Catchfence

It took some 850 miles, 121 official lead changes, and two incredible finishes, and it all made the unscheduled Aaron’s Sunday Doubleheader the greatest competitive day in racing history. And with that spectacular day come in inevitable multiple winners and losers. A look at who won and lost -

WINNERS —

1 – Kevin Harvick. And for more than just the obvious reason of winning the Winston 500; he managed to embarass sponsors who are leaving for ostensibly greener pastures and also came within a half-lap of pulling off the single-day sweep of the Cup and BGN races, a feat obviously never happening before given the rarity of one-day Cup/BGN double-headers. In the Aarons 312 he led 51 laps and finished a spectacular third.

2 – Joey Logano. Though he crashed in the 500, Logano led nine laps and displayed a command of the competition that frankly one had to wonder would ever come with his shaky recent past. He also acquitted himself superbly in the 312, racing home second.

3 – Jamie McMurray. This was a mixed award, as he didn’t win the 500 and then got spun out on the final lap of the 312, but he raced to the front and fought it out for 850 miles.

4 – Michael Waltrip. Not just the driver, starting dead last and racing to the lead, but the owner as well as David Reutimann continued to validate his career with the team and Martin Truex didn’t make a lot of noise but still finished well.

5 – RCR. Harvick won, Jeff Burton led the most laps, and Clint Bowyer managed to finish in the top seven of both races, though he gets a big demerit for his role in the McMurray melee.

6 – A.J. Allmendinger. 19th is a bitterly disappointing finish to what was shaping up to be a winning day, and seeing the #43 mixing it up for the win is always good for the sport.

7 – Brian Vickers. Seeing dark horses fight for the win likewise is beneficial to the sport, and thus does Brian Vickers have to feel good but also feel upset that another potential win got wrecked.

8 – Brad Keselowski. His real success was in the 312 as he rocketed from tenth to the win on the final lap and was the only one in the BGN race to push other cars forward with the kind of determination the rest of the field needs. His 500 run was strong but wasn’t enough.

9 – Bobby Labonte. He never led, but he fought for it.

10 – Paul Menard. He continues to prove his critics such as myself wrong with respectable efforts.

LOSERS –

1 – Hendrick Motorsports. They led 22 laps but the plate dominance they’d shown in 2006-7 is long gone and it showed in the burgeoning hatred brewing between Johnson and Gordon. It also illustrated an old pattern of the team – the designated champion and the others serving basically as blockers. Gordon was demoted as designated champ the moment Johnson was assigned (don’t buy the story that Gordon had that big a role with Johnson, because Herb Fishel, Hendrick’s biggest backer at GM in his days there, had Johnson tagged for the top Chevy ride from the moment he put Johnson in an ASA car) to Hendrick and it’s bubbling to the front now. Not that Gordon or Johnson don’t deserve it – having had their success bought for them, it’s impossible to hold much respect for their success.

Dale Junior acquitted himself better than in the recent past with eight laps led, some of the old Junior fire, but he earns a demerit for whining about restrictor plate racing after the 500 – shut up and race, Dale.

2 – Roush/Fenway Racing. David Ragan led eight laps and finished handily in the top ten while Carl Edwards didn’t wreck this time – he saved that for the BGN race, where after the Lap 20 melee he came back out and foolishly tried to cut in front of the leaders and spun himself out; it helps answer the question of why he’s not winning. Ragan’s run salvaged what turned out to be a mediocre day for the Roush fleet.

3 – Mike Bliss. How he finished tenth is a puzzle as the only noise he made was in a late wreck.

4 – Sam Hornish. It’s time, Roger. Put him back in an IRL car – preferably someone else’s – and don’t let him ever set foot in a stock car again.

5 – Regan Smith. This is the heartbreak of the race award, as Regan Smith rocketed to the lead in the 500 but blew up. The worst part is this is the only time we’ll see him up front until either the Firecracker 400 or Autumn 500 as his team has nothing to work with anywhere else.

6 – Marcos Ambrose. Way to go, mate, the way you drilled a car in the pits.

So the Aaron’s Sunday Doubleheader went off as well as could be expected – and then some. The shame of it is the sport won’t see a raceday like this again, though optimism flows because there will be tracks that try to match this kind of intensity, and it’s what makes racing what it is.