Yo Paul, I'm really happy for you, and I'm going to let you finish, but Robby Gordon is the biggest FLOPPER of all time...

We have witnessed a stunning turn in this season's race for the FLOPPER award. Robby Gordon is no longer eligible to defend his FLOPPER because he did not compete in Saturday's race at Richmond. Instead, he ran an off-road race in Nevada. The FLOPPER, of course, goes to the driver who competes in every race and amasses the fewest points.

Is it possible that Gordon made this decision simply because he did not want to repeat as the FLOPPER? Was he made aware of his looming repeat championship in the last few weeks, causing him to conveniently skip this race? I'll guess we'll never know.

Nevertheless, we now celebrate the great Paul Menard as the new FLOPPER leader. With his strong, lap-down finish in 28th place, Menard takes a commanding 82-point lead going into New Hampshire.

It is interesting to note the job status of others on this list:

• David Stremme: lost his ride at Penske for 2010
• Bobby Labonte: lost his ride this season at Hall of Fame/Yates
• Reed Sorenson: lost his ride for 2010 at the new Petty/Yates team

Let's see if these guys step up their games as they try to find new rides for next year.

(All Left Turns contributor Dale Watermill is the creator of the Watermill Score and edits the racing statistics blog 36 Races. E-mail him at 36races@gmail.com.)

Related links:
Chase bonus points are meaningless
Jimmie Johnson has most points at Chase tracks this season
Numbers say Cup is Stewart's to lose
The Watermill Score: How to win a Sprint Cup title
Replacing crew chiefs has not helped Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Robby Gordon attempting to defend his 2008 FLOPPER award