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  The first race of the Chase begins this weekend in New Hampshire. Brad Keselowski will start P1 after scoring his first career pole. Clint Bowyer rounds out the front row.

keselowski  Feel great for my team today. They deserve this accomplishment

AJDinger The insignia ford is feeling pretty solid for tomorrow. Really like to get a top 10. Heading off to Boston to catch basbeball and dinner

KevinHarvick  Long day… hard racing should have done things a little different but its on to Sunday..

jpmontoya  Its freaking cold here. Looking forward to go to miami tomorrow night!!!

maxpapis  Run my first legend race finished P6 run as good as P4 was a blast

aric_almirola  Well…..&@$?!$&! All of that represents what I’d like to say but isn’t exactly appropriate. Truck not good at all and we had brake issues.

JamesBuescher Thanks to all my fans for all the congrats! We will get to Victory Lane soon!

scottspeed  I’m just about over being sick, this sucks!!!   

Have a great weekend and enjoy the race.

                                    NASCAR Ranting and Raving’s NASCAR Driver Twitter List

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Updated:  at the very end of this post is a slide show of tire wear that I was able to create.  Check it out and let me know what you think keeping in mind this is my first attempt at something like this with that software.  If you like it I’ll create more in the future.  You will have to hit the play arrow everytime you want to see the next slide, or you can click on more and hit the automatic feature and save your mouse.

Here is Part 2 in my Tire Series of NASCAR 101.  I’m sorry I got a bit side-tracked these past few weeks but family vacation and baseball play-offs got in the way.

As far as tires go the object for any race team is to get good tire wear out of their tires so that they last longer.

There are a lot of factors that affect tire wear which include:

• the manufacturing process
• the consistency of the compound that the tire is made out of (soft vs hard)
• the camber, caster and toe of the wheel itself (this is Part 4)
• the track surface
• the shock and spring package
• contact with another car
• tire pressure
• temperature (air, track, brake, etc.)
• and the list goes on

So what constitutes good tire wear?

Basically, even wear across the whole tire width.

If you are getting that kind of wear on your tires then your car is running smoothly in the corners and you are doing something right.

Well how do you know if you are getting proper tire wear?

The answer to that my friend, complete with many photos, is after the jump.

Tire wear is actually a very complicated thing for teams to determine because there are soo many variables that affect how a tire wears out.  So here is how teams keep track of it:

What looks like little holes in the tires are actually areas for crew members to measure tire wear witha depth guage.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Tire Depth Guage used to measure tire wear.  A crew member for the #11 FedEx Toyota, driven by Denny Hamlin gauges tire wear during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 13, 2010 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Written under the N & G in silver pen are the tire tread depths for this tire.  The measurements are from the inside to outside as indicated by the ‘I’ and ‘O’ on either side of the measurements.  You will also notice that this tire is a right Rear as indicated by the ‘RR’ and is part of the 6th set of tires available to this team.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Temperature plays an important part in tire wear so it is important for teams to have many measurements so they can accurately predict and asses tire wear during pracitce so that they can have a good idea on how their tires will wear during the race.

During practice the Goodyear tire guys wait for drivers to come down pit row to get their tires checked.  As a car come spulling up they take a measurement of the track temperature from about 3 feet above the track surface then once the car comes to a complete stop they take various other measurements.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Here the Goodyear guy is taking the temperature of Mark Martin’s front left tire.  Note the Hendrick crew member also taking tire air pressure measurements.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving) 

Once the tire temperature is checked they then take the temperature of the rim (as seen here) and the tire’s air pressure.  This Goodyear guy is working on Jeff Gordon’s front left tire.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

The Goodyear guys then write down all of their measurements on a pice of paper and give it to the driver or crew member that happens to be their. (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Todd Bodine waits with his tire temperature slip for a crew member to take it.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving) 

Crew Chief Robert “Bootie” Barker looks over his driver’s (Todd Bodine) tire measurement slip.  (Photo by Bob Ellis for NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Once a tire has been used it is important to get an accurate depth measurement so cre member must remove the layer of grime that collects on the hot tire tread surface.  A pit crew member uses a blowtorch to inspect tire wear after a late-race pitstop during the Nascar Busch Series Pepsi 300 on April 15 2006 at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images For Nascar)

Without properly watching tire wear and making accurate measurements you just may find that your tires will look like this:

28 Oct 2001: Detail of a flat tire at the Checker Auto Parts 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Donald Miralle (www.gettyimages.com)

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When analyzing the lineup for this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, no two absentees are more notable than Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.

NASCAR’s most popular driver and its perennial sentimental favorite both fell short of qualifying for the 10-race playoff – the first time Martin has missed the Chase while competing a full season, while Earnhardt will be left out of the Chase for the fourth time in the format’s seven-year history.

Since adding Jimmie Johnson’s #48 team to the stable in late 2001, Hendrick Motorsports has dealt with mixed results amongst its four teams, just as it did prior to the expansion when Jeff Gordon routinely overshadowed his teammates. Three times have each of Hendrick’s Chevrolets visited victory lanes in the same season (2003, 2006, 2007), but never have all four cars placed amongst the top-10 in the final point standings.

A return to a three-car lineup could potentially help the team’s overall performance, and nobody would have more to gain from it than Earnhardt.

As stated, Hendrick competed as a three-car outfit from 1993, when Jeff Gordon joined the Sprint Cup Series full-time, through October 2001, when Johnson debuted for the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During that span, Gordon far outperformed his teammates, though Terry Labonte did win a championship in 1996 – the second in a streak of four titles for Hendrick, with Gordon claiming the other three.

For a time, Labonte seemed to almost keep pace with Gordon, though Gordon’s DuPont Chevrolet was the clear frontrunner amongst the Hendrick Chevies. The Hendrick third car, the #25 driven by a variety of drivers including Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven, and Wally Dallenbach, never really fufilled the promise of success established in the 1980s by the Tim Richmond/Harry Hyde pairing.

Much has changed since the clear disparity among the former three-car incarnation of the Hendrick team. Last season, three of Hendrick’s four Chevrolets placed 1-2-3 in the final standings. Taking the #5 Chevrolet, which will be driven by Martin one last time in 2011 before Kasey Kahne takes over full-time, and combining it with the Johnson and Gordon teams could be the recipe for the most dominant across-the-board multi-car team in the sport’s history. There would be no mutt, no straggler of a car to take a little shine off the successes of its teammates.

The problem is, where would that leave Earnhardt? The solution is simple: create another three-car team.

The dream-team paring of Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., on the surface, appeared to be the union necessary to lead NASCAR’s favorite son to championship glory. Deeper analyzation, however, revealed the potential for an image clash that could create an uncomfortable situation for Earnhardt.

Hendrick Motorsports’ image is that of a consummate professional white-collar organization. Its personnel, including the drivers, attend events in neatly pressed white polo or button-down shirts and neatly pressed black dress pants and dress shoes.

Such an image is a complete 180-degree turn from that which Earnhardt Jr. created during his tenure with his late father’s organization. Earnhardt Jr.’s image is perhaps best described by an untucked, slightly wrinkled t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans that might have a grease stain or two on them. He is as blue collar as blue collar gets in big-time auto racing, and such a laid-back demeanor is what resonates with many of his legions of fans.

So how does he. find the happy medium, a comfortable, laid-back working environment combined with the power of Hendrick Motorsports’ cars and engines?

Enter Tony Stewart.

Earnhardt Jr.’s off-track friendship and on-track camaraderie – no superspeedway drafting tandem is more notorious – with the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing automatically creates an ideal situation. Additionally, if Earnhardt is first when it comes to laid-back, blue collar attitude, then Stewart is a respectable second in that category. The other Stewart-Haas driver, Ryan Newman, also fits the bill.

Stewart wants to expand his team to three and perhaps four cars one day in the future, but has yet to find the ideal situation. Teaming with his good friend would perhaps create such an ideal scenario. In terms of sponsorship, another sticking point in the delayed expansion of Stewart-Haas, Earnhardt remains NASCAR’s most marketable driver thanks to his popularity. While current sponsor PepsiCo likely couldn’t accompany him to outspoken Coca-Cola devotee Stewart’s team, finding funding for Earnhardt’s Chevrolet would be no problem.

For Rick Hendrick, cutting back to three teams would give him a one-two-three punch, the likes of which few if any teams in NASCAR’s history could claim.

For Dale Earnhardt Jr., moving to Stewart-Haas Racing would create the laid-back environment that seems to suit him best of all, while allowing him to maintain his association with Mr. Hendrick and compete in Hendrick cars.

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Richmond is a track with more multi time winners then single winners.  If you have success at Richmond, you probably will again the next time you drive there.  Kevin Harvick won his 5th Nationwide race at Richmond.  And that only ties him with the record, Mark Martin has won at Richmond 5 times in a Nationwide car.  Of course, we are talking just Nationwide wins here.  Harvick only has one Richmond win in a Cup car, Martin also has one. 

No one has come close to the 12 victories that Richard Petty has had at Richmond.  12.  He actually won 7 in a row at one time.  That’s someone who can call themselves a master at one track. 

I was a bit disapointed to not be able to break out the headline “Busch rides pink baby seals to victory”.  Kyle finished 9th in the best paint scheme we’ve seen all year.  Harvick was driving a car with hot dogs on the hood though so I guess that counts for something. 

Results and more after the JUMP!

The new car is supposed to be a bit of an equalizer for struggling teams.  Since it’s brand new, everyone has to build a brand new racecar.  Most teams that are cash strapped drive 2 to 3 year old cars, and sometimes even older equipment.  We’ve seen it in other races, just not this one, he big name guys ran up front and the lesser teams ran in the back.  It was a bit dissapointing that we didn’t see another surprise top 10.  Erik Darnell’s first race in the 16 didn’t fare too well as he was involved in an earlier wreck that put him behind and wound up one lap down. 

The race for the top 30 looks about the same as last week:

Not much of a change.  Nationwide has off this week.  We return to Saturday Afternoon racing in two weeks as the Nationwide Boys head to Dover Downs, Deleware for the Dover 200.  Join us in two weeks for the Preview article.  Enjoy!

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So can Kevin Harvick carry his momentum from last night to today?  We’ll see.  My money is on Kyle Busch – too bad he isn’t driving that pink car tonight!

Lot’s of unfamiliar names at the top of the speed charts during the practice sessions, but one has to remember its a whole lot easier to run 1 fast lap than it is to run a whole bunch of fast laps back to back.

My dark horse pick for the win would be Newman as he is still fighting to get that last Chase spot from Bowyer, although I wouldn’t count Edwards out for the win either as his Roush team seems to have stumbled upon something these last few months.  My money is they found some hidden horsepower in that new Ford engine of theirs.

I find it truly amazing that 4 of the go or go homers ran a faster qualifying speed than the bottom 3 cars in the starting line-up.  I absolutely hate the top 35 rule, but then again if I’m a car owner or one of the top 35 drivers I’d then would absolutely love it.

Starting line-up after the jump.

POS	CAR	DRIVER	MAKE	SPONSOR	SPEED	TIME	BEHIND
1	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Kellogg’s / Cheez-it	127.762	21.133	Leader
2	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	Target	127.455	21.184	-0.051
3	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	Insignia HDTV / Best Buy	127.101	21.243	-0.110
4	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Cheerios / Hamburger Helper	127.077	21.247	-0.114
5	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	Aaron’s Dream Machine	127.017	21.257	-0.124
6	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	126.975	21.264	-0.131
7	98	Paul Menard	Ford	Pittsburgh Paints / Menards	126.951	21.268	-0.135
8	12	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Penske Racing	126.939	21.270	-0.137
9	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Amp Energy / National Guard	126.784	21.296	-0.163
10	9	Kasey Kahne	Ford	Budweiser / 2011 World Police & Fire Games	126.767	21.299	-0.166
11	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe’s	126.654	21.318	-0.185
12	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Crown Royal	126.505	21.343	-0.210
13	47	Marcos Ambrose	Toyota	Kroger	126.505	21.343	-0.210
14	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Office	126.470	21.349	-0.216
15	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Old Spice / Office Depot	126.440	21.354	-0.221
16	26	Jeff Green	Ford	Air National Guard	126.422	21.357	-0.224
17	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Companies	126.410	21.359	-0.226
18	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	GEICO	126.369	21.366	-0.233
19	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	GoDaddy.com	126.345	21.370	-0.237
20	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Shell / Pennzoil	126.210	21.393	-0.260
21	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Miller Lite	126.133	21.406	-0.273
22	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	National Guard Military Intelligence / DuPont	126.039	21.422	-0.289
23	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	126.039	21.422	-0.289
24	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M	126.027	21.424	-0.291
25	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	125.933	21.440	-0.307
26	6	David Ragan	Ford	UPS	125.845	21.455	-0.322
27	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Mohawk Northeast	125.827	21.458	-0.325
28	71	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	Post-9 / 11 GI Bill	125.810	21.461	-0.328
29	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Brakes	125.745	21.472	-0.339
30	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	FrontRowJoe.com	125.716	21.477	-0.344
31	82	Scott Speed	Toyota	Red Bull	125.687	21.482	-0.349
32	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M’s	125.564	21.503	-0.370
33	77	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	Mobil 1	125.523	21.510	-0.377
34	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / Tracker	125.465	21.520	-0.387
35	132	Jason Leffler	Toyota	Braun Racing	125.331	21.543	-0.410
36	19	Elliott Sadler	Ford	Stanley	125.284	21.551	-0.418
37	55	Mike Bliss	Toyota	Prism Motorsports	125.232	21.560	-0.427
38	38	Travis Kvapil	Ford	Long John Silver’s	125.127	21.578	-0.445
39	37	David Gilliland	Ford	Charter Air Transport	125.012	21.598	-0.465
40	34	Tony Raines	Ford	A&W All American Food	124.792	21.636	-0.503
41	7	Kevin Conway+*	Toyota	Extenze	123.899	21.792	-0.659
42	83	Mattias Ekstrom+	Toyota	Red Bull	123.717	21.824	-0.691
43	09	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction	Champion’s Provisional
Did Not Qualify
44	110	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Gander Mountain	124.971	21.605	-0.472
45	46	Michael McDowell	Dodge	Whitney Motorsports	124.355	21.712	-0.579
46	164	Todd Bodine	Toyota	Gunselman Motorsports	124.292	21.723	-0.590
47	66	Scott Riggs	Toyota	Prism Motorsports	124.041	21.767	-0.634
48	192	Brian Keselowski	Dodge	K-Automotive Motorsports	122.912	21.967	-0.834

+ Set by Owner Points

via nascar.com

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Just got this up in time.  I hope some of you will be around to chime in.

Starting line-up after the jump.  Go Pink!

POS	CAR	DRIVER	MAKE	SPONSOR	SPEED	TIME	BEHIND
1	33	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Armour Vienna Sausage / Kroger	123.990	21.776	Leader
2	21	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Zaxby’s	123.887	21.794	-0.018
3	22	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Ruby Tuesday	123.406	21.879	-0.103
4	60	Carl Edwards	Ford	Copart.com	123.136	21.927	-0.151
5	20	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	Z-Line Designs	122.923	21.965	-0.189
6	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	Toyota Kimmy / Z-Line Designs	122.750	21.996	-0.220
7	26	Parker Kligerman	Dodge	K-Automotive Motorsports	122.711	22.003	-0.227
8	99	Trevor Bayne	Toyota	Out! Pet Care	122.644	22.015	-0.239
9	38	Jason Leffler	Toyota	Great Clips	122.427	22.054	-0.278
10	98	Paul Menard	Ford	Richmond Water Heaters / Menards	122.305	22.076	-0.300
11	49	Mark Green	Chevrolet	FX Network “Sons of Anarchy”	122.216	22.092	-0.316
12	1	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction	122.128	22.108	-0.332
13	104	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	Boudreaux’s Butt Paste	121.885	22.152	-0.376
14	12	Justin Allgaier	Dodge	Verizon Wireless	121.841	22.160	-0.384
15	100	Ryan Truex	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	121.759	22.175	-0.399
16	87	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	HostGator.com	121.742	22.178	-0.402
17	16	Erik Darnell	Ford	3M Scotch-Brite	121.622	22.200	-0.424
18	32	Reed Sorenson	Toyota	Dollar General	121.550	22.213	-0.437
19	15	Michael Annett	Toyota	Germain.com	121.496	22.223	-0.447
20	62	Brendan Gaughan	Toyota	Loanmax Title Loans	121.441	22.233	-0.457
21	7	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet	JR Motorsports	121.441	22.233	-0.457
22	156	Kevin Lepage	Toyota	Hyatt Place Richmond Airport	121.425	22.236	-0.460
23	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*	Ford	CitiFinancial	121.408	22.239	-0.463
24	81	Michael McDowell	Dodge	Red Line Oil	121.316	22.256	-0.480
25	66	Steve Wallace	Toyota	5-Hour Energy	121.120	22.292	-0.516
26	34	Tony Raines	Chevrolet	Long John Silver’s	121.022	22.310	-0.534
27	10	Tayler Malsam	Toyota	Iron Horse Jeans	120.995	22.315	-0.539
28	40	Mike Bliss	Chevrolet	Key Motorsports	120.935	22.326	-0.550
29	70	Shelby Howard	Chevrolet	InternationalTrucks.com	120.935	22.326	-0.550
30	25	Kelly Bires	Ford	Raybestos	120.914	22.330	-0.554
31	88	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	Grand Touring Vodka	120.724	22.365	-0.589
32	09	Landon Cassill	Ford	RAB Racing	120.708	22.368	-0.592
33	89	Morgan Shepherd	Chevrolet	Victory In Jesus	120.697	22.370	-0.594
34	24	Eric McClure	Ford	Kroger	120.530	22.401	-0.625
35	28	Kenny Wallace	Chevrolet	Federated Auto Parts	120.444	22.417	-0.641
36	35	Jason Keller	Chevrolet	TriStar Motorsports	120.428	22.420	-0.644
37	23	Coleman Pressley	Chevrolet	Jasper Engines & Transmissions	120.423	22.421	-0.645
38	01	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	J Davis Motorsports.com	120.305	22.443	-0.667
39	27	Hermie Sadler	Ford	Virginia Commonwealth University	120.053	22.490	-0.714
40	11	Brian Scott*	Toyota	BigSpot.com	119.984	22.503	-0.727
41	168	Carl Long	Chevrolet	Millennium Fuel Energy Drink	119.957	22.508	-0.732
42	05	Willie Allen	Chevrolet	Cash America	119.633	22.569	-0.793
43	73	Derrike Cope	Dodge	Charter	119.427	22.608	-0.832
Did Not Qualify
44	107	Danny Efland	Chevrolet	Danny Efland Racing	119.069	22.676	-0.900

via nascar.com

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Have you seen Kyle Busch’s car for this week’s Nationwide race?  Take a look: 

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota reveals a pet-friendly paint scheme during Thursday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series new car practice at Richmond International Raceway via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com Credit: Harrelson Photography / Richmond International Raceway

The car from the commercial comes alive this weekend at Richmond.  Oddly enough the words “I love you” are missing from the rear spoiler.  I wonder why?

Even his fire suit is like the one in the commercial:

Kyle Busch sports a new uniform at Thursday’s new car practice at Richmond International Raceway via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com Credit: Harrelson Photography / Richmond International Raceway

Honestly though I have been wondering for most of the year if they would ever run this paint scheme and now they are.  Good for them.

Oh and in case you haven’t seen the commercial that inspired all of this here it is:

For a complete preview of the Nationwide race this week in Richmond please see the previous post (llok below this one).

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Today I was looking over the information on Richmond and thinking about what an interesting race track it is. It started out as a fairground dirt track known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds. Several name changes and a few years later, they paved the track; perhaps they were influenced by Martinsville, which had paved their dirt track almost ten years earlier.

Once paved, the track measured .625 miles. It stayed that way for all of one race in 1968. By 1969, the track had been reconfigured to measure .542 miles. It kept this measurement until 1988 when the track once again was redesigned to the familiar D shape 3/4 mile track. As a fan, I love the racing here, I think that it is one of the best tracks in our season. As a historian, I love it that Richmond is a great example of a track which has managed to grow and yet maintain a unique personality. It is an awesome modern connection to NASCAR’s history and past. The track has changed a lot, but the racing has always been good. 

My first foray into looking for something to write about took me (naturally) to the 1986 Miller High Life 400 finish, with Waltrip and Earnhardt fighting it out. I went to the good ol’ You-Tube to see the footage. Watching one video of the finish led me to the side bar and I really got bogged down watching videos of racing from the early 1980s! 

I wasn’t a fan then, though I wish like crazy I was. I started thinking about how lucky we are as race fans to have an accessible history. I didn’t watch that race in 1986, but I can watch now. There is no way that I would have ever been able to see a race in 1965, but thanks to uploaded clips, I can! And let me tell you, if you have never looked, there are a ton.

Our history is accessible everyday in so many different ways. The internet and You-Tube are great (and obvious) resources; we have the brand spanking new NASCAR Hall of Fame, we have the Darlington Raceway Museum (The Joe Weatherly Stock Car Museum), the marble markers at Martinsville Speedway, the named grandstands and little museums at every track, and maybe most importantly the local tracks that continue racing traditions at a hometown level.

We can’t all head over to the ISC Archives in Daytona Beach whenever we want but we have a wealth of history at our fingertips. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor, spend some time watching historic racing clips over on You-tube. If you can, when you go to our heritage race tracks, take some time to walk through their racing displays and museums. Visit the Hall of Fame and definitely go to the museum at Darlington. Remember that the history of NASCAR is out there waiting for you!

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Nascar’s Most Improved Driver Jamie McMurray showed that being hot in Sprint Cup can translate to success in Nationwide.  McMurray hasn’t scored a Nationwide win since 2004.  That last win came at Darlington, in a Rusty Wallace owned Duraflame #66 Chevy, that looks quite a bit like Steve Wallace’s current #66 Toyota.  Of course, McMurray has only two full seasons in Nationwide, but it’s still a pretty good return to form for him.  

McMurray has 8 starts this year in the #88, and his lowest finish was at Talladega where he finished 14th – and it was a DNF.  So that says a lot.  Jamie has an amazing 6.2 average finish in those 8 races. 

Kyle Busch was denied his record setting 11th win, but don’t think that that means Kyle won’t break his own record, and Sam Ard’s in the process.  Busch finished 2nd, after leading the most laps.  It was the first time all year that Busch has failed to win after leading the most laps.  Sadly, I fell asleep, or passed out that is, about half way through this race and had to watch my DVR the next morning (Atlanta isn’t really known to be a heart stopping action packed event). 

I was happy to see McMurray continue to silence his critics.

Race Results and more after the JUMP!

That pesky Brad K. still finished strong, as did Josh Wise, who has shown that he can be competitive.

Mark Green had another terrible run in the #70 letting McDowell and McClure catch up a bit in the race for the top 30 in owner points.  Here’s the battle:

Nemechek is close to dropping out himself, but as a past Champion he would still be safe the rest of the year.

That about wraps up Atlanta.  Join us next week when the Nationwide Boys head under the lights from Richmond, VA for the Virginia College Savings 250!  Enjoy!

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At one point this season, Tony Stewart was mired in the worst slump of his Sprint Cup career. He went through his longest ever top-ten drought and suffered through a string of races where his #14 Chevrolet simply was not competitive.

After recording the 38th victory of his career Sunday evening in Atlanta, the two-time series champion is among several drivers who enter the final week of NASCAR’s regular season having made a statement that they will be factors in this year’s championship battle.

Before his race quite literally went up in smoke as he completed lap 143, Denny Hamlin had one of the two fastest cars in Georgia. He and Stewart traded the lead back and forth in one of Atlanta Motor Speedway’s classic duels for the lead that have helped make the 1.54 mile track a popular one among competitors. In leading 74 laps and staying in the top-five for pretty much the entire time his Toyota Camry was operational, Hamlin served notice that the slump that has plagued his Joe Gibbs Racing team since winning at Michigan in June might be coming to an end.

Carl Edwards had easily his best opportunity – on a non-restrictor plate track – to return to a Sprint Cup victory lane since his last trip to the winner’s circle in November 2008 at Homestead. The driver of the #99 Ford Fusion led 32 laps, after leading only six laps all season and just 13 laps since last June at Pocono, where he led 103 circuits. His Atlanta performance was the latest in an eight-race upswing that has seen him finish between second and seventh seven times and have a worst result of 12th two weeks ago in Bristol. The surge is reminiscent of his push in early 2007 before he scored a drought-breaking win that June at Michigan, and it has signaled that he very well could be on his way to contending for this year’s championship.

Jimmie Johnson finished third, incredibly his first top-five finish since he won consecutive races at Sonoma and Loudon at the end of June. As with Edwards – and Hamlin as long as his car was running – Johnson was in the picture nearly all night, a nice change of pace for a team and driver who faded almost weekly over the course of their two-month slump. Johnson and his Chad-Knaus team haven’t needed to rely on ending the regular season with a bang, as they won the 2006 and 2009 titles after closing out the first 26 races on a little bit of a downslide, but when Johnson and his team enter the Chase with any bit of momentum, as they did after winning the final two regular season races in both 2007 and 2008, they have proven that much more unstoppable.

Two more drivers who can look at their Atlanta results as signs of potential championship life are the Busch brothers. Both suffered through early-race woes - Kyle with a green-flag speeding penalty and vibration with his Toyota and Kurt with a poor-handling Dodge  – but rebounded and scored results of fifth and sixth. Whereas the duo had struggled to overcome adversity throughout recent weeks, both drivers and their teams exhibited poise and staying power once they were able to get back towards the front of the pack. Motivated and with momentum is a situation under which either Busch brother can be dangerous to their competitors’ pursuit of success, and that is where both appear to stand.

The night, for all intents and purposes, however, belonged to Stewart. While his run to victory was eased somewhat by the elimination of Hamlin, his performance continued a recent string of strong races in which he has finished outside the top ten just twice since a 15th-place result in the Coca-Cola 600 – the last race of a career-worst six-race top-10 drought. It was over the course of the final races of the regular season a year ago in which Stewart’s dream first season as a driver-owner began to come off the rails. He entered the Chase more with a whimper than with a bang, and – a victory in Kansas aside – never regained the level of performance that allowed him to lead the standings from early June. This year, Stewart’s team appears to still be gaining momentum as the Chase nears. For a driver with a penchant for going onto hot streaks, scoring multiple victories over the course of a few weeks, that puts Stewart, potentially, in his best position to win the title since he won the Chase in 2005.

All of these drivers, however, made a statement in Atlanta that they will not be footnotes in the race for the 2010 championship. Such a wide pool of potential contenders could make this year’s edition of the Chase a thrilling affair that goes right down to the wire in Homestead, perhaps ending the perceived necessity for tinkering to the playoff format.

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