10/10/04… Joe Nemechek may have taken the checkered flag at the end of the green, white, checker restart which extended the event four laps past the 200 lap event, but he didn't really win a race. Actually, it was Nemechek who started the accident which brought on the late race caution when he ran over race leader Tony Stewart with less then five laps remaining.

NASCAR is the home of the bump and run, the epitome of dirty race driving. Nemechek couldn't pass Stewart clean, so he just ran him off of the track so he wouldn't have to work for the win. Nemechek lost a lot of respect in the Kansas Busch race. He really didn't do anything worse then a lot of other drivers have in the past, but now it's Nemechek's turn to ride the jerk bubble, and ride it he will. What can you say about a guy who climbs out of his racecar laughing in victory saying, "I really didn’t mean to do that." Yeah, right!

The rest of the top ten finishers were Greg Biffle, David Stremme, Ashton Lewis, Ron Hornaday, J. J. Yeley, Jason Keller, Casey Mears, Stacy Compton, and Wally Dallenbach. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Paul Menard* -- #111 Chevy -- finished 17th
2. Kasey Kahne -- #38 Dodge -- finished 13th
3. Robby Gordon -- #55 Chevy -- finished 14th
4. Kyle Busch* -- #5 Chevy -- finished 29th
5. Martin Truex Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 30th
6. Ron Hornaday -- #2 Chevy -- finished 5th
7. Blake Feese -- #00 Chevy -- finished 24th
8. Mike Bliss -- #20 Chevy -- finished 19th
9. David Stremme -- #332 Dodge -- finished 3rd
10. David Green -- #37 Chevy -- finished 35th

Both Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch had problems early on in the event. If Busch hadn't had problems along with Truex, he'd have gained a lot on the leader, but it just wasn't meant to happen. Truex Jr. is still leading the Busch Series driver's points with a 149 point spread over second place driver Kyle Busch. Greg Biffle moved up one spot to third with a -480, followed by Jason Leffler who dropped down one spot to fourth listed with a -551. Ron Hornaday moved up one spot to fifth listed with a -670, ahead of David Green who dropped one spot to sixth listed with a -688. Jason Keller and Mike Bliss are still in the seventh and eighth positions listed with a -720 and a -898. Ashton Lewis moved up two spots to ninth now listed with a -1077, just ahead of Kasey Kahne who dropped a spot to tenth listed with a -1093.

Next week the Busch Series does a night event at Charlotte. The SpongeBob Movie 300 is scheduled to be aired via the TNT channel on Friday, October 15th at 8 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be televised on the SPEED channel on Thursday, October 14th at 4:30 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Charlotte October night event was Greg Biffle. He was followed across the finish line by Michael Waltrip, Mike Bliss, Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, David Green, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, and Jason Keller.

Cup driver Kevin Harvick won the Bud Pole Award n the #21 PayDay Chevy with a speed of 184.313 miles per hour. There were three caution periods for a total of 14 laps out of the 200 lap event on the 1.5 mile oval.

10/16/04… Mike Bliss finally did it! It took him 70 tries to obtain a Busch Series victory, but he finally managed to pull it off. Bliss had 12 victories in the Craftsman Truck Series from the series beginning in 1995, up to 2002, when he won the championship.

The best part of his win at Charlotte is that he took it away from two Cup drivers who were vying for the win. He passed Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth on the outside while they were racing neck and neck for the lead late in the event. He managed to keep the lead ahead of the two Cup drivers despite a record 12th caution with 11 laps remaining. Kenseth tried valiantly to chase him down, but couldn't get the job done.

The win was especially sweet for Bliss, because he has lost his ride in the Joe Gibbs Racing's #20 Chevy at season's end, and is looking for a new driving position for 2005.

Following Bliss across the finish line in the top ten were Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, rookie Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Kenny Wallace, and rookie Chad Bowyer. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Casey Mears -- #41 Dodge -- finished 7th
2. Robby Gordon -- #55 Chevy -- finished 19th
3. Greg Biffle -- #60 Ford -- finished 4th
4. Jamie McMurray -- #66 Dodge -- finished 8th
5. Blake Feese -- #00 Chevy -- finished 27th
6. Joe Nemechek -- #88 Chevy -- finished 43rd
7. Mike Bliss -- #20 Chevy -- finished 1st
8. Kevin Harvick -- #21 Chevy -- finished 11th
9. Martin Truex Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 6th
10. Ashton Lewis -- #46 Chevy -- finished 35th

According to NASCAR.com, the top six driver's point's leaders have a mathematical chance at winning the championship, but we all know that's a bunch of rot. The only two drivers who have a chance at the brass ring are Truex and the rookie Kyle Busch. Truex is still the leader with a 144 point spread over Busch. Greg Biffle is third, down 475 points from the leader, followed by Jason Leffler in fourth listed with a -706. With just five events remaining in the season, there's no way Leffler is going to get close to Busch or Truex, and it's even doubtful he'll catch up with Biffle. We all know that Biffle is no slouch, but on the other hand, Leffler is moving up to Cup next season with Joe Gibbs Racing, so he'll be trying with all of his might to make a good showing. It will be interesting to see how hard these two race in the final five events.

Not to be outdone, Ron Hornaday has also lost his job in the Busch Series and is only one point down from Leffler listed with a -707. You can rest assured that Hornaday will also be racing his heart out until the end, auditioning for a position in the 2005 season. If anyone can catch Biffle in third place, it would be the hard racing Hornaday. Former series champion David Green isn't far behind, listed with a -719 in sixth place. Green can be a threat if the situation is right, but it's hard to imagine him besting Hornaday and Biffle. The competition is really tight in this series.

Jason Keller is listed in seventh with a -802, and NASCAR has him listed as the first driver in the top ten that is considered out of the mathematical hunt for the brass ring. Keller has lots of tenacity, but of late, he hasn't shown the desire to win that Biffle and Hornaday have. Mike Bliss is listed in eighth with a -868, followed by Kenny Wallace who moved up three spots to ninth listed now with a -1140. Ashton Lewis dropped down one spot to round out the top ten with a -1174.

Next week the Busch Series moves to the Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tennessee. The Sam's Town 250 is scheduled to be aired by the TNT channel on Saturday, October 23rd, at 3:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be aired by the SPEED channel on Friday, October 22nd, at 4:30 pm eastern.

Last season's winner at Memphis was Bobby Hamilton Jr., followed across the finish line in the top ten by Jason Keller, Johnny Sauter, Ron Hornaday, Brian Vickers, Scott Wimmer, Casey Atwood, Mike Bliss, rookie David Stremme, and Ashton Lewis Jr.

David Reutimann won the Bud Pole Award in the #7 Kleenex Chevy with a speed of 119.766 miles per hour. There were nine caution periods for a total of 46 laps out of the 250 lap event on the short ¾ mile oval track.

10/23/04… Martin Truex Jr. Gets his name up in lights this week, winning his sixth event of the season, surpassing the rest of his peers in the Busch Series, and expanding his point's lead. The Mayetta, New Jersey native only has one victory to go in tying his car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who holds the record of seven wins, which were garnered in his rookie season.

Martinsville, the last short track event in the 2004 season, held a lot of trepidation for the teams vying for the championship. Truex and Biffle came out of it unscathed, while Busch ended up gnawing on the bullet. Truex surpassed Greg Biffle and championship contender Kyle Busch who each have five wins this season. There are only four events remaining in 2004, and either one of the two could tie Truex with six wins, or tie/beat Dale Jr.'s record.

Following Truex across the finish line in the top ten after the green, white, checker restart were Greg Biffle, Ron Hornaday, rookie Clint Bowyer, Mike Bliss, Jason Keller, David Stremme, Johnny Sauter, Ashton Lewis, and Reed Sorenson. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Martin Truex Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 1st
2. Bill Elliott -- #6 Dodge -- finished 20th
3. Dave Blaney -- #14 Chevy -- finished 19th
4. Mike Bliss -- #20 Chevy -- finished 5th
5. Michael Waltrip -- #99 Chevy -- finished 29th
6. Kenny Wallace -- #23 Chevy -- finished 13th
7. Paul Menard* -- #111 Chevy -- finished 11th
8. Tim Fedewa -- #12 Chevy -- finished 23rd
9. David Green -- #37 Chevy -- finished 24th
10. Clint Bowyer* -- #21 Chevy -- finished 4th

According to NASCAR's figures, there are only three drivers at this stage of the game who are eligible to win the championship, Truex, Kyle Busch, and Greg Biffle. Truex is now leading the group by 208 points with the rookie Kyle Busch in second place and Biffle holding on in third with a -490. Although it's mathematically possible for Biffle to win, it's definitely not very plausible. With a 490 point deficit and only four races remaining, Truex and Busch would both have to score a DNF (Did Not Finish) twice in order for Biffle to stand a chance, and the odds of that happening are slim to none. Actually, considering the skill of all drivers involved, Busch is going to have a tough row to hoe if he hopes to surpass Truex to win the championship. As the season wanes on, it's clearly evident that Busch lacks the driving skills that Truex possesses, along with his emotional stability. Busch has gotten upset prematurely and blew his chances for a win a couple of different times late in the season, the stress of the championship is weighing heavily upon him.

If some of you are wondering why there is such a large disparity in points within the Busch Series Championship standings, it's because of the Cup drivers coming in and taking the top money and points. They only race a certain number of events, but they still take the higher points because they finish better due to their skill. Plus, they are usually hired by a team that has plenty of monetary backing in order to put a cup driver in a car to begin with. It isn't fair to the Busch Series drivers, and there have been complaints about it for years, only falling on the deaf ears of NASCAR. The only thing that is important to NASCAR is making money. Fairness and equality within each series is a mute subject, and has been for years.

The rest of the drivers in the top ten are Ron Hornaday, who moved up one spot to fourth listed now with a -732. David Green moved up one spot to fifth, listed with a -818, followed by Jason Keller who also moved up one spot, listed in sixth with a -842. Jason Leffler has moved off to the Cup Series so his point's standings will be dropping dramatically within the next four weeks. He dropped three spots this week because of his absence and is listed in seventh with a -896. Mike Bliss, Kenny Wallace, and Ashton Lewis are still listed in eighth, ninth, and tenth with a -930, a -1206, and a -1226 respectively.

Next week the Busch Series moves to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Aarons 312. The event will be televised live on Saturday, October 30th at 1 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be aired by the SPEED channel on Friday, October 29th at 1:30 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Aaron's 312 was Greg Biffle. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Matt Kenseth, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Michael Waltrip, Hank Parker Jr., Scott Riggs, Kasey Kahne, David Green, Kevin Harvick, and Dave Blaney.

Greg Biffle won the Bud Pole Award in the #7 Kleenex Chevrolet with a speed of 192.300 miles per hour. There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps out of the 203 lap event on the 1.54 mile oval.

10/31/04… Matt Kenseth gets his name up in lights this week, for holding off hard charging Kyle Busch to win the Atlanta Busch Series event. The victory marked the third Busch Series win of the season for the 2003 Cup Series Champion. The rookie Kyle Busch was trying to "win one for the Gipper" as it may, referring to the demise last weekend of his team owner Ricky Hendrick. It wasn't in the books, Kenseth certainly wasn't going to drop back and give Busch the win, so he made him work for it. Busch, under pressure from third place driver Kasey Kahne, couldn't get the job done to best the masterful race driver Kenseth.

Honorable mention goes out to Reed Sorenson, a young 18 year old developmental driver out of Chip Ganassi Racing. Sorenson, a native of nearby Peachtree, Georgia, led 47 laps, second only to race winner Kenseth. He stood a good chance of winning; driving the #42 Discount Tire sponsored Dodge in only his third Busch Series event, if he hadn't have gotten caught up in a wreck.

Following Kenseth across the finish in the top ten were Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Robby Gordon, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Kenny Wallace, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr., and rookie J. J. Yeley. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Mike Bliss -- #20 Chevy -- finished 27th
2. Martin Truex Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 9th
3. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 15th
4. Kyle Busch* -- #5 Chevy -- finished 2nd
5. Casey Mears -- #1 Dodge -- finished 42nd
6. Reed Sorenson -- #41 Dodge -- finished 29th
7. Mike McLaughlin -- #25 Ford -- finished 41st
8. Kasey Kahne -- #38 Dodge -- finished 3rd
9. Shane Hmiel -- #332 Dodge -- finished 34th
10. Greg Biffle -- #60 Ford -- finished 5th

The championship race is now mathematically down to the two drivers, Truex and Busch. Busch managed to gain a little ground this weekend on Truex, but certainly not enough to write home to mother about. Truex came to Atlanta with a 208 point lead and leaves with a 176 point lead. He certainly didn't give up very much, just 32 points. If he doesn't give up more than that in the next three races, he'll still win the championship by 80 points. It appears to me that the championship is Truex's to loose, even if he gets in a wreck and doesn't finish one of the three races that remain, he can still win easily.

On the other hand, it's entirely possible for Truex to have bad luck in two of the three remaining races bringing the championship down to the wire in the last event at Homestead\Miami for a championship shootout. Busch still has a chance, but it's beginning to look really doubtful.

The rest of the top ten in points are as follows: Greg Biffle, -473; Ron Hornaday, -754; David Green -846; Jason Keller. -927; +1 Mike Bliss, -964; -1 Jason Leffler, -1039; Kenny Wallace. -1203; Ashton Lewis, -1242.

Next week the Busch Series travels out west to the Phoenix International Raceway for the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. The event is scheduled to be aired by the NBC Network on Saturday, November 6th at 3:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be held on Thursday, November 4th, at 1:30 pm pacific time. I'm unable to find any TV qualifying schedule at this time.

Last season's winner of the November Phoenix event was Bobby Hamilton Jr., He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers, Joe Nemechek, Ron Hornaday, Scott Riggs, Scott Wimmer, Casey Atwood, Johnny Sauter, and Greg Biffle.

Kevin Harvick won the Bud Pole Award in the #21 Payday sponsored Chevy with a track record speed of 132.930 miles per hour. There were five caution periods for a total of 34 laps out of the 181 lap event on the one mile oval. The regular 200 lap event was completed at lap 181 due to inclement weather.