Still unclenching the teeth after that grinding multi-car wreck to finish the Coke Zero 400, here's the latest -- and greatest -- edition of Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes.
Busch, Stewart Wreck Avoidable
Just as there was after Talladega, there's been those this week claiming that restrictor plate racing is the reason why we've had big wrecks to end the last two plate races -- whether it was Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards at 'Dega or Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch on Saturday night at Daytona.
"I've given them everything that I could," said Truex on Tuesday after announcing he'd take over a ride at Michael Waltrip Racing. "There got to be too many questions, too many things that were uncertain."
Which is why, as we guessed a year ago, his one-year contract extension with the Teresa Earnhardt-run operation would be all for naught thanks to a nasty set of decisions and circumstances that have left a once proud team in survival mode, and might have left Truex settling for a team he might not have otherwise gone to.
Somewhat coherent Notes & Quotes to wrap up NASCAR's first trip to Michigan in 2009:
What will NASCAR learn from Pardo's brutal crash and tragic death?
The death of NASCAR Mexico driver and champion Carlos Pardo in a horrific crash during the final laps of a race on Sunday is certainly tragic. However, the fact that his car was able to make such violent contact with the end of a temporary wall is just as shocking.
Let's hope NASCAR makes sure such an angle of impact can never happen again.
The NASCAR on FOX television crew tried to play it off as an accident, but Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon was having none of it.
"I'm really looking forward to having a new driver in the [No.] 55 next year," said Gordon during his post-wreck interview, mad after Michael Waltrip bumped him into the Phoenix International Raceway turn three wall Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.
No, Gordon doesn't have insider infomation about Waltrip's 2010 plans, but rather he was just citing comments that the driver/owner made at the beginning of the season.
Where: Phoenix Int'l Raceway Time: Saturday 8:46 p.m./EDT TV/Radio: FOX Sports, MRN Radio Forecast: Clear, Lows in the 50s Distance: 312 laps (312 miles, 500k) Pole Winner:Mark Martin 2008 Winner:Jimmie Johnson
The Storylines
Mark Martin has gotten awful good at starting Sprint Cup races from the front in 2009 in his new Hendrick Motorsports ride, but its the whole finishing part that hasn't gone as planned.
Veteran racer Mark Martin is the "cautious" in the expression, "cautiously optimistic." That's why his unabashed excitement coming into the season was a story in and of itself.
His fans and competitors alike hoped a prime job in the No. 5 Chevrolet for mighty Hendrick Motorsports would land this popular four-time championship runner-up a last really good -- perhaps long -- shot at a Sprint Cup title. Instead, a string of uncanny bad racing luck -- uncharacteristic Hendrick engine problems and a flat tire -- have left Martin ranked 34th in the standings entering Sunday's race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
He's got only a nine-point cushion on 35th place, and a fall outside the top-35 will cost him a guaranteed starting spot on the grid beginning next week, when the guaranteed starts are allotted based on the current top-35 standings.
Just as surprising as seeing Martin in this perilous predicament is the high-quality company he's keeping there.
NASCAR drivers aren't exactly strangers to making television cameos, but they've yet to be the perfect match Michael Waltrip landed this week.
Waltrip, ever a character in the NASCAR garage, enjoyed his first off week on the NASCAR schedule by flying out to Hollywood for the taping of an episode of NBC's My Name is Earl. The cameras started rolling this week for the comedy sitcom that's scheduled to air on Thursday, April 30.
And from the looks of things, Waltrip's role won't be too much of a stretch for the Kentucky native.
NASCAR Nextel Cup point leader is now in a must-win situation Saturday night at Richmond if he wishes to be part of the point lead heading into the Chase for the Championship.
Jimmie Johnson cruised to victory lane Sunday night at California Speedway, scoring his fifth victory of the season and ten more bonus points for the Chase, which starts in two weeks at New Hampshire.
Gordon wasn't a factor after an incident late in the race and now faces the possibility that his 317-point lead could wind up being a 10 or 20 point deficit after 400 laps at Richmond International Raceway with Johnson's win.
On the other end of the Chase spectrum, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was all but locked out of the 2007 edition of the Chase despite finishing 5th. He sits 13th in the standings, 128 points behind 12th-place Kevin Harvick with the lone regular season race remaining.
All Harvick has to do is finish 32nd Saturday and he is locked in, even if Junior leads the most laps and wins.
The race had a higher number of wrecks than normal, including two mildly series incidents.
Just a quick shot of 110 octane to get you goin' for 500 499 miles of NASCAR Nextel Cup Racing at Talladega. Today's coverage starts at 1:30pm/et on FOX with the green flag sometime after 2:15pm/et. The weather forecast today is remarkable -- Sunny and a high of 82.
Would the Real Tony Stewart Please Stand Up? First, he wouldn't talk. Then, he blasted NASCAR for being the new professional wrestling. NASCAR then, for all intents and purposes, laid a verbal lashing on him. Yesterday? Defiant as ever, acting as if he was still right. Which are you, Tony? When will you pick a stand and quit waffling? I can't agree more with this column over on ThatsRacin. The first line really says it all -- Tony Stewart is no hero for what he said on the radio, rather, he is just talking to be heard because the method in which he displays his displeasure is utterly ineffective for change. The NASCAR Nation thanks you, Tony, for so damaging any credibility this sport has worked so hard to have. Today begins an attempt to bring that back.
Hyder hasn't been at the track since Daytona when a suspicious substance was found on the intake manifold of Waltrip's #55 during qualifying. Waltrip was fined $100,000 and docked 100 points in addition to suspensions of both Hyder and competition director Bobby Kennedy for what mounted to be one of the biggest cheating scandals in recent memory.
Waltrip has yet to make a race since Daytona and his two other teams have not fared much better.
Waltrip reportedly had a long discussion with NASCAR again at Texas Motor Speedway a few weeks back to determine when his employees could return from their indefinite suspensions. At that meeting, Waltrip must have found some information implicating Hyder in the scandal.
After all, why else would Hyder be parting ways with the team? A paycheck for hanging around the shop couldn't have been too bad -- and he still won't be cleared by NASCAR to work at the track with another team due to the indefinite suspension.
Still unclenching the teeth after that grinding multi-car wreck to finish the Coke Zero 400, here's the latest -- and greatest -- edition of Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes.
The water invading the hull of the 
Somewhat coherent Notes & Quotes to wrap up NASCAR's first trip to Michigan in 2009:
The NASCAR on FOX television crew tried to play it off as an accident, but 
Race: 
Veteran racer 
NASCAR drivers aren't exactly strangers to making television cameos, but they've yet to be the perfect match 
NASCAR Nextel Cup point leader is now in a must-win situation Saturday night at Richmond if he wishes to be part of the point lead heading into the Chase for the Championship.
Yesterday at Talladega, 
