10/3/04… Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself closer to his father's track record of ten wins when the checkered flag flew over his #8 Budweiser Chevy at Talladega. Actually, Junior set a record of his own, no active driver had more than four wins at Talladega, and now Junior has surpassed that mark with five.

The third race in the Chase for the Championship on the restrictor plate track went off without the feared "big one." There were some small wrecks involving two to four cars at a time, but nothing really serious. The last few laps were among the most exciting of the season, as drivers vied to unseat Junior from the lead that he had taken over after a restart with less then six laps remaining.

Following Junior across the finish line in the top ten were Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, rookie Brendan Gaughan, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Casey Mears, Joe Nemechek, Robby Gordon, and Ward Burton. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy -- finished 8th
2. Ricky Rudd -- #21 Ford -- finished 12th
3. Dale Jarrett -- #88 Ford -- finished 3rd
4. Scott Riggs* -- #10 Chevy -- finished 11th
5. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 19th
6. Elliot Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 22nd
7. Matt Kenseth -- #17 Ford -- finished 14th
8. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford -- finished 5th
9. Jeremy Mayfield -- #19 Dodge -- finished 38th
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 1st

The Chase for the Championship:

1. Jeff Gordon – 5050 | Wk. #1, 5201, 3rd | Wk. #2, 5371, 1st | Wk. #3, 5482, 3rd (-61)
2. Jimmie Johnson – 5045 | Wk. #1, 5180, 5th | Wk. #2, 5314, 4th | Wk. #3, 531, 9th (-172)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 5040 | Wk. #1, 5210 1st | Wk. #2, 5353, 3rd | Wk. #3, 5543, 1st
4. Tony Stewart – 5035 | Wk. #1, 5086, 8th | Wk. #2, 5236, 9th | Wk. #3, 5391, 6th (-152)
5. Matt Kenseth – 5030 | Wk. #1, 5200, 4th | Wk. #2, 5272, 7th | Wk. #3, 5393, 5th (-150)
6. Elliott Sadler – 5025 | Wk. #1, 5172, 6th | Wk. #2, 5275, 6th | Wk. #3, 5388, 8th (-166)
7. Kurt Busch – 5020 | Wk. #1, 5210 2nd | Wk. #2, 5370, 2nd | Wk. #3, 553, 2nd (-13)
8. Mark Martin – 5015 | Wk. #1, 5139, 7th | Wk. #2, 5314, 5th | Wk. #3, 5432, 4th (-111)
9. Jeremy Mayfield – 5010 | Wk. #1, 5068, 10th | Wk. #2, 5214, 10th Wk. #3, 5263, 10th (-280)
10. Ryan Newman – 5005 | Wk. #1, 5074, 9th | Wk. #2, 5264, 8th | Wk. #3, 5384, 7th (-159)

The chase for 11th: Jamie McMurray still holds the 11th position, and now records 3585 points. Kevin Harvick is still in 12th, 36 points down. Dale Jarrett moved up two spots to 13th, 78 points down. Rookie Kasey Kahne is still in 14th, 143 points down from McMurray. Bobby Labonte lost two spots down to 15th, 160 points down from 11th.

Next Week the chase moves to Kansas Speedway for the Banquet 400. The event will be aired by the NBC network at 1:30 pm on Sunday, October 10th. Qualifying for the event will be aired live by the SPEED channel on Friday, October 8th at 4 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Banquet 400 was Ryan Newman, He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Bill Elliott, Jeremy Mayfield, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, rookie Jamie McMurray, rusty Wallace, and Ricky Rudd.

Jimmie Johnson won the Bud Pole Award in the #48 Lowe's Chevy with a speed of 180.373 miles per hour. There were nine caution periods for a total of 47 laps out of the 267 lap event on the 1.5 mile tri-oval.

10/10/04… Dale Earnhardt Jr. uttered the dreaded four letter "S" word on network TV, and now he's reeling from wearing the dog's collar ever since.

Earnhardt isn't the only one feeling the brunt of criticism for his actions. NASCAR is also reeling from its decision to take 25 points away from the championship point's leader, especially when there was only a 13 point spread between first and second place.

Of course, NASCAR stands by the precedent it set when Busch Series drivers Ron Hornaday and Johnny Sauter were fined $10k and 25 driver's points for the very same offence, uttering the dreaded "S" word on national TV. Once again, NASCAR thinks they are right when the majority thinks they are wrong.

I've always been against the way drivers have microphones stuck in their faces as soon as their wheels stop rolling. They don't get a chance to calm down their rushing adrenalin or collect their thoughts before having to be put in the national spotlight. Now, after this latest debacle with big star Earnhardt, the NBC network along with its broadcasting partner TNT, have instituted a five second programming delay when interviewing drivers.

At least now the networks will have the opportunity to bleep out foul words, using a system that has been used in other sports, and should have been in place for NASCAR broadcasting years ago. There's nothing like locking the barn door after the horses have all run away! It isn't doing Earnhardt any good though, if he loses the championship by 25 points or less, the sanctioning body will never hear the end of it, and will face more sponsorship defections than they have had in the past.

I need to insert in here though, that NASCAR President Mike Helton has made it a point to state that the five second delay will not keep the drivers from being punished for using foul language in media interviews. They will get a monetary fine and a point's reduction regardless of the delay in broadcasting. NASCAR contends that if people hear the bleeps, they will be aware that the driver's are using foul language and that's strongly against NASCAR policy. What you are going to have in the near future, are drivers who are going to refrain from doing media interviews for fear that a slip of the tongue will cost them dearly.

Joe Nemechek made the news two days in a row at Kansas Speedway. Yesterday he was the jerk for wrecking Tony Stewart at the end of the Busch Series event, and today he's the king. You've heard the country song, "From a Jack to a King," how about "From a Jerk to a King?"

At any rate, the Cup victory was the first of the season for Nemechek, and the fourth in the 11th full year of his Cup racing career. Another first was the number "01" crossing the finish line. That particular number hadn't won since NASCAR's inception in 1949. I guess you could also say it was the first win for the U. S. Army sponsorship as well as the first win for Nemechek's crew chief Ryan Pemberton. Not only did Nemechek sweep both races at Kansas Speedway this weekend, he also won both the Busch and Cup races from the pole starting position, another first at the Kansas facility!

Following Nemechek across the finish line in the top ten were Ricky Rudd, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler, Jeremy Mayfield, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brendan Gaughan. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy -- finished 1st
2. Kasey Kahne* -- #9 Dodge -- finished 12th
3. Jeremy Mayfield -- #19 Dodge -- finished 5th
4. Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy -- finished 32nd
5. Bobby Labonte -- #18 Chevy -- finished 16th
6. Greg Biffle -- #16 Ford -- finished 3rd
7. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 33rd
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 9th
9. Dale Jarrett -- #88 Ford -- finished 8th
10. Jamie McMurray -- #42 Dodge -- finished 7th

The chase for the championship:

1. Jeff Gordon – 5050 | Wk. #1, 5201, 3rd | Wk. #2, 5371, 1st | Wk. #3, 5482, 3rd (-61) | Wk. #4, 5606, 3rd (-79)
2. Jimmie Johnson – 5045 | Wk. #1, 5180, 5th | Wk. #2, 5314, 4th | Wk. #3, 531, 9th (-172) | Wk. #4, 5438, 9th (-247)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 5040 | Wk. #1, 5210 1st | Wk. #2, 5353, 3rd | Wk. #3, 5543, 1st | Wk. #4, 5656, 2nd (-29)
4. Tony Stewart – 5035 | Wk. #1, 5086, 8th | Wk. #2, 5236, 9th | Wk. #3, 5391, 6th (-152) | Wk. #4, 5512, 6th (-173)
5. Matt Kenseth – 5030 | Wk. #1, 5200, 4th | Wk. #2, 5272, 7th | Wk. #3, 5393, 5th (-150) | Wk. #4, 5505, 7th (-180)
6. Elliott Sadler – 5025 | Wk. #1, 5172, 6th | Wk. #2, 5275, 6th | Wk. #3, 5388, 8th (-166) | Wk. #4, 5542, 4th (-143)
7. Kurt Busch – 5020 | Wk. #1, 5210 2nd | Wk. #2, 5370, 2nd | Wk. #3, 553, 2nd (-13) | Wk. #4, 5685, 1st
8. Mark Martin – 5015 | Wk. #1, 5139, 7th | Wk. #2, 5314, 5th | Wk. #3, 5432, 4th (-111) | Wk. #4, 5535, 5th (-15)
9. Jeremy Mayfield – 5010 | Wk. #1, 5068, 10th | Wk. #2, 5214, 10th Wk. #3, 5263, 10th (-280) | Wk. #4, 5428, 10th (-257)
10. Ryan Newman – 5005 | Wk. #1, 5074, 9th | Wk. #2, 5264, 8th | Wk. #3, 5384, 7th (-159) | Wk. #4, 5453, 8th (-232)

Jamie McMurray still commands the coveted 11th position which is worth nearly a million dollars in bonus money. McMurray's points total at 3736, just 82 points ahead of Dale Jarrett who moved up one spot to 12th place. Kevin Harvick dropped down one spot to 13th listed with a -129 down from 11th. Rookie Kasey Kahne moved up one spot to 14th listed now with a -187. Bobby Labonte dropped down one spot to round out the top 15 listed now with a -196 down from the 11th position.

Next week the chase will run its half way event at Charlotte. The UAW-GM 500 race will be held on Saturday, October 16th at 7 pm eastern, and will be aired by the NBC network. Qualifying for the event will be aired by the SPEED channel on Thursday, October 14th at 7 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the event was Tony Stewart. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, rookie Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kevin Harvick.

Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole Award in the #12 Alltel Dodge with a speed of 186.657 miles per hour. There were five caution periods for a total of 31 laps out of the 334 lap event on the 1.5 mile tri-oval.

10/17/04… Hold on to your seats folks, and prepare yourselves for a shocker. The Lowe's car won again at Charlotte! We are all aware that they sold the name of the racetrack to Lowe's, but don't be surprised if they change it again, to the Jimmie Johnson Speedway.

Oh, I almost forgot, it wouldn't be appropriate of Johnson's teammate and co-owner Jeff Gordon didn't finish second, giving Hendrick Motorsports another sweep of the top two positions. You can rest assured that there are those out there who feel that it's more than appropriate and there are also those who feel that something must be amiss.

I truly doubt that anything is amiss, at least not any more than it is at any other race track that the Cup Series races on. NASCAR wouldn't do anything to influence the outcome of an event. Would they?

The victory was Johnson's fifth this season and the 11th in the third full year of his Cup career. It also tied him with his teammate/owner Gordon, and with Dale Earnhardt Jr. who also have five wins this season. The two Hendrick Motorsports drivers along with Earnhardt lead the Cup Series in wins, with only five events remaining to break the tie.

Following the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers across the finish line in the top ten were Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Joe Nemechek, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, and Tony Stewart. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 14th
2. Kasey Kahne* -- #9 Dodge -- finished 32nd
3. Casey Mears -- #41 Dodge -- finished 20th
4. Scott Riggs* -- #10 Chevy -- finished 38th
5. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 7th
6. Michael Waltrip -- #15 Chevy -- finished 28th
7. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 36th
8. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy -- finished 5th
9. Carl Edwards -- #29 Ford -- finished 37th
10. Booby Hamilton Jr. -- #32 Chevy -- finished 15th

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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• Kurt Busch – 5020 | Wk. #1, 5210 2nd | Wk. #2, 5370, 2nd | Wk. #3, 553, 2nd (-13) | Wk. #4, 5685, 1st | Wk. #5, 5850 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)

Points positions 11th thru 13th remain the same, only the numbers have changed. Jamie McMurray leads the group of ne'er-do-wells with 3878 points, which computes to 74 points ahead of 12th place driver Dale Jarrett. Kevin Harvick, still in 13th place, is down from McMurray a whopping -216. Bobby Labonte moved up one spot to 14th listed now with a -226 out of 11th, with the rookie Kasey Kahne rounding out the top 15 with a -252 away from the 11th place million dollar bonus.

Next week the chase moves to the short track of Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500. The event is scheduled to be aired by the NBC network on Sunday, October 24th, at 12:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event is scheduled to be aired by the SPEED channel at 3 pm eastern on Friday, October 22nd.

Last season's winner of the event was Jeff Gordon, followed across the finish line in the top ten by Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Terry Labonte, Kevin Harvick, rookie Jamie McMurray, Bill Elliott, and Jeff Burton.

Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole Award in the #24 Dupont Chevy with a speed of 93.650 miles per hour. There were 15 caution periods for a total of 119 laps out of the 500 lap event on the short 0.526 mile paper clip shaped track.

10/25/04… Any joy that may have been forthcoming following Jimmie Johnson's victory Sunday at Martinsville was overshadowed by the deaths of Rick Hendrick's family members and employees. I'm sure that by now everyone within our NASCAR family has heard the terrible news of the Hendrick Motorsport's plane going down outside of Martinsville, Virginia sometime after noon on race day. All ten aboard were lost, including Ricky Hendrick, John Hendrick, and John's twin daughters. Rick Hendrick lost his son, brother, and two nieces, along with five employees. Tony Stewart's pilot was also on board the plane, catching a fateful ride to Martinsville.

I'm sure that I can state that all of our prayers and heartfelt condolences will be offered this coming week to the Hendrick family, and surviving family members and friends of those who were lost in this tragedy. You can rest assured that Hendrick Motorsports will never be the same after suffering this great loss.

As the world continues to turn, the business of racing is at hand, with Jimmie Johnson deserving his accolades for surviving the short track crash-fest at the Martinsville, Virginia facility. Johnson has surpassed the rest of the Cup field this season by winning six events. He was tied with his co-owner Jeff Gordon, and competitor Dale Earnhardt Jr. with five wins each. His second win in a row this season gave him a career total of 12 victories.

Following Johnson across the finish line in the top ten were Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Sterling Marlin, Kurt Busch, Jeremy Mayfield, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Rusty Wallace. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 3rd
2. Rusty Wallace -- #2 Dodge -- finished 10th
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 33rd
4. Ward Burton -- #0 Chevy -- finished 28th
5. Travis Kvapil -- #06 Dodge -- finished 21st
6. Scott Riggs* -- #10 Chevy -- finished 26th
7. Kurt Busch -- #97 Ford -- finished 5th
8. Jamie McMurray -- #42 Dodge -- finished 2nd
9. Ricky Rudd -- #21 Ford -- finished 14th
10. Jeff Green -- #43 Dodge -- finished 7th

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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)

Jamie McMurray has strengthened his 11th place position in the driver's points for the million dollar bonus. Listed with 4053, he is now 197 points ahead of 12th place driver Dale Jarrett, who is listed with 3856 points. Kevin Harvick remains in 13th, now -244 points down from McMurray, followed by Bobby Labonte who still remains in 14th down -292 points. Rookie Kasey Kahne is still mired in 15th, listed with a -298.

Next week the Cup Series continues the chase at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. The event is scheduled to be aired on the NBC network Sunday, October 31st at 12 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be aired by the SPEED channel Friday, October 29th at both 7 and 9 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the event was Jeff Gordon. He was followed across the finish line in the top ten by Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeremy Mayfield, Kurt Busch, Jimmy Spencer, and Joe Nemechek.

Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole Award in the #12 Alltel Dodge with a track record speed of 194.295. There were ten caution periods for a total of 63 laps out of the 325 lap event on the 1.54 mile D-shaped oval.

10/30/04… Jimmy Spencer, aka "Mr. Excitement," got fired again! Does that surprise anyone? I was amused by the news that the - not so exciting - Spencer had accosted authorities who had arrived at his abode with a warrant for his son. It seems Spencer's 18 year-old off-spring had taken it upon himself to pour paint on a couple of cars in the area and the authorities were there to arrest him with a misdemeanor warrant for injury to personal property. The 47 year-old ne'er-do-well race driver ended up being charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and also with resisting a public officer.

Not only did Spencer have the law to deal with resulting from his outburst, but he also lost his driving job with Morgan McClure Motorsports in the #4 Lucas Oil sponsored Chevrolet. Of course, there wasn't any mention of Spencer's altercation with the law in the announcement from Morgan McClure, team owner Larry McClure just stated that there was a mutual agreement involved with Spencer's departure from the team.

Larry McClure announced at Atlanta that Mike Wallace will be taking over the driving duties in the #4 beginning with this weekend's Atlanta event. [Unfortunately, he failed to qualify for the Atlanta race, getting sent home along with regular Cup drivers Scott Wimmer and Scott Riggs.] Wallace has worked for Morgan McClure Motorsports at various times in the past as a stand-in driver. I'd like to see the experienced driver and older brother of the Wallace brothers racing trio get a full time position in Cup racing. He's been doing fairly decent this season in the Busch Series with one win, four top ten finishes, and 18 top 20 finishes in 30 starts. At this time, Wallace is within the top 25 in Busch Series Points.

Robby Gordon is also in the news this week, with the expected revelation that he's leaving Richard Childress Racing (RCR) at the season's end. Robby is going to field his own Cup team in 2005 corresponding with his Busch Series team and his part-time Indycar team. There hasn't been any news yet of Gordon's sponsorship for his cup efforts in 2005, but his Busch series sponsor, Fruit of the Loom, may pick up some races to get him started.

Surprisingly enough, Childress announced in Atlanta that Jeff Burton would be transferring over to the #31 Cingular Chevy from the #30 AOL Chevy. There was some talk recently about the AOL sponsorship not returning for 2005. Burton is NOT a popular driver with sponsors, and it's kind of surprising that Cingular agreed to renew with RCR until 2007 with Burton as driver. That was one of the main problems that the outspoken Burton had with Roush Racing, no sponsor would take over the #99 Ford as long as he was the driver. Childress must have had to do some arm twisting with that one! Of course, there's no guarantee that Burton will stay in the #31 the entire 2005 season. I don't see him in that ride for the duration unless he picks up the pace and starts producing like he did a few years ago. Crew chief Kevin Hamlin and the entire #30 crew will be making the move with Burton over to the #31.

Jimmie Johnson won the event for the grieving Hendrick Motorsports family! The emotional victory was Johnson's seventh of the season and the 13th in the sophomore year of his career. He now has the distinction of leading the Cup Series in 2004 season wins, plus being the only driver this season to win three in a row! Way to go Jimmie! Team owner Rick Hendrick called Johnson on a cell phone before he exited his winning race car. After offering congratulations, Rick asked him to turn his cap around backwards in memory of his son Ricky Hendrick who was killed in the tragic plane crash the previous Sunday. The other four Hendrick drivers and their team members were present in Victory Lane, and they all turned their caps in memory of Ricky.

Mark Martin seemed to have the race won until some late cautions put him and his crew chief on the spot. If they had stopped to change tires they'd have given up track position, and if they didn't, they'd have to fight the rest of the lead drivers that had fresh tires. They opted to stay on the track and it hurt them. As Martin stated in a post race interview, "We were just sitting ducks, and would have lost no matter what decision had been made." Martin led 217 laps, the most that had been led by any driver in a race since the track re-configuration a few years ago. Martin had lapped most of the cars in the field; there were only nine drivers on the lead lap when the checkered flag flew.

Following Johnson across the finish line in the top ten were Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Joe Nemechek, rookie Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton, rookie Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, and Greg Biffle. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Ryan Newman -- #12 Dodge -- finished 17th
2. Joe Nemechek -- #01 Chevy -- finished 4th
3. Elliott Sadler -- #38 Ford -- finished 36th
4. Carl Edwards -- #99 Ford -- finished 3rd
5. Greg Biffle -- #16 Ford -- finished 10th
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- #8 Chevy -- finished 33rd
7. Mark Martin -- #6 Ford -- finished 2nd
8. Jimmie Johnson -- #48 Chevy -- finished 1st
9. Kevin Harvick -- #29 Chevy -- finished 35th
10. Jeff Gordon -- #24 Chevy -- finished 34th

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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)

The championship contenders didn't have very good luck at Atlanta. Point's leader Kurt Busch was the first to suffer problems as he lost his engine early in the event paving the way for the other chase contenders to capitalize on his misfortune. It didn't happen, one by one, most of the top chase contenders fell like dominoes in a windstorm. Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and Elliott Sadler ended up with DNF's along with Busch. Dale Earnhardt Jr. overdrove his car and pulled up into the #99 Ford of Carl Edwards, causing the #8 to spin into the inside wall, suffering too much damage to continue with the race.

Jamie McMurray still commands the coveted 11th position in driver's points and is well on his way to win the million dollar bonus. He now has a 221 point lead on 12th place driver Dale Jarrett. Kasey Kahne moved up two spots to 13th and is now down 280 points from McMurray. Kevin Harvick dropped down to 14th listed now with a -328 below 11th, followed by Bobby Labonte who still rounds out the top 15, now listed with a -331 down from 11th.

Next week the chase moves out west to Phoenix International Raceway for the Checker Auto Parts 500. The event is scheduled to be aired by the NBC network on Sunday, November 7th at 3 pm eastern. Qualifying will be aired by the SPEED channel on Friday, November 5th at 4 pm eastern.

Last season's winner of the Phoenix event was Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was followed across the finish line by Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Scott Wimmer, and Mark Martin.