August 2007 Archives

There are three drivers battling for the 12th and final spot in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, the final spot to qualify for the Chase.
Kurt Busch is 12th in the Cup standings. He is followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is 158 points behind Busch. Ryan Newman is 14th, 175 points behind Busch.
Kyle Busch, the younger brother of Kurt, is eighth in the Cup standings. His spot looks fairly secure with two races to go before the Chase starts.
He doesn't think drivers will be overly aggressive fighting for that 12th place position at California Speedway on Sunday.
"There are only a handful of guys on the bubble, and the rest who are actually in the Chase are just trying to rack up wins to get the extra bonus points," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "So, nothing has really changed in the style of racing. It's always been this competitive. From where I'm sitting, watching the battle for 12th will be pretty fun. I'm just glad not to be in that situation and that we're solidly in the Chase."
The car his team brought to California Speedway is the same car Busch raced at Michigan International Speedway a couple weeks ago. Busch finished 13th in the Michigan race.
"We have had good qualifying efforts at Michigan the past few times, and although we ran well at Michigan a few weeks ago, we pitted for two tires and never regained track position," Busch said. "California is a multi-groove track as well, so we hope our car works in whatever the fast lane is. We're taking the same car, so I think we should run very well right out of the box."

It looks like Casey Mears is going to try to end the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series regular season with some punch.
His team is bringing the same car to California Speedway this weekend that won the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. The car also finished fourth at Michigan International Speedway, considered Fontana's sister track, in June.
"It's a great car and obviously one I'm pretty attached to after our win at Charlotte," said Mears, driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "It's funny, but there's always a car or two that sticks with you like that during the course of a season. It's a car that just feels a little more comfortable and a little more familiar no matter how long it's been since you've driven it or how good your other cars might be."
Mears is 16th in the Cup standings, more than 400 points behind Kurt Busch for the 12th and final spot for the Chase. It looks like his realistic chances of making the Chase are gone.
In the February race at California Speedway, Mears finished 31st. But on a positive note, Mears was second in the NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway in February.
"I think California has widened out a lot in the past couple of years, which gives it that Michigan feel. But also, I think the drivers are exploring more, too," Mears said. "The competition at this level gets tighter and tighter all the time, and it gets harder and harder to be one of those top-10, top-five guys. I think that makes all of us search a little bit more and try to find other areas to make the car work better, including running the high groove at Fontana more than we have in the past."

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver David Reutimann has some unfinished business at California Speedway. He was looking to crack the top 15 late in the race in February when he crashed and ended up with a disappointing 33rd-place finish.
“I took a hard hit with about seven laps to go during the race in February,” said Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. “We were running just outside the top-15 when another car got into the back of us and turned us hard into the fence. It was going to be a decent day that turned into a disaster. We’ve moved on since then and tried to forget about what happened.”
Reutimann has had success at California Speedway. He won a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole there and has three top-15 finishes in the NASCAR Busch Series at the track. But it doesn't mean he has found a comfort level at the track yet.
“I’ve struggled at the track before in the past, but over the years I’ve learned a lot,” Reutimann said. “We had good runs in a truck and decent finishes in the Busch car. We could have had a top-15 finish in the Cup car if we weren’t involved in an accident. We feel good about going back to California and look to have a strong finish in the Burger King Toyota Camry.”

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer will be bar hopping in Hollywood on Thursday night.
Bowyer will be driving his No. 07 Chevrolet from Richard Childress Racing up and down Sunset Boulevard to help promote the Nextel Cup Series race at California Speedway and remind people to drink responsibly.
Bowyer, whose car is sponsored by Jack Daniels, and his crew will be stopping at a number of bars while cruising Sunset Boulevard. He will start his tour around 6 p.m.
Bowyer is ninth in the Nextel Cup Series standings. The top 12 drivers will qualify for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion. The Chase starts in two weeks at New Hampshire International Speedway. There are two races remaining, including Sunday's at California Speedway, before the Chase starts.

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at California Speedway last Labor Day marked the beginning of the end for Tony Stewart's Chase hopes. He finished ninth, but Kasey Kahne won the race at Fontana. Kahne eventually knocked Stewart out of the top 10 and qualified for the Chase, while Stewart was relegated to 11th place in the Cup standings.
This year, the top 12 drivers in the Cup standings will qualify for the Chase, but Stewart has little to worry about. He is second in points, one of five drivers who have already qualified for the Chase, and has a chance to be in the lead when the Chase starts in two weeks at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Stewart said seeing the Chase field expand from 10 to 12 drivers adds a different perspective to the playoff format. But he wouldn't mind seeing even more drivers eligible for the Chase.
“I think the more people they add, the more it makes you appreciate what you’ve done, because you have to compete against more guys," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. “For so many years the Cup Series was about winning the title based upon what guy had the most points at the end of the year because he was the most consistent. The Chase is just a change in time. I’m not sure it really matters what I feel about it. It is what it is."
Stewart said he doesn't know what to expect with the new Chase format. What he does know is that there isn't much the drivers can do if they don't like it.
"I think it’s been a positive thing for our sport, but we’ll just sit back and see what happens," Stewart said. "I’m not sure if any of us like or dislike it, but we can’t do anything about it. This year’s version of the Chase hasn’t even started, so we’ll just ride it out and see how it works.”

Crown Royal and Richmond International Raceway are looking for the next Jim Stewart. The May NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond was the Crown Royal presents the Jim Stewart 400. Stewart, who lives in Houma, La., won a contest and was awarded naming rights to the race.
There will be a similar contest for the spring race in 2008 at Richmond.
To enter, adult fans 21 and over can go to CrownRoyal.com until Nov. 22 and submit an entry chronicling their most “CROWN-WORTHY” moment. A “CROWN-WORTHY” moment is defined as a memorable moment or occasion deemed worthy of toasting with a Crown Royal cocktail in a responsible manner (i.e., big promotion at work, bowling the perfect game, etc.).

Melissa Etheridge, a Grammy and Academy award winning musician, will sing the national anthem before the start of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race on Sunday at California Speedway.
"As an outspoken advocate for the environment, human rights, and cancer survivors, Melissa Etheridge is more than just a wonderfully talented musician," said California Speedway president Gillian Zucker. "We can't wait to introduce this Grammy and Academy Award winner to NASCAR at California Speedway.”
Etheridge joins a star-filled lineup of musicians scheduled to participate in various events at California Speedway throughout the Labor Day race weekend. Platinum recording artist 30 Seconds to Mars will perform during the Miller Lite Rock ’n Racing show prior to the Sharp AQUOS 500, while 25-time Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder will serve as the race’s Grand Marshal. Additionally, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, the stars of the hit Saturday morning original series “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” will be honorary starters.

In his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at California Speedway for Hall of Fame Racing, Tony Raines finished 23rd. That was in February.
This time around, Hall of Fame Racing will be bringing the same car Raines race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The car qualified well, 11th, but Raines got in a wreck with Kasey Kahne and posted a 41st place finish.
The car has been repaired and will be the team's primary car for Sunday's race at California Speedway.
“I think it was the best body we had and it was a great chassis at Indy, up until we crashed," said Raines, driver of the No. 96 Chevrolet for Hall of Fame, which is owned in part by Troy Aikman. "I think the confidence I have is because the DLP guys have worked really hard. The cars have been faster, lately. We’ve just had some bad luck on finishing positions. We’re pretty confident that we’ll be better. We’re shooting for improvement in qualifying and then getting the car running well in the race.”
Jeff Green and Raines had a bet on who would finish higher in the Cup race at Bristol. Green passed Raines on the last lap of the race and finished one spot ahead, in 27th place.
As a result, Raines will have to wear one of Green's Best Buy hats during the race weekend at California Speedway. Best Buy is one of the sponsors on Green's No. 66 Chevrolet for Haas/CNC Racing.
"Jeff got us by one position on the last lap, which was disappointing," Raines said. "But, I’m happy to wear a Best Buy hat at California. DLP and Best Buy have a great relationship and I have no problem supporting that by wearing a Best Buy hat. Hopefully, it will encourage people to by their DLP HDTV at Best Buy. It was a fun little wager that Jeff and I had at Bristol and I think the folks at DLP and Best Buy enjoyed it, too.”

The last time the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series raced at California Speedway, Brian Vickers posted the first top-10 finish for Toyota in a Cup race. That was in February. The time in between has been both frustrating and rewarding for the Toyota drivers. Most of the Toyota teams have struggled to qualify for races and crack the top 35 in owner points to guarantee starting spots in races.
Vickers said he is looking forward to coming back to California Speedway.
"It's a good track there," said Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Toyota for Team Red Bull. "We ran well there when we ran well in the first race. It's good to go back to a track where we did get our first top-10. I feel like we've learned a lot -- made a lot of gains in the cars, engines since then. If we had a top-10 there last time we can have a similar set up and work on the car and be able to do a lot better this time.”
One of the big differences between the February race and the September race at California Speedway is that the September race is complete at night. It starts at 5 p.m. and ends after the sun goes down. It can make for a challenging race once the sun starts to set.
“You just deal with it," Vickers said. "There is going to be a part of the race where you are going to go off into turn three blind and not really know what is there. You just kind of have to have a feel for the track and know when to lift and cross your fingers.”

Burger King will be everywhere at California Speedway this weekend for the NASCAR races.
From the Burger King himself to a King's Quarters hospitality area, race fans will get more than a taste of what Burger King has to offer.
Some of the Burger King ties at the track include:
A contingent of race fans who took advantage of a ticket promotion through Burger King. They received a free infield credential with their NASCAR Nextel Cup Series tickets. Fans bought 159 tickets with infield credentials through Burger King.
Burger King will be the official quick service restaurant for the races, the first time for Burger King at California Speedway.
The King will be at the track on Sunday during the parade lap and distributing T-shirts to fans.
The King's Quarters hospitality area will be in the infield of the track and accomodate 150 people. Guests of the King's Quarters will be chosen via a radio promotion. There will be 75 sets of tickets offered by selected radio stations to visit King's Quarters at the race track. The participating radio stations are:
KCAL-FM
KFRG-FM
KGGI-FM
KXOL-FM
KLOS-FM

For Jeff Gordon it's all about the wins at this point in the season. The more wins he can collect, the bigger his lead will be in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings when the Chase starts.
But wins are not easy to come by these days for Gordon. They are even more difficult for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt Jr. is 13th in the Cup standings, 158 points behind Kurt Busch for the 12th and final spot in the Chase.
But the way Busch and Ryan Newman, his teammate at Penske Racing, have been running lately, Gordon isn't sure a win or two would help Earnhardt Jr. that much in his Chase hopes.
"You have to race well for 26 races. They have had a rough year," Gordon said about Earnhardt Jr.'s team. "They have had some motor issues, some not good finishes. Now they are having good finishes and the No. 2 (Busch) and the No. 12 (Newman) are right there. You don't want to wish bad luck on anybody, but right now, the way the No. 2 and the No. 12 are running, you don't think he is going to be able to get in, even if he is winning races."

Normally, a driver who finishes last in a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race, blows his engine and loses a spot in the standings would not have many nice things to say afterward.
Denny Hamlin is different.
Sure, he was that driver, finished last at Bristol, blew his engine midway through the race, fell from second to third in the Cup standings. But on a positive not, he locked up a spot in the Chase, and said he was excited about how his car ran in Saturday night's Bristol race.
"Yeah, we can get over it real fast," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I'm excited about this and how well we ran because I really didn't know what we were going to have going into today and for our car to perform the way it did was amazing. I couldn't be happier to drive it. I could just go anywhere I wanted to with the thing and it would go so I tell you, this is going to be tough there at the end."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, one place ahead of Kurt Busch. Earnhardt Jr. and Busch are fighting for the 12th and final spot in the Chase. Busch is in 12th. Earnhardt is 13th, 158 points behind Busch.
Despite his top-five finish at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. was only able to trim five points off Busch's edge for 12th place.
There are only two races left before the Chase starts and only two more races for Earnhardt Jr. to climb into the top 12 in the Cup standings.
"I want to win," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "If I can't get into the Chase, let's win a race. Let's do something."
Earnhardt Jr. missed the Chase a couple years ago. He said after the Bristol race that he would rather win a race than qualify for the Chase. He also said the media makes a bigger deal out of not making the Chase than he does.
"Y'all make it pretty miserable because that's all y'all talk about," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I shouldn't tell you that you dictate my mood. Now you know but anyways, when we don't make it everybody makes a big deal out of it. They talk about it pre-race, they talk about it post-race for a couple weeks and it is a bummer. It's a bummer when you see that and have to watch that and read it and what not."
It almost sounds like Earnhardt Jr. has given up on making the Chase. It's a longshot at this point, but not impossible. Kasey Kahne was able to make up 90 points and qualify for the Chase with two races to go last year. Earnhardt Jr. has a much steeper hill to climb.
"You kind of want to go under the radar when you can't get it done but maybe we can get us a win," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I'll be more ticked off if I don't win a race this year because I've run good all year. We've had so many opportunities, you know? And you won't credit for running fifth and blowing up, running up second blowing up. You just won't."

Here's the deal. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 163 points behind Kurt Busch for 12th place in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings. If he is 161 points out of 12th and behind Busch after the California Speedway race, Earnhardt Jr. will not qualify for the Chase.
His fate can be determined with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He needs to finish ahead of Busch, well ahead of him, to have any chance of passing him in the Cup standings before the Chase starts.
But Earnhardt Jr. said he has no intention of playing it safe at Bristol.
"I have to keep myself excited. Running conservatively sounds boring," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "It is Bristol. It is a new track. I will be looking all over this thing trying to find a groove, be searching all over the place trying to find where the car is fast. There is a lot of room. It is a lot wider. So I am excited, I am looking forward to the race and having some fun. Running real real hard and seeing what happens."

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers Jeff Green and Tony Raines have a little wager going on for the race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Green, the driver of the No. 66 Chevrolet for Haas/CNC Racing, and Raines, driver of the No. 96 Chevrolet for Hall of Fame Racing, are betting their teams colors on the outcome of the race.
The losing driver will have to wear a hat with the other driver's team colors at for the race at California Speedway.
“I didn’t hesitate when I was asked,” Raines said. “I believe in my DLP HDTV team, and have no doubt they’re up for the challenge. I feel like we can take home bragging rights over the 66 team this weekend. If not, I’ll be proud to wear the Best Buy hat and hopefully get some race fans to pick up their DLP HDTV at Best Buy.”
Green and Raines are sharing sponsors on their cars for the next couple of races.
“It’s just something fun to do,” Green said. “Tony’s DLP car has my sponsor, Best Buy, on the quarterpanels for the next two races, and our associate sponsor, Samsung HDTV, is one of the top manufacturers of DLP TVs. We thought it would be a little different to see which DLP/Best Buy car can come out on top this weekend. It’ll be our race-within-a-race.”

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin said he is looking forward to racing at California Speedway. He just wishes there were more NASCAR fans in Southern California who felt the same way.
The racing at California Speedway is fine. It's a lot like Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin said. Because of his team's performance in the NASCAR Busch Series at Michigan, Hamlin said he is excited about the Cup race at California Speedway. Sort of.
"It's hard to get excited when that place holds so many seats that when 100,000 or 150,000 people are there, it doesn't look sold out and it just doesn't get the kind of buildup that a lot of other race tracks do when the stands are packed, no matter how many people are there," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I think it tends to make for good racing but the cars just get so strung out there it tends to be kind of a snoozer of sorts."

Jeff Gordon says he's a fan of the Chase format to determine the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champions. However, he said the drivers who win Cup championships with the Chase format should have an asterisk.
Gordon has won four Cup championships over his career, but none of them have come since the Chase format was adopted in 2003. The way he won his championships are much different than the way they are determined now. He said there should be some sort of distinction.
"We talked about modern era championships and races won in a single season, comparing it to the past, I think it's the same thing with the Chase format ever since that's come along," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "In my opinion, though, it's a move for the better. I think it's more exciting. It's more challenging, which makes it more rewarding to win the championship."
As much as he likes the Chase format, there is one adjustment he would make.
"Although what I might do is maybe award something to the team and the guy that does lead after Richmond or after 26 races," Gordon said. "I think maybe if you have a certain amount of lead over second place, maybe you get some bonus points or there is some incentive to that. It is a shame that the leader gets it all taken away from him but I still think that the Chase format is great, to be decided among 11 or 12 guys for it to come down to the final race of the year, I think that's all great for the sport."
For the record, Gordon is the leader in the Cup standings and looks like he will hold that position once the Chase starts.

Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series record at Bristol Motor Speedway isn't all that impressive. His best finish there is a third place in 2004. In his most recent race there, the Cup race in March, he was 16th.
The car his team is taking to Bristol isn't all that impressive either. It finished 15th in its only race, at Dover International Speedway in June.
In 11 career Cup starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Johnson, who is in sixth-place in the Cup standings, has six top-10s and has led three races for a total of 29 laps. But he doesn't need to win at Bristol to stay in Chase contention. He just needs to finish.
"I think it's a relaxing period of time for the guys in the top five," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Everybody near that 12th position in the points, it's pretty brutal right now getting ready for the Chase. Your whole season is based on getting in the Chase. So there's a lot of pressure in those areas right now."

There have been a number of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races delayed by rain this year. The May race at Richmond International Raceway was postponed a day by rain. Jeff Gordon followed that race with a win at Darlington Raceway.
The Cup race at Dover International Raceway was delayed a day by rain. Gordon followed that with a win in the rain-shortened race at Pocono Raceway in June.
The most recent Cup race was delayed two days by rain. Kurt Busch won the race at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday, but the rain has been a good omen for Gordon.
“Rain has played a factor in some events this season,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorpsorts. “It’s an inconvenience to the teams, but I really feel for the fans. I was amazed at how many hung around until Tuesday in Michigan. That just shows how passionate our fans are about this sport."
It makes for a short week, though. Instead of having Monday and Tuesday to prepare for the race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, all the Cup teams were in Michigan waiting for the rain to stop. Gordon credited his team and crew for being prepared during the short weeks.
“But while it interrupts our schedule, it puts a premium on being prepared at the shop," Gordon said. "And my crew chief Steve Letarte has done a great job ensuring that this DuPont team is well-prepared.”

Matt Kenseth is the only NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver for Roush Fenway Racing with a win at Bristol Motor Speedway. He has two. Both have come in the August race at the track, the most recent in 2006.
“Bristol has such a cool atmosphere," said Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "The place is full of people. You have 150,000 people around a half-mile racetrack, it’s a Saturday night and the crowd’s kind of rowdy. Usually there’s a lot of action going on and there’s always some accidents and there’s some people getting mad. It’s kind of a cool, crazy, party-type atmosphere and it’s a special place to be able to win at. There’s a lot of cool history there. Darrell Waltrip has won a ton of races there, Dale Earnhardt too, and there are a lot of cool races and cool highlights throughout the years that’s come from there."
The car his team is bringing to Bristol last raced at Dover International Speedway in June. It finished fifth in that race. In 15 career Cup races at Bristol, Kenseth has seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes. But the track has been resurfaced since the last Cup race there in March.
“The track is definitely a lot different than what it was," Kenseth said. "I really enjoyed the old configuration. It had a lot of character and a lot of unique parts about the track that you had to negotiate and it’s a lot different now. We’re going to have to relearn that and hopefully we can get a handle on it like we did the old one.”

Roger Penske made it perfectly clear after Kurt Busch won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
"We have to get in the Chase," said Penske, owner of the two-car Penske Racing team of Busch and Ryan Newman.
Busch, driver of the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing, is the 12th place driver in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings. Newman, who drives the No. 12 Dodge for Penske, is 14th. Busch has been hot of late, winning two of the past three races. Newman has posted some respectable finishes, but lost a spot in the standings after the Michigan race.
Penske was confident if Busch makes the Chase, he will be a factor in the championship. He's not so sure about Newman's team.
"I think the No. 12 car has run real well (Tuesday)," Penske said. "They had something on the side window which got him a lap down. To me, both cars have run real well. He almost won the first Pocono race. He is up in the points. Everyday it’s hard to judge which one is better from the standpoint of one day’s result."
Penske said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the next three races. He believes he will have at least one car in the Chase. Ideally, he would like both, not only for his team, but for all of Dodge. It looks as though Penske's drivers are the only ones from Dodge who have a legitimate shot at qualifying for the Chase.
"The good news is these last two have just been absolutely key for us," Penske said. "To get Dodge in that Chase will be a real important thing for us. We have been a partner of Dodge for a number of years. One of our best friends and business associates Bob Nardelli is now the CEO. For him it’s a great day. Hopefully he can continue that success inside the company.”

Kyle Busch won the March NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was his first win at the tiny track. It was the first win for any Cup driver in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
But Busch isn't so sure he can repeat his March performance.
For one, the track has been resurfaced and will make for a very different race.
"It's completely different," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "There is nothing about that track that is the same as it was before. I'm looking forward to it, though, because we don't really know what it's going to entail. I heard the late model races have been great so I'm interested to see. It should be fun."
Busch was in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol on Wednesday night. He is also entered in the Busch Series race Friday night. He wants to get as much track time on the new surface before the all-important Cup race on Saturday night.
"I think running all three races will help me get used to the new track surface," Busch said. "During testing, the track was kind of boring for me because the old Bristol had so many different characteristics. I'm sure it will still be an exciting race, but I think that it will take a few winters to get the track re-seasoned."

Casey Mears is 16th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings and has only three races to climb into the top 12 and qualify for the Chase.
It might look grim for Mears to make the Chase, but he has two things in his favor as the Cup teams head to Bristol Motor Speedway for Saturday night's race. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch won the race at Bristol earlier this year. Mears went from starting 16th to finishing 10th at Bristol.
His team is taking the same car that finished 10th in the first Bristol, which also happened the be the first race for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
"Staying up front is definitely key at Bristol because trouble tends to brew in the back," said Mears, driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "The best thing you can do as a driver and as a team is to qualify well and hopefully hold that position when things start to get wild behind you during the race."
The track at Bristol was recently repaved, adding another wrinkle to what is described as the most unpredictable track in NASCAR.
"Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to expect this weekend," Mears said. "The track sounds like it is a good bit different in the way that it drives. You can run around the bottom like you did before, but it also sounds like some guys are running just off the bottom now as well. Also, the lap times in general seem a little bit slower, but I don't know if that's because of the harder tire or because of the track itself not having as much grip. So, there are a number of unknowns, but I'm looking forward to getting on track and trying it out for myself."

It took three days and a tremendous amount of patience, but the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers finished the race at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday.
There was some talk about what would happen if they couldn't get the race in. It would have altered the Chase, pushing the start of it a week back, from New Hampshite to Dover, and making the Michigan the last race of the year instead of Miami.
Jimmie Johnson, who finished third in the race at Michigan behind Kurt Busch and Martin Truex, was glad they got it in.
"We ran up in the top five all day long and just excited to get the race in and get on down the road and not have to worry about coming back on Thanksgiving," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "So a solid performance on pit road, on the race track. I thought we had the right strategy at the end with the two tires but the tire Goodyear brought seemed to be really good for five or six laps even on old tires. They recovered well and I just didn't have enough time to get those two tires to work and get by the 1 (Truex) and 2 (Busch)."

Martin Truex Jr. needed to finish second in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway as much as Kurt Busch needed to win it.
Truex and Busch are 11th and 12th in the Cup standings and have the final two spots in the Chase.
But Truex actually lost ground to Busch. Truex came in with a 48-point lead over Busch for 11th place and left with a 33-point advantage.
"Yeah, it's kind of odd," said Truex, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "You think second is a good day but the guy that you're racing finishes ahead of you so it's just like at Pocono when Junior finished second to Kurt so the 2 is on their game right now. For sure we can't afford any mistakes and it will be kind of odd that we'll have to race the 8 for the last spot maybe but it is what it is and we're looking forward to it."
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Truex's teammate, is 13th in the Cup standings. Ryan Newman, Busch's teammate at Penske Racing, is 14th in the Cup standings with three races to go before the Chase starts.

Aric Almirola went from Joe Gibbs Racing to Ginn Racing to Dale Earnhardt Inc. in a matter of days. But he has yet to make a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series start for his new team.
He will make his DEI Cup debut this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Almirola will be in the No. 01 Chevrolet for DEI, the car Mark Martin drove in the Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Martin is racing a partial schedule and was not expected to make the Bristol start.
It will be Almirola's second career Cup start.
"In less than a week, I went from Joe Gibbs Racing to Ginn Racing to DEI," said Almirola. "Everything is great and I'm excited to get strapped into the Army Chevy and do battle at Bristol. It's an awesome track and it's important for me to show our soldiers and DEI that I am capable of doing a good job for them."
Almirola has two Busch Series starts at Bristol and even though he is a Cup rookie, he said he knows about the pitfalls of Bristol.
"It's a demanding track, but luck is also a big factor there," Almirola said. "I don't plan on finishing with a clean car, but I do plan on finishing all the laps. My goal is to be competitive and run strong."
Almirola will also be in the Busch Series race at Bristol. In his previous two Busch Series starts there, Almirola started 15th. He finished 20th in the August 2006 race at Bristol. He did not finish his second race at Bristol, earlier this year in March.
"I don't have a lot of experience at Bristol, but I have had enough to know that you have to be patient and totally focused," Almirola said. “It’s a demanding track and you can’t ever let your guard down.”

Toyota had two cars in the top 10 for the first time in a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. Dave Blaney finished sixth in the Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Brian Vickers was eighth.
Vickers has three top 10 finishes this year, the most of any Toyota driver. Blaney has two top 10s and Michael Waltrip has one.
Blaney said he had a smooth race and the car kept getting better during the race.
"After our very last pit stop the car just took off -- we were one of the fastest cars on the race track," said Blaney, driver of the No. 22 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. "We got some yellows there and weren't sure how we'd end up, but we still ended up good. When it went well on the restarts we kind of held our own. Most of those guys around us had new tires and we had stayed out. We’re happy with it. If we can run like that most of the days and get better and better with no problems -- that's a great day.”
The sixth-place finish put Blaney's car in the top 35 in the owners standings. The top 35 cars in the owners standings earn provisional starting spots in races regardless of how they qualify.
“That's a big relief to get into the top 35, but you have to enjoy a nice run like this even more than that," Blaney said. "When you can run like this you’re not going to be out of the top 35 very long. If we can keep this up week in and week out -- we'll be fine.”
Vickers said he had a decent car, and it was at its worst after the last restart.
"We were just too tight -- we took two tires and no fuel," said Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Toyota for Team Red Bull. "It was tight in front of us after that and it was just too much. We are definitely improving, we just need to keep working on it. We've gotten better and better. These guys do a great job. Toyota brought a new package this weekend -- a new intake manifold -- and that helped.”

The leader of the 80th lap in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday night will receive an $8,000 bonus. There was a similar bonus for the Truck Series race at Nashville Speedway. Craftsman is offering the bonus to celebrate its 80th anniversary.
Ron Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. and second in the Truck Series standings, won a similar bonus a few years ago. He earned a $100,000 bonus for winning the 100th race of the Craftsman Truck Series.
"Anyone who wants to give free money away, we'll take it, but we're in it for the points and the glory right now," Hornaday said.
Rick Ren, Hornaday's crew chief, would be happy with the $8,000 bonus.
"It's a note on the pit box," Ren said. "It was on my mind at Nashville but we were not in a position to be in the hunt to lead that lap at that time, but hopefully we are this week. We won't know until we get into the race, but it is a note, it is a factor. $8,000 is a lot of money. If it doesn't alter our shot at winning the race, yes, we would like to lead the 80th lap. But if it comes down to pit strategy, that will not be a factor."

This time, it's the Busch Series team.
Rockwell Automation, which has been the primary sponsor of the No. 20 entry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series, will not return next season, the team announced on Monday.
The last race for Rockwell Automation will be the Busch Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 17.
“Rockwell Automation has been a great partner to Joe Gibbs Racing,” said J.D. Gibbs, President of JGR. “We use the term ‘partner’ because they’ve been more than just a sponsor. Just as they used NASCAR to increase their business, they helped us develop programs and equipment utilizing their various business units to make our entire organization more efficient. The personnel, tools and services provided to us will live on via the continued success of our race team."
Joe Gibbs Racing has two cars in the NASCAR Busch Series: the No. 18 and No. 20 Chevrolet. The team plans on running both cars in 2008.
Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola have shared driving duties in the No. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. They have combined to win three Busch Series races this year.
Rockwell Automation has been with Joe Gibbs Racing since 2003. Before that it was a sponsor for Richard Childress Racing and has been involved in NASCAR since 1997.
Driver and sponsors have not been finalized for the two Busch Series teams for Joe Gibbs Racing. Announcements are expected for drivers and sponsors in January.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be the first to say he might have been wrong about the quality of his engines at Dale Earnhardt Inc. They have been better than he expected and it's the reason he still thinks he can make the Chase.
Earnhardt is 14th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings with four races to go before the Chase starts.
"I've had great cars all year. I've got great motors. I'll be the first to tell you because I was the first to say when they weren't good," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "I'll be the first to tell you now I think DEI's got the best powerplant in the sport right now and they should be really, really proud of that. I myself didn't anticipate them reaching the top level but they're the best. I mean going down the straightaway, nobody can keep up with it especially at a track like this and we want to take advantage of that power and be able to finish the race and we just keep kicking ourselves and beating ourselves."
Time is running out on Earnhardt and he has been struggling in recent races. He is 100 points behind Kurt Busch, who is in 12th place in the Cup standings. The top 12 drivers in the Cup standing will qualify for the Chase.
"With a few races left we're going to do the best we can," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We'll show up with good cars just like we always do and hopefully we can put them in the bag, some of these other guys can have some trouble and we can gain on 'em."

Martin Truex Jr. is in 11th place in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, a mere 48 points ahead of Kurt Busch, the 12th place driver in the standings.
There are four races to go before the Chase starts. Truex is the only driver from the newly formed Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Chase. The top 12 drivers in the standings will qualify for the Chase when it starts Sept. 16 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Truex said he is feeling a little more pressure these days to stay in Chase contention.
"We wouldn't want anything more than making the Chase," said Truex, driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "That was one of our goals back in the wintertime. One of them was to win a race -- we've done that. We could have won a couple."
Dale Earnhardt Inc. has gone through a number of changes this year. Primarily was the announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be leaving the team at the end of the season to join Hendrick Motorsports. The other was the merger with Ginn Racing and driver Mark Martin.
Truex realizes how important it would be to the team if he made the Chase.
"Making the Chase is a big deal," Truex said. "It's huge for our sponsors, huge for everybody on the team, especially with the things that have gone on with the announcement of Jr. leaving, and getting a new teammate with Mark Martin, and merging -- there's a lot of new things going on there's nothing we'd like more than to start all that off with getting in the Chase and doing a good job for everyone."

Jeff Gordon gets his crew chief back this weekend, just like Jimmie Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
Steve Letarte, Gordon's crew chief, was serving a six-race suspension, the same as Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief. Both crew chiefs will be back with their teams for the Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
But unlike Johnson, who slipped in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings while his crew chief was suspended, Gordon maintained his lead.
But Gordon isn't exactly convinced his team improved during Letarte's suspension.
"We didn't win any races," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I think it just shows the strength of our team and I think we have a really strong team. I think that when you are a strong team you can move some people around and still be able to function well for a certain period of time. Steve has been instrumental in getting this team to where it is right now and I think the true sign of a good crew chief is that they can leave for a few weeks and things can continue on as normal."
But Gordon is sure how long his team could have sustained that level of competitiveness.
"I think over the long term we're pretty excited about having him back," Gordon said. "I think for the championship, his confidence and leadership I think is really going to pay off."

Jimmie Johnson appeared to be affected the most by not having his crew chief, Chad Knaus, at the track for the past six races.
He fell to as far as ninth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, but is seventh as the Cup team's head to Michaigan International Speedway for Sunday's race.
Johnson said he is happy to have Knaus back at the track for one reason: to make decisions.
"We did a really good job without him being here but he's in a way, the decision-maker for the team," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Not having the decision-maker there and having that responsibility fall on my shoulders or on Ron Malec's shoulders or Lance McGrew's, we kind of decided as a committee things that we wanted to do."
It didn't always work out they way they wanted though. There were times when they were busy with other responsibilities and sometimes no one was available to make key decisions.
"We did a good job with it but it's not our role, it's not what we do," Johnson said. "So to have Chad back and him be the decision-maker, the guy that all things funnel and all information funnels into -- and his job is to worry about that -- will take the burden off of myself, off of the other guys and we can all focus on our independent jobs a lot more."

Clint Bowyer has two very different teammates at Richard Childress Racing. On one side he has Kevin Harvick: unpredictable, volatile, passionate. On the other is Jeff Burton: consistent, calm, calculating.
Despite the differences, Bowyer said he likes dynamic of his team at Richard Childress Racing.
"Yeah, with Harvick you never know what to expect, with Burton you always know what to expect -- the right thing, someone to learn off of," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for RIchard Childress Racing. "With me, being new to all of this, it's awesome. It's a perfect blend to learn from. I'm definitely very fortunate. I think that I've now caught up experience-wise to them -- it's not just them running good and the third team running bad. If we have eighth-place cars, we're all running around eighth -- six, seventh, eighth."
All three Childress cars are in the top 12 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings and look like they will all qualify for the Chase.
But if Bowyer had to choose which driver he can more easily relate to, it would be Harvick. That might not be the best-case scenario for Childress, but Bowyer says he has more in common with Harvick than Burton.
"Absolutely. Harvick -- I'm a little closer to Harvick, he's a little younger and speaks, a little more, my language," Bowyer said. "But definitely Jeff Burton is a go-to guy. If I have a problem I go to him and you know with Jeff Burton what he tells you is from his heart and the truth."

If anyone knows about changing numbers on his race car, it would Mark Martin. For years, the No. 6 Ford and Martin were synonymous. But when he made the switch to Ginn Racing, he became the driver of the No. 01 Chevrolet. It was a big change for him as a driver and a big change for his fans.
But Martin said he thinks car numbers should stay with the team, not the driver.
"It should matter to a lot of Dale Earnhardt fans that the number stays with the owners, just as the No. 6 did with Roush," Martin said. "In this business the standard has always been that the number stays with the owner and the driver has his superstardom to carry wherever he may. It's a touchy situation that I don't care a whole lot to be in the middle of. Four weeks ago I didn't have a dream that I would ever even be working at Dale Earnhardt Inc. And now, with the tremendous respect that I have with Dale Earnhardt and every member of his family, I have to be careful with that."
Now that Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing have merged, Martin is driving for the team that owns the No. 8 car, the car Earnhardt Jr. drives for the team, but will have to give up when he moves to Hendrick Motorsports next year. There is a possibility that Martin could be in the No. 8 car for DEI in 2008, at least on a part-time basis of course.
"All I know is that standard procedure for the owners to build equity in the number, that's what stays with them," Martin said. "The drivers take their superstardom wherever they may. When you make that choice to go. Dale Earnhardt won the rookie of the year and his first championship in the No. 2, then raced the No. 15 and then he raced the No. 8 on Dale Earnhardt Inc. cars all through the '80s. If you do the history instead of look at the last five or seven years, if you do the history and present it, then there's a whole different thing to it besides race fans. Dale Jr. made a choice to make a change in his career, to change his path and to give it a new start and to go put himself in a position to go win his first championship and I think that's great. But that also came with the chance that the number would stay with Dale Earnhardt Inc. where it has been since 1984."

Jeff Gordon should have won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. But he spun out with two laps to go. Tony Stewart passed him and went on to win his third race of the year.
It isn't the first time this year Gordon has slipped up in the closing laps and cost his team a win. He hit the wall at Texas Motor Speedway with 25 laps to go and went from leading the race to finishing fourth.
He was able to make that race up to his team by winning the next race at Phoenix International Raceway. He didn't stop there. He followed Phoenix with a win at Talladega Superspeedway.
Gordon still has a series-leading four wins, but could easily have six. He knows he let one get away at Watkins Glen.
"Obviously, I was very disappointed following the race,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “We were terrible during Saturday’s practice at The Glen, but the guys on the DuPont team gave me a great car and made some great calls in the pits during the race."
Gordon takes all the blame for not winning the race at Watkins Glen. He slipped all the way down to ninth.
“I wanted that win and pushed, but I pushed too hard," Gordon said. "The team deserved the win and the driver didn’t deliver. It’s like what happened at Texas earlier this year when I brushed the wall. I was disappointed after that race just like I was at Watkins Glen.”

Carl Edwards won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in June. It is his only Cup win of the season and his only win in six career Cup starts at Michigan.
Another win and Edwards will separate himself from the group of drivers in the top 12 with only one win. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart are the only Cup drivers with multiple wins this year. With four races to go before Chase starts, earning the bonus points for wins has become the goal of every driver in Chase contention.
"Michigan is a great track with some really awesome racing," said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "You can pass and I think the fans always see a good show there. I’m just really looking forward to going to Michigan and doing everything I can to get another win for the Office Depot team."
Edwards has a very good record at Michigan. He has four top-five and five top-10 finishes in six Cup races at the track. But he said Michigan is second on his list of favorite tracks, behind Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
“I always say Darlington is my favorite race track, but Michigan is becoming a close second," Edwards said. "Michigan has a lot of personal history for me and I’m always glad to go there – it’s where I made my first Cup start, where I made my 100th start and where I broke a 52-race winless streak with a win for Office Depot in June. I’m really excited to go back and hopefully make some more great history there.”
The car his team is bringing to Michigan is completely new. It has not been in a race yet.

Jamie McMurray has only two top-10 finishes in nine career Cup races at Michigan International Speedway, site of Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race.
One of tose top 10s came in June when he finished eighth.
McMurray has dropped to 17th place in the Nextel Cup Series standings. With four races to go before the Chase starts, it doesn't look like McMurray will qualify.
“The last four races have been pretty tough on all the guys," said McMurray, driver of the No. 26 for Roush Fenway Racing. "I’m keeping my head up and not getting down because I know that in each of the last four races we've had really fast race cars, but have been caught in wrecks. All we can do is focus on what we have coming forward – a good run in Michigan, where we ran in the top 10 earlier this season, and the same in Bristol, where we ran great in both the race and in qualifying. I keep saying it, but I hope all the bad luck is behind and we can focus on the upcoming races.”
The car his team is taking to Michigan is the same car McMurray raced at Chicagoland Speedway in July. He finished 38th in that race.

Tony Stewart has won three of the past four NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races and is one win behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson for the series lead.
Wins mean a lot more than they did in the past. The driver with the most wins when the Chase starts will have the lead in the standings. There are four races remaining before the Chase starts and drivers are starting to jockey for position.
Gordon and Johnson lead everyone with four wins apiece. Stewart is second with three. Every other driver in the top 12 has one win except for Clint Bowyer who has none.
“I hope what we’ve seen in the last four races is what we’re going to see in the Chase," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I hope for every four races we run, we win three of them and the other ones, I hope we run second. Obviously, there’s a lot of racing to go, and you see how easy and how quick a string can end and go just the opposite for you. We hope that we’re getting hot at the right time, and that we take the next two or three weeks and lock ourselves into the Chase to where we can, in those last couple of races, just strictly go for the win and get those extra bonus points."
Gordon and Johnson were tough to beat early in the season. Johnson's performance has slipped tremendously. Gordon let an all-but-assured win at Watkins Glen International slip away when he spun out while leading with two laps to go.
Stewart took advantage of the mistake and won the race, which was also his third win in the past four years at Watkins Glen. The goal now for Stewart is to surpass Gordon and Johnson in wins and have the lead in the standings when the Chase starts.
"Then hopefully, once the Chase starts, we can be on a run like we are right now," Stewart said. "I feel like we’re in the best position of anybody right now with what’s happened three out of the last four weeks. It’s just a matter of keeping your fingers crossed and hoping that carries on the rest of the year.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a new number when he makes the move to Hendrick Motorsports next year. It's not certain what that number will be, but it won't be No. 8.
"We've been working hard to secure the No. 8 for Dale Jr.'s car number next season," said Marshall Carlson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. "Obviously, he has a tremendous history with that number, and we know how important it is to his fans. Unfortunately, we couldn't reach a point where the terms made sense, and now we have to move forward with other options."
Earnhardt Jr. raced the No. 8 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. since he joined the team at the Cup level. It looks like the No. 8 will stay with Dale Earnhardt Inc. next season. Hendrick Motorsports has four cars: the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon, No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson, No. 25 of Casey Mears and No. 5 of Kyle Busch. Busch will leave the team in 2008 to join Joe Gibbs Racing and make room for Earnhardt Jr.
"We appreciate the efforts of Max Siegel and his team (at Dale Earnhardt Inc.), and are excited about unveiling our plans for 2008 in the near future," Carlson said.
No timetable has been set for an announcement of Earnhardt's car number or team sponsor.

Kyle Busch has a bright future with Joe Gibbs Racing. He might have a brighter present with Hendrick Motorsports.
Busch is eighth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings and seemingly safe in his pursuit of qualifying for the Chase. He has the luxury of jockeying for position when the Chase starts. Wins and bonus points are the way to improve a driver's spot in the Chase. He has one, as do a number of drivers in the top 12 in the Cup standings and in Chase contention.
But Busch said he hasn't completely bought in to the philosophy some other drivers are taking toward the Chase.
"I've heard a lot of the drivers who are solidly in the Chase saying that it's all about the bonus points," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Since NASCAR has added the perk of giving each driver 10 extra points when the top 12 are reset, it's added some pressure."
Busch added that he's not about to push the issue if he doesn't have to.
"I think if we can get the win, then we're going to go for it," Busch said. "But risking tearing up a fifth-place car going for the win isn't worth it. If we were first in the points like Jeff Gordon's team right now, we'd be a little more aggressive trying to get more wins. But I've learned -- the hard way -- that it's better to finish than not finish."

Casey Mears gained three spots in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings and kept his slim hopes of making the Chase alive.
He is 16th in the Cup standings with four races to go before the Chase starts. The top 12 drivers in the Cup standings will qualify for the Chase.
"Last weekend was a good points weekend for our No. 25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet team," said Mears, a driver for Hendrick Motorsports. "We had a solid finish, and some of the people right around us in the points had problems. But with only four races to go before the Chase, we're still a long ways out. We definitely need great finishes and a little luck these next few weeks. We're focused on getting everything we can."
The June race at Michigan International Speedway was the best of his career at the track. He finished fourth. Michigan, site of this weekend's Cup race, is also where Mears won a ARCA Series race, qualifying on the pole in record time.
The car his team is taking to Michigan is the same one he raced at Pocono Raceway earlier this month. The car made an unscheduled start when Mears crashed his primary car in practice. It started eighth and finished 10th.
"I like running the bottom of the race track, but when you're qualifying at Michigan, it seems like you're more middle-of-the-track because it takes a lot of effort to get the car off the wall and to the bottom of the track to run a really fast lap," Mears said. "In the race, you tend to back up your corner a little more depending on how your car is handling."

Relatively speaking, Toyota's first visit to Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was successful. It was a particularly good day for Michael Waltrip Racing
It marked the first time two Toyotas finished in the top 15 of a Cup race. Michael Waltrip was 10th and David Reutimann was 15th in the June race at Michigan.

“It’s really great for our team to have run that well all day at Michigan,” said Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. “I’m so proud of David. I saw him get lapped early in the race and then never saw him again. To finish 10th and 15th with our Toyotas was just great.”
Reutimann said that Michigan race in June was definitely a morale booster.
“We’re capable of things a lot better than that and hopefully it was just a start," said Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 for Michael Waltrip Racing. "Everyone is working hard and what it does is show the guys what they’re doing is working. If we can get these things so we can drive them hard, then we can race these guys. And, we’re getting a little closer to what we need to have.”

In one of the worst kept secrets in NASCAR, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Kyle Busch has signed a three-year deal and will drive the team's No. 18 Chevrolet starting in 2008.
Busch is one of the drivers for Hendrick Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to be one of the Hendrick drivers in 2008, and Busch asked to be let out of his contract to pursue other options.
Busch joins the Joe Gibbs Racing three-car team. It will have Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin as its others drivers.
“We’re extremely pleased to have Kyle Busch as a part of the family here at Joe Gibbs Racing,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. “Kyle is extremely talented, as his track record has proven, and he had a lot of teams to choose from in determining who would give him the best chance to win. Obviously, we’re glad he chose JGR, and he’ll have all the tools and resources he needs to win races and contend for championships.”
Busch has four car NASCAR Nextel Cup Series wins, including this year's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He was also the first Cup driver to win a race in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, not to mention the youngest NASCAR driver to win a Cup race, rookie of the year and qualify for the Chase.
“After talking with a lot of different teams and visiting their shops, Joe Gibbs Racing is where I want to be,” said Busch, whose contract with JGR runs through the 2010 season. “The Nextel Cup Series is filled with good teams and good people, but the moment I saw the shop and began talking with Joe and J.D. Gibbs, there was a level of comfort that made me feel like this is where I belong."
Busch will replace driver J.J. Yeley at Joe Gibbs Racing. Yeley was in the final year of his contract with the team and has struggled in his time at Joe Gibbs Racing. His teammates have combined to win two Cup championships, both by Stewart, and four races this year. Stewart has three and Hamlin has one. Both drivers are in the top 12 in the Nextel Cup Series standings and in Chase contention.
“I want to win races and championships, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s three-car/one-team philosophy gives me the best opportunity to do that,” Busch said.

Plans have been finalized for "40 Years to Glory," a celebration at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center to commemorate the 40th running of what is now the SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.
SCORE International President Sal Fish and off-road historian and event producer Marty Fiolka announced their plans Monday. The celebration is set for Sept. 27 starting at 5:30 p.m.
“The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 stands tall as the granddaddy of all desert races and this special night of tribute will pay honor to the legacy of this unparalleled motorsports event,” Fish said. “I have always said that this event is much more than a race; it is an adventure. By working with Marty Fiolka, we will be able to honor those amazing adventurers who have etched their names in the history of this unique odyssey.”
The celebration will incorporate several unique and separate elements honoring four decades of the sport that began with the original Mexican 1000 in 1967. The celebration will begin with the Baja Tailgate Party, staged in the Performing Arts Center’s fountain plaza, where guests and honorees can enjoy vintage and historic desert racing vehicles and motorcycles, live music, cocktails and a buffet-style dinner.
It will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by the "40 Years to Glory" tribute in the 3,000-seat Terrace Theater, a multi-media trip through four decades of Baja racing featuring live music, video presentations and a list of honorees receiving awards. Event organizers are focused on gathering the sport’s most influential stars and the finalized list of celebrity honorees will be announced over the coming weeks.
Tickets for this event will be $75 per person and will include event admission, dinner and a commemorative event program. Guests will also be provided with a reserved seat inside the Terrace Theater. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. at the Performing Arts Center box office or from Ticketmaster online at www.40yearstoglory.com or by calling (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000.

It looks like California Speedway is seeking the MySpace crowd to get interested in NASCAR.
California Speedway has launched a page on myspace.com to display its original content and let users participate in promotions on the myspace.com/californiaspeedway page.
“We are continuously looking for unique ways to engage consumers,” said California Speedway President Gillian Zucker. “The California Speedway MySpace page allows us to communicate with race fans in a more interactive way. We’re looking forward to making lots of new friends.”
Race fans will be able to participate in a variety of unique contests and promotions on the new Web page. Some of the prizes include tickets in the California Speedway Club for the NASCAR Busch Series race on Sept. 1 and Nextel Cup Series race on Sept. 2, pit passes for both races, California Speedway Girls calendars and a ride around the track with NASCAR driver Carl Edwards.

After meeting with reporters at Richmond International Raceway last week, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin paid a visit to the Washington Redskins training camp in Ashburn, Va.
Joe Gibbs, owner of Hamlin's Cup team, is also the coach of the Redskins. Hamlin, a Virginia native who describes himself as a Redskins fan, met with team owner Daniel Snyder and some of players during his visit.
One of the players he got to talk to was wide receiver Santana Moss.
“I walked into the training room (at Redskins Park) and Santana Moss came up to me and said, ‘If you’re not first, you’re last!’ " said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That was pretty cool for him to use a line from Talladega Nights.”
Hamlin has only one win this year. It came in July at New Hampshire Internatrional Speedway. He was third in the Cup race at Richmond International Raceway in May. He is also second in the Cup Series standings. The race at Richmond on Sept. 8 will be the last race of the regular season. The Chase starts the following week at New Hampshire International Speedway.
“We’re in a comfortable position right now, where we’re not really racing for points,” Hamlin said. “We’re not really racing for anything but wins. We feel comfortable that we’re going to be in The Chase. Right now we just have to concentrate on wins because ultimately the bonus points are what matters right now.”

John Andretti will be BAM Racing's driver of the No. 49 Dodge for the remainder of the season starting with this weekend's race at Michigan International Speedway.
The team announced its plan Monday. Andretti has two wins and 37 top-10 finishes in his Cup career.
“We have made significant changes across the board in the past weeks to improve our overall program,” said team owner Beth Ann Morgenthau. “With the pressures of qualifying on time, and our commitment to our sponsors, we felt that an immediate change was necessary. We have every confidence in the team we have assembled and are committed to racing each and every week.”

Rookie driver Jason Bowles of Ontario won the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series race at California Speedway on Saturday, his second win of the season and his second straight win on a road course.
Bowles also won the race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah. David Gilliland, a regular on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, drove Bowles's car to a win at the road course at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. Bowles and Gilliland drove cars for Bob Bruncati, who owns Sunrise Ford dealerships in North Hollywood and Fontana.
Bowles started from the pole, the first of his West Series career, in the California Speedway race and led a race-high 20 laps. He led the last nine for the win.
Mike David finished 11th and maintained his lead in the West Series standings. He has a 95-point lead over Mike Duncan with one race to go. The West Series race at Altamont Motorsports Park near Tracy is the season finale on Sept. 15.
Bowles leads the rookie standings and is fifth in the West Series standings.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an engine failure and another poor finish. He was 42nd in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International and fell to 14th in the Cup standings.
The top 12 drivers will qualify for the Chase. Earnhardt Jr. has four races to get back into the top 12. One of those races will be at California Speedway on Sept. 2. He was asked after the race at Watkins Glen if he thinks he can get back in Chase contention.
"I am sure we can," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "We have overcome a whole lot worse than this, that is saying a lot, but I think we will be able to overcome it quite a bit."
The next race is at Michigan International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. said he can't wait to get there.
"I think we have a couple races left and there is no telling what is going to happen in those races," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I'm ready for Michigan to start right now."
But having to leap frog two drivers to get into the top 12 won't be easy.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us," Earnhardt Jr. said. "This engine trouble here is going to make it much more difficult than what we were looking at last week. But we're going to keep trying. We've got to keep trying. If we don't try, we'll be pretty damned ashamed of ourselves. So we've got to keep working."

Jeff Gordon spun out in turn one with two laps to go in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. It was the same spot where Tony Stewart spun out earlier in the race.
But Stewart was able to recover and come back to win the race.
Gordon's mistake cost him nine places. He finished ninth and gave away what would have been his series-leading fifth win of the year.
All of a sudden, Stewart has three wins, one fewer than Gordon.
After the race, Gordon explained what happened to him when he spun out.
"Pretty much the same thing that happened to Tony earlier in the race in the braking zone getting in to turn one," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports. "Just stupid. I knew I had to push. Tony was really good. I wanted that win really bad. Points don't mean anything. I pushed and I pushed too far. What happened is the team deserved to win and the driver didn't get it done."
With his ninth-place finish, Gordon qualfied for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Nextel Cup Series champion. Drivers get 10 bonus for each win and the points in the standings are reset when the Chase starts. Gordon said he would rather have the bonus points at this point in the season.
"I hate to act coy like that but we're in a different position than other guys are," Gordon said. "For us, we're just looking at things differently. That's not even an issue for us right now, it's about trying to win races and get bonus points and get ourselves ready for that Chase. It's an interesting battle back there for 10th, 11th, and 12th; and I know that's a story, but it's not our story."

With the impending move of Kyle Busch to Joe Gibbs Racing, it looks like J.J. Yeley will be looking for work in the final months of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.
Yeley looks like the odd man out at Joe Gibbs Racing, which has a three-car team with Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin as the other drivers.
Yeley said he has been in talks with several teams. The Wood Brothers and Dale Earnhardt Inc. are two that came up during media interviews at Watkins Glen International, site of this weekend's Cup race.
"Well, right now I'm leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. I have a lot of good opportunities in store for me," said Yeley, driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I don't have a date set on when I'm going to announce what I'm doing but I have talked to several different teams. I can assure you that all the teams I'm talking to are all top-quality teams that want to make me a championship-caliber driver. They want to put an effort behind me that we can go win races. That's what I'm excited about."
Stewart and Hamlin have winning programs at Joe Gibbs Racing. Each are top 12 drivers and in Chase contention.Yeley has struggled at Joe Gibbs Racing and is 21st in the Cup standings with only one top-five finish in 21 races this year.
"Obviously there's excellent equipment here at Joe Gibbs Racing. The engines, the cars, teammates do good," Yeley said. "Our problem wasn't the fact that we weren't fast, we were just too inconsistent. We never made huge changes to see if there was going to be something out there that was going to help the program but maybe a little too late. But wherever I go they're going to make sure that we're going to do whatever it takes to win races."

Kevin Harvick won last year's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. But this year's race will be a lot different.
The Cup teams are using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow and the Chevrolet teams are using an Impala instead of the Monte Carlo that Harvick won last year's race in.
About the only thing Harvick can use from last year's race at Watkins Glen is the having the confidence of winning on a road course.
"It is nice to come back to somewhere where, I enjoy racing," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "I enjoy racing on the road courses and like coming here, so it is nice to come back. Knowing that we won last year's race here, hopefully we will run good this weekend."
In preparation for the race at Watkins Glen, Harvick's team has tested at Virginia International Raceway and it has the data from the previous road course race at Infineon Racewayt in Sonoma. Harvick's team is using the same car it raced at Sonoma.
"We have tested this car a lot and have run Sears Point already, we have, hopefully, a good place to start," Harvick said. "The biggest thing is just figuring out what the transmission ratios need to be, what is different there. That will be the biggest thing. The second biggest thing will be a change in driving style, where you brake a little bit different that in the Monte Carlo."

Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief, returns to the team after this weekend's race at Watkins Glen International, the final race of his four-race suspension.
In the three races since Knaus has been suspended, Johnson posted finishes of 37th at Chicagoland, 39th at Indianapolis and fifth at Pocono. He also dropped to seventh in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings.
Johnson is still among the top 12 and in Chase contention, His four wins are tied for the most in the Cup Series and will give him 40 bonus points in the standings when the Chase starts.
But the two poor races at Chicagoland and Indianapolis stand out.
"We're getting through this weekend and we'll have him back," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I know there's been a lot of discussion that since he's been gone we've had poor performances and I don't think that's a fair assessment of the way the team's operated through the summer months. Before Chad's suspension we were having crazy luck with tires and fuel strategy and blew an engine in Texas, so I've been very proud of the team and what we've done."
Johnson said the two races at Chicagoland and Indianapolis had nothing to do with Knaus being suspended.
"Without Chad here I think we've kept our pace up and we've been less of a team but I still think we've been right on par and where we need to be," Johnson said. "We really look forward to having him back next week and getting everything in line and ready for the Chase."

Kyle Busch will drive the No. 18 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing next year. That means he will be teamed with Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin.
Busch has a bit of a reputation for being a rough driver and a little unpredictable. But he also knows how to win races. Moving from Hendrick Motorsports to Joe Gibbs Racing shouldn't change any of that,
Hamlin was asked before qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International in New York how he thinks Busch will fit in at Joe Gibbs Racing.
"I know with me very well," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "We have probably our best relationship of any other driver off the race track. There was a point in this season where me and him would talk about our cars more than me and Tony would and we're teammates so I think if we ever became teammates in the future I think the relationship would be really good between me and Kyle."

Tony Stewart has won two of the past three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International, site of Sunday's race.
He won in 2004 and 2005. He was second in the Watkins Glen race last year. Couple that with his winning record at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma and Stewart's road course record is hard to match.
But Stewart said the two tracks are very different.
"At Watkins Glen you don’t have to finesse the throttle near as much as you do at Sonoma," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "When you get the car turned, you can get in the gas and then stay in the gas. Watkins Glen is much faster than Sonoma. I think there are the same amounts of passing opportunities, but because of the speeds that you’re able to run at The Glen, brakes become a much bigger factor than I think they are at Sonoma."
Horespower and aerodynamics are important parts of racing at Watkins Glen.
"It’s horsepower and aerodynamics just like it is anywhere else we go," Stewart said. "It just happens to be in the form of a road course. Sonoma has a lot less grip in the race track. You have to really be careful with the throttle there, and that puts more of the race in the driver’s hands. If anything, Sonoma is probably more technical than Watkins Glen because there’s hardly any time where you get a chance to rest. You’re always either shifting or accelerating or braking or turning or doing something."
Watkins Glen has more areas to accelerate and the track gives drivers more time to break.
"At Watkins Glen, at least on the frontstretch and on the backstretch, there are three straightaways where you get a little bit of time to take a break," Stewart said. "Watkins Glen seems to be more in the crew’s hands and the engine builder’s hands. Obviously, there’s still a job that I need to do in the race car, but I’m relying on the equipment and the crew a lot more at Watkins Glen.”

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International will mark the 100th career Cup start for Kyle Busch.
In 99 races so far in his career, Busch has won four races, two poles, has 24 top-five finishes and 42 top 10s.
"I wish I had more wins for the amount of races I've run, but it's gone really fast for me," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I'm lucky to be this young and to have such a successful career. It would be awesome to celebrate my 100th start with my fifth win."
HIs first start came on March 7, 2004 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when he was 18. The 22-year-old driver is the youngest driver to win a Cup race, a Cup pole and rookie of the year. He is also the first driver to win a race in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow.
This will be Busch's third career visit to Watkins Glen for a Cup race. In last year's race, he was ninth.
The car his team is taking to Watkins Glen is the same one that finished eighth at Infineon Raceway in June. But pit strategy will be much different at Watkins Glen, mainly because the fuel cells teams are using are smaller.
"It's a very challenging track," Busch said. "There are a lot of high-speed turns at the Glen. Because of the different elevations at Infineon, we were able to shut the car off and roll down the hills to save on fuel. At Watkins Glen, the course is pretty flat and we will have 17.5-gallon fuel cells this time around. Last year, we had 22 gallons and we were able to make it on two stops. This year, we might need to go for three stops. Most of the course is uphill."

Fresh off an emergency start in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, P.J. Jones will be making his third start of the year.
Michael Waltrip Racing has decided to let Jones drive the team's No. 00 Toyota in the road course race at Watkins Glen International.
Considered a road course specialist, Jones has one top five and two top 10 finishes in his Cup career at Watkins Glen.
“Watkins Glen is my favorite track for several reasons,” Jones said. “I collected a fourth-place finish there driving the No. 14 car for A.J. Foyt in 2002, which is my career-best finish in the Cup Series. I also came really close to winning a Busch race there in 2000 driving the 19 car.”
Jones filled in for suspended Robby Gordon at the Cup race at Pocono and finished 37th. Jones was in the No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing in the June race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, another road course, and finished 12th.
“We were a bit lucky in Sonoma, but we know we will be better this weekend,” Jones said. “Toyota has been focused on working on the motor for road course races and we’re shooting for a top-10 finish. It’s a great opportunity and I’m going to do my best for the team and for David.”
Reutimann, the rookie driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, does not have much road course racing experience, only two Busch Series starts. He did, however, finish ninth in the most recent Busch Series race at Gilles Villeneuve Circuit road course in Montreal, Canada.
“I wish I was able to race the Burger King Toyota this weekend at Watkins Glen,” said Reutimann. “I feel like I’m a pretty good road course racer even though I have limited experience. I can’t wait for the chance to run my first Cup road course. I hope the guys have a good run this weekend.”

Brian Ickler, a driver on the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series, will be on NASCAR Now Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m.
Ickler will be racing at California Speedway this weekend in the West Series race on the track's road course.
He has won three of the past for West Series races, including the July 4 race at Irwindale Speedway. He won the most recent West Series race at Evergreen Spreedway in Washington.
The driver from San Diego is in his second season on the West Series and is fourth in the West Series standings.
There are two races remaining on the West Series schedule. West Series race winner earn berths in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway in October. The All-Star Showdown is a post-season race for winners from the West Series and Busch East Series.

Ricky Rudd has been known as an expert driver on road courses. In 20 career Cup races at Watkins Glen International, Rudd has posted two wins and eight top-five finishes.
Even his past five races at Watkins Glen have produced some successful results. He has finished in the top 10 three times and in the top five twice. It is one of only two road course races on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series schedule. The other is at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.
“Technically to me racing at Watkins Glen isn’t as technical as racing at Sonoma," said Rudd, driver of the No. 88 for Robert Yates Racing. "It’s a much faster racetrack and aero(dynamics) play a little more of a factor where you don’t have that out at Infineon Raceway. It’s an easier track, and makes more grip, and I also think that Watkins Glen is a more forgiving racetrack as far as how you negotiate the corners so therefore you have a lot more closer competition at Watkins Glen.”

Casey Mears has made five career Cup starts at Watkins Glen International in New York, site of this weekend's race. His best finish there came in 2004, when he finished fourth.
His team will be bringing the car he raced at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. He fought power-steering problems and finished 27th at Sonoma.
In preparation for the race at Watkins Glen, Mears tested the car at Road Atlanta this week. Mears will be entered in the Cup and Busch series races at Watkins Glen this weekend.
"It's not easy to jump back and forth between the Busch car and the new Cup car at a road course," said Mears, driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "You have to be able to flip a switch in your head, and that was a little bit of a challenge for me back in June at Infineon. It's a good challenge, but the two cars feel a lot different and you've just got to find a way to make the adjustment as fast as you can."

Ryan Newman is on the Chase bubble. He is 14th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings and 90 out of 12th place. The top 12 drivers qualify for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Nextel Cup Series champion.
Newman's team is bringing the same car to Watkins Glen International, site of Sunday's Cup race, that it raced at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma in June.
Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway are the only two road courses on the Cup schedule. Newman finhsed 20th in the Sonoma race.
"We had a good run at Infineon, but our fuel strategy didn't pay off like we thought it would," said Newman, driver of the No. 12 for Penske Racing. "I like racing at Watkins Glen... we're taking the same car we had at Infineon and I think we'll have a good shot at winning this weekend."
Newman has raced at Watkins Glen in the Cup Series five times. He finished eighth in last year's race and has three top 10s in five races.

Brian Ickler won the NASCAR Grand National Division race at Evergreen Speedway in Washington on Saturday night, his third win in the past four races.
Ickler, the driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet for Bill McAnally Racing, won races at Irwindale Speedway and Douglas County Speedway in Oregon. The win at Douglas County Speedway on June 30 was the first of Ickler's West Series career.
“The best part of this NAPA team is the consistency,” said Ickler, who moved into fourth place in the West Series standings. “We had some bad luck early, but we fought back.”
Mike David, the leader in the West Series standings, finished third in the race at Evergreen Speedway. Mike Duncan finished second in the race and moved into second place in the standings. Duncan is 125 points behind David with two races to go in the season.
The next race is Saturday on the road course at California Speedway in Fontana. The final race of the West Series season is Sept. 15 at Altamont Motorsports Park in Tracy.

Evernham Motorsports has a new backer: George N. Gillett Jr., otherwise known as the owner of the Montreal Canadiens.
Ray Evernham and Gillett announced the creation of Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) with Evernham remaining as Chief Executive Officer and a substantial ownership of the team.
“It’s very exciting for me to deliver to sponsors and fans the opportunity to align with a worldwide sports leader,” said Evernham, who owns a three-car team with Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs as his drivers. “With the business acumen of the Gillett family and its sports brands, we’ve greatly expanded our reach.
"This will allow me to focus on our racing operations and team performance, while the Gillett family will focus on our business operations. It certainly allows us to capitalize on our strengths and position GEM for long-term success both on and off the track.”
Gillett also owns in part the Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League. HIs other business interests include the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens and Gillett Entertainment Group (GEG), producers of some 700 sporting and entertainment events in throughout Canada and the United States.
“Racing is in my blood,” said Gillett, chairman of Booth Creek Management Corporation (BCMC). “It’s not often you get to partner with a leader with Ray’s reputation, talent and championship legacy.”

Denny Hamlin finished third in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway and maintained his second-place position in the Cup standings.
But at this point in the season, the standings do not have that much importance to Hamlin. He looks like a lock to make the Chase. Wins will matter more than his position in the standings when the points are reset when the Chase starts.
"Basically we're racing for team morale and wins right now," said Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That's it. Points don't matter. We're not mathematically locked in by my means, but we can give up a few each week."
Hamlin's team is working improving their pit stops and preparing for the Chase, when mistakes are magnified and finishing races becomes more important than winning them. Mostly his team is working on staying out of trouble.
"So, yeah, we're racing to try to get the guys pumped up and ready for the Chase and the pit crew going on time and trying to get their timing all down," Hamlin said. "But for the most part, we're just trying to -- you can't just throw caution in the wind and end up getting in a couple crashes."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Pocono, but it was a costly second place.
He finished behind race winner Kurt Busch and dropped from 12th to 13th place in the Cup standings. The top 12 drivers will qualify for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Nextel Cup Series champion. Busch moved into the Chase by winning the race at Pocono. Earnhardt Jr. has five races left to get back in.
"That beer on Tuesday night might go down a little slower, otherwise I'll be fine," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "I'm not too worried about it, you know. I got all the confidence in the world in my team. If I don't run second, man, we lose a lot of points to Kurt. I'm glad we run second. Where were we in the middle that race? We were tanking. So this is a blessing in disguise if you want to look at it your way. I'm going to look at it that way."
Earnhardt Jr. had to fight a poor suspension, a flat tire and a spin out midway through the race. He said he was happy to run second after all that happened in the Pocono race.
"We didn't deserve to run second. We didn't have a second place car," Earnhardt Jr. said. "So we got to feel pretty lucky actually to have stayed that close to him."

Of all the drivers in the top 12 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, and in Chase contention, Clint Bowyer might be the biggest surprise.
He has yet to win a race this year, one of only two drivers in the top 12 without a win, and is 10th in the Cup standings. Even though he hasn't won a race, he has 10 top-10 finishes in 20 races.
He is also one of three drivers from Richard Childress Racing in the top 12. Kevin Harvick, winner of the Daytona 500, is seventh in points and Jeff Burton is fourth.
Bowyer was asked before qualifying for the Nextel Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway if he feels like the forgotten driver among the Chase contenders
"As long as they don't forget about me when it comes time," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 for Richard Childress Racing. "It doesn't bother me one bit. I'm just trying to stay consistent, keep doing what we're doing. That's what got us this far and hopefully that will get us in the Chase. I think that will be good enough to get us in the Chase if we don't have any trouble. From there we got to find that next step. We got to get in the top fives and start racing for wins and race for the championship."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was one of the last drivers to qualify for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. Adding to his long wait was a rain-delay during qualifying. It gave his team a chance to thoroughly prepare his car before winning the pole for the race. It also gave him a chance to sign some autographs and talk with fans before qualifying.
"I think when the fans are there and they are three or four deep on pit wall and it's very uncomfortable, they've probably got somebody next to them that needs to change deodorant brands and it's obviously not the best situation to be in," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnardt Inc. "Imagine being in that position without me talking about how bad it can be. But it's sticky and hot and everybody is getting rained on and the blowers come by and blow stuff on you. I can't go back the bus because I'm going to have to get in the car and run at any moment. They have a lot of questions and it gives me an opportunity to hear what they're wanting to know and what their opinions are because you'd like to know what your fan base thinks. You can't get on the internet and read about it b ecause you run across so many other things that are ridiculous that you just have to get it from the horses mouth. So it's good to be able to talk to the fans when you can get them in a crowd like that and really listen to what they're saying."
Most what he heard was encouraging, especially in the wake of Earnhardt announcing that he is leaving DEI for Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the year.
"Some of them are congratulating us and wishing us good luck and if they didn't accept it at first, they seem to be excited about it over time," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That's a good feeling. That really makes me feel good and makes me feel positive about continuing to work hard the rest of the year and continuing to race hard. Everybody gets their motivation from different areas. But I get a lot of my motivation from my fan base. And I'm sort of dependent on that. It's a good opportunity to get a little bit of an idea about what they're thinking."
It's hard to believe, but Earnhardt Jr. has gone almost five years between winning poles. His last one came at Kansas Speedway in 2002. He even said he was a little surprised by how long he's gone between poles.
"Yeah, I am. We almost got one at Dover. Newman got us there at the end. But I try to get them, but they are hard to get," Earnhardt Jr. said. "And it's kind of cool. They're giving these flags out now. So we're going to hang that up somewhere. I don't put a lot of emphasis on poles. I probably do that because I don't get them but every so often. It's good to be able to go and run that Shootout and have gotten in there the right way. You've got all these guys around you who are the same age as you or younger, that you're very competitive with in this sport, and they're in there with poles. And you're standing there like some old man that's a past winner. And so it's good to get out there and get a pole every once in a while just to show you can and that you've still got it. Qualifying and racing are two different things. Qualifying takes a different type of discipline. And obviously we just didn't go out there in the blistering sun and run a lap off. We had a little help today, but I'm still prett y proud of my team."

There are only three races left for drivers from the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series to qualify for the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway.
Jason Bowles, Mike David, Mike Duncan, David Gilliland, Brian Ickler and Scott Lynch are in the Showdown.
Johnny Borneman, second in the West Series standings, is not among the Showdown qualifiers. Only race winners and past champions will qualify for the Showdown, a post-season race that pits drivers from the West Series and the Busch East Series.
Borneman has yet to win a race this year. But he won last year's race at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash., stie of today's West Series race.
Duncan finished second in last year's race at Evergreen Speedway. It was his fifth straight podium finish, which includes a win in 2004, at the track in Washington.
“We’re going up there again with a good past record, but we’re going to try something totally different this time,” said Duncan. “I don’t know if there’s room to gain or not, but we’re going to definitely look and see.”
David leads the West Series standings. He has two wins this season. Ickler also has two wins and is fifth in the West Series standings.

Tony Stewart was fined $25,000 and docked 25 points in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings for using an expletive in a post-race interview that was broadcast on ESPN after winning the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But Stewart said he wasn't upset with the fine and penalty. NASCAR needed needed to do it, he said.
"It's just one of those deals where you're so excited that you're not even thinking about what you're saying," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "NASCAR did the right thing there. Obviously if we had 10 minutes to think about what we were going to say before we said things it would give us a bigger advantage of not getting into those situations. But that's why this sport is so exciting, too. You get to hear the emotion and feel the excitement from drivers or the disappointment, depending on what happens."
Stewart and Kevin Harvick rubbed fenders in the closing laps of the Indy race. Harvick took the brunt of the damage and Stewart said he could understand why Harvick was upset after the race.
"He should have run second. He had the second best car for sure," Stewart said. "Kevin and I are good friends and we talked about it last night. I would have been upset if the roles were reversed too. I can't blame him for that. I made a mistake. I let the car get too high. I've heard differences of opinions from people watching the tape but I still take responsibility for it. I would never race Kevin like that on purpose. I don't race anybody like that on purpose because I'm big about racing guys clean and having them race me clean. But the thing is, when I make a mistake I fess up to it right away and I did it right in victory lane when we won the race. We had more to lose there then to gain in that situation. So it shows how big a race it is to everybody. Finishing second there would have been a heck of a lot better for him than seventh, for sure."

A little luck and a lot of rain propelled Jeff Gordon to a win in the June race at Pocono Raceway. The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series returns to Pocono this weekend. Gordon leads the Nextel Cup Series standings, actually increasing his lead by more than 100 points since that June race in Pocono, but he has not won a race since then.
Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart, winner of the past two Cup races, have all won races in the interim.
Gordon, who won the rain-shortened race at Pocono just ahead of Ryan Newman, is anticipating returning to the track in Pennsylvania and finding his winning ways again.
"We had a good car here last time, but a little bit of luck never hurts,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “We pitted off sequence knowing everybody else would have to stop for fuel before the halfway mark. Luckily, the rain came when it did because it was going to be tough to hold off Ryan."
Gordon's lead in the Cup standings is mounting to insurmountable heights, but it will all go away when the Chase starts. The top 12 drivers will qualify for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Cup champion, and the points in the standings will get reset.
“We’ve been consistent this year and we want that to continue, but it’s good to know we have that buffer if needed,” Gordon said. “That cushion also allows us to gamble and go after wins in these final six races before the Chase starts.”
When the Chase starts, drivers will have their points reset to 5,000 with 10 bonus points awarded for each win a driver has in the first 26 races. Gordon has four wins this year and is tied with teammate Jimmie Johnson for the most in the Cup Series.
“Any one of the 12 drivers can win the championship with the Chase format,” said Gordon. “Every point is crucial during the final 10 races, so any bonus points you get before the Chase begins is a huge benefit. And it’s all about the bonus points for us right now, so we can be risky. We can afford to lose some points by taking bigger risks and possibly getting those bonus points. With wins come momentum.”

Jason Leffler became the first NASCAR driver to win a Busch Series race for Toyota last weekend at O'Reilly Raceway Park near Indianapolis. Toyota, making its debut in the Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series this year, earned its first win in the 22nd race of the 35-race Busch Series season.
“It’s pretty awesome to be the first one to bring a Camry to victory lane,” said Leffler, a driver from Long Beach, following Saturday night’s win. “I just can’t say enough about our whole team at Braun Racing and what it means to us to get Toyota their first win in the Busch Series. It’s also pretty cool to come here and win in Indy because I’ve won quite a few Midget and Silver Crown races here at ORP. I’ve always considered Indianapolis to be like my second home -- I’ve spent a lot of time here and I have a lot of friends here.”
While Toyota's Busch Series program looks like it's headed in the right direction, the Cup programs have been struggling. They make their second trip to Pocono Raceway this weekend. Four of the seven Toyotas entered in the June race at Pocono Raceway qualified and started. Brian Vickers was one of those drivers and finished 35th, the highest among the Toyota drivers.
"Pocono is the first race track that we're going back to for a second time where both of our cars made it into the race, and that's a confidence boost for the whole team,” said Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Toyota for Team Red Bull. “We qualified into the race before -- we should be able to do it again. We even had our best qualifying run of the year at Pocono. I don't think we'll have too many changes to make to our qualifying set-up, but we need to work on our race set-up because we really struggled with our car when it came time to race.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in the June race at Pocono Raceway. He will have the same car for this weekend's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Pocono, but he said he's not sure how much information his team can take from the rain-shortened race at Pocono in June.
"We ran well and we were a top-10 car but because everyone could see the rain clouds coming in, we made a stop for fuel only and everyone in the field was on a different pit sequence when the rains finally came," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "Let's hope the weather is better this week and we can get the full distance in. We're taking the same chassis we raced at Indy -- so I'm excited that we're going in with a car that is obviously fast. We'll work on making sure we can get it to turn down into the corners -- that's the key for us at Pocono to be able to pass cars."
Earnhardt Jr. led 33 laps at Indy before his car's engine blew. He ended up with a 34th-place finish despite having one of the faster cars for parts of the race. He is also 12th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings. The top 12 drivers in the standings will qualify for the Chase, the 10-race playoff to determine the Cup champion.
"As a team, we're going in with a lot of confidence," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We'll try to find out what happened to the engine at Indy. The Bud team is performing really well but we just seem to run into things beyond our control. It's not like we've been struggling -- we've been running up front and in contention to win. It feels like a huge jigsaw puzzle; we have it 99 percent complete and it looks beautiful -- and then the final piece is missing somehow. If we find that last piece and we don't get hit by something falling out of the sky, we're going to be alright."

Jimmie Johnson has dropped to ninth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings after a pair of poor finishes at Chicagoland Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But if the Chase were to start today, he would be tied with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the lead. Johnson has won four races this year and will receive 10 bonus points apiece for those wins, a new rule NASCAR implemented when the Cup season started.
“It certainly looks like I’ll be a big beneficiary of it and with the way that it is, I’ll take that forgiveness the way the point system is structured right now and try to capitalize on it,' said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "But when you look at Jeff’s point situation and how strong he has been, deep down inside there is still a part of me that says, ‘Man, the guy’s had a great year and deserves to be the champion and have it re-racked with everybody on top of him again probably isn’t fair.’ But it’s the way it is."
However unfair the Chase seems for Gordon, Johnson said he is still a fan of the playoff system NASCAR devised to determine its Cup champion.
"The Chase does a lot of positive things for our sport," Johnson said. "I’m in a position where I could capitalize on a tough summer. So you deal with the situation, as it exists. Just falling back on the way racing has always been and the way we’ve all raced through the season and had every point add up to equal a champion, if Jeff doesn’t win the championship I’m sure he’ll have a lot of heartburn over it. And I think us racers, deep down inside, might not think that it’s exactly right. But it’s different racing today than it was years back.”
Johnson's team will be bringing a car to Pocono Raceway this weekend that has two wins in its career. Its most recent win came at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. Johnson also has two wins at Pocono over his career, both in 2004.
"The next few races are good tracks for us; Pocono being one of them," Johnson said."It just seems like when you get the monkey on your back it’s hard to get him off. From great places like Chicago when we were fighting for a win and having an issue and losing steam, we hope that Pocono can turn that around. We really need to start finishing in the top 10 to make sure we transfer into the Chase.”

The Lincoln College of Technology is offering 122 scholarships to active and transitioning members of the military, veterans, National Guard members, reservists, spouses and dependents through its Hire-a-Hero program.
The Indianapolis-based Lincoln College of Technology is offering scholarships for its automotive technology, diesel technology, electronics systems techology, collision repair and refinishing technology.
"Lincoln College of Technology is honored to be able to provide this small service as our way of saying thank you to the families of the outstanding men and women doing so much for our country by serving in the armed forces," stated Timothy Campagna, Lincoln College of Technology campus president. "We hope in some way this effort on our part can assist families while they wait for their loved ones to return home."
The application process involves registering on the Hire A Hero website for free at ww.hireahero.org and uploading a written essay or short video. All applications are due on or before Aug. 17 and winners will be announced later in the month.

Tony Stewart will not be driving chassis No. 143, the car that won the past two NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races. It won at Chicagoland Speedway and followed with a win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
But Stewart has the next best thing.
The car his team will bring to Pocono Raceway this weekend for the Cup race has never raced. But it is described as the sister car to chassis No. 143.
Stewart's win at Chicagoland was his first of the year. He is fifth in the Nextel Cup Series standings and looks poised to go on one of his patented summer winning streaks.
"It just seems like a normal year," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "This time of year, it seems like we get hot. We’ve even tried to sit down and figure out what we’re missing in the spring – why we can’t do then what we’re typically able to do now. It just seems like when the tracks gets hot and slippery that it suits my driving style and the setups Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) puts on the car.”
Winning at Indianapolis has been a good indicator of who will be challenging for the Nextel Cup Series championship. Jimmie Johnson won at Indy last year, and went on to win the Cup championship. Stewart won at Indy the previous year, then won his second Cup championship.
“There’s still a lot of racing to go," Stewart said. "There are no guarantees. But I do feel like we’re doing what we need to do to put ourselves in championship contention. And like I’ve always said, you go out and try to win races and the points take care of themselves. It’s what we’ve been trying to do all year, and it’s paying off now.”

Stevie Wonder will be the grand marshal for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at California Speedway in September.
Track president Gillian Zucker said Wonder will give the traditional command: "Gentlemen, start your engines," before the Sharp AQUOS 500 on Sept. 2. The race will be broadcast on ESPN.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have a talent the likes of Stevie Wonder serving as our grand marshal,” said Zucker. “Stevie is one of the most influential icons in the world of music who literally has millions of fans across the globe."

It was expected that Tony Stewart was going to be disciplined by NASCAR for his post-race interview after winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Indidnapolis Motor Speedway.
But Greg Biffle was on the wrong end of the NASCAR switch as well. And if Biffle is sincere, it sounds like it was all an honest mistake.
Biffle was fined and placed on probabtion for not meeting his media obligations after finishing second in the NASCAR Busch Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park near Indianapolis.
"First and foremost, I would like to apologize to the media who were present in the press box at ORP last weekend," Biffle said. "I talked to every reporter on pit road which included television, radio and print. I also offered to stay and speak to any other media member at the track."
Biffle added in a statement he released to the media on Wednesday that he believed there was a misunderstanding on his part on how he would bet to the press box through thousands of fans trying to leave the race track.
"I want to be clear that I was very excited about the second place finish and was in no hurry to leave, it just seemed unreasonable at the time to try to get to the press box as the grandstands were emptying in the opposite direction," Biffle said. "I have always been a big supporter of the NASCAR Busch Series and willing to help promote the series in any way. I understand the importance of the media obligations related to participation in all NASCAR Series and once again apologize to anyone who may have felt slighted this weekend at ORP."

The car Kyle Busch will be driving at Pocono Raceway this weekend in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race has been good. It finished fourth in the Cup race at Indianapolis on Sunday and was eighth in the rain-shortened Pocono race in June.
"This Hendrick Motorsports team gave me a great car last week at Indy and we are turning it around to take back to Pocono this weekend," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "It was the best car I've ever had at Indy and, to be honest, I thought we had something for Tony (Stewart). I think we passed more cars than anyone all day long -- and usually at Indy you can't pass. It says a lot about the engines at Hendrick Motorsports and the cars these guys are building."
Stewart won the race at Indianapolis, the second of his NASCAR career.
Busch is eighth in the Nextel Cup Series standings. He is concentrating on his road course package this week, testing at Road Atlanta in Georgia today in preparation for the Cup race at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 12.

Even though he's 19th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series standings, Casey Mears still thinks he has a shot to make the Chase.
An outside shot.
He's coming off a 35th-place finish after he got caught up in a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and dropped two places in the Cup standings. But Mears has two factors in his favor. He races for Hendrick Motorsports, which has three of its four drivers in the top 12 and Chase contenders, and he won the Coca-Cola 600 in May.
"Last week was disappointing for us, but we've still got an outside shot at making the Chase if we can get strong finishes in each of the next six races," Mears said. "Our goals haven't changed. We come to the track to win. And if we don't have a car that can win, we want a top-five. If we're not quite good enough for a top-five, we want that top-10. It's about getting the best finish you can every week."
The next race for the Cup drivers is at Pocono Raceway. In the rain-shortened June 10 race, Mears finished fourth. Races at Watkins Glen International and Michigan International Speedway follow the Pocono race.
"I feel good about the tracks coming up on the schedule," said Mears, driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "There are a number of places I feel like I've really improved as a driver over the years, and I think our testing efforts are going to help us out, especially at a place like Watkins Glen. There is definitely an opportunity for us to have a good stretch and make up some points."