Greg Biffle’s breakthrough win at Darlington took a backseat to the announcement of Dale Jarrett’s new coalition with Michael Waltrip and Toyota.
Jarrett will likely lose some of his support from the Ford faithful, and it would have been nice to see Jarrett end his career in the #88 Ford, but his decision should be respected. Jarrett and Robert Yates Racing had a grand run of success over the years, but they seemed to hit a brick wall after the 2002 season and have yet to return to prominence. Obviously, Jarrett envisions a brighter future with Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota.
Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace ended their full-time careers as contenders, and Mark Martin will do the same. Could Jarrett have accomplished that with Robert Yates Racing? Can he end his career on a high note with Michael Waltrip Racing?
I recently made a bold prediction; Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle will be factors in this year's race to the Chase For the Championship. I didn't actually say that they would qualify, but they will be in the thick of things when it comes mid-September.
The Biff-o-meter says that Biffle is up to 14th in the Nextel Cup standings, 106 points out of tenth place. The Newman-o-meter reads that he has jumped up four spots to 19th in the Nextel Cup standings after finishing sixth in the Dodge Charger 500. Keep an eye on those two hard chargers over the next couple of months.
It seems that a lot of folks are convinced that Ken Schrader cost Jeff Gordon the win at Darlington. I have to whole-heartedly disagree. Gordon may have caught Biffle, but passing him would have been a whole different story. I think Gordon took out his frustrations on Schrader. Darlington is a tough track to get out of the way, especially on older tires.
Dale Earnhardt Jr continued his recent surge by finishing fifth at Darlington, despite having a touch of the flu.
In hindsight, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray might have been better off staying put with their previous teams. Neither Busch nor McMurray have improved a bit from last year, in fact, after eleven races in 2005, Busch was fifth and McMurray was ninth in the Nextel Cup standings. So far in 2006, Busch begrudgingly sits eighteenth while McMurray is mired back in twentieth place in the Nextel Cup standings. Casey Mears seems to be the only driver who benefited from last year's silly season, as he is currently eleventh in the standings.
With Kevin Harvick pulling out to a 347-point lead in the Busch Series standings, I don't think anyone's feelings, with the exception of Harvick's, will be hurt if they go ahead and implement the Chase for The Championship format for this season.
Quote of the week comes from Greg Biffle after he was asked if he had panicked about his early season slump.
"I don't think so, I did get the steak knife out and set it on the counter one night. I sat there and looked at it."
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