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JENSEN: Curiouser And Curiouser
Written by: Tom Jensen   
06/29/2009
Charlotte, NC
 
The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been nothing if not interesting, and Joey Logano’s stunning upset victory Sunday in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway only added to the mix.
SPEEDtv.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED) ยป More Photos

While I’m still firmly of the opinion that NASCAR really needs to do something that will bring passing for the lead back into the equation with this new car, there have been a number of fabulous — and not-so-fabulous — storylines this season.

And without question, this season grows curiouser and curiouser with each passing race.

To wit:

• FABULOUS: Logano joined David Reutimann and Brad Keselowski in the category of first-time winners in NASCAR’s top division this year. Never mind that both Reutimann and Logano won rain-shortened races — it’s only the miles that change when a race is cut short by rain, not the points or the purse money. A victory is a victory, no matter how it’s earned.

You can argue whether or not Joe Gibbs Racing brought Logano to the majors too soon, but you can’t argue that he has a lot of talent and that he has a good head on his shoulders. Besides, it’s great for the sport to have fresh faces in victory lane. And after the horrible start he had to the season, Logano certainly appreciated this victory.

• NOT-SO-FABULOUS: For the second race in a row, the five-car Roush Fenway Racing powerhouse failed to place a single car in the top 10. In fact, the highest-finishing Roush Fenway Ford was Greg Biffle, way back in 18th place. Not a good day at the home track of team co-owner John Henry.

Expected to contend for a championship as they do every year, Roush Fenway swept the first two races of the 2009 season with Matt Kenseth and has gone 0-15 since.

• FABULOUS: Driving for the independent, single-car Phoenix Racing squad, Brad Keselowski finished sixth, perhaps a sign that his victory at Talladega Superspeedway in April wasn’t quite the fluke that everyone thought it was at the time.

• NOT-SO-FABULOUS: The season of misery continued for Richard Childress Racing, which saw the cars of Jeff Burton, Casey Mears and Kevin Harvick all snared in the day’s big crash on Lap 175. Mears came back to finish a strong 11th, but as of right now, RCR has no driver in the top 12 in points, and only Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton have even a shot at making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

• FABULOUS: The so-called race to the Chase — the last 10 races in the Sprint Cup regular season — really is exciting. The gap from sixth-place Denny Hamlin back to Reutimann
in 14th is a mere 95 points. That’s nine drivers fighting for the final seven Chase spots, all with very good chances, and all with high risks of falling out. The margin from Mark Martin in 11th to Reutimann is a razor-thin 15 points. This is going to be edge-of-your-seat stuff to watch over the next nine weeks.

• NOT-SO-FABULOUS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. at one point was up to third and challenging for the lead. But in the end, he finished 13th, making it eight races in a row without a top-10 finish and 10 of the last 11. Earnhardt has not led a single lap of competition since Talladega. He said he and new crew chief Lance McGrew are hitting it off well, but the results so far just aren’t there.

• FABULOUS: Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon finished second, his teammate Jimmie Johnson led the most laps for the second time in three races and points leader Tony Stewart nearly won again in a quasi-Hendrick team car. Think anyone other than Gordon, Johnson or Stewart will end the 2009 season as Sprint Cup champion? Think again.

• NOT-SO-FABULOUS: On Saturday, Scott Speed wrecked his Red Bull Racing teammate Brian Vickers on the last lap of the NASCAR Nationwide race. On Sunday, Vickers finished 35th and Speed 36th, each crashed out by another driver.

• FABULOUS: Regan Smith has now finished all 50 Cup races he started.

• NOT-SO-FABULOUS: Mother Nature.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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