It's that time of year again. Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially kicks off the "Race to the Chase," the 10-race stretch for a shot at the championship.
While there have been several surprises in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year, one of the biggest shocks as we close in on the Chase for the Sprint Cup is the absence of a clear-cut favorite for the championship. Last year's dominant teams at this time of the season were the 99 and 18, and the 24 and 48 in 2007, but we really don't have one in 2009, which bodes well for the sport.
But the the Friday one certainly will. (At 12:30pm EST, actually!)
That announcement also won't likely carry any new news along for Lowe's Motor Speedway vs. Concord City Council, either, as Speedway Motorsports CEO Bruton Smith is expected to announce a purchase of Bob Bahre's independently owned track in New England -- New Hampshire International Speedway.
On Friday, Smith is expected to announce only the purchase of the track in Loudon, N.H., and not speculate on any plans to move either of its two Nextel Cup Series race dates, multiple sources said.
Smith has previously stated his desire to add a second Cup date to his track in Las Vegas. He also has expressed interest in an earlier date for his second Texas race to avoid a conflict with the opening of white-tail deer hunting season.
Yes, you read that correctly -- to avoid a conflict in Texas with not an open wheel race, a Cowboys game, or a rodeo but rather white-tail deer hunting season.
Think that just threw out every stereotype that the NASCAR bigwigs in Daytona have been trying so hard to abandon? You can bet Brian France is cringing to hear that a track owner is trying to help the fans that don't drink martinis or Perrier -- but rather is making them us a priority.
And to think, just Tuesday, I was questioning Bruton's commitment to the fans. (And well, I probably still would if he moves LMS, but as for now, he's got some points in my book.)
But the real announcement on this issue, apparently, isn't being made Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Why do I get the feeling that just finishing on the lead lap in this weekend's Nextel Cup race at Talladega will be considered a major feat? 1. Jeff Gordon - I'd bore you with stats, but that would be incredibly boring. Almost as boring as having Gordon at the top of the power rankings every week. 2. Jimmie Johnson - Ditto. The only thing keeping these two out of victory lane is "The Big One." Or any number of little ones. 3. Tony Stewart - Please let him finish in the top 3. Please let the media ask him stupid questions. Pleeeeaaase.
Everything after that is a crap shoot. Nobody has an advantage when it comes to staying out of trouble at Talladega in the COT.
Purposefully unranked for good luck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - One of the few active drivers who knows how to find victory lane here, but Fanhouse power rankings have a way of lessening a driver's chances to win. Junior has predicted his own victory tomorrow. We don't want to get in the way of that.
Ricky Rudd will miss his third consecutive race this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Rudd suffered a serious shoulder separation during a crash at California Speedway.
Kenny Wallace has filled in Rudd's No. 88 since that time and will continue this weekend with Dover's Dodge Dealers 400.
Wallace says that he is looking forward to running in the Dodge Dealers 400.
"I really have a love/hate relationship with Dover," he said. "I've had some good runs there, and those are the runs I always try to remember when we head there for a race. I really enjoy the track a lot, and I'm just waiting to love the track, but I really feel that I can do well up there in the car of tomorrow this weekend. For as much as I enjoy Dover, I haven't had the finishes that I should have so far, but I'm just going to keep on trying."
During his time in the RYR Ford, Wallace has posted unremarkable finishes of 28th and 34th respectively at Richmond and Loudon.
David Gililland, the other Yates driver, has only posted finishes of 22nd and 39th at the same events -- showing that the Yates machines aren't exactly up-to-par at the moment, however.
For Wallace's future, you've got to hope that Yates brings a better package to the Monster Mile this weekend.
It's not known when Ricky Rudd, who is retiring at the end of this season, will come back -- if at all -- from his injury.
Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Busch isn't on top with his teammates, but the lame duck is holding his own in the Chase, just 35 points behind the leaders.
After being seeded in the 9th position in the Chase, he leaves New Hampshire in the 5th place in the points standings after pulling off a 4th place finish in the Sylvania 300 in the car he loves to hate:
"That's just the COT. They're always evil. ... I guess it just doesn't fit my driving style or whatever."
Well, then he better learn to fit its style.
Seriously, what is his deal? The COT has been mostly good to him--and contributed significantly to him making the Chase. He ought to show a little appreciation in return.
In a post-race interview Sunday, Tony Stewart was asked his thoughts on the fact that there were two guys in the Chase that finished ahead of him in the first Chase race:
"That's why they got in the Chase. It doesn't take much rocket science to figure out why they're all there. The top seven (finishing) drivers are all Chase drivers. It doesn't take much to figure out why and how they all got here."
" ... they're the top 12 in points and probably got there for running good, so that doesn't surprise me."
Indeed the top 7 drivers in the Sylvania 300 is a who's who of the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship drivers.
1 - Clint Bowyer 2 - Jeff Gordon 3 - Tony Stewart 4 - Kyle Busch 5 - Martin Truex Jr. 6 - Jimmie Johnson 7 - Matt Kenseth
And we'll probably see a lot more of that before the season is over. Tired of hearing about the Chase drivers? Try writing power rankings for the same ones week in and week out ...
With a 3rd place finish, Stewart held onto the 3rd position in the standings just 10 points behind leaders Johnson and Gordon, but Bowyer is on his tail just five points behind and the rest of the Chase field could bury him in just one race.
Alternatively, Smoke could be leading after the next race. At this point, even a rocket scientist couldn't tell us.
Kurt Busch kicked off his Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship with a different kind of momentum than Clint Bowyer--they kind you don't want to follow you to the next race.
While Bowyer picked up eight positions, Busch took a downward slide from 5th to 12th compliments of a dropped cylinder busted carburetor a little over a third of the way into today's Sylvania 300.
Busch started in the 3rd position and ran in the top 5 before falling victim to engine trouble that he battled the rest of the day with a resulting 25th place finish, the lowest of any driver in the Chase.
"It'd have been nice -- maybe at Charlotte where I don't run so good -- to have a motor failure. It's tough, but all in all, we still finished 25th. We could have finished 43rd."
Sitting on the pole isn't a bad way for the winless Clint Bowyer to start his first Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. He was the 45th of 49 drivers to qualify and knocked his fellow first-time chaser, Martin Truex Jr., out of the starting spot to score his second career pole.
Truex almost had hist first career pole ... instead he got beat by 0.035 seconds and got his second career front-row start. Bummer. He really wants in next year's Bud Shootout.
Four more chasers qualified in the top 10 ... Matt Kenseth is the rear chaser starting in 30th.
Dave Blaney qualified 10th, well ahead of Ken Schrader in the #21 car in 34th. If they finished that way--or close--Blaney would be back in the top 35.
Penske Racing's IRL driver Sam Hornish Jr. failed in his first Cup qualifying event.
Winners of the Week Ray Evernham and Boris Said. It might be the last spot, but who cares? The fourth Gillett-Evernham Motorsports Dodge entry is in the field. Ditto for Said. When is someone going to give him a full time job? He's got better records than some current full-timers. GEM? CGR? BAM? Any takers? Losers of the Week Michael Waltrip and Jeremy Mayfield both scored their 15th DNQs of the season, Dale Jarrett his 10th. Kevin LePage, who holds the record for most DNQs this season, claimed his 20th. John Andretti is batting 0.500 after failing to qualify for the eighth time 16 attempts.
Now that we've got NASCAR, Sprint, and AT&T to settle their legal differences, it's only appropriate to get another going, right?
A few former employees of Ginn Racing think so. And good for them, too.
Former drivers Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin in addition to former Ginn crew chiefs Peter Sospenzo and Richard "Slugger" Labbe have filed suit claiming breach of contract because Ginn apparently hasn't paid what's due to them.
Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek have sued Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. for alleged breaches of their contracts, which included a base salary of $1.2 million apiece.
The separate suits, filed Sept. 7 in Cabarrus County, N.C., do not specify how much they have been paid or what they exactly are owed.
Ginn Racing and DEI joined forces prior to the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in July. Some folks in the garage area estimated anywhere from 70 to over 120 employees at Ginn were terminated in the merger that lacked in the merge department.
It was essentially a DEI takeover of all things Ginn.
Hopefully the rest of the employees who worked the nine to fivers out of the spotlight are taking action against Ginn as well.
They deserve so much better than an outside real estate mogul buying into NASCAR and failing to realize the massive responsibility of the sport.
While I was watching pre-race shows and getting my Trackpass ready prior to Sunday's race at New Hampshire International Speedway, I got sidetracked and made a $45 donation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
It wasn't my first donation, and it won't be my last, but it was the first time I gave that amount.
The inspiration? Adam Petty, of course, who lost his life at the New England track but left behind an unforgettable legacy.
TNT's interview with Pattie Petty:
Thanks to bumpstop3 for putting this video up so others can also be inspired by the Pettys. Amazing people. Even if one of 'em lets a "bad" word rip now and then.
It's that time of year again. Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially kicks off the "Race to the Chase," the 10-race stretch for a shot at the championship.
So that 
Why do I get the feeling that just finishing on the lead lap in this weekend's Nextel Cup race at Talladega will be considered a major feat?
1. Jeff Gordon - I'd bore you with stats, but that would be incredibly boring. Almost as boring as having Gordon at the top of the power rankings every week.
2. Jimmie Johnson - Ditto. The only thing keeping these two out of victory lane is "The Big One." Or any number of little ones.
3. Tony Stewart - Please let him finish in the top 3. Please let the media ask him stupid questions. Pleeeeaaase.
Purposefully unranked for good luck. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - One of the few active drivers who knows how to find victory lane here, but Fanhouse power rankings have a way of lessening a driver's chances to win. Junior has predicted his own victory tomorrow. We don't want to get in the way of that.
Ricky Rudd will miss his third consecutive race this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Rudd suffered a serious shoulder separation during a 
Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Busch isn't on top with his teammates, but the lame duck is holding his own in the Chase, just 35 points behind the leaders.
In a post-race interview Sunday, Tony Stewart was 
Kurt Busch kicked off his Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship with a different kind of momentum than 
Sitting on the pole isn't a bad way for the winless Clint Bowyer to start his first Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. He was the 45th of 49 drivers to qualify and knocked his fellow first-time chaser, Martin Truex Jr., out of the starting spot to score his second career pole. 
Winners of the Week
Now that we've got NASCAR, Sprint, and AT&T to 
While I was watching pre-race shows and getting my Trackpass ready prior to Sunday's race at New Hampshire International Speedway, I got sidetracked and made a $45 donation to the 
