Bump-Drafts.com

(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!

(A Special Weekly Post Prepared for letsgoracingfans.com)

1954. Dwight Eisenhower was President, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, gas cost about a dime a gallon and Tim Flock set a NASCAR record by winning 18 Cup races. That year, Al Keller won a race in Linden, New Jersey in a Jaguar- the last time a foreign name plate won a race at stock car racing’s highest level.

Fast forward to 1995. Bill Clinton was President, Brett Favre won his first NFL MVP award, and gas cost about half (or less) of what it does today. That year, on March 12, Jeffrey Michael Gordon won his first race at AMS at the age of 23 years, 7 months, and 8 days.

On March 9, 2008, Kyle Busch wrote his name in the NASCAR history books. At a track known for its close finishes, Busch the Younger (also known as “Rowdy” or “Shrub”), pulled away from Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The win gets Toyota off the snide at NASCAR’s top level, and Busch becomes the youngest winner at Atlanta at 22 years, 10 months, and 7 days (I needed extra fingers and toes to count that one).

It was just a matter of time.

While credit must go to Smoke, Junior, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer for pushing Busch, he was in control in his very out of control way. Even if he whines, even if he’s overly aggressive, even he ain’t the most angelic face in the NASCAR line-up- give him his due. He knows how to race. Right now, he’s scary fast and crazy consistent.

I would be remiss to ignore the skill of other drivers who overcame long odds to break up front. Smoke gained 30 spots to his second place finish in a car he fought with and tires he hated even more. Matty Kenseth gained 30 pots as well to finish 8th- after starting 38th. Don’t look now, but there’s another promising young Toyota driver making noise, and he doesn’t even race for Joe Gibbs. Brian Vickers started 35th, but ran all the way up to 9th, putting him in the Chase if it began today. Kurt Busch and Casey Mears also quietly finished significantly better than they started.

Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne also deserve props. Johnson took another terrible car and managed to pull off a respectable finish (13th). Another racer would have finished 30th or worse. Kahne overcame a nasty early race spin to pull out a 26th place finish. In the old car, he would have wrecked out. These guys get the Rocky Balboa Award for winning a knock down drag out with their cars.

Speaking of the new car,- wouldn’t you agree that it has its merits? It’s a miracle that Elliott Sadler didn’t go after the first caution, but kept his car out there through THREE mishaps before throwing in the towel. An incredible 41 of 43 drivers finished on a day where the tires were a disaster.

Oh yeah, there’s those doggone tires. If enough guys complain, then maybe they won’t go too hard on Tony Stewart for his post-race diatribe against Goodyear Tires. Bobby Labonte tested at Atlanta back in the Fall- I’d be real interested to hear what he might have to say. As it is, I’m afraid the message will be missed because of the messenger- though his point had some validity. Those were lousy tires.

Kyle Busch has looked like a top 5 driver this year. If he keeps it up, me not only win the Cup title, but the Nationwide and CTS titles too.

(A Weekly Special Edition of Bump-Drafts prepared for letsgoracingfans.com)

You could see the race was effectively over on the last two re-starts. Each time, Carl Edwards-in his #99 Dish Network Ford- took off like a scalded jack rabbit to win the UW-Dodge 400. This makes 6 wins for Team Roush at Las Vegas, to go with a pair of victories each by Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth, as well as Mark Martin, who took the #6 to Victory Lane back in 1998.

Roush Racing did themselves proud. Not only was Edwards strong, Kenseth looked good up until the Gordon incident at the end, Greg Biffle finished 3rd, and even David Ragan got in on the fun by edging Kasey Kahne out for 6th. Jack Roush must have some magic in his hat that he uses for Vegas, because his teams are good to the point of making you think that somebody at the “Diamond In The Desert” must owe him a favor or two.

I was just sure this was Kyle Busch’s race to lose, in spite of the fact that no one has ever won from the pole at Sin City. The younger Busch made me look like a prophet for a bit until the handling on his car went south on him late in the race. Edwards ran with the #18 M&M’s Toyota all day, first overtaking Shrub on lap 21. By lap 117, Busch surrendered the lead, and although Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon had good runs- today seemed destined to be a Roush day.

It didn’t look that way at first. Roush driver Jamie Mc Murray almost took flight in the infield after a spin-out and Edwards darn near got penalized for a pit road incident involving a stray tire. Fortunately, crew chief Bob Osborne kept a cool head, stayed on top of officials, and they ultimately ruled in favor of Edwards, blaming a TV camera man for being in the way (Dang media types anyway).

There were a record number of cautions as it seems that NASCAR teams are still figuring out how to work the “new” car at Las Vegas. Accidents cut short the days of Tony Stewart (who bit the wall hard on lap 109) and Robby Gordon (victimized by a lfat tire on lap 144), Patrick Carpentier, DaleJarrett, Kurt Busch, and Scott Riggs.

Speaking of Riggs……it was nice to see some less familiar names up front. I thought the Haas-CNC cars of Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield looked great in stretches, and it was good to see another solid performance by Elliott “Rabbit Release” Sadler. It was also weird seeing Ken Schrader up front, though he gave way later in the race.

It wasn’t a good day for Open Wheelers. Sam Hornish, Patrick Carpentier and Dario Franchitti all saw their best laid plans go up in smoke.

I’m glad Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon weren’t hurt too seriously.Gordon had two words for track owner Bruton Smith concerning the inner wall “Safer Barriers.”

Though it was a bummer to see wrecks mess up otherwise good days, there’s no doubt this race belonged to Edwards. The Columbia, Missouri native was just too much. He and his Roush teammates (Kenseth and Biffle) were easily the most consistent cars out there, with apologies to RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, and the HMS combo of Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It just hit me- another random thought- no Jimmie Johnson today. Apparently, Johnson was a victim of Murphy’s Law. Everything that could go wrong apparently did to the #48.

This may not have been the best race I’d ever seen, but it was a good one. Today’s outcome springs forth yet more new story lines in a 2008 season that bears no resemblence to 2007.

Will Carl Edwards make it three in a row, to turn At-lanta into Hot-lanta? I wouldn’t bet against it.

(A post specially prepared for letsgoracingfans.com)

You have to be bummed if you’re a part of the NASCAR brass right now. Whatever momentum that may have been gained by a successful speed week was negated by the comedy of errors that became the Auto Club 500. The record may show that Carl Edwards won the Cup race, but the real victor was Mother Nature.

Unfortunately, everyone knew this weekend was going to be problematic given the weather reports from early in the week. As a native of Fontana and a near life long resident of the Pacific Northwest, I can tell you that the weather is downright unpredictable on the West Coast. As a member of the media, I spend a lot of time tracking the weather, albeit from a distance, and I’ve seen conditions change on a dime- with snow, rain and sun all in the same day. Because of California’s reputation as a sunshine state, you’d think the weather wouldn’t be an issue…..but this has been no ordinary winter.

I can’t help but think those little windows of opportunity gave decision makers a sense of false hope. Officials were just determined to get a race in yesterday for longsuffering fans,but there can be no question they would have just been better off to wait it out and run the races today. What fans were treated to yesterday was a far better product than what we had Sunday.

Mother Nature was a real mother Sunday, making her presence felt in several early race incidents. For once, it wasn’t an inexperienced or overly aggressive driver taking out cars. Heck- it wasn’t even the track itself….it was water. Thanks to the race in Fontana, we all know now what a racer means when he talks about “weepers.” Given that, it was miraculous that we had 41 of 43 drivers still racing at the checkered flag, and it is also a miracle that nobody in that Casey Mears/Sam Hornish Jr. affair got seriously hurt. Being an incurable optomist, I’ll choose to see it that way.

I’ll also tip a hat to “Cousin” Carl Edwards for his hard charge at the end to overtake Jimmie Johnson with 17 laps to go and never let go. The 99’s victory keeps Roush-Fenway’s run of victories at Fontana in February alive after wins by Greg Biffle in 2005 and by Matt Kenseth in 2006 & 2007. Jimmie Johnson reported being just too loose at the end to take the lead back from Edwards and Jeff Gordon feels darn lucky to be in 3rd after an engine failure as he neared the finish line. Despite an early weather-related wreck by denny Hamlin, Gibbs pulled out a good day with Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch making their presence felt once again.

I gotta tell ya, “Rowdy” impresses me more and more all the time in spite of his sometimes prickly personality. I’ll risk heresy by saying this guy reminds me more of Dale Earnhardt Sr. than anoyne on the circuit today with the way he threads the needle. This guy darn near pulled off a trifecta- he leads the Sprint Cup and Craftsman Truck Series in points, and he’s right on Tony Stewart’s bumper in the Nationwide. Either he’s crazy, or crazy like a fox.

It’s scary when you think Kyle Busch will be racing in his hometown at the next stop- Las Vegas.

I, for one, am glad this race is behind us. I would not have wanted to be the guy making the call on when to race and not race on this one. 20/20 hindsight this one was screwed up.

Thank God have more races around the corner. It will be interesting. In all this talk about the Hendrick Chevys and the Gibbs Toyotas- it’s been a Dodge and a Ford that have won the first two race, only adding to a season full of great story lines. The new car is proving to be remarkably durable and a real handful for the racers to drive. And parity? Get this- if the Chase started today, Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne would be in, and Jeff Gordon would be out. Weird.

Let’s cue the duck for the next one boys!

(A special edition of bump-drafts specially prepared for letsgoracingfans.com)

Let’s have a show of hands: How many people though Ryan Newman would win the Daytona 500? Other than you two #12 fans in the back…not many. O.K., how many thought that Dodge would place 6 cars in the top 10? No? Good news, doubters, you have plenty of company.

Including me.

Speed week did not lack for story lines. There was all the talk about Rick Hendrick’s new driver- the monstrously popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. His success in the Bud Shootout and the first Gatorade Duel fanned the flames, and also sparked further speculation about how his new found success would fly alongside the prolific Jeff Gordon and defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

There was also much discussion of a brewing manufacturer face-off: the Chevys of Hendrick versus the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs. Going into today’s action- Dodge looked stuck in second gear compared to the performances of Junior, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin- not mention the success of Toyota in the Craftsman Truck Series, thanks to Todd Bodine and even the qualifying efforts of Toyota driver Michael Waltrip- taking the outside pole.

For 199 laps, it sure looked like Toyota would get its first Cup victory. For the better part of the last few seasons, we’ve been expecting to see Johnson or Gordon forcing the issue at the end. Johnson’s wreck and Gordon’s mechanical failures dispensed of that story line and also played a part in Dale Jr. not finding the help he would need to contend at the end. HMS driver Casey Mears looked to poised to play, but a wreck near the end further lessened Junior’s prospects of finding a friendly bump at the finish.

As a matter of fact, the race was downright boring for a while. Kyle Busch looked like he OWNED Daytona. When he wasn’t leading the pack, his Gibbs teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin took a few turns blazing the Florida air. Hamlin’s efforts were frustrated by a copule of mid-race get-togethers- so it looked like it was Stewart and Busch’s race to lose. Yeah, the 30 plus lead changes made it somewhat interesting, but really, it looked like a Gibbs driver would get the champaign shower in victory lane.

Somebody forget to tell that to Penske Racing pals Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.

In the final dash, Busch and Stewart failed to connect and out of nowhere, Newman and the elder Busch rocketed past the dynamic Gibbs duo to propel the Purdue University graduate to his first victory since New Hampshire in September, 2005. Career victory number 13 for Newman is no doubt his biggest, on NASCAR’s biggest stage in the golden anniversary race at Daytona.

Also noteworthy is the presence of Dodge in the top 10. Joining Newman and Busch at the top the likes of Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson, and Robby Gordon (he just switched 3 weeks ago). Dodge drivers Bobby Labonte (#11) and Penske rookie Sam Hornish Jr. (#15) also represented their manufacturer well.

How surreal is it that help for Newman comes from a guy who started 43rd? No matter what you think of one of NASCAR’s bad boys, you have to give him props for getting there.

So, I begin the 2008 season with a slice of humble pie. My pick finished 3rd, and with that, Toyota was unable to surpass their previous race best of 3rd set by Dave Blaney at Talladega.

Today, we once again learn why races aren’t won on paper. We are also reminded of the value of teamwork. Regardless of who your guy is, you have to be happy for Newman. Not liking him is like not liking that nice kid down the street woh always says “Hi” back. Anything can happen. thanks to today’s result we are reminded why this sport if great. No matter what the body of the race is like, you can count on a wild and crazy finish at Daytona. Anything can happen.

And it often does.

If last night’s action is any indication of what’s in store for 2008, fans can look forward to a great 2008. This year’s edition of the Bud Shootout had all the things fans have been clamoring for.

A Junior Victory- Let’s face it, the vast majority of NASCAR fans love the driver of the #88 National Guard/ Amp Chevrolet. NASCAR’s favorite son didn’t disappoint by delivering the first victory he’s had of any kind since the spring of 2006.

Not to put more pressure on him, but I think NASCAR needs Dale Earnhardt Jr. He represents all the things that fans love about the sport with that down-home demeanor and legendary pedigree. Though he races for the New York Yankees of NASCAR, to many, he just comes across as a lot less corporate, a lot less processed than his Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. As I mentioned in posts on a couple of message boards, this has no real bearing on the season, but it sure sets the tone.

Side-to-side racing- Even in a 70 lap race, you would have thought there would have been some separation at the end. When the checkered flag lowered, cars were still side-by-side. Though Junior won, Any one of a number of drivers from Jimmie Johnson to Dave Blaney could have pulled it out.

I remember comments made recently by Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte that with the “new” (we really can’t call it the Car of Tomorrow anymore) car, we’d see the driver become more a part of the race and less so the car itself. They had it pegged.

Smoke fans need not worry- Given Toyota’s performance and Tony Stewart’s second place finish, fans of the “Big Orange” need not worry that the change in manufacturers will hamper Tony Stewart’s quest for a third Cup title. It still remains to be seen if Toyota can keep it up over 500 miles, but they sure had no problem last night.

Now if they can just solve the Hendrick dominance, they’ll be just fine.

Good race coverage- I’d forgotten how much I’d missed the work of Mike Joy, Larry Mac, DW, Hammond, and Dick Berggren. Unlike many fans, I can’t say I have a deep dislike for ESPN’s work, it’s just there’s something about the way FOX puts on the show that ABC/ ESPN doesn’t.

We’re racing again- Face it fans, we’re spoiled. NFL fans will have to wait until August until their pre-season gets underway. Baseball fans have been on vacation since late October and we’re still weeks away from the spring training getting it on in earnest. NASCAR’s schedule ended a week before Thanksgiving and we’re already at it again- AND WE’RE ACTING LIKE IT’S BEEN 6 MONTHS.

Still- it’s good to see racing again and not just talking about.

COMING TUESDAY: The first 2008 edition of ON TRACK- our special weekly preview of bump-drafts that previews the upcoming weekend’s race. This edition is complete with track facts, the history of the event, trivia, and current trends in our favorite motorsport.

(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.

A Special Post-Race report prepared for letsgoracingfans.com.

It’s getting kind of like that scene from the movie Forrest Gump, where an honor is getting mundane. "So I became a hero…AGAIN, and I got invited to the White House…AGAIN." Jimmie Johnson wins a race….AGAIN, capturing his 9th win of the season and his 3rd visit to Victory Lane in a row by taking the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway in the Dickie’s 500. Johnson can now add a gun and a cowboy hat to his burgeoning trophy case.

A couple of promising young drivers who looked great in qualifying, Martin Truex and A.J. Allmendinger, quickly fell back after the flag went green. Allmendinger kissed the wall early in the race, and Truex promptly fell off the lead earned by his first 2007 pole. While Truex ran a pretty good race, was no real threat for the win.

Kyle Busch seized early control and led much of the race. As usual, Busch the Younger was lightening fast, and as usual, there were some problems with one of his later pit stops.  Busch’s car, for the most part, cooperated with him, but he complained of "turnability" problems in one of his mid-race pit stops. Juan Pablo Montoya looked good early, taking a few turns in the clean air.

Not to be outdone, Kyle’s older brother Kurt also looked strong in the daylight, and fell back as day turned to night. Kurt ran into some real problems near the middle of the race with tires and some front end damage, but in many ways Kurt did well to hang around until the end.

Speaking of racers with troubles, Jeff Gordon looked all out of sorts as the race got underway. He gave up track position early, and Gordon teamed with Crew Chief Steve Letarte for some interesting pit strategy. Their pit stops were way out sync early on, but at times it looked like it would work. Gordon conceded that the car that ran 31st in Happy Hour just wasn’t good enough to threaten his HMS teammate.

There were a number of cautions early in the race, but things generally smoothed out as the race went on. A couple of old school drivers tangled fenders when Kyle Petty and Bill Elliott got together, and the fates played havoc with the efforts of Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin and David Gilliland. Mechanical problems befell Carl Edwards and David Reutimann.

Once again, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had several good moments, but faded late. Chasers Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, and Kevin Harvick saw plenty of time in the top 10, but couldn’t close the deal. Mathematically-  Burton, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Martin Truex have been eliminated from title contention. It’s a real bummer for Kenseth, because he ran one heck of a race.

Kenseth was on his game today. He took a late lead and ran in typical Kensethian fashion, laying in the weeds and coming on strong at the end. He led many of the last 20 laps, before succumbing to Johnson. Any lesser man may resorted to dirty tactics to take Jimmie out, but everybody knows that’s not the Wisconsin native’s style. Ultimately, Chad Knaus’ decision to change 4 tires at the end trumped the decision of Kenseth and Crew Chief Robbie Reiser to go with 2, and the #48 Kobalt Chevy would not be denied.

Sure enough, the race result was a bit too familiar. Johnson wins, and Junior and Ryan Newman run solid races but can’t end their winless streaks.  One refreshing difference was that this race did not end with a green/ white/ checkered finish- and for that, I am grateful.

It’s true that Jimmie Johnson is vanilla in a world of rocky road. It’s also true that watching one guy dominate can be a little anti-climatic. But you have to say this, that with Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and crew, and the Hendrick Motor Sports organization, you have an unbeatable combination.

That kind of trifecta is NOT something you see every year. If I dare say so, that kind of run is almost historic- though Jimmie Johnson would still have to win another 7 to match the insane streak Richard Petty racked up in the "Summer of Love"- when he reeled off 10 wins in a row, and 27 for the year in 1967.

Now that’s domination!

(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.

There’s an old saying that goes like this: “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.” If that’s true, and it is borne out in the world of sports over and over again, then the Dupont Chevrolet team at Hendrick Motor Sports featuring driver Jeff Gordon and Crew Chief Steve Letarte are the best prepared team in NASCAR these days.

Though Gordon qualified third, he fell back and generally ran mid-pack most of the race. Once again, we see shades of Gordon’s performance at Talladega. In each of these last two races, I’ve found myself thinking that Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch or Tony Stewart had the car to beat. Heck, Bobby Labonte and Junior looked outstanding at times. But wouldn’t you know it? Bad luck starts picking off drivers.

Stewart gets caught in pit traffic with Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne. In this same mishap, Labonte (who is running second at the time) gets caught in his pit box with Stewart in his way. The #8 car looked strong at times, but Junior just had all kinds of problems at the end. Jimmie Johnson looked DOMINANT throughout much of the race, and it looked like another win for the #48 on his sponsor’s home track. But then Johnson runs into trouble and it costs him track position. It’s a testament to the strength of his car that he still pulled out a respectable finish. Speaking of bad luck, I forgot Matt Kenseth. He took his turns looking like a winner, but it was one problem after another. “17″ gets credit just bouncing back time after time. You could tell he felt terrible for his sponsors and fans for the premature end to his night. Then there’s Ryan Newman. If qualfying were all it took for racing greatness, then Newman’s the man. His pole for this race makes 42 for his career, though his win total just barely scrapes past double digits. He had nothing to lose and really looked fast at times, but he went for broke after that re-start at the end of the race, apparently slid on the track cleaning materials and smacked himself out.

If Newman, Kenseth are the “bugs” of NASCAR, then Gordon’s the windshield. He was precariously close to running out of gas, but hung on at the end to win it, and boy did he drive it like he had stolen it on the green-white-checkered. In comaring the top drivers of today with the greats of yesterday, you often hear Tony Stewart compared to Dale Earnhardt for his aggressiveness and passion for racing anytime, anywhere. If that’s the case, then I make the case that Jeff Gordon is a latter day David Pearson. I never really got to see him at a time when I understood the sport, but I always hear how he treated his equipment with great care and his cars looked clean at the end of the race. Pearson got many of his 105 Cup wins laying in the weeds and striking at the end, thus the monicker, “The Silver Fox.” He was slick.

Jeff Gordon’s looking a lot like Pearson these last couple of races.