Happy Thursday everyone! 

Today In Nascar History

September 4, 2005: Kyle Busch becomes the youngest Cup winner, winning the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway at 20 years, 4 months and 2 days.

Number of the Day

8: Drivers on the entry list for Saturday's Rock & Roll 400 Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway who were born after Kyle Petty's first start at Richmond on Feb. 22, 1981. The eight: Michael McDowell, Regan Smith, David Ragan, Kyle Busch, Reed Sorenson, Brian Vickers, AJ Allmendinger and Joey Logano.

Power Rankings

Power Rankings  Richmond

Most Popular Driver…Vote here!

http://www.scenedaily.com/mostpopulardriver/  or

http://www.votemostpopulardriver.com/

Nationwide Most Popular Driver Poll

Craftsman Truck Most Popular Driver Poll

Quote of the Year

"NASCAR ain't doing nothing I like right now." "I don't like the rules they are doing...you can bump somebody and they want to fine you for it." Pearson saw the look on Carl Edwards face and made sure to say he knew that Edwards could not speak-up or he would get fined.

--David Pearson

In one weekend, Kyle supplanted Ulysses S. Grant as "the most-hated person in the history of Richmond."

--Mark Aumann In his Power Rankings comments

Bits and Pieces

Calif TV Ratings down: ESPN’s ratings for both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., were down from the same races a year ago. Sunday night’s Sprint Cup event earned a 3.9 household coverage rating with 5,637,651 viewers, down from last year’s 4.3 rating with 6,379,941 viewers. The race was the sixth and final event of the season to air on ESPN. For its six races, ESPN averaged a 4.12, down seven percent from last year’s 4.41 average for five races. The final 11 races of the 2008 season are scheduled to air on ABC while produced by ESPN. Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race earned a 1.1 household coverage rating and 1,433,645 viewers on ESPN2, down from last year’s 1.3 rating with 1,737,379.(ESPN)

Probation overturned by NSCRC for Logano, Stewart

By Official Release

On Sept. 3, 2008, the National Stock Car Racing Commission heard and considered the appeal of Joe Gibbs Racing. The appeal concerned two penalties issued by NASCAR to drivers Tony Stewart and Joey Logano.

Briefly, the penalties concern:

Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rulebook:
"Actions detrimental to stock car racing."

Section 8-9 Competitive Analysis:
"From time to time, NASCAR may determine, in the interest of competition that it is necessary or appropriate to undertake an analysis of the performance capabilities of a car, car part, component or equipment. The Competitor shall take whatever steps are requested by NASCAR Officials for this purpose. NASCAR also has the right to seal or impound cars, car parts, components and/or equipment for this purpose. NASCAR is not responsible for payment, reimbursement, damage or loss to the Competitor as a result of such analysis, sealing or impounding."

Section 12-4-Q (1):
"Any determination by NASCAR Officials that a car, car component, engine, engine component, or any other part or related equipment used in the Event does not conform to NASCAR Rules, detailed in Section 20A of the Rule Book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the Event, or is not required for the normal functional operation of the racecar, or has been altered to detract from or compromise its integrity or effectiveness, whether operational or not."

Section 12-4-K
"When NASCAR Officials mandate inspection during the Event, if any car, car parts, components and/or equipment which have been used in the Event are taken from the racing premises without permission of a NASCAR Official, or are tampered with by any member of the team or anyone associated with the team: Magnetic spacer attached under the gas pedal with the intent of compromising the chassis dyno test."

This stemmed from post-race inspection for a NASCAR Nationwide Series event held at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 16, 2008.

The penalties assessed against each driver were:

• A loss of 150 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driver points, and probation until Dec. 31, 2008.

Records indicate that others, including the car owners, crew chiefs and team members also received penalties for these same infractions. However, the Appellants specifically requested that the Commission review the probation portion of the driver penalties only. The Appellants also requested and were granted a deferral of the driver probation portions of the penalties until this hearing could be convened.

After reviewing the testimony presented during the hearing, the National Stock Car Racing Commission unanimously decided to amend the penalties assessed by NASCAR, removing the probation portions of both driver penalties, while leaving the championship driver points portions intact.

The panelists were Buddy Baker, Jim Williams and George Silbermann, Chairman

Bono back for Truex Jr.: As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday’s Chevy Rock and Roll 400, #1-Martin Truex Jr. has another reason to be excited: the return of crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion and car chief Gary Putnam. Manion and Putnam had been serving six-race suspensions due to infractions found on the #1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy at Daytona in July. “It’s going to be great having Bono and Gary back,” continued Truex. “We’ve really missed not having them at the track and I know that they’ve hated not being there. Those guys are an important part of the team, and not having them at the track each weekend has been tough. The guys on the team fought through it as best they could, but that’s asking a lot of them.” Mike Greci served as interim crew chief during the suspensions, and Truex thanked him for his efforts. “Mike did a great job under tough circumstances,” Truex said. “He went from leading our Camping World East Series efforts to working on Cup cars. Those are two different deals. He worked hard and kept us focused. I can’t thank him enough.”(DEI PR)

McDowell Returns to the #00 at RIR: Michael McDowell returns to his #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry at Richmond International Raceway (RIR) after stepping out for three consecutive races for Mike Skinner to evaluate the Michael Waltrip Racing organization. “I learned a lot of positives from Mike Skinner,” McDowell said. “Mike gave me confidence that my feel for the car is correct, so now I need to utilize my practice better. It is important for me to chase a feel and not the board. Mike does that really well it doesn’t matter if he is running 40th, 25th or 20th. He’s still chasing what ultimately he thinks is going to race well. As a young guy and a rookie, you are always trying to prove yourself and how you do that is being up on the board. Sometimes I found myself just trying to put up a solid lap rather than what I needed to run 400 to 500 miles. It’s a balance. You compare yourself to your teammates and you compare yourself to the rookies and the other guys at your level and you are trying to be the best of that group.” McDowell has a new outlook reentering the .75-mile D-shaped oval thanks in part to Skinner and will apply the knowledge he gained from observing practices and races from the spotter’s stand and listening to his team’s communication while absent from the #00 Toyota.(MWR PR)

Berlin City returns to sponsor the #10 at NHMS: Berlin City Auto Group – serving consumer automotive needs in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont – will sponsor Patrick Carpentier’s #10 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge at the Sept. 14 Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Carpentier drove the Berlin City Dodge to the pole position at the Loudon, N.H. track in June becoming only the second Canadian to win a Sprint Cup pole. The Berlin City Auto Group, with dealerships throughout New England, specializes in the sales, service and parts for eighteen automotive manufacturers and pre-owned vehicles. The Berlin City Auto Group ensures their excellence in customer service with their Over the Top Care by Down to Earth People.(GEM PR)

Target Donates to Hurricane Relief: Target is donating more than $300,000 in product for relief packages to support Hurricane Gustav relief assistance efforts, in partnership with the Red Cross. Target is donating product for a total of 40,000 relief packages, 40,000 emergency food packs, and an additional 10,000 comfort kits and emergency food packs. Target is also providing additional critical support to this effort by offering The Salvation Army a vacant Target store in Texas to stock relief product and providing the American Red Cross use of the parking lot in the Covington, L.a., Target store for their Central Command Center.(CGWFS PR)

Kyle Busch Tops Tony Schumacher In Battle of Top Guns at zMAX Dragway: Kyle Busch and Tony Schumacher, the top drivers this season from NASCAR and the NHRA, dueled Tuesday at zMAX Dragway @ Concord to promote the upcoming playoff events at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In the coming weeks, the legendary motorsports complex will become the world's first to host both the NHRA Countdown to One with the Sept. 11-14 NHRA Nationals and the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup with the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 11. Racing identically prepared Toyota Camry pace cars, Busch and Schumacher matched up for a best two-out-of-three on the concrete quarter-mile dragway. The only advice that the five-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Schumacher gave his opponent was, "Don't wait to leave on green." Apparently, that advice was more than enough, as "Rowdy" Busch beat "The Sarge" Schumacher off the line and onto victory to go up 1-0. Schumacher, ready for revenge, was a little too anxious at the start of the second race, red-lighting to give Busch the win by default. But a last minute amendment to the rules by Lowe's Motor Speedway President and General Manager Marcus Smith, gave the competitors one more race, winner take all. Busch used a .102-second reaction time to again beat Schumacher off the line and onto victory with the best pass of the day, a 14.544 elapsed time and top speed of 97.33 mph. Afterward, Busch celebrated by honking the horn and feigning a bow out the side of the car window. Despite the loss, Schumacher was all smiles, joking that after only three races, "I already don't like him."(LMS PR)

Gordon, Stewart, Earnhardt have one victory combined

By RALPH N. PAULK/TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

For much of this decade, NASCAR officials have talked incessantly of the parity that exists in the Sprint Cup series.

However, the sport's popularity grew largely because of three superstar drivers -- four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, two-time champion Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This year, parity is hardly a topic of discussion, in part because four drivers -- Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne -- have combined to win 19 of 25 events heading into Saturday's regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway.

Busch has a series-leading eight wins. Kahne, who will have the Chase-qualifying odds stacked against him in Saturday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400, has two victories -- one more than the combined total of Gordon, Stewart and Earnhardt.

"So far, it's been a little bit frustrating and disappointing," said Gordon, who is struggling through a 30-race winless streak. "We want to win. We want to be competitive."

Unless something bizarre happens at RIR, Gordon will secure a spot in the Chase along with Stewart and Earnhardt. That, though, isn't consolation enough for Gordon, who posted six wins last year before Johnson chased him down in the postseason to deny him a fifth Cup title.

"There's no doubt the pressure is on us [to win]," Gordon said prior to his fifth-place showing last month in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. "We want it real bad, but it doesn't change how we approach each race. We have to put each race behind us and focus on the next one.

"We came off such a great season last year. Our team has been phenomenal this year, we just haven't had the runs, haven't had the cars and when we did have the cars, we haven't been able to put it all together."

And it has come unglued for Gordon the past three races. He slipped from sixth to 10th in the points standings, putting himself on the Chase bubble ahead of 11th-place Denny Hamlin and 12th-place Clint Bowyer.

"It's not as comfortable as I'd like it to be, and I don't even know what the points are, but I think we are going to be better at Richmond than we were" at Fontana, Calif., Gordon said after a 15th-place finish in Sunday's Pepsi 500.

"Right now, our focus is making the car go fast. We want to run our race and not focus on anything else. It's part of the expectations on this team."

Earnhardt and Stewart also have great expectations. Like with Gordon, hardly anyone expected them to have such uneven seasons.

Earnhardt, fourth in points, endured a 76-race winless streak before taking the checkered flag in the Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Raceway on June 15. Since then, he has finished outside the top 10 in nine of 10 events.

Yet he comes to RIR feeling re-energized and confident.

"We're going to take back our normal setup that we ran there last time and try to improve on it," said Earnhardt, who led 15 laps near the end of the Dan Lowry 400 at RIR in May before a brush with Busch left him with a 15th-place finish. "I feel really good about Richmond.

"I'm glad we made the Chase this year. A lot of people would have expected us to make it, but we didn't know when the season started. We'll try to improve a little bit and win some more races before it's over with and battle like hell for that championship."

Stewart, riding out a lame-duck season with Joe Gibbs Racing, has three second-place finishes. He's eighth in points but isn't satisfied with making it into the Chase.

"It's about winning," said Stewart, who has gone 39 races without a victory. "It's always about winning."

Why watch Richmond? Race for 12th, Logano's Cup debut ... and Kyle & Carl

By David Newton/ESPN.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tropical storm Hanna could bring out an extended caution for debris by the start of Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.

It is expected to land somewhere around the South Carolina coast on Friday with hurricane force winds and race for Virginia like Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans going to a 50 percent-off souvenir sale.

Officials are monitoring the situation closely, tentatively planning to run the event that will set the 12-driver field for the Championship Chase early Sunday afternoon if necessary.

But plenty of other storms are brewing in NASCAR's premier series.

Seven drivers are vying for the final five spots in the 10-race Chase that begins next weekend at New Hampshire. Among those are Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon -- a group that owns seven Cup titles between them.

There also is the much-anticipated Cup debut of 18-year-old phenom Joey Logano, who will replace Stewart in the No. 20 at Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

Then there's the ongoing battle between points leader Kyle Busch and second-place Carl Edwards, as each looks to pad his impressive bonus-points total.

Don't forget Jimmie Johnson, coming off a dominating performance last weekend at California and hoping to build momentum for a third straight championship with his third win in four races at RIR.

You can't go into a big race -- OK, any race -- without mentioning Earnhardt. NASCAR's most popular driver was denied a win at Richmond in May when Busch got into his side battling for the lead with four laps remaining. Revenge time? We'll see.

There are more than enough story lines at RIR to keep this show interesting. Here's a look at five of them:

Race for 12th
This has the potential to be the most dramatic battle since the inaugural Chase in 2004, when half a dozen drivers arrived at RIR with a shot at the final few playoff positions.

Jeremy Mayfield won that historic night, jumping from 14th to ninth when only the top 10 made the field. He knocked out Gillett Evernham Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne, who finds himself in the unenviable position of 14th heading into this weekend.

To sneak into the field, Kahne, 48 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer, needs to win, lead the most laps and hope a host of others have problems.

Second-year driver David Ragan is the biggest threat to be this year's Cinderella story. He is only 17 points behind Bowyer, who was last year's surprise with a third-place finish in the standings, and Ragan isn't under nearly the pressure of those ahead of him because nobody expected him to be in this position.

"We absolutely are excited just to have an opportunity to get into the Chase," Ragan said.

But there is pressure on No. 11 Denny Hamlin and No. 10 Jeff Gordon, neither of whom can afford a major mistake only 76 and 85 points to the clear. Gordon needs to finish at least 24th to have a shot at a fifth title, and Hamlin no worse than 21st.

Failure for either to make it would be as catastrophic, relatively speaking to the sport, as a Hanna could be to the East Coast.

The catastrophe already has occurred for Kahne. He fell six spots in two weeks before California -- engine failure at Michigan and a wreck that wasn't his fault at Bristol -- to leave him in a fairly desperate situation.

"There's definitely some pressure," said Kahne, arguably the hottest driver in the circuit in late May and early June with wins at Charlotte and Dover and a second at Michigan during a three-week period. "That was our goal. That is our goal, to make the Chase this year.

"That's a big part of the season, to make the Chase."

Logano's Cup debut
Now we all know why JGR president J.D. Gibbs fought so hard earlier this year when NASCAR considered increasing the minimum age to 21.

Whether he knew Stewart was leaving after this season to become the driver-owner at Stewart-Haas Racing, Gibbs knew Logano would be ready for Cup before he reached the legal drinking age in most states.

Logano was called the "real deal" by veteran Mark Martin before he turned 16, and Logano's Cup debut will be the most anticipated since Earnhardt's in 1999.

Logano already has proven himself in the Nationwide Series, becoming the youngest driver to win in that series in only his third start and collecting eight top-10s in 11 races.

"I kind of don't like the notion of Joey as the kid," Frank Bifulco, the senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Home Depot, recently said. "What we see in Joey is a mature young man who has the values and work ethic and the confidence.

"Look at what Joey has done already behind the wheel of a car. That certainly gives us confidence going forward."

Logano will debut in the 02 car, which will be reversed to 20 next season. He will compete in six other races, including five for JGR satellite team Hall of Fame Racing, before the end of the season.

But beyond those involved in the Chase nobody will get more attention this weekend.

Bonus babies
Busch already is assured the top spot heading into the Chase with eight wins. Edwards has six wins but lost 10 bonus points when NASCAR took away those earned for a win at Las Vegas due to an infraction.

So the bonus score entering Richmond is Busch 80, Edwards 50.

Neither has anything to lose by going for 10 more bonus points that could be crucial when the Chase ends at Homestead, Fla., in November. Both are looking to build on the momentum that has them in this position.

Busch comes to RIR with four straight top-10s, including a win at Watkins Glen and a pair of runner-up finishes to Edwards. Edwards comes in with six straight top-10s, including three wins.

Many believe the Chase will come down to these two, who have finished 1-2 five times.

Bonus points could help decide that.

"There are some great guys in the Chase now that are locked in that haven't won a race yet this year, and I still think that they will be able to contend for a good finish," said Ragan, who doesn't have a win. "But certainly Carl and Kyle are definitely in the driver's seat."

Johnson, Johnson and ...
The two-time defending champion served notice last weekend at California that he is a threat to become the first driver since Cale Yarborough (1976-78) to win three straight titles.

Johnson certainly has to be considered a threat this weekend at a track where he swept both races in 2007.

A victory would give him the kind of momentum he had a year ago when a win at Richmond propelled him to three more trips to Victory Lane and nine top-10s in the Chase.

"I'm happy to see people are considering us as a realistic chance for the Chase and a championship contender because our results have shown that, and we have been chipping away at it and getting closer to those guys," Johnson said of Busch and Edwards. "They have set the world on fire.

"Between the two of them they have dominated the first half of the season. I recognize that and give them the respect that they deserve for that. I don't like it and I want to be that guy myself. ... Hopefully we can switch this around and finish up the season as the dominant car."

Junior's revenge?
Earnhardt appeared set to end his 71-race losing streak with four laps remaining in the May race at RIR when Busch got underneath his No. 88 Chevrolet going into Turn 3.

Busch's car became loose. He tried to save it by adjusting to the right. Unfortunately, he turned right into Earnhardt.

Earnhardt spun out and finished 15th, extending his losing streak that eventually would reach 76. Busch held on for second behind Bowyer, who took advantage of the incident for an unexpected win.

Will Earnhardt go for revenge on Saturday? Not likely. Both drivers agreed the incident was good, hard racing and nothing more.

But each likely will be a factor. Earnhardt has three wins on this three-quarter-mile surface and needs a good finish to regain the momentum he had earlier in the year.

He hasn't had a top-10 over the past seven races and has drawn more attention for his relationship with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. than anything he's done on the track during that span.

There's always a storm brewing somewhere.

Looking for answers after California

by Jeff Hammond/foxsports.com

Let's not sugarcoat things, folks.

I know the last couple of weeks have been frustrating from a fans' standpoint. Heck, for that matter, maybe even from a competitor's point of view, too. We just aren't seeing the racing we thought we were going to get.

And last weekend's race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., may have produced the perfect example of "stinking up the show." It just wasn't very exciting.

Are the Racing Gods plotting against us?

Yes, you can salvage any racetrack. I think we have seen across the board how you can do that — just look at tracks like Homestead-Miami Speedway in recent years.

But I am going to tell you something that NASCAR and Auto Club Speedway probably doesn't want to hear: The fix for this problem is putting the race date back where it belongs in Darlington. I swear its part of the curse that was put upon them because they never should have moved the Southern 500 to begin with. Talk about a track with character — that's Darlington Raceway. That place was a Labor Day destination point. I don't know, maybe it's the Racing Gods getting back at them for doing what they are doing in California. Maybe things will be better starting next year when the track swaps positions on the schedule with Atlanta Motor Speedway.

To be fair, I don't know that the track in California is the problem. Let's face it, Bristol has a bunch more banking, and they faced the same issues a couple weeks ago. So are we going to blame the track? What's the other common denominator here? The answer is this new car.

Time to figure it out

Maybe we need to slow down, back up and look at the big picture.

What is actually going on here? Fortunately, it's not the same team that is hitting on it every week and running away with things. It's been Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and this past weekend, it was Jimmie Johnson's show. It could be someone else who dominates this weekend at Richmond. You just don't know why it's happening this way.

I think we are really going to have to look hard and do some serious analysis about what we can do to make this better. I am just being honest. I just wasn't that impressed with the racing we saw this weekend. I am looking for the opportunity where these guys can put on more of a show with passing and hard racing.

It is frustrating for all those involved. I think we all are disappointed because again, this is not what we had hoped for in this deal. You can't tell me that the folks at NASCAR right now aren't the same way. I mean c'mon, this isn't what they are looking for either.

It is similar to the tire situation a few months ago. Everyone wanted to crucify Goodyear. It seems like everyone is looking for somewhere to lay the blame all the time. I just think we should all step back, acknowledge there is a problem and work collectively to fix it.

NASCAR is smart enough to realize that this car needs some work. Remember, this is the first time this car has ever been run full time. Sure, you are going to have growing pains — that is a given. But the anticipation was for better racing, so the frustration comes from the realization that it hasn't worked out that way yet. Sometimes you just don't know what to say or do.

We are hoping and praying the racing will improve because now we are going back to these tracks with this new car not for the second time but now for the third time. The hope is we can be better and we can work in some areas that will allow us to be better. There clearly is more effort to make these cars handle better at places like Dover and Richmond. We have to build a database and pull the information out that is necessary to fix it. That's what NASCAR did when they built this car from the safety issue.

No one can deny that this car has been tested time and time again. The results have shown less injuries than ever before — everything from broken shoulder blades to broken ribs, even to losing someone, there has been a dramatic decline with this new car. NASCAR set out to make the car safer, and they have passed that with flying colors.

Now, by working on the safety side of it, they may have gotten complacent on what they needed to do on the competitive side of it. Maybe they were looking for more help from the teams, but the teams have now had their shot at it. So maybe it is time for everyone to sit down and put their heads together and figure out a way to fix this.

Like I told someone the other day, maybe they need to move the left front back. I have heard complaints that the drivers don't feel like the left front is hooking up and they are driving on three wheels. So maybe there are some things we have to identify. I mean, this is what we are going to race, so now we just need to tweak on it to make it better. In the process, we may never get it to where we want it. I just know when I watch a race, I want to see four, five, or six guys get up on the wheel and race one another.

I don't think there is anyone within our sport that is 100 percent happy right now with what is going on. I am being honest with you — I don't like it, and I know you don't either.

NASCAR is not ignoring this, I can promise you that. I can promise you they don't have their head stuck in the sand thinking this is going to fix itself overnight. So don't think that and don't get frustrated from that point.

But please understand, we just can't throw something at this for the sake of throwing something at it. It simply costs too much and owners will tell you that you can't just keep throwing money at it. We need to come up with the right solution first and then implement it. As NASCAR has said before, they are trying to let this thing go a full season before making changes. This will allow them to build that database of information.

It's not all bad, though

Let's not lose sight that we have been treated to some really good finishes this year. We have been treated to some really good racing, too. We just haven't gotten all that we were looking for from start to finish. As we said, let's work through it.

Let's use Toyota as an example. Remember what they went through last year? They didn't quit. They kept working and made their product better. That's exactly what we need to do with this new car. Collect and analyze the data. Get feedback from numerous sources. Things are being worked on. Goodyear continues to strive to build a better tire for this new car. All these things are being worked on week in and week out. Collectively they will make our racing better, but it just takes time.

What I have been telling the fans I talk to that are frustrated as I am is don't give up on what this sport is all about. It will be fixed. Sure, it hasn't been what we wanted this year, but it will get better. Trust me; no one in our NASCAR world wants to have it remain the way it is. That's just counter-productive for everybody.

This year’s rookies under the radar compared to past

Best finish by first-year drivers is Hornish's 13th at LMS

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM

At 12 he was racing in the World Karting Association. He earned championships and awards, and moved on. His Truck Series debut was in 2002, and he has run 102 races in the Nationwide Series spread across six years. His only full-time season was 2006.

He shared a ride with Mark Martin last year, and this year he has his own full-time ride with Dale Earnhardt Inc.

He's worked his way through the traditional path to the Sprint Cup Series, yet rookie Regan Smith continues to be unheralded.

"Well I definitely think that we've gone a little bit under the radar," said Smith, who has competed in all but two Cup events this year -- both road-course races. "We've led the rookie points for seven consecutive races and up until that point we hadn't lost the rookie lead until we missed a couple of races there at the road courses, and Ron Fellows did a great job filling in for us. So I think from that standpoint we've definitely gone under the radar."

Smith wasn't necessarily expected to be blazing a trail as a Cup rookie. The 2008 class fit the mold from last year: Former open-wheel star enters NASCAR, steals headlines, wins rookie of the year.

In 2007, Juan Montoya switched to stock cars, won a race at Sonoma and ended up winning a tight rookie points battle. The guy who took the conventional route to the Cup Series -- David Ragan -- ended up a quiet second in rookie points.

This year, there were four open-wheel converts, three of which were Indianapolis 500 winners: Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr., Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve.

Franchitti was the 2007 Indy Racing League champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, yet bolted for stock cars. Hornish won the Indy 500 in 2006 and is a three-time IRL champion. Villeneuve won the 1995 Indianapolis 500, as well as titles in CART and Formula One. Carpentier had two Champ Car victories and three wins in CART.

Michael McDowell was promoted from ARCA and became the sixth rookie in the class.

And there was Smith.

Yet as they stand now, Franchitti announced Tuesday he's going back to IRL after his NASCAR team at Ganassi Racing folded. Carpentier is being booted from his Gillett Evernham Motorsports ride. Villeneuve never started a race.

McDowell's future is uncertain considering MWR is moving David Reutimann back into the 00 car next season. He has missed the last three races so Michael Waltrip Racing could put Mike Skinner in the No. 00 car to evaluate where the team stands.

Paired down to Hornish and Smith, it's actually Smith who currently holds the rookie lead over Hornish by one point after Sunday's race at Fontana.

"Maybe it's rightfully so," Smith said of the little attention he's received compared to his open-wheel counterpart Hornish who has made $1.1 million more than him this year. "Sam has got great credentials with the Indy 500s and the championships and things like that on a national market. But I am driving for DEI and they've done a great job this year. The car has been solidly in the top 35 all season long and we've had some good runs and finished races. Like I said, I don't know if it's justified or not, but maybe a little bit."

None of the rookies have come close to winning this season. Hornish's 13th-place finish at Charlotte was his best of the season. Smith's best finish this season is 14th (twice), and Carpentier was 14th in July's race at Daytona. McDowell's best finish was at Sonoma when he was 21st. In Franchitti's 10 races this season, he never finished higher than 22nd.

"It's been exactly like Regan said, it's been a tough year for a lot of the rookies," said Hornish, who switched crew chiefs three weeks ago. "A lot of times for us it seems like as soon as we start getting on a roll and getting things turned around, we get some kind of a setback."

His latest setback was falling outside of the top 35 in owner points. At 36th, Hornish must qualify for Saturday's race on speed.

"You don't have that situation you do in a lot of other divisions where you can just go out and out-spend everyone and have a better car. Even if you're not on your game, you finish second or third," Ragan said. "Here, everybody is spending a lot of money. All the crew chiefs are experienced as are the car owners. Everybody has manufacturer support. It's tough.

"A lot of young kids come in and if they run 15th or 20th every week they think that's a bad race. You have to kind of learn or tell yourself it's not too bad of a race; we can improve and work on that."

The biggest setback for this rookie class, however, may not be known for years to come.

In the last decade, every driver to win rookie of the year is also a race winner in the Cup Series. The last driver to win the award without a career victory was Kenny Irwin Jr., who was a rookie in 1998.

But sliding under the radar may not be a bad thing, according to last year.

In finishing second in rookie points, Ragan had just two top-fives in 2007. This year, he's battling for a Chase spot as the series turns to Saturday night's cutoff race at Richmond. He is still searching for his first victory, but he is 13th in points, just 17 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer. Montoya, however, is mired in 21st in points.

"On the track, my confidence overshadowed my experience," Ragan said of his rookie campaign last season. "I felt like I could go out and be Superman, qualify on the pole, lead every lap and win the race. I hit reality pretty quick. These guys are all pretty good racers. You can go out and test and practice as much as you want, but when you go out and put yourself on the racetrack with 42 other drivers that's what makes it a little tougher than what it seems to be."

Smith hopes the same path Ragan took awaits him. He is uncertain of his future, and negotiations for him to return to DEI have stalled due to sponsorship concerns. Smith said he's not naïve; he's been talking to people in the garage in search for a backup plan although his first choice would be to return to his current team.

Either way, he just wants to be able to get rid of the one thing about him that does stick out -- the bright yellow rookie stripe.

"I don't think for me that until we peel those stripes off at the end of the year that I'll ever feel like I'm not a rookie," Smith said. "Until they see that there's no stripes on that racecar anymore it's a little bit of a mental thing. Like Sam said, they still know who is in the car, but those stripes, it's just something about 'em. They stick out pretty big time."

It’s Richmond! Maybe now they’ll stop strokin’ and start rock-n-rollin’ Saturday night

Mike Mulhern/journalnow.com

So this is why all those normally hardnosed racers have been stroking so diligently the last so many weeks, or maybe so many months, to judge by wins – the last race of the regular season, Saturday night’s 400-lapper, and the championship playoff cut.
Maybe now we can get back to some serious NASCAR racing.
Or maybe the 12 men who will be in the title chase, which begins next week at Loudon, N.H., will keep on stroking, hoping not to make the mistake that takes them out of the hunt.
Five men have locked in, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton. Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle will lock in just by making it to the starting line here Saturday.
Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth --- all NASCAR Cup champions, and all still winless this season – and Denny Hamlin should all also make the chase.
The real battle is for the last place, which Clint Bowyers holds tenuously, a spot that David Ragan may well snake from him, a spot that Kasey Kahne desperately needs to keep Dodge from being shut out of the 10-race championship run.

Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt’s crew chief, says of the 26-race regular season “Your first 10 races are everything. Then I’ve got my next 16 to try what I need to try.
“If you’re established when you come out of the first 10, you can really take chances and try to learn things with the car.
“But when you get down to the last 10, you know it’s all business. Everything you’ve spent all year working for, you’ve got to put it all on one plate and go for it.”
Some good racing might reverse the sudden decline in NASCAR’s TV ratings: ESPN (which had late Saturday and late Sunday starting times) reports ratings down for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide races in Fontana, Calif.. The Sunday night Cup event pulled only a 3.9, off last year’s disappointing 4.3. Saturday night’s Nationwide event (which didn’t start until 10 p.m. EDT) earned a 1.1 household coverage rating on ESPN2, down from last year’s 1.3.
The California 500 Cup race was ESPN’s sixth and last race of the second half; ABC picks up the chase this weekend (the production crew and talent will be the same). For its six Cup races ESPN reports ratings down seven percent from last year, 4.12 compared to 4.41 (for five events).

For Stewart and Joey Logano, the 18-year-old sensation who will replace Stewart in Joe Gibbs’ number 20 Cup machine next season, there was some good news out of Daytona yesterday – a NASCAR appeals board reversed their probation for a post-race Nationwide incident at Michigan three weeks ago. Their Nationwide crews put kitchen magnets under the throttle pedals of their cars after the race in an attempt to foil NASCAR’s chassis dyno engine tests. Seven crewmen were suspended.
The official appeals reports:
“Briefly, the penalties concern Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book ‘Actions detrimental to stock car racing.’
“Section 8-9 Competitive Analysis – From time to time, NASCAR may determine, in the interest of competition that it is necessary or appropriate to undertake an analysis of the performance capabilities of a car, car part, component or equipment.
“The Competitor shall take whatever steps are requested by NASCAR Officials for this purpose.
“NASCAR also has the right to seal or impound cars, car parts, components and/or equipment for this purpose.
“NASCAR is not responsible for payment, reimbursement, damage or loss to the Competitor as a result of such analysis, sealing or impounding.”
“Section 12-4-Q (1) ‘Any determination by NASCAR Officials that a car, car component, engine, engine component, or any other part or related equipment used in the Event does not conform to NASCAR Rules, detailed in Section 20A of the Rule Book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the Event, or is not required for the normal functional operation of the race car, or has been altered to detract from or compromise its integrity or effectiveness, whether operational or not.’
“And Section 12-4-K ‘When NASCAR Officials mandate inspection during the Event, if any car, car parts, components, and/or equipment which have been used in the Event are taken from the racing premises without permission of a NASCAR Official, or are tampered with by any member of the team or anyone associated with the team:  Magnetic spacer attached under the gas pedal with the intent of compromising the chassis dyno test.’
“The penalties assessed against each driver were: a loss of 150 Nationwide driver points, and probation until Dec 31, 2008.
“Records indicate that others, including the car owners, crew chiefs and team members also received penalties for these same infractions. However, the Appellants specifically requested that the Commission review the probation portion of the driver penalties only.  The Appellants also requested and were granted a deferral of the driver probation portions of the penalties until this hearing could be convened.
“After reviewing the testimony presented during the hearing, the National Stock Car Racing Commission unanimously decided to amend the penalties assessed by NASCAR, removing the probation portions of both driver penalties, while leaving the driver points portions intact.”
The commission was chaired by NASCAR’s George Silbermann, Buddy Baker and Jim Williams.

Two men who certainly haven’t been stroking are Red Bull teammates Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger. In fact Vickers has come ever closer to winning his first Cup race for Toyota, and Allmendinger may well have clinched a contract renewal with his strong runs since Jimmy Elledge was signed as his new crew chief.
On top of that, Scott Speed, who appears in line for a Cup ride next season with the Jay Frye-run Bull team, is romping through the ARCA series this season – his stock car transition from Formula One.
Vickers, though he’s not banking on it, does still have a mathematically shot at making the championship playoffs this weekend, and that’s a sharp reversal from last year’s struggles. Vickers could make if he wins Richmond and leads the most laps, and Bowyer, Ragan and Kahne all come down with debilitating cases of the flu and can’t make the race.
Looking at it more dryly, Vickers is 15th in the standings, 190 points out of 12th.

While much of this summer’s praise has been heaped on up-and-comer Ragan, Vickers too deserves a big pat on the back. Vickers is just 24 but he’s in his fifth season on the Cup tour – another hotshot that car owner Rick Hendrick gave up on too quickly.
Vickers holds the Richmond qualifying record of 129.983 mph.
And, hey, teammate Allmendinger is guaranteed a spot in Saturday’s field, with his run at California moving up 31st in the car owner standings. Locking into the top-35 has been one of Frye’s goals for that team.
Speed, though, won’t be here. He’ll be in Chicago for Saturday’s ARCA race. For a Formula One racer to jump down to full-time ARCA has been amazing, and Speed has done it with both style and grace: He even ran eighth in ARCA’s two dirt races, Labor Day in Springfield, Ill., the latest. Now he’ll be on Chicagoland’s high-banks.
“We will never, ever be as bad as we were on dirt,” Scott says…."and we still finished in the top 10 both times.
“On any asphalt track, even on a really, really bad day.… Heck, we had a bad day at Cayuga, went five laps down and still finished fifth.
“If we don’t wreck or break, we should have no problem winning this championship.”
Speed’s next NASCAR run will be in Trucks at Las Vegas Sept. 20.
Footnote to Speed’s Chicago run: Erin Crocker will make her SPEED TV broadcasting debut with that event.

Wallace a born auto racer

By STEVE PORTER/The Telegraph

MADISON -- Chrissy Wallace considers racing a family business. That's understandable since she's the daughter of driver Mike Wallace. Rusty, Kenny, Steve and Russ Wallace are also part of the St. Louis lineage.

"That can help you can hurt you," she said of the Wallace tag. "It's about 50-50 with it."

Racing is also a big business, as far as Chrissy is concerned. And the Wallace way requires self-dedication to their favorite sport, a labor of love. It's an occupational necessity.

Thus, when Chrissy Wallace makes her debut at Gateway International Raceway this week, other drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Camping World 200 should pay attention - and possibly beware.

After all, she's a Wallace.

"I'm definitely excited about racing here for the first time," she said of GIR. "It's a big thing to come here because it's a Wallace legacy here. Everybody in my family has run here."

She saw it first-hand three years ago during the Wallace Family Tribute. Now Chrissy is trying to make a name for herself close to the family base. Come race time at 1:30 Saturday, she intends to be poised for a power run.

It doesn't matter that she's only 20 years old and is participating in just a few truck series races this season. Those competitive family fires are burning.

"My dad has really helped me out," said Wallace, a competitor in four truck races thus far this season. "My dad is like my coach, so we are close because of racing and we can pretty much talk about anything.

"If it wouldn't have been for him, I would have struggled more," Wallace said.

She's going to race in seven truck series events this season and then plans to make it a full-time adventure in 2009.

"It's different," she said of the truck series. "You have a lot of veterans and some newbies competing against each other."

Count Chrissy Wallace as somewhat of an experienced newcomer.

"I'd like to win a few truck series race, go on to the Nationwide Series and eventually run in the Nextel Cup Series," she said. Like the IRL's Danica Patrick and the NHRA's Ashley Force, she's smashing barriers for women in auto racing.

"I'm interested in what they are doing and both of them have done well," Wallace said of Patrick and Force. "But it's a different aspect. We are in three totally different divisions of racing."

Nevertheless, they have a similar quest - respect in a male-dominated sport. Wallace's goal is to extend the family success her own way.

"I think I could be the first female Cup driver," she said. "But I'm not looking to move up too quickly. I'd like to be in the Nextel Cup competition in say five or six years."

She was 3 years old when he family moved from Fenton, Mo., to Charlotte, N.C., where they still reside. Wallace played fast-pitch softball in high school and was good enough to receive a scholarship offer from NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C.

Yet racing kept driving her and she gave up an opportunity to play college softball in hopes of finding her spot on the NASCAR circuit. Wallace is confident this weekend could play a significant part in getting close to achieving her dream.

"I'm excited, but also nervous because so many people here expect me to do well," she said. "It's the Wallace legacy at this track. There are a lot of people who expect so much out of me."

It goes with the name. Even grandpa Russ, 73, still gets in on the act.

"He always tries to give me advice," Chrissy said. "It's more pointers and tips than anything else."

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Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Nascar Momma

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

his list is authored by:

Sandra Monacelli
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