Congratulations to Jeff Burton for winning Saturday night's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. I only wish that during the race as he gets close to victory, they didn't show Kim Burton on television as much as they do. They don't really do that with any other driver's wife. Uuugh.

Here are some random thoughts and observations of the race:

-- I thought Jessica Simpson did a horrible job with the National Anthem.

-- I couldn't help but feel bad for Carl Edwards who first had to make an unscheduled pit stop because he had a vibration and then had issues on the track with the ignition box or something, stalled the car and had to be pushed on to pit road by the tow truck. He went many laps down and finished 33rd.

-- Jeff Gordon had to be the luckiest guy of the night. Very early in the race, Jeff Gordon not only hit the wall once but twice and had to make an unscheduled pit stop and went a lap down. At one point, he was shown in 43rd position. He later got the lucky dog and ended up finishing the race in 8th spot. Fantastic.

-- It always makes me nervous watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. run that high line on the track. He is all but kissing the wall. I just wait for him to smack it. And then he did. But it wasn't because he got loose. He blew a tire, ruining his night. He finished 36th.

-- Does anyone else think that AJ Allmendinger resembles John Andretti?

-- More tire issues Saturday night. Here's a few drivers that blew tires during the race: Brian Vickers, Mike Wallace, Junior, Sam Hornish Jr. and Joe Nemechek. I am sure I am missing some.

-- Michael Waltrip was at it again. He wrecked Kenny Schrader and Mike Skinner. He went down in the grass came up onto the track and pushed Skinner into Schrader. Good job Mikey, good job.

-- Matt Kenseth was involved in a wreck. I dozed off but woke up in time to see his car wrecked. Not sure what happened for that caution though. If anyone would like to share, I'd appreciate it. Kenseth finished 41st.

-- Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart were each penalized for driving too fast down pit road. Despite the pass-through penalities, they both had good finishes. Fourth and 11th, respectively.

There really weren't any drastic changes in the point standings. Edwards and Kenseth dropped two positions while Burton and Busch gained two.

What did you think of the race?

Here's a look at the Chasers going into the race this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway(stats provided by NASCAR):

	1 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet) 5718 points, 2008 Rundown: • Five wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s • Average finish of 11.3 • Led 24 races for 1,302 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 116.5 • Five wins, eight top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles • Average finish of 9.1 • Finished 39th in May
	2 - Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) 5646 points, 2008 Rundown: • Six wins, 14 top fives, 22 top 10s • Average finish of 10.0 • Led 18 races for 815 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 88.2 • Three top fives, six top 10s • Average finish of 7.6 • Finished ninth in May
	3 - Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) 5641 points, 2008 Rundown: • Two wins, 11 top fives, 14 top 10s • Average finish of 13.3 • Led 15 races for 430 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 87.0 • Two top fives, four top 10s • Average finish of 19.3 • Finished second in May
	4 - Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) 5619 points, 2008 Rundown: • One win, six top fives, 16 top 10s • Average finish of 11.7 • Led 11 races for 82 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 86.6 • Two wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s • Average finish of 14.9 • Finished sixth in May
	5 - Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet) 5566 points, 2008 Rundown: • One win, four top fives, 14 top 10s • Average finish of 14.8 • Led five races for 152 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 71.4 • One top five • Average finish of 19.6 • Finished 25th in May
	6 - Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) 5547 points, 2008 Rundown: • Six top fives, 15 top 10s • Average finish of 13.2 • Led seven races for 191 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 66.4 • One top five, three top 10s • Average finish of 20.7 • Finished 14th in May
	7 - Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) 5515 points, 2008 Rundown: • One win, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s • Average finish of 14.5 • Led 13 races for 580 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 80.0 • One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s • Average finish of 13.2 • Finished 18th in May
	8 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) 5486 points, 2008 Rundown: • 10 top fives, 14 top 10s • Average finish of 15.2 • Led 16 races for 312 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 84.1 • Five wins, 15 top fives, 17 top 10s; seven poles • Average finish of 16.4 • Finished fourth in May
	9 - Matt Kenseth (No. 14 DEWALT Ford) 5473 points, 2008 Rundown: • Eight top fives, 17 top 10s • Average finish of 16.3 • Led 16 races for 394 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 87.6 • One win, five top fives, eight top 10s • Average finish of 15.3 • Finished seventh in May
	10 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet) 5469 points, 2008 Rundown: • One win, nine top fives, 14 top 10s • Average finish of 13.0 • Led 20 races for 894 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 89.7 • Five top fives, nine top 10s; one pole • Average finish of 16.3 • Finished fifth in May
	11 - Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Toyota) 5387 points, 2008 Rundown: • Eight wins, 15 top fives, 17 top 10s • Average finish of 12.6 • Led 22 races for 1,657 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 98.7 • Two top fives, three top 10s; one pole • Average finish of 23.3 • Finished third in May
	12 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) 5383 points, 2008 Rundown: • One win, nine top fives, 15 top 10s • Average finish of 16.5 • Led 14 races for 710 laps Lowe's Motor Speedway Outlook: • Driver Rating of 77.8 • Three top 10s • Average finish of 16.3 • Finished 24th in May

Congratulations to Kasey Kahne for getting a clear-cut victory. People who didn't think he deserved the win in the All-Star race, cannot think that this week. He had a great car and was at the front all night long.

I still have a hard time watching Kahne try to drink a Budweiser. It’s painful to watch and quite honestly, he needs some practice popping open those cans. It looked like he had a bit of trouble trying to open that first can of Bud. Practice Kasey, practice.

Talk about unpredictable. At various times throughout the last part of the race, I could have bet money on who would win. I also would have lost money though… Brian Vickers, Dale Earnardt Jr., Tony Stewart. In the end, all three had terrible luck.

Vickers had a tire fall off which sent him straight up to the wall. He hit the wall so hard, part of it broke. The caution was a bit longer for repairs to the wall. He had led 61 laps before that happened. His tire ended up crushing the hood of David Gilliland ruining his night as well.

Junior slapped the outside wall a few times. The first time he hit the wall, J.J. Yeley slammed into the back of him. I’m not sure what the heck Yeley was thinking. I think his spotter really messed up by not telling Yeley to move down the track to miss Junior. It sure looked like there was plenty of room for him to move down. Junior is lucky to have finished in fifth spot. He led a good portion of the race, possibly most laps led.

Those last three laps were simply incredible. Stewart blew a tire with three laps to go. Denny Hamlin tagged the outside wall with two laps to go, shredding his right front tire. Carl Edwards ran out of gas on the final lap. The flag man dropped the white flag, so he couldn’t even wave the flag for Kahne, who was leading. Here are the race results and the point standings.

I’ll just come out and say it. I’m not a fan of Denny Hamlin at all. I’m glad for his mishap yesterday in the Cup race.

Did you watch the Nationwide race? Did you see the interaction between Hamlin and Brad Keselowski on the track under caution?

During a caution lap, Hamlin turned right and drove his car up into the nose of Keselowski’s car damaging the nose of his car.

After that incident, Junior went up there and nudged Hamlin in the bumper to kind of let him know of his displeasure. (Junior owns the car that Keselowski drives)

Chaos broke out in the pits immediately after the race. It looked as though both crews for Keselowsi and Hamlin were all intertwined down there in the pits. Officials were there trying to break everything up. There were people everywhere. I was so mad watching Hamlin's interview after the Nationwide race on Saturday. Did any of you see that interview? He’s such a punk.

He basically said that Keselowski just doesn't have any Cup experience and doesn't know when to let guys go at times. He was upset that Keselowski cut him off during passes a bit too close. Guess what Hamlin? He's not racing in the Cup series. YOU are racing in his league. If you don't like it, don't race in Nationwide. It's pretty simple.

Wow. I had fully planned on updating and entry yesterday with my picks for the race but time just escaped me at work. Sorry. Here it is, what you've been waiting for... my pick for the race this week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. A guide for you to use in determining who not to pick. (I am afterall, 0-for-12 in my picks this year.)

I know, I know...the logical pick would be Kyle Busch, afterall he does have the pole, has been on fire and will take out the field to cross the finish line first but I am going with Jeff Gordon.

He won the fall race here last year and you know as well as I do, he will win a race this year. I just think it will be this one that kick starts his victories. He will be the man to beat. He has five wins here and luck is going to be on his side. Period. This victory here will be his 15th consecutive series with a win, I feel it in my bones.

Others I will be watching:

-- Ken Schrader in that fourth RCR car.

-- Clint Bowyer, of course. He's starting 39th so I will watch him hopefully move up through the field.

-- A.J. Allmendinger, I just want to see if he chest bumps his teammates prior to the start of the 600. It truly was entertaining to watch him do it the first time at the All-Star event and I think I have a desire to see that again.

-- Sam Hornish Jr., I think he did pretty well in the All-Star event so I will be watching where he is in the field I am sure.

Here's the lineup.

Who are you picking for the race winner?

NASCAR Newscast: Coca-Cola 600 Preview:

I was tooling around in nascarmedia and found this video with the preview of this weekend's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It actually kind of got me excited to watch it. Anyway, thought I would share. Let me know what you think.

Here's a few more stats to mention going into this weekend's race:

-- This is race 12 of 36.

-- There have been 98 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, two races per year since the track opened in 1960.

-- Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage.

-- Jeff Gordon has five wins here. A win this weekend, or actually any weekend this season, will make it 15 consecutive years with at least one victory. The all-time record goes to Richard Petty with 18 consecutive wins.

-- Ken Schrader will attempt to qualify a fourth car for Richard Childress Racing. It's the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet. How did this come about you might ask?

In the press release, Schrader says: “Actually, it just kind of happened. I was talking to Richard (Childress) about running a Nationwide Series race and he asked me about running the Coca-Cola 600 so I jumped at the chance, that’s for sure.” Go Schrader!

I'll be back with my picks tomorrow. I've got Friday off for the long weekend so I'll throw my picks out there a day early.

Jeff Gordon does it again. He raced to his second victory in a row. The end of the race had so many different possible endings that you couldn't help but sit on the edge of your seat. It was fantastic.

Honestly, I didn't really think that Kyle Busch had it in him to be a level-headed good boy, but he was. He was sitting in second spot right behind Gordon on a restart. It was a prime opportunity for him to give Gordon a little love tap and go for the lead.

I have to say the exact same thing about Clint Bowyer, only I think Bowyer just plain and simple screwed up. He did nudge him, just not enough to bump him out of the way. Instead, it sent Gordon souring for the win. Even though I think Bowyer screwed up, he impressed me the most in the race. He hasn't been know to have good results here. He started in 25th position and by lap 45 - 50, he had worked his way up to the 6th spot.

I don't know what the hell happened to Ryan Newman. It looked like it was his race to win and then he just spun out and wrecked, giving Gordon the lead.

Jimmie Johnson, my pick to win the race, spun out. It looked like he got a bit too high, got into the marbles and tapped the wall damaging his right rear bumper.

Tony Stewart had some bad luck in the pits. He was leaving his pit box, and had a near miss with Paul Menard. He started going again and Kasey Kahne hit him trying to get in to his own pit box. It damaged Stewart's right front. I would have loved to listen in on that radio communication. Just bad luck in really tight quarters.

Kurt Busch had a similar incident in the pits as Stewart and later in the race dropped a cylinder. He ended up finishing 26th.

Kevin Harvick has to be one of the unluckiest drivers in the Chase. He thought he had a right front tire go down so he made a green flag pit to change right side tires. He went back out on the track but the car still didn’t feel right. He went back in the pits to change all four and found it was a left rear tire that was the cause of the problem. That put him 3 laps down. He finished 33rd.

Where do I begin with Matt Kenseth? He had so many wrecks that I lost count.

Denny Hamlin had transmission issues, finishing 20th.

The rest of the Chasers: Jeff Burton finished 4th, Carl Edwards - 5th, Martin Truex Jr. - 17th.

I'll be honest with you. I didn't watch the race from start to finish. I kept flipping over the Red Sox game the entire time. I just had to.

Here are some facts and stats from NASCAR on Lowe's Motor Speedway:

Race #: 31 of 36 (10-8-07)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
Race Length: 334 laps/500 miles
• Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
• Banking/Straights: 5 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,980 feet
• Backstretch: 1,500 feet

Based on the info above, I have to go with either one of the Hendrick boys to win, Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. I typically go with an underdog also. And this race is no different. My third pick will be Kasey Kahne who has won here twice.

Here's the viewing schedule for this weekend.