Brad Keselowski Wins at Talladega

WOW!!!!!! What a finish to a great race. I really had expected today's race to get really boring after having such an early BIG ONE. I was very wrong about that. I have to say that today's race was one of the most exciting I have seen in a while and what a finish. I thought yesterday's finish in the Nationwode race was one of the best but today's finish would prove to be the best. I still can't believe Bad Keselowski won the race. It had seemed that his car wasn't very fast most of the day since he about got ran over a couple times from going slow and appearing to be in the way. He did an awesome job of drafting with Mr. Ed Carl and pushing his way to the front. I was also impressed that Carl didn't blame Brad at all for what happened. He said it straight up that he didn't realize that Brad had gotten up that far beside him and since there is a standing rule that you can not go below the yellow line that Brad had to hold his position. I am still in awe over that finish. Congrats to Brad on his first sprint cup win. Congrats to David on getting his first win yesterday and Congrats to Jr. for a great finish and making it through a race without missing his pits. I can't wait for next week.Copy and paste link below to see a video of today's finish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nlytg1bYI0

Brad Keselowski won his first Sprint Cup Series race Sunday after a dramatic final lap at Talladega Superspeedway when Carl Edwards' airborne car sailed into the fence near the finish line.
Seven fans were injured from debris that flew into the crowd, and Edwards warned that restrictor-plate racing is eventually going to kill someone.
Keselowski, racing in just his fifth career Cup race, hooked onto the rear of Edwards' bumper on the last lap to push him past Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Once clear of them, Keselowski peeked around Edwards to make a move for the lead.
Edwards tried to block the move by darting low, but Keselowski was too close to his bumper and the contact sent Edwards sailing up the track. His spinning car shot over Newman's hood and into the safety fence on the frontstretch.
The fence swelled toward the race fans but held, and Edwards' car landed back on the track. Officials said none of the injuries to fans was life-threatening.
Dr. Bobby Lewis, Talladega's onsite physician, said two people in the crowd were airlifted from the track to avoid the heavy traffic. One woman had a possible broken jaw, Lewis said, and another had an undisclosed medical issue.
Edwards, who climbed from his crumpled race car and ran on foot across the finish line, railed against the racing style at Talladega and Daytona, the two tracks where horsepower-sapping restrictor plates are used.
"We'll race like this until we kill somebody," said Edwards, "then (NASCAR) will change it."
Restrictor plates are used to combat the high speeds at NASCAR's two fastest tracks, and the plates typically keep the field bunched tightly together. One wrong move by a driver can cause a massive accident.
In addition to Edwards' frightening flight into the fence, Sunday's race was also marred by a 13-car crash on the seventh lap and another 10-car accident with nine to go.
"Talladega is short for 'We're going to crash, we just don't know when,"' said Newman, the third-place finisher, who also recalled Matt Kenseth's fiery tumble in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday.
"We saw that two times this weekend, so maybe we need to look at things that keep the car down on the ground."
Earnhardt Jr., a five-time Talladega winner and seven-time winner of restrictor-plate races, finished second but echoed concerns about the racing style. Drivers dread it because so much is out of their control, but Earnhardt said it's loved by fans because of the element of danger.
"For years, we've had wrecks like this every time we've come to Talladega. Ever since the plate got here. And for years it was celebrated," he said. "The media celebrated it, the networks celebrated it, calling it 'The Big One' just trying to attract attention and bring people's attention to the race.
"So there's a responsibility with the media and the networks and the sanctioning body itself to come to their senses a little bit."

Another blow for Junior

NASCAR Sprint Cup has a dilemma.And the dilemma is a green and white Chevrolet with the No. 88 on both doors and the roof.The driver's name is Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he has a bigger fan base than the next nine drivers behind you combined. If there is a royal family of racing, Earnhardt certainly is the crown prince.He commands the largest salary in the NASCAR garage, and sponsors -- even in these tough economic times -- line up to have their names on the quarter panels of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.Heck, not even David Copperfield could change a sea of red into a sea of green at a NASCAR event faster than Earnhardt did when he changed sponsors from Budweiser to Mountain Dew last season.But he sits here this week waiting to race at his favourite track -- Talladega Superspeedway -- way back in 19th place in the championship, 399 points behind his teammate Jeff Gordon.And yesterday NASCAR announced that it has placed Earnhardt and Casey Mears on probation for the next six races as a result of their on-track incident last Saturday at the conclusion of the race at Phoenix International Raceway.Earnhardt and Mears, officials ruled, violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing; hitting another competitor's car after the race had concluded) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book.This comes at a time when "Little E" needs to start putting some big time numbers on the board. Earnhardt has won NASCAR's most popular driver award for the past five consecutive years, but has won only one race (Michigan 2008) in the past three seasons.There is a theory that the No. 88 car can do no wrong because of the heritage and popularity Earnhardt carries with him. In fact, there are more than a few conspiracy nuts who swear NASCAR does everything within its power to help the No. 88 win.But really, in what professional sport would a 19th place competitor be given that kind of star treatment?Earnhardt, if he wants to keep being on the receiving end of the love and cash that goes with his name, will have to take action to at least mollify his legion of fans who, frankly, just might be getting restless. There are four drivers in the Hendrick garage. Three of them have won races this season, but the No. 88 team can't even get a sniff.It's time for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to do some winning on his own, or do what Bill Elliott did when he stopped winning in the Cup series, and withdraw his name from the annual most popular driver award.

Martin races back to Victory Lane

I couldn't have been happier to see Mark Martin win the race here in Phx. Saturday night. OK well maybe I could have been happier if Dale Jr. would get his head out of his ass and start winning some races. Hell, some top 5 or even top 10 finished would be great. Never the less I have always been a fan of Mark Martin and it was awesome to see him get the job done in what looked to be a very easy fashion. I also have to mention that I am excited to see Tony Stewart doing so well as a first year owner/driver and that first win for him is in the very near future. Mark was to strong for him on Sunday but Tony definately had the second best car on the track.

Mark Martin puts in long hours in the gym and thinks the last time he ate fast food was a Burger King run some 15 years ago.
He lives his life like a man half of his age.
And drives like it, too.
The 50-year-old Martin became the third-oldest winner in NASCAR history Saturday night, snapping a 97-race winless streak with a dominating run at Phoenix International Raceway.
"I told the guys I don't have any problem keeping up with a 25-year-old - at least not for the next 15 minutes," Martin said. "I feel really good."
Martin, who has waffled on retirement several times in the last four years, started from the pole and led 157 of 312 laps. But a late caution erased his 4-second lead over Tony Stewart with 11 laps to go, sending the leaders into the pits and putting his victory on the line.
Ryan Newman stayed on track to assume the lead, and Martin won a frantic race off pit road to emerge in second. But he had Tony Stewart - Newman's car owner and teammate - right behind him, and only six laps to race to the front.
Martin only needed about 6 seconds.
Martin shot past Newman on the restart, then drove away to his first win since Kansas in 2005.
The last 50-year-old to win a Cup race was Morgan Shepherd in 1993 at Atlanta. Harry Gant holds the record as the oldest driver to win a Cup race. He was 52 when he won at Michigan in 1992.
Before Martin, only three drivers 50 or older won Cup races: Gant, Shepherd and Bobby Allison.
"Age is irrelevant with Mark," crew chief Alan Gustafson said. "I don't even think about it. It doesn't even come into the equation. Mark's enthusiasm, his energy, his drive ... he's incredible. He's as good as any of them."
Martin was visited by NASCAR president Mike Helton and several competitors in Victory Lane, including former boss Jack Roush and former teammates Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.
It was Martin's 36th career victory, but first without Roush. He spent 18 years driving for Roush, but left after the 2006 season because he had planned to retire at the end of that season, but Roush had filled his seat before he changed his mind.
"He seemed genuinely happy," Martin said of Roush's Victory Lane visit.
So did everyone else.
"There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," said Stewart, who finished second. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."
Busch was third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Biffle.
"There's no shame in losing to a guy like Mark Martin," Stewart said. "I am really happy for Mark. Nobody works harder than Mark to be fit, to stay in shape and be ready to go."
The praise poured in from every corner of the garage for Martin, who is widely considered to be the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship.
Around the track
"The guy has been at the top of his game in the sport for 30 years," said Busch, who raced with Martin at Roush. "He's a tremendous athlete, a tremendous individual and he's definitely going to put together."
That elusive Cup title is what lured him to drive for Rick Hendrick this year for his first full season in three years. He spent the last two years in a part-time ride for Dale Earnhardt Inc., which re-energized him for another grueling 10-month season. After finishing second in the championship race a maddening four times, Hendrick offered him the No. 5 Chevrolet and likely his best - and final - shot at a title.
But his optimism was dashed after horrendous early season luck sabotaged strong cars and dropped Martin to 34th in the standings. His victory pushed five spots from 18th to 13th, and he's now just nine points out of the final qualifying spot for the Chase for the championship.
He didn't want to discuss his championship hopes afterward.
"I am not going to ruin a good time by worrying about," he said. "Let me enjoy this."
Martin received a congratulatory phone call in Victory Lane from Hendrick, who wasn't on hand to see an HMS driver win for the third straight race. Johnson won at Martinsville and Jeff Gordon won at Texas.
"He just congratulated me, man," Martin said of the phone call. "He makes dreams come true."
Martin celebrated his win with a backward victory lap as a tribute to his late friend Alan Kulwicki.
"You guys knew I wasn't going to do a burnout," he joked.

Gordon Ends Winless Streak With A Win at Texas

I was cheering for anyone on the track to win this race besides Gordon. A 147 race win less streak for him wouldn't be enough as far as I am concerned. Never liked him,can't stand to listen to him,and never will. I still think the reason he has went so long without a win is because he isn't a good driver. He has never been able to make a bad car work for him and the car has to be perfect if he is going to do any good. Today the crew chief got the car just right so they won. I thought for sure that Carl Edwards had him beat until that final pit stop where his chances were spoiled. Not that I like Jimmie Johnson any more than Gordon but I was wishing there was a few more laps so he could get past Gordon. Instead I was stuck listening to that whining Jeff Gordon in victory lane. Although I am man enough to congratulate him and his team on their win I don't have to like it. I wish it would have been someone else. Anyone else would have been fine with me.

Jeff Gordon ended the longest win less drought of his career, beating Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson to finally win at Texas.
Gordon won for the first time in 48 races Sunday at the 1 1/2-mile, high-banked Texas Motor Speedway, one of only two active tracks where the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion had never won a race.
It was the 17th Cup race at Texas, the track where Gordon has the only two last-place finishes in his 552 career starts. One of the 43rd-place finishes came last spring before he was the runner-up to Carl Edwards in the fall race after winning the pole.
"How ironic is this that when we go into this streak and we end it here in Texas, a place that's just eluded us for so long," Gordon said. "Incredible team effort. This whole year has been amazing. What a great car. I've never had a car like this at Texas. We finally had one and put it in position."
Gordon, already the season points leader with four top-five finishes in the first six races, did a few burnouts on the frontstretch before grabbing the checkered flag and taking his No. 24 Chevrolet for a long-awaited victory lap - his first since October 2007 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.
The only track he now hasn't won at is Homestead. He'll have to wait until the season finale in November for a chance to change that.
During interviews in Victory Lane at Texas, before firing the celebratory six-shooters, Gordon had to sneak a peek at the logos on his car to remind himself of everybody he needed to thank. It had been a long time, especially by his standards.
Rick Hendrick wasn't there, so Gordon tried to talked to him by cell phone from Victory Lane. Also missing were his wife and daughter.
"I'm just thrilled. I can't wait to get home to Ingrid and Ella," Gordon said. "I know (Ella) was saying 'Go poppy go' all day long. I hate that they couldn't come."
Gordon won by 0.542 seconds over Johnson with an average speed of 146.372 mph for his 82nd career victory, one behind Cale Yarborough for fifth on the all-time list. Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip are tied for third on that list with 84 victories.
Edwards, going for his third consecutive Cup victory at Texas, was leading when the final caution came out because David Stremme got loose and spun coming out of the third turn with 30 laps to go in the 334-lap race.
But Edwards' crew had problems changing tires and he dropped 10 spots to 11th coming off pit row. Gordon had a flawless stop, moving from third to first and staying ahead the rest of the race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. took only two right-side tires and went from 12th to first on a restart with 76 laps to go.
But Earnhardt quickly lost that lead between turns one and two when Kyle Busch, trying to regain a lost lap, got loose and bumped him. Earnhardt got pushed to the top of the track, allowing Gordon to charge ahead.
Gordon was still holding the lead with 39 laps left when he got caught in traffic and Edwards slid under him into first. Tony Stewart got past Gordon a few laps later and that was the running order when Stremme spun out.
Greg Biffle finished third, followed by Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Edwards finished 10th, a spot ahead of polesitter David Reutimann.
Reutimann, driving a No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip, didn't even lead the first lap. Gordon did, passing him as they crossed the start-finish-line for the first time.
Gordon led six times for 105 laps in a race that featured 28 lead changes, nine more than any other Cup race this season and one short of the Texas record.
Gordon led the first seven laps, but gave up the lead because of some handling issues with his car. But he was never too far from the front, never out of the top 10.
Biffle, led three times for 93 laps and his Roush Fenway teammate Kenseth had three leads for 55 laps. Edwards one time in front lasted nine laps.

2009 Samsung 500 Starting Lineup

1 0 David Reutimann
2 24 Jeff Gordon
3 17 Matt Kenseth
4 6 David Ragan
5 98 Paul Menard
6 9 Kasey Kahne
7 14 Tony Stewart
8 18 Kyle Busch
9 48 Jimmie Johnson
10 20 Joey Logano
11 47 Marcos Ambrose
12 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
13 99 Carl Edwards
14 16 Greg Biffle
15 31 Jeff Burton
16 42 Juan Pablo
17 29 Kevin Harvick
18 83 Brian Vickers
19 33 Clint Bowyer
20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
21 39 Ryan Newman
22 11 Denny Hamlin
23 5 Mark Martin
24 96 Bobby Labonte
25 44 A J Allmendinger
26 34 John Andretti
27 9 Mike Bliss
28 2 Kurt Busch
29 7 Robby Gordon
30 71 David Gilliland
31 1 Martin Truex Jr.
32 12 David Stremme
33 78 Regan Smith
34 55 Michael Waltrip
35 7 Casey Mears
36 26 Jamie McMurray
37 21 Bill Elliott
38 43 Reed Sorenson
39 13 Max Papis
40 25 Brad Keselowski
41 8 Aric Almirola
42 19 Elliott Sadler
43 66 Dave Blaney

Logano's struggles traced to NASCAR's ban on testing

He was supposed to be the next big thing, the next superstar driver.
Even his nickname, 'sliced bread' as in the best thing since, gave the impression that he would be taking the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series by storm.
But so far, his on-track performance hasn’t seemed to match the off-track hype.
Joey Logano enjoyed a meteoric rise through the racing ranks. He began winning national championships at the age of seven and by the times he reached 12 had won a total of eight racing titles.
In 2005, at the age of 15, Joe Gibbs Racing signed Logano as a development driver. Soon after, he won a Hooters USAR Pro Cup Series race making him the youngest driver to ever do so.
In 2007, a 17-year-old Logano became the youngest ever champion of the NASCAR Busch Series East and was named Rookie of the Year.
Logano was forced to wait until his 18th birthday before taking the next step in his career.
Moving up to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2008, Logano won his first race in just his third start. But the path of Logano's career took an unexpected turn when JGR driver and two-time champion Tony Stewart announced that he would leave the organization to become co-owner of his own team at the end of the season. On August 25th Logano was introduced as the fulltime driver of the No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for 2009.
Despite all his previous success, however, Logano's first races in NASCAR’s top touring series have been less than memorable.
Logano was the youngest driver to ever start the Daytona 500, and after crashing several times during the week leading up to the race, Logano was the first out after a hard crash on lap 79. He finished last.
In the five races since Daytona, Logano’s best finish has been 13th, that coming at Vegas. He finished 26th, 30th, 38th and 32nd at the other events.
Not exactly the start many had predicted.
By comparison, the driver Logano replaced, Tony Stewart, finished 28th in the 1999 Daytona 500 in his rookie season. Stewart would go on to finish 12th, 36th, 11th and 6th twice in his first six races that season.
Denny Hamlin, Logano's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished 30th in his first Daytona 500 in 2005. Hamlin finished 12th, 10th, 31st, 14th and 37th in the next five races.
Both Stewart and Hamlin also won two races in their rookie seasons.
Team owner Joe Gibbs believes Logano’s struggles can be traded to NASCAR's ban on testing, along with just plain bad luck.
"A lot of things happened to us this year when we charted our course here," Gibbs said. "We got testing taken away from us. I think probably everybody would say it probably hurts the young guy a lot more than a vet, a guy that's been around. I think that was a tough deal for us. Really you pretty much have to show up at a racetrack.
"Many times Joey has been at someplace where he's never had a lap in a Cup car, the Car of Tomorrow. I think it's been a struggle for us," Gibbs added. "He's had two wrecks. Other people caused them. Then we blow a motor. It's been disheartening."
Things could be looking up for Logano, however, as he, the No. 20 team and the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Sup Series head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.
While nothing can be done about racing luck, Logano will finally have something this week he hasn't had yet this season.
"This will be the first track I've gone back to in a Cup car," Logano said. "Even though we didn't have a great race last year, (he finished 40th, seven laps down) I will be able to take some of the stuff that I learned and use it this weekend. Plus, the teamwork is getting better every week with Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) and the guys."
Stewart still expects big things from Logano.
"It's just a matter of time before Joey hits his stride. He's got a lot of talent. That's why he's in that car. It's just a matter of getting used to it," said Tony Stewart. "You know, I've been over there, so I know there's nothing wrong with that organization, there's nothing wrong with that team. It's just a matter of them getting Joey some more seat time and getting him used to being in a Cup car full-time.
"He's more than capable of doing it," Stewart added. "He's going to hit his stride soon. You can see his confidence building every week."

Johnson Wins The Goody's 500

Jimmie Johnson didn't have the car to beat until late in the Goody's 500 on Sunday, but that he emerged at the right time should have been no surprise.
After all, he is Mr. Martinsville.
Johnson nudged Denny Hamlin aside in the third and fourth turns with 15 laps to go at Martinsville Speedway, and gave team owner Rick Hendrick a perfect place to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first victory in NASCAR's premier series: Victory Lane.
Johnson and Hamlin had differing views of the pass that gave Johnson his fifth victory in the last six races on NASCAR's smallest, trickiest track. Hamlin said it was a bump and standard short-track fare, while Johnson thought the video would change Hamlin's opinion.
On the pass, Johnson caught Hamlin and got inside him on the backstretch on the 485th lap. From the outside, Hamlin tried to cut down in front of Johnson, bringing the contact.
Johnson gathered control and grabbed the lead, while Hamlin kept his car from hitting the wall and tried to give chase, but Johnson pulled away easily and coasted to the victory.
"If he wants to think that I tried moving him out of the way, he can believe that, but he should watch the video and see that I was inside of him," Johnson said. "I did everything I could to miss him - climbed up on the curb - and he was still coming down.
"The only reason we touched and the only reason he ended up in the rubber where he couldn't come back and get me was the fact that he chopped me," he added. "I patiently worked to get that spot, to get the position inside of him, and he crowded me on the bottom."
Hamlin said he bore no ill will, but will look forward to a chance to reciprocate.
"I would have done the same to him and if it comes back around, I will do the same thing." he said. "It's just the way it is. At Martinsville, you've got to battle for every inch."
No one, clearly, does that better than Johnson.
Dubbed "Mr. Martinsville" by Jeff Gordon, Johnson won for the fifth time in the last six races here and for the sixth time overall, second among active drivers to Gordon's seven.
And he did it by biding his time, falling back in the pack early in the race to get his car right, and then using the improved car and some slick work in the pits to make it pay.
The victory was the 18th for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville, where a victory by Geoff Bodine 25 years ago gave the fledgling company a needed boost, and the 10th in the last 13 races. Johnson has won six of those, and Gordon has won the other four.
Hendrick, who missed that first win, gave Johnson a bear hug in Victory Lane.
Johnson's 41st career victory came after Gordon, who led 147 laps, and then Hamlin, who led 296, dominated for most of the race, and after it looked like Hamlin had outfoxed him.
After Johnson took the lead coming out of the pits with 72 laps to go, Hamlin ducked inside him on a restart with 45 laps to go. The move gave the Virginia native the position he needed to take the lead, and he held onto it through three restarts until 15 laps remained.
Hamlin, the defending race champion, never challenged Johnson after he slid high into the banking after the winning pass, and his winless streak extended to 32 races.
Hamlin recovered to finish second in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, followed by Tony Stewart, Gordon and Clint Bowyer. Ryan Newman was sixth with Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. next, giving Hendrick four of the top eight spots and Stewart-Haas Racing two.
Stewart, who had the best view of the duel for the lead, was disappointed the leaders' battle and contact didn't give him a chance to take advantage, but thrilled nonetheless.
"We're inching up closer," said Stewart, a first-year owner who also owns Newman's car.
Gordon, who started on the pole for the eighth time at the track when qualifying was rained out and the starting lineup was set by the point standings, ran in the top five for most of the day, but still saw his winless streak extend to a career-high 47 races.
Gordon remained the points leader by 89 over Bowyer.
"I'm not really concerned with this streak of how many wins we haven't had in a row," Gordon said. "I am more concerned with what we have to do this year to win races and win this championship. You certainly don't want to give that No. 48 (Johnson) momentum."

RACE LINEUP-Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 | Martinsville Speedway

Due to qualifying being rained out the starting lineup for Sunday's Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville will be determined by owners points. This would have been the first race of the season where the top 35 in points would have been guaranteed a starting position and everyone outside of the top 35 would have to make their way in on speed. Although the top 43 in points were used in this case it still goes to show how important it is to have a solid position in the points. the higher you are in points the better your starting position. Martinsville is another short track so track position is very important. It will only be a very short time before the leader gets into lap traffic and starts putting the field a lap down. There is a very high chance of rain still in the forecast for the weekend and the drivers,owners and crews hope to get both practice sessions in on Saturday.

1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
2 2 Kurt Busch Dodge
3 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet
4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota
5 99 Carl Edwards Ford
6 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge
7 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet
8 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota
9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford
11 00 David Reutimann Toyota
12 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
13 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet
14 83 Brian Vickers Toyota
15 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet
16 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge
17 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge
18 16 Greg Biffle Ford
19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
20 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet
21 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota
22 12 David Stremme Dodge
23 96 Bobby Labonte Ford
24 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota
25 07 Casey Mears Chevrolet
26 6 David Ragan Ford
27 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet
28 26 Jamie McMurray Ford
29 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge
30 7 Robby Gordon Toyota
31 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet
32 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge
33 34 John Andretti Chevrolet
34 20 Joey Logano* Toyota
35 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet
36 82 Scott Speed* Toyota
37 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet
38 98 Paul Menard Ford
39 66 Dave Blaney Toyota
40 36 Scott Riggs Toyota
41 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota
42 41 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota
43 64 Todd Bodine Toyota

May 16th All - Star Race

Should we call it the All-star race or the 1 million dollar dash for cash? The final 10 lap segment is where will get to see everyone get up on the wheel and show us what they are made of. It should be a very exciting race to watch. I can't help but think it will be as exciting as a Saturday night dash for cash at you local dirt track. I can't wait for it to get here. Last year was awesome. Kasey Kahne definately showed us what he was made of last year. You can't put together a more exciting come from behind,underdog finish than he did last year. I thought it was awesome.

NASCAR announced the return of the 10-lap shootout to conclude the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 16.
Around the track
The 100-lap race's first segment will consist of 50 laps with a mandatory pit stop, followed by two 20-lap segments with optional stops and a 10-lap (green-flag only) finale.
Last year's format was four 25-lap segments.
For Ryan Newman, winning the 2002 All-Star event — then known as The Winston — was the most cherished moment in his career until he won last year's Daytona 500. During the first 18 years the romp was run, Newman was just the second rookie to win, following Dale Earnhardt Jr. two years earlier.
Although Newman "accidentally" knocked Elliott Sadler out of the race on the way to victory that night, he considered his victim hurling his helmet at the No. 12 car a badge of honor.
"I kind of relished it, because I thought it was cool," Newman said Wednesday. "I knew I didn't do it on purpose. The bottom line was there's that much emotion in this race. This is bragging rights for everybody in your backyard. That's what was cool."
To hear Newman's excitement about of the 25th running of the Sprint All-Star Race, it was hard to determine whether he was a competitor or a fan.
"It's an awesome race," Newman said. "The excitement is there. The 20-lap segments break up the action. You can watch the strategy unfold. You don't know what's going to happen. Just like last year, the guy (Kasey Kahne) wasn't even in the race, got the fan vote and won the race."
The Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, held on May 14, will determine the pit selection for the event. Friday night's qualifying format will consist of three laps including a four-tire pit stop. Newman, nicknamed "Rocket Man" for his qualifying prowess, called the exercise "true qualifying" because it takes the entire team to post the best time.
Saturday night's on-track activities will kick off with the Sprint Showdown, where the winner advances to the main event. Again, fans will vote for the second transfer driver — but there will be no field inversions.
In a new twist, Sprint will provide a one-time only audio broadcast of the event's drivers' meeting streamed to cell phones.
"The driver meeting is about as 'inside' as one can get," said Steve Gaffney, director of sports and entertainment marketing for Sprint, "and we take a great deal of pride in using our technology and position in the sport to deliver this unique experience to NASCAR fans."
And with the return of the 10-lap dash for the $1 million first prize, Newman believes drivers will be up on the wheel to extremes.
"Ten thousand a lap is pretty good money," said Newman, adding that the format will take drivers back to "when we started racing. It was 10-lap heat races. Twelve-lap semi-races. Last-chance races, whatever you want to call them. It's all about getting it done quick for a lot of money."

2009 Food City 500 Results- Bristol

1 Kyle Busch
2 Denny Hamlin
3 Jimmie Johnson
4 Jeff Gordon
5 Kasey Kahne
6 Mark Martin
7 Ryan Newman
8 Jeff Burton
9 Juan Pablo Montoya
10 Marcos Ambrose
11 Kurt Busch
12 David Reutimann
13 Clint Bowyer
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15 Carl Edwards
16 AJ Allmendinger
17 Tony Stewart
18 Travis Kvapil
19 David Stremme
20 Elliott Sadler
21 Robby Gordon
22 Bobby Labonte
23 Reed Sorenson
24 Casey Mears
25 Paul Menard
26 Martin Truex Jr
27 David Ragan
28 Scott Speed
29 Brian Vickers
30 Kevin Harvick
31 Sam Hornish Jr.
32 Michael Waltrip
33 Matt Kenseth
34 John Andretti
35 Aric Almirola
36 David Gilliland
37 Jamie McMurray
38 Joey Logano
39 Greg Biffle
40 Sterling Marlin
41 Joe Nemechek
42 Todd Bodine
43 Dave Blaney

Busch dominates at Bristol for 2nd win of season

With exception of Joey Logana blowing his engine Joe Gibbs Racing pretty much dominated Bristol in today's Food City 500. Kyle Busch would lead the most laps and again find himself in victory lane for the second time this season in the sprint cup series. Denny Hamlin would come in second making it a 1-2 Gibbs Racing finish. Jimmie Johnson would also find himself tieing his best finish at Bristol today. He has never won at Bristol and in his own words has just not been able to figure the track out. Today it would look as though he is getting it figured out. He would lead the 2nd most laps today and would put together a very strong 3rd place finish. Bristol is always a very exciting race to watch and never lacks in close call and mishaps. I am always amazed at how beat up the cars are after the race and I have to say that I think Kyle's car probably looked the best of any winning car that I can recall. He did a good job today keeping his car in one piece and staying out of trouble. You can love him or hate him but the kid does have talent. Add that talent to a good team and good equipment and there will be many more wins to come. Next week they travel to martinsville so we can expect to see a lot more pushing and bumping to get to the front.

Kyle Busch has dominated Bristol Motor Speedway before, only to be denied a trip to Victory Lane.Not this time.

Busch led 378 of 502 laps on Sunday to win at Bristol, his second victory of the season. It was redemption for Busch, who lost his power steering while leading last spring and was bumped from the front in August by Carl Edwards after leading 415 laps.
And he was well on his way to victory in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, leading a race-high 157 laps before his crew let a tire slip away on the final pit stop. The ensuing penalty knocked him out of contention and he finished sixth.
"We should have won here last fall, we should have won here yesterday," Busch said. "This place probably owes me a few. But you can never ask a race track to pay you back. You just have to just keep working on it."
Busch has now won a race in one of NASCAR's top three series every weekend this season. It started with a victory in the non-points qualifying race at Daytona and followed with wins in the Truck and Nationwide Series at California, the Cup race at Las Vegas, and the Nationwide race at Atlanta.
He was untouchable in his Toyota in Sunday's Cup race, even to teammate Denny Hamlin, who followed him across the finish line.
"Man, it's great to get a 1-2," Hamlin said of the Joe Gibbs Racing dominance.
Hamlin has had his own heartbreak at Bristol - he led 98 laps last spring and was headed to the win when a fuel pickup problem cost him the victory. He finished third, again behind Busch, in August.
Defending three-time series champion Jimmie Johnson was third in a Chevrolet to tie his career-best Bristol finish, back in 2004. Johnson had devoted a good deal of time to figuring out why he's struggled at Bristol, and the homework with crew chief Chad Knaus clearly paid off.
"What a day for us. I wish we had 500 more laps to go," he said. "I have to thank Chad and the engineering staff for sitting me down a couple weeks ago to look at this race track and what I need here. I made my wish list and they gave me what I needed."
Jeff Gordon, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, was fourth.
Kasey Kahne was fifth in a Dodge and followed by polesitter Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, defending race winner Jeff Burton and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Marcos Ambrose, in the spotlight after his gas man chased a tire across pit road two weeks ago at Atlanta, finished 10th.
A Busch brother has won the past three races. Kyle Busch won at Las Vegas earlier this month, and Kurt followed it with a win at Atlanta. Kurt Busch, a five-time Bristol winner, finished 11th on Sunday.
Travis Kvapil finished 18th in what was likely his final race for Yates Racing. The No. 28 team probably will be closed down on Monday morning due to a lack of sponsorship, making it the first casualty this year of the weakened economy. Several teams were shuttered last season as sponsorship became difficult to find during the economic crisis.
Yates racing general manager Max Jones said before the race he'd bring the No. 28 team back to the track if funding came through, but the team had paid out of pocket for the first five races this season and couldn't afford to do so any longer. Bobby Labonte and Paul Menard also drive for Yates, but have full sponsorship.

2009 Food City 500 Starting Lineup - Bristol

1 5 Mark Martin
2 39 Ryan Newman
3 48 Jimmie Johnson
4 16 Greg Biffle
5 9 Kasey Kahne
6 0 David Reutimann
7 43 Reed Sorenson
8 66 Dave Blaney
9 26 Jamie McMurray
10 24 Jeff Gordon
11 82 Scott Speed
12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
13 47 Marcos Ambrose
14 71 David Gilliland
15 14 Tony Stewart
16 64 Todd Bodine
17 28 Travis Kvapil
18 8 Aric Almirola
19 18 Kyle Busch
20 1 Martin Truex Jr.
21 55 Michael Waltrip
22 19 Elliott Sadler
23 20 Joey Logano
24 11 Denny Hamlin
25 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
26 44 A J Allmendinger
27 83 Brian Vickers
28 87 Joe Nemechek
29 12 David Stremme
30 29 Kevin Harvick
31 33 Clint Bowyer
32 2 Kurt Busch
33 17 Matt Kenseth
34 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
35 7 Robby Gordon
36 96 Bobby Labonte
37 7 Casey Mears
38 99 Carl Edwards
39 34 John Andretti
40 31 Jeff Burton
41 6 David Ragan
42 98 Paul Menard
43 9 Sterling Marlin

Martin Grabs Another Pole and Hamlim Tops The Speed Charts

I was very happy to see Mark Martin grab the pole again this weekend at Bristol. 2 poles in a row is a very strong point for the once retired driver. I have always been a fan of Mark Martin and I also like to see an older driver still get it done. There are a lot of sports that age plays a factor in when you call it quits. Yes there is a lot of younger talent out there but in racing it comes down to who can get the job done. Young or old, if you can put the car on the pole and win some races then you can still compete every week. I think Mark has just what he needs with Hendrick Motorsports and I can't wait to see him put the car in victory lane. I think he still can get it done and I think he will get it done very soon. I didn't get to see much of practice but I did catch the tail end of final practice and saw Denny Hamlin top the speed charts with his practice run. I think Denny has had a very strong chance this year but some unfortunate incidents have ruined his chances of making it to victory lane. Maybe this will be his weekend to get it done. I have no doubts he will be in victory lane very soon. On another strong note Ryan Newman was able to put his car on the front row for sunday's race. Ryan has talent, and has good equipment but has been another driver who has been victim of some unfortunate incidents this year. It's been a pretty wild and unusual start to this season but it has come time for everyone to get the job done. We go to the top 35 in owner points after this week so the time has come for everyone to step up.

After breaking a 257-race pole drought at Atlanta two weeks ago, Mark Martin topped his second consecutive Sprint Cup qualifying session, streaking around .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway in 15.256 seconds (125.773 mph) Friday to win the pole for Sunday's Food City 500.

Martin won back-to-back poles for the second time in his career, having claimed the top starting spot for the April 1989 races at Darlington and Bristol.
"It felt really, really good," said the 50-year-driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who edged Ryan Newman (125.740 mph) for the pole by .004 seconds. "The car was really fast and it was really comfortable."
Good starts are nothing new to Martin this year. Now he needs a good finish. Blown engines at California and Las Vegas and a blown tire at Atlanta have dropped him to 34th in the Cup standings.
"With the things that have happened to us in the races, it was good to show people that we've still got speed in the car," said Martin, who claimed the 43rd pole of his career. "We've got speed, and the other part will come around sooner or later."
Martin's teammate, Jimmie Johnson (125.453 mph), will start third, followed by Greg Biffle (125.289 mph) and Kasey Kahne (124.954 mph). David Reutimann, Reed Sorenson, Dave Blaney, Jamie McMurray and series points leader Jeff Gordon will start from positions six through 10, respectively.
Newman, whose luck has been almost as bad as Martin's through the first four races of the season, was happy to have righted the ship.
"Fortunately, it worked out the way it was supposed to, with the exception of the four one-thousandths that we lost by," said Newman, who won poles for the spring races at Bristol in 2003 and 2004.
Johnson, who has never won at Bristol, also got the track position he was looking for, as the three-time defending Cup champion seeks to improve his 13th-place position in the points.

Notes• After wrecking in practice, Michael Waltrip qualified 21st in a backup car.
• Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield failed to qualify for Sunday's race
• Tony Stewart (15th) and A.J. Allmendinger (26th) are the only two drivers required to qualify on speed who have done so for each of the first five Cup races
• Scott Speed qualified 11th, 12 positions ahead of Joey Logano, his primary rival for rookie of the year honors.

Manzanita Speedway race track closing after being sold

It's hard to explain exactly what is going through everyones minds here in the local racing clubs. There is anger,disappoinment,disbelief,etc over what has taken place rencently regarding Manzanita Speedway. Manzanita Speedway is home to a dozen local racing clubs,not to mention the home of many memorial races, and has been the trainging track of champions for over 50 years. Many Nascar greats have spent a lot of their open wheel racing time on the clay at Manzanita Speedway. So you can only imagine our shock and disappointment after learning the the track has been sold and we be torn down after April 11th. We just started our season and had our season opener last weekend at Manzanita only to find out that we will have 2 more races there and will lose 10 races from our schedule due to the sale of the track. WHAT THE FUCK??? were they thinking. There was no mention of the track being up for sale during the off season nor during the discussion and making of this years racing schedule. All the local racing clubs are shocked ,not to mention pissed off to learn that they will basically have no races after April 11th 2009. Yes there are other track here in Arizona,but the fact is the schedues have already been made in the off season and since Manzanita always insists that our club and the non wing sprintcars consider Manzanita our home track and let them schedule the bulk of our races. After losing the 10 races at Manzanita our club will end up having only 9 races this season which will make it impossible to raise a points fund or compete for a points championship. I understand that money talks and when approached with an offer you can't refuse, I guess you take the offer and run. it just makes me sad that there was no consideration given to the racing clubs and the fact that Manzanita is the home of open wheel racing in Arizona and has been for over 50 years. to see that come to an end is a devastating thing overcome both for the racers and for the fans. i guess that another reason I started this blog. Now i have a place I can vent my frustrations and bitch about it. Besides there wasn't any nascar to blog about this weekend anyway.


One of the nation's most famous race tracks is closing its doors in just a few weeks.
Manzanita Speedway at 35th Avenue and Broadway has been sold. The buyer plans on leveling the dirt race track that has been around since 1951.
All of racings' biggest names have raced at the famous track so you would bet that many drivers are upset that the race track is shutting down.
The owners have bought the rights to the Manzanita name and hope they can find a new home for the track.
The track will see its last race on April 11.

Didn't your mother tell you not to chase things into traffic?

I had figured that after the weekend passed I probably wouldn't hear much more about last Sunday's tire chasing incident. I guess I was wrong. The subject is still a buzz and when I logged onto my Yahoo homepage it was one of the headlines. We all do things that we think are right but in fact turn out to be a stupid idea after the fact. I'm over it,you can't rewind, get a do-over, etc. I think the media should let it go also. The guy's is embarassed enough. Wouldn't you be?

On the list of dumb things to do at a NASCAR race, "running toward traffic" has to rank at the top, ahead of "eating that sandwich that's been sitting in the sun for an hour," "assuming that young lady is telling the truth when she says she doesn't have a boyfriend" and "rooting loudly for Jeff Gordon."
The most bizarre moment of an exceedingly strange Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday came in lap 67, when a crew member for Marcos Ambrose's No. 47 team dashed across pit road and halfway through the infield to chase down an errant tire.
You hopefully don't need me to tell you that chasing down a tire in the direction of cars going 200 m.p.h. probably isn't the wisest move. But gas man Jimmy Watts decided to chase down the tire anyway, apparently fearing that it was headed straight for the cars on the front stretch. But like a broken TV that suddenly starts working again when the repairman shows up, the tire stopped dead just before Watts got to it.
NASCAR pays close attention to crew member safety; it was in Atlanta that a member of Bill Elliott's crew died when Ricky Rudd's car spun into him in 1990. And as Matt Kenseth noted, just because cars were moving in an orderly fashion when Watts began chasing the tire doesn't mean they were going to stay that way.
"Maybe he's new," said Matt Kenseth. "Maybe he hasn't seen us drive, but we tend to wreck a lot. I wouldn't want to be out in the middle of the grass."
Driver safety aside, Watts really screwed up a lot of people's day, since he caused a caution to come out when most of the field was pitting under green. As a result, he put half the field a lap down and perhaps cost someone a shot at winning the race. "He kind of ruined the race," Kasey Kahne said. Watts was suspended for the rest of the day, and further penalties could be forthcoming. (To be fair, the tire would have brought out a caution on its own, but Watts' run just added that extra little jolt of terror. Plus, whoever let the tire get away remains at large.)
[UPDATE: NASCAR just announced the penalty: "Jimmy Watts, a crew member for the No. 47 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, has been suspended from the next four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events (until April 22) for rule violations during last Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway." No word on whether the tire was punished as well.]
Sad thing is, even thinking about chasing the tire wasn't necessary. Ambrose has had troubles with tires getting loose before, and everything ended up okay:

Busch Wins at Atlanta. Just not the Busch you might have expected.

WOW!!! Was anyone else bored out of their minds from watching the Kobalt Tools 500 today at Atlanta? Besides Kurt Busch's impressive domination of today's race there really wasn't much else to talk about. Yes there were a few cautions,some more pit road blunders,a couple tire issues and some motor problems. The excitement was missing. After the caution that trapped pretty much the whole field 2 and 3 laps down it just got hard to watch. Kurt Busch was in front most of the time and noone was close enough to race him for it. Some people got their laps back but they weren't all racing for the win on the lead lap like we as fans like to see. Personally i just thought it was pretty boring to watch. Here's a thought. They had to throw the caution because some dumbass thought he was doing the right thing by retrieving the tire. Why not just punish that team?? Throw the caution for safety purposes, but everyone shouldn't have to suffer from it. I don't know? I realize that SHIT does happen but it sure screwed up what could have been an awesome race. Not to say also that Kurt Busch didn't deserve to win. Congrats to him and his team it was well deserved and earned. Would have been nice to see more than a dozen cars racing for the win.

The 30-year-old Busch led 234 of 330 laps in the Kobalt Tools 500, surviving a couple of scrapes with the wall and a late caution to pull away for a 0.332-second victory over Jeff Gordon.
Polesitter Mark Martin, who had become the second-oldest driver in Cup history to claim the top spot in qualifying, had another rough day after blowing engines the two previous weeks. He apparently cut a tire, smashed the wall and finished 31st, 14 laps down.
How dominating was Busch? He led more laps in one afternoon than he did all of last season (164), when his only victory came in a rain-shortened race at Loudon, N.H.
For his victory lap, Busch grabbed the checkered flag and drove backward around the 1.54-mile quad-oval. That might have been the only way anyone would have caught him during the race.
"I've got to thank my guys," he said in Victory Lane. "This car was unbelievable. I guess good things come to those who wait."
Gordon is still waiting for his first win since 2007, but he remained on top of the Sprint Cup standings after another strong run.
"We're getting close," Gordon said. "We're going to keep knocking on the door until we get to Victory Lane."
With four laps to go, Robby Gordon shredded a tire to bring out the final caution flag of the race. Carl Edwards gambled as all the leaders ducked into the pits, changing only two tires so he got back on the track first.
Busch and Jeff Gordon both went with four new tires, coming out second and third behind Edwards. But the leader had no chance of holding off Busch on the two-lap finish, watching him blow by on the backstretch and cruise to his 19th career victory. Gordon also got by Edwards, who settled for third.
"That was the hand we were dealt," Edwards said. "I just wish we had four tires. Kurt did a good job. He was the fastest car all day."
Last year, Busch's only victory for Penske Racing was due more to strategy than skill. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Kyle became a full-blown star, winning a series-best eight races before struggling in the championship playoff, his undeniable talent earning him a mention as a possible candidate to drive for an American-based Formula One team that's trying to get off the ground.
Then, last weekend in the Busch family's hometown of Las Vegas, Kyle drove from the back of the field to victory while Kurt finished a disappointing 23rd after starting on the outside of the front row. Even so, Kurt kept insisting he wasn't jealous of his kid brother's success, even stopping by Victory Lane to give Kyle a big hug.
Sunday was Kurt's time to shine. Finally.
"I've got to hold up my end of the bargain," he said. "Kyle's on the gas right now."

There were huge sections of empty seats along the front stretch of the track south of Atlanta, which was no more than two-thirds filled despite a warm, sunny day. Clearly, the economy is taking its toll on NASCAR's fan base.
"I'm kind of baffled by it," Gordon said.
Until the final shootout, the most dramatic moment came on the 67th lap when a tire rolled away from Marcus Ambrose's pit box, and gas man Jimmy Watts took off after it. He ran halfway onto the grass in the quad-oval to retrieve it, a dangerous move that prompted NASCAR officials to throw a yellow flag and toss Watts out of the pits for the rest of the race.
Martin had a tough day, as well.
The 50-year-old was running sixth when he appeared to cut a right rear tire heading into turn one. The No. 5 Chevrolet slammed backward into the wall, then slid down off the banking into the grass. He hobbled back to the pits for repairs, pieces of sheet metal falling off as he drove his crippled car along the inside apron.
Martin returned to full-time racing this season with the Hendrick Motorsports team in hopes of contending for his first Cup championship. But he's off to a terrible start with one of NASCAR's strongest teams, blowing engines in two straight races before he wrecked at Atlanta, leaving him 34th in the standings.
The lack of grip in the tires led to a yawner of a race for the most part. The drivers looked as though they were more concerned with avoiding crashes than dueling each other, the 43-car field quickly spreading out all over the high-banked track. At one point, there were only nine cars on the lead lap and just 12 were there at the end.
"It reminds me of Darlington," Busch said, referring to the track that's been dubbed "too tough to tame."
"This place just chews you up and spits you out."
Well, everyone except Busch. Starting on the outside of the front row, he quickly raced to the front and stayed there most of the race, stretching his lead to more than 10 seconds during his most dominating run.
Busch, who found his best line along the top of the track, twice scraped the outside wall, but even that didn't slow his No. 2 Dodge, just left it in need of a paint job.
There were no serious wrecks. The first multi-car clash didn't come until lap 204 when Sam Hornish Jr., lost control in turn two and collected home-state favorite Bill Elliott, who didn't have anywhere to go on the inside as Hornish's smoking car slid down the banking. Both drivers were knocked out of the competition.
It was a tough day for the locals. Reed Sorenson, a native of nearby Peachtree City, spun out on the second lap and finished 33rd, completing just 264 laps.
Martin Truex Jr. was back behind the wheel just a day after being taken by ambulance to a hospital emergency room with kidney stones. He passed the stone late Saturday night and drove to a solid 10th-place showing.

Can Busch do it again in the Camping World Truck Series?

With no Nationwide Race at Atlanta this weekend some drivers will still be pulling double duty by racing in the Camping World Truck Series. Kyle Busch has already won 3 of the last 4 truck races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is looking to make it 2 in a row for this season in the trucks. The trucks usually put on a pretty good show and I enjoy watching them slice and dice for victory. Afterall it is racing and I do love racing. I will be doing some racing of my own tomorrow night in my minisprint. We kick off our season tomorrow night at Manzanita Speedway in Phx Arizona.

Kyle Busch is extremely close to owner Billy Ballew and the rest of his Camping World Truck Series team. He hangs out with them, sometimes pitching in to work on the team's Toyotas, and delights in delivering them victories. Busch seemingly enjoys winning for the team more than for himself.
Busch has 10 wins in 49 starts since joining Ballew's team in 2005. Three of the wins are at Atlanta Motor Speedway, site of Saturday's American Commercial Lines 200. Busch won the race a year ago when he put on a spectacular display using the high and low lines to drive through the field.

Busch also will be trying to win his second consecutive race this season. He finished 9.023 seconds in front of Todd Bodine in the previous race two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway in California.
"It [Ballew Motorsports] feels like it's almost a part of me, this team I'm a part of," Busch said. "It almost feels like it is Kyle Busch Motorsports -- how close-knit all these guys are, and I spend a lot of time with them in the shop. Billy Ballew is just a great part of this deal, and he makes it happen for us. He busts his butt throughout the week to make sure we get to the racetrack."
Atlanta holds special significance for Ballew, who owns a condo at the track and splits his time living there and his hometown of Blairsville in northeast Georgia.
"I'm always excited about going to Atlanta," Ballew said. "It's been exciting with Kyle winning three of the four races he's run there for us. To me, winning there is bigger than winning the Indianapolis 500."
Bodine's start to the season has equaled Busch's. Bodine won at Daytona and finished second at California. Busch was second at Daytona.
Bodine's Germain Racing Toyota remains without a sponsor for the full season, but it did get some help from GEICO to make it to Atlanta. The team says its success so far has brought some interest in backing the team. Running up front at Atlanta should help move its prospects forward. Bodine won at Atlanta in March 2006 and has been second twice.
"Atlanta's been one of those tracks I've run good at -- whether it's the old configuration, new configuration, Cup Series, the former Busch Series or Truck Series -- it doesn't matter," Bodine said. "I like the track, and that gives you confidence going there."
Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet. Ryan Newman won in the No. 2 last October at Atlanta, with teammate Ron Hornaday second. Hornaday has finished second in three consecutive races at Atlanta. KHI also has entered rookie Ricky Carmichael in the No. 4 Chevrolet, adding it to his schedule based upon his eighth-place in California.
The race also marks Rick Crawford's 300th start in the series and the 200th in a row for Matt Crafton.

Martin wins Pole at Atlanta

I was happy to see Mark Martin win the pole today for the race at Atlanta. He has had a rough start to what was supposed to be a fairy tale season. I hope he can also put together a good solid finish Sunday and get himself and his team headed in the right direction for making the chase. What about Kurt Busch? Another front row start this weekend. He is looking to be headed in a positive direction. His team has seemed to come together so far this year and look good for getting themselves a spot in the chase as well. Other drivers earning a good start in this weeks race were Denny Hamlin who will be starting 6th and Gregg Biffle who will roll off 5th. Jr. disappointed me again this week with 29th place starting position. I will keep my fingers crossed that he can make up for it in the race Sunday.

After topping the speed chart in Friday's practice, Mark Martin blistered Atlanta Motor Speedway with a 29.640-second lap (187.045 mph) to win the pole for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 1.54-mile track.
All Martin has to do now is find a way to finish the race in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, after turning a lap that left him breathless and shaking.
"I live to scare myself like that," said Martin, who dropped out of the last two Cup races, at Fontana, Calif., and Las Vegas, because of engine failures. "This is the first real solid step at turning our thing around. This is cool. This is really cool. All it really is that we won a competition.
"It doesn't really have any implications for Sunday, but we won a competition tonight."
The pole was Martin's first since the May 2001 event at Richmond, 281 races ago. Since then, the veteran driver, 50, has qualified second 16 times, including six times last year.
Kurt Busch will start on the outside of the front row after turning a lap at 186.365 mph. Jamie McMurray (186.309 mph) qualified third, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya (186.209 mph) and Greg Biffle (186.184 mph).
Denny Hamlin will start sixth, one spot ahead of three-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who is looking to improve his 19th-place position in the Cup championship standings. Joe Nemechek, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick will start from positions eight through 10, respectively.
"I think everybody saw that lap go up on the board and went, 'I can't touch that -- I'm not even close,'" Kurt Busch said of Martin's qualifying effort. "I'm surprised that we're second. I think some people had better laps than we did, but we ran a different groove.
"We ran a lane up (toward the outside of the track). We were slower through the corners but faster down the straightaways."
Notes: Todd Bodine, Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield and Geoff Bodine failed to qualify for the race Rookie Joey Logano will start 42nd on an owner points provisional after a lap at 181.938 mph Nemechek (185.922 mph) was fastest among drivers required to qualify on speed Tony Stewart will start 11th after a lap at 185.741 mph.

No Three-peat for Kenseth and Busch comes from the back for Victory at Las Vegas

What a crazy weekend it would turn out to be in Las Vegas. It would turn out to be a record breaking weekend but not all for the good. There were 32 pit road penalties and blunders on Saturday and another dozen on Sunday. There were 5 engine changes before today's race, and 6 engines would fail or have issues during the race including Matt Kenseth who was looking to set a record of winning the first three races of the season. The average cautions for Las vegas is 7, the record was 11 until today when we would see that record broken and raised to 14. I saw a lot of similar things happen today that happened in the nationwide race with drivers losing control of there cars for no apparent reason and with little or no warning. My hat is off to Jamie McMurray for the drifting demonstration he put on today when he lost control of his car in the corner and managed to keep it out of the wall and regain control. I have to say that was awesome. there were lots of mishaps today that really mixed things up and made it anyones race to win. I don't like Kyle Busch but my hats off to him also. Winning the pole,changing an engine resulting in starting at the back and winning the race. Everyone really has to click on a team to make that happen and it also takes talent and driving skills to get it done also. Everyone that knows me knows that I am a Earnhardt fan always but I will also never hesitate to give credit to those who deserve it even if I don't like them. Good Job Kyle, and good job Jr. for the solid top 10 finish. For my followers who are Denny fans, that was some tough luck today for Denny,he couldn't seem to come back from the damage he got in the first caution when Nemechek checked up in front of him.

Kyle Busch notched the biggest win of his young career Sunday, driving from the back of the field to win the NASCAR Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Busch came prepared at the start of the weekend, beating older brother Kurt for the pole to put brothers on the front row for the first time since 2000. But an engine change in his motor meant he had to drop to the back of the field at the start of the race.
He took the lead with 57 laps to go, then lost it during a late round of pit stops. Busch was third on a restart with 22 laps to go, then chased down Jeff Burton and leader Clint Bowyer to move out front again.
Busch had to hold off the competition over two final restarts for his first victory of the season, and first win at Las Vegas in six career Cup Series starts.
He celebrated with thick burnouts through the grass, then apparently blew his engine again. Enveloped in thick white plumes of smoke, he emerged from the clouds to make his trademark bow to the crowd.
He then collected the checkered flag from NASCAR, and kneeled to kiss the finish line on the track.
"I tell you what, this is pretty cool," Busch said. "I didn't know exactly what it would mean, but coming to the checkered flag, there were knots in my stomach. It's bigger than winning the Daytona 500. I said it wasn't going to be, but it is."
Bowyer finished second and Burton was third, bouncing back from a horrible run last week at California.
David Reutimann, one of the five Toyota drivers who had to change a motor this weekend, finished fourth and was followed by Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon, who missed pit road late in the race and blew his tire on the subsequent trip around the track.
Greg Biffle was seventh and Brian Vickers, another Toyota driver with an engine change, was eighth. Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top 10.
Jimmie Johnson, strong all afternoon, wrecked with six laps to go to finish 24th.
Carl Edwards' motor blew with two laps to go while he was running fourth. He finished 17th.
Matt Kenseth, trying to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three races of the season, lost his engine six laps into the race and finished last. In all, Roush Fenway Racing lost three of five motors.

Biffle breaks winless streak in Las Vegas

It was definately a very eventful Nationwide series race today. I was afraid to get up and get a drink in fear of missing something,Thank God for Tivo. From cars running out of gas,pit road mistakes,fiery crashes, and just plain over driving the car. I don't like to see anyone tear up their equipment,but it sure does add to the excitement. I was really pulling for Kevin harvick to get his first win in his own equipment,I thought Kyle busch was going to end up collecting him when he lost control, but he wouldn't be so lucky next time when Jeff burton would collect him in an accident. It was still good to see biffle break his long standing winless streak. Dale Jr. didn't have a car to win the race today but had a very solid finish.I can't wait to see tomorrows cup race. There was so much action today we can only expect tomorrow to bring even more excitement,suprises and let downs. Will the toyota engines hold up? Will we see more of what we saw today with drivers just completely over driving their cars? Lets watch and see.

Greg Biffle was caught speeding on pit road, had another bad stop, and ran out of gas while leading — twice.
He overcame all of the miscues Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to snap his 76-race winless streak, partly because almost every other driver had similar issues while leading.

"It was definitely not short of action," said Biffle, who last won a Nationwide race at California in February of last year.
Biffle ran out of gas while leading with 54 laps to go, re-claimed the lead after other drivers had their own issues, and then lost his fuel pressure on the final restart. Carl Edwards, his teammate, surged into the lead for a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish, but Biffle was able to regain the gas pressure and snatch the lead back from Edwards.
Edwards, who nearly lost control of his car as Biffle passed him, finished second despite losing a tire earlier in the race and speeding off of pit road on a late pit stop.
"Man it was a wild day from the beginning," Edwards said. "We had a great race car. There were a lot of wrecks. We had that tire go down and we had a speeding penalty, all sorts of things happened and luck was on our side and we had a chance to race up there for the win."
Brian Vickers, who was penalized for a missing lug nut after a pit stop while he was leading, finished third.
"All the fast cars were having problems," Vickers said. "You are out here on this track trying to run wide open, and that's going to lead to problems. But it seemed like everybody that got in the lead had a problem."
Jason Leffler, who ran out of gas on the final restart, finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fifth. He was followed by Michael McDowell, Brendan Gaughan and Justin Allgaier. Scott Lagasse and Jeff Burton rounded out the top 10.
It seemed for a stretch that nobody wanted to win the race, evidenced by a slew of problems to the top contending cars.
The first sign of trouble came early, when Denny Hamlin spun just nine laps into the race. Later, teammate Kyle Busch wrecked while racing Kevin Harvick for the lead. The accident also collected pole-sitter Scott Speed.
"It was just 100 percent my fault for racing for the lead that early in the race," said Busch, a Las Vegas native who is seeking his first career win at his home track. "I shouldn't have been doing that that early in the race. I should have just rode around in second place all day and waited to make the move on the last lap."
Biffle ran out of gas as the leader, which put Hamlin out front. Then Hamlin was too fast exiting pit road, had to return for a pass-through penalty, and was too fast again.
Hamlin's mistake gave Vickers the lead, but he coughed it up when he left his pit stop with a missing lug nut.
Gaughan inherited the lead, then he spun trying to enter pit road to give David Ragan the lead. Edwards, who had rallied to third from an earlier punctured tire, was penalized for driving too fast off pit road. But as he tried to argue his penalty, Ragan wrecked on the track to take NASCAR's attention.
"The team was really good and I just screwed it up for them," Ragan said. "Just driving it too hard for the situation I was in."
Allgaier, who had stayed out of trouble to put himself in position to make a late challenge for the lead, then scuffed the wall while running in the top 10.
When it was done, Biffle had cycled through to retake the lead. Hamlin, who had rallied to 11th, then brushed the wall to create damage to the front of his car. The damage ultimately caused his tire to burst as he drove in front of Mike Bliss, who ran into the back of Hamlin, sending him hard into the wall in a fiery wreck three laps from the finish.
The Hamlin accident set up the two-lap overtime sprint to the finish.
"I guess it just ends a day that I don't understand," Bliss said. "I can't wait to go home."

It's no time to push the panic button

This article was written by Larry McReynolds and I agree with what he has to say. I have been saying all along it is to soon to be making any solid predictions but the time is coming soon to make or break.

It's still early, but let's take stock through the first two weeks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
One organization that has impressed me is Penske Racing. They are really starting to show some good results. Kurt Busch dodged a bullet at Daytona and finished well plus was a top-five car all night long. So the No. 2 car is off to a good start. David Stremme had a top 15 finish at Fontana. Sam Hornish continues to struggle, but the measuring stick at Penske Racing has always been that No. 2 car.
Once again it looks like the Roush Fenway group will be solid all year long. That statement covers all five of their teams. Matt Kenseth has obviously won the first two races of the year. Greg Biffle finished fourth at Fontana but clearly had the car to beat if he hadn't had the mistake on pit road. Carl Edwards was strong too.
Las Vegas weekend

The Toyotas were pretty impressive too. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were as strong as ever. Brian Vickers won the pole but had to start in the rear when they changed his motor. He drove back up through there and finished 10th. The other two Toyotas that have been really impressive are Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann. Actually right now, Michael Waltrip Racing has two cars in the top 12 in points.

It looks to me, though, that the normal characters, Roush Fenway, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing are rising to the top. I have to say that Jeff Gordon looked the strongest I have seen him from green flag to the checkers in a long, long time.
When it comes to the testing ban, I still can't sit here and tell you that it's made a difference one way or another. Would there be other teams up there if we had our normal testing policy in place? I can't say that. I just don't think we are seeing a huge effect one way or another yet. Like we always say, no matter the rules, testing or the car -- the haves are still going to be the haves and the have-not's are still going to be the have-not's.
Someone else we need to shine the light on even though it's only been two races is Tony Stewart. He's had two top 10 finishes in the first two races of 2009. On the flip side of that is his teammate Ryan Newman. That bunch seems to be struggling right now. They lost a couple cars at Daytona and then they really weren't very good all weekend at Fontana.
If you take Daytona out of the equation, probably the most disappointing normally top-performing team at Fontana was Richard Childress Racing. Their best finishing car was only 18th. Granted, no one needs to hit the panic switch yet. I do think these next two races will definitely tell us who is in good shape and who has some work to do.
I think the points positions will continue to shake up every week even beyond the first five races. Look at Dale Earnhardt Jr. The hole has been dug early. So they have work to do and unfortunately Las Vegas this weekend has historically not been one of his better race tracks. We do know how well he runs at Atlanta and Bristol, so that's a positive thing for them. They and the other teams out there have to take what they learned from California's race and sort through what they got.
If we get through these next three or four races and if you are still struggling or having bad performances, then yes, people are going to be reaching a little closer for that panic button.

The good news is that for the most part we have one team from most of the operations performing pretty well. Roush-Fenway actually has more than one, but you have Jeff Gordon carrying the Hendrick banner. We got the Gibbs and Penske guys up there. We have some other Toyotas up there. We even saw Juan Pablo Montoya out of the DEI-Ganassi camp have a good solid night at Fontana.
Probably the group that came out of Daytona looking the brightest, but then left Fontana looking the dimmest was Richard Petty Motorsports. There are teams that are concerned after California but again, it's way too early to even remotely say, "Oh boy, we are in trouble."

Busch brothers claim front row at home track

I just finished watching qualifying for Las Vegas. It's a pretty interesting front row with brothers setting 1 and 2. To bad for Kyle that he will have to go to the back of the field after the engine change. What about our 2 in a row winner Matt kenseth? He will be starting all the way in the back,but as close as the qualifying times were I think he could still win it from there. Not that I will be cheering for him to do that I'm just saying it can be done. We will just have to wait until sunday to see what happens.

The Busch brothers claimed the front row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but an engine change will prevent Kyle and Kurt Busch from starting next to each other Sunday.

Kyle Busch blew his motor during Friday's practice session, forcing him to change it before qualifying. The new engine helped him post a pole-winning lap of 185.995 mph.
That was better than older brother Kurt's lap of 185.707. But Kyle Busch will have to drop to the back of the field at the start of the race, and third-place qualifier Jimmie Johnson will slide into the front row.
The Busch's are from Las Vegas, and neither has won a NASCAR race at their home track.
The last time brothers qualified first and second was in 2000, when Rusty and Kenny Wallace swept the front row at Martinsville.

Schatz wins World of Outlaws Show in Las Vegas

I have always been a fan of Donny Schatz, even though I think he is kind of an ass when you meet him in person. I'm always a very big fan of Steve Kinser. I do have to say that I was getting to the point where watching Steve Kinser win all the time was getting kind of boring. Donny Schatz has always been a threat to take a win but his odd's have increased by ten fold since he started driving for Tony Stewart Motorsports. He has been on a roll and is now more of a sure contender for the title and the King has his work cut out for him. Another one of my favorite drivers is Joey Saldana. He is a very nice person to meet in person and his determination and driving skills always make the racing exciting. Congrats to Donny on the Vegas win. I am excited that the racing club that I race with will be racing with The World of Outlaws at Manzanita Speedway on March 28th in Phx Arizona.

For Donny Schatz, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been a special place. He won the final World of Outlaws race of the millennium at the half-mile in 1999 and also was victorious in the series last visit to the track in 2006 when he capped his first series title with a victory. The three-time and defending series champion continued to add to his impressive resume at the track, picking up the win in the World of Outlaws return to Las Vegas on Thursday night before a packed grandstand.
Schatz lined up third in the Armor All J&J and fell back to fourth early in the race before getting around Jason Sides and Craig Dollansky to move into second. He then used heavy lapped traffic to his advantage to pass three-time series champion Sammy Swindell on the low side of turns one and two on the 16th lap. He would endure three cautions over the final 15 laps, including one on the white flag lap which set up a green-white-checker finish. By way of World of Outlaws rules, two consecutive green flag laps have to run to finish a race. Schatz used a strong restart each time to distance himself from Swindell.
The win for Schatz was his third of the season in World of Outlaws action. He now has 91 career A-Feature victories, which is fifth best all-time. He also extended his lead in the series championship standings to 37 over Jason Sides who moved back into the second spot.
“It was great,” said Schatz after celebrating his win with his Tony Stewart Racing team. “We set fast time and got a win. We won the race in traffic. I had a good race car, but so did the guys in second, third and fourth. I’m glad we had those long runs. We were able to get to those guys in traffic and get by them.”
Schatz is the only driver that has competed in all 45 events that the World of Outlaws have contested at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dating back to 1996. He now has six wins and 26 Top-10 finishes at the state-of-the-art half-mile in the desert.
“I think tonight the fans saw that we want to be here and they want to be here to watch us,” said the North Dakota native. “That’s good to see. It’s good to see our sponsors here as well. They did a great charity deal with Tony (Stewart) during the day and were able to come out here tonight and we got them a win. We are feeling very good now.”
Craig Dollansky started on the pole of the 30-lap event and led the first seven laps on Thursday night, before Swindell dove to the low side of turns one and two to take the top spot on the eighth lap. A caution two laps later gave Swindell some clear track to work with as he looked to add to his strong record at Las Vegas. He wound up second in the Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim.
“I made a mistake,” shared the native of Germantown, Tennessee. “I caught a car in the wrong place in (turns) three and four. I didn’t get a good run off four and I didn’t think I was close enough to slide across and then he got out of the gas so I was stuck in the middle. Being in the wrong place and then my lack of not being out here was part of that. I have to be more aggressive in traffic. They said I had 10-15 car lengths before I got to those guys. I’ll just have to be a little more aggressive with lapped cars.”
Dollansky paced the field early in the race and then did everything he could to track Swindell down in the late going as the pair battled for the second spot. He tried a slide job on a late restart and nearly snagged the runner-up spot. The native of Elk River, Minnesota came home third in the DirecTV Maxim for Kasey Kahne Racing.
“It’s definitely not what we were hoping for,” said Dollansky. “I felt good the first few laps. After about 10 laps I developed a serious vibration. I’m not really sure what was going on there, it felt like maybe a motor was going down on us. Fortunately we made it to the end. Near the end, we knocked the radiator cap off and really couldn’t see those last few laps.
Late in the race on Thursday, a number of drivers suffered flat right rear tires, including 20-time series champion Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild. Tire wear was definitely on Schatz’s mind as the laps wound down.
“It always is, when you see the guys that were having trouble,” he shared. “I poked a hole in the tire in the heat race and we plugged it and poke another one. Sometimes you have to be more lucky that good. Tonight was one of those nights where we came home with air in all four tires and picked up a victory.”
Swindell also erred on the side of caution late in the race as he looked to conserve his right rear tire en route to bringing home a season-best second place effort, which helped vault him into the fourth spot in the World of Outlaws championship standings.
“That was part of my problem on the starts and that would let Donny (Schatz) get away,” he explained. “On the starts I would get a lot of tire shake and that would make the car real tight and kind of loose at the same time. I had to move the wing all the way ahead just to help make up for some of that and help the car turn. It seemed liked after the third or fourth lap though, I was just as fast if not faster.”
Jason Sides continued his strong start to the 2009 season finishing fourth in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim. Danny Lasoski picked up his first Top-Five of the season aboard the Casey’s General Store Maxim.
Kerry Madsen was sixth in the TK Concrete KPC. Terry McCarl was seventh in the Big Game Treestands Maxim. Steve Kinser worked his way back up to eighth in the Quaker State Maxim, after losing a tire with just six laps remaining. Daryn Pittman was ninth driving the No. 83JR machine for Dennis Roth’s team. Kraig Kinser rounded out the Top-10 in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
The World of Outlaws return to action with the Mini Gold Cup on March 13-14 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California.

Top teams need to heed early season warning signs

Like I said before I don't think you can make any predictions at this point in the season. I do believe that how a person reacts to the situations that have arised the past 2 races can give you an idea how things may be headed. I don't think we can give up on anyone's chances at this point or make any solid predictions. But I do have to admit it sure has the press stirred up and they are the first to call you washed up,done,a has been. But i guess without the media we wouldn't have anything to complain about or argue about.

Danger!
Two races into the Sprint Cup season, and already there are teams in trouble. Top teams. Teams that have staked out an annual presence -- or close to it -- in the Chase.
Yes, the season is only two races old, and there's plenty of time for struggling teams to rebound. That doesn't mean, however, that teams with alarming starts to their 2009 campaigns should ignore much-needed wakeup calls.

• Jeff Gordon is second in the point standings, but none of his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates stands better than 19th. That's the position three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson occupies.
Now, no one ought to suggest that Johnson will fail to qualify for the Chase this year, since he has never missed NASCAR's version of the playoffs, but his ship is in need of righting after a 31st-place result at Daytona and a ninth at Fontana, where the No. 48 Chevy dominated early and faded late.
The problem for Johnson is that the series heads next to Las Vegas, unquestionably his worst track in 2008. Johnson fought his car all day and finished 29th without wrecking or blowing up. The 48 team needs to find a solution to the 1.5-mile speedway in order to begin moving in the right direction.
The other two Hendrick teams -- the No. 5 of Mark Martin and the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- simply haven't gotten the results to match the quality of their equipment. This year was to be Martin's resurrection, with the 50-year-old contending for the championship with Hendrick in his first full season since 2006. He's 27th in points after an engine failure at Fontana.

"We had a great race car [Sunday night]," Martin said after exiting the race. "It was fast, faster than the leaders most of the time. We were really trying to be careful and get up there when it counts. Then, after that caution, about two laps after [on Lap 179], we had a valve break."
The same happened to Earnhardt, who finished 39th, one position ahead of Martin.

After two bad weeks, Earnhardt is 35th in the standings, 252 behind Matt Kenseth, the winner of the first two races. Even more important is that Earnhardt's car is 35th in owners' points just three races before 2009 owners' points begin governing who has guaranteed spots and who doesn't. The top 35 are locked into Sprint Cup fields.

• The No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevy driven by Ryan Newman is barely ahead of Earnhardt in owners' points. Misfortune has been Newman's problem. At Daytona, he blew an engine and wrecked two of his cars through no fault of his own. At Fontana, a side piece fell off his rear wing, forced an extra pit stop and ruined what otherwise could have been an excellent run.

• Joey Logano's No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is 37th in owners' points. If the heralded rookie doesn't improve by the time the sixth race of the season (Martinsville) rolls around, he'll have to start qualifying on speed.
"I learned a lot," Logano said after Sunday's 26th-place finish. "Just working around the race track, different lines, different grooves make your car do different things. Working the bottom, working the top, coming in the pits, it's things like that that you go by race track to race track to keep learning and it takes time."
With three races left before 2009 owners' points kick in, time is in short supply.
• Kenseth is the only driver to post top-five finishes at Daytona and Fontana. Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart are the only drivers to post top-10s in each of the first two races.
Currently, there are six drivers in the top 12 who didn't qualify for last year's Chase. And there are six drivers who did make the Chase last year currently in positions ranging from 15th to 35th.
Before the season began, Juan Montoya predicted this year's Chase would be the most competitive ever. Chances are he's right.
Yes, it's early, but those who have struggled in the first two races can't ignore the danger signs -- getting back to the top of the standings will be more difficult than it has ever been.