Today In Nascar History

7/06/1952-Tim Flock wins at Monroe, win #6 of the season, and #14 of his career.
7/06/1955-Tim Flock wins at Spartanburg, win #9 of the season, and #26 of his career.
7/06/1969-Richard Petty wins at Dover, win #5 of the season, and #96 of his career.
7/06/1991-Bill Elliott wins at Daytona, win #1 of the season, and #34 of his career.
7/06/1996-Sterling Marlin wins at Daytona, win #2 of the season, and #6 of his career.
7/06/2002-Michael Waltrip wins at Daytona, win #1 of the season, and #2 of his career.

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

“One thing about me; people don’t have to guess about what’s going on in mind."
—Tony Stewart

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Top Ten Ways To Get Kicked Off Pit Road During a Race


10. Lean against the gas can and light up a cigarette. Offer a cigarette to the official that is rushing at you.

9. Go streaking down pit road during yellow flag pit stops.

8. Steal the flags when the official isn’t looking indicating when pit lane is open and replace them with limbo poles.

7. During a pit stop, knock the jackman off the wall, steal the jack and attempt to complete the pit stop yourself while mumbling “I can do better than that Bozo”.

6. Go from pit to pit trading pit boards among teams.

5. Wear sandals, short shorts, and a tube top…. (This does not apply to women).

4. Every time the cars pass the start/finish line yell “Boogity Boogity Boggity!”

3. Pull all the lugnuts off the tires before they’ve been used. Tell the pit support crew they put them on backwards.

2. Stand on the wall and demand the crew pays you toll before they jump over to do a pit stop.

1. Every time the Crew Chief tries to talk fuel strategy with the team, tickle him in the ribs and yell “Who’s ticklish…”

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New Poll


Should NASCAR initiate a Wild Card for the Championship in 2006?
 

http://de3fan4.tripod.com/

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from Gary
The only complaint I have is that Alan isn't in the booth any more.  Why they took him out is beyond me.  The dude was good!
I agree 100%. His replacement was not up to par with Alan. OK, 1st time jitters maybe, so I'll cut him some slack. But if he isn't a whole bunch better next week, NBC needs to undo this & put the 'good dude' back upstairs.
Gary

from O'Sure
I, for one, am STILL waiting for #24 to get close enough to #20 to "bump him out the way". Will J.G. EVER catch T.S. to carry out his verbiage of a few weeks ago? O'SURE

from Tonya
"I'm too damn fat and too damn old to be climbing fences, but once I started, I was committed and I didn't want to let the fans down."
—Tony Stewart
Same ol' Tony! That is why I love him! Never afraid to speak his mind!! Wonder if his Mom was having a break-down watching him climb the fence...I know I was!
Tonya

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Bits and Pieces

NASCAR joins support of troops
NASCAR says it is joining the Department of Defense's "America Supports You" program, which aims to communicate the country's admiration to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces. NASCAR will seek to raise awareness of the program by encouraging fans to visit www.americasupportsyou.mil. "Taking a moment to thank the troops and let them know how much they mean to our country is easy to do by going to the AmericaSupportsYou.mil website," said NASCAR President Mike Helton.

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Edwards fastest in first day of Indy testing: Carl Edwards' introduction to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2½-mile oval was a fast one. The Nextel Cup driver had the quickest lap Tuesday in the first of six days of NASCAR testing for next month's Brickyard 400. "The name of the game here is getting me laps," Edwards said. "The Ford is great. I can run a lap that is really fast and one that's not good, and the only thing that changed is my driving, so I just need to get laps." Edwards, who has won two races and more than $2 million this season, had a top lap of 179.165 mph in his No. 99 Roush Ford. Only a few drivers were on the track. Among them was Edwards' teammate, Cup champion Kurt Busch, who was second-fastest at 179.151. Next were 1997 Brickyard winner Ricky Rudd at 178.937 an - AP/USA Today

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Talladega Superspeedway Taps Talent Of Artist Garry Hill To Thank Loyal Aaron's 499 Ticketholders: Race fans who renew their seats for the Aaron's 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway already reap the rewards of witnessing the most competitive racing on the circuit, yet the track has found another way of saying "thanks" to these loyal ticketholders by issuing them limited-edition prints featuring the work of renowned racing artist Garry Hill. For the past three years, fans who meet the deadline to renew their Aaron's 499 seats for the next year's event receive a special edition Garry Hill print. Each year's topic for the artwork is a scene from the most recent Aaron's 499, commemorating the glorious moments of victory for drivers fortunate enough to take a win at NASCAR's Most Competitive Track. Account holders meeting the July 29 deadline to renew their Aaron's 499 seats for the 2006 event will receive a new print this year.

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Holly leaves #32 team UPDATE 2 no...on a sabbatical: hearing that #32 PPI Motorsports crew chief, Harold Holly has left the Tide team and driver Bobby Hamilton Jr., been told Danny Gill will assume crew chief duties at Chicagoland Speedway.(7-5-2005)
UPDATE: two Nashville, TN TV stations [NBC affiliate WSMV-TV and CBS affiliate WTVF-TV] reported and interviewed driver Bobby Hamilton Jr. and he confirmed that Harold Holly has left the #32 car as crew chief. It was a mutual decision between Holly and #32 car owner Cal Wells. Holly wants to get back to Busch for less hectic schedule and it was time for a change. The new crew chief will be Danny Gill (Hamilton drove ARCA car with him as crew chief).(7-6-2005)
UPDATE 2: Contrary to published reports, Harold Holly remains under contract with PPI Motorsports and is currently taking a sabbatical leave for several weeks. Filling in for Holly is Danny Gill.(PPI Motorsports)(7-6-2005)
AND Call Wells told Claire B. Lang XM Satellite NASCAR Radio this morning that Harold Holly is still working for him but is on a several week sabbatical. "What's Harold's doing is he's on a short sabbatical. He's reviewing our performance challenges. He's reviewing where we're coming up short, what we need to evolve and to change," Wells told CBL. Wells said they've hired Danny Gill to come in and straighten out the shop because the prouduct they have been delivering to the crew chief has not been of the quality that Wells said he's been proud of in the past. Wells further said that Bobby Hamilton Sr. assisted in the hiring of Danny Gill to help square away things in the shop. Gill will cover things for the next couple of weeks as Harold delves into, "where our challenges are." Wells says " Harold's going to come up with some thoughts and ideas and direction that is going to make us better." Wells told CBL that he wanted to clairify that, "Harold Holly is still with PPI, that rumors to the contrary are inaccurate and that Harold is a good friend a confidant a supporter and I am a supporter of him."(XM Satellite NASCAR Radio)

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#4 back in the top-35 AND:  With Mike Wallace's 8th place finish at Daytona in the Pepsi 400, the #4 Morgan McClure Motorsports team is back in the top-35 in Owners Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Chicago. Thr #4 is now 34th, #22-Scott Wimmer falls to 35th [6 points behind the #4] and #11-Jason Leffer, even with a 18th place finish and leading a lap, falls out of the top-35 and is now 36th, 17 points behind Wimmer.(7-3-2005)
AND did ya know? the 8th place finish at Daytona was the first top-10 for Morgan McClure Motorsports since Mike Skinner was 6th at Rockingham on Nov. 3, 2002, or 66 races ago [the team missed a few races in that span], and the #4 team has not had a top-5 in 244 races made since Bobby Hamilton scored a 4th at Richmond in May 1999, 244 races ago.

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DEI up for awards: The nominees have been released and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. is once again up for two awards by Charlotte Trip magazine. And, just like last year, they’ll need some help from our dedicated fans to assist in the voting process. DEI is once again up for Best of Charlotte and Best Day Trip in the annual Visitor’s Choice Gold Awards put together by the magazine. With your help, they won both categories last year. You can vote for DEI [or other nominee] by logging onto CharlotteTrip.com, voting ends on August 15 and then the final three nominees in each category are announced. The actual awards ceremony is on September 7 in Charlotte.(DEI)

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McMurray to the #6?.....in 2007?  hearing that Jamie McMurray, current driver of the #42 Texaco Dodge for Chip Ganassi, has signed a multi-year agreement with Roush Racing to drive the #6 Ford beginning in 2007. Hmm...so who drives the #2 in 2006?

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Marlin in Childress car? or maybe Yates? Jack Daniels Distillery says it is not lobbying for Columbia's Sterling Marlin to be the driver of the Nextel Cup car it sponsors, but it expects to be "consulted" about the decision. "We will support whatever decision (team owner) Richard Childress makes, but we will be consulted," said John Hayes, brand director for the Lynchburg-based distillery. Marlin said he was offered the job near the end of last season but turned it down to honor the final year of his contact with Chip Ganassi Racing. Childress hired Dave Blaney on a one-year contract. With Marlin now officially out at Ganassi after this season, there is speculation that he might join Childress and drive the Jack Daniels Chevrolet next year. Through 17 races, Blaney has one top-ten finish and is 27th in the standings. "Dave is a great guy and has been an excellent representative for us," Hayes said. "He is a talented driver but has had some bad luck this season. We got into this a little late (waiting for NASCAR to approve sponsorship by companies that produce hard liquor) and everything considered, Dave has done a good job." Jack Daniels has a multiyear contact to sponsor a Childress Nextel Cup car and Hayes said it is important that the car be "competitive." "We're the world's No. 1-selling whiskey, and being competitive is important to us in whatever we do," he said. "We're in the big leagues now." Although Blaney has not been in contention to win, Hayes said the company is "very satisfied" with the exposure it has received during the first half of the season. "Our consumer research has been very positive," he said. "We rank seventh or eighth in merchandise sales and considering that we're competing against drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, that's very good. Right now we're very happy with where we are and we will definitely be back next season." Marlin said recently he hopes to learn his plans for next season "in the next few weeks."(Tennessean)
or Yates: hearing that Marlin could be in a third Robert Yates Racing Ford in 2006, if they decide to field a third team. Yates recently said he had no plans for a third Cup team and would run the Busch team another year, while it was mentioned a few weeks before that RYR was looking into a third team with CitiFinacial sponsoring the team.

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New Hampshire not for sale
Despite numerous inquiries to track officials, New Hampshire International Speedway is not for sale.

"There is absolutely nothing going on with anybody, and there is no truth whatsoever to any of these rumors,'' track chairman Bob Bahre said yesterday.

With Bahre and his son, track president Gary Bahre, battling health problems, speculation has been rampant about NASCAR parent company International Speedway Corp. acquiring the Loudon track.

"It's all 100 percent rumor. I get calls every once in a while with offers. I'm not going to deny that,'' the elder Bahre said. "That's part of the business.''

Bahre said he has fully recovered from injuries he suffered in a 2003 car accident, and he said Gary's health has improved dramatically from a serious respiratory illness diagnosed in the late 1990s.

Spokesman David Talley wasn't aware of any plans for International Speedway to purchase NHIS. "We are always looking to expand our portfolio,'' he said, "but I haven't heard that.''

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Moore to make Busch start for DEI at NHIS
Maine native Ryan Moore will make his NASCAR Busch Series debut for Dale Earnhardt Inc. later this month at NHIS.

"This car is real tight right now, but we're trying to get it where it needs to be,'' Moore said during testing at NHIS yesterday.

Moore, who has been competing in the Busch North Series, has three top-five finishes in four starts in a North Series car at NHIS.

"If there is one place I feel comfortable racing at, it's (NHIS),'' said Moore, whose father, Kelly, won a North Series title in 1995."

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We wonder ... after Daytona
Lots of interesting things to ponder after Daytona

 
...Did people who fell asleep on the couch waiting for the end of Sunday morning's rain-delayed Pepsi 400 count in the television ratings if the TV was still on? 

...how many fans were actually awake at the end of the Pepsi 400.

Sure, it was only 10:50 p.m. on the west coast when Tony Stewart crossed the line at Daytona. But the fact remains that it was 1:50 in the morning on the east coast. Sure, it was Saturday night, but people that were still awake at 1:50 a.m. Sunday probably don't remember they were awake.

...we you all as scared for Tony Stewart as we were.

When he got out of his car at the start-finish line after winning Saturday night, we weren't sure what he was going to do. Then he started climbing -- and we started worrying.

Then, did you all see when he almost fell coming down near the starter's stand? Our writers were afraid they were going to follow an ambulance at 2:30 in the morning.

Thankfully, Stewart regained his balance, and, we hope, his senses.

...why we don't end the season at Daytona.

Could you imagine how exciting that would be. The title decided on a restrictor-plate track? Talk about a grand finale.

We can hear people saying that the title shouldn't be decided by "The Big One," but in a way, isn't it already?

...if anyone understood one word Lisa Marie Presley sang Saturday night.

We know the song was allegedly called "Thanks," but other than that, we were all searching for some sort of lyric sheet on the Internet so that we could follow along.

By the way, we already miss the piano car.

...what's up with all the dogs in the garage area.

As always happens during a rain delay, we see a lot of interviews in drivers' RVs. It seems like every driver in the Nextel Cup Series has a dog -- or two.

Is that a trend? Is it the cool thing to do? More importantly, does everyone borrow dog food from Elliott Sadler. After all, he does have the Pedigree sponsorship.

...if anyone has a tape of Boris Said passing out in the middle of an interview with Bill Weber.

Said told a story during the rain delay Saturday about how he passed out in the middle of an interview with Bill Weber when Weber was covering the old Firehawk Series.

We also wonder what the question was that finally knocked old Boris out.

More importantly, did it rhyme?

...who Kasey Kahne was talking about Saturday.

Kahne was being interviewed by Dave Burns during Saturday's endless rain delay. Burns asked him how many guys in the garage area would he like to be his teammate.

...what will happen to NASCAR years down the road.

NBC did a feature on how younger drivers don't see themselves racing as long as maybe a Mark Martin or a Rusty Wallace.

Greg Biffle told our Marty Smith recently that there are not enough quality drivers to fill the quality rides now. How do you think it will be when the great drivers don't hang around as long?

...if Dave Burns was hurt in that waterskiing jump Friday at Daytona.

If you missed it, Burns was waterskiing on Lake Lloyd during TNT's coverage of Bud Pole Qualifying on Friday. When he attempted to do a jump, he slammed the water on his ...uh ... backside.

He was actually on his rear before he even left the ramp.

...when Martin Truex Jr. was planning to announce his contract extension if he hadn't won Friday night.

There's no doubt that a three-year contract extension is an exciting announcement to make. Still, some of the luster would have been taken off if Truex had wrecked out.

Yeah, our car is a bucket of bolts, but at least I have that three-year contract extension to fall back on.

It's just not the same, is it?

...why SPEED hasn't renamed NASCAR This Morning.

When the Nextel Cup race is on Saturday night, SPEED's preview show usually goes on the air at 5:30 p.m. ET. Despite that, it's still called NASCAR This Morning.

Most of us in this office remember the times in our lives when 5:30 p.m. was considered "morning," but we don't think this is the audience that the network is going for.

We guess it's always morning somewhere.

...if anyone considered leaving DEI after the team's big meeting.

Richie Gilmore said during Saturday's pre-race show that the team was told they were going to have meetings after every practice session and if people couldn't work in that atmosphere, then they could leave.

Did that thought cross anyone's mind? Did anyone leave?

...where's the in-car camera when we need it.

Can you imagine what an in-car shot of Carl Edwards' wild ride through the grass during Friday night's Busch Series race would have looked like from an in-car camera?

Edwards' face probably looked like Wile E. Coyote's after he falls from the cliff into a muddy river.

...who'll end up in the No. 2 Dodge next season.

Clearly, Martin Truex Jr. was Penske Racing's choice, but after Truex announced his re-upping with DEI on Friday night, the No. 2 bunch appears to be back to ground zero.

We think Sam Hornish Jr. would be an interesting choice. He's a marketable guy. He's proven he can drive and he already is employed by Penske Racing in the IRL.

Sounds easy.

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Stewart’s Bite More Powerful Than His Bark
By Beth Tuschak
Cup Scene Daily


For a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve -- and on his helmet, his gloves, his socks and his briefs – Tony Stewart is one of the most misjudged drivers in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series.

“One thing about me; people don’t have to guess about what’s going on in mind,” says Stewart, winner of the Saturday night-into-Sunday-morning’s Pepsi 400. “I’m honest. I’m very black and white about how I feel. I’ve always felt like if somebody asks me an honest question I should be able to give them an honest answer, not holding anything back.

“I know for a fact that we have a lot of the race fans that we do have because we get that comment from them a lot.”

Temperamentally-challenged when he joined the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup ranks in 1999 full time, the Indiana native says one of the drivers he most admires is the fierce and fiery A.J. Foyt –another racer notorious for speaking his mind. Several years ago after a botched pit stop ruined his chances for a victory at Brooklyn, Mich., Foyt told a national television audience he lost the race because his crew had their heads stuffed in a position that is anatomically impossible.

Great live television, but the show’s director had to be airlifted to the closest psychiatric hospital.

Since the inception of television’s five-second delay, drivers and other athletes miffed at what has displeased them have been saved from problems of their own making. But the horde of media that covers NASCAR NEXTEL Cup events still have their pens poised and tape recorders running to capture the most colorful observations.

After winning a major race Sunday morning at Daytona International Speedway, his first restrictor plate win, Stewart was out of the verbal danger zone. Having led a record 151 of 160 laps in the rain-delayed event, Stewart’s biggest challenge was climbing the fence – a tradition started by Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves – and, going a couple of steps further than the Indy Racing League star, saluting and the fans from the flag stand.

“Nobody ever goes all the way to the top,” says Stewart. “I’m way too old and fat to be doing that, (but) once I started I was committed.”

A mere twenty-six words. But had he let forth with an encyclopedic discourse, the 2002 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion couldn’t have given a better glimpse into the state of his mind and soul.

As the circuit enters Chicagoland Speedway for Sunday’s USG Sheetrock 400, Stewart is nearly giddy at his chances of repeating as event champion. Describing him as “giddy” might be a slight exaggeration, but there’s no mistaking he is decidedly upbeat about his chances of making a repeat visit to victory lane.

In a nutshell: Once a sometime-snarky interviewee who reporters approached with trepidation, Stewart since the 2005 Daytona 500 (in which he finished seventh), has been laid back to the point where questioners have wondered if he underwent an off-season personality transplant. In truth, after several years of self-protection, he was merely letting the public get a glimpse of the real Tony Stewart.

So who is the real deal? A driver who fights for every inch of pavement, which is the main reason he has nine championships to his credit, including three karting titles, four USAC crowns, an IRL championship and the 2002 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup trophy. And a guy who has given back an incredible percentage of the more than $35 million he has collected in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup winnings through the Tony Stewart Foundation, funds which are distributed to organizations that help care for critically injured children and that support families of drivers injured in motorsports accidents.

He has personally given more than $1 million to Kyle and Pattie Petty’s Victory Junction Gang, a camp for chronically ill children the Petty’s built in honor of their late son, Adam. And with Kyle Petty was named one of USA Weekend Magazine’s Most Caring Athletes.

So is Stewart at saint? Hardly. But he’s also far from the unfeeling, bad-tempered curmudgeon he is sometimes portrayed to be – especially when he comes up short of his personal expectations. He is still upset at his close loss to winner Greg Biffle in June at Michigan. Climbing from his Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet after his triumph two weeks ago at Infieon Raceway, it took a stellar performance at Daytona – which helped him jump from fourth to third in the series rankings – to put his Michigan finish to bed.

The biggest sign Stewart’s sense of humor is as intact as his talent? His sudden spate of “fat” jokes that aren’t altogether accurate – 170 pounds on a 5-foot, nine-inch frame isn’t exactly obese. But the fact he is making jokes about himself is as telling as his trackside performance.

“I might have the biggest stomach out there,” he says, “but so far it doesn’t seem to be slowing me down.”

No kidding, bud. But until his pouch gets in the way of steering that wheel, his slimmer rivals had better beware the “fat” man is still singing.

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10 Questions: Casey Mears
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Casey Mears is gamely trying to revive the consistent competitiveness his Target Dodge team had a year ago at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Mears has only one DNF in 17 starts this season, but he also has a single top-five finish and two top-10s -- putting him 28th in the driver standings heading to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend.

During testing at Daytona in January, Mears sat down to answer 10 questions not necessarily related to his racing career.

What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own?

Wow, man, there are so many. But there are a couple things I know I really want.
 
I'd love a '49 Cadillac convertible, lowered, with big white walls and flamethrowers. And another one would probably be a '50 Mercury, lowered down.

And then, as far as new cars -- man, there are so many new cars that I'd love to have: Ferraris, Porsches -- there's just a ton of them out there that I'd love to have.

Why the '49 Cadillac?

I don't know -- there's just something about them. Probably five, six years ago I started getting in on that.

My dad and I went to a car show and there was a '48 Buick and I just loved the look of it. And then I saw a '49 Cadillac right next to it, and I liked the look of that just a little bit better.

So someday I'd love to get a '49 Cadillac and have it completely restored.

If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet?
 
Probably a Lab -- a dog -- a Labrador. I really like cats and I'm actually kind of a cat guy right now, because I have two cats at the house.

But if I had more time I'd probably have a Lab or a Golden Retriever or something like that.

What's your biggest pet peeve while driving on the road?

People that don't move over when they're in the fast lane. That drives me crazy. In California everybody's pretty good about doing that going through L.A.

I notice that back East it's a little bit different. You catch some people just cruising in the fast lane and that drives me crazy.

What's the worst state for that? I'd think Florida and North Carolina would be pretty bad?

Yeah, I don't know. California is usually pretty good and North Carolina is definitely a lot worse.

And Florida is bad, too, because you have a lot of retirees down there, just cruising around.

Racing means travel, so what's your worst hotel experience?

Actually it was in Homestead, when I was racing Indy Lights. We stayed at, I don't even think it was a Super 8 -- it was just called the "eight hotel" or something like that.

It had carpet from like 1965 -- and it was brown. And when I moved the coffee table it was orange.

So it was bad and it smelled like formaldehyde in the bathroom. It was horrible and there were cockroaches and cracks in the ceiling. It was not good.

Did you get any kind of discount for that?

Casey Mears: No, but we definitely got out of there. We spent one night and you put your shoes on to walk to the bathroom. It was pretty bad.

What's your favorite food?

That's a good question because I love food in general -- but probably Italian food. I love pastas and stuff like that.

Is there any place on the road where you've got to go, to get Italian or any other kind of food?

This is probably not going to sound real good, but when I go out to California I've got to have an In 'n Out burger. I absolutely have to do that when I go out to California or Las Vegas -- Phoenix -- the West Coast swings.

And then in (Talladega) there's a place that we always make called Top of the River (in Anniston). We get fried catfish and real Southern food. It's pretty good, too. Sterling told me about that.

If you had to choose, would it be being honest, or being nice?

If I had to choose between the two -- being honest or being nice? I don't know -- that's kind of hard, because I like both of them. I'd probably have to say honest.

What's your fondest childhood memory?

Shoot, I don't know because there were so many good memories when I was a kid. I think it depends on what age bracket you're talking about.

When I was three or four years old it was me and my neighbors playing in the mud on the side of the house, with the Hot Wheels.

You're a single guy so you can answer this honestly. What would your dream date be? Where and with whom?

These questions, man! I don't know who my dream date is -- you know what I mean? I really don't, honestly.

I think you find that, somehow, without expecting it that it's your dream date. But there's no one that stands out in my mind right now that would be a dream date, so I don't know how to answer it.

What's your worst prank, either perpetrated by you, or done to you?

Aaah -- the worst prank?

Would it be Sterling Marlin at Talladega?

Yeah, that was probably the worst one. I just had a real bad one but I can't share that.

Yeah, it was probably Sterling at Talladega, to this point. He got us in my rookie year, when he got all the rookies, me and Jamie (McMurray) and a few of the guys that hadn't really been on the team long.

They got us all in this van, like we were supposed to talk to Chip (Ganassi) after our big first test. So we're all in there, kind of nervous about talking to Chip for the first time, after our first test.

And (Sterling) threw, like, a quarter-stick of dynamite under the van. And we all hit our heads on the top of the ceiling trying to get out of the van real fast.

But we got him back. We threw some stink bombs and fireworks in the back of his car on the way out, so we got him back, pretty good.

What would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR" moment?

I think when I finally felt like I was a part of NASCAR, was probably sitting on the two poles last year. That really made me feel like, "Hey, we're a contender and we can sit on poles and run up front."

Before that, several of the guys moved me around, plenty. Tony Stewart, at Loudon just completely body-checked me -- just went in (to the corner) way too hard and just slammed me and put me off in the marbles.

That was my first year and I'm sure I was probably doing something that was probably not quite right in front of him and I wasn't aware of it, yet.

So that was the rude introduction, and the good introduction was when we sat on those poles last year at Indy and Pocono.

Tony Stewart has actually body-slammed a few people.

Oh yeah. And it wasn't just him. Several guys did -- and I'm sure I did something to deserve it.

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that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

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NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
BUSCH SERIES QUALIFYING	6 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	Noon Saturday	Speed Channel
BUSCH SERIES CHICAGOLAND 300	2 p.m. Saturday	NBC
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES BUILT FORD TOUGH 225	8 p.m. Saturday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP CHICAGOLAND 400	3 p.m. Sunday	NBC
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

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Well, that's all for today.  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