FanHouse Jeff Gordon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The "Big One," a 13-car accident at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night took out fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. before NASCAR's Coke Zero 400 was even halfway complete.

The accident on the backstretch was triggered when Kasey Kahne's Dodge tapped David Stremme's Dodge from behind. Eleven more cars were collected, including Earnhardt and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon -- both truly innocent victims of the smoky melee.

If we celebrated David Reutimann's win at Charlotte last month and Matt Kenseth's February Daytona 500 victory -- both races called off early because of rain -- then no one can begrudge rookie Joey Logano his maiden win Sunday at rain-soaked New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

However, we can question NASCAR's schedule. And we're entitled to bristle just a bit at Sunday's finish.

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For those that question NASCAR's race shows -- the people who criticize white-checkered finishes, single file parades and races that are agonizingly too long -- the antidote comes Sunday on the beautiful 1.9-mile road course built into the winding, hills of Northern California wine country.

Road course racing is real racing, the true test of driver talent.

And NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series could stand a few more.

OK, Brickyard fans, Jeff Gordon "guarantees" you a good race when NASCAR returns to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the AllState 400 on July 26.

The four-time race winner Gordon promises the tire issues that ruined last year's Sprint Cup Series race -- and a lot of fan goodwill - will not be a problem this summer.

"I'm 100 percent confident, it's a dead issue," Gordon said Tuesday during a break in Goodyear's final tire test at Indy before the race. "The race might come down to a lot of different factors ... but it's not going to come down to a 10-lap shootout to see whose tires will last. I can promise all the fans out there, if they want to come to the Brickyard, they'll see a great race and be confident the tires are not going to be an issue.

"Trust me. And I hope that's going to go be enough for the fans."

The wide racing surface with multiple grooves at Michigan International Speedway often leads to a clean, green race and Sunday's LifeLock 400 was no different with fuel mileage spelling the final name of the game.

Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson both eliminated themselves by driving too hard and burning too much fuel in the final laps, and Mark Martin wisely conserved just enough fuel to dramatically win the race after running out of gas himself in the final corner.

And despite the back-to-back fuel mileage finishes in the Sprint Cup Series, the finish of Sunday's race certainly added a little bit of spice to an otherwise vanilla day.

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The pre-race buzz is understandably high for the double-file re-starts NASCAR is implementing in the Sprint Cup Series Sunday at Pocono, Pa.

But the real story isn't so much the exciting midseason change in format, but NASCAR's willingness to make a midseason change in format.

Say what you want about stock car's benevolent dictatorship, but in the last few years, the hard-line has been replaced with the open-line. And NASCAR's willingness to adapt -- in the name of more exciting competition -- may be the very thing that keeps it relevant and afloat in these tricky economic times.

Tony Stewart likens it to Tiger Woods taking his buddies out to the local putt-putt golf course or Michael Jordan playing a pick-up game at the neighborhood park.

As the two-time NASCAR champ Stewart hosts the fifth rendition of his "Prelude to the Dream" exhibition race on Wednesday, it's very evident that what may have started as a favor to help Stewart's charitable foundation is now also one of the hottest invites in all of racing.

You'd think Ron Capps' day job driving a nitro-powered Funny Car 300 miles per hour in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) competition would be enough to satisfy his need for challenge and excitement.

"There's not a whole lot that can compare to that but when you go through Turn One at Eldora and Jeff Gordon's on your wheel or you're trading paint with Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, it pretty much rivals what we do in a Funny Car,'' said Capps, who leads the NHRA's Funny Car championship standings and is coming off his fourth win of the season Sunday in his NAPA-sponsored Dodge Charger Funny Car.

As far as Capps is concerned, Wednesday night's HBO pay-per-view all-star race, the Prelude to the Dream on the dirt high-banks of Eldora Speedway, is just as much fun for the racers as it is the fans cheering them on -- all in the name of big buck charity donations which will go to U.S. military themed charities this year.

And Capps wouldn't dream of missing out.

For once, NASCAR as a sanctioning body completely deserves a heaping of praise.

Nope, there won't be rubbing, questioning or accusing in this post because its actions Monday afternoon concerning the true spirit of Memorial Day in the States is something a lot of fans won't soon forget. And should they, on any level -- whether it involve a national anthem singer or the allowance of a foreign-owned manufacturer in the sport -- there's one moment to fall back on.

That moment came at exactly 3PM Monday when NASCAR threw the red flag over the Coca-Cola 600, brought the field to a stop, quieted the cars and stood at silent attention in honor of the service of the men and women of the armed forces.

Even with a sore back, Jeff Gordon is atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings. Makes you wonder what he's capable of if a procedure to alleviate the pain works.

Doctors performed a facet block procedure on Gordon on Monday, hoping to reduce the chronic back pain the four-time champ says he's endured for years.

"I was a little sore after the procedure," Gordon said. "but I'll definitely take that brief bit of soreness if it stops the recurring back pain I've had."