Centurion Boats at The Glen Review
by Virginia Vroom of Predictem.com
What a heck of a second half it was at Watkins Glen on Sunday during the running of the Centurion Boats at The Glen. If youre one of the many who love to hate Kyle Busch, this was definitely your weekend. Busch easily swept the second road course victory of the season, with a second or more lead over Tony Stewart and Marcos Ambrose.
The race was rather mediocre in terms of wrecks, but this track allows for a lot more passing than most road courses. And for those who still do not believe you can pass at Watkins Glen, let Marcos Ambrose tell you how he went from 43rd to 3rd. He won the Nationwide race on Saturday and tried his best to get around Stewart for 2nd, but Stewart quickly shut the door. Another driver who I thought potentially could contend for the win ended up mid-pack. Jeff Gordon struggled all day with the handling on his car. I thought being on one of his best tracks may be a turning point for him, but he disappoints again, unable to overcome to challenges his team has faced all year long.
Tony Stewart was very happy with a second place finish, which is almost hard to believe from him. More than anything, Stewart was happy that he maintained his track position and put himself in a place where he could come away with a strong finish and an end to his long run of bad luck. He did not get too overzealous and seemed calm most of the race. Tonys humbleness and calmness is something that were not used to seeing, but it worked yesterday. A good weekend for Gibbs was something that he obviously prided himself with.
As far as the race is concerned, we saw a total of 4 cautions, the last being the worst. The first two cautions were caused by debris with the third caution being Ryan Newman stalled on the track. The last wreck was started by Michael McDowell coming out of turn 11 and getting into David Gilliland. Bobby Labonte and Gilliland suffered the worst of the crash, and Labonte was taken to the hospital as a precautionary move. Other drivers involved include Max Papis, Michael Waltrip, Sam Hornish Jr., Joe Nemecheck, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Newman, and Dave Blaney. The race was red flagged for over 30 minutes as clean-up continued.
After the crash, the race resumed on lap 86, but the field was pretty much already in their finishing positions with only 4 laps to go. Busch pulled the field into turn 1 and easily drove away from the field.
Here are your top 10 from yesterdays race:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Tony Stewart
3. Marcos Ambrose
4. Juan Montoya
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Carl Edwards
10. Kurt Busch
With so many of the top twelve drivers having mediocre days, we saw a few moves in the points, but nothing too significant. There is still a battle for that 12th position, though, and Biffle dropped 2 spots to 10th place. Again, no one is safe yet. In fact, theres less than 100 points between 8th and 12th. These guys need to get into gear! Here are your top 12:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Jeff Burton
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Tony Stewart
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Greg Biffle
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Matt Kenseth
Kenseth has worked his way back into the top 10, but those guys behind him are hungry. This week, were going back to Michigan. This could be a good track for Kenseth and his other Roush teammates. Watch for my preview this week and check out the best picks for the race on Sunday!