Hello Angels, Bosley, Mr. X and the UnNamed One,

I believe Sunday was another perfect day for racing in Sonoma…and I believe three of our angels were in attendance for the last race of the season for FoX-TV this year.  Kelly, Bosley and Mr. X, I hope you had a wonderful time and left the sheep alone…baaaaaah.

If in fact you were there than you got to see the controversial pass Robby Gordon made on his teammate Kevin Harvick during a full-course yellow to gain a position…before catching the yellow flag at the start/finish line.  Gordon went on to win the race, while Harvick finished 3rd.   It wasn’t Harvick complaining though, it was 2nd place finisher Jeff Gordon who disagreed with Robby’s pass.  Needless to say I think the two will agree to disagree on the gentleman’s agreement on passing lead-lap cars before they catch the yellow flag.  Congratulations to Robby Gordon on his second NASCAR win for Richard Childress Racing.

Ok, I have a question about the announcement that NASCAR made this week. For those of you who don’t know, R.J. Reynolds is pulling it’s sponsorship from the cup series of NASCAR after this year because of financial reasons.  So, this will be the last year for the Winston Cup.  Next year and for a total of 10 years, NEXTEL will be the official cup series sponsor.  “NASCAR NEXTEL CUP” series.  I think that will take a while to digest…It just doesn’t “ring” well with me.. L  But, I digress.  What do you think about the NASCAR NEXTEL CUP name?

So, how did we faire up against each other after the Dodge/Save Mart 350? Well we still have two Angels missing in action and it looks like it will be like that for a while L.  I want to assure everyone that I have a whole arsenal of people looking for them and am sure that we will find our missing Angels soon, and get them back into competition as quickly as possible.

That said, I unfortunately lost contact with one of my driver picks this week.  I decided to get rid of Kyle Petty and pick-up Mike Wallace who up until this race was subbing for the recovering Jerry Nadeau. Unfortunately, I didn’t look at the entry list for the race and didn’t see that Boris Said, this week’s pole winner, was driving the No. 01 Army Pontiac Grand Prix.  Wallace will hopefully return for the Pepsi 400 in two weeks.  For my mistake I gladly accept the much disliked, heavily weighted, CHARLIE’S ANGELS NASCAR FANTASY LEAGUE GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD this week.  My other four drivers didn’t do too badly with the exception of Joe Nemachek…who had two off-road excursions and fell a lap down, finishing 35th.   Jimmie Johnson used a provisional to start the race after he had a qualifying lap spin.  He could only muster a 17th-place finish.  Matt Kenseth dodged a big bullet when he had a tire go down in front of the pit-road entrance…talk about luck…He was able to stay on the lead lap and finished 14.  My best driver today is 2nd place finisher, Jeff Gordon.  

Had it not been for my mistake UnNamed One, you would have been the GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD recipient this week.  Your drivers self-destructed…starting with Dale Jarrett and Greg Biffle.  Jarrett spun a couple of times and then his engine finally gave way with three laps to go.   Biffle tried to use pit-strategy to win, but it ultimately cost him when he ran out of gas with two laps to go forcing him to back into pit-road and finish 37th.  Kurt Busch, along with Kyle Petty was involved in pretty much every spin or crash on the course, thank goodness you didn’t have Petty, but you did have Busch, who finished 28th.  Elliott Sadler had a decent day but only finished 22nd.  Your top finisher is Kenseth and his 14th place finish.   Your average finish is a very disappointing 28.6.  I think all of our angels wish you a lot of better luck in two weeks.

Tiffany, Jarrett’s 42nd place finish was your only blemish.   Jamie McMurray had a decent 20th place finish, while Johnson recovered and finished 17th.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished where he started in 11th and Harvick had a great race finishing 3rd.  Your average finish is a not too shabby 18.6.  Nice job.

Mr. X the same can be said for you.  Jarrett’s 42nd hurt you considerably because your remaining drivers finished 14th or better.  In that 14th position is Kenseth with Tony Stewart two spot ahead in 12th.  Jeremy Mayfield had a stellar day with a 10th-place finish and Bobby Labonte overcame a spin or two and finished 9th.  When all was said and done your average finish is a respectable 17.4.  As the Army says when I pass by them walking here, “All the Way.”  I’m not sure what the heck that means, but I think it’s a compliment, so, I’ll use it for you.   J

Kelly, your drivers all finished 25th or better…with Texas Terry Labonte in that 25th spot.  Ricky Craven finished 21st with Mark Martin two spots ahead in 19th.  Your Gibbs Racing teammates were your top drivers today with Stewart in 12th and your Texas “Heartthrob” Bobby Labonte in 9th.  Did you get his autograph this time????   Your average finish is 17.2.  As we say in the Air Force when passing by Army people here in response to their “All the Way” call…. “AIRPOWER RULES”…  lol J

Jill, I have one name for you today.  Jarrett.  Need I say more?   Your other drivers did much better with Johnson in 17th; Stewart in 12th; and Ryan Newman having another top-5 finish in 5th.    Your top driver is Jeff Gordon in 2nd.   Your average finish is 15.6.  Someone once told me that Flexibility is the key to Airpower…so, I’ll say that to you today.  J

Bosley your only blemish was Busch’s crashes.  I’ve never seen a car as beat up as his from a road course before…lol.  He finished 28th.   Last year’s winner, Ricky Rudd (GO AIR FORCE) could only muster a 15th place finish, while Mikey Waltrip did well for you with his 13th place finish.  Stewart didn’t hurt you with his 12th place either.  Helping you the most was Rusty Wallace and his 7th place finish, even after spinning with Earnhardt late in the race.  Your average finish is an empowering 15.2.   “Huuuuraaaah,” as the Marines say.  I believe that is their answer for everything… J

Kris that leaves you as our CHARLIE’S ANGELS NASCAR FANTASY LEAGUE “TOP ANGEL AWARD” winner…your worst driver is Jimmy Spencer and his 36th place finish.  Other than that, your remaining drivers finished 16th or better with two in the top-5.  In that 16th place finish is Ward Burton who didn’t have a stellar day, but managed to remain in the hunt for a win.  I’ve mention Earnhardt’s woes and his 11th place finish.  One driver that I haven’t mentioned is Bill Elliott’s 4th place finish, broken foot and all.  You know that had to have been hurting with the amount of shifting he was doing during the race.  Your best driver though is Jeff Gordon and his 2nd place finish.  Your TOP ANGEL AWARD winning average finish is 13.8.  Earlier I mentioned that there are Air Force people out there that say, “Flexibility is the key to Airpower,” Me, I say “Chocolate” is the key to airpower and makes the world go around JJJ.   Regardless, congratulations on your being “Tops” today.

NASCAR takes a break next weekend and returns July 4th weekend with the Pepsi 400 night race under the lights at Daytona with NBC-TV taking over broadcasting duties for the remainder of the season.  Don’t forget to update your driver picks by July 3rd.

Good luck Angels,

Charlie