> SOUTHERN INDIANA — This week, I will be analyzing and predicting the second road-course race of the season at Watkins Glen.

But before I start writing about the Glen, I want to savor the victory posted by my man, Jeff Gordon, last week at Pocono for a moment.

Sorry, Gordon haters and Junior fans.

To be honest, I still cannot believe Gordon won that race last week. He started 27th on a track that is very tough to pass on. After he charged to the front, he was sixth on the final restart on lap 91.

Then Jimmie Johnson — yes, that Jimmie Johnson, the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion — got loose because of a flat tire heading into turn one, sending three other cars up the race track with him. Gordon steered his car below the wreck and slipped past the carnage to grab the lead.

Then the race got called because of rain, giving Gordon a much-needed victory and putting him in the driver’s seat for the second wild-card spot for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

This was an atypical win for Gordon. It is rare to see him claim a race when it is not only rain-shortened, but under such crazy circumstances. I mean, who would have thought that Johnson would lose control of his car in the closing laps while leading?

Last week’s race just goes to show why auto racing is one of the most exciting and unpredictable sports in the world. It’s the only sport I know of where everything can change in a blink of an eye.



SUNDAY’S FINGER LAKES 355

At Watkins Glen International

TOP-FIVE CONTENDERS

1. TONY STEWART: All you need to do is look at Smoke’s statistics in the last 10 Glen races — five victories, seven finishes in the top two and the top five and eight top-10s. Need I say more.

2. MARCOS AMBROSE: Ever since he started racing in Cup in 2008, he has been one of the guys to beat at either the Glen or Sonoma, the other road course on the Cup circuit. His career average finish at the Glen is 2.2, as he has not finished outside the top three in his four Cup starts at the track. That includes a victory last year.

3. CARL EDWARDS: Despite no victories at the Glen, he has been really competitive at the upstate New York track. Edwards’ average finish at the Glen is 8.7, which includes a third in 2009 and fifth-place finishes in 2006 and 2010. This track could provide him the victory he desperately needs to make the Chase.

4. JUAN MONTOYA: If he can keep his emotions in check and not do anything stupid, he has a great shot at giving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing its first victory of the season. Montoya has four straight top-seven finishes at the Glen, which includes a victory two years ago.

5. GORDON: He has got to be riding high after that unthinkable victory last week. Plus he has the second-most Cup victories at the Glen among active drivers with four. But I’m proceeding with caution on this pick. Ever since his last Glen victory in 2001, Gordon has only two top-10 finishes in the last 10 Glen races.



SUNDAY’S DARK HORSE

• KURT BUSCH: He has shown the past few years how good he is on road courses. Busch has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four Glen races, which included a second-place finish in 2010. He won last year’s race at Sonoma and he was third at that track back in June. And yes, I am punching myself while making this prediction because I cannot stand this guy and it is killing me that I am praising him about anything.



DRIVER MOST LIKELY TO STRUGGLE

• REGAN SMITH: Smith is a native of New York State, so he should feel right at home outside of Watkins Glen. But within the track — or at any road course — he is far away from home. He has an average finish of 31.3 at the Glen and 30th on road courses overall.



PARTING SHOT

• If there is one group in the NASCAR world that has looked like a bunch of fools, it has to be Dodge Motorsports.

This past week, the manufacturer announced its pulling out of NASCAR after this season because quite frankly no current or potential NASCAR teams want to run their cars.

And it is a shame, too, because NASCAR fans have to say goodbye to the Nationwide Series’ Dodge Challenger, one of the sportiest cars in stock car racing today.

I could see the writing on the wall on Dodge’s departure in March when it unveiled the 2013 Charger, which also was a very attractive car, for next year’s Cup Series. This happened only a few days after Penske Racing, which is pretty much the only organization in NASCAR that runs Dodges, announced it was switching to Ford in 2013.

Why Dodge proceeded to reveal its 2013 Cup car shortly after Penske announced it was switching manufacturers puzzles me.

Could have Dodge just postponed the announcement of the new Charger and then unveil it later when it found a team?

I guess Dodge was hoping and praying for an established motorsports organization (e.g. IndyCar’s Andretti Autosport, owned by former open-wheel star Michael Andretti, or Richard Petty Motorsports) or its fairy godmother to pour out millions and millions of dollars to construct a new Sprint Cup team once they took a glance at the 2013 Charger.

Dodge’s departure from NASCAR was a long time coming after all the mistakes it has made during its latest stint in the Cup Series. So do not expect it to make a triumphant return in the future.

Contact Kevin Harris at kevin.harris@newsandtribune.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @NT_KevinHarris.