Talladega Superspeedway - AMP Energy 500

RESULTS
1. Regan Smith!!! *
19. Michael (3LD)
28. Dale Jr. (DNF - ACCIDENT)
37. David (DNF - ENGINE)
* Tony Stewart was the "official" winner

Talladega!!!! Love it or hate it (and as one can see from above it was not the greatest race for our guys, nor was the official winner who I think it should be!), it's always exciting.

Dale Jr. started from the back but that can't keep the #88 down at a restrictor plate track. Only twenty-six laps from the green flag and Junior was leading the field and making the grandstands roar! In the meantime our MWR heros were hanging out around the middle and back of the pack - for so early in the race the drivers were being quite aggressive, so I'm not sure if I would have wanted to be in the midst of all that!

The yellow waved for debris soon after and Kenny Wallace made a big mistake on pit road, apparently speeding to the extreme (Shawn remarked that he must have been going one hundred miles per hour!). NASCAR doesn't take kindly to excessive speed so they put Kenny a lap down.

There was another debris caution on Lap 45, but I wasn't complaining much. Since the disaster of an ARCA race on Friday I suspected that the blown tires may have been the result of debris on the track, so as long as NASCAR was erring on the side of caution I was fine. However, this didn't help David when on Lap 53 he had a right rear explode. He was incredibly lucky it didn't tear the heck out of the #44 and that he avoided the wall in a thrilling show of car control! Jeff Gordon, who had been racing beside him, wasn't so fortunate - he hit the wall when he reacted to David coming across.

The #44 crew leaped to work, patching up the UPS Camry as much as they could with the time they were given before the restart. Because Ryan wanted to make sure nothing was rubbing, he kept David in the pits for as long as possible, which lead to the pack taking the green with David some ways behind. Without a draft he could only go so fast, and when the caution flew before he was lapped I let out a sigh of relief - until I saw all the smoke and spinning cars!

Poor Brian Vickers had a tire blow out at the front of the line and one of the Big Ones quickly ensued. The giant wreck took out several cars, including Martin Truex Jr. Junior was leading and just barely missed the chaos, while Michael made an evasive move through the smoke down on the flat after pit road. David, of course, was nowhere near this, and for that I was thankful. The red flag came out and Michael got on his radio to chat a bit.

Once racing was back underway, the tire problems did not cease. Mike Wallace had a tire carcass go flying, and as I watched in dread it bouned right off Michael's hood and whiplashed over his roof! Michael commented on This Week in NASCAR that he thought in no way was that going to hit his car! The tire caused an astonishing amount of damage, but Michael lent a hand during repairs by taking a hammer and trying to pound his roof up - you go, Michael! The NAPA crew did an awesome job fixing the #55!

Another tire gave out on Lap 98, sending leader Denny Hamlin hard into the wall. He had trouble exiting the car and looked like he was in a lot of pain, and he was taken to the hospital overnight. He's okay now, thankfully, and whenever I see a crash like that I thank everyone out there who strives to make this sport safer.

Less than twenty laps later, our David was in the garage. The engine had lost a cylinder shortly before breaking entirely...what a heartbreak. Ryan sounded so bummed. After all they went through with the tire.

On the bright side, Michael took the lead on Lap 163! I'll tell you, he is one amazing drafter - I don't know how he does it! One minute he's out of camera shot and then the next he's battling for the top spot! It was only two laps before the caution flew and he pitted, but they were a sweet couple of circuits.

But it would come to an end on Lap 174, when Carl Edwards's bumpdraft of Greg Biffle in the corner would spark the second Big One of the day. This would affect both Dale Jr. and Michael - the former with a DNF and the latter with a three-lap-down struggle to just finish. I was listening to Michael's radio at this point and was surprised at how cheerful he was, despite the fact that he just barely got into the wreck. I suppose he was happy just to have an opportunity to finish!

Well, I suppose it's time to finish this race and explain why I feel Regan Smith should have been the winner. Tony Stewart was blocking like hell for the last few laps, so I knew it would be difficult for anyone to pass him. When the caution came out for Jamie McMurray's blown tire it was set up to be a two-lap shootout, with three DEI cars lined up behind the #20. Smith was at the head of the trio and I was hoping he'd have enough experience to know when to make his move.

He waited a long time and then swung up on the trioval coming to the checkers. Stewart blocked and Smith shot back down, getting a nose under him. But Stewart kept coming and forced him onto the apron - and Smith crossed the line first. He won! I thought. He was forced down there! The crowd was roaring, Paul Menard was giving the #01 a congratulatory nudge, Smith's fists were pumping.

And then NASCAR declares Stewart the winner.

Okay, I was pissed. What was Smith supposed to do? Wreck Stewart? Come on! What about when Johnny Benson passed under the yellow - and by the way, he wasn't forced there - to gain a position at Talladega in 2007? NASCAR's reasoning: "When the drivers can see the checkered flag, you can get all you can get," as stated by Ramsey Poston, the managing director for communications. However, now NASCAR officials are saying that there is no passing under the line period (that's funny because I've seen plenty of that with no penalties), but they have no explanation as to why Johnny Benson was allowed to do it at Talladega. To make matters worse for Smith, he was not only robbed of his victory but put to the tail end of the lead lap. I guess NASCAR doesn't see Stewart pushing him down onto the apron as forcing him under the yellow.

Greg Biffle stood up for Smith on TWiN and Michael sided with NASCAR (despite saying Smith won on his radio). I admired how passionately Biffle defended him. The odd part was that both drivers still seem to believe one can pass if they can see the flagman.

It disgusts me because it looks so much like favoritism. Stewart hasn't won all year so why miss out on NASCAR's chance to give him a freebee? But I think NASCAR would be surprised to see how many fans are calling Regan Smith the winner. I am, too. Congratulations, Regan!

#44 Quotes of the Race

(The team chats before the race)

Ryan (to Shawn): "I know sometimes it's hard for you to see coming in the trioval when they're coming right at you right there, only when necessary I'll jump in there and help you out right there, okay?"

Shawn: "Oh we're in trouble, he thinks he's spotter now." Pause. "See that's what happens, them old drivers and old crew chiefs, they end up up here in the spotter's stand, so Ryan must be getting ready!"

David: "He wants part of your pay. I'd like to get part of it too, actually!"

Ryan: "Just in case you need to get a hot dog or something like that, I'll cover the frontstretch here."

Shawn (laughing): "10-4!"

(During the first red flag, Michael appears on David's radio)

Michael: "David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip, NAPA Camry, you got a copy?"

David (laughing): "Hey Emdub, go ahead."

(The conversation continues, I just like how Michael introduced himself! )

POINT STANDINGS
1. Jimmie Johnson
10. Dale Jr. -249
---
13. David Ragan
25. David -719 (-129 from 20th)
29. Michael -1129

Talladega Quals

Jess

RESULTS
1. Travis Kvapil
15. Dale Jr.
19. David
25. Michael

Since David had to go to a backup car after Friday's practice wreck (by the way, it was Hamlin who hit him...) I really didn't expect his qualifying lap to be very good - but I was wrong! Ryan Pemberton was interviewed during David's run and it was just about the cutest thing ever...he's such a good guy!

Another great thing that happened was that Kenny Wallace made the field in the #00. He was talking away during an interview when Wendy Venturini told him he made it - he was so happy! Kenny is a good drafter so hopefully he'll be strong today.

In other news Casey Mears has Brad Keselowski on standby in case he needs to fly back to North Carolina to be there for the birth of his daughter. He seems so excited about being a father and I can't wait to see what the baby is named and what she looks like! I'm so happy for Casey and Trish!

Mayhem at Talladega...and it's not even raceday!

Danni

There is a reason why Talladega and Daytona are impound races. NASCAR does not want to watch the drivers take each other out in practice, so they hold two sessions instead of three and schedule them before qualifying. Unfortunately, this method isn't foolproof and today misfortune struck hard.

In first practice, Dale Jr. was drafting as usual, hooking up with teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. All of a sudden, he jumped out of line and fell back. I thought at first he was dropping to the tail end of the pack to later evaluate the car's passing ability. Then I saw the smoke. "He's blowing up!" I groaned. The commentators lifted my hopes a bit when they suggested a tire rub, but the longer Junior rode around the more apparent it was that he had an engine failure. Swapping an engine automatically relegates a team to the back of the starting grid. It wasn't too upsetting because if anyone can draft from the rear to the lead, it's Junior!

I was less than optimistic following "Happy" Hour, however. Junior, with a fresh motor, was practicing some bump-drafting and then lead a small pack of cars. All of a sudden, his right rear tire exploded, causing the #88 car to spin down the banking into the paths of other drivers. Aside from being unhappy, I was stunned at the fashion of this blowout. It was strikingly similar to the incident at Dover, but the entire decklid and rear panel flew off, leaving the wing hanging by some type of tether. The car was absolutely demolished. Not a good day when you lose both an engine and a car in one day! Luckily for June, he works for Hendrick Motorsports - a backup car is often just as good as the primary.

The tire failure not only affected Junior, though. David Gilliland, who was right behind Junior, was also heavily damaged along with Kasey Kahne. Tony Stewart got into it and took a ride through the grass (for the second week in a row) but the team elected not to go to a backup. And then there was David Reutimann! When I first noticed during a replay that he drove by with his right front fender bent up, I was shocked he even got involved - he was way behind the initial crash. Thankfully SPEED decided to give him an interview. David said that he was slowing down, indicating and everything, and he got run into from behind "five minutes later". The cameras then showed the rear end of the #44 with the bumper pushed in so far it must have bent the rear clip! The primary was not fixable. It's so disappointing because the car seemed really good and unlike HMS, MWR's backups may not be as good. David was clearly bothered by the situation, but I know Ryan Pemberton and the guys will do their best to give him a good car for Sunday.

Still, the front end damage was unexplained until Clint Bowyer was interviewed. I hadn't even realized he was caught up in the crash, but he said that he was fine until the #44 just ran into the back of him.

After getting over my annoyance at the nastiness in his voice, I was able to add up what happened. In some of the replays, the second pack of cars could be seen. When Junior's debris flew all over the place, David moved up the track to slow down. A dark car could be seen behind David's, coming fast. I'm guessing it was either Denny Hamlin or Brian Vickers. The dark car must have hit David while he was decelerating, causing him to turn down the track and somehow get into the back of Bowyer. I have a hunch it was Hamlin, since he seems to have a problem slowing down in the first place. While everyone else was checking up, he zipped around cars like a bat out of hell. But the replays mostly looked at Junior (obviously) so it was difficult to see what was happening beyond him.

Ugh.

So what caused this whole mess in the first place? Junior had only 13 laps (make up your own bad luck omen) on the tires, making it improbable that there was excessive wear, especially on a track as smooth as Dega. The tire must have been cut by some type of debris, and a large piece at that.

But uncertainties increased as the ARCA race unfolded. ARCA uses a completely different tire (Hoosier) than NASCAR, but just about every caution was due to tires blowing out, many of which were right rears. They would explode with very few laps on them. Were race officials failing to clean the track off? It seemed to get progressively worse as the race went on.

Man. Talladega is bad enough with the Big One. But now possible mystery tire issues?

Kansas Speedway - Camping World RV 400

Danni

RESULTS
1. Jimmie Johnson
13. Dale Jr.
19. David (1LD)
35. Michael (3LD)

It was a tough race for all three of our guys at Kansas. All weekend, analysts on the broadcasts acknowledged the difficulty of getting a balanced car on the flat 1.5 track. However, Kansas manages to produce good racing in spite of the field spreading out and the frequency of green pit stops.

I have to admit I was disappointed in Junior's run. From practice times and a prerace interview, I was under the impression that the car was going to be a good one. In reality, the #88 team fought it all day long - it was loose regardless of changes. At one point Junior drove into the top-10, but most of the day was spent just outside, as his finish shows. Being 190 points out of the championship is a daunting task when you're going up against Jimmie Johnson, but with Talladega coming up, you never know. On the positive side, Junior has been mentioning that he's trying to behave on the radio! Good to hear!

Like Junior, David battled an ill-handling car - it sounded like the beginning of the year again! I was pretty upset since he had run so well at California (though that race is held at night). It was so tight at first that he couldn't even get past 30th and by Lap 50 he was overcome by the leaders. Huge adjustments ordered by Ryan and a fast pit stop by the #44 crew put David as the first lapped car in line on a subsequent restart. The team got another stroke of luck as well - the leader was Casey Mears, who stayed out on old tires. This enabled David to pass Casey and get his lap back without the free pass when the next caution flew. From then on it was a fight into the top-20 despite going a lap down again. Although I'm used to better finishes (they make you spoiled, don't they?), I was proud of the diligence of the entire team.

Michael's day was a sadder story. He had a great car at the start of the race and powered into the top-20, where he remained for quite some time. Near the middle of the race, he began to contend with a worsening NAPA car and dropped to around 25th place. It was then that he got loose in front of David Ragan and was spun, collecting Sam Hornish in the melee. Under the following yellow, the crew tried to repair the car while not losing a lap. I wasn't comfortable with the shredded and jagged appearance of the left front fender and those fears were confirmed when twenty-six laps later the tire blew out. Michael managed not to crash exiting Turn 2, but unfortunately for him all the debris shot off the track and he was forced to pit under green. The team rallied on to avoid a DNF, however, so that's something to be respected.

How about that finish! I was cheering for Jimmie and when I saw Carl coming like lightning I thought it was all over. The #48 team is so lucky Jimmie is calm and collected because I think a lot of other drivers would have lost their nerve in that situation. Even though I wasn't pulling for Carl, I'll give him credit for his effort! I couldn't believe the banzai move he tried in Turn 3! I really thought it was going to work until the car shot up the track and he slammed the wall. He must have been so disappointed, but even more so when he found out that he lost the championship lead to Jimmie by ten points too!

#44 Quotes of the Race

An incident on pit road messed up one of David's pit stops.

David: "Who the heck run over me coming into the pit box, anyway?"

Shawn: "The 8."

David (grumbling): "Every freakin' time we turn around something's happening like that." Pause. "He run into us and man, that frickin'... I went long. (indignantly) I was trying to stop short."

Ryan: "Ten-four. I didn't see it. I saw your car wiggle, I didn't see why you wiggled."

Shawn: "They were pushing him. Everybody was pushing each other down pit road."

David: "Okay, [they were] pushing, but don't get a running start!"

POINT STANDINGS
1. Jimmie Johnson
8. Dale Jr. -190
---
13. David Ragan
22. David -601 (-65 from 20th)
29. Michael -1070

Big MWR Announcements!!

Jess

I got home from shopping today and since NASCAR.com is my homepage it was like bam! Bootie Barker's going to be Michael's crew chief in 2009, bam! MWR is aligning with JTG-Daugherty Racing in 2009!

I've been wondering for quite a while what Bootie was going to do next season, since it was never confirmed that he would stay with Haas as it transferred to Stewart-Haas. Quite honestly I'm a bit shocked Stewart wasn't able to lure Bootie to be Newman's crew chief, or at least stay with the company. Things that make you go, "Hmm."

Michael is notoriously difficult to get along with on the racetrack and it's his abuse of crew chiefs after Tony Eury Jr. that caused me to stop listening to his radio chatter. I'm hoping Bootie doesn't take any mouth from Michael when he gets frustrated and I also pray there isn't much mouth to take in the first place. I feel Michael needs a "big name" crew chief so he will respect and trust him (I believe it gives him confidence, as well).

My only worry is that Bootie was recently suspended this season for messing with the wing on the #66 car of Scott Riggs. We obviously don't need to go into an in-depth look back to Daytona in 2007 but I can imagine Michael may have mentioned something along the lines of, "Leave your cheating ways behind you," when Bootie was hired.

Anyway, I'm very excited for Bootie to come on board! This will allow Bobby Kennedy to go back to managing all three teams, which is what he was originally employed to do and what I think he's always wanted to resume. Yay!

The rumors about the MWR-JTG partnership turned out to be true. And I can't be happier! This sounds extremely promising and it's very interesting since the team will be run straight out of MWR's shop. Marcos Ambrose seems like such a cool guy and a big sponsor like Little Debbie is always welcome! So this development has definitely "unwrapped a smile" on my face! Oh don't groan, you know that was cute.

Personally I'm thrilled to have Frank Kerr back in MWR's shop. I never wanted to see him go last season - he's a great crew chief!

In other news, it was announced yesterday that Michael McDowell will be replaced this weekend at Talladega by Kenny Wallace - it wasn't specified if McD will be back this season. I have mixed feelings about this situation...on one hand I'm not entirely surprised at how much McD's struggled, since he really doesn't have all that much experience, so I understand why MWR is taking him out of his ride. On the other hand, he hasn't been getting the same equipment (gen 3 cars) as Michael and David until recently, so it's to be expected he'd have trouble. One moment it sounds like he will be re-signed for 2009 and then the next it sounds like he's a free agent. Although McD has said and done some things that I haven't liked, he's not a bad guy and I don't want to see him being yanked around. I hope MWR is able to give him a solid "yes" or "no" before too long so he's able to find a ride somewhere.

The big boys of MWR have said in several places that they need to find sponsorship for the third team and I'm assuming - since I don't think Champion Mortgage is quite a "real" sponsor - that means McDowell. If funding can be found that's great, but I can't help but think about Josh Wise. He's MWR's future and likely will take over the #55 when Michael retires, but he needs seat time in Nationwide before then. Aaron's is sponsoring the #99 for ten races (run by Michael and David), but to run the rest with Josh a sponsor needs to be found. Would taking a chance on a fourth Cup team be worth it when you have a Tony Stewart-praised driver waiting in the works? Time will tell.

NNS Kansas Speedway - Kansas Lottery 300

Jess

RESULTS
1. Denny Hamlin
16. David (1LD)
27. Brandon (5LD)

Things were looking good for David early in the race - he was running in the top 10 and seemed to be doing fine. However, it all went downhill after a restart, when Brad Keselowski made the wrong move and tried to pass David to the right. David went up either to block him or avoid hitting the car in front of him (the restart was rather slow), but he ended up making hard contact with the #88's left front with the Dream Machine's right rear. Soon after the #99 began to lose positions at a notable rate and he would go a lap down. A caution during green flag pit stops put him a second lap down.

I sort of became distracted after this for various reasons so I'm not quite sure how David ended up getting one of his laps back, or if his struggles were due simply to handling or the damage to the car - Aaron's hasn't released a race report so far this week and they're usually pretty good about that. Anyway I'm glad he did get a lap back because it nearly got him a top 15.

The championship isn't looking too good right now but it certainly hasn't been for a lack of effort by David or the team. If they only could get some luck!

I have to admit I was disappointed with Brandon's 27th this weekend...I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up for an underfunded team but it seems like they've been improving as of late. They are finishing, though, and that's better than start-and-parking because it shows that they're there to try.

EDIT Oct. 2 - Aaron's did finally get their report up and unfortunately it doesn't say exactly how David got one of his laps back. I guess I should pay better attention next time!

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
6. David -601

Kansas Qualifying

Danni

RESULTS
1. Jimmie Johnson
11. Dale Jr.
29. Michael
40. David

Originally, Juan Pablo Montoya charged around the track for his first career pole, beating Jimmie Johnson by 0.026 seconds. Unfortunately for Montoya, his happiness was short-lived when NASCAR discovered that the pressures in the #42's rear shocks were over the 75lb limit in post-qualifying inspection. As a result, Montoya's time was disallowed and he'll start 42nd. What a horrible way to win your first pole! I feel pretty bad for Montoya.

Junior seemed pleased with his car during practice though I'm sure he would have liked a better starting spot for the race. On the other hand, Michael was extremely disappointed with his lap - they lost a lot from practice and he has no idea why. David really struggled, which is upsetting in light of his vast improvement in qualifying the past several weeks. All in all it wasn't a good Friday for MWR - for the first time since Homestead 2007, one of their cars went home when Michael McDowell was unable to beat two star cars.

It was just stated during second practice that the #44 team is putting a new engine in the car. In one way, it makes things more stressful, but I'm also glad they may have found something wrong now and not on Lap 2 of the race Sunday.

NNS RESULTS
1. Kevin Harvick
5. David
36. Brandon

Despite fighting with the car all day yesterday in practice, the #99 Dream Machine bounced back during qualifying even with a disadvantageous late draw! Apparently because they've not run as competitively as they'd like, Jerry Baxter tried out a completely different setup and it bombed. The team decided to just put one of their usual setups back in and it appear to have worked. Since the championship is unlikely within their reach now, they need to focus on winning!

A Couple MWR Thangs...

Jess

The one good thing about UPS leaving David is the feeling of joy we get when we read on Jayski that sponsors are looking to fill in the races Aaron's isn't sponsoring next season. And when it's rumored that Dow Chemical could be the other main sponsor...holy moly! This is Dow, only the second biggest chemical manufacturer on the planet!

Chew on that a little.

Yes, yes, it's a rumor for now, but from what it sounds like (based on XM and Sirius radio reports from some helpful Mikey Members) things are going very well sponsorship-wise for MWR. Additionally there's a tidbit floating around that Marcos Ambrose could bring Little Debbie with him for a fourth team - now that would be some nice Aussie spice! I saw a Little Debbie / Ambrose cardboard standup in the grocery store yesterday and almost had a wild fangirl moment thinking he may be a part of MWR, or at least associated with it (I have a theory that it may simply be a satellite team but we'll see). It sure would give me the excuse to buy some Little Debbie - and it's fortunate for me that I walk ten minutes to college every day!

It's a relief, honestly, that things are looking up for Michael's dream. There were times I could almost see the end, I think. Quite simply it was scary - it's been a long road but thanks to Michael, Ty (we can't forget Ty...that man is MWR's backbone), David and so many other people I can't even start to write them down...their perseverance is why they are where they are today.

Give yourselves a pat on the back, boys and girls.

NNS: Dover Int'l Speedway - Camping World RV Sales 200

Danni

RESULTS
1. Kyle Busch
4. Scott
17. David
23. Brandon (5LD)

As the results show, it was an up-and-down race for our drivers. I love Dover - it's fast and wide but still has a short track feel. In the future I'd really like to attend a race there! But just like Bristol, when something happens, a driver has a very short time to react and he can get shuffled back very easily.

At the start, David moved quickly into the top-10 and despite a car that was tight all day, he remained there. By the end of the race, it looked as if he would snap his recent bad luck streak, in spite of getting into a bit of trouble with Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer on pit road. However, I knew by watching him race with the #38 of Jason Leffler in the closing laps that things might not go as planned and unfortunately David's situation went downhill in a hurry. He's had history with Leffler before so I was well aware they would not be racing each other nicely. A late caution brought a green-white-checkered finish and everyone knows how those can turn out! The situation got tense when Leffler dove in under David... and David sort of cut down on him. I can't say really anything different. Luckily, David managed not to crash and shot up the track, allowing the train of cars to pass him. Clearly pissed off, David tried to get back into somewhat of a rhythm only to get nudged again when Joey Logano got loose underneath him. The final result was another disappointing finish when it could have just as easily been a top-5. Such a shame considering XM Radio was sponsoring the car and it looked sharp out on the track.

On the other hand, Scott had much of an opposite story. He struggled in the beginning of the race and the #29 team used two-tire stops to get him track position, one of which resulted in him leading the field with a handful of laps remaining. Alas, four tires (and a screaming #18 machine) were too much to handle and Scott fell back a few spots before the checkers finally flew. It was still a good performance by the whole team. It's so sad thinking about how Scott only has a few more races with them!

I was also pretty proud of Brandon - a great race ending for an unsponsored team! Even though he was five laps down, he stayed in the game and resisted the start-and-park method used by so many other underfunded teams.

POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
6. David -546

Dover Int'l Speedway - Camping World RV 400

Jess

RESULTS
1. Greg Biffle
10. Michael
17. David (1LD)
24. Dale Jr. (3LD)

The first thing I must say is that Kate and Kacey Coppola did an amazing job at singing the National Anthem, probably one of the best renditions we've had all year. It was so refreshing to hear the song clean and beautiful without being "diva" and fancy (or just plain butchered). I've never heard of these girls before but I hope NASCAR asks them to sing again. Plus they are identical twins...and there's that twin-to-twin connection going on here.

When the green fell racing didn't last for long...and unfortunately Kurt was involved with the first caution. The first few laps at Dover are so difficult because everyone is bunched up two-by-two and no one has their rhythm yet. David Gilliland was underneath Kurt when he wiggled and made contact with the #2 Charger, sending him right into the wall. He sustained quite a bit of damage and his day was over before it had a chance to start.

In the meantime, both David and Michael were moving up while Dale Jr. was going back. It wasn't long at all before David was racing inside the top 10, which at this point is a thrill to us Beak fans but not much of a surprise anymore. Dale Jarrett up in the ESPN booth praised him and his team as usual but raved especially about David's skill behind the wheel. "I'm going to give some credit to the driver, too," he said. "I think that they're finally now - when you talk about that new car [3rd generation chassis] - that they're catching up to David Reutimann's talent with the race cars, and I think that's finally going to pay off for them."

I LOVE YOU DJ!!!

On Lap 144 all hell broke loose for Dale Jr. He had dropped significantly deep into the field with a very ill-handling #88 Chevy and when his right-rear tire exploded coming off Turn 4 I thought his race was done for. Somehow he wrestled - by talent or by chance - his Impala into some form of control and avoided both the inside and outside walls! His car would never recover and he spent most of the rest of the day way back in the field but eked out a decent finish by never giving up. As Michael said on This Week in NASCAR, that's a Chase-caliber team.

Everyone who crashed in the next forty laps seemed to want to be right in front of David, so he and Shawn were on their toes to avoid them. First Robby Gordon - not to be mean but he can be quite the terror on short tracks - wiped out Jamie McMurray. Next Sam Hornish was in a tight spot with David and a couple others and spun. Luckily David was able to dodge both but they were close calls!

Unfortunately the #44 team's awesome day ended abruptly during their last pit stop after Juan Pablo Montoya brought out the yellow with less than fifty to go. David was held a lap by NASCAR for having a tire over the pit box line. It most certainly was a heartbreaker and honestly I really freaking don't like this rule because the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Why can a driver speed or a tire get away from the crew (both of which are potentially dangerous or damaging to others) and only get a tail-end penalty, but being a little bit on the line (but only your front tires - a car can have its ass hanging out and it's fine!) deserves a one-lap penalty? I don't often question NASCAR's rules because they're a lot smarter than I am but this one just doesn't seem right. Earlier in the year at Bristol the same thing happened. Damn those small pit boxes.

The bright spot among all these dark clouds was that Michael was in the midst of kicking some tail (and especially Tony Stewart's tail - sorry, I got a lot of enjoyment from watching Stewart attempting to chase Michael down and failing miserably! ). David would restart the first car a lap down but the caution would never come of (I really do hate when it works like that) so he finished the race ahead of Michael but a lap behind...

I'm so very proud of what Michael and the #55 team accomplished this weekend - they also won several awards (Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race, Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race and USG Improving the Finish) and that's wonderful! I hope they can use this momentum to end the year on a high note!

#44 Quotes of the Race

(Shawn is excited over how well David is running early in the race)

Shawn: "I don't know if you're having fun drivin' it but I'm having a ball watching it!"

David: "It's been a lot of fun, there."

(Robby Gordon crashes Jamie McMurray right in front of David)

David: "Boy that 7 car's somethin' ain't he!"

Shawn: "Yeah, that probably wasn't called for right there."

David: "Ya think?!"

Shawn (laughing): "Yeah!"

POINT STANDINGS
1. Carl Edwards
9. Dale Jr. -129
22. David (-85 from 20th)
29. Michael (+114 from 36th in owner points)