Here's the NASCAR Newscast: Auto Club Speedway Preview

To clinch a spot in the chase, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson only have to finish 40th or better. Shouldn't be a problem.

There are too many scenarios for the rest of the drivers trying to clinch a spot to try to explain it. I'd end up confusing the heck of you if I tried.

The only other thing I will say about being able to secure a spot in the Chase that won't confuse you is that Clint Bowyer under no circumstance can clinch a spot in the Chase at the Auto Club Speedway this weekend, if David Ragan starts the race.

Who am I going with to win the Pepsi 500? Hhhmmm...

I'm going with Jimmie Johnson who has the best average finish here of 5.3.

Who do you think will win?

The penalty isn't that bad for Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards who had an altercation on the track following the race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Beginning with this week's race, they both have been placed on probation for the next six races. Big deal.

Although, now that I say that, do you think Busch can refrain from retaliation? Probably not, but we'll see.

I've been busier than normal here at work so my apologies for not updating the blog more often. I should be back on track in the next week or so.

All for now...

I walked in to our little Bristol party sporting my Jack Daniels hat as a good luck gem for my man, Clint Bowyer. There was only one request via text message from the host of our gathering...no M&M's. I would say based on the end result of the race my good luck hat and the ban on M&M's were a huge success.

Congrats to Carl Edwards for yet another win this season. The saying, what comes around goes around is true. I gained some respect for Carl Edwards for moving Kyle Busch out of the way to get the win. Edwards didn't do anything that Busch hadn't done so many times before. He nudged Busch, loosened him up enough so that he could get by. A bump and run. And the victory was his.

On Edwards' victory lap, Busch slammed Edwards a few times in the driver's door. Edwards had had enough and turned him. Now we must wait and see what type of penalties NASCAR gives them both.

Here are some other thoughts that I had while watching the race:

-- What in the heck was Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinking at the start of the race? Passing cars before crossing the start/finish line at the start of the race, who does that? Well he did. His head was certainly not in the game. Maybe he stayed up too late celebrating Brad Keselowski's win in the Nationwide race the night before.

-- As if I needed another reason to like Clint Bowyer. He says exactly what I am thinking. "Michael Waltrip is the worst driver in NASCAR. Period." That's what he said of Waltrip after Waltrip dumped Casey Mears and Bowyer got tangled up in it. I couldn't agree more.

-- I felt bad for Jeff Burton who was a victim of circumstance. Tony Stewart clearly took out Sterlin Marlin which led to poor Jeff Burton's wreck.

-- Poor David Blaney just cannot catch a break. I didn't see what happened to him though. Did you?

-- The biggest loser of the night? Kasey Kahne, who dropped three positions in the point standings.

Overall, I thought the racing was really good. What did you think of the race?

Bristol night racing. Does anything beat it? Seriously.

I'll be attending a "Bristol party" tomorrow night with some friends. Should be loads of fun. Do you do anything special for night racing?

Side story--

I remember a while back, before I had this blog, going to Gippers in Auburn for dinner during a night race. (I can't recall which race it was) I figured that being a sports pub, one of their big-screen televisions would have the race on and we could enjoy dinner and drinks while watching.

No such luck. Not one singe television had the race on and they have MANY. So we requested to have one of the monitors show the race. When we did, they looked at us like we were crazy. But they did generously give us the smallest television in the room that was located in the corner by the bar. Ridiculous.

Anyhow, here's the NASCAR Newscast: Bristol Preview

and of course the broadcast schedule for the weekend.

What I want to see tomorrow night is sparks flying and a lot of bumping and banging. What I don't want to see is Clint Bowyer wrecked. Wishful thinking, I know.

It's hard to pick a winner here. Real hard. Having said that, I am going to go with Kevin Harvick this week to win. He's coming off a strong finish last week at Michigan where he gained a lot of ground in the point standings. Right now, he's got momentum. Plus, he's a great short track driver.

Who do you think will win tomorrow night?

Penalties have been handed out by NASCAR for Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 18 and No. 20 teams in the Nationwide Series....and they are HARSH. Both teams were caught using magnetic spacers under their gas pedals. The spacers wouldn't allow the gas pedals to be depressed fully so that it would skew the horsepower results on the dynamometer test.

Both drivers, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart have been penalized 150 driver points and are on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2008. Owner, Joe Gibbs has been penalized 150 owner points for each of the cars.

The crew chiefs, Jason Ratcliff with the No. 18 and Dave Rogers with the No. 20, each were fined $50,000 and have been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR.

Team members of the No. 18 that were penalized: car chief Dorian Thorsen, engine tuner Michael Johnson and crew member Toby Bigelow have been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR.

Team members of the No. 20: car chief Richard Bray and engine tuner Dan Bajek have been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR.

In addition, the entire teams for both cars have been placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2008.

I did it! I won, I won! I feel as though I just won the lottery. I have a bit of a spring in my step and the smile on my face is a little bigger today. I finally picked the winner of a race. After going 0-for-22 to start the 2008 season, my losing streak is history!

In my head, I envisioned doing a backflip off the coffee table at the same time that Carl Edwards did after his victory... I'm so proud.

Congrats to Edwards for his win yesterday. I may have a new hero...kidding, just kidding. No worries Clint, your #1 stalker, oops I mean fan, isn't going anywhere...

I'll be honest. I slept through some of the race. I was recovering from my girl's getaway. But here are a few thoughts of the race:

-- It really rubs me wrong that they would call Kyle Busch the Michael Phelps of motor sports. Ridiculous right there. Not to mention Joe Gibbs Racing just got caught for cheating! I don't care that the cheating was only found in the Nationwide series. In my opinion, it's just a matter of time before they find out that something is illegal in the Sprint Cup series cars also.

Side story--

Speaking of Michael Phelps, I was at a bar on Saturday night. A band called The Hangovers were playing, actually a pretty good band. But when Phelps was getting ready to do the swim for his 8th gold medal, more and more people stopped paying attention to the band and started watching the television. When the race started, most everyone in the bar was focused on the television set and chanting, "USA, USA, USA...!" The chants were louder than the band. It was just awesome to see how everyone was really rooting for him.

Back to racing--

-- Marcus Ambrose and Denny Hamlin both had the same bad luck, their cars blew up.

-- Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin all took a major hits in the point standings after yesterday's race.

-- I'm not sure what happened to Jeff Gordon though. Anyone care to share?

-- Do you stand up, in your living room or wherever you are watching a race, when the National Anthem is being played on television? Odd question, I know, but it dawned on me yesterday at the start of the race.

All for now.

Hhhhmmm....who to go with at Michigan. Let's see.

I think I'll go with the birthday boy, Carl Edwards who turns 29 tomorrow. He's seen victory lane here before in June 2007 so he knows his way around this track. He is also 50 points behind Kyle Busch in the Chase bonus points. He needs to close that gap. He'll be racing hard for sure.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. might be looking for a Michigan sweep for 2008. He won the June race here. He might be another to watch. I doubt he will win though.

Jimmie Johnson will be another one to watch. He's never won here and I bet he would like to add a victory here to his resume.

And of course there's Kyle Busch. Maybe he will get victory number nine?

As always, here's the NASCAR Newscast: Michigan Preview:

I'm taking the day off tomorrow. I've got my annual "girls weekend" this weekend. Fun, fun. I'll be back in time to watch the race on Sunday though. Here's the broadcast schedule for the weekend.

Who do you think will win at Michigan International Speedway?

It's been a while since I've thrown out an entry with a little bit of this and a little bit of that ... basically whatever is running through my mind. Some things may not pertain to racing at all.

I'll start it off with some racing stuff:

-- Rumor has it that Richard Childress Racing might be bringing Casey Mears on board to drive the #07 Jack Daniels car. I'm hoping that this will be another case of Rick Hendrick's loss is someone else's gain.

-- Which brings me to my next thought about Clint Bowyer. So he may be going to the #33 with General Mills as a sponsor. Honestly, it doesn't matter what his sponsor is or what number he drives. I'm still going to be a fan.

-- The sun is finally shining. I really couldn't stand the weather anymore.

-- In addition to being absolutely horrible at picking a winner for races this year, (0-for-22), I also didn't get my prediction right on where Martin Truex Jr. was going next year. He's staying on with DEI, at least through next year.

-- Are there really any Kyle Busch fans out there? Is there such a thing as Busch nation? I don't think so.

-- Have you been following the Olympics? I am staying up way to late watching... How about Michael Phelps?! Wow. He's amazing. Our sports writer, Mike Lowe is blogging from there in, Postcard from Beijing. Go check it out.

-- So rumor has it that Joey Logano will be making his Cup debut at Richmond International Speedway on Sept. 6. Do you think it's too soon for him? I say, what the heck. There's at least one person I know he will beat ... Michael Waltrip. It's really time for Waltrip to hang it up.

-- I can't help but think of myself each and every time I see this commercial. It makes me laugh. Hilarious stuff.

All for now.

Congrats to Kyle Busch for yet another victory this year. I love how he let everyone know that he has now won eight races this year by holding up eight fingers.

Here are some other thoughts of the race at Watkins Glen yesterday:

-- My pick, Tony Stewart, finished second. He failed me. He should have dumped his teammate for the win. Afterall, it's time for Busch to spread the wealth with the victories.

-- Was I the only one holding my breath when Ryan Newman went off course and wound up sitting there sideways on the track? There were so many close calls from drivers almost hitting him. Martin Truex Jr. by all rights should have clocked him.

-- What was wrong with Jeff Gordon all day? He had an absolute horrible car. He's usually pretty good at road courses... He ended the day with a 29th place finish.

-- Since when is ther a "big one" at a road course?
Those involved: Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland, Max Papis, Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, Sam Hornish Jr., Reed Sorenson, Michael McDowell and Michael Watlrip. (One of the only times I saw Michael Waltrip yesterday actually)

-- Marcos Ambrose. Wow. First he won the Nationwide race and then went from 43rd to 3rd in yesterday's race. Fantastic.

-- Here's hoping Bobby Labonte is okay. No word yet on how he is doing.

Uugh, my man, Clint Bowyer slipped out of the top twelve in the point standings. I have my fingers crossed that he get's back in there by having a good race at Michigan this weekend.

What did you think of the race?

I love road courses. If you've been reading this blog all along, you know that I especially like watching Boris Said drive a road course. I mean, who doesn't actually? He never wins, but I can't help but root for the underdog. He's not my pick though. Robby Gordon's another fantastic road course driver. He's not my pick either. Then there's Jeff Gordon... there's just so many to keep an eye on.

I think this weekend I am going to go with Tony Stewart for the win. He's won four out of the last six races here. He needs a win. He's hungry for it. And so am I. If he wins, I win. He and I will break our losing streak of 0-for-21. Go Tony Go!

Here's the NASCAR Newscast: Watkins Glen Preview:

If you plan on watching, here's the broadcast schedule for the weekend.

Who's your pick to win this weekend?

I had decided to wait to write a blog until people could actually comment if they wanted to without getting an error. It appears that that is now fixed. Please let me know if you have any issues going forward by jotting me an e-mail.

I really like how they raced the Nationwide race with rain tires. I don't understand why they didn't do it with the Sprint Cup race at Pocono. I didn't watch the race in it's entirety because I was stuffing my face with lobster. (On Friday, I blogged that we were doing a lobster feed during the race.)

I am pleased that Clint Bowyer is still in the Top 12 in the point standings. My pick, Denny Hamlin, finished 23rd. I'm not sure what happened to him. A couple of the times that I checked in on the race, he was leading. Was it pit strategy? Can someone tell me?

What did you think of the racing this past weekend?

All for now...

If you read yesterday's entry, you know that I'm not fond of Pocono racing. So I found something to do while the race was going ... a lobster bake.

Isn't it a requirement that if you live in Maine, you have to have at least one day during the summer where you pig out on lobster, steamers and bacon-wrapped scollops? I think so. It's a distraction that I am looking forward to. I will still peak in on the race every now and then...

My pick to win is Denny Hamlin. He's raced here five times. All of those five races have resulted in top-10 finishes, including two wins. Obviously, this is his type of racetrack. Let's hope Denny can snap my 0-for-20 streak so far this season.

Here's the broadcast schedule for the weekend.

Here are the top-15 in point standings going into the race:

Who are you picking to win?