The FLOPPER Award picture has cleared up considerably following last week’s race in Texas. My notes with two races to go:

1) If Paul Menard leaves Phoenix more than 161 points behind the next driver, he will clinch the award. And people say Jimmie Johnson has made the Chase boring.

2) David Stremme lost his ride to Brad Keselowski, so he's not in the running for the title anymore. Remember, you need to complete every single race to be in contention for the FLOPPER (Finishes Last in Overall Points while Participating in Every Race) Award.

3) Menard's best (only?) bet is to sit out one of the last two races and let the drivers between spots 27-30 compete for the award.

4) Sam Hornish Jr. gets special thanks for making the Chase interesting again.

5) In 2008 Juan Pablo Montoya and Paul Menard finished 25th and 26th in the standings, only one spot apart. This year they are 26 spots apart. Imagine if we had seen Menard make the Chase this year instead of Montoya? Wouldn't that have been strange? Somehow I don't think we'll see Menard make the Chase next year, either. I don't even need a probability table for that.

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