STRs, Week 4
Small Team fans have to be pulling for Brian Vickers, whose ninth-place finish at Atlanta vaulted him into ninth in the standings. And new teammate Mike Skinner shows why team owners love the retreads: He got the 84 in the race (something that AJA couldn't do) and brought it home three laps down 27th.
In less positive news, the Bill Davis No. 27 team appears DOA - no sponsorship, and they're not entered at Bristol. Jacques Villa-who?
Also, the pressure's on for a lot of the Small Teamers because the top 35 gets reset for the 2008 after this season. Some Big Team Drivers (McMurray and Waltrip) are a little too close to the cutoff, and Mayfield (34th) and Yeley (96th) don't have much room to maneuver. But Dave Blaney (37th), Kyle Petty (40th), Ken Schrader (41st), Furniture Row Joe (42nd), Mike Skinner (43rd) and Bill Elliott (44th) are going to have to drive like madmen or risk being on the wrong side of the line. (Chances are, they will be.) Making their jobs harder is that a lot of established teams (the 77, the 40 and the 01) are at risk of losing their top 35 status that carried over from last year, which means they have a lot of incentive to bang their way to the front.
Yeah, it could be crazy, especially if some drivers have figured out Bristol's new banking and others haven't.
The Small Team Rankings are after the jump.
1--ROBBY GORDON
STR: 59.6
Last week: First
2--HAAS CNC
STR: 55.1
Last week: Third
3--YATES
STR: 54.1
Last week: Second
4--PETTY
STR: 52.2
Last week: Fourth
5--HALL OF FAME
STR: 45.4
Last week: Fifth
6--RED BULL
STR: 44.8
Last week: Sixth
7--BILL DAVIS
STR: 33.4
Last week: Seventh
8--FURNITURE ROW
STR: 24.8
Last week: 10th
9--BAM
STR: 17.2
Last week: Eighth
10--FRONT ROW
STR: 16.9
Last week: Ninth
11--WOOD BROTHERS
STR: 13.5
Last week: 11th