Happy Friday!  Habbajeeba! 

Today In Nascar History
 

September 26, 1981: Harry Gant finishes second to Darrell Waltrip in the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville, the final time Bridesmaid Harry will finish second before winning his first Cup race (April 1982 at Martinsville). Gant earns his nickname by finishing second 10 times before his first Cup win.

Quote of the Year

"I love what I do; I love this business."
-- Bobby Hamilton Sr, March 2006 as he announced he had cancer

Man oh Man
--Benny Parsons

Quote of the Day

“It’s just a big moving mass and you feel really tiny inside of it. A Formula 1 car is so small and stiff, if you even think about wanting to go right - you’re going right.””
-Former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed after taking his first laps in NASCAR racecar at Talladega Superspeedway

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Bits and Pieces

Rain could be a problem for this weekend’s race at Kansas
By Jim Pedley, Kansas City Star

The six-year run of Nextel Cup racing at Kansas Speedway has met with wonderful luck when it comes to weather.

But that streak could end this weekend.

On Thursday evening, the forecast was for a chance of thundershowers Sunday. Not a big chance — 30 percent — but still a chance.

That brings up the question of; what if?

Kelly Hale, manager of public relations at Kansas Speedway, said the LifeLock 400’s early starting time of 1 p.m. bodes well for getting an official race in the books.

But Kansas Speedway has no lights. That means that the start of the race can be pushed back only so far. Should it be determined that the race cannot be safely run Sunday, it would be postponed to Monday.

What if it rains Monday? A Tuesday race becomes an option.

After that, things get dicey. Teams must return to their shops, most of which are in North Carolina, unload the Kansas cars and then load up Car of Tomorrow vehicles for use the next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

In the worst-case scenario, the Kansas race would be postponed until after the scheduled final race of the season in Homestead, Fla. That would put the Kansas race on Thanksgiving weekend and make it the final race of the year.

However, the forecast for Monday is for sunny skies.

Villeneuve expected at UAW-Ford 500
By Lee Spencer, FOXSports.com

Jacques Villeneuve is expected to make his NASCAR Nextel Cup debut at Talladega Superspeedway next weekend in the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota Camry.

The former Formula 1 and CART champ will be one of three BDR entries in the UAW-Ford 500 on October 7. Slugger Labbe, who received his release from Ginn Racing last month, will serve as Villeneuve's crew chief. The race marks two milestones — the coming-out party for Villeneuve in the Cup, and the first Car of Tomorrow race on the 2.66-mile speedway (the biggest track to date for a COT race).

Villeneuve ran his first CTS race last Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 36-year-old native St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, qualified seventh and finished 21st. The "rookie" participated in a successful test with Cup regulars on Sept. 10-11 at Talladega. By running a significant number of laps competitively in the draft with Cup regulars along with his performance at Vegas, NASCAR deemed that Villeneuve was ready to roll next weekend.

BDR is also expected to field Villeneuve in both the ARCA and Craftsman Truck races. BDR Rookie Michael Annett will also compete in the ARCA event on Friday.  

Franchitti wins 3rd Qtr Driver of the Year Award: Winning the Indy 500, and the IndyCar title are two very difficult tasks yet Dario Franchitti went beyond those feats as he won the voting for the 3rd Quarter, Driver of the Year - 2007. It was his second-straight honor. Although the IndyCar title went down to the last lap of the last race, Franchitti, a native of Scotland who now makes Tennessee his home, never faltered. That was reflected in the media balloting. In the third quarter he won two races, including the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway, four poles, and had only one finish below eighth. Franchitti, who drives the Canadian Club Dallara/Honda for Andretti Green Racing, said ""it is quite an honor to receive the Driver of the Year award for the second-consecutive quarter. I am especially honored when you consider all of the very talented drivers throughout every series." Tony Stewart, a previous Driver of the Year winner, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series was second and last year's Driver of the Year and Nextel Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports was third. In the voting Franchitti garnered seven first-place ballots and totaled 100 points. Stewart, who drives the Home Depot Chevrolet, had three NASCAR Nextel Cup wins, which netted two first-place votes and a total of 65 points. Johnson, driving the Lowes Chevrolet, had two wins in the Cup series, resulting in three first-place votes, and finished third with 51 points. Fourth place went to IndyCar's Scott Dixon of New Zealand. Drag Racing's Tony Schumacher and NASCAR's Kurt Busch were other drivers to a first-place vote. A total of 16 drivers scored points in the second quarter voting. In its' 41st year, the Driver of the Year title is unique. A panel of 17 leading journalists from across the U.S. determine the winner. In quarterly voting, points are awarded on a declining 9, 6, 4,3,2,1 basis. Franchitti will receive a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch to be presented at a later date. (DOTY PR)

Sad News - Kitchens: Jimmy Lee Kitchens, age 67, of Hueytown, AL, died September 24, 2007. He was retired from Alabama Power Company. He was a member of Crossroads Baptist Church. He was a race car driver at Racetracks around the South East. He owned and operated Kitchens Speed Shop in Prichard, AL during the 1960's and 1970's. Survivors include three sons, Jimmy Kitchens [former Busch driver and current spotter for #10-Scott Riggs], Lee Kitchens and Kurt Kitchens; daughter, Terri Martin and her husband, Randall; seven grandchildren; one great grandchild; brother, Bobby Kitchens and his wife, Betty; sister, Peggy Lacey. Funeral Service will be held Friday, September 28, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at Peoples Chapel Funeral Home, with burial in Highland Memorial Gardens. Rev. Jimmy Bradford officiating. Visitation will be held Thursday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Peoples Chapel Funeral Home directing. (Alabama Live)

Harvick Has His Place In The Daytona 500 Champion's Walk of Fame: Kevin Harvick's signature, right footprint and handprints now have their place in history at the legendary Daytona International Speedway. On Wednesday, Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig and The Daytona 500 Experience General Manager Kim Isemann placed the 3x3 cement block with Harvick's signature, footprint and handprints in the Daytona 500 Champion's Walk of Fame, which is located just outside of the Official Attraction of NASCAR. Winning drivers of the Daytona 500 since 1996, the first year of operation for The Daytona 500 Experience, have their hands, right foot and signature immortalized in cement in the Daytona 500 Champion's Walk of Fame. Harvick, who won the 2007 Daytona 500 by the slim margin of .020 seconds over Mark Martin, joined that exclusive club during the recent NEXTEL Cup Series weekend in July when he did his imprints inside The Daytona 500 Experience motorsports attraction. Beginning with the 50th running of the Daytona 500, the winner of "The Great American Race" will do their imprints in the cement during post-race Gatorade Victory Lane ceremonies and the cement block will then be placed in the Daytona 500 Champion's Walk of Fame during the Sprint Cup Series weekend in July. (DIS PR)

Three Sixty [360 OTC] announces Certain Significant Corporate Changes: Three Sixty, Inc. [360 OTC, sponsor of the #36 Bill Davis Racing team] announced that a significant change in the corporate structure and its business activities has taken place. Effective as of September 14, 2007, Michelle E. Shearer has resigned as President & CEO of the company. Ms. Shearer, as President of Rockford-Montgomery Labs, Inc., also rescinded the share purchase agreement of Three Sixty, Inc. thus rendering the company without the asset stated. The company, after careful review with advice of counsel, accepted Ms. Shearer's action without objection as the company believes it was in the best interest of the shareholders and the company. The company has since nominated a new President & CEO that will take the company in a new and more potentially lucrative direction in the aviation arena. In the coming weeks the company will change its name to IAH Corporation with a new trading symbol of which will better reflect the new direction of the company. Mr. Peter Van Dyke has acquired the controlling interest in Three Sixty, Inc. and has taken the position of President & CEO of the company. (Marketwire), no mention of NASCAR or the team.

Lowe's Motor Speedway giving away Powerball tickets

Lowe's Motor Speedway officials say fans buying tickets for the Oct. 13 Bank of America 500 between 9 a.m. today and the close of business on Tuesday will receive credit for a North Carolina Education Lottery Powerball ticket.

Tickets purchased during the specified times will have a redemption code with which fans may pick up their ticket at the speedway.

The ticket will be good for the lottery drawing on Oct. 13.

Ticket holders must be 18 or older to receive a lottery ticket.

Stewart: There are no mulligans in racing

Tony Stewart has started the 2007 Chase For The Nextel Cup with finishes of third at New Hampshire and ninth at Dover. Is that important? Even Stewart doesn't know yet.

"Without knowing what the next eight weeks are going to be like, you don't know whether it's important or not," the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. "It sure doesn't hurt your feelings after you've put up a good run. It's kind of common sense. If you run bad, you're not real happy about it. If you run good, you're normally pretty happy about it."

Stewart hopes the solid runs continue in the final eight races of the 10-race, title-determining segment of the season that crowns the Nextel Cup champion. With five former champions in this year's Chase field, many feel a driver contending for the title this year can't afford to have a bad race - a mulligan, if you will.

"Mulligans are in golf. This is racing. We don't have mulligans here," Stewart said. " You have what you have. A mulligan is when you don't have to count what you did. If Dover was a mulligan, then we don't have to count that week's points, right? So there are no such things as mulligans in auto racing.

"If everybody has a bad week, then everybody can afford to have a mulligan. But if half the field has a bad week and the other five guys stay in the top-five every race, you can't afford it. You just don't know. It's hard to say. At the end of the year you can evaluate it, but it's so unpredictable."

Stewart said that one just doesn't know what will happen to the other drivers, so it's impossible to predict the true impact of a poor outing.

"You just don't know what's going to happen with the guys at the front of the pack," he said. "If they don't have any problems, you're not going to be able to afford it. But if everybody has one bad week, then everybody can afford one. That way it sets everybody even again."

Stewart heads to this weekend's Chase race - the LifeLock 400 at Kansas Speedway - second in the points standings, only two behind Jeff Gordon. He also heads to Kansas as the defending race winner, though his circumstances last year were quite different.

Stewart missed the Chase in 2006, and his Joe Gibbs Racing team was able to take more chances in the final 10 races. One of those chances was a gamble on fuel mileage at Kansas, and it paid off with a victory.

"We were able to take the chance because we had nothing to lose," Stewart said. "Not being in the Chase gave us that opportunity to take the chance and go ahead and run for it. It's not a chance we can take this year."

Busch using on-track success as diversion from stress

Kyle Busch is enduring one of the most pressure-filled segments of the season with a team he'll part company with in eight weeks, so how does he manage it?

Partly by turning in solid performances week to week.

Busch moved to fourth in the Chase For The Nextel Cup standings after Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards was assessed a 25-point penalty earlier this week.

Busch is, oddly enough, third among Hendrick teams in the Chase, though. Teammate Jeff Gordon leads the standings, and Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson is third, four points off the pace.

Busch will pull double duty this weekend as well, competing in Saturday's Busch Series race as well as Sunday's LifeLock 400 Nextel Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

Busch finished seventh in the Cup race at Kansas last season, his only top-20 finish in three attempts at the track. He says that the track is unusually similar to the one at Chicago, where he also ran well this year, which could boost his effort this weekend.

"Last year at Kansas we ran in the top five much of the day and led a lot of laps," he said. "Jimmie found something there at the end, and we faded a bit so we finished seventh. This year, we finished 13th at Chicago, but ran well throughout the race until I scraped the Turn 4 wall, so I think we should have a decent shot at a good finish this weekend."

As far as the Chase goes, the 22-year-old driver admits that it can be a pressure-filled 10-race stretch. He's trying to find a few diversions to keep that from bothering him, though.

"It's stressful, there's no doubt about it," he said. "I try to keep my mind off of things by playing with my dogs and starting the Monday Night Football parties back up at my house with guys on my team. We play cards and watch the game every Monday night, and it's a good break from the pressure.

"So far this season I have also been fortunate enough to make it to two NFL games, so I'm hoping to make it to another one before the season is over. The pressure is there. I try not to think about it, but it's hard."

Helping with that pressure is his solid start to the championship-determining segment of the season.

"I did a little research, and two out of the past three Nextel Cup champions have had an average finish in the Chase of eighth," crew chief Alan Gustafson said. "So far, we've had an average finish of 4.5, and I think being 10 points out of first at this point is a great start. It seemed like everyone had issues at Dover. Thankfully, we persevered and finished well. Every lap of every race counts."

Mears looking to add another top finish to season

After back-to-back top-10 finishes, Casey Mears is trying to close his NASCAR Nextel Cup season on a strong note.

One spot out of the top 15 after dropping a position to second-place finisher Greg Biffle last week, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has just eight races remaining with his current team and crew chief. At season's end, he'll join the current No. 5 team and crew chief Alan Gustafson in preparation for 2008.

The team is bringing the chassis from Chicago - where Mears finished fifth - to Kansas Speedway for this weekend's LifeLock 400.

Fresh off a one-day Goodyear tire test at Daytona International Speedway, the team is ready to try to go for its third straight top finish this weekend.

This may be a good place to make the attempt. Mears was the runnerup in this race a year ago and finished eighth at Kansas the previous season.

"It seems like the mile-and-a-half tracks are the places that have best suited my driving style since I came over from open-wheel cars," Mears said. "Chicago and Kansas were the easiest tracks for me to adapt to from the start. I'm not sure if that's because of the speed there or something else, but I feel very confident at those places."

A top-10 at Kansas would help move him closer to his new goal for the season - grabbing the 13th spot in the standings, the highest available position outside the 12-driver championship field.

"We're definitely focused on finishing the season strong with our No. 25 Chevrolet and getting to that 13th spot," Mears said. "The past two weeks were a great way for us to start that final push, and hopefully we can make another trip to victory lane before the year is over."

Robby Gordon hires new crew chief

Robby Gordon Motorsports has hired Peter Sospenzo as crew chief for the No. 7 NASCAR Nextel Cup entry, according to a team release.

Veteran Sospenzo started the season working with the No. 13 Ginn Racing team and driver Joe Nemechek. He has been without a team since that group folded as part of the Ginn merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in July.

Sospenzo has been a crew chief on the Cup level for 24 years. He worked at Penske Motorsports (1999-2001) with driver Jeremy Mayfield and was with Hendrick Motorsports from 2002-2006, where he worked with Brian Vickers in 2004 and with Terry Labonte's part-time effort in 2005-06.

Robber Gordon, the owner and driver for the team, raced without a crew chief last week at Dover International Speedway after parting company with Gene Nead. Gordon is the highest ranked single-car team in the Cup series at 27th in driver points.  

Kahne hopes to get past Charger problems, finish strong

Kasey Kahne may be one of the few drivers not particularly excited to return to the traditional NASCAR model this weekend.

His team actually seems to have a better handle on the car of tomorrow than on the traditional model being used at Kansas Speedway, sight of this weekend's LifeLock 400.

All of the Gillett Evernham Motorsports teams have struggled in the Dodge Charger this season, leading them to revert to the 2006 version of the car a short time ago.

Now, the driver who was such a force on intermediate tracks last season returns to Kansas Speedway enduring a slight sense of uncertainty.

Especially since the 1.5-mile track at Kansas has never been that strong of a venue for Kahne. While he's generally performed well at other intermediate tracks, Kahne has a best finish of 12th at the track - and that came three years ago. He finished 33rd last season and 19th in 2005.

"I've qualified well and led laps at Kansas, but I haven't been able to turn it into a good finish," Kahne said. "That's what we're looking for this weekend, a good finish. We've had our challenges with the car of tomorrow, but the issues we've had this year with the Dodge Charger were unexpected.

"When you have problems like we've had, the key is remaining patient and working toward small gains each week. We've done that in recent weeks, but that progress was halted at Dover. We ended up in that multicar accident. We'll be looking to get back on track this weekend."  

Martin says good history at Kansas should help team

Will Mark Martin return to victory lane this weekend?

The driver hopes so as he returns to the site of his last NASCAR Nextel Cup victory in 2005 - Kansas Speedway.

Sharing the No. 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. entry with Regan Smith and Aric Almirola this season, Martin started the season on a tear. He earned top-10 finishes in his first five races, including four top-fives. He's had a couple of bad finishes since then, but has been competitive week to week when he does race the car. Martin finished fourth last week at New Hampshire, his fifth top-five and 10 top-10 performance in 19 races this season.

So, can he earn his first win of the season this weekend?

"We've been pretty good in those races this year and Kansas is a really good track for me," he said. "We were able to get the win there a couple of years ago, and I know that this race team has won there before as well, so it should make for a pretty good combination for us."

An outsider to the Chase For The Nextel Cup because of his part-time status as a driver, Martin says that not facing any pressure this weekend could be an advantage for the team.

"We should be able to let it all hang out and just sit back and go for it," he said. "I won there two years ago taking two tires early and we finished third there last year on a fuel gamble late. It should be interesting this year to see what strategy plays out."

Bowyer looking to gain ground at home track

Clint Bowyer sometimes seems a little stunned to be racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Imagine how his hometown fans must feel seeing him return home sitting fifth in the standings and hunting his first series title.

The Emporia, Kan., native has been home racing on dirt tracks all week. Now he's preparing to turn his attention back to his title hunt.

Bowyer gained a position in the standings following Carl Edwards' penalty earlier this week, but the Richard Childress Racing driver has been in the top 10 for most of the year.

Two weeks after his first series victory, Bowyer heads to the track he watched develop during the time that he was turning his attention to the stock-car ranks.

"I remember when the track was a housing development," Bowyer said of the 1.5-mile Kansas speedway. "And to be able to see all that construction take place, and the clearing of that, and the clearing for the speedway, the speedway being built. All the while I was driving down the road to Lakeside [Speedway] to race on dirt."

Now he's racing at Kansas. He finished ninth in his initial Cup race at the track last season. This time, he's going with more at stake.

This time, he's trying to gain more ground in the tight Chase standings. Currently 18 points behind leader Jeff Gordon, Bowyer is hoping for a solid hometown run to boost him higher.

"Just to think about even having a shot at this championship our second year of being together at RCR, it's a dream come true," he said.

Driven To the Past

A Regular Guy With an Extraordinary Job: Bobby Hamilton, Sr.

Vito Pugliese · Frontstretch.com

Name: Charles Robert Hamilton, Sr.
Birthdate: May 29th, 1957
Died: January 7th, 2007
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Cup Series Debut: Autoworks 500k – Phoenix, AZ 1989
Races: 371
Wins: 4
Poles: 5
Top Fives: 20
Top Tens: 67
Earnings: $15,464,020

Career Highlights: Began his NASCAR career by driving one of the movie cars for the 1990 motion picture, “Days of Thunder,” Qualifying a car that was supposedly uncompetitive (since it was a filming rig) in fifth position for the 1989 Autoworks 500k at Phoenix. 1991 Winston Cup Rookie of the year, broke Petty Enterprises’ 13 year-long losing streak at Phoenix in 1996. Bookend his career by claiming the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship, and 2005 Daytona 250.

Charles Robert “Bobby” Hamilton, Sr. started his racing career similar to a man before him – Dale Earnhardt – by dropping out of school at age 13. He laid the foundation for a career at Nashville Speedway, now known as the Music City Motorplex. Nashville Speedway was raced by many NASCAR legends such as Darrell Waltrip, Coo Coo Marlin, and part time driver/country singer Marty Robbins. Bobby would gain the attention of many in the NASCAR community when he competed in a 1988 event starring Cup luminaries Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Sterling Marlin at his hometown track.

Before he won the track championship in 1987, Bobby Hamilton would have more than his fair share of close calls, none of them involving a racecar. Before he started driving, he worked as a repo man. Bobby ran into someone who objected to his presence during one particular job, and was introduced to the business end of .44 Magnum. The man fired at Bobby, literally parting his mop of hair with Inspector Callahan’s cannon of choice.

As many know, Bobby Hamilton got his first NASCAR start in the 1989 Autoworks 500k at Phoenix International Raceway. The No. 51 Exxon car was owned by Rick Hendrick, and was remarkably competitive for being little more than a 650hp camera dolly. Hamilton ran well, and even led five laps during the event. The movie car’s participation was frowned upon by many, particularly Dale Earnhardt. During the race, Rusty Wallace was spun out by a rookie driver, and NASCAR was already heavily scrutinizing the performance of the movie cars that were in the field.

On lap 215, the car was parked with a “motor problem”. Greg Sacks had retired the other movie car in the film, the No. 46 City Chevrolet, with handling issues 55 laps earlier. Hamilton showed up in Daytona with Hendrick again in 1990, driving the No. 51 Mello Yello Chevrolet to film the final sequences of “Days of Thunder.” He made a handful of “official” starts in 1990 with a couple of small outfits, with his first full season being 1991, driving Tri-Star Motorsports’ blindingly fluorescent yellow No. 68 Country-Time Lemonade Oldsmobile. He would win Rookie of The Year in 1991 with that car, and posted a best finish of sixthth at Rockingham in the fall.

Rockingham would prove to be a popular venue for Hamilton. He would have won the 1996 spring event, but a late-race tussle with eventual winner Dale Earnhardt (one of those “rattlin’ his cage” deals) would delay the celebration until the end of the season, where he would return the to the site of his first career start in 1989. It wasn’t a movie car this time, but the King’s Chariot that was rolled into Victory Lane for the first time in over thirteen years. Bobby Hamilton, Sr., driving the famous STP No. 43, won the Dura Lube 500k at Phoenix. It was the first win for Petty Enterprises since Richard Petty’s win at Charlotte in the fall of 1983. The King, normally reserved and in control of his emotions was choked up – as was his cousin and crew chief Dale Inman, who had retired to the restroom to hide quite a display of emotion. It was also the first win for crew chief Robbie Loomis, who would go on to win a Championship with Jeff Gordon just five years later. Rockingham would eventually be the site of his second career win in the fall of 1997.

Hamilton’s next win would come in 1998, driving the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. It was a dominating performance for the single car effort from Abingdon, Virginia. Hamilton lead 378 of 500 laps en route to a nearly seven-second victory over future Truck Series competitor and champion Ted Musgrave. It was an important win that season, as Hamilton was one of only six drivers not driving for Hendrick Motorsports or Roush Racing to win a race that year. It would also be the last time the Morgan McClure No. 4 car would finish the in the top ten in points to date.

Bobby’s final NEXTEL Cup win would come three years later at Talladega. Casting a shadow over the race was the fact it was the first restrictor plate race since Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Introducing even more irony into the mix, Hamilton was now driving for Dale Earnhardt’s former crew chief, Andy Petree, with whom the Intimidator won his sixth and seventh titles. Hamilton won a wild last lap shootout by .163 seconds over Tony Stewart, and not much more over Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, and Bobby Labonte. Petree greeted Hamilton on pit road with a belly flop onto the hood of the No. 55 Square D Chevrolet.

Hamilton had now won on a short track, a flat speedway, a banked oval, and now the biggest of them all, the 2.66 mile super speedway in Talladega, Alabama. Hamilton would drive one more season for Petree, leaving to start his own Craftsman Truck Series team in 2003.

In Hamilton’s first season as owner and driver, he won two races and finished sixth in points. In 2004 he won four races, taking the championship by only 46 points over Dennis Setzer. Hamilton celebrated the championship on stage with his son Bobby Jr. and his new granddaughter, Haylie Denise. The 2005 season would get started off on the right foot with a controversial win over Jimmy Spencer at the season opening Florida Dodge Dealers Daytona 250. He would end the year sixth in points, and run only three races in 2006. The abbreviated season was the result of his being diagnosed with head and neck cancer.

Hamilton’s cancer was in such a state that he needed to undergo intense chemotherapy immediately. His emotional press conference prior to his final start at Atlanta will be forgotten by few who saw it. Prior to qualifying for the event, fellow competitor Mark Martin, who Hamliton held off to win his first career race in 1996, stopped by to offer some words of encouragement: “Kick its ass.” Hamilton thanked him for his support, and remarked to a reporter, “that’s probably the last time I’ll ever talk to Mark Martin.” Those cryptic comments came to bear on January 7th, 2007, when Bobby Hamilton would pass away from the cancer that had been diagnosed less than a year earlier.

Hamilton always thought of himsef as a regular guy who had an extraordinary job….because he was. He was fully capable and often seen working on his own truck. If the engine tuner was not on hand, he would pop off the valve covers and adjust the valves. If a gear needed changing, he would do that, too. Even while undergoing chemotherapy, he would show up to the shop and try and work on his trucks that were now being driven by his son, Bobby Jr.

All told, Bobby Hamilton accomplished a lot in his career. He didn’t always have the best equipment, but he more than made the most of it. From winning Rookie of the Year in an underfunded Oldsmobile, restoring a King to his former glory, a picture-picture race at a home team’s track, and a caution-free race at a track known for producing the largest junkyards in the state of Alabama. That his career was cut short is tragic indeed, but even more so was the loss of a husband to his wife Lori, a father and mentor to Bobby Jr., and a grandfather to Haylie Denise.

Mears OK with being the other guy at Hendrick Motorsports

By Marty Smith /ESPN.com

The analysis is sadly incomplete, yet has been uttered time and again since June 13, spewed incessantly by TV bobbleheads and pounded into powder by columnists and incoherently slurred between frothy sips by fans at every watering hole in the land:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will join Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in forming one of the most formidable driver lineups in NASCAR history at Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.

That's true. But what happened to Casey Mears? He retire or something?

"There's a reason for that," laughed Mears about his rank as Hendrick's "other guy."

"The résumé."

The boy's a realist. Gordon is a four-time champion. Only five men in history have gone to more NASCAR victory lanes than he has. Johnson is the defending champ, and he has more wins since his 2002 Cup Series debut (29) than any other driver in the sport during that span. Earnhardt is, well, Earnhardt. Mr. Popular. Untouchable in fan support and adulation. Leader of a red army shifting soon to green. He moves more T-shirts than UPS.

And Mears?

"I've won a race -- a race," he laughed. "My uncle [Rick] always said this: 'Until you go out and put those numbers on the board, well ... that's your job. Period.' Until I do that, I don't expect [attention]."

He's at peace, and in the best position of his career to consistently excel despite yet another pending move. Next up: No. 5.

Mears is nomadic, though not by choice. His first three Cup seasons were spent in Chip Ganassi's No. 41. But when Reed Sorenson was bumped up to that ride for the 2006 season, Mears was left to wonder. Then Jamie McMurray moved on to Roush, and Ganassi put Mears in the No. 42 Texaco ride. That meant a new start with a new crew and crew chief.

Communication takes time. "Small change" to one driver may be "Complete piece of junk" to another. And when a crew chief can decipher what his driver wants and implement it into the car, mediocre shifts to competitive.

Mears had that communication with Jimmy Elledge in the No. 41 before the move to the No. 42. He'd just gotten right with Donnie Wingo before the move to Hendrick Motorsports. He and Darian Grubb are in sync like Justin Timberlake -- just in time to break up the band.

Alan Gustafson will be his fourth crew chief in as many years. But he's cool with it. The No. 5 team is established, so unlike last year, Mears' team won't have to spend the season's first three months building cars to suit his style. They'll be ready off the truck at testing in January.

But he can't lie. His initial thought was, "Not again -- different sponsors, different number, different crew chief. Not again." It was slightly frustrating. But once the endgame was explained to him, he quickly realized the positives far outweigh the minimal hassle involved in making the change.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity, I really am," Mears said. "The 5 team is a great team. They've been together for a while, and have shown they're capable of doing really well.

"But at the same time, I'm ready to get some consistency. It's tough to do something different every year. Every year you're expected to go win right out of the gate, and chemistry is a big part of that."

Mears left the mall in South Charlotte, N.C., this balmy autumn afternoon right at rush hour. Not interested in idling in traffic, he opted instead to take in a movie: "Mr. Woodcock." It stars Stifler from "American Pie" as a fat kid who grows up to be an award-winning self-help author, the kind of guy who uses life's setbacks to fuel the greater good.

Sounds a lot like Mears' career (sans the fat kid part). He's been fueling the greater good for some time now.

"Quite honestly, it's kinda nice sometimes flying below the radar and letting [Gordon and Johnson] take the heat," Mears chuckled. "How everybody else perceives that around us, it doesn't really affect me very much.

"Media attention is based on how you run and what you've done. If you start off guns a-blazin', it sticks with you. But we flew below the radar the last few years. And now, paired up with champions and Junior, the most popular driver, if I expected to get notoriety, I'd be crazy.

"But that doesn't bother me."

Where Is...…

Lloyd Moore?

At 95, recognized as NASCAR's oldest living driver

By Rick Houston, Special to NASCAR.COM

Most of us can only read about NASCAR history. Lloyd Moore lived it.

At 95, he's considered to be the oldest living former NASCAR driver. Moore ran a total of 49 Grand National races between 1949 -- the first year of what's now the Nextel Cup circuit -- and 1955. He captured 13 top-fives and 23 top-10s along the way, and one win in 1950 at Winchester, Ind.

That's the cold, hard data, the numbers that can be found in any old and dusty record book. Moore's story is far more than just a few columns of statistics. When he talks about Bill Rexford, the 1950 Grand National champion, he speaks not of a myth but of a friend and teammate. When Moore speaks of Lee Petty, Petty becomes more than just Richard's father and Kyle's grandpa. No. Moore remembers the fierce competitor that the elder Petty was.

Red Byron, NASCAR's first Strictly Stock champion. Bill France Sr. His own car owner, Julian Buesink. Moore can tell you about all of 'em.

"We had no idea what it was going to turn into," Moore said of the sport's growth. "It really, really growed up, from driving on dirt tracks to the tracks they've got now. It's sure a lot of improvement."

Moore lives in the Frewsburg, N.Y. house in which he was born on June 8, 1912. Forget NASCAR. That was before the sinking of the Titanic. Before World War I. The airplane was less than a decade old ... and Moore would live to see men walk on the moon. Moore still mows the grass when he's able. He putters around the garage. He does a little bit of housework ... and the dishes.

Imagine that. Married 60 years to Virginia, Moore still has a "honey-do" list.

Moore's father lost a leg when he was 5. As a result, everybody in the family had to help out around the farm. His mother and the rest of the Moore kids "done a good share of the work." The family had fields to plant, and horses and cattle to tend.

"When he picked farming for a life-long job, it's about the worst thing he could've done," Moore said. "Because farming, you need two legs, sometimes four legs, sometimes two or three arms ... sometimes more ... to keep going."

Moore drove a school bus beginning in the early 1930s, and he also worked as a mechanic in a Studebaker garage. There was the time he bought an airplane and taught himself how to fly. Call it a wild streak or what, but Moore evidently craved excitement. An old jalopy on the farm became Moore's first racecar.

He would branch out into NASCAR in 1949, when he finished sixth in one of Buesink's cars at Heidelberg Raceway in Pittsburgh. Rexford took third in a Buesink Ford. The multi-car team concept had been born. In that, and several other instances, Buesink seemed well ahead of his time.

The cars Moore and Rexford drove were good cars. They might have different cars for different types of tracks. If they needed it, they took cars right off the showroom floor to race.

"You couldn't find any better [a person than Buesink], no matter how far you looked," Moore said. "You couldn't find any better nowhere. He was good, a good sponsor. He owned the cars and Bill and I just drove 'em or wrecked 'em for him.

Moore insists that there was "not a bit" of competition between himself and Rexford, who died in April 1994.

"Bill ... he had a high temper to a certain extent, but we got along good," Moore said. "We raced each other the same as we raced other drivers on the track."

Petty, on the other hand, was a different matter entirely.

"Out on the track, he was an enemy," Moore said. "He was a good driver. Off the track, he was real friendly. I forget where it was, but I started before him. When we got to runnin', he booted me in the bumper a little bit. That was something I didn't think was necessary, and I told him afterward. He said, 'Well ... that was just an accident on purpose.'"

Moore finished second twice in 1950 and third three times before finally winning at the track then known as Fund's Speedway in Winchester, in his next to last start of the season. Only 13 cars were in the field because many, if not most, of the day's top drivers chose instead to head to another Grand National event the same day in Martinsville.

"When I first seen the track, we kinda came over a hill and here was the track," said Moore, who would finish fourth in the 1950 Grand National standings. "I told Julie, the car owner, 'I don't like the looks of that track.' It was scary, but after we got onto it, it commenced to being like a regular ol' track of any kind. We just got used to it."

Six children -- all girls -- were born to Moore and his wife. Ask how many grandchildren he has, and Moore has to check with Virginia. Moore has 14 grand kids ... and 32 great-grandchildren. All live within a radius of 25 miles.

He left the sport to concentrate on providing for his family. Still, to this day, Moore loves racing.

"When I quit [racing], I quit a hundred percent," Moore concluded. "That was the end of it. I'd had about five years of it. I figured my job was at home. ... [Racing]'s still in my blood. You couldn't wash it out. If I'd made a little better progress when I was there, financially, I might've stayed for another spell. But not making too much money when you had the family to help support, that didn't go over too good in my estimation."

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

Your Nascar Momma

Happy Tuesday everyone!   Today I celebrate a very special day.  8 years ago today I married my husband.  Now let me explain, I didn't figure I would make it 1 year, let alone 8 (especially after my first marriage)!  So this is a HUGE milestone!

Today In Nascar History
 

September 25, 1949: Red Byron wins the first Strictly Stock race at Martinsville, then a half-mile dirt track. Lee Petty is second, more than three laps back, before a crowd of 10,000. Martinsville, which opened in 1947, is the only original NASCAR-sanctioned track still running Cup events.

Speedwaymedia.com…a great place to visit!  Check it out.

www.SpeedwayMedia.com

Great reads! Great Opinions!

Quote of the Year

"I love what I do; I love this business."
-- Bobby Hamilton Sr, March 2006 as he announced he had cancer

Man oh Man
--Benny Parsons

Quote of the Day

"People don't realize. That's who we are. That's one of the things I wish our sport was better at -- where you took a number and kept it. Because Richard Petty is No. 43. He'll always be 43. David Pearson will always be No. 21. I wish it was that way for everybody, where you took a number and kept it forever."
-- Darrell Waltrip, talking about the importance of a car's number and the switch from No. 8 to 88 for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

From Larry

TONY BANGS INTO THE # 15 while under yellow nothing said about it by Nascar they must think its ok because he’s in the chase Nascar must feel that the other 30 car’s must get out of the way!!!!!!!!!!

One more thing I well never any longer be DENNY HAMLIN FAN HE ACTS LIKE A YOUNG TONY

LARCAR3FAN

Have to agree with you Larry…I couldn’t believe the disrespect Denny displayed while talking about Kyle.  I’m not much of a Kyle fan, but that was just plain RUDE of Denny and what he said.

From Chip

Dear NASCAR Momma: As another season is winding down I have to wonder why we have not heard anything about sponsorship of the Busch Series for next year. I brings to mind certain questions: 1) Are prospective sponsors leery of the Nextel & Cingular A T & T battle that has plagued the sister series this year or 2.) Are they caught in the dilemma of too many cup regulars running the Busch series (a positive for fan attraction on one hand) or the series being so dominated by the buschwackers that something is being lost as a part of the big picture here? I had thought for the longest time that the Busch Series was a stepping stone and training ground for future cup drivers whereby hopefuls and wanna be's could cut their respective teeth as they vie for spots to avail themselves on the cup teams. Please correct me if I am wrong. Yes they have every right to be a buschwacker but for what purpose. It made sense that when information learned during the Busch race could aid a cup team in a race, then go for it. When owners wanted to get new drivers seat time to aid them in the cup series then again it makes perfect sense. What I don't get is this: What do guys like Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kyle Bush, Greg Biffle and some of the others who buschwack on a regular basis gain from doing this. Is it because they can flaunt their talents to the young guns, go home with their prize money and take their championships for the sake of bragging rights? I should also not forget Carl Edwards, who just happens to be leading the series by such a margin like Kevin Harvick did last year.

Kyle Petty was right when he said that maybe Denny Hamlin should maybe have not run the Busch race if he was so ill. It appears to have affected his performance on Sunday. If not the money then what is the attraction. I would like to understand. Yes they all want to race, but is there fun being the big fish that has returned to the little pond. Hogging all the marbles is not the nicest way to play with others is it?  Chip

You sound like my husband Chip, he would say AMEN to that.  I agree, while having some Cup drivers in the Busch series is good for ticket sales, it stinks for the full time Busch drivers because it takes the money and prestige away from those drivers trying to break into the Cup series.

From Tim

Momma,

Does Jim Utter not like Toyota at all? I know there was a lot of wrecks and stuff, but for him not to even bring up Toyota, I think he was so wrong. Like Toyota or not, for Mikey to finish 15th, Brian Vickers to finish 16th, and David Reutimann to finish 18th, that's an accomplishment for Toyota in general.

It was bad enough that Rusty and ABC never even mention Mikey and the fact that he started dead last and got up to 15th. And then they never mention he had a power steering problem either. What's with that, broadcasters have always mentioned when cars and drivers are having problems no matter where they are in the standing or on the track. I want FOX back!!!!

Tim

If you’ll notice, the only ones Jim covered was the top 12 in points.  None of the other top 10 finishers in the race.  I had to search to find any information on Greg Biffle, Dale Jr. or any of the other drivers.  This sucks as far as the other drivers and us fans out there… 

Bits and Pieces

NHRA’s John Force Recovering after Surgery Following Racing Accident
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily

NHRA star John Force is recovering Monday at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas Texas after doctors operated on the 14-time champion late Sunday night to set a broken left ankle.

Doctors also said that despite Force’s multiple injuries the prognosis for a full recovery is very good.

In addition to a broken left ankle, 58-year-old Force sustained a severe abrasion (to the bone) on his right knee and a dislocated left wrist. He also has slight fractures on a number of fingers on his right hand.

Force was injured arm in a horrific top-end collision Sunday afternoon with fellow drag legend Kenny Bernstein in the second round of eliminations at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex outside of Dallas.

Their Funny Cars got together just as they crossed the finish line with Bernstein drifting over into Force's lane after clipping the final timing cone. The numbers, although unofficial, showed Force crossing with a 4.863 at 315.34 mph to Bernstein's 4.904 at 312.06 mph.

“John’s chassis broke in half and the engine and front two wheels were over in Kenny’s lane, and that’s what Kenny hit,” Team spokesperson Eton Werner said. “He was alert and obviously in a lot of pain, but the whole time he was asking questions. His primary concern was for Kenny Bernstein.”

Force was airlifted to Dallas after the crash.

"John has very, very serious injuries to his hands, his legs, and his feet that will require extensive work-up and treatment," said NHRA doctor Dwight Shewchuk, who was first on the scene with the Safety Safari. “Although he was alert and conscious throughout the whole thing he was demonstrating some signs of a concussion as he was asking the same question over and over. But his vital signs were stable."

Throughout all medical procedures after his arrival at Baylor, Force was alert and responsive. CAT scans performed came back negative and showed no damage other than the injuries to his legs and hands.

Daughter Ashley Force, who won her second-round race with Del Worsham, pulled out of the semifinals.

Bernstein, who was not injured in the incident, commented later.

"First of all I just pray that John's going to be okay," Bernstein said. "I know he's hurt and the main thing I'm praying for is that he gets 100-percent recovery. That's more important than anything right now for me, Sheryl, and our team. I know he was talking to me there and he was asking if he hurt me. That's typical John right there. He'll be okay. He's a strong-willed man, he'll be fine."

During the surgery late Sunday, doctors inserted three pins into Force's ankle to set it, and also inserted three temporary pins to stabilize his wrist. The team expects to issue another update around midday Monday.  

NHRA’s John Force up and walking after six-hour surgery
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily

Just one day after his horrifying accident with Kenny Bernstein at the Texas Motorplex. NHRA superstar John Force was on his feet at Baylor University Medical Center. Under the direction of his team of doctors, Force was out of his bed testing how much weight he can bear on his repaired left ankle and right knee.

"He isn't happy about standing up, but he is standing up," Force's longtime public relations director Dave Densmore told NHRA.com's Rob Geiger. "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. It's an incredible recovery.”

"He was asking earlier this morning what it would take to race in Richmond (Va.) in two weeks but the doctors are having none of it. He'll be out for the year, I would certainly guess at this point. But you know John; he's very hard to keep down.”

Force also underwent physical therapy Monday following six hours of reconstructive surgery Sunday night on his feet, legs and hands.

Ganassi awaiting Franchitti release
by Lee Spencer, FOXSports.com

DOVER, Del. - As soon as Dario Franchitti receives his release from Andretti Green Racing, team owner Chip Ganassi says the Indy Racing League champ will be ready to begin the next chapter in his motorsports career — most likely behind the wheel of the No. 40 Dodge.

The cars are waiting to be tested, all that's missing is the driver. "We're almost through with it," Ganassi said. "The plans are there for him to race this year. We have him signed and sealed; he's just not delivered. We're working through some things to get him in the car this year.

"We're working feverishly to get him in the ARCA race at Talladega. That's the plan. We're trying to get things worked out. We're pretty excited about everything. We just need to work through some things.''

Ganassi has a test planned for Franchitti this week at Talladega Speedway, alongside Bryan Clauson. Testing Franchitti on the 2.66-miler could mirror a similar training plan that Ganassi used for Juan Pablo Montoya last season when he transitioned from Formula 1 to stock cars. 

Latest on Dale Jr. testing for Hendrick: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to test a car for Hendrick Motorsports at the upcoming Atlanta car of tomorrow test, but said he would only do so if Dale Earnhardt Inc. allowed it. DEI's answer? Go ahead. "We're talking about it and we don't necessarily have a problem with it," DEI vice president John Story said. "We recognize that Dale Jr. and Tony [Eury] Jr. both need to get going with their new program and we're not going to stand in their way." DEI had already planned to put Regan Smith in the #8 car during the two-day Atlanta test, which will take place in the two days following the Nextel Cup race at the track. Tony Gibson will be the crew chief at the test for DEI, as Eury will already have left for Hendrick. "It would be positive for everybody," Story said. "It would give Regan a chance to work with our team and give Tony Jr. and Dale Jr. an opportunity to go work with their new guys. In the spirit of cooperation, I don't think there's anything wrong with that." (SceneDaily.com)

100th Cup win for Roush: #99-Carl Edwards hit another historical marker Sunday winning his seventh career Nextel Cup race at Dover International Speedway and claiming win number 100 for Jack Roush and Roush Fenway Racing in NASCAR’s elite series [4th all-time]. Roush’s first Nextel Cup win came in 1989 with Mark Martin in the #6 Stroh’s Light Ford. Martin claimed Roush Fenway Racing’s first win at Rockingham Speedway and now, 18 year’s later, Edwards’ has brought home win number 100 in the #99 Office Depot Ford. Roush has won with seven different drivers in NASCAR’s top series, all in Ford’s. Three of the seven have moved on but not before leaving their mark in Roush Fenway’s history books. Martin has the most wins of the seven drivers with 35 while Jeff Burton took home 17 wins during his seven years at the company. Kurt Busch also claimed his share of wins beginning in 2002 at the first Bristol race. Busch went on to win a total of 14 Cup races under the Roush umbrella as well as Roush Fenway’s second Cup championship in 2004 (the very first Nextel Cup championship). Four of Roush Fenway’s current Nextel Cup drivers have all contributed to the win column including 15 from Matt Kenseth. Busch and Truck Series champion Greg Biffle has 11 total Cup victories to date. Jamie McMurray has one, this past July at Daytona. This brings Roush Fenway Racing’s win column to 364 total wins across Roush’s NASCAR, Trans-Am and drag racing endeavors. (Roush Fenway Racing PR)

Congrats: Marcos Ambrose’s decision to pass up an opportunity to make his Nextel Cup debut at Dover Sunday was justified when his wife Sonja gave birth to their second child at 3pm in Charlotte, NC. Ambrose finished 20th in the Busch Series race on Saturday in his #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion and then flew directly back to Charlotte to be with his wife. Ambrose had been offered the chance to make his Nextel Cup debut in a second #77 Robby Gordon Motorsport entry, but kindly declined the opportunity because he knew it would be “cutting it fine” with the impending birth. Onja went into labor at 8am this morning and was driven to hospital where Adelaide Elizabeth Ambrose arrived at 3.04pm weighting 7lbs 11 ounces. Adelaide is a sister for two-year-old Tabitha. Ambrose will continue his Busch Series campaign at Kansas City, KS this weekend. (Marcosambrose.com)

Multiple drivers in #21 in 2008, Air Force returns UPDATE: Officials with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing are finalizing their Cup sponsor and driver lineup for next season. More than one driver will race the #21 Ford. Jon Wood appears set to compete in races with Air Force as sponsor. (Roanoke Times)(9-22-2007) UPDATE: ABC's Dr. Jerry Punch said during the broadcast of the race at Dover that Bill Elliott, Jon Wood and Marcos Ambrose would be the drivers who would share the #21 ride in 2008. (ABC's Race Coverage of the Dover Cup race)

#55 gasman injured at Dover: during the 4th caution in the Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway, a tire from the #44-Jarrett team, rolled onto pit road, many cars were able to avoid it, #6-Ragan tried but the tire rolled in front of his car and he hit it, the tire shot into the #55-Waltrip pit and hit Art Harris, the gasman for the #55 team and knocked him down. He was attended by paramedics and transported by Ambulance; any news heard/seen will be reported. UPDATE: Harris is awake and alert and has been transported to the local hospital for further observation.  UPDATE 2: it was reported on ABC that #55 gasman Art Harris was treated and released from the local hospital. (ABC Dover race coverage)

Earnhardt Jr. not going out quietly

DOVER, Del. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to make his presence known while closing out his tenure with Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Earnhardt Jr. finished third in Sunday's Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway, increasing his hold on the 13th position in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings. The driver cannot climb any higher in the standings since he missed the 12-driver championship field.

Earnhardt Jr. ran in the top 10 virtually the entire race, though he did lose a lap at one point as leader Carl Edwards put all but five other competitors down a circuit. By virtue of the free pass he returned to the lead lap, and then somehow managed the 12-car crash that damaged several of the frontrunners.

"That was fun," he said after the race. "I think we deserved to get a top-three, even though we probably should have finished eighth or so. We had a good car today - and we jumped right up into the top 20 and stayed there all day. I was happy we made it through the wrecks and had a fun day."

Earnhardt Jr. echoed the sentiments of those watching the race when he summed up the event as "a bizarre and weird race."

And, after a series of setbacks that included failed engines, Earnhardt Jr. said it was nice to finally see his team return to form in terms of a solid finish.

"There have been so many races this year where we should have been in the top-three where we blew up or had some sort of late-race issue that stopped us, and it's about time we have some sort of positive result to reward this crew of guys that have busted their [butts] all season," Earnhardt Jr. said.

Montoya posts best finish since Indianapolis

DOVER, Del. - Juan Pablo Montoya finished 10th Sunday at Dover International Speedway, his best finish since running second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and only his second top-10 since winning at Infineon Raceway in June.

Despite the top run, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver said he struggled with his car all day.

"I couldn't really find a good balance," he said. "It was either too loose or too tight we fought that all day. We just really stayed out of trouble. That was the key thing."

Montoya said the last few races have been "annoying" when he had a good car but that his team had made strides with the car of tomorrow at Dover.

Montoya, who leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, said that the numerous cautions in the race made it tough on everyone but added that his team worked together to improve his car throughout the race.

"It's incredible," Montoya said. "It's great to get a top-10 finish. The real key today was that we had a decent car, a 10th- to a 15th-place car, and we just stayed out of trouble all day."

Crew chief Donnie Wingo said there's a simple way to help the team improve and turn in better finishes week to week - figure out the cars.

"I just feel like we need to get our cars better," he said. "Today we fought loose, loose, loose all day, and that's something better than we have been because we usually fight tight, tight, tight all day."

Still, working together to improve a car over the course of the race is making everyone on the team more confident.

"He's getting more comfortable with the car, he's getting more confidence in the car when we can free the car up some," Wingo said of his driver.

Kyle Busch survives a monstrous day at Dover

DOVER, Del. - The right side of Kyle Busch's car looked like it had endured more than incidental contact at some point, but the driver talked about having "cosmetic damage" to his Chevrolet.

Even before taking a hit in the race's final big crash, the right side of Busch's car was crunched inward. Still, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was charging to the front, gaining more ground in the Chase For The Nextel Cup.

By the end of Sunday's Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway, Busch had climbed to a fifth-place finish and remained fifth in the championship showdown, but he's a mere 10 points out of first place.

Busch was tagged as he tried to weave through the race's final crash, started when Kurt Busch hit the wall and darted into traffic. With cars strewn all over the track, Busch had only minor contact and readied for the final restart.

"It definitely was an adventure out there today," he said. "... We got through that big wreck luckily, somehow, some way, with just a little cosmetic damage there to the left rear and the wing-plate torn off.

"But all in all, it was a good day for us and a well-deserved finish, but maybe even a few spots better than what we deserved."

Biffle wants more after finishing second at Dover

DOVER, Del. - Greg Biffle turned in his best finish of the season but left Dover hungering for more.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver finished second to teammate Carl Edwards in Sunday's Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway. That's just the third top-five in what has been a season of hard knocks for Biffle.

Still, as he talked about his race, he wondered what might have happened without so many late cautions.

"If I could've got to his bumper, it might have been a challenge for him," Biffle said. "I know he's in the Chase and he had a little cushion today, and I needed a win pretty bad, but we were going to race him clean. But I wish I had a chance at him."

Biffle said that if he could have gotten around Mark Martin, who eventually finished fourth in his Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, before the late caution he could have taken a shot at Carl.

Then came four cautions in the last 25 laps, three in the last 18.

"They hurt us," he said of those. "I don't know ... I don't know if I was going to catch Carl or not."

Martin hampered by cautions at Dover

DOVER, Del. - Mark Martin was gunning for his first victory in nearly two years but six cautions in the final 44 laps of the Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway hampered his efforts.

"We needed a long run there at the end," Martin said. "If we could have gotten 40 or 50 laps at the end we might have had a shot at it, but Carl [Edwards] was just spectacular on those restarts.

"We never did get a chance to get at it. I thought we had a great effort today and had a shot to win."

Martin's fourth-place finish was his best since a third at Texas in April and moved the No. 01 team up to 14th in the owners standings.

Martin last won Oct. 9, 2005 at Kansas Speedway, the site of the next race on the Nextel Cup schedule, and Martin will again be in the No. 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet.

The finish at Dover was also the top car of tomorrow result for the team.

"I want to thank DEI for great horsepower," Martin said. "I abused the engine quite a bit today and over-revved it on a couple of those restarts at the end. I was trying to go for it.

"I also want to thank my team. This merger [between DEI and Ginn Racing] has been incredibly tough on these guys and they haven't let up. We had an awesome car. We've been working so hard with the COT setup, and today we started to see some big gains. This was a big boost for the future success of this team."

Wimmer's Busch deal with RCR could lead to full-time Cup ride

By David Newton/ESPN.com

DOVER, Del. -- Scott Wimmer has finalized a deal with Richard Childress Racing that will put him in at least 23 Busch Series races in 2008 and position himself for a full-time Nextel Cup ride.

Wimmer will drive 23 races in the No. 29 Holiday Inn car and there's potential to put him in the No. 2 driven by Clint Bowyer for the remaining 12 Busch events so he can compete for a championship.

He also could run five to 10 Nextel Cup events if the organization doesn't go fulltime with a fourth team in NASCAR's premier series.

Wimmer has driven in two Cup events for RCR, finishing 31st in this year's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and 12th in the 2006 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He spent the 2005 season with Bill Davis Racing and most of 2006 with Morgan-McClure.

He has six top fives and 12 top 10s in 19 Busch Series events for RCR this season and ranks 13th in points.

Stewart Bows out of Knoxville Nationals

Two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart will not race in the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, which runs Thursday through Saturday in Knoxville Iowa.

He will however sign autographs for the first 750 fans to fill Knoxville Raceway's grandstands for Saturday's championship show.

"As much as I wanted to race in the Late Model Nationals at Knoxville, I thought it would take away my main focus of winning a Nextel Cup championship," Stewart, who will compete in Sunday's Cup race at Kansas Speedway, said in a news release Monday night. "We have over 400 people back at Joe Gibbs Racing pouring everything they have into giving me the best race cars possible to win a third championship. I owe it to them to remain healthy and focused on achieving that goal."

Stewart is currently second in the Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship point standings.

He finished second in last season's Late Model Nationals after starting 17th. Unlike last year however, Stewart will race in the Busch race Saturday at Kansas, further complicating matters regarding Knoxville.

"I sincerely apologize to anyone who was looking forward to seeing me race at Knoxville, and I hope that my fans can understand my reasons for not competing," Stewart said.

NASCAR's Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader are slated to race at Knoxville this week.

Coors Becomes the Beer of Choice for NASCAR
By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY

Coors Light will announce Tuesday a $20 million deal over five years to become the official beer of NASCAR starting in January.

Coors replaces Anheuser-Busch as the official sponsor. The new deal includes renaming the pole award to the Coors Light Pole Award from the Bud Pole Award.

For Coors, the NASCAR deal also replaces its sponsorship of the No. 40 Dodge in the Nextel Cup Series.

"Our deal was up with those guys, and this opportunity came up," says Andy England, chief marketer for Coors. "It feels like we are elevating our game."

For consumer product marketers, a league deal opens up greater opportunity for strong retail display — especially in and around cities when races occur.

"We'll follow the tour," England says. "This gives us great exposure in the 50 miles around the track. It means no matter who wins on the track, we win every week in stores."

Budweiser has been the official beer of NASCAR since 1998. It also has sponsored Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 since he entered the Cup series in 1999.

The beer will remain in the top series next year as the sponsor of Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Dodge.

NASCAR still is looking for a title sponsor for its second-tier series, which Busch has sponsored since 1984.

Team Red Bull Could be an Option for Stewart
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily

All may not be rosy behind the scenes at Joe Gibbs Racing with driver Tony Stewart.

Gibbs announced two weeks ago that the organization would switch manufacturers in 2008 abandoning General Motors in favor of Toyota.

And while driver Tony Stewart smiled publicly and seemed to support the decision there is some speculation that away from the public eye, General Motors may be making moves to keep Stewart in their fold.

Stewart’s contact with Gibbs expires in 2009, and Stewart was been working on a contract extension until the Chase began. He now says he won’t work on the deal after the season.

Dietrich Mateschitz, owner of Team Red Bull, could be making a bid to sign Stewart to their team when the season ends. And despite public denials, Team Red Bull will swap their Toyota’s for Chevy’s with a big check from Detroit as an incentive in order to keep Stewart as a member of the Bow Tie brigade. 

GEM to open New York Sales Office Gillett Evernham Motorsports announced that Jim Tucker has been hired as senior director, sales & development. Tucker has over nine years of corporate sponsorship experience, in developing, negotiating and implementing integrated marketing programs for major brands and properties in the sports, media and entertainment industries. Jim Tucker will be opening a sales office in New York City that will work complement and expand the reach of the existing Statesville, NC based sales and marketing department. Tucker will report to David Jessey, Vice President of Sales & Development. The new office will be responsible for developing new team sponsorships with Fortune 500 companies for the Gillett Motorsports’ fleet of cars and drivers, including #9-Kasey Kahne, #19-Elliott Sadler and #10-Scott Riggs. Prior to this announcement, Jim Tucker spent four years in NASCAR’s sales and marketing offices, based in Manhattan. Prior to NASCAR, Jim Tucker worked with the National Football League in their Corporate Sales & Marketing division, managing the League’s official sponsorships. (Clear!Blue PR)

Wallace back in the #88: hearing Kenny Wallace will once again sub for Ricky Rudd in the #88 Snickers Ford, this week at Kansas Speedway.

Dover early TV Ratings: ABC's Nextel Cup at Dover delivered a 3.5 fast national rating with 3,911,057 households and 5,498,209 viewers. ABC had double-digit increases among almost all measurements as compared to last year's Dover telecast. Households were up 15%, viewership was up 17%, Males 18-34 up 20%, Males 18-49 up 14% and Males 25-54 up 18%. (ESPN Communications), last year the race was on TNT and drew a 3.8 cable rating.

Entitled Chasers

by Kenny Bruce

For those watching Sunday’s Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover, the dust-up between Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin in the garage was clearly entertaining. Barely 24 hours after the fact, video of the incident had more than 60,000 views on at least one popular Internet site.

But the altercation, and what ultimately led to it, also brought up a question that’s become part of the baggage with regard to NASCAR’s Chase For The Nextel Cup. Should drivers competing for the championship and those that aren’t race one another differently during the season’s final 10 races?

This year, 12 drivers earned the right to compete for the title. But that’s all they earned. They did not earn the right to push drivers who are not in the Chase out of the way. They did not earn the right to expect others to move aside when they pulled up on their rear bumpers.

By the same token, drivers not in the Chase shouldn’t expect to be treated any differently on the track, either. If your car isn’t keeping pace with others, regardless of whether they’re in the Chase or not, then you’re not doing anyone any favors by holding them up. That’s as true in the last 10 races of a season as it is in the first 10.

Regardless of whether Hamlin meant to move Petty out of the way or just came upon Petty’s car quicker than anticipated, the end result was the same. Two drivers chasing different goals saw their chances end prematurely.

Petty had good reason to be angry. If Chase drivers expect to be given a wider berth, then the same should be expected of them.

The rulebook doesn’t change once the Chase begins. But apparently, the attitudes do.

Kyle Petty Is Not “Mister Nice Guy” Anymore

by Brett Baldeck/BrettBaldeck@...

Kyle Petty showed his true colors Sunday afternoon at Dover International Speedway, and it was not his “Mister Nice Guy” act. This is just another chapter in Kyle Petty’s frustrating season. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this season that NASCAR fans have seen Petty’s true colors come out.

Lets rewind back to Summer and the Sonoma Nextel Cup Race. During this race, Kyle Petty was wearing a microphone to provide TNT Sports with in-car commentary. Lets just say things did not get off to a very good start. Within the first couple of laps, Petty was involved in an incident in the final turn. TNT showed viewers a replay of the incident. Along with the replay came some in-car audio. What viewers heard was pretty shocking. A driver shouted “WHAT THE F%^& WAS THAT!?”. The driver who uttered those words turned out to be mister nice guy, Kyle Petty.

Now lets fast-forward a couple of months to the Watkins Glen Nextel Cup Race. Ironically, this was yet another road course race where Kyle Petty and his true colors shined brightly. After a frustrating day Kyle Petty returned to his hauler and let off some steam in a big way. Petty supposedly punched/hit a door inside the hauler, and broke his hand in the process. He was taken to the infield care center where it was confirmed he had broken his hand. He missed the next race at Michigan International Speedway because of his broken hand, which also needed to have surgery.

We now fast forward to the present. Sunday at Dover Kyle Petty once again showed who he really is. Petty and championship contender Denny Hamlin were involved in an incident, which sent both drivers to the garage. A in-car camera on the #11 Fedex Chevy showed a very upset Kyle Petty coming up to speak with a very sick Denny Hamlin. Petty helped himself by putting down Hamlin’s window net, and then began pointing his finger and yelling at young Hamlin. Petty then finished off his rant by shutting the visor on Hamlin’s helmet.

What has gotten into Kyle Petty? NASCAR fans are not use to seeing such an evil and dark sided Kyle Petty. He has had a struggle this season and currently is in a heated battle for the top 35 in owner points. But that is not an excuse to take your frustration out at a very young and talented driver, that being Denny Hamlin. There are such things called “Racing Incidents”. When or will NASCAR take action against Kyle Petty?

Dover turned into a prize fight for the Chase drivers

Edwards, Ky. Busch only Chasers to finish on lead lap

By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM

DOVER, Del. -- Championship prize fights last 12 rounds, but it's usually a flurry of punches in a short span that decides the winner.

At Dover's Monster Mile, it was a flurry of incidents over a 35-lap span -- followed by a final round, multi-car knockout punch -- that turned the Chase for the Nextel Cup on its ear Sunday and left a majority of the 12 Chasers bloodied and bruised.

Starting with Kevin Harvick's loose wheel on Lap 168 and winding up with the Lap 203 incident between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Petty that also involved Clint Bowyer, it seemed Chase contenders were taking standing eight counts at every turn.

Harvick? The loose wheel issue was followed by another unscheduled green-flag stop for a flat tire. Jimmie Johnson? A cut tire on Lap 186 cost him two laps. Tony Stewart? Passed by the leader on Lap 192 and never returning to the lead lap. Jeff Burton? Needing two free passes in the first half of the race and still winding up a lap down.

But those were undercards compared to the first of two main events on the day: Hamlin vs. Petty.

Coming out of Turn 4, Petty, a lap down, was hit from behind by Hamlin -- running sixth at the time -- and turned hard into the outside wall, doing heavy damage to both cars. Bowyer, trailing Hamlin, suffered significant damage to his front right fender.

While Hamlin was still strapped inside the No. 11 while it was being repaired in the garage, Petty came up, dropped the window net, words were exchanged and Petty slapped at Hamlin's visor. That prompted Hamlin to climb out of the car but crewmembers stepped between the two to prevent any further confrontations.

In the blue corner, at 6-2 and 195 pounds, Kyle Petty: "We were a little bit loose. I guess it's my fault. I watched the Busch race yesterday and I knew Denny was sick, I just didn't know he was hallucinating and needed three lanes to get up off the corner because he ran all over us. I guess he is in a race by himself."

In the red corner, at 6-0 and 170 pounds, Denny Hamlin: "I know Kyle gets run over a lot and the reason is he's so far off the pace. I firmly believe in my heart he was trying to get out of the way. I was right there on his bumper, on the inside of him. I think he was trying to go low and when he did, he checked up. That's the reason stuff happens."

That would have been more than enough to cement Dover's slam-bang reputation. But the battle royal was still to come.

Kurt Busch, who had avoided most of the mid-race carnage, slammed hard into the outside wall coming out of Turn 2 two laps after a Lap 384 restart, bounced into Reed Sorenson, was rear-ended by teammate Ryan Newman and collected at least seven other cars in the smoke, including Martin Truex Jr. and Johnson.

"I just caught the fence in Turn 2 and it collected so many top cars and everybody, for that matter," Busch said. "It's tough when everybody puts a lot of hard work into building these cars and one little problem like that took out a lot of cars.

"It was a nice top-five that was developing, we actually had 30-lap fresher tires then anybody and something broke."

Newman had perhaps the best view in the house.

"I know [Busch] got high and bounced off the wall," Newman said. "It looked like something broke. If I would have known it was going to be that big of a mess, I would have just hit him and tried to knock him out of the way instead of crossing my car up and blocking the racetrack."

Race-winner Carl Edwards and fifth-place Kyle Busch, who used a free pass late in the event, were the only Chase drivers left on the lead lap at the checkered flag.

Burton (seventh), Stewart (10th) and Jeff Gordon (11th) -- who fought a loose-handing car all afternoon -- managed to finish one lap down, as amazingly did Bowyer (12th) and Truex Jr. (13th), whose No. 1 Chevrolet was puffing steam from a broken radiator.

Matt Kenseth led 192 laps and finished 35th, victim of a blown engine.

And somehow, when the judges' cards were tallied, the Chase remained a split decision. Gordon leads Stewart by 2 points, Edwards by 3 -- pending a possible penalty after his winning car failed NASCAR's post-race inspection -- Johnson by 4 and Kyle Busch by 10. In fact, the top eight are separated by 75 points -- perhaps the difference between a lead-lap finish and going one lap down at Homestead.

The title -- or cup, in this instance -- remains vacated, awaiting a worthy defender. The rematch? Sunday, Sunday, Sunday -- at Kansas Speedway.

The opinions expressed are those solely of the writer.

Sunoco Pit Move

Dover

Edwards avoids numerous mishaps in Monster Mile win

By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM

DOVER, Del. -- Carl Edwards avoided trouble on Sunday at Dover like a good running back dodges would-be tacklers.

There were at least five instances where Edwards could have been anywhere but Victory Lane at the end of 400 crazy laps at the Monster Mile in the Dodge Dealers 400.

1. He nearly got sandwiched on pit road early in the race.
2. He had a throttle linkage issue that buried him deep in the running order.
3. He somehow kept from getting collected in the series of accidents that seemingly wiped out the rest of the contenders.
4. He barely avoided a pit-road penalty when he swerved to miss the commitment cone when the pits were closed.
5. He held off cars with fresher tires during the final green-flag run.

"It's huge. This place has great potential for disaster," Edwards said of his victory. "I think everybody saw those wrecks. I saw the replay on the big screen of that one, into Turn 3, that's huge."

Edwards was almost a victim of a huge wreck right off the bat, courtesy of Dover's narrow pit lane. On Lap 55, following a debris caution, Edwards exited his stall and had to take evasive action to miss Jeff Gordon to his left and John Andretti to his right. That incident cost him several positions, as Edwards was sixth coming in and 12th going out.

Then mechanical woes nearly derailed his day when running a strong second to Matt Kenseth, he began to lose positions on the track. It turned out to be a sticking throttle linkage. Luckily, a competition caution on Lap 147 allowed crew chief Bob Osborne and the crew to pop the hood and make some quick repairs.

Still, Edwards was 25th when the green came back out.

"When we came in and fixed the throttle and went back to 24th, or whatever position we went back to, they threw the green flag, I was running, I think, 38th or 40th or something on the racetrack, and it looked like a mess," he said. "It looked like Russian roulette to me, for a while. I do feel great that we got out of here. There's just so many things that could happen. There's no room for error at this racetrack."

By Lap 200, Edwards was back up to 13th, broke back into the top 10 when he avoided the Denny Hamlin-Kyle Petty crash and showed his car's real strength during the one long green-flag run, passing Kenseth for the lead on Lap 267.

"We made a decision there [on the] second-to-last stop to stay out," Osborne said. "A lot of the guys chose to come in and that kind of put a big scare into us, having to stop under a green flag, and a lot of the guys got to run 15 to 20 laps longer, so that was pretty shaky for us, I felt."

Edwards swapped the lead with Kenseth again with 80 laps remaining but nearly gave the victory away when the caution flag came out on Lap 355 for debris. His spotter reportedly told him the pits were open, but as he came to the pit entrance, he suddenly realized they weren't and swerved back onto the track, just in time.

Then Edwards and Osborne had to bite their fingernails as several other contenders were able to duck onto pit road for new tires during a series of cautions.

"We got the cautions to go our way, and at the end of the race, I had no intentions of asking Carl to pit," Osborne said. "Even though we had conversations about it, I was trying to mislead there. I think Carl did a great job and it was just a little tense at the end with all the red flags and cautions."

And a little advice came in handy.

"My dad told me from Day 1, 'There's a thousand ways to lose a race, and you can only control some of them,' so you just have to control what you can control," Edwards said. "You can't lose because of one of those things you could control, and if one of those things happen, you just have to accept that -- just realizing your performance is all you can do."

Weekend That Was:

Dover

Don't be so quick to judge an entertaining Sunday race

By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM

While admitting that the world is still searching for the debris in Turn 2 that caused a caution flag to be thrown on Lap 355 of the Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, was it really as bad of a race as many apparently seem to think?

Um, no. Not really.

The critics will say that it was ridiculous to have only six cars finish on the lead lap, and they would be correct. For Chase contestants Jeff Burton and Tony Stewart to finish seventh and ninth, respectively, despite being one lap down admittedly seems a little outlandish.

The critics will point to the spring race at Dover last year, when 21 cars finished on the lead lap. That day, Martin Truex Jr. was the driver of the first car to complete the race one lap down -- and he had a 22nd-place finish to show for it.

Bash the Car of Tomorrow. Rip the track. Chastise eventual winner Carl Edwards for supposedly bending the rules by having his car fail post-race inspection.

Kick the dog, if you must. (But please take it easy and apologize later, lest the animal activists start an e-mail campaign against this avowed dog lover).

All the while keep in mind that these races are supposed to be entertainment, and Sunday's race at least offered a healthy dose of that while keeping interest in the Chase at an optimum. And for those historians throwing the 2006 spring race in your face, remind them that Matt Kenseth was the first car to finish a lap down in the fall race at Dover a year ago -- and he was rewarded with a top-10 finish as only nine cars in that event finished on the lead lap.

The bottom line is that no race is going to be perfect. And here's a newsflash for you: during the ones that are less so, NASCAR will do everything it can to try to make it more so (especially when it can then offer to viewers the last 40 laps of a televised event commercial-free, which was a feeble attempt to make up for the first 360 that were commercial-saturated).

That means sometimes throwing caution flags to bunch up the field when the layman's naked eye has more than a little difficulty locating the debris for which said caution supposedly is being thrown. It's been going on in this sport to varying degrees for years.

It might be more manipulative than most fans or competitors want -- but like so many things in Nextel Cup racing, that often depends on one's point of view at the moment in question. If you weren't rooting for or driving one of the cars running in the top five late in Sunday's race, you better believe that the mysterious caution thrown on Lap 355 of the 400-lap event was welcome.

The problem was that it and the many other caution flags thrown Sunday directly contributed to much of the mayhem that almost immediately followed. Bad things are going to happen late in races when the field gets bunched up -- and nothing was worse Sunday than the 12-car pileup that ensued when something on Kurt Busch's No. 2 Dodge apparently broke and sent him slamming into the outside wall as he came out of Turn 2 on Lap 386, just two laps after the latest restart following a yellow.

Busch came down the track and hit Reed Sorenson's No. 41 Dodge, and then was rear-ended by teammate Ryan Newman in his No. 12 Dodge. Hey, it was the Dodge Dealers 400 and you have to admit: these Dodges were dishing out some heavy damage to each other.

Eventually a total of 12 cars were damaged in the wreck -- a Big One if there ever was One.

It left everyone scrambling to see how it all affected the Chase for the Nextel Cup, which is totally up for grabs. After just two of the 10 Chase races, the top eight contenders are within 75 points of one another. Despite his obvious displeasure with the Car of Tomorrow and how difficult he and many others believe it is to drive, Jeff Gordon coaxed an 11-place finish out of his No. 24 Chevrolet and grabbed the lead in the Chase. But Tony Stewart lurks just two points behind, Edwards is only three off the pace (but likely will be at least 25 more behind when the penalty for failing post-race inspection is handed down), and Jimmie Johnson is just four behind.

Throw in the highly entertaining Denny Hamlin-Kyle Petty brouhaha after their earlier crash, some decent side-by-side racing throughout the day (yes, I saw it), the fact that guys like Clint Bowyer charged from the very rear of the field to near the front, and Sunday was far from the disaster that some depicted it to be.

Old vs. new
Was there ever a more apt example of old school meeting new school than when Petty reached inside Hamlin's car and flipped the No. 11 Chevy driver's visor shut after admonishing him following their mishap on Lap 203 Sunday?

Petty was right, by the way. If Hamlin had simply been patient, Petty was trying to let him go by.

What infuriated Petty so much was that, while Hamlin admittedly is racing for the more lucrative Chase loot, Petty was battling to keep his No. 45 Dodge in the top 35 in owner points. For Petty Enterprises at this stage of the game, that's very important.

When it Raines ...
What did anybody ever do to Tony Raines, one of the nicest drivers on the Nextel Cup circuit if, admittedly, not the most talented?

First Robby Gordon wrecks him in the Busch race Saturday at Dover, and then John Andretti wrecks him on Sunday. All this comes as Raines attempts to finish the season strong, knowing that he becomes a free agent at its end. It already has been announced that J.J. Yeley will be replacing him as driver of the No. 96 Chevy for Hall of Fame Racing, beginning in 2008.

You got a sense that it all boiled to a head for the usually mild-mannered Raines on Saturday, when he fired his helmet at Gordon's car following that incident. When it Raines these days, obviously it pours.

Quotable, Part I
"Unfortunately, they can't keep idiots like Robby Gordon from driving racecars."
-- Raines, following the Busch Series incident.

Quotable, Part II
"People don't realize. That's who we are. That's one of the things I wish our sport was better at -- where you took a number and kept it. Because Richard Petty is No. 43. He'll always be 43. David Pearson will always be No. 21. I wish it was that way for everybody, where you took a number and kept it forever."
-- Darrell Waltrip, talking about the importance of a car's number and the switch from No. 8 to 88 for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Pit Stops
• While we're throwing out bad attempts at puns, did you hear the new nickname public relations standout David Ferroni has given to driver Joe Nemechek? Formerly known as Front Row Joe, now Nemechek is Furniture Row Joe -- in honor of the sponsor of the No. 78 car Nemechek is now driving. Nemechek started 18th and finished 22nd in Sunday's race.

• You've got to hand it to former open-wheel stars Jacques Villeneuve and Buddy Lazier. They knew the best place on the NASCAR circuit to plan their first race -- as each made his Craftsman Truck Series debut on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Villeneuve placed 21st and Lazier 24th. No word yet on how they did at the city's famed gaming tables.

• Travis Kvapil won the Truck race in Vegas, by the way. It was his fourth win of the season as he continues to show signs that he might just be ready this time for his jump to Cup. He will drive next season for Robert Yates Racing, which will be entering its first season in a working agreement with Roush Fenway Racing.

• This just in, but Earnhardt is only 2,101 points out of 12th place and the Chase after his impressive third-place finish at Dover. With eight races left in the season, you get the idea some of Junior's hard-core fans still think he has a shot to get there. He doesn't.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Cross’s Words

If only ...

By Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM

You hear it all the time, and the fans' reverence is clear: If Dale were still alive ...

Many e-mails have sworn "if Dale were still alive" then X would not have happened. Most have to do with the Chase, but the COT is closing quickly.

Still, the sport seemingly has been sans rudder since Feb. 18, 2001, a black day for NASCAR.

And honestly, Earnhardt transcended the sport. He was larger than life and could have had a more profound impact on the American culture, though he would not have sought it.

Imagine, if Dale were still alive ...

... Britney Spears would be a model mother.

Hey, as Mrs. Little E, you'd expect that. And the kiddies' names would be Dale III and Dale 3.

The family dog? A black lab, named ... Wrangler. (What, you were expecting "Goodwrench?" Who'd name their dog that?!)

... Notre Dame would not be 0-4.

And the Irish wouldn't wear blue or green jerseys. They'd wear black!

... Rachael Ray wouldn't have her own syndicated talk show.

She'd still be in the Food Network kitchen cooking catfish. Blackened, no doubt.

... Chuck Norris would be afraid. Very afraid.

Dale would run over him for Good Guys Wear Black; good guys drive black.

... Al Gore wouldn't have to remind us of our "carbon footprint."

We'd all be cruising in a Toyota Prius. Black, of course.

... On second thought, scratch that. We'd all be driving gas-burping, oil-burning, fuel-mileage chomping Silverado Z71s!

Fueled by Texas tea, aka black gold.

... Osama bin Laden wouldn't be a video star.

The cameras used to film his rhetoric would be in Dale's car -- helping ESPN on ABC with its coverage. Better yet, the races wouldn't even be on ESPN on ABC. They would be broadcast -- commercial free, no less -- on Dale TV!

One thing is clear, if Dale were still alive, the sport would be a lot different. Not necessarily better, nor necessarily worse. But it would be different. And that may be the overwhelming pall that has stuck with so many fans.

Fade to black ...

Say What?

"It was really clear that I had been asleep at the switch."
-- Jack Roush, on how he was "out to lunch" on preparing and testing for implementation of the Car of Tomorrow. Carl Edwards' win at Dover -- his second in the past five races -- was Roush Racing's 100th Cup Series victory.

Figuratively Speaking

6 -- Number of cars finishing on the lead lap at Dover on Sunday.

The last time fewer cars finish on the lead lap of a Cup race: June 6, 2004, when only five cars completed all 400 laps at Dover. In fact, of the last eight Cup races to finish with fewer than 10 drivers on the lead lap, four are at Dover.

Up Next

LifeLock 400 | Kansas | 1 p.m. ET Sunday | ABC
• Defending race winner: Tony Stewart
• Most victories at the track: Jeff Gordon (2)
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Tony Stewart (6.5 in six starts)
Active drivers only

Sound off

• This week's topic
OK, it's football season and the TV ratings for NASCAR reflect that, in spite of the "playoffs" being under way. What's your Sunday afternoon routine -- watch the race, start to finish ... watch the race between commercials during the football game ... TiVo the race (to skip the commercials) and watch it after the football game?

Surf over and weigh in on the blog.

• Last week's topic
Does the number make the man -- or the man make the number?

BristolMike
There is not a number on the side of any of the present day NASCAR Cup Series cars out there that has not been used by another driver before. That sticker on the sides and top of the car never won a race, never lost a race, never caused an accident but is surely causing a lot of press and comments lately. It was the man behind the wheel that won and lost races.

Frevr3fan
First of all, a number is just that -- a number. It has no feelings or soul. It doesn't even have a mind of its own. ... It's the man and always will be the man that makes a number. ... A number is just a number until a driver makes it popular.

3man
The car number is like the logo on a football helmet. The star QB doesn't take it with him if he changes teams. With revolving door sponsors, the number is the only thing that is constant and gives us a link to the past; the No. 21 or No. 43 for example. ... Drivers switch teams and numbers all the time, only because Junior is involved and the extremely biased Junior Nation weighs in, does a driver changing their number become a national drama!

ChiTownDale
Most Drivers have had multiple numbers in their careers. Many have had multiple brands of automobiles they have raced. Truly great drivers are known by their names, not their numbers.

rubbercatfish
When you think of the No. 3, you automatically think [Dale Earnhardt] -- but that wasn't his first number. He got it later on in his career. Well maybe Junior's next number will be his "later on" number. ... The number is just that -- a number. The driver will be the legend.

M4arc
In this case, the man makes the number a marketing windfall. This is about one thing and one thing only: merchandise sales. It will be his logo, his brand moving forward. It won't have anything to do with on-the-track performance but instead with sales of shirts, hats, die-cast, etc.

Read all the responses ...

Six of one ...
Chase drivers with momentum heading to Dover:

• Jeff Gordon -- Go ahead, call him the six-time Cup champion. I do.

• Tony Stewart -- Anyone else wondering why Smoke wasn't called on the carpet for his antics with Paul Menard? Yeah, I see you back there, Robby Gordon.

• Carl Edwards -- Cousin Carl's theory: Greg Biffle's "love taps" lowered the right rear of the No. 99, causing it to fail post-race inspection. Did the Tooth Fairy leave that excuse under your pillow, Carl?

• Kyle Busch -- Back-to-back top-five finishes. So what do the he-won't-get-no-help-from-Hendrick conspiracy theory folks have to say about that? ... Yep, crickets.

• Jeff Burton -- He's obviously living life right: Consecutive finishes off the lead lap and he's still eighth in points -- and up three spots from last week.

• Clint Bowyer -- He started 42nd and finished 12th on Sunday. I'd say he earned every bit of that $90,825 -- and both on-air mentions.

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Jimmie Johnson -- Sixth and 14th and still only four points behind the points leader. No complaints from the No. 48 crew over the new Chase format.

• Martin Truex Jr. -- Heckuva job brining home that 13th-place finish. Stunt cars from the Dukes of Hazzard had less damage.

• Kevin Harvick -- He has as many top-10s -- one -- as DNFs in six starts at Kansas. ... It's time to race for one of the 10 seats at the banquet in New York.

• Kurt Busch -- Loudon was a mulligan. Dover was a Gilligan.

• Matt Kenseth -- That 35th-place finish will be a haunting reminder of what could have been. Consistency without a win down the stretch is one thing; consistency with a 35 on your ledger is another.

• Denny Hamlin -- Yo Denny, give crewman Heath Cherry a nice Christmas gift; he was the one standing between you and a whuppin'.

Heath is the dude who looks like Walton Goggins -- Det. Shane Vendrell on The Shield, or maybe better known as Billy "Downtown" Anderson from Major League: Back to the Minors.)

And finally ...

Chuck Silvey, who worked almost two decades with Motorsports Authentics, died last week.

Richard Childress Racing's cars -- in addition to several other cars -- carried a tribute decal at Dover in honor of Silvey, who once ran Dale Earnhardt's souvenir hauler.

In 1994, Silvey was promoted to Transportation Director of Trackside and oversaw 60 souvenir trailers.

On any given weekend, he also would play chauffeur and take drivers to and from autograph sessions, hospitality events and the helipad.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.

For months, Earnhardt was guest who wouldn't leave

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

Sometimes it seems as if he's staying in the guest bedroom, with a freshly pressed red firesuit hanging in the closet and a No. 8 cap on the nightstand. We go out to dinner, and he's there. We go to the movies, and he's there. We go on vacation, and he's there, ready to interrupt the whole thing with yet another big announcement.

It's life with Junior.

As NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. demands a certain level of attention. Virtually anything he does is of interest to a very large segment of the sport's following. But none of that prepared you for this season, and the almost constant cycle of news that left reporters in a perpetual state of readiness. From May 10, when he announced his plans to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., until Wednesday, when his new car number and sponsor were finally revealed, Junior was the household guest who wouldn't leave. You checked on him every morning, tucked him in every night, and ran around the country to hear what he had to say.

It began, innocently enough, at The Home Depot. We were looking for new bathroom fixtures -- the good brushed nickel kind, not that tired chrome stuff -- when the BlackBerry buzzed. It might as well have been Junior knocking on the door, suitcase in hand, announcing that he was going to stay a while. There was a press conference scheduled in Mooresville, N.C., ultimately to announce the driver's split from DEI, but not where he was going. It was as if Junior had plunked himself down on the sofa, put his feet up, and asked you to set an extra place setting for the near future. Oh, and to fetch him a Bud.

The BlackBerry became the bearer of bad news. It would buzz, she would see the look of consternation on my face as I checked it, and ask, "What did Junior do now?" When we would go to dinner on a rare weekend night off, she would steal it, hide it in a drawer or threaten to throw it out the window. Because otherwise, I'd have to check it every five minutes or so. Just to make sure Junior hadn't done anything.

She'd look at me, eyes afire, hands on hips. "I'm going out with you," she'd say, "and not with Junior." Bless her.

But still, sometimes Junior would hide in the backseat and go along for the ride, announcing himself at the worst possible moment. Like at a nice place on Hilton Head, where we were enjoying a few peaceful, Junior-free days of vacation until I spotted the familiar visage of driver No. 8 on the television above the bar. According to the closed captioning, he was asking people to lay off Teresa, his stepmother and DEI's owner, a fact that needed to be in the column I had written and filed before we left. Suddenly, notes were being jotted down on a cocktail napkin. I begged a few minutes with the BlackBerry to e-mail in a couple of additional paragraphs. She relented. She had begrudgingly become used to having Junior around.

We joked about our family -- the two of us, dog Oreo, cat Zeke and Junior. But it wasn't always funny. News of an impending announcement from Junior led to a flurry of telephone calls to public relations representatives, the checking of flight schedules, the re-examination of vacation days. "Honey, I know we're supposed to be on vacation in New Hampshire, but Junior has a press conference scheduled in Chicago," you'd say, and receive only a steely silence in response. Thankfully, it was just to unveil a new candy bar. False alarm. The relationship is saved for yet another day.

Still, he has a way of creeping up on you. You know you've become too used to having Junior around when you refer to the pets as "Tony Jr." and "Pops," when you add yet another red shirt to your wardrobe, when the refrigerator contains a little too much of a certain malted beverage. Junior moved in just as we began extensive renovations to the house. I begged to add a basement bar -- Club D, maybe? -- and build a Western-style village in the backyard. Thankfully, she rejected both requests.

As houseguests go, Junior wasn't necessarily a bad one; he never played his Elvis Presley albums after midnight, he never spilled Budweiser on the furniture, and he always picked up after himself. Still, we felt a burden lifted when those No. 88 cars were unveiled on Wednesday, and we knew it was time for him to move out. There are no more loose ends to tie up, no more reasons for him to hang around. As much as we liked the guy, he had become something of a third wheel. We felt plenty of relief when at last he packed up all his storylines and news announcements and carried them out the door, toward his new home at Hendrick Motorsports.

Now, there's just one more question. What am I going to do with all of this Amp?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

The View from Fanville

Earnhardt Met Me at Church on Sunday   

By Amy Hair, Senior Columnist, Cup Scene Daily

Even when the only presence we have left of Dale Earnhardt is the stories and memories, he still continues to gain new fans.

On Sunday morning, I was sitting in church, waiting on the service to start and a lady came in the door with a section out of a newspaper. She said she knew I liked NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt, so when she saw it she thought of me. I thanked her and she went back over to her seat. I glanced at the article, and then set it down for later.

About a minute later I looked up and she was right there in front of me again and with a twinkle in her eye she started talking about the article, relaying parts of the story to me. I watched as she talked with enthusiasm, commenting on how she never knew he was such a prankster. She took the article in her hand and started pointing out the parts that she found so intriguing. She then talked about how she had caught a little of the new “Dale” movie…sharing what she had seen.

As I listened, I smiled as I realized she had just become a Dale Earnhardt fan. She was fascinated by his antics and his talent. One of her favorite stories in the article was the one that talked about when Dale Earnhardt and Kix Brooks went fishing. After Earnhardt had finished cleaning a fish and throwing all the guts and yuck over board, he picked Brooks up and threw him in too. Jarrett was scared to death, as he knew the trail of blood could attract all kinds of hungry critters…namely sharks. My friend thought that story was great. She went on to share a couple of other things in the article, then scurried over to her seat as we heard the beautiful Chapel bell ring in the beginning of the service.

I wondered how many people do the same thing that my friend did…read or see something about Earnhardt and realize they might have missed something by not watching NASCAR years ago. As far as I know, she isn’t a racing fan of any kind…this just happened to be something that grabbed her attention. I doubt that this has all of sudden got her interested in racing itself, but I’m pretty sure that when she hears the Earnhardt name from here on out, she’s going to read it, watch it, and talk about it.

Earnhardt, in life and afterwards, has continued to amaze people. Without trying to, he left behind stories and memories that still demand respect.

What I found interesting was that this lady, without being a fan of racing or being any more familiar with the Earnhardt name than having heard it over the years, read a little sliver of his life that was printed in the paper…and became a fan. She hadn’t been influenced by any of the usual race controversy, or the comments by fans or announcers. She had just read a few “memories” that had been shared by those that knew him, and she felt connected to him. I’m not sure there could be any better tribute to the man than moments like this.

My friend hasn’t been influenced by the years of press releases or hundreds of interviews with Earnhardt. She just read a few clips of memories that his friends shared and realized he was one special fellow.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the same could be said of all of us when our days are done?

NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK

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

Your Nascar Momma