10/4/03……….. The new caution rule got a workout at the Mr. Goodcents 300 on the Kansas Speedway. There were several cautions spurring the safety crews to get a workout. The response time was greatly enhanced due to the drivers getting used to shutting down their cars as soon as they see evidence of the caution flag or cautions lights.

The so-called “Lucky Dog” award was handed out to several drivers who were in the first position of lap down cars. At first, some drivers complained that the lap back rule was confusing to them, but there didn’t seem to be any confusion at the Kansas facility.

David Green took the checkered flag in a wild unpredictable finish. Cup driver Michael Waltrip pulled his usual routine of riding roughshod over the Busch Series drivers, but at Kansas, he ended up with the dirty end of the stick, which suited the regular Busch Series drivers just fine. Waltrip led a race high 140 laps and appeared to have the race won with only five laps remaining when he blew one of Goodyear’s ace tires, putting him into the wall briefly and out of the race.

After Waltrip showed his stuff; Bobby Hamilton Jr. inherited the lead. When the field took the green/white flag to start the race with one lap remaining, Hamilton took off in grand style, only to flutter in turn one allowing David Green to pass on the inside and Greg Biffle to smash into the back of him ramming him into the wall. Understandably, Hamilton was fit to be tied about the situation, but recovered his composure quick enough to offer a decent post race interview. He had been black flagged earlier in the race for jumping a restart and ended up on the end of the lead lap, luckily not losing a lap while spending his penalty time on pit road.

A lot of flack has been sent Goodyear’s way for the inconsistency of their tires, and the unpredictability of sudden blowouts. There have been several tire blowouts over the last three or four weeks of racing in NASCAR’s top three divisions. I assume that Michael Waltrip will be among those who feel that Goodyear tires are a bane in NASCAR racing.

Cup drivers Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle followed Green across the finish line. Jason Keller and Hank Parker Jr. followed along to round out the top five finishers after NASCAR finally figured out the scoring due to the mixup with scoring cars in the caution period melee. Finishing positions six thru ten were: Ashton Lewis, Scott Wimmer, Stacy Compton, Joe Nemechek and Jamie McMurray. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Michael Waltrip -- No. 99 Chevy – finished 24th
2. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Ford – finished 30th
3. David Green -- No. 37 Pontiac – finished 1st
4. Mike Bliss -- No. 20 Chevy -- finished 31st
5. Stacey Compton-- No. 59 Chevy – finished 8th
6. Tony Raines -- No. 33 Chevy – finished 38th
7. Scott Riggs -- No. 10 Ford – finished 13th
8. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 14th
9. Joe Nemechek -- No. 87 Chevy – finished 9th
10. Jason Leffler -- No. 00 Chevy – finished 16th

The driver’s point’s standings have switched around again. Brian Vickers bad luck dropped out of the lead. David Green’s win propelled him to the top of the heap again with 3833 points and a 221 point lead over second place driver Scott Riggs. Ron Hornaday is still in third, now listed with a -42. Brian Vickers is now listed in fourth with a -46 followed by Jason Keller rounding out the top five with -110. Figuratively speaking any one of the top four could be shoo-ins for the point’s lead after the next race. Fifth place Keller isn’t really out of the hunt, but his prospects are getting dimmer if he don’t begin to show his stuff.

Points positions six thru ten are Bobby Hamilton Jr., -266; +2 Scott Wimmer, -486; Kasey Kahne, -511; -2 Johnny Sauter, -523; +1 Stacy Compton, -527.

Next week the Busch Series joins the Cup Series at Charlotte for the Little Trees 300. The event will be run on Friday, October 10th at 8 p.m. eastern. I’m not sure about the TV schedule for the race at this time, please check back in a day or two and I should have something on it. During the Cup race on Sunday, the commentators stated that NBC would air the Busch Series race on Saturday, October 11th, at noon eastern.

Last season’s winner of the Little Trees 300 was Jeff Burton. He was followed across the finish line by Michael Waltrip, Joe Nemechek, Jeff Green, David Green, Greg Biffle, Wally Dallenbach, Mike McLaughlin, Bobby Hamilton Jr., and rookie Shane Hmiel.

Cup driver Michael Waltrip won the Bud pole award with a speed of 180.343. There were four caution periods for a total of 18 laps out of the 300 mile 200 lap race on the 1.5 mile oval.

10/11/03……….. Kasey Kahne was in the news this past week, along with the Ford Motor Co. Ford has been supporting Kahne’s racing career from the beginning, and speculation that Kahne may move to Evernham Motorsports which fields Dodges, prompted the auto manufacturer to cement its relations with the young racer.

Kahne is presently under contract with both Ford and Robert Yates Racing, and has extended the contract with a multi-year deal. Ford has been behind Kahne for years, while he was trying out the CART Series and while he was in the USAC Series.

I had the pleasure this past August to watch Kahne win a 100 lap USAC Silver Crown race at the Nazareth Speedway before the feature IRL Firestone 225 event was held. Kahne’s deftness on the flat highly difficult track was a sight to behold. He started in the eighth position and as soon as the leaders ran into traffic, Kahne excelled, made it to the front, and stayed there. Ford has been paying the expenses for Kahne to travel to all of these different venues so that he can compete in different races to stimulate and benefit his overall racing career.

Ford plans to keep Kahne in the Busch Series for one more season in 2004 with six or seven outings in the Cup Series with Robert Yates Racing before moving him full time to the Cup Series with RYR in 2005.

Mike Bliss was the top Busch Series finisher in the Little Trees 300. The Friday night race was postponed due to inclement weather and was held Saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m. After a short track drying session, the race began close to 11:25 a.m. As per usual, where the Cup and Busch Series compete at the same venue, the Cup drivers dominated the event. Bliss finished third, tying his best finish of the season in the Sam’s Town 300 early in the spring. Brian Vickers finished 4th, with Busch drivers David Green, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Jason Keller finishing in the top ten.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Kevin Harvick -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 9th
2. Brian Vickers -- No. 5 Chevy – finished 4th
3. Mike Bliss -- No. 20 Chevy – finished 3rd
4. Greg Biffle -- No. 7 Chevy -- finished 1st
5. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 12th
6. Joe Nemechek -- No. 87 Chevy – finished 36th
7. David Green -- No. 37 Pontiac – finished 6th
8. Scott Riggs -- No. 10 Ford – finished 13th
9. Michael Waltrip -- No. 99 Chevy – finished 2nd
10. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford – finished 7th

The driver’s points are still closer than they have ever been in the series history. David Green is still the leader, now listed with 3988 points. Brian Vickers top five finish moved him up one spot in the points to second place listed with a -36. Scott Riggs disappointing 13th place finish dropped him down one spot to third, now listed with a -47. Ron Hornaday is still listed in fourth place with a -76 with Jason Keller still rounding out the top five, now listed with a -80. Any one of the top five drivers have a great chance of winning the championship. Positions six thru ten are: Bobby Hamilton Jr., -275; +1 Kasey Kahne, -524; -1 Scott Wimmer,-534; Johnny Sauter, -578; Stacy Compton, -592.

Next week the Busch Series travels to Memphis Motorsports Park for race No. 30 on its 34 race 2003 schedule. The Sam’s Town 250 is slated to be aired by the TNT channel on Saturday, October 18th at 3 p.m. eastern. Qualifying for the event will be televised by the SPEED channel on Friday, October 17th at 9:30 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the event was Scott Wimmer. He was followed across the finish line by Stacy Compton, Jamie McMurray, Hank Parker Jr., rookie Kerry Earnhardt, Tim Sauter, Ron Hornaday, Jay Sauter, David Green, and Jason Keller.

Greg Biffle won the Bud pole award with a speed of 116.817 miles per hour. There were 11 caution periods for a total of 64 laps out of the 250 lap race on the .75 mile oval.

10/18/03……….. Johnny Sauter has finally found a home. Clarence Brewer, owner of Brewco Motorsports and the No. 37 Pontiac driven by veteran championship contender David Green, has hired Sauter to pilot the No. 27 Pontiac full time in 2004 with sponsorship from Kimberly Clark (Kleenex). Apparently the Kleenex sponsorship is leaving the No. 7 Evans Motorsports Chevy which used to be piloted by Randy LaJoie.

As most of you are aware, Sauter has been sharing the driving duties in the Busch Series No. 21 Pay Day Chevy for Richard Childress Racing with Cup driver Kevin Harvick, along with part time driving duties with Curb/Agajanian Motorsports. The new ride with Brewco will give Sauter a full time ride with a chance to build chemistry with one team, advancing his driving career. Sauter has been with Childress, off and on, for a couple of seasons, and should have been Childress’s pick for the No. 2 AC/Delco Chevy instead of the veteran Ron Hornaday. Sauter piloted the ride in the Busch Series for the 2002 season after a five race tryout in the ride in 2001.

Scott Riggs is moving up to the Cup series with a ride in the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac for MBV Motorsports in 2004. Veteran driver Johnny Benson is being replaced. Benson still has a year left on his contract with MBV, but the word is out that the team is so happy to be getting an up and coming young gun that they’ll buy out Benson’s final year of his contract if the hapless driver can’t come up with a ride for 2004. Benson has one win in his eight years in Cup racing, coming last fall at Rockingham.

The Sam’s Town 250 event was won by Bobby Hamilton Jr. after he knocked Johnny Sauter out of the way with only three laps remaining. Hamilton couldn’t pass Sauter, so he did the next best thing that’s synonymous with dirty racers, he knocked Sauter to the side and took the win. Sauter had some harsh words for Hamilton after the event and veteran David Green also had harsh words for Hamilton after getting punted out of Hamilton’s way during the race. Hey, that’s the only way some driver’s know how to win when they don’t have the driving skills to do it cleanly! That’s not racing.

Jason Keller followed Hamilton as he forced his way past Sauter, and was followed by Sauter, Ron Hornaday, Brian Vickers, Scott Wimmer, Casey Atwood, Mike Bliss, rookie David Stremme, and Ashton Lewis. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. David Reutimann/Greg Biffle -- No. 7 Chevy – finished 39th
2. Kyle Busch -- No. 87 Chevy – finished 16th
3. Brian Vickers -- No. 5 Chevy – finished 5th
4. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford -- finished 1st
5. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 4th
6. Jason Keller – No. 57 Ford – finished 2nd
7. Randy LaJoie-- No. 48 Chevy – finished 30th
8. David Green -- No. 37 Pontiac – finished 19th
9. Johnny Sauter -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 3rd
10. Casey Atwood -- No. 14 Chevy – finished 7th

The really close Busch Series driver’s point’s battle is still really close. Brian Vickers moved up one spot to take the lead with 4117 points. Former leader David Green dropped down one spot to second, listed with a -23. Jason Keller’s second place finish moved him up two spots to third, listed with a -34. Ron Hornaday is still in fourth place listed with a -40 followed by Scott Riggs who dropped down two spots to fifth listed with a -44. Any one of these five drivers can leave next week’s race in the driver’s point’s lead.

Driver’s point’s positions six thru ten are: Bobby Hamilton Jr., -224; +1 Scott Wimmer, -513; -1 Kasey Kahne, -535; Johnny Sauter, -537; Stacy Compton, -591.

Next week the Busch Series travels to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to join the Cup series. The Aarons 312 is scheduled to be broadcast by TNT channel on Saturday, October 25th at 1 p.m. eastern. Qualifying for the event will be televised by the SPEED channel on Friday, October 24th at 1:30 p.m. eastern.

Last season’s winner of the Aaron’s 312 was Jamie McMurray. He was followed across the finish line by Michael Waltrip, Mike McLaughlin, rookie Scott Riggs, Greg Biffle, Joe Nemechek, Jason Keller, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Ashton Lewis Jr., and rookie Johnny Sauter.

There was no Bud pole award due to inclement weather. Driver’s point’s leading driver Greg Biffle started on the pole. There were six caution periods for a total of 31 laps out of the 203 lap race on the fast 1.54 mile oval.

10/25/03……….. Greg Biffle outlasted the field in the Aaron’s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday to take the checkered flag. A late race pit stop with just a little over 20 laps remaining was the straw that broke the camels back for race leader Michael Waltrip in his No. 99 Aaron’s Chevy dream machine. A mix-up on the radio from his crew chief left him out on the track when everyone else pitted for new tires. Bobby Kennedy, his crew chief, said the mix-up was due to too many people talking on the radio at once.

Waltrip’s old tires proved to be just that, OLD TIRES, as cars driven by Matt Kenseth and Bobby Hamilton Jr. sped past him relegating him to a 4th place finish. Hamilton was the top Busch Series finisher in third place, followed by Hank parker Jr. in Dale Jr.’s No. 8 Chance Motorsports Chevy, Scott Riggs in the No. 10 Nestles Ford, Kasey Kahne in the No. 38 Ford, and David Green in the No. 37 Wolf Pontiac. Cup driver Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten finishers. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Greg Biffle -- No. 7 Chevy – finished 1st
2. Kevin Harvick -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 9th
3. David Green -- No. 37 Pontiac – finished 8th
4. Casey Mears -- No. 19 Dodge -- finished 20th
5. Brian Vickers -- No. 5 Chevy – finished 31st
6. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford – finished 3rd
7. Jason Leffler -- No. 00 Chevy – finished 22nd
8. Hank Parker Jr. -- No. 8 Chevy – finished 8th
9. Kyle Busch -- No. 87 Chevy – finished 43rd
10. Todd Bodine -- No. 48 Chevy – finished 18th

David Green took the driver’s point’s lead away from Brian Vickers who came to Atlanta on top of the heap and left in fifth place. Scott Riggs moved up to second and is now listed just 13 points out of the lead. Jason Keller remains in third place tied with Ron Hornaday, who is now listed in fourth, with a -35. Keller gets the nod for the top spot because his season’s performance tops Hornaday’s, even though the two are tied. Brian Vickers had a multitude of problems and dropped four positions to fifth, listed now with a -49. The top five are now just 49 points apart, meaning that either one of them could walk away from the next event in the points lead. With just three events remaining, it won’t be long before the five drivers may be depending on the season’s final event at Homestead to decide the Busch Series Championship.

Next week the Busch Series moves to Phoenix along with the Cup Series. The Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 is scheduled to be televised live by the TNT channel on Saturday, November 1st at 3 p.m. eastern. I hope you folks have remembered to turn you clocks back on Sunday, October 26th to prevent messing up your week by being late for work on Monday!

Last season’s winner of the Phoenix event was Scott Wimmer. He was followed across the finish line by Stacy Compton, Greg Biffle, Jason Keller, David Green, Jimmy Spencer, rookie Johnny Sauter, Ashton Lewis Jr., Wally Dallenbach, and rookie Kerry Earnhardt.

Greg Biffle won the Bud pole award with a speed of 132.193 miles per hour. There were eight caution periods for a total of 40 laps out of the 200 laps on the nearly flat one mile oval.