11/8/04… Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his seventh event of the season, putting himself back into the Cup Chase as the season winds down to the final two events. Junior had the dominant car during the event, and even passed up former champion Jeff Gordon in the waning laps leading up to the green, white, checkers restart which took the event into overtime. The victory was the 16th for Junior in the fifth full year of his Cup career.

Following Junior across the finish line in the top ten were Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, rookie Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, and points leader Kurt Busch. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 2nd
2. Brian Vickers* -- #25 Chevy -- finished 18th
3. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy -- finished 12th
4. Kasey Kahne* -- #9 Dodge -- finished 5th
5. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 4th
6. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 8th
7. Casey Mears -- #41 Dodge -- finished 34th
8. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 3rd
9. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 38th
10. Jamie McMurray -- #42 Dodge -- finished 24th

The Chase for the Championship:

• Jeff Gordon – 5050 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5201, 3rd ~|~ Wk. #2, 5371, 1st ~|~ Wk. #3, 5482, 3rd (-61) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5606, 3rd (-79) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5576, 3rd (-74) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5919, 2nd (-96) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5980, 3rd (-72) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6150, 2nd (-41)
  
  
• Jimmie Johnson – 5045 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5180, 5th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5314, 4th ~|~ Wk. #3, 531, 9th (-172) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5438, 9th (-247) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5623, 8th (-227) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5808, 4th (-207) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5993, 2nd (-59) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6143, 4th (-48)
  
  
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 5040 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5210 1st ~|~ Wk. #2, 5353, 3rd ~|~ Wk. #3, 5543, 1st ~|~ Wk. #4, 5656, 2nd (-29) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5826, 2nd (-24) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5890, 3rd (-125) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5954, 5th (-98) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6144, 3rd (-47)
  
  
• Tony Stewart – 5035 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5086, 8th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5236, 9th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5391, 6th (-152) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5512, 6th (-173) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5646, 6th (-204) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5769, 6th (-246) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5907 6th (-145) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6049, 6th (-142)
  
  
• Matt Kenseth – 5030 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5200, 4th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5272, 7th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5393, 5th (-150) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5505, 7th (-180) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5635, 7th (-215) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5755, 8th (-260) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5795, 9th (-257) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5855, 9th (-336)
  
  
• Elliott Sadler – 5025 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5172, 6th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5275, 6th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5388, 8th (-166) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5542, 4th (-143) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5693, 4th (-157) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5760, 7th (-255) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5815, 8th (-237) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5869, 8th (-322)
  
  
• Kurt Busch – 5020 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5210 2nd ~|~ Wk. #2, 5370, 2nd ~|~ Wk. #3, 553, 2nd (-13) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5685, 1st ~|~ Wk. #5, 5850 1st ~|~ Wk. #6, 6015, 1st ~|~ Wk. #7, 6052, 1st ~|~ Wk. #8, 6191, 1st
  
  
• Mark Martin – 5015 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5139, 7th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5314, 5th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5432, 4th (-111) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5535, 5th (-15) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5664, 5th (-186) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5791, 5th (-224) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5971, 4th (-81) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6089, 5th (-102)
  
  
• Jeremy Mayfield – 5010 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5068, 10th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5214, 10th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5263, 10th (-280) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5428, 10th (-257) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5501, 10th (-349) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5651, 10th (-364) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5736, 10th (-316) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5836, 10th (-355)
  
  
• Ryan Newman – 5005 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5074, 9th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5264, 8th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5384, 7th (-159) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5453, 8th (-232) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5579, 9th (-271) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5749, 9th (-266) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5866, 7th, (-186) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6041, 7th (-150)

I'm not going to go through all of the figures to see which drivers nearing the end of the top ten may be mathematically eliminated from the championship. What I see is the odds of making any serious headway in the final two events. There are some that may capitalize on them and there are some that don't stand a snow ball's chance in Hades.

The way I see it, only the top five stand any kind of a chance, with Mark Martin in fifth place really reaching hard for a short straw. At -102, he's got more of an uphill battle than the top four ahead of him. Any one of the trio of Gordon, Earnhardt, or Johnson is in a position to unseat Busch, who does not have a definitive lead going into the final two events. The brass ring is up for grabs by four drivers, maybe five.

It appears that Jamie McMurray may have a solid lock on 11th place and the million dollar bonus. He's a strong 215 points ahead of 12th place driver Dale Jarrett. The positions from 11th to 15th haven't changed in a few weeks, and lady luck has put quite a bit of points space between them. Dale Jarrett could be in trouble keeping his desires on 12th place money, as 13th place Kasey Kahne is only one point away from getting his hands on it. Kevin Harvick, riding it out in 14th place is 259 points below McMurray, and doesn't stand much of a chance of getting to 11th place. The same can be said for 15th place driver Bobby Labonte who is down 279 points from McMurray, and will be doing something if he can beat Harvick out for the 14th place money in the championship point's race.

Next week the chase moves to Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500. The storied event is scheduled to be aired live by the NBC network on Sunday, November 14th at 1 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be aired by the SPEED channel on Friday, November 12th at 3 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the event was Terry Labonte. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, rookie Jamie McMurray, Bill Elliott, Jeremy Mayfield, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, Elliott Sadler, and rookie Greg Biffle.

Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole Award in the #12 Alltel Dodge with a speed of 169.048 miles per hour. There were 10 caution periods for a total of 55 laps out of the 367 lap event on the 1.366 mile egg shaped oval.

11/14/04… Jimmie Johnson won his fourth event out of the last five, and his eighth event of the 2004 season by taking the checkered flag for the last ever Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Johnson has completed what is called a triple double, sweeping both of this seasons events at Pocono, Charlotte, and Darlington.

Following the driver of the #48 Lowe's sponsored Chevy across the finish line in the top ten were Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, rookie Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Joe Nemechek, Bobby Labonte, and Mike Bliss. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford -- finished 6th
2. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 3rd
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 11th
4. Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy -- finished 1st
5. Mark Martin -- #6 Ford -- finished 2nd
6. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 17th
7. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 34th
8. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 23rd
9. Matt Kenseth -- #17 Ford -- finished 20th
10. Jeremy Mayfield -- #19 Dodge -- finished 19th

With Mother Nature casting her spell on the Darlington Raceway weekend by washing out qualifying, the point's leaders were on the point for the start of the event. This changed the picture of events dramatically, as all of the leaders were able to start up front and not have to worry about qualifying in a poor starting spot. Never-the-less, there were the usual amount of top points drivers who suffered the usual run of bad luck that follow those who are vying for the championship.

The Chase for the championship chart:

• Jeff Gordon – 5050 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5201, 3rd ~|~ Wk. #2, 5371, 1st ~|~ Wk. #3, 5482, 3rd (-61) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5606, 3rd (-79) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5576, 3rd (-74) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5919, 2nd (-96) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5980, 3rd (-72) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6150, 2nd (-41) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6325, 3rd (-21)
  
  
• Jimmie Johnson – 5045 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5180, 5th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5314, 4th ~|~ Wk. #3, 531, 9th (-172) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5438, 9th (-247) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5623, 8th (-227) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5808, 4th (-207) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5993, 2nd (-59) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6143, 4th (-48) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6328, 2nd (-18)
  
  
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 5040 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5210 1st ~|~ Wk. #2, 5353, 3rd ~|~ Wk. #3, 5543, 1st ~|~ Wk. #4, 5656, 2nd (-29) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5826, 2nd (-24) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5890, 3rd (-125) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5954, 5th (-98) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6144, 3rd (-47) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6274, 4th (-72)
  
  
• Tony Stewart – 5035 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5086, 8th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5236, 9th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5391, 6th (-152) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5512, 6th (-173) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5646, 6th (-204) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5769, 6th (-246) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5907 6th (-145) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6049, 6th (-142) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6161, 6th (-185)
  
  
• Matt Kenseth – 5030 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5200, 4th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5272, 7th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5393, 5th (-150) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5505, 7th (-180) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5635, 7th (-215) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5755, 8th (-260) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5795, 9th (-257) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5855, 9th (-336) ~|~ Wk. #9, 5963, 8th (-383)
  
  
• Elliott Sadler – 5025 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5172, 6th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5275, 6th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5388, 8th (-166) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5542, 4th (-143) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5693, 4th (-157) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5760, 7th (-255) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5815, 8th (-237) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5869, 8th (-322) ~|~ Wk. #9, 5963, 9th (-383)
  
  
• Kurt Busch – 5020 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5210 2nd ~|~ Wk. #2, 5370, 2nd ~|~ Wk. #3, 553, 2nd (-13) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5685, 1st ~|~ Wk. #5, 5850 1st ~|~ Wk. #6, 6015, 1st ~|~ Wk. #7, 6052, 1st ~|~ Wk. #8, 6191, 1st ~|~ Wk. #9, 6346, 1st
  
  
• Mark Martin – 5015 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5139, 7th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5314, 5th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5432, 4th (-111) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5535, 5th (-15) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5664, 5th (-186) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5791, 5th (-224) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5971, 4th (-81) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6089, 5th (-102) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6264, 5th (-82)
  
  
• Jeremy Mayfield – 5010 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5068, 10th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5214, 10th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5263, 10th (-280) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5428, 10th (-257) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5501, 10th (-349) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5651, 10th (-364) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5736, 10th (-316) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5836, 10th (-355) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6942, 10th (-404)
  
  
• Ryan Newman – 5005 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5074, 9th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5264, 8th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5384, 7th (-159) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5453, 8th (-232) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5579, 9th (-271) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5749, 9th (-266) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5866, 7th, (-186) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6041, 7th (-150) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6102, 7th (-244)

Those in positions six thru ten are pretty much out of it at this point. Tony Stewart is in sixth listed now with a -185, unable to get enough points in the one remaining event to win the Cup. Ryan Newman, in seventh, is listed now with a -244, followed by Matt Kenseth, who moved up one spot to eighth listed now with a -383. Elliott Sadler was once again saddled with bad luck, dropping him down one spot to ninth, also listed with a -383. Jeremy Mayfield is still mired deep in tenth place listed with a -404.

Points positions one thru five look quite a bit better, with Kurt Busch still hanging onto the lead by the mere skin of his teeth. Jimmie Johnson's victory moved him up two spots to second, down now a scant 18 points from leader Busch. Jeff Gordon dropped down one spot to third listed now with a -21, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who also dropped down one spot, now listed with a -72. Mark Martin remains in fifth, now listed with a -82, not really out of the picture, but considered a long shot along with Dale Jr.

Next week is the end of the hunt. The dreaded last event of the season is here, depending on who you talk to. Some folks are ready to see it end, but there are some of us race fans who would just as soon watch the races all year long. Unfortunately, everyone needs a break in the action, and that time is upon us again.

The season finale Ford 400 is scheduled to be aired live by the NBC network on Sunday, November 21st at 12:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event is scheduled to be aired on the SPEED channel on Friday, November, 19th at 1:30 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Ford 400 was Bobby Labonte. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Johnny Benson, Jeff Gordon, Jeremy Mayfield, Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott, rookie Jamie McMurray, and Sterling Marlin.

Jamie McMurray won the Bud Pole Award in the #42 Havoline Dodge with a speed of 181.111 miles per hour. There were 10 caution periods for a total of 60 laps out of the 267 lap event on the 1.5 mile oblong shaped oval.

11/21/04… Greg Biffle was the winner of the Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami. This was his second victory of the season, and the third Cup Series victory of his career.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, which ever way one chooses to look at it, Biffle's win was overshadowed by the series championship cliffhanger, which came down to the green white checker overtime restart at the end of the race.

Series point's leader Kurt Busch, driver of the #97 Sharpie sponsored Roush Racing Ford hung on to win the championship by a mere 8 points over second place driver Jimmie Johnson. The championship victory was well deserved by Busch, a hard racing west coast driver in the fourth full year of his Cup Series career.

Following Biffle across the finish line in the top ten were Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, rookie Brendan Gaughan, Jamie McMurray, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, and Kevin Harvick. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford -- finished 5th
2. Greg Biffle -- #16 Ford -- finished 1st
3. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 30th
4. Kasey Kahne* -- #9 Dodge -- finished 38th
5. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 3rd
6. Bobby Labonte -- #18 Chevy -- finished 12th
7. Ricky Rudd -- #21 Ford -- finished 9th
8. Tony Stewart -- #20 Chevy -- finished 4th
9. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 10th
10. Rusty Wallace -- #2 Dodge -- finished 8th

The Chase for the championship results:

• Jeff Gordon – 5050 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5201, 3rd ~|~ Wk. #2, 5371, 1st ~|~ Wk. #3, 5482, 3rd (-61) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5606, 3rd (-79) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5576, 3rd (-74) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5919, 2nd (-96) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5980, 3rd (-72) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6150, 2nd (-41) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6325, 3rd (-21) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6490, 3rd (-16)
  
  
• Jimmie Johnson – 5045 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5180, 5th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5314, 4th ~|~ Wk. #3, 531, 9th (-172) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5438, 9th (-247) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5623, 8th (-227) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5808, 4th (-207) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5993, 2nd (-59) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6143, 4th (-48) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6328, 2nd (-18) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6498, 2nd (-8)
  
  
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 5040 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5210 1st ~|~ Wk. #2, 5353, 3rd ~|~ Wk. #3, 5543, 1st ~|~ Wk. #4, 5656, 2nd (-29) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5826, 2nd (-24) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5890, 3rd (-125) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5954, 5th (-98) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6144, 3rd (-47) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6274, 4th (-72) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6368, 5th (-138)
  
  
• Tony Stewart – 5035 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5086, 8th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5236, 9th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5391, 6th (-152) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5512, 6th (-173) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5646, 6th (-204) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5769, 6th (-246) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5907 6th (-145) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6049, 6th (-142) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6161, 6th (-185) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6326, 6th (-180)
  
  
• Matt Kenseth – 5030 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5200, 4th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5272, 7th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5393, 5th (-150) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5505, 7th (-180) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5635, 7th (-215) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5755, 8th (-260) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5795, 9th (-257) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5855, 9th (-336) ~|~ Wk. #9, 5963, 8th (-383) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6069, 8th (-437)
  
  
• Elliott Sadler – 5025 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5172, 6th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5275, 6th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5388, 8th (-166) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5542, 4th (-143) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5693, 4th (-157) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5760, 7th (-255) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5815, 8th (-237) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5869, 8th (-322) ~|~ Wk. #9, 5963, 9th (-383) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6024, 9th (-482)
  
  
• Kurt Busch – 5020 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5210 2nd ~|~ Wk. #2, 5370, 2nd ~|~ Wk. #3, 553, 2nd (-13) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5685, 1st ~|~ Wk. #5, 5850 1st ~|~ Wk. #6, 6015, 1st ~|~ Wk. #7, 6052, 1st ~|~ Wk. #8, 6191, 1st ~|~ Wk. #9, 6346, 1st ~|~ Wk. #10, 6506, 1st
  
  
• Mark Martin – 5015 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5139, 7th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5314, 5th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5432, 4th (-111) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5535, 5th (-15) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5664, 5th (-186) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5791, 5th (-224) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5971, 4th (-81) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6089, 5th (-102) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6264, 5th (-82) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6399, 4th (-107)
  
  
• Jeremy Mayfield – 5010 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5068, 10th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5214, 10th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5263, 10th (-280) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5428, 10th (-257) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5501, 10th (-349) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5651, 10th (-364) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5736, 10th (-316) ~|~ Wk. #8, 5836, 10th (-355) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6942, 10th (-404) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6000, 10th (-506)
  
  
• Ryan Newman – 5005 ~|~ Wk. #1, 5074, 9th ~|~ Wk. #2, 5264, 8th ~|~ Wk. #3, 5384, 7th (-159) ~|~ Wk. #4, 5453, 8th (-232) ~|~ Wk. #5, 5579, 9th (-271) ~|~ Wk. #6, 5749, 9th (-266) ~|~ Wk. #7, 5866, 7th, (-186) ~|~ Wk. #8, 6041, 7th (-150) ~|~ Wk. #9, 6102, 7th (-244) ~|~ Wk. #10, 6180, 7th (-326)

As expected, Jamie McMurray won the one million dollar bonus for finishing the season in the 11th driver's point's position. Bobby Labonte moved up one spot to finish his season in 12th, followed by rookie Kasey Kahne, who dropped one spot in the standings to finish in 13th. Kevin Harvick moved up one spot to 14th while Dale Jarrett dropped down to finish his season in the 15th position.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my regular readers for sticking with me throughout the season! Please keep coming back, I'm going to try to have a topic to write about every week, and I'll have comments on the Cup Series news as it develops. At this time, I have to say that I'm not very happy with the way NASCAR has levied its heavy hand on some of its top competitors. You can rest assured that I'll have some comments on this in the weeks ahead!

Thanks again, see you next week!

11/28/04… Kasey Kahne won the 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. This within itself, isn't really a surprise to anyone, Kahne had a great year and has shown tremendous promise as an up and coming Cup Series driver. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see him mount an earnest campaign for next season's Cup Championship.

The award winning rookie driver of the Evernham Motorsports #9 Dodge Dealers sponsored Dodge managed to win four pole starting positions, 13 top five finishes, and 14 top ten finishes in a full season of 36 starts. These stats include an elusive finish of second place, five different times. You have to give the rookie credit, its unusual for a rookie to make all of the races during a season. In past seasons it has been commonplace for a rookie to miss out on at least one or two events during the season for failure to qualify. Hopefully, we'll see some great things in the future from Kasey Kahne!

I told you so! --- That's what Brian France is saying these days. His Chase for the Championship format actually proved to be rather successful. The TV ratings, which were the main cause for the chase format to begin with, reportedly went through the roof. (If you can fathom anyone from the networks or NASCAR telling you otherwise…) The excitement of the championship battle went right down to checkered flag waving the ending of the last lap of the very last race. I have to admit, I was sitting on the edge of my recliner! Those of us who moaned and groaned about it throughout the season are stuck with a certain amount of proverbial egg on our faces. Not that it matters, we have the right to adhere to tradition! Or do we? NASCAR doesn't seem to think so…