Category: The Final Word

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]Jimmie and Jeff, taking turns ruling the roost at Dover, at least they did until a fox ventured into the hen house in the form of a loose wheel that required a unscheduled stop for tightening. Yes, Gordon could not only challenge Johnson, he could pass him, but no matter how lovely the picnic is, one bite of a crap sandwich will ruin the entire day. 13th was not the fate Four Time needed.

Five Time, on the other hand, picked up his second victory over the past three contests, leaving him fifth in the standings with a pretty good hold on a place in the Chase. With Gordon playing catch up, no one was going to prevent Johnson from claiming his 57th career victory, his seventh on the Monster Mile.

The guy he loaned his title to last year did not get very far before bad things happened. Just nine laps in Stewart slowed as a car got loose in front of him, but Regan Smith could not stop in time behind him. Thirteen cars got caught up in the mess as Stewart finished 25th while Juan Pablo Montoya landed 28th. Stewart is eighth overall, just seven points ahead of 11th place Brad Keselowski, but his two wins still keeps him well above water. Montoya is 20th in the standings, a spot ahead of Gordon, as both see at least two wins as their most viable way to salvation.

Ryan Newman has a win, but is outside the Top Ten, in 13th. He finished 15th after having a tire roll away in the pits and coming close to running down Clint Bowyer’s jackman. Carl Edwards is 12th, has no wins, and no luck at Dover after a blown tire sent him to the garage for repairs and a 26th place finish. Kyle Busch has a win, still is clinging to the Top Ten, but blew up to sit 29th on the weekend. A lot of boys will be seeking redemption heading into this upcoming weekend.

Pocono awaits them on Sunday, a race won last year by Jeff Gordon. Well, it awaits everyone but Kurt Busch. A day after blowing a gasket at a reporter following the Nationwide race, he blew an engine in the Cup race to wind up 24th. That is about 20 spots better than this upcoming weekend as his tirade got him suspended by NASCAR for a week. As for making the Chase, the boy has enough on his plate avoiding problems from week to week. Stupid is as stupid does, but at least Forrest Gump only got upset when someone tried to take liberties with Jenny.

Don’t expect many changes, if any, in our Chase placers at Pocono. Edwards could replace Bowyer with a win, or by finishing at least 16 spots ahead of him. Ryan Newman is in now, but could lose it if Kasey Kahne finishes ahead of him on Sunday or if Kyle Busch tumbles out of the Top Ten and gets the wildcard nod.

As for Junior, he might not have won in nearly four years, but going back to Homestead his worst finish in 14 races is 17th, an average finish of eighth over that time. Earnhardt may have never won at Pocono, but he hasn’t won anywhere else in recent years for that matter. Why not now? Enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Okay, maybe they are right, whomever they might be. 600 miles might be too long a race, but the final 70 of the 400 laps provided some pretty good action. The Coca Cola 600 gave Kasey Kahne his first win as a Hendrick driver, his 13th of his Cup career, three of which have come in NASCAR’s Charlotte crown jewel event. Not a bad way to celebrate his 300th race.

Kasey might not be in the top ten just yet, but the victory has him sitting in the final Chase place as we speak. Brad Keselowski, who was fifth on Sunday, has the other spot reserved for winners, while the usual suspects continue to hold down positions of their own. Okay, as long as the usual suspects do not include Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, or Kurt Busch. Bowyer could still make it on points, but the way things are going the others will need wins between now and Richmond. When it was over, the top ten in the standings were the top ten on the track, with the exception of Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart, and the 12th place Martin Truex, Jr. Their places were taken by Kahne, Keselowski, and Jeff Gordon, in 7th.

Back in the day, some drivers would win a race by a number of laps, not seconds. We had a taste of that this weekend, as only nine cars ran the full 400 laps. If it weren’t for a few debris calls to bunch them up, it could have even fewer. To say that Ned Jarrett’s 1965 Southern 500 win, by 19 miles over Buck Baker, was a race is like saying a confrontation between Mike Tyson and my sister would be considered a fight. On second thought, I don’t think Cindy would kick his ass too badly.

Stewart, who would wind up 25th and three laps down, got tagged coming into the pits by Keselowski. Smoke backed up, did a little spin to turn the car around before smoking them up to perform a little sideways shuffle to get his car back into position for servicing. As for Keselowski, he spent some time paying less attention to his driving and more on getting his crew to tell Mr. Stewart that it was an accident, he was sorry, and that he did not want to be sent flying into the fence.

Flying down the track was Johnson’s gas man. Johnson finished a lap down in 11th, but he could have done better if not for one pit stop. Jimmie pulled out, but the gas can did not. Brandon Harder left the pits like a toddler trying to walk a Great Dane on a leash, sending the big fella flying, flipping, and bouncing. Helmets became a part of the crew’s attire in 2002, but I’m still not sure how much padding there is in those fire retardant suits. My guess is, not enough.

They move over to Dover as the road show heads north to Delaware. Bowyer will be trying to move up, Edwards will be trying to stay where he is, and others will be hunting down a checkered flag. Favorites on Sunday, based on history, would include Johnson, Edwards, and Gordon, while the Busch brothers, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle have wins there in recent years. In short, the guy who wins probably won’t need it was bad as some of the rest, unless his name is Jeff. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit id=42 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The Southern 500 at Darlington is tradition. Sometimes it is good, such as during the latter portions of the event, and sometimes it is not. Sometimes there are no cautions, sometimes that leaves very few on the lead lap, and sometimes NASCAR has to throw a caution for debris, or too many mosquitos, or whatever they can think of. At least the final hundred miles got interesting.

That was good, as was the win by Jimmie Johnson. Finally, all the trinkets that have been following Rick Hendrick around to celebrate his 200th Cup win would be handed out, the champagne uncorked, and we could begin the countdown to the 268 put on the board by Petty Enterprises. For Five-Time, it marked his 56th career victory and the 11th straight season he has visited Victory Lane. He moves ahead of Rusty Wallace to sit alone in eighth place among all-time winners. As for this year, Johnson is ranked fifth in the standings, which is better than the 16th place team-mate Kasey Kahne finds himself in, despite a Top Ten at Darlington.

Not so for amigo Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He was 17th on the day, his worst result of 2012, yet third in the standings. Still, if you want the one Hendrick driver who has, through no fault of his own, discovered his season sailing down the crapper, you would be looking for Jeff Gordon. He was in the Top Ten at Darlington until he cut a tire. They changed it, they went out, and cut the sucker again. Off to the garage they went to seek answers, laps ticked off, and Gordon was left in 35th place on the track, and 24th in the standings. So, what needs to happy now? The simplest thing, if there is such a thing, would be to win two of the next 15. Two, that is, as long as Ryan Newman doesn’t win another. If not by wins, by points he has to make gains of at least six positions ahead of whomever is sitting in 10th that week, and do it every week until Richmond. It might be easier to win than to peg his way back, to be honest, in a season that has truly been bad to the bone.

We got our good, we got our bad, so let me introduce you to ugly. Kurt Busch had another one pop in the old fuse box in the Southern 500. After a late wreck that had him put Ryan Newman into the fence and bust his own car up, Busch hit the pits. In leaving, he hit the gas, peeled through Newman’s pit box on his way out, and ticked off some big boys. As the cars were lining up to head to the garage after the race, Busch hit Newman’s car again.

I have never met Andy Rueger, but from what I have seen of him on the tube I would want such a meeting to take place on very pleasant circumstances. The gasman for Newman appears to have had enough of Mr. Busch and his bovine excrement. He went looking for the boy, who kept behind a wall of crew men who probably would not get paid if Kurt got all crunched up and kicked to the curb by Mr. Rueger. Too bad they didn’t just step aside.

Kurt Busch, the man who irritated Dale Earnhardt enough to get the finger from the legend during the last race of his life. Kurt Busch, the weasel who thought he could run his mouth off at Jimmy Spencer only to have the big guy put his fist to Busch’s reset button. Kurt Busch, who took on the personality of Hal the computer after the fans sided with Spencer, actually won the 2004 crown before putting a fork in a year early to his Roush tenure to join Penske. Kurt Busch, who’s real personality was publicly exposed last season as he verbally abused Dr. Jerry Punch while awaiting being interviewed on ESPN. Kurt Busch, who Penske punted after last season, the man who was going to seek professional help, the 33-year old driver exiled to an underfunded outfit to try to reclaim his career, once again demonstrates what a swell boy his momma and poppa raised.

This Saturday, they run the all-star race at Charlotte. Johnson, Gordon, and Busch will all be there. Two will be among the fan favorites. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]There are many experts out there, some who are actually the real deal. When it comes to motorsport racing, I’m no expert but I have been a paid chronicler of events much of my life. An expert observer, one might say. There are times what I see bores the hell out of me, that causes me to hit the double time, or triple time, on my PVR. Sometimes I wish life came with a PVR. Talladega is not one of those times.

Talladega was made for television, each shot providing excitement as we view the 200 mph action, cars inches apart, disaster being averted, and sometimes not, with each lap. We saw Brad Keselowski claim another one on the big track by shaking off his pusher/pursuer Kyle Busch coming off the final turn. Busch lost momentum, Keselowski won the race.

Cars came and went, as they moved from the back of the lead pack to the front and back again. Cars a lap down came back to the lead lap to challenge once they returned. It was hot in Alabama on Sunday, and so were some of the parts under the hood as a few let go to ruin the hopes of more than a few. The cars ran fast, looked fast from our living room vantage point, and removed any confusion as to why we were sitting on the couch and those gentlemen were behind the wheel. If every race from every track could be televised to give you the same sensation, the same visual stimulation that Talladega provides, this sport would be even more popular.

Jeff Gordon would love to be in a race where he can actually finish, and finish on the lead lap, even win. On Sunday, the four time champ got caught up in a wreck, was 33rd on the day, and for the seventh time in ten tries was not a lead lap car at the end. In 1993, his first full season, Gordon finished 14th. In 2005, he was 11th. Every other year he has been in the top ten over the season after November. Today he sits 23rd, 70 points or a couple of wins out of a Chase spot. Ryan Newman is also on the outside, but he could be back with one solid weekend.

Maybe that will come in Darlington this Saturday night. The Lady in Black, the home of both the Southern 500 and the Darlington stripe. It a track that has been hosting Cup events since 1950, hosts one of the sport’s crown jewel events, and one that usually provides some entertaining action. Same can be said about Charlotte, that hosts both the all-star race and the Coca-Cola 600 later in May. I think my PVR is going to rest this month.

As for June, well, at least enjoy the upcoming week.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]There is that old saying that states the more things change, the more they stay the same. There was Kyle Busch winning the spring race at Richmond back in 2009. Then again in 2010. In 2011. Then last Saturday night. Four straight spring race wins at a track he has always done well at.

Even when he drove for Rick Hendrick, Busch opened his Cup career with five straight Top Fives at the track, starting in the spring of 2005. Once he finished 20th, once 15th, both times in the fall. The rest, thirteen races to be exact, have all been Top Tens. In the spring, his worst finish has been 5th, his average finish in eight spring attempts is 2.13. If it is Richmond, especially in the spring, Kyle Busch is going to have a great points day.

The win moves Kyle into a Chase place, sitting 11th with a victory. Of those in the Top Ten in the standings, only half of them had a Top Ten on Saturday. Dale Earnhardt Jr did not win, again, but being second will do until he does. Second at Richmond, second in the standings. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart did it again. So did Jimmie Johnson, even though his pit crew miscued costing the former champ a penalty. Carl Edwards was 10th, even though he picked up a penalty on a late restart.

A different track, yet the same finish Jeff Gordon has come to expect this season. Cuts a tire early and by the time he gets a replacement he is down a couple of laps. He got one back, but still was buried 23rd in the race, and sits 17th in the season parade. To make it back into contention Gordon needs to either make up the 57 points he is out of 10th place or win a couple over the next 17 races. The good news is that with an average finish this year of 20th, he really can’t slip any farther without become a start and park.

So, we hear that fans have thought the season to date as being boring. Well, Daytona was not, but Daytona rarely is. Bristol usually is not, but sadly the 2012 spring contest was not what most were hoping for. Some were fine for the true fan who knows the back stories, but not so much for those who think of the weekly race as a stand alone affair. Sure, other sports have a few duds, a few that fail to excite the casual fan, but they have the advantage of having more than one contest each week. Sure, watching the Twins and Royals might suck, but how about them Dodgers and Cardinals? In NASCAR, what you see is all you get for that week, so if the show isn’t good…

This Sunday I guarantee you the action will be good. You don’t even need to care if Junior wins or if Jeff Gordon can stay on the lead lap right to the end. All you need to do is think of what brand of diaper you might need to wear if you were in one of those cars charging around Talladega. Odds are there will be crashes, but just the spectacle of these 3000 pound vehicles traveling around at close to 200 mph in aircraft formation inches apart make it something to see.
It is not a case of what does happen, but the promise of what could.

Nine Cup drivers are in the Hall of Fame. Three had retired by the time Talladega opened in 1969, though Junior Johnson won there as an owner. The other six, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, and Dale Earnhardt all visited Victory Lane. Each did it more than once. Combined, they did so 25 times.

Jimmie Johnson claimed the spring race last year, while Clint Bowyer won in the fall, giving him two of the last three races run there. Kyle Busch? He won there once, in 2008. Enjoy the spectacle, enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]If you are not a real NASCAR fan, but the kind who doesn’t know a Harvick from a Hamlin, who seeks wrecks not racing, who can’t tick off the boys who have won a race this season, then Kansas probably was not for you. All that venue featured was racing, where positions changed, drivers moved up and fell back, and where the biggest wow moments involved an engine going south.

In the end, Denny Hamlin moved past Martin Truex Jr with 30 laps to go and stayed gone to pick up his second victory of the campaign. Those in the Top Ten in the standings, for the most part, finished among the best last Sunday. Those that didn’t were the pair from Stewart-Haas, with Tony Stewart (13th) and Ryan Newman (20th) not having the best of days, while Kasey Kahne (8th) and Kyle Busch (10th) did as they eye Richmond this Saturday night. Mr. Busch especially so.

One thing fans of the sport notice as we go along is that the best cars during the season tend to be the same that finish up front week after week. It still is a might too early to get all that excited as to who is in and who is not in a Chase place, but Jeff Gordon is 49 out after yet another disappointing run last week. 21st was not where he wanted to be Sunday. Mind you, pick up a win, as Brad Keselowski did at Bristol, and it don’t matter where you are in the standings. Okay, it probably would be better to have two or three victories before one gets too comfortable.

They leave the speedways behind this weekend as they settle in to the 3/4 mile tri-oval that is known as Richmond International Speedway. A dozen races have come and gone since Ford last was in Victory Lane. Kevin Harvick won there last fall for the Bowtie gang, breaking up the Toyota tandem of Kyle Busch (3 wins) and Hamlin (2) who had that venue all to themselves the previous five events. It has been awhile since Jimmie Johnson won his last of three, while even Dale Earnhardt Jr won his second ever Cup race there back in 2000. He has won a couple more there since but, like Johnson and fellow three-time winner Tony Stewart, Junior has not done so lately.

It has been quite some time since Jeff Gordon won there. However, in combing through the stats Gordon has the third best points record at the track over the past five years. In ten races, he has pulled in eight Top Tens. At least there is hope this Saturday night.

However, the smart money would probably be on Kyle Busch or Denny Hamlin coming through. Again. Have I ever mentioned that Denny is one of my favorite drivers? No? There might be a reason for that. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Leading the pack? Check. Winning a race and ending a 49 race slump? It was mission accomplished for Greg Biffle Saturday night in Fort Worth when he got by Jimmie Johnson with 30 laps to go and held that lead right to the checkered flag.

Winning. Points are nice, but so is a hug from your grandmother. After a while, a man wants something more. Rick Hendrick would like 200 Cup wins on his team owner resume. Came close the past couple of weeks, and maybe it will come in Kansas. That is, if the good Lord’s willing and Reutimann’s car don’t up and dies.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is doing well. Seven races in and five Top Tens, third place in the standings. That is nice, but it has been 3 years, 10 months since Victory Lane held him in her warm embrace. 136 races. Maybe Kansas, but probably not.

Jimmie Johnson won there twice, including last fall. Jeff Gordon won the first two events held there back in 2001 and 2002. Still, no Hendrick wins for this season. None for the Childress racers either. Bowties are not totally out, as Tony Stewart already has a couple of wins this season and team mate Ryan Newman has one of his own. Matt Kenseth won at Daytona, while Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski won the others. Carl Edwards, so close to a championship last season, is another marquee driver still seeking his first.

The last time a Cup champion claimed the prize without at least a single victory was, well, never. Four did it with a single victory, with Kenseth the last in 2003 to join Benny Parsons (1973), Ned Jarrett (1961), and Bill Rexford (1950). No, wins are rather important, it would seem.

Still, with 17 races to run before the Chase begins, it would seem a bit premature to count the usual suspects out just yet. Mark Martin won’t, as he is running a partial schedule. Based on past performance, the Busch brothers and Kasey Kahne, in 26th place, still could do it. I doubt Casey Mears, in 27th, or any of the rest behind him will.

I think we can be pretty sure that #10 shared by David Reutimann and Danica Patrick will not be out of the Top 35 again anytime soon. It sits in 34th, three points up on Landon Cassill’s #83 and four up on the #33 Tony Raines drove in Texas. Only 36 cars still contend for a spot in the Top 35. My guess is, if there is any chance Danica finds herself needing a sugar daddy to get Go Daddy into the show, Dave Blaney, ten points up on the #10, will be asked to take one for the team…again. On Saturday, I reckon nobody was taking any chances, as Reutimann finished eleven spots ahead of team mate Blaney. They just have to navigate Kansas, Richmond, and Talladega before Patrick’s return for the Southern 500 at Darlington May 12th.

While some are just happy to be there, others will be out to end their “0-for” status, or at the very least make sure they have a tighter grip on a spot among the Top Ten in the standings. All, that is, except for Tony Stewart, as those two wins all but gives the defending champ a lock on one of the Chase wild car berths. Still, I’m sure he would like to win on Sunday. I mean, he is the middle of a two race drought of his own. Enjoy the week.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Martinsville might have started a wee bit boring, got real interesting in the second half, then went plain nuts at the end. Jeff Gordon, the star on this day, was leading, trying to fend off team-mate Jimmie Johnson for the win with three laps remaining, while Dale Earnhardt Jr was sitting third. Rick Hendrick was about to celebrate his 200th Cup victory as an owner when David Reutimann happened.

With his car laps down and running about as fast as one of those motorized wheelchairs, Reutimann ignored the pit entrance not once but twice before getting black flagged. That is when he parked the car on the track, brought out the caution, and forced a green-white-checker finish. Everybody pitted, except for Gordon and Johnson, the two leaders could not get going with their old tires, and they got spun out of the way to bring out a final yellow flag. This time, Ryan Newman duelled A.J. Allmendinger for the win, Junior retained third, Gordon 14th, and Johnson finished 12th.

So, what in hell was going on in the head of Reutimann? Well, when the car all but died, he tried to pad an extra lap or two to try for the points needed to keep the car in the Top 35 in points, to ensure its participation in the next race. Remember, this is the car Danica Patrick is scheduled to drive for ten events this season, and they want her in the races without having to be a go or go home entry. It was laps down and had been ailing for some time, including the development of some engine issues. When Reutimann got black flagged, the car died, refused to refire, which brought out the caution that changed everything.

The official line was that Reutimann limped around to try to gain an extra lap or two so they might stay in the Top 35. The trouble is they had no chance of making up the one point they currently trail the #83 driven by Landon Cassill, which wound up more than 70 laps up on them. The same goes for the #33 Hermie Sadler was driving, which wound up 69 laps ahead and five points better in 34th place in owner’s points. So, they not only stayed out for no reason at all, they want us to believe Reutimann did the calculation in his own head, and on his own decided to stay out there. Really?

Usually when the driver does something that appears so stupid it means one of two things. First, the guy is either a total idiot or just a jerk who wanted to screw somebody real bad. Personally, I have never heard of anyone accusing Reutimann of being such a driver or a man. Second, the one I would be betting on, is that the driver got orders to stay out from someone who simply has the math skills of a three year old. When it came time to face the music before the FOX and SPEED cameras, there by his lonesome was David Reutimann. He did not say he was ordered to do anything, he did not throw anyone under the bus, he just took the responsibility that I doubt was really his. He took it like a man, but I am wondering just where in hell owner and crew chief Tommy Baldwin was when it came time to man up?

We all know somebody did something mighty stupid last Sunday. What we don’t know for sure is exactly who that person was.  If nothing else, it will give us something to talk about before they head to Texas. Enjoy the next couple of weeks.

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Daytona provided us some sit on the edge of your seat excitement. What a great way to start the season. Phoenix was nice, not great, but nice. In fact, the last four events have been just that way. Not a lot to write home about, or to write to you about. Still, I got to write something, even though there are jobs out there that require even less effort.

For example, I want to be a Cup flag man. You get one of the best vantage points in the house, you wave a green flag to start things, another to show the midway point, a caution flag, a checkers, and you get to go home. At least, that was the job description at Fontana where the only caution was the one that would end it early for rain.

Tony Stewart won it, his second of the season, which is pretty good for a guy who rarely wins before June. Jimmie Johnson was belching smoke and spilling oil after a line broke, but the caution came out at just the right time so he could finish 10th. With the return of those 25 points he had lost at Daytona, Johnson is back in a place Chase. So are Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr, who rounded out the Top Three on a nice sunny day in southern California.

Jeff Gordon was a lap down in 26th, his best highlight coming when he took the gasman and his tank for a slight trip on leaving the pits. Too bad they both rolled out of their stall, bringing the former four-time champ a penalty. Stewart fake fought broadcaster Rutledge Wood before the race, after Wood threatened to insert a Coke where Kevin Harvick’s sun don’t shine, and that pretty much sums up the action last Sunday.

Maybe Saturday provided something. Well, not if you tuned in to watch Danica Patrick in the Nationwide race. She still looked good out there, but when something went through the radiator her day was done before the midway point to finish 35th. As good as she looks, she also doesn’t have much to write home about.

At least we still got Martinsville coming up this weekend. Since 2006, and a dozen contests, the winners have been Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Jimmie Johnson. That is it. Each of them has at least one spring victory on the Virginia short track, with Harvick the defending champion with his lone win there a year ago. All four are sitting nicely in the Chase at the moment.

Two who are not are Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Both ran well at Fontana, and Edwards would have been fine for the moment except for the Bristol disaster. Busch, on the other hand, did well at Phoenix but really not worth a darn anywhere else until last week. Still, both are capable of a strong result this Sunday.

Maybe I will get to write about something rivetting that took our collective breathes away this Sunday. Maybe a close finish. Something, anything. Drop me a line as to what you think about this season thus far. Has it just been lukewarm to this point, or am I missing something? In the meantime, enjoy the week.

[media-credit id=24 align=”alignright” width=”222″][/media-credit]Bristol is a place where bashing and banging is expected, yet while there was some of that going on, it proved to be just nice to watch last Sunday. Unfortunately, it was not exactly a hang on to your seat kind of affair. I guess having Brad Keselowski well out in front ahead of Matt Kenseth in the late stages had a lot to do with it. Keselowski claimed his second straight at the track, going back to last August, while Kenseth has a runner-up finish to go with his Daytona victory. Not great racing as far as the fans go, but nice.

Nice is being able to run more than 5% of the race without being beat to a pulp. So, it was not so nice for Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards who all fell within the 32nd to 39th place spots when it was all over.

Nice is not having your team mate brush by, taking out your rear tire with his exhaust pipes. So, it was not so nice for Jeff Gordon, who immediately saw his car back end into the wall to leave him crumpled in 35th. Dale Earnhardt Jr will have to make amends, and maybe work on his pit road speed while he is at it as a late miscue left him in 15th. Not great, but nice enough.

Next stop is Fontana, where we have seen a few nice races. Too bad about all the brutally boring presentations we have witnessed there. For seven seasons the Cup boys visited the track in California twice in the campaign. That stopped last year. Nice. Kevin Harvick won there in 2011, but Kyle Busch has won five of the last six Nationwide contests on that track. Nice, but it would be even nicer if he could pull off that kind of dominance on the Cup side.

As I write this, the penalties for Jimmie Johnson’s team remain intact, though he leaves Bristol with a Top Ten and just 24 points out of a Chase place. He is 18th in the standings, which is nice for now, with 22 races left to get to where he needs to be.

History has shown us that with two races on the schedule, the attendance at Fontana plummets. Sometimes it gets too hot, sometimes too wet, and too often this race becomes an example of just a bunch of guys turning left. With the speeds generated there, it should be more exciting. Gil de Ferran set a lap record in CART at 241 mph, and an IndyCar race once averaged out at a world record 207 mph. Wouldn’t it be nice if we got that kind of excitement on Sunday? Hell, I would settle for just nice.

This week, my niece Tess turns 15 and my dad celebrates his 79th birthday. May they, and you, have a nice and enjoyable week.