Thank goodness we can focus on hating Jeff Gordon again. Otherwise, NASCAR types would be left with sagging TV ratings, caution-flag conspiracy theories and legal pie fights involving corporate sponsors.

Compelling as all of those topics might be for campfire and blogosphere dissection, nothing jump-starts NASCAR Nation like a good, old-fashioned personal hate-on.

Gordon once again appears to be Public Enemy No. 1 after his second consecutive victory Sunday at Talladega, where he had the audacity to surpass the late Dale Earnhardt in career victories on Earnhardt's birthday in front of a decidedly pro-Earnhardt crowd.

So grab a can of Bud or a roll of Scott Tissue and fling away in preparation for this weekend's Nextel Cup stop at Richmond International Raceway.

Gordon likely will never approach his late-1990s run of double-digit wins in three consecutive years, but he and his team have set the bar thus far in 2007.

He already has won as many races as he did all of last year. In nine starts, he has seven top-five finishes and a 203-point lead over second-place Jeff Burton in the standings.

Gordon's re-emergence as a force is a tonic for NASCAR, which has been beset by questions and controversy not always related to The Show.

NASCAR and AT&T are girding for a legal showdown over paint jobs on cars. Contract negotiations to keep Dale Earnhardt Jr. at DEI, the company his father founded and stepmother presently runs, have taken up a good deal of oxygen.

Tony Stewart likened NASCAR to pro wrestling because of its use of caution flags supposedly to orchestrate races, a rant that got him an audience with chief enforcer Vince McMahon, er, Mike Helton.

The Car of Tomorrow and its attendant peculiarities have provided a convenient target inside and outside the garage. But that's like complaining about snow in Buffalo - it's not going anywhere and neither are you, so deal with it.

NASCAR was and is built upon personalities. Sometimes they earn a reputation as a good guy, such as Richard Petty and Bill Elliott and Dale Jarrett. Sometimes, they remain unloved, no matter how much they accomplish.

The widespread hatred of Gordon remains one of life's great mysteries, like Stonehenge and foaming hand soap.

Much of the revulsion is probably rooted in Gordon's phenomenal success - like hating the Yankees or the Dallas Cowboys or Manchester United.

Though Gordon is smart, telegenic, gifted and accommodating, he didn't follow the traditional NASCAR path of paying your dues until getting a Cup ride.

The fact that he beat everybody's favorite drivers and won championships out of the chute wasn't properly deferential.

Every NASCAR fan worth their scanner can rattle off at least three occasions when Gordon supposedly punted their guy either to win a race or gain position.

When Earnhardt the Elder sarcastically referred to Gordon as "Wonderboy," it provided traditionalists with another piece of ammunition, even though the relationship between the two wasn't nearly as personally adversarial as the "3 Crowd" believed.

For a stretch there, hating Gordon made no more sense than hating strawberry ice cream or Matt Kenseth.

Yeah, Gordon still had those four Cup titles in seven years. He had more money and talent than he could use in a half-dozen lifetimes.

But he underwent a messy public divorce from ex-wife Brooke Sealy in 2002 and '03, which chipped away at the image of perfection that drove his detractors crazy.

Gordon's 2001 title aside, he couldn't sustain the magic he and crew chief Ray Evernham had after Evernham left to run his own team.

Before winning at Phoenix last weekend, Gordon had two wins in his previous 63 races, dating back to a May 2005 victory at Talladega. He missed NASCAR's Nextel Cup playoffs in '05. Though Gordon made the Chase last year, his title chances were doomed four races in after back-to-back poor results at Kansas and Talladega.

He was hardly worth the effort to work up a good, "Booooooo," or to paint a bedsheet with some pithy remark that would get Don Imus fired.

But now Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports team is clicking. He is winning races again and has inserted himself into the top of the discussion.

He and wife Ingrid Vandebosch, a former supermodel from Belgium, are expecting a child this summer. He is focused, wealthy and blissfully happy.

Don't you just hate guys like that?

'Lynch' Mob Future for Talladega?

By Kathy Grindle
Associate Editor, Cup Scene Daily

It was no surprise that fans trashed the track after Gordon won on Sunday, but that doesn't mean it's any less childish, moronic, idiotic and most importantly, dangerous.

Here's the deal folks. Junior not winning the race at Talladega put him along side the other 42 drivers who didn't win. It happens, get over it. You shouldn't spaz out in a rampage doing things that could not only injure other fans but start an all-out riot in the stands.

And on the terms of riot, most people don't realize how easily something like that can get started. If it happens at Talladega, it probably won't start from the obvious—Earnhardt vs. Gordon fans. It's more likely to start from people protecting, by defending, their spouse or child that gets hurt when struck with falling debris.

It's most especially likely to happen if a child is hurt. I don't watch the races from the stands anymore, but if I did and I saw something you threw hurt a child…you and I…we're gonna have words.

At 5'6" I may not be intimidating enough to cause a riot to break out, but even the smallest pebble starts a ripple in the pond. In my mind, throwing beer cans and whatever else is handy at the time is like throwing a boulder into the pond. It's only a matter of time before something major happens, especially at Talladega.

And not only was the track not prepared for fans trashing the track but they also gave a bogus warning. Before the race, Talladega Superspeedway President Grant Lynch warned all the fans that they had extra security and if they threw stuff on the track after the race, they would be arrested.

Well the fans called Lynch's bluff and his threat was not upheld. But the post-race statement from Lynch that was handed out on paper, because Lynch himself had already left the track, might have people thinking otherwise.

"Additional security was brought in for the grandstands and we had a plan in place should such actions take place," Lynch said before further patting himself on the back. "I was personally in the grandstands at the conclusion of today's Aaron's 499."

I had to stop reading the statement for a moment at this point. By "in the grandstands," I couldn't help but wonder if that was somewhere like the safety of spotters stand, or better yet one of the private and pampered suites.

Lynch still has plenty of spark in him, but he's no spring chicken. I just can't imagine him watching the race from the grandstands with the crazy Dega fans. I also can't fathom being the track president and sticking around in the grandstands with Gordon leading a green-white checkered unless I was in full body armor.

Although the lack of validity for the reasons behind the track-trashing leads me to believe that those individuals haven't got a clue who the track president is. But that aside, it was the next statement in the release that really struck me.

"As promised, we enforced our policies and took the appropriate action on individuals that we were able to accurately identify."

Well naturally you'll never catch them all, but if the track security was so beefed up as Lynch proclaimed before the race, each one could have "identified" at least one culprit and detained them until they could be properly arrested as promised.

The most amusing part about what Lynch said was the information that was announced as his statement was being passed out. The announcement was that less than 10 people were detained and there were no injuries reported. None of the less than 10 who were detained was arrested.

So what were they even detained for? Did the one with the longest pass get an award?

I guess it doesn't really frustrate me that no one arrested. What bothers me and has me very concerned is how they made a threat they couldn't enforce. So why in the future would any of the fans heed to other warnings or threats about behavior at the track?

Their retaliations against Gordon are clear signs of mob mentality. What's going to happen this fall if Gordon gets win number six there? The fans already know the track isn't going to do anything to them.

When it comes down to it, the fans should be responsible enough to resist temptations of committing such heinous acts. But if arrest threats are made, they should also be carried out, because otherwise Lynch's words become just a bunch of hot air.

Lynch's statement ended with this.

"We aren't going to let less than one percent of our fans spoil this record-setting weekend here at Talladega Superspeedway."

Well one percent of the packed stands equals almost 1,500 people. If the retaliations get much worse, that's more than enough people to bring the whole house down.

Weekend That Was: Talladega

Stewart was story despite Gordon's historical moment

By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM

Most NASCAR fans get the fact that the Dale Earnhardt-Jeff Gordon "rivalry" never truly existed.

Some, on the other hand, are still throwing full beer cans on the racetracks every time Gordon wins another race -- as they did Sunday when Gordon won at Talladega Superspeedway, registering career win No. 77 and passing Earnhardt for sole possession of sixth place on the all-time Cup victories list.

While the Gordon-Earnhardt angle has been a good one for media to work two weeks running (Gordon tied Earnhardt one week earlier with a win at Phoenix), the best story in the garage last weekend was Tony Stewart. In fact, you could argue that the best two or three story angles revolved around Stewart.

First, there were Stewart's brazen comments on his Sirius radio show last week -- when he accused NASCAR of inventing debris cautions late in races for the sake of spicing up competition and said it reminded him of something that might go on in professional wrestling.

Stewart later claimed the comments were made in part because he did his radio show with a 105-degree temperature. It was surprising that excuse was so widely accepted, because most physicians will tell you that a 105-degree temperature usually warrants a trip to the hospital.

Heck, Rush Limbaugh wouldn't even do his radio show with a 105-degree temperature -- at least not without taking something first. And here's an idea, Tony: if you really are that hot, take a couple Tylenol before going on the air. Works wonders. Or if you're into remaining more loyal to NASCAR, try some Goody's headache powders (then again, loyalty to NASCAR is not something that seems to interest Stewart, even as he cashes one enormous paycheck after another year after year).

But please, don't go on the air with a raging fever again. Your comments are controversial enough with the accompanying hallucinations.

Next there was Stewart's involvement in Saturday's Busch Series race at Talladega. He drew the ire of young Kyle Busch by triggering the horrific accident that sent Busch's car spinning and tumbling down the track, parts spewing off of it in all directions and in a highly unpredictable, dangerous fashion, much like the words that often come rushing out of Stewart's mouth.

Stewart later engaged in a thrilling finish in which he was out-dueled at the stripe by Busch teammate Bobby Labonte, and afterward he said all the right things. You could tell Stewart actually felt good about Labonte's win, and he was just as passionate about expressing that as he was a few days earlier when he railed on NASCAR for allegedly failing to run fair races.

Finally, there was the capper to Stewart's wild week -- when he got wrecked at the end of Sunday's Aaron's 499 Cup race. Running sixth on a green-white-checkered finish, he at first thought that Jamie McMurray was the guilty party and later came to determine that it was instead David Gilliland that ran into him from behind.

His first reaction was to point an agitated finger at McMurray as he drove by on the track. Later, once he determined his anger should be directed toward Gilliland for rear-ending him, Stewart said that Gilliland had "no talent" and that Gilliland had basically "lucked" into his ride in the No. 38 car at Robert Yates Racing.

All in all, it was a busy weekend for Stewart and his mouth.

And you know what?

It illustrated again why NASCAR better hope he doesn't follow through on his idle (and ridiculous) threats to retire "when he gets enough money." This sport needs Stewart. In fact, it needs more Tony Stewarts -- more guys to question the status quo and shake things up and say whatever is on their mind at the very moment a question is still being processed by their frontal lobe.

He admitted that he frequently says stupid things that get him into trouble. There is no question about that.

But it's also a large part of what continues to make him one of the more interesting drivers in NASCAR. So let's hope he keeps right on yapping.

The next great rivalry?
What the Nextel Cup Series really needs is an honest-to-goodness, bona-fide, old-school rivalry. Not like the one that never really existed between Gordon and Earnhardt or a pseudo-rivalry like the one that existed all too briefly between the now-retired Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch, but a real one between some top heavyweights.

So who's it going to be? Well, it seems a given that Stewart has to be on one end of any such rivalry, should it actually develop. So here are three top enchanting possibilities:

1. Stewart vs. NASCAR: Ah, we already know who would win this one. All NASCAR had to do to make Stewart contrite about his radio show comments was schedule a 6 a.m. meeting with him, making it difficult for the notorious late riser to muster the emotional energy required to fight back.

2. Stewart vs. Kyle Busch: Now here's one that might work. For a great rivalry to develop, both drivers have to be talented and in great equipment. It helps if both sport personalities that include an ample dose of ego, more than a dash of explosive temper and just a touch of immaturity -- all of which tends to lead to the types of overreactions to incidents that make for great storylines. These two seem to fit the required personality profile perfectly.

3. Stewart vs. Juan Montoya: Someone is going to get a rivalry going with Montoya and let's face it, the Montoya-Ryan Newman deal doesn't have legs because Newman isn't consistently good enough anymore, while Montoya is only going to get better over time. Stewart is still peeved at Montoya for an incident earlier this season, but the fact is that these two are cut from the same drivers' cloth. They are so much alike in their brash driving styles that they're bound to clash, and theirs could develop into a rivalry with some juice that will last.

Humpy's opinion
Humpy Wheeler, track president of Lowe's Motor Speedway, knows what potential rivalry would claim his vote.

"The Montoya-Stewart thing could end up being one of the more interesting stories of the year," Wheeler said. "Or it could be Montoya and somebody else, who knows? [Montoya] is just doing things out on the racetrack that no one expected him to do this early. He's very bold -- and when his car is running well, he doesn't mind getting up there and duking it out with anyone. He's kind of fresh air, in a way.

"I love it. He drives every lap like it's the last lap. I mean, he's just all-out. And that's what will win some races for him. If that guy would win one race this year -- that's all -- next year he may be the catalyst that we haven't had in a long time."

Montoya was having another strong run at Talladega when Newman clipped him, causing him to get into the outside wall. That relegated Montoya to a 32nd-place finish, dropping him to 19th in the point standings.

Defending Tony
Wheeler also defended Stewart's right to state his opinions on the driver's own radio show.

"They've got to let these guys be their own personalities and not make cookie-cutters out of 'em," Wheeler said of NASCAR. "They can't put so much pressure on them to say the right thing. What is the right thing to say?"

Wheeler said he also believes he can tell when Smoke is just blowin' smoke.

"I don't think Tony's going to retire or anything like that. I just think he's frustrated," Wheeler said. "He's a competitor and he doesn't like to lose. He's a fierce competitor. He always has been."

Selective memory
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was telling a story last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., talking about how surprised he was when Gordon honored his father by waving a black No. 3 flag out the driver's side window of the No. 24 Chevrolet following Gordon's victory in Phoenix.

Then a reporter reminded Earnhardt that he earlier had said a Gordon crew member who was a friend of his actually informed him of the plan to honor the elder Earnhardt at an earlier social gathering.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Junior said with a chuckle. "That was a good party."

Pit Stops
• You had to feel for David Reutimann, the Toyota driver who was looking at a top-five finish in the Aaron's 499 when his car literally went up in smoke with four laps left Sunday. It's also kind of interesting that Reutimann cuts such a sympathetic figure when he's the guy who keeps knocking his boss, the much-abused Michael Waltrip of Michael Waltrip Racing, from the Cup races during qualifying.

• This year hasn't been all hard luck for Reutimann. Although he's had to endure more than his share of it in the Nextel Cup Series, he's having a fine season in the Busch Series, where he's currently running fourth in points.

• So it's going to cost roughly $30 million a year for the next title sponsor in the Busch Series? That's three times as much as Busch currently is ponying up, and it seems there is no lack of candidates lining up to pay the heavy freight. So who says NASCAR's popularity is sagging? That apparently is not the case with potential corporate sponsors, which for better or worse is far more important in this day and age than individual ticket sales.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

 Cross' Words:

Talladega

By Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM

Passion is something no one can put their finger on; it's different for everyone. The passion I have for my wife, my buddy doesn't share; nor me for his wife. But the raw passion that NASCAR fans often display ... well, that's different, too. Sunday at Talladega, however, it was evident that many people had become simultaneously passionate about one thing.

Jeff Gordon passing Dale Earnhardt on the all-time wins list.

Many were passionate in the good-for-him sense. Those were the folks clapping, hooting and hollering as Gordon celebrated his 77th victory.

Others were equally as passionate -- though on the opposite end of the spectrum. Those were the folks throwing beer cans (and whatever else was within arm's reach) at the No. 24 car.

All the while Gordon was reveling in the moment -- laughing at the absurdity as it unfolded, one beer shower after another, one "hell yeah!" after another.

NASCAR fans are famous for their passion, which is why the sport has become so corporate. Use another detergent other than Tide? Take the challenge: Coke or Pepsi? I know a guy who switched from Miller Lite to Bud simply because Kurt Busch replaced Rusty Wallace in the blue deuce.

It's also a Catch-22 for the sport and its image. While the Gordon-passes-Earnhardt angle was good for the highlight reels, the post-race trash tossing left NASCAR with bitter beer face.

What else did you expect? Mr. Redneck, Jeff Foxworthy, was the grand marshal. Did y'all think it would be crumpets and mint juleps for everyone? On the day The Kid passed The Intimidator? On Big E's birthday, no less?

It was Talladega. The sun was shining. Gas fumes were wafting through the air. There were beads to be had. There were good ol' boys with suds in hand. There was passion. ... The same passion this sport was built on.

But more than NASCAR and Talladega got battered and bruised. There were fans who have shiner reminders today. There were kids, the future of the fan base, who were left wondering why they smelled like Otis -- and rubbing the knot on their noggins.

You might be a redneck if you thought otherwise. Think passionately about that next time you want to "toast" a driver's accomplishments.

Random ruminations after Talladega ...

• Casey Mears' year can't get any worse. He had a great run going Sunday and then gets wiped-out trying to get to pit road by teammate Jimmie Johnson.

• Kyle Busch couldn't wait to put 'Dega in the rearview -- and can't get to Richmond fast enough: four top-fives in as many starts.

• Nine races, six past-champion's provisional starts for Dale Jarrett. ... David Reutimann's top-10 run? Fuggettaboutit. ... Eight consecutive races sans Michael Waltrip.

• Denny Hamlin may have had the field covered sans the late caution, but I wanted to see how Kurt Busch handled the green-white-checkers. He was strong and would have put Jimmie Johnson, cruising between teammate Jeff Gordon and Busch, between a rock and a hard place.

• Good news, David Gilliland -- another top-10 finish (fourth, a career best in 24 starts; both his career top-10s have come in this year's plate races).

• Bad news, David Gilliland -- there are eight races until Daytona.

• Johnny Sauter was this close to, perhaps, his second top-10 in the past three races. Instead he finished 30th, a result of the GWC crash.

• Part-time Busch Series driver Adrian Fernandez and wife Catalina welcomed their first child -- a daughter, Valentina -- at 5:17 p.m. ET Sunday.

Say what?

"I've been working on my fan base for years, and I probably won't have any after this comment, but it's very disappointing to see race fans throw Miller Lite beer cans all over the racetrack. It's very unfortunate."
-- Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge. ... Throwing Budweiser beer cans, presumably, is OK.

Figuratively speaking

.159 -- Career winning percentage for Jeff Gordon (77 victories in 482 races), which ranks seventh all time.

Gordon, who made his debut on Nov. 15, 1992, at Atlanta, has averaged five wins per season. If Gordon, 35, competes at the same rate for five more years, he'll total more than 100 victories.

He's already said he won't be racing at age 45, but does anyone else think that there will be the public uproar over Gordon passing Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip or Bobby Allison on the all-time wins list, like there was with Jeff surpassing Dale Earnhardt?

If anything, ol' D.W. is likely to suit up again in an attempt to fend-off Gordon ...

Up Next

Crown Royal 400 | Richmond | 7 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX
 

• Defending race winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Most victories at the track: 3 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Dale Earnhardt Jr. (9.9 in seven starts)
Active drivers only

Mailbag

From Desi ...
Why did Tony Stewart, who got wrecked after the original wreck which caused NASCAR to throw the yellow in the first place, get dumped to 28th on the grid? At the time the yellow came out and Mike Joy exclaimed, "That's it, it's over," Tony was in the top 10, around sixth or so. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was somewhere around where they ended up ranking him in seventh or eighth, but he was behind Stewart at the time the yellow flew.

Bottom line: The field is "frozen," meaning drivers cannot advance their position under yellow -- but the car still has to cross the finish line. Smoke, obviously, did not and was scored the first car off the lead lap.

From Gary ...
I think NASCAR just made Tony Stewart's point for him when David Reutimann blew up at Talladega. NASCAR claims it is throwing cautions for the safety of the drivers, but when a car blew up running better than mid pack at Talladega -- the fastest most bunched up track on the circuit -- NASCAR didn't throw the caution until three-fourths of a lap later when Jeff Gordon passed Jaime McMurray. If NASCAR is so safety-minded then an immediate caution would have been called for the protection of the drivers behind the No. 00 since he was putting fluid on the track, and he must have been for them to use that much oil dry. McMurray should have been celebrating today not Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff. I think I am about done watching the Hendrick show anyway; I'll just write off the HotPass as a mistake. Football starts in a few months anyway.

Can't argue with your take; I wondered the same thing. It all boils down to consistency, and the only thing consistent about the yellow flag is its inconsistencies. In this case, Reutimann was pinned against the outside wall with smoke billowing. He had a long way to go -- through heavy traffic, no less -- before he was out of harm's way. That, to me, seemed to be a text book yellow.

From Holly ...
Just curious if you think the faction of fans that decided to throw stuff on the track could have possibly shown less class? I am not a Jeff Gordon fan but respect the fact that it would be impossible for him to have broken Earnhardt's record if he didn't have some talent. NASCAR works hard to try and shake its redneck, beer-guzzling, wife-beater shirt image but all of that is lost when fans react the way they do at Talladega. It's almost expected now that it will happen. How sad.

Actually, Gordon didn't break a record on Sunday; he passed Earnhardt on the all-time wins list. Richard Petty still holds the record, but you're not the first to phrase it that way. ... I agree with your assessment of the situation. The people who throw trash on the track are morons, and they make soccer hooligans look like model citizens. So I take back my English soccer thugs comment; it's the whole "glass houses" thing.

From Susan ...
What is your feeling about the need to abolish the "Lucky Dog" rule? This is just my opinion, but it seems to me that there's no place in NASCAR for a rule that gives a driver something he hasn't earned.

Riddle me this: When was the last time a race was won by more than a lap? Two laps? Used to be common, and the Lucky Dog is another of the rules in place to help insure the most racers possible challenging for the win.

From Mark ...
I think the safety crews at Talladega need some recognition after Kyle Busch's amazing wreck on Saturday. After Busch's car finally stopped tumbling, I counted only about 15 seconds until safety personnel were at the car. Thankfully, Busch wasn't hurt and didn't need any immediate medical attention, but at a track as large as Talladega their response time was outstanding.

And they thank you for your kind words ...

From Stewart ...
I understand that NASCAR has a stake in keeping the sponsors happy by making it easier for the big name drivers to make the Sunday show, but it's really gotten beyond ridiculous. Poor Michael Waltrip, with a very NASCAR-friendly sponsor in NAPA, has yet to make a race after Daytona this year because of the Top 35 qualifying rule, and yet when you look at the qualifying times on paper, he should have made a total of six races this season. To make qualifying more fair to everyone, it would be a better idea to do away with impound races, allow the top 40 cars on speed to make the show, allowing for three provisionals: One for a past champion and two for the top placing cars in owners points should they wreck during qualifying, and allowing that each of these provisionals go to cars qualifying on speed should no past champions take their provisional and no cars wreck during qualifying. Then, I believe, we would have a much better, much more fairly inclusive race on Sunday.

It was (again) unfortunate that Mikey didn't make the show; it's killing him to have a car that posts a good qualifying lap only to load up the hauler and head home before the show. But like many of the rules the competition angle is governed by business. Everyone knows the rules before they sign the dotted line -- drivers and sponsors alike. Nonetheless, if NASCAR is looking to tweak the top 35 / qualifying rules, it's keeping those thoughts in-house.

From Gretchen ...
Why did Tony Stewart get fined for not consenting to an interview, yet Kyle Busch "declines" to be interviewed week after week and isn't fined?

In short, Stewart violated Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4-H (any member who violates 7-2B: Failure to meet obligation of an accepted entry; failure to fulfill post-race media obligation -- with addition to the winning driver, the second- and third-place drivers and the highest finishing rookie of the year candidate must also report to the media center upon the conclusion of the race) of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series rule book.

Six of one ...
Drivers with momentum heading to Richmond:

• Jeff Gordon -- Back-to-back victories, the pressure to win No. 77 is off ... and he is the class of the field with a 4.1 average finish.

• Jamie McMurray -- Raise your hand if you had Mac as Roush's second-highest driver in the point standings this far into the season?

• Kurt Busch -- Duh comment of the week: Keeping the car on the lead lap is key -- 10.1 average finish in the six races he's run every lap.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Another "duh" comment: His average lead-lap finish is 9.3; it's the three DNFs that are dragging down Driver 8.

• David Stremme -- Nice job at 'Dega; fourth top-15 run in the past six races and two top-10s in the past three weeks.

• Scott Riggs -- OK, so there's a pattern: Two lead-lap finishes (9.5) vs. the other seven (34.8). Running 11th at 'Dega is a start, right?

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Kyle Busch -- He did the 'Dega Double: crashed-out in the Busch and Cup races.

• Carl Edwards -- A blown engine ended his day after only 27 laps.

• Clint Bowyer -- Consecutive finishes outside the top 20. It's a case of the hiccups ...

• Juan Montoya -- Thirtysomething was an '80s TV show, not something to strive for in back-to-back races, hoss.

• Robby Gordon -- Began the year with three top-20s in four races but hasn't finished better than 24th in the past five starts.

• Ricky Rudd -- One top-15 finish this year, only two lead-lap finishes ... not the return anyone was hoping for from The Rooster.

Feel the power
Three names you'll see in the Power Rankings' top 10 on Wednesday:

2. Jimmie Johnson -- Six top-fives, including three wins. Jeff Gordon can't lose, as a driver or car owner.

3. Jeff Burton -- Has lost 195 points to leader Jeff Gordon in the past two races but remains in second place overall.

4. Matt Kenseth -- Sunday was his sixth consecutive top-15 finish at Talladega and seventh in the past eight plate races. Who knew?

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.

Tough week for NASCAR with actions of Smoke, fans

By Tom McCarthy, NASCAR.COM