2009 Shelby 427 Review and Results
by Virginia Vroom of Predictem.com
This past weekend at Las Vegas, the dice rolled in Kyle Busch’s favor. I had a feeling they would, even though the majority of other Nascar Handicappers thought otherwise. Kyle Busch is going to show that consistency that he showed early last year, except I think that he can carry it throughout the year this time. The difference between last year and this year with Busch is that he knows he’s good. He just lacked the cohesion and polishing with his team that he needed. That lack of maturity surely disappears when you’re throwing away a championship.
Either way, Las Vegas saw some late-race crashes that knocked out several potential winners, including Jimmie Johnson. The Roush guys saw a rare lack of consistency with losing their engines this weekend, similar to the Hendrick drivers last weekend. Edwards, who was going for a win, dropped his motor on the last lap. His other teammates did not fare as well, with Kenseth losing his motor after only 7 laps. That quickly ended his run towards three consecutive wins in the first three races of the season.
Jeff Gordon showed a lot of strength this weekend too, coming back from a torn up front left fender and a pit mistake to take fifth place. His car was just dialed in. It had the power that several guys complained about lacking. Busch actually complained about lacking speed in the first part of the race. Not that he gained that much speed toward the end, but his crew certainly worked to keep Busch’s attitude in check and did the best that they could to make adjustments to the car. It didn’t hurt that everyone else was busy wrecking or blowing motors.
Busch made his win worth it, too, partying later Sunday night at the Hard Rock. Some guys didn’t have too much to party with, and the consistency that we’re so used to seeing in guys like Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth has begun to elude us already this year. It’s interesting seeing the second season of the new generation of cars running. We’re starting to get a feel as to what these cars are capable of and also seeing that the car is a testament to allowing single-car teams to compete with the bigger names in the sport.
Here are the top ten finishers from the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Jeff Burton
4. David Reutimann
5. Bobby Labonte
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Greg Biffle
8. Brian Vickers
9. Jamie McMurray
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jr. actually saw a better day than he has since the first two races, cracking the top ten. Jamie McMurray continues his surprising consistency with another top ten finish and just a strong run all day long. As I said before, Johnson ended up spinning, causing the last caution and earned himself a 24th place finish. I’m sure many of you are smiling about that one.
The points got shaken up quite a bit this weekend as well with the points leader finishing last and the last place car finishing first. Here are your current top 12 in points:
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Greg Biffle
5. David Reutimann
6. Kyle Busch
7. Kurt Busch
8. Tony Stewart
9. Carl Edwards
10. Bobby Labonte
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Michael Waltrip
Mikey is hanging on to that final points position, which is a nice change of pace for him. This weekend, though, is going to prove a challenge for most teams. Atlanta is where we’re headed and this is a track that is basically owned by the Roush guys. We’re going to have to wait and see if these engine issues play a role in this race coming up. It’s time to head to the fastest track on the circuit!
