5/3/03……….. Did NASCAR blow it again? They have been getting really good at messing up this season, one week right after the other. I’m referring to the fiasco at the Busch Series qualifying session at Richmond International Raceway this past Thursday. They sent cars out to make top speed qualifying runs on a track that was seeping water in two different places.

The first two drivers that NASCAR sent out to qualify wrecked their cars so then, in all of their brilliance and wisdom, NASCAR officials decided to check the track. Yeah right, some move, why didn’t they have brains enough to check the track before qualifying? Apparently they don’t have any brains………… If they do, they certainly don’t bother to use them.

To begin with, Richmond has a history of late with having track problems. It just boggles the mind that the sanctioning body would allow an event to begin without taking the precautions to see that the track was ready for high speed use.

So it’s apparent that the first two drivers that wrecked, Dion Ciccarelli and Jason Rudd are just plain out of luck. NASCAR could care less what happens to them, whether they get seriously injured, make the race, or go home. It’s all the same to NASCAR, one way or the other. They’ll make their money and make themselves look good!

As it turned out, both drivers were sent home, their cars were wrecked and they were out of luck. Neither one was allowed to prepare a back-up car during the nearly 4 hour wait until the track was cleaned up. If NASCAR let them prepare a back-up, it would have been admitting that they were wrong, and they aren’t about to do that. NASCAR never makes a mistake, they ARE a mistake……..

To make matters even worse, Cup driver Jerry Nadeau was critically injured in a one car crash that occurred in the same area of turns one and two during final Cup practice. It was not known at the time if the damaged track surface caused Nadeau’s wreck. Even if it did, NASCAR and track officials certainly wouldn’t publicly own up to it. As of the time of this writing, Nadeau was listed as critical at a Virginia medical center. NASCAR sent an aircraft to South Carolina for his wife and would not allow any reports of Nadeau’s status until she had arrived.

The crash marred Hardee’s 250 is now in the books with Cup driver Kevin Harvick declared the winner. Actually, Scott Riggs had the best car and really should have been given the race. Harvick managed to get ahead of him with just a few laps to go, and then there was a caution with less than five laps left so Riggs didn’t get a chance to race Harvick for the win. Harvick stole the event under caution; he certainly didn’t race Riggs for it.

The crash marred race set an event record for cautions. There were 14 caution periods for a total of 93 laps out of the scheduled 250. This was the second win in the Busch Series for Cup driver Harvick this season; he also won the March race at Bristol. Harvick became the third Cup driver to score double victories in the Busch Series early in the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joe Nemechek also have two wins each.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Michael Waltrip -- No. 99 Chevy – finished 4th
2. Jason Keller -- No. 57 Ford – finished 21st
3. Stacy Compton -- No. 59 Chevy – finished 7th
4. Shane Hmiel -- No. 48 Chevy -- finished 8th
5. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 15th
6. Martin Truex Jr. -- No. 71 Chevy – finished 31st
7. Scott Riggs -- No. 10 Ford – finished 2nd
8. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Ford – finished 18th
9. Randy LaJoie -- No. 7 Chevy – finished 27th
10. Johnny Sauter -- No. 43 Chevy – finished 6th

Todd Bodine still sits atop of the Busch Series driver’s point’s standings, but only by a slim margin. Bodines bad luck getting into the wall early on in the race kept his points for the race at a minimum. David Green moved up one spot to second with 1311 points, forty less than Bodine. Shane Hmiel also moved up one spot to third and now has only a -44 point deficit from the leader. Hmiel is definitely in the hunt for the championship!

Ron Hornaday lost two spots and dropped back to fourth with a -57 while Scott Riggs moved up four spots to round out the top five with a -118. Positions six thru ten has Jason Keller still in sixth place with a -129. Mike Bliss dropped two spots to seventh with a -142 followed by Johnny Sauter who moved up two spots to eighth with a -150. Kasey Kahne dropped down one spot to ninth with a -188 while Brian Vickers moves up one spot to round out the top ten in driver’s points with a -220.

Next week the Busch Series travels to Gateway International Speedway for the Charter Pipeline 250. The Cup series isn’t having an event there and is off for Mother’s Day weekend, so maybe some of the Cup drivers will decide to travel there to race. Race No. 11 is scheduled to be broadcast by the FX channel on Saturday, May 10th at 2:30 PM Eastern.

Last season’s Gateway race was held in July with Greg Biffle taking the checkered flag. Following Biffle across the line were Ron Hornaday Jr. Kevin Grubb, Jack Sprague, Tony Raines, Jason Keller, Mike McLaughlin, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Lepage, and Tim Sauter.

Randy LaJoie won the Bud Pole award with the speed of 131.911 miles per hour. There were five caution flags for a total of 25 laps out of the 200 lap race on the 1.25 mile track.

5/10/03……….. In another one of those infamous eleventh hour deals, Busch Series points leader Todd Bodine is reported to have gotten backing for six more races. These entities hold out until the last minute to get the best deal for their advertising buck that they can. Some committee that has to do with employer relations with those who serve in the National Guard is the sponsor that goes by the handle of ESGR (Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve).

A poll at NASCAR.com asked who will be the points leader after the Gateway race. With over 30k voting by Saturday morning, Todd Bodine was the top choice with 54% of the vote followed by Ron Hornaday with 20%, David Green with 16% , and Shane Hmiel bringing up the rear with 10% of the vote. Anyone of the four could come away from Gateway with the top spot.

Everyone knows how I feel about the situation, Bodine is a Cup driver and I’d just as soon see him out of the Busch Series altogether. He’s 35th in Cup Series driver’s points. He can hardly hold his own in Cup but he sure can beat up on the Busch Series drivers. Speaking of which, the Cup scene isn’t present at Gateway, therefore the starting grid was lacking drivers. There were only 42 attempted qualifiers; no one had to go home. This was great; it allowed some of the up and coming teams and drivers to get a shot at racing in the Busch Series. The Cup drivers usually end up sending these guys home without getting their chance.

The Charter Pipeline 250 was the usual Busch Series race but with a surprisingly small number of driver screw-ups. Actually, the only driver who was constantly messing up was Cup driver Todd Bodine. In his usual Bodine fashion, he drove like a rookie, running over people at will. In all of Bodine’s track antics, he still managed to barely lose the driver’s points lead.

Former Craftsman Truck Series Champion Mike Bliss had the car to beat. He led the most laps, was on a tear that no one could catch, then ran out of gas on the last lap and got beat by Scott Riggs. This was Riggs third career victory, he won two races last season during his rookie year and now adds one more to it with his surprise win at Gateway. When the leader runs out of gas, second place is the catbird seat.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Ashton Lewis -- No. 46 Chevy – finished 33rd
2. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 28th
3. Jason Keller -- No. 57 Ford – finished 3rd
4. Stacy Compton -- No. 59 Chevy -- finished 6th
5. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Ford – finished 31st
6. Mike Bliss -- No. 20 Chevy – finished 12th
7. Kenny Wallace -- No. 199 Chevy – finished 10th
8. Scott Riggs -- No. 10 Ford – finished 1st
9. Randy LaJoie -- No. 7 Chevy – finished 35th
10. Johnny Sauter -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 7th

David Green moved up one spot to take the driver’s point’s lead in the Busch Series with 1486 points. Cup driver Todd Bodine dropped down to second with a -5 followed by Shane Hmiel who is still in third and now has a -50. Scott Riggs win moved him up one spot to fourth with a -73 and he’s followed by Jason Keller who also moved up one spot rounding out the top five with a -99.

Ron Hornaday Jr. dropped down two spots out of the top five to sixth with a -108 while Johnny Sauter moved up one spot to seventh with a -134. Mike Bliss lost a spot with his bad luck and is now in eighth with a -140. Brian Vickers moved up one spot to ninth with a -190 while Bobby Hamilton Jr. moved up three spots to tenth with a -230.

Next week the Busch Series travels to Nazareth, Pa. for race No. 12. The Gould’s Pumps 200 is scheduled to be broadcast live by the FX channel on Sunday, May 18th at 1 P.M. Eastern.

Last season’s winner of the Nazareth race was Jason Keller. He was followed across the finish line by rookie Scott Riggs, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jamie McMurray, Randy LaJoie, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Jay Sauter, Ashton Lewis Jr., Mike McLaughlin, and Tony Raines.

Last years field was set by owner’s points due to a qualifying rainout. There were 8 cautions for 48 laps out of the 200 lap race on the one mile oval.

5/18/03……….. It seems that rookie driver Chad Blount is out of a job. It was reported during the week that there were sponsor problems with the No. 19 APP Gas Dodge. Braun Racing had decided not to take the team to Nazareth, Blount asked to be released, and Braun Racing obliged him.

Blount was vying for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title in the Busch Series. He was leading in the rookie standings after the Gateway race with 123 points. In the 11 races he competed in this season, he had two top ten starts, one top five, and two top ten finishes. He was listed as 23rd in driver’s points at the time of his release. It remains to be seen if he’ll acquire another ride in order to keep up with the rookie of the year battle.

The Gould’s Pumps/ITT Industries 200 is in the books with Ron Hornaday winning his first race of the season. Actually, only three Busch Series drivers have won races this season at venues where the Cup drivers weren’t there to steal their thunder. The win was Hornaday’s third career victory and his second victory at the Nazareth facility.

Following Hornaday across the finish line were Brian Vickers, Mike Bliss, David Green, Todd Bodine, rookie David Stremme, Randy LaJoie, Stacy Compton, Bobby Hamilton Jr., and Johnny Sauter. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Randy LaJoie -- No. 7 Chevy – finished 7th
2. Stacy Compton -- No. 59 Chevy – finished 8th
3. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 1st
4. Mike Bliss -- No. 20 Chevy -- finished 3rd
5. Scott Riggs -- No. 10 Ford – finished 15th
6. Jason Keller -- No. 57 Ford – finished 11th
7. Johnny Sauter -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 10th
8. Ashton Lewis -- No. 46 Chevy – finished 35th
9. *David Stremme -- No. 1 Dodge – finished 6th
10. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Ford – finished 12th

David Green is still the driver’s points leader and now registers 1646 points. Todd Bodine, who raced in the Winston open had to start at the back of the field because he didn’t qualify the car, is still second with a mere 10 point deficit. Ron Hornaday’s win moved him up three spots to third with a -83 which puts him securely in the hunt for the championship. Shane Hmiel dropped down one spot to fourth with a -104 followed by Scott Riggs who also dropped a spot to round out the top five with a -115.

Jason Keller dropped one spot to sixth with a -129 followed by Mike Bliss who gained a spot to seventh with a -135. Johnny Sauter dropped a spot to eighth with a -160 while Brian Vickers and Bobby Hamilton Jr. remain at ninth and tenth with a -180 and a -252. Randy Lajoie was the biggest mover inside of the top 25 in points, gaining six spots up to 18th.

Next week the Busch Series joins the Cup Series at Charlotte for race No. 13, so you can expect the Buschwhackers to be racing in Busch at full strength. The CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 is scheduled to be aired by the FX channel on Saturday, May 24th at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.

Last season’s winner of the event was Jeff Green. He was followed across the finish line by Greg Biffle, rookie Scott Riggs, Mike McLaughlin, Todd Bodine, Kevin Lepage, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Kevin Grubb, Jay Sauter, and Jack Sprague.

Ron Hornaday won the pole setting a track record with a speed of 182.094 miles per hour. There were nine cautions for 41 laps out of the 200 lap race on the 1.5 mile oval.

5/24/03……….. I think there may be more to the Chad Blount story than is meeting the eye in reports circulating around the Internet. The Charlotte race will be the second race the previous Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader misses.

The main crux of the story is that the APP Gas Card Co. went broke and couldn’t keep up with their sponsorship payments. The St. Louis based company had been having problems before the beginning of the season. By the time the race at Nazareth rolled around APP was behind in their payments to Braun Racing to the tune of over $250k. Todd Braun had to make a business decision and Chad Blount, although immensely disappointed, had to ask for a release so he could attempt to secure a ride elsewhere. Blount and Braun are good friends, Chad’s is an employee of Braun Racing, and Chad still works around the shop a couple of days a week.

Given the tough economic times for the Busch Series, it’s doubtful that Braun Racing will have any better luck than Herzog Jackson Motorsports in finding full time sponsorship. HJM fields the No. 92 Chevy for series point’s leader Todd Bodine and have been racing without a permanent sponsor all season.

On the other hand, Fitz/Bradshaw Motorsports have secured sponsorship for a second team and have announced sponsorship for a third team. Why is it that some teams can come up with sponsors and others can’t? A lot of it has to do with the dynamics of team owners and drivers, along with who knows who and how. Motorsports is no exception, it’s a dog eat dog business climate that tends to get worse every season.

When it comes right down to apples and oranges, NASCAR has to shoulder some of the blame for the problems in the Busch Series. The racing entity has been turning a deaf ear to the Busch Series sponsorship and money problems for several years now and there’s no reason to think that they will do anything soon to relieve the financial difficulties surrounding the series.

The CARQUEST Auto parts 300 is in the books. In a class performance, Kyle Busch finished second in his first ever Busch Series start. The young driver who just turned 18 years of age handled the car better than some of the Busch Series veterans attempt to handle their rides. I’m sure that co-owners Rick Hendrick and Joe Nemechek are very pleased with his performance. Jack Roush must be kicking himself about now, for letting the young driver slip through his hands. Money, money, money, it’s apparent that Hendrick has more of it than Roush!

Naturally, a Cup driver took the win. Following Matt Kenseth across the finish line were Kyle Busch, Scott Riggs, Todd Bodine, Mike Bliss, Kasey Kahne, Hank Parker Jr., Ashton Lewis Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Michael Waltrip.

Hats off to Hank Parker Jr., whose seventh place finish in Dale Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt’s Chance II Motorsports No. 8 Chevy entry gave the new team a top ten finish to add to it’s 2003 successes. Dale Jr. certainly knows how to pick them!

David Green’s bad luck cost him the points lead. Todd Bodine is now back on top of the heap with 1796 points while Green dropped down one spot with a -98. Scott Riggs moved up two spots to third and is now listed with a -100. Ron Hornaday dropped down one spot to fourth with a -127 while Mike Bliss’s finish moved him up two spots to round out the top five with a -130.

Jason Keller is still mired in fifth place and how registers a -167 followed by Shane Hmiel who moved up three spots to seventh with a -205. Brian Vickers moved up one spot to eighth with a -209 followed by Johnny Sauter who dropped one spot with a -222. Bobby Hamilton Jr. is still in tenth and now records a -273.

Next week the Busch Series travels to Dover International Speedway. The MBNA Armed Forces Family 200 is scheduled to be televised live by the FX channel on Saturday, May 31st at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.

Last season’s winner of the spring Dover race was Greg Biffle. He was followed across the finish line by Jeff Green, Bobby Hamilton Jr. Scott Wimmer, Jack Sprague, Ron Hornaday Jr. Kenny Wallace, Mike McLaughlin, Randy LaJoie, and Kevin Grubb.

Jeff Green had the Bud Pole with a speed of 155.347 miles per hour. There were five caution periods for a total of 26 laps out of the 200 lap event.

5/31/03……….. Strange things are happening with Scott Wimmer’s team owners. Bill Davis Racing owners Bill and Gail Davis had planned to enter Wimmer in a Cup race at Dover this weekend, but cancelled out stating that the problem was with a sub-par test.

Then Dodge released the news that the Daimler Chrysler owned racing division had cut all ties with Bill Davis Racing during the week leading up to the Charlotte race. This means that Dodge will no longer supply Bill Davis Racing with free equipment, parts, technical data, and access to their wind tunnel. This is a big slap in the face for the Davis organization. Now they will have to foot a lot of the bills themselves that Dodge had been picking up for them.

It has been speculated that the parting of the ways may be in some how connected with the withdrawing of Wimmer from the Cup competition, as now Davis will have to pay for the experimental run out of his own pocket.

Speculators inside of the NASCAR community relate the Davis/Dodge rift to the fact that Davis has been reported to have been in talks with Toyota in regards to the company entering the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004. Dodge claims that Bill Davis Racing breached their contract, but didn’t stipulate any reasons or incidents. Bill Davis Racing has also been mum on the subject, causing some to speculate that there will be an upcoming court battle to settle the rift.

MBNA 200 ………. Scott Riggs took the top spot for the Busch Series, finishing second. He was followed by David Green finishing third, Brian Vickers finishing fifth, with Bobby Hamilton Jr., Kasey Kahne, Mike Bliss and Ron Hornaday finishing for the Busch Series in the top ten.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Joe Nemechek -- No. 87 Chevy – finished 1st
2. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Ford – finished 8th
3. Matt Kenseth -- No. 17 Ford – finished 4th
4. Scott Riggs -- No. 10 Ford -- finished 2nd
5. Casey Mears -- No. 19 Dodge – finished 28th
6. Stanton Barrett -- No. 60 Ford – finished 12th
7. Martin Truex Jr. -- No. 81 Chevy – finished 18th
8. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 10th
9. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford – finished 6th
10. Kevin Grubb -- No. 26 Dodge – finished 35th

Todd Bodine is still at the top of the Busch Series driver’s standings, but Scott Riggs is now only -76 points back in second place with his second place finish at Dover. David Green lost a spot to third and now has a -84. Mike Bliss and Ron Hornaday are still at fourth and fifth with a -143 and a -150. Jason Keller is still sixth and now has a -188. He’s followed by Brian Vickers who moved up one spot to seventh with a -200. Shane Hmiel dropped down one spot to eighth with a -232 while Johnny Sauter and Bobby Hamilton Jr. are still ninth and tenth with a -273 and a -274.

Next week the Busch Series travels to Nashville for the second time this season for race No. 15, the Trace Adkins Chrome 300. The night race will be televised on the FX channel on Saturday, June 7th, at 7:30 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the second Nashville race was Jack Sprague. He was followed across the finish line by Bobby Hamilton Jr., Greg Biffle, Jay Sauter, Jason Keller, Kenny Wallace, Scott Wimmer, Hank Parker Jr., rookie Shane Hmiel, and rookie Casey Mears.

Greg Biffle won the Bud pole with a speed of 161.288 miles per hour. There were seven caution periods for a total of 32 laps out of the 225 laps on the 1.333 mile oval track. This ought to be a good race, the Cup drivers shouldn’t be there messing things up for the Busch drivers as they will be racing at Pocono that weekend.