Happy Hump Day everyone.

Today In Nascar History

March 4, 2001: In his 318th NASCAR start, Ted Musgrave, 45, picks up his first win, beating Travis Kvapil by 10.588 seconds in the Florida Dodge Dealers 400 truck race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. To that point, Musgrave had been winless in 298 Cup, 15 Nationwide and four Truck starts.

Comments from the Peanut Gallery

From Lou

Hi Momma,

My comments this time have nothing to do with anything said in your newsletter today. Today, March 3rd is the anniversary of the date that our National Anthem was adopted.

Yes, on March 3rd, 1931, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the National Anthem of the United States and again this year, as it has been in past years, those honored by being invited to sing it at the opening ceremonies of NASCAR races have butchered it by trying to make it their own.

This song has been around for many years and has a set score to sing it by. It is not to be treated like one of their recordings, and sang the way they want to do it.

As I have said before, and I firmly believe, the only way the National Anthem can be done correctly is by doing like they used to do at all sporting events, PLAY A PHONOGRAPH RECORD OF IT. Really, the old, scratchy 78's sounded better than some of those who try singing it today.

Thanks for letting me sound off occasionally. Enjoy your newsletter immensely.

The Old Man of NASCAR,

Lou Elliott

Bits and Pieces

Former NASCAR driver busted for making moonshine

Greg Engle/examiner.com

Like a blast from the past a former NASCAR driver and crew chief for the legendary team owner Junior Johnson was arrested last week after a still used to make moonshine were found on his property.

Dean Combs, 57, was charged last Friday with making non-tax paid liquor, as well as one count each of possessing, possessing ingredients to manufacture and possessing equipment to manufacture non-tax paid liquor.

Combs property sits near the abandoned North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County North Carolina.

Agents from the State Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement along with deputies from the Wilkes county Sheriff’s Office raided the property and found a still that had a capacity of 300 gallons per run, with about 1,150 gallons of corn mash in the “working” stage in preparation for another run in two to three days. Agents said the still was warm from a run of corn liquor the day before.

   “It was a very professional, clean operation… all stainless steel,” N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Agent Shon Tally told the Journal Patriot newspaper.  Tally added that the still had a primary condenser and a secondary condenser for efficiency and quality. It also had about 180 feet of copper tubing.

Agents also seized 200 gallons of corn liquor and 3,000 pounds of sugar.

After trying to figure out what to do with the still, deputies finally called the bomb squad. Combs himself then moved the still to a safe area before it was blown up.

“He got his tractor, he pulled it up there for us, “Tally told the Enterprise Ledger. “That’s how accommodating he was. You couldn’t ask for a nicer fellow. “

Combs said authorities actually praised his moonshine.

“They even bragged on it, said they’d never seen spring water that clear, “he said. “I said, ‘You need to put a label on it and stick it in the store. “

“It’s something I was always interested in, “Combs added. “I wanted to see if I could make something drinkable. I guess I gave someone a quart I shouldn’t have.”

Authorities said they acted on an anonymous tip.

Combs raced in NASCAR’s top series from 1981-84. He was a five time Goody’s Dash Series champion and crew chief for car owner Junior Johnson. Johnson got his start in racing running moonshine in the 1940’s and 50’s. He also served a brief stint in jail for the crime.

Combs was served with a warrant but not taken to jail. No word on a court date.

Why no new Dodge engine for RPM teams: Each of the Richard Petty Motorsports [#9-Kahne, #19-Sadler, #43-Sorenson, #44-Allmendinger] drivers will race the R5 Dodge engine for the foreseeable future say team officials. Mark McArdle, vice president and director of competition for RPM about the use of the current engine: “We are using the R5P7 right now while the R6P8 engine is still in development with us. We look at it as a risk/reward issue and right now, we think it is a little bit risky considering the situation we are in with our teams. We like what we have right now. We are making decent performance numbers with the new engine and trying to develop a level of reliability in to it that we have in the R5. It’s our position that in the first third of this racing season we can’t afford the risk of giving away any points so we are going to be very conservative in what we do. We are keeping our options open with regard to our utilization of the R6P8. When we deem it wise to race it, we will. It’s likely you will see us compete with it at some point this season, but to what level of commitment we haven’t decided.” The #44 Dodge of A.J. Allmendinger will carry the Charter Communications paint scheme this weekend.(RPM PR), Penske Racing continues to integrate the new Dodge R6P8 Cup engine at non-restrictor plate tracks including this weekend's Kobalt Tools 500.

Reese's colors for Harvick at Atlanta: Reese’s, a major associate sponsor of RCR’s #29 Chevy, kicks into high gear this weekend in Atlanta as Kevin Harvick and the #29 team transform their bright yellow-and-red Shell-Pennzoil Chevy into a bright orange Reese’s racing machine for the Kobalt Tools 500. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are peanut butter-filled chocolate cups. AMS was the site of Harvick’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. He claimed the win by .006 second over Jeff Gordon, the third-closest margin of victory at Atlanta, on March 11, 2001.

Geoff Bodine goes from catch can to cockpit for Atlanta race: Geoff Bodine did such a good job last week in Las Vegas being the catch can man for brother Todd; he got a promotion. This week, the 59-year young Bodine will go from catching gas to standing on it in the #64 Toyota for Gunselman Motorsports. On a normal team, that would be a huge move going from crew member to driver. But, when you're doing business the way the Gunselman Gang is this year in Sprint Cup Series competition; it's just another day at the track. It also helps when you're a Daytona 500 champion, winner of 18 Sprint Cup races and one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers like Bodine. Being a three-time pole winner and qualifying record holder at the 1.5-mile trioval is an added bonus. After making their first race of 2009 last weekend, the Gunselman Gang was running 28th when a broken valve spring ended their race 28 laps show of the finish. The pit crew consisted of Bodine as the catch can, owner Larry Gunselman as the jackman and crew chief Doug Richert as the front tire changer. Bodine was already the announced co-driver when the season started, but when he insisted on helping out in way possible, Gunselman took him up on the offer. So, Bodine donned the firesuit and safety gear to catch gas on pit stops last week. The week, he'll be back behind the wheel of the unsponsored #64 Toyota attempting to make his 38th career AMS start. "Well, I guess I'll have to look for a catch can man when we make the race this week," said Gunselman. (Gunselman Motorsports PR)

Mears car blue at Atlanta: Casey Mears’ #07 Chevy will feature a blue and white DIRECTV paint scheme this weekend in Atlanta. DIRECTV, the nation’s leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.3 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 HD channels. Jack Daniel’s, the team’s customary primary sponsor, will be featured on the car’s lower-rear quarter panels and deck lid.(RCR PR)

Wilson Named Crew Chief of the Race in Las Vegas: Shane Wilson, crew chief of the #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevy driven by Clint Bowyer has been named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sunday's Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead, FL.(Wypall PR)

Las Vegas Final TV Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing on FOX once again dominated weekend sports coverage. Sunday’s (3/1) race from Las Vegas Motor Speedway scored as the most-watched and highest-rated weekend sports event giving NASCAR on FOX that distinction for the third consecutive week. Sunday’s victory by hometown favorite Kyle Busch averaged 11.1 million viewers (6.5/12 national rating/share) towering over the next closest event, ABC’s Lakers/Suns broadcast, which recorded 4.7 million viewers (3.1/6). According to Nielsen Media Research, FOX’s 11.1 million viewers on Sunday is up 5% over the 10.6 million viewers Sprint Cup Racing at LVMS has averaged from 2001 to 2008 on FOX. Sunday’s 6.5/12 equals the average household rating over the same eight-year span [down from 2008 which was 7.1/13 and 12.1 million viewers].(Fox PR)

#96 Hall of Fame Racing goes green: JuicedHybrid.com, a sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series with Hall of Fame Racing’s #96 car, is joining together with Hall of Fame to further the team’s green initiative. In an effort to offset the #96 team's carbon footprint, a green associate sponsorship partnership was developed among Hall of Fame Racing, Ask.com, primary sponsor on the #96 car, and JuicedHybrid.com, the leading supplier of auto accessories for hybrid cars and trucks, for the first 18 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.  The program will measure and offset carbon emissions for the #96 Sprint Cup entry during each practice session, qualifying session, and the race. It will also offset the carbon emissions for the #96 Ask.com transporter and Bobby Labonte’s travel to and from each NASCAR race. Carbon offset is a certificate representing the reduction of one metric ton (2,205 lbs) of carbon dioxide emissions, the principal cause of global warming. The amount of the emissions created during standard racing activities of the #96 Ford Fusion will be offset through investments made by Ask.com and Juicedhybrid.com in clean energy projects such as solar energy and wind farms by purchasing credits though TerraPass. These projects result in verified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In support of additional efforts to address the environment, NASCAR, the sport’s sanctioning body, is developing an industry-wide green initiative led by Dr. Mike Lynch. The initiative will include the sport’s various stakeholders and will seek to mobilize the NASCAR fan base in this important issue.(Volume PR)

Biffle's Crew Wins Tissot Pit Road Award in Vegas: Greg Biffle's #16 team claimed the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award at Sunday's Shelby 427 Sprint Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Biffle's Ford Fusion spent the least amount of time on pit road -- 252.400 seconds -- during the 285-lap, 427-mile race. The speedy #16 pit crew has helped lift Biffle to fourth place in the driver point standings. The #16 over-the-wall crew consists of: Todd Zeigler (front-tire changer), Colin Pasi (front-tire carrier), Kyle Power (rear-tire changer), Kevin McDowell (rear-tire carrier), Rodney Fetters (jackman), Billy Manchester (gasman), Ryan Dextraze (catch can) and Chris Elliott (windshield). The team's crew chief is Greg Erwin and the pit crew coach is Andy Ward. For winning the weekly Tissot Pit Road Precision Award, the #16 team will receive $5,000. The payout for the season-championship pit road team will be $100,000 and a Tissot watch for the driver and members of the over-the-wall crew.(DMF Communications/Tissot PR)

Todd Bodine to run Atlanta for Germain: Germain Racing has entered the Kobalt Tools 500 this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway in a move a top team official hopes will boost its NASCAR Sprint Cup program. The team, which is fielding the #13 Toyota for Max Papis in half of the Cup races this season, will enter the #35 this weekend for Todd Bodine. Team general manager Mike Hillman Sr. is listed as the owner, and Randy Goss will serve as the crew chief. The number of races the team will run with the #35 is still to be determined. "We are running the 35 Camry at Atlanta to gain more data for our Cup program and help us keep looking toward the future ...,” said Hillman. “The primary focus … is to collect more data to continue to improve Germain Racing’s Cup Series program.”(SceneDaily)

Did You Notice

Gray-Haired Success Stories, Some Vigor In Vegas, And ... Tony And Hendrick Snuggling Up?

Thomas Bowles · Frontstretch.com

Did You Notice? … The difference in the atmosphere at Vegas compared to Fontana the week before? If you could notice it that much on TV, just imagine what it was like in person. The last two Sundays, I walked through the Cup garage at the exact same time prior to the driver’s meeting. At Fontana, there were a handful of fans trying their best to sneak a peek at superstars entering the doors from above – there were a few feeble shouts, but certainly nothing too crazy, almost like the atmosphere at a AAA baseball game. At Vegas… it was 10,000 fans doing their best to scale over fences. What a mob scene, as people screamed at the top of their lungs for men like Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards – heck, even Vegas native Kyle Busch.

The atmosphere was just positively electric, no two ways about it. A lot of the credit has to go to Bruton Smith and the way he designed the new fan zone inside the infield; people can get up close and personal with their drivers right up into the sides of the Cup garage. Man, if only every track could have the design of Daytona and Vegas, I’d feel like people would never stop going to races; at these tracks, the fan interaction can get so close it really does feel like a larger than life event on Race Day.

Think what you will about the track itself, but it’s been a long time since I’ve left the garage feeling that energized … so to all the Vegas fans that made Sunday’s experience so great, I thank you. There’s no question in my mind at this point we’d be better off with this track – not Phoenix or California – as the one on the West Coast that has a second date.

Did You Notice? … Speaking of hometown hero Kyle Busch, did you see the heartfelt hug he exchanged with brother Kurt after the race? These two have had their share of run-ins over the years, most notably the ’07 All-Star race in which Busch the Younger slammed into Busch the Older and took them both out. But it appears that both have finally realized what most of us in the real world already know — that the bond of Brotherly Love is not all that easy to break apart. The fact the two were willing to acknowledge their heartfelt emotion in public was very refreshing to see — especially since they’re both known for their less than desirable tempers.

Did You Notice? … That despite all the worries about TRD blowing their engines during the race – five cars were sent to the rear after changing their engines — the only one from their camp that expired was from the underfunded No. 64 Gunselman Motorsports Camry. All of the teams which changed parts and pieces – including winner Kyle Busch – made it to the end without so much as a minor problem. Whether you like Toyota or not, you have to admit that’s impressive. The manufacturer acknowledged it had an issue, took quick action, and put replacement parts in place that didn’t break for these teams. It’s that type of follow through that gets you somewhere in this business…

Did You Notice? … Through three races in 2008, Carl Edwards had won two of them and established himself as the early man to beat for the Sprint Cup title. One year later, he’s led a total of just three laps while settling quietly in the lower half of the top 12. Already, he’s been involved in one wreck, one engine failure, and watched his teammate Matt Kenseth – winless all of last season – take two out of three checkered flags instead.

Momentum can be a real fickle thing in this business… and it’s that unpredictability which has always helped make NASCAR so great. I think Edwards will turn it around real easy starting this week – after all, Atlanta’s one of his best tracks on the circuit, if not the best – but his performance these first three weeks has been a real head-scratcher. Track position has definitely hurt them; at Vegas in particular, I counted Edwards losing a total of 24 spots in two consecutive stops due to poor decisions on pit road. As we’ve seen with the CoT, getting back in traffic like that digs a hole that’s hard to climb out of, and it really seemed to hamper the No. 99 on Sunday with what I believed was the best car on the race track at times.

Did You Notice?… For anyone wondering if the cream will fail to rise to the top once again this season, take a look at the laps led totals by team through three races:

Hendrick Motorsports — 264
Roush Fenway Racing — 150
Joe Gibbs Racing — 140
Richard Childress Racing — 79
Everyone Else — 54

Need I say any more? In between the surprises, it’s still the Big Four spending the most time out front; they’ve just been busy stabbing themselves in the foot more often than expected with uncharacteristic mechanical failures. You can’t expect that type of thing to continue all season long, right? But until they stop fooling around…

Did You Notice? … The old guard is fighting back three weeks into the NASCAR season? After years of being dominated by the era of younger, more marketable drivers, these senior citizens still remaining in the sport have put together some admirable performances under the radar these first three weeks (Mark Martin’s engine failures aside). Consider…

      66-year-old Morgan Shepherd has 19th and 13th place finishes these past two weeks, good enough to launch him into the top 20 in Nationwide Series points. I don’t know if the AARP is willing to sponsor someone, but you think somebody might give this ageless guy a look? I always knew something good might happen if the man just stopped starting and parking …

      45-year-old Todd Bodine won the Daytona Truck Series race with an unsponsored No. 30 Toyota, then was “best of the rest” in the Kyle Busch Truck Series 200 at California to move to second in the standings. Then, in just his second attempt driving an underfunded No. 64 Toyota in the Cup Series, he not only made the field but had the car running in the top 25 during its debut in Vegas before blowing an engine over the final 50 laps.

      45-year-old Michael Waltrip has more top 15 finishes than 2008 title contenders Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson?

      44-year-old Bobby Labonte pulled together his first top 5 finish since the fall of 2006 with a consistent, fifth place run at Las Vegas. Finishing no lower than 22nd in his first three starts with Hall of Fame / Yates Racing, he’s surged to 10th in Sprint Cup points.

      39-year-old David Reutimann is one of only two drivers (Jeff Gordon) to start the season with three top 15 finishes. Fifth in the series standings, he’s outperforming 23-year-old David Ragan on the race track, whom former sponsor UPS aligned themselves with long-term in order to get younger and hipper after the 2008 season.

      39-year-old Max Papis qualified for his first Cup race on an oval this weekend, clocking in 26th after his engine struggled to start on pit road before heading out.

With Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart having unexpected surges at 37 years old, it seems like the era of the “young gun” is finally starting to tilt back the other way. It’s now just a matter of getting marketing to follow suit … but for the sport’s newest big money sponsor to align with someone like Labonte is a very, very good sign.

Did You Notice? … If the season ended today, eight of the 12 Chasers from 2008 would still make the playoffs? Here are the four drivers on the outside looking in: Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson (yes, the defending champ), and Jeff Burton. As of now, they’ve been replaced by Reutimann, Waltrip, Labonte, and Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch.

It’s still early, but that alignment tells us a few different things …

      Right now, Michael Waltrip Racing has performed as well, if not better, than Richard Childress Racing. Las Vegas was definitely a step in the right direction, but you can really tell the RCR bunch would have loved to steal the win there in order to lick their wounds. Bristol and Martinsville will be a real important swing for them at the end of the month…

      The power team in the four-car superstar camp at Hendrick is clearly Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 / 48. They’ve gotten out to such a solid start, Junior’s and Martin’s teams have given the early impression of teams trying too hard – and too desperately – to keep up.

      Tony Stewart’s doing a great job as a driver / owner to remain in the top 12 … better than everyone expected. But when you’ve got Rick Hendrick in your corner … you almost wonder if the amount of help they’re giving Stewart is putting some strain on Hendrick’s own teams. So far, Tony Stewart has one hug from the man in Victory Lane, someone that’s not even supposed to be his owner … and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. hasn’t even gotten close. Just a thought… I mean, did you see Hendrick interacting with Haas CNC Racing even once last year? It’s tit for tat, as Roush Fenway has its own “B” team as well (Yates Racing) … but still …

For more analysis on some of the top 12 party crashers, Vito Pugliese actually has a real good article out there today on their chances of holding off Junior, Johnson, and Edwards as they charge back up the ranks. Check it out…

Did You Notice? … The racing at Vegas itself is actually improving? Yes, Vegas isn’t quite at the competition level of the pinnacle of 1.5-mile tracks, Atlanta. But as the track ages and the new pavement sets in, there’s definitely a level of improvement every time we go there. I honestly thought the weekend’s two races were more than acceptable; and as Matt McLaughlin mentioned Monday morning, the Nationwide race was one of the better ones we’ve seen in the series the past 12 months. I really like a race track where even the best drivers have to showcase maximum talent or risk losing control on their own, and the way NASCAR’s biggest stars were spinning out on Saturday made me wonder if we were racing at someplace like Rockingham or Darlington instead.

Is the Car of Tomorrow still incredibly restrictive towards side-by-side racing in Cup? Yes, there’s still no question it’s a problem. Was the middle portion of Vegas filled with some spread-out, follow the leader-type action that had the crowd letting out a collective yawn? Absolutely. But by and large, the overall quality of racing was not that bad. I know that after the first two weeks, fans are looking for a series of A+ races to make up for that sorry start. But the chances of those happening quickly, in succession, are slim to none no matter what types of cars you have on the speedway; so everyone needs to take a deep breath and hope things keep improving at three of the series’ best tracks: Atlanta, Bristol, and Martinsville up next.

The Voice of Vito

Party Crashers In The Top 12 - Here To Stay, Or a Flash In The Pan?

Vito Pugliese · Frontstretch.com

The first few weeks of the 2009 Sprint Cup season have done much to fuel speculation of whether some different teams and new faces that are currently in the top 12 in points can stay there. The next few weeks will prove pivotal in determining whether teams that were once thought a lock to make The Chase can do so, or if they will continue to flail and flounder, while other opportunistic new comers – and some long dormant veterans – can make a charge to contend for races and a title in 2009.

While the mighty have fallen more than once so far this year, there have been more than a few standing by, willing, ready, and able to take advantage of the situation. Let’s take a look at a few of the big surprises so far this year:

David Reutimann: After getting turned around going forward in a straight line by David Reutimann during their Gatorade Duel race, Ryan Newman said that the driver’s last name was appropriate, as he’d “Root-a-man up out of the way” to get position on him. Well, here “Root-a-man” is, rooting up long-established veterans and teams out of the top 5 in points in his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. The car that was always the lone bright spot at MWR, even during the dark days of 2007, has achieved a fifth-place points standing through poise, precision, and audacity — to which he will add resolve. And if you think I got that from “The Rock,” you are very, very wrong.

The No. 00 team played its cards right at Daytona to snag a 12th-place finish and backed that up with a 14th-place run at California, capitalizing on the misfortunes suffered by others late in the going. The team then elevated to fifth in the standings with a stellar fourth-place effort at Las Vegas. It’s clear a safe spot in the top 35 for the first time to start the year is paying dividends for a team who’s spent far too much time worrying about Fridays in the past. Now, the driver who has been a visibly nervous wreck during qualifying the past two seasons can finally relax and concentrate on race setup, not just running one fast lap to make the show.

Reutimann stands to continue to gain ground and solidify his points position in the coming weeks. While there isn’t a whole lot of past performance from him to go off of in the Sprint Cup Series, he has run competitively at each of these tracks in his similarly prepared MWR Nationwide Series machines. Atlanta and Texas are big horsepower tracks that mimic California and Las Vegas in that regard. To his credit, he runs them well, managing to stay out of trouble while keeping the fenders on the car — making another batch of top 15s a distinct possibility. Bristol, Martinsville, and Phoenix, however, have traditionally been 20-25th place for the No. 00 team recently — so those remain wild cards.

Verdict: 2009’s feel-good success story stands a good chance of upsetting the pecking order in the top 12.

Bobby Labonte: The fact that one of the most dominant drivers of the late 1990s and the winner of the 2000 Winston Cup was out of a ride just a month before the Daytona 500 is nearly unthinkable. But after Petty Enterprises was bought by Gillett Evernham Motorsports and then morphed into Richard Petty Motorsports (sans Ray Evernham and Kyle Petty), Bobby Labonte found himself on the sidelines. His sponsor had jumped ship to Richard Childress Racing, while Dale Earnhardt, Inc. was courting him along with Chip Ganassi Racing – once the two teams merged into one. However, Labonte did not take the bait; instead, much as he did in 2004 after departing Joe Gibbs Racing to join the team formerly known as Petty Enterprises, the veteran headed to an even smaller operation: Hall of Fame Racing. HoF had recently merged with Yates Racing, and the No. 96 car was now a Ford with a vacant seat that needed to be filled, ASAP.

Sorted out all that confusion yet? Yeah, me neither. But with Ask.com on the hood and a bevy of questionable commercials in tow, Labonte’s white Fusion has clung to 10th in points by staying out of trouble and finishing with all the fenders and tires intact; that’s something that car had been incapable of doing in recent years. Credit the driver, for sure: Labonte has always been one of the smartest and most prudent pilots on the track, preserving his equipment and never asking more of the machine than it is prepared to give. The team itself, however, should not be overlooked. They have qualified 12th, 16th, and 17th so far this year, and gave Labonte a car he could wheel to a top 5 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon.

Verdict: Labonte used to flat out own Atlanta while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and with Roush-Yates power under foot, he could make up further ground this weekend. Keep in mind that this is still a small team with limited funding, though. Their time towards the top could be short-lived…

Michael Waltrip: It was but a couple of months ago that Michael Waltrip was thinking aloud, pondering his retirement from the sport he has been such a presence in for over 20 seasons. Things haven’t been exactly smooth for Mikey the last few years. A very public driving incident on a very public road put him on the wrong side of the spotlight in ’07, culminating with his venture into ownership being nothing short of an unmitigated disaster — the magnitude of which has not been seen since The Hindenburg went up like a tinderbox in New Jersey.

While the highlight last season for this group was teammate Michael McDowell’s death-defying tumble during qualifying at Texas, many wondered if this would indeed be Waltrip’s last season as a driver. And Michael was one of that many. Enduring a marital separation as well as a fleet of struggling race cars, few would fault him if he decided to hang it up and spend more time in the booth — where he is a natural with a microphone.

Well, hold on a second here. To quote his older brother after a particularly strong run in 1998 towards the end of his career, “I was in a pretty deep hole and they were throwin’ dirt on me, but I’m crawling back out.”

With highly regarded crew chief Robert “Bootie” Barker atop the war wagon, Waltrip is currently 12th in points, and could be higher minus spinning out unassisted on lap 163 at Las Vegas. It stymied the momentum of a seventh-place run at Daytona and a decent 15th-place showing at California. He battled back to a 27th-place result on Sunday; but had Waltrip maintained his position during the time of his accident, he would likely occupy Tony Stewart’s seventh-place points standing.

Whatever you want to call this sudden burst of productivity, it is welcomed medicine for a man who has endured his fair share of suffering the last few seasons.

Verdict: Well-earned, but likely short lived. Let’s face it, Michael has still only been able to win points races on restrictor plate tracks, and there isn’t another one of those until April.

While these teams have run well, one of the prime contributions of their successes has been the result of the glaring failures of some very prominent teams. Chief among these are the Hendrick Motorsports trio of Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Mark Martin. Poor pit strategy coupled with engine failures and wrecks have left the Nos. 48, 88, and 5 buried in 19th, 29th, and 34th in points, respectively. Meanwhile, Jeff Burton and Brian Vickers continue to make large strides up the standings, and even Kasey Kahne is starting to show signs of life after inauspicious 2007 and ’08 seasons.

The stay at the top for this surprising trio may be short lived — but it could also be well-earned. Success in motorsports can be slow in coming, and if there is ever a series where baby steps need to be the measuring stick for growth, it is the Sprint Cup Series. The margin of error has always been razor thin, but now it has been taken to new heights (or thinness) when the difference between winning a race and blowing an engine in practice has been reduced to the weight of the oil coursing through an engine’s galleys.

These three teams might not be here in the top 12 following the 26th and final regular season race at Richmond, but it will be interesting to see if they have what it takes to maintain their current positions — and make some of the larger teams they are up against work that much harder to beat them.  

Top Ten…

Suggestions to Help Jeff Gordon Break His Losing Streak

Kurt Smith · Frontstretch.com

10. Instruct Jeff to imagine a hard-boiled egg under the gas pedal.

9. Attach transponders to middle fingers of Gordon-haters, giving the No. 24 another completed lap every time an anti-fan expresses feelings.

8. Seek out Wrigley Field goat for sacrifice following “Wrigley Stadium” blunder.

7. Team finds motorsports zen guru and meditates profoundly and deeply to find answers hidden within themselves regarding proper balance of temperament, self-confidence, and chassis adjustments.

6. Paint car blue and put a number 48 on it.

5. Demand that NASCAR restrict the engines of other manufacturers (given the history, there’s a good chance it’ll listen).

4. Put Matt Kenseth in front of him with two laps to go.

3. Motivate team with nude photos of Rosie O’Donnell displayed everywhere in shop until performance improves.

2. After being forced below the yellow line, pass for the lead anyway.

1. Two words: Ingrid Withholds.  

Head To Head

Who's been the biggest Cup surprise?

By NASCAR.COM

Three races into the Cup season and the top 12 looks nothing like last year.

Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin all find themselves struggling early. Their struggles mean other drivers have had the chance to shine -- and plenty of them have taken advantage.

But who has been the biggest surprise so far this Cup season? Read both sides of the argument and then weigh in with your take .

Which driver has been the biggest surprise in the Cup season?

Driver didn't hide money, jury told

By Curt Anderson - The Associated Press

MIAMI - IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves never sought to evade U.S. income taxes and planned to pay the Internal Revenue Service when he received $5 million from a deal made a decade ago, his attorney told a federal jury on Tuesday.

Defense attorney Roy Black said in an opening statement that the Brazilian driver, a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, knows nothing about U.S. tax laws and relied on experts to handle his finances. Black said there was no scheme to hide money from the IRS.

"All his taxes were properly done. They were properly paid," Black told the 12-person jury.

Prosecutor Matt Axelrod disagreed, describing a series of allegedly fraudulent deals dating to 1999 involving a Panamanian corporation created to dodge taxes. Axelrod accused Castroneves' business manager-sister, Katiucia, and Michigan sports attorney Alan Miller of playing a role in the fraud.

"When it came time to pay taxes on the millions of dollars that he made, he turned his back. He didn't pay," Axelrod said.

The three are charged in a seven-count indictment with tax evasion and conspiracy, which could land each of them behind bars for more than six years. The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.

Central to the case is the ownership of the Panamanian entity, Seven Promotions. Black said it was formed by Castroneves' father to promote his son's early racing career and that the younger Castroneves had no ownership. Axelrod said it was set up to appear that way, and that all three defendants repeatedly lied about the race car drivers control of the business.

When Castroneves was hired in late 1999 to drive for Team Penske, the contract drawn up by Miller called for about $5 million to go to Seven Promotions. But Miller then asked Penske not to pay the money, saying he wanted it shifted under a deferred royalty deal to a Dutch company called Fintage Licensing B.V.

Black and Miller's lawyer, Robert Bennett, said that was legal, and that Castroneves will pay taxes on the money when he gets the money in May.

Axelrod said the deal was a diversion because Miller discovered Penske would withhold 30 percent of $5 million for taxes before transferring the money to Seven Promotions.

Axelrod claims even though Castroneves has not been directly paid the Penske money, he should have paid taxes long ago. The ultimate goal, the prosecutor said, was for Castroneves to leave the U.S. and escape the IRS.

"It was the only way they could achieve their goal of having Helio Castroneves illegally get his money tax-free," Axelrod said.

Black disputed the theory and said Castroneves lives in Coral Gables, a Miami suburb.

Prosecutors also claim Castroneves neglected to pay U.S. taxes on income from a sponsorship deal with the Brazilian company Coimex and that he didn't declare as income thousands of dollars worth of clothes and airline tickets he got from other deals.

Castroneves, 33, won the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002. He has been temporarily replaced on Team Penske by Australian Will Power pending the outcome of the trial. The Indy Racing League begins on April 5.

First Cup victory in 2001 at Atlanta remains unforgettable for RCR's Kevin Harvick

Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer

It was eight years ago this race weekend when Kevin Harvick triumphed at Atlanta Motor Speedway in just his third NASCAR Cup start, after stepping in at Richard Childress Racing to replace Dale Earnhardt, who was tragically killed in a crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 three weeks earlier.

The then-25-year-old Harvick beat Jeff Gordon in a thrilling finish for the ages that featured the two drivers taking the checkered flag just .006 second apart.

Since that initial win, Harvick has claimed 10 more points-paying checkered flags on NASCAR’s premier circuit, including one each in the sport’s two biggest races: The Daytona 500 and at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But none of those postrace celebrations quite compare to Atlanta, site of Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 and a place where Harvick hasn’t tasted victory since.

“I think for us it's obviously something that you can't do twice,” he said on a conference call with reporters. “To win your first race is something that's pretty cool. To do it in our third start, with everything that was going on, you can really look back on it now and reflect on those types of things.

“At that particular moment, I don't remember a whole lot from that particular day. There's just so many emotions that were running through your mind - good emotions, bad emotions, everything that was happening. It was a little bit confusing, to be honest with you.”

Emotional as Harvick felt after winning so narrowly – and quickly - in a car that had been repurposed as a white No. 29 Chevrolet after Earnhardt’s fatal crash in the black No. 3, he has come to look back on that day as a launching pad to his success with RCR. And it understandably set the bar high for future trips to the 1.54-mile Atlanta trioval, where he posted finishes of seventh and 13th last season after failing to post a top-10 there from 2002 to 2007.

“Going back now, you look at where the sport was, everything that did for the sport, and the racing is always really good at Atlanta, so that's fun to be part of a finish like that,” Harvick said. “For several years it was kind of our Achilles' heel. Then we came back last year and ran really well. So that felt good to run good at the race track where you got your first win.”

If Harvick runs well on Sunday, he won’t be surprised. Despite a 12th-place finish last weekend at Las Vegas and a blown engine-inflicted 38th a week earlier at Auto Club Speedway, the Bakersfield, Calif., native is pleased with how his team has begun the season.

The team, led by crew chief Todd Berrier, opened the campaign in spectacular fashion, winning the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race at Daytona with a last-lap pass and placed second behind Matt Kenseth in the next weekend’s rain-shortened Daytona 500.

“I think the first three weeks have been really pretty good for us,” said Harvick, who hasn’t recorded a points-paying victory since the 2007 Daytona 500. “We obviously finished second at Daytona. We ran really well at California.  We had the problem there at the end of the race, but performance was good. Performance was good last week.  Just kind of got caught there with the caution coming out while we were on pit road. … It wasn’t a bad day.”

Harvick, who has made NASCAR’s championship-determining Chase For The Sprint Cup the last three seasons, is 11th in the standings and would qualify for the Chase again if the 12-driver field was set today. He’s also encouraged by the early effort of the entire RCR stable, which placed three cars in the top 12 and two in the top three at Las Vegas.

“Our cars have been performing well,” he said. “I was glad to see the other [RCR] cars ran well [last weekend]. So far so good.”

Of course, a return trip to Atlanta’s victory lane would make it even better.

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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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