RPM.ESPN.com takes a look at what went down in the racing world this past weekend.

Biggest surprise: Where were all the veterans in the final 20-lap segment of The Winston? Sure there was a Gordon in the final field -- Robby not Jeff. And a Penske driver won The Winston, but it was Ryan Newman not Rusty Wallace. And Roush Racing was well represented...by Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch, not Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. You get the point. So I guess you have to tip your hats to the elder statesmen like Bill Elliott and Ricky Craven for at least making it to the final segment in the new and "improved" Winston format.

	Actress Ashley Judd was on hand to congratulate husband, Dario Franchitti, on making the Indy 500 field.

Now the term "Young Guns" will have to be used over and over and over again. Anyone else getting tired or hearing that phrase? I bet Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Wallace, Martin and Burton wish that term would dissappear as quickly as Emilio Estevez' career.

Raindance of the week: Billy Boat. Kind of ironic that the wet stuff ensured that the Boat would float again at Indy. The poor guy should go to a doctor and have his blood-pressure checked. It's the third year in a row he has sat on the bubble on Bump Day and made the Indy 500 field.

Biggest disappointment: Ask Oriol Servia, Donnie Beechler, Memo Gidley, Johnny Herbert, Robby McGehee and Jimmy Kite. You'll get the unanimous answer of "not making the Indy field." The hard 6 p.m. CT deadline to end Bump Day adds excitement, but not when rain eliminates a good 90 minutes from the session. Indy should consider pausing the clock during rain delays.

And, the lack of big-name stars in The Winston final. Parity is good, but the fans probably would have liked to have seen a few more of the favorites vying for the big prize.

Gutsy move: How about the restraint Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed on the last lap of The Winston? He was right on Newman's tail and could have overtaken him, but once he saw that he was going to spin him out, he backed off. Would his dad, The Intimidator, done the same? Probably not, but Junior is his own man.

Jeff Burton also showed some genius on the last lap of The Winston by taking his mandatory pit stop. With his pit box situated right in front of the start/finish line, he rolled to a second-place finish in the first segment of the race going 45 miles per hour. The FOX broadcasters were left speechless (not really, because we all know that's impossible) and lauding crew chief Frank Stoddard's brilliant strategy.

Billy Roe taking his 212 mph qual time, hoping rain would prevent other cars from having a chance to get into the field. His gamble was only a couple of hours off.

Also, Michael Andretti dropping his previous time and heading back out. He knew his backup car had the speed, but had he crashed, he would have been out of the race. Plus, his earlier time would have actually been enough to keep him in the field.

Boneheaded move: Elliott Sadler should leave the throwing of helmets to the New Orleans Saints Kyle Turley. An enraged Sadler huffed his head gear at eventual winner Ryan Newman's car after wrecking out of The Winston. Kudos though to Sadler for immediately apologizing on the air afterwards.

At Indy, Kite did stall prior to what would have been a green-flag qualifying run. Rain wouldn't have been an issue had he gotten out there. Also, this is a question-mark boneheaded move, but Derrick Walker and Co. waving off Oriol Servia's attempt after running two laps that would have knocked Boat out? They might have felt something in the car give, but if not ...

Redemption: Perhaps this is more fitting for the Boneheaded category, but Carlos Sainz backed into the Rally of Argentina win after Marcus Gronholm AND Richard Burns were both disqualified for "cheating." Gronholm got a push start from his Peugeot crew illegally and Burns was DQ'ed for a flywheel that was 20 grams too light. Therefore, Sainz who was originally third, was declared the winner late Sunday, putting him into a tie with Tommi Makinen as the all-time winningest World Rallying driver.

Quote: "It's like the last second of the NBA Finals or the guy who is getting ready to kick the field goal in the Super Bowl, it's like that but for a whole afternoon." -- Billy Boat on waiting on the bubble during Bump Day.

Photo: Check out the photo of the week. There was Montana to Clark, Aikman to Irvin and now Sadler to Newman?

Tell us what you think: Share your thoughts with us about the weekend's action.

Your full name:          
Your e-mail address:     
City and state/province: 


Your comment: