2008 Season Review Part I

There will be more to come shortly (certainly within the next 2 or 3 days). After I have reviewed all drivers I will try to review overall organization performance as well as the chase, NASCAR, and the 2008 season as a whole. I encourage anyone reading this to respond with their thoughts and comments.
To clarify each driver is listed by number, followed by the name and final points position in parenthesis. A star means a driver raced on a part-time basis (less than 26 races).

#00 Michael McDowell (40)*: Michael McDowell quickly became a household name, but not for the reasons he had hoped. After a firey crash during qualifying at Texas Motorspeedway (Spring) he went on a media tour around the country on various morning news programs. [Only started 20 races]

#01 Reagan Smith (34): Ragan Smith had a strong showing at the end of the season at Talladega Superspeedway. In a controversial finish it was Smith vs. Tony Stewart; NASCAR ruled in favor of Stewart after it appeared Stewart had forced the 01 below the line, instead NASCAR relegated Smith to 14^th.

#02 Joey Lagano (64)*: The young “phenom” and Nationwide Series standout was able to make only 3 starts, none of which had decent finishes. Originally Lagano was supposed to run as many as 7 races, but after several missed attempts due to rained out qualifying Lagano's foray into the Sprint Cup Circuit was cut short until the 2009 Season.

#07 Clint Bowyer (5): Bowyer was able to once again make the chase, and although he didn't have quite the finish as last year the 07 team was able to prove to be a contender once again. Bowyer's lone win came at the spring Richmond event where he took the lead from 3^rd place after Kyle Busch wrecked Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - giving the lead to Bowyer with 2 to go. The 07 Chevy was able to hang on through the Green/White/Checkered finish to win.

#1 Martin Truex, Jr. (15): Truex had a mediocre season with no wins. He signed a one year extension with DEI after rumors he would end up at the new Stewart-Haas Racing.

#2 Kurt Busch (18): After 500 miles into the season Busch appeared to be having a great season after pushing teammate Ryan Newman to win the Daytona 500. However, the older Busch brother was able to win the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (New Hampshire, Spring).

#5 Casey Mears (20): Mears again went winless in his last year for Hendrick Motorsports and had only one top 5. Mears will be in his fifth different car in as many years next season when he moves to Richard Childress Racing.

#6 David Ragan (13): David Ragan was the most improved driver, hands down, even receiving compliments from Smoke towards the end of the year. Despite the successful year, Ragan was unable to achieve his first career win.

#7 Robby Gordon (33): Robby Gordon had another up and down year. The team was only able to achieve 3 top tens as they fought a legal battle with Gillette-Evernham Racing. Gordon's team is uncertain on which manufacturer the team will run in 2009.

#8 Aric Almirola (42)*: Almirola made 12 starts this season and was able to get only one top ten in a car dominated by Mark Martin. Almirola takes over the unsponsored 8 car full time in 2009.

#8 Mark Martin (28)*: Martin had a fantastic season, despite not winning, he acrued 11 top tens and 4 top fives. Due in part to a successful year Martin will go full-time again, this time in a Hendrick Chevy next season to make one more bid for the championship.

#9 Kasey Kahne (14): Kasey Kahne had another quiet year other than his summer hot streak. Kahne was able to win the Sprint Cup All Star Race after transferring from the Showdown via the fan vote, giving the #9 Dodge team the momentum to win a fuel mileage race in the Coke 600 the following week.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

FROM DT's Garage - May you have a blessed Christmas, and remember what the season is truly about.
Happy Haunaka, Happy Festivus (Belated), Grand Ramadan, or whatever other holiday you celebrate!
It looks that silly season is finally starting to settle down so I should get a 2008 review up soon.
Merry Christmas - DT

Amongst Historical Greatness

Pearson or Petty?
Allison or Yarborough?
Earnhardt or Gordon?
Now, we must ask ourselves Johnson or Edwards?
It is evident there is a rivalry brewing in NASCAR, not like the old 'beat-and-bang, send 'em into the wall' rivalries of yore, but a more cautious one. I don't think it will reach the pinnacles that the others have, but if Edwards has a few more seasons Edwards, not only Johnson, will be in the stories of racing's greatest for generations to come.
Even though, on tonight, the much anticipated achievement Johnson, Chad Knaus's crew and the entire Hendrick organization has sought after, many will boo and jeer and shout allegations of conspiracy, listen not to them. Revel in the fact that we are witnesses to a grand time in our sport's history. Do not hope for misfortune or wish ill health on any of these people. Remember, they too have suffered to get there (2004, Martinsville). Applaud, at least, the genius of Chad Knaus, many call him a cheater, and maybe he is, but based on NASCAR history, and NASCAR past that everyone seems to be stuck in, the cheaters prospered, as long as they didn't get caught. Cheating, even if it is lacking morally, is what drove this sport to the technological enigma it is today; getting every minor improvement, grabbing all the 'grey area' you could - this is yet another aspect that makes NASCAR so unique from the 'stick and ball sports'. Remember this, and remember the history that took place earlier tonight.
Remember this when Johnson finally has a drought; it will come, just as it has to Jeff Gordon. Remember Gordon was supposed to be the next Champion to win the elusive 7 Cup Titles. Now, it seems it will more likely land with Johnson. Weather or not the man from El Cajon, Cali. ever wins another race, let alone championship, he is among the greatest drivers NASCAR and the racing world has ever seen.

Congratulations Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, the #48 Lowe's Team and all of Hendrick Motorsports for another NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship!
(Hendrick's 8th).

Also, please note, Jeff Gordon now has 7 Cup Championships, 4 as a driver and 3 as an owner. Keep coming back over the off season to see my predictions for next year and a season review of organizations. Also a full race review will but up later this week.




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Phoenix Review and H-MS Preview!

It's not so much phoenix that is the talking point this week, but the events swirling around in the silliest part of the true silly season. Earlier today Chip Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates announced they have successfully completed a merger deal with Dale Earnhardt, INC. In my own personal opinion I truly believe Dale Earnhardt, Sr. is rolling around restlessly in his grave. There is nothing wrong with Chip Ganassi, the man is a savvy business connoseiur and obviously has some idea of the racing world, at least on the IRL side (keep in mind they've been behind since they lost--er...fired Marlin a few years ago). As far as DEI? They will not be the legacy team that Dale Earnhardt had in mind, they will most likely never win a championship and may not be a factor again for a few years, if ever.
First, let me clarify, I am in no way a member of Junior Nation, he's a fine racer but is overrated for sure. Let me say though that if Teresa had let Dale Jr stay at DEI they would not have to worry about sponsorship woes. If she wanted an at-the-track-owner, like Mr. Ganassi, why did she not keep her step-son, and give him the portion of ownership he wanted? Greed. Max Siegel did a fine job at Sony, but he doesn't have the know-how, or in my opinion the desire to be passionate about racing. He too is a fine business man, but I think was driven by one thing- greed.
I don't like mixing politics and racing, but let me just add that it is that sole mindest that got this country in the economic mess we are ing- greed.
On to the cars!
Phoenix did bring us some great stuff that can be brought up to get fans through the off-season. I'm going to go in reverse on this one. On the last lap coming across the finish line, Matt Kenseth for one of the few times, showed some fire and anger, and had every right to. He came off the last corner hard, bouncing off the wall into A.J. Allmendinger who then slid across the track into Juan Pablo Montoya. What led to these events happened around 7 laps to go when Allmendinger, running fresher tires, attempted to push his nose under Kenseth who was battling fiercly with Tony Stewart, and nudged him up into to stewart. Kenseth probably would have saved it but sicne Stewart was there they both spun taking Robby Gordon with them. Allmendinger drove by just fine. I think due partly in fact that Allmendinger is still 'auditioning' for rides next season.
One of the strangest crashes also happened leading to the peculiar circumstances as the race was winding down (see last post here). With about 39 laps or so to go, Montoya got into Casey Mears and spun him, which caused a multi-car crash and had Scott Speed heading into a cloud of smoke and into the back of David Gilliland's #38 Fusion which was then on top of Speed's car. That brought out a red flag, which is part of the reason ABC thought AFV was presumably more important. It was a pretty nifty race, even though Jimmie Johnson was able to claim another victory.
As far as Homestead-Miami and Ford Championship Weekend go if Johnson doesn't wreck or have mechanical failure he will be the 2008 Sprint Cup Champion, tying him with the Legendary Cale Yarborough, the only other driver to win three championships in a row in the history of NASCAR. If Carl Edwards wins the race while leading the most laps Jimmie Johnson needs to finish 36th, if the 48 Impala SS leads a lap he needs to finish 37th, and 39th if he leads the most laps, which should be a breeze if you lead the most laps. It is not over, officially, and methodically just because Roush-Fenway cars are the Kings of Homestead-Miami. Johnson has finished outside the top ten since 2005 when he was 40th due to an accident, he was second in 2004 and 7th last year after winning the pole. Edwards has never won on the 1.5 mile track in southern Florida, but has as many top 5's as Johnson in less starts. It should be a good race to watch, and if not for the Championship, watch it for the top-35 battle, that's a close one. I'd also recommend watching both the Nationwide and Truck races as their points battles are extremley close.
I'll have a review up shortly after Homestead and then I will begin my off season topics.

I fear I may be developing angry blogger syndrome

I'd like to first off address the biggest issue regarding Phoneix, not cheating or scandal, but being cheated. I encourage all of my readers, however many you are, to reach out and be vocal at ABC, the corporates, not your local station. In case your wondering what I'm talking about ABC's programmers decided that the washed up "America's Funniest Home Videos" was more important than the next to last race of the NASCAR season. A race that, given the outcome [Jimmie Johnson winning] could've easily seen a feat wrapped up that has only be achieved once before in the history of our sport. Johnson was 21 points away from locking the title down where no one would've been able to catch him at Homestead as long as he started the race and faced no penalties. Instead the last 38 laps or so were moved to ESPN2 in Eastern and Central time zones. I, fortunately, do have cable although it is poor quality and not the luxurious HD signal I get over the air, so I am thankful for that. But, ABC needs to realize that a good concentration of NASCAR fans are in the eastern time zone and I'd venture to say MOST NASCAR fans are within Central time and Eastern time. There was absolutely no excuse to their decision. I feel sorry for the drivers as well, as I'm sure many of them felt robbed of what should've been their time in front of America as opposed to some guy who got hit in the groin by a rake.

This is what I sent to ABC: "Hey, what the heck was the big idea interrupting the Phoenix NASCAR race for AFV? Does anyone still watch that show? I don't know who in your programming department made that call or what they have against NASCAR, but that was poor judgment! What are AFV's avg. shares anyway? I bet if that was an NFL playoff game or MLB playoff AFV would've been pushed back or never aired. If you guys can't treat your NASCAR contract right, give it up! You've made many angry!"

Please note a review of the race will be up later today or tomorrow as well as a preview of the final race.

A quick note regarding the Texas review

I forgot, in my haste and amidst other happenings, completley about the Gilliland/Montoya wreck at Texas. A reminder: Basically David Gilliland was a lap dow, Juan Pablo Montoya was running tenth. Montoya was having trouble passing the #38 Fusion, a lap car, and bumped and nudged him a bit - in my opinion there is nothing wrong with moving a lapped car if you're on the lead lap. What I do have a major problem with is what happened following that. Coming on to the backstretch Gilliland takes a hard left into Montoya's right rear quarter panel. Now, Gilliland said he was just trying to get back behind Montoya but misjudged and hit Montoya. If he misjudged, he did it by quite a bit, two feet or so. The 42 Texaco Dodge was done for the night, after a hard and somewhat frightening impact with the outside barrier. NASCAR decided to park the 38 with no further penalties. That's the real shame here, is yes, NASCAR needs to let their competitors have flair and emotion, but when something is that blatant and dangerous, there should have at very least been a stiff fine, if not a point deduction. I am not really a fan of Juan Pablo Montoya, he's taken out my drivers numerous times, and I don't mind seeing him have a bad day. However, I don't want to see anyone get hurt, or worse, and what Gilliland did was flat out stupid. The main reason NASCAR makes rules is for safety, and I am still concerned why Gilliland was not penalized beyond what took place that night at Texas Motor Speedway.

Here we go again

There really isn't much to say other than when Johnson's "Bad Day" is still a top twenty and Edwards wins two in a row, there isn't much hope of stopping Jimmie Johnson's historic run that could easily be wrapped up by night's end in the Arizona Desert. The championship will most likely be decided officially in Homestead. If the 48 team can get a mere 60 points up on Carl, it will be a lock. That's quite a bit but going into Ford Championship Weekend, anything over 100 points is going to be difficult to overcome. If Johnson is leading by more than 100 this week, it's all but locked up. Crazier things HAVE happened, the 2008 Championship deciding Formula One race, which put Lewis Hamilton in the points lead by ONE POINT. I doubt it will be that close but the only other 'exciting' thing to watch for is the manufacturing championship which is spread between Chevy, Ford and Toyota, by less than 5 points. The rookie battle is also fairly close but the rookies themselves aren't that exciting. More or less this season will end on a great note, either we can Watch Jimmie Johnson tie/make history; in the unlikely even that doesn't happen, we get to witness one of the greatest upsets in racing, if not sports, history.

Predictions:
Jimmie Johnson will finish in the top 10, Carl Edwards and the Roush Gang will finish in the top 15 and an entry from the RCR stable will win the race.

Keep checking back after the season for my season review, and 2009 overall preview and then team by team review/preview. Also, I am working on developing a new, cleaner format for the 2009 season.

Atlanta Review/ Texas Preview

In Atlanta, Jimmie Johnson was 7th with 7 laps to go. He finished 2nd to Carl Edwards. In victory lane the celebration seemed to fizzle a bit when Edwards was asked if he knew who finished second, he looked at the scoring pylon and uttered a disappointing "Are you kidding me?!" followed by an all too telling "Man, you've rained on my parade all day. I could have done without that one. ... Man, Jimmie is magic."
He did everything he needed to, he went out and drove hard and won the race but only gained a mere 15 points of leader Jimmie Johnson. Earlier in the day Johnson had a pit road speeding penalty, but through the grace of driving and the caution falling to give him his laps back, it was only a matter of time. I've seen and heard people say "it's Jimmie's year" - evidently he moves fast enough he doesn't notice when one year ends and the next begins. The question that will be looming across Daytona in February is 'Will Jimmie Johnson get an unprecedented fourth cup title?'. Cale Yarborough, one of the toughest fiercest competitors this sport has ever been graced by didn't do that, but Jimmie is part of this new era of drivers, in a new era of sport. Jimmie Johnson will have more wins and more Championships than Jeff Gordon by the end of his career, there is little question in my mind about that. He in all honesty has a good 15 years of racing left in him. He can achieve 90 career wins if he averages seasons like these last few, needing just under 6 wins a season to get to 90 before he's age 48. I wanted to be optimistic, I wanted to not believe the media, and yet believe the other half, but the obvious has risen about. Jimmie Johnson, unless a catastrophic event happens in the next 3 races, will be the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, and will be only the second driver in the history of NASCAR to win 3 consecutive championships. His greatest chance at failure comes this week (today) at Texas Motorspeedway, my favorite track. He's won there though, but this is a great chance for Carl Edwards to really gain some ground.

On to the classification system! [ I need a good name for this section for 2009, send any ideas to me]

2008 Presumptive Champion: Jimmie Johnson - alright, pilgrim, who's gunna stop him now?
2008 May be able to pull out some kind of miracle: Carl Edwards
2008 "Also Rans" : Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

Following the race at Homestead-Miami I will have a short recap of the race and to fill the offseason I have a few ideas, first of all a season recap, recalling my favorite moments of the year, a Championship banquet review, any other thoughts that enter my head and for about 4 weeks a series of reviews for each team's 2008 performance any changes for the 2009 season and how I think they will fare next season. I will also discuss the owners championship, rookies and any other hot topics that arise in the next weeks. Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote!

Martinsville Review and Atlanta Preview

With Johnson winning again in the hills of Virginia, many people are ready to call this Chase over. I'm not, and according to NASCAR.Com neither is Johnson or his closest competitors. However, mathematically speaking Burton and Biffle are going to have to make up an average of 38 points a race against Johnson. It is possible, but highly unlikely, more or less if anyone other than Burton or Biffle even have a shred of hope left it's if Jimmie has trouble, and in the past few years, I've seen crazier things happen. It looks like Johnson will tie Yarborough's record after all. Once again, I'm not going to call this over until, at earliest, heading into Phoenix/after Texas.
Last week's race at Martinsville was fairly typical, it lead to a somewhat exciting finish with the same result we've seen as of late - a Hendrick car in victory lane, I can't say I expect that to change anytime soon, remember, they always seem to have an extra incentive for winning there since the plane tragedy -- it makes me wonder if they'd be even more dominant if Randy Dorton were still alive. Regardless, Knaus and crew had excellent pit stops and simply have put Jimmie in great cars week after week, now that they've finally figured out this new car.
History tells me though, that eventually this luck should run out, but as things are going, it may be a few years, we'll see; remember though, Jeff Gordon probably would've had more championships than 4 right now, but should haves, would haves, and could haves make no difference. So what does Atlanta look like?
First off GOOD NEWS -- According to NASCAR.com the tire issue we saw in the spring (incredibly hard tires, no handling, no passing) have been done away with and Goodyear has brought a softer compound that the drivers seem to be happier with.

True Contenders:
OK, True Contender:
Jimmie Johnson as much as I hate to say it, the likelihood of Johnson losing this championship is rather small, it's there, there is a possibility he will lose, but it grows more distant each week.

Fightin' Chance:
Jeff Burton: He's been through a lot in his career, he's able to keep his chin up and not worry about Johnson, he's hungry and is, in my opinion, long overdue for a championship, he will need Johnson to slip up just a bit to have any hope though.
Greg Biffle: He's been quietly hanging on this whole time, and I wont' count him out until he's mathematically not able to catch Johnson, he works wonders at Homestead and if he's within a hundred points or so coming into Ford Championship Weekend, he may be able to catch Johnson.
Carl Edwards: Fights always seem to mess competitors up. Edwards has been strong at the Hampton, Ga. track since his first start there, if he's going to make up points on Johnson it's going to be this week and next.

Waiting on others' mistakes:
Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick: These RCR teammates will most likely not be a factor in this year's chase from here on out. We'll have to wait another year, but I be live both of these guys are deserving of championships and will be champions one day.

Counting the days until Daytona:
Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Bush, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. I don't' see any of these guys really challenging for the championship this season so look forward to my season review and '09 preview over the off season. The only thing to expect from these guys is Jeff Gordon to win one before the end of the season, it will most likely come either this weekend at Atlanta or in two weeks at Phoenix.

Special note---Podcast versions of the season review and 2009 preview will be available as well. Both on iTunes or directly from dtsgarage.podbean.com

Half way check point

If I do have any regular readers, I do apologize on the absence of analysis thus far throughout the Chase. Therefore I'll wrap up the entire first half of the Sprint Cup Chase in this one entry. I do have a copy of my original pre-season predictions (done before January Daytona Testing) so if you want a copy of all my predictions (which ended up being a fair ways off) send an email to DTsGarage@gmail.com

The Chase so far: Mostly I want to focus on the fact the Roush Powerhouse is back again, after seemingly taking two years off and having problems adjusting to the new car, they're on their game. There is a reason Greg Biffle was originally tabbed to take over for Mark Martin [who supposedly entered retirement way back in 2005]. From the first 3 races (New Hampshire, Dover and Kansas) I had a hunch there was going to be a flashback type of chase, back to the early 2000's I was expecting it to come down to Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle. A clash as epic as they used to have as one of the most heated rivalries in recent memory (from any sereies).
Two notes on that, first of all, I don't think that's going to happen after Talladega and Lowe's. It seems though that Harvick is not destined to ever get along with the Roush drivers, as a new rivalry, for lack of a better term, seemed to have come about in the garage area in Charlotte (pictures available at ESPN.com)

As the Chase moves on, I don't expect much change. Jimmie Johnson will not win a 3rd title (this year) but I see it being a showdown between Johnson, Harvick and Burton. The Gibbs bunch won't resurface until mid-season of '09. I will for sure get an update after M'Ville but look for it to be Gordon, Johnson and Bowyer up towards the front of the pack today.

True Contenders:
Jimmie Johnson - He's not done yet, but I'm not sure if he has the magic he's had the last two season.
Jeff Burton - He's going to win a championship before he retires, this year or next are probably his two best bets

Greg Biffle - he has a chance to make up some ground at Atlanta, Texas and Miami, only problem is the guys in front of him are strong there too.


Fightin' Chance:

Carl Edwards - his chase is probably over, he's under too much stress (Banzai move at Kansas) and it always seems when someone gets in a large or much publicized altercation with another driver it puts a gimp in their season. (This will sound childish, but he started it)

Clint Bowyer - He didn't start the chase off as brilliantly as last season, but still has had good finish. Next year a Cherrios car may be leading the pack (especially if Gil Martin isn't his crew chief anymore)

Kevin Harvick - Barley got in this category. He has no DNFs and is consistent, he too will win a championship before he retires, but it most likely won't be this year. He's strong at the rest of the tracks so he may be able to make a charge.


Destiny Controlled Partially by others:

Jeff Gordon
Tony Stewart
only becasue I can't ever count these guys out.

Lookin' toward '09:

Kyle Bush - if I would've had more time to publish my (half-written) story, "bye-bye Bush" you'd know that I called his failure in the chase, two reasons primarily 1) he's not too great on any of the tracks and 2) everyone else was bound to catch up with him. Although, I'll be honset, I didn't expect him to do this poorly; let's see if '08 was a fluke, or if the M&M's team will be just as strong next year

Dale Earnhardt, Jr - He's had his adjustment year, he's one to keep an eye on for next season, still the most overrated driver in NASCAR

Matt Kenseth- He seems to be the token 'choker' of NASCAR's 'post-season' style of championship

Denny Hamlin- he said it several weeks ago, they're done ( I think that was prechase, but what a fortune teller). I'll be the one to say it. Denny Hamlin will most likely never be a champion. He'll contend, but it will be a series of events that will lead to that. In my most honest opinion, his rookie season was a fluke. He can drive, but he's not championship caliber, at least, not in my mind and/or at this time.

Last Minute Hurricane Preview of the Chevy Rock and Roll 400

In this calm before the storm it seems that it has taken me longer than usual to be able to get to this blog. Regardless, it's time for the thunder to roll, twice in Richmond. Let's cut to the chase (no pun intended) and get this going right off the bat.

My Top Picks:
1) Clint Bowyer – In the spring race there were three other cars that probably should have been in Victory Lane, but Bowyer knows how to put that car in a competitive position. He knows he's under pressure and he's had success here before, as everyone learned last year, don't count him out unless it just doesn't add up.
2) Denny Hamlin – Hometown track. Fantastic run in the spring. The only thing that'll stop him is being too conservative or another tire/accident. Hamlin probably would have been the winner in the spring race.
3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Honestly, Dale probably should have been in Victory Lane in the spring also.
4) Jeff Gordon – Teammate won last week, Hendrick cars historically strong at Richmond, and that No. 24 team is STILL without a win.
5) Kyle Busch – Frankly, Rowdy Busch should have been in Victory Lane for the spring race, as well.
(4/5 of the drives listed above EASILY could have, or did, win the spring race, therefore this week's actual number assignments don't matter too much)
Not What They Needed:
1) Greg Biffle – He's in the chase as long as he finds where his car is parked and he takes the green flag; however, this isn't the track the 3M Ford Fusion team needs to start off a strong Chase run.
2) Carl Edwards – Looking at trends with Edwards, Richmond seems to be a hit-or-miss track. Look for Carl to either give it his all to try to amass more bonus points, or finish mid-pack.
3) Matt Kesneth – What a trend! Roush drivers don't seem to take well to this track. Even though Kenseth has won here before, I don't think he'll be a factor in the final 'regular season' event.

Long Shots (for the win):
1) David Ragan – With a limited history to look upon, and the complete change of state this season for the No. 6 team, it seems that Ragan keeps landing on my long shots list. He's going to be a factor for championships someday, but he's going to have to beat Bowyer and Kasey Kahne, both great drivers at RIR, to be able to contend for this years Chase.
2) Ryan Newman – It's been 25 races since Newman has seen victory lane. I think he could give the Alltel Dodge a chance at victory, if he doesn't win, it's next to impossible for him to reach the Chase. How much Newman wants to move on to 2009 may outweigh what he should be concentrating on this year.
3) Kasey Kahne – To put it simply, this just isn't Kahne's year. He's done phenomenal at this three-quarter mile race track in the past; regardless, I don't think Kahne will make the Chase, but I do know he's going to be pushing that car as hard as it can go.

In The Rearview: Pepsi 500

Sometimes everything goes your way, and sometimes you end up looking like a fool. Although I am eager to write these blogs, henceforth they will be written AFTER practice and/or qualifying to keep me from looking foolish. Or maybe I'll continue to do things my way so you have my take before NASCAR.Com gives you theirs.
If you missed the race you didn't miss much, unless you're a Jimmie Johnson fan. Even then, I'd say the most exciting event of the evening was a caution light falling off the catch-fence for one of the sparse cautions, more of that later.
The No. 48 crew was able to flat-out dominate the rest of the field, in the early going and even through the end. Greg Biffle's team was the only team that could have even challenge for the lead, and that didn't pan out so well for The Biff.
With this race being so similar to Michigan it honestly makes me wonder why either of those two tracks have two dates. The fact that there are more deserving tracks out there, (e.g. Kentucky, Nashville, Kansas, Iowa Las Vegas...) that deserve either a chance at a Sprint Cup date or a second date. Pocono, Fontana and Michigan can probably all get by with only one race a year.

Smooth Sailing: This has to be given to the 48 team...no, no it doesn't. Even though I thought Johnson would be a long shot, he dominated the field and had great pit stops, HOWEVER, I was more impressed by Greg Biffle's team. They beat the 2 time series champ on pit road. So I give my 'Smooth Sailing' to the No. 16 pit crew- great job guys!

Uh-Oh: This one goes to NASCAR this year, Tony Stewart was the only title contender to finish in the lower half of the field (22nd). As far as I'm concerned it's time NASCAR realize what's best for it's fans and not just concern itself with markets.

Time to Pack It Up: Autoclub Speedway. I can't criticize any drivers this week, the strong finished well and the week finished towards the back. Everything went pretty much as expected. I hope and somewhat expect this So. Cal. track to lose it's second date within the next two years unless people start buying tickets to an extremely boring track, that has no place to be in the Chase.

What in the world?: It's raining...CAUTION LIGHTS?! The most entertaining part of the night was the caution light causing a caution. One of the track's caution lights fell off the fence to cause a caution, this due to the high amount of turbulence the cars create driving by as fast as they do. Later the same caution light had a piece fall off of it to cause another caution. This is rather pathetic, this being the most memorable part of the race
My Congratulations to the No. 48 team.

Preview: Pepsi 500

We are now upon the end of a tradition...a tradition that never reached fruition, and frankly, should've never insulted the classic Labor Day Weekend race at Darlington, SC. Next season Atlanta Motor Speedway will try and wrestle the daunting task of selling out a race over the Labor Day Weekend.

California didn't deserve a second date and the race didn't have the glory or popularity that it did when it was in the south. However, times change and NASCAR must follow suit; I'm OK with this as long as if California STILL can't sell out a race, a CHASE RACE to be specific, next year it needs to forfeit at least one of it's dates. The market in sunny southern California is just not what it was expected to be. Auto Club Speedway does not deserve a race in the chase and doesn't provide a unique track like Atlanta was able to. Regardless, this is where the series is headed this week and it is time to take a look at who to watch for:

MY TOP PICKS:

1) Jeff Gordon- He's not hungry for a win he's STARVING, where better to get that win than at (one of) his home tracks

2) Greg Biffle-Biffle seems to be off and on here, but has a win and also is still trying to win for the first time this season

3) Carl Edwards- Won the spring race and has been strong of late. With the momentum and knowing that he's a solid lock for the chase- He's going to go all out

4) Matt Kenseth- he's been strong here as of late and I look for him to start contending for wins soon.

5) Kasey Kahne- he's going to have to push it hard these next couple of weeks to even think of making the chase this year, he's won before in Fontana and knows he needs to contend. Look for the 9 car to be fast this weekend.

NOT WHAT THEY NEEDED:

1) Clint Bowyer- He has not been that great historically here, but in a sport that emphasizes momentum, he may shock everyone and contend.

2) Denny Hamlin- the chase could definitely be shook up again after this race, Hamlin has an average finish of 17.8 at Auto Club Speedway. I don't see him contending for a win unless it turns into a fuel mileage race.

3) Dale Earnhardt, JR- he's pretty much locked in unless he blows up on the first lap, but does not have a good record at Fontana, unless Tony Eury Jr can pull some magic out of his sleeves, JR fans might as well take a week off and look for him to be strong again in Richmond.

LONG SHOTS (for the win)

1) Kasey Kahne - it's been hit and miss for him all season, I'm not sure if he can hit it here or not.

2) Jimmie Johnson- Usually Johnson would be a strong pick for either California track, but with the way his season is going, I just don't see him getting to Victory lane this week.

3) David Ragan - Roush Fenway is usually fairly strong at ACS, and David had a good finish last week; watch to see if he can ride the wave.

all images used with permission

In The Rearview: Sharpie 500

Bristol is BACK! This race is exactly what the series as a whole needed! It's not the Bristol that Earnhardt, Wallace and Labonte clashed on, it's the new Bristol, with Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards. Hands down Bristol was the best race of the summer.

Why was the Sharpie 500 so important?

1) Good racing, it showed that even while a track is "multi-groove" it can still pinch nerves and make tempers flare. Multi-car wrecks, bumps and runs and taps and pushes. It's all back, but seemingly on a smaller scale

2) Clash of the Titans: The two sereies points-leaders, Kyle Busch and Edwards dukin' it out on the last lap and after the race. In case you missed what's being refferred to as "the bump heard 'round the world" Carl pulled a classic and textbook perfect bump-and-run on Kyle Busch coming out of turn 1 on the final lap. Edwards said he asked himself "would he do that to me? and the answer was 'he has before" so Carl slid Busch up the racetrack, not to the favor of Busch, who after the race colided with Edwards, and then Edwards proceeded to take the 99 Office Depot Fusion and spin Kyle around to loud cheers from the crowd.

3a) This is what the sport has been missing, and Carl admitted, basically, there is a true rivalry now between Kyle Busch and Edwards, light, and dark; good and evil, I think it' obvious to see which is which, but I'll leave that up to you.

Smooth Sailing: Clint Bowyer, even after involvement in the wreck with newley named teammate Casey Mears and Michael Waltrip, was able to push his 07 Chevrolet to a 7th place finish, he's back in the chase hunt. With a decent finish next week at Autoclub speedway, Bowyer should have no problem landing in the chase at Richmond.

Uh-Oh: once again, Clint Bowyer, after the aforementioned wreck, Bowyer stated, in a rather nonchalant manner, over the radio "Michael Waltrip is the worst driver in NASCAR, period...I can't believe NAPA signed back on" At the time, however, he had no idea Mears had just said in an interview that the 5 spotter said "Clear, clear, clear" when in fact, Michael was still close enough to Mears that he was not clear. Bowyer later apologized on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. This is proof that the temper and emotion is back at Bristol

Time to pack it up: Kasey Kahne, after the devastating race for Kahne, being in the Mears/Waltrip collection, Kahne is over 60 points out from 12th, making the chase at this point will require a bad week from another bubble driver.

What in the world?: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. passed many cars on the initial green flag, although that's ok, to the outside, on restarts, a competitor must be in his starting position when they cross the line the first time. Earnhardt Jr was a lap down and was being rather aggressive to lead-lap drivers after his pass-thu pit penalty.

That's my take on the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motorspeedway. I'll have a brief reaction to silly season announcments later this week and any penalties that may be levied, specifically to Kyle Busch, as he was called to the NASCAR trailer for his shenanigans.

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Preview: Shaprie 500 In Bristol, Tenn.

Last year, the fall race at Bristol was sub-par at best. I think this year may be another story, and sure hope that it is. Bristol's long-time motto is "racing the way it oughta be" and it was that way, until either A) the new car package made passing easier or B) the progressive banking and widening of the track or even C) both of those. Most likely it's more of the "C". Regardless, I think this year, after watching the truck race, this should be a fun one, maybe not quite as temper-flaring as it used to be, but nevertheless a good race. Only time will tell and I think we'll get a glimpse of that when the Nationwide Series gets to rolling here in the next few hours.

My Top Picks for Bristol:
1)RCR it's going to be RCR on top again with the sweep, Jeff Burton can lock a chase spot with a win tomorrow, Harvick and Bowyer really need to step it up and get solid top-5's, which between Bristol and Richmond, should be no problem
2)RCR
3)RCR
4)Kyle Busch-We haven't seen the last of him...yet, he'll be strong at least up until the chase
5)Kurt Busch- Maybe he can return Penske to victory lane, the blue Duce has always been one to watch at BMS

Not what they needed:
1) David Ragan- I just watched him crash in Qualifying, I think after this weekend, his chase hopes will be pretty much dashed unless he surprises everyone again and other people fall victim to bad luck
2) Denny Hamlin, although he's usually fairly good on the short track, I don't see him taking the checkered at Britsol, he's disheartened and that's the fastest way to fall out of the chase
3)Kasey Kahne with only one top 5 at Bristol in his career, he's only going to continue to suffer and tighten the chase berth bubble up

Long Shots (for the win):
1)David Ragan, He's been strong recently and has a strong team behind him
2)Matt Kenseth, even with two wins at the eastern Tenessee track, I still don't think he's aggressive enough to contend for a win, it depends on where he qualifies
3) Greg Biffle, he's hungry for a win, usually runs decent at BMS but has never won there

all images used with permission