Since sweeping the weekend with a win in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races at Chicagoland Speedway in July, racing in NASCAR has been a little rough on the Sprint Cup points leader.
Yep, Kyle Busch has simply cooled off for the past two race weekends. Cooled off, that is, from a high point somewhere on the momentum scale just past red hot.
His two finishes in the last two Sprint Cup events at Indianapolis and Pocono? Try 15th at the Brickyard and a staggering 36th at Pocono. Combined, those finishes have dropped 86 points off his lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the standings to a smaller 176-point advantage.
Both Indianapolis and Pocono are flat tracks -- a venue that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver admittedly hasn't found a great handle on yet in 2008. The 15th-place finish at Indy was about how good the No. 18 was that day, but the 36th-place finish at Pocono was a matter of the team running out of fuel at the end of the race.
He does have a win in the Nationwide Series Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park, but on the previous night in the Craftsman Truck Series, he struggled heavily with what he called "the worst truck" he's ever driven.
So, is this the point in the 2008 season where we see Kyle Busch come back to the pack? It very well could be.
Kyle Petty got a little mad Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen. And as a result, he won't be racing Sunday at Michigan.
The heir-apparent to any new driving opportunity at Petty Enterprises, Chad McCumbee will instead take over.
Petty had surgery Tuesday on a broken right hand suffered after an incident on course at lap 69.
It sounds like self-contact was to blame for the injury:
Kyle Petty, driver of the No. 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge suffered a broken hand as a result of hitting the butt of his right hand on a door inside the hauler after a lap 69 incident in Sunday's Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International road course.
[...] He flew back to his home in North Carolina, where he was treated by a doctor who determined that the hand was broken.
Maybe it was just a ploy to get McCumbee in the car again? After all, the kid did a fantastic job at the first Pocono race and Petty has had nothing but praise for the driver on his rotational role with PRN's Fast Talk.
Or, most likely, Petty got mad and had a little bit of anger built up because his car didn't perform at all Sunday and because he had to fire a crew chief.
He's scheduled to be back for the breeze of a race that is Bristol. Right.
In case you missed the bajillion replays on SportsCenter and ESPN2's NASCAR Now, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick got into a little bit of a dust up in turn 1 at Watkins Glen on Sunday.
Here's the evidence, starting at about 0:54:
So, seeing that two drivers showed some emotion and that Kevin Harvick called Juan Pablo Montoya a slang term for a donkey, penalties are bound to come, right?
Despite his incredible point lead, Jeff Gordon doesn't have a bone in his body that is relaxing in his pursuit of his fifth championship.
That anxiety likely led to his spin with less than two laps to go, taking the No. 24 out of its tenth road course win and opening the door for a knocking Tony Stewart.
Gordon had less than a one second lead on lap 89 when he drove his Chevrolet Impala a little deep into Turn 1 and wheel-hopped the rear end. Seconds later, Gordon was back in the gas but sitting ninth.
"We gave up 20 [points] because I didn't get the 10 that would have kept him from getting the 10," Gordon said. "Had I won, I would have gained 10 points, so I would have been 20 points more ahead of him than I am now." [...] "Just stupid," Gordon said. "I knew I had to push. Tony was really good. I wanted that win really bad. ... I pushed and I pushed too far. What happened is the team deserved to win, and the driver didn't get it done."
For a guy who had just lost the race in a solo spin, the thoughts he offered the media afterwards were pretty darn classy.
If Gordon rallies back and picks up a win or two, his thoughts of mistake will deeply subside -- unless Tony takes the season title by 20 or less points.
SPEED will cover an announcement Tuesday at Joe Gibbs racing, where Kyle Busch is expected to announce he'll be in the No. 18 in 2008.
Will people actually watch?
SPEED covered the Dale Earnhardt Jr. saga live (just like the FanHouse!) so they must feel that Kyle Busch has the same power for ratings.
I don't see it, but I suppose there a few people that will stop their day, wake up, or at least laugh at the press coverage for an announcement that carries much less weight across the NASCAR Nation as Dale Jr.'s did.
And that's not a diss on Busch.
The announcement also isn't expected to carry any deep surprises or reveal major unknowns like Dale Jr.'s two announcements seemed to carry.
ESPN had a beat on the announcement Sunday night after Watkins Glen:
Boris Said was living the life Sunday at Watkins Glen. He, after all, got a last-minute ride in the Wood Brothers No. 21 after missing the race in his own car due to rain on Friday's qualifying.
And now, Ken Schrader should be back in the ride this weekend at Michigan International Speedway thanks to Said.
With his fake afro-clad legion of fans -- the "Said-heads" -- cheering the road course turned-nearly-regular-driver, Said powered the No. 21 into the top-35 ahead of TGOM's favorite driver, Dave Blaney, with a 14th-place finish.
"Mission accomplished," Said said. "At the end, I think we could've gotten a top-10, but where the 22 car was, I had to really think about it. I kind of gave up and let the 2 car by and then made a little mistake and the 12 got by.
"But still, that's exactly what they needed - and I got to race instead of watching on the couch, and I get to take a picture away of me driving a Wood Brothers car, so it's a pretty special weekend."
Elliott started filling in the No. 21 at the Coca-Cola 600 so his past champion's provisionals could help the team return to the top-35.
Schrader, who's been a much better sport about his ride getting taken away than a lot drivers could ever be, should be back for Michigan, right?
Jeff Gordon was ready to take his 10th road course victory Sunday at Watkins Glen. It would have been the "road course king's" first win at the New York course since 2001 -- a remarkable stat considering his success on the left and right handers.
He was also looking to take a lead in the seeding points for the Chase for the Nextel Cup after Richmond, breaking a tie with teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 89 in corner one changed all that.
Gordon looped the No. 24 after he got into the tight right-angle turn a little hot and wheel-hopped the race car. Stewart, less than a second back, charged past while Gordon hustled the car back in gear before settling to a ninth-place finish.
For Stewart, his race had suddenly come full circle as the No. 20 rolled to the victory. Around the halfway mark, Stewart slid into the same corner and lost almost 20 spots.
He, though, had time to make it back to the front, unlike the 4-time champion.
When the heads of NASCAR skated through Saturday's Busch race at Watkins Glen without much incident, their sighs of relief were premature.
Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick scuffled in turn one Sunday with about 20 laps to go after both had their days ended in a four-car incident.
Helmets were grabbed, shoves ensued, and tempers flared -- all over a big misunderstanding on behalf of Kevin Harvick.
Harvick was asked about what he and Montoya discussed by ESPN:
"I was talking about his kicking his ass because that's how I felt about it," said Harvick
On the restart, Montoya ducked low to block Martin Truex Jr. The block worked -- but a little too well.
Truex got into the read end of Montoya, loosening the No. 42 at the end of the straightaway. Montoya never regained full control and half-slid into Harvick on the outside. Harvick made contact with Jamie McMurray and Jeff Burton's No. 31 plowed into the rear end of Montoya.
Harvick then maneuvered his wrecked race car in front of Montoya's wrecked beast and contact ensued.
What are you doing this weekend, Boris? What's that? You're helping TGOM win the Blaniac Challenge, you say?
Most of the road race ringers were shut out by rain this weekend at Watkins Glen International, but at least one driver thought it would be a shame not to have Boris Said behind the wheel of a race car. I totally agree!
Wood Brothers/JTG Racing co-owner Len Wood:
"Bill [Elliott] came to me and said, 'In the best interest of the team, let's put Boris in. Bill is an excellent road racer - the first race he ever won was at Riverside. He suggested putting Boris in. We first cleared it with our sponsors and then went to NASCAR and cleared it with them."
Woohoo! I'm sure that makes the Said Heads happy. But more importantly, it makes me very happy!
Both the WBJTF #21 and BDR #22 cars will finally push the Ginn Racing #13 out of the top 35 in owner points and one of them will officially gain the spot. With the #21 only 26 points behind the #22 heading to a road course with Said behind the wheel, it's highly likely they could steal the Ginn Gift back from Dave Blaney, who would then be on the outside looking in again next week at MIS.
Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson headed to Road Atlanta this week to make up for some lost time. The last time the two were on a road course, controversy buzzed and practice was limited.
Monday and Tuesday at the Georgia road course were meant to make up for the Sonoma trip gone bad -- when suspensions, parkings, and fines were the minimum..
"It was the first time I had been to Road Atlanta," said Gordon. "...We have lost a little bit of our advantage at Watkins Glen that we had a few years back. I am hoping that we get that back with this new car, with our test. I feel good, I feel like we are going to be strong."
Road Atlanta is a primary home to sports car and motorcycle races but the road course serves as a nice spot to put down a few laps with NASCAR testing limited the way it is, especially in preparation for the higher-speed road course of Watkins Glen.
Gordon and Johnson will also welcome back the two amigos who have got to miss the past five weeks. Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus will resume their spots above each team's respective pit stall as their penalty suspension wraps up comes to an end after Watkins Glen.
Pocono winner Kurt Busch also brought his No. 2 Penske Dodge down for the test, though no official speeds have been released.
Since sweeping the weekend with a win in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races at Chicagoland Speedway in July, racing in NASCAR has been a little rough on the Sprint Cup points leader..jpg)
Kyle Petty got a little mad Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen. And as a result, he won't be racing Sunday at Michigan.
Despite his incredible point lead, Jeff Gordon doesn't have a bone in his body that is relaxing in his pursuit of his fifth championship.
SPEED will cover an announcement Tuesday at Joe Gibbs racing, where Kyle Busch is expected to announce he'll be in the No. 18 in 2008..jpg)
Boris Said was living the life Sunday at Watkins Glen. He, after all, 
Jeff Gordon was ready to take his 10th road course victory Sunday at Watkins Glen. It would have been the "road course king's" first win at the New York course since 2001 -- a remarkable stat considering his success on the left and right handers.
When the heads of NASCAR skated through Saturday's Busch race at Watkins Glen without much incident, their sighs of relief were premature.
What are you doing this weekend, Boris? What's that? You're helping TGOM win the 
Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson headed to 
