Bump-Drafts.com

When: Sunday, March 30, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT Green Flag Start

Where: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia

Broadcast: FOX-TV Network, 1:30 p.m. EDT Pre-Race, 10:30 PDT

Track facts: Martinsville is NASCAR’s shortest track at .526 miles. The track possesses 12 degree banking in the turns, and it’s flat as a board on the straights. The track is asphalt with concrete corners.

Track History- NASCAR’s oldest track held its maiden race on September 25, 1949. The winner? World War II hero Red Byron. Curtis “Pops” Turner started from the pole. Jimmie Johnson has won the last THREE races at Martinsville, and no doubt he’ looking forward to this occasion to get his 2008 turned around.

The Qualifying Record? “Smoke”- Tony Stewart ran a qualifying lap in 19.306 with a speed of 98.083 m.p.h., October 21, 2005

The record for race speed is 82.223 m.p.h. by Jeff Gordon on September 22, 1996. He ran the race in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds.

“The King” is the King. Richard Petty holds the record for victories at Martinsville with 15. Among active drivers, Jeff Gordon has 7.

Ol’ D.W. is the “King of Qualifying.” Darrell Waltrip has 8 poles. Jeff Gordon must really like it here. “The Rainbow Warrior” has earned 6 poles- making him top of the heap for active drivers.

21 caution flags flew last fall, beating the old record of 19. On three occasions, only one caution waved, the most recent being April 25, 1971.

Other track trivia: “Mr. September,” Harry Gant was the oldest winner at this track at the age of 51 years old in 1991. Richard Petty is the youngest Cup driver to win here, he did so just 2 months shy of his 23rd birthday in 1960. Petty Enterprises is the winningest team here with 19.

Who’s been the best here in recent years? Besides the defending champion Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch have posted the best averages in the last couple of seasons.

What’s Up?: NASCAR Cup action returns after taking an Easter holiday. Crew chief Gene Nead is leaving the #21. Until joining Wood Bros. in November, 2007, he was crew chief for Robby Gordon. There’s also talk of a merge between two Dodge teams- BAM Racing, owned by Beth Ann Morgenthau and Petty Enterprises.

What’s interesting about looking at the list of good runners on this track is that all of the drivers on that list have a reputation for aggressiveness, with the possible exception of Johnson, who in my opinion has a driving style quite similar to the “Silver Fox”- David Pearson. Johnson just lays back, and then….WHAM! He’s on you like a cat on a blue jay.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR for Dummies Primer

Apron: We’re not talking about what grillmasters wear at infield and tail gate parties. In this case, the “apron” is the paved portion of a track that separates the racing surface from the infield.

B-post: This is the post extending from the roofline to the base of the window behind the driver’s head.

Compound: We’ve heard a lot about compounds after the controversial Atlanta race. The compound is the formula or recipe of rubber composing a particular tire. Left-side tires are considerably softer than right-side tires, and it’s against the rules to run left sides on the right. There are four basic components: rubber polymers, carbon blacks, oils and curatives.

Thanks for reading everybody! Enjoy the race.

When: Sunday, March 30, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT, 11:00 a.m. PDT Green Flag Start

Where: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia

Broadcast: FOX-TV Network, 1:30 p.m. EDT Pre-Race, 10:30 PDT

Track facts: Martinsville is NASCAR’s shortest track at .526 miles. The track possesses 12 degree banking in the turns, and it’s flat as a board on the straights. The track is asphalt with concrete corners.

Track History- NASCAR’s oldest track held its maiden race on September 25, 1949. The winner? World War II hero Red Byron. Curtis “Pops” Turner started from the pole. Jimmie Johnson has won the last THREE races at Martinsville, and no doubt he’ looking forward to this occasion to get his 2008 turned around.

The Qualifying Record? “Smoke”- Tony Stewart ran a qualifying lap in 19.306 with a speed of 98.083 m.p.h., October 21, 2005

The record for race speed is 82.223 m.p.h. by Jeff Gordon on September 22, 1996. He ran the race in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds.

“The King” is the King. Richard Petty holds the record for victories at Martinsville with 15. Among active drivers, Jeff Gordon has 7.

Ol’ D.W. is the “King of Qualifying.” Darrell Waltrip has 8 poles. Jeff Gordon must really like it here. “The Rainbow Warrior” has earned 6 poles- making him top of the heap for active drivers.

21 caution flags flew last fall, beating the old record of 19. On three occasions, only one caution waved, the most recent being April 25, 1971.

Other track trivia: “Mr. September,” Harry Gant was the oldest winner at this track at the age of 51 years old in 1991. Richard Petty is the youngest Cup driver to win here, he did so just 2 months shy of his 23rd birthday in 1960. Petty Enterprises is the winningest team here with 19.

Who’s been the best here in recent years? Besides the defending champion Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch have posted the best averages in the last couple of seasons.

What’s Up?: NASCAR Cup action returns after taking an Easter holiday. Crew chief Gene Nead is leaving the #21. Until joining Wood Bros. in November, 2007, he was crew chief for Robby Gordon. There’s also talk of a merge between two Dodge teams- BAM Racing, owned by Beth Ann Morgenthau and Petty Enterprises.

What’s interesting about looking at the list of good runners on this track is that all of the drivers on that list have a reputation for aggressiveness, with the possible exception of Johnson, who in my opinion has a driving style quite similar to the “Silver Fox”- David Pearson. Johnson just lays back, and then….WHAM! He’s on you like a cat on a blue jay.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR for Dummies Primer

Apron: We’re not talking about what grillmasters wear at infield and tail gate parties. In this case, the “apron” is the paved portion of a track that separates the racing surface from the infield.

B-post: This is the post extending from the roofline to the base of the window behind the driver’s head.

Compound: We’ve heard a lot about compounds after the controversial Atlanta race. The compound is the formula or recipe of rubber composing a particular tire. Left-side tires are considerably softer than right-side tires, and it’s against the rules to run left sides on the right. There are four basic components: rubber polymers, carbon blacks, oils and curatives.

Thanks for reading everybody! Enjoy the race.

(A Special Weekly edition of bump-drafts.com)

Now how’s that for a race? Old schoolers looking for the NASCAR they fell in love have got be happy with all the paint tradin’ we saw today. I’m really beginning to love short track racing. I can’t wait ’til Martinsville.

I’m getting a little humble pie from Richard Childress Racing- I really wasn’t impressed with their 2007 finish and predicted that RCR would have a rough ‘08. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The whole dang team goes 1-2-3, after it looked like we might have a 1-2-3 Joe Gibbs’ finish.

Congratulations to NASCAR’s respected ambassador Jeff Burton. You have to enjoy seeing one of NASCAR’s class acts win one. The fact his teammates Happy Harvick and Clint Bowyer finishing second and third respectively makes it all the sweeter.

Tony Stewart sure looked good early. Kyle Busch rallied quickly from the back, and Denny Hamlin looked like a winner today. In all, The JGR trio led an incredible 372 of 500 laps. The disappointment has to be palpable.

Let’s be sure we understand the Harvick-Stewart crash was a race incident. Stewart and Harvick are buds, and Smoke has even run for Harvick in the Nationwide, so there was no malice intended there. Harvick showed class by taking responsibility. Stewart showed world class restraint, by not going off during his post-race interview. Harvick just crawled up the track. That’s all.

Hamlin said something about the JGR cars not taking fuel well. Toyota’s still a work in progress, but they’re by no means a laughingstock.

OK, so Shrub shows he’s still mortal. There’s no truth to the rumor Busch took the first flight out. Between today’s loss of steering and yesterday’s mishap in the Nationwide, this weekend was a cluster for Rowdy.

While the RCR crew chiefs made great calls at the end, Tony Eury blew it for Junior. I will give Lil “E” credit for his class in the post-race interview. In a twist of irony, Junior said it was Eury’s fault for getting him a good enough car to run up front, so that we can even speculate what Earnhardt would have done at the end with fresh tires.

Props have to go out to Aric Almirola. In his 7th Cup start, on a hellacious track, Mark Martin’s back-up pulled out a top 10 for DEI. David Gilliland ran a heck of a race as well.

The Rocky Balboa Award for the Fighter of the Week has to go to Hamlin. #11 overcame a number of adversities to be in a position to win at the end.

We saw today why I LIKE the Car of Tomorrow. Look at all the cars we had out there at the end- including the #84 of Mike Skinner AFTER HIS CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE. These cars look like those old cracker tins, but man, they are tanks!

Other random thought include:

What was with Paul Menard today? That whole bit with crashing Franchitti was very uncool. I also blog at Fanboom, and in a post yesterday where I had a top 10 overrated drivers list, Menard made it. I swear if it weren’t for the fact that Menard’s is a major DEI sponsor, I don’t think he’d be here. I’m not to keen on this guy right now.

The Dodge Boys have sure fallen back. After promising starts, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, and Elliott Sadler have fallen off the radar. Kasey Kahne’s still looking good. I’ll maintain Bobby Labonte was a victim of bad luck.

The Top 35 will sure look different next time out. We’ll have to sort through that soon. I really question how effective the points swap for Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish was. I hate to see Dave Blaney fall below NASCAR’s “Mendoza Line.”

Dale Jarrett rides off into the sunset with a respectable finish See ya in the broadcast booth, my friend. Thanks or the memories. Papa Ned must be proud.

Good race today. Keep it up boys!

Anybody looking for good story lines in NASCAR need look no further than Joe Gibbs Racing. There’s more potential here for high drama than National Treasure with a combustible mix of personalities, a switch in manufacturers and a heightened presence of the team owner, who just gave up his day job as coach of the Washington Redskins. There’s more question marks here than there are for the presidential primaries for one of the sport’s most successful, yet colorful teams.

Tony Stewart is without a doubt the most recognized figure on the team. As one writer has put it, the driver known as “Smoke” (for his ability to smoke the competition) has 12 personalities, nine of whom are likable and funny and three that would like to punch you in the month. A solid late season run, including one in his home state of Indiana, helped temper an otherwise frustrating season that included more run-ins with the press and teammate Denny Hamlin- plus a tactical mistake at Kansas that cost a shot at a third Cup title.

All eyes are on Stewart as his current contract will be up faster than you can say Dale Earnhardt. Some have intrepreted his “wait and see” stance on negotiations as a sign of unrest or perhaps unhappiness with JGR’s switch to Toyota- a rumor chiefly perpetuated by fans who can’t fathom the Rushville Rocket in anything but a Chevy.

Me? I’m predicting a third Cup title for Stewart in 2008. Because of those looming contract talks, I think he wants to pull down maximum money, and nothing would solidify his high profile stock more than a third Cup trophy, and a first for JGR’s new manufacturer.

Where things will really get interesting is what happens with the younger drivers in the Gibbs’ garage. Denny Hamlin was firmly cemented in the role as the up and coming golden boy until the arrival of Kyle Busch. Hamlin had his ups and downs of late. Hamlin picked up a win and rced well enough to make the Chase. On the other hand, Hamlin faded down the stretch and the driver of the #11 FedEx Chevrolet got into with Tony Stewart at Daytona, and also mixed it up with the otherwise calm and collected Kyle Petty in a late season skirmish. No doubt Hamlin would like a strong start to demonstrate that HE is the most promising young driver at Gibbs, not the driver known as “Rowdy”, or “Shrub” by his detractors.

Kyle Busch could certainly make things interesting in either good or bad ways at Joe Gibbs. Many NASCAR insiders, including the aforementioned Petty, think that Busch the younger is the most promising driver of the younger set. No doubt the guy who’ll be driving the #18 M&Ms Camry in 2008 had his moments of brilliance in 2007. By the same token, Busch is given to moments of immaturity- leaving the track early after a wreck at Texas (ironically, the already knocked out Dale Jr. finished the race in Busch’s car), and negative comments about his team after a narrow loss in the Pepsi 400 did nothing to enhance his image in a positive way. Still, Busch put on a good face down the stretch (for the most part), and finished with solid performances.

This little battle could play out a number of ways. The question is- will the two youngsters fight like Cain and Abel? or will this be a friendly team rivalry like that of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson that brings out the best in each other? Inquiring minds want to know.

If the truth is known, it could go either way. With Busch and Hamlin, you want to believe that they get it, but there’s as good a chance that they don’t.

This team has a lot riding on it. Joe Gibbs couldn’t have timed his return to his racing team any better. If he can’t hold this bunch together, no one can. Personally, I wouldn’t bet against the team that has helped put Stewart on the champion’s podium twice and made a 2000 Cup champion out of Bobby Labonte. For all the drama and hijinx, these guys know a thing or two about winning.

I walk away from today’s race in Kansas with the same reaction I frequently had with a former co-worker who just tended to babble on in unrelated cliches: Huh?
I should have known something was up when the answering machine at home featured a cryptic message from my brother-in-law Brad. He with an evil Beavis-n-Butthead laugh and a “watch what happens around lap 30″ remark. I’ll let you in on a little secret: we frequently have to TiVo the races because we’re usually in church when a race starts 10 am PST. Given the fact he returns home earlier than we do, we often get such messages when something good, interesting or downright bizarre happens. In today’s case, the latter occurred on cue.
In my mind, it ranks up there with the Busch race in Montreal as the weirdest race we’ve had all year. Everything started out the way you’d expect with all the usual suspects (Kenseth, the Busch boys) running up front and all the usual suspects (Michael Waltrip, Scott Riggs) fading back after qualifying well. Then, as promised, Junior inexplicably whacks Kyle Busch on lap 28 for no apparent reason. Now I am no real fan of the #5 Kellogg’s Chevy, but it looks fishy. Junior apologized later and took responsibility, but you really have to wonder if the guy who had nothing to lose felt like messing with the guy he replaces at HMS next year. It makes me wonder.
Then there was the 2nd red flag of the day, and the ensuing drama of Tony Stewart’s fuel supply. In my mind, you could have made an argument for finishing the race here. I knew that a resumption of the race would result in circus following it, but since Tony’s no favorite of mine, I didn’t fuss much about it. I got to watch my beloved Broncos get pummeled by the Colts and would get to see the finish in real time. Like I said, it was shaping up to be a weird day.
I can’t forget the Jeff Burton “I wasn’t messin’ with my car” flap. He got sent to the back because he was working on his car during a red flag- a NASCAR no-no. I like J.B., but he’s gotta be the worst actor in NASCAR. I’m not a big fan of Rusty Wallace as a commentator, but I got a laugh as Wallace shared about having one of his crew on sentry duty when he would do the same. Seriously Jeff, with all those cameras around, you need to plan your skullduggery better than that.
Sure enough, though the race would be shortened, we weren’t shortchanged on drama. Throughout the race we watched the lead get tossed around like the old baseball game of “Flip.” We had Matt Kenseth running hard and running well, Dave Blaney making some noise, Kurt Busch representing Penske and Dodge well in this race, Jimmie Johnson charging hard from the back, and Kansas’ favorite son Clint Bowyer looking like he could be a man of destiny. Let us also not forget that Tony Stewart was looking pretty good for a while there too.
The Tony and a whole gaggle of other participants set off a chain of events that greatly altered the outcome. Chasers Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton were already having a bad day. Smoke already had a bent up fender and there were questions about how the fender on the Home Depot Chevy would “travel.” Crew Chief turned commentator Andy Petree questioned the move by the #20 team to stay out, and by golly, Greg Zipandelli and Tony Stewart made the former Earnhardt pit boss look like a prophet. Sure enough, Tony seemed to slow down a bit, got hit by his old buddy (NOT) Kurt Busch and got taken out of the game, while collecting Carl Edwards in the process. Unlike yesterday, Tony wisely took a look around and declined comment. The picture of him throwing his steering wheel said quite enough.
Oh, but only if the drama ended there! You remember how things got nasty between Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard yesterday. It was followed with more drama between the 26-year-olds. On one of the restarts, we had 3-wide action between Menard, Hamlin and Jamie Mc Murray. Mc Murray on the inside, brushed Menard in the middle, who in turn, rammed Hamlin. Of course Hamlin’s people blamed Menard. It was his fault right? Sure (cough,cough- Nextel’s next nasty rivalry).
So, as the race nears the finish we have Kevin Harvick gutting out a tough day and yet running towards the front with company from fellow chasers Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. As the laps click away, it sure looks like Bowyer may have a shot at catching Mr. Hard Luck himself- Greg Biffle. Just as it looks like we’re gonna have a Dayonta style dogfight at the end, Juan Pablo Montoya brushes the wall. Caution comes out, darkness prevails, and Greg Biffle finishes under yellow. Or did he?
Of course there has to be more drama. For reasons unclear to me and a lot of other people, the #16 Aflac Ford cruises onto the infield grass. Some say Biffle was running out of gas and couldn’t finish under his own power. Others would say that the “frozen field” rule was in effect and this whole flap is immaterial. I’m not sure myself (after all, I am a fan and not an expert), but it gives those unhappy with the NASCAR governing body one more reason to complain about how such matters are handled.
Me? I was just glad to have it over, glad to see a face in Victory Lane we had not seen in a while, and glad to see the leaderboard shuffled just a little bit more.
Man, I need a nap.

Now that was a race! I’m not sure I’d grade it as the best of 2007, but it was certainly a change of pace from the dominating performances we’ve recently seen.

Jimmie faded fast. To make matters worse, he came up lame with a flat tire. Then it looked like Denny Hamlin might break out the broom for a Dover sweep. He fell back and then he and Kype Petty offered up our daily dose of fireworks. A little more intense than the near mishap between Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon in the pits. It sure looked like Matt Kenseth was going to pull away with the win, then he ran into uncharacteristic engine trouble. Rusty Wallace of ABC/ESPN pointed out this was the first DNF due to engine failure that M.K. had in over 2 years. Then the King of Concrete- Carl Edwards overtook the lead and mastered the Monster Mile for the win.

He had plenty of familiar company near the top. One gets the feeling that Roush/Fenway Racing has a handle on the Car of Tomorrow. we expect Carl to be good. It was nice to see teammates Kenseth and Greg Biffle running up front with him.

We had a little something for everybody- not only did Roush fans have something to cheer about- there was good news for HMS fans too. In spite of finishing outside the Top 10, Jeff Gordon is now the leader in the Chase standings, followed by teammate and defending champ Jimmie Johnson.

Old schoolers had to love that Mark Martin ran well today. He had the staying power to run up front, just not enough juice to overtake the Office Depot 99. It sounds like the furthering progression of the merge between DEI and Ginn Racing is enabling Mark to get better information.

Junior fans had a top 5 finish to cheer about. He couldn’t quite reach the very front, but seemed to run a very smart efficient race.

Fight fans had to get a kick out of the Denny Hamlin- Kyle Petty confrontation. Kyle said something about Denny hallucinating on whatever he was taking for his “flu.” If you ask me, when referencing my post from yesterday- Denny won the batte and lost the war.

Wreck fans weren’t cheated either. We got a mini-version of “The Big One” at Dover. Seems Kurt Busch blew a tire and collected about 11 other cars with him.

Looking back, it’s still early yet, but it looks like a pecking order is coming into view. It is my opinion that Hamlin and Harvick will finish outside the top 10, with Gordon, Johnson, Edwards, Stewart and I’m gonna say…….Matt Kenseth making the top 5.

Shout Out For The Boards- Kodiak 621 at “NASCAR for Dummies” has a great set of files on NASCAR families, and “Women of NASCAR” (I suspect his wife Amanda is carrying some ‘o’ the water on that one). You can see a great love of auto racing history and stats there. The kind of stuff I like.

I get a lot of good laughs out of ‘NASCAR Drivers Rule”. lots of good humor here. Somebody decided yesterday to re-cast “Star Wars” with NASCAR celebs. Imagine Junior as “Luke Skywalker” or Kenny Wallace as “C3PO”? I loved it!

See ya later,

Jimmy Mac

Today, we experienced another chapter in sports history where a crippled up or sick athlete gutted his way to victory. Did you see Denny Hamlin before today’s Busch Series race? He looked like a real rock star, ahem, the way they look the morning after the show. He looked horrible. What it is about being in that shape that elevates the game of professional athletes is truly a curious thing.
It brought back memories of a Michael Jordan performance that NBA star-turned Busch car owner- turned announcer Brad Daugherty would be happy to forget: His Airness poured in an super-human 69 points for the Chicago Bulls while beating Daugherty’s Cleveland Cavaliers while battling the flu. As a Broncos football fan, I remember QB Craig Morton checking out of the hospital to engineer a playoff win over the hated Oakland Raiders, after which he promptly checked back in as a was suffering from….pneumonia. Pistol Pete Maravich once scored 68 for the (then) New Orleans Jazz on the same day he thought he had suffered a heart attack. It turned out to be a chest strain fom lifting weights. Long time sports fans will remember Willis Reed limping onto the court and leading the New York Knicks to victory over the Lakers, or then there’s gimpy Kirk Gibson hitting a game winning bomb for the Dodgers over the Oakland A’s. The guy had to hit a home run because he literally didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Hamlin’s performance wasn’t a squeaker either. He pretty well had the same control over matters that Clint Bowyer did in the Cup race last week, or that Jimmie Johnson has had on far too many occasions lately. He rocked today! However- he sure looked like death warmed over afterwards. The poor man could hardly get out of the car.
The question now is whether or not DH can pull it together tomorrow. The flu can pass quickly, but it sure whips the life out of you while you have it. Frankly, if it were me, I would have let future teammate Kyle Busch take the wheel and the risk today.
I still think it employs questionable judgment for a Cup driver to keep driving the Busch series while in the Chase. Too many things can go wrong- especially when you have impatient rookies around creating havoc. I understand the love for racing and the desire to be out there. I also understand Martin Truex wanting to be out there when he’s close to home and NASCAR allowing the better known Cup drivers out there to fill the seats. In Hamlin’s case, I’d just want to be as well prepared for the race that really matters by getting healthier. I seriously doubt he’ll be a heck of a lot better tomorrow.
This Chase is wide open right now. When you look at the seperation between 1-12, there’s not much. Denny has a real shot at winning a title in his 2nd season. That’s a great achievement. I wouldn’t want to risk it on a race of small consequence like the Busch race.
Yet- he won- so what do I know?
OTHER RANDOM NOTES
It sure looks like control of the car is a real issue on the “Monster Mile.” If I were a Chase driver, I’d want to know where David Ragan and Juan Pablo Montoya were at all times, and run as far away from them as I could. Qualifying yesterday was pretty wild, and it was caution city out there today.
Nice to see Sterling Marlin on the track again
I was bummed to see Tony Raines and Brent Sherman go down early today. These guys have uncertain futures and today’s wrecks did not help them in gaining an opportunity to audition for other teams.
By the way, though I am no fan of Robby Gordon, I DO NOT think he ran Tony Raines off intentionally. I appreciate that Gordon took the fall for it. I think Raines’ spotter who stirred up this mess should pay half the fine.
Let’s keep watchin’.This baby’s far from over.

It all starts tomorrow campers! The Chase is on beginning at Loudon, New Hampshire. All week long there’s been a load of buzz and speculation on what the final 10 races of the 2007 season hold in store.

I’ve got my swami turban on and heck my opinion counts for no less than Rusty Wallace, so here goes:

1) The primary battle for the Nextel Cup will come down to two teammates from HMS- Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. My heart’s with Gordon, if I had to bet money, I’d go with Jimmie.

2) Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards will push these guys real hard and should not be counted out. Oh, count Kurt Busch in this group too.

3) This year’s chase will put Martin Truex and Clint Bowyer on the map- so to speak. I had no idea who Truex was when this season started. I do now.

4) I really like Jeff Burton but I just don’t know if he can be better than top 10.

5) Clint Bowyer will win a race before the year’s over.

6) Due to his success this season, Denny Hamlin may steal some more of the young female vote from Kasey Kahne.

7) The Rushville Rocket in the #20 Home Depot Chevy will win one more race in a Chevy before moveing on to Toyota in 2008.

We may end up forgetting that Kevin Harvick is even in the Chase. Still a good racer though. Same for Matt Kenseth.

9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will still keep stealing the spotlight away from the Chase. Not his fault. He will win a race before this year’s over. Could be at Mardi Gras, I mean Talledega.

10) Tony may win tomorrow at New Hampshire. He was crazy fast yesterday. Big Shrub and Jimmie may have something for him.

11) A Toyota will win one race before it’s over in 2007- thanks to either Brian Vickers or David “The Beak” Reutimann.

12) And the winner of the 2007 Nextel Cup is………Jimmie Johnson in a repeat.

It’s chase time! This is new to me. I find a lot of old school NASCAR fans who really hate the idea, but on first glance, I like it. Think about it, up until the finish of the Chevy Rock ‘n’ Roll 400, Jeff Gordon was cruising along with a nice, fat lead. Suddenly, on the basis of wins, Jimmie Johnson is suddenly ahead of him, and from here on out, I don’t think the Rainbow Warrior will be mailing it in.
I’m looking forward to wide open crazy racing over the last 10 of 2007- ya know, the kind of racing we saw on the final laps of last night’s race at Richmond. It was cool to see the likes of Junior, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson going toe-to-toe. In the field, we have:

Jimmie Johnson, #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. He’s behaving like a guy who wants a repeat of 2006. Week after week, he’s a contender. Johnson had a mid-season slump, but he’s sure running right now.

Jeff Gordon, #24 Du Pont Chevrolet.. My personal favorite. A 5th Nextel Cup seems like a fitting finish for a guy who just became a dad, and has been behaving like a real leader out there. All you folks who have been labeling Gordon a whiner must admit he has been vocal in his praise of other winning drivers, and he’s taken responsiblity for the mistakes he’s made. Gordon’s first four Cups came from 1995, 1997, 1998 & 2001.

Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Smoke’s recent performance has done nothing to tarnish his image as a strong second half driver. With his recent wins (especially at his beloved Indianapolis) and strong finishes, all the conterversy seems to have faded into the past. He’s going great, just when he needs to. Smoke has two Cups to his credit from 2002 & 2005.

Kurt Busch, #2 Miller Lite Dodge. The big blue beer can has just been flying as of late. Was he unstoppable at Pocono and Michigan, or what? It’s been a slight surprise to see him kind of back away at the end of the last two races. No doubt, he’s represented Penske and Dodge well. “Big Shrub” is looking for Nextel Cup number two, winning his first in 2004.

Carl Edwards, #99 Office Depot Ford. The King of Concrete is sure to win at least one title this year. As far as I’m concerned, the mockery he’s made of the point standings in the NASCAR Busch Series makes a case for the chase. As good as he is, it’s easy to forget he’s a young guy, and this is only his second chase. It might be kinda cool to see a back flip in response to a 2007 Nextel Cup presentation.

Kyle Busch, #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet. By no less than Kyle Petty (who’s probably seen a race or two), “Little Shrub” has been called the best young racer in NASCAR today. He definitely reinforced the notion with a dominating performance in the Busch race at Richmond Friday night. For Kyle, a Nextel Cup title would be a fitting swan song for the Hendrick Motorsports driver headed next year to the Joe Gibbs’ Racing team.

Denny Hamlin, #11 Fed Ex Chevrolet. Denny has done nothing but make noise (99% positive noise) since coming on board in 2006. He’s been racking up wins here and there, and along with Tony Stewart, gives JGR a powerful 1-2 punch. Don’t count him out. His chase opponents sure aren’t.

Martin Truex, Jr., #1 Bass Pro Chevrolet. Thanks to Truex, Dale Earnhardt Inc. has representaion in the Chase. He hasn’t been around all that long, but don’t forget he was a two-time (2004 & 2005) winner of the Busch Series title not all that long ago. A Cup would sure cement Truex as a leader at DEI.

Matt Kenseth, #17 De Walt Ford. The 2003 winner of the Nextel Cup has flown under the radar this year. It seems like the only time I hear much about him is when he’s complaining about how his car is running. But, by golly, here he is. He does have one victory to his credit (the 1st race at Fontana this year), and his appearance among the list is testament to his consistency.

Jeff Burton, #31 AT&T Chevrolet. J.B. is one of three Richard Childress Racing drivers in the chase. He’s had some real ups and downs, but somehow, he’s here. The victory at Texas was a great moment for the pride of South Boston, Virginia in 2007.

Kevin Harvick, #29 Pennzoil Chevrolet. The 2nd member of the RCR team in the chase. Kevin had to race smartly last night to weave his way in. The winner of the Daytona 500 and All-Star Weekend managed to thread the needle on what seemed like every crash. There must have been some nervous moments when he had all that grass caught in his grill, but “Happy Harv” made it through.

Clint Bowyer, #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet. If you’ve read articles or seen stories about him, you know this guy could easily be the face of NASCAR. The Kansan has a certain middle-American charm, and he is a car guy through and through- complete with an oval track in his back yard- something to do when he’s not restoring cars. It’s hard to believe that as good as Bowyer is, he hasn’t won anything at this level yet.

This is a very impressive field. I think that due to consistency- you have to rate Stewart, Gordon, Johnson and maybe even Hamlin as favorite to take it. The Busch Brothers, Edwards, Kenseth and Truex are racers poised to pounce should the favorites fall off, and goodness knows they could. The 2007 road has had it share of potholes for Bowyer, Harvick and Burton , but there’s a reason races are run on tracks and not paper.

This will be a good one. Stick around.