I can’t win.
Carl Edwards’ Sprint Cup victory on Sunday in Michigan pushed me up to 10th in the NASCAR Media Race to the Chase contest, just 19 points behind the leader.
That’s the good news.
The bad news? I can’t win.
NASCAR has thoughtfully allowed us to look at the picks for everyone in the contest, and Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer and ThatsRacin.com, who is sitting all alone in second place, has chosen the exact same drivers that I have for the final three races.
So, even if I’m right on all of them, I can’t close the 17-point gap between myself and Mr. Utter.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
I had predicted a Roush-Fenway sweep in Michigan and I was technically right … except I thought Greg Biffle would win the Nationwide race. Instead, Biffle’s Roush teammate Edwards swept the weekend by winning both Michigan Races.
Locally, I correctly picked defending champion Chuck Richards would win the Mini-Stock feature on Saturday night at Evergreen Speedway.
Defending champion John Zaretzke won the Super Stock main; my pick was James Mugge who once again ran a good race only to finish third.
My choice for the Super Figure Eight race was John Carlson, who was doing his usual charge-through the field until getting spun out on the right-hand turn. Steve Peters won the race and Carlson finished fifth.
Travis Blackwood won his third Bomber division feature this season, while my pick, points leader Jim Foti, successfully negotiated a white-lap melee to finish second.
Cody Koroshes ran away with the Stinger Eight feature while my pick, Josh Young, finished fifth. Koroshes also won a Mini-Stock heat race and he was leading the Mini-Stock main when his engine blew.
I’ll be back later Monday or on Tuesday with a preview of Mill Creek, Wash., resident Tayler Malsam’s upcoming NASCAR debut at the Craftsman Truck Series race on Wednesday in Bristol, Tenn.
Malsam finished fifth in the ARCA RE/MAX race on Sunday on the mile dirt track at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. I talked to him after the race, but once again forgot to tell him to eat some sweet corn for me.
You can expect I’ll have some thoughts on the Joe Gibbs Racing cheating scandal, too.
Today’s photo shows Bomber division driver Ryan Hansen’s car burning on the backstretch of Evergreen Speedway’s five-eighths mile track.
Hansen and Jill Lang tangled along the frontstretch on lap 6 of Saturday’s feature race. Both hit the wall — leading to a red flag — and Lang’s car had to be removed. Hansen tried to get back to the pits but had to evacuate the car when it caught fire.
Thanks to Tom Vick, Evergreen Speedway track photograher, for sharing the picture.
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