Happy Monday all. Today In Nascar History Nov. 16, 1986: Al Unser, a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, starts his last NASCAR Cup race, finishing 20th in Winston Western 500 at Riverside. Unser starts five races over three seasons (1968, 1969 and 1986) and posts three top 10s, two in the top five. Quote of the Year There's an unwritten rule in NASCAR: Thou shalt not take on Dale Earnhardt Jr. --Terry Blount/espn Quote of the Day You can't show 'em all your lines and tip your hand. I like to kind try to drive a couple of botched lines, so guys focus in on that. Then when they get close enough, you just drive back away. JIMMIE JOHNSON Vote for your driver! www.chexmostpopular Comments from the Peanut Gallery Thanks to everyone who sent in your comments on the racing at Talladega. All comments have been duly noted and passed on to NASCAR. Guess we will have to wait and see what the end result is. But at least we provided them with the information they wanted. Thanks again to each and every one of you!!! Bits and Pieces Earnhardt Ganassi Racing confirms 2010 driver selected; sources say Jamie McMurray will drive No. 1 By Bob Pockrass/scenedaily AVONDALE, Ariz. – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has agreed to terms with a driver to replace Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Manion will remain as the crew chief for the No. 1 NASCAR Sprint Cup car, team president Steve Lauletta said Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Lauletta wouldn't name the driver, but sources indicated it would be Jamie McMurray, whose Roush Fenway Racing team is being phased out so the organization can go from five to four teams. McMurray started his Cup career driving for team co-owner Chip Ganassi. McMurray has been considered the frontrunner for the ride for the last three months. Bobby Labonte emerged as a possible candidate last month but announced Saturday he will drive for TRG Motorsports in 2010. "We've got a full agreement," Lauletta said. "I really hope it will be [announced] this week." As far as the crew chief for the car, Lauletta said Manion would remain as crew chief of the No. 1 team. Manion was Truex's crew chief for his two titles in what is now the Nationwide Series and then went on to Cup with Truex in 2006. Truex is leaving the team after the season to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010. "Hopefully his team will remain intact and we'll be ready for next year," Lauletta said. "[Manion] brings a lot of good leadership qualities. Him and [fellow crew chief] Brian [Pattie] get along really well. Obviously, it's been a difficult year bringing the two organizations together, and he's really been a big part of bringing the two groups together and having them work together. "We think with the new driver we're going to bring in, he'll have a great relationship with him and we'll win some races." Denny Hamlin vows to retaliate against Brad Keselowski By Bob Pockrass/scenedaily AVONDALE, Ariz. – Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin vowed that he will retaliate against JR Motorsports' Brad Keselowski during the Nationwide Series race next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After contact with Keselowski resulted in Hamlin spinning late in the Able Body Labor 200 on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway, Hamlin and Keselowski had a discussion in the Nationwide Series garage. It was the third time in the last nine weeks that they were involved in an incident together. "I just wanted to say [to Keselowski], 'Hey, look, you wreck me at Watkins Glen last year, you wreck me at Dover this year, you force me into the three-wide wreck at California, how many times have I wrecked you? Zero. Never have I wrecked you. Until I get back in a Nationwide car,'" Hamlin said after the meeting. "It's a self-policing garage. NASCAR doesn't want to get in the middle of it. ... If it's the opinion of me or maybe one other guy, then, hey, maybe it's me. But every driver in the garage comes up to me and says, 'That guy is a complete whack job.' Not everyone is wrong and he's right. And the thing is, he says, 'What do you want me to say?' I say, 'You don't want to say you're sorry? Nothing? It's cool?' And he says, 'I'm cool.' And I said, 'All right, we're cool then.'" Obviously, Hamlin didn't seem too thrilled with the conversation with Keselowski. "I could talk to this … concrete right here and it would talk back more," Hamlin said. After the race, Keselowski didn't seem to think there should be any payback. "Denny got in the back of me and pushed me up the track and I was going to return the favor," Keselowski said. "When he did it to me, I saved it, and when I did it to him, he didn't save it. We just got in a pushing match. I don't really hold any grudges. I don't know why he wanted to do that. It's just the way racing is, I guess." Hamlin seemed irked that Keselowski implied that he could handle a car better. "Let me tell you something, the one thing he ain't got is more talent than me," Hamlin said. Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash said he would not approve of retaliation. "Race drivers, in the heat of battle, say a lot of things," Balash said. "We had a conversation. A lot of things were said. There will be a whole different scenario when we get to the race track next week. We've got a whole week to manage the expectations of next week. You never condone retaliation." Hendrick denies having a deal with Danica: Rick Hendrick said Sunday he has no deal to bring IndyCar superstar Danica Patrick to NASCAR, and there's no certainty she'll even be driving stock cars next season. "I just think that they are not even close to making a decision on whether to even do it this year or next year," Hendrick said of Patrick and her representatives at IMG. "You never know until it's done. You never know until it's signed. And anybody can change their mind. When you get down to the nitty gritty of any deal, it's always complicated. There can always be someone who comes back and says `I can't do it because of this.' So until it's done, it's not done. And that's the honest truth." Patrick is reportedly in the final stages of a contract that would partner her on a limited Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports, the team owned by both Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. But speaking before Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway, Hendrick called the reports "premature" and insisted nothing is imminent. "I think everything is an option, and it's just too early to really comment on it," he said. "I can't give you anything concrete, because there isn't anything concrete right now. Nothing is imminent until it's signed. Too many things can happen." Hendrick, who just returned from a weeklong vacation in Israel, said there have been no new developments in talks with Patrick and that IndyCar remains her first priority. Existing contracts she has in that series could also complicate a potential venture into NASCAR. Patrick has said very little about her 2010 plans, including an apparent contract extension to stay with Andretti Green Racing. Part of that holdup is a pending change of team ownership, which is expected to be transferred solely to Michael Andretti.(in part from the Associated Press) NASCAR meets with Keselowski: NASCAR chairman Brian France and other top officials talked to rookie #12-Brad Keselowski before Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway about his over-aggressive driving that has angered several drivers. "It's hard to bust a guy for being aggressive, but there's a fine line between being aggressive and destructive, Earnhardt crew treated after wreck: Six pit crew workers for #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. were involved in a car accident Sunday morning on the way to Phoenix International Raceway, but all of them are expected to work the Checker Auto Parts 500 Sunday afternoon, team officials confirmed. All six men were treated and released at the PIR Infield Care Center after their vehicle was T-boned at an intersection near the track. Crew chief Lance McGrew was not in the accident and didn't want to speak about the incident Sunday morning when approached at the #88 AMP Energy Drink/National Guard Chevy hauler in the Sprint Cup garage. Earnhardt will start 18th in Sunday's race.(ESPN) Best Western to sponsor Reutimann: Phoenix-based Best Western will be primary sponsor of David Reutimann's #00 Toyota at Phoenix International Raceway next April.(Arizona Republic) Tony Stewart's "the Stewie" awards return: SIRIUS XM Radio announced that Tony Stewart will host the third annual 'Stewie Awards,' the acclaimed awards show that honors the most memorable moments of the NASCAR season. The 'Stewies,' which first debuted in 2007 and features Stewart's entertaining and irreverent take on the best, boldest and funniest moments from the recently concluded season, will be awarded during a live broadcast hosted by Stewart and Matt Yocum from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Thursday, December 3 (10:00pm/12: Labonte expected back in #71 UPDATE: Bobby Labonte is expected to remain driver of the #71 TRG Motorsports Chevy in 2010. An announcement is expected to take place Saturday [morning around 11:00am] at Phoenix International Raceway.(FoxSports) UPDATE: TRG Motorsports announced NASCAR Cup Series Champion Bobby Labonte will be the full-time driver of the #71 TRG Motorsports Chevy for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Additionally, TaxSlayer.com has signed a multi-race primary sponsorship agreement with TRG for 2010. "I'm really excited about the opportunity that I'll have next year with both TRG Motorsports and TaxSlayer.com as a sponsor," Labonte said. "Each time I've run with the team this year I've enjoyed the experience, and I'm looking forward to filling the seat full time next year and really building on what we've started. I have gotten to know the management team at TaxSlayer and they are great people. I am looking forward to representing them next season." TaxSlayer.com made its debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at this year's race at Watkins Glen International Raceway, and will have served as the primary sponsor of the #71 a total of six times in 2009, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. "Everyone at Taxslayer.com is very excited to continue our relationship with TRG Motorsports and Bobby Labonte," stated Eubanks. "TRG and TaxSlayer both exhibit a phenomenal product and unbelievable quality. Headed in to next season, we're looking forward to showcasing our service to the entire NASCAR community, especially as tax season approaches." UPDATE 2: Bobby Labonte has signed a one-year contract to drive TRG Motorsports' car in 2010 -- and at least for the season-opening Daytona 500 he'll have a teammate in TRG's hoped-for full-time second car. On Saturday morning at Phoenix International Raceway, TRG owner Kevin Buckler and Labonte announced the deal and a 12-race primary sponsorship with TaxSlayer.com, a provider of online tax preparation software, that Buckler hopes will be the first of several. Michael Waltrip Racing extends with Toyota: Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) announced the extension of its partnership with Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The new agreement will keep the emerging organization with the manufacturer through the end of 2012. In 2010, MWR will field the #00 Aaron's/Tums/ Another sponsor for Newman? UPDATE: Stewart Haas Racing is scheduled to make a sponsorship announcement regarding #39-Ryan Newman in 2010 on Sunday morning. One possibility is Bass Pro Shops, though no announcement has been made of a decision by that company to leave Earnhardt Ganassi [and supposedly they are signed with EGR thru 2010]. Bass Pro Shops currently sponsors Martin Truex Jr.'s #1 Chevy [with Jamie McMurray rumored as the driver in 2010]. Truex is leaving for Michael Waltrip Racing [#56 NAPA Toyota] in 2010. (NASCAR This Week) UPDATE: not Bass Pro Shops but......... Wingo to stay at Roush UPDATE Fennig? #26 Crew chief Donnie Wingo appears to be headed back to Roush Fenway Racing next season in a capacity still to be determined. Wingo's future with the organization has been uncertain since it was revealed in late July that driver Jamie McMurray's #26 team would go away and sponsor Crown Royal would move to Roush driver Matt Kenseth's team next year. The breakup of McMurray's team is part of a downsizing by Roush Fenway to conform to NASCAR's new four-car limit set to take effect in 2010. Asked on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway if there would be a place for Wingo next season at Roush Fenway, team co-owner Jack Roush said, "The answer to that is yes." Wingo later backed up his boss' assertion. "I don't think the plan is finalized for next year but we have spoken and he says he's got a place for me there next year and I'm real happy about that," he said. "It's where I want to be right now and I hope I can end my career here. ... I'm just looking forward to whatever they have for me in the future, whatever I can do to help."(SceneDaily) Nadeau looking to go racing in 2010: Jerry Nadeau, who suffered a head injury in a crash at Richmond in 2003 and has not competed in NASCAR since, was at the track Friday. He's trying to find funding for a Grand Am ride for next season.(Roanoke Times) Danica to JR Motorsports? Maybe Not: Dale Earnhardt Jr. says a deal to put Danica Patrick in his Nationwide Series car isn't imminent, and even if it were, JR Motorsports wouldn't necessarily have the funding for the IndyCar Series' most popular driver. Multiple media outlets have reported in recent weeks that Patrick was on the verge of signing with JRM for a part-time Nationwide schedule next season while continuing to run the Indy Racing League. Patrick and JRM share a sponsor in GoDaddy.com, but Earnhardt says it doesn't make the deal a cinch. "We've had a relationship with GoDaddy, so that makes us look like a nice fit, but they're moving (next year), so we don't really have it anymore," Earnhardt said after Sprint Cup practice Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "We're having to search around." JRM's #88 Chevy currently driven by Brad Keselowski is sponsored by GoDaddy.com, but the company will move to Cup next year to back the #5 Chevy of Mark Martin at Hendrick Motorsports, which has an alliance with JRM. Earnhardt says JRM has only "three-quarters to half a season" of sponsors for the #88 in 2010. Earnhardt says the lack of funding is what's driving JRM's interest in Patrick, who also has been pursued by Roush Fenway Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing. Patrick also has met with Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing, and Earnhardt says he's talked to her along with Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Patrick lives in the Phoenix area, but offseason sponsor commitments are expected to keep her from attending Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500. "She's very interested in trying NASCAR, and a lot of people weren't sure whether she was serious or not, but she is serious," Earnhardt said. "There's a lot to learn there for her. She's got to get in the cars. She's got a lot of (stuff) to do before she ever takes the green flag for anything. But she's talked to a lot of people. I've spoken with her a couple of times just about the lifestyle and the difference in the series vs. what she does now." Besides GoDaddy, Patrick has sponsorship ties to Motorola's Boost Mobile brand and Tissot. Earnhardt believes she might be able to bring those companies to NASCAR, though without some TV advertising campaigns that could be considered risqué.(in part from the USA Today) Eight 2008 pole sitters shut out so far: with one race left to qualifying for, Homestead, there are eight drivers who scored a pole in 2008 that have not in 2009. #9-Kahne has a six season pole streak on the line [he has won at least one pole in each of the last six seasons]. Other drivers who won a pole in 2008 and none in 2009 are: #16-Biffle [2 straight season with a pole], #88-Earnhardt Jr.[2], #99-Edwards [2], #87-Nemechek[ Brian France fights to keep case quiet: NASCAR chairman Brian France filed a civil complaint against his ex-wife, Megan France, last year, a few months after the couple divorced in Florida. They married in California in 2005. Lawyers persuaded Mecklenburg [County, NC] Judge Todd Owens to seal the court file from public inspection, an unusual move in a court system that typically allows widespread access to courtrooms and documents. On Friday, France's attorneys petitioned a Mecklenburg judge to bar the public from the courtroom as arguments in the case unfold. It's unclear exactly what the dispute involves, but the matter is being heard in family court and apparently involves domestic issues. France's attorneys argued Friday that a confidentiality agreement is at the heart of the case, and that it shouldn't be breached in open court hearings. (see full story at the Charlotte Observer) NASCAR rated with 5th best Drug Testing in sports: The Wall Street Journal examined anti-doping policies of 22 major sports or governing bodies and gave them a "clarity quotient" based on the presence of a policy, its accessibility to the public, severity of sanctions for offenders and administration of the code itself. A score of 100 is the gold standard, below 50, insufficient. NASCAR's policy is rated 5th of 22 with a score of 90. NASCAR: Has nine racing series with close to 2,000 drivers. The misuse or abuse of any drug or alcohol is a violation. Even prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs that may cause a driver "to have a competitive advantage or diminished or impaired ability to perform" on the day of the event are banned. Competitors are subject to out-of-season testing, preseason testing, random testing and testing for cause. Positive test result means an indefinite suspension. Competitors are offered a treatment program to undergo and afterward may seek reinstatement. No drivers' union to contend with and an obligation to protect spectators allow for strict policy. Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud Matt McLaughlin · Frontstretch. Phoenix The Key Moment: Johnson's crew got their driver off pit road first on the final set of pit stops. Once the No. 48 car had clean air on its snout, it was unstoppable. In a Nutshell: Jimmie Johnson drove another nail in his competition's coffin with a dominating drive. Dramatic Moment: There weren't many in a race that started out with some enthusiasm but quickly petered out altogether. Johnson and Kurt Busch actually waged a somewhat stirring battle early in the event. The side-by-side restarts at the narrow Phoenix track made for some physical racing and a pair of big wrecks. What They'll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week Cup Racing At Phoenix. Name that acronym! Denny Hamlin suggested this week that there be a board of drivers to advise NASCAR on key issues, that they should treat input from all the various drivers equally, and that the sanctioning body should listen to the fans as well. He then laid aside his bong, ate a dozen doughnuts, and listened to American Beauty on his eight track player. You want some clear evidence of how bad the sponsorship market is in the Cup series right now? Mark Martin is one of the most respected, successful, and talented drivers the circuit has ever known. He's going to finish second in the standings, and has won five races this year. Yet Kellogg's won't be returning to the team next year and CARQUEST will only be back for eight races. GoDaddy will sponsor the team for twenty races, while Delphi will be primary sponsor of the No. 5 car for two events. That still leaves six points paying events that Martin isn't sponsored for at this point. It's scary to think about, especially for the smaller, less successful team owners… It was a study in contrasts when Johnson and Busch were battling for the lead. Johnson and Knaus are one of the more enduring driver-crew chief combinations in the garage area, while Busch's crew chief is a lame duck with one race left to run with Penske South. It was far from a perfect race, but the 312-mile distance at a one mile track which cars routinely lap at under 30 seconds seemed pretty close to the ideal length for a Cup event. Maybe all the 500 milers next year should be 500 kilometers instead? The National Enquirer ran an article earlier this week claiming Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s drinking is out of control, he's approaching a nervous breakdown, and he shows up race mornings morose and resigned instead of eager and enthused. This information was attributed to "a source close to the situation" that could be any one of numerous hangers on who Earnhardt has shed from his orbit over the years. So maybe that's the solution — hire the Bat-Faced Boy as Junior's new crew chief. Give Carl Edwards some style points for not taking himself too seriously. Everyone wondered what he'd do if he won a race and couldn't do his traditional backflip celebration owing to his still healing foot. So after winning Saturday's Nationwide race, Edwards got out of the car and did an awkward somersault on the track. Phoenix had a decent crowd on Sunday, even if it was far from a sellout. But Saturday's Nationwide attendance was downright embarrassing. Yeah, it's a tough real estate market. Having thrown in the towel on developing their Staten Island track, the ISC has agreed in principle to sell the 676 acre tract to another entity for 80 million bucks. That's about thirty million dollars less than the ISC paid for it. Ouch. You know what they say. A million dollars here, a million dollars there, and all of a sudden, you're talking about real money. A lot of folks are quick to point out what the new ESPN coverage is lacking, and I don't disagree with much of the criticism, but sometimes credit must be given when it's due. The pre-race tribute to Mark Martin was excellent. It was rather curious, though, that no mention was made that Martin lost a title to Earnhardt in 1990 because of a 46-point penalty NASCAR hit him with at Rockingham, the second race of the season. The infraction NASCAR objected to was a carb spacer that was bolted to the manifold rather than welded as the rule stipulated. Even Earnhardt's car owner Richard Childress admitted bolting the spacer to the manifold rather than welding it offered no performance advantage, but NASCAR stuck by their call. The penalty didn't finish off Mark Martin's championship hopes, though. Roush and Martin shot themselves in the foot during the Atlanta season finale by running a Yates-prepared car rather than the mounts they were used to. (For an excellent article on that topic, stop by That's Racin' and read Tom Higgins account.) One thing about the historic footage that was part of ESPN's pre-race coverage is that it was hard not to notice how much better and more "Stock" cars of that era looked. After watching him take out Denny Hamlin in Saturday's Nationwide race, I'm beginning to see why some wags refer to the driver of the No. 88 car as "Brad Cause-a-wreck- What did the No. 19 team call that unfortunate shade of green their car was slathered in Sunday? Back in high school, when the same shade was popular on Chevys we called it 'Snot Pretty. It appears with the declining ratings for Cup races ABC is having increasing problems filling its commercial load. Where the problem is particularly evident is during the local affiliates' scheduled breaks, which are increasingly low rent. I mean, these are the sort of ads normally consigned to late night reruns of the Dukes of Hazzard. Will those affiliates dip to the "1-900-Call Me" level in time for Homestead? Brian France and his lawyers are apparently shelling out big bucks to keep a legal dispute involving his divorce from his wife of four years from being made public. The court notes that it's an unusual request, as such court documents are normally available to the public and such hearings are usually fair game for the media. France's lawyer pointed out the presence of a Charlotte Observer reporter at the hearing to keep the records sealed by noting "the big bad wolf is blowing at the door." (France really doesn't like the media, does he? That's cool. In this journalist's case, I really don't like him either.) France's lawyer went on to argue that since France is rich and has spent all this money, he ought to be able to keep the records sealed because revealing their content would do him irreparable harm. Now, I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV, but my guess is now that the weasel's halfway out of the bag it's better to just let the story out. In this tabloid crazed society that made a princess of Paris Hilton — who is most famous just for being famous — absent hard evidence on France folks are going to assume the worst. My guess is readers of the National Enquirer (see above) are going to guess he was caught by his wife beating a homosexual prostitute in their marital bed while in the midst of a psychotic episode fueled by meth and strawberry wine. Or, worse yet, he went on a date with Paris Hilton, and there's video evidence of the evening… The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune Kurt Busch seemed to have a car that could compete with the No. 48, at least in clean air, but a slow pit stop dropped him out of contention. Tony Stewart struggled with an ill-handling car all afternoon. The contact he endured in the wreck Junior triggered just added insult to injury. Brad Keselowski felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of another driver's front bumper. Apparently, he didn't like it. Kevin Harvick's win in Friday's truck race and second place finish in Saturday's Nationwide race didn't translate to success on Sunday. His car was so out to lunch I half expected to see his crew hand him a picnic basket and fishing pole during the final pit stop. The "Seven Come Fore Eleven" Award For Fine Fortune At times, it looked like Johnson was on cruise control much of the event, but Johnson barely escaped potentially race-ending contact with Robby Gordon and Jamie McMurray while lapping them. The way this season has gone for Jeff Burton, a second place finish has to feel like a win. Burton had the car sideways for the final twenty laps in a Quixotic attempt to catch Johnson. Jeff Gordon's tangle with Kyle Busch and the post-contact confrontation could easily have cost him that top 10 finish. Martin Truex, Jr. enjoyed his best finish of the 2009 season. Six members of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s pit crew were lucky to escape serious injury when the van they were riding in to the track was hit broadside. Hey, guys, leave the wrecking to your driver! Worth Noting · Johnson's victory was his seventh of the season and his third consecutive win in the Phoenix Fall race. · Jeff Burton's second place finish was his best since he won at Charlotte last Fall. He now has three consecutive top 10 finishes. · Denny Hamlin (third) has finished in the top 3 in three of the last four races. · Mark Martin finished fourth for the second straight week. · Martin Truex, Jr.'s fifth place finish was his first top 5 result since Watkins Glen in August 2008. · Clint Bowyer finished seventh for the second straight week. · Jeff Gordon (ninth) enjoyed a top 10 finish for the first time since Martinsville. But he still put a .44 slug in his rental car's radio when it started playing the Eagle's "New Kid In Town" over the weekend. · David Reutimann (tenth) drove to his first top 10 finish since Kansas. · Marcos Ambrose's eleventh place finish was his best since Bristol. But he's still the only driver in the series who gets the summer off when he returns home after next week's race. · These Fords seem to be agreeing with A.J. Allmendinger, who has driven to tenth and 13th place finishes since making the switch. · Carl Edwards hasn't managed a top 5 finish since Michigan in August. · Ron Hornaday, at 51 years of age, has become the most senior champion ever in one of NASCAR's top three touring series. I gotta admit, I thought one of Hornaday's sponsors, Indian Motorcycles, had gone out of business years ago. They haven't. Really wealthy people with a taste for vintage styled motorcycles can check them out at www.indianmotorcycl · The top 10 finishers at Phoenix drove seven Chevys, two Toyotas, and a lone Dodge. A.J. Allmendinger in 13th was the top finishing Ford pilot. · Joey Logano's 21st place finish was the best by a rookie. It's been awhile since we've heard that "Sliced Bread" nickname, huh? What's the Points? And then, there were two. Only Mark Martin can upset Johnson's apple cart at Homestead. Presuming the visitors from V don't kidnap Johnson and use him as a pre-Thanksgiving snack, Jeff Gordon will be eliminated when Johnson takes the green flag at Homestead. Right now, the gap between Johnson and Mark Martin stands at 108. But under the traditional and legitimate pre-Chase points system, Jimmie Johnson would have moved from third to first in the standings after Phoenix. He'd be leading Tony Stewart by 13 points and Jeff Gordon by 56 heading into next weekend's season finale, and we'd have the sort of barnburner on our hands the Chase was supposed to produce. Sigh. Well, this is going to be short and sweet. All twelve of the drivers in the Chase left Phoenix in the same points position they entered the race in. (Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't end a sentence with a preposition. This is something up with which I'm not going to put.) In fact, the top 22 drivers held position after Phoenix. Tell me again how great this Chase points system is. Kyle Busch now leads Matt Kenseth by 45 points in their battle for "Best of the Rest" in 13th. And last but not least, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse Earnhardt fell another spot to 24th in the standings. In comparison, Jamie McMurray is currently 22nd in the standings and he's not only getting the ax, he's still looking for a ride for 2009. Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic) — We'll give this one three cans, with that extra can added for some decent racing back in the pack and an event that ended by 6:30 ET. Next Up: It's off to Homestead to finally end a season that should have been dragged behind the woodshed and had a bullet put between its eyes about three months ago. Somewhere, over the rainbow… UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CHASE Standings UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CLASSIC - the OLD way - Driver Points Standings Phoenix Race and Commercial Breakdown: For those of you NASCAR fans that like stats and love to hate commercials, or wonder how often your driver was focused on, here is the breakdown for Sunday's race. ABC was the broadcast team for this event. Jeff Burton rebounds from poor qualifying effort to finish second at Phoenix By SceneDaily Staff AVONDALE, Ariz. - Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton sees great strides being made within his team - something evident in his second-place finish in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Burton, 42, lamented his poor qualifying effort after the race - he started 36th - pointing out that that kind of start can mislead one about changes that need to be made to a car over the course of a race. That could throw a team behind - or perhaps be the difference in almost catching the leader and being able to do so. "It always helps to race against the guys that are leading the race because it enables you to compare yourself against them," Burton said. "You should be able to win the race with a hundred to go starting sixth. I know my numbers are off a little bit, but it's close. It's hard to use that as an excuse, as far as track position. "But what you lose is the opportunity to compare yourself against a guy that has a shot to win the race. You get a little bit fooled about how good you are when you have maybe the fastest car on the track and you're running 15th because you're beating everybody around you. Then when you get to the top, the top guys, it gets harder. I think that's the biggest disadvantage. Still, it's not clear that anyone would have been able to catch winner Jimmie Johnson in the race. What is clear is the ground Burton and his Todd Berrier-led team have gained in recent weeks. The finish was Burton's third consecutive top-10. "I think this is fair to say, that this is the best we've run all year," he said. "Last week, you know, I know it was ninth, but I'm telling you, we won that race last week with what we had for a backup [car]. The way I felt, what we made happen with that car, we won that race. I know that's hard for you guys to understand, but that was an incredible effort last week. "This week, you know, we honestly had a shot to win this race. So I think this for sure is the best second-place finish we had. We led a lot in [Las] Vegas and finished third. We had a shot to win that race earlier in the year. That race and this race were our best shots with the exception of the superspeedway races." Key to those gains is Berrier. The pair was in its third race together at Phoenix. Burton's previous crew chief, Scott Miller, has taken a new role helping run the competition department. Burton says that he and Berrier connected from the outset. "I have a lot of faith in Todd," he said. "I think Todd has a lot of faith in me. We're very blunt, very up front, very honest. We just go to work. He's real good about reminding me about things I need to be reminded of. He's everything I thought he was and more." Berrier says the two are still learning about one another, gaining additional knowledge week to week. That is helping them lay a solid foundation for the 2010 season. "They all say somewhat the same things, just a little different ways and you've just got to learn by the tone of their voice or however they sense it, how big a magnitude a change you need to make," Berrier said. "And it's just trying to learn that." He admits that he has already had some things about Burton validated through their new relationship - especially after runs like Sunday's. "He drives his tail off," Berrier said. "He'll drive it sideways. He works really hard at it." Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin third in NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix … again By SceneDaily Staff AVONDALE, Ariz. – For the fourth time in his NASCAR Cup series career, Denny Hamlin finished third in a race at Phoenix International Raceway. So while Hamlin was certainly pleased to run well in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at PIR, he understandably wanted more. Johnson, meanwhile, stretched his series lead from 73 to 108 points over teammate Mark Martin, who finished fourth. Johnson rebounded from a disappointing outing in last weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway where he finished 38th on the heels of a lap-3 crash. Mark Martin runs well at Phoenix, but loses ground in championship race By Mike Hembree/scenedaily. AVONDALE, Ariz. – Mark Martin and crew chief Alan Gustafson were good but not great. And that was the difference Sunday in NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson making his margin bigger leading into next weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Johnson dominated the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on the way to his seventh win of the season. Martin had a strong car but finished fourth, enabling Johnson to boost his point lead from 73 to 108 over the second-place Martin. "It was a great run, a great team effort and a really great race car," Martin said. "It was a really good run. We were right there. We were really good on long runs, and that last run was what we needed, but the car got a little tight and wasn't quite what it had been on some of the long runs. "I really thought I could get to him [Johnson]. I thought it was going to be a four-car race there. With 35 to go, the way my car had been coming on, I really thought, 'This is going to be fun. It's going to be a four-car race.' But it kind of fizzled out. But I'm very satisfied. It was a good job by this team." Johnson led 238 laps. Martin never led. But the difference in their cars was not huge. "It was a good, solid day," Gustafson said. "We ran good. Pit stops were good. We just weren't great, and to win them you have to be great. We fought track position a little all day long, which is tough. We weren't perfect, and to win these things you have to be perfect. "The 48 [of Johnson] had track position all day long. If we had had that, we might have been able to compete with them." Going to Homestead, Martin faces long odds. He has a shot at the championship only if Johnson finishes 26th or worse. "That makes that pretty cut and dried," Gustafson said. "We have to win it for that scenario to play out, so we'll just focus on doing that and going down there to Homestead and enjoy it. "That is a really tough track. It's going to be hot and slick. You can't be too loose in the corner. You have to roll the center really well. You have to get off the corner. It's tough to do, but we've got the right driver for that. He's really good down there. He can deal with a lot of those issues." Martin said he will approach Homestead "the same as I did today. No different." Earnhardt Ganassi's Martin Truex Jr. notches first top-five of 2009 at Phoenix By SceneDaily Staff AVONDALE, Ariz. - It's hard to believe that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Martin Truex Jr. ran 34 NASCAR Sprint Cup races without a top-five finish this season. But it wasn't until Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway that Truex broke through with a top-five, finishing fifth from the pole position. That marked Truex's first top-five since last year at Watkins Glen International. As he looked over the race weekend, Truex said that it was just a weekend where the team got all the little things right - and nothing went awry. "We didn't have any problems in the pits," he said. "Nothing fell off the car. The tires held air. You know all that good stuff. We just had a good race. Nothing bad happened and we didn't have any bad luck and we had a good car." He said that crew chief Kevin Manion and his group made the car better on every pit stop. In the last couple of runs, Truex felt that he had one of the best cars on the track. That hasn't been a feeling he's enjoyed all that much this season. Truex, who is leaving for Michael Waltrip Racing following next weekend's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, said that made this all that much sweeter. "We've had a rough season, so it feels good," he said. He heads to Homestead with mixed emotions, too. Truex has been with this group since his rookie season of 2006, starting out with it as Dale Earnhardt Inc. then being part of the offseason merger with Chip Ganassi Racing that created Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Now, he has just one race remaining with the group. Running well Sunday at Phoenix, and hopefully again next week at Homestead, would help make leaving easier for all of them. "It's huge to me because those guys are just like brothers to me," said Truex, who gained three spots to 23rd in the standings. "We're just like a family. I wanted it so bad all year. I've been trying all year. I think sometimes we try too hard and that's what gets us in trouble and causes problems. It feels great and I'm really proud of their efforts. "To keep digging all year after the year we've had and not give up and come out here and get a top-five, I'm just real proud of their efforts. Just hope we can get a little closer next week." Penske Racing's Kurt Busch continues recent surge in performances with strong Phoenix run By SceneDaily Staff AVONDALE, Ariz. – Fresh off a win one week earlier at Texas Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch continued his recent string of strong performances with a sixth-place finish in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. "We would have liked it to have been a little better." Busch is already looking forward to next Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where his team will resurrect the car that just went to victory lane at Texas. "We've had a long year. We've had a successful year." Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer showing familiar form in recent races By SceneDaily Staff AVONDALE, Ariz. – The Clint Bowyer of the late 2009 season is slowly starting to resemble the Clint Bowyer of early 2009. As Easy As ABC By Sarah Farlee, CupScene.com Senior Staff Writer
Avondale, AZ - Jimmie Johnson makes winning races, and championships, look easy. Johnson gave Hendrick Motorsports its sixth win in a row at the Phoenix International Raceway in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, and did it in dominating fashion. "What a great car, what a great race team," said Johnson, who won his third consecutive fall race at PIR. "These guys have bounced back and we've always been good at it." "Dominating this race says a lot," Johnson added. The dominating performance by the 48 team gives Johnson a 108 point lead over teammate Mark Martin going into the season finale at Homestead. Johnson will need a 25th place finish or better to clinch his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship – an unprecedented feat in NASCAR history. "We wanted to come in here and attack," said crew chief Chad Knaus. Attack they did. Johnson led 76 percent of the race, leaving everyone else to battle for second on back. Jeff Burton had his best finish of the season finishing second, while Denny Hamlin finished third for the fourth time at PIR. Polesitter Martin Truex, Jr. capped of a solid weekend with a fifth place finish. It is his only top-five finish of the year. "We had a good race, nothing bad happened and we didn't have bad luck," Truex said. The race had few caution periods, only four. Two cautions for debris and two incidents involving several cars brought out the yellow, which allowed the double file restart to make its debut at PIR. On the lap 119 restart Erik Darnell was rear ended and that started the melee toward the back of the field that involved Robby Gordon, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, John Andretti, Casey Mears and David Ragan - who all had moderate damage and Michael Waltrip, who had significant damage and had to be towed from the scene. "Tricky," said Waltrip. "I was slowed down and didn't have any power steering and two people passed me to get in the wreck." Jeff Gordon seemed to struggle on restarts and said he had a ninth place day, which is were the four-time champion finished the day. Gordon added he was excited with the way they started the race, but at the end the car got away from them. "The 48 did what they needed to do, which is no surprise," said Gordon, who will be eliminated from the championship picture when Johnson starts the race at Homestead. It was also not a surprise that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had issues as his 2009 woes continue. On lap 169 Earnhardt spun in front of the pack and a mess broke out that involved Scott Speed, Casey Mears, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte and Chase drivers Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers. Labonte and Vickers were the only two that did not return to the track following the incident. Earnhardt returned 53 laps down after the crew repaired a severed oil line believed to have been the cause of the spin. He would finish 35th. Stewart, Newman and Vickers would all finish outside the top-20. Newman finished 20th, Stewart 25th and Vickers 38th. As the circuit heads to the season finale the rest of the Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers are just hoping to get the best finish they can. Kurt Busch, who finished sixth in the race, is hoping to break up the Hendrick Motorsports party at the top of the Chase. "Sixth place, we'll take it," said Busch. "Last week was a win. We're gaining points and we're still doing a good job. (Jeff) Gordon is within distance going into Homestead for third place overall." Hamlin also is looking at the final points standings as motivation. "We are trying to crawl back up in the points just as high as we can," said Hamlin, who is currently eighth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings. "We wanted to get back to the top five in points — I highly doubt that's going to happen, but you never know, we're making steps." Martin finished fourth and remains the only legitimate contender to battle Johnson for the Sprint Cup. "We gave it everything we had," said Martin. The remaining Chase field had top-15 finishes in Phoenix. Juan Pablo Montoya finished eighth, Greg Biffle finished 14th, Kasey Kahne finished 15th and Carl Edwards finished 16th. As Johnson heads to Homestead he is quick to remind himself that anything can happen. "We finished 38th last week so I can't let my guard down," said Johnson. Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon effectively eliminated from championship race By Bob Pockrass/scenedaily AVONDALE, Ariz. - Jeff Gordon was all but eliminated from NASCAR Sprint Cup title contention as his ninth-place finish in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 put him 169 points behind points leader Jimmie Johnson, who will officially eliminate Gordon by starting the season finale next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gordon was disappointed as his solid car at the beginning of the day turned sour during the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. "I was really excited when we started the race," Gordon said. "We drove right to the front. … It just got away from us. We weren't very good on the restarts, and it was just a ninth-place day for us. "[It's] a little disappointing because I thought we were going to be better than that. Even if we had been a third- or fourth-place car, the No. 48 [of Johnson] did what they needed to do, which is no surprise. We've seen them do it many times. That's why they are three-time champions, soon to be four." A four-time champ himself, Gordon said the fact that even with a top-five car he likely wouldn't have gained ground on Johnson didn't change the way he felt about his day. "It just really matters to me how we run," Gordon said. "That's how we operate. Last week, we didn't run good and we didn't capitalize on [Johnson's] misfortune. And so if they finished ninth and we didn't capitalize on that, I'd be upset, too. But it was more because we just didn't run better." While he was disappointed, Gordon did take a little pride knowing that the Sprint Cup championship belongs to Hendrick Motorsports, either to Johnson or Mark Martin, who trails Johnson by 108 points. "It's gratifying to know that it's coming to Hendrick Motorsports," Gordon said. "We're excited and at the same time, we're just like everybody else out there: We want to beat the 48 team [of Johnson]. So it inspires us in the offseason to try to get better. We'll look at doing that. We have one race to go and we'll certainly look forward to giving those guys all the props and respect they deserve because they earned it." And now it's time for Gordon to try to remain third in points (he is 42 ahead of Penske Racing's Kurt Busch) or gain 62 on Martin for second. "There's a lot of different reasons why we need to run good out there," Gordon said. "It's not just because we were trying to win the championship. We were also trying to stay within the battle that we have for second. We lost points to the 2 [of Busch], we lost points to the 5 [of Martin], and that's what makes it a little more frustrating." Wherever Gordon finishes, he will be better than his seventh in points in 2008. "We've got to get better ... and I feel like that was our efforts this year – we made them better but not good enough," Gordon said. "We'll come back next year and hopefully be stronger. We're still looking forward to Homestead. I think we have a great car for that race, and we'll see what happens." Mike Lovecchio · Frontstretch. Phoenix ONE: Does Jimmie Johnson's points lead determine whether or not you watch the race next week at Homestead? What seems like a pretty simple question to any die hard sports fan: "Are you going to watch your favorite sports' championship?" really isn't all that simple for NASCAR fans. Unlike stick and ball sports, where the championship is often unpredictable and fans don't know who the eventual champion will be until the final whistle, buzzer, or pitch, when the Cup Series travels down south to Miami next weekend fans have already conceded that it will take a near miracle for Mark Martin to make up 108 points and pass Jimmie Johnson for the title. Couple that with the fact that it's been a rather lackluster year for the sport as a whole, and you can't blame fans for prematurely beginning their offseason routine and recharging their batteries before Daytona in February. Will Johnson win the championship? Probably. But the unpredictability that racing holds makes Sunday's Ford 400 must-see TV for NASCAR purists. Heck, even if you can't stomach seeing Johnson, Knaus, and Co. hold a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup, grab a cold one and at least switch over from NFL football one last time to witness history. TWO: Is the Brad Keselowski / Denny Hamlin feud good for NASCAR? Like any great feud in NASCAR over the past handful of years, the ongoing rivalry between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series has provided a spark to rather dull racing. Ask any NASCAR fan – as evidenced by the poll numbers – and they'll tell you drivers should show more emotion. Although a good percentage of fans can't stand Kyle Busch's antics, even they'll admit that he's a character who's good for the sport. Keselowski is from the Lil' Busch mold, and for NASCAR to sit him down and tell him to throttle back on his on-track aggressiveness is absurd. This feud may have reared its head in the Nationwide Series, but what makes it great is that it has the potential to expand to the Cup Series in 2010 and beyond. THREE: Should NASCAR step in and prevent any retaliation from Denny Hamlin next week? I may be contradicting my previous point, but there is a difference between showing emotion on the track and off the track. A good ol' shoving match is alright, but to blatantly put somebody in the wall – especially at a high-speed track like Homestead — is crossing the line. Denny Hamlin was obviously frustrated when interviewed Saturday after the race, but nonetheless warned about a future retaliation and NASCAR should do all they can to see that it doesn't happen. If Hamlin clearly goes out of his way to put Keselowski in the wall (ala Scott Speed v. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.) NASCAR should sit him for the Cup race on Sunday. FOUR: The reemergence of A.J. Allmendinger Has anybody else noticed that Richard Petty Motorsports' decision to put A.J. Allmendinger in a Ford for the remainder of the season has lit a fire under both the team and driver? A 10th place finish last week at Texas and subsequent 13th this weekend is the best two-race average of the season for the No. 44 team, and there is no reason to think the top 15 streak won't continue next weekend in Miami. With RPM set to sport Fords in 2010 next season, Allmendinger has an opportunity to be a shot in the arm not just for the No. 44 team, but for all of RPM as well. FIVE: Does anyone really care that Kyle Busch will be your Nationwide champion? With a 190-point lead going to Homestead, all Kyle Busch needs to do is start the Ford 300 to win the Nationwide championship. Sure, that was his goal when he decided to run the series full-time at the beginning of the year, but is it worth it to not make the Chase on the Cup side? Listen, I'm happy for the No. 18 team on the Nationwide side, but if you had to grade Lil' Busch's year across NASCAR's three national series together – even with the championship and Truck Series dominance – the lack of a Chase berth has to drop that grade to at best a "B" and leaning more towards a "C." Notes to Ponder: Danica in/Danica out: Is anyone else sick and tired of these Danica's going to sign, Danica's not going to sign reports? Crew accident: Six members of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Cup Series team were T-boned at an intersection on the way to the track Sunday morning. Props go out to those individuals for continuing to work during the race. Bayne signs:. An atta-boy to Michael Waltrip Racing for keeping Trevor Bayne under contract – one of the bright young talents in the sport. Bowles-Eye View Thomas Bowles · Frontstretch. Want To Stop Hendrick? Here's Five Ways To Do It In his 25th year in Sprint Cup, Rick Hendrick hasn't just reached the peak of his sport … he's carving a new mountain upon which all others must climb. With just one week left in 2009, his driver Jimmie Johnson stands poised to win a fourth straight title, with team cars Mark Martin second and Jeff Gordon third in points in what's poised to be the first 1-2-3 finish by a car owner in NASCAR history. It's a run of dominance the likes of which the sport hasn't seen in the modern era, perhaps ever. And here's the scary part (or thrilling, depending on which side of the fence you're on) — it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Johnson, Martin, and Gordon are signed to long-term deals that will keep them in the fold until they retire. Behind them, not only has the Stewart-Haas "B" team composed of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman been successful, both Chase-making drivers have solid sponsorship and the team holds two open slots for more drivers (Kevin Harvick? Danica Patrick?) to enter the powerhouse down the line. The NASCAR equivalent of auto racing's New York Yankees, Hendrick shows no signs of holding anything in his poker hand other than the ultimate royal flush. There's just one problem with this competitive machine of dominance on and off the So while credit should be given where credit's due – Hendrick's simply worked the system better than anyone else – the worries remain about how their philosophies and personnel, if left unchecked, could hurt the long-term health of the sport. At the very least, Homestead and the rest of the offseason becomes a mind-boggling question for the rest of the Sprint Cup garage: How can they ever be stopped? Well, I think I've found some answers — and I guarantee you plenty of people are going to find them crazy. That's fine, because some of it's tongue-in-cheek and I know the chances of them being adopted are slim to none. But without any type of restrictions in place, one wonders if there's any way we can step back from the power of a select few and diversify the NASCAR landscape – a formula that led to the sport's unprecedented growth until a few short years ago. No one else is coming up with solutions these days, so I figure going radical is a whole lot better than simply saying nothing at all. Step #1: Add adjustability back into these race cars. One area in which Hendrick reigns superior over all its rivals is engineering. With the testing ban making it difficult to perfect the handling on the new car, computer simulations combined with precision chassis work have become just as important as a test at Rockingham or New Smyrna that may or may not relate to the handling of a car at, say, Texas Motor Speedway. That allows the Hendrick cars to hit the track at the top of their game at Friday practice, already in position to have a strong run a full 48 hours before the race even starts. That's a problem for the rest of the competition. Because for all the "parity" the new car is supposed to achieve, one of the top complaints from drivers and crew chiefs is a painful inability to adjust on the fly. If you start the weekend out to lunch, forget it; it's just difficult, if not impossible, to get the car headed back in the right direction to contend. Taking the power away from the at-track mechanics, the CoT leaves it in the hands of wind tunnel experts, computer and engineering geniuses — but are they the ones supposed to be the face of the sport? When men like Jimmy Fennig and Doug Richert become aliens to a car they once dominated the sport with, when a race team hires a former engineer from Formula 1 to run their program — you know there's been a titanic shift towards technology over mechanical innovation and intuition. So in order to allow for other teams to catch up at the race track, there needs to be greater adjustability for the cars on-site, putting more control back in the driver and crew chief's hands. Don't mandate so many parts and pieces, and give mechanics leeway to do what they do best — come up with ways to make a car go fast. IROC cars lead to limited improvements, a lack of innovation that keeps the best-funded cars in the best position to succeed week in, week out — and Hendrick's posse of perfect personnel on top. Step #2: Truly enforce the four-team limit. At the end of this season, NASCAR will require each car owner to cut down to a maximum of four teams he can "own" according to the records down in Daytona Beach. But in an era of consolidation, expansion is the name of the game instead with the sport's country club elite. This year, Hendrick benefited from their chassis and engine support agreement with Stewart-Haas, leading to extensive information sharing amongst both teams. Roush Fenway actually one-upped HMS, with a total of seven cars under their umbrella when you include the two-car team at Yates; but with their "B" team struggling to achieve maximum funding, it was the HMS cars who stole the show. Can you imagine a Robby Gordon or even a Team Red Bull competing against this onslaught of data? The fact TRB made the Chase was a true miracle in itself. Sure, the argument can be made that individual personnel can inevitably make a difference; if the No. 83 pulls off the fastest pit stop, what does it matter that Chad Knaus had five crew chiefs helping him over the course of the weekend? But the more information you have, the better chance you have at success, as we've learned all too well these last few years. There's a reason why Hendrick's "teamwork" motto gives them a leg up on a sport that's supposed to be based on the results of individual cars. It's legal under the rules, but it leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth – after all, it's one car, not four, that gets credit for the victory in the end. But breaking apart the multi-car giants are easier said than done. With the teams owned by private contractors, can the sport control what really happens behind the scenes? In baseball, franchising leads to parity, as small-market teams can get the Yankee owners, the Steinbrenners, to make changes for the good of the league. But in NASCAR, that power ceases to exist … a misstep that could inevitably lead to its downfall. Step #3: Restrict team sponsorship. Speaking of finances, one way in which Hendrick gets a leg up on the competition is money. Just look at the deals for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. alone, with PepsiCo's AMP Energy combining with second sponsor National Guard to give them more money than most two-car teams have to work with combined. Other cars benefit from a host of associate sponsor deals that allow them to be primaries for just a handful of races, adding on an extra $5 – $10 million other teams simply do not have. That can be used for anything from extra wind tunnel time to an extra engineering/ As for the smaller teams fighting Hendrick, forget an engineering department – they're just struggling to find enough money to go to the track these days. But there's a way to funnel back some cash without instituting a salary cap … or even franchising. NASCAR, the all-powerful czar it is, simply has to make a rule that any car on the starting grid cannot market more than one company on a car over the course of a season. You can have all the special paint schemes you want … as long as it's for just one product. Not four, not five, not six: one. Maybe we can still allow all the small stickers on the front side of the car, the ones for the official Beer of NASCAR, Coffee of NASCAR, Diaper of NASCAR … whatever. But no more of these patchwork deals where five companies give a multi-car giant $10 million apiece for five races instead of doing a full-time deal with a smaller, top 25 team for $6 million. "How can you do that?" you're saying. "So many people would lose their jobs!" And you're right; reducing the funding for a super-team like Hendrick by half would result in more, massive layoffs. But sometimes, you need short-term pain for long-term gain. Making the sport cheaper allows for more owners to get involved, leading to new, startup operations where those with pink slips can eventually be reemployed. And while some sponsors would simply leave the sport, others would actually go sign with organizations they wouldn't otherwise give a second look. It's a radical change, but one that might be needed in a sport where to the victor go the spoils … and there's nothing left for anybody else. Step #4 – Find Someone To "Rattle Their Cage." For those newer fans, that's the words Dale Earnhardt used to describe his blatant spinout of Terry Labonte, a signature move that won him the 1999 Night race at Bristol. But since the Intimidator left us, there's no one out there willing to follow in his footsteps. At the beginning of the Chase, we heard from Denny Hamlin how Kyle Busch had a lot of scores to settle. Oh really? Seems like Kyle's been wrecked far more often than he's dared try to wreck anyone else. Even Juan Pablo Montoya, considered the most aggressive driver in the Chase, has been relatively tame during a playoff that's turned into a Hendrick coronation. Instead, what we see nowadays is 31 guys walking on eggshells around 12 "would be" champions who try desperately to stay out of each other's way. Now, I'm not saying someone should slam into Jimmie Johnson in the last lap of a restrictor plate race and cause a 20-car wreck. But what if Montoya gave Johnson a little love tap at Martinsville to send a message he means business? It's not like the three-time champ doesn't dish it out every once in awhile (witness his April tangle with Denny Hamlin at Martinsville as the latest example). The name of the game at Hendrick is that everyone works together, plays nice, and tries not to get their hands dirty unless they absolutely have to. In order to shake things up, you're going to have to take them out of their element, issue a different type of challenge they haven't seen. I always think back to a certain Richmond race in early 1986, when Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip were fighting for the win. Earnhardt, in a blatant maneuver, took out both he and Waltrip's car in what led to a devastating crash. Clearly shaken by the incident, Waltrip cried both foul and dirty – but NASCAR didn't suspend the Intimidator, and suddenly the man had gotten to his rival's head. Earnhardt went on that year to win the second of what would be seven championships … while Waltrip never won another. Can the same thing happen over at Hendrick? Who knows if someone doesn't try … Step #5: Break up Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. The Johnson-Knaus pairing is quickly rivaling Gordon-Evernham as the best in the modern era, with more wins (47) and championships (soon to be four) than anyone else. They have one of the best relationships in the Cup garage … but don't all good things come to an end at some point? Let's not forget, just a few short years ago Knaus went public about his struggles to get a contract extension over at Hendrick. Hurt feelings were quickly patched up and a deal was struck, but it's not for a lifetime; in fact, it's only through 2010. And how many times this decade have we seen a driver like Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, etc. tire of their current situation and opt out of a place they could have easily stayed forever? So, there you have it … five ways to stop racing's version of the Yankees. But for those looking for this reign of superiority to end … know that might not be enough. After all, guess who won the World Series over in baseball this year? Superman will fly into Homestead a champion Some may continue to dream, but the Chase is over By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM AVONDALE, Ariz. -- One little slipup at Texas that wasn't even his fault, and some of us actually believed for a few seconds that Mark Martin had a chance of at least taking this Chase for the Sprint Cup down to the wire with three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. Well, if you believed it then, there is nothing that says you can't keep on dreaming. In the aftermath of Johnson's dominant victory Sunday in the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, it's over. But if you want to keep on fooling yourself into thinking Martin has a chance, NASCAR did make an announcement following the race. Martin, who finished fourth in Sunday's race, now trails Johnson by 108 points heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway next Sunday. He was down only 73 prior to the Phoenix race. But get this: just after a NASCAR official announced that all Johnson has to do in Homestead to win his unprecedented fourth consecutive championship is start and finish 25th or better -- regardless of whatever Martin does -- it also was announced that Martin has already accomplished this feat nine times in his career. Nine times out of 266. If a Major League baseball batter had nine hits in 266 at-bats, his batting average would be .034. He wouldn't be a Major Leaguer any longer. No, this time Johnson cannot fool us with his talk and his 38th-place Texas finish. It's over. The proof You want to know how we know? How we're absolutely certain now that it is indeed over? Because, if you'll pardon another baseball term, Johnson is a closer. Maybe the best closer in NASCAR history -- and if not, certainly one of the top five. Sure he had a rare bobble with the debacle in Texas, but that was an aberration of the rarest form. Not only that, but it merely served to sharpen the senses of Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus and the entire No. 48 team. "I was really proud to show up the way that we did this weekend," Knaus said. "It would have been easy for us to come in here with our tails between our legs, really bow out, try to pull a conservative race, hang out, finish right behind the 5 [of Martin], whatever the situation may have been. "We didn't want to do that. We wanted to come in here confident and go after it and attack." They not only attack, they destroyed and demoralized their opponents. Johnson led 238 of the 312 laps that comprised the race. No one else led more than 69. "We knew this was going to be a great track for the 5 and also for the 24 [of Jeff Gordon, yet another Hendrick Motorsports teammate]. The only way to get any points on 'em would be to lead the most laps and win the race," Johnson said. "We did it. I'm very proud of the fact we looked each other in the eyes, knew what we had to do, and delivered. It wasn't easy. You know, there was a lot of pressure on us to do this. All week long, thinking about this race, wondering if we could come back and step up like we did, there were just a lot of thoughts that go through the brain. I'm very, very proud of how we delivered and rose to the occasion." Not easy? It wasn't easy? It sure looked easy. But then, maybe that's why the excellence of Johnson and Knaus and the 48 gang so often goes unappreciated. It's not easy -- but there dang sure make it look like it is often enough. Sunday was one of those days, as Johnson won his series-high seventh race of this season. No one else has won five, so with one to go he's assured of having more victories than anyone else in 2009. Standing in Victory Lane, where he sure looked comfortable, Johnson again insisted in the Sunday desert twilight that he's not and that this isn't over until he says it's over. "If last weekend wasn't in my head, I would really go down there (to Homestead) feeling comfortable, Does anyone doubt that will be the case? In 35 races this season, he's finished outside of the top 25 only six times -- but never with the championship on the line like it will be in Homestead. Johnson also was asked about his car following Sunday's event. "In the middle of the race, the car was awesome," he replied. "I could do anything I wanted, anywhere. That last run there, the car wasn't as good as I would have hoped -- not bad, but not as strong as it was earlier in the day. It was still a strong car." So strong that when Jeff Burton, who finished second, came gunning for him, Johnson was ready. "I thought we were going to win, to be honest," Burton said. "I thought we had him. But he did what he always does -- he found a little bit of speed. We were running him down pretty hard, and he was able to pick up just enough to keep me away from him. We were still running him down, but not at the pace we needed to. "So I honestly thought we were going to win. But in typical Jimmie Johnson fashion, he found a little bit of speed when he needed to and he was able to get away from us." Asked about this analysis, Johnson grinned so hard it must have hurt, but in a good way. "You can't show everybody what you've got. These guys are too smart," Johnson said. "You can't show 'em all your lines and tip your hand. I like to kind try to drive a couple of botched lines, so guys focus in on that. Then when they get close enough, you just drive back away. So it worked out." There you have it. Johnson was only messing with Burton down the stretch. As it turns out, even with the whole Texas deal, Superman was only messing with all of us, including Martin. The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain, Your Nascar Momma Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." -Dale Earnhardt - 1998 |
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