No sleep 'til Daytona

Some off-season musings as I try to figure out what to do until Speedweeks arrives in mid-February.
The Deserving Winner

Kevin  Harvick  led  nearly more than 600 laps than
the next  driver during the  2015 season.

Sure there were some drawbacks about the new Chase format and sure there were a few guys in there who really didn't have a chance to win the whole thing. But in the end, at least this time, the most dominant driver throughout the entire season did win the title in Kevin Harvck. When looking at the list of lap leaders for the season, Harvick led 2,137 laps for the 36 points races, 597 more than the next driver, Brad Keselowski. And lets not forget that Harvick tied for the second most wins on the season, just behind Keselowski's six. With a little luck, Harvick could have well won eight or nine races. The point is, he consistently had the fastest car throughout the season, and appropriately he won the title. So it all worked out . . . this time.
The Irony Factor
The champion, however, could have very easily been Ryan Newman, who finished second to Harvick at Homestead and second in the Chase. The irony would have been that in a season where there was more emphasis on winning then ever before, a winless driver could have won the title. Now, it's hard not to like Ryan Newman, don't get me wrong, but if say, Harvick had finished third, just behind Newman at Homestead to give No. 31 the title, a driver who led just 41 laps throughout the whole season would be the champion. And while a good portion of fans could not have helped but be happy for Newman, he was not close to being a dominant driver not only for the season, but for any race. That would have had a lot of NASCAR fans waving a red flag on the new Chase format. Some still are waving that red flag, and when change comes, that will always be the case. But the last race did have drama by design, and that's not all bad.
That No. 46 thing

Jeff Gordon nearly drove the No. 46 car, but luckily it didn't happen.

Former Jeff Gordon crew chief Ray Evernham revealed on twitter this past week that Jeff Gordon nearly drove the No. 46 car, but Hendrick Motorsports could not get the number approved because of licensing stipulation with the NASCAR movie Days of Thunder. The left the team to settle for the now famous No. 24. And when it comes to sports overall, it was a bit of poetic justice that one of NASCAR's all-time greats ended up with what is an all-time great number. Some of the other famous athletes to wear No. 24 are Willlie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr in baseball, Future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant in the NBA and current NFL star running back Marshawn Lynch. It was just a nice anecdote by Evernham and not a reason to cause panic. It's funny how things don't work out as planned every now and then, but sometimes it's for the best.
Will Gas Prices Matter?
One of the reasons that was heard in recent years for the general attendance drop was that gas prices made it more difficult for fans to make long drives to get to races. So, now, with gas prices hitting nearly five-year lows, it will be interesting to see if at least some fans return to the stands due to the money they are not spending on gas. Maybe that, combined with the special ticket offers that many tracks offer and the stands that some tracks are removing, will help make the stands at least look a little more full at some places in 2015.
Will no testing narrow gap?
We know for sure that Sprint Cup teams not being able to test at tracks this year will save teams money. According to Michael Waltrip, it will save his team well over $1 million, so no matter how big a team is, that's not pocket change. The big question though is will the no testing rule close the gap between the big budget and smaller teams. Unfortunately, that answer is still probably no. The issue is that the big teams are still the ones that can afford to put their cars in wind tunnels to check the aerodynamics. They are also the ones that can afford to run their engines in the shop longer to see how long they will last or find where a weak part may develop. Let's face it, the big money teams will spend whatever they need to get an advantage, no matter what the rules package is. Maybe it will help the smaller teams a little, by taking away one piece of the puzzle that bigger teams had. But it will still be an uphill battle for the little guys.
Osborne back on the box

Bob Osborne will be an experienced voice for  Ricky Stenhouse  Jr.

In all of the shuffling at Roush-Femway, it was good to hear that Bob Osborne will be back atop the pit box as a crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Osborne came within one point of being a championship crew chief for Carl Edwards in 2011. He understands what it takes to win and also what it takes to be good for the long haul. And  let's face it, Stenhouse's results were disappointing in 2014. He had just one top five finish and just four other top 10 finishes in his 35 races. And he finished 27th in points and led zero  laps this season. That's a regression from his  rookie season when he was 19th in points. So maybe Osborne can bring along Stenhouse, who needs to prove  he can be competitive on a consistent basis this year. And,yes, Osborne is first-class person, too, and that never hurts. This team's goal should be to win a race in 2015.
No sleep 'til Daytona
Friday makes it 43 days until the Daytona 500. It seems like forever right now in the midst of the snow and extreme cold in much of the country. But it will be here before you know it. And that's the best news of the day.

Numbers no longer slumbering for MWR

Seven is the perfect number, and to paraphrase the late and great song writer Larry Norman, those who aren't for real in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings will now begin to slumber.
The Sprint Cup series is just under one fifth of the way through the season, just completing its seventh race Saturday night at Texas. And while it's common for two or three drivers to start off the season strong in the first couple of races and then fade, by now we are getting an idea of who the real contenders are.
We've got many of the usual teams in the top 10 with the Roushkateers of Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, the Hendrick guys of Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Stewart-Haas duo of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, and Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick.
Those teams and drivers are expected be there. If they weren't at least in the top 12, many would be asking what has gone wrong.
But the team to do a lot of things right so far this season is Michael Waltrip Racing. The Toyota-powered team has Martin Truex Jr. in the fourth spot in the standings, 20 behind Biffle and Clint Bowyer in 10th. And if you go by the owners points, the No. 55 car shared by Waltrip, Mark Martin and Brian Vickers is seventh in points.
Thanks to NASCAR's statistics these days, there's evidence that at least one, if not more, of Waltrip's drivers will be around to stay when it comes to the final 10 races, otherwise known as the Chase for the Championship.
Truex Jr. is just one of three drivers to run all of the 2,295 possible laps this season, along with Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr., who are tied for second in the points standings. Another good sign for Truex Jr. is that he has run the most laps inside the top 15 this season at 1996, just over 88 percent.
That means Truex Jr. hasn't been hanging around the top 20 in some of these races, and then just slipping into the top 10 or top 15 just because of others' misfortunes at the end of the race. Truex Jr. is also second in laps run on the lead lap, at just over 98 percent, just behind Kenseth.
Another good sign for Waltrip Racing is that Martin has run 78.5 percent of his laps in the top 15, too. And even though he has not driven in two races (Bristol and Martinsville) he is still 20th in points. Martin is scheduled to run 26 races this season. If he runs well enough to finish in the top 20 in points, and wins two races, he could make the Chase. It's not likely, but stranger things have happened.
And of course there is Bowyer, who is 10th in the standings and has run nearly 70 percent of his laps in the top 15 and is certainly capable of winning at any track. And that could happen this week as Kansas is considered his home track.
Michael Waltrip Racing can't quite be called an elite team yet when it comes to comparing it with Hendrick, Roush or Gibbs. That's because you can't be considered truly elite until you win a title
There's no doubt Waltrip Racing has come a long way since its embarrassing debut at Daytona in 2007, where penalties cost the team 100 points (that was under the old points system).
The numbers undoubtedly tell us the team is gaining on the rest of the field. The question is not if the team will make that key winning pass, but when.
That's when the numbers will be just perfect for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Night time is right time in Texas ... and picks

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series moves into Texas for its first scheduled night race of the season (Daytona eventually became a night race) at 7:30 Saturday on FOX. There's no doubt that racing at night affects the surface and how the cars handle. Texas is a fast track, so the teams able to make adjustments depending on the temperature of track will likely find success.
There's no doubt that the Roushkateers have found their share of success at Texas. Roush cars have won eight times in the Lone Star State, including the last night race there last spring. So there will likely be a theme in the picks this week, but there are also a few who could interrupt the Roush/Ford party, too.
So, here we go:
Matt Kenseth - Yes, he won the last night race here last year and has been generally strong this spring. He also won under the lights on the fast track at Daytona, so it's hard not to pick him here where he has an average finish of 8.7.
Greg Biffle - He's hanging on to the points lead, six ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He needs a strong showing at Texas and it's quite possible for him. He has one win there and six top fives. But his average finish is 17.2, so it's kind of an all or nothing deal for him as he also has four DNFs.
Tony Stewart - He won the fall race at Texas and has two wins this season. He, along with a few others, are just 12 points out of the series points lead. It's difficult not to pick him these days.
Denny Hamlin - He's got two wins at Texas and five top fives in his 13 starts there. And with Darian Grubb as he crew chief, this is a team that will be able to make key in-race adjustments.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - He's got to get a win sometime and Texas has been good to him. He has one win in 19 starts and has been competitive this season. He actually may be ready to break through and end that 135-race winless streak.
Shoulda, woulda, coulda - Carl Edwards. He's had plenty of success at Texas, with three wins and a runnerup finish to Stewart in the fall race last year. And while this season has not been a disaster (see Kasey Kahne as exhibit A for that), he still has not led a lap, which is a bit alarming for someone who's accustomed to running up front. So, I couldn't pull the trigger on Edwards wearing the six-shooters in Victory Lane this week.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Here's a review of the picks from two weeks ago at Martinsville and how they finished.
Tony Stewart - 7th. Never was a serious contender to win and late wreck by others helped his finish.
Denny Hamlin - 6th. He was in the mix for a while, but didn't have as fast of car as Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon.
Jimmie Johnson - 12th. He very well could have won the race as he was battling Gordon in the final laps before the big wreck took him out of the picture. Not as disastrous of a finish as it could have been for him.
Kevin Harvick - 19th. He was somewhat strong early, leading 21 laps, but clearly didn't make the adjustments to stay with the frontrunners.
Brian Vickers - 18th. He had looked so good on the concrete at Bristol, finishing fifth, but it didn't translate into a contending kind of day on the mixed surface at Martinsville.
Here's a look at my stats after six races and 30 picks.

1 win
7 top fives
6 top 10s

Grade for the week: B minus. Had it not been for the late yellow, Johnson would have won or finished second. Harvick was the big disappointment here.

One Last Thing: When looking the numbers after six races this season, there's one driver's that do not make sense. Jeff Gordon is leading the Sprint Cup Series with 337 laps led, and in percentage of laps led at 17.5. He also has the most quality passes (under green in the top 15) at 82.5 percent. However because of a string of bad luck, he is without a victory and sits 21st in the point standings. However, Gordon led 329 of those laps at Martinsville last week. So, while the numbers don't lie, they don't always tell the whole truth either.
Until next time

Reutimann, Patrick NASCAR's pawns in Martinsville mess

When disaster strikes, it's usually not a result of just one bad decision or singular event. It's often a confluence of things coming together at the same time.
And that's what happened late in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville. Of course, everybody wants to blame everybody here. So, today, let's eliminate at least of couple of people from the blame game for what caused a green-white-checkered finish that sabotaged what could have been another classic Martinsville finish between Hendrick Racing teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
So let's aquit the following:
David Reutimann: It seems many were wanting to throw him under the NASCAR hauler, so to speak, after Sunday's race. Reutimann was driving the No. 10 car for Tommy Baldwin Racing, which is affiliated with Stewart-Haas Racing, which is affiliated with Hendrick Racing. The key here is that the top 35 in the Sprint Cup owners points standings are guaranteed starting spots in the next race, which is April 14 at Texas. And the other key here is the the No. 10 car has been riding that fence early in the season. And a third key here is that Danica Patrick is slated to drive that car in nine more races this season. That's a lot of keys to fit into one door. So, in a car, that a had a broken suspension piece, and an engine that was about ready to quit, Reutimann was trying to limp the car home well under race pace speed in the final 15 laps and keep that car in the top 35 in points. He actually did a good job of avoiding traffic when he was out there. It was clear he didn't want to cause an issue in the race. It was also clear he was under trickle-down economic pressure to stay on the track, from sponsors, team owners, etc. He seemed to have accomplished his feat until the engine finally shut down. None of this is directly Reutimann's fault. He's driving part-time for the team, trying to make a good impression for an owner, just trying to do the right thing to survive in the sport. A big chunk of drivers, like Johnson, Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr. have either forgotten or don't know what that's like. So, no, not blaming Reutimann here.
Danica Patrick: Yes, it's true, NASCAR had been trying to lure her into the series for probably the last couple of years. She would have loved to have won the Indy 500, which kept her in the open-wheel circuit probably a little longer than NASACAR wanted. Patrick though, finally couldn't resist the guaranteed money, attention and let's face it, the safer cars to drive in. Though she hasn't said this, probably out of respect for her former fellow Indy Car drivers, the fact that she came to NASCAR after the horrible crash that claimed the life of Indy Car star Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas last fall is probably not a coincidence. When it comes down to it Patrick is enough of a sponsor attraction that she's got more money now than she will ever spend. But really, what's the point of having it if there's a real fear you're not going to be around to spend it and enjoy it? Yes, Patrick will be driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing at times this season, with her next schedule date May 12 at Darlington. But remember, she's just a driver, not an owner or sponsor telling Reutimann what do. It's not her fault that she is one of the few who can attract sponsors these days. It's part of her job and what happened at Martinsville Sunday was not her fault.
So, really, just who is to blame?
You can look at the top 35 rule. It's a way to guarantee fans they will most likely see their favorite driver when they pay more than a pretty penny for a ticket, merchandise, etc., when they go to a race. Certainly, it played a role in this situation.
You can look at Tommy Baldwin a little here. He's under pressure too to keep that car in the top 35 in points after making an affiliation deal with Stewart-Haas Racing before the season began.
What about Tony Stewart? Well, maybe. He knows Patrick will bring money and sponsors into the team. He's also a driver and the defending champ though, so I can't imagine he was thrilled at seeing the No. 10 limp around trying to stay out of Harm's Way in those final laps.
That brings us to Rick Hendrick. Well, it's always easy to point the finger at Hendrick, one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport. He's an easy target that sometimes gets more blame than he deserves. He's also a sharp businessman who completely understands what having Patrick in the Sprint Cup field does for the sport financially in all types of sales. Kyle Busch once called Hendrick Racing a six-car team (only four cars are allowed by NASCAR rules), saying he included the Stewart-Haas cars of Stewart and Newman. Maybe Patrick belongs in that group, too, now.
And maybe that whole Martinsville mess is symbolic of how NASCAR has compromised itself in the name of safety and quality racing in order to make a dollar.

Doctor, lawyer, crew chief ... and picks

Part of being successful in NASCAR takes a little bit of brain surgery (the psychological type), a bit of lawyer-like persuasion and then simply having the guts to make the right call at the right time.
All of those things came into play when Tony Stewart's crew chief, Steve Addington, made the call to keep his leading car out as the rain drops began to fall Sunday afternoon in California. There were a couple of scenarios that could have played out. If the sun had come out and dried the track in time to go back green, Stewart would have lost the lead and that precious clean air these cars seem to need. But Addington pointed out in a post-race interview, that about six or seven other cars also didn't pit, so Stewart would have likely come out in sixth or seventh place anyway, keeping the eventual winner in contention for the lead. Also, Addington had a full view of the weather radar and liked the odds of the rain continuing. Those were easy selling points to Stewart.
Meanwhile, Stewart's champion crew chief last year, Darian Grubb, made the call for the then second-place Denny Hamlin to come into the pits. He came back out in 11th, so the move cost him nine points. Not the end of the world, but you never know when those nine points will come in handy. Grubb's a proven champion, so we know he can rebound from a mistake. He just may have to do a little more brain surgery and lawyer-like persuading the next time a key race call comes up.
As for now, Addington gets an upper hand with two wins in five races for Stewart. If the team continues to do well, that will allow them to do some experimenting later in the season before the Chase, which could put Stewart in position to make another title run.

Here are this week's picks for the 1 p.m. Sunday race at Martinsville to be shown on FOX and yes, Stewart and Hamlin are among them.

Tony Stewart - He's got three wins at Martinsville and nine top five finishes. And he's won seven of the last 15 Sprint Cup races, so have to go with him here.
Denny Hamlin - He's got four wins and nine tops fives and an average finish of 6.5. We may see these two battling for the lead again this week.
Jimmie Johnson - Six wins and 14 tops fives. The No. 48 might not need its share of good luck this week.
Kevin Harvick - He won here last fall and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him contend again.
Brian Vickers - Yes, a bit of long shot here, but he was great on the short-track concrete of Bristol, leading 125 laps and finishing fifth. He's back in the No. 55 car which has been a solid ride this season, no matter who is driving.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Yes, I've just got a gut feeling that this could be Junior's week. The fact that he hasn't won in 134 races (for those of you snoring at home) kept me from pulling the trigger on the No. 88 this time.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Here's a review of last week's picks at California and how they finished.
Kyle Busch - 2nd. He led 80 laps and most likely would have contended for the win if the race had not been rain-shortened.
Matt Kenseth - 16th. A respectable showing and he's sitting there sixth in the points standings here in the early going.
Kevin Harvick - 4th. He was strong all day, even doing some pushing at times. Also a likely contender to win it if not for the rain.
Tony Stewart - 1st. There we go. Five races and finally a winner for me. He had a strong car that was improving throughout. He also had the best strategy in the end.
Jimmie Johnson - 10th. There's no official Rain Dance Award listed after race results, but the No. 48 team was probably doing just that once they realized they had an oil leak and the rain drops started falling. Johnson kept the car running until the red flag. It was a points saving-rain for five-timer, who probably would not have been able to continue.

Here's a look at my stats after five races and 25 picks.

1 win
7 top fives
4 top 10s

Grade for this week: A minus. I had three of the top four and four of the top 10. Also, I mentioned that Jeff Gordon was a possible pick that I didn't make because while his cars have been strong, he's been a bit snakebit. He was running in the top 10 Sunday when after pitting the fuel can got stuck in the car. It cost him a drive-through penalty and about 20 places in the final results.

One Last Thing: After five races this season there have been 1,410 possible laps for a driver to complete. Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth are the only drivers to all of the laps this season. They also represent five of the top six in the points standings. However, out of that group, only Kenseth has won this season.
Until next time

Lawyers, puns and money ... and picks

It's been a crazy week off the track in NASCAR. Jimmie Johnson, with the help of Rick Hendrick's lawyers, gained 25 points and moved up to 11th without winning a race. Bruton Smith says he's going to tear up Bristol and make it like the old configuration. He's apparently not making enough money, noting the lack of fans Sunday at one of the NASCAR's most popular tracks. They want the old track back. Of course, they wouldn't mind having the old ticket prices and the old gas prices back too. Those are certainly factors in the fans staying away as well.
One old occurrence that did take place Sunday afternoon was the No. 2 showing up in Victory Lane at Bristol. Brad Keselowski, who also won at Bristol last year, has taken over the Penske No. 2 car. So that win along with the successes of previous No. 2 drivers Kurt Busch and Rusty Wallace at Bristol means I'm picking Keselowski to win the fall race there, no matter what the track configuration might be.
As for this week, here's a look at the picks for the 3 p.m. Sunday race on FOX at the two-mile track in California

Jimmie Johnson - Five-timer has won five times at California. The team should be on a high after winning its appeal and it's Johnson's home track. Can't not pick him here.
Matt Kenseth - He's got three wins here and has run well all season. It would be surprising if he doesn't battle for the lead.
Greg Biffle - Well, I suppose you have to give the points leader some respect sometime. He's got one win at California and four top fives.
Tony Stewart - He's got one win and five top fives and Hendrick information to help him, too.
Kevin Harvick - No more sentimental picks at the end now. I need a win and Harvick won this race last year. So why not two in a row?

Coulda, woulda, shoulda - Jeff Gordon. He's got three wins here and has had a car capable of winning in these early races. But he seems to be a bit snakebit this year, so couldn't put his name on my top five.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Here's a review of last week's picks at Bristol and how they finished.
Kyle Busch - 32nd. An early wreck ended any chance he had of winning. He still got back out and ran 423 laps and finished 31st.
Matt Kenseth - 2nd. Just as easily could have won. He pushed Keselowski late in the race, but couldn't make the winning pass, quick re-start or not.
Kevin Harvick - 11th. He also got caught in an accident, but managed to get on the lead lap and hang in there and make what could have been a disaster into a pretty decent day.
Jimmie Johnson - 9th. He didn't lead any laps, but did hang around the top 10 all day.
Kasey Kahne - 37th. The team is good, I think the driver is good and the car is good. So far though, the luck is all bad.

Here's a look at my stats after four races and 20 picks.

O wins
5 top fives
3 top 10s

Grade for this week: B minus (a Kenseth win would have given me a boost

That zero there is still killing me.

One Last Thing: And speaking of zeros, last year's points runnerup Carl Edwards has yet to lead a lap this season. On the flip side, Brian Vickers ran his first race of the season Sunday at Bristol in the No. 55 Toyota. He led 125 laps, the third most this season in the Sprint Cup Series.
Until next time

Goodbye cookie cutter, hello Bristol

Quite appropriately Las Vegas supplied us with some false excitement last Sunday as several restarts were needed in the race's final 50 plus laps to provide us with some close battles for the lead. But really, it was just a matter of who could get out front. That's because at those cookie-cutter type 1.5 mile tracks, it's all about getting clean air. Whoever gets ahead of the pack is going to win. It's pretty simple. Other than the first lap or two after a restart, the leader in each of those scenarios pulled away. That's why we saw some guys go crazy on the restarts, they knew that was their only chance.
Now we're on to a real race track at Bristol. It's just a half-mile and is one of NASCAR's great venues. There is no such thing as clean air, especially after the first 10 or 15 laps when the leader starts lapping the slower cars, or gently or not so gently bumping them out of the way. The reactions to those bumps is one of the things that makes Bristol great. What's the over-under on the amount of helmets thrown? Three seems like the right number here for a lot of reasons. A driver has to have the right amount of aggressiveness and patience to win at Bristol.
So with that in mind, here's a rundown of picks for this week.

Kyle Busch - Yes, that Kyle Busch. Somehow he's managed to keep his cool enough to get five wins here. So, hard to ignore that.
Jimmie Johnson - If there was ever a team on a mission to get into the top 10 in points it's the No. 48. Just one win here for five-timer, but with Johnson taking the lead, this team is focused.
Matt Kenseth - He's got two wins here and has run over 5,700 laps in the top 15 at Bristol, quite remarkable. He's got that right mix of patience and aggressiveness to get back to Victory Lane again.
Kevin Harvick - Just one win here, but he's never been afraid to use his bumper to get the slower guys out of the at the short tracks.
Kasey Kahne - Yes, a bit of reach here. At some point he's got to break through and these short tracks are just like the ones he learned to race on in the Midwest.
Shoulda, woulda coulda, but didn't - Kurt Busch, yes that Kurt Busch, has five wins here. But he's not on a big-time team any longer with the one-car Phoenix Racing. His patience will be tested more than ever now.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Here's a review of last week's picks at Las Vegas and how they finished.
Matt Kenseth - 22nd. Contended for the lead all day, only to get caught in a late-race scuffle and get pushed up against the wall.
Carl Edwards - 5th. He was not in contention all day and never led a lap, but hung around and rallied late.
Kyle Busch - 23rd. He started in the back in a backup car looked to be marching to the front. After hanging around 10th and 11th most of the day, he couldn't muster the kind of finish he would have liked in his hometown.
Jimmie Johnson - 2nd. The No. 48 team could have very well won the race, but just couldn't get around Tony Stewart in those final restarts.
Mark Martin - 18th. I went sentimental here, but it wasn't meant to be. He didn't lead a lap.

Here's a look at my stats after three races and 15 picks.

O wins
4 top fives
2 top 10s

Grade for this week: C plus (a good Kenseth finish away from emerging from mediocrity)

That zero there is killing me.
Until next time

Some appealing answers, questions for Knaus

So, in a not so stunning development, NASCAR officials upheld their ruling that the No. 48 car of Jimmie Johnson came to Daytona last month with illegal C-Posts. That means the appeal of Hendrick Motorsports on behalf of crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec failed. Hendrick Motorsports released a statement Tuesday saying they would take the appeal to one last step, NASCAR's supreme court, where both sides sit in front of a commissioner and make their case.
And this point, the Hendrick team has nothing to lose. The penalties of 25 owner and driver points to the No. 48, the six-week suspensions of Knaus and Malec, and a $100,000 fine to Knaus leave Hendrick no choice but to take this to a higher court. Johnson has rebounded to finish fourth and second the past two weeks and is now 23rd in the points standings. It's a team that's performing like it has something to prove.
Apparently Knaus and Hendrick didn't have enough proof in their appeal argument Tuesday. So here's a list of 10 suggestions for Knaus to throw out there in the final appeal to help increase the chances of a favorable ruling.

10. What? You didn't use the 3D glasses?
9. Hasn't anybody told you I know more than you do?
8. Didn't you go to college at C.W. Post?
7. C3PO is my favorite Star Wars character and he's legal right.
6. CP3 (Chris Paul who wears No. 3) is my favorite NBA player.
5. I thought you said I can't see the post, so I made it bigger.
4. My first name starts with a C, so there's that.
3. I told them to put that on the 88, not the 48
2. Follow directions? Don't you know guys don't read directions.
1. Oooohhh, the C-Post. I thought Mr. Hendrick said to put on the Z-Post. My bad.

Until next time.