Lenox Industrial Tools 301: Winners and Losers

(Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR)

They adjusted the car, worked on it, and played track position.  They got as high as third at one point, but a poor restart forced them to lose positions and battle back from there.

A 13th place finish isn’t really representative of how well they actually ran.

Earnhardt is giving good feedback, and they are building off each finish both good and bad. This is something we have not seen very often with this team.

Earnhardt should be looking toward 2010.  The chase is out of reach, so it’s time to start logging notes for next year.

Points: 19th

Losers

Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman was just three laps short of pulling out a victory.

They tried to gamble and run as long as they could, but were forced to pit when Newman ran out of fuel.To make matters worse, they stalled on pit road. A 29th place finish is all they would be able to get.

Newman struggled all day long on the track. They never could get the handling right and were never a factor.

They received the lucky dog at one point and never could get the car to Newman’s liking.

While Newman's point position is somewhat safe, he was sixth coming in.

He has dropped two positions in two weeks. With the battle only tightening up in the weeks to come, they still need to be careful and can’t afford to have many finishes like this.

The rocket man is cooling off a bit from his climb in the standings.

Don’t expect this to last too long.

Points: Seventh

Tony Stewart

I don’t think I have put Tony Stewart on this list all year.

But, while their result of a fifth place finish is not bad, it’s the poor pit stop that put him there.

While it wasn’t his fault that the pit stop was slow, you win as a team and you lose as a team.

Stewart had a comfortable lead and should have come out of the pits with the lead. But instead, Gordon won that battle off of pit road, and Stewart had to battle his way back for the top five finish.

Now, he probably wouldn’t have won because Logano would have ended up staying out, and the rain came.

But, it’s mistakes like these that may make him not so lucky every time.

Points: First

Martin Truex Jr.              

Martin Truex Jr. had every right to be ticked off.

He had a fast car and was moving forward. On a restart where Earnhardt struggled and Truex tried to check up, Kyle Busch tagged him and sent Truex hard into the wall.

Truex was obviously upset and with good right.  He had what could have been a top five car end up in the garage, and he finished 37th.

This was the first time we have seen lead lap cars taken out like this with the restart. That being said, it doesn’t make Truex any happier.

Truex chase hopes all but ended today, and, with a major announcement coming about his future, Truex should be focusing on next year no matter what team he's with.

Points: 24th

Carl Edwards

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