Week 5 Commentary

In the Nationwide race on Saturday Kyle Busch was unable to overcome Kyle Larson running high and wide at Fontana.

However, in the Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, it was Rowdy Busch who held off rookie sensation Larson to collect the win in a race in which many leaders had issues, none more noteworthy than Jimmie Johnson, who led the most laps.

There was controversy before the race even got started.

Denny Hamlin
Photo/Sports Illustrated

Denny Hamlin was having headaches, and was not cleared by NASCAR to race.  That was just fine with Hamlin, as his attention appropriately became his health.  Hamlin spent some time in the hospital, and his health does appear to be somewhat of a concern.  Hamlin, a new father, and his Joe Gibbs Racing team eagerly await results from test performed on Sunday.  We wish Hamlin the best.

The news associated with Hamlin broke after our selection boxes locked, with Sam Hornish announced as his replacement for the race.

We select drivers, not cars in the league.  Therefore, all who selected Hamlin will get no points in that box.  A similar situation happened with AJ Allmendinger a couple years back at the Coke Zero 400.

Before everyone gets worked up about the decision, understand that 41 of the 43 league members had Hamlin.  The two who did not are nowhere near the leaders at this time. 

One was Dr. Jerry Punch, who is no fan of Hamlin.  If Hamlin were the only racer racing, Punch would gladly take a zero for the week.  As such, given Hamlin is really a no brainer in the box he is in, Punch has given away more points already this year than he got by going with Casey Mears this week.  The Blue Deuce had Marcos Ambrose.

Some of our contestants take in all pre-race media and make selections at the last minute.  Some have exhaustive research, some pick car makes and others their favorite drivers.

Had the driver change occurred before the locking of picks, any last minute changes would have been accepted.  Once the picks are locked, you got what you got.

An event like what happened Sunday with Hamlin is very rare.  Keep in mind moving forward, we pick drivers, not car numbers.  Had Hamlin started the race and had Hornish take over, even after only one lap, those who had Hamlin would have gotten the points. That was not the case on Sunday.

Thankfully, it really had no affect on anyone, except the two drivers who did not have Hamlin. For the record, I had Denny Hamlin.

Punch won the week, followed by Daily Habit Racing, The Blue Deuce, Team Taser and CF Canes.

Gaining were several drives, including CF Canes, SPC Racing, Punch, Boris Head Racing, 88AMPS, Team Wolf and Daily Habit Racing.

Losing the draft were Mama's Boy, Luckydog, Team Hot Stuff and BAHL, the only racer to lose over 10 spots. So much for my great start.

The top five remained the same, with former champion Team Taser leading No Ones Beatch, Man In Black, Burke and Glynn.

The last race with the first box set will be this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway as we run the STP 500. Who will win a grandfather clock?  This is perhaps the most successful track for Denny Hamlin, but will he be able to race?

Stay tuned. The field goes green at 1:13PM.

Good Luck