It was a Roush parade today….and the man on the King’s Float was Mark Martin. Mark Martin won today’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway in dominating style (leading 139 laps) for his first win of 2005 (his last win was at Dover in June of 2004) and the 35th win of his NEXTEL Cup career (he’s solo in 17th place on the all-time win list). Win #12 this season for Roush Racing gives ’em 86 all-time. We said it was a Roush parade….their Fords led 258 of the 267 laps today, and took the top three spots as well as four of the Top-5. This victory was worth $339,725 from the over $5.8M in posted awards, and Mark becomes the 15th different winner this season.
Carl Edwards (3rd) had his best finish since he won at Pocono in June.
Casey Mears (8th) had his best finish since he was 6th at The Brickyard in August.
STREAKIN….Tony Stewart has 15 Top-10’s in the last 16 races.
Matt Kenseth has 7 Top-10’s in the last 8 races.
Rusty Wallace has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is a tie between Rusty Wallace (+26) and Casey Mears (+26), followed by Kasey Kahne (+23) and Ricky Rudd (+20). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Kevin Lepage (-30), followed by Denny Hamlin (-25), Brandon Ash (-24), Scott Wimmer (-23), and Mike Wallace (-20).
Jeff Gordon (16th to 14th) made the only multi-position move forward today, while Dale Jarrett (14th to 16th) swapped spots with Gordon.(Stock Car Fans)(10-9-2005)
