Habbajeeba.....you made it through the week! 


Today In Nascar History

04/07/1957-Fireball Roberts wins at North Wilkesboro, win #2 of the season, and #8 of his career.
04/07/1963-Joe Weatherly wins at Richmond, win #1 of the season, and #23 of his career.
04/07/1966-David Pearson wins at Columbia, win #2 of the season, and #15 of his career.
04/07/1968-Richard Petty wins at Hickory, win #2 of the season, and #77 of his career.
04/07/1974-David Pearson wins at Darlington, win #1 of the season, and #78 of his career.
04/07/1991-Ricky Rudd wins at Darlington, win #1 of the season, and #12 of his career.

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Bits and Pieces

'Dateline' defends planting Muslims at NASCAR race
By Nate Ryan, USA TODAY

After bringing Muslim men to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia to gauge the reaction of NASCAR fans, Dateline NBC won't have its cameras at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.

In a statement released Thursday, NBC defended its reporting tactics, saying "there have been a lot of inaccurate comments" and that Dateline "had barely begun its reporting."

"Dateline is not planning a story about NASCAR," the statement said. "We are following up on a recent poll and other articles indicating an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. We are curious about whether that is true. The NASCAR race at Martinsville was a stop we have made in our research on this story.

"There is nothing new about the technique of witnessing the experience of someone who might be discriminated against in a public setting."

NASCAR officials were angry after learning Dateline recruited Muslims to attend the DirecTV 500. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said the group walked around outside the track without any reaction from fans.

"It's outrageous that a news organization like NBC would seek to create the news instead of reporting the news," Poston said.

NASCAR is in the final year of a contract with NBC Sports, which will broadcast the second half of the Nextel Cup season.

Terry Labonte knows a little about the loyalty of Lone Star State's NASCAR fans
By MIKE HARRIS
The Associated Press

Terry Labonte was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, and even though he has lived in North Carolina for many years, the loyal fans in the Lone Star State still consider the two-time Cup champion one of their own.

His biggest thrill at Texas Motor Speedway came in 1999 when he drove to one of his 22 career victories.

“I think my biggest memory of racing in Texas was the race that we won back there a few years ago when I passed Dale Jarrett late in the race with probably less than 10 laps to go,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever noticed the crowd.

“The whole crowd stood up. I thought to myself, ‘Oh, God, I think everybody here is pulling for me. I can’t mess up here. They’re really happy right now. If I screw up, they’re not going to be.’

“We made the pass. We won the race. I thought that was the coolest thing.”
Junior returns to special, career-defining track
Monte Dutton

JUSTIN, Texas — For obvious reasons, Texas Motor Speedway holds a special place in the career of Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose first Nextel Cup victory occurred at the 1.5-mile track on April 2, 2000.

For the 10th running of the race now known as the Samsung/Radio Shack 500, Earnhardt is coming off another of his finer moments.
On April 2 — again! — of this year, he finished fourth in the DirecTV at Martinsville Speedway, driving up through the pack in a Chevrolet that had been seriously damaged in a crash on the second lap.

Earnhardt Jr. recalled the earlier Texas victory.

“It was definitely one of my top moments,” he said, “because it was a wake-up call to the world that the Bud (his sponsor then as now) team was officially on the premises. That was a special day.”

What made it more memorable was the post-race congratulations of his father, who would be killed the following season in the Daytona 500.

“I remember him popping his head into my car as I pulled into Victory Lane, and he told me that he loved me and to soak this all in, because you can get so swept up with what’s happening all around you that you can’t enjoy it for yourself,” recalled Earnhardt Jr. “Then he told me to find my own way home, because he wasn’t waiting on me.”

Coincidentally, Texas was also the site of Earnhardt Jr.’s first career victory in the Busch Series.

Coming off last week’s showing in Martinsville, Earnhardt Jr. is sixth in the Cup points standings, impressive since he is recovering from an unspectacular performance in 2005.

Recalling the Martinsville finish, he said, “That’s really the biggest reward out of the whole deal is when everybody appreciates what you do. To be honest, I don’t ever remember getting cheered like that for anything less than a win, so it’s neat that they recognized what we went through to get that top-five (finish). It was loud. They were chanting, cheering, raising hell. I wish I could’ve been up there with them, because I’m sure it was a fun race to watch.

“I think people are finally seeing that we know what we’re doing. The guys are spending late hours there. I’m just so proud of the whole effort everybody’s giving me this year. We had a hard year last year, but the company has bounced back. I can take credit for ‘wheeling’ on the car, but you can’t do it if the car doesn’t work. This year my cars have been working, and I think people are realizing that.”

Earnhardt Jr. has never qualified worse than 11th for a Texas Motor Speedway race, and he won a pole in 2001. The field for Sunday’s Cup race will be set in a qualifying session scheduled for 4:40 p.m. Bill Elliott set the track record, 194.224 mph, on April 5, 2002. Last year another Dodge driver, Ryan Newman, won the pole at an average speed of 192.582 mph.

Bank of America Hires Jill Gregory to Lead Company's NASCAR Marketing Efforts:  Bank of America, one of the world's largest financial institutions, today announced that Jill Gregory has joined the company as Senior Vice President and Strategic Marketing Executive for the bank's NASCAR sponsorship programs. In this new role, Gregory will oversee strategy and activation development for the company's expansive motorsports sponsorship platform, which includes title sponsorship of the Bank of America 500 and the Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America, as well as sponsorships at 10 tracks throughout the country. As part of the company's Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs organization, Gregory will be based in Charlotte, and will report to Ray Bednar, Senior Vice President and Sports Sponsorship Executive who leads strategy and activation development for the company's sports sponsorship portfolio. Gregory joins Bank of America after serving most recently as Director of Sponsorships and Sports Marketing at Sprint Nextel. In that capacity, she was responsible for developing and managing marketing and sales programs to support the company's title sponsorship of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, NASCAR's premier racing series. Prior to that, Gregory served in marketing leadership roles with GMR Marketing and Texaco. "Jill has a wealth of experience in the NASCAR space, and is well- respected by the racing industry's leaders, teams and agencies," said Bednar. "She will be instrumental in developing and executing a well-integrated strategy that drives solid business results from our NASCAR platform and creates exciting and unique experiences for our many customers who are racing fans." Gregory is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and resides in Huntersville, North Carolina. - Bank of America PR

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NNCS Crew Chief Scott Miller To Throw Out First Pitch Before Texas Rangers Game Thursday - No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet will appear on field and make lap around warming track: Scott Miller, crew chief of the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton, will make his Major League Baseball pitching debut Thursday at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas. Miller will throw out the ceremonial first-pitch before the Texas Rangers take on the Detroit Tigers at 7:05 p.m., three days before Jeff Burton and TEAM Cingular compete in the Texas race. In his first year with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Miller has established the No. 31 Cingular Wireless team as a force to be reckoned with after garnering the coveted pole position for the season opening Daytona race along with one top-five and two top-10 finishes. - Career Sports & Entertainment, Inc PR 

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IROC at Texas: The Crown Royal International Race of Champions team hit the pavement at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday in preparation for round-two of the 30th Anniversary season of Crown Royal IROC racing. For the third-consecutive year “The Great American Speedway” will host the second race of the Crown Royal IROC season, which will take place on Friday, April 7 at 7:00pm/et, broadcast live on SPEED Channel and PRN Radio. Crown Royal IROC test drivers, Dave Marcis, David Donohue, Jim and Jay Sauter recently tested the cars, collecting initial test data on all of the Crown Royal IROC race cars. IROC President, Jay Signore said, “We’re off to a good start here at Texas Motor Speedway. We’re all getting re-acclimated to the racetrack and to the Goodyear Eagle Radial race tires, which is a different compound for us this year. The tires seem to have a lot of grip, especially with the track being as green as it is and out of the box the feedback on the race cars is all good. “ David Donohue is new to the IROC test team this year, and the IROC experience at Texas Motor Speedway is completely new to him. “This is my first time in the IROC cars at Texas Motor Speedway and I didn’t have any problem getting comfortable, so I would have to say it should be a comfortable situation for the drivers who don’t do this everyday.” Although new to the test team, Donohue is not new to IROC as his father, the late Mark Donohue was an integral part of the development team that created the series and also the inaugural IROC champion in 1974.

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DNF's - Nemechek at 38: #01-Joe Nemechek has been running at the finish in 38 consecutive races, the longest current streak. Next is #22-Dave Blaney at 24 races then #38-Elliott Sadler at 23.

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McLean Retiring as Executive Director of NCMA and NCMF:  In a joint announcement the North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA) and the North Carolina Motorsports Foundation (NCMF) today announced that Ed McLean, their founding executive director, is retiring from management of the organizations and will resume management of his McLean Marketing Group. McLean shepherded the organizations through their first four years of growth and directed their efforts to bring the business of motorsports in the North Carolina to the attention of the citizens of the state, the government and the business community. "Ed has contributed greatly to the entire North Carolina motorsports community during his tenure as director," said NCMA chairman Richard Petty. McLean will be available to both the NCMA and NCMF to assist in the transition to a new executive director for the organizations. Ed has been awarded a lifetime membership in the NCMA through his McLean Marketing Group and will continue to be a part of the NCMA.(NCMA PR)

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Dodson Grant at over $40k:  Friends and colleagues of Barry Dodson, a Mooresville resident and a familiar figure in NASCAR, have given more than $40,000 to establish athletic scholarships at Wake Forest University in honor of his children, Trey and Tia, who were killed in 1994. "Losing a son and daughter is like a free fall; you never get settled back," Dodson said. "I donít think you ever learn to deal with it. But this has made it easier when I thought nothing ever would. It has put life back into the entire family." Trey, Tia and one of their high school friends were killed in a car accident near Darlington, S.C., where they lived with their mother, Jan. Trey was 17 and Tia was 16. Dodson has supported Wake Forest's athletic program for years and attended many events with his children.

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Food Lion AutoFair at LMS:  The Food Lion AutoFair runs Thursday, April 6 through Sunday, April 9 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Food Lion Pavilion features several unusual vehicles with land, sea, and air capabilities, including The Flying Red Baron from "Monster Garage," Steve Green's Tornado Attacker and an amphicar. Other attractions include unique cars from the Lane Motor Museum, the "Globe of Death" motorcycle stunt show, a tribute to the Turbocharger, collector car auction conducted by Tom Mack Classics on Friday and Saturday and a concert by The Marshall Tucker Band on Sunday.
Garry Hill Automotive Fine Art, Inc. will be exhibiting at the Food Lion Auto Fair at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Busch Garage April 6th-9th. The show will feature many driver autographed art prints documenting the greatest races and greatest driver moments with a focus on the history of stock car racing.

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Four Tracks Jeff Gordon has never won at: There are four current race tracks the Nextel Cup Series runs on that #24-Jeff Gordon has not won at, Texas 0 for 10 with a best of 2nd in 2002, Phoenix International Raceway 0 for 14 with a best of 3rd in 2002 and 2004; Chicago 0 for 5 with a 2nd in 2003 being his best; Homestead 0 for 7 with a best finish of 3rd 2004. Gordon has won at 20 [18 active] of 24 tracks he has raced on including two not on the circuit any longer, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. That makes this great for me, since hubby and I will be attending the Phoenix race in two weeks.  This means that maybe my driver will win!  When we went to Martinsville in 2003, Jeff won.  Which was great for hubby, but sucked for me!

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Matt Kenseth Educates, Paints with Dallas Area Kids: #17-Matt Kenseth took time out of his work schedule on Thursday morning at Texas Motor Speedway to visit with teenagers from Dallas / Ft. Worth area middle schools and after-school programs to teach them about teamwork, achievement, and the importance of making a difference in their community. The national educational initiative called 'Ameriquest Soaring Dreams Youth Program' is a partnership between Ameriquest Mortgage Company, non-profit organization Portraits of Hope and Roush Racing that bring together youth from schools, hospitals and after-school programs to explore personal goals and societal issues through education and art. Portraits of Hope is an organization that develops creative projects merging the healing arts with inspirational public art. Middle schoolers from Boles Jr. High School (Arlington), Dunbar 6th Grade Middle School (Ft. Worth) and Girl's Inc., a non-profit youth organization based in Arlington, participated in the program. As part of the interactive workshop, teens and Kenseth shared their creative expressions by creating murals replicating the shapes and colors depicted on Kenseth's #17 Ameriquest Soaring Dreams race car that he will drive in Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. This is the second of four Ameriquest Soaring Dreams workshops and paint schemes this year. Last month in Bristol, Kenseth's teammate, Carl Edwards, participated in the Ameriquest Soaring Dreams workshop with a local high school. Mark Martin will do so later this month in Phoenix (Apr. 20) and Greg Biffle at Dover (May 30). Ameriquest Mortgage Company is the primary sponsor of four of Roush Racing's NBS teams in 2006, which includes Kenseth, Edwards, Martin and Biffle.(Alan Taylor Communications)

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Have we forgotten why we have a pit road speed limit? The rule change came after Mike Rich was killed on pit road at Atlanta. Before that there was no speed limit. It's only been the past few years everyone over the wall must wear a helmet.

So in the interest of safety for everyone on pit road why does NASCAR allow a guy to speed leaving the pits so he doesn't lose a lap to the pace car? The worst part is the TV announcers will tell you it's going to happen before it does.

At Martinsville last weekend a guy (who it was doesn't matter) had a flat tire and when the yellow flew he ducked onto pit road before the pits were open. The penalty for that is you must go to the rear of the longest line. Knowing that, and with the pace car going around, the announcers said he has to speed off pit road or he'll lose a lap. They said there's no additional penalty, he's headed to the rear of the longest line anyways, so he might as well speed out of the pits because otherwise he'd go down a lap.

Wouldn't you think NASCAR's rule would be, if you speed off pit road not to lose a lap, the penalty is you a lose lap? Every team sends seven guys over the wall so with 30 cars pitting that's 210 people plus the officials. Last thing we need is one guy racing down pit road because he knows there's really no reason not to.

I say enter pit road when it's closed you go to the end of the longest line and if you speed off pit road during the same stop you lose a lap.

No additional penalty just doesn't make sense to me. It's like me speeding down Main Street and running a red light. If the cops are behind me I'm getting a ticket for speeding and a second one for the light. It's not like the officer is going to say, I got you for speeding so don't worry about the light.

We need to remember why there's a pit road speed limit...

Loose Lug Nuts: One of the more amazing stats about Martinsville belongs to Jeff Gordon. Over the years he has completed all but six laps out of possible 11,356.

• Not a lot of passing going on. In the 500 laps last weekend at Martinsville Dale Earnhardt Jr. led all drivers with a mere 34 quality passes, which are green-flag passes of cars running in the top 15. Reed Sorenson, the top-finishing rookie, was next with 28. Overall, Earnhardt was first among all drivers in green flag passes for position with 62. Brian Vickers was next with 47.

• Rookie Clint Bowyer has 621 green flag passes for position this season, more than any other driver. Bowyer is followed by Casey Mears (589), fellow rookie Reed Sorenson (578), Earnhardt (570) and Martin Truex Jr. (562).

• Jeff Gordon has led just eight laps in the season's first six races. However, he has earned 20 bonus points for leading four of them. At this point one year ago he had led 93 laps, earning 15 bonus points.

• No driver has ever won from a front-row starting position in the 10 Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway.

• Three of the last five races at Texas have been won from starting positions of 19th or lower.

• There have been 10 different race winners in 10 races at Texas.

• Dale Jarrett has led 407 laps in 10 races at Texas, more than any other driver. Matt Kenseth follows with 300 laps led in seven races.

• Jimmie Johnson has five top 10s in the season's first six races.

• Kyle Busch has four top 10s in the last 5 races.

Short Track Racing: I got a bunch of e-mails last week from fans who grew up at their local short track and 90 percent of them said things have changed and not for the better. John, 52, tells me he grew up in Vermont and spent years "chasing racing" at Thunder Road, Catamount and Bear Ridge.

He gets back to Vermont about once every other year and tries to get to TR or BR but said for whatever reason it's just not the same. He also said he tried going to the races near his new home but because of the main events getting lined up by time trials it's been nine years since he has bought a ticket.

He wrote, "You seem very passionate about your racing and in the six years I've been reading your column it seems you pay attention to the details. In your opinion what's different and if you were in charge what would you change?"

The first thing I'd change is how they line up the features. It seems as though every race director wants to reinvent the wheel. Some try the last three or seven races for handicap purposes while others use qualifying heats to line up the main events.

I may be wrong but I remember back in the 1980s the heats were run for points only and had nothing to do with how the features were lined up. The point leader started in the back while the lowest guy in points started on the pole of the feature no matter where they finished in their heat.

And to keep the heats interesting, I say don't drop a single point per position and don't award everyone points. I vote 10 points to win then 8, 7, 5, 3 and 1. From seventh back you get no points.

The problem I see nowadays is they start a bunch of faster cars ahead of the slower cars and then wonder why there's so little passing. It's not rocket science. Go to WMMP and ask the 12-year-old kid in the front row if Stacy Cahoon is faster than Driver X. If the answer is yes then Cahoon in the interest of RACING must start behind that guy.

Go to Thunder Road and ask a different 12-year-old if Cris Michaud is faster than Driver Y and if again the answer is yes then Michaud must start behind Driver Y and a whole bunch of others.

In order to put the racing back into racing you simply must start faster guys behind the slower guys. Now that's not to say if the same guy week after week is so slow he causes pile-ups then the race director needs to tell him he's starting in the back until he improves.

• Enclosed Trailers Although Practical, Aren't Fan Friendly - Years ago everyone used open trailers and when you stopped for gas or sodas on the way to and from the track fans would stop if only to say hi.

Enclosed trailers are the hot set-up they keep the teams out of the rain and hot sun. But I can remember stopping at the Tower restaurant on the Barre-Montpelier road after leaving Thunder Road and as we drove into the parking lot you'd know which teams were there because you could see the dozen race cars. Often times you go by the trailer just to get a closer look at the cars.

Nothing drives me crazier than seeing trailers with no car number or driver's name on the outside.

• Drivers And Fans Not Intermingling Enough - Another thing that has changed over the years is the fans and drivers don't seem to spend as must time together as they use to. Maybe it's because the world is a whole lot faster paced than 20 years ago. Nowadays with everyone in a hurry to get home it's a shame when you do get into the pits half the guys are already gone. And it's real crime when some tracks don't even let the fans in the pits after the races.

The pits after the races were always a highlight for me both as a fan and then later as driver. When I was younger I'd look forward to going into the pits to feel the hot tires and check out the cars that got banged up. A bunch of the drivers used to hold a little impromptu question and answer session.

And as a driver it was neat to meet a new wide-eyed young fan as he shyly walked up to the car behind his mom or dad's leg. It was nice to see them smile when you asked them if they wanted to get into the race car. When you're a little kid there's no bigger thrill than sitting in a race car.

If you're a track promoter and you're looking to fill your grandstands get the kids involved. Believe me the kids wanting to go to the races get mom and dad there.

• There Are Of Course Other Things - Running five and six heats is a fast way to turn off the fans. Too many divisions with too few cars is a turn off. Too many yellows, when the same guy brings out the third yellow in his feature it's time to tell him to take it back to the trailer.

• There you have it, my handy guide to better short track racing. The good news is we're only weeks away from heading back to the tracks.

Am I Ready? If I got 15 cents every time someone asked me in the past six months if I was ready to go racing I could take the next two months off from work. The answer is quite simple - I was ready to go back to the track the very next week after they closed for the winter.

ACT: The American-Canadian Tour has announced a change to the 2006 ACT Late Model Tour schedule. The race at the 5/8-mile Circuit Ste-Croix (PQ) has been moved to May 13 from its original June 17 date.

ACT president Tom Curley said, "The change at Ste-Croix was made in the interest of balancing the 2006 schedule and preparing for the $10,000-to-win Mega Classique at Sanair on July 8-9. The ACT teams will now have a little breathing room during the month of June.

ACT was last at the picturesque track in 2003. Brent Dragon was the winner then, and other active competitors who've carried the checkers there are five-time ACT Tour Champion Jean-Paul Cyr and Sylvain Lacombe. The May 13 event has a post time of 5 p.m.

• Add Sept. 9 to your 2006 ACT Sportsman Series schedule. For the first time in the Series' history, the competitors will travel to Circuit Ste-Croix (PQ) for a Monza-style twin 50s.

"The timing of the event at Ste-Croix is great, a couple of weeks after the race at White Mountain Motorsports Park and two weeks before the Fall Foliage 100, the Series' final at Airborne," enthused Jamy Begor who posted three top 10 finishes en route to a 10th place in the 2005 Series points.

Joining the Sportsman at the Circuit Ste-Croix that day will be a contingent of dirt modified cars from the U.S. and Canada. Post time is slated for 5 p.m.

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Marsha Hoffman's NASCAR Scene Column: Junior returning to top form


Junior Nation is ready for a victory celebration.
 
Tony Stewart claimed the checkered flag and climbed the fence at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia on Sunday, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed he is back on the right track.

Earnhardt Jr.'s first Cup victory came at Texas Motor Speedway, and he has six Top 10 finishes in seven starts. Just think what he could do with four fenders on the car this week.

His fourth-place finish at Martinsville was a testament to the No. 8 team's perseverance. Junior was involved in several incidents over the course of the race, and seemed to lose a bit more sheet metal each time. While other drivers fell by the wayside from wrecks or mechanical failures, Earnhardt Jr. drove through the field in what looked like a modified Modified.

After last year's drama at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and missing the Chase for the Championship, Junior is sixth in the points. His reunion with cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. is paying off. Even if he leaves Texas without a victory, he has previously won at the next few tracks on the Nextel Cup schedule, and Talladega is only a couple of weeks away.

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With about 30 laps to go Sunday, Stewart raced side-by-side with Jimmie Johnson. It took a few small bumps and not a bump-and-dump, but Stewart was able to pass Johnson to take the lead. He held on through a red flag and late re-start to win.

Stewart finally won a race he had dominated, and rewarded the fans by climbing the fence. Unless he decides he's too old or fat to do it again, that won't be the end of the fence climbing for Stewart this year.

Although Gordon, who has had so much success at Martinsville, wasn't able to keep up at the end, the competition should take note of Hendrick Motorsports: Johnson regained the points lead, Kyle Busch is fifth, Gordon is seventh and Brian Vickers is 15th. It is highly unlikely Johnson will be the only Hendrick car in the Chase this year.

Several people asked me this week if NASCAR should have thrown a caution flag for Gordon's flat tire, especially since the green flag stayed out when other drivers encountered tire issues or scraped the wall.

I would note that Gordon was on the high side of the track and would have had difficulty reaching pit road. The teams don't run inner liners on the tires at Martinsville, so he probably would have been leaving debris on the track. Some of the other drivers were able to dive right onto pit road when they encountered their problems.

NASCAR officials were awfully quick to throw the caution for Gordon as his car wasn't shedding debris when they did, and he might have been able to make it to pit road.

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Kurt Busch may be the 2004 Nextel Cup champion, but he certainly "qualifies" as a Busch Series rookie. He will make his Busch debut Saturday in the No. 39 Penske Racing South Dodge, which his teammate Ryan Newman drove to victory in six of nine Busch Series races last year. While most drivers usually race in the Busch Series before landing a Nextel Cup ride, Busch jumped straight from the Craftsman Truck Series to Cup.

Busch, who will run six races in the No. 39 in 2006, said

"I always thought I made a quick transition from trucks to Cup and, if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have stayed an extra year in trucks and done a couple of years in Busch to gain more experience," Busch told The Associated Press.

He said the objective of running in the developmental series is "to help develop a farm team, so that we can have crew guys bump up from our Busch program to our Cup program."

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So far, there have been no repeat winners at Texas, and three prominent Nextel Cup drivers have yet to visit victory lane at Texas. Stewart, Johnson and Gordon are still looking for their elusive first victory.

The Roush cars are traditionally strong at Texas, and Greg Biffle started at the back last spring but led 219 of 334 laps en route to victory. He certainly needs a run like that after falling to 18th in the point standings.

Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth are in the Top 5 in points, but Biffle, Jamie McMurray and Carl Edwards could use Top 10 finishes - let alone a victory - right now.

Keep an eye on the Penske cars of Busch and Ryan Newsman, and Robert Yates drivers Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler. They all run well at Texas - as does Earnhardt Jr.

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NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK

Qualifying:        Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500  Friday, April 7  4:30 p.m.  Speed 
Practice:           Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500  Saturday, April 8  2 p.m.  FX 
Busch Series                                                    O'Reilly 300  Saturday, April 8  3 p.m.  Fox 
Nextel Cup Series                        Samsung/Radio Shack 500  Sunday, Aprill 9  1:30 p.m.  Fox 
All time Eastern. Times and station subject to change. 

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

"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 wins't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998