Live on Type Delay: The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 KM(Phoenix)

Pre-race thoughts: Dale Jr is sporting a nice beard. Although it is neatly trimmed, it doesn't seem to fit the Hendrick dress code. I wonder if Rick is going to make Junior hit the floor and give him fifty for appearing on television like that.

Not to belittle Jimmie Johnson's racing skills--he is a very good driver--but why haven't we heard Carl Edwards say, "A monkey could win in that (#48) car?"

I have a lot of respect for Jimmie Johnson, but what if he didn't have Chad Knaus as his crew chief? He makes a lot of mistakes, and often gets himself into accidents, penalties, and other situations that would keep other drivers out of a good finish. Knaus and the team 48 pit crew invariably make up for those mistakes. My guess is that Hideo Fukyama would be a household name if he had had Knaus as a crew chief.

Eddie Haskell Mr. Phony Carl Edwards is an exceptional driver, whether he's driving a Sprint Cup car, a Nationwide Series car, or a CTS truck. He's old school in the way he man-handles a car throughout the entire race, and he apparently is very good at saving fuel. Obviously, he is not one of my favorite drivers, but I hope the points race between between him and Jimmie Johnson tightens up after this race. I would rather see Johnson as the champion than Edwards, but what I'm really hoping for is that both of them have bad finishes this race, and Greg Biffle gets into the mix at Homestead, making it a three-way race for the Championship.

Just my thoughts, as deranged as they might be.

Jimmie Johnson drops to the bottom at the wave of the green flag, but Jamie McMurray gets around in turns three and four and leads the first lap. There is already a lot of action this early in the race, as Carl Edwards tries to advance his position from his fifteenth place start. But the cars are bunched up three-wide back there, and Edwards has to let up some.

Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr make contact with each other and the wall on lap sixteen, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of damage, and there is no caution, then, on lap twenty, Sam Hornish Jr and Elliott Sadler get into each other, causing minimal damage to the cars, but their spinning causes enough of a potential hazard that the first caution flag flies. Everyone pits.

Restart on lap 26, with Kurt Busch first, and the top five positions immediately get mixed up as everybody tries to gain the lead. Martin Truex, Jr's engine is seriously overheating and he has to go back into the pits, with a stalled engine. Truex seems to be out of the race as they take the car to the garage.

On lap thirty, Brian Vickers has the right front tire go down, and slams into the wall, bringing out the second caution. Kurt Busch was in the lead, Jimmie Johnson second, Ryan Newman third, Jamie McMurray fourth, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr is fifth. Nobody in the front of the field pits.

Restart on lap 36 and an immediate caution for debris. Then it starts raining, but just a sprinkling of drops. The race remains under caution, but the cars stay on the track and count off laps. Jet driers are also making laps. Now, on lap 43 we get a red flag.

If you have ever lived in the Southwest United States, especially the dryer areas, you would know that "20% chance of rain" means that it's going to rain.

Only Matt Kenseth has the kind of luck that would get him a flat tire under a red flag. He was in twentieth, but will have to restart in the back, after he pits under caution to change the tires.

The race restarts on lap 46. Johnson quickly tries to take the lead, but Dirty Kurty holds the top position. Again, lots of hard racing all around the track. Kyle Busch uses the top line to move into the top seven. Hamlin is racing Earnhardt hard to get into the top five, but Earnhardt is also moving up. Edwards is still trying to make progress, but the traffic is terrible. Kevin Harvick, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Tony Stewart are all up there around the 99 car.

Meanwhile, the relative positions in the top five are changing constantly. Earnhardt, Jr moves up into fourth, Newman falls back, as Hamlin also gains position. But Jeff Gordon is in the mix, and he ends up in fifth, as Newman drops to sixth. On lap 75, the running order is Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Jeff Gordon in that order in the top five. Newman falls way back as he has a tire going down, or suspension problems, or both.

On lap 79, Johnson is able to catch Dirty Kurty Busch and is challenging for the lead. As we know, Dirty Kurty is very hard to pass, especially while he is in the lead. Johnson tries the inside, but can't get by. He tries the outside, and can't make it stick. Finally, on lap 82, he gets around the outside and takes the lead. McMurray has caught up to the front two and is looking to take second place. Dirty Kurty won't give up second very easily, either. There should be green flag pit stops coming up soon. That is always fun at Phoenix.

McMurray moved into second during the commercial. I had to turn off the radio, because the interference was really bad. I wish we had an FM station here to pick up the MRN and PRN broadcasts. One of our local Classic Rock stations has a big sponsorship from a NASCAR sports bar, and does a lot of NASCAR promotion, so I would hope they get the MRN/PRN contracts soon. I know a music station wouldn't normally carry sports, but this one is already carrying the Colorado College Hockey radio broadcasts, so a NASCAR race every week wouldn't hurt.

Green flag pit stops begin on lap 98. The top five are pitting on laps 100 through 103. Everyone is taking four tires. Travis Kvapil leads a lap while the leaders pit. Mark Martin has to come back into the pits for a missing lug nut. Remember, this is under green, so that has to hurt. Greg Biffle, who started in the back for a transmission change, leads a lap while pit stops continue. Biffle is out of sequence from the other leaders, as he pitted on lap 44. He pits on lap 109. Johnson retains the lead. Newman ground down the front sway bar, while he was making laps on a left front tire that was very low in air pressure, so he is back in the pits while his team tries to repair the damage.

After the green flag pit stops cycle through, it's Johnson, McMurray, Earnhardt, Jr, Jeff Gordon, and Kurt Busch in the top five. Carl Edwards has made it into tenth place. All the Hendrick cars are in the top six, as Casey Mears is running in sixth. Hamlin is still in seventh. There are 21 cars on the lead lap.

On lap 126, Kevin Harvick is running in eighth, and Carl Edwards has moved up to ninth, while Kasey Kahne fills out the top ten. Now Kyle Busch moves into tenth.

Caution on lap 141 for debris. The leaders all pit on lap 143, and Johnson leads, Dale Jr is second, Jeff Gordon is third, Jamie McMurray is fourth, and Dirty Kurty is fifth. The rest of the top ten is as last reported. Kyle Busch passes Edwards for ninth, shortly after the restart on lap 153. Greg Biffle is running twelfth, Tony Stewart is thirteenth, and Jeff Burton is fourteenth.

On lap 160, they are showing the view through the windshield of Jeff Burton's #31 car, and it looks just like Martinsville. That is how rough the racing is between tenth and fourteenth positions. We have a good race going between Carl and Kyle, and should we expect less? That would be a fun one to watch.

I'm getting a kick out of that new NAPA commercial with Michael Waltrip and Ron Capps. Capps isn't used to having to work for fifteen seconds. That, according to the commercial, is three times as long as his normal "five second work day." Funny! Ron Capps is one of the superstars of the NHRA drag racing series, for those who don't know.

Jeff Gordon reported something wrong with his engine earlier in the race, and on lap 173, he starts dropping back, as he has lost a cylinder. Tim Brewer gets to talk about broken valve springs for the first time since last year. I bet he is having a flashback. Last year, he got to talk about broken valve springs and bent valves every ten minutes.

Things have finally settled down back beyond ninth place, by lap 190. Tony Stewart is in tenth, Kyle Busch in eleventh, and Jeff Burton is in twelfth. Jeff Gordon has fallen back to seventeenth. Casey Mears is now in fifth place, Denny Hamlin is sixth, Kevin Harvick is seventh, Edwards is eighth, and Biffle is ninth.

Edwards finally gets around Kevin Harvick on lap 220, for seventh, just before a caution comes out for debris. All the lead lap cars pit. In Jimmie Johnson's pit, a tire carrier fumbles with tape he was going to add to the grill of Johnson's car, and the 48 team loses first place to Jamie McMurray, who beats Johnson out of the pits. Restart with 94 laps to go, and McMurray does not hold on to first place long at all. Johnson takes that position almost immediately. That was a pretty move. This time the driver saved the pit crew, rather than the usual other way around.

Uh-oh, Steve Letarte said "valve train." I guess that means we have to hear from Tim Brewer again? Maybe not. ESPN/ABC has shown some improvement over last year.

Jamie Little reports that Tony Stewart said he would vote for David Ragan as Driver of the Year, if he had a vote. Last year, Stewart accurately called Ragan "a dart without feathers." Driver of the Year would be a good call as well, because David Ragan has made that much improvement in one year.

I missed it somewhere, but McMurray lost second to Dirty Kurty somewhere, and now Dale Earnhardt, Jr is taking third from McMurray. Caution for debris with 51 laps to go and this will be the money stop. I actually wrote that before the guys on TV said it.

Johnson maintains the lead, coming off of pit road, and Carl Edwards moves up three positions into fourth place. I think Dirty Kurty is back in second place. Jamie McMurray is third, and Harvick will restart in fifth. Earnhardt, Jr lost several positions in the pits and will restart in sixth. Great save by Casey Mears in ninth position, as he nearly hits the wall. Hamlin makes a great move and gets into sixth, and Earnhardt gets to fifth. Harvick falls back to seventh. Jeff Gordon's engine lets go with 42 laps to go, and though there is a lot of smoke, the race stays green.

Big wreck. Casey Mears goes around, and all these other cars get involved, in the dog-leg on the back stretch. Johnny Sauter, Scott Speed. Scott Riggs, and David Gilliland are some of the other cars involved. The rear wheels of Gilliland's car ended up on the hood of Scott Speed's car. I want a picture of that. Marcos Ambrose was also involved while the traffic was trying to slow down. Red flag to clear up the wreckage. 39 laps to go in the race.

Maybe the Awesome Wreckage blog will have some good video of that wreck.

As the cars restart, Tony Stewart's #20 car had trouble starting. His fellow Hoosier and next year's team mate, Ryan Newman, gives him a push start, but he will restart in 17th. Caution with 28 laps to go, and Johnson stays out, but several cars pit for tires. The restart will see Johnson in first Kurt Busch in second, Jamie McMurray in third, Edwards in fourth, and Earnhardt Jr in fifth. Restart with 24 laps to go.

Kurt Busch gets right on the bumper of the 48 car at the restart, and Mark Martin looks like he is racing to get back on the lead lap. Another caution for debris with 21 laps to go.

It looks like everyone will stay out this time. They are showing videos of some of the action just before the caution, and I have to say, if anyone could get Jeff Burton mad, other than Kyle Busch, it would have to be Paul Menard. Yup.

Restart with fifteen laps to go, and Jimmie Johnson just takes off, and makes a big cushion between himself and second place Dirty Kurty Busch. McMurray is still in third, with Carl Edwards on his bumper, Dale Earnhardt, Jr is hanging in there in fifth. Now Harvick is racing The Bearded One for fifth, and he is going into the turns hot. So has Tony Stewart, and Allmendinger tries to get under Matt Kenseth, as Stewart is trying to get around the #17 on the outside. There is no room inside of Kenseth, so Allmendinger hits Kenseth, who hits Stewart, who spins and stalls. Stewart can't get his car restarted and goes a lap down. Allmendinger takes responsibility and feels terrible, according to his radio chatter. He ought to feel bad.

After all that mess It will be a green/white/checkered restart. Johnson is first, Kurt Busch second, McMurray third. After all that hard racing for fifth, Carl Edwards comes out of the mess in fourth, and Dale Jr is still fifth. Kevin Harvick is sixth. Kurt Busch makes a move to the inside of Johnson at the restart, but doesn't quite make it. Still racing hard on the white flag lap. He tries the outside and misses, but this race is going right down to the finish line. Johnson wins, Busch is second, McMurray third, Edwards fourth, Hamlin fifth, Earnhardt, Jr six, and it seems that everybody behind them wrecks. Matt Kenseth got some payback against the #10 car to remind AJ Allmendinger that he should feel terrible, and everyone gets caught up in the wreck.

This was another fun race, even though Johnson dominated. Dirty Kurty always throws some excitement into the mix when he is racing for first, or any position for that matter. There was no lack of action, except during the red flag. Although I feel bad for Matt Kenseth and my favorite driver, who has now fallen back to twelfth in points, I feel bad for AJ Allmendinger as well, because he knew it was a boneheaded move, but every driver out there has made that same mistake at one time or another.

Still one race to go, and I already know my NASCAR withdrawal this off-season is going to make for a difficult winter.

"Live" on type delay: The Coca-Cola 600

The opening ceremonies were fitting for Memorial day salute, including "The Lord's Prayer," "Amazing Grace," The Pledge of Allegiance, and Taps, as well as the National Anthem and the flyover. It was inspiring, humbling, and very respectful of those who have sacrificed much for our country. God Bless the troops, and Hold those who have given their lives for our country. Amen.

Kyle Busch holds the pole position, and immediately gains five car lengths on the field. That has come to be expected.

Lap three is early for racing in a 600 mile race, but already Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, and Dale Jr are racing for position. We have to wonder if these cars going all out this early in the race will make it 400 laps.

By lap nine, Tony Stewart, who started thirty first has moved up to twentieth. That too, can be expected, as Smoke ran second fastest at final practice, and we know his car has something for this race.

Lap 25, and everybody has settled down, so it looks like the opening laps of a 600 mile race. By lap 34, Brian Vickers has caught Kyle Busch, but Busch is reporting ignition or engine problems. Still, Vickers has to make a very daring move to get in front of Kyle, and, though Kyle soon drops back to third place, he has changed the ignition box and seems to be holding that position. Then it seems he hasn't after all, and has dropped back to sixth, being passed by Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Dale Jr, and Jeff Burton

We have some racing going on on lap 48 as Number 48 driven by Jimmie Johnson, takes the lead, closely followed by Kurt Busch. Green flag pit stop cycle begins on lap 49. The pit stops cycle through to lap 54, and Johnson prevails as the leader. Now, it is still early to predict the outcome, but the 48 team seems like it is once again at home at Lowe's.

There may be some fans who have already given this up as too boring. There have been no cautions, no-one has wrecked, and the leaders have already passed several cars. But this is a long race, and this is a point in the race where this is expected. Besides, Dale Jr is in second, and Brian Vickers is in third, so the potential for a race is there. Robby Gordon hits the wall on lap 62 or 63, and the caution comes out for the first time in the race.

This commercial makes me feel proud. It is Budweiser's "Thank You" commercial we have seen on the internet, making its debut on television for Memorial Day. Military men and women are given a standing ovation as they come home through the airport. I love it.

After another round of pit stops during cautions, Johnson leads, and Kurt Busch is in second. Kurt takes the lead on lap 67, shortly after the restart. On lap 68, Dale Jr and Kyle Busch both pass Johnson, and now Jr is in second and Kyle Busch in third.

Lap 75 and there is a battle for second between Kyle Busch and Dale Jr, This is what the fans want to see. "Come on Jr, the fans yell, give him what he deserves!" But Jr is not a dummy, and he gives Kyle the outside and lets him take second. Maybe Kurt and Kyle will tangle again, because on lap 80. Kyle is catching his brother, and they will soon battle for the lead. What a great time for a commercial. During the commercial, Dale Jr regains third place from Kyle, because Brian Vickers has taken second. We really miss our PRN radio play by play here. It would have been fun to see that race, or, at least, hear about it. Now, during the next commercial, Jr has retaken second. Jr does have a good car, as he is about to catch the leader. There was a caution on lap 83, by the way, from Robby Gordon hitting the wall by himself.

Green flag pit stops begin on lap 108, and it looks like Carl Edwards is moving toward the front. It seems that in the past ten minutes we have had six minutes of commercials. Here comes another one. Oh well, Fox Sports does expect a return on their investment. I have to get coffee. The commercials are about to put me to sleep.

Green flag pit stops continue as we return to the action, and on lap 119 Jr pits and has problems. His team can't get the lug nuts off of the right front, and the 88 team loses ten seconds.There is some excitement on pit road as Kurt Busch starts a fire as he leaves his pit. No biggie, the fire is quickly extinguished. Everybody seems to take four tires again, and Greg Biffle leads a lap to get his five bonus points. After the pit stops cycle through, Brian Vickers is in first, and Kurt Busch is in second, I think, but I can't tell you because it is time for another commercial.

During the commercial, on lap 129, Kurt Busch has retaken the lead. Jimmie Johnson is in third, Kyle Busch is in fourth. By lap 136, Jr has regained fifth place, and Kyle Busch is in third place. Brian Vickers is racing Kurt Busch for the lead. It is a fairly hard fought battle, and Vickers prevails. What a comeback for Jr though!

Lap 150 and Kyle Busch has to pit out of third place, saying he feels he has a tire down. The news has come out on lap 156 tells us that Kyle's problem is more than a soft tire. The handling on the #18 car has gone away.

The good news is that my local AM radio station that carries PRN is coming in good, the bad news is that they have commercials the same time as the television broadcast.

During the commercials, Kurt Busch has cut a tire and has to pit. That also brings out a caution. He gets into the pits without too much damage to his car. Brian Vickers restarts the race on lap 166. Almost immediately, Juan Pablo Montoya who has been giving Tony Stewart a lot of grief, and visa versa, spins out after contact with Patrick Carpentier, bringing out another caution. Montoya said it felt like he had a tire going down. so he was already out of control at the time of contact. Mark Martin gets the free pass.

Okay, so I missed "radio remix" and Jeff Hammond on the television broadcast. I much prefer the PRN radio broadcast. The restart will see Brian Vickers in first and Jimmie Johnson in second. Tony Stewart has moved up to thirteenth, in spite of earlier handling problems, and Mark Martin is the last car on the lead lap in twentieth. Dale Jr is in third, Kasey Kahne in fourth, and Carl Edwards is in fifth. David Gilliland and Sam Hornish Jr are battling for the lead spot one lap down, and give the lead cars a little interference.

Jimmie Johnson passes Vickers on lap 184, while Kasey Kahne and Dale Jr battle for third, and both pass Vickers. Jr is about to engage Johnson for the lead while Robby Gordon's car blows up. Still no caution as Vickers loses his right rear tire, while at the same time, David Gilliland loses a wheel as well. Both cars wreck, not with each other, and the fourth caution comes out.

Dale Jr takes gas only on the pit stops, and leaves pit lane in first. Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne also take fuel only. Matt Kenseth's terrible bad luck continues as he is penalized for too fast entering pit road, and has to come back in.

Jr is first, Kasey Kahne is second, Jeff Burton is in third, and Kyle Busch is in fourth. Dave Blaney is in fifth. There are eighteen cars on the lead lap. Tony Stewart has made it up to tenth place. Again, almost immediately after the restart, Michael Mcdowell, at the rear of the field, spins and brings out the fifth caution. Wow. Bobby Labonte gets the free pass.

I suppose the rash of accidents can be due to the fact that the sun has set in Charlotte, and the track conditions are changing. The restart is on lap 196, and Earnhardt, Jr is able to gain an impressive lead right away, as Jeff Gordon fights to maintain his position as the first car one lap down. Dale Earnhardt leads the field by .8 seconds as the race passes the half-way mark. On lap 204, David Reutimann comes out of nowhere and takes fifth from Dave Blaney. Lap 206, Kahne has entered a very exciting battle for the lead. Isn't this ironic: Kahne drives the car that is sponsored by the same sponsor who sponsored Jr's car for seven years. Kahne takes the lead after a fight that looked like it belongs at the end of the race.

Now Tony Stewart has been picking off drivers on his way to the top five. We knew that car would come into its own as the track cooled, and Smoke worked hard to keep the car on the lead lap earlier, to let the handling come to him. Just before the commercials begin, he passes Carl Edwards for seventh.

Lap 220, and Jr is about to catch Kahne again. Jr is almost a second behind Kahne, and two seconds ahead of Kyle Busch. Then, on lap 224, the much anticipated caution for debris comes out, and Jeff Gordon gets the free pass.

How about that stop for the #19 team? Elliott Sadler gains twelve positions by taking fuel only, and takes the lead after pit stops. Dale Earnhardt, Jr is second. Stewart dropped back to tenth, but I think they have done the necessary work on his car, and we will see more of him. Kasey Kahne is third, Jeff Burton in fourth, and David Regan is fifth as the green waves on lap 228. Jr passes Sadler in turn four. David Regan and Kyle Busch are stuck behind lapped traffic, and Jr has a huge lead. Twenty-five car lengths to be exact. but there is still plenty of action going on in the field, and Jeff Burton takes third from Kahne.

Meanwhile, further back, Kyle Busch and David Regan are being held up by Kevin Harvick and JJ Yeley, as those two are still trying to fight for a lucky dog position. Earnhardt now has a three second lead over Burton, who has passed Sadler, and there are commercials on both TV and radio. Yeley brushes the wall on turn 2 of lap 244 and brings out another caution. This puts Kevin Harvick on the lead lap. All the leaders pit. Ryan Newman comes out of the pits first, Kyle Busch is second, Jeff Burton third, and Tony Stewart fourth. Newman did a gas and go to gain twelve positions. Jr comes out in sixth, and, I think, Jimmie Johnson, who also did a gas and go, came out fifth. 154 laps left, and I think things are going to get exciting.

Oops, it turns out that Newman missed his pit and had to give up the lead to pit on the next lap.

Did you see Jr almost wreck Tony? The man has some fire. Kyle Busch is in first and Tony Stewart is in second on lap 252. Jr is now trying to retake second place from Stewart. This is really exciting, much better than we would have thought after the All Star race.

145 to go and Earnhardt, Jr is back in second place, and gaining on Kyle Busch. Here we go! Lap 259 and Jr takes the lead. That was some great racing there; Jr seemed to be less than an inch from the wall as he passed the leader. See, radio is great, we missed this on television.

With 137 laps to go, Stewart is catching up to Kyle Busch who is two seconds behind Jr. As we go into commercials, Kahne is in fourth, and Jeff Burton is in fifth. The commercials give me a chance to give Jr a rave.

Say what you will about him, this Jr guy knows his car, knows the track, and knows how the two will interact. He can make that car do anything he wants it to at this point. I would hate to be the guy who beats Jr tonight, if, in fact, he does get beat. As it stands now, Jr is the class of the field.

Speaking of which, Tony Stewart has taken second place with 119 to go. 118 to go and Jr has a three second lead. This is a nerve wracking time for both Jr and Stewart fans, hoping that nothing goes wrong now. Please, Smoke, when you get there, please race clean. Jr, when Tony gets there, please race clean. Remember, you guys are buddies, right now.

111 laps to go, and Stewart is 2.7 seconds behind Jr, as Jr is lapping more lapped traffic, Kasey Kahne takes third from Kyle Busch. This is the calm before the storm, we feel. 108 laps to go and now Jr is 3.5 seconds ahead of Smoke.

Kyle Busch is going to have to change a battery. He has been going this entire race with electrical troubles, and now his engine is misfiring, due to those problems. He hasn't gone to the pits yet, but changing the batteries takes time that the 18 team can't afford at this time. Now, Jr is about to lap Gordon again. Ohhhh Noooooo!!! Jr hits the wall, Yeley, who is moving up to the outside does not have time to react, and runs into Jr, then spins out. Honestly, I really feel bad for the Dale Earnhardt, Jr fans. I really thought Jr would win tonight. I was really hoping that he would win, just to end that drought. Jr said on the radio, just before the accident that he cut a tire. Wow, again.

At the same time I really feel very, very bad for the Jr fans, I am somewhat nervous because Stewart is now in the lead. Why am I nervous? Stewart has been my favorite driver since the last part of 2001, and I have seen this before. Anything can happen. Especially since all the work that has been going on for the 88 team has been done while keeping Jr on the lead lap, so Jr is still a contender. But then Jr still has to pit again, and does lose a lap. Still bad news for the Jr fans. Then, good news, as the speeding penalty is waived, and Jr gets his lap back. Good luck for Jr fans. This is crazy. I love it!

Kasey Kahne is in second, Jeff Burton third, as Smoke takes the green flag with 95 laps to go. And there is a wreck back in the field as Sorenson and Hamlin have trouble as the cars try to restart. It seems that a slow restart on Stewart's part caused a huge accordion effect. There was no reason for Stewart to brake check the field, as they are saying on the radio, and I really don't think it happened on purpose. Stewart does not restart that way, he is more likely to jump the start than balk the start. Something happened we don't know about.

When they showed the replay of the restart, it looked like Tony just didn't go, and Kasey Kahne forgot that it is the lead car that restarts the race, not the second place car.

Shortly after the restart, Kahne takes the lead, but Stewart doesn't give up the fight, and Jeff Burton enters the battle. Kahne solidly gains the lead as Stewart and Burton race side by side, and Stewart retains second place. With 80 laps to go David Regan has taken third place, and Kasey Kahne has moved over two seconds ahead of Stewart.

With 76 laps to go, Kyle Busch has re-entered the top ten, after changing the battery on his car earlier. Now it seems we have hit another calm before the storm period. Carpentier spins out and brings another caution during the commercial. This happened while the crew on MRN was doing a recap of the season so far--that is how calm things really were, when the accident happened. We will see pit stops. It looks like this will once again be a fuel mileage race, as there are sixty nine laps to go as the teams pit. Johnson and Stewart get fuel only, and Johnson exits the pit line first, with Stewart, who insists his car is coming to him, is second. Kasey Kahne is third, and Elliott Sadler is fourth. Kyle Busch takes two tires and comes off fifth.

Oh noooo again-- the 88 team gets a penalty for stopping outside the pit box.

Good restart. Then caution for metal debris on the front stretch. Johnson was taking off, because AJ Allmendinger cut off Tony Stewart as he was trying to go with Johnson. Allmendinger's aggression pays off so he gets the lucky dog pass.

I will have to go back to television soon, as the radio station cuts power in twenty minutes. The restart should happen with 63 laps to go, so fuel mileage is still an issue. I am on my feet, and that makes it hard to type. An-n-n-n-d there went the radio station. That was fifteen minutes early. I could probably try to get KOMA, but that doesn't come in much better, and the whistling drives me nuts.

56 laps to go and Kyle Busch has taken second, and is about to catch Johnson. Here they go, Bush fakes low, then goes high and takes the lead. Kahne is third, and Stewart is fourth. I'm thinking Stewart is conserving fuel, but I don't see where that will help at this point.

What has kept this race exciting is that nobody has been able to keep the lead long, but now the 48 team has bad luck and it seems that Johnson's engine has expired. There will be no caution here, though, and Sadler moves into the top five, while Smoke moves into third. I'm already missing the radio. 41 laps to go and it looks like Kahne is catching Kyle Busch, and They are talking to Jimmie Johnson while Busch and Kahne are battling hard. Kahne takes the lead with 39 laps to go.

With thirty five laps to go we are discussing strategy. When will these cars begin to pit for fuel? We are assuming that all the cars will need to stop one more time in order to finish the race.

Wow, Tony Stewart has just taken second from his team mate, Kyle Busch.

With 17 laps to go Kahne gives up the lead to pit for fuel. Smoke is going to lead a few laps before his team decides to pit. Several cars have followed Kahne for a splash and go. Stewart is waiting. Then he pits with thirteen to go, and Kyle Busch takes the lead. Busch pits on the next lap. It looks like everybody will take fuel. Denny Hamlin has the lead with ten laps to go, and he pits with nine to go. It now looks like Jeff Gordon and Dave Blaney may gamble on fuel. Dave Blaney is now in first, then he decides not to gamble, and Smoke takes the lead. Stewart is now 5.5 seconds ahead of Kahne. All Smoke has to do now is bring it home.

Damn! Stewart cuts a tire with three to go, and has to give the lead to Kahne. See, Jr Nation? We fans of other drivers feel pain too. What a disappointment. Man that hurts! Kasey Kahne wins, Greg Biffle is second, and Kyle Busch is third. Jeff Gordon's gamble paid off as he finishes fourth, and Dale Jr brought his wrecked car home in fifth. What a race, what a finish!

I am emotionally drained. All I can say is that Kasey must feel good not having to keep his helmet on when he gets out of the car in front of the fans.

Some final thoughts: It seems like the teams may be getting a handle on the cars for the intermediate tracks. There were a lot of lead changes, and most of them were hard fought, rather than the "my turn. your turn" lead changes we have seen in the past. There was real racing, and even though we weren't treated to a real race for the win, due to mechanical trouble, it could have happened. I won't declare the new Sprint Cup Car complete and ready to compete at this time, but it does seem like we are getting there. It was a much better race than Texas or Atlanta were, so we continue to hold hope for the new car and the teams. Time will tell.

The Titans Clash In Texas

Photo Credit: (Jason D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE) Copyright © 2007 Jason D. Smith
It was bound to happen--two drivers with similar personalities, with an extreme passion for racing, and equally infamous for their temper were going to clash. What a better place for it to happen than Texas, where the victory celebration includes symbols of the Wild West. Juan Pablo "Johnny Paul" Montoya and Tony "Smoke" Stewart thrilled us as they beat and banged for several laps, showing us what happens when the Titans clash. Smoke lost the battle, but those of us who know him know that he will get over it. We were happy to hear, during the post race interviews, that the "Old" Smoke, with the fire, is still there within the "new" Smoke.
"I can't blame him (Montoya), because he's only had five or six weeks to try to learn everything," said Smoke, "...Maybe he should stay near the back while he learns how we do things over here.
"He is the best driver that team (Ganassi) has, besides David Stremme. (But) he didn't make friends with me today."
(AP Photo/Larry Papke)
We now have the scenario set for what promises to be one of the greatest rivalries in racing, one that actually has its roots in the 1997 Indianapolis 500, which Montoya won while Stewart ran out of fuel while leading on the last lap. This promises some great racing moments, which we may look forward to seeing as soon as next Saturday night at Phoenix.
Even without Smoke in the race, we saw some great racing in Texas. Attrition took out some of the best cars, but we were treated to yet another excellent and exciting finish, as Jeff Burton raced hard for a win over Matt Kenseth on the very last lap, in a race that wasn't decided until they crossed the finish line. Jeff Burton, who was the first Cup driver to win at TMS (it was his first career Cup win) was also the first repeat winner at the track.
Meanwhile, after Kyle Busch had run into the back of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who had slowed down to miss a spinning Tony Stewart--Stewart was trying to make a poor handling car work for him--he left the track, thinking that the day was done for the #5 car. The crew did, however, repair the car well enough to get it back on the track, and it was driven to the finish by none other than Dale Earnhardt, Jr. How's that for irony?
All in all, the race was the most eventful yet of the season, and, since events lead to events, we should be able to expect more of this in a highly competitive racing season.


In other racing news, Formula 1 super-rookie Lewis Hamilton finished second in the Bahrain Gran Prix, his third podium finish in his third career F1 race. This is the first time in the history of the world's premier racing series that a rookie has led the championship points standings--Hamilton is in a three-way tie for first at twenty two-points, with Bahrain winner Filipe Massa and Australian Gran Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen. Malalysian Gran Prix winner and current champion Fernando Alonso is a mere five points behind them, and, if you have never followed Formula 1 racing before, the tight points race is good reason to make this the season to start watching. The competition is hotter than it has been for a long time.

The Johnny Paul Invitational

Photo by: AFP/Luis Acosta
From the very beginning, there was little doubt that Juan Pablo Montoya (Johnny Paul Beauford to some people in the state of Washington) would win the NASCAR Busch Series road race in Mexico City. He took the lead early, lost it due to a fueling problem in the pits, and quickly returned up to the front of the pack. We got to see the kind of driving that has made JPM both famous and infamous.
It is not my intent to justify for Montoya the wrecking of his teammate to take the lead, it was purely a move of impatience. JPM would have won the race anyway--both he and his car clearly outclassed the rest of the field--so he didn't have to make the "kamikaze" move he did with eight lap to go. It would have been much more fun to watch him take Scott Pruett in the esses, or in the drag race to turn 1, or at least with more finesse in that turn than he exhibited.
In Formula 1, there is an understood "blue flag" rule, where the slower car, even if in the lead, is expected to let the faster car overtake. This could be why he decided to move when he did--he thought Pruett was slower, and that he would be given room to pass. JPM has said that he has much to learn, still, about racing in NASCAR, and we hope he learned something on his way to his first NASCAR victory.
All that aside, it was an exciting race. Denny Hamlin once again showed us his capability and competive prowess while he raced the more experienced JPM hard and close. That race had me on my feet and scaring the cats.
Update: The legislater who made the comments about NASCAR and NASCAR fans, has apologized and spun his earlier statements to mean the ISC. I still don't have his correct name, but I wonder if he read my blog on the subject.
Nah, I'm just being pretentious.

Not in it for the Money

Previously, I mentioned that JPM didn't go to NASCAR just for the money, that there is much more to be had for a driver who is in demand by other teams in the high-stakes world of Formula 1 racing. This article sort of vindicates that thought.

Goblins and Gremlins

It's near Halloween, and, at Atlanta, the goblins and/or gremlins showed up for the occasion. Kyle Busch literally ran into trouble early, and finished several laps down. Kasey Kahne, the race favorite, put himself out of championship contention, when he forgot that David Stremme's car was to his right, and ran right into him. And, much to the dismay of us sentimentalists, goblins got in the way of Mark Martin, and he wrecked in the closing laps of the race. Kevin Harvick had gremlins in his car the entire race, and he finished two laps down. Matt Kenseth also seemed to have continuing problems with the "Miss Setup" goblin, but still pulled off a very exciting fourth place finish. This is something Matt can always seem to do--take a twentieth place car to a top five finish. This is why I have picked him to win the championship this year.
Gremlins also continued to plague Jeff Burton, as a cut tire relegated him to a thirteenth place finish. But the other Jeff in the Chase, Jeff Gordon, managed to overcome Halloween Demons and finish sixth. As did Denny Hamlin, who was a lap down for much of the race, and finished in eighth.
While the Halloween creepies were bothering all those guys, they left the others alone. Dale Earnhardt, Jr took a gamble on older tires at the end of the race, and still managed to pull off third place, in the aforementioned exciting race with Matt Kenseth. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson raced valiantly and cleanly for much of the final eighty laps of the race. And Smoke won, his ability and experience guiding him around the track to find the groove where his car ran best, under the changing track conditions.
The beautiful carved bear trophy awarded to Tony for winning the Bass Pro500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was only the capping off of a wonderful weekend for him. Saturday, he finished the final race of the Crown Royal International Race of Champions series in third place, which was enough to win him that championship. His name on the IROC trophy is added to such racing greats as Mark Donahue, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, and Al Unser. I was counting all of Tony's championships in go-carts and quarter midgets when I counted 19 career championships for him. Officially, only his USAC, IRL and NASCAR championships count, and now, with the IROC trophy, it makes 11 official national championships for him.
After Atlanta, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Busch have fallen out of contention for the championship. With only three races to go, it was the wrong time for things to go wrong. Jeff Gordon, 144 points out of the lead, still has a chance, if everything goes right for him and goes wrong for the six drivers ahead of him in points. Kevin Harvick is 121 points out of the lead, and can take inspiration from Jimmie Johnson, who made up 130 points in three races to get to where he is, in third place. Jeff Burton is tied in fourth/fifth place with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 84 points out of the lead, and either one of them could still race his way to the championship. For the top three drivers, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin, there are only 66 points separating first from third, and any one of them could leave next week's race at Texas Motor Speedway in the points lead. Here's to another great race in a great season.

JPM Update
Juan Pablo Montoya finished his first NASCAR Busch Series race, the Sam's Town 250, at Memphis, in eleventh place. Not bad for someone who has only driven stock cars for a little over a month.