Habbajeeba!  Congratulations, you made it through the week. 


Today In Nascar History

7/08/1951-Fonty Flock wins at Bainbridge, win #3 of the season, and #4 of his career.
7/08/1956-Lloyd Dane wins at Sacramento, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
7/08/1964-Ned Jarrett wins at Manassas, win #9 of the season, and #31 of his career.
7/08/1965-Junior Johnson wins at Manassas, win #9 of the season, and #46 of his career.
7/08/1973-Benny Parsons wins at Bristol, win #1 of the season, and #2 of his career.

July 9th:

7/09/1955-Jim Paschal wins at Columbia, win #2 of the season, and #4 of his career.
7/09/1961-Fred Lorenzen wins at Atlanta, win #3 of the season, and #3 of his career.
7/09/1965-Junior Johnson wins at Old Bridge, win #10 of the season, and #47 of his career.
7/09/1967-Richard Petty wins at Trenton, win #13 of the season, and #61 of his career.
7/09/1968-Richard Petty wins at Oxford, win #8 of the season, and #83 of his career.
7/09/1970-Bobby Isaac wins at Thompson, win #7 of the season, and #28 of his career.
7/09/1972-Bobby Allison wins at Bristol, win #4 of the season, and #34 of his career.
7/09/1995-Jeff Gordon wins at Loudon, win #5 of the season, and #7 of his career.
7/09/2000-Tony Stewart wins at Loudon, win #3 of the season, and #6 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

"We're going to race."
—Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark after seeing damage to the speedway caused by a tornado

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from Al
Andy  I gotta agree with ya on your comment about the broadcasters in the NBC booth.  I am looking for them to be wearing 24 and 48 shirts in the coming weeks.. Jeez, its very obvious that they are Hendricks fans..  Im talking about Weber and Parsons,, Wally could care less, he is only thinging about who he can drive around the track next........ but I will say one thing good about them, they are helping me get more done around the house on a Sunday afternoon,
Al

from IBJack
I clicked on NASCAR Nation tonight and got 30 minutes of Body by Jake.  He's got to be the ugliest guy in the world and sells junk but it was better than NN.  Can it be true - NN is gone?
Smilin' Jack

from Larry
Martin Truex Jr. never worked, or drove for DEI!  He is the current driver of the Chance 2 Motorsports Team!!!!
Larry

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Bits and Pieces

Stewart draws Home Depot crowd
Bigger than baseball. Bigger than basketball. Even bigger than football. NASCAR is the largest spectator sport in the country.

So, it's no surprise fans lined up as early as 5 a.m. Thursday to get an autograph from 2002 NASCAR Cup Champion Tony Stewart and Busch Series driver J.J. Yeley at the Oswego Commons Home Depot.

More than 700 NASCAR dads, moms, kids and grandparents brought autograph books, photos, model cars and even race car tires to be signed.

"It came off his car in 2000, and my daughter bought it for me as a Christmas present," explained North Aurora resident Dave Cook, who rolled a worn rubber tire through the line.

Cook and his 16-year-old son, Doug, got in line at about noon for the event, which didn't begin until just before 7 p.m.

Three-year-old Virginia McMillan stayed up all night to get in line at 5 a.m. Wearing an orange hat with Stewart's No. 20, she was too bashful to describe her excitement but couldn't contain a grin when Stewart emerged on a small platform.

"She and her father watch him every week and then the reruns," said McMillan's grandmother, Cathy Noftz of Newark.

Others drove through the night to get to the event, like Murray Fitchett and his family who came from London, Ontario, with pictures of the last time they met Stewart.

Dale Theis came from Columbus, Ohio, to attend the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway Sunday.

"All the way to Os-something and I'm going to buy some stuff in plumbing," Theis said.

Stewart appeared at Home Depots in Naperville and Joliet in previous years before the Chicago race. Home Depot sponsors Stewart in the Nextel Cup NASCAR series, in which he is ranked third after back-to-back wins. "We're NASCAR fans; we're patient," Doug Cook said. "We wait three hours to see the final lap."

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Crocker, Schrader among those planning to attended Stafford set for 'Extreme' day
Up-and-comers, established stars and legends from all corners of the racing world are set to converge upon Stafford Springs, Conn., next week.

The second annual Carquest Extreme Wednesday at Stafford Motor Speedway on July 13 will feature open-wheel racing from the NEMA Midgets, ISMA Supermodifieds and a special match race featuring USAC Silver Crown sprint cars.

Wilbraham native Erin Crocker, who is being groomed by Evernham Motorsports for a future NASCAR career, returns home to compete in the NEMA race, though she is also campaigning for a spot in the Silver Crown match race.

That "Carquest Clash" will pit NASCAR Nextel Cup regulars Carl Edwards, Dave Blaney and Ken Schrader against each other in a 15-lap, winner-take-all race in sprint cars that Crocker is definitely familiar with.

"I know the whole Crocker clan will be out there, so I hope Stafford loads up on tickets," Crocker said. "I've already started hounding (NEMA car owner) Bobby Seymour for a seat in the Clash. I can be pretty persuasive when I need to be."

Two former Indianapolis 500 winners will also be on hand - 2004 champion Buddy Rice and four-time winner Al Unser Sr.

"There are only 3 family names synonymous with Indy - the Andretti's, the Foyts, and of course, the Unsers," said Stafford track president and ABC race announcer Jack Arute. "When it comes to Indy 500 wins, it's the Unser family that reigns supreme."

USAC regulars Bobby Santos and Mike Lewis will race the NEMA event, while former Indy 500 starter Joe Gosek and legendary driver Bentley Warren will race the Supermodifieds.

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Pepsi 400 TV ratings up
How popular is Indy-car star Danica Patrick? She won the pole at Kansas City last weekend and helped ESPN come up with the highest rated, most-watched Indy Racing League race ever on the cable network. And Kansas Speedway officials reported a sellout.

Still, the IRL's 1.1 TV rating (970,000 households) pales in comparison to NASCAR's Daytona 400.

Though rain delayed three hours and finishing at nearly 2 a.m. Sunday morning, the 400 drew a 5.5 national rating from 10 p.m. through its 2 a.m. conclusion, according to NBC. That's up from Fox' coverage of the 2004 race (from 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.)

In fact, NBC said that Saturday's interviews from 8-10 p.m., during the rain, pulled a 3.6 rating and was the highest-rated program between 8 and 9. And coverage during the entire three-hour rain delay made the network the primetime winner against ABC, CBS and Fox among adults 18-49 and in total viewers. The 10 p.m.-2 a.m. part of the broadcast was still the seventh-best program of the week in the key 18-49 demographic, according to the network, with a 3.2 rating.

Patrick finished ninth in Kansas; Tony Stewart won in Daytona.

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Nemechek and U.S. Army renew with MB2 Motorsports: In conjunction with the U.S. Army partnership renewal with MB2 Motorsports in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Joe Nemechek has received a multiyear contract extension from MB2 to drive the #01 Army Chevrolet. Nemechek took over the driving duties of the U.S. Army/MB2 entry with four races remaining in the 2003 season. "It's been a privilege to drive the U.S. Army car and represent the men and women in uniform," said Nemechek. "This Army team continues to make progress and as time goes on we're only going to get better and better. The future is bright because we have talented people associated with this team. I am grateful to be part of MB2 Motorsports -- it's a first-class organization that is 100 percent committed to fielding quality teams in the most competitive form of racing." Jay Frye, MB2's general manager and chief executive officer, was equally thrilled in Nemechek's contract extension and the Army partnership renewal. "We are honored with the continued support the U.S. Army has placed with our team," said Frye. "We have a special partner in the Army and are very proud of the association. Our Army of One team has been competitive week in and week out and we are excited about Joe's extension. Everyone at MB2 Motorsports feels that we are on the cusp of something great." Nemechek, a native of Lakeland, Fla., has 375 career NASCAR Cup starts. His first Cup race was in 1993, the year after he won the Busch Series championship.(MB2 Motorsports PR)

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McMurray to the #6?.....in 2007? UPDATE 3: 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 #6 in 2006?(7-6-2005 - 2am)
UPDATE: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today that it will part ways with driver Jamie McMurray following the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. "Jamie's made a decision to go in another direction after we've both fulfilled the commitment that we made to each other in 2002," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "We didn't do a good job of conveying to Jamie where this team is headed, but we expect a lot of success with Jamie the rest of this year and next year, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors beyond that.” Team owner Felix Sabates added, “This is a total team sport and the Texaco/Havoline team will continue to stay focused on making the Chase and running for the Championship this season, next season and well into the future." (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates PR)(7-7-2005)
UPDATE 2: Roush Racing President Geoff Smith says they got the man who was at the top of their wish list of drivers to replace Mark Martin in the #6-car. Jamie McMurray will part ways with Chip Ganassi after next season to pilot what is now the Viagra Ford. “He was at the top that’s for sure, but we didn’t know whether it was going to be available and when and so we were able to work through it and we’re good to go in 2007." If McMurray is released from his contract with the 42-car at the end of this season it would free him to join Roush next year; however Smith isn’t counting on that. “We’re not planning on that at all at this time. The message he’s conveyed to us is that he’s expecting to stay in the #42-car all next year. We’re not planning on any scenario other than that one." So, who takes over for Mark Martin in 2006? Smith said, “There have been so many balls in the air that we’ve been juggling between drivers and sponsors and when this came up we could do this for 2007 that’s now triggered us into a whole new round of assessment about what we’re going to do for 2006. We hope in a very short period of time we’ll have our 2006 solution figured out."(PRN's Garage Pass), Ricky Craven is one driver rumored as a driver for the #6 for one year.(7-7-2005)
AND from Roush Racing: Roush Racing announced today that it has signed Jamie McMurray to a multi-year contract to drive its #6 NASCAR Nextel Cup entry commencing with the 2007 season. No decision has been made with regard to the driver of the #6 for the 2006 season.(Roush Racing PR)
UPDATE 3 - McMurray's statement: "I have signed a multi-year agreement with Roush Racing to drive the #6 car beginning with the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season. However, my focus and commitment remains with the #42 Texaco/Havoline/Home123 team as we continue our bid for the Chase for the Championship." --- Jamie McMurray.(Jamie McMurray Enterprises PR)

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By The Numbers: Chicagoland 
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM

Chicagoland Speedway has a short four-year history in the Nextel Cup Series, but Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 has an opportunity to play a critical role in determining the field for the 2005 Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Chicagoland annually has held a single event since 2001, and the USG Sheetrock 400 is the ninth race before the cutoff for the second annual Chase, which begins at New Hampshire in September.

Defending race winner Tony Stewart and defending Bud Pole winner Jeff Gordon are in the best position to expand the track's statistical legacy.

 

The following numbers refer to Chicagoland Speedway and the USG Sheetrock 400, unless otherwise noted.

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Tony's a tiger again
Stewart of old seems to have found his rhythm again
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer


A season once mired in mediocrity almost overnight now appears poised for destiny.

Tony Stewart, who just four races ago was barely remaining eligible for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, has completed a four-race run propelling him to third in the standings and trailing series leader Jimmie Johnson by 136 points.

By all accounts, Stewart's run seems far from over.

He has finished second, first and first in his past three races and enters Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., as the defending race winner.

Momentum might may be an understatement, but for the time being it will do.

"We've got a lot of momentum, but I don't know if we're in the zone by any means. It's a pretty cool compliment to all the guys on the team to win in Sonoma (Calif.) and then come (to Daytona) six days later and win at a superspeedway at night," said Stewart, who earned his 21st career victory Saturday night.

"That's a pretty cool feeling, but at the same time we're all pretty realistic that we've got to go to Chicago next week, and that's a topic that brings back two big names, and that's Roush and Hendrick.

"We've got momentum on our side and momentum goes a long way in this series."

Stewart's consecutive wins at Sonoma and Daytona mark the fourth time in his seven-year Cup career he has logged back-to-back wins. In 1999, Stewart's second career Cup win at Phoenix in November was followed a one week later by his victory win at Homestead, Fla.

Twice in the 2000 season Stewart scored back-to-back wins – in June at Dover, Del., and Michigan and again in late September and early October with wins at Dover and Martinsville, Va.

Statistically speaking, his attempt at a third consecutive victory seems on solid footing.

Stewart has led 275 laps at Chicagoland, more than any other driver, and he has finished third, second and first in his past last three races at the track.

"With the way we ran at Michigan (second), hopefully we can take some of those things to Chicago and have a similar run and if not, still have a strong run," Stewart said.

"We've had three great weeks, even with running second in Michigan, and we just have to keep building on that momentum and hope we don't have any disasters in the next nine weeks and we can stay up there in the points and try to win a championship."

Stewart's previous Cup title came in 2002, and was based on the previous points format and season-long points race. A strong second-half of the season marked with remarkable consistency turned a three-win season into a championship.

This season – at least the start – didn't appear to have such potential. Before his latest stretch of finishing second or higher, Stewart had two other three-week stretches that hurt his chances.

The first, early in the year, he finished 26th or lower; the second, which preceded ended prior to his second place runner-up finish at Michigan, he finished 15th or lower.

"I feel like we're in a better position and better mode than we were (in 2002). Even in 2002 when we won I was running us all through some turmoil at the same time. So this year we're all having fun and we're all getting along," Stewart said.

"We're probably getting along as good if not better than we were in 1999 (his rookie season) when we didn't have a care in the world.

"At that time there wasn't any pressure on us, we were just out there having fun as a young race team, and I think we've been able to over the off-season to kind of recapture that. To not put pressure on ourselves and go out and race."

Stewart said he and crew chief Greg Zipadelli have tried to hard to put difficult weekends in perspective.

"If we have a bad day, it's a bad day," Stewart said. "Seems like the worst thing that can happen is to let it get to you and get you down.

"That's something that Zippy has worked really hard on – with all the guys and me as well. It doesn't mean we accept losing better, but we don't let it dictate the rest of our week or the following weeks after that."

The stability of his team – Zipadelli has been Stewart's crew chief his entire Cup career – has been a big key to his success, Stewart said.

"We've had the same core group of people for so long. I mean, it's hard to have a combination like that. There's not very many teams out there that are still like that," he said.

"I'm really proud of the group of people Zippy's assembled and there's always new people getting added to it, but you don't see a lot of people going away from us.

"That's something I think is making us a stronger team every year."

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NASCAR Nation Has Crashed And Now It Burns
By Chuck Abrams


Back in early May, I did a commentary on the SPEED TV show NASCAR Nation.

As I stated back then, I had been pretty excited about the premise of the show.

But after a lackluster beginning and a scaled back length, SPEED has now lowered us to the depths of television journalism – we now have Entertainment Tonight: the NASCAR Edition.

I have no idea what the brain trust at SPEED is doing but this is NOT the NASCAR Nation by any stretch of the imagination.

Slick graphics (but standard fare for Entertainment Tonight television viewers) and pretty faces delivering racing “news” is not what the average fan wants to watch. It’s not even what NASCAR is about. I have not seen enough to know if they will continue with their Marty Smith segment to give at least some legitimacy to the show, but if not, tune into "Inside Nextel Cup" for all your racing news with real racers and real people who know racing.

My dream version of this show was about the fans and the drivers and what makes them one, not this talking head Entertainment Tonight for the gasoline impaired.

My apologies to Ralph Shaheen, Krista Voda from the previous iteration – you were the bomb compared to this dud.

What has happened to the state of race programming in this country? Fans and viewers have their favorites between NBC and FOX for race day coverage – whether you love/hate DW, Bill Weber or Chris Meyer’s, there is something for everyone. Trackside is a decent show and they do a very good job of entertaining and informing.

Speed Freaks is a way better racing show than NASCAR Nation. As boring as NBS 24/7 and NASCAR 360 can be at times, at least they provide some real life moments and some insights into the business and personalities of the sport. There is a shake-up at Inside Nextel Cup coming soon. Pitbull was a fantastic show that was yanked. It was rumored that it was pulled due to pressure from NASCAR itself. What NASCAR, or some entity, is failing to realize is that despite all the pretty people it is surrounding itself with, the average fan is a Pitbull watcher, not an Entertainment Tonight watcher at heart.

Who out there is deciding what is entertainment to the average race fan? And where are their collective heads? Does it make you long for the days of ESPN?

Look for another facelift of NASCAR Nation before the end of the year or this show will disappear faster than Ward Burton in a NetZero car.

John Kernan, where are you?

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By Mark Ashenfelter
Special to ESPN.com


The first real domino has toppled as Silly Season hits high gear in NASCAR. It's just that this domino doesn't really settle anything for 2006.

With Chip Ganassi Racing's announcement that it will part company with Jamie McMurray after the '06 season, one piece of the 2007 driver puzzle appears to be coming into focus, with McMurray heading to Roush Racing.

For now, though, that still leaves owner Jack Roush looking for a driver to replace Mark Martin in the No. 6 Ford for '06. But unless Roush plans to expand his lineup to six cars in 2007 -- something that doesn't seem likely at this point -- that means the driver of the No. 6 next year could head into the season knowing he has just one year with the team.

That fact alone raises even more questions. Will Ricky Craven, who drives for Roush in the Craftsman Truck Series, get a shot at the No. 6? What about veteran Sterling Marlin, who is leaving Ganassi's operation after the season?

Marlin has said he wants to keep driving in Nextel Cup, so would he hope a strong season with Roush would boost his stock so he could find a solid ride in 2007?

If not, what next for Marlin? Chip Ganassi has offered Marlin a golden parachute of sorts, which includes a personal services contract with Coors Light and a deal to drive full-time in the Busch Series with FitzBradshaw Racing, which is co-owned by Armando Fitz, son-in-law of Felix Sabates.

Sabates hired Marlin years ago to drive the No. 40 car, long before he sold the majority interest of the team to Ganassi back in 2000. So, one way or another, Marlin will have a ride next year, the only question is which series he'll compete in. He said last month that he hoped to know his plans by this past weekend's Pepsi 400, but that obviously hasn't happened.

Of course, McMurray's move also raises questions for Ganassi's operation, which last month announced that David Stremme -- who will attempt to qualify for his Nextel Cup debut this weekend outside of Chicago -- will replace Marlin starting next year.

Someone, though, will have to take over the No. 42 Dodge in '07 once McMurray leaves. The obvious choice would be Busch Series rookie Reed Sorenson, who's having a strong season.

Then again, if Ganassi doesn't pick up the option on Casey Mears for next year, could Sorenson end up in the No. 41 Dodge instead?

And if Ganassi doesn't retain Mears, where will he land?

The good news for Mears is that he'll likely be highly coveted if he does become a free agent.

Besides the vacancy at Roush, Ray Evernham is looking for a driver to take over the new team he's beginning next year in conjunction with Valvoline. Might Mears be a candidate for that ride? If not, in what direction will Evernham turn? Scott Riggs currently drives for MB2 Motorsports with sponsorship from Valvoline. That would make him an obvious candidate for that ride, though his current team also plans to do whatever it can to keep him.

On top of that, there's still a highly coveted ride available with Penske Racing South, with Rusty Wallace stepping out of the No. 2 Dodge after the season.

That team made an offer to defending Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr., but Truex elected to remain with Dale Earnhardt Inc. That team likely will field three full-time teams in 2006, though it has yet to make it official that sponsor NAPA and driver Michael Waltrip will return. That is expected to be the case.

Still, if Mears and Riggs both change addresses during the offseason, that will leave an opening at MB2. Is it possible Boris Said could move from a partial schedule to running all 36 races? Or will the team turn to a veteran such as Marlin or pluck a young driver out of the Busch or Craftsman Truck series to fill the vacancy?

Of course, there are still plenty of questions out there involving other teams.

For example, will Jason Leffler make it to next season with Joe Gibbs Racing? If not, where will that team turn to find a driver who will help sponsor Federal Express achieve the results it's hoping for?

Could Busch Series drivers Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley be candidates for the No. 11 Chevrolet? Or will the team search for a veteran in an attempt to produce instant results?

Only the leadership at Gibbs and FedEx can answer those questions at this point. But a change would certainly add even more spice to what could shape up as a fairly active offseason.

Then again, things might settle down once the dust clears after replacements are found for Martin (for next year, at least) and Wallace, along with whoever takes over Evernham's newest car.

If Mears and Riggs stay with their current teams, overall movement might not be too extreme, but the day is still relatively young when it comes to Silly Season.

Looking from 25th on back in the point standings, it's easy to speculate on the future of Dave Blaney with Richard Childress Racing, Mike Bliss with Haas CNC Racing, Jeff Green with Petty Enterprises, Scott Wimmer (Bill Davis Racing) and Bobby Hamilton Jr. at PPI Motorsports.

About the only certainty back in the standings is that owner Robby Gordon won't fire himself as driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet. Other than that, though, don't be surprised by anything that happens in the next few months. That is, after all, why they call it Silly Season.

Mark Ashenfelter is an associate editor at NASCAR Scene magazine and a contributor to ESPN.com.

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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