Damn!  I was hoping that Jamie McMurray or Rusty Wallace would pull it out.  But noooooo….Kurt had to win!  Oh well, it was a good race.  How bout that ol’ Junior coming back from a lap down to finish 6th.  I was pretty shocked at that.  I would like to know just where the heck Kurt came from!  He was quiet all day long, then poof….there he was at the finish.

What a great run for Sterling and John Andretti.  Although that was a shock to see John up in the top 10.  It was badly needed for the Petty’s.  Great finish for Michael Waltrip too.  Most of the top 10 finishers were quite a surprise.

It was a good race all around, and a great weekend.

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Jimmie Johnson makes contact with the wall after tangling with Mark Martin with one lap to
go in the Auto Club 500. Credit: Autostock

Wrecks spark plenty of cautions at Fontana
By Ryan Smithson, Turner Sports Interactive

FONTANA, Calif. -- A record eight cautions -- including two in the final 19 laps -- marred the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway on Sunday.

The biggest incident came in lap 231 when Dale Jarrett spun, touching off a nine-car accident.

Jarrett took the blame for the crash, but several drivers had problems with a track surface that was more unforgiving on Sunday, as sunny skies produced hot, slippery conditions.

"It was just driver error," Jarrett said. "I just got into the corner a little hard."

The day's most notable incident, however, came on the first lap, when Steve Park's pole-winning run at California Speedway was nullified when he collided with Ryan Newman.

Park got together with Newman coming out of Turn 2, sending Newman hard into the wall. Park shot back across the track, barely missing the Dodges of Mayfield and Casey Mears.

"All I know is that the 1 car (Park) got loose and got up and shoved me into the wall," Newman said.

Newman has been involved in three accidents in 2003 after enduring only one last season.

Park spent 45 laps in the garage before reentering the event, and he finished 40th. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Newman completed only 34 laps and finished 42nd, his third straight finish of 38th or worse.

Since winning at Texas last month, Newman had three straight DNFs.

"It seems like we can't buy a break lately, and we get involved in everybody else's bad breaks, too," Newman said.

Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson both spent the majority of the day in the top 10 -- Johnson for 139 laps, Martin for 119 -- but they tangled on the frontstretch with only one lap to go.

Johnson ended up 16th, Martin 17th.

"I think (Johnson) got crowded up against the wall and had to back out of it," Martin said. "We were all so close together that I got into the back of him there and we lost it."

Johnson said he simply got tight and brushed the wall.

"I am just bummed that, once again, we had a great car, and we get to the very end -- the last lap -- and something else happens."

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Kurt Busch celebrates his sixth career Winston Cup victory. Credit: Autostock

Busch wins Fontana duel for second win of year
By Mike Harris

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Kurt Busch became the first two-time Winston Cup winner of the season Sunday, passing Jamie McMurray 12 laps from the end of the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.

The 24-year-old "Young Gun" regained the form he showed late in the 2002 season, when he won three of the last five races.

Since winning last month at Bristol, Busch had slumped a bit, finishing ninth in Texas, 19th in Talladega and 28th in Martinsville. But his win Sunday on the 2-mile California oval gave the youngster five wins and three runner-up finishes in his last 15 starts.

"We went on a little slide. No biggie," Busch said of the previous three races. "We just struggled a little bit. Today, we put together a great effort."

Busch led briefly in the middle of the race and stayed close to the leaders for most of the 250-lap event. Meanwhile, McMurray, Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace were battling for the top spot most of the second half.

McMurray and Labonte, who swapped the lead several times in the late going, were battling ahead of Busch when the last of eight caution flags came out after Dale Jarrett hit the wall to start a nine-car accident on lap 230.

Busch and Wallace took advantage of the situation to pass Labonte as they raced back to the flagstand to take the yellow.

Wallace tried hard to track down the leaders after the ensuing restart on lap 238.  On the second lap after the green flag waved, Wallace, who now has gone 72 races without a win since his victory here in 2001, dove low on the banked oval and nearly got past McMurray and Busch.

But Wallace's Ford got a little high in the second turn, and Busch nosed under him and drove past both Wallace and Labonte to take the lead for the first time since lap 145.

The Las Vegas, Nev., native then pulled steadily away as Labonte and Wallace battled side-by-side for second. Labonte got the runner-up spot by a few feet but crossed the final line 2.294-seconds -- about 20 car-lengths -- behind Busch's Roush Racing Ford.

Busch, who finished second to Jimmie Johnson here last year, said: "This makes up for what we did last year. We came up a bit shy.

"This was just an all-out effort by our team.  Every time I came in (for pits stops), we picked up spots."

The winner, who now has six wins in his career, averaged 140.111 mph.

Bill Elliott finished fourth, followed by McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, John Andretti and series leader Matt Kenseth.

Kenseth, Busch's teammate, stayed in front of Earnhardt in the standings but had his lead cut from 51 to 44 points. Jeff Gordon, who finished 11th Sunday, remained third, with Busch moving from fifth to fourth.

A different driver had won in each of the first nine races, but Busch's victory left intact the record of 10 consecutive different winners at the start of the season, set in 2001.

Tony Stewart, the defending Winston Cup champion, led 100 of the first 128 laps before driving slowly to the garage with a broken rod in his engine. Stewart and McMurray were locked in a battle for the top spot, swapping the lead several times before smoke and oil began pouring from Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet.

"He was the first guy to come up and challenge," Stewart said of McMurray. "I wasn't just going to let him go. It was the most fun I had all day, was racing Jamie."

Pole-winner Steve Park brought out the first yellow of the day. He slipped to fifth after taking the green flag for the start and suddenly veered right, knocking Ryan Newman hard into the wall and sending his own car spinning down the track.

Both drivers eventually got back into the race but finished 40th and 42nd, respectively.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The top 10 finishers are:

1.  Kurt Busch
2.  Bobby Labonte
3.  Rusty Wallace
4.  Bill Elliott
5.  Jamie McMurray
6.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7.  Michael Waltrip
8.  John Andretti
9.  Matt Kenseth
10. Sterling Marlin

And the top 10 in Points:

1.  Matt Kenseth                      Leader
2.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.               -44
3.  Jeff Gordon                         -152
4.  Kurt Busch                          -168
5.  Jimmie Johnson                   -207
6.  Michael Waltrip                   -239
7.  Ricky Craven                       -268
8.  Bobby Labonte                    -272
9.  Kevin Harvick                     -300
10. Elliott Sadler                      -324

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ For those of you in the pool, David Robertson won!  He has asked that I buy breakfast for everyone so he can apply his "people skills".  Enjoy everyone, and I will let you know when I have brought it in.....bagels and cream cheese...maybe if you are lucky, I will bring donuts too!

Next week they are off to Richmond, for the first night race of the season.  Hope everyone has a great week, and until the next time, I remain,
 

Your  Momma

"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car  if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

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