are on the wrong side of 35th place in the owners standings. But for now, let's just celebrate the fact that most every Small Team driver is higher up in the standings than Mears.
Something tells me that Mister Hendrick is going to want a driver who can wheel the 5 rather than someone who looks good in his teammate's wedding pictures.
The Small Team Rankings after the jump...
1--ROBBY GORDON
Small Team Ranking: 72.6
Last week: 1st
Wins: 0
Driver: 7-R. Gordon
My take: The last thing Robby needs is to have to qualify on speed every week.
2--YATES
STR: 57.4
Last week: 4th
Wins: 0
Drivers: 28-Kvapil, 38-Gilliland
My take: I'm not sure if this means these guys are doing well or if everyone else is that bad. (I think it's the latter.)
3--PETTY
STR: 49.7
Last week: 2nd
Wins: 0
Drivers: 43-B. Labonte, 45-K. Petty
My take: I didn't expect the two Petty teams to show much at California. Expect much the same at Vegas on Sunday, especially from Kyle.
4--HAAS CNC
STR: 46.5
Last week: 5th
Wins: 0
Driver: 66-Riggs, 70-Mayfield
My take: Both of these guys have to be feeling good. A year ago, Riggs was 44th in points, and Mayfield hadn't made a race.
The rest:
5--HALL OF FAME: 46.0 (3rd last week)
Driver: 96-Yeley
6--RED BULL: 40.4 (6th last week)
Drivers: 83-Vickers, 84-Allmendinger
7--FRONT ROW: 33.7 (7th last week)
Driver: 34-Andretti
8--FURNITURE ROW: 29.2 (8th last week)
Driver: 78-Furniture Row Joe
9--WOOD BROTHERS: 27.0 (not ranked last week)
Driver: 21-Elliott (for now)
10--BILL DAVIS: 23.9 (9th last week)
Drivers: 22-Blaney, 23/27-cast of thousands
Comments (3)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
Plus Casey took out another Hendrick teammate, Junior, out at Calie when he couldn't control his car after driving through a puddle of water, and prior to that, wrecked at Daytona.
Casey better start putting some good numbers up or he'll be seeking a new ride in 2009.
Posted on February 29, 2008 9:04 AM
I agree, Jon. I wonder if the Hendrick camp is having second thoughts about the driver it chose to let go?
I'm not a fan of Kyle Busch, but, man, the kid can drive just about anything. And really, really fast, too.
Posted on February 29, 2008 9:15 AM
Sometimes being told you aren't good enough to drive for a company can make you get focused real fast.
Four years and four wins in excellent equipment apparently wasn't good enough for Rick knowing that the guy could do better.
Kyle always impressed me as being the maverick and sometimes those guys aren't teachable in the ways how an org does business and wins races. It wasn't a good fit and Rick knew it.
Yeah Kyle can drive all over the place, three wide, and at the end of the day that poor worn out car & tires ain't got the goods to bring it into the winners circle. Everyone goes oohh and ahhh while he's doing it, but someone else is getting the oohhs and aahhs in the winners circle.
Kyle needs to be more patient and stop slinging the car all around the track. Patience and taking care of your equipment will win you more races than vrooming and slip sliding trying to get to the front.
Posted on February 29, 2008 10:24 AM