Bristol Motor Speedway - Sharpie 500

RACE WINNER: CARL EDWARDS

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 5th (started 17th)
- Obviously, Junior is on a mission to make the Chase and you can see it in his driving. He ran up front all day, battled with Kurt Busch and beat him in the end. One thing I did notice, especially after the big deal with Kyle Busch and the commitment line in the Busch race deal, was when Junior was cutting onto pit road for a green flag stop. When he brought the car down, he only touched the line with his left-side tires, hitting the “cone” (orange square painted on the track) head-on with his front bumper. I fully expected a penalty, but when it didn’t come, I was surprised. We know that if you hit the line with a tire, you’re committed and are penalized if you go back out. But what if you barely touch the line or hit the “cone” and come in? I thought you had to be to the left of the “cone” for it to be legal. But…no one else seemed to notice so I guess if it was illegal Junior was incredibly lucky.

- Quotes:
“I want to thank my team. They gave me a great car. I want to thank Budweiser and all my sponsors. We had a fun night tonight. We ran pretty good. I was pretty happy with that. We didn't get the win like I wanted to. It's a nice race track. They did a good job on the track. I enjoyed the new configuration and hopefully next we'll come back here and do a little bit better. I had a good time though.”

- Despite the good finish, Junior still has a lot to make up to enter the Chase. He is 158 points away from 12th place Kurt.

Kurt Busch: 6th (started 19th)
- It wasn’t Kurt’s typical dominance at Bristol, but a great day big picture. He remains 12th in points, 158 ahead of Dale Jr.

Martin Truex Jr.: 11th (started 25th)
- After battling into the top-5, a missing lug-nut penalty put Martin back to where he had started. He clawed his way to just outside of the top-10, but the car ran much better than his finish showed. The #1 team stays 11th in the standings.

Casey Mears: 22nd (started 30th)
- The car’s loose handling made the night a struggle. He fell a lap down after long green flag runs. When the crew could finally adjust the car and make it better, the power steering went out. To make things worse, Casey had to switch to the back-up battery. It was a hard-fought finish and allows Casey to remain 16th in points.

Michael Waltrip: 23rd (started 16th)
- It didn’t look too good for the #55 NAPA team when Michael dropped like a rock to the back of the field for the start of the race. Michael also got a lot of criticism when he fought with leader Kasey Kahne while running two laps down, eventually causing Kahne to lose the lead to Carl Edwards (Edwards, by the way, had to shove Michael out of the way to get by him). I’ll admit, I wasn’t too pleased with Michael, mostly because I was just waiting for him to get wrecked. The commentators speculated that Michael was trying to get TV time since he has had such a bad year. A lot of Mikey fans were enraged by this, but Michael later confessed on Inside NEXTEL Cup that it was true. Later, when a wreck peeled Jeff Gordon’s bumper partially off, Mikey weaved back and forth behind Jeff’s car to help tear it cleanly away (this was just to help, not TV exposure, said Michael). However, despite people complaining about him holding Kahne up, it appeared that the battle assisted Michael in retaining track position. A 23rd place finish is great for a team that’s made less than half the races, so I’m satisfied with it.

- Quotes:
“We fought all night and the highest we got was 23rd -- that's when the checkers fell. We had a good restart there with 30 laps to go -- I got up on the outside and was able to get past about three guys. Then I was good enough to hold them off. We learned a lot today -- we really needed to race our COT in order to get some data. We really haven't been able to race those very often because of our woes early in the year. Tonight was a good night -- we wish we could have finished better. We started off slow, but Bobby Kennedy and the boys just kept adjusting on it and we were able to get it better and better. That feels good when you're running your best at the end.”

Dale Jarrett: 34th (started 33rd)
- They struggled in race trim and fell a lap down early, but that wasn’t their only problem. To make matters worse, DJ pitted outside the box during pit stops and was penalized. Then he got damage on-track which caused a tire rub and a lengthy pit stop for repairs. Just a lousy night.

David Reutimann: DNQ
- Had a good car, but an early draw for qualifying killed him.

Brian Vickers: DNQ
- Early qualifying draw.

Other Notes:

- After the exciting Busch race, the Cup event seemed rather dull and boring. Now, I don’t want any race to have constant wrecking, but long green flag runs at Bristol are pretty tedious. Hopefully, it was just one of those races, and not the new resurfacing not agreeing with the New Car.

- Wasn’t a good night to be David Ragan. Three stand alone wrecks! I guess a bungee cord isn’t a good way to hold the shifter into gear after all.

- I was pretty upset with the accident involving AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola and Jimmie Johnson. I understand that AJ and Aric were lapped cars at the time, but I think Jimmie could have shown more patience than he did. He dumped Aric, which put Aric into AJ. Just a really crappy situation for two drivers who really need the track time.

Bristol Motor Speedway - Food City 250

RACE WINNER: KASEY KAHNE

David Reutimann: 3rd (started 10th)
- He was just awesome all night. After fighting his way to the front, he led 33 laps but had to give it up to make his last pit stop. Then he fought all the way back to the front! Unfortunately, his tires had fallen off quite a bit at the end of the race, but he still took part in a thrilling 4-way battle for the lead with Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler. Coming off of Turn 4 on the last lap, Leffler got loose trying to pass leader Kahne and checked up. David, apparently remembering ORP, never let off and ran into the back of the #38, sending him spinning across the finish line. I had to laugh a bit, but I was really glad Leffler didn’t hit anything and still got 2nd place. If he had wrecked, it wouldn’t have bode well for David and would’ve just continued their rivalry. I hope that was the last payback David gives Leffler and that this is done. Leffler took it like a man, but he did hint that David was dwelling on their rough battle at ORP. Plus, it is true that Leffler never actually wrecked David there, so David just flat spinning him out may have been a little overboard. Still, such a great run for the #99. I hope they get that win this year. I can tell it’s starting to frustrate David.

- Quotes:
“Our car was pretty good today. Everybody that worked on this car did a great job. We lost a little bit on our tires there at the end, but I was pretty happy. It was a lot of fun.”

- On Leffler:
“He had a run on the No. 9 (Kahne), but had to check up to keep from getting into him. I had a run and got into him. I don't think it had any outcome on the race, like it did with us at ORP. It was a little different.”

- David takes back 2nd in points and gained on Carl Edwards. He is now 690 points from a championship…ha. He is still 6th in owner points.

Scott Wimmer: 5th (started 25th)
- Pit strategy helped Scott get to the front. Once he was there, he stayed there. A good night in the #21!

Casey Mears: 19th (started 24th)
- The night was okay for the #24 team. Casey, while trying to pass Mike Wallace, got loose underneath him and wrecked him. It was just another one of those races at Bristol.

Dale Jarrett: 23rd (started 38th)
- He really struggled early and through the midpoint of the race and went 2 laps down at one point. However, caution after caution put him back on the lead lap and he made up positions for a solid night in a rare Busch series start.

Brian Vickers: 36th (started 28th)
- The team was having a hard time at the beginning of the race, but began improving as the night went on. Brian was just starting to look like he was going to have a decent finish when Kyle Busch insisted on passing him immediately. He roughed Brian up and ran into the side of him before passing him. Brian attempted to go after him and was just inches from running into the back of him when the earlier contact blew a tire and he hit the wall. Night = over. I like Kyle, but I was not happy with that move at all.

Other Notes:

- NASCAR made a big screw-up when they penalized Kyle Busch for violating the commitment line rules during a pit stop. They claimed he had his left-side tires on the yellow line when he swerved away and stayed on the track. He was sent to the end of the pack. However, ESPN showed a replay and it was very clear that Kyle never touched the line! By the time NASCAR realized this, they could do nothing to help the #5 team because the race had been going green. It was during this time that Kyle, probably royally pissed off, wrecked Brian. Kyle made it back to 4th place and likely would have challenged for the win if he hadn’t been penalized. Despite me being unhappy with him, he handled the penalty like a man and didn’t freak out on NASCAR.

- ESPN is a bloody joke. I just couldn’t believe that blackout with 2 to go! Unreal! And then to come back as the checkers were flying to see Leffler spinning and having no idea what was happening was just a classic. Showing a replay of the last two laps was a complete anticlimax since we already knew who won. ESPN, for being such a great sports network, sure can’t spend any extra money on their video and audio quality. They are constantly having issues with sound and video skipping or scrambling. Combine that with their cruddy coverage and horrid pit reporters and you’ve got a great way to watch NASCAR.

- Who knew Bristol could get better? That was the best Busch race I have ever seen there! The new concrete with the progressive banking was just genius. Two-wide, even some shaky three-wide racing! Whether it will translate to great racing with the New Car remains to be seen until tonight, but I was just floored by the success the resurfacing provided.

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!