Bump-Drafts.com

(A Weekly Edition of bump-drafts.com prepared specially for NASCAR_Nation and NASCAR For Dummies)

What’s Going On Out There? Like many of you, I while away the time in anticipation of the 2008 by checking in from time to time about what’s going on off the track. There’s no shortage of news and grist for the rumor mill. Like:

Mendeering Moves On- That’s today’s big news. You may remember Jeff Mendeering as the guy who filled in as Crew Chief for Jeff Gordon while Steve Letarte was serving his suspension. Former Team Gordon guy Robbie Loomis has been making moves for Petty Enterprises these days, and has brought Mendeering on board to be Crew Chief for Petty driver Bobby Labonte.

You can tell that the King’s men are working feverishly to reclaim Petty glory. They brought Labonte in to pilot Papa Petty’s famed #43 Dodge. Last season, they made yet another Crew Chief change when they brought in Doug Randolph to replace Paul Andrews.  Now we have this move.

As a Labonte fan, I hope it works. I still think Petty still needs to invest in the future by bringing on a promising young driver to groom for NASCAR glory, perhaps to drive Kyle’s car (c’mon Kyle, you know it’s time to go to the booth already).

One thing for sure, Mendeering has learned a thing or two about success in all his years in the Hendrick Motor Sports garage.

The State of The Sport- There’s a lot of banter in the media about fan unrest concerning the sport about which they are so passionate. Some would have you believe that the unrest is so great that the sport is in trouble.

I will need to post very soon as to my own take on the numerous changes that have occurred over the last 4 years or so. I will say no more today than to say that the rumors of NASCAR’s demise are greatly exaggerated. Right now, marketers only rank the NFL ahead of NASCAR as a vehicle to reach upscale (so much for this being a “redneck” sport) males. It’s easy to see that even from an anecdotal perspective, NASCAR is gaining new fans all the time.

Yes, there’s plenty of room for improvement, but the good news (no matter who you are), is that the sport we love so much is very much alive and well. At least the powers that be in NASCAR are for more fan responsive than Major League Baseball, where they live in continual denial about the realities of the viewing public.

Face it folks, no matter how angry you are at Brian France and Mike Helton, you’ll still be there for 2008. Admit it.

Questions About Moves for 2008 Abound- Thank goodness we have a short off-season. There is much water cooler talk about how changes made at the end of the 2007 season will affect 2008. Among other questions:

How will Junior fare at HMS? Was his disastrous 2007 season due to his team, or his driving? Is he really a great driver experiencing bad luck, or is he overrated, thanks to his famous last name?

How will former HMS driver Kyle Busch get along at JGR? The combination of Busch with other strong personalities such as Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin could make for sparks of a good kind or sparks of a bad kind. How will that work? That may depend on…..

How will Toyota fare now that they are affiliated with a major racing team? Toyota haters hate this move, as there are still many that feel a “foreign” (don’t get me started on this now) manufacturer has no business in an American sport. I have to think this move will pan out (The JGR-Toyota marriage). There’s too much at stake for the JGR organization and the Toyota Corporation for this to fail. Still, they have to make it work on the track. If not…..

What will become of Tony Stewart? It’s contract renewal time for Smoke. It’s no secret that struggles at JGR with Toyota would no doubt signal the end of Smoke’s run with Gibbs. Other factors that will play into this is Smoke’s market value (which is very high- who wouldn’t want this successful yet colorful character. Arguably, only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are better among veteran drivers). Stewart will want his due. Also, you can’t around GM’s love of Tony and Smoke’s long standing association with Chevrolet. Hmm. Well, let’s just say that winning trumps everything, so we’ll just have to see how this will play out.

How much effect will having open wheelers have at NASCAR’s highest level? If you believe Jerry Bonkowski from yahoo.com, not much. The struggles of Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti among others demonstrate that even a talented driver can’t just jump into a “stock” car and win. Will Villanueve, Carpentier, and company master the learning curve, or will they become discouraged at return to whence they came? I anticipate a more mixed result- but then, I’m just a fan.

I’m also wondering with great interest where David Stremme, Tony Raines and Jeff Green will land in 2008. I’m also wondering when Brad Coleman, Landon Cassil, Stephen Leicht and Jeffrey Earnhardt will get their Cup break. 

But perhaps the biggest question of them all is: How will we the fans survive until “Speed Week”? I’m working on it, I’m working on it.

Until next week…hang in there. Let me know if you hear anything.

(Special weekly edition of bump-drafts.com)

When I think about it, it’s fitting that the NASCAR season ends just before Thanksgiving. I can now watch the best part of the NFL season with a clear conscience. While I’m in the mood for giving thanks, I will give thanks for the following:

Thanks Jeff Gordon for making this fan proud of you. You racked up a nice bundle of wins and top finishes, and carried yourself with grace through the ups and downs.

Thanks Jimmie Johnson for being a gracious champion.

Thanks Tony Stewart, for being who you are- and for adding color to the 2007 season. I’m glad you pulled off a few wins during an otherwise frustrating season.

Thanks also Smoke for not throwing a hissy fit when your boss announced the move to Toyota in 2008.

Thanks to Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer for the great finish at the Daytona 500.

Thanks Jamie Mc Murray and Kyle Busch for the great finish at the Pepsi 400.

Thanks Casey Mears, Martin Truex, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Clint Bowyer for reminding us how thrilling that first Cup win is.

Thanks Kevin Harvick for respecting Busch Series history when you took over second place in Busch Series wins.

Thanks Richard Petty for hanging around and chiming in with your sage advice.

Thank God for no driver deaths this year.

Thanks Junior, Kasey and Mikey for having a sense of humor during a hellaciously bad season.

Thanks for the backflips, Carl and the fence climb, Tony.

Thanks Jimmie and Matt for some monster burnouts.

Thanks Rick Hendrick for bringing Junior over.

I’m glad you’re still here old schoolers: thanks to Mark Martin, Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, Sterling Marlin, Joe Nemechek, and Kenny’s Schrader and Wallace for being reminders of an era that passed too quickly.

Thanks to my son Jonathan for turning me into a serious race fan.

Thanks to my wife Lynnae for inspiring me to blog.

Thanks for my family: Lynnae, Hannah and Jonathan just because…….

Thanks to all the fans- especially you fine folks in NASCAR-NATION, let’sgoracingfans.com, and NASCAR For Dummies for being great bunch ‘o’ fans to hang out with. I won’t name all the names because I fear I’ll leave somebody out. You’re all great and bring something fun to the party.

And finally, thank God for America and the brave souls who keep us free.

(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: a racer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, Fred Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done it- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. The company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.

(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: aracer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, fed Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. the company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that add, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.

(Prepared specially for letsgoracingfans.com)

In today’s competitive climate of sport, one should never take victory for granted. Take NASCAR for example: aracer is doing incredibly well if he wins 20% of the races he enters. 20%! No less than Mark Martin has said to savor each victory, because you never know if you’ve just won your last one.

That’s just wins, not Championships. The fact that a driver as prodigious as Martin has never won a Cup is testament to this. Neither did greats like Junior Johnson, fed Lorenzen, or Fireball Roberts. Now try wrapping your head around two in a row. Only 8 drivers have done- Dale Earnhardt went “back-to-back” 3 times (1986-87, 1990-91, 1993-94) Richard Petty twice (1971-72, 1974-75), Cale Yarborough pulled a 3-peat from 1976-78, Darrell Waltrip went back to back with Cup titles in 1981 & 82, David Pearson accomplished the feat in 1968 & 69, as did Joe Weatherly in 1962-63. Lee Petty was the original repeat Champ in 1958 & 59. Today we add one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, who added a companion Nextel Cup today next to his 2006 title. the company the El Cajon, California native joins says a lot about the achievement.

Before adding more to that add, let us tip the cap to “Mr. Consistent.” Matt Kenseth ends his 2007 season the way any driver would want to cap off a season. The 35-year old from Cambridge, Wisconsin ends a great stretch of top 5 running with his second victory of the just concluded season. Kenseth quickly overtook Johnson early in today’s Ford 400 at Homestead and never really looked back. Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman kept Kenseth on his toes, but the driver of the #17 Ford was in control. Given that today was the swan song for Kenseth Crew Chief Robbie Reiser, it seems fitting to end the association in this way.

Reiser has accepted a promotion at Roush- Fenway Racing that will enable him to spend more time with his family in 2008. Though he will be missed on the track, Reiser will be a valued contributor to the Roush team in his new capacity. If Kenseth’s late season run is any indicator, there are great things in store for the Ford team that is home to Kenseth, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie Mc Murray and Greg Biffle.

The Roush-Fenway team will no doubt be joined by the likes of Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Joe Gibbs  as teams well-positioned to knock Rick Hendrick off the top of the heap. Nothing lasts forever, but I’m not ready to bet against HMS.

Even on his own team, Johnson will have stiff competition. Jeff Gordon is far from finished as a racer, Casey Mears is a capable driver, and there’s guy named Earnhardt will will be more than ready for a re-birth. It’s this kind of friendly and spirited competition that has made HMS great. I think we’ll see Junior smiling a lot more in 2008.

Next season seems like an eternity away. Plenty of time for Johnson to savor a truly historic season complete with 10 wins, 4 victories in a row and one big trophy.

To Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motor Sports and Johnson’s fans- “Congratulations.” This is truly something special.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been pondering NASCAR fan displeasure with soon-to-be repeat Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. What did he ever do to NASCAR Nation? Other than being the catalyst for the "Big One" at Talladega a couple of years back, the driver of the Lowe’s #48 Chevy has never been one to cause on-track controversy. A trouble maker? No. Johnson seems to be one of the quieter figures in the shop. Off-track mishaps? Nope, the 32-year-old El Cajon, California native has been a model citizen- he even engineered a donation of over a million dollars to victims of the recent southern California wildfires. Is he a cad? No way. Johnson is a happily married man with a beautiful wife who is ever at his side. So what gives? I think I’ve figured it out.

I found the answer as I recalled my favorite football team from the 1970’s: the Dallas Cowboys. Led by Coach Tom Landry and star signal caller Roger Staubach these guys were the original Boy Scouts of professional sports. In spite of the squeaky clean image, they still had fans who hated them. Trust me, wearing the #12 jersey to school got me some nasty glances. I digress.

This was part of the problem for the Cowboys and I think this is a part of the problem for Jimmie Johnson, and for that matter, the rest of the gang in the Hendrick garage. Like the NFL, NASCAR’s popularity stems from being a popular hang-out for the rough and tumble. The NFL gave us the "Purple People Eaters," Al Davis (also known as the "Darth Raider"), "Night Train" Lane and the playboy antics of Paul Hornung (who was also suspended for gambling). Likewise, NASCAR has given us "The Intimidator", infield fist fights, Curtis Turner, and the wild and wacky Flock brothers. Now compare this to the likes of Staubach and Jimmie Johnson, and they look as exciting as your high school science teacher.

So while controversy makes enemies, it also has a strange way of making you friends. Consider NASCAR driver Robby Gordon. His career victory total is less than one-third of Johnson’s season total. Yet- Gordon enjoys a certain popularity because he doesn’t back down from a fight, and has been known to exact a little frontier justice on the track. In the macho world of NASCAR, this has earned the journeyman racer a following.

There’s also a very corporate flair to Team Hendrick and the Cowboys of the 70’s. The result from this creates a perception of favored status by the powers that be of the league. Raider fans (often Cowboy detractors) cried "foul" with every ruling against them, claiming that if the Cowboy brain trust were making a particular move, they’d get away with it because they were perceived to be "good for the NFL." Those same charges are often leveled by NASCAR fans not fond of Hendrick Motor Sports. It is claimed that Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon are often on the receiving end of favorable cautions, rulings, and other such manipulations that create a winning climate. It’s a leap in logic upon examination of the facts and looks at the broader context of the circumstances and the overall effects- yet nonetheless when teams like HMS and the Cowboys win as often as they do, it’s not hard to see why people might conclude they get a helping hand.

In my opinion, we have a case of two organizations that are victims of circumstances, their own success and a lack of color. People like to root for the underdog. These guys aren’t. In the world of sports, there’s a certain attraction to the bad boys. These guys aren’t. When a team dominates like these guys have, it’s easy to fear that the ruler of the day will rule forever.

Look at history. History tells us Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Company won’t dominate forever. Times change. Teams will catch up and slowly but surely, aging drivers will lose their reflexes and their passion.

It’s just a matter of time. We’ve seen it before. 

(From the pages of bump-drafts.com. Prepared specially for NASCAR_Nation and NASCAR For Dummies).

Up Next: The Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sunday November 18, 2007, 2:50 p.m. EST on ABC/MRN. Homestead has been hosting NASCAR since 1999 with the Pennzoil 400. Homestead is a 1.5 mile oval track with 18 to 20 degree banking on the turns and 4 degrees banking on the straights. The race here will mark the end of the 2007 season.

Homestead Facts and Trivia- Tony Stewart won the first race here, right before the turn of the 21st Century. David Green won the pole in 1999 with a qualifying time of 155.759 mph.

Greg Biffle’s 3 Cup wins and single Busch Series win makes him the wins leader at Homestead. Ton Stewart owns a pair of victories in N.N.C. competition, David Reutimann has 2 Craftsman truck Series wins here as well, as does Joe Ruttman.

Jamie Mc Murray is the King of Qualifiers at the south Florida race track with a lap time of 29.816 seconds, earned in his Chip Ganassi Dodge days back in 2003. His speed? 181.111 miles per hour. Tony Stewart owns the fastest race speed, thanks to his performance in the inaugural race at Homestead with an average speed of 140.335 m.p.h.

The record for cautions here is 14, thanks to the 2004 race. The fewest yellows? 1was waved in 1999. Just one!

This track is also not one for taking out drivers, as many as 42 finished (in 2001), 32 is the mark for the fewest finishers (that’s happened 3 times, the latest being 2006).

NASCAR News & Gossip

The Grand Finale- It all ends here gang! The season that gave us the side-to-side finish of Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin at Daytona is now drawing to a close with Jimmie Johnson leading the way. We’ve seen a little of everything: photo finishes like the Johnson victory over teammate Jeff Gordon and Jamie Mc Murray’s sliver of a win over Kyle Busch at the Pepsi 400. 

Driver Domination- We’ve also seen what domination looks like. Johnson’s 4 race winning streak, the longest since 1998 when some guy named Gordon did it. Kurt Busch also showed us a dominating race run at the 2nd Pocono event.

Team Troubles- Teammate conflict has also grabbed headlines- the first Martinsville race resulted in a chilling period between Jeff and Jimmie. A Pepsi 400 wreck caused tensions between Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin that were bad enough that team owner Joe Gibbs had to intervene. The there was the recent row between Roush-Fenway teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.

Junior’s On The Move- For all that other noise,  no other headline grabbed as much attention as the announcement by Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he was leaving DEI, the team founded by his legendary father. Teresa Earnhardt rebuffed Junior’s attempts to gain 51 percent ownership of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, resulting in the departure. 2008 will mark  Earnhardt’s maiden voyage at Hendrick Motorsports, a change that produces mixed emotions in Junior Nation. While many fans agree that this will provide the driver of the #88 Chevy the best equipment and technology in the business, it leaves fans who have generally thought of HMS as the "Evil Empire" feeling perplexed, considering that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will now be teammates with Senior’s last great rival, Jeff Gordon.

C-c-c-hanges- This move triggered a domino effect. Junior coming over to HMS meant the release of Kyle Busch. Busch will now join Joe Gibbs Racing, who announced over the summer that they will be racing in Toyotas in 2008. This pushed former open wheel star J.J. Yeley, and now the 30-year old Arizona native will move to Hall of Fame Racing to take a ride from journeyman driver Tony Raines. Raines is joined in the so-to-be unemployed ranks by David Stremme, Jeff Green (who got an early start on his vacation), Johnny Sauter, Sterling Marlin (who will likely retire), Regan Smith, and Kenny Wallace among others.

Jeremy Mayfield was taken on by a new employer when he moved to Haas-CNC Racing, taking over the #66 ride from Green. Scott Riggs will take over the #70 Chevrolet from Sauter.

All the moving around also brought about a merger. DEI joined forces this year with Ginn Racing. This not only brought about a releasing of Marlin and Joe Nemechek (who has since moved over to Furniture Row racing, driving the #78 car once occupied by Kenny Wallace), but the merger also brought in Mark Martin to be the elder statesman in the DEI garage. He will continue to race part-time in 2008, piloting the #8 Chevy vacated by Junior. Aric Almirola will race in the #8 when Martin is off.

Rudd Retires- Speaking of older drivers, the upcoming season finale will mark the end of the 32-year racing career of Ricky Rudd. Think about it, Rudd has raced with everybody from Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough to former Indy champ Sam Hornish. Rudd made over 900 starts in his Cup career and ol’ Ricky takes home 23 victories- the last coming in 2002 at Infineon. All you old schooler know that Rudd’s first came at Riverside in 1983. He’s been a team owner and has driven for the likes of the Wood Brothers, Rick Hendrick, Robert Yates, Richard Childress and Bud Moore among others.

Rudd may never go down in history as one of the greats, but certainly no career has been more enduring. Only Richard Petty started more races than the Chesapeake, Virginia native, as The King took the green flag an exhausting 1,184 times.

New, Yet Familiar Faces- While old schoolers Rudd and Dale Jarrett (who will hang it up 5 races into 2008) are going out, open wheelers are coming in. A veritable "foreign invasion" is taking place with former open wheel studs Jacques Villanueve (racing for Red Bull in the #27), Dario Franchitti (racing primarily in the Nationwide Series for Chip Ganassi), and Patrick Carpentier (racing for Gillette-Evernham in the #10) coming over to NASCAR. For long-time NASCAR fans, this is an uncomfortable situation as it is a reminder that the sport once dominated by red-blooded southern drivers is now becoming even more diverse with these guys, as well as Ohio-born Indy champ Sam Hornish, who will race for Roger Penske in 2008.

 New Sponsors- It should also be mentioned the Dale Jr. exit from DEI also triggered sponsorship changes. Budweiser, who’s sponsored Junior since he was a pup, will now sponsor a driver who LOOKS like a pup, Kasey Kahne in 2008. Mt. Dew/Amp will sponsor Junior’s #88 ride. After an eternity of sponsoring JGR’s #18 car, Interstate Battery is getting out of NASCAR. The car that will be run by Kyle Busch in 2008 will be sponsored primarily by M&M’s- who currently sponsors the #38 driven by David Gilliland. I’ve heard no word on who will pick Gilliland up.

Speaking of sponsors, the Cup Series will be sponsored by Sprint in 2008, the former Busch series will become Nationwide next year.

It truly has been the King of Silly Seasons, and the recent events that may very well prevent Jeff Gordon from getting this 5th Cup Championship has caused quite a debate over the worthiness of the Chase. Gordon fans are also quick to point out Gordon would have won his 5th back in 2004, the first year of the chase, had it not been for the new "playoff" system.

What’s Next?- For fans unhappy with the current direction take heart: all of events I’ve highlighted above tell you that nothing stays the same in this sport and it’s often a good thing. What changes there are ahead are unknown, but one thing is sure. It will be impossible for 2008 to be a repeat of 2007. We’ll be looking for changes in NASCAR leadership, and with that, a possibility of rule changes.

NASCAR Terminology-

Head and Neck Restraint- "NASCAR mandates the use of a head and neck restraint system, the approved HANS Device, for all drivers competing in any of NASCAR’s three national  series (Nextel Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series), as well as its touring series." (Now if NASCAR can come up with a "mouth restraint" maybe Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch wouldn’t get in so much trouble. Oh wait, that’s what Mike Helton is for). Some theorize that HANS device could have prevented the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in 2001.

Window Net- "Keeps a driver’s head and limbs inside the car during accidents." NASCAR pioneer Joe Weatherly died when his head hit the wall in a crash at Riverside in 1965, signaling the need for this safety device. 

Ignition Kill Switch- "Shuts off engine in emergency situations." When one considers driver deaths like Adam Petty’s due to stuck throttles, this is a critical safety innovation.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and thanks for your input.

Special Thanks- to Dixie, Drew, and Amanda.

Extra Special Thanks- to the 2007 Edition of the Sporting News Officially Licensed NASCAR Record and Fact Book for all the facts and definitions.

Extra, Extra Special Thanks to- God (the giver of all good things), my wife Lynnae (the giver of inspiration and the mother of my children), and to my Chicklettes (Hannah and Jonathan) for much pride and joy.

(A special edition of bump-drafts.com prepared for letsgoracingfans.com- a really cool place for NASCAR fans to hang out.)

It’s like the country singer Jerry Reed used to sing "When you’re hot, you’re hot." NASCAR fans haven’t seen a streak like this since 1998 when Jeff Gordon reeled off four consecutive wins en route to his 3rd Cup title and 2nd in a row. Jimmie Johnson picked up his 4th victory in a row today and a Nextel Cup high 10th for 2007 in the the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Speedway.

For a while, it looked like pole-sitter Carl Edwards had something for the #48. Edwards ticked off 87 laps before becoming afflicted with a little bad luck I sadly call"Junior-itis." With a little hiccup of the engine, Edwards goes from hero to zero.

Edward’s teammate Matt Kenseth once again looked like a potential winner. He was at or near the front all day. But if Edwards caught "Junior-itis," then Kenseth has "Mark Martin-itis." This syndrome is also known as "always a bridesmaid, but never a bride." Sadly Kenseth ran another near perfect race, but unfortunately, near perfect is not perfect enough when up against the Johnson juggernaut.

It’s pure and simple. Johnson is in a zone. I would liken it to the night when Joe Montana completed 21 passes in a row, or when Kobe Bryant scored 81 points. If you’ve experienced "the zone" then you know what I’m talking about. If you’re an auto racer, the events on the track are frozen in time, but you’re still going 200 miles an hour. Nothing can touch you. It’s as if destiny has called your number.

Johnson was at the front or near it all day. Every pit stop ran with surgical precision. Chad Knaus seems incapable of making a bad call. Short runs, long runs, it’s all going Jimmie’s way. Making more smooth the path to victory are the declining fortunes of 2nd place chaser Jeff Gordon.

Gordon just didn’t have it today. Gordon never captured the lead. His car never handled quite right. The #24 Chevy just didn’t have the juice, and compounding his frustration was trading paint late in the race with Kevin Harvick. Gordon was quick to point out in his post race interview that he was fading before the incident, so in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t affect the outcome.

Other drivers looked promising to push Johnson. Tony Stewart made a great late run, as did Ryan Newman. Unfortunately, Newman looked wimpy on the restarts. For Stewart, it was a case of being good, but not quite good enough. Greg Biffle looked great late, but ran out of laps. The same can also be said for Kyle Busch, who was unable to pull a series sweep at Phoenix. 

The open wheel defectors were a topic of much conversation going into today’s action, but they were relatively quiet today. Jacques Villanueve showed us that racing NASCAR isn’t as easy as it looks. A loose car led to a minor collision, but the impact was enough to crash him out. Patrick Carpentier was nearly invisible, running quietly in the back, and Sam Hornish had an inauspicious Cup debut. For these guys, success is measured by finishing the race and not causing trouble. Hornish and Carpentier acquitted themselves nicely today.

The way this season is playing out is disappointing to many observers, but you have to give J.J. credit. He can do no wrong right now. What else can you say? To put in perspective remember that Johnson has won four in a row- Bobby Labonte won a Cup title in 2000 having won four ALL season.

It’s like watching the Patriots or the Yankees win. You may not like it, but you have to respect that they do all the things all things needed to do to win.

Jimmie Johnson is carving out a little piece of history for himself, and we’re all eye witnesses to it.

The King of Concrete’s First Lady, Nancy Sterling got quite a birthday present today. Her son Carl Edwards took the pole for the Checker Auto Parts 400 at Phoenix International Speedway.

I don’t care if you like Carl or not, there’s just something cool about seeing his mom cheer him on. I’m a NASCAR fan and a frustrated sportscaster, not a gossip columnist, so I don’t have any idea who the girlfriend is. I just think it’s cool that Nancy is as into Carl’s accomplishments as he is while Edwards is still a bachelor.

It’s been a nice little run here for Cousin Carl, capturing the Busch Series title and his first pole of 2007 in the same week. It kind of takes the edge off of the little flare up with teammate Matt Kenseth a couple of week ago.

I think what we’re learning about Edwards is that he is human after all. Yes, he’s always giving his trophies away and does all kinds of humanitarian good works, but at the end of the day, he’s a competitor. Like all fierce competitors- he gets angry when he loses. REAL angry. Then he does what many really angry people do, he says and does stupid things.

It was interesting to get some comments from him on this subject in an video interview on NASCAR.com this week. He basically clarified where he was coming from in terms of standing up for himself when he thinks he’s been wrong. When asked if he was concerned he’d lose fans over this, he said "To (a region south of us) with them." Edwards added was content to have the support of family and friends.

It takes a thick skin to be a public figure, something that I know from first hand experience in a couple of arenas is not easy to come by. You know that unless you’re a wallflower, you’re going to get rocks thrown at you once in a while. All the popular drivers have a share of detractors that are as significant as their fan base. Look around and you’ll see that Junior, Gordon, Stewart and even Jimmie Johnson have "haters." Now "The Opie Taylor of NASCAR" is a part of the fraternity.

It sure helps to have family in times like these.

Happy Birthday, Mama Carl! Your boy is on a roll!

NASCAR’s getting to be a regular soap opera. They talk about silly season? I think silly season in this sport runs January 1 through December 31. The rumors, suggestions of conspiracies, and whining by fans never ends. This is some of the stuff going on lately and rumors I’ve been hearing about:

"Smoke" Breezing on to RCR- That’s right. Rumor has it that Tony Stewart will move on to become a 4th driver at Richard Childress Racing when his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing ends. As one who has been following pro sports journalistically for a long time, let me tell you a lot of talk (and I mean talk) gets thrown around. Suffice it to say, Tony Stewart and his agent know darn well his value to JGR as the veteran leader and most consistent performer. While Denny Hamlin and the soon arriving Kyle Busch are fantastic drivers, they don’t have Smoke’s mileage and track record. No doubt Stewart would love to get top dollar for his services. Floating rumors about a move to RCR would serve that end well, especially knowing that Gibbs’ Racing would highly value the credibility Stewart would give JGR while they begin work with a new manufacturer (Toyota)  that has not performed especially well in its first season with NASCAR.

Let me assure you that this is just a rumor. J.D. and Joe have plenty of money to keep Tony around, and while his presence on the team comes with a psychological price tag, as well as monetarily, they know what they have and will do everything to keep him.

To be perfectly honest, those who hate the presence of the Japanese auto giant in the Cup Series are more likely the source of this talk- if it’s not being "leaked" by someone in the Stewart camp posturing for more money.

A Tony move to RCR ain’t gonna happen folks.

Hall of Fame Racing to go with Toyota- Hall of Fame Racing, owned by executives from the Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as NFL legends Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, are quite likely to move to Toyota next year.

Considering their affiliation with Joe Gibbs’ Racing, the move makes sense. The owners of the #96 currently driven by 44-year old Tony Raines will also be hiring on former Gibbs’ driver J.J. Yeley, aced out of the JGR picture by the arrival of Kyle Busch, who lost his ride at Hendrick Motor Sports when Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving DEI to go with Jeff Gordon and Company. This my friends is what you call a domino effect.

This WILL happen.

Sam Hornish Goes Cup- This IS happening. An announcement is being made that Indy Car Champion Sam Hornish will join the growing legion of open wheel drivers joining up with NASCAR. Roger Penske is adding a third team with a car that Hornish will pilot. He will drive a #77 Dodge with Mobil One as a primary sponsor. Some fans are disturbed by the move, as they question the commitment of Penske to his two current teams for Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. Busch made the Chase for the Nextel Cup this year, but his performances have been a bit uneven. Newman hasn’t won a race in over 2 years. Meanwhile Hornish has been unable to qualify the #06 Penske Dodge.

Hornish joins Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villanueve, Dario Franchitti, and Patrick Carpentier as former open wheel drivers who’ve recently made the jump.

Driver Scramble- This week Johnny Benson will take over the #36 Toyota recently vacated by Jeremy Mayfield. Mayfieldis finishing out the 2007 season in his 2008 ride, the #66 Chevrolet once driven by Jeff Green. Mike Skinner has seen recent action in the car Benson will be driving.

Kyle Busch will be a busy guy this week. We learned in the Thursday edition of ESPN’s NASCAR Now that Busch the younger will enter the Busch Series race, the Craftsman Truck race, and will be running a Late Model race in Las Vegas (Busch’s home town). And oh by the way, Kyle will still be looking to fortify his 4th place standing in the Nextel Cup chase Sunday.

Busch Series stalwart Brad Coleman will see Cup action in 2008. The Texas native has signed on to do 7 races at NASCAR’s top level in 2008 for Hall of Fame as they will add a second team. Earlier, the 19-year old Coleman had committed run with Brewco Racing in what will be called the Nationwide (soon to be formerly Busch) Series in 2008.

There’s a lot of movement and not certain word on the 2008 whereabouts of Green, Tony Raines, Johnny Sauter, David Stremme (who seems to have a Nationwide ride lined up) and Kenny Wallace.

There’s lots of commotion in the pits as well. Denny Hamlin has just announced a change on his crew for changing tires. Fatback Mc Swain (Crew Chief late of Wood Bro’s.) is looking for work, and we’re hearing that yet another Crew Chief will guide the #43 Dodge driven by Bobby Labonte. jayski.com says Doug Randolph, who took over the lead in the pit box, is moving to to guide the #15 Chevy of Paul Menard. Menard’s Crew Chief is being promoted to technical director at DEI.

Wow! this is making my head spin.

We’ll try to stay on top of it.

Gosh ladies, you thought following the soaps was complicated.