Rev's Top Ten Picks for 'Dega

My Crystal Revelation Ball refuses to work for restricter plate races. I beg it, bribe it, coddle it and threaten it, and it remains blank. The problem is that the races at Talledega and Daytona are not drivers’ races--although a driver does have to keep the car straight and avoid wrecks.
So without thought or adieu, I will submit my top ten picks thusly:
1. #8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Happy Birthday, Daddy)
2. #6 Mark Martin
3. #20 Tony Stewart
4. #99 Carl Edwards
5. #16 Greg Biffle
6. #17 Matt Kenseth
7. #24 Jeff Gordon
8. #5 Kyle Busch
9. #38 Elliott Sadler
10. #88 Dale Jarrett

Okay, maybe I should do some ‘splainin’ here. Co-opetition is the appropriate word coined by Darrell Waltrip, and it works here. Jr can find friends everywhere, and he will not stay in the middle of the pack for long. The starting front row, Elliott Sadler and Tony Stewart should stay in the front for a while. They both have teammates close behind them. My picking most of the Roush team for the top ten should be no surprise--I think they will do what they always do in the RP races. Carl Edwards is my dark horse here, but I don’t think his problems have been due to lack of talent. We have yet to see how Edwards works with his new crew chief at an RP race, but I have no doubts that Jack Roush knows what he is doing. Other than that, for finishing order and who is in the top ten, I have no rhyme or reason. Did I mention that my Oracle is on strike?

I have to mention my congratulations to Martin Truex, Jr for his third straight Busch series win at Talledega. It is appropriate that DEI should get a win on Dale Earnhardt’s birthday, and the #8 Busch team, in Earnhardt colors, did a splendid job in an exciting finish.
Also my quote of the week, from Tony Stewart, of course, who fifteen minutes after a horrendous crash, in which his car slid on its top, said, “There sure is a lot of stuff you scoop into your window when you’re sliding upside down.”
Classic Smoke.