Phoenix Int'l Raceway - Checker Auto Parts 500

RACE WINNER: JIMMIE JOHNSON

Our Boys Running Order:
7. Martin (started 2nd)
12. Kurt (started 9th)
13. Casey (started 11th)
21. Brian (started 22nd)
43. Dale Jr. (started 35th)
DNQ Michael
DNQ DJ
DNQ David

That Jimmie Johnson is on a tear, isn’t he?

Martin had a good car all day and led 72 laps, but unfortunately a bad pit call cost the team the race. They stayed out under caution and very few others did, and they just couldn’t compete with the fresher cars. He had better luck than Dale Jr., though. The Bud Chevy seemed to be pretty decent but June just lost it and crashed into the inside wall. I don’t think he’s a big fan of the New Car and I’m sure the wreck didn’t help his opinion…and will he ever get some luck?!

Both Kurt and Casey had good days and with Junior’s troubles I was confident that Casey would take over 13th in points. But then I realized that Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle had really good days, so Casey actually lost points and fell back to 16th. Hmph!

Like Dale Jr., Brian is not having a good time in the New Car. 21st is definitely not a bad finish, especially since they had brake problems, but it makes me a little worried about next season.

I’m not a big fan of Kasey Kahne, but I felt pretty bad for him after he wrecked out. He looked fairly distressed during his interview and ESPN pretty much rubbed it in his face. My jaw just hung open! Kahne was very clearly angry and beating himself up about “driving like an idiot” and getting into several rough situations on the track, and Jamie Little had the nerve to ask him how many contacts he had, and that she knew he had “two for sure”? Gee, thanks for noticing! These ESPN reporters (with the exception of Allen and Dave) are so insensitive! It drives me crazy! If you see that a driver is upset don’t pour more salt into the wound!

Our Boys Point Standings
- Driver Points -
10. Kurt -516 behind 1st
11. Martin -563 behind 1st
14. Dale Jr. -58 behind 13th
16. Casey -103 behind 13th
- Owner Points -
38. Brian -410 behind 35th
39. David -525 behind 35th
40. Michael -909 behind 35th
41. DJ -958 behind 35th

Phoenix International Raceway - Arizona.Travel 200

RACE WINNER: KYLE BUSCH

Our Boys Running Order:
4. Scott (started 2nd)
12. David (started 15th)
27. Brian (started 21st)

This was a good race and Scott did a wonderful job, as he has all year, at padding the point lead for Richard Childress’ second owner championship in a row. Teammate Clint Bowyer was kind enough to let Scott lead a lap despite the hard-charging Kyle Busch behind them, and Kevin Harvick, ESPN’s in-race reporter, mentioned wanting to help his teammate near the end of the race. Scott is truly the under-the-radar driver at RCR but Richard’s got a jewel in him. I’m excited for next season but I wish that Scott would be full-time in one ride instead of hopping around (I know he’ll be in the 29 for some races next season, but I don’t know if he as a driver will be able to go for the championship; and the 21 is sponsorless as this point so will there even be another ride for Scott to go to?). I’d like to see Scott be able to live up to the potential I know he has to be a regular winner.

David had a great car but staying out at the end of the race while several other pitted for fresh tires hurt him and he fell back to 12th. ESPN did something I appreciated before the green flew, and that was playing a feature on David’s Memphis win and Wiley King, the young man who designed David’s paint scheme through St. Jude’s. By the time it was finished I was just about crying! It really made me proud of these NASCAR drivers who give back so much to those who need it the most. There’s so much more to life than racing, like making Wiley’s dream come true at Memphis, and it puts things into perspective.

Whenever Brian gets into the 10 car he runs well and this weekend was no different. Unfortunately bad luck likes to follow this team whether it’s on the track or on pit road and it bit them in both ways this time. Brian lost a ton of spots during pit stops and was back in the field. Then disaster struck, the type of thing you never want to see. AJ Allmendinger was diving to Brian’s inside when he got loose and shot into him. Brian crashed hard and his day was over. I know AJ didn’t mean it. He likes and respects Brian and has given him a lot of credit for the setups the 83 team has provided the 84. Tonight on INC Brian made it clear he wasn’t happy with AJ, but also said that they were going to talk it over. I sure hope they do and put it behind them.

Kyle Busch won his second race of the weekend and it was very meaningful for me as a fan, Kyle and crew chief Alan Gustafson because it was Kyle’s last run in the Busch car. It’s no secret that Kyle and Alan have had their share of bitter spats and tension this season, and they haven’t treated each other very well. This win was the best thing that could have happened to them…the emotion was clear in Alan’s voice and I could almost feel the wall coming down between him and his driver. Despite their frustration with each other, despite the fights they’ve had, they love each other and have a special friendship. I’ll miss them together next season. I loved them because they were both young and talented and passionate. Every race they won they treated as if it were their last win ever (that’s one thing I really enjoy about Kyle: he does the burnout of his life, salutes the crowd and runs around the track like a maniac every single time!). This most likely will be the last race they ever win together. I was glad to see the weight lifted off them and the smiles in Victory Lane.

David’s Points:
1. Carl Edwards --
2. David -571 behind leader
3. Jason Leffler -194 behind David

Qualifying Suckage

Well today pretty much sucked for MWR. I figured from the get-go that DJ and Michael were going to have a hard time making the race because while Michael was decent in practice he was the second car out during qualifying, a disadvantage against those making their runs as the track cooled; Dale had a better draw but was just plain horrid in practice. So to see them slipping down the list of star cars on Trackpass (ESPN is always far behind real time) didn’t surprise me as much as it saddened me. Okay, I thought, David will make me smile. He was the fastest go-or-go-homer in practice with a very late draw and has commonly been the MWR car to make it while the other two do not. His name came up on Trackpass…and just sat there. It didn’t take long for my heart to sink and I vainly hoped that Trackpass froze or something, but then Denny Hamlin’s name came up and a brief thing about a delay due to track conditions. I was left to fret and wonder what happened until the TV broadcast caught up.

David was on the track when they came back from commercial and the motor sounded awful, so I figured the next scene would be full of smoke. But instead the cause of the problem was so small the tape had to be slowed down: a bolt. A freaking bolt. It came flying out of the back of the car and a belt followed soon after…the booth guys said it was to the oil pump. And that little bolt proved fatal.

All three MWR Cup cars are going home. For the first time.

It was an empty feeling I haven’t experienced since the shock of Michael’s first DNQ back in 2006. While I love each MWR driver individually and always feel cruddy if any one of them DNQs, to have all of them go home was far worse because I look at it as a setback for MWR as a whole. It stings because things were starting to improve. They were all qualifying and running well for a while. But this just shows that anything can happen and knock you right back down. It sucks. And I’m still scared thinking about the future and that Michael and David could have to live with qualifying days being the worst days of their lives all over again next season.

David still has the Busch race, which he has a good chance of winning. Michael McDowell looks pretty good too, and was following Kyle Busch around during practice, learning from one of the best. Tomorrow appears very promising and I have to look on the bright side of things, I guess, and keep focused on that.

Texas Motor Speedway - Dickie's 500

RACE WINNER: JIMMIE JOHNSON

Our Boys Running Order:
3. Martin (started 1st)
8. Kurt (started 6th)
14. Dale Jr. (started 12th)
23. Brian (started 22nd)
31. Casey (started 9th)
38. DJ (started 26th)
43. David (started 43rd)
DNQ Michael

In general, it was a somewhat boring race. Having Jimmie Johnson win again didn’t really add excitement but it is just amazing how perfect that team is. I wish Matt Kenseth could have pulled off a victory for a breath of fresh air.

Martin got his first career pole and followed it up with an awesome run. This team really needs it because although they are out of the championship, they are fighting for that 10th spot in the points and a speech on stage during the banquet. I think it’s kind of unfair that even though a team busts their butts and makes the revered Chase, it’s still only the top-10 who get recognition.

The #2 team was having a fine day until Kurt was forced to pit under green for a loose right front wheel. He fell a lap down as a result. Eventually the free pass rule put him back on the lead lap, but there was not enough time to give a finish that the car was capable of producing.

Sad to say, it was another one of those good at the beginning, fade at the end type races for Dale Jr. that I’ve been getting used to seeing. As the sun set, the car became harder to handle. Brian also had a tough day, but kept digging for a decent finish.

From Casey on down, things didn’t turn out too well. Casey was having a good run until he got loose under Tony Stewart and tagged him. Lots of smoke ensued, causing mass confusion and chaos behind. Dale Jarrett was one of those who had nowhere to go. To make it worse, he was running close to the top-20 at the time. MWR’s other team had no more luck. David was starting to run competitive lap times around 15th place when he began losing cylinders. It blew up shortly afterwards, relegating him to a depressing last place finish.

Our Boys Point Standings
- Driver Points -
9. Kurt -453 behind 1st
12. Martin -524 behind 1st
13. Dale Jr.
15. Casey -135 behind 13th
- Owner Points -
38. Brian -440 behind 35th
39. David -471 behind 35th
40. Michael -870 behind 35th
41. DJ -907 behind 35th

O'Reilly Challenge - Texas Motor Speedway

RACE WINNER: KEVIN HARVICK

Our Boys Running Order:
15. Casey (started 24th)
18. David (started 1st)

To back up his win, David went out and got another #1 in qualifying at Texas! It was even more satisfying that it was Tony Stewart who he knocked aside. But, in what’s seeming to become a trend, SPEED, who was airing qualifying, switched over to Trackside before it was even over and we missed David actually getting the pole! I was so upset. It took them ten minutes to give him an interview. I’m just sick of this “who cares about Reutimann” attitude the broadcasting stations have.

Casey qualified decently, but was sent to the back of the pack before the race when NASCAR discovered the threads on their lugnuts were altered in order to make pit stops faster.

The race began kind of like how I expected it to. Stewart was all congratulatory-friendly after David knocked him off the pole, but I knew that was a freaking act. When the green flag dropped, he laid back and shot off, nosing in front of David just after they crossed the line. Then he raced David like a sucker – forcing him down the track, pinching him off and giving him no room whatsoever. David never even got to lead a lap due to Stewart’s typical greediness and “take” personality.

It kind of went downhill from the start. The car didn’t seem to be as good as the pole suggested and David fell to the edge of the top-10. Not horrible, right? Then he had a right front tire go flat and had to pit under green flag racing. From then on it was a struggle for the free pass – a battle David never won. Casey was next in line to get on the lead lap when the checkers fell.

To make the race even more irritating, we got Carl Edwards shoved down our throats every five minutes or so. The booth acted like every moment was the last lap of the last race and Carl was only a point in front of the guy 2nd in the standings (because they hardly ever mention that it’s David). When enough cars were out of the race, he clinched the championship. What a battle. So exciting. And the celebration afterward was just so full of energy. Not.

Another experienced Cup driver with a fully-supported Cup car under a successful Cup team banner winning a Busch Championship. Something to be proud of, I guess.

David’s Points:
1. Carl Edwards --
2. David -552 behind leader
3. Jason Leffler -209 behind David

Atlanta - Pep Boys Auto 500

RACE WINNER: JIMMIE JOHNSON

Our Boys Running Order:
8. Kurt (started 2nd)
10. Brian (started 14th)
11. Michael (started 24th)
12. Casey (started 15th)
19. DJ (started 3rd)
25. Dale Jr. (started 5th)
31. Martin (started 20th)
DNQ David

This race was actually one that all our boys were running fairly well, but some unfortunately were taken out. Kurt had a great car and led nearly 100 laps, but pit road was really biting him in the butt. I love Kurt’s team and they are usually awesome on their pit stops but Atlanta was not their weekend. By the end of the race Kurt’s frustrations were boiling over as they continued to lose him spots. I’m not a big fan of drivers shrieking at their crews but this time I understood why he was doing it. Thankfully the car was good enough to make up for lost ground but I’m not sure if it got as high of a finish as it may have been capable of.

Both of our DEI guys were having great days until the last few laps. Denny Hamlin did not pit and in doing so put himself at risk of running out of fuel. What amazes me is that they were also aware that water was mixing in with their fuel, but stayed out anyway. He led the restart and immediately ran out of gas, but instead of getting out of the way he moved down in the middle of the track in front of everyone! And of course Martin smashed right into the back of him. Yeah, yeah, I guess that Hamlin may have been shocked, confused, desperate, or whatever, but I think back to a quote by Kevin Harvick: “Usually, when you're out of gas, you get out of the racing groove.” So Martin was creamed. The next restart would come with a similar result for Junior…as he dove in turn 1 his left rear wheel split from the #8 and went careening into the air. Dale Jr. shot into the fence, taking out Jamie McMurray with him. As much as it sucked for McMurray I was glad he was there because he broke the momentum of the crash, which was a really hard one. I’ll admit I held my breath and prayed to anything that would listen that Junior was okay…those limp slides down the banking scare me after wrecks and I freaked out a little bit that ESPN took their time in showing that he was moving inside the car.

Brian, Michael, Casey and Dale had good days, and it was nice to see the Toyotas with those kind of finishes. This is Michael’s third top 20 in a row! And DJ’s best finish of the year! It must have felt great for Brian to get another top 10 after not making a race since Talladega. As for Casey, he was ESPN’s In-Race Reporter. Only they talked to him once, before the race started, and ignored him the rest of the day. Wow. Gotta love ESPN.

David hasn’t missed a race for a long time so it was really odd watching Atlanta without him. When Michael DNQed for the first time back in 2006, I kept “seeing” his car on the track and expecting his name to show up in the running order, and it was the same with David. I guess it’s comparable to the phenomenon of getting your leg chopped off but thinking it’s still there…

Our Boys Point Standings
- Driver Points -
9. Kurt -419 behind 1st
12. Martin -513 behind 1st
13. Dale Jr. --
14. Casey -79 behind 13th
- Owner Points -
38. David -409 behind 35th
39. Brian -434 behind 35th
40. Michael -795 behind 35th
41. DJ -856 behind 35th