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You see, Dawn and I had this pact that we’d take at least one class together every quarter. Kinda tricky because she started out a Computer Science major, and I was Poli Sci. It also helped that I had a bit of "a thing" for her, unbeknownst to the pint-sized version of Goldie  Hawn. I digress (by the way, Lynnae, I haven’t seen her in over 20 years- just wanted to clarify). Anyway- we took a lot of Communication courses (to fulfill our humaities requirements) together that required a lot of public speaking: mock commentaries and stuff like that. I found I really enjoyed them- writing them as well as delivering them- almost as much as I did hanging out wit her. In fact, I remember doing a commentary on Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner firing Joe Torre after the Braves tanked in the 1983 (or was it 84?) NLCS. I got a lot of positive feedback on it from a lot of people who had no idea what I was talking about!

It dawned on me that perhaps this was a career path- radio!! I spoke with one of my instructors, Mari Brabbin (who is now a high school principal). She thought I came across really well and gave me the thumbs up on switching majors. My dad was relieved. He and my mom were splitting up and he hated lawyers.

Fittingly enough, my first shift on what is now Jefferson Public Radio, housed on what is now Southern Oregon University, occurred on Super Bowl Sunday- January 20, 1986. I was scared to death, and I really fouled up my first break between programs by having a toggle switch in "Audition" instead of "Program." All you radio-types know this means that for one solid minute (a broadcasting eternity), I committed the cardinal sin of having "dead air." Fortunately, my prof chalked it up to a rookie blunder (and they can’t fire a student), and I got better as the days went by.

By the Spring of 1989, I was closing in on graduation. I was pretty slick, handling two nights a week playing jazz from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. That was fun, but I needed an internship to graduate. I really didn’t know what to do. I’d hung around a couple of radio stations, but I didn’t have anyone beating down my door to give me a look. What happened next is the surest sign I know there’s a God in Heaven.

One spring afternoon, I walked in the payment of my phone bill to the local U.S. West office. Enter one-time classmate W. Michael Perry. I ran into him in line. He informed me that he was now Program Director at KCMX radio. I told him I needed an internship. He told me he needed an overnight announcer. It was a match made in Heaven! It wouldn’t be real glamorous, the AM Country station took a satellite feed, and the FM was automated with music being played on 4 alternating reel-to-reel tapes and commercials and announcements being made on "carts"- a latter day version of 8-track tapes. My main job was to swap tapes out overnight, record a weather forecast and "dub" (download) commercials that came in on reel-to-reel tape to carts. I was also responsible for clearing the news wire- throwing out stories we didn’t need, and sorting the ones we’d use. I’d also do that for sports, and I’d imagine myself sorting those stories out and figuring how I’d put together a sportscast…..if I were doing it.

Then one of those days happened, one of those days that changes your life forever. Mike and I were going over things as he was taking over one morning and I was getting ready to head home. He was going on vacation soon, and wondered if I had any background in college doing news, as he needed someone to cover it. I told him "No, but I think I could help you  with sports. I’m a huge sports fan, and I know what the fans want." Mike said "Work up a demo when you get in tonight, like you’re going to do it for real. I’ll listen to it tomorrow."  Putting it together was easy. I’d watched more ESPN and local sportscasts on TV in 12 years than Mike had in his entire life. I didn’t have to be that good to be better! For a little flavor, I even wrote a couple of local stories. High school sports in southern Oregon are HUGE.

Next morning, I climbed into my 1973 Ford Gran Torino and headed home. I had the radio on, Mike was working his way through the news. and as always, he concluded his local news cast by saying "Sports is up next…..with KCMX’s own Jim Mc Coy." What??????? That recorded demo marked my radio sports casting debut. Thank God it was accurate and up to date. Mike wrapped it up with "Thanks Jim for that excellent sportscast!" I thought I was King of the Word. I couldn’t believe it. It was a dream come true. I was now doing a 2-minute sports cast Monday through Friday. Wow!

Another break in my career came later that summer. KCMX was the radio home to the football and basketball broadcasts for the Ashland Grizzlies. The former play-by-play guy died within the previous year stemming from complications with diabetes. Mike had plugged in basketball coach Jerry Hauck to do play-by-play , but he wondered if I was up to doing color commentary. "Heck, yeah," I replied. I mean, how hard could it be, I just needed to have a ream of appropriate statistics to throw out, and it wouldn’t hurt if I said something funny once in a while. I could handle that.

That same summer, an old high school friend of mine went to work in advertising sales for another local radio station. I discovered very quickly that even being a key member of the morning news team did not equate to a great salary. I needed some extra work. I was young and single, so I had no problem with working a 6-day week. I asked Paul if there were any openings for part-timers at his station. He thought there might be one. A few days passed, and I ran into Paul Wesner again at a popular playground for pick-up basketball games. Paul asked if I was still needing extra work. I said yes. He motioned me over to a near-by father-son softball game. It turns out that Gary Roby, KDOV Program Director, was playing in that game. Paul introduced us, and Gary said for me to call for an interview next week. In short order, I was hired to work Saturdays.

I don’t recall how word got back to station owner Perry Atkinson that  I was a radio sports guy, but it did. Perry arranged to have me earn some additional money by phoning in a local sports cast for his morning show. Think of it. Not only was I doing something I loved, but now I was doing sports on TWO stations (only on KDOV, I used the pseudonym "Jim Shannon"- dropping my last name). I was floored. And I felt pretty cool.

I got to be a part of some cool things that year. I got to report on a no-hitter thrown by future big league pitcher Darrell May, who was then playing for Rogue River High School. I got free passes as a member of the media to watch the Medford A’s (a Single-A affiliate of Oakland) play every home game if I wanted. I was also a part of the broadcast team that aired Ashland High’s very first state championship in football, as they knocked off another southern Oregon school, the hates Roseburg Indians in a 24-22 thriller. I’ll never forget Matt Wells converting his first field goal of the entire season to seal the win with :34 left. Starring for Ashland was slotback/ defensive back Chad Cota, who went on to play 9 years in the NFL for Carolina, New Orleans, Indianapolis and St. Louis. And I got PAID to watch this and report on it. How cool was that?

(TO BE CONTINUED)

No, it this is not what it sounds like. I think most people who can read this know about the birds and the bees. In a moment of down time, I thought I’d share in greater detail about my story, and how I came to write a NASCAR blog.

It’s my wife’s fault. Really. For years (about 14), she’s listened to me express all kinds of opinions about all kinds of things- from politics to religion, music, sports, you name it. She finds my points of view humorous and in her somewhat-biased opinion she finds me well-spoken. Remember- this is her opinion, not necessarily mine. In spite of her reputation as this demure, soft-spoken damsel, she has taken the world of blogging by storm. The traffic she gets on her two blogs compared to mine is like comparing Jeff Green to Jeff Gordon (with me being Green). She figured if she (not being the natural communicator between us) could have so much fun doing this, then this should be Christmas Day for me- becoming something like the Rush Limbaugh of NASCAR. If you know my politics, then you know I’d take that as a way serious compliment. 

Now my mom can tell you this should be no surprise. According to my dear mother, I spoke my first words at around 6 months of age. And on some days, she’d tell you I haven’t stopped since. She also knows that I grabbed on with both hands when I embraced the world of sports around the age of 12. You can blame the Portland Trail Blazers for that. Bill Walton and Company bringing an NBA championship to the Northwest birthed in me a passion for the game. All kinds of games: baseball, football, and yes, auto racing. I was more of an Indy 500 guy (my favorite was A.J. Foyt, because he was from Texas, like my dad), but I do remember watching the World 600 and watching this clown from Kentucky named Darrell Waltrip visiting Victory Lane. Interesting stuff- but I can’t say the passion really hit at that point.

I was always more of a stick and ball guy, and once aspired become an NFL running back or receiver. To be the best, you had to study the best- that’s why I watched game after game to study the likes of Steve Largent, Earl Campbell, and Roger Staubach. I still followed the other sports to keep my options open. What I didn’t count on as a young teenager was the heredity factor.

You see, at 5 feet 7 inches tall, I’m closer to Jeff Gordon in size than I am La Danian Tomlinson. To make matters worse, I don’t possess the blinding speed of Warrick Dunn to offset my lack of stature. I stubbornly held out hope on this dream, but denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, so I hung on desperately to my dream until finally giving up on professional sports at the age of 18.

With some wind taken out of my sails, I headed off to college to prepare for a "real job" at the age of 19 with aspirations of becoming a lawyer. There was good money in it (more than being a coach and teacher, like I had once considered) and it might pave the way to a political career (we won’t get into that here. Other than to say that at age 12, I concocted a plan to be president by age 40. LOL!).

After a year of college, and thanks to an eye-opening course taught by the illustrious Paul Pavlich, I decided 7 years of school was too big a commitment for criminal law, and all that Perry Mason stuff, while it made for good television, was not quite as close to reality as I wanted to believe.

Where would my dreams take me now? I have an old college friend, Dawn Nestor to thank for where the road would lead next………

(TO BE CONTINUED..SERIOUSLY FOLKS THIS IS A NASCAR BLOG, COME BACK AND YOU’LL SEE)

What’s this? A new week, a new report, a new group. For the uninitiated, this is a special weekly report looking at the upcoming race and all the latest NASCAR News, originating from bump-drafts.com.

Up Next: The Dickie’s 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Sunday, November 4, at 2:55 p.m. Eastern. This Fort Worth track has been hosting NASCAR since 1997. It’s a mile-and-a-half track with 24-degree banking in the turns, 5-degrees in the straightaways. The driver who won the first Cup event here also won the last one back in April- Mr. Jeff Burton. Burton’s pair of wins makes him the winningest Cup driver at TMS. What a lot of people may not know (except the hard core fans) is that there are NASCAR drivers who have higher victory totals at Texas. Their names? Brandon Gaughan- who has won 4 Craftsman Truck races at TMS in 4 consecutive starts, sweeping the 2002 and 2003 events. Let us also not forget a pair of drivers with 3 Busch Series wins- Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin.

For record speeds, Brian Vickers possesses the fastest qualifying speed, running a 27.518 lap at a speed of 196.235 m.p.h. last November. For a race speed, Carl Edwards ran an average speed of 151.055 m.p.h. in his 2005 victory. Mike Skinner as 3 truck poles here, Bobby Labonte 2 poles in NNC driving, as does Jeff Green in the Busch series.

Texas Trivia- Tony Stewart OWNED the fall race last November, leading for 278 laps. In spite of that dominance, Smoke barely squeaked out a 0.272-second margin of victory over the 2006 Cup Champ Jimmie Johnson.

This Track Does Not Collect Drivers Like My Son- 40 racers were still running at the conclusion of the Dickie’s 500. The fewest number of finishers? 29, most recently in 1998.

A Two-Horse Race- I really feel sorry for fans who can’t bring themselves to root for either one of Rick Hendrick’s dynamic duo. Say what you want, but it truly has come down to a duel between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson’s victory in Atlanta whittles Gordon’s lead in the point to just 9. I don’t think I’m showing my pro-HMS bias to say a duel doesn’t get better than this. No matter what anybody else says, these two are the class of the 2007 season. Between the two of them, Jeff and Jimmie have 14 wins. Not to take anything away from the solid seasons of Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, or Carl Edwards- but the 24 and the 48 SHOULD be running out front at this stage of the season.
Can’t we at least agree that these two teams run as intelligent a race as anyone can? Steve Letarte and Chad Knaus and the respective crews are as much a part of the brilliance as the drivers are. It’s more than a fast car, these guys run smart races and don’t beat themselves with bad equipment or strategic miscues (but if you want to be honest, Jimmie and Chad have the edge here).

Still, anything can happen mathematically before it all ends. The luck that has visited the likes of Junior and Ryan Newman could befall Mssrs. Gordon and Johnson. Anything’s possible. Neither one have a track record for doing well at Texas.

But for that to happen now would almost be poetic INjustice.

Racing Terminnology- Impress your friends with your grasp of racing terms like these:

Impact data recorder- NASCAR’s answer to the “black box.” “The impact data recorder , which records numerous measurements such as G Forces and and Delta V (change in speed) from an accident, is located on the left side of the driver’s seat.

Fabricator- No, this is not the person who comes up with all the zany anti-HMS or DEI conspiracies. “A person who specializes in creating the sheet metal body of a stock car. Most teams employ two or more.”

Crankshaft- No we’re not talking about a rock band, the crankshaft is: “The rotating shaft within the engine that delivers the power from the pistons to the flywheel, and from there to the transmission.”

In other news

A Glimpse Of The Future- Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn’t get a sick note from his mom, so he went and test drove his new ride with Team Hendrick next year. It will only serve to tantalize his faithful fans who patiently endure one bizarre turn after another in Junior’s DEI swan song.

So That’s Where All The Water In Atlanta Is- In the Sunoco gas tanks. Now we know why Greg Biffle’s car was so wimpy, and why Denny Hamlin hiccuped on that last re-start. And here I thought Hamlin and his Crew Chief Mike Ford were being morons with their pit strategy. My bad, Denny. My bad.

Is This A Joke?- I’m still shaking my head over the wheel falling off of Junior’s car. How does a WHEEL fall off a race car?! Seriously, I fear for Martin Truex, Mark Martin and Paul Menard next year. DEI has to get it together sooner or later, right? This is starting to look like the baseball movie “Major League.”

That’s all for this week, and as Red Green says “Keep your stick on the ice.”

Thanks to the Sporting News for the ” 2007 Edition of the Officially Licensed NASCAR Record & Fact Book.”

Special Thanks to Drew and Amanda for inspiring me.

Extra Special Thanks to Dixie for letting me earn my keep.

Extra, Extra Huge Thanks to God, my wife Lynnae, and my “chick-lettes” Hannah and Jonathan.

`

(A special post-race edition prepared for letsgoracingfans.com. Also known as shameless cross-promotion).

In preparing for the Pep Boys’ 500, I think Jimmie Johnson and Crew Chief Chad Knauss stole a page from General George Sherman. The driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet showed tactical brilliance down the stretch to collect his eighth victory of the 2007 campaign, narrowing his defecit to Jeff Gordon down to nine points.

Admit, like me, you had your doubts at times. Kurt Busch looked “scary fast” early on, and after he faded, Martin Truex looked like the guy to beat. For quite some time, it just looked like Johnson and his buddy Jeff Gordon had a lackluster day going. Heck, it looked Junior had a good run going. It says a lot for the Budweiser Chevy driver that he overcame a commitment cone penalty and an unscheduled pit stop to fix bum tire to be in top five position at the end. The DEI boys had GREAT engines today. Once again, Roush- Fenway was well-represented with Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards getting in the mix and playing nice today. But 99% of the race it was the Truex- Busch Show.

You hear a lot from fans about racers getting lucky. Racing is no different than any other sport- if you prepare well, play smart, and put some good weapons in your corner, you’ll get some luck. Plenty of it.

I know a lot fans are bored with HMS dominating the Chase, but what can you do? If you happen to be lucky enough to race against them, learn what they do and imitate it. To me, it’s interesting to see how the top two guys in this year’s chase lay back for about three-quarters of the race, in a middle-of-the-pack but competitive position, and then strike at the end. The only real risk to this strategy is that you might get collected in a slobberknocker with an also-ran. That’s where the luck comes in. Is that what Johnson doing? If he is, he’s not telling. I’ve said it before, I think there’s a little David Pearson influence on HMS.

You need it with all these green-white-checkered finishes. What a mess! I don’t know how you remedy that, but it’s ridiculous how many we’ve had this year.

Call dominance boring if you want. I’m sure said the same thing about the Cowboys, the Celtics, and the Yankees.

Other observations:

Tough Day For The Old School- It was a real bummer to see Mark Martin go down early. He handled his mishap with David Gilliland with his signature class. I was also looking for good things from 6-time AMS winner Bobby Labonte, but he was one of many drivers today with tire troubles.

Juan Pablo Montoya “Bonehead Manuever of The Day” Award- It stinks to run out of gas at the moment Denny Hamlin did. They HAD to be thinking about it. Everybody else was. It’s got to be a bummer when you know your mistake collected a potential winner. This was not a good day for the Gibbs family. Papa Joe’s Redskins got mauled by the Patriots 52-7 (ouch!) and then Smoke has a crap day, to go with this little foible by Hamlin.

The Ryan Newman “Creative Way To Lose” Award- Can somebody explain to me how in the name of Junior Johnson that a wheel comes off a race car in a NASCAR event? What did Junior do in a previous life to end up with this kind of luck? Some of Newmans’ mojo must have rubbed off on him. Poor guy- he had a car quite capable of winning.

Now it’s off to Texas. I don’t know if the Fat Lady has sung yet for the Chasers not named Johnson or Gordon, but I do believe I heard her warming up. Certainly she’s singing a sad swan song over the ruins of Atlanta.

Did you react the same way I did? I learned of the YouTube footage of the Carl Edwards- Matt Kenseth shoving match after last Sunday’s race in Martinsville and I was more than a little schocked. I’m thinking “What in the name of Richard Petty is this all about?” Well, unless you’re a casual fan or cave dweller, you know by now that this storm has been brewing for quite a while, and the portrayal of Team Roush, as seen in the Dish Network commercials, is not as realistic as we all thought.

My how a week changes things. Until now, Carl Edwards has been largely perceived as this classy, upbeat, generous racer who also happens to be a fairly successful Nextel Cup driver, sitting squarely in the middle of the Chase standings. I mean, who doesn’t like his celebratory backflips? His homespun demeanor has earned him the nickname “Cousin Carl.” Who wouldn’t like this Wally Cleaver type for a cousin? Yes, until now, “The King of Concrete” (he has a knack for running masterfully on concrete tracks) has received a pass for his display of temper with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a couple of other blow-ups on the track. Now suddenly the leader of the “Young Guns” has a reputation tarnished, and suddenly he’s showing up on “drivers I don’t like” lists on places like Yahoo Answers! alongside the usual suspects- Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and the like. Hey ya know, given the level of success those guys have had, maybe I wouldn’t mind being that list after all. What gives?

It is my opinion that the concept of teamwork is pretty tenuous to begin with. Let’s face it, auto racing is fundamentally an individual sport. Yes, there is the crew, but they are support for the man who gets the spotlight. On the track, it’s 43 men for themselves. Every race, especially lately where you have Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon running up front, a discussion will come up at a magic moment where commentators will tell you the team concept will go out the window from here on out, and if one teammate has to rub out another, so be it. As it is, we’ve seen the nature of competition test the mettle of the friendship between Gordon and Johnson, as they’ve battled hard against each other for wins. Apparently, the two didn’t speak to each other for two days after the spring race in Martinsville, but obviously they got over it. It begs the question: What are you supposed to do when racing a teammate? Do you give up track position because your teammate is higher in the standings or has more at stake? That seems to go against the grain of good old fashioned competition!

Realistically, all you can expect in my opinion is for your teammate to show you enough consideration not to put you in the fence. The concept of teamwork may also come into play when “drafting” on a Super Speedway like Daytona or Talladega. Otherwise, the only other place I expect to see the comeraderie you see in team sports is in the garage, where information will be shared among drivers, crews and engineers on what’s working out on the track. It also pays dividends with sponsors. Roush Racing (of which Edwards and Kenseth are a part), is a classic example of a team where you see a sponsor like Aflac or Dish Network on multiple cars. The team concept does also have that ancillary benefit getting multiple drivers together in commercials. Otherwise, I don’t think you can expect much more from a teammate. They have their own interests, and rightly so.

I never thought I’d see the day- I have to disagree with Carl on his complaint about team support. I honestly don’t think they OWE him a pat on the back when he wins. It would be a show of class if they did- but frankly I think you’re not going to get that from this personnel group. Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jamie Mc Murray, and David Ragan are not cut from the same cloth as the guys at Hendrick or Childress. Heck, for that matter, I see better teamwork at DEI. Kenseth and Biffle are lone wolves, and the younger guys in the Roush group are preocuppied with trying to make their own mark in the sport. It’s been said by others that a lot of leadership was lost when Mark Martin left Roush Racing at the end of the 2006 season. This season seems to provide evidence of that.

If ANYONE was poised to be a leader in this group, it was Edwards. Unfortunately, this episode says a lot about what his oldest teammates think of him, and I’m not expecting we’ll hear from Mc Murray or Ragan on this. Instead of being put in a class with the aforementioned racing teams, we see with “Team Roush” a level of dysfunction we expect from Joe Gibbs Racing- home to NASCAR’s “resident rebel” Tony Stewart, and his strong-headed protege Denny Hamlin. It will take a long time for Concrete Carl to regain credibility with his team. To some, it wouldn’t matter.

It does to Carl. For him, this is going to hurt a while.

What’s this? Welcome to the first weekly edition of “On Track”, a special weekly edition of bump-drafts.com prepared exclusively for NASCAR for Dummies, one of my favorite NASCAR message boards. Each week, we will look ahead at the next weekend’s race, learn more about NASCAR terminology, and also look at all the latest headlines. Check it out! I hope you enjoy reading it as I do writing it.

Up Next: The Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This may provide another interesting showdown between the top two drivers in the 2007 Nextel Chase point standings. Second place chaser Jimmie Johnson picked up his second career victory at this track in Atlanta back on March 18. Front-runner Jeff Gordon has four wins here, which ranks him sixth all-time. Dale Earnhardt is the all-time winningest Cup driver at A.M.S. with nine wins, the winningest active driver is Bobby Labonte with six. The younger of the famous Labonte brothers used to own Atlanta, gathering his victories at A.M.S. between 1996 and 2003, while driving the #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac/ Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs’ Racing, now occupied for the remainder of 2007 by J.J. Yeley.

Atlanta is a 1.5 mile oval track with 24-degree banking in the turns. Geoff Bodine owns the fastest all-time qualifying speed on the “Peach Tree State” track at 197.478 m.p.h. back in 1997. That same year, Bobby Labonte turned in a race speed of 159.904 m.p.h., which still sets the pace.

NASCAR racing began here in 1960, with Glenn “Fireball” Roberts clocking in the first victory.

Other Atlanta Trivia. One of the most famous races at A.M.S. occurred on March 11, 2001, when rookie Kevin Harvick went to Victory Lane, taking over the Mr. Goodwrench ride from Dale Earnhardt, who died on the final lap at Daytona just weeks earlier. It was an emotional win for mourners in Earnhardt Nation. Fittingly enough, Harvick just edged out Earnhardt’s last arch-rival, Jeff Gordon. The margin of victory? A mere .006 seconds.

“The Silver Fox”, David Pearson, famous for going easy on his car through much of the race so he could pounce at the end, won in Atlanta on September 17, 1961, having only led one lap! Once again, we’re reminded that the only lap where it really matters you lead is the final one. The November 7, 1982 event saw 45 lead changes- Bobby Allison took the checkered flag that day.

You won’t see this with the Car of Tomorrow…..Just 10 cars finished the first race in Atlanta in 1964. 41 finished the second race here in 2005.

Hopefully, we can expect fewer cautions this week…The track record for Atlanta in terms of cautions is 11 going into the 2007 season. That’s happened three times, most recently in 1993.

The Trucks Will Be Here, The Busch Boys…No. The Easy Care Vehicle Service Contracts 200 (say that three times real fast) will run this Saturday. The race may be seen on the SPEED channel. Milwaukie, Oregon’s Mike Bliss won the 2nd truck race here in 2006 in a Chevy.

The Busch Race will run in Memphis. This race will air on ESPN2. Last year’s Busch champion Kevin Harvick won here in 2006. Harvick has the most wins at Memphis Motorsports Park with two. The inaugural event at Memphis occured in 1999. Chevy driver Jeff Green won that day.

NASCAR Speak- A weekly primer to help you learn those NASCAR terms that will impress your friends. Definitions come courtesy of the Officially Licensed NASCAR Record & Fact Book- 2007 edition.

“Downforce”- “A combination of aerodynamic and centrifugal force (author’s note: remember physics class?- I didn’t either) at work. Downforce can be altered to improve the car’s grip or traction by adjusting the spoiler as well as other aerodynamic changes to the car and its setup. As downforce is increased, the grip/traction is increased, as well as tire wear. Increasing downforce comes at the expense of creating more drag, which will reduce fuel efficiency.”

“Neutral”-“A term drivers use when referring to how their car is handling. When a car is neither loose nor pushing (tight).”

“Bore”- (This is not a description of Rusty Wallace). “Pistons travel up and down within each cylinder, or bore, in the engine block.”

Other News

Haas CNC Racing will have new faces in ‘08. Word has it Jeff Green is out as the driver of the #66 Chevrolet. He will be replaced next season by Jeremy Mayfield, who languished in Bill Davis’ #36 Toyota this year. He joins Haas CNC next to Scott Riggs, who will take over the #70 Chevy currently driven by Johnny Sauter.

Franchitti Busch Debut. Indy Car champ Dario Franchitti will make his Busch Series debut in Memphis. He and fellow open-wheeler Jacques Villaneuve got a rude awakening in last Saturday’s Craftsman Series Truck race in Martinsville. Both drivers got knocked around pretty good and were unable to finish the event.

Team Roush Rumble. Apparently we all missed the little spat between Roush teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth. Edwards made his way into a TV interview Kenseth was preparing to do. At first, it looked like good-natured shoving between the two, but Edwards appeared to start a swing at Kenseth that he pulled back on. Trouble between these two starting brewing back in Kansas, and apparently Edwards did not appreciate Kenseth’s handling of the Reed Sorenson incident in which Kenseth nudged Edwards into the stationary 41 car. Edwards said something about being affected by the heat. Edwards struggled with alternator problems and had to turn his coolers off during the race, which I’m sure was no fun. Enough to get so steamed at his teammate? I’m not so sure. I’m sure we’ll hear more, and I’m sure we’ll get plenty of sound bite from “The Cat In The Hat”- team owner Jack Roush.

Well- that’s enough for this week. Thanks for reading.

Boogity, boogity!

Special Thanks again to: The Sporting News for a great NASCAR fact book, Drew and Amanda for kicking me in the tookus to do this. Extra Special Thanks go to my inspiration: my wife Lynnae, and “the chick-lettes”- Hannah and Jonathan.

I had this headline picked out two days ago. The boys at NASCAR didn’t disappoint with a track pounding war at Martinsville. A record setting 20 caution flags tell you all you need to know about what happens when you stack up 43 cars on a half-mile track with a championship and pride on the line.

For all intents and purposes, it’s a two horse race to the finish to Nextel glory with teammates and buddies Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon running neck and neck. Gordon led the way early on, but once again, regardless of some good short runs by Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and even a few moments for Juan Pablo Montoya- one had the feeling that eventually the Lowe’s #48 Chevy would sieze a lead and wouldn’t let go of it. Jimmie and Jeff traded leads and paint, but it was Jimmie Johnson prevailing for win number seven (making J.J. number one in the series for wins in 2007) at Martinsville.

The wrestling match for the 2007 Nextel Cup will continue next week at Atlanta, where Gordon has four wins, Johnson two (including a March 18 this year).

Other observations:

The Pinball Wizards. If this were football, Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. would be doing serious time in the whirlpool tomorrow. These guys collected more bruises on their cars than a train wreck. If I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn I heard a collective cheer when Junior gave Montoya a little “love tap” to take the lead. I’d also swear that nearly every wreck in the second half of the race had Truex in the middle of it. If rubbin’s racin’, then Truex and Montoya were racin’ hard.

The Race For Pride. Give credit to Ryan Newman. He’s got nothing to lose, and he’s driving like it. It would be real easy for Rocket to mail it in, but now he has two consecutive top fives to his credit. Junior gave it all he had too. Once again, Lil “E” battled bad equipment, but still put himself in a position to finish well. A tip of the cap also goes to chasers whose title hopes have faded away. I thought Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, among others, raced hard and raced like professionals- though it was less than ideal day. Happy qualified well for this race, and Kenseth had the best finish he’s had in over a month.

Green, white, checkered. Now I am a little tired on this. today was the 6th finish of this type in 2007. I am going wonder out loud if one unintended consequence of the more durable Car of Tomorrow is that perhaps cars that would have been parked in the old days are still out limping along cluttering up the the track at the end. At times- I honestly think there are a few too many guys out there at the end that shouldn’t be. It’s be nice to see a cleaner finish- Pepsi 400 style.

To fans who dislike Jimmie and Jeff, I kinda feel for ya. Yet, let us not forget Clint Bowyer still has a slim shot, and anything can happen.

That’s why we keep watchin’.

OK, OK, I know, I know. It’s not where you start but where you finish that matters. Still, I think Jeff Gordon is on a mission, and his vault to the front portends a Martinsville victory.

Think about it, this guy had one, count ‘em one practice lap! Of course, his 7 wins at Martinsville is only bested by Richard Petty (who won 15 times there), and Darrell Waltrip (he visited Victory Lane 11 times at this venue). For those of you who doubt the greatness of the Rainbow Warrior, consider all the variety of tracks he wins on. Road courses, Super Speedways, short tracks- he wins ‘em all!

Now, I will admit winning the pole doesn’t guarantee the win on Sunday. If that were true, Ryan Newman would have 4 Cups by now. It amazes me how you have guys like Tony Stewart, who regularly start towards the back and contends, and the you have guys like Newman and Kasey Kahne- who have the opposite result.

Here at Martinsville, it will matter. Have you seen this track? I swear it looks like they’re running on my aunt and uncle’s driveway! If I didn’t know better, I’d say they paved over my local dirt track. I don’t know how they fit 43 cars on this track. Not that they’ll all be out there long. We’re being promised full contact racing. It will be interesting to see what effect the safer Car of Tomorrow has on the outcome.

Grabbing the pole will be smart. With this kind of race, running out in front of the carnage will be the smarter course. Being a smart track strategist, I’m sure Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte have a plan to run smartly and safely.

Somehow you knew this guy would be out front.

It’s been that kind of year for Jeff Gordon.

I won’t say I am a genius or clairvoyant by any measure, but last Saturday’s race sure turned into Seperation Saturday in the Chase for the 2007 Nextel Cup Championship. To hear everyone tell it, barring a last minute “Hail Mary” by Clint Bowyer, this race has come down to two competitors: Defending Champ Jimmie Johnson and 4-time champ Jeff Gordon.

This is the funniest looking rivalry I’ve ever seen! I mean, you used to have polar opposites going toe to toe: Waltrip vs. Earnhardt, Earnhardt vs. Gordon, Yarborough vs. Pearson, Petty vs. the whole Alabama Gang, or Gordon vs. Stewart, but Gordon vs. Johnson? That’s like David vs. Jonathan, Magic vs. Isaiah, or the Labonte brothers vs……each other! These guys are best friends, and in many ways, have the same fan base.

Even when Junior comes over to Hendrick next year, many Junior fans will still despise Gordon and vice versa. Different drivers with different lifestyles and different fan bases. I mean this showdown is like Chevy vs. Pontiac! Gordo and JJ are both Californians, well-spoken, married, they’ve both won titles, so there’s no “underdog” factor here, and both are accused of being corporate robots by their detractors. It just feels weird.

Now I’m not saying we have fans up in arms over who to root for. As a Gordon fan, I’ll tell you I have no feelings for Jimmie, though I find him likable and respect his talents. By the same token, I definitely know Jimmie fans who’ll never root for the Dupont Chevy. It’s kind of odd, but the two really don’t cross over, so the fan rivalry is still there.

Yes, there’s still Clint Bowyer- champion of the underdog class, and new golden boy for the RCR crowd (who generally loathe HMS).

But “De- nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.” I’ll catch Haides for this one!

Oh boy! Good old fashioned racing will be the order of the day when the NASCAR roadshow comes to Martinsville, Virginia this weekend. They’ll be on the short track spinning like a top on one of NASCAR’s great old race sites.

Early word is that Champion-In-Waiting Jeff Gordon is the odds-on-favorite to win here as he has seven times before. As a fan of the #24 Chevy, I think another win or two would be a fitting exclamation point on his quest for a 2007 Cup championship. No sense in making a nail biter out of this. I mean, Jimmie Johnson’s a good guy in my opinion, but he won it last year, and he’ll have several more seasons left to claim more titles. I really think Gordon’s pushing the finish line and may be out by the time he’s 40. things he’s said just gives you the feeling that he has no magic number of championships to win or races, and he’ll hang it up when he’s good and ready. As a fan, it would be cool to see him win seven, so he could have his name up there with Petty and Earnhardt, but there’s too many variables that play a part in getting there. Like he may never get there. It’d also be nice to see him break 100 wins, and he only had 19 more to go. But as good as he is now, he’s won six, so at this rate, it would take a while. Some time soon Gordon’s racing “passion tank” will run out of gas. If you ask me, it won’t be long before Ingrid and Ella win out over his Chevy.

Gordon aside, there’s a number of guys running well right now. It’s been nice to see Bobby Labonte running well with better cars. Kasey Kahne is showing signs of life. I wouldn’t go shoveling dirt on Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, or Tony Stewart for their title hopes just yet. This kind of track is also one on which you’d expect Junior to run well. Hey- Mark Martin could do well here…if he’s running.

I just hope they don’t get all conservative on us like they did at Talladega. However- it’s a different car on a different track, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.