October 2007 Archives

Clint Bowyer's hanging in there. And it looks like the racing gods were smiling on him at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He finished sixth in the Cup race at Atlanta and maintained his third place position in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
He is 111 points behind Jeff Gordon for the lead and 102 behind Jimmie Johnson for second.
Bowyer will be the first to admit he probably shouldn't be in as good a position as he is.
"We definitely didn't deserve the finish that we got, nonetheless, the guys worked hard to get us in contention," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "That is what you have to do. You have to at least be there to take advantage of if somebody does have trouble. Unfortunately we weren't as good as we like, but it was a decent finish."
It was his fifth top-10 finish in the Chase and his third in a row.
"I would say we got a lot of a break today. I feel bad for (Martin) Truex and Kyle Busch and those guys, clearly they had the cars to beat today and ended up way back and Truex didn't finish," Bowyer said. "Fortunate things are going our way, when it is your day, it is your day, when it is not, it is not."

Coming off a second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards moved up one spot in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
He is in fourth, but 261 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.
The one thing Edwards has that the three drivers in front of him in the Chase standings don't is a win at Texas Motor Speedway, site of this weekend's Cup race.
Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Gordon have yet to win a Cup race at Texas. Edwards won the Texas in November 2005. Another win would help, but he has a long way to go with only three races left in the Chase to get back in contention.
“Texas is a very technical track – to be fast your car has to be perfect," said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "So this weekend I’ll be depending a lot on the engineering and setup of my Office Depot Fusion. We won Texas back in 2005, so I know my Office Depot team has what it takes to get the job done. It’d be great to get another win there and be able to shoot those Berettas in victory lane.”
The winner of the race gets a pair of pistols as part of the trophy.
The car his team is bringing to Texas is the same car Edwards raced at California Speedway in September. He finished second in that race, behind Jimmie Johnson.

After the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart dropped a spot in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, from fourth to fifth.
He is a whopping 322 points out of first. Stewart said the championship is out of his control now.
"So, we’re back to the mode we were in last year and that’s just trying to win races," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "We can’t do anything about the points now. It’s strictly a matter of us going out and doing the best we can each week. The only way we’re going to get back in it is going to be dictated by what happens to the guys in front of us. If they don’t have any trouble, it doesn’t matter whether we lead the most laps and win all the races, we’re not going to catch them.”
Even though Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards would disagree, Stewart said the Chase has become a two-car race between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Something bad has to happen to both their race cars in the next three races if Stewart can expect to climb back in contention.
“That’s about the only way we have a shot," Stewart said. "It doesn’t mean we’re going to quit and give up. We still have three races we can try to win here. That’s what I try to do every week is win, so that’s not going to change whether we have a reality of winning the championship or not. It’s still about going out and doing the best you can every race. All you can do is keep your fingers crossed that things go your way. It’s kind of a bad way to win a championship, because it means those guys have had to have some real bad luck, and that’s something you don’t wish on anybody.”
Stewart's team is bringing the same car it raced at Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this month to Texas Motor Speedway for this weekend's Cup race. It was seventh at Lowe's. Its only other start came at Pocono Raceway where it finished sixth.

Jeff Gordon is on the verge of matching a career best and setting a standard in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
Gordon has 27 top-10 finishes this year. His career best is 28 set in 1998. He has three races left to tie and surpass that mark. Dale Jarrett holds the Cup record with 29 top-10 finishes set in his championship season of 1999. Gordon could break that record if he finishes in the top 10 in the final three races of the year.
He will get a chance to match his career best in top 10s at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.
“I like going to any track where we’re capable of posting a top-five finish, and we’ve had some top-fives here recently," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Hopefully, we can improve on that and get our first win at Texas. We’ve been close to victory the past couple of times. But for whatever crazy reason – whether it’s an electrical problem while leading or me smacking the wall off turn 4 while leading – we just haven’t won.”
While Gordon has top 10s on his mind, he should also be thinking about 25th place. Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer have to be a little concerned about it too. Since the Chase began three years ago, no champion has made it through the 10-race playoff without posting at least one finish of 25th or worse.
Gordon, Johnson and Bowyer are 1-2-3 in the standings. Johnson has the worst finish of the three in this year's Chase. He was 14th and Dover and Lowe's Motor Speedway.
“All we can do right now is put up the best numbers and performance on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the next three events and hope that’s enough,” Gordon said. “I think we have a team capable of winning the championship. We have a slim points lead right now. I don’t care how small or large a lead is after the season finale at Homestead."

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway may be over, but the new-look Hendrick Motorsports team begins preparing for next season today.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears will test at Atlanta today and Tuesday. Earnhardt Jr. will be in the team's No. 25 Chevrolet and Mears will be in the No. 5. Mears currently drives the No. 25 car, but will be moving over to the 5 in 2008.
Earnhardt Jr. is racing for Dale Earnhardt Inc. until the end of the season and will move over to Hendrick in 2008. When he makes the move, he will be driving the No. 88 car for Hendrick.
"Ever since our announcement, I've been looking forward to the day of driving a Hendrick Motorsports car for the first time," Earnhardt Jr. said. "For the past two months we've been getting fitted for seats and sitting in cars, making sure all the measurements are right. That's just like dangling candy in front of a baby, because all I've wanted to do is fire the thing up and get it on the race track. I'll finally get to do that at the Atlanta test. I appreciate DEI and Hendrick Motorsports for the opportunity to test this car. I'm certainly dedicated to the rest of this season with DEI, but this allows us to get a start on our '08 plans."
Earnhardt Jr. will be reunited with Tony Eury Jr., his cousin and lontime crew chief at DEI. Eury has been working with Hendrick Motorsports for the past few weeks, preparing for the move next year.
"I know Tony Jr. has a list of things he feels are important, so we'll tackle them all until he's happy," Earnhardt Jr. said. "This is our first time in a Hendrick Motorsports car. There are a lot of things I might not be familiar with, so this will give me a chance to familiarize myself with the new car, as well as address the things Tony Jr. would like to work on. It will be a good test."
Mears will get a chance to work with crew chief Alan Gustafson for the first time. Gustafson is the crew chief for Kyle Busch's car at Hendrick Motorsports. Busch will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008.
"Fortunately, we were able to go to Atlanta Motor Speedway and do a little tire test, so we've already gotten a few laps in the Impala SS," Mears said. "We had issues with some of the measuring devices (during the tire test), so we didn't get a whole lot of laps on the track. The car drove well, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well we got around the track. I'm really curious to see what it's going to be like in traffic and behind people. By itself, I was pleasantly surprised at how the car drove."
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, 1-2 in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, will not participate in the two-day test.

After the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon has a nine-point lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
With three races to go in the Chase, it looks like the champion will be either Gordon or Johnson. Johnson was asked after winning the race at Atlanta if he thought, whatever the outcome, if there would be any losers among the Hendrick Motorsports fans.
"I got booed so much, I don't know if I have any fans," Johnson said.
The question reminded owner Rick Hendrick of an incident that happended after Gordon won one of his races at Talladega Superspeedway.
"If you remember Talladega, it was a Jimmie Johnson fan with a 48 shirt that was throwing beer cans at Jeff," Hendrick said. "There's a lot; they are diehard fans and they are don't care if they are teammates. They are Jimmie Johnson fans and they are Jeff Gordon fans, and they are not going to be happy if the other guy wins."
Hendrick said the fans of Johnson and the fans of Gordon are loyal to their drivers. But in the end, they are all fans of NASCAR.
"So, you know, I think the fans appreciate hard racing no matter who it is, and they like it when the cars mix it up and get up front, and nobody is cutting anybody any slack," Hendrick said. "You know, there's a lot of racing left, so I think you saw today, the fans appreciate good, hard racing."

The were a number of winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. Jimmie Johnson said he would donate his winnings from the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Atlanta to the American Red Cross and the California Wildfire Relief Fund.
Johnson won the race, meaning the maximum amount that could be donated will be donated. By winning the race, Johnson earned $349,561.
"And then also with the California Wildfire Relief Fund, Mr. Hendrick and I were speaking last week, beginning of this week and we talked about donating the purse," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Lowe's has jumped on board, Mr. Smith, Mr. France and I've heard of a few other corporations matching the purse today."
Bruton Smith, who owns Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Brian France, the president and CEO of NASCAR, offered to make similar pledges to the Red Cross relief effort.
"So we feel confident over a million dollars would be raised and sent out to the Red Cross and hopefully it encourages other people to get involved," Johnson said. "Lowe's is using their other stores ... and whether it's a special paint scheme, if it's for a charity like today, we seem to deliver and get the job done, and I'm happy about that."

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the fourth of his career and his first this year.
Ron Hornaday Jr. won the pole and finished second to reclaim the lead in the Truck Series standings. He has a four-point lead over Mike Skinner with three races to go in the season.
Hornaday, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc., led the Atlanta race five times for 51 laps.
"He (Kyle Busch) had us the first lap, I was so focused on racing Skinner. He (Busch) could have got by me but he hung back there a little bit and let it shake out with me and Mike and for me to lead a lap and then he went by," Hornaday said. "Awesome job today for the whole Camping World and Rvs.com Chevrolet. This is just awesome. All the support we get from Chevrolet. The hard work from every in the RCR/DEI (Earnhardt Childress Racing Technologies) engine program really showed. They told me they had a good piece for me and they did. Kevin and DeLana Harvick have given us everything we need and more."
Hornaday was surprised as anyone that he finished the race in an unscathed truck.
"We did some hard racing out there for sure but our Silverado is in one piece, can you believe that?" said the former Saugus Speedway champ from Palmdale. "Ron Hornaday brought a truck home without a scratch. We might take this one next week to Texas. This is just unbelievable. They keep bringing me great trucks week in and week out. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series you have to run hard every lap and this proves it. Skinner pitted and look at him, he finished back in the top-five."
Hornaday anticipates that the last three races of the year are going to be a shootout between him and Skinner.
"The way we are going to beat him is just to out-race him as hard as we can," Hornaday said. "We are doing everything we can on our side."

Ron Hornaday Jr. is in a good position to start the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Hornaday won the pole Saturday and will start the race first in his No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. Richard Childress Racing provides team owner Kevin Harvick with engines for his Busch and Truck Series teams.
"I want to thank RCR for the great horsepower," Hornaday said. "They have put a lot of work in to the motor program and promised me a good piece to bring here. So far, it has worked out perfectly."
Hornaday is second in the Truck Series standings. He is 11 points behind Mike Skinner with four races to go in the Truck Series season.
"I just want to thank Kevin and DeLana Harvick, Chevrolet, Camping World, Rick Ren (crew chief) and everyone at KHI that puts so much effort in to this team," Hornaday said. "Starting on the pole is always good, for the pit stall selection and just having great track position from the get-go."

After collecting his post-season awards and purses, Mike Duncan became the first driver in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series to collect more than $1 million over his career.
The two-time West Series champion collected more than $77,000 in 2007 and has won $1,040,109 over his career.
"It's obviously neat to know that we've accomplished something that nobody else has, but in reality though we've been probably one of the longest to stay in the West Series," Duncan said. "Hopefully, it doesn't take as long to get to the second million."
Duncan finished third in the NASCAR Toyotal All-Star Showdown, the final race of the season for the Grand National Divisions drivers, and won $17,000.
Duncan received awards representing $77,536 during the recent West Series end-of-year awards ceremony in Pasadena. In addition to a bonus of $32,500, he will receive more than $18,000 in team winnings from the NASCAR point fund. Along with accepting the driver and car owner trophies for finishing second in the championship standings, the 45-year-old series veteran was also presented with this year's Bud Pole Award, accompanied by $5,000.
Even though he finished second in the West Series standings, Duncan said he didn't have that great a year in 2007.
"I don't feel like it was one of our best seasons, for several reasons," Duncan said. "We had some bad luck and we were trying a lot of different things. For a lot of '06 and for a lot of '07, we were chasing something that we didn't quite have a handle on it yet.
"I feel like a lot of things were learned in the last couple of races and the Showdown," Duncan said of efforts by his crew chief Bill Sedgwick. "Bill has been working hard at what we need to accomplish. I feel like he is definitely on track now and I think he's got a good direction for the future. I'm excited about doing it again -- it's just that we just need to secure sponsorship. I really feel like we're ready to go again at the pace we were on in '04 and '05."

California Speedway officials and International Speedway Corporation will donate at least $250,000 in services and aid to relief efforts for those fighting the wildfires in Southern California and those displaced by the fires.
The France family, which owns International Speedway Corporation and California Speedway, is also helping in the $250,000 pledge.
“An amazing thing about being part of the ISC family is that during times of need, they are able to engage national resources to provide local help,” said California Speedway President Gillian Zucker. “From hurricanes to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, ISC has always been there for the community and these latest firestorms are no different.”
California Speedway and Americrown Service Corporation, the race track's food and beverage provider, donated and delivered 22 pallets of bottled water and Gatorade to the San Bernardino County Fire Department on Thursday.
“It’s incredible to have a resource like California Speedway in the Southern California community that can act and provide aid so quickly,” said NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, a native of San Diego, one of the areas most affected by the fires.
Through its website, California Speedway has also been urging the community to provide donations of items that continue to be of immediate need by the county’s firefighters including toiletries and non-perishable snacks. Additional information regarding donations can be found on the Speedway’s website: californiaspeedway.com.
More than 1,500 San Bernardino County residents displaced by the fires have been relocated to the National Orange Show Events Center, less than 15 miles from California Speedway.
The speedway has coordinated a movie night for those families and will bring in a mobile theater unit, a free popcorn stand and movies Saturday night to the National Orange Show Events Center. During the day, the Speedway will also bring in several interactive displays, including a NASCAR show car, a giant race car slide and an inflatable obstacle course to entertain the hundreds of children currently at the center.
Speedway employees will be providing operational support. The Speedway has also donated candy, board games, coloring books, crayons and DVDs to families that have been displaced by the fires.
Additionally, NASCAR star Juan Pablo Montoya has recorded an inspirational message in Spanish which will be broadcast prior to Saturday’s movie.

By looking at the standings, it would appear that Jeff Gordon only needs to worry about his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson catching him. Gordon has a 53-point lead over Johnson, but with four races to go, that lead could evaporate quickly.
“We’ve had a good start to the Chase, but a lot can still happen in the remaining four races,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “A lot can happen in one race. In the few years since the Chase began, it seems like the champion has had at least one bad finish during the 10-race stretch. But that may not happen this year."
Johnson has posted some impressive finishes in the first six races of the Chase. But so has Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart, the third and fourh place drivers in the Chase.
"Jimmie has been strong and I don’t see that team letting up, and Clint has been consistent," Gordon said. “A lot of people are counting Tony out, but that team is capable of going on a tear. Until someone is mathematically eliminated, I’m considering them a threat to win the championship.”
The car Gordon's team is bringing to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend is the same one it raced at Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this month. Gordon won the race at Lowe's, considered a sister track to Atlanta. Both are similar in design and both are 1.5-mile ovals.
“I love racing at Atlanta because of the multiple grooves in the corner, and we had an awesome car here in the spring,” Gordon said. “But we lost a lap on pit road due to repairs (loose crush panel)."
In 30 starts at Atlanta, Gordon has four wins and 12 top-five finishes. The first start of his Cup career came at Atlanta in 1992. It was also the last career Cup start for Richard Petty.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of that race, Gordon will serve as grand marshal for Sunday's race. He will give the command for drivers to start their engines.
“It’s an honor to give the command to start engines prior to the race at a track where my Cup Series career began 15 years ago,” Gordon said. “For the first time, the entire crowd may actually cheer for something I did. Or, then again, this may be the first time that the command is booed.”

The NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup has become a two-car race. Jimmie Johnson is 53 points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, and has a little momentum on his side. He won the crash-filled race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday and won the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. But Johnson knows better than anyone that he is chasing a legend in Gordon.
"I do lay it all out there against him, but I don't feel that it's because of a friendship situation," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "It's basically because he's good. He's arguably the best to sit in a stock car. Statistics show that. So I know, especially in this stretch for a championship, that if I'm going to beat him, I've got to bring my A-game."
Johnson also said he is a little concerned about the guys behind him in the Chase standings. With four races to go in the Chase, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart, the third and fourth place drivers, are not out of it yet.
"And that goes for the No. 07 (Bowyer) and the No. 20 (Stewart), the guys who I think are really still in this points battle," Johnson said. "So our friendship makes things tough from time to time, considering I'm worried about teammate situations or friendships as you get into that cutthroat, decision-making process at the end of a race. But the intensity and all the things that go into it, I've got to bring my A-game and be that intense just because he's Jeff Gordon."
Johnson's team is bringing a three-time winner to Atlanta. It won the races at California Speedway in September and Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. It also won the All-Star Challenge in 2006. It's probably getting to the point that there isn't a car at Hendrick Motorsports that hasn't won a race. The car Johnson will have at Atlanta looks like it's one of the team's best and his experience there should make for a potent combination.
"Well, you're trying to be in the top five after the last pit stop," Johnson said. "That's a goal I typically have. It would be great if you're leading and defending. But if you run in the top five, there is enough that goes on in the last pit stop that you can pick up some spots.”

Jimmie Johnson, his team owner, Rick Hendrick, and sponsor, Lowe's, will all make contributions toward the Red Cross relief effort for those devastated by the fires in Southern California.
Johnson, a native of El Cajon near San Diego, will donate his winnings from Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway to assist Red Cross relief efforts throughout Southern California. Lowe's and Bruton Smith, the owner of Atlanta Motor Speedway, will match the donations Johnson makes through his Jimmie Johnson Foundation.
“I can remember a couple of times as a kid growing up and being evacuated out of the area," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "The most recent big fire that went through there (El Cajon) took down the neighborhood where I grew up. Somehow, the home I grew up in was still standing but homes surrounding it were burned down. This hits pretty close to home."
Johnson is a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet and hosted a celebrity golf tournament and charity events in El Cajon that raised more than $500,000 for construction of new Habitat for Humanity Homes in August.
“It’s sad. People lose their homes in these fires. They lose everything they own, everything they worked for,” Johnson said. “This donation is our way of trying to make someone’s life just a little bit easier. I hope NASCAR fans can help out the people as well.”
Jimmie Johnson’s Kearny Mesa Chevrolet also will serve as a donation site. Gifts may also be made through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation at JimmieJohnsonFoundation.org.
“We have employees who have been directly affected by this tragedy,” said Rick Hendrick, also the chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, which operates 10 auto dealerships in California. “It doesn’t look like any of our folks will lose their homes, so we’re lucky. Not everyone is so fortunate.
“It’s vital that we raise awareness, and having a guy like Jimmie leading the charge is a great shot in the arm. I’m proud of what he and Lowe’s are doing, and our prayers continue to be with the people of Southern California.”
In addition to matching the donations by Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe’s declared each of its 85 Lowe’s stores in California as official Red Cross cash donation sites. Lowe’s will match all of the donations it collects at the stores up to $50,000 to support Red Cross relief efforts for the California wildfires.
“Home and family are an individual’s most important assets, and Lowe’s is dedicated to providing assistance to our California neighbors as they rebuild their lives,” said Larry Stone, chairman of the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. “The Lowe’s customer donation program will help the American Red Cross in providing essential support to the devastated communities.”
Smith, whose philanthropy includes distribution of millions of dollars through Speedway Children’s Charities each year, praised Johnson’s effort and is reaching out to others in the NASCAR community to join the effort.
“Personally this hits close to home,” said Smith. “I spend a lot of time in California. In addition to my vacation home in California, I have 72 dealerships there that employ thousands. These fires have a far-reaching and devastating effect. So many families need help short-term and long-term in rebuilding their homes and re-establishing a normal quality of life. I am recruiting others in the NASCAR community this weekend to join this effort as well.”
This weekend, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet will sport a Kobalt Tools paint scheme as well as a special 1-800-RED CROSS decal on its decklid (trunk) for fans to call for information or donate to the Red Cross’s wildfire relief efforts.

Clint Bowyer is hanging tough. He rallied for a ninth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway and maintained his third-place position in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
He is 115 points out of first, but only 62 behind Jimmie Johnson for second place in the Chase standings. He is well within striking distance of the Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Johnson, at the top of the Chase standings.
"In my mind and our race team's mind we're definitely not the odd man out," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "We're close enough we can win this thing."
Bowyer was the surprise of the Chase. He started the 10-race playoff as the 12th and last-place driver, but won the first race in the Chase at New Hampshire and jumped into third place in the standings.
"It's so, so strange how you're mindset can change from one race -- bottom line New Hampshire -- starting the Chase we didn't know what to expect," Bowyer said. "I didn't know where to set my goals. I wanted to be hopefully finishing in the top five. I thought that would be good for us. If we could finish in the top five this year, our second year out in the Chase, that'd be a successful year. We'd won a race. We sat on two poles."
His Chase has been better than most. Hendrick Motorsports is on a three-race winning streak -- Gordon has two, Johnson has the most recent -- but Bowyer knows he's close to make a run at the championship.
"I'd be content with that year but that first win changes everything," Bowyer said. "You go from maybe a 10th place so you can go to the banquet and we've won two poles so hey, we're in contention for a championship and we're going to be greedy and go after it."

Clinging to fourth place and the hopes of a third NASCAR Cup championship, Tony Stewart is 249 points out of first after finishing 13th at Martinsville Speedway.
He had little to say after the race.
His record at Atlanta Motor Speedway, site of this weekend's Cup race, has yielded a pair of wins. He won the spring race in Atlanta in 2002 and the fall race in 2006.

Carl Edwards is a distant 285 points out of first in the NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Nextel Cup standings. But it looks like his team is far from giving up.
They are bringing a winning car to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weeked. With four races to go in the Chase, Edwards and his team have a lot of ground to make up in a short amount of time.
“Atlanta is one of my favorite tracks to race," said Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "It’s a really fun track and I get excited just driving through the tunnel to get inside – I can’t wait to get there and race. The biggest day of my racing career came at Atlanta Motor Speedway, when I got my first Cup win. It’s a moment I know I’ll never forget. This weekend is going to be a lot fun for the Office Depot team.”
The car Edwards will be racing to the track won the race in Atlanta in 2005. It also raced at California Speedway in February, where it finished 29th. On a positive note, Matt Kenseth, Edwards's teammate at Roush Fenway Racing, won the race at California Speedway in February.

Kurt Busch took the biggest hit in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings. He fell three spots, from seventh to 10th, after a 31st-pladce finish in the race at Martinsville Speedway, his worst of the Chase.
“We started off the race strong after we had that tire go down it was too hard to make up ground after that,” Busch said.
Matt Kenseth had the most frustrating day. Even though he finshed fifth at Martinsville, his highest finish in the Chase this year, he is still last in the standings, in 12th place and 462 points out of first.
Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton each moved up a spot in the standings, mainly because of Busch's bad race.
Here is a look at the Chase standings after six races.

1. Jeff Gordon (6,055 points, -0) 0
2. Jimmie Johnson (6,002 points, -48) 0
3. Clint Bowyer (5,940 points, -115) 0
4. Tony Stewart (5,806 points, -249) 0
5. Carl Edwards (5,770 points, -285) 0
6. Kyle Busch (5,765 points, -290) 0
7. Kevin Harvick (5,686 points, -369) +1
8. Denny Hamlin (5,681 points, -374) +1
9. Jeff Burton (5,646 points, -409) +1
10. Kurt Busch (5,635 points, -420) -3
11. Martin Truex Jr. (5,608 points, -447) 0
12. Matt Kenseth (5,593 points, -462) 0

Jeremy Mayfield will drive the No. 66 Chevrolet for Haas CNC Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for the remainder of the season.
Mayfield replaces Jeff Green as driver. Mayfield will make his first start for Haas CNC Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend and will be with the team in 2008. It has yet to be determined which car he will drive for Haas CNC Racing, which has two, the No. 66 and No. 70.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity with Haas CNC Racing,” Mayfield said. “Every indication is that this is a team with unlimited potential. The shop is state-of-the-art, the equipment is first rate, there is an outstanding relationship with Hendrick Motorsports here, and it’s my challenge to make it all equal success on the track. I’m ready to see how far I can take it.”
Mayfield was driving the No. 36 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing this year, but had trouble qualifying for races. He started 13 races for Bill Davis Racing and was recently released from the team.
“We’re very happy to welcome Jeremy Mayfield to Haas CNC Racing,” team general manager Joe Custer said. “Jeremy has a proven success record and we will be relying on his skill, experience, and leadership to improve our overall team performance. Jeremy’s not far removed from being a Chase contender and I know he’s motivated to get back to that level. We’re confident in our equipment and Jeremy knows how to get it done, so this is a very exciting opportunity for us.”
Haas CNC Racing will also have Scott Riggs as one of its drivers in 2008. Johnny Sauter, who currently drives the No. 70 car for Haas CNC Racing, will not return.

Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway, completing the season sweep and chipping in to Jeff Gordon's lead in the Chase standings.
Johnson finished ahead of Ryan Newman and Gordon in a green-white-checkered finish. The race went over the scheduled 500 laps and finished on lap 506.
Bobby Labonte and Casey Mears crashed in lap 496 to set up the extra laps and extended race. Seven drivers in the Chase finished in the top 10. Clint Bowyer, who struggled early in the race, came in ninth and is 105 points behind Gordon for the lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
Johnson entered the race in second place in the Chase standings and 68 points behind Gordon, his teammate at Hendrick Motorspors. With the win, Johnson is 53 points out of first.
Gordon led the most laps, 168, followed by Johnson who led 147 laps.
Kyle Busch was fourth and Matt Kenseth was fifth im a race that had 21 caution periods for 125 laps.

The race restarted on lap 172. Kyle Busch is in the lead, followed by Matt Kesneth in second and Juan Pablo Montoya in third.
Jeff Burton was in fifth and Clint Bowyer was in seventh. Jeff Gordon dropped to 33rd.
Another caution at lap 186. Michael Waltrip spins out in Turn 3. Busch maitains his lead.

Jeff Gordon and JImmie Johnson are moving solidly into the top 10. Johnson is in sixth and Gordon is in eighth at lap 168.
Kurt Busch is into the wall on lap 167. The sixth caution period of the race is under way. Looks like Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer are staying out during the caution to gain some track position. Kyle Busch is in the lead, followed by Kenseth, and Bowyer is in fourth.
Jeff Burton has dropped to seventh.
Lap leader are as follows: Jeff Gordon for 108; Burton for 51; Johnson for 8 and Kyle Busch for 5.

Jeff Gordon, the leader in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, had about a 20-point lead over Gordon at the 150-lap point of the race.
Clint Bowyer, the surprise driver in the Chase, third place in the standings at the start of the race at Martinsville, was in 27th place after 157 laps. He had the lowest position of the Chase drivers after 157 laps.
Carl Edwards was moving up and in 14th. Tony Stewart was in 18th, Matt Kenseth in 19th and Denny Hamlin in 21st after 160 laps.

Aside from Jeff Burton, the drivers in the Chase are not having a good race at Martinsville.
Jimmie Johnson, who entered the race second in the Chase standings, was in eighth place after 146 laps. He was the closest driver to Burton.
Jeff Gordon was next in 12th. Kevin Harvick was in 13th and Kyle Busch was in 14th.

Coverage of the fire in Malibu bumped the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway off Channel 7.
NASCAR.com is providing web updates of the race and internet coverage, including a video feed of the race.
Jeff Burton leads after 132 laps of the 500-lap race.
There have been five caution period in the first 130 laps. None of the drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup have been collected in the crashes.

Brian Ickler was in the middle of quite a streak when the NASCAR Grand National Division West Series came to Irwindale Speedway in July.
Over the span of four races during the summer, Ickler won three and finished second in the other. One of those wins was the Irwindale Speedway race on July 4.
He admitted his team got off to a slow start and there was a time when he wondered if he would ever finish a race, let alone win one.
“We got this car to finish,” said Ickler, a driver from San Diego. “It was embarrassing. Not wrecking this car made it so successful.”
Ickler was one of the few drivers in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown who can say he’s won a race at Irwindale Speedway.
Sean Caisse, a driver from the Busch East Series, brought a three-time winner to the Showdown. Caisse won races at Elko Speedway., Thompson International Speedway and Mansfield Motorsports Speedway.
“It’s actually my favorite car,” said Caisse, a driver from Pelham, N.H. “It’s just my favorite piece. It ran so good this year.”
His favorite car might have seen its last race for a while. He was hit from behind while leading the race and crashed into the infield wall in turn 1.

The rumor around Irwindale Speedway is that Kasey Kahne will be racing in the traditional Turkey Night Grand Prix on Thanksgiving night.
Kahne, who raced USAC Midgets and Sprints before moving to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, is the latest stock car star to return to his open-wheel roots.
Tony Stewart, Casey Mears and Jason Leffler were in last year's Turkey Night Grand Prix at Irwindale Speedway.
Kahne, a driver for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, won the 2000 USAC National Midget championship. He was also the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series rookie of the year.
Stewart is a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing at the Nextel Cup Series level. He also owns a USAC team. Mears drives for Hendrick Motorsports in Cup and Leffler is in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Hall of Fame motorsports writer Shav Glick died early Saturday morning. He was 86. Irwindale Speedway observed a moment of silence in memory of Glick before the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.
Glick, who wrote for the Los Angeles Time for almost 50 years, was remembered as a friend of motorsports and as a legendary motorsports writer.
"Shav was a legendary journalist who brought a greater understanding of NASCAR, in fact all motorsports, to West Coast racing fans," NASCAR president and CEO Brian France said in a statement. "Shav will be missed by all of us in the NASCAR community, but his contributions will never be forgotten."

Ron Hornaday Jr. finished third in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night and lost his lead in the standings.
Skinner won the race at Martinsville and was able to pass Hornaday for the lead. He has an 11-point lead over Hornaday.
"The whole day was pretty strange," said Hornaday, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. "Skinner did what he had to do."
Hornaday had to nurse his truck to the finish after making contact with another truck on lap 168 of the 200-lap race. Then a crash on the last lap of the race collected a number of trucks. Hornaday was able to make it through and finish third, behind Skinner and Jack Sprague.
"On that last restart, I told Jack he was going to have to go to the outside because Skinner was stopping us in corners and I was running fourth or fifth and we were playing bumper tag out there," Hornaday said. "Skinner did everything he had to do to keep that train from going. The only shot we had was going to the outside and I did and picked up a couple of spots."

Jeff Gordon, winner at Talladega Superspeedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway, has a chance to win his third straight race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
And he has to like his chances.
Gordon is the Cup Series active leader in wins at Martinsville with seven. His most recent wins there came in 2005 when he swept both. He completed in the sweep in 2003 as well.
He might have eight if not for Jimmie Johnson's aggressive charge in spring race at Martinsville. Things got a little testy and Johnson narrowly defeated his Hendrick Motorsports teammate at Martinsville.
Gordon is expecting another tight race this time.
"If things continue on the way they are, it's definitely going to push the limits of it and put us to the test," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "We both want to win. We both want to win the championship. I know Jimmie well enough to know that our friendship is as important to him as it is to me, but we're race car drivers and we want that championship."
With the win at Lowe's Gordon pulled into a tie with Johnson for most wins this season. They both have six. Gordon, however, holds a 68-point lead over Johnson in the Chase standings with five races to go.
"As long as you're not beating and banging on one another out there on the race track, then it's all about wins and who finishes ahead of who, and the points fall as they may with that," Gordon said. "Up until that point, it's a friendly rivalry on the track. We're competitors, and off the track we can smile and laugh about it. Just like I wasn't happy I didn't win the race at Martinsville because I felt like I had the best car and everything going for us to win it. It wasn't because he beat me, it's just because I felt like we should have won."

The last time the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was at Martinsville Speedway, Jimmie Johnson beat his teammate Jeff Gordon in a very contentious race. Gordon returned the favor a couple weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway, passing Johnson on the last lap to win his first of two races in the Chase.
Johnson is second in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, 68 points behind Gordon. Johnson's team is bringing the car it raced at New Hampshire International Speedway last month. He was sixth in that race, the first in the Chase.
The way things are going, it looks like the Cup championship is going to come down to a fight between teammates.
"There's no doubt he wants to beat me; we saw that at Talladega," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "He made a move and got it done. But it's not that he hates me and wants to pass me or I hate him and want to pass him. We're friends and we have respect for one another on and off the track, but it comes down to the end of the race. That's what we're out there for is to get the job done."
Johnson has three top-10 finishes in five Chase races this year. He is coming off a 14th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
Johnson and Gordon have been in a few tight races this year, the first Martinsville race and the most recent one at Talladega are just two examples. Johnson said he doesn't mind the tight racing and losing to Gordon has not affected their friendship off the race track.
"If we do get together and things happen, that's the stuff that puts a strain on our friendship or relationship," Johnson said. "If you get passed and beat fair and square, that's one thing. But if you start crashing each other, that's where it would strain our friendship. I don't want to say we won't crash. You get into each other at some point. But it would take a lot to jeopardize the friendship and it's just not in either one of us to do that. It's just not who we are as racers on track."

The only driver hotter than Clint Bowyer in the first five races of the Chase has been Jeff Gordon. That's not a good sign for Bowyer.
Bowyer, the surprise of the Chase, posted his third top-three finish in the Chase on Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He won the race at New Hampshire, was second at Kansas Speedway (some, including the drivers in the race, say he is actually the winner of the Kansas race) and was second at Lowe's.
Gordon has won the past two Cup races, at Lowe's and Talladega Superspeedway. He has a 78-point lead over Bowyer, who is third in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
"We finished 11th at Martinsville in the spring and we need to get more out of it this time," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "We knew we'd have to pick up our program and finish better at all these race tracks and I think we can go there this weekend and do better than we've done in the past."

Tony Stewart is in fourth place in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, 198 points behind first-place Jeff Gordon.
This weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway is the sixth in the Chase. It is a track where Stewart has two wins. He won his first Cup race at Martinsville in 2000. His second win came last year in the spring race.
Stewart also has a string of three straight top-10 finishes at Martinsville and has been in the top 10 in four of his past five races there.
Stewart said experience has been a key factor in finishing well at Martinsville over the past few years.
“You learn how to protect the car. You learn how to not beat it up. You learn it’s a lot more fun racing when you use a lot more patience," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "Patience seems to be the biggest variable that can hold you up at a place like Martinsville. Needless to say, after going there a couple of times, I’ve learned how to be patient – out of necessity, basically.”
Stewart's team is bringing to Martinsville the car that finished seventh at Martinsville in April and was third in the September race at New Hampshire International Speedway, the first race in the Chase.
Stewart and the team also tested the car at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C, on Oct. 9.
“Running well at Martinsville is all about the attitude you have when you walk in the gate Friday morning," said Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's crew chief. "That will dictate whether you have a good weekend or a bad weekend. I really think it boils down to that. As soon as you get frustrated, you get behind. Martinsville is one of those places where you can’t ask your driver to drive harder, because that’s what’ll get you in trouble. Track position has always been a big deal, so qualifying well is important, not only in terms of where you’ll start on the race track, but for pit selection as well.”

All things considered, Kyle Busch had a good race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He finished third, avoided a potential wreck near the end of the race, gained some respect in the garage and moved up two places in the Chase standings.
He is still 280 points behind Jeff Gordon for the lead in the Chase, but the way the race at Lowe's ended, it could have been a lot worse.
"You know, if it's getting in crashes of my own doing or not of my own doing, you know, that's a part of it I guess," Busch said. "And if it's good finishes like it was tonight, and the first two Chase races, so be it. It's tough to have to go through those rough times but everybody does that sometimes. For us, it was there the past couple of weeks. Hopefully we can just straighten it out and keep going the way we are right here."
His finishes in the Chase have either been really good, like at Lowe's, or really bad, like last week at Talladega.
We need to go and run strong like we have," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I guess the finishes that we have had without any troubles have been a fourth and a fifth and a third. Besides that, getting dumped at Kansas and getting wrecked last week, it's tough on in. You have to go on in and do what you can and hopefully Martinsville will be a good weekend for us."

Off all the drivers in the Chase, Clint Bowyer was the least likely to be in contention for the Nextel Cup championship. He was the 12th and last seeded driver in the Chase, the only driver in the Chase without a win.
He pulled off a surprising win at New Hampshire, was second at Kansas Speedway and has yet to finish worse than 12th since the Chase started.
He posted another solid second-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night and kept his championship hopes alive. Jeff Gordon, however, won the race at Lowe's and extended his lead in the Chase standings. Bowyer said it is evident he and his team still have a lot to learn about racing in the Chase.
"We have five races to go and we have to keep this momentum strong and keep everybody with a pep in their step and energy and stay energized," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "We've got to stay full-court pressed and hopefully have a little bit of luck on their run and a little misfortune on their end. You don't wish that upon anybody, but right now that's what it's going to take to win a championship."
When the Chase started, Bowyer wasn't even considered the best driver on his team. His teammates, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, were both ahead of him in the Chase standings and were given better chances to contend for the Cup championship.
Bowyer's silenced most of his critics and has emerged as one of the few drivers to challenge Gordon for the lead in the Chase standings.
"But not only to -- of course you want to out run the guys, but you have a job to do," Bowyer said. "There's a lot of other cars out there. There's 40 other cars you want to beat, or 41, whatever. But it's no different than anybody else. You want to beat them, but you want to help them, too, what you can.
"We're coming. We've just got a long ways to go. They are obviously a step ahead of everybody right now and we have to pick up the program a little more."

Michael Waltrip Racing will have a three-car NASCAR Sprint Cup team and one Nationwide Series team in 2008, the team announced at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday.
Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann were the only drivers announced for the team. Waltrip will be in the No. 55 Toyota at the Sprint Cup level. Jarrett will run the first five races of the year in the No. 44 Toyota, then Reutimann will be in the No. 44 for the remainder of the year except for the All-Star Challenge in May at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Jarrett will be retiring from racing full-time at the Cup level. He plans on running in only those six races in 2008.
"This is obviously a decision that required a lot of thought and consideration and it is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do,” said Jarrett. “I’ve been fortunate to have one of the best NASCAR sponsors in UPS, and I’m first and foremost a competitor. The desire to compete is the reason why I have continued as a driver in the Nextel Cup Series. But I’ve come to the decision to get out of the race car and while I’ll miss being a driver, I am looking forward to the next phase of my life and career.”
Reutimann will also be in the No. 99 Toyota at the Nationwide Series level. He is in second place in the Busch Series standings. He signed a three-year extension with Michael Waltrip Racing, according to the team.
“In the past 18 months, it is amazing what our small group has been able to accomplish,” Waltrip said. “We did what no one else has ever tried, forming three Cup teams with a new manufacturer, and we’ve made it through the toughest time."

From the looks of things, Jeff Gordon has only two drivers he needs to worry about catching him in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup.
His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson is hot on his tail, nine points out of first. Clint Bowyer follows in third, 63 points behind Gordon.
But it seems Gordon is most concerned with Tony Stewart, the fourth place driver in the Cup standings and a seemingly safe 154 points behind Gordon.
"Oh, he's the most dangerous one out there as far as I'm concerned," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "He's far more than capable of doing it. Tony is so good at so many tracks. That team is one of the best out there. They don't even have to have us falter in my opinion, that they can make a comeback. I think the other guys outside of that are going to need the guys up front to have problems."

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are separated by nine points in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
After that, the rest of the drivers are pretty spread out.
Johnson was asked after qualifying for the Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway how far a driver can be out of first and still have a legitimate shot at the championship after this weekend. At least one reporter suggested any driver 200 points or more out after this weekend is out of the running.
"I would think so, but it just depends on what the guys up front do, and if they have any bad luck," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorspors. "It's tough to call it. I think their situation is getting more and more difficult as the races go by."
Johnson will start Saturday night's Cup race at Lowe's second, on the outside front row. He has won five Cup races over his career at Lowe's and is second in the Chase standings. His record at Lowe's is one of the best among the drivers in the Chase.
"But there's no telling what's going to happen," Johnson said. "And the way these first three or four races have been in the Chase, it seems like there's a wreck that takes out three or four of them. If you collect first through fourth, those guys are right back in it."

The Chase for the Nextel Cup has not been kind to Matt Kenseth in the past. This year is no different.
He is 11th in the Chase standings and his past three races in the Chase have been far from stellar. He has suffered blown engines and got caught up in wrecks at Dover, Kansas and Talladega. They have resulted in finishes of 26th or worse in those three races.
But Lowe's Motor Speedway has produced some good races for Kenseth over the years. He won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2000, his rookie season, the all-star race in 2004 and a couple Busch Series races at Lowe's.
“I’ve always enjoyed racing at Charlotte. It’s a fast race track that’s pretty unique and demands a good handling race car," said Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. "Sometimes we’ve haven’t had the best of luck there, but other times we have. We’ve been able to run pretty good there from time to time and the fact we won our first Cup race there will always make that place special to me."
Luck has not been on Kenseth's side in recent weeks and he said it is making for another frustrating Chase.
"It’s the complete opposite of last year’s Chase when our cars weren’t that good, but we stayed out of trouble and would finish about 12th or 15th," Kenseth said. "A lot of other people had problems last year and if we would’ve been just a little better on car performance we could have won it all. But, this year, we can’t seem to finish a race."

Tony Stewart won three races in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup last year, when he was not one of the Chase drivers.
He has yet to win a race in this year's Chase as he sits in fourth place in the Chase standings, but that hasn't altered his approach to racing.
“You don’t really look at it any differently. You still take it one week at a time," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "That’s how we’ve won championships in the past, no matter what division they were in. Our theory is take it one week at a time and go out and try to win the race, and if we can’t win, then finish as high as we can and get the most points as we can. It sounds really simple and basic, but really, that’s how basic and simple we treat it."
The car his team is bringing to Lowe's Motor Speedway for this weekend's Cup race has only one previous start. It finished sixth in the race at Pocono Raceway in July.
But the team says it is almost identical to the car that won races at Chicagoland Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the summer.
Stewart said he's trying not to complicate matters at this point in the season. He wants to win races and let the championship play out accordingly.
"It’s not a complicated system. It’s not hard to try to figure out how to win the championship," Stewart said. "If you win races, the points will take care of themselves. But if you can’t win, you can’t just throw it away trying to win the race. You’ve got to be smart and finish as high as you can and not take too many unnecessary chances that can give you the opportunity for having a bad day.”

Jimmie Johnson was unbeatable at Lowe's Motor Speedway for two years from 2004 to 2005. The car he is bringing to Lowe's this weekend is almost as unbeatable.
It has three wins over its career. It won the race at California Speedway in September and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. In 2006, Johnson won the All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the car.
Sitting nine points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, Johnson will need another strong showing to keep his championship hopes alive.
He had a strong showing at Talladega on Sunday. Only problem was that Gordon had a stronger showing.
Gordon won the race. Johnson was second and the Chase is becoming a two-driver race between the Hendrick Motorsports teammates.
"Let's wait and see. It's too early to really say that," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "We've just got to keep going race to race.
"It is tough. Each team wants to get it done. Those guys get certain bonuses when they win and we get certain bonuses when we win. They get bigger bonuses though. The Lowe's guys. They really perk it up there. I think it's really about what goes on in the shop."

The good news is Kevin Harvick is sixth in the NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup standings and is heading to Lowe's Motor Speedway. Harvick won the All-Star Challenge race at Lowe's in May.
The bad news is Harvick is 202 points out of first and this may be his last chance to get back in the championship race.
"Our approach hasn't changed," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "We go and try to be as aggressive as we can every week and make our car run as fast as we can to put ourselves in a position to win. If you can't do that, then you have to make the best day possible out of the days that you're having."
Even though he won the All-Star Challenge, Harvick was 21st in the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend at Lowe's.
"Charlotte seems to be a track where we just haven't had the finishes we need," Harvick said. "We have always run pretty well there but just haven't been able to put everything together. During the Coca-Cola 600 we were running pretty good and just got caught up in a wreck. We have to find a way to keep everything together. If we can do that, I think we can leave Charlotte with a top-five finish ."

Tony Eury Jr. is gone. Tony Gibson gets his first shot as full-time crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Inc. And the transition of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports officially begins with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt Jr. will drive for Hendrick in 2008. His crew chief and cousin, Eury Jr., will follow. Eury Jr. is heading to Hendrick for the last six races of the year to prepare for the transition. Gibson will be Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief for the next six races on the Cup schedule.
Earnhardt Jr. said the Talladega race was an emotional one because it was the last for Eury at DEI.
"But the thing I felt good about was seeing the fans on their feet when we were leading," Earnhardt Jr. said. "The guys tell me it's so loud the fans drown out the sound of the cars. I can't hear 'em inside the race car, but I can sure see them -- and I'd love to see the same thing this weekend. The fans here have been very supportive of us."
Gibson is no stranger to calling the shots as crew chief. He was Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief earlier this year when Eury Jr. was suspended for six races after the Darlington race.
"Tony (Gibson) and I talked a little bit after we dropped out of the Talladega race. It meant a lot to me," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He's a great guy and we're going to be all right in these last six races. He's a lot of fun to be around and one of those guys that you just wanna win with. If you're going into battle, he's one of the guys you want right next to you. He deserves the shot to be in charge and he showed what he could do when Tony Jr. was suspended earlier this season. We did really well in those races, and we'll do just as well with him for the rest of the season."

Engine failures ruined the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Talladega for Jeff Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. camps have been working together to produce engines for both teams, but whatever they have been doing did not work at Talladega. The blown engines were extremely costly for Burton and Truex, two of the Chase drivers who saw Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson extend their leads in the standings.
Gordon won the race at Talladega. Johnson was second. Truex was 42nd and Burton finished last, 43rd.
Earnhardt Jr. was asked after the race if his frustration level was getting higher with each blown engine.
"No. You don't blow motors that often. You can go a year or two without blowing one," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "The first one you blow is really the shocker. But we've fought a lot of different curve balls with the fuel change and everything else. Changing our engine package with our new Chevy motor and just a lot of curve balls this year, I can totally see and understand how we are in the situation we're in."
Apparently Earnhardt Jr., who ended up 40th with his blown engine, didn't seem to unhappy with how his race ended.
"Oh, it ain't that bad if this is the worst thing that could happen," Earnhardt Jr. said after the race on Sunday. "We had a good day and we're all in one piece. We had a string of motors fail today but they build good stuff. We tested down here. We all work really hard together and try to bring a good package. We're really proud of all that effort and how our car ran today. I'm proud of my team. We had a good car. We led some. We got the people on their feet. I was hoping to win it. I thought I could win it. But we just had some tough luck. I'm a little more concerned and feel really, really bad for Martin because they've got a great team. It hurt worse actually seeing his motor break. But we'll be all right."

Jeff Gordon remembers how he lost the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
Maybe the way Gordon won the race at Talladega was a little payback.
Gordon passed Johnson on the last lap to win the Cup race at Talladega and take back the lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
Johnson did pretty much the same thing to Gordon at Martinsville, only without the lead in the Chase at stake.
Gordon says he's still mad at the way the Martinsville race ended. But his relationship with Johnson has not suffered because of what happens on the track.
"It has a lot to do with the communication we have," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "We're very fierce competitors, trust me. We love to beat one another and race one another. We have a lot of respect for one another. I think he's a tremendous talent. He's got a good head on his shoulders and I'm proud of him. He's going to win more championships and he could win it this year."
Since the two have been teammates, Gordon said Johnson has looked to him as a mentor. Gordon also said he and Johnson share some similar qualities on and off the race track.
"But the way he came into it, he sort of looked up to me and came to me for advice," Gordon said. "That started out our relationship. I respected him on the race track; he respected me. And then we became friends. One of the first things I told him when he was coming to HMS is that we're good enough friends and we have similar personalities that no matter what happens on the race track, we should be able to always get through it and put it aside off the race track. And yeah, I was mad at Martinsville. I was probably more mad that he beat me. He did everything he should have done. No matter who that would have been, I probably felt it would have been the same way. I think that we've had some great battles and great wins and he's probably gotten the best of me here recently; a lot more than I have of him. Today it wasn't about teammates, it was about great competition and trying to win the race."

Jeff Gordon won again at Talladega Superspeedway and maybe the NASCAR fans in Alabama are getting more used to seeing it.
Gordon didn't receive the traditional shower of beer cans and bottles after winning this time. They were a few tossed his way, but not nearly has many as in the past.
"I've got to admit I'm a little big disappointed in that," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and the new leader of the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings. "They might be throwing Mountain Dew cans next year. To me, I love coming here. I love when you can battle with 10 to go and it's wild and crazy like that."
Gordon won the race at Talladega, sweeping both races this year and becoming the NASCAR leader in restrictor-plate race wins. He led only one lap in the race Sunday, the last lap. He qualified deep in the field and stayed with the rear of the packs of cars for most of the race. It was a strategy he and crew chief Steve Letarte devised before the race started and it kept Gordon out of trouble.
"I don't like doing it for 500 miles, but I like doing it with 10 to go -- especially when it turns out like that," Gordon said. "The fans here get to see an awesome show. Honestly, I know I've got such a fan base of support out there that I'm OK if they're throwing things or booing as long as it's when we're doing a burnout and we're winning."

Jimmie Johnson goes into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway leading the Chase standings. And that's not the safest place to be.
The Talladega races are the most unpredictable on the Cup schedule, perhaps even more so this time. It will be the the first time NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow will race at Talladega.
Johnson, who has a slight six-point lead over teammate Jeff Gordon, said he's not too concerned about how safe the racing will be at Talladega this weekend. He is concerned about how the race will affect the Chase standings, though.
"I wish we didn't have any points on the line," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I'd just go out there and hammer down, have fun, bump draft. The racing itself out there is a lot of fun but when you have this much to lose the racing isn't fun out there."
Johnson said he would rather see the Talladega race out of the Chase, mainly so he could have a little more fun on the track.
"It'd be nice if this race was in a different setting where it wasn't so much to lose here and then you could go out and have a blast," Johnson said. "Our cars are safe. We've seen some massive impacts. Those tracks did a good job with soft walls. The Car of Tomorrow is safer. All of the things are going in the right direction. I don't have a fear for safety, just a fear of losing points."

There are still those who think Clint Bowyer, not Greg Biffle, should have won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Bowyer said he wouldn't have minded if NASCAR handed him the win, but he doesn't believe he won the race.
Still, Bowyer was one of the few drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup to come out of Kansas with some decent points and remain in championship contention.
When the Chase started, Bowyer was in 12th place, and the only driver in the Chase without a win.
"It's just so neat to be able to get in the Chase and be part of such an elite group," said Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "We knew going into it we'd kind of have to step up our program in a big way and just being able to answer that call. I'm really, really fortunate that the guys on my race team did it and we are doing it so it feels good. It's all about parking spots here in the Cup deal. If it's easy to get to your truck you know you're doing something right and it's just around the corner today."
Bowyer is third in the Chase standings, 14 points out of first and only eight points behind second-place Jeff Gordon. After three straight impressive races in the Chase, Bowyer was asked by reporters at Talladega if he should still be considered a longshot to win the championship.
"Well, I'd probably think that you're still thinking that they're going to bobble and that we're going to make mistakes and we're going to prove you wrong," Bowyer said.

In 17 career Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway, Tony Stewart has sixth second-place finishes. He has yet to win a race there, but he has led races a number of times. He led for seven laps during the April race at Talladega but finished 28th. He has a string of seven straight races in which he has led at least one lap. The last time he didn't lead a lap at Talladega was in 2003.
Stewart's been able to survive many of the Talladega races, unlike his most recent race at Kansas Speedway, where he went from leading to finishing 39th and taking a huge hit in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings.
He enters the Talladega race fourth in the standings, but a distant 117 points out of first.
Even though he has those six runner-up finishes, Stewart said he does not like racing at Talladega.
“I dislike anything where you have to rely on somebody else," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "To me, what you and your team do should be what it’s all about. I don’t like having to have a guy behind you or in front of you dictate what you do and where you go. That’s really the one reason why I dislike it. It’s very nerve-wracking when you can’t plan your moves unless you know what the guy behind you or in front of you is going to do.”
Stewart, like most of the Cup teams, will have an untested car at Talladega. This is the first race at Talladega for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow. The cars his team in bringing to the race is the same one it tested at Talladega in September. It just adds another unknown to an unpredicable race.
“The race just carries more variables that are out of your control than any other race," Stewart said. "When they have crashes at Talladega, the number of people caught up is normally pretty large. That’s kind of why we view Talladega as a wild card race. You can’t really predict anything. It’s not as easy as saying, ‘These guys run well here.’ Guys who don’t run well at Talladega could be contenders to win the race if the right circumstances happen. It’s one of those scenarios where the guys in the top-12 are really going to be careful, but they’re still going to have to race hard to gain as many points as they can.”

Kyle Busch is coming off a damaging 41st-place finish at Kansas Speedway and has dropped to sixth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings. He lost two spots in the standings and is 136 points out of first with seven races to go in the Chase.
Heading to Talladega Superspeedway, Busch has little to look forward to.
In five career Cup starts at Talladega, Busch has finished 32nd or worse four times. Twice his was collected in the Big One, the inevitable crash that occurs at almost every Talladega race.
Adding to difficulty of racing at Talladega is NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow. This is the first time the Car of Tomorrow will race at Talladega. Busch's team is bringing a new car to the track. It's only time track time was during a test in September at Talladega.
"Last weekend certainly wasn't the way we wanted to finish, especially with how good of a car we had," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "But that was last week and we're moving forward. We are only three races into this Chase, and, to be honest, it's way too early to tell. Almost everyone at this point has had some kind of issue, so that helps us. We have to be good every week, but we will need some luck, too. It seems like now everyone, both Chase and non-Chase drivers, has to be super careful who they're racing. You don't want to wreck someone racing for the championship, not with the tight points race we have going on."

California Speedway announced its schedule for the NASCAR races on Feb 23-24, highlighting a doubleheader with the new Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.
The Cup race will be on Feb. 24 and qualifying for the Cup race will be on Feb. 22.
In previous years, the Craftsman Truck Series race was on the Friday night before the Cup race on Sunday. But next year, it will be on Saturday, the same day as the Nationwide Series race. Part of the reason was to televise the Truck Series on Fox.
“In addition to the many track improvements we’re making, we’ve worked with NASCAR to enhance our schedule to give our fans and sponsors an incredible motorsports value,” said Speedway President Gillian Zucker. “Fans who purchase a ticket for Saturday will now be treated to 200 more miles of racing at no additional cost. We expect the appeal for families to be enormous, since children 12 and under will remain free of charge on both Friday and Saturday.”

Bye-bye Busch Series. Hello Nationwide. NASCAR announced Wednesday that Nationwide will be the title sponsor of what is now the Busch Series, the second-tier, developmental series to the Nextel Cup.
But the Busch Series in recent years has been anything but a developmental series. Cup drivers regularly drop down to race in the Busch Series. Kevin Harvick, one of the premier drivers in the Cup Series, won the Busch Series championship last year by a record margin. Carl Edwards, another one of the more prominent Cup drivers, is running away with the Busch Series championship this year.
Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, was asked if he thinks the Nationwide Series will ever become a true ladder system to develop NASCAR drivers.
"Do we think we can do some things down the road to distinguish it within the three national series that we have?
You bet," France said. "We have been candidly waiting for our partner, and now we know obviously it's Nationwide. We'll be working on those things together to highlight the series, to promote and position the series differently than it is today."
France did not reveal any specifics, but he was very encouraged by the partnerships with Nationwide and ESPN in particular.
"But we start in a great place," France said. "We start with a lot of interest, an interesting dynamic with older drivers, younger drivers, and a very consistent television property that consistently ranks very high. We have a great partner as well with ESPN. We have all the foundational things to do, but we couldn't do that in advance of choosing our partner, a brand that you're going to recognize. That will all come and we're in a good place to do it from."

Scott Riggs will drive for Haas CNC Racing in 2008, leaving the newly formed Gillett Evernham Racing team and the No. 10 Dodge.
Haas CNC Racing has a two-car team at the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series level. Jeff Green is in the No. 66 Chevrolet for the team. Johnny Sauter drives the No. 70 Chevy for Haas CNC Racing.
The team has no plans to expand to three cars in 2008. Riggs will be in either the No. 66 or No. 70 car.
“We’re very happy to welcome Scott Riggs to Haas CNC Racing,” team general manager Joe Custer said. “It’s exciting for us to land a driver with Scott’s leadership experience and great attitude."
Gillett Evernham Motorsports is expected to sign Patrick Carpentier, an open-wheel racer from Canada, to drive the No. 10 Dodge in 2008.
Custer said he is confident in his team's equipment and is placing much of the responsibility on Matt Borland, the team's director of competition, to find the right personnel combinations to get the most out of Haas CNC Racing.
“We believe Scott has the ability to get every bit of speed a car can offer," Custer said. "That’s very important to us.”

There will be two NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers making significant debuts at Talladega Superspeedway. Three if you count Dario Franchitti, the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series champion and winner of this year's Indy 500. Franchitti will only be entered in the ARCA Series race at Talladega, but he will be part of Chip Ganassi's Nextel Cup Series team in 2008. Franchitti is going to drive the No. 40 Dodge for Ganassi next year.
The Cup race at Talladega will see the much-debated debut of Jacques Villenueve, who will be driving the No. 27 Toyota for Bill Daving Racing. The former Indy 500 winner and Formula One champion is also going to be racing in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega and was part of the Nextel Cup Series test at Talladega a few weeks ago.
“I’m happy that NASCAR has given me its approval, and having run Talladega with the Cup drivers, I’m really looking forward to it,” Villeneuve said. “The test was great and it was a lot of fun to get out there with so many talented drivers. To be running in the middle of the pack with them is great and the fact that they trust me enough to stay behind me is good. I have just been trying to learn the draft and learn what the other cars are doing.”
Aric Almirola will be making his Dale Earnhardt Inc. debut in the No. 01 Chevrolet, the car normally driven by Mark Martin. Martin, who decided before the season started to run a partial schedule, is sitting Talladega out.
Almirola has made two previous Cup starts for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was in the August race at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Labor Day race at California Speedway.
He was also part of the Cup test at Talladega and was able to run his DEI car there.
"The COT cars drafted really well and had a pretty good closure rate," Almirola said. "I don't think any one car is going to get away. It's going to be a typical Talladega race. We'll have big packs and I am sure there will be a big wreck. It will be thrilling for the fans and I am very excited about driving in the race."

Talladega Superspeedway might be the biggest test yet for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow. The new, safer, cost-efficient version of the Cup car has been racing at select tracks this year, mostly tracks that are one mile or smaller and on road courses.
This weekend's race at Talladega will be the first for the Car of Tomorrow at NASCAR's biggest, fastest track.
“The CoT is going to change everything here,” said Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s going to be spectacular. During the test, we had 20-car packs and it got pretty dicey at times. When you put 43 cars out there battling for the lead and the win, it’s going to be crazy."
The Cup teams tested the Car of Tomorrow at Talladega a few weeks ago. There weren't many criticisms about the performance of the car, but Gordon said NASCAR probably didn't have tracks like Talladega in mind when there were designing it.
“I don’t think NASCAR’s intention in creating the CoT was Talladega, but the track is going to benefit from its use," Gordon said. "The new body style allows us to run a bigger restrictor plate and, with the wing and the wicker, it's only going to enhance the entertainment here."
Gordon has five Cup wins in his career at Talladega. His most recent came in April, the 77th win of his career and the won that moved him past Dale Earnhardt on the Cup career win list.
“I expect it to be pretty wild, pretty crazy and it should be a heck of a show for the fans," Gordon said. ”I expect there to be a lot of shuffling going on during the race – guys going from the front to the back, then up to the front again."

Tony Stewart took the biggest hit, both literally and figuratively, in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Clearly in the hunt for his fourth win of the year, Stewart was slammed from behind by Kurt Busch and went from leading the rain-shortened race to finishing 39th.
Stewart also dropped to fourth in the Chase standings, 117 points out of first.
Stewart didn't have anything to say after the race, but during the race, he was hoping for a rain out and avoiding disaster.
"We didn't have much left, but we had enough," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. "I hate to say this because of the fans here, but I hope it rains like this the rest of the day. We need these points right now."
The rain out came, but it was too late to save Stewart and his points. Before his crash and exit from the race, Stewart said he thought Kurt Busch's No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing was the one to beat in the race. It turns out Busch's car was the one that took out Stewart.
"Obviously, the No. 2 car, he is the one we have been racing," Stewart said. "Jimmie (Johnson) keeps getting his better. I am really proud of our guys, we have done a great job this weekend, Zippy and all the guys to give us a car that is drivable. We will just keep our fingers crossed right now."

As far as Jimmie Johnson is concerned, Clint Bowyer won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway. Two rain delays, a series of multicar collisions that collected half the Chase field and impending darkness cut the race short to 210 laps.
In the end, Greg Biffle was leading, but there is some debate about whether he followed the rules in the waning laps of the race.
From Johnson's perspective, Biffle was not maintaining pace car speed and thus should not have been allowed to win the race. Biffle was running low on fuel and conserving every drop in the final laps.
"Yeah, the way I've always been told is if you can't maintain pace car speed as people go by you, it's kind of where you fall in," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "Even if you go to pit road and you don't maintain pace car speed and pull back out, that's a problem. I've seen guys get moved back because they couldn't maintain pace then. And they had fuel in their cars and were running and just kind of went to pit road and came off."
NASCAR saw it differently. Ramsey Poston, NASCAR Managing Director, Corporate Communications, said Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, maintained a reasonable speed at the end of the race.
“When the caution came out on Lap 207 the field was frozen," Poston said. "At the time of the caution, the 16 was in the lead and maintained a reasonable speed and was declared the race winner. There is no passing under caution.
“By rule, cars under caution need to maintain a reasonable speed, which the 16 did. If it hadn’t maintained a reasonable speed or the car had come to a stop, then that car would not have won the race. In this instance the 16 maintained a reasonable speed, crossed the finish and won the race.”
Johnson said after the Kansas race that he felt bad for Biffle, but Bowyer should have won the race.
"It's kind of the way that I thought the rule was and we'll just have to see how it unfolds," Johnson said. "The No. 16 had a great car and I'm not attacking those guys by any means, but the way the rule reads and how tough points are right now, every point counts."