Bump-Drafts.com

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.

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