Tony Stewart won the Emory Healthcare 500 at AMS, ten of the top twelve are locked into the Chase and the last two of the top twelve would have to have an absolute   disastrous race in Richmond to miss it. Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer aren’t locked in, but they might as well be with what it would take for them to miss out on a chance to make a run for the Sprint Cup Championship. That is exactly what Ryan Newman is hoping for next Saturday night; a totally unexpected happening that takes one or both of them out and giving him an opportunity to make it in. The chances of Ryan making it are astronomical, at least from this fan’s view, but it will add at least the slightest bit of drama to a points race that is pretty much already decided. Yeah, many are still pulling...

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NASCAR Cup teams hit the 1½ mile oval at Atlanta this weekend and it is definitely now or never for the ones that have even the slimmest chance of making it into the Chase. The question in everyone’s mind is whether or not the three closest to Clint Bowyer can make it into the top twelve and have a chance for the Cup Championship. Those three are Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman and to put it lightly, Clint Bowyer would definitely have to have a couple of bad weeks for any of the three to make it in before him. From this fan’s view the one with the best chance is Jamie McMurray. He has definitely been performing as good as anyone over the last several weeks and he has won two of the most prestigious races on the Cup circuit, the Daytona 500 and the Indy...

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Kyle Bush made NASCAR history again last weekend at Bristol and will probably continue to do so throughout his career… but, not everyone is happy with him. Yes, it is true he became the first to win in all three series in one weekend at a track but some question the way he won at least one of the races. I guess the most seen highlight of the week would be where he got a little shove from Brad Keselowski that caused him to brush the wall and then he followed Brad, turned him and took him out of contention. Some call it aggressive driving (referencing Dale Earnhardt Sr) and others just call it dirty driving… and me… well… It has been an interesting couple of years for Brad Keselowski. He has become one of the  more criticized drivers in the garages of the Nationwide series and the Sprint...

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David Reutimann and his #00 Team covered the field at ChicagoLand last Saturday night and it could be a precursor of things to come for Michael Waltrip Racing, if not in the near, at least the not too distant future. I have stated in the past and don’t hesitate to say it again; David Reutimann has been in position to be in the top five more than a few times and possibly could have won a race or two before winning at ChicagoLand. Now, that doesn’t mean he will be in the Chase for 2010 although earlier in the year I did mention he might be the first from Michael Waltrip Racing to make it into the Chase. I have been impressed with what’s been going on at MWR all year and, even if they don’t make it into the Chase this year, I do think next year will...

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Several things are definite when the NASCAR Cup teams hit the track at Daytona this weekend; their cars will have to handle while the larger restrictor plates control the added horsepower before the fireworks go off. One thing isn’t so definite and that would be whether the fireworks will only be after the race… or during it. Generally a restrictor plate super speedway is not a place where someone would take an opportunity to give a little payback, but this year… who knows. With the media constantly stirring the pot and giving multiple opportunities for the airing of frustrations and emotions, it is possible we could see a really big “big one” if someone decides to press the envelope of sensibility in the two and three wide tight packs associated with these type races. All it will take is someone not willing to give that extra inch which could...

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With nine weeks left to qualify for The Chase in 2010, a lot of Cup teams are feeling the pressure to improve their positions and it’s definitely “Crunch Time” for them, especially at NHMS this weekend. Of course, one does have to wonder if there won’t be another type of “Crunch” going on this weekend after several drivers left Sonoma last weekend feeling they had been the victims of overly aggressive driving from some of their fellow competitors. Taking all of this into account could make for a very interesting time on this fast flat track they call the “Magic Mile.” It is true, the race at Sonoma last weekend was filled with hard charging aggressive driving that resulted in some not doing as well as they’d hoped. Among those feeling the most pain (at least vocally) were Martin Truex Jr and Elliot Sadler. Although there were others, because...

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Jimmie Johnson dominated the Toyota/Save Mart 350, at the end was gifted the race by Marcos Ambrose’s mistake and took home the win for the #48 Hendrick team at Sonoma. Even though Ambrose seemed to have the race in control during the last laps, his shutting off his engine to conserve fuel for the possibility of green white checkers at the final caution cost him the race. He simply couldn’t get it started going up hill and came to a stop dropping him to starting seventh on the re-start. It was a shock to all who watched but also shows just how much the possibility of green-white-checkers has entered into every decision during late race cautions. To this fan, it was a real shame to have that happen to the guy that would’ve definitely won, especially with the way it appeared the race was going to finish. Unfortunately, He...

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