8/1/04… Jimmy Johnson won his fourth race of the 2004 season and his tenth race in the third full year of his Cup Series racing career. He won the first event of the season at Pocono seven weeks ago, sweeping the victories at that facility for the season. He joins such notables in NASCAR's history as Bobby Allison, Tim Richmond, Bill Elliott, and Bobby Labonte, who have all won both races at the Pocono facility during the same season.

Following Johnson across the finish line were Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, Robby Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Jeremy Mayfield, and Elliott Sadler. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Casey Mears -- #41 Dodge – finished 18th
2. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy – finished 16th
3. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford – finished 26th
4. Sterling Marlin -- #40 Dodge -- finished 15th
5. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 10th
6. Brian Vickers* -- #25 Chevy – finished 14th
7. Jamie McMurray -- #42 Dodge – finished 30th
8. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy – finished 35th
9. Jeremy Mayfield -- #19 Dodge – finished 9th
10. Brendan Gaughan* -- #77 Dodge – finished 28th

Jimmy Johnson enhanced his lead in the driver's point's standings to a 232 point lead over second place driver Jeff Gordon, who moved up one spot past Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt had a really bad car and was still hurting from his burn injuries, so he vacated the ride early in the vent, allowing John Andretti to take over the driving duties on the #8 Budweiser Chevy. Earnhardt is now listed in third with a -267. Mat Kenseth moved up one spot to fourth listed with a -417, followed by Tony Stewart who dropped down one spot to round out the top five with a -434.

With the new 'Chase for the Championship' rule in place this year, the most important part of the top ten are the positions from six thru ten. Elliott Sadler moved up two spots to sixth listed with a -536, followed by Kurt Busch who dropped down one spot to seventh with a -559. Even though Ryan Newman had some of the worst luck at Pocono he has suffered this season, he still moved up two spots to eighth listed with a -568. Bobby Labonte's wreck caused him to drop two spots to ninth listed with a -574, along with Kevin Harvick, who's wreck caused him to drop one spot to round out he top ten listed with a -620.

There is only an 84 point deficit between sixth and tenth place, meaning that with the remaining six events before the championship chase begins, some of the drivers in the latter part of the top ten could find themselves on the outside looking in at the championship contenders. There is only a 133 point spread between 15th place Jamie McMurray with 753 points and 11th place Jeremy Mayfield with 660 points. The 11th place position is only 40 points away from Harvick who has the precarious position on the "bubble." Kasey Kahne, in 12th place is 69 points out of the running, with 13th place Mark Martin sitting with an 89 point deficit. Dale Jarrett, in 14th place with 723 is 103 points out of the running, and probably out of luck for this season's championship run.

Next week the Cup Series joins the other two major series in NASCAR at Indianapolis. The Brickyard 400 is scheduled to be aired on the NBC network on Sunday, August 8th at 2 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Brickyard 400 was Kevin Harvick, followed across the finish line by Matt Kenseth, rookie Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, Robby Gordon, Kurt Busch, Jimmy Spencer, Mark Martin, and Rusty Wallace.

Kevin Harvick won the Bud Pole Award with a speed of 184.343 miles per hour in the #29 Richard Childress Racing's Goodwrench Chevy. There were five caution periods for a total of 25 laps out of the 160 lap event on the 2.5 mile oval.

08/09/04… Jeff Gordon was the dominant driver on the infamous 2.5 mile Indianapolis "Brickyard." He actually led for 124 of the 162 lap event. The event went two laps over the original 160 laps due to a late race caution that paved the way for the use of the new green, white, checker rule. There was a record number of 12 caution periods called in the crash filled event using up more than 50 laps. There was also a caution on the second of the two-lap green, white, checker rule because of a wreck and a blown engine on the last lap which forced the race to end under caution regardless of the use of the rule.

I have to say that I was thrilled with Jeff Gordon's actions after winning the event. In order to escape the new rules concerning advertising on the top of the winning car in victory circle, Gordon stopped his car on the hallowed yard of bricks in front of the flag stand. He exited his car and did the TV interviews in front of his car without any bottles on top of it before NASCAR officials moved it to victory circle themselves. The officials tried several times to get Gordon's attention while he was doing the TV interview with the NBC commentator, but Gordon ignored them. Gordon made sure he sipped on his bottle of Pepsi during the interview, without worry of his sponsor's adversary's wares showing on the top of his winning car. It was a classic move, I'm not a Jeff Gordon fan, but I sure have a lot of respect for him! I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if NASCAR came up with some type of reason to fine him heavily for his actions in disregarding the usual protocol of driving his winning car to victory circle and abiding by NASCAR's advertising rules.

Following Gordon across the finish line in the top ten were Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, rookie Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Bill Elliott, and Kurt Busch. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Casey Mears -- #41 Dodge – finished 26th
2. Ward Burton -- #0 Chevy – finished 39th
3. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford – finished 3rd
4. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy – finished 17th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 27th
6. Brian Vickers* -- #25 Chevy – finished 29th
7. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge – finished 31st
8. Jamie McMurray -- #42 Dodge – finished 7th
9. Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy – finished 36th
10. Sterling Marlin -- #40 Dodge – finished 33rd

After 21 of the 36 scheduled events; Jimmy Johnson still maintains the driver's point's lead by 97 over his teammate Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still in third listed now with a -240 deficit. Tony Stewart moved up one spot to fourth listed with a -334 followed by Matt Kenseth who dropped down one spot to round out the top five with a -357. Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch remain in sixth and seventh with a -421 and a -480. Bobby Labonte moved up one spot to eighth listed with a -511. Kevin Harvick moved up two spots to ninth listed with a -533, followed by Ryan Newman who dropped down two spots to sit on the bubble in tenth place with a -553.

With five races to go before the championship chase begins, rookie Kasey Kahne sits in 11th place, just a mere 31 points out of the hunt. Jeremy Mayfield in 12th place is hanging on to his hopes 32 points away from his chances. Dale Jarrett in 13th place is 55 points out of the top ten, while Jamie McMurray in 13th place in 109 points away and pretty much out of luck for this season's championship run.

Next week the Cup Series moves up to Watkins Glen, New York for the season's second road racing event. The TNT network will be televising the event live on Sunday, August 15th at 1:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be televised by the SPEED channel on Friday, August 13th at 3 pm eastern.

Last season's winner at The Glen was Robby Gordon in the #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet. He was followed across the finish line by Scott Pruitt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Ward Burton, Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, and Mark Martin.

Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole Award in the #24 Dupont Chevrolet with a speed of 124.580 miles per hour. There were six caution periods for a total of 14 laps out of the 90 lap event on the 2.45 mile 11 turn road course.

08/15/04… Mother Nature gave the road racing interlopers a slap in the mug this past Friday, sending Scott Pruitt and Boris Said down the road. Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) still had a road racing specialist in the race as the #1 Chevy had raced previously during the season and apparently had enough provisional points built up to get it in the race in the 43rd position. I think that's just ducky! The road racing specialists should indeed start last, if they are allowed to start at all!

Even though the central western New York road course track at Watkins Glen was dry enough to use, the rain saturated ground caused water to weep upon the track in low lying areas from cracks in the surface, making its use questionable. As a result, qualifying was cancelled Friday and the starting grid was set via owner's points. The additional cars that were being furnished for interlopers Pruitt and Said didn't have any owner's points, so they didn't make the event.

Richard Childress racing (RCR) made the news this past week by putting Roush Racing's Jeff Burton in the driver's seat of the #30 AOL Chevrolet. Burton raced the #99 Ford for Roush Racing from 1996 to the present. Prior to that he raced two season's in the #8 Ford for Stavola Bros. Racing taking MAXX Rookie of the Year honors in his first full of Cup racing in 1994.

Since joining up with the Roush organization, Burton has scored 17 victories, 87 top five finishes, 142 top ten finishes, and has won two Bud Pole Awards. His most recent victory was in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix during the 2001 season. His best years with Roush were in 1999 when he scored six wins, and in 2000 when he scored four. From 1997 to 2000 he finished the seasons in the top five in the driver's point's standings, with his best year in 2000 when he finished third to Bobby Labonte (1st) and Dale Earnhardt (2nd).

Burton lost his Citgo sponsorship on the #99 Ford at the end of last season and had been driving the entry without a sponsor this season. The #99 carried the Excide Battery sponsorship between 1996 and the 2001 season when Citgo took over. In the 21 events he has entered this season, he has scored three top ten finishes and one top five finish, with his best finish of fourth at Dover and his best start of 6th at Chicago. Burton has used one provisional start this season with an average starting position of 24.3 and an average finishing position of 21.2.

This move elated Craftsman Truck Series driver Carl Edwards beyond belief. Edwards, driver of Roush Racing's #99 Ford truck, was overjoyed and really surprised earlier this season when Jack Roush named him as the replacement in the #6 Viagra Ford when Mark Martin retired, possibly after next season. You can just about imagine how he is feeling now after being called up to take the vacated seat in the #99 Cup car for the remainder of the season beginning with the Michigan event on the weekend of August 22nd.

Most drivers move up to Cup through the Busch Series so they can get a handle on the lesser powered Busch stock cars as opposed to the way the Craftsman trucks handle. Once in a while the exception is the rule, as is the case with Edwards. The truck engines are similar to the Cup engines, so Edwards will be used to the power, he'll just have to get used to the Cup car's handling due to the entirely different aerodynamics between the trucks and Cup cars.

Edwards, the young Columbia, Missouri driver who celebrates his 25th birthday on August 15th, really deserves the promotion up to the Cup Series. In the 14 events he has raced in this season, all of his starts have been in the top ten, with two wins, five top five finishes, nine top ten finishes, and one Bud Pole Award at Dover in the MBNA America 200. Edwards, the 2003 Craftsman Truck Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year, has a career total of five wins, 18 top five finishes, 25 top ten finishes, with two Bud Pole Awards in his third season in the Roush Racing's #99 Ford truck. He is currently third in the Truck Series driver's championship standings and will continue to drive the #99 truck for the remainder of the season.

Tony Stewart managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat at Watkins Glen, winning his second event of the season and the 19th event of his career. Before the halfway mark of the 90 lap event, Stewart complained of stomach and leg cramps, wondering if someone could be found to relieve him for the rest of the race. Boris Said was at the facility and was immediately available, but his size as opposed to Stewarts wasn't compatible for the car seat and the distance from the seat to the steering wheel. Stewart decided to tough it out and finish the event.

Stewart restarted in second behind Casey Mears on lap 75, and a lap later he took the lead for the rest of the event. Following Stewart across the finish line in the top ten were Ron Fellows, Mark Martin, Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick, Jeremy Mayfield, Ricky Rudd, Matt Kenseth, and Kurt Busch. The top ten starters and how they finished.

1. Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy -- finished 40th
2. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 21st
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 5th
4. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 1st
5. Matt Kenseth -- #17 Ford -- finished 9th
6. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 15th
7. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford -- finished 10th
8. Bobby Labonte -- #18 Chevy -- finished 11th
9. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 6th
10. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 26th

Not that it makes a lot of difference at this point, the top seven positions remain the same as last week, the only thing that's changed is the numbers. Jeff Gordon is 40 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, with Earnhardt Jr. sporting a -128 in third, Stewart is listed with a -192 in fourth, and Kenseth rounds out the top five with a -267. Sadler is in sixth listed with a -351 followed by Kurt Busch with a -386. Harvick moved up one spot to eighth listed with a -426 followed by Bobby Labonte in ninth with a -429. Jeremy Mayfield moved up two spots to get into the top ten with a -487.

With just four races to go before the chase begins, the big news in the driver's points are positions 11 thru 15. Rookie Kasey Kahne is in 11th, just 24 points out of the hunt, with Ryan Newman in the 12th position, 29 points away from the top ten. Mark Martin is listed in 13th position 72 points away, with Dale Jarrett in 14th position 87 points out of the picture. Jamie McMurray is the last driver with a chance to reach the top ten in 15th position 99 points out of the top ten.

Next week the Cup Series moves westward to Michigan International Speedway. The 400 lap event is scheduled to be aired on the TNT channel Sunday, August 22nd, at 1:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be aired on the TNT channel on Friday, August 20th at 3 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the August Michigan event was Ryan Newman. He was followed across the finish line by Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, rookie Greg Biffle, Steve Park, Robby Gordon, Michael Waltrip Ken Schrader, Matt Kenseth, and Johnny Benson.

Bobby Labonte won the Bud Pole Award in the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevy with a speed of 190.240 miles per hour. There were eight caution periods for a total of 46 laps out of the 200 lap event on the two mile D-shaped oval.

08/22/04… Roush Racing has always been sort of a puzzle to me. I have always wondered why they have had so much trouble with sponsorship. True, Jack Roush has spread his organization out pretty thin, with five entries in Cup competition from time to time, but still, his organization used to be a class act.

I've always had the suspicion that Roush was demanding too much capital from his sponsors, forcing them to seek teams who didn't require as much of a capital outlay. A few years ago, Roush didn't have any problem attracting sponsors, even when Valvoline dumped the #6 Ford; another major sponsor was on the board ready to dive in. A few seasons ago the #99 lost the Exide Battery sponsorship, with the excuse that the company was going under. The Citgo Oil Company jumped on board, and then after a couple of seasons, they too jumped ship off of the #99.

So what was the problem, Roush Racing or Jeff Burton? Now that Burton has left Roush Racing and Roush Racings' Truck Series star Carl Edwards has taken the driving duties on the #99 Ford, Roush announces full time sponsorship on the #99 for the upcoming 2005 season. Burton went to (RCR) Richard Childress Racings' #30 America Online sponsored Chevrolet, so we'll have to keep an eye pealed there to see how long AOL stays around with Burton in the seat.

While I'm on the subject, NASCAR.com had a pole this weekend asking, "How many races will Jeff Burton win for RCR in 2005?" The answers available were "none, 1, 2, 3 or more." With 40.3k fans voting, 34% voted none, 29% voted 1, 23% voted 2, and a paltry 14% voted 3 or more. That's not exactly a vote of confidence for the ten year veteran!

This week sees Burton debuting in the #30 at Michigan, along with Edwards in the #99. Edwards will become a member of the 2004 rookie class, without enough races left to make an honest shot for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title. According to company president Geoff Smith, Roush Racing isn't concerned about Edwards competing for the rookie title; they are looking more into the future with Edwards in the driver's seat of the #99. I wonder how Edwards sees it. He won't get a real chance to compete for the rookie title, although I imagine he's so elated right now to have been promoted up to Cup, that it doesn't make any difference. Regardless, he is a rookie in Cup racing, and with 14 races left in the season, he'll go over the seven race limit which will make him ineligible for competing for the rookie title in 2005.

Greg Biffle and Mark Martin gave Roush Racing a one two finish at Michigan, with Biffle winning his second career Cup event, and his first of the 2004 season.

Martin appeared to be on track to win the event after leading many laps, and he may have accomplished the feat, if his pit crew hadn't have let him down with faulty tire changing. Martin was forced by NASCAR to return to the pit area after a pit stop to tighten a lug nut that, according to the media present at the event, was just hanging on by a thread. There was a lot of wrangling and complaining over the debacle from Pat Tryson, Martin's crew chief. When the dust cleared, NASCAR made it known that the rule book states that all lug nuts have to be installed before the car is allowed to enter the track to compete in an event after a pit stop. Then they had to figure out what "installed" meant, and common sense prevailed that "installed" means that all lug nuts had to be securely tightened to insure the safety of that car and all cars in the event. A loose lug nut falling off of a car on a racetrack where speeds reach more than 200 miles could produce catastrophic results.

Following Biffle across the finish line in the top ten were Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Jamie McMurray, rookie Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and rookie Carl Edwards. Kudos to Carl Edwards for a top ten finish on his first Cup start! Most of you know by now that qualifying for the event was rained out and that the field was set via owners' points. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy -- finished 40th
2. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 7th
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 21st
4. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 9th
5. Matt Kenseth -- #17 Ford -- finished 8th
6. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 32nd
7. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford -- finished 6th
8. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 16th
9. Bobby Labonte -- #18 Chevy -- finished 26th
10. Jeremy Mayfield -- #19 Dodge -- finished 11th

The driver's point's standings have changed to some degree. Jeff Gordon is now the point's leader and has clinched a spot in the Chase for the Championship. He's followed by former point's leader Jimmie Johnson who dropped down to second listed with a -68. Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains in third listed with a -139, followed by Tony Stewart listed with a -165. Matt Kenseth remains in fifth listed with a -236, followed by Kurt Busch who moved up one spot to sixth listed with a -345. Elliott Sadler dropped down one spot to seventh listed with a -390, followed by Kevin Harvick and Bobby Labonte who are listed with a -422 and a -455. Kasey Kahne moved up one spot to round out the top ten with a -462.

The disparity between the points of the 10th position driver and those in positions 11 thru 16 has shrunk to some degree. Jeremy Mayfield was relegated back one spot to 11th and is now listed with a -468, which is only six lousy points away from the chase competition. Mark Martin moved up one spot to 12th and is now listed with a -495, which gives him a 33 point deficit. Ryan Newman dropped down one spot to 13th listed with a -506, out by 44 points. Dale Jarrett remains in 14th listed with a -520, only 58 points out. Jamie McMurray is in 15th with a -532, out by 70 points as opposed to the 99 points that the 15th position was down by last week.

Next week the Cup Series goes back to Bristol Motor Speedway for its annual night event. The Sharpie 500 is scheduled to be aired Saturday, August 28th on the TNT channel at 7 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event is scheduled to be aired on the TNT channel Friday, August 27th at 3 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Sharpie 500 was Kurt Busch, followed by the top ten finishers Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Craven, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeremy Mayfield.

Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole Award in the #24 Dupont Chevrolet with a speed of 127.597 miles per hour. There were 20 caution periods for a total of 199 laps out of the 50 lap event on the .533 mile high banked concrete oval.

08/30/04… Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his fourth event of the season, and the 13th victory of his Cup racing career. By winning Saturday night's Cup event and the Busch event on Friday night, Earnhardt swept both races during NASCAR's Bristol weekend. This was the first time in NASCAR's history that a driver has managed to accomplish that feat.

Doing his best since being seriously burned last month in a wreck while practicing for a sports car event at sonoma, Junior led 295 of the 500 lap event on the half mile Thunder Valley concrete track. Lots of fans and insiders had written the #8 team off, but Junior had faith in his team, as always, and is now entrenched firmly with a guaranteed shot at the 2004 Cup championship.

As per usual for the rowdy short track event, there was plenty of confusion and a few angry drivers. Jeff Gordon got confused, so he said, concerning the 'lucky dog' system of lap down drivers moving around the field to get a lap back during a caution period. Apparently Gordon seemed to think quite a few drivers had allowed him to get ahead of them when he was supposed to take a position at the end of the longest line. NASCAR didn't see it that way, and when the event restarted with him in the middle of the longest line instead of the back of it, he was black flagged, costing him a couple of laps. Gordon, the experienced four-time Cup champion, doesn't get confused. He tried to pull a fast one and got taken to task for it, it's as simple as that!

Lots of drivers got angry with Robby Gordon, who seemed to be driving like a madman, knocking people out of his way at will. After a fashion, NASCAR warned him that one more time and he would get parked. It was the usual short track fiasco, and Dale Jr. should be lauded for managing to keep the lead as long as he did while maneuvering successfully through the carnage to stay out of trouble!

Following Junior across the finishing line in the top ten were Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler, Sterling Marlin, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Dale Jarrett. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 14th
2. Kasey Kahne* -- #9 Dodge -- finished 21st
3. Sterling Marlin -- #40 Dodge -- finished 6th
4. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 2nd
5. Jamie McMurray -- #42 Dodge -- finished 7th
6. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 19th
7. Mark Martin -- #6 Ford -- finished 13th
8. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 5th
9. Jeremy Mayfield -- #19 Dodge -- finished 22nd
10. Greg Biffle -- #16 Ford -- finished 11th

The top three spots in the driver's point's standings remain the same, with Jeff Gordon leading second place Jimmie Johnson by a mere 24 points. Dale Jr. is firmly in third with a -75. The top three are guaranteed a spot in the Chase for the Championship. With just two races remaining at California and Richmond before the infamous chase begins, positions four thru nine also remain in the same pecking order. Tony Stewart is in fourth listed with a -185, followed by Matt Kenseth who rounds out the top five with a -224. Kurt Busch is in sixth listed with a -329 followed by Elliott Sadler listed with a -361. Kevin Harvick is in eighth listed with a -457 and Bobby Labonte is in ninth listed with a -461. Ryan Newman's second place finish moved him up three spots to round out the top ten with a -462.

With some bad luck, Newman could just as easily slip back to 13th as easy as he jumped up to tenth. With 462 being the magic number this week, Kasey Kahne is listed in 11th with a -488, just 26 points out of the running. Mark Martin is in 12th, just 35 points down After dropping two spots, Jeremy Mayfield is in 13th tied with Martin. Dale Jarrett is in 14th, down just 42 points while Jamie McMurray is in 15th tied with Jarrett. Casey Mears is in 16th and is the last one who has a mathematical chance to get into the chase while down 290 points.

Next week the Cup Series moves out to California for the 500 lap inaugural fall event. From what I can gather, the race will be broadcast over MRN radio at 2:30 pm eastern on Sunday, September 5th, but NBC won't be airing the event on TV until 7 pm eastern. It appears that NBC won't be offering live coverage, you're better off listening to the live event on the radio! Qualifying for the event will be aired on the SPEED channel on Friday, September 3rd, at 6 pm eastern.