Michigan Int'l Speedway - 3M Performance 400

RACE WINNER: KURT BUSCH!!!

Kurt Busch: 1st (started 15th)
- Wow! I didn’t expect this sitting down for the race on Tuesday, but I’m not surprised because of the roll this team is on. It’s very exciting to see Kurt and the Miller Lite team clicking so well and beginning to dominate the series after struggling a little bit earlier this year. He lead 92 laps; basically once he got up front he never left, and with the 10 extra points he’s putting himself in a good position once the Chase starts. I also must say that I think Kurt has done the coolest burnouts this year! I’m very proud of the distance this team has come, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they can do if they make the Chase (which I think they will). They are still 12th in points, but 163 points in front of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

- Quotes:
“It was a great run for the Miller Lite Dodge. To be able to get the race underway was a relief. I thought we had a good car in practice, and it turned out to be true. We made one big adjustment at the end of Happy Hour and three days later we were able to put it to use. It really turned out great. It was a really smooth and steady day for us. We had to race some guys hard and got to move forward. We led some laps and put ourselves in position. That’s what it takes when you’re running for the Chase, to get in, its just smooth and steady effort. Pat made excellent pit calls. With all the restarts at the end, it challenged me to be my best and to be on top of my game with restarts and feeling the car out. This Dodge ran magnificent in the corners and the straightaway power was Penske/Jasper Power and it was great. It was a total team effort. You can’t leave anyone out. To be conservative is our approach and so far it’s worked out.”

I also loved this speech from Roger Penske!:
“Let me say this. Kurt Busch was a great driver from the very beginning. I was very disappointed in the situation that took place at Phoenix because Kurt did not have a DUI but it was thrown up that way. Then when he was let out of the team it aggravated a situation that we didn’t need. We’ve worked with Kurt. I think he sees the benefit. We brought him in as part of the family. Right out of the box he won a race for us his first year. I think he’s matured as all young men do. I’d rather have a guy that I’m pulling on his belt and having to kick him in the butt. I can tell you that. It’s all about race drivers here. We will work on the personality. We will work on the things you might need to do. I think Kurt appreciates what we’re putting behind him. As we do Ryan (Newman), as we do our other drivers on our team. And he’s delivering. I can tell you it’s making a huge difference. We’re always right on that half inch of being successful or behind. He certainly has demonstrated in the last races here how good he really is. I think he is right at the top of his game. His age, his experience and now with us giving him the tools that he needs he is going to be fine. I think it was the best move I ever made. We hung with him when he was down, face down quite honestly. Remember, we had a beer sponsor too. So it wasn’t the coolest time for me to walk into Phoenix with that going on. But the Miller Brewing Company stood behind him. The team has stood behind him and certainly you can see what has turned out to be a terrific team and some great success to date.”

Martin Truex Jr.: 2nd (started 14th)
- Despite come clutch problems hindering their pit stops, the Bass Pro Shops team was there at the end chasing down Kurt. Martin had little chance of making it was battle for the lead since Kurt was so dominant, but he made a valiant effort and padded his points lead on Chase competitors Dale Jr and Ryan Newman.

- Quotes:
“Great day. I just got to thank all the guys on the Bass Pro Chevrolet. They did a good job today. We had a little trouble. We got up to about eighth there and our last green flag stop the clutch went out and couldn't get off pit road and lost a bunch of spots and that was the best we'd been all day as far the car went so I was happy with the car and it was an easy decision to stay out there at the end. You know I had no clutch, I was going to get killed on pit road so we got some clean air, man, and that thing just went to diggin' so not a lot of fun at the end but I could smell the victory but congratulations to Kurt. He deserved it. It was a great win but great run for us, real proud of all the guys.”

Brian Vickers: 8th (started 18th)
- Brian is proof that these Camrys have horsepower and can be rocket ships when they’re set up right! From the drop of the flag he was picking off positions and by the end of the day would lead three times for 11 laps. Seeing Brian (and Dave Blaney) running so well is very encouraging because at the very least we know the Toyotas are capable of winning races.

- Quotes:
“We had a decent car. We were probably our worst there on the last restart. We were just too tight - we took two tires and no fuel. It was tight in front of us after that and it was just too much. We are definitely improving, we just need to keep working on it. We've gotten better and better. These guys do a great job. Toyota brought a new package this weekend - a new intake manifold - and that helped.”

Casey Mears: 11th (started 29th)
- I couldn’t believe how bad the 25 was at the start of the race – he went right to the very back of the field! Of course ESPN completely ignored this, and only by going on his forum was I able to get any clue what was wrong (which was a really bad vibration). Thankfully the vibration apparently didn’t amount to anything, because he eventually got the Lucky Dog and was back on the lead lap. As much as I couldn’t believe how bad he was at the drop of the green, I was equally surprised when he made his way back into 11th. A great recovery!

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 12th (started 39th)
- Junior had a great car and worked very well with teammate Martin to go from the back to the front. It looked like it was going to be a Top 10 day when a pit road mishap dropped him out of contention. As the Bud Chevy came down pit lane, Junior realized at the last second that he was right beside his pit stall, and he overshot. To avoid a penalty he had to back up, costing him a lot of time on the racetrack. I feel really bad for this team because they’re going to have to run really hard if they want to make it into the Chase, based on the results Martin and Kurt are putting up.

- Quotes:
“A big miscue on my part. Just was watching a car in his stall getting his tire changed and didn't realize that my pit was prior to his instead of after so I missed my stall. My fault totally. My guys have been great all day long. That motor, I can't believe it. It's just like. I don't know where it came from because I've been critical of our motor department in the past but that thing had to have been 20 (hp) better than anybody here, even my own teammates.”

David Reutimann: 23rd (started 12th)
- At first the Domino’s Camry was a relatively decent car and although David had some issues with its handling he remained in the Top 20 for quite some time. Unfortunately about mid-way through the race that went downhill and David became very irate over the radio. I felt incredibly bad for him because the frustration and desperation in his voice was so thick you could cut it with a knife! I was so impressed with Frankie and Shawn because they eventually calmed him down (he was getting so bad that his voice was a few octaves higher than it is normally) and David got back to work. 23rd is nothing to despair about and I think David realized that in the end. As I’ve said many times before, listening to this team is a lot of fun – the chemistry just flows from them.

- Quotes:
“I’m content with the finish we had today in the #00 Dominos.com Toyota. Of course, it’s a no-brainer that we would’ve preferred to finish better, but after three rough weekends in a row it’s nice to stay out of trouble and finish the race”

Michael Waltrip: 40th (started 11th)
- After a 10th-place finish at the first Michigan race, seeing Michael quickly drop to the back of the pack was very disappointing. A flat tire didn’t help and put him in a hole that he couldn’t get out of with an ill-handling car. When he wrecked I thought at first that he had it saved, but he didn’t keep the car stopped once he missed the wall; he turned left and Joe Nemechek crashed right into him. Part of me wishes that Michael just held the brake, but the other wishes Nemechek had been further down the track instead of rather close to the wall. It was just a sucky situation in general.

- Quotes:
"I just lost it. As long as I slid and nobody hit me I thought I'd be okay. But, then I slid and Joe did hit me as I was coming off the wall. I didn't know which way the wheels were pointing out there in so much fog and we spun out there a little bit. I was trying to let everybody get by and I think he was the last one to go by and he got me. I'm okay."

Dale Jarrett: DNQ
- Poor Dale…


Other Notes:

- Rain!! Is it monsoon season?!

- I must admit I wasn’t surprised when Montoya caused the first wreck of the race. And just like I expected, he dove it in the corner like a wild man and thought Blaney would yield…hmm, kind of like the All-Star race?

Michigan Int'l Speedway - Carfax 250

RACE WINNER: DENNY HAMLIN

Brian Vickers: 6th (started 2nd)
- After starting on the outside pole, it was very obvious that Brian had a great car! When the green flew it didn’t take him long to take the lead – he blew by Greg Biffle and showed his muscle. In all he would end up leading 19 laps, but a problem in the pits was the 10 team’s downfall. The crew was having issues putting fuel into the car, causing long pit stops that would kill all of Brian’s hard-earned track position. It was disappointing because he was the best car on the racetrack.

- Quotes:
“We had a great car. We messed up and gave the race away in the pits. We had a slow pit stop - we came in first and came out 35th the first stop, and we didn't get all the gas in the car. The caution came out and we worked our way back up to second - we had to pit and went to the back again. That pretty much did us in. The race was green from that point forward. We charged as hard as we could and we were the fastest car on the race track for most of the race - we just lost too much ground starting at the back and we couldn't make it up. I'm proud of my crew - they gave me a fast car. I appreciate the opportunity to drive this car. We had a car to win - we should have won this race - we just beat ourselves. We had a good stable car. We were really, really good compared to most guys on the long runs. I really believe we could have won this race.”

Casey Mears: 9th (started 13th)
- Yet another great run for the National Guard team! He had a pretty quiet, steady day.

David Reutimann: 16th (started 14th)
- Poor David! He had a really good car and began to show it quickly as he started passing cars on Lap 1 – but then bad luck hit. David Gilliland in the 25 moved up the racetrack coming off the corner just as David was sticking his nose beside his right rear quarter panel. Gilliland never seemed to know David was there, and David let off too late. The incident resulted in a big hole on the Dream Machine’s “headlight” and a killer of handling. Despite the mishap David hung on to finish in the Top 20, which I’ll take because it could have been a lot worse and it could have been a wreck. He gained on Carl Edwards, but was passed by Kevin Harvick for 2nd by a handful of points.

-Quotes:
“It sucked. The 25 (David Gilliland) ran over us about four laps into it like we weren't even there. I was on the outside of him and just killed the front of the car. From that point on we lost all our track position. It was tight on exit and from that point on - our race was over before it even began.”

Other Notes:

- Michigan Busch races seem to bring out the worst in Carl Edwards! On Lap 26 an ill-handling 60 car slipped up a little bit, backing into Reed Sorenson, who had little time to react. Contact was made and Carl spun, thankfully not hitting anything else (although he lost a lap). The situation was a racing incident, but Carl let his anger get to him and drove down pit road to wave at Reed’s crew (like it was their fault), and then in his post-wreck interview he spouted off about the wreck and insulted Reed (he never called him by name, but whether he didn’t know who was in the 41 or he was alluding to Reed’s insignificance, I don’t know). Whoa Carl, chill. You would have probably finished like crap anyway, because your car was crap!

Watkins Glen Int'l - Centurion Boats at The Glen

RACE WINNER: TONY STEWART

Martin Truex Jr.: 6th (started 12th)
- The day was uneventful until the infamous restart on Lap 72. Juan Pablo Montoya was in front of Martin, but a long gear caused him to be slow on acceleration. Martin attempted to pass him into Turn 1. Montoya blocked him all the way to the inside of the track and, because he was holding Martin up, Martin got into the back of him. A big wreck ensued, taking out Montoya, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Jamie McMurray. Martin was unscathed. More on that wreck later.

- Martin is still 11th in points.

Kurt Busch: 11th (started 13th)
- He ran great all day, but in order to capitalize on Dale Jr.’s misfortunes, crew chief Pat Tryson made a call to bring Kurt in for fuel. It was a smart move to avoid running out of gas at the end of the race and put as many points between Kurt and Junior as possible.

- Quotes:
“It was a good day. We worked our way up all the way to second at one point. We tried to be conservative on fuel and that put us in the back of the pack. All those yellows at the end made it too tough to pass.”

- Kurt remains 12th in points, 163 markers ahead of Dale Jr.

Casey Mears: 15th (started 19th)
- Despite getting spun out by the #66 of Jeff Green, Casey had a good solid day. The contact lost him some spots, but since road racing can be very difficult, the finish was nothing to complain about.

- To further satisfy the #25 team, Casey moves up three spots to 16th in points and up two positions to 17th in owner points.

Dale Jarrett: 29th (started 37th)
- Pit strategy put the #44 Toyota out in front early in the race, but a long green flag run forced them to pit and shuffled them to the back again, where he stayed for the rest of the race. Apparently there were some horsepower issues, for DJ claimed he struggled through the esses.

- Dale is still 41st in driver points and 42nd in owner standings.

Brian Vickers: 41st (started 36th)
- Progress was made at the start of the race, but soon the brakes became a problem. Brian spun the car and was hit hard by Regan Smith. The foam that sits inside the New Car’s doors burst and littered the track. The #83 team patched up the car as best they could and Brian was able to soldier on. During a fuel stop, he got busted for speeding and had to make a pass-through penalty under green. Eventually, the transmission gave out, putting the team out of their misery.

- Brian remains 39th in driver and owner points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 42nd (started 14th)
- The #8 team’s demise came earlier in the week during practice. The car was horrible, causing Junior to over-rev the engine. The crew made whole-sale changes to the car and it ran excellently during the race, but the abuse from practice proved too much for the engine and it blew on Lap 63.

- Quotes:
“I am real proud of my team. We were terrible all weekend but that car was good during the race. It was fun to drive. I thought we were putting on a show, we were working really hard and had something to be proud of and now all kind of disappointed but we will come back next week. We just beat on the motor too hard. I think we was just too rough on it. The motor was good. The car was really, really good.”

- Things aren’t looking very good for Junior now in the points race. He dropped to 14th, 100 points away from Kurt Busch.

David Reutimann: DNS

Michael Waltrip: DNS

Other Notes:

- Okay. Of course I have to talk about the Montoya fiasco. Plain and simple, Montoya put himself in that position. He knew he was slow and chose to block Martin anyway. And the whole, “The 1 hit me!” excuse was a bunch of crap. How the heck was he planning on cutting into Turn 1 that tight in the first place? He hit the rumble strips for God’s sake. I say, he was going to get into Harvick whether Martin hit him or not. As for the whole fight afterwards, Harvick did nothing wrong. Juan was out of the car first and Juan made an aggressive move first. Yes, Harvick did approach him and touch him, but I saw nothing violent when he put his hand on Montoya’s helmet. Not like the shove Montoya gave Harvick’s helmet a second later. Montoya did all the pushing and shoving, even having the gall to try to shove past an official. Gotta give props to Jeff Burton! The moment he went up to Harvick, Harvick cut off the fight. Yeah, yeah – Harvick’s had his share of scuffles. But Montoya marched into NASCAR thinking he owned the series and it’s about time someone stood up to him. I guarantee most of the garage agrees.

- What was with Tony’s nonexistent celebration? No burnout, no fence climbing. What a ripoff, and the boos from the crowd showed the fans thought the same.

- I felt really bad for Jeff Gordon. He looked so upset. It probably wasn’t the embarrassing solo spin as much as realizing he was going to have to explain why he screwed up to reporters for the next week or so.

Watkins Glen Int'l - Zippo 200

RACE WINNER: KEVIN HARVICK

Kurt Busch: 3rd (started 1st)
- After last year’s exciting battle with Robby Gordon in the closing laps, Kurt began his run at the Glen with a record-breaking pole lap. Obviously, he had a great race based on his finish, but pushing the car to its limits all day crippled it. The #39 Dodge experienced brake problems at the end of the race and Kurt nearly wrecked it while barreling into a turn only to have the brakes go flat. Then his strategy was forced to change from offense to defending his 3rd position from Paul Menard. Regardless, Kurt is always fun to watch at the road courses!

Casey Mears: 8th (started 19th)
- Some extra fuel at the end of the race allowed Casey to continue racing while others had to pit. Even though he didn’t muscle his way to the front, an important aspect of road racing is to keep the car clean and stay on the track, which Casey did wonderfully.

Todd Kluever: 20th (started 33rd)
- He had a much better day than at Montreal. The team used pit strategy early in the race that faltered and put Todd a lap down. However, he was able to claim the free pass after a caution flew. Restarting in 25th, he gained all five positions on the track.

David Reutimann: 25th (started 26th)
- Rain that cancelled practice put David at a disadvantage, since this was the first time he had even visited the Glen. He made good progress at the start of the race, but fell a lap down after green flag stops. While a lap down, he made contact with Jeff Burton, though it’s difficult to say if the damage to his car was enough to alter handling. Not a stellar finish, but it was better than being taken out of the car like he was in the Cup series.

- Quotes:
“Today was just a tough day. I had never raced on the track before this weekend, and it was only my third road course race, so I didn't come in here with too high of hopes. The track is a pretty fast road course, but going into turn one gets pretty tough on restarts with all those cars going in at once. Overall, we lost a little bit in points, but we have some tracks coming up that I think we're going to be real good at, so I'm optimistic.”

- However, David did gain on point leader Carl Edwards, who had mechanical issues. He is now 766 points away from a championship!

Other Notes:

- Didn’t watch the race because we had to go into work early.

David Sitting Out Watkins Glen

Well, it was a rumor that appeared on Jayski nearly a month ago and one that I believed with much dejectedness, since anyone who knows me well remembers how I reacted to the Sonoma deal. I believed it more and more as MWR did not deny the hearsay of PJ Jones once again replacing David at a road course. However, there was one glimmer of hope left in me that if David performed well in the Busch race at Montreal he would be in the Cup car at the Glen, but it was a foolish hope to begin with since the entry forms are sent to NASCAR more than a week before the event. He was either in or out.

And when I saw Jones’ name on the entry list this past Monday my heart sank. Then I became very angry.

I’m sorry, I don’t see much logic beyond my “quick fix” theory about this move! Jones made Sonoma by the skin of his teeth and finished 12th because of pit strategy, not because of an astonishing charge to the front. David could have done the same, with the added bonus of bringing some momentum to his team.

I was further irritated by the lack of official announcement by MWR. All we got was a PJ JONES READY FOR WATKINS GLEN article on Michael’s site. Was MWR trying to fly below the radar with this notably unpopular decision?

Qualifying on Friday was rained out, and ironically the only reason Jones is racing on Sunday is because of David and the 00 team’s hard work throughout the season. The thought of Michael putting David back into the car crossed my mind but I figured NASCAR wouldn’t allow it; that one would have to be injured / sick / previously engaged to “apply” for that. I was in for a surprise when today Boris Said, originally DNQed as a result of the rain, was put in the #21 in place of Bill Elliott. Interesting. And I wasn’t the only fan of MWR who wondered, “Why doesn’t Michael put David in the 00?”

I wonder?

The bottom line is that David needs experience, Michael goes on and on about that fact. And yet how exactly is David going to get experience when he doesn’t get the chance to experience anything? To placate David and his fans, possibly, Michael insists that David’s replacement is because of Jones’ advantage at qualifying: “The road races are exceptionally difficult and being outside the top-35, we felt it was necessary to have PJ’s experience in qualifying the car.” Okay, so the car is qualified. Why not allow David to gain some precious seat time, on a road course and in a New Car too? Why put him at an immediate disadvantage next season, when everyone else will be saying at the road courses, “Ah, I remember how this feels,” while David will be likely thinking, “What the hell am I doing?”

So far Jones will be sitting in David’s 00 tomorrow, leading me further to toss the “what’s best for MWR” theory and solidify the “quick fix to please sponsors” theory. What’s best for MWR—if they plan to resign David, that is—is for David to have his butt in his car, right? Out of everything else that makes the most sense to me. David is the future of this organization, not PJ Jones. That is what’s so frustrating to me as not only a fan of David’s, Michael’s and MWR’s, but as a fan observing those three as an unbiased bystander. It would be like preparing for a horse race with one horse and then taking another and expecting it to run well in all the races it enters. Where is the logic in that?

Pocono Raceway - Pennsylvania 500 in Person

Unlike in June, this July morning dawned bright and clear, which immediately put my spirits up because there wasn’t a cloud to be seen. When we got to the track, Jim was tired so he stayed in the truck to take a nap, while Danni, Mom and I went to go see the sights. The sun was shining and it was warm, but not unbearably hot, so it was a pleasant walk from the truck parked outside Turn 3 to the gates. The first thing we did was go check out which drivers were signing when (I usually know Kurt and Casey’s times, but for some reason forgot to check on the computer before we left). Kurt was arriving at 9:45, Casey at 10:00, Brian at 10:30, and when I passed by David’s hauler I realized that he was signing too, at 10:50! That very second I vowed I would meet him.

One thing I was really stumped by was the lack of a souvenir rig for Michael. I looked up and down all the rows, even checked out the ones in the way back and never found it. What was odd was that there were big spaces between some of the rigs, like there had been one parked there previously. I was pretty bummed because I wanted to buy a pair of earrings and an MWR shirt. I hope nothing happened to Homer or Phyllis!

Of course Kurt didn’t have any tickets left, so we headed over to his rig several minutes early, only to find him already there. I was a little disappointed because he’s usually late, and I missed his hat toss. The mob of people in front of his rig (always the biggest crowd for a signing session) was difficult to get through, and our pictures support that. It seemed like every time Danni would try to get in a clear spot it would be filled! Like always, Kurt was very smiley and friendly, and would look up and pose for anyone who called his name. I also really liked his shirt.

A little before 10 we made our way back to Casey’s trailer. Since David’s was parked right next to his I planned on watching Casey for a few minutes and then getting on David’s line, which at the time wasn’t very long. Casey looked very tired but was friendly to everyone he met. I kind of feel bad for him because he’s now pretty popular and I think he gets nervous because he knows he’s going to have to sign for a large amount of people.

I got on David’s line and sat down under his rig. Looking above me I saw some vents and realized they were likely the rig’s air conditioning, so for a while I had a nice cool breeze blowing on me. However, at times it would get really hot, and then freezing cold, so I started to feel a little miserable after about a half hour. Danni and Mom were staking out a spot right where David would be sitting, but Danni came to visit me for a few minutes. I had been keeping myself busy by watching the fans on Casey’s line, which was in between David’s rig and the one on the other side. All of a sudden I noticed one guy was walking through and thought, “Cool, a TRB fan.” Then he came fully into view, and to my surprise there was Brian Vickers! Danni, who was wearing a TRB tank top, turned and gaped at me! Unfortunately she had nothing for him to sign except her tank top, which would have been a little awkward since he would have had to sign her chest (on second thought, she should have asked ha ha!). He signed a few things for a couple fans and then went into his rig (parked right behind Casey’s). After a few more minutes of mixed excitement and disappointment, Danni left me and went back to wait with Mom.

David finally arrived and I was glad to get out from under the air conditioning exhaust. By this time David had quite a line behind his rig so it paid off that I’d gotten there early. I couldn’t see him until I was a few people away, but Danni said at first he looked very tired. When he and I were face-to-face I admired how handsome he is, especially when he smiled and said hello. I immediately felt really comfortable with him, and lifted up my 00 backpack for him to sign. He looked at it and then grinned, leaning over it and giving it a little shake. “You got any money in there?” he joked. I giggled and said that I did, and he laughed.

He asked where I wanted him to sign it and I told him, and then seemed to know that I wanted to take a picture with him before I asked. He leaned way over for me (I said it was because I’m short, Danni insisted it was because he really liked me!), got the picture taken and then lowered my backpack down. On a whim I blurted, “I love you!” I instantly felt really silly but he giggled and looked flattered!! As I took my backpack he said, “I love your nails,” which were painted blue with yellow stripes for Michael. All I could answer was an “Oh!” and a schoolgirl titter (uhg!!). I wanted to ask if I could hold his hand for a minute but I was starting to lose my cool a bit and didn’t want to take up more of his time. We said thank you and walked away, and I looked at his autograph on my backpack and felt like floating. He was just so absolutely sweet! I think the rain could have started pouring down and the race cancelled and I still would have been able to smile.

Mom, Danni and I walked around and checked out our seats (not very good…N22, which is basically over by Turn 3 and you can’t really see pit road or the start/finish line) before we went back to the truck to have lunch. While we were eating a state trooper helicopter was flying around announcing they were looking for some “Christopher Speeno” over the megaphone, and the guy was in trouble, by the sounds of it, since the troopers kept saying, “We know who you are!” That was pretty amusing! I wonder if they ever found him?

Unfortunately we missed all the MWR drivers being announced during intros because we had a problem getting our FanScan (Mom forgot her credit card in the truck and we didn’t have $500 for a deposit!), but as we ran to our seats they announced David and I heard a lot of cheers! And of course once we got to our seats we discovered what we’d feared: that they don’t go all the way down to the end of the grandstand with the drive-by trucks. We used our binoculars and guessed which drivers we were looking at. But I was very pleased to hear lots of cheers for Kurt.
It was then I realized that PJ Jones was replacing Robby Gordon in the 7, and I wondered what he did. I was able to watch some of the Busch race before leaving Saturday but not all of it. Now I know what happened, but haven’t seen a good replay so I can’t really say too much about it yet.

Pocono races are extremely long. In a way I like that because we get a lot of racing for not much money, but you also get pretty achy and irritable sitting in those grandstands with people getting plastered and blowing their cigarette ashes into your face! There were also tons of Japanese beetles all over the place, flying into peoples’ faces. I already hate these beetles but them annoying me at a race was twice as bad!

As everyone knows, Kurt pretty much took the lead away from Junior (to the dismay of the grandstands) very quickly and didn’t look back. At first the MWR cars looked okay, with DJ by far the best of the three, but then both Michael and David began to have issues. Michael was yelling at Bobby Kennedy so much that I switched to David, who was having yet more radio problems.

Both Jamie McMurray and Dale Jr. spun out right in front of us! The crowd literally screamed in agony when Junior spun – I laughed after I was sure he didn’t hit anything. It was wild! I wish I had gotten a picture of it but it scared the crap out of me. He made a ton of smoke!

I was distressed when DJ went to the garage, and even more when David followed with the same fuel pump failure (Frankie was having a fit!). I suspected Michael had some flat tires but they seemed to happen so close to green flag pit stops for the others that I wasn’t sure what was happening.

When Jamie McMurray finally crashed I felt really bad for him because his car was torn apart. He couldn’t make it back to the pits and for a moment I was excited because I thought we’d be able to see him get out, until an ambulance blocked the view. Poor Jamie! Three wrecks was the charm. Brian also got into this one so that hurt as well.

The last few laps were very stressful for me because even though Kurt was so dominant I was terrified that something would happen. When he came around Turn 3 I started screaming in victory, but after seeing poor Jeremy Clements’ heartbreak during the ARCA race I made sure to see him cross the line first with my own eyes before I relaxed. In Turn 3 on the cooldown lap I saw Kyle run beside him for a while, and I started to get a little choked up! Kurt’s birthday was the 4th, and his beloved dog Jim died a few days before Chicago, so I think this was an emotional win for him. His burnout was amazing, but I wish I had my June seats because it would have been right on top of us! Some fans left disappointed but I was pleased to hear quite a bit of cheering and lots of clapping.

Suddenly someone above me yelled, “Come on Mikey!” and I looked over to see the 55 car silently coming to pit road with a tow truck behind it.

Danni and I did a little shopping afterward while Mom and Jim went back to the truck to get the food going. Again I looked for Michael’s souvenir rig, but unless I’m blind it wasn’t to be found. I stopped at Kurt’s rig and bought a hat I’d been wanting for a long time, and it was the only one left! Danni bought a TRB hat, which is really nicely made, and a 1/64 Brian diecast.

Back in the fields we had a nice few hours and met a couple and their son from Iowa (Kurt Busch fans, yes!!), had some burgers and coffee and then went home. Unfortunately both Danni and I felt pretty sick by the time we got home; I don’t know if it was the heat or those French fries we ate, but luckily we’re okay now!

Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Brickyard 400

RACE WINNER: TONY STEWART

Kurt Busch: 11th (started 6th)
- The team really struggled early with the car’s handling and Kurt dropped like a rock. Pit stops sent him to the back of the pack after a speeding penalty. Then, on a later stop while leaving, Kurt came out slightly ahead of Scott Wimmer and in the left lane. Everything was fine until Clint Bowyer shot out of his stall and forced Kurt to the right, where Scott’s front bumper was. Scott got shoved hard into the wall and peeled Kurt’s rear bumper cleanly off. Shame on the #07 crew for sending Clint out without checking traffic first! The #2 car had to come back in for repairs, but after that Kurt charged through the field.

- Kurt can now smell the sweet air of the Chase. He is 13th in points, only 13 markers away from Dale Jr.


Martin Truex Jr.: 12th (started 33rd)
- A horrible qualifying attempt turned into a good day for Martin and his team. However, it wasn’t easy getting there. First, he sped on pit road. A large wreck gave him some minor left-front damage and he went back down pit lane to get it repaired. But he ran the paddle at the end of pit lane and was held a lap! After some time, he got the free pass and clawed his way up the field. A hard day’s work!

- Martin remains 11th in points.

Brian Vickers: 21st (started 25th)
- The car was decent but a crappy alternator gave them electrical problems that distracted them from adjusting on the car. It wasn’t a bad finish considering the issues they had, but I’m sure the #83 Red Bull team would have liked a better day.

- Quotes:
“We continue to beat ourselves and that's one thing we have to fix. The car was okay, we were probably a top-15 car. We weren't great - we were okay. We think we lost an alternator and that pretty much ruined our day. It could have been wiring, it could have been a lot of issues, but it was an electrical failure. We had a total overhaul of the car during a pit stop around lap 47. We were just trying to get ahead of the car. We weren't handling nearly the way we needed to be, a nd we were obviously trying to fix the battery.”

- Brian still sits 39th in points and 40th in owner points.

Scott Wimmer: 31st (started 22nd)
- He was having a good day in the #33 Holiday Inn Chevy until that incident on pit road. It sucked and Scott got the worst of it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 34th (started 4th)
- He had the best car in his career at this track and was very strong early, leading 33 laps. With under 30 to go and while running 5th, the engine blew up. A pulley broke on the front of the motor. Junior was happy with the way they ran, but not happy with the finish with the Chase looming.

- Quotes:
“Fabulous job by the Bud team all day long, all weekend long actually. We had a fast car; we just blew a motor. Probably had a bad part or something. We don't have that many failures. Really proud of DEI for everything they gave us the weekend. We had some good stuff. We were going to get us a top-five if not challenge for the win later in the race.”

- Junior is dangerously close to the cut-off now. He sits in 12th, only 13 points ahead of the 13th place driver, Kurt Busch.

Casey Mears: 35th (started 9th)
- The car wasn’t very good to begin with, but when Casey pitted, he sped and was sent to the back. As if it couldn’t have gotten worse, he dove into the turn too hard and slid up into Johnny Sauter. A sizable wreck ensued and sent Casey to the garage for a time.

- Quotes:
“I thought we were making good changes and making the car a little bit better. And I got behind Bobby Labonte to try to follow and pass the No. 70 (Johnny Sauter) and I was tucked up so close behind the No. 43 (Labonte) that when I went to go get on the brakes to make the corner, I just went straight. I ended up getting into the side of the No. 70. It was definitely my fault for getting into the No. 70 there and I hate that. It was a long race and I felt like we had a car that if we could have gotten it right we could have had a good finish.”

- This drops Casey down 2 spots to 19th in points.

David Reutimann: 38th (started 34th)
- They weren’t running well to begin with, but then the car dropped a cylinder and eventually the engine blew. Second week in a row. It’s so frustrating, but this is what happens when a team is new and the manufacturer is new.

- Quotes:
“Just a motor failure for the second week in a row. I don't know what we have going on there, but it's really disappointing. We don't know why, but they'll go back and take a look at it to try to figure out the problem. First it dropped a cylinder, and then it started blowing oil out of the exhaust. Our car was okay -- we seemed to go from one side to the other on handling, but we were going to be okay. I'm just really disappointed to end the day like this.”

- David gains a spot to 40th in points and stays 41st in owner points.

Other Notes:

- Tony Stewart just baffles me. At the end of the race, Kevin Harvick was leading but obviously fading. So what does Tony do? Instead of passing him cleanly, he dove in low into the corner and nailed Harvick in the left front, successfully disabling the car’s aero and royally pissing Harvick off. Tony went on to easily win the race while Harvick plummeted to 7th. During the cool down lap, Harvick barreled up to Tony’s right side and slammed him hard – not in a congratulatory manner, as some people and Harvick later said. I understood it, but I felt bad for Reed Sorenson, who was on Tony’s left side and had to swerve into the grass to avoid being hit. Greg Zippadelli, the #20’s crew chief, went on and on about how much Tony had matured. Little did he know that Tony would smirk while standing on the bricks and say on live television, “This one's for every one of those fans in the stands who pull for me every week and take all the bullshit from everybody else.” And yes, his niece and nephew were present when he said that. What a childish idiot! He said it on purpose and just plain didn’t care. He also didn’t look very appreciative of his second Brickyard win. Something is hugely wrong with him. Ironically, all the “bullshit” his fans have to deal with is just going to increase now with that stupid remark. If Tony really cares about his fans, he’d quit being such a jerk who seems to wallow in controversy. He is becoming an embarrassment to NASCAR.

- Jimmie Johnson’s tumultuous relationship with Indy continued. He got involved in the massive wreck with Scott Riggs and Jamie McMurray, but that wasn’t the end of it. The team made some nice-looking but unsteady repairs to the left front of the car. When Jimmie went back on the track and attempted to get his lap back, the tire blew and sent him hard into the wall. The impact broke something and the car burst into flames. Jimmie flew to the apron and leaped out, but not before his eyelashes were singed after the impact flipped his visor up. Very scary, but I’m glad he’s okay.

- DEI and Ginn Racing have merged, a move that sends Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin and Regan Smith to the gray world of a rideless driver. Mark Martin now drives for DEI with Aric Almirola (remember the Busch race at Milwaukee? I guess he did too!) as his protege. Paul Menard also wins, for he got the owner points of the #14 and is now locked in to the races. It’s a smart move for DEI, but despite Mark’s happy words about it, he certainly doesn’t look happy. It’ll be interesting how this all shakes out in the end.

- Terry Labonte was in the #55 NAPA Camry once again. He used the Championship Provisional to get in and ran rather poorly. With 10 laps to go, the engine blew up. Pretty dismal.

O'Reilly Raceway Park - Kroger 200

RACE WINNER: JASON LEFFLER

David Reutimann: 3rd (started 6th)
- Because of the rainy weather at Indianapolis, practice and qualifying schedules were tight. Mark Green set up and qualified the #99 Aaron’s Toyota for David. His great effort – 6th starting spot – didn’t help David out as he started in the back of the pack because of the driver change. Immediately he began his charge to the front and, according to the broadcast, picked up nine spots in the first 10 laps. The car was absolutely amazing and it wasn’t long before he broke the top-10 and then the top-5. As the laps ticked down I was getting that giddy/sick feeling I usually do when one of my drivers is in the position to win. Greg Biffle was leading at the time but was beginning to lose handling. However, Jason Leffler had pitted late and had tires with 50 less laps on them than the leaders. He was coming through the field with a passion. I knew he had a race winning car and my hopes for David dwindled. In the closing laps, Carl Edwards was putting pressure on Biffle but couldn’t seem to get by him. David pulled a great move and got around Carl with a little rubbing (short track, right?), but Leffler was right on his bumper. Then the real battle began! Leffler was all over the #99, was clearly faster, and gave David a couple warning bumps. Finally, he dove under David and pushed him around a bit to pass, but then immediately got loose to be passed by David again! After that came the move I didn’t like – Leffler drove into the corner way too deep and slammed into the side of the Dream Machine hard enough to put a sizable dent into the car. He pulled away, but when the caution came out later I said, “Leffler probably didn’t want to see that.” David caught up to him and pulled up next to his driver’s side, swerved a little towards him, and, in case Leffler didn’t notice the first time, swung over to the right side of the #38 and lingered there for a moment. Eventually, Leffler would get by Biffle (cleanly) and get Toyota’s first Busch win. David looked furious in his post-race interview but held his tongue. He only said that when Leffler needed help in the future, he wouldn’t get it and then made a slight threat.

- Quotes:
“I've never been able to pass cars here at ORP; we've always been out to lunch. This week everyone did a great job. Mark Green did a fabulous job getting the car set-up. Everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing did great. We came out of here with a pretty decent finish. I'm real happy for everyone at TRD and Toyota - they work real hard and they deserve it! They work hard to make these cars run good.”

- On Leffler:
“He drove underneath and knocked in our right front fender in and it made our car tight after that. It's hard to pass here and you have to do stuff like that towards the end, but it was the third time he did it. I'm just disappointed in that, but I'm real happy with my guys - they did a great job.”

- David is still 2nd in points and moves up to 6th in owner points.

Scott Wimmer: 7th (started 16th)
- A solid night. He made up spots on pit road by a strategy call, but could never get to the front.

Other Notes:

- I wasn’t very happy with Leffler after he body-slammed David’s car, but he did what he had to do since David wasn’t keen on letting him by. He did, however, say he was sorry. “He was kind of pinching me off and we had got together a little earlier in the race and didn't really give me all of the line on the race track. But it was no big deal. He just made it pretty hard for me to pass. But there comes a time where you can either run third or you can try to win the race. He kind of roughed me up and then I kind of roughed him up, but I eventually got by him. I'm sure he could have crashed me there, but he didn't and I appreciate it. I really like David and I'm sorry I had to do that. But he had a good run tonight too and finished third. I had to make a choice and I wanted to get by him.” I guess he could have been meaner. He could have wrecked David, too, so it could’ve been worse.

- Jose Wise, an MWR development driver, made his Busch debut in the #22 Family Dollar Dodge. He started 29th and ended up running into the back of David Ragan, wrecking him. Oi. Rookie mistake. Thankfully, he didn’t do that again and made it into the top-15. Unfortunately, he got spun out late in the race and finished 19th. Still, not too bad for your first Busch race!

- Ron Hornaday is a weapon. I wish he would just stay in the Truck Series.

Gateway Int'l Raceway - Gateway 250

RACE WINNER: REED SORENSON

Scott Wimmer: 2nd (started 1st)
- It was a big victory for Scott to get his first Busch pole with RCR, and breaking the track record! He did a great job keeping his position at the beginning of the race and led 53 laps. In a frustrating turn of events, Scott cut a tire and had to pit under green, but luckily for him scheduled green flag pit stops began shortly after, bringing the Holiday Inn Chevy back near the front. When the closing laps arrived Scott picked his way through the Top 5 and with a handful of circuits to go chased after eventual racer winner Reed. Oh so close, but a great night for the team and more encouragement that their win is coming.

David Reutimann: 3rd (started 8th)
- D. Reut had a great little Dream Machine but brake problems plagued him from early on after the green flag fell. Despite this setback he made it to the front near the end of the race and led 23 laps before a late caution closed the field back onto his bumper. With his brake problems he couldn’t be as aggressive as he wanted and was passed by Reed and Scott. However, David passed Kevin Harvick again for 2nd in points.

- Quotes:
“Everybody had great pit stops tonight and we had a great car for most of the race. But I think we came here with too small of a brake package and I couldn't stop it there at the end. I kept having to move up the race track and it allowed those other guys to get me. All in all it was a good effort, but I'm disappointed because I really thought we should have won the race and we definitely had a car capable of winning tonight.”

Todd Kluever: 11th (started 26th)
-A good run for this team, especially since Todd has struggled on tracks with little banking. 11th is a great improvement on a dismal qualifying run. He avoided all the wrecks while making his way through the field and the best thing is is that he’s learning how to adapt to tracks he hasn’t run well at in the past.

- Quotes:
“It was a long night. We had a really good car. We had a better car than what we finished with, unfortunately. It’s so hard to pass here with the gear rolls and stuff, that’s the way it is. We got a little off on our pit sequence there and probably cost ourselves quite a bit of track position. If you look at how we run at flatter tracks like Milwaukee and Loudon, we come here and actually have a really decent car. I’m really proud of my guys. All in all, not a bad night, but we’ve run better.”

Other Notes:

- Go Reed! It’s great for this kid get a victory with new crew chief Brad Parrott. I for one was glad to see a happy smile on Brad’s face this time instead of tears when Montoya took out Pruett at Mexico.

- A lot of fans are ragging on a wrecked Steven Wallace for nearly hitting a kid as he was heading to his garage stall. I hadn’t seen the replay at first, but when I watched it I laughed. What exactly was that stupid kid doing running – flailing arms and legs like an idiot – through the garage during a race? Steven turned a sharp corner and noticeably slowed when he saw the kid, but he didn’t aim for him like some fans are thinking. It’s a parent’s responsibility to keep an eye on their children at the track.

Chicagoland Speedway - USG Sheetrock 400

RACE WINNER: TONY STEWART

Casey Mears: 5th (started 1st)
- The #25 National Guard team started off the race weekend by ripping out a pole-winning lap during qualifying. Even though they didn’t match it with a win, 5th is another excellent finish for the team. They ran wonderfully all race long. I sense another win coming for them before the year is out.

- Quotes:
“I feel real good. Just real proud of the National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet guys. We wanted more than that. We wanted to try to win today but we had a great start to the weekend with sitting on the pole. A good solid day. We started off the day really, really loose. The guys worked on the car all day long and got it to where it was working pretty good there at the end. It actually ended up a little too tight right there at the end. But I'm real proud of all the guys for this weekend. It was a good weekend all the way around.”

- This bumps Casey up to 17th in standings and 18th in owner’s points.

Kurt Busch: 6th (started 35th)
- Starting in 35th isn’t like Kurt, but a broken engine discovered in practice cut down preparation time and put Kurt in the back of the field. But immediately he began picking off positions. The car was great and the pit stops matched the #2 Miller Lite Dodge’s performance. It’s good to see momentum returning to this team with Pat Tryson as the crew chief. The Chase might be a long shot, but at least it’s a shot!

- Quotes:
“Well, we thought we had a really good run today. We just kept creeping up on them and kept creeping up on the set-up. Starting 43rd we just had to take our time and really put a maneuverable set-up on the car – one that could go low and one that could go high. It turned out really positive. The team had good pit stops. We thought we had a top five and ended up sixth.”

- Kurt moves up a spot to 14th in points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 19th (started 5th)
- Junior was having a great day running the high line and hanging out in the top-10. At the end of the race, he was in 3rd place when all of a sudden, his power steering went out. He thought it was funny at first because despite his many years of racing it had never happened to him. However, driving a car without power steering is no fun, and 50 laps later at the end of the race, it was all he could do to finish the last car on the lead lap.

- Quotes:
“We had a really good car and the Bud team had a real good pit stop there that put us in third place there near the end of the race. We had a power steering pump lock up and I can't drive and keep up like that. We did the best we could. But Tony Jr. said to just make the best you can out of it and we did.”

- Junior is still 12th in points, but is only 30 points ahead of the hard-charging Ryan Newman. I have faith that Dale can make the Chase, but it sure is getting close.

Michael Waltrip: 30th (started 28th)
- He held his starting spot during the start and things didn’t get interesting until he and Jeff Green were racing side-by-side. Green got loose under the #55 NAPA Camry and spun, barely touching Mikey. It was exciting, to say the least! Unfortunately, the contact cut down Michael’s left-rear tire and he pitted with the leaders. Since he was a lap down at the time, he was charged with pitting too early and was sent to the back of the pack. After that, the car just sucked. According to Michael’s race report, Bobby Kennedy was the one giving orders (er… where was Buddy Sisco?) and apparently they ended up changing a shock upon other things. It made the car better, but three laps down is a lot to make up. He ran better than Kasey Kahne, though!

Martin Truex Jr: 39th (started 2nd)
- He was running good all race and lost some spots when some teams took two tires during a round of pit stops. Just as he was making his way forward, the engine let go. It’s disappointing, but I’m sure it won’t bring the team down long.

- Quotes:
“Something broke in the motor. I'm not sure what. The car was real good. We lost some track position earlier. We were running second there for a while. A bunch of guys got two new tires and we got hung back in traffic but we were getting our car better and we were getting spots one by one and we were up to eighth right there. We were getting the car better; it was looking good for us. It's frustrating.”

- Martin drops to 11th in points and 12th in owner points.

David Reutimann: 43rd (started 21st)
- Another typical day! David was climbing up in position when poof! There goes another engine. I guess a piston broke. It’s such a shame and so frustrating. It seems like every time he has a good car something stupid happens. A last place finish sucks!

- Quotes:
“It was running fine, then all of a sudden it dropped a cylinder and started smoking. It was just blowing smoke out of the exhaust, so it's sucking oil from somewhere. Things were going okay. We had a good day going. We were moving forward and the car was driving good. The car was much, much better that what it was when we practiced, and then we just had a failure there. It's extremely disappointing. We were running well, so if you can take anything good away from it I think we learned a lot.”

- David remains 41st in driver points and 40th in owner points.

Dale Jarrett: DNQ

Brian Vickers: DNQ

Other Notes:

- This was TNT’s last race. After an off weekend, ESPN takes over. For the rest of the year. God help us all, I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to tolerate the horrible and desperate coverage they are sure to give. If they still insist on playing “Back In The Saddle”, I will go insane before the Chase.

- I would have rather seen almost anyone win but Stewart. Of course, after all that crap he started last week when he nailed Denny at Daytona, he sits and smugly tells the camera that the teams weren’t as affected by the incident as the media seemed to be. Which is interesting, considering Denny had pretty much spewed out what he felt earlier in the day. Then, it all came to a head when Joe Gibbs showed up and pulled Tony and Denny away from the first half hour of Happy Hour to have a chat. Afterwards, Tony acted like Denny was his little best buddy. Just sickening! Tony is such a baby it’s not funny. He seriously lives in his own fantasy world and only comes back to reality when someone chews him a good one. It won’t last – it never does. He’ll find someone new to pick on sooner or later.

Chicagoland Speedway - USG Durock 300

RACE WINNER: KEVIN HARVICK

Casey Mears: 13th (started 7th)
- Casey fought a tight car all day and could never get it to handle. Though a top-10 finish would have been nice, 13th is nothing to cry over.

David Reutimann: 17th (started 23rd)
- The car was horrible from the get-go, which was unfortunate because the #99 was sporting a new XM Radio paint scheme. Although the finish could have been worse, it was disappointing to see David have an average day.

- Quotes:
“It was pathetic, and that's as nice as I can put it. We weren't even close. I can't figure out how we missed it this bad. It was totally opposite of what we did in practice. Everything it did during the race it never did in practice. I don't know if we ended up having a problem. It's hard for me to believe that we could be that far off. We really didn't change that much stuff. Now, at the end of the race, we're completely opposite of where we started in practice. It's just a huge disappointment.”

- David remains 3rd in points and 8th in owner points.

Todd Kluever: 26th (started 19th)
- A hot dog wrapper on the grill that heated the #26 Ford up at the beginning of the race set the stage for the remainder of the day. When Ryan Newman crashed on Lap 5, Todd brought his car to pit lane and lost 20 positions. After long green flag runs, he went a lap down and could never get in the position for the free pass during restarts. To make it worse, he pitted during green stops and a caution flew afterwards, relegating him 3 laps down and out of contention.

- Other Notes:

- Kyle Busch had the best car, but was screwed during late pit stops. Sometimes being the leader sucks, especially when you pit and the rest of the leaders do not. In the closing laps, Kyle climbed his way back to 5th, but his frustration was obvious with the call.

- JR Motorsports has found a new driver. Brad Keselowski, after performing well in the Truck Series, landed in the #88 NAVY car and put up a respectable 14th place finish. I hope he can keep up the good results because I’m kind of tired of watching Junior play musical chairs with that car.

Daytona Int'l Speedway - Pepsi 400

RACE WINNER: JAMIE MCMURRAY

Kurt Busch: 3rd (started 16th)
- As I’d expected, Kurt made yet another great showing at an RP track, with the same car that was unfortunately wrecked during the Daytona 500. He led 45 laps and worked well with teammate Ryan Newman (something I always enjoy), but the best part of his night was at the end. He somehow made it to Kyle Busch’s back bumper and I was thrilled to see he was doing his best to push him to the win. Since the Busch brother crash at the All-Star race I’ve been uncertain about their relationship, but the Pepsi 400 showed me that they still care and want each other to be successful. Kurt’s effort to send Kyle to the front almost paid off, but 0.005 seconds kept Shurb from the victory.

- Quotes:
“I’m real proud of this team and real proud of this year. It feels good to come to a plate track and do well. We definitely came back strong to Daytona, looking for a good finish after the Daytona 500 didn’t turn out like we wanted. For me to finish third, it feels great to do that. It would have been great to win it, but we’re real happy with that; to be able to be in position at the end and to be able to try to push Kyle to victory lane. I had my foot through the floorboard and I had Jeff Gordon behind me. I thought we could hook up and go. I just didn’t quite have the run the 26 did.”

Martin Truex Jr.: 13th (started 10th)
- Martin had a pretty good night going before a late-race pit stop put the team in a difficult situation. When Martin pitted on the Lap 132 caution, he stopped too close to the wall and therefore had to settle with only right side tires. Twelve laps later when David Gilliland spun, Martin was concerned that he may have flat-spotted the tires and pitted for four, putting him back in the field. Despite their problems, Martin motored the Bass Pro Chevy to a Top-15 finish.

Casey Mears: 19th (started 21st)
- Not the finish he wanted, but good enough to bump him up two spots in points to 19th. He led 11 laps but tires turned out to be more important than the team had hoped for. Darian told Casey to stay out during the Gilliland caution, but when another caution flew soon after and bunched up the field Casey couldn’t hold onto the lead.

- Quotes:
"I wish we wouldn't have finished where we did. We had a good car. Right there at the end that last run we were a little bit too loose and then we stayed out and everybody came in. I think just not having that little bit of tire I was just hanging on, just didn't quite enough grip to really get up there with those guys. I thought it was a good call because if it would have went green I think we would have had a really good finish but when it bunched everybody back up we were just at a little bit of a disadvantage. Then my car was a little bit too loose so I had a really hard time keeping it on the bottom. It was crazy. That last lap was just out of control. It's almost like everybody just holds it wide open even if their car's not working and doing all they can to make it to the front. I was no exception. I was doing the same. It was exciting.”

David Reutimann: 26th (started 42nd)
- David did not have a very good night, with an ill-handling car as well as radio problems and a wall-slap. Luckily for him he didn’t crash and total the car, but it was a disappointing night after the run at Talladega this spring. I guess David can’t complain too much (and neither can I), for it was looking like a DNQ on Friday until the rain came pouring down!

- Quotes:
“I was coming off the corner and somebody was right behind me. The car got loose and when it got loose I got sideways and I got up into the fence and when I did everybody had to check-up behind me and just caused a wreck. I hate that it happened like that. Nobody was underneath me. They were behind me and when I hit the fence and slowed up so much those guys didn’t have much of a chance. Finishing is good but where we finished is not so much. Just kind of struggled all night. It was a weird night. Radios quit working and the thing was tight, just a bunch of stuff, you know. It ended up okay.”

Dale Jarrett: 27th (started 37th)
- Just not a good night, but DJ did a great job at avoiding the wrecks and bringing home a decent finish for an evil-handling car.

Brian Vickers: 29th (started 36th)
- A potentially good night gone bad, and the “gone bad” part was very frustrating. Brian was solid all race long and was likely going to get another strong finish when Joe Nemechek screwed that chance up for him. Nemechek drifted up the track and squeezed Brian into the wall, and if that wasn’t enough, he spun him out afterwards! I don’t know what Nemechek was thinking right there, but by good fortune Brian kept the Red Bull Camry off the inside wall. However, like David, this was better than DNQing, which is what would have happened if qualifying hadn’t been rained out Friday.

- Quotes:
“We got some points, but we could've been better. We got hit by the No. 13 car (Joe Nemechek) late in the race, which put us behind for the last few laps. Our car was decent tonight. If qualifying was finished, we wouldn't have made the race. Tonight, the car raced a little bit better than we were. It was a good handling car, but it wasn't that good. We were struggling to run what we were running. We still have a lot of work to do on the speedway program, but we'll keep at it.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 36th (started 13th)
- June’s night was just about over before it even began when one of the drivers I’d predicted was going to cause a wreck came through for me. Junior was piloting a gorgeous stars and stripes schemed Bud Chevy (one that reminded me hauntingly of Michael’s 2001 Pepsi 400 car) to the front when Tony Stewart decided, as usual, that he would not follow his own preaching about patience. He spun teammate Denny Hamlin out on the frontstretch (thankfully Hamlin did a good job taking Stewart out with him). In the ensuing melee, Dale Jr. was run into from behind by Bobby Labonte, who had been run into by Reed Sorenson. It was your typical RP track crash, but frustrating nonetheless because it was avoidable. The car handled horribly the rest of the race and ended up making a trip to the garage to get it drivable, which it was until he got caught up into another crash and hit the wall again.

- Quotes:
“I had slowed down and was clear and then somebody hit me hard from behind and I was looking backwards up the track. That's frustrating when you come out here with a great car that had what it takes to win the race and then get taken out by someone not paying attention. The rest of us got it slowed down alright, so I don't know what he was doing. Even after we wrecked, the guys fixed the car and we were pretty decent until the second time we go run into the wall. It's frustrating on a lot of levels because we've been doing so well lately and we believed we had something for them in the special paint scheme. (see notes below) But, it takes a lot more than this to get this team down, so we're going home and getting ready for next week.”

Michael Waltrip: DNQ
- This sucked because it looked like Michael was going to be locked into the field before the rain came. No one can control Mother Nature so it was easier to see him DNQ because of rain instead of just having a bad qualifying lap. Michael said on INC tonight that he understands this and knows the rules coming into each race, which is amusing to me since a good majority of Michael’s fans had a complete fit about NASCAR canceling qualifying. Thanks Mikey!!

Other Notes:

- What a finish!! The start of the race was nothing short of depressing, with crashes every few laps, but at least the end made up for that. I wanted Kyle to win very badly and wish that McMurray hadn’t hit him to cut his momentum, but I’ll take 2nd by 0.005 seconds! This time was tied for second since electronic scoring was put into place, while brother Kurt had a part in the first closest finish. It’s pretty cool that the Busch brothers have first and second, but I’d like it better if they had won those races!

- Speaking of Kyle, I felt awful for him. In general, his HMS teammates completely ignored him, as is the norm on RP tracks. Kyle helps them but gets little help in return. It was frustrating because Jeff Gordon chose instead to help Roush drivers when there was a hole for him to get behind Kyle! To make it worse he didn’t even acknowledge Kyle as his teammate in post-race quotes, and Kyle said that Gordon blew him off when he went to congratulate him. Nice. Now I like Gordon, but the one thing I really don’t like about him is that he only acknowledges Kyle as his teammate when he complains that he doesn’t move over for him, and he should because he’s his teammate.

- Tony Stewart: get out of your fantasy world!!!!

- All quotes from Race2Win

Daytona Int'l Speedway - Winn-Dixie 250

RACE WINNER: KYLE BUSCH

Casey Mears: 8th (started 7th)
- Another great finish for Casey’s Busch team, though I’m sure he’s wanting a win pretty badly.

Brian Vickers: 13th (started 12th)
- Pretty good for his first run with Braun Racing!

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 14th (started 35th)
- Not exactly the run Junior wanted after firing Shane Huffman! He never led a lap or got even close, which is very odd considering it was Daytona. He also smacked the wall (although that isn’t surprising since he’s been running the high groove at many tracks this season). It’s just interesting because it seems like the cars are some of the problem at JR Motorsports.

Scott Wimmer: 31st (started 8th)
- I don’t think Scott could have had much more bad luck. First the Holiday Inn Chevy stalled on pit road during the competition caution and the team had to push the car to get it refired. He picked his way back through the pack and made it to 14th by Lap 87, when he was hit from behind by Marcos Ambrose, causing him to smack the wall. A flat tire and body damage was the result, and luckily a caution flew a couple laps later. Unfortunately, the car stalled again on pit road after the team pulled the fenders out, relegating Scott to a poor finish.

David Reutimann: 40th (started 11th)
- Poor David got his day cut short by something he couldn’t control. The field was spread out as it usually gets, and Steven Wallace had hit the wall a couple laps before. Ignorantly, he assumed since Dale Jr. had done the same and not gotten a flat tire that he was safe. When his tire did blow, he didn’t adequately slow and spun across the track, right into David’s path. With no time to react, David slammed his Camry into Wallace’s driver side door, causing a horrific-looking wreck. I held my breath and waited for David to move – it looked that bad. Now, I like Steve Wallace as a person; he seems like a nice kid – a little spoiled, but a nice kid. But when he’s strapped into a racecar, I don’t know what happens. He just does some dumb stuff. I know a cut tire can be hard to deal with but I feel like he could have kept it near the wall instead of flying across traffic.

- Quotes:
“I saw him [Wallace] starting to spin, and I knew that he was going to come to the bottom because of the way this place is with the banking. I had already committed to the bottom and I just couldn't get away from him.”

Other Notes:

- Way to go Kyle!

- All quotes from Race2Win

New Hampshire Internat'l Speedway - LENOX Industrial Tools 300

RACE WINNER: DENNY HAMLIN

Martin Truex Jr.: 3rd (started 9th)
- Just another great run for the #1 team! They fought a tight-in, loose-off car all day but probably really can’t complain with the finish. He led 46 laps and had a dominant car at the end, but Denny Hamlin taking two tires on the last pit stop proved to be too much. Martin made it an agonizing time for Jeff Gordon though – he raced him hard lap after lap for 2nd place. I was terrified that Jeff would give him a good whack, especially as Denny got further and further away. Finally, Jeff got by him clean and as I’d figured, got side-by-side with Denny as the checkers flew. I thought he’d let Martin have it in his post-race interview for holding him up, but I guess Ella makes everything better!

- Quotes:
“From the get-go, I took the green and pushed real bad going in to one and I was real loose off. It just stayed that way. I am not real sure why, but Denny kind of snookered us all with those two tires anyway. I think I could have gotten out front, I would have been all right. But I would get right there and couldn't get any closer and burned the front tires up trying to make it turn. Then I got to racing with Jeff and it was a lot of fun after that. It was frustrating though because I thought we had the car to beat. Six months ago I would have killed somebody for this third place run but now we know what we are capable of.”

- This moves Martin to 10th in driver points and 11th in owner points.

Dale Earnhardt Jr: 4th (started 6th)
- Like Martin, he had a great car and led a race-high 64 laps. But sometimes a really good car can make you cocky, and right at the end the #8 team didn’t make enough of an adjustment to battle for the win. This is interim crew chief Tony Gibson’s last race before Tony Eury Jr. returns as head of the team next weekend. Gibson’s done an outstanding job and Junior acknowledged him and his hard work in his post-race interview.

Quotes:
“My car just came and we ran great all day long. We didn't adjust enough for the track change there at the end. As the track cooled off, we were getting a little tight. I have got to thank Tony Gibson for being the crew chief the last six weeks. He has done such a great job. I can't thank him enough. This team owes him an incredible debt because of where we are in the points. Martin Truex Jr. had a good run; DEI had a great day. We led a lot of laps and ran up front all day. That is just what I want every week and that is what we are getting here lately.”

- In driver and owner standings, Dale Jr. remains 12th and 13th, respectively.

Kurt Busch: 21st (started 2nd)
- Another typical day for Kurt – strong run in the beginning, and then bad luck before a mediocre finish. He led 10 laps and was in the top-5 when a slow pit stop combined with other drivers taking two tires dropped him back in the field. He picked his way up near the top-10, but in the closing laps had a heated battle with David Ragan. In the last turn, that combat went bad when Ragan dove in deep and locked up his front tires. He slid into Kurt and sent the #2 Dodge spinning into the wall. Kurt, clearly irritated, managed to still charge his way across the finish line, over-revving the engine and billowing tire smoke. He even lost his rear bumper in the process! Ragan had a smart-ass smile on his face post-race and hinted that Kurt was at fault, but in quotes he apologized profusely (probably after he saw that he locked up his tires, thus causing the wreck). Kurt has yet to make comments about the incident, which is likely a good thing because I doubt they’d be forgiving.

- Despite the frustration, Kurt moved up to 15th in standings.

Casey Mears: 23rd (started 21st)
- Handling problems and the inability to get track position marred the #25 team all day. In the first third of the race he took two tires, but the car wasn’t good enough to cope with it and he dropped back again. Then he made contact with Ryan Newman that damaged his right-front fender. This all added up into a depressing day.

- Casey drops to 21st in points as a result.

David Reutimann: 38th (started 17th)
- This was really disappointing! David was really good in practice and I had high hopes for a nice top-20 finish, but a plug wire came loose and dropped the #00 down a cylinder. When the crew fixed the issue, the team went several laps down and was relegated to riding for the rest of the day. Just a shame because the car had a lot of potential.

Quotes:
“When we started the race we weren't very good, but then we came in and made an adjustment -- we went back out and the car was much, much better. Then we dropped a cylinder, which was when the plug wire fell off and we lost a bunch of laps trying to get it put back on. That pretty much relegated us to where we were going to be. The car was pretty decent the better part of the day, but once we got seven laps down it was just too hard to battle back from that. It was probably the most competitive car that we've had on this type of race track. We qualified for the race, didn't tear the car up and made some gains today so I'm happy. Maybe we can take this car somewhere else now and that's a good thing.”

- David still sits 41st in points.

Brian Vickers: DNQ (28th qualifying spot disallowed after failing post-qual. inspection)
- This was very disheartening. The #83 Toyota was found to be too low on the left-front after qualifying. Despite NASCAR allowing crew chief Dough Richert and the team to try and fix the problem, it was a lost cause and they were sent home. I find it hard to believe that Doug would try something funny knowing that if caught, they’d be sent home. I’m nervous about further penalties. If Doug is suspended, I’m not sure the team is strong enough to keep everything together. If points are docked, Brian’s shot of getting into the top-35 takes a nosedive. It just sucks, overall.

Michael Waltrip: DNQ

Dale Jarrett: DNQ

Other Notes:

- Like in the Busch race, there was quite a scary moment. Just after green flag pit stops, Joe Nemechek was just driving around and minding his own business when all of a sudden, his right rear wheel came off. Not only did it leave its home on the car, it nearly left the track! The force of it wrenching off the axle bounced it up the banking and sent it flying almost over the catch fence! Then it careened back down the track, nearly striking other cars. I was amazed it didn’t cause a huge wreck. Poor Joe!

- Dave Blaney got Toyota’s first Cup pole (he also got their first Busch pole). He led the first lap and 29 more after that, but an ill-handling car slapped him with a dismal 29th place finish, one lap down.

- Quotes from Race2Win

New Hampshire Internat'l Speedway - Camping World 200

RACE WINNER: KEVIN HARVICK

David Reutimann: 8th (started 12th)
- A carburetor issue threatened to make the day miserable for the #99 Aaron’s team, but perseverance and successful adjustments turned a car that was too tight in the beginning to a decent piece that picked up spots at the end. He had a quiet day and still sits 2nd in points, though since ESPN hardly mentions him at all, many would be surprised to know that.

- Quotes:
“The team kept freeing up the car because it was just way too tight to begin with and they made the car really good through the center of the corner. We would get beat off the corners, but we could get back underneath them and make them tight to get the position. The motor ran good all day and I don't know what happened with the carburetor - on one of those last pit stops it started popping and spitting so something went wrong and they'll work to figure that out. All in all our flat track program hasn't been that great this year, but I'm real proud of the call that we made at the end to stay out and not take any tires. It was the right call and that's what got us a top-ten finish today.”

Casey Mears: 10th (started 13th)
- He had a good day despite a shock problem late in the race that held the #24 team up on pit road. A late race charge salvaged another solid top-10.

Scott Wimmer: 11th (started 16th)
- With his streak of near-wins, a finish just outside the top-10 was disappointing for the #29 Holiday Inn group. They were also surprised – the team was certain that the car was even better than the 3rd place one was at Milwaukee.

Todd Kluever: 17th (started 24th)
- A decent finish considering a field full of Cup drivers. A flat, short track is not Todd’s best opportunity for a good showing, but the team kept on working at it.

- Quotes:
“It was just an average day at best. Eddie and all the guys on the 3M car do a great job. Admittedly, these are my worst kind of race tracks. I was just telling the guys that the frustrating thing about it is with the way the testing rules are, you can’t go anywhere to try and improve on it. Everywhere we go that’s flat like this – Phoenix, here, Milwaukee – these are just the tracks I struggle with and I don’t know how to make it any better. It’s frustrating because this isn’t how I want to run at these race tracks the rest of my life, but I appreciate Eddie and all the guys. They did a great job with the car.”

Other Notes:

- Even though Juan Montoya wasn’t a complete weapon during the race, I kind of had to laugh when Clint Bowyer just dumped him. Clint pulled a move that looked shockingly familiar – he dove in way too deep into the corner and slid up into the side of the #42 car. Ironically, that’s exactly what Juan does to his competitors, yet he had the gall to complain about it happening to him. To put a cherry on the cake, Clint’s post-race interview was priceless. He couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face when talking about it and you could tell that he was thinking, “He finally got some of his own medicine.” You’d hope it would teach Juan something, but somehow I don’t think I should hold my breath.

- Poor Eric McClure went rim-riding – literally! For some reason, whether he lost the car or was hit (ESPN, of course, didn’t show why), the #0 car spun until he was facing the wrong way and the hit the wall at just the right angle and speed to flip his car into the air. As it came back down, the left side tires hooked onto the wall and Eric slid backwards for quite a ways before all four tires got back on the track. It was pretty scary but thankfully Eric was okay.

Quotes from Race2Win