Out, demon!
Denny Hamlin’s exorcism is complete. At ISM Raceway, the site of one of his biggest disappointments, Hamlin barged back into the Championship 4 with a dominating victory in Sunday’s Bluegreen Vacations 500.
Hamlin joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch, Sunday’s runner-up, in the Nov. 17 race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The three JGR drivers will battle Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing for the trophy.
After losing control of his car and sliding off Turn 4 last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, Hamlin fell 20 points below the cut line for the Championship 4 entering the Phoenix race. But with his victory, Hamlin knocked defending champion Joey Logano out of title contention.
THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF THE GO FAST
Nobody had the foresight to lock Denny Hamlin down as their pick for the race at ISM Raceway. So this award will be put back on the shelf on last time before the championship weekend at Homestead this coming weekend.
THE MOVERS AND THE SHAKERS
The prize for biggest scorer of the week goes to a very unlikely twosome. Both players racked up a very nice score of 50 points this week via Kyle Busch. The duo of whom I speak consists of Lonna The Quilt Angel and Leon your Most Humble Sheriff were riding shotgun with Ol Rowdy.
Linda R. The Lemonade Lefty had a very good race at Phoenix. Easy Money paid The Lemonade Lefty a cool 42 points this week. She kept her Kyle Larson card close to the vest til late in this segment. It has paid off in spades this week.
Meanwhile, three players teamed up together this week to deposit 38 points into their scoring bucket. This trio consists of Edie The Las Vegas Super Star, Jim, aka Chiefy, as well as Jeremy The Coach. This threesome was hanging loud and proud with Freaky Fast Kevin Harvick all Sunday afternoon.
Bobby Blue Crush was really hoping that Martin Truex, Jr. would shoot the moon and hoist the hardware at the end of the day Sunday. That was not destined to be in the Phoenix stars Sunday, But ol Blue Crush still came away with 36 points from Truex’s 6th place finish.
Rounding out the top five scorers for the week is another odd threesome. Linda B. the Cookie Mom, Carole, aka Rudy, as well as Dan The Numbers Cruncher were hoping somehow that they would be celebrating with “That Jones Boy” at Phoenix. Yep, they were all betting the farm that Erik Jones would issue and old fashion butt whippin’ to the rest of the field. That didn’t happen, but Jones did deal out 30 points for their totals.
With just one more race in this season the movement was in small increments. The single biggest mover this week was Linda R. The Lemonade Lefty. The Lemonade Lefty very quietly slipped up three (3) positions on the scoring totem pole to rest in 7th place.
The threesome of Lonna The Quilt Angel, Bernie The Bay Area Bandit, and Amber The Extremely Lucky Cheddar Head moved two (2) spots when the checkered flag flew at ISM Raceway. The Lemonade Lefty elevated her game and transited up two places to sit in 5th place. The Bay Area Bandit and The Cheddar Head slithered down two spots to rest in 6th and 14th, respectively.
Seven players, nearly half of the fantasy league, moved next door to their previous resting place. Leon Your Most Humble Sheriff, Edie The Las Vegas Super Star, Kathy The Church Forecloser, Carlton The Doorman, Dan The Numbers Cruncher, Carole, aka Rudy, as well as David The Mudslinging Throttle Jockey are the seven players in this group this week. Your Most Humble Sheriff, The Vegas Super Star, The Doorman, and The Numbers Dude all stepped up one place to reside in 4th, 8th, 12th, 13th, and 15th, respectively. However The Church Forecloser and The Mudslinger fell down one spot to inhabit 9th and 16th, respectively.
STRAIGHT FROM THE CRAPPER
Once again we have a player who has made a tremendous splash this week. David The Mudslinging Throttle Jockey was able only log 14 points this week. Usually that mediocre score would keep you below the radar and away from the spotlight. Unfortunately, that is not the case this week. This week The Mudslinger is subjected of much ridicule. You see he not only could muster a mere 14 points, but that minuscule tally was also enough for him the evict Carole, aka Rudy, from her comfy confines of The Outhouse this week! So The Mudslinger sweeps the Crappiest Pick of the Week and he has moved into The Outhouse all with one convenient movement!
Next week the season ends at Homestead.
TIL NEXT TIME, PULL YOUR BELTS TIGHT AND LET’S GO RACIN’!