NNS -Talladega Superspeedway - Aaron's 312

Jess

RESULTS
1. Tony Stewart
6. Dale Jr.
9. Scott
20. David (12 LD)

Ah Talladega!!

David's little Dream Machine was definitely an eye-opener. I love when little kids design paint schemes! They are always so colorful and wild!

It wasn't long after the green waved before trouble started. Dario Franchitti cut a tire down and began to spin, collecting Johnny Sauter with him. But it didn't get ugly until the wreck was just about over and Franchitti had made it to the apron. Out of nowhere Larry Gunselman's #91 came barreling down the apron and smashed headlong into the side of the #40 in an extremely violent imapact. When the #40 came to rest the entire rollcage was exposed on the driver side and the bars were clearly bent in. I was very afraid for Franchitti and some of those fears were met when he was obviously in quite a bit of pain and relying on the safety workers for support.

I have to admit I was rather annoyed with Gunselman. He was running in the back but he did not slow down very much like the cars around him did. When stuff like this happens I always think about Mark Martin and how he just about stops when there's a wreck in front of him. Why take a chance flying into a crash when you're never quite sure where the cars are going to end up? Gunselman also went to the hospital a little while after Franchitti but I haven't heard an update on his condition. Despite my annoyance (mind you, I'm a naive fan who has never sat in a stock car or tried to slow down for a wreck at Talladega) with Gunselman I do hope he's okay. Poor Franchitti was not so lucky - he broke his left ankle, no doubt from the bars caving in and hitting his foot. A broken ankle is no quick-healing injury...I read he could be out for a month (at least). This could be a career-breaker for him, unfortunately.

So the new Nationwide car may debut next year? I hope it has that foam.

Soon after racing was back underway our Scott also had a tire failure. He was lucky in the fact that it wasn't catastrophic and he made very little contact with the wall. He had to pit but was able to keep going and stay on the lead lap, which would pay off in the end!

Things were fairly calm for a while. Junior was running awesomely, David was running well and as the laps wound down I was looking forward to some good finishes, especially for David since both Clint Bowyer and David Ragan had their issues and were running in the back.

Until Kevin Lepage had a brainfart!!

Merging in Turn 1? Right in front of the entire field?!

This sounds so arrogant but even I knew you can't merge until the backstretch and that's from having my ear chewed off by my "spotter" while playing NASCAR Racing 2003 Season! Apparently Lepage didn't get the message because he thought Turn 1 was a good place despite his spotter telling him to stay low. And apparently Lepage did not have a flash of common sense at the moment when he thought pulling up in front off a 200MPH pack while he was doing maybe 150MPH was a good idea! Gaaaah! David was third in line behind Tony Stewart and Dale Jr. and he got caught up in the freaking disaster that followed!

Carl Edwards' front end shoots into the air! David spins! Oh wait, just about the entire pack spins! Smoke! Metal! Screeching tires!



And then Lepage has the audacity to think he did nothing wrong and that it wasn't his fault - it was the fault of all the other spotters!



Let's just say he has since apologized. After seeing the replay.

David basically had to go into survivor mode and get the car fixed just enough to make it to the end. Unfortunately he made the same mistake as Lepage and didn't merge in the right place, so he was black-flagged and lost another lap. Fortunately he didn't do this in front of the whole field (not that there was much of one left). So maybe they didn't have the rule right but at least they have common sense.

I didn't want Stewart to win but Dale Jr. chose the wrong line and pretty much dropped like a ton of bricks. Crap!

Scott finishing in the top 10 was a great accomplishment and I really must give a shoutout to Mark Green and his top 5! I really admire him because he didn't just hang out in the back like a couple of the other guys - he was right up there!

Despite David's 20th he gained a bunch of points on Bowyer even if he didn't gain a position. Watch out Bowyer...!

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
4. David -129

Talladega Qualifying

Danni

CUP RESULTS:
1. Joe Nemechek
8. Brian
9. Dale Jr.
25. Kurt
29. Michael
33. David
36. Martin
40. Casey

It's both surprising and not so shocking to see Nemechek nab the first starting spot. Those who have to qualify in generally modify their cars greatly in qualifying trim to get in the field, especially because it's an impound race. Looks like a lot of our guys are going to have to draft their way forward - should be exciting!

A crucial thing happened during this session. Both JJ Yeley and Dave Blaney, 36th and 37th in owner points respectively, failed to make the race. I feel for both of them, but this is going to put a huge gap between David and Michael and the cutoff of who is locked in and who has to race their way in.


NNS RESULTS
1. Tony Stewart
7. Dale Jr.
19. Scott
27. David

I'll admit that I was disappointed with David's lap. It wasn't because it was slow - MWR cars in race trim just don't seem to go fast for one lap - but because David said that it lost 200RPM going into the turns. That's a lot. I'm worried about the engine. Hopefully it was because the wind picked up as thunderstorms developed around the track. All I know is that it would be a shame to see that vibrantly colored Dream Machine puff out smoke during the Aaron's race...

More on UPS...

Jess

Well here we go again...

I don't know whether to be angry or sad. Can't they see that David is going to win races and contend for championships? Can't they see how great he is, both on and off the track? The race reports on UPS's site have been so positive, emphasizing that his performance and effort for them has been excellent. And it has been. I couldn't be prouder of how David, Ryan, Shawn and the team have held together through two mechanical failures since stepping into the #44 to get back into the top 35.

And now this heart-and-soul team might get ditched?

I understand the economy is really bad right now. I understand that sponsors want the most bang for their buck and that Carl Edwards has been on a roll lately. I understand that Jeff Burton also has a strong presence in NASCAR. But for goodness' sake, how does UPS know that David won't be Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton one day? Isn't this sport about taking chances, about giving it your all? David's already done it and UPS should follow suit and stay with him. They remained with Dale through years of struggles - they need to give David a chance before jumping ship.

What makes me angry is that they wanted him to be in the #44 because they had a lot of marketing around that number. He lost his owner points because of that. UPS should know from being with Dale last year how important those points are. But they wanted the marketing. Marketing? It would be nice to see some marketing! The special paint schemes are cool but they can do more. I love DJ's last commerical. I would have loved it even more if David, the driver he picked to replace him, had walked up beside him and taken the key. Isn't that what NASCAR is about as well?

So now if UPS leaves David has no sponsor. He doesn't have his number and in my opinion that was a pointless decision by UPS and MWR because he never should have had to give up the #00 - especially if UPS was thinking about leaving all along. And you know what? His contract is contingent on sponsorship. He might have to leave MWR.

The best driver MWR has. Has ever had.

What's going to happen to NAPA? Will they resign? What about McD? Can Aaron's field a full-time Cup and Nationwide ride, plus the cars they run in other series?

I've always liked the big brown truck. When I see one now I always smile because I think of David. If I have to ship something I'll use UPS. Because of David.

If they leave David they leave me, too.

NNS: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez - Corona Mexico 200

Danni

RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
7. Scott
11. David

I like road courses and find them fun to watch, but something about this one rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's how everyone gushes that going to Mexico is so great for NASCAR, yet taking long gazes into the grandstands reveals little support for anyone not south of the United States border. Maybe it's because Kenny Wallace couldn't bring his sponsor along because they're the Border Patrol. Maybe it's the fact that there isn't a single SAFER wall in the whole place - instead weak concrete mosaics hold higher standards than driver safety and durability. Maybe it's because no invocation was said in English for the majority of the people out there. I'm not religious, but I know that the invocation means a lot to many of drivers and crew and thought it an insult that only the Mexicans were graced with such. Or maybe, just maybe, it is because someone (was he even American?) was allowed to sing and completely butcher the United States National Anthem, getting the words and pitch wrong more than once and causing expressions of disgust among the Americans. Total disrespect and somewhat of a mockery, in my opinion, but nothing I was surprised about, really. NASCAR is simply a way for Mexico City to make money and a way for NASCAR teams to lose money.

But anyway...the race.

Adventures from practice continued for both David and Scott. They both pitted early for fuel and as a result were running up front when the leaders came in for their stops. By this time, a lengthy red flag had already been issued when Kertus Davis slid in his own oil and hit the mosaic wall in Turn 8, pushing it out. The track workers had to pull it back into place. Efficient.

Scott led some laps and was able to stay in contention even when cars running on fresh tires drove by. David seemed to have more trouble racing and made contact with the #09 in Turn 8 on Lap 34, causing a lot of damage to the right front of the Dream Machine. The crew guys did a good job fixing it and David went back out to fight again.

Somewhere in all this mess, the broadcast went out! I guess power died at the track. Good grief.

So amid the chaos, David was able to pick his way forward. Up front, things got wild. A bunch of cars did some off-roading, including the #22 with help from our own Scott! Finally, the big one happened when Marcos Ambrose nailed Boris Said. Cars went everywhere to avoid the carnage. David drove up and over two curbs before getting clear of it all, luckily not causing any more wounds to the #99. Of course, Boris wasn't too happy with Marcos and proceeded to call him "stupid". Sure. Boris? How have your oval races gone? Not too good, huh? NASCAR races are a privilege for him and he should be thankful for the oppotunity. It's not Marcos' fault nobody wants him for other tracks. Plus, I've seen Boris wipe people out without a blink. He can just go whining on home. Maybe he'll blame Toyota for it somehow.

No doubt David has gotten a lot better at road courses. Proof - he beat out an ex-Indy driver, Sam Hornish! Hah! Oh, what I'd give to watch that battle...

Kyle continued his butt-kicking streak and won. He did a great burnout too, which the crowd loved despite it being an American. So I did actually appreciate that.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
4. David -144

Mexico Qualifying

Danni

RESULTS
1. Colin Braun
21. Scott
33. David

Ugh. I can't stand this place.

Yesterday's final practice was not very kind to our guys. Early on, David spun during his first lap (according to the booth - they went away to commercial as the cars got on the track ). Then, on his second lap, he didn't pull hard enough on the stick and it popped gear while he was entering that last massive turn. He did a good job saving the Dream Machine from total carnage but still managed to scrape that stupid concrete wall with all the carvings in it with the rear of the car. It was like taking a cheese grater to your butt. If that had been a safer barrier (which are absent at this place!), he would have had probably less than half that damage. So that was pretty much it for the #99 team's chances of dialing the car in for qualifying.

Scott also got into a scuffle with Joe Fox, a newcomer. Fox was slow and when Scott attempted to pass him, they made contact which did a pretty good number on the #29's right front. Luckily, it wasn't enough to park them in the garage for two hours.

Then, in the closing minutes of "Happy Hour", ESPN got a hold of David for an interview. Of course, he began bashing himself about what happened and lamenting the fact that he caused unnecessary work for his guys, so he was helping them out. The following was the kicker: "If you're gonna be stupid, you might as well be tough." Well. I've seen a lot more experienced guys screw up at these road courses! It was a mistake, not stupid! At least he didn't knock the wall down like poor Landon Cassil and Joe Fox later in the session. The car looked good in the previous practice (11th!). I know it hurt that they never got back out on track but it could've been a lot worse.

David - Darrell said "Don't beat yourself" for a reason.

Qualifying today wasn't the greatest thing in the world. At first I got kind of excited because David was grouped to go out in the first 6-car stint, which occurred early in the morning. So the cooler track maybe give him an advantage, right? WRONG. Of course, it just had to rain the night before. David whupped everyone for about the first three groups or so. But eventually I had to face it that the lap wasn't good, as his start indicates. He still blamed himself for everything, but said some interesting and funny things:

"We just had to be ultra conservative -- we didn't have to be, but I kind of painted ourselves into a box here with me messing up yesterday. We didn't get a chance to do a qualifying run (during practice). The car was pretty free that time and it was about just staying on course and putting down a decent lap. We put in a lap where we didn't tear anything up. The Aaron's Dream Machine Camry has been pretty good since we unloaded it and I just messed it up. I have to thank all my guys because they really thrashed this thing back together. On top of that, I have to thank the NASCAR officials because they worked with us really well trying to get everything fixed. I have to thank them as well.

"Chris Cook helped me out a lot out there at Infineon. I learned a ton of stuff and a lot of that stuff I applied in my first practice session where we were 12th on the speed chart. That was a big jump up from last year. I made a miscue there in the second practice and that was definitely something Chris did not teach me. I learned a lot, like how to apply things and breaking points as well as turn-ins and all that kind of stuff that I didn't know before. Hopefully I'll be able to use it in the race and we'll see what we have on Sunday."

What? NASCAR officials actually help drivers and teams?! And I had to laugh at the Chris Cook thing. Even when things didn't look so hot for David's lap, he still maintained a sense of humor.

Look who's on the pole. Wow. Scott Pruett is starting second. I really want to see this first lap!

Ah, Finally...

Jess

Doesn't the media realize that there are hundreds of drivers to write stories about? Then why do we hear about the same handful of people every single week? The Hudson Valley newspapers aren't really the greatest places to get good NASCAR coverage, but my local paper has a NASCAR page every Wednesday, which is nice. However, their main story is usually about Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart or Dale Jr...okay, that's lovely, but what about the guys we don't get to see as much?

Well, this week I was thrilled to see a big article about David (yeah, it's distorted to fit here, but if you click on it it gets bigger so it's legible ):



I really enjoyed this read. But since when was being in your thirties considered "old"? Anyway, David certainly doesn't look old...he can go up against an eighteen-year-old any day in more ways than one, and looks is one of them! I know back when he was racing in trucks I thought he was in his twenties because he looks so darn young. Even recently I saw a picture of him sitting with Michael and McD and if I had no idea what any of their ages were I'd say David is the youngest out of all of them.

Thank you Mr. Minter!

Phoenix Int'l Speedway - Subway Fresh Fit 500

Danni

RESULTS
1. Jimmie Johnson
7. Dale Jr.
8. Martin
11. Casey (1LD)
18. David (1LD)
23. Kurt (2LD)
24. Michael (2LD)
25. Brian (2LD)

Wow. This is the first race in memory that we've missed all the pre-race ceremonies, the green flag and half of the first lap! Incredibly poor planning by FOX. This move will ring in their brains for quite some time, from both NASCAR and baseball fans.

So when we finally got to watch racing, it didn't take long for a debris caution to come out, during which Dale Jr. and Casey took the time to pit and improve on their cars. With fresh tires, Junior tore through the field back to the front. Meanwhile, David was also moving into the top-20.

The race was fun to watch, but it was fairly uneventful. Judging off of TrackPass, there was plenty of passing and racing - just not at the front. A lot of fans would brush Saturday night off as boring, but that's because FOX isn't doing a very good job of showing anyone outside the top-10 when it's not a big name doing embarrassingly bad.

Long green flag runs put the cars running near the back a lap down, including Michael and Brian. Cars began pitting under green when a caution came out, relegating a bunch of drivers, including David, to the tail end of the lead lap. Junior marched to the front and took the lead after a restart of Lap 124. About ten laps later, the biggest wreck of the race occurred when Ryan Newman blew an engine and oiled up the track (David remained on the lead lap as a result, yay!). Several cars spun on the slick track as Newman continued to drop oil on his way to pit lane. On approach to his stall, he went too fast and ended up spinning out. I know he must have been frustrated, but man...don't endanger people when you know you're leaking fluid all over. The red flag came out because of the huge mess.

Dale took the lead again after he stayed out during a later caution. Meanwhile, Martin complained of a carburetor problem that was causing the engine to miss. Kurt was struggling greatly with an extremely tight car, while Brian was wickedly loose. Eventually, Kurt would get the free pass, but the leader soon went by him again. He just hasn't gotten a handle on the new car and will be testing all during the off-week so hopefuly the #2 crew will discover what they've been missing since Daytona.

On Lap 233, Junior brought the field to the green after Kasey Kahne blew a tire. The race would go yellow free till the end, which I think a lot of teams weren't expecting. The problem - most couldn't make it on fuel. Ugh. The dreaded fuel-mileage race.

Mark Martin took over the lead from Junior. You could almost feel the tension from all Junior fans - and I'll admit that I felt a twinge of anxiety. I'm not against the #8 winning, but to pass Junior to do it makes me a little sick inside. It's hard to explain. I know that Junior is in a better situation at Hendrick Motorsports despite all the fans whining that he hasn't won yet or Tony Jr. is an idiot crew chief. It would just make it look like he should've stayed at DEI and I don't want to see that lie rubbed in his face.

However, Mark losing the race I think has confused every race fan. He isn't running full-time and the car is in good shape in points. But they made him pit. I just don't get it. WHY? Take a risk! People who need points, like Dale Jr., didn't have that luxury. If anyone can save fuel it's Mark. Upon hearing the radio communications, I realized that there is absolutely no trust between Mark and Tony Gibson. I think that Mark is almost like Mikey now - if he can't have Ryan Pemberton, that one great crew chief, nobody else works.

Some guys did indeed save enough gas to win! It was comical to watch Jimmie Johnson crawl around, probably just above minimum speed to take the checkers in first. Casey did the same and although he did not run where he finished, this was another good points day for that team.

David was having a pretty solid day that is typical of he and the #44 bunch. Then, while running close to 15th, he pretty much lost his brakes with about a quarter of the race to go. It was really frustrating because he had been hardly using them in the first place! He also had problems with Paul Menard again. But all in all his finish was great considering the team is now back in the top-35! Great effort!!

I guess it could have been worse for Kurt, Michael and Brian. Michael seemed to have a better time than usual, so hopefully this means things will look brighter going in to Talladega.

#44 Quotes of the Race
After Elliott Sadler wrecked and was scraping along the wall.

Shawn: "Nah, give him (Menard) room David. Come on now, stop! David! We had a car against the wall and you had to give him some room."

David (interrupting with much indignation): "-across the apron! Everybody else he lets go, as quick as he gets to me, he runs on the apron."

Shawn: "Let him go dude, you're on the lead lap and he ain't, let him go."

David (angry): "That's my fuckin' point!"

Shawn: "We just need to finish, we don't need to get caught up in no crap."

David (sharply): "'Kay?! (darker) Then I'd say what you do, if you wanna keep us safe here, you go down there and please tell them to cut me a little slack. That's all I'm asking. That's all you need to do. End of discussion. Droppin' it right now. Done talkin' about it."

Ryan (quickly): "10-4, drop it drop it! How many green flag laps was that right there?"

It's kind of amazing how David can go from on wit's end to completely calm in seconds. This audio actually upset me emotionally. I guess you'd have to hear David's voice to get the full effect. It just confounds me that Menard will do anything to try and piss him off, risking his own day in the process. A driver can only take so much until he snaps. Menard is lucky David has some self-control!

POINT STANDINGS
1. Jeff Burton
3. Dale Jr. -86
14. Martin -318
17. Kurt -364
20. Brian -387
24. Casey -474
30. David -551 (34th in owner points +16 from 36th)
32. Michael -600 (32nd in owner points +70 from 36th)

NNS - Phoenix Int'l Speedway - Bashas’ Supermarkets 200

Jess

RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
9. David

This felt like a really long race even though it wasn't...maybe it's that east coast, up until 1AM when you're exhausted after a long week of college thing! Phoenix is always pretty intense because it feels like a short track so the nerves were high, too.

David ran around in the top 15 all night but seemed to be struggling a little bit. ESPN's coverage is rarely any good so we didn't hear much about anyone running behind third (unless, of course, you drive for Rusty Wallace). It was cool to see Kyle Busch win again because he's so fun to watch celebrating with his guys and doing burnouts behind drivers standing on pit road doing interviews. I was happy that David got an interview! He said it was the worst car he's driven all season but to finish ninth with it wasn't bad.

He did drop two spots to fifth in the standings - that shows how tight this championship run is when you can finish in the top ten and drop. He'll go get 'em again this week at Mexico...just don't drink the water. Or walk around the city. No, that is a dog and not a deformed rat. Uhg. I hate Mexico City.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
5. David -124

I Want NASCAR, NOT Baseball!!

This is ridiculous! The fricking baseball game is playing on both FOX and FX, we don't need to see it on FOX while our NASCAR pre-race is going on! This is bullcrap! We NASCAR fans have to suffer through all these station switches when we have rain delays but baseball fans get their game on two stations. They can scroll that it's on FX on the bloody ticker! I want to see my pre-race!!!

Well now I'm sitting here listening to David's in-car. The green is scheduled for 8:53PM - well it sure sounds like they're in the cars right now! So NASCAR is going to run them under pace laps for ten minutes, huh? Yeah right!

I guess I should just shut up because Shawn just said they're delaying the start of the race because of this baseball game. Give me a break! This is crap!

Now where is that email for FOX? Ah-ha, here it is. And here I am listening to a baseball game and preparing to write a letter of complaint to FOX.

http://msn.foxsports.com/feedback

Phoenix Qualifying

Jess

CUP RESULTS
1. Ryan Newman
9. Martin
13. Dale Jr.
26. David
28. Michael
30. Casey
33. Brian
40. Kurt

Yikes Kurt! They're saying during this off-weekend that Kurt's days will mostly be taken up by testing. Thank goodness!

Michael had a good lap despite scraping the wall in practice - it was relieving that he didn't wreck the car in practice and that it wasn't horrid during qualifying. He even used the word "smile" in his qualifying quotes on Race2Win...I hope he smiles a lot more this weekend, too.

The lil' UPS Camry looked rather evil but David jumped on the wheel and pushed her to a respectable position - he did have me nervous for a moment because most of the star cars were all over the place on the track. DW was remarking that Carl Edwards can manhandle this new car like nobody else but in my opinion David could give Edwards a run for his money once he gets some luck and momentum. There's that adaptability thing again...

NATIONWIDE RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
12. David

A nice lap for a good starting spot in that pretty Best Western Camry. Time to make a big cup of coffee for all the east coast race fans!!

Texas Motor Speedway - Samsung 500

Jess

RESULTS
1. Carl Edwards
12. Dale Jr. (1 LD)
16. Brian (1 LD)
22. Casey (2 LD)
23. Kurt (2 LD)
31. Michael (6 LD)
36. Martin (OUT)
41. David (OUT)

Michael always says that there's no such thing as a boring race and he's probably right. When you're at a track sitting in the grandstands you can look at whoever you want, but when it's on TV and the cameras and commentators are focusing on a select group of drivers it can get pretty tiring to watch. This is what Texas was like to me. There's such a fine line between too many cautions (it can get ridiculous and nerve-wracking when drivers are wrecking every ten laps) and too few (the field gets extremely spread out and basically everyone is a lap down). Carl Edwards spanked everyone and that gets boring too, especially at a place that brags about its close finishes.

The first big thing that occurred was that David had to go to the rear because of an engine change. A bolt had come loose and disappeared into the motor - this also happened to Mike Skinner, so it must have been a Toyota engine shop issue. I wasn't too worried, as David was very good in practice.

When the green fell he began to move forward although he noted that the #44 was really, really loose. Despite this - and that his helmet blower was blowing hot air - he was making great lap times!

Polesitter Dale Jr. blasted away from the pack and led a good thirteen laps and would come back to lead quite a few more before fading a bit.

Unfortunately Michael brought out the first caution when he lost it in Turn 4. He did, however, do a great job at saving it, turning the wheel to the left and continuing to drive the car as it was spinning. Whoohoo! He kept it off the wall and was able to keep going.

Meanwhile Ryan and the #44 boys worked on tightening up the UPS Camry. On the track, David was having some issues with a couple old adversaries. Paul Menard constantly races David like he's evil or something - I don't know what his problem is! He just about wrecked David for no reason, which caused him to lose his rhythm and fall back a few spots. Later David and Shawn discussed this and Shawn mentioned something about Michigan last year. David couldn't even remember what happened there and neither can I!

On the next green run another driver was like a thorn in David's side: who other than Sam Hornish. Hornish was a lapped car while David was on the lead lap, but he raced him like he was going for the win. David was understandably annoyed and went to block him. Hornish responded by driving into the back of him in the middle of the corner! Are you freaking kidding me? Is he insane? You'd think after McD's wreck he'd have more sense than to try and do something that dangerous, but then again this is Hornish I'm talking about here. Thank goodness he tried to wreck someone who has a million times more talent than he does because David was skilled enough to avoid crashing.

In the meantime Martin was running quite well while Brian, Kurt and Casey we about mid-pack. A lot of drivers were complaining passionately about how bad their cars were - Kyle Busch would say later that it was worse than Atlanta. This made me laugh heartily because the tires were wearing great at Texas. I wonder what Tony Stewart had to say about that? He owes an apology to Goodyear more than ever now. It's not the tires...! However I do think that these cars allow the drivers to get up on the wheel more. They aren't driving perfectly but now we're starting to see who the most adaptable drivers are. A driver who can go for it when his car is driving good is a good driver. A driver who can suck it up and still put 100% effort into making the best out of a bad car is a great driver. Some of them just need to get more comfortable with the car, learn its ins and outs and I think they'll be fine.

Speaking of this adaptable behavior, David was showing just that. They had tightened up the car but doing so made their laps times fall off. So David did a wonderful thing: he offered to adapt! He said that they should change it back to what it was before and he'd drive it that way - and not wreck it - since it was fast.

I was very much looking forward to this when he started to report the water temperature climbing. Minutes later the engine blew up...

I couldn't freaking believe it. He was running well enough to be 32nd in owner points! Why does this crap have to happen to him? Why is he the MWR car that runs great only to have mechanical problems while Michael and McD ran horribly and made it to the end of the race? This team doesn't deserve this kind of fate.

My mood only worsened when I decided to listen to Michael. He was six laps down by then so I didn't expect happiness, but the communication was pretty terrible. He doesn't say anything about what the car is doing, only what he thinks will fix it! It's also notable that Ty Norris is now his spotter...I sort of wonder if Mark Green got tired of the abuse. Oh Michael...what are we going to do with you? He's so much of a better driver than this!

And as if I couldn't have gotten more depressed, Martin's engine let go with nine laps left. And Edwards won. Again.

#44 Quotes of the Race
(Under caution after the Menard and Hornish deals)

Ryan: "Hey Shawn, get with that spotter and make peace with all those guys and make sure that everybody knows, you know, that everything's okay, okay?"

Shawn: "10-4, I talked to him."

David (very offended): "I didn't do nothing wrong!!"

Ryan: "10-4, 10-4, it's okay, we just gotta put it behind us, we can't let it set us back - I'm trying to get them to put it behind us, we gotta put it behind us...but we can't be screwing with those cats..."

Ryan is such a great peacemaker!

POINT STANDINGS
1. Jeff Burton
4. Dale Jr. -87
15. Kurt -302
16. Martin -310
18. Brian -319
26. Casey -454 (27th in owner points +121 from 36th)
31. David -513 (38th in owner points -38 from 35th)
32. Michael -535 (32nd in owner points +40 points from 36th)

NNS: Texas Motor Speedway - O’Reilly 300

Danni

RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
6. Brian
7. Dale Jr.
14. David

It was a pretty uneventful race, which is a suprising development in the normally caution-filled Nationwide races. Frankly, it was rather predictable, but a couple things changed.

Brian appeared to have good pit stops in the #32! This team is always strong, but in the past I have watched the cars come down for stops and the #32 constantly dropped several positions, which Brian would have to regain on the track. They didn't let him down this time, especially since there was plenty of green flag pitting. Brian motored his way forward and got quite a bit of attention. He ran in the top-5 near the end of the race but ended up settling for a solid spot just outside.

It was kind of a typical day for Junior in the #5 - run around 10th. His Nationwide "mediocrity" (I mean, it's not bad, but I think a lot of people expected him to just win and win...) is somewhat interesting to me, particularly because of his awing performance in the harder to drive Cup car. I've been a fan of his for long enough to know he has a difficult time adjusting to changes in cars. I wonder if he focused so much on how to get better in the Cup car that he forgot how to drive the streamlined, smaller Nationwide car. It's somewhat amusing to me. I can't imagine he's really enjoying it, though!

The #99 continues to impress! Unfortunately, late in the race the Dream Machine dropped a cylinder. Watching David gain so much in the corners only to lose track position on the straights brought on a mixed sense of pride and utter disappointment. It was another top-5 run marred by circumstance. However, it could have been worse. To survive for a lead lap finish is better than completely tearing something up. It just bites because he would have gained on all the Cuppies running for the championship and instead he lost points to them. On to fight another day, team!

It was good to see Kyle finally get that win - nice for a change rather than watch something freakish happen to him while leading! He's always so exuberant when he grabs those checkers first. I liked his dancing run back to the car after he caught the flag.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
3. David -120