Returning to Pocono

After last week's tire fiasco at Indianapolis I'm sure most race fans will be happy to know that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are headed to Pocono this weekend for the second time this season. Here are my picks to win this weekend's event:

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Office Depot Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 2nd place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Career at Pocono: 16.1 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 2 top 5's, 3 top 10's
Why he could win: I'm almost positive that after last week's race at Indianapolis that Carl Edwards is more determined then ever to get back to victory lane. Why not do it at Pocono where Edwards earned his second career Sprint Cup victory.

Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)
Last Week: 7th place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Career at Pocono: 17.7 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 2 top 5's, 3 top 10's
Why he could win: Kahne dominated at Pocono earlier this year, leading the most laps en route to his second win of the 2008 season. If he can duplicate that run this weekend I don't think anyone will be able to beat him.

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 3rd place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Career at Pocono: 2.8 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 4 top 5's, 5 top 5's
Why he could win: A 2.8 average finish? Is that real? Apparently it is. With that kind of consistency its hard to believe he's only been a full time driver on the circuit for a few years.

This week's underdog just earned his first career Sprint Cup top 10 last week and had a strong run at the spring Pocono race.

A.J. Allmendinger, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota (Red Bull Racing)
Last Week: 10th place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Career at Pocono: 25.5 Avg. Finish, 0 top 5's, 0 top 10's
Why he could win: Allmendinger had a very competitive car here when the teams visited this track earlier this season, running in the top 10 most of the afternoon before fading late. After last week's strong run at Indianapolis I have every reason to expect Allmendinger to continue running up front.

Fire on the mountain

So I was relaxing at my parents home in Polk County, NC today when the phone rang. My father, who works in and around Lake Lure daily, was in Lake Lure watching fire helicopters trying to put out a forest fire on the backside of Chimney Rock. So what do I do? I jump into superhero mode and grab my camera and fly out the door to Lake Lure. Below are a few of my favorite photos, the end results of my labor shall we say.

Was that really a race?

I can only assume that when NASCAR returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend they had no idea the tires Goodyear planned to supply were going to be as bad as they were.
What was presented to fans Sunday on ESPN and live at Indianapolis could hardly be considered a NASCAR race. It seemed that NASCAR had to throw a caution every 20 laps or so to prevent tires from shredding.

For lack of a better term, Goodyear just screwed up. Tires were coming apart right down the middle tire and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The images of tires blowing apart, ala Matt Kenseth, are not what anyone wanted to see.

While I understand why NASCAR was throwing the cautions, I highly disagree with it. The fans at home and at Indianapolis came to the track to watch a NASCAR race, not heat races, which is what the race ended up turning into.

The fans at Indianapolis were obviously not happy with the way the race was being run and I can’t imagine the fans at home weren’t much happier. I can only hope that both NASCAR and Goodyear use Sunday’s race as a learning experience so that they don’t make the same mistakes again.

Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson earned his second win at the Brickyard by out dueling Carl Edwards. Johnson lead a race high 71 laps and was easily the class of the field most of the day. Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus did a good job managing their tires and using strategy to keep them up front when it counted most.

Interestingly, Johnson’s victory Sunday is the first win this season for Hendrick Motorsports that didn’t come thanks to fuel mileage. Who would have guessed that after the 2007 season Hendrick Motorsports had?

Elsewhere in the field, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray and and AJ Allmendinger all recorded their best finishes of the 2008 season. Sadler looked like he had a car to catch Denny Hamlin before that late caution reset the field with Johnson out front, yet he still finished an impressive fourth. McMurray ran in the top 10 most of the day and so did Allmendinger, who recorded his first career top 10 finish.

Tater pictures from Alive After 5

I walked up to Alive After 5 for a few minutes yesterday afternoon to say hello to some friends and snap some photos of local Shelby favorite Tater as they made their second appearance this summer at Alive After 5. Here are a few of those photos.

A fan, whom I actually know but will decline to name, gives a big 'ole thumbs up to Tater

Roger Padgett bends some strings on his guitar

Roger Padgett, left, and Luke Edwards

Phil Simmons using his regular pose

Luke Edwards singing one of Tater's fan favorite songs

Luke Edwards, left, and Phil Simmons

Luke Edwards, guitar and lead vocals

From left, Roger Padgett, Luke Edwards, Kelly Hull and Phil Simmons

Kelly Hull, drums

Brittany Randolph, Star photo intern, how did this get in here? :)

Stewart announces sponsors, car number

Tony Stewart made the announcement that everyone was expecting since he announced he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing a few weeks ago. Old Spice and Office Depot will co-sponsor his new ride with Stewart Haas Racing in 2009. The car number will be 14, in honor of racing legend AJ Foyt.

These announcements were pretty well known even before the official press conference today to unveil the car. Regardless, its another brick in the foundation of the 2009 Sprint Cup season. No other announcements were made by Stewart today in regards to his second car and who may drive and sponsor it. A rumor did pop up that the second car's number could be 4, but of course that has yet to be confirmed.

The legendary Brickyard

Most NASCAR drivers would agree that the second biggest race on the NASCAR schedule, only behind the Daytona 500, is the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A lot of teams and drivers put a lot of focus on winning at the Brickyard and the winner of the race is usually a precursor to whomever ends up winning the Sprint Cup Title. My picks this week include the seasons dominant driver, the constant Brickyard favorite and the most consistent driver in NASCAR in the last two months.


Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Two weeks ago: Won the LifeLock.com 400
Career at the Brickyard: 7.0 Avg. Finish, 1 top 5, 3 top 10's
Why he could win: Come on folks, Kyle Busch has been a serious threat to win almost every weekend so far this year. What makes you think this weekend is really going to be any different? He'll run up front and probably lead a good chunk of the race. Winning? He has a lot of other drivers to beat first.


Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Two weeks ago: 5th place finish in the LifeLock.com 400
Career at the Brickyard: 7.6 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 4 top 5's, 6 top 10's
Why he could win: If you travel to Indianapolis you MUST consider Tony Stewart the odds on favorite no matter how well he has been running in the weeks leading up to the Allstate 400. There is no doubt that in his last season with Joe Gibbs Racing Stewart would love to add his third Allstate 400 trophy to his trophy case.


Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Two weeks ago: 7th place finish in the LifeLock.com 400
Career at the Brickyard: 13.2 Avg. Finish, 4 top 5's, 5 top 10's
Why he could win: In the last six races at Indy Kenseth has finished in the top 10 5 times, including two second place finishes (2003, 2006). Lets not forget he has been the most consistent driver in NASCAR in the last two or three months, earning 8 top 10's in his last 9 races. He's bound to win sooner or later, so why not this weekend at Indy?

My underdog this week is a past Allstate 400 winner and a past Sprint Cup Series Champion.

Bill Elliott, No. 21 Motorcraft Ford (Wood Brothers Racing)
Two weeks ago: 35th place finish in the LifeLock.com 400
Career at the Brickyard: 11.0 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 5 top 5's, 9 top 10's
Why he could win: Alright, so he probably won't win the race. Compete in the top 20 or maybe even make a run at the top 10? Sure, it could happen. In Elliott's first 11 races at Indy he finished in the top 10 an amazing nine times. Even if Awesome Bill is on his last leg that still makes him a legit threat in anyone's play book.

Off weekend thoughts and observations

Despite the fact that the Sprint Cup had the weekend off, several drivers didn't bother resting. Instead, they just kept racing. Carl Edwards, for one, didn't do much resting. He road his bicycle 200 miles from his home to Gateway International Raceway where he later won the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. He was followed to the line by Joey Logano, Jason Keller, Jason Leffler and Brad Keselowski.

Meanwhile in Kansas Johnny Benson earned his second win of the year in the Craftsman Truck Series by besting rookie and teammate Michael Annett, Matt Crafton, Dennis Setzer and David Starr.

Off weekend thoughts and observations

I often wonder how much free time drivers in the Sprint Cup Series get during a year. With 36 points races on the schedule (not counting the All-Star Race, Shootout and Gatorade Duel's) they only get 3 weekends off during a season. Yet, on the last off weekend of the season, seven full time Cup drivers could be found at one of the two NASCAR sanctioned events this weekend. That's not counting all the drivers racing on local short tracks around the country (Kenseth, Harvick and Sauter where just some I know about). I guess if its really in your blood you never really take a break from racing, huh?

Talk about hometown pride. Carl Edwards win at Gateway was his second in the Nationwide Series at the track that Carl considers his hometown track. He said in victory lane that winning that race means more to him then pretty much any other race in any of NASCAR's top divisions.

Joey Logano continues to impress. This 18-year-old put on another show on Saturday and came home a convincing 2nd behind Edwards (the second time Logano has finished 2nd to Edwards). Yet, i'm still very apprehensive about the idea of moving Logano straight into Tony Stewart's soon to be vacant No. 20 Sprint Cup machine. As good as Logano may be i'm a strong advocate of experience. I think Logano may be better served spending his 2009 season racing full time in the Nationwide Series before making the full time move to Cup in 2010. But hey, that's just my opinion.

Food for thought: Three of the top 10 finishers in Saturday's race at Gateway were less then 20 years old. Logano (18), Cassill (19) and Buescher (18) are certainly showing their stuff against the veterans of the sport like Edwards (28), Keller (38) and Leffler (32). Wait, those are veterans? Wow, things sure have changed a bit haven't they?

Elsewhere this weekend Johnny Benson continues to prove just because your not racing in the Sprint Cup doesn't mean your a bad driver. Benson's win at Kansas (his second this year and 11th of his career) moved him into the Craftsman Truck Series point lead, all of 1 point ahead of Matt Crafton. Former champion and constant championship threat Ron Hornaday sits third, only 5 points behind Benson.

One thing i've always liked about the Craftsman Truck Series is how competitive the racing is. It doesn't matter if your at Daytona, Bristol, Kansas or anywhere else for that matter. The racing is always good. On top of that, it seems like everyone has a chance to win. For example, nine different drivers have wins this season in the Trucks. Guess how many of them are Truck only drivers. Eight. Yes, eight. Kyle Busch is the only one who isn't a full time Truck driver (he has two wins).

More food for thought: The two youngest drivers in the top 10 in the Craftsman Truck Series points are 8th place Erik Darnell (25) and 2nd place Matt Crafton (32). After that, the next youngest driver is 7th place Terry Cook (40). Maybe they should rename the Truck Series the Veterans Series.

Marcos Ambrose and JTG/Daugherty Racing have entered this week's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the first attempt at a Sprint Cup race for the new team. Is anyone else interested in just how well they perform?

No cup race, but plenty of news!

The Sprint Cup is taking this weekend off leading into next week's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But, worry not my fateful NASCAR fans, there are still Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series races this weekend. The Nationwide Series will be traveling to Gateway International Raceway and the Craftsman Truck's will be hitting Kentucky Speedway. I'm sure those two races will hold you over until next week's BIG race at Indy.

In the mean time, there is a little bit of news to touch on.

JTG Racing made a few big announcements. First, ESPN Analyst Brad Daugherty has purchased part of JTG Racing, making the team JTG/Daugherty Racing. Second, the team will field a full-time Sprint Cup Series team next year for Marcos Ambrose. Sponsorship will come from Little Debbie Snack Cakes and the car number will be 47. No word on the manufacturer just yet, the team said the are unaffiliated for the 2009 season (but they currently field Ford's in the Nationwide Series for Ambrose and Kelly Bires). Ambrose, as far as I know, is the first confirmed Rookie of the Year Canidiate for 2009 season.

Yates Racing might have finally gotten a little bit of sponsorship help. The No. 28 Ford driven by Travis Kvapil will be getting sponsorship from Hitachi Power Tools for six races, with the first race being next week's Brickyard 400. This is great news for Yates Racing, both cars have been searching for sponsorship most of the 2008 season and this could be a sign of things to come.

Speaking of tools, Kobalt Tools looks to be the top choice as a sponsor to replace Craftsman as the the Truck Series sponsor. Its unfortunate that Craftsman is leaving as series sponsor, they've been with the Truck Series since the very beginning. But, with any luck, whomever replaces Craftsman will do as much for the series as Craftsman has.

I'll be back Monday for some offweekend news and notes, including my thoughts on the weekends Nationwide and Truck races.

The silly season so far

With silly season really getting kicked off last week with the announcement that Tony Stewart would be leaving Joe Gibbs and becoming part owner of Haas/CNC Racing, I thought it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and put here everything we already know about the 2009 season.

Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet
Mark Martin will join Hendrick Motorsports full time in 2009 and take one last shot at a championship. Current sponsorship is expected to remain with the team.

Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford
AAA leaves this team at seasons end, meaning Roush Fenway and driver David Ragan are in need of a new sponsor.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 8 Chevrolet
Aric Almirola will drive this car full time in 2009, allowing Mark Martin to move to Hendrick Motorsports. Rumors have the U.S. Army shopping its sponsorship around to other teams so sponsorship is uncertain.

Penske Racing No. 12 Dodge
Ryan Newman and Penske Racing part ways after 9 years and a Daytona 500 win in 2008. Newman is the top choice to drive the second Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet in 2009. David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr. and Casey Mears seem to be top choices to replace Newman.

Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota
Tony Stewart leaves to form Stewart Haas Racing. Joey Logano is expected to replace Stewart in 2009 but no announcement has been made. No word on the status of current sponsor Home Depot.

Bill Davis Racing No. 22 Toyota
Current sponsor Caterpillar leaves to join Richard Childress Racing on the No. 31 Chevrolet. Rumors have U.S. Army as a possible replacement.

Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet
Caterpillar joins the team as a replacement for AT&T, who can no longer sponsor the team after 2008 due to an agreement with NASCAR and Sprint. Burton will remain the driver.

Richard Childress Racing No. Unknown Chevrolet
General Mills leaves Petty Enterprises and joins RCR as the sponsor for its fourth team. Rumors have Casey Mears as the top choice to drive for this new team in 2009, but Scott Wimmer could also drive for this team. Car numbered is expected to be 33.

Boston Ventures/Petty Enterprises No. 43 Dodge
Boston Ventures bought into Petty Enterprises during the 2008 season, allowing the team to re-sign Bobby Labonte. General Mills leaves for Richard Childress Racing, leaving this team searching for a sponsor.

Stewart Haas Racing No. Unknown Chevrolet
Tony Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs to become part owner of Haas/CNC Racing, renaming the team Stewart Haas Racing. Stewart will drive one of the teams two cars, rumors have Stewart's car number being 14 and sponsorship coming from Office Depot and Old Spice. Announcement could come at Indianapolis

Stewart Haas Racing No. Unknown Chevrolet
The second Stewart Haas Racing team. Ryan Newman appears to be the top choice to drive this car. Sponsorship could come from UPS, Jack Daniel's or Burger King. Martin Truex Jr. could also drive this car or maybe even a third car.

Roush Fenway Racing No. 99 Ford
Aflac will replace Office Depot as the primary sponsor on the No. 99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards in 2009.

Chicagoland thoughts and observations

Is anyone else getting a sense of deja vu? Kyle Busch swept the weekend events at Chicagoland Speedway, winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series races. Busch powered by Jimmie Johnson during a late restart in the LifeLock.com 400 to earn his seventh win of the season. Johnson was second, followed by Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart.

Thoughts and observations

I have what may be a dumb question. I thought the car of tomorrow was supposed to even things out and allow more teams to compete for wins. If that is in fact the case, how does Kyle Busch have seven wins this season?

Speaking of Mr. Busch, I have to give credit where credit is due. His move to pass Johnson on that last restart was a masterpiece. He set him up perfectly and used the momentum on the high side of the track to move past Johnson. No one ever said Kyle Busch can't drive a race car.

One last tidbit on Kyle Busch. Does everyone remember how the chase field is set once we have our 12 drivers? The top 12 are each given 10 bonus points for each victory you earn in the stretch before the chase. With that being said, here's how it would look if we started the chase right now:

1. Kyle Busch (5,070 points)
T-2. Carl Edwards (5,020 points, lost 10 bonus points for rules infraction)
T-2. Kasey Kahne (5,020 points)
T-4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5,010 points)
T-4. Jeff Burton (5,010 points)
T-4. Jimmie Johnson (5,010 points)
T-4. Denny Hamlin (5,010 points)
T-8. Jeff Gordon (5,000 points)
T-8. Greg Biffle (5,000 points)
T-8. Matt Kenseth (5,000 points)
T-8. Kevin Harvick (5,000 points)
T-8. Tony Stewart (5,000 points)

Yes, Busch would have a 50 point lead on Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne and a 70 point lead on the last five drivers in the chase. If he keeps doing what he's doing, that point spread may be as much as 100 points by the time the chase starts.

The hottest driver in the Sprint Cup Series not named Kyle Busch has to be Matt Kenseth. Despite falling a lap down with a flat tire midway through the LifeLock.com 400 he still managed to fight back to a 7th place finish, his 8th top 10 in the last nine races. That finish moved Kenseth up another spot in the standings to 8th, only 1 point behind teammate Greg Biffle for 7th. It's only a matter of time before he earns his first win of the season.

Brian Vickers and David Ragan continue to be the biggest surprises of the 2008 season. While neither driver has visited victory lane, they both continued to impress with top 10's this weekend at Chicagoland. Neither driver is out of chase contention either (Vickers is 95 points behind 12th, Ragan is 98 back).

The top 6 in the points have pretty much stabilized and are all pretty much locked into the chase, leaving as many as nine drivers to fight for the final 6 spots in the chase. The point separation from Greg Biffle in 7th to Denny Hamlin in 12th is only 35 points and the separation from Biffle to 15th place David Ragan is only 133 points. This thing ain't over, not by a long shot.

A new crew chief sometimes does wonders for a drivers confidence. Jimmy Elledge was announced as the new crew chief for AJ Allmendinger last week and the duo responded with a very competitive 13th place finish. But even that is misleading, the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota ran in the top 10 a good portion of the race and many (including myself) thought Allmendinger was going to get his first top 10, but alas, it wasn't to be. More runs like that and Allmendinger might just be the next breakout star.

Three drivers saw big drops in the point standings after Saturday's race. The biggest drop saw Denny Hamlin drop 5 spots in the standings to 12th, only 27 points ahead of Clint Bowyer. Speaking of Bowyer, he dropped three spots after Saturday's race and was replaced in the top 12 by Kevin Harvick. Lastly, Kasey Kahne also dropped three spots, forcing him all the way back into 11th. These three drivers can't afford to let that happen again, especially this close to the chase.

The No. 66 car driven by Scott Riggs continues to be just outside the top 35 in owner points, now only 13 points behind Michael McDowell in the No. 00 Toyota. The man on the move though is AJ Allmendinger. He is now only 122 points out of 35th and a guaranteed spot in every race. If I'm Scott Riggs and Michael McDowell he is the man I'm on the lookout for.

Fun at Chicagoland

NASCAR heads to Joilet, Illinois this weekend for the LifeLock.com 400 (wait, didn't we already have a LifeLock 400?) at Chicagoland Speedway. This weekend will be the first time the race takes place on a Saturday at night, which add a little something different to the mix. Here are my picks to win this weekend:

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 USG Ford (Roush Fenway Racing)
Last Week: 3rd place finish in the Coke Zero 400
Career at Chicagoland: 10.1 Avg. Finish, 2 top 5's, 3 top 10's
Why he could win: Chicagoland owe's Matt at least two wins. He had the best car at Chicagoland a few years ago when Earnhardt Jr. used pit strategy to beat him and then Jeff Gordon punted him out of the way at Chicagoland to win another race. With the role he's on is Saturday finally the day he'll earn that first victory at Chicagoland?

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 23rd place finish in the Coke Zero 400
Career at Chicagoland: 9.2 Avg. Finish, 4 top 5's, 5 top 10's
Why he could win: Johnson has always performed well at Chicagoland yet he hasn't been able to seal the deal yet. After a disappointing run last week at Daytona this could be the perfect time for Johnson to break out and go on one of his winning streaks.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet (Richard Childress Racing)
Last Week: 12th place finish in the Coke Zero 400
Career at Chicagoland: 8.0 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 4 top 5's, 5 top 10's
Why he could win: Harvick has two wins at Chicagoland, one of them being his second career cup victory. Harvick has been in a bit of a slump lately and has fallen outside the top 12 in points but I feel like Harvick will come away with a good top 5 or a win on Saturday.

Underdogs are always tough to pick at track's like this. But i'm gonna go with someone that has a bullseye on his back (and his hood).

Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Last Week: 22nd place finish in the Coke Zero 400
Career at Chicagoland: 9.5 Avg. Finish, 0 top 5's 1 top 10
Why he could win: Reed's only run two races at Chicagoland but he's been able to put together consistent runs during both races (7th in 2006, 12th in 2007). Don't be shocked to see him running in the top 10 by day's end.

Let the silly season begin

The NASCAR silly season, its one of the craziest times of the year. It usually starts right around the time NASCAR teams make it to Daytona for the second time during a season. It's at that time teams who maybe aren't in championship contention begin to consider the next season. Questions begin to surface, who's going to drive for us, who is going to be our sponsor, will we be able to field another team next year, etc.

For NASCAR teams, that time of the year is now. I wanted to touch on a few of the annoucments that have already been made and some rumors that are floating around.

Casey Mears leaves Hendrick Motorsports at the end of 2008, will be replaced by Mark Martin, who leaves DEI opening the door for Aric Almirola to drive the No. 8 full time in 2009
Casey Mears has spent the last two seasons struggling to find a place to fit in at Hendrick Motorsports. Sure, he won the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, but he did it on fuel mileage and hasn't been able to duplicate the win since that time. I feel like his departure from Hendrick was to be expected considering his lack of performance over the last two years (while everyone else at Hendrick has done so well).

Mark Martin joining the team shouldn't be a huge surprise either, considering the relationship he has had with them the last few years. What surprises me is he is coming out of semi-retirement to make a run at that championship that has always eluded him. I personally don't think he'll win the title next year, even driving for Hendrick Motorsports. I do, however, suspect he'll be a serious threat to win next year with Hendrick power under the hood.

As far as Aric Almirola is concerned, the only way for him to get the experience he needs is to drive full time somewhere. If DEI couldn't put together a full time Nationwide ride the next best thing was to go ahead and put him in the No. 8 full time in 2009, so they did. It's probably the best choice they could have made under the circumstances.

Rumor: Tony Stewart set to buy into Haas/CNC Racing and take Ryan Newman with him. Sponsorship is likely to be Office Depot and Jack Daniel's.
Stewart has said for sometime now that he is interested in ownership oportunities in the Sprint Cup series and Joe Gibbs Racing has said for awhile that they won't be selling part ownership to anyone, not even Stewart. So that leaves Stewart with one option, look elsewhere.

Granted, Stewart's contract isn't actually up until the end of 2009, but contracts can be bought out. I'm on the fence about this decision should it become reality, the Sprint Cup Series hasn't seen an owner/driver champion since the late Alan Kulwicki and the few current owner/drivers (Robby Gordon, Michael Waltrip) haven't exactly been lighting the world on fire.

But, on the plus side, rumors seem to indicate Stewart will have some good company with his new team. Ryan Newman is apparently unhappy with Penske Racing and his contract is up at seasons end. Newman and Stewart on the same team could make for a great combination. Sponsorship shouldn't be an issue either, rumors have Office Depot (who is being replaced by Aflac on the No. 99 in 2009) and Jack Daniel's (who is probably going to be replaced by UPS on the No. 07 next year) coming on board to sponsor the team's two cars. If this actually happens, it'll be the biggest move during the silly season this year and much like the Dale Earnhardt Jr. ove last year, people will be waiting to see what happens.

Other moves/announcements/rumors floating around:
Rumors have suddenly surfaced that Teresa Earnhardt is looking to sell her majority ownership in Dale Earnhardt Inc. to an investor, much to the dismay of many longtime Earnhardt supporters. If this happens the team could loose a lot of loyal fans but they may gain the financial backing to catch back up to the NASCAR field.

Caterpillar is leaving the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing machine driven by Dave Blaney to go to the No. 31 car driven by Jeff Burton in 2009. In addition, Bill Davis Racing announced their intent to expand back to two teams in 2009. The U.S. Army is one rumored sponsor and Michael Annett from the ARCA/ReMax Series could get the call to drive the car.

General Mills is leaving the No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge driven by Bobby Labonte to join Richard Childress Racing's new fourth team (likely to be No. 33) in 2009. No driver has been announced yet for the new team, but Casey Mears seems like a possible option.

Aflac will replace Office Dept as the primary sponsor on the No. 99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards in 2009. Of course Office Depot is rumored to be joining Stewart at Haas/CNC Racing, should that deal take place.

Bill Elliott will retire from NASCAR competition at the end of the 2008 season. There is no confirmed word yet on who, exactly, will drive the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 2009. The obvious choices would be Jon Wood and Marcos Ambrose. The problem with Ambrose is rumors are floating around that his Nationwide team (JTG Racing) may make the move to Cup next year with him behind the wheel.

With the success of Scott Speed in the Craftsman Truck Series this year their are rumors that Red Bull Racing may try and move him up to the Sprint Cup Series in 2009. They would need additional sponsorship to do it, and that may come from the U.S. Army (another rumored landing spot for this sponsor). I don't expect Allmendinger or Vickers to be replaced and their are no rumors out there saying that is possible either at this point.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. With the NASCAR season a few months from being over things could change in a hurry. Who knows, Tony Stewart might just stay with Joe Gibbs Racing, you really never can tell.

Daytona thoughts and observations

For the fourth straight race, the fans at Daytona got to see a wild and crazy finish. Kyle Busch was inches ahead of Carl Edwards when the caution flag flew in Saturday's Coke Zero 400, giving Busch his sixth win of the season and his first career victory at Daytona. Edwards crossed the line second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and David Ragan.

Thoughts and observations

That finish at Daytona was insane wasn't it? First, Carl Edwards punts Jeff Gordon out of the way. Then a melee breaks out while Busch and Edwards are side by side for the lead on a green-white-checkered finish. For a few tense moments no one really knew who won the race. Granted, I'd rather that have happened at the line instead of under caution, but it still made for a very dramatic finish.

With his sixth win of the season, Kyle Busch extended his point lead to 182 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kyle is making things look easy at this point and unless a disaster happens his place in the Chase is all but locked up.

While two of the Roush Fenway cars faltered, the other three made their presence known on Saturday. Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan finished 2nd, 3rd and 5th respectively on Saturday. For Edwards and Kenseth it marks both drivers best career Daytona finish. For Ragan its his second career top 5 at Daytona in just four starts. After that performance, I'm interested to see how these teams perform at Talladega later this year.

For the second time this year Robby Gordon showed up late in the running of a race at Daytona and picked up a top 10. At least this time he didn't have the wrong nose on his car.

The bad luck brigade at Daytona were: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle. Everyone but Stewart were involved in wrecks that ended their nights early. Stewart on the other hand wasn't feeling all that well and had to get out of the car and seek medical attention. J.J. Yeley was doing a fine job in his place until getting involved in a late crash that relegated the No. 20 car to a 20th place finish.

Kurt Busch looks like he finally has some momentum on his side. After winning last week at New Hampshire he rolled into Daytona and picked up his third top 5 of the season. Is the older Busch finally back on track?

Jeff Burton's string of consecutive top 15 finishes ended at Daytona where he finished 37th. Before Daytona he hadn't finished any worse then 15th all season long (a string of 17 straight races).

Jeff Gordon looked primed to win his first race of the 2008 season on Saturday, right up until getting punted into the infield by Carl Edwards. Everything i've seen and heard indicates that Edwards didn't mean to do it and even Gordon said he didn't think Edwards meant to either. It's just unfortunate that Gordon was in position to win and he ended up on the wrong end of someone else's bumper.

Mark Martin looked strong most of the race Saturday before coming home 10th. For those that don't know, Martin was part of an announcement last weekend at Daytona that confirmed he would take over the No. 5 being vacated by Casey Mears at the end of the 2008 season. Martin will drive the car full time in 2009 and take one last shot at winning that elusive Sprint Cup Championship. He'll also drive the car part-time in 2010 (likely splitting time with Brad Keselowski unless something changes). Do I think he'll win the title? No, probably not. But that doesn't mean he won't show up in victory lane before 2009 is over.

With only 8 races left before the chase begins things changed a lot after Daytona. Kenseth jumped all the way from 13th to 9th in the standings, a jump of 4 positions. Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved past Jeff Burton into 2nd, Kasey Kahne moved up 2 spots to 8th and Bowyer moved up 1 spot to 10th. In addition to Burton dropping a spot, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart dropped three spots each down to 11th and 12th. Kevin Harvick fell out of the chase, slipping back to 13th position, 2 points behind Tony Stewart.

Nothing changed after Daytona in the top 35 in owner points. Scott Riggs failed to qualify at Daytona, meaning he couldn't gain any points on 35th place in the standings. He remains 36th in the points, 70 points behind Sam Hornish Jr. in 35th. The man who is really making moves toward 35th is AJ Allmendinger in 37th. If he continues improving he could make his way into the top 35 by season's end.

So much to do about Taylor Hicks

So apparently my blog about The Benefit Concert Vol. 8 was pretty popular. It, to date, has drawn 19 comments, many of which discussing how good (or for some, how bad) a musician Taylor Hicks really is.

In all honesty, I'm not much of a Taylor Hicks fan. I never watched American Idol (and probably never will unless forced) but I knew the name simply because of how much the media was covering the show. And oh yeah, those Ford commercials he did. Needless to say when he came on stage at the Christmas Jam I wasn't sure if I needed to be afraid and run for the hills or stay and see what he could do. As you know by now I stayed and it turns out he's a pretty good harp player.

Does that mean I'd go see Taylor Hicks in concert? No, probably not. What it does mean is I won't discount someone's musical ability without hearing or seeing it for myself first.

Besides, in the long run, what can hanging around and hearing one song do to you? You might just realize that some guy who was on some reality TV show can actually blow on the harp like no buddies business. Want proof? Check this video out of Hicks playing the harmonica in Twin River, Rhode Island.

Daytona, Round 2

It's back to Florida this weekend for the Coke Zero 400 (the former Pepsi 400) at Daytona International Speedway. As many might remember, last year's race had a great finish between Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray with McMurray just edging Busch for his first win at Daytona. Will this weekend's race have the same great finish? Who knows, but i'm still gonna try and pick the drivers to watch this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 9th place finish in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Career at Daytona: 13.2 Avg. Finish, 1 win, 5 top 5's, 8 top 10's
Why he could win: Of active drivers with more then 10 career Daytona starts, Johnson has the best average finish (13.2) with 1 win ('06 Daytona 500). Johnson has been a serious threat to win at the super speedway's for the last few years, so saying he could win really isn't that big of a stretch.

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet (Hendrick Motorsports)
Last Week: 11th place finish in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Career at Daytona: 14.7 Avg. Finish, 6 wins, 11 top 5's, 17 top 10's
Why he could win: Say hello to the active drivers win leader, Jeff Gordon. If there is a race at Daytona Jeff Gordon is a threat to win, no matter what the conditions.

Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Last Week: 13th place finish in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Career at Daytona: 17.6 Avg. Finish, 2 wins, 6 top 5's, 10 to 10's
Why he could win: The second Daytona race is traditionally Tony Stewart's jumping off point. In his 19 races at Daytona, Tony has led 531 laps total. The only semi-active drivers to do better? Bill Elliott and Sterling Marlin. Yeah, i'd put money on Tony this weekend.

I'm gonna pick a former Daytona 500 winner as this week's underdog.

Michael Waltrip, No. 55 NAPA Toyota (Michael Waltrip Racing)
Last Week: 2nd place finish in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Career at Daytona: 20.6 Avg. Finish, 3 wins, 6 top 5's, 12 top 10's
Why he could win: Waltrip has two Daytona 500 wins under his belt, so its obvious he knows how to drive at Daytona. Plus, he has a little momentum on his side after his strategy driven second place finish at New Hampshire last week. Could Michael surprise everyone and win on Saturday?

DVD Review: The Benefit Concert Vol. 8

I'm a big music fan.  When I say big, I mean BIG.  I have over 250 CD's worth of music, hours upon hours worth of stuff to keep me listening for days on end.  So when I get something new, naturally I sit down and listen to it for a day or two or three until I'm either very happy with a record or totally disgusted.  Both have been known to happen.

But yesterday I got something in the mail i've been looking forward to for awhile.  What is that might you ask?  That would be Warren Haynes Presents The Benefit Concert Volume 8.  Why is this particular item so special?  Well, first of all, its actually a DVD.  Secondly, I was actually AT this show.  

For those that don't know, Asheville native Warren Haynes holds the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam every year in Asheville to benefit Habitat For Humanity.  My father, my brothers and I made a point for several years to attend the Christmas Jam, it was our father/son outing every year.  My first Christmas Jam was in 2001, a show headlined by Warren Haynes' band Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh & Friends, Blues Traveler and Drivin' & Cryin'.  I also attended the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 editions.  

This DVD is of the 2006 edition, featuring the Taj Mahal Trio, The John Popper Project, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, The New Orleans Social Club, Dave Matthews and Gov't Mule.  Needless to say watching this DVD brings back a lot of good memories.  

The first thing that I really remembered wasn't actually from the Christmas Jam, it was from the Pre-Jam the night before in The Orange Peel.  It's sort of a dress rehearsal for the Christmas Jam that is held every year in the Orange Peel for a select group of guests.  In 2006 I managed to get on the guest list for that show and, along with my father, attended.  Marty Stuart was on stage with his band when he did something different.  He picked up his mandolin and just started ripping it up, playing whatever his fingers could play.  I remembered it instantly when I saw it on the DVD and went straight to it.

My memory of the 3 or 4 minute jam was pretty much dead on, it was a great little jam session.  Then the DVD transitioned seamlessly into the next night with Marty Stuart and his band (The Fabulous Superlatives) going into a song called "Streamline."  The rest of Marty's set was great as well, with the band finishing with covers of "Wait Til The Morning" and The Band's "The Shape I'm In."  

But my favorite set of the night belonged to the New Orleans Social Club.  They really surprised me when they came on stage and just handed out a great jamming session of songs that got even the sleepiest member of the audience up and swinging.  They even brought out Taylor Hicks, yes, American Idol's Taylor Hicks.  I had no idea, but Hicks is apparently a KILLER harmonica player.  He joined the band on a cover of John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son" and wailed on the harmonica.  Great set. 

The rest of the show wasn't bad, Dave Matthews joined Gov't Mule on a cover of Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer" and most of the musicians joined Gov't Mule on stage for the finale, "I Shall Be Released" (another song from The Band).  

All in all it was a great show live and it transitioned well onto DVD.  If you are a fan of any of these bands i'd pick this DVD up ASAP.  It's well worth the purchase.  

Favorite Songs: 

1. I Shall Be Released by Gov't Mule with Marty Stuart, Kevn Kinney, Taylor Hicks, Mike Barnes, Brendan Bayliss, Mickey Raphael & Robert Kearns

2. The Shape I'm In by Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives with Warren Haynes & Danny Louis

3. Fortunate Son by The New Orleans Social Club with Warren Haynes, Taylor Hicks & Branford Marsalis