AAAhhhh, I'm back. I'm sorry I left you hanging last week. I am sure you were sitting there scratching your head wondering who I was going to pick to win the race. I've been flat on my back sick. That's the only reason I would leave you hanging, really.

And now, that it's too late, I would have told you that I was going with Matt Kenseth for the win at Homestead. Really. Okay, not really, I'm kidding but what does it matter now?

I sat down to watch the race and I just couldn't make it through the entire race. Ten races is just too long for the Chase. I'm glad Jimmie Johnson won his second series championship. I am. I am also glad that he didn't win his fifth race in a row.

It seems suiting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the race the way he did (36th). His luck has been bad all year, I don't know why this race would be any different. I think he'll have much better fortune next season under the Hendrick umbrella. I look forward to it.

Now that the season is over, I expect that I will not be updating quite as often as I had. I will be back from time to time with news that I get on driver changes, number changes and just stuff that I find interesting going into the 2008 season. And now the countdown begins, 89 short days to go until the Daytona 500.

All for now...Jen

Four in a row for Jimmie Johnson. Unbelievable and sickening. I am glad there's only one race left of the season. I am. It's just too long. And I'm getting a bit sick of Hendrick's domination.

If Johnson finishes 18th or better, he'll clinch the championship. If he leads a lap, then he can finish 19th or better regardless of where Jeff Gordon finishes and clinch the championship. Gordon is 86 points behind Johnson in the point standings.

Here are the trivia answers from last week:

Can any of you name the 13 different pole sitters at this Phoenix Internation Raceway?

They are: Ryan Newman – 3, Rusty Wallace – 3, Jeff Gordon – 3, Geoffrey Bodine - 2, Bill Elliott - 2, Ken Scrader – 2, John Andretti – 1, Casey Atwood – 1, Kyle Busch – 1, Bobby Hamilton – 1, Denny Hamlin – 1, Bobby Labonte – 1, Sterling Marlin – 1

What's the farthest back a race winner has started? Who was it? When was it?

29th starting spot, Ricky Rudd, 1995

Who are the only drivers to have posted back to back wins at Phoenix?
Davey Allison - 1991 and 1992, Jeff Burton - 2000 and 2001, Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 2003 and 2004, Kevin Harvick - both 2006.

Morgan-McClure Motorsports announced yesterday that Ward Burton is out of the No. 4 car for this weekend's race at Homestead. I really hate it when these press releases are so vague as to why they would make a driver change for the LAST race of the season. What in the world?

Said Tim Morgan: "Ward has worked hard for us this year, he is a good driver and a friend. Todd has been helpful to us in the past and has agreed to step in and help us benchmark our efforts as we get ready for the 2008 season.”

That says absolutely nothing about why he is sitting out the LAST race of the year.

The press release goes on to say, "Both Ward Burton and the MMM team have agreed that his change is the best way to fully evaluate the performance of the team."

Who did they get to replace him to try to qualify the car into the race at Homestead? Todd Bodine. I almost fell off my chair when I read that. I think wreckfest when I think of Todd Bodine. Uugh.

All for today.

Phoenix has been a good track for Richard Childress Racing (RCR). Kevin Harvick has won here twice, with three top fives and four top tens. Jeff Burton has won here twice also, with five top fives and eight top tens. Clint Bowyer, however, has not been so lucky with only one top five and one top ten in four starts. This year though has been an incredible year for him so I guess anything's possible.

As much as I would like to see Bowyer gain ground in the driver point standings this weekend, it is very unlikely. This track, unfortunately, has also been a good place historically for Hendrick Motorsports. And with the luck they have been having, I would expect this weekend to be no different.

My picks this weekend will be any of the RCR cars.

A little trivia, because I love trivia...

(Without looking it up)

• Can any of you name the 13 different pole sitters at this track?
• What's the farthest back a race winner has started? Who was it? When was it?
• Who are the only drivers to have posted back to back wins here?

All for this week. I am taking a few days off. I'll be back on Tuesday with my racing recap and have the answers to the trivia questions. Have a great weekend.

I've been a bit out of touch. It's that time of year when we are so close to the end of racing that I am running out of steam. Call me a bad race fan but I look forward to the break. I believe the racing season is longer than in any other sport. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

If you haven't gotten a chance to read this article on nascar.com, you should. It kind of made me feel a bit better about the whole unknown of whether or not we might lose a race at the newly named New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Even before reading this article, what stands out in the teleconference that was held last Friday to announce the sale of NHMS was that Bruton Smith said that New Englanders would be happy with what he was going to do at the track. I would think he must realize that if we lost a race there that many wouldn't be all that happy about it. Maybe he is completely filling us with baloney, but I do not know. I want to believe that he isn't.

What do you think?

I have to admit that I did not watch the race this weekend. I am, however, happy to learn that Jeff Gordon is no longer the point leader.

Jimmie Johnson won his first ever race at Texas Motor Speedway bringing him to the front of the pack in the point standings as well.

If anyone would care to share their thought on the race, I would love to hear about it.

Kevin Harvick won the Busch race on Saturday. Seeing a racecar driver in a cowboy hat just doesn't seem right, seriously. He does it a bit better than some though.

Cousin Carl captured the Busch Series championship on Saturday.

The complete transcript of the teleconference from Friday's announcement of NHIS, whoops I mean NHMS, being sold has not been made available yet. I didn't forget, honest. Once it's made available, if it is, I will upload it in it's entirety for those of you who want to read all the question and answers.

Bob Bahre, Chairman of the Board of New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS), on the agreement to sell NHIS to Speedway Motorsports, Inc.

“Gary and I would like to thank all of our employees and loyal fans for their continued support of New Hampshire International Speedway over the past 18 years. Our success is due to their dedication and to the loyalty of our corporate partners including SYLVANIA, LENOX Industrial Tools, and Camping World. We look forward to working closely with Bruton Smith and his team during the upcoming transition and for years to come.”

Statement from Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO

Today’s announcement that Speedway Motorsports Inc. has purchased New Hampshire International Speedway is yet another indication that the NASCAR industry continues to grow and thrive.

Capitalizing on NASCAR’s national appeal and growth, the Bahre family created a passionate fan base and developed a valuable venue that has hosted the largest sporting events in New England including 26 consecutive sellouts.

The success of NHIS, and the desire of the Bahre family to sell, made the track very attractive to SMI and several other interested buyers. SMI has a highly regarded record for hosting some of the most successful and enjoyable race events in all of NASCAR, and there’s no doubt that will continue.

While we don’t have any details about SMI’s plans for NHIS, all sanctions for 2008 have been signed and finalized. As a result, there will be no location changes to the 2008 schedule that was released last month. This is important to the fans, competitors, broadcast partners and sponsors who have already made plans for the 2008 races.

Looking beyond 2008, NASCAR will continue to consider requests by any track operator, including SMI, to relocate race dates. Under NASCAR’s “realignment” plan, we have worked with track owners to relocate race dates to meet the needs of our growing national fan base. Ultimately, any change must meet NASCAR’s objectives and serve our fans.

The industry owes Bob and Gary Bahre a debt of gratitude for their leadership and commitment to NASCAR. All of NASCAR wishes the Bahre family well during this time of transition. They will always be considered pioneers in NASCAR.

It's official, the new owner of New Hampshire International Speedway is Bruton Smith, CEO and Chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., which now owns seven tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol and now NHIS.

Among others that were interested in purchasing NHIS were Jack Roush and Roger Penske.

Smith was in New Hampshire last week to seal the deal with Bob Bahre. The acquisition will close in the first quarter of 2008. In the teleconference held at 12:30 EDT at Texas Motor Speedway, he was asked if he was going to take a race away from NHIS to secure a second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. As of right now, he has no plans to move dates of the races, though he was vague about answering this question.

He also said New Englanders shouldn't be nervous. His main goal is to make the track better and more fan friendly.

I will download the complete transcript later today when it's available - probably around 5:30.

More to come later.

It was reported today from Michael Vega from the Boston Globe that the sale of New Hampshire International Speedway has been completed. Bruton Smith, CEO and Chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc. reportedly has purchased NHIS from Bob Bahre. SMI already owns six racetracks: Fort Worth, Texas, Atanta, Las Vegas, Infineon (Sonoma, Calif.), Lowe's (Concord, N.C.) and Bristol, Tenn.

Smith has wanted a second race for quite some time at Las Vegas. So it may mean, in the end, one less race at NHIS for New Englanders sometime in the future.

An announcement will be made regarding the purchase of NHIS today at 12:30 EDT from Texas Motor Speedway.

I'll be back with an update after the teleconference.

Texas Motor Speedway Data
Race #: 34 of 36 (11-4-07) Number of laps: 500
Track Size: 1.5 miles Length of Event: 263 miles
• Banking/corners: 24 degrees
• Banking/straights: 5 degrees
• Frontstretch: 2,250 feet
• Backstretch: 1,330 feet

My picks:

This week I will be going with Clint Bowyer or Jeff Burton for the win. Bowyer's never won here but according to the dumb headline on nascar.com, he may need my support.

I'll also go with Burton, he has won here twice.

FYI, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson and Clint Bowyer are winless in 24 combined
starts at Texas Motor Speedway.