Dover Report Card

Dover Report Card
I'm lenient, so nothing lower than a C- here unless a driver is really a bonehead and earns it. Remember - this is just for the Dover race, and not reflective of the entire year.

A+
Jimmie Johnson – Chad and Jimmie dominated the race on Sunday, leading the most laps in addition to the most import one – the last lap.
Tony Stewart – He may have finished in second place on Sunday, but the driver / owner took over the points lead. The last time a driver / owner led the points was in 1992.

A
Matt Kenseth – The Daytona 500 winner had a good run at Dover.
Kasey Kahne – He powered the new Dodge engine to a 6th place finish.
Casey Mears – A much needed top 10 finish, the best for RCR on Sunday.
Others – Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman

A-
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 12th place isn’t too shabby for his first time without Tony Jr.
Mark Martin – Hard to give a top 10 finish an A-, but Martin wasn’t quite where I expected at the Monster Mile.
Others – Clint Bowyer, Sam Hornish, Jr.

B+
Joey Logano – The rookie has been gaining momentum for the last few weeks
Kevin Harvick – After struggling recently, Harvick was probably content with a 17th place run.
Others – Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, David Reutimann

B
Reed Sorenson – The second highest finishing RPM driver
Regan Smith – Very impressive for a team that isn’t running the full schedule. Plus, his no DNF streak lives on.
Others – Marcos Ambrose, Martin Truex, Jr.

B-
Kyle Busch – I’ll bet he wishes someone had spotted that broken splitter before he pitted for what he thought was a wheel vibration.
Brian Vickers – The lead Red Bull driver has been strong for a few weeks, but showed a little weakness at Dover.
Others – David Ragan, Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler

C+
AJ Allmendinger – He deserves an A for effort, but a D- for luck averages him out to a C+ grade at the Monster Mile.
David Stremme, Paul Menard, and Robby Gordon – They each need a weekend where they don’t wreck either themselves or someone else.
Others – Bobby Labonte, Juan Pablo Montoya

C
Denny Hamlin – Needs a visit from the good luck fairy.
Scott Speed – Engine issues took a toll on this rookie.
Others – John Andretti, Michael Waltrip

C-
Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, Mike Skinner – Start and parks. It’s such a shame that the sport has come to this.
Others – Mike Bliss, Tony Raines, David Gilliland