"It's not a whole lot of fun to be where Matt is right now but he's been on the other side of it too. As hard as it is you sort of have to take it on and suck it up; go to next week."
–Dale Earnhardt Junior 

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Robby to add a 2nd team? RYR alliance? Robby Gordon Motorsports will expand in 2007, possibly to a two-car operation in-house or by way of an alliance with an existing team. Among those on the radar: Robert Yates Racing. RGM and RYR executives said Saturday they're discussing the future with "a lot of people," and RGM CEO John Story confirmed that Yates is among the teams with which RGM has discussed a future partnership. Whether or not the union comes to fruition, though, is up in the air. "We've spoken to [Yates]," Story said. "We've talked to them, had some general discussions. But we're not yet ready. We've got to get everything on the table, lay it out and see what's best for us. RGM has a contract offer from General Motors for 2007, and regardless the chosen direction Gordon would maintain an ownership role. Story said RGM would prefer to add a second Nextel Cup Series team, and has ongoing discussions regarding the second program with several potential sponsors. "We have a lot going on as far as having a second car in our program," Story said. "That's the most exciting thing. That was the plan all along." Story said Gordon was not in consideration to drive the No. 88 vacated by 1999 Cup Series champ Dale Jarrett. "Robby will not drive the 88 car," Story said. "Robby will drive that 7 car until the end of his career. That much I know -- unless something changes that none of us are aware of." (in part from NASCAR.com/Marty Smith)

Earnhardt Jr. slips into a top-five finish
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer

Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to claim fifth place, keeping him third in the standings.

He now trails Johnson by 257 after his sixth top-five finish of the season.

"We’re pretty darn happy with that," said Earnhardt Jr., who led for 27 laps during. "A top-five finish is what we need to do every week. We had a very, very fast car, but we needed long green-flag runs to really take advantage of it. That made all of those late cautions so frustrating.

"We needed 20 laps or so, and then our car would get after it. We were kickin' everyone's butt, but in the middle of the race we didn't adjust the car enough for the track, and we dropped back a bit."
Good run on Casey Mears' part gets cut short
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer

Casey Mears appeared headed to a strong finish to cap a big weekend, which included his first Busch Series win on Saturday, but wrecked on Lap 234 while running in the Top 10.

Mears finished 25th, the last car on the lead lap, and remains 15th in points.

"I was trying to make more out of what we had," he said. "We'd gain spots on restarts and try to hold guys off as long as I could. We'd get 15 to 20 laps on our tires and everybody would start going by us."

Mears was caught up in another incident on the final lap, when Matt Kenseth spun near the finish line, throwing up a cloud of smoke.

Mears eased out of the throttle and was hit from behind by Sterling Marlin.
Kahne’s car isn't magic this time out
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer

Kasey Kahne had won four races in the No. 9 Dodge he drove in Sunday's race, but he fell a lap down at one point on Sunday and finished 23rd.

"Track position was critical today and we lost it early in the race," Kahne said. "We managed to work our way back up to 15th, but the car was bouncing loose in traffic. I really just had to hold on the last 20 to 25 laps.

"Clean air was the key. Out front our car would turn good laps. In traffic, it was a handful."
Second wasn't exactly what pole-winner Jeff Burton had in mind, but 'we'll certainly take it'
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer

JOLIET, Ill. – Jeff Burton couldn't end his Nextel Cup Series winless streak in Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400, but he might have come away with something far more valuable.

Burton left Chicagoland Speedway with a second-place finish and moved up three spots to fourth in series points, solidifying his chances of making his first appearance in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Burton, who started from the pole, spent almost the entire day in the top-five and was aided in the final laps with then-race leader Matt Kenseth's spin and Tony Stewart's running out of fuel.

Absent a complete meltdown, Burton's No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team appears a solid bet for the Chase, while teammate Kevin Harvick continues to remain in the top 10 as well.

Harvick finished fourth Sunday and is ninth in points. He is 81 ahead of the 11th-place driver, Greg Biffle.

"Never quite had it where we needed it, but we were close," Burton said. "We just never were right there, and in today's game, you can't be almost there, you've got to be all the way there if you want to win these races.

"It was a good day for us and we'll certainly take it."

Burton said he didn't think he had a chance to run down Gordon for the win in the closing laps.

"I didn't think we had anything for him. We drove in there like I thought we might, but he had driven away from me before that and was actually running (Kenseth) down," he said.

RCR's rookie driver, Clint Bowyer, also had a good day, finishing ninth, his fifth top-10 finish of the season. Bowyer is now 16th in points.
Does Mayfield have a job with you in 2007? Evernham won't say
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer

JOLIET, Ill. - Asked if he were 100 percent certain Jeremy Mayfield would be driving his No. 19 Dodges in 2007, team owner Ray Evernham said Sunday he wasn't going to talk about that issue.

"We're concentrating on this year, on getting this thing fixed. We don't have to talk about that option until August or September," Evernham said.

"Right now we want to fix this. I can't be 100 percent certain I'm going to be sitting here. Bottom line: We're not talking about not bring there, if that helps answer your question."
Yates looking at options for No. 88 team, in sponsorship and performance areas
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer

JOLIET, Ill. - Should CitiFinancial decide to move up to the Nextel Cup Series next season on Robert Yates Racing’s No. 88 Ford, it is likely RYR Busch Series driver Stephen Leicht would make the move as well, The Observer has learned.

Yates is looking at several options for the No. 88. Among the drivers being considered are veterans Ricky Rudd, Ward Burton, Robby Gordon and Leicht, sources said. Leicht, 19, currently drives Yates’ No. 90 Busch car, sponsored by CitiFinancial.

The team’s current driver, Dale Jarrett, and sponsor, UPS, are moving to Michael Waltrip Racing next season.

Should Burton or Rudd move to the team, new sponsorship would likely have to be obtained. Gordon could bring his own sponsor, but might require a number change.

Leicht has made nine Busch starts. His best finish is 10th at Kentucky this season.
Patrick may jump to NASCAR
Dad/manager talks to Nextel Cup teams
By Ed Hinton

Danica Patrick could become the next high-profile driver to defect to NASCAR, right on the heels of Formula One's Juan Pablo Montoya.

"I'm trying to get her [into NASCAR]," said T.J. Patrick, father of the woman who dazzled the auto racing world last year by nearly winning the Indianapolis 500 but has struggled with a mediocre Indy Racing League car ever since.

T.J. Patrick, who manages his daughter's career, was at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, holding exploratory talks with some Nextel Cup teams and sponsors about the possibility of Patrick leaving the IRL for NASCAR as early as next year.

Her contract with the Rahal-Letterman Racing team expires at the end of this season. Besides NASCAR, the Patricks are negotiating with other IRL teams and appear unlikely to renew with Rahal-Letterman.

Team co-owner Bobby Rahal declined to comment.

Patrick's family is from Roscoe, Ill., but she now lives in Phoenix with her husband. She was not at Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 NASCAR race. Her father came to Joliet because "we've had some inquiries" from NASCAR teams, he said.

NASCAR scored a coup Sunday when Montoya announced he would leave the glamorous international Formula One tour to drive a Dodge in NASCAR next year. The addition of Patrick, the world's best-known female driver, would add further impetus to NASCAR's surge in popularity.

Young American open-wheel drivers have been steering steadily away from IndyCars and into NASCAR for the last decade, from Jeff Gordon to Tony Stewart to Ryan Newman to Kasey Kahne. They come for much more money, fame, what they consider more intense competition and the sheer volume of racing.

But the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule--more than twice as many events as in the IRL--plus two bonus races each season has been a concern for Patrick, who views it as too grueling.

"There's just so many races," her father said. "That's what scares her more than anything. It's 38 weekends."

But with all the action and money in NASCAR, might the Patricks decide the grind is worth it?

"I don't know if she's coming around to the idea, but all the arrows point this way," T.J. Patrick said.

The Patricks were in the Nextel Cup garage area as guests of the powerful Roush Racing team, which fields Fords for Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Mark Martin. Could anything be read into that?

"Not at this point," T.J. Patrick said. "We're just talking to everybody and seeing what's shaking here."

He also confirmed he had talked with another well-financed team, on the condition that the team's name not be published. An executive with that team confirmed that "exploratory conversations" had taken place and acknowledged the value of Patrick's name recognition and glamorous image to sponsors.

Would converting from open-wheel, single-seat, 1,600-pound IndyCars to full-bodied, 3,400-pound stock cars be too much?

"I don't think she'd have a problem," said her father, a veteran racer.

"You could give her six months or a year in a car and do some testing and learning. She understands the basics."

Before Patrick started her IndyCar career, Ford Motor Co. engineers gave her a test session in a NASCAR Busch series car, and she excelled.

Patrick is only 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 100 pounds. But her father, gesturing at a stock car going through inspection, said, "Strength-wise, it's probably easier to drive one of these because they have power steering where we [in the IRL] don't right now."

May the Good Lord help us all if that primadonna comes to NASCAR.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. announces NASCAR Busch Series race plans at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich. (July 7, 2006) – The star power of the entry list for the NASCAR Busch Series Carfax 250 race at Michigan International Speedway rose significantly as Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his intention to enter the Saturday, August 19 event in the No. 8 Menard’s Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Earnhardt Jr., who won the NASCAR Busch Series race at MIS in 1999, will make his third Busch Series start of 2006. In his most recent outing, Earnhardt Jr. dominated the Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway on June 30, leading 88 of 103 laps en route to his 21st career win in the series.

At MIS, Earnhardt Jr. won his only career Busch Series start in 1999 after qualifying third. He also has 14 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series starts at MIS with a career-best third-place finish in last June’s 3M Performance 400.

Tickets for all remaining 2006 events at MIS delivered by Domino’s Pizza are still available, including the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series GFS Marketplace 400 on August 20, NASCAR Busch Series Carfax 250 on August 19 and ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 on August 18. Tickets are available by calling the MIS ticket hotline at 1-800-354-1010 or by visiting MISpeedway.com.

Recovering Hamilton Details Life-Changing Experience
By Bobby Hamilton
Cup Scene Daily


It’s amazing how much one word can change your life. When you hear it, feel it, bear it, and breathe it that one word changes your entire view on the way you see every single aspect of your life. I will never be the same person I was before I found out I had cancer. I am now a better person for what I have endured just as all the millions of people in our country who feel the same way after battling cancer.

It has literally changed my life. I was this guy who was a rough neck, red neck person that raised myself in the most unbelievable conditions and at times thought of myself as indestructible to getting my legs knocked out from under me in the blink of an eye and having it done time and time again battling this terrible disease.

My whole life has been a bit of turmoil. I’ve been pretty proud to do what I’ve done because I’m a survivor. I was out on the street at 13-14 years old. Ended up doing what I did and got a chance to race with the best race car drivers in the best racing in the world. Now I’m an owner and employ right around 60 people. It’s like Garth Brooks’ song “The Dance:” “I could have missed the pain, but I would have missed the dance. I just thought that part was hard – until I was faced with cancer. Ask anyone who’s been there.

It all started for me last year when I had a wisdom tooth on the right side lower part of my jaw that abscessed. Since the area they needed to operate on was so close to my nerves in my cheek, they decided to wait until the end of racing season to pull the tooth. Right after Thanksgiving I had the tooth pulled. Everything was much better in my mouth after that but my neck was swollen. I went to another doctor who told me that it was an infected lymph node and it should go down. Well it didn’t. So I went back after a couple of weeks and told him that we needed to leave for Daytona in one week and I needed the lymph node removed now.

The very next morning Dr. Warren at UMC Medical Center worked me in for surgery. He slit my throat open to remove what we all thought was a lymph node only to find tumors there. Basically he removed the large tumor and a couple of little ones that had spread around in my neck. He sewed me back up and waited to break the news. When I woke up he walked into the room and looked down at that floor. Right then I knew something was up. He waited until Lori came in the room before he explained what he had found. Right then my mind went to how to be strong for Bobby Jr., Lori and the guys at the shop. How was everyone going to handle this and what was the game plan? We had a lot to mull over.

First things first, we called my son and his wife. They came straight to the hospital for us to explain what we had just been told. I had cancer. No one believed what they heard at this point and all of us were completely caught off guard. What’s next – testing, testing and more testing. In the meantime I had the season opener and one of the biggest races of the season to prepare for.

My neck healed in a few days and I left for Daytona and never said a word. We agreed amongst us four that it was not time to say anything until we had all our ducks in a row. So off to Daytona we went with our mind on the game. Immediately after that race it was one test after another. My kidneys were clean; my lungs were washed for testing and came up clean. Then I had a biopsy done on my tonsils, tongue and random parts of my throat and mouth. And the next day I left for race number two.

Now I had a couple of weeks to figure out the plan. We did some research and found out that Dr. Murphy at Vanderbilt Medical Center was highly recommended in this type of cancer. So we made that appointment on March 6th to meet her. Instantly I knew she was the right doctor for me. Her calm disposition helped me with what I was facing and encouraged me.

We made my next appointment with her on March 20th for the first round of chemotherapy. I needed one more race and to get my message across about cancer, my new battle in life. I spoke with Dodge and they were still with me. Then I spoke with Fastenal and they were very open to letting Bobby Jr. be their new driver. Everything was in place, now I just needed the guts to say what I had to say.

It came to me, I don’t know how but it was there. I blew the entire industry away; no one expected what I said. In NASCAR we pride ourselves on our close knit family and how we all stick together. But if we told one person before that time, it would have been a mood point. So I pulled my team together 5 minutes before the press conference and told them as a whole. They handled it pretty well, but at this time none of us knew what to expect. Then I did the walk into the media center.

I sat down in front of everyone and looked them straight in the face with what I had to say. I told them of the driver change, this is my last race and that I would be back. I had made a decision to fight this battle and get on with it. It was my only choice. At that moment I vowed for no one to write my name as a cancer victim, that I was not one. I applauded the media for all their help over the years and asked for their kindness in this manner. I care about my racing career more than most things in this world and I will be back to start a truck again. It’s what I do, if it don’t have headers, a four-speed and slicks, I don’t do good with it.

That night I started that starter and got emotional at what my future would hold. Who wouldn’t? Every cancer patient and their family members are faced with mortality. You can’t ever describe that feeling until you live it. But once that race began I knew nothing except the speed. My mind was focused and for that two hours cancer didn’t faze me.

We got an unbelievable amount of e-mails and cards that week. Race fans, non-racing fans, cancer patients, family members of patients, church members, and all different kinds took time to send us notes. Some were saying good luck, some were saying do this or don’t do that and some were emotional while others were pumping me up. We even had some people from race teams who took time to talk with me and explain what they had gone through in their personal or their family’s battle with cancer. It was overwhelming the amount of support we got and are still getting from people out there.

Then on Monday morning March 20 cancer fazed me. What do you expect, what happens each week, where do we go, how am I going to feel, so many questions ran through my mind in flashes. You see everything at that center from young to old, weak to strong, women to men and every race is there. Some people knew me, and others didn’t. Some were scared and some were just getting through it. I was just there.

My doctor didn’t know who I was and frankly I liked it that way. I love the fact that she treats me as she would any patient that walks into her door. She is there to try to save all our lives and she does a fine job at that. I met with her and then off to chemo. As I sat on the table getting that first needle put into my hand my emotions ran wild. Am I really going through this? Cancer, me? Yes I was.

We left that first day and went straight to the race shop. I was fine; cancer hadn’t got me down yet. Yet that is. I went for the second, third, fourth and fifth chemo treatments only to realize on that fifth time that my body was not responding as we hoped to the treatments. One more time I was blown away. So quickly Dr. Murphy changed my regimen. I needed the stronger treatment; why didn’t that surprise me? I would also start radiation on Monday the 24th of April, a month earlier than planned.

Radiation is intimidating. I am very claustrophobic. The thought of putting a fitted mask on my face and locking it down on the table made me sick. I didn’t know how I would get through this part, but was kind of glad to be getting it over with. I had 33 treatments to go, everyday Monday through Friday and the countdown began.

That weekend we attended the race in St. Louis. I had five radiation treatments behind me and six chemo treatments down. I didn’t feel taken aback at the time by any of my treatments so I still tried to do as I wanted to. My mouth and throat were getting sore from the radiation and my white blood count was down from the chemo treatments. I shook hands with fans, signed autographs and sat on the pit box for the race in the cold weather. That was the wrong move.

By the next weekend I had a fever and was very ill. I was admitted to the hospital for an excruciating six days of regulating medicines. While I was there, I had a feeding tube put in so I could continue to get nourishment. Even though I was in the hospital the radiation still happened daily. My tumor was too aggressive so a break was not an option.

I missed things, like the race in Charlotte among others, the Craftsman for a Cure Charity event done in my honor, holidays and Victory Junction Gang’s Second Birthday Celebration. By now I couldn’t be around a lot of people or I could end up worse than the first time. I was pretty much secluded. I went to the race shop for meetings with people and they sat all the way across the room from me, I walked around and kept everyone at an arm’s distance because the last thing I needed right now was another infection.

My throat got worse; it was impossible to swallow. My neck blistered up like bacon wrapped around my neck. The thought of what cancer does to you is phenomenal that people survive. That just shows how strong we are that we do. Finally my last treatment day came, Wednesday, June 7. It was like on Thursday that someone had lifted weights off my shoulders. But the truth is the healing is still happening. It doesn’t just stop in one night and go away, wouldn’t that be nice.

The truth is, once you have been diagnosed with cancer you always battle it in some form or fashion. Yes your body heals and life as you know it goes on, but cancer is always there. All I expect out of this is if anybody has anything to say about what I’m going through, let’s just attribute it to everybody who’s going through it. I just want to take my battle and use what little bit of celebrity status that I have left and try to promote the awareness for this disease.

Cancer changes us all. I have just learned that when you get a second chance, life becomes a different picture the next time around.

Junior: NASCAR must fix 'suffering' Busch Series
Past championship driver, owner says Cup influx is a problem
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM

JOLIET, Ill. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. says NASCAR needs to address the increasingly large number of Nextel Cup drivers in the Busch Series soon.

"The series is suffering,'' he said.
 
Earnhardt has experienced the Busch Series as a driver and an owner. He won two championships [1998, '99] as a driver before moving full time into Cup and won two more the past two seasons as an owner for Martin Truex Jr.

He still drives a limited Busch schedule, winning last week's race at Daytona and running in Saturday's race at Chicagoland, finishing 15th.

But Earnhardt doesn't think Cup drivers, who won 16 of the first 18 Busch Series races before Chicagoland, should be a regular in NASCAR's secondary series.

"It's a challenge running in the Busch Series,'' Earnhardt said when asked if the current situation hurts the development of young drivers. "It's fun to have days like we did last weekend where we won the race and I was able to enjoy racing in the same car that I own and have so much pride in.

"[But] I would like to see some limitations on Cup drivers as far as their ability to compete. For the sake of the series and longevity of the series, what's happening right now is slightly detrimental to that.''

Earnhardt said his Busch team is fortunate because it has a relationship with Richard Childress Racing's engine program. He can't imagine how teams without resources from Cup teams survive.

  
While NASCAR would like to use the Busch Series to develop young drivers, officials also attribute the rise in attendance and television ratings to the influx of Cup drivers.

Busch Series director Joe Balash said there's no easy way to rectify the situation.

"As far as the competitiveness, we've taken a look at it from a number of different perspectives,'' he said. "There's not one easy answer to say is there a limitation? Can you keep people from competing? We want to have a series where it's open for everyone to compete.'' 

Gordon spins Kenseth to win at Chicagoland
Victory puts four-time champ back in Nextel Cup Series top 10
By Chris Jenkins, The Associated Press


JOLIET, Ill. -- Jeff Gordon spun out Matt Kenseth with four laps to go, then held on to win Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Fans showered the track with debris after the race, an apparent protest of Gordon's racing tactics.
 
"I hate to win one like that,'' Gordon said in Victory Lane. "Matt, he ran a great race.''

Gordon and Kenseth tangled earlier this year during a race at Bristol Motor Speedway, causing Gordon to shove Kenseth afterward.

Gordon denied that Sunday's finish had anything to do with Bristol.

Gordon said he didn't want to wreck Kenseth, insisting, "I wanted to race him.'' But he added Kenseth was trying to block him.

"I'm not going to back down,'' Gordon said. "I wanted to win.''

Kenseth crew chief Robbie Reiser said in a television interview: "We just got spun out, I guess.''

Second-place finisher Jeff Burton, a former teammate of Kenseth's at Roush Racing, initially declined comment because he didn't see what happened.

But after wincing during a television replay, Burton said, "Matt's a hard-nosed racer, and there'll be retribution for that, I'm sure.''

Burton said if NASCAR isn't willing to issue rough driving penalties, it will be up to drivers to settle issues on the track.

"If NASCAR doesn't handle it, then we need to handle it,'' Burton said. "And that's OK.''

Kenseth and David Stremme then crashed on the way to the start/finish line, sending Kenseth spinning again at the finish.

Kenseth dominated the second half of Sunday's race and appeared to be headed to his third victory of the season, but a sudden surge from Gordon in the closing laps allowed him to catch Kenseth in Turn 2. Gordon then appeared to tap Kenseth's rear bumper with his front bumper.

Earlier in the race, Gordon closed in on Kenseth's rear bumper on a restart with 30 laps to go. But Gordon couldn't pull off the pass and Kenseth got away.

It was Gordon's first victory at the suburban Chicago track, and his second victory of the 2006 season. Gordon won two weeks ago at Infineon Raceway.

Burton, trying for his first victory since 2001, finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The race was slowed eight times for caution flags, with no major crashes until the Gordon-Kenseth accident. Michael Waltrip's car was damaged when he brushed the wall with 40 laps to go, and Casey Mears -- who won his first NASCAR race on Saturday with a victory in the Busch Series -- spun and hit the wall with 34 laps to go.

Busted up, never broken
MIKE BOLTON

Sports history is rich with stories of stars who found the fortitude to play while injured, but it is unlikely any have played as hurt as long as Hueytown's Red Farmer.

Farmer, an original member of the famed Alabama Gang of NASCAR drivers, still straps his creaking, mid-70s body into the cockpit every Saturday night to race at Talladega Short Track. In his 58-year racing career, he has frequently raced burned and broken.

In 1961 Farmer raced just days after having three fingers amputated by an airboat propeller. As he gripped the steering wheel, blood squirted from the stumps of the missing fingers.

In 1962 Farmer crashed at Dixie Speedway and broke his right foot. He returned later that night to race with a cast. He raced the rest of the season with his right leg resting in a specially built trough coated with STP so his right leg could work the accelerator.

Farmer scoffs at fans who call him heroic. He says it was simply a matter of necessity.

"I have always been a slave to the paycheck," said Farmer, who won the NASCAR modified championship in 1956 when only three of the current Nextel Cup drivers were even born. "If I didn't race, my family didn't eat."

The painful injuries and surgeries have not ceased with time. Some fans thought Farmer's racing career might finally end in 1993 when he mangled a shoulder and broke several ribs in the helicopter crash that killed Davey Allison, but he raced again in a matter of weeks.

Prostate cancer barely slowed Farmer several years ago so friends weren't really surprised when he returned to racing just months after having surgery to insert four metal screws into his spine in December 2004.

Doctors said Farmer's spine literally was coming apart primarily due to a broken back suffered in a crash in Laurel, Miss., in 1971.

Just months after that 2004 surgery, Farmer beat Nextel Cup stars Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Joe Nemechek, Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader in a special match race at Talladega Short Track.

This past December, Farmer underwent another surgery to insert an artificial upper arm. Farmer previously had two rotator cuff surgeries on that left side, but doctors said another would be a waste of time. Farmer now has an artificial rotator cuff and a steel rod that stretches from his left shoulder to the elbow.

"Doctors said that the way that I hold the steering wheel, every time I hit something it just drove my arm through my shoulder," he said.

The two most recent surgeries are the most troublesome, he said.
 
"It makes getting through airports a hassle," Farmer said, pulling two cards from his bill-fold. "All that stuff sets off the metal detectors. The doctors gave me these two cards that I have to show at the airport to show that I have steel screws and rods in my body."

Farmer raced again just months after the latest surgery and has managed one top-10 finish at TST this season.

His most painful injury, he said, came in 1962 when he was badly burned while working on his race car in his backyard garage. At the time, Farmer was still on crutches and wearing a cast from the Dixie Speedway crash earlier in the year.

"The cars had fuel injection and magnetos in those days," Farmer said. "We had all the spark plugs out of the car and when we turned it over it just blew a steady stream of gas out of the spark plug holes all over me. The magneto fired, and I caught on fire.

"I had second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of my body. Even my toes that were sticking out of the cast on my leg got burned.

"They put me on a hospital bed naked and built a tent around me where the sheets wouldn't touch me. I would finally get to sleep and move my legs and it would just tear my skin.

"I feel sorry for anybody that gets burned."

Farmer says he now suffers from arthritis from his many injuries and he and the prescription drug Celebrex have become close friends. Before he can drive in a race, he takes the over-the-counter drug Aleve to dull the pain resulting from the most recent surgeries.

Still, Farmer says he has no timetable for when he will retire from racing.

"I'll give it up when I'm not competitive anymore," he said. "It will quit being fun then. I ran ninth at Talladega Short Track a few weeks back and a top 10 there is still pretty good."

The New Math: Does 17 + 24=48 P
By Steve  Lyzenga


What really happened in the closing stages of the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Sunday past? If you’re Matt Kenseth, Gordon dumped you in retaliation for the Bristol incident. If you’re Jeff Gordon, Kenseth all but brake checked you. Through all the post race rhetoric, only one comment from the combatants resounded with truth. That truth came from Matt Kenseth when he said Gordon is not a stupid guy. Let’s say, instead, crazy like a fox. That’s probably the actual truth, as always, pending further review.

Let’s examine both sides of the equation, first from Matt’s perspective. Would it make any sense for him to either brake check Gordon or use the lap car of Mears as a pick? Maybe, with one lap to go, but not at that point in the race. Matt was well aware that Jeff had found a line MUCH faster than he. Matt had complained for many laps that his car just wasn’t that good, especially at the end of a pit cycle. The man knew he was beaten. All Matt had to gain with a blocking maneuver was a torn up racecar and an also ran finish. That’s what he got, but did he really do it to himself? We can’t really tell until we look at the other side of the story.

Jeff knows everything Matt knows as they slide up to the 42 car. He has a better line, he has a better car, and by all accounts, every Chevy on the track was in better fuel shape than any Ford. Remember, Jeff’s a smart guy and a smart racecar driver. He has to know that once he clears the lap traffic, he will eat Kenseth’s lunch and breeze on to a clean victory. Did he dump Matt Kenseth? It doesn’t appear as the racecar driver Jeff Gordon did that, but it appears that racecar owner Jeff Gordon did.

Kenseth had nothing to gain by wrecking. Gordon had much to gain.

Remember, this is a really smart guy and a rare racing talent! What’s this smart guy thinking as he approaches the rear of Kenseth’s Fusion?

He’s thinking he has opportunity, he has motives, BIG motives, and the timing is right. He’ll probably get away with it because of the lap traffic. This isn’t close quarters racing on the high banks of Bristol.

NASCAR will probably shrug it off as a racing deal, right? It’s one of those aerodynamic things.

The smart guy puts the nose of his Monte Carlo EXACTLY where you should to get the desired result, and is rewarded immediately, but why? Isn’t that kind of stupid? Isn’t that kind of stupid when you have the race in the bag? Not really. Jeff will win the race and put his car back in the Chase for the Nextel Cup whether Kenseth wrecks or not. What he gained beyond that was the protection of the car he owns, (Jimmie Johnson’s 48 Lowes Chevy), and its position at the top of the points in the Race for the Chase. He also relegated Kenseth to a 20th place finish, and, the BIG bonus that he didn’t count on, a destroyed car in the Roush Racing stable. Maybe he did count on that too, but he didn’t figure on David Stremme finishing the job for him. The big winner of the USG Sheetrock 400 was Jimmie Johnson.

Time will tell just how smart Jeff Gordon really is today. When you check the balance sheet on this one, the tangle at the front between he and Kenseth couldn’t possibly bear ANY positive fruit for Kenseth/Roush Racing. We find Jeff Gordon guilty of dumping Matt Kenseth. We assess a penalty of stripping the 48 car of 25 driver points, 25 owner points, and, if it even matters, they same for the 24 car. If NASCAR lets Gordon slide on this one, as the Chase comes to a close, Gordon will only get “smarter.”

Is that the kind of intelligent racing we want to see?

Chicago
Windy City weekend leaves us shaking our heads
By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM


...what were these idiots that threw trash at Jeff Gordon trying to accomplish?

As they wound up their beer bottles and soda cans after Gordon's controversial win Sunday, what was going through their minds?

This'll show them. I'll throw this here beer bottle and that'll send a clear message to that there Mike Helton that I'm not happy about this at all. I have to take a stand, maaaaaan.

Whatever. I'm sure that after throwing down 27 beers since 8 a.m., you're a real marksman. There's probably no chance at all that your throw will come up short and hit some poor kid in the back of the head, forcing him to the hospital and into months of therapy sessions.

What's more, I'm sure your "message" will get its desired result.

Nice job, stupid. You just set your favorite sport back another five years. Have another beer.

...does Reed Sorenson have a future as a wrestler?

You may not have caught this, but early in Sunday's race, Benny Parsons said that there was a driver gaining on the leaders -- Reed Sorenson, the Raybestos Rookie.

All I could picture at that point was Sorenson in a mask and tights and Howard Finkle proclaiming, "here is your winner -- and neeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww intercontinental champion, The Raybestos Rookie!"

That's probably just me.

...what were Carl Edwards and David Stremme talking about in the back of that truck Sunday?

During the pre-race, Edwards and Stremme were finishing up a conversation just as Edwards was about to be interviewed. When asked what they were talking about, Edwards said that he couldn't comment about it on television.

Certainly gets the mind working, doesn't it? Edwards probably should have made something up, like they were sharing workout tips.

...why does Juan Pablo Montoya want in NASCAR so bad?

Let's face it. It's not like the guy's coming in from lawn-mower racing. Formula One drivers make a heck of a lot of money and get worldwide exposure.

So why the move? It's a decent franchise, but it's not like Chip Ganassi Racing is the Ferrari of NASCAR.

Perhaps the guy just needs a new challenge. What a refreshing concept -- an athlete putting athletics ahead of money. That may get him a boatload of fans, right there.

NASCAR sure hopes so.

...how many times will Bill Weber be called "Ron Burgundy" over the next seven days?

How stunning was that split-screen during "Wally's World"? They were twins right down to the note cards! Funny stuff.

And while we're at it, big points to Ferrell for this exchange:

Ferrell to Dallenbach: "Have you ever won a (Nextel Cup) race?"
Dallenbach: "No, not a Nextel Cup race."
Ferrell: "I haven't either."

Ha!

And kudos to Wally for handling it so well.

...what does a he-man feel like?

Kevin Harvick said over the weekend that his car was so good he felt like a he-man driving it.

OK, good for you, I guess.

I was never a big He-Man fan as a kid. I never really got that whole genre. He-Man, Thundercats, The Transformers -- I didn't get it. I'd rather see Wile E. Coyote get an anvil dropped on his head.

Come to think of it, that explains a lot, doesn't it?

...what the heck happened to Diana Degarmo?

Wasn't she the sweet little southern girl on American Idol a few years back? Kind of like Kelly Picker with like 100 more I.Q. points? On Sunday, she looked more like that girl in school that everyone's a little bit scared of -- think Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club.

One thing's for sure, though. The girl can belt one out.

...are there really only four actors in Talladega Nights?

Just before Will Ferrell, Michael Clarke Duncan, John C. Reilly and Leslie Bibb did the command to start engines Sunday, the P.A. announcer called them "the entire cast" of Talladega Nights.

Really? Only four actors make up the whole cast? Must be a short movie.

A quick glance of IMDB.com reveals there are actually 71 actors in the film, 67 of which were probably really insulted.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.