As always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, and recommendations on the podcast. Hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Click the link below to play the podcast or right-click it to download, and hit the iTunes site linked below to subscribe. Have at it!

The Chrome Horn, episode 27: Dario Franchitti

Driver: Scott Speed

Record: 32 races (at this writing), one top-5 finish

Season summary: It's been a season to forget for the Red Bull'er, who hasn't quite panned out the way his teammate Brian Vickers has. Speed has hung around the No. 35 spot all season long, and is in jeopardy of falling out of the top 35 to start 2010.

Where it went right: At the Aaron's 499 at Talladega in April, Speed notched a fifth-place finish, largely because he followed the old "keep your head while everyone else is losing theirs" strategy. Sadly, that was pretty much the only high point of the year for Speed.

Where it went wrong: Pretty much everywhere else. Speed was involved in wrecks all over the schedule, and the sight of his devastated car getting hauled off the track soon became a familiar one. (Hope the hipsters keep drinking Red Bull and vodka; the Red Bull folks need the cash infusion.) Speed has had exactly one finish inside the top 20 -- a 15th-place finish at Bristol -- since May. Not exactly the roll that you want to get on in a Sprint Car. 

Prospects for 2010: Red Bull is committed to Speed, who would seem to be a marketer's dream -- but as good as his last name is, it ain't Earnhardt, so there's only so long that a team is going to stick with him, particularly with up-and-comers in the hunt. Speed's going to have to step it up, pronto, or risk losing his seat.

Next up: Robby Gordon. Strap in!

Related Speed posts from 2009:
Kyle Busch and Scott Speed, teammates? The horror! The horror!
C-a-c: No, Scott, I will not pull all four of your fingers
Wreck of the week: Kyle Busch, Scott Speed in track ballet

And, of course, the classic:
Scott Speed will make your ears bleed ("Cereal and milk!")

The race: The Dickies 500 @ Texas Motor Speedway

The specs: 334 laps around a 1.5-mile track

The broadcasts: ABC, plus the live chat right here on Yahoo! Sports

Defending champ: Carl Edwards, pictured there at right shootin' up a storm. Interestingly, a woman was hit by a bullet at Texas Motor Speedway during the time of this race last year. Perhaps ... nah.

The standings leaders: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin (-184), Jeff Gordon (-192)

The history: Texas is one of a bunch of similar -- don't say cookie-cutter! -- 1.5-mile tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit. It has the dubious distinction of having closed down two different racetracks to take their dates -- North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. After Atlanta and the restrictor-plate tracks, it's one of the fastest tracks on the circuit.

Back in the springtime: Jeff Gordon notched his first win in over a year with a victory at Texas in the spring. At the time, everybody was thinking Gordon was going to be challenging for the Sprint Cup championship. And they were right ... until the Chase started.

The appropriate video: Not a race video, but a spooky scare-ya news report: what if a tornado were to hit the Texas Motor Speedway when a race was in session? Well, Jimmie Johnson would probably outrun it, but everybody else would be screwed:

Guy with the most to gain: Kyle Busch. This is his first race without crew chief Steve Addington, and it'll be interesting to see how well he and new crew chief Dave Rogers gel. A win would be nice, but we'd settle for them not bickering at each other over the radio like middle-school girls.

Guys with the most to lose: Mark Martin. He's had an exceptional -- some would say precious -- year, but he's obviously bummed about coming so far and falling short yet again. Still, he shouldn't be discouraged by what has been an exceptional season, and he should use these last three weeks as a way to roll into 2010.

Our pick to win: Denny Hamlin. He's had an up-and-down Chase, and since last week was a serious "down," this week has to be an "up," right? It's all deck-chairs-on-the-Titanic now anyway, but I'm thinking that Hamlin is going to be a serious Chase challenger when ... well, when Jimmie retires.

All right, you're up. Who's your pick for this weekend? Go!

• An unconventional view: it's time to stop racing at Talladega. Well, that's one solution. [Baltimore Sun]

• The No. 1 problem in NASCAR today? Nobody respects anybody anymore. [Stock Car Spin]

• Who is NASCAR's No. 1 Twitterer? One word: tacos. Check out the list of top 20 drivers over at Scene Daily. (Hey, I'm still ahead of David Ragan and Aric Almirola!) [Scene Daily]

• The story behind how Texas got its second race and Rockingham lost one. [Racin' Today]

• Could Dodge be sticking around in NASCAR for the long haul? Let's hope so, for everyone's sake. [Detroit Free Press]

• Ricky Carmichael is leaving Kevin Harvick Inc. at the end of the season to run in the Camping World Truck Series for the new Turner Motorsports. All righty, then. [Catchfence]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter. 

For those of you new to the program -- this is where you can talk about whatever crosses your mind, not just NASCAR. Step up, say howdy, meet some new strange folks here in Marbleland. Maybe you'll even make some new friends on the Internet, which is 75% less creepy than it used to be. We'll be back soon with more stuff; till then, keep on sending your NASCAR strangeness to me at jay.busbee@yahoo.com, and enjoy your time here!

Change is a-comin' to the Nationwide Series, and so far, everybody's pretty much happy with it. NASCAR is rolling out new Nationwide cars in the same way that the Car of Tomorrow became the de facto Sprint Cup car two years ago. Perhaps NASCAR learned a thing or two from watching the CoT in action, and perhaps not.

At Talladega on Monday, NASCAR introduced the new Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang, Chevy Impala and Toyota Camry. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Kelly Bires and James Buescher of Phoenix Racing jumped in the rides to run them through their paces. The drivers, later joined by Colin Braun, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier and Trevor Bayne, ran the cars alone, in single file and in drafting bunches. No bump-drafting, of course, but then, did you expect that?

Allgaier said the new car "drives like a dream," and other drivers and engineers expressed similar satisfaction, which is nice. For more on the technical specs of the new car, click here. And, as NASCAR Insiders points out, NASCAR "now has a problem on its hands. They have visually attractive and realistic-looking Nationwide cars competing with the less-than-handsome Cup Series CoT." (Sensing a problem afoot, NASCAR has indicated it will make changes to the Sprint Cup car in 2011.)

The car will roll out at Daytona in the summer, and will later run at Michigan, Richmond and Charlotte. Come 2011, it'll be the standard for all Nationwide races.

New race car receives favorable marks at test [NASCAR.com]

Hey, Chase is over, so why not go fishing, right? That's Tony Stewart there on the right, fishing at the Office Depot Foundation Charity Fishing Tournament in Lake Okeechobee in Florida. I feel certain you can find humor in this photo. (Also in the pic:  Ed Cooper of Sanford/Newell Rubbermaid; Ken Karroll, professional guide; and Wade Eveleth, senior director of merchandising for Office Depot. But you already knew that.)

After the jump, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano man up.

Jim T:
Kyle- "Just to give you guys fair warning, I have a barb wire tatoo on my right arm and Joey has his underoos on. My brother Kurt is sitting over there and he has fought Jimmy Spencer before."

Meltdown:
Kyle: "Yeah, he can probably drive, but, Dude, there's NO WAY he makes it through the window"!

Furiousd:
Kyle: "Brian France wanted me to thank Vince McMahon for his "debris caution" idea."

Mike C:
and IIIIIIIIIIIIeeeeeeeeIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always... love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

• Kyle Busch is looking to win his fourth straight Nationwide race at Texas Motor Speedway. This kid's good, and I bet he'll be making the Chase in the next few years. [Scene Daily]

• Want to attend NASCAR's year-end awards ceremony? There are all kinds of ways to do so ... but you gotta work for 'em. [The Fifth Turn]

• So people are seriously griping about the SPEED broadcasting team wearing Batman costumes on Halloween? Really? Come on. People really will bitch about anything they possibly can when it comes to NASCAR, won't they? [The NASCAR Insiders]

• Think Jimmie Johnson's boring? Yeah. Didn't hear a whole lot of note from the three top finishers of the Talladega race, did you? (They were Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano. But you knew that, right?) [Racin' Today]

• Bobby Labonte Racing is working its way from the ground up, and now has a two-driver team in Late Model Dirt Series racing. [Catchfence]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter. 

Everybody's going ahead and giving Jimmie Johnson his fourth Sprint Cup championship, but hold on! We've still got races to run! What's that you say? You say there's no way anybody's catching Jimmie? Balderdash, we say!

Mathematically, it's still possible -- phenomenally unlikely, but still possible -- that someone could catch Jimmie. Using this breakdown of NASCAR's points system, let's take a look at the ways things could go south for the 48 car. His closest pursuers are Mark Martin (184 points back), Jeff Gordon (192 points back) and Juan Pablo Montoya (239 points back). Let's break down their chances, shall we?

If Jimmie averages a top-10 finish over the last three races, it's over. No way anyone can catch him. So let's go down the line:

If Jimmie averages an 11th-place finish:
-Mark Martin has to win all three races and lead the most laps.
-Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya have no chance.

If Jimmie averages a 15th-place finish:
-Mark Martin has to average a second-place finish.
-Jeff Gordon has to win all three races and lead the most laps.
-Juan Pablo Montoya has no chance.

If Jimmie averages a 20th-place finish:
-Mark Martin has to average a 3rd-place finish.
-Jeff Gordon has to average a 2nd-place finish.
-Juan Pablo Montoya has to win all three races, but doesn't have to lead the most laps.

See? Easy, right? There's still a mathematical chance! Come on, stick around! It'll be fun! Please? Please ... ?

So the lesson, then, is simple. NASCAR's attitude toward its rules is like London's weather -- if you don't like it, wait a half hour and it'll change.

(Thanks to reader Dan in NJ for the find.)

ESPN's Ryan McGee and Marty Smith broke the news on Wednesday, indicating that a source reported that talks are in "the final phase." We've heard this kind of thing before, but multiple sources are indicating that both Danica and JR Motorsports are very close to a deal.

As with so much else this season, the unexpected centerpiece of the entire deal was Brad Keselowski. As long as Jet Ski was in JR Motorsports' camp, he held down the spot that could have been available to Danica. But when he signed with Penske, the door opened wide.

The obvious question is, when would Danica Patrick make her NASCAR debut? Depending on logistics and approval, her first race could come either in Daytona or at California right at the start of the 2010 season. ESPN reported that Danica wants the number 7, her IndyCar number.

Still up in the air would be how many races Danica would run. She would likely run the 17 IRL races and then slot in Nationwide runs as necessary -- a rigid schedule which would nonetheless pay off huge for both her and JR Motorsports.

I don't need to tell you what a marketing juggernaut a Danica-Junior team would be. The Nationwide Series would instantly become the equal of the Sprint Cup in the eyes of the casual fans (who, presumably, are going to wonder why Danica isn't racing against Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon). And yes, there would be the usual carping about neither one of them winning much of anything.

But that's not what's important. What's important is that Danica is -- if this goes through -- going to bring some much-needed new eyes to NASCAR. And if she's a gimmick, so be it -- she'll be gone and back to IRL before her contract is up. She's not going to totally embarrass herself or the sport; she's too talented of a driver for that.

As for Sprint Cup? Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Danica's got to prove she can handle a Nationwide car first. (She's actually got to get into a Nationwide car, which I won't believe until I see it.) But I wouldn't be surprised to see Danica running at NASCAR's highest level come 2012.

Daytona just got a whole lot more interesting, didn't it?

Sources: Danica near NASCAR deal [ESPN.com]

________

For more daily NASCAR news and info, click here to bookmark Yahoo! Sports' From the Marbles, and follow us on Twitter.

Wow, what else is there to be said? That sucked. From the candy-colored streamline parade to JJ's dumb luck, there wasn't much to relish. Yup, it sucked for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest may have to be the death of a unique race. RIP Talladega , welcome to the cookie cutter club.

Ironically, some two-score ago when Talladega premiered, the races pretty much sucked, too. In fact, the drivers actually striked (past tense of "to go on strike," and yes I'm aware that that is not a word) the very first race. They were broadly afraid. I don't blame them on this one. Back then a seatbelt was the roof, and Talladega was the equivalent of taking a toboggan into a luge course. If I had nothing but a t-shirt, a leather football helmet and pack of cigarettes rolled up in my sleeve as my safety devices, I'd soil myself too.

Now? For safety reasons, drivers are also striking, but contrarily, calling for more speed (I'm pretty sure this makes them tougher than their forefathers, just sayin'). They striked (yeah, I'm still aware) to let them race. And whether it was deliberately unionized or not isn't the point; they acted in union. They didn't race for a simple reason: there was no incentive to. Passing at Talladega is now next to impossible without eight or more wheels pushing, NASCAR banished the bump draft (behind only rubbin', the second-coolest evolutionary nuance and tool in the driver arsenal), and Talladega is synonymous with 'DNF, Crash,' making it the Chase's strategic equivalent of a speed walking contest.

I love how NASCAR still defended the race, even in the face of overwhelming opposition. The drivers, the journalists and the fans were (and still are) nearly unanimous in their distaste, yet NASCAR still won't admit the truth and prefers to expostulate the collective perception.

That's right, you didn't see a single-file parade. You saw only five cautions and some 20-plus lead changes in the waning laps. Silly fool, that is excitement!

Whatever. Take your statistics and shove them up your Eastaboga. Your rules castrated the competition and still didn't negate the Big One. Ryan Newman just got a superspeedway lobotomy, and you forced me to listen to Mark Martin exclaim that, in his entire career, he had never been in that position before. Man, he really wasted that Viagra sponsorship.

But I also hold Steve Letarte and Alan Gustafson liable. Sure, the race sucked, but the Chase race sucked even worse. I'm no expert crew chief, but why in the world would you do the opposite of Chad Knaus? The guy has only ruled the Chase strategy for four straight seasons and currently has his driver in position to win an unprecedented fourth straight championship. Yeah, do the opposite of that guy. That makes loads of sense.

Yeah, all the way around, that was a bummer. Oh well, there is still Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

Awe, hell, on second thought, congratulations JJ.

The item: The Jimmie Johnson gnome, $19.99 from CBS Sports Store

The deal: Friends, I think we've done it. I think we've cracked the code. I think we now know why Jimmie Johnson is the most dominant NASCAR driver of the modern era:

It's the gnome! It's this little guy who's bringing luck to Jimmie and woe to his mates! Seriously, look at that little ugly guy, with his bulbous nose and his not-quite-Santa-esque beard. He just screams menace, doesn't he? Just imagine waking up and seeing that guy standing on the end of your bed. Would freak you out something fierce, right? Now imagine if that guy was everywhere you were trying to be, all up in your head. Friends, after detailed review of photographic evidence, that's exactly what seems to be happening. Look below ... if you dare.

Mark Martin awaits the race, blissfully unaware he's being watched ... and stalked.

"Look, honey, Ella's found a toy ... NO! ELLA! NO! GET AWAY!!!!"

I feel rather certain that if you dug into your own photo files, you might find a gnome or two secreted away. Oh, and thanks to Art Tidesco for this find. If you've got gnome pics of your own -- or any other NASCARiana -- send it to jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

Heading to Talladega for the day, plunging into the heart of Junior Nation for an Earnhardt story. This'll be fun.

http://twitpic.com/niopu - The Dega credentials folks are in the Halloween spirit.

More security here at Dega than any other track I've been to. Fortunately they didn't ask if I was carrying ninja throwing stars.

http://twitpic.com/niz96  - If we stare at it long enough, there's gotta be a way to make it go faster.

In the dega infield doing interviews. Told one guy he could see the yahoo site when he got home. He pulled out a laptop and called it up.

Tooth-challenged but technologically advanced Junior fan 1, properly humbled smartass media guy 0.

http://twitpic.com/nj8lz  - Cruelty in the Dega infield. (Look closely. )

Was doing an interview with Jr. fans atop a bus when someone below hollered, "Dale Junior sucks!" The young lady I was interviewing...(cont)

(cont)...leaned over the edge and hollered, "You shut the hell up! I'm doing an interview with Yahoo! Sports, bitch!" I do love the infield.

http://twitpic.com/njd4f  - The end of the line for Kyle Busch ...?

Carl Edwards is bringing everybody in the media center free Subway sandwiches tomorrow. Now that's how you stay on our good side.

http://twitpic.com/nvbmd  - They just pulled Joey Logano out of here kicking and screaming.

http://twitpic.com/nvix8  - They're giving away Mountain Dew by the bin. This is about a morning's supply for me.

http://twitpic.com/nvl1k  - The merchandise hauler armada. If your driver isn't represented here, he probably sucks. Sorry.

http://twitpic.com/nw6bs  - I'm gonna hang here and try to catch a Carl Edwards lugnut.

http://twitpic.com/nw8ue  - Dude on left: best tattoo ever. Dude on right: "This washes off, right? Right?"

http://twitpic.com/nwckk  - All these people are trying to cram through one small gate. And they'd better hurry, 'cause the cars are in the backstretch.

http://twitpic.com/nxt2n  - A closeup of the new Dega fence. Strong enough to hold back a flying car? Hope so.

http://twitpic.com/nxu2l  - If Jimmie Johnson wants this, he's gonna have to fight me for it.

http://twitpic.com/nxwda  - Chris Berman talks of Brett Favre on a tv at Kyle Busch's pit box. This is the single most annoying spot on earth

http://twitpic.com/nxxje  - The view from my seat as the moon rises over Talladega.

http://twitpic.com/ny8an  - Goodnight Talladega. Goodnight moon. Goodnight No. 39 car flipping over the moon.

There's a lot of anger and frustration floating around NASCAR these days. Jimmie Johnson's dominance has robbed the Chase of any bit of drama, leading everyone who's not a fan of the 48 to rage at a system that hasn't produced a different champion in what will likely end up being half a decade.

On top of that, one of the most exciting tracks on the circuit, Talladega, was effectively neutered on Sunday by the last-minute implementation of bump-drafting rules that confused and frustrated the field. It was like going to a beer-and-ribs tailgate and finding only wine coolers and salad -- exactly the wrong kind of race NASCAR needed at this critical moment. 

Over at NASCAR.com, Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's director of corporate communications, has written a lengthy blog post defending NASCAR's position at Talladega. And while I don't envy Poston -- he's often in the position of defending his sport against waves of angry fans, as he is now -- he's nonetheless doing a fair amount of cherry-picking in the way he justifies what went down at Talladega.

Poston takes a curious approach here. Rather than conceding even an inch of ground -- "implementing safety measures is an evolving art," or whatever -- Poston places blame squarely on griping drivers, ABC broadcasters ... and you.

Lines like "Love it or hate it, Talladega is about strategy; it's a chess match on wheels and sometimes takes time to develop and play out" seem to imply that this was a good race, and that griping fans were too bloodthirsty or blind to appreciate it. He points to the 13,400-plus passes that took place, according to Loop Data, as an indication that there was indeed action going on at the track -- but apparently, you and ABC missed it.

Here's the thing, though. We've received tons of emails and comments on Talladega in the last few days, and not one -- not one -- took a positive view of Sunday's race. Even ruling out the "people don't write in when they're happy" factor, that's a thorough and definitive rejection of the no-bump-drafting rules and the kind of race they engendered.

Poston goes on to call some of the criticisms of the Talladega race "myths," which isn't quite the word I'd use. Among these "myths":

-There was a "conspiracy" among drivers to run a dull race in response to the no-bump-drafting mandates. Poston points to Jeff Burton, who called such comments "complete nonsense." Was there a planned conspiracy? I don't think so. But I find it very easy to believe that drivers came to the common realization that if they couldn't figure out the parameters of the rules, they'd play extra nice just to make a point, knowing full well that "nice racing" = deadly dull racing.

-Whether NASCAR forced the no-bump-drafting rule on the drivers. Poston contends that the origination of the no-bump-drafting rule came from drivers, not NASCAR itself, saying that "several well-respected veteran drivers" came to NASCAR and said "we need to address the bump-drafting in the corners." That's entirely plausible -- though if those drivers are indeed veteran and well-respected, why haven't they come forward and spoken up? Don't give me the whole "they don't want to seem weak" nonsense; seeing how cars fly around Talladega and wanting very much not to be in a car that leaves the ground isn't weak. I'm not disputing Poston's account, just saying that I would like to get some independent verification from more drivers that they did in fact ask NASCAR for this.

Really, though, my problem isn't with the rules themselves; it's the way they were handed down from on high. The implicit message from NASCAR appeared to be, "we'll tell you if you're doing something wrong -- but if we tell you, it's already too late." NASCAR officials said they wanted to see "sunlight" between the cars -- but does that mean a sliver or three feet? Could go either way, and you don't want any gray area when you're going nearly 200 mph.

-NASCAR doesn't care about safety. This is a straw man for Poston to knock down; of course NASCAR cares about the safety of its drivers and fans. Poston noted that Burton criticized Ryan Newman's comments about NASCAR not caring about the drivers, but I think that was a misinterpretation --Newman was saying that NASCAR doesn't care about the drivers' opinions, not their safety. NASCAR has made tremendous strides in safety; there are half a dozen drivers running out there right now who wouldn't be with us if their wrecks had happened even five years ago.

NASCAR has proven it can make changes to its own rules that will benefit the fan experience; you don't need to look any farther than this year's double-file restarts for that. But Talladega was a PR debacle and a roadkill of a race, and to pretend otherwise -- or, worse, to dismiss those who would criticize it as failing to understand a good race when they see it -- is absolutely the wrong tactic.

In the end, if people don't like a race, all the loop data and assertions to the contrary aren't going to convince them -- and an overwhelming majority did not like this race.

All those seats were empty at Talladega even before the outcome of Sunday's race. NASCAR had better figure a way -- right now -- to fill them back up come spring. Insisting that it's everyone else's fault isn't going to cut it.

Keselowski was one of the more intriguing stories for much of the 2009 season, much more so because of his controversial final-stretch spin of Carl Edwards at Talladega. He was long rumored -- indeed, expected -- to be headed to Hendrick Motorsports. But when Mark Martin decided to stay on for the 2010 season, Keselowski thus faced the possibility of waiting another entire year to take a Sprint Cup ride -- and he wasn't prepared to wait that long. So when Penske came calling, Keselowski bit.

And now, Penske is cutting ties with David Stremme three races early, sending him packing from the No. 12 Dodge.Stremme has run in all 33 races this year, posting an average finish of 25th. His best finish came at the Auto Club 500 way back in February, when he ran 13th. So, yeah ... not exactly surprising that he's done.

Keselowski's hell-bent style has raised concern in the garage, but should it? Or is he just racing the way it ought to be done? We're about to find out. 

Keselowski replacing Stremme for rest of season [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Cone had served faithfully at the track for many years, and was a visible and reliable presence at the superspeedway. "I don't know anybody who didn't respect Cone," a visibly shaken Jimmie Johnson said afterward. Other drivers echoed the sentiment; Cone's word was law around Talladega, but he was evenhanded. So to speak.

Cone is survived by his wife, Beer Stand Flag, and a son who also works at the track. "Our boy had grown up to be a pit box marker sign," Cone's wife said. "Of course, it was for Paul Menard, but still ... This was his first race hanging over pit road, and maybe Cone was watching him when he ... " Her voice trailed off.

Video exists of the fatal crash, but we warn you -- it is graphic in nature. Please escort small children from the room before watching the video below:

Cone will be interred at the Anniston Landfill. Donations are being accepted at all Talladega souvenir stands.

We are grateful to Tuffy R. Tuffenstein for the illustration.

Current standings (movement): Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya (+1), Tony Stewart (-1), Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle (+1), Ryan Newman (-1), Kasey Kahne (+2), Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin (-2), Brian Vickers.

Who's up: Why are those two men smiling? Because they're the only two who were happy after Sunday's snoozer. Jamie McMurray wasn't a part of the Chase, but he got a much-needed win. Jimmie Johnson, simply by standing still while the whole world fell apart around him, pretty much clinched the Chase on the first day of November. Oh, and Kasey Kahne did well and moved up two spots, which is nice for him.

Who's down: Everybody else. At one point, Johnson's pursuers were within 30 points of him. But then the final Big One collected Gordon, Martin and Montoya, and that was pretty much that. Denny Hamlin continued his up-and-down Chase with a downer that dropped him out of the top 10 and, for the moment, means he's out of the running for a trip to Vegas at the end of the year for the awards banquet. Yes, that's what they're driving for now.

Outlook: It's all but a done deal for Johnson, who now has nearly a 200-point lead on the field with three races to go. (To put that in perspective, if he has a 196-point lead going into Homestead, he doesn't even need to show up.) Let the screaming and complaining continue, but it's irrefutable -- Johnson is the unchallenged king of NASCAR right now, and nobody else is even close.

All right, you're up. Your thoughts on the Chase? Go!

There was a time when Talladega was the marquee event on the autumn NASCAR schedule, the race where anything could happen and carnage almost always ensued. Remember those times ... way back in, when was it, April? Yeah, those were great days.

Backstage secret: the comments where people rant about how NASCAR used to be better in "the good ol' days" (mostly, it wasn't) and how they're "done with NASCAR" (they aren't) usually drive me up the wall. It's usually one notch above kids stomping their feet and asking why they can't have another dessert.

This time, though ... this time, the whiners have a point.

Just hours before the flag dropped on Sunday's Amp Energy 500, NASCAR drivers were told -- in no uncertain terms -- that there would be no bump-drafting permitted in the corners, that there needed to be "daylight" between the bumpers of cars going into turns. The drivers, livid about the changes, staged their own little protest -- you want us to play nice, fine, we'll play so nice that we put everyone to sleep. Kevin Harvick joked about needing a spot to put his iPod, and Tony Stewart asked his crew for some No-Doz.

But all joking went out the window once Ryan Newman went wheels-up and another 13 cars got caught up and snuffed out all but the faintest championship hopes of Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Afterward, the drivers tore NASCAR a new one.

"Let us race," said Denny Hamlin, who was knocked out of the race early. "They gave us a car to race, now let the drivers handle it ... Pushing each other in the corners and all the way around, that is the safest driving you can possibly do because that's eight tires. The thing is, you'll see when the Big One happens, it will be someone just hitting someone down the straightaways because they were put in a box that said that was how they had to race."  (For the record, next time I go to Vegas, I'm taking Hamlin with me, because he was dead-on right.)

Mark Martin, who got turned upside down in the final wreck, didn't even begin to address the issue, except with his silence:

Q: Are you okay?
Martin: Yeah, I'm fine.

Q: What happened, what did you see?
Martin: Nothing.

"It was probably the most yawning that I've done in a superspeedway race," Brian Vickers said. "Maybe that's what they want, I'm not sure." Vickers did say that he didn't believe that the boredom was NASCAR's fault, but "I'm not really sure what the intent was. I don't think [the new rules] accomplished anything that had anything to do with a big crash or a Big One."

But it was Ryan Newman who unloaded on NASCAR with quote after damning quote. He said that the utter dullness of the race was "a product of this racing and what NASCAR has put us into with this box and these restrictor plates with these types of cars," Newman said. "You know, with the yellow line, no bump-drafting, no passing. Drivers used to be able to respect each other and race around each other. Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison and all those guys have always done that. I guess they don't think much of us anymore."

As is so often the case, NASCAR had the right idea -- fewer catastrophic accidents -- but completely a fumble-footed way of implementing it. These things can be done more effectively and efficiently without ticking off both the fans and the drivers. Talladega verdict: fail. 

I don't need to tell you this, but: your turn. 

The collisions at Talladega are both spectacular and terrifying; the bump that sent Carl Edwards flying into the fence in April still stands as one of NASCAR's most wrenching wrecks. Sunday at the Amp Energy 500, Ryan Newman drew the short straw, and his flipping, pancaking late-race wreck was, without a doubt, the scariest since Edwards:

For long minutes, Newman's car sat upside down with no word from within. And for long minutes, NASCAR fans feared the worst; sure, the cars are safer, but Newman landed smack on his roof! Just how tough could those cars be?

Finally, Newman spoke and confirmed that he wasn't injured. Crews flipped over the car and opened it like a tuna can, and Newman climbed out as if he was just getting out of bed. And once he'd collected himself, he had some pointed words for NASCAR and the fans who look forward to the wrecks: "That's not something anybody wants to see, at least I hope not," he said. "If they do, go home, because you don't belong here."

As bad as Newman's wreck was, however, it was about to get worse for the rest of the field.

With two laps to go and nearly two dozen cars within one second of the lead, someone -- perhaps it was Brian Vickers; perhaps it was Brad Keselowski, who sent Edwards into the wall in the spring -- got antsy and made a charge that sent Kurt Busch spinning. And from there, it was on:

As it turned out, this Big One may well have cemented Jimmie Johnson's unprecedented run for a fourth straight title; his closest pursuers, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, were both caught up in the 13-car wreck and ended the race farther behind Johnson than when the day began.

Wrecks are part of the thrill of NASCAR, an essential element of the overall storyline. But watching the Newman wreck, like the Edwards one before it, the queasiness starts to set in. NASCAR hasn't had an in-race fatality in the Sprint series since Dale Earnhardt died at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Is the sport safer, or is it living on borrowed time?

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We'll be covering it live as it happens over in the live chat, but feel free to also rant about whatever's on your mind Dega-wise right here. Enjoy the race, make your picks early, and try to avoid getting into a Big One of your own as you load up on more wings and drink. Seeya!

There have been more than a dozen women who have raced in Nascar's Cup series, from Sara Christian, who raced in the inaugural "Strictly Stock" race in Charlotte in 1949, to Shawna Robinson, who drove her last Cup race in 2002, and her last Busch/Nationwide series race in 2005. Women draw interest in Cup racing simply because of their gender, but every single one of them works just as hard -- if not harder -- than their male counterparts to prove they belong.

Of all the women who have run in NASCAR -- and there are more on the way -- by far the most successful has been Janet Guthrie. Guthrie ran 33 Cup level races between 1976 and 1980, but was plagued by equipment problems and bad luck. One of the most eventful races in her portfolio was the Talladega 500 in August 1977. She outqualified the likes of Richard Petty, Johnny Rutherford, David Pearson, Bill Elliott, Neil Bonnett, Buddy Baker, and Ricky Rudd. All appeared set for a race of historic proportions.

But it wasn't to be. In Turn 1 of the first lap, another car's driveshaft came through her windshield! After the windshield was replaced, Guthrie's engine blew. Ouch.

Nonetheless, Guthrie managed to win the respect of drivers like Cale Yarborough, Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti. Richard Petty opined in 1978 that, "If she had a better ride, she'd probably win one of these [Cup] events."

And now we have young Chrissy Wallace, who finished a respectable 13th in the Mountain Dew 250 Truck race at Talladega. Chrissy has a terrific pedigree and Tony Stewart in her corner; she kept all her fenders intact and managed not to be near the inevitable Big One. Who could ask for more? Maybe she'll be the first woman to climb into a ride in Cup and bring home a win!

Janet Guthrie [Official Site]
Chrissy Wallace bests dad Mike in history-making run at Talladega [Scene Daily]

TALLADEGA, Ala. – On race weekends in Talladega, campers, motor homes and tents stretch as far as the eye can see. Flags adorn most of them, and virtually every driver has at least one fan somewhere in the vast expanse of the Talladega campgrounds.

But one driver reigns supreme here. Look out over the rolling hillsides and you'll see more green 88s than all other drivers combined. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s fans call themselves Junior Nation, and Talladega is their undisputed capital. And even though their nation is on shaky footing – hey, whose isn't? – their faith in their faltering hero and idol remains as strong as ever.

You'd think these are dark days for Junior Nation. Their guy has won exactly one race out of the last 130 and is spinning his wheels, both literally and metaphorically. They're suffering the constant mocking and abuse from their fellow race fans. Anytime something goes right for the 88 team, something else seems to go more wrong.

So you could forgive them if their eyes started to wander, enviously eyeing the success that everyone from Jimmie Johnson to Joey freakin' Logano, for heaven's sake, has been enjoying over the last few years. You could forgive them for wondering whether the mojo has run out – whether it's time to accept that the son will never equal the father.

Here's the thing, though – Junior could lose from now until the sun burns out and much of Junior Nation would be right there with him.

"True blue 'til the day I die," said Tammy Langdon of Greenville, Mississippi, pointing without irony to her green Junior T-shirt.

Ask other fans whether they'd consider switching drivers if Junior's losing streak stretched into the triple digits, and most will look at you as if you've asked them to kick their own dog.

Ain't gonna happen – not now, not ever.

What kind of hold does this quiet, slightly awkward 35-year-old have on millions of race fans? How did a guy who often looks like he'd rather be anywhere but in the spotlight end up becoming one of the world's most famous athletes?

It starts, of course, with the name. The Earnhardt story is Shakespeare with banjos – an epic tale of Southern racing royalty and tragedy. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was one of the dominant figures in American sports, and there's nobody – not Junior, not Kyle Busch, not Tony Stewart, nobody – who's living up to that legacy, that charisma, that intimidation. Earnhardt Sr. was a seven-time champion; Junior could win from now until 2015 and still not equal his father's "it" factor.

Is it any wonder, then, that he's emphasizing the "Junior?" It does, after all, adorn his clothing and his race team more than the "Dale" or the "Earnhardt."

Even so, Junior earned the love of a huge swath of NASCAR nation just by climbing into a car. His father's influence is so strong, even eight-plus years after his death, that Junior's fans will stick with him through all the down times. It's as if Junior is part of the family – that underachieving cousin who dropped out of college, say – and you don't turn your back on family.

Indeed, the fact that Junior can't make any headway against a field that's always adding talented drivers – like Logano, Brad Keselowski and Juan Pablo Montoya – only seems to boost his cachet among his fans.

"He's a good ole country boy," said Mike Parker of Linden, Tennessee, who patrolled the Talladega infield with his wife, Janice, both wearing matching forest-green Junior sweatshirts. "I like his personality. He's a lot more down to earth than a lot of guys you see out there."

Some, on the other hand, eye Junior with a little more … hunger, to put it politely. If Junior's ever looking for female companionship, he'll find an army of ladies waiting for him in the Talladega infield. More than one had a range of recommendations for ways to, shall we say, take Junior's mind off his problems.

But everyone's patience has its limits, and both Junior and his armada are reaching the end of theirs.

"I really don't want the year to be over with because I like going to the race track every week and racing, but all year it has been so low," Junior said last week. "The highs have been not very high, and lows have been terribly low, so it's hard to want to get back up and try again the next week when you take such a beating. But I don't know what else to do."

His fans seem equally perplexed. Ask 10 different Junior fans what the 88 team has to do to get back above water, and they'll offer 10 different solutions. Change the crew chief. Keep the crew chief. Change the crew. Get away from racing. Race all winter long. Stick with Rick Hendrick. Jump ship from Hendrick and go to a team where he can be the top dog. And on, and on, and on.

"We sympathize with his problems," said one fan sitting amongst Junior flags and cardboard standups, a fan from Enid Lake, Mississippi, with the improbable name of Michael Jackson. (As he says it, his weary smile indicates that he's heard every joke you could make 50 times before.) "He's had such bad luck you hope that it's going to turn around sometime soon. It has to, doesn't it?"

Which brings us to Talladega. In 15 races here, Junior has five wins, including four in a row from 2001 to 2003, and 11 top 10s. It's one of the last tracks on the circuit where he's among the established masters, and it represents his last hope to salvage anything from this miserable season.

"I don't know that there's one thing he could be doing that he's not already doing," says Ben Rogge of Oskaloosa, Iowa. "It's getting to him. He could really use a win. Not even a win, just a good week where nothing goes too wrong."

This weekend, Junior is adorning his car with the names of 100,000 fans as part of a sponsor promotion. More entered to have their names on the car, but there wasn't enough room, so the overflow spilled onto Earnhardt's pit box.

Clearly the fans are still around, ready to cheer. All they need now is something to cheer about.

Welcome to The Pace Lap, your catchall preview post! Let's get you started on race weekend with a metric truckload of stats, facts, opinion and innuendo.

The race: The Amp Energy 500

The specs: 188 laps around a 2.66-mile track, for 500 miles.

The broadcasts: ABC, plus the live chat right here on Yahoo! Sports. Also, I'll be on the ground all raceday morning, so follow me on Twitter to see what I'm seeing. 

Defending champ: Tony Stewart. You recall, this is the famous yellow-line race, where Smoke was "forced" below the yellow line by Regan Smith on the final lap but still claimed the title.

The standings leaders: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin (-118), Jeff Gordon (-165)

The history: The largest and most steeply banked track in NASCAR, Talladega is also the home of some of the most spectacular speeds -- and wrecks -- in the sport. Rusty Wallace holds the speed record at 216.309 mph, set in June 2004. Talladega got a track only because local religious leaders in Hillsborough, North Carolina opposed the development of the track. So sorry, Hillsborough.

Back in the springtime: A couple of Big Ones seemed like they'd give us all the carnage we needed ... and then came the Keselowski/Edwards wall-scrub. One of the most horrific wrecks in NASCAR history was thankfully almost completely injury-free, but it set off a whole new round of discussion of whether Talladega was too dangerous to continue at its current style.

The appropriate video: From 2006 -- Brian Vickers gets into Jimmie Johnson, who gets into Dale Earnhardt Jr. Just imagine what would happen if this same scene played itself out this weekend:

Guy with the most to gain: Dale Earnhardt Jr. This is his chance to rehab his image for 2009, to close out the season with a strong performance and give Junior Nation reason to hope for 2010. This is his best track, so if he runs well here, all is (almost) forgiven. If not ...

Guys with the most to lose: Jimmie Johnson. One Big One at the wrong time, and Johnson's lead dwindles -- or, potentially, vanishes -- and that fourth championship becomes that much tougher to grab.

Our pick to win: Stewart. He's due for a strong Chase race, and he's on familiar territory here. And Regan Smith isn't likely to cause trouble two years in a row. 

All right, you're up. Who's your pick for this weekend? Go!

Featuring chicanes, desert sands and a route that runs beneath the Yas Hotel, this ain't no Pocono. Ride along on this virtual tour: 

Not bad, not bad. What say we introduce Abu Dhabi to a little Talladega-style infield partying?

This is either going to qualify as seriously jinxing Jimmie Johnson or further proving his mastery, but here's some food for thought: in the most critical wreck of last season, the fall Talladega one that took out no less than seven Chasers (including Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, the 48's two closest challengers), Jimmie Johnson skated away completely unscathed.

Take a look at that wreck up there; he avoided a skittering Kenseth and a spinning Junior. Impressive on its own. Now, consider the fact that Harvick, there just beneath Johnson, got involved in a second wreck immediately after this photo was taken that Johnson also managed to dodge. Here, check the video:

None of this is meant to hope for, wish for or pray for a wreck for Johnson. But he's shown an uncanny ability to avoid trouble. We're just a few hours from learning whether his three-year lucky streak will continue.

• Larry McReynolds says today's drivers need to toughen up and quit whining about other drivers racing them hard. Say this for Larry -- he knows what resonates with the audience. [Fox Sports]

• McReynolds is also in the midst of a media fight with newspaperman Dustin Long over comments Long published by McReynolds. Was McReynolds too negative on NASCAR? Did Long not publish enough positive material? That's what's under debate. [The Daly Planet]

• Think that things can't go wrong for Jimmie Johnson at Talladega? Think again. Back in 2002, everything went wrong. [NASCAR.com via Yahoo! Sports]

• AJ Allmendinger got tagged early Thursday morning for DWI. Drunk driving is not funny, and police did not say that Allmendinger was pulled over to the side of the road waiting for a pit crew to give him four and a splash. [That's Racin]

• Uh-oh ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. has entered the Top 10 in the FLOPPER (Finishes Last in Overall Points while Participating in Every Race) standings! Paul Menard still holds the lead, but still ... [All Left Turns]

• Who's your favorite Camping World Truck Series driver? Vote now! [NASCAR.com]

• Remembering Dick Thompson, media director at Martinsville, who died earlier this week. [Waid's World]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter. 

Everybody's been crowning Jimmie Johnson with his fourth straight Sprint Cup, and with good reason -- the guy's an overwhelming favorite to dominate the field. But "overwhelming" doesn't mean "certain," so let's take a look at how he could possibly lose this thing.

First off, it'll take a massive charge by one of the four guys following him most closely -- Mark Martin (118 points back), Jeff Gordon (150 points back), Tony Stewart (192 points back) or Juan Pablo Montoya (200 points back). Second, Jimmie's got to stop winning races, or this thing's completely over. Third, there are only a certain number of points that each driver can gain on Johnson each week -- the maximum possible is 161 (195 points for winning and leading the most laps, assuming Johnson finishes dead last and gets 34 points; see a full breakdown of how points work right here).

So let's break this down, giving assumptions on how well each guy would have to run if Johnson averaged certain places over the course of the last four races. Over the last four races, we estimate that ...

If Jimmie averages a third-place finish:
-Martin would have to win all four races and lead the most laps in each.
-Gordon, Stewart and Montoya have no chance.

If Jimmie averages a fifth-place finish:
-Martin would have to win all four races, though he wouldn't need to lead the most laps.
-Gordon, Stewart and Montoya have no chance.

If Jimmie averages a tenth-place finish:
-Martin would have to average just below a third-place finish in every race.
-Gordon would have to win one race and place no lower than second in the other three.
-Stewart would have to win all four races, or place second in one if he leads in the most laps in another.
-Montoya would have to average 185 points -- the exact total for winning all four races.

If Jimmie averages a 15th-place finish:
-Martin would have to average a sixth-place finish.
-Gordon would have to average slightly better than a fifth-place finish.
-Stewart and Montoya would have to average a second-place finish.

So it's not impossible, but it's going to be extremely tough, as of right now, for anybody to catch Jimmie. Still, there is precedent, as recently as last year -- Carl Edwards won three of the final four races, and Kyle Busch posted back-of-the-field finishes in the first two.

Rooting for Johnson to fail is seriously bad karma, but should he have difficulties at Talladega, the door opens considerably wider. We'll check in next week at this time and see where we stand.

Courtesy of our pals over at With Leather, a study of TacoGate in Photoshop. Lovely, yes?  Talk about that or anything else that's offending you right here, and we'll be back very soon with more stuff.

Also, with Halloween coming up, we'll be looking for NASCAR Halloween goodness. Send photos of anything NASCAR/Halloween-related to jay.busbee@yahoo.com and we'll get it posted. Get on it!

A week ago (or was it the week before?), it was a beer cup, or a foam seat cushion, or some other form of armor-piercing projectile, so justifiably a caution was thrown. This week a gen-u-ine, two-time Winston Cup race winner was performing his best bulls-eye impression, and NACAR let 'em race.

Color me confused. (I mean, I can understand letting them race to the finish if Scott "The Antonym" Speed is sitting there, but an Andretti? Sacrilege.)

The only thing consistent about NASCAR right now is the 48 team, who is consistently - and nauseatingly - great. (Actually, that's selling them short. Their domination is absolute. They are de-pantsing the competition, currently.) Yeah, that's not entirely accurate. The only things consistent about NASCAR lately have been the 48 team (consistently consistent), Junior (consistently unlucky and, one presumes given his sad fortune lately, drunk), Michael Waltrip (consistently, one gathers from reading his police reports, just under drunk), and NASCAR itself (consistently inconsistent).

This - specifically - is what's driving me crazy about NASCAR right now.

And the phantom debris caution (and occasional real, human debris non-caution) is the most ordinary and observable example. And don't tell me that an empty beer can on the back stretch is a threat to the safety of the drivers.

A) The windshields are polycarbonate resin thermoplastic. The same material used for the cockpit canopy of a F-22 Raptor.

B) I watched Carl Edwards get hit by a flying catch fence (yeah, he was doing the flying, but it sounds better that way) and distinctly remember him jogging across the finish line.

C) College kids smash empty beer cans off their foreheads as a mating ritual.

NASCAR, under dubious assertions at times, exerts its will when it feels so inclined.

I suppose, as a fan, I should feel some sort of rebellious gratitude. They aren't doing it for themselves. They are doing it for me. NASCAR is always trying to improve the product, and I do not know of another sporting authority that blatantly attempts to improve the finish of an event - during the actual event - for my enjoyment. But the fact that they do it isn't what bugs me. It's the consistency, or inconsistency, by which they do it.

It's hard to play the game when the rules are constantly changing. It's also hard to follow the game when the rules are constantly changing. And well beyond the phantom debris caution, they are simply screwing with it too much.

The cries I hear most are demanding even more change. Points for qualifying, points for wins, points for the regular season, minus points for wrecking a Chase contender (okay, not quite, but I'm sure they've thought about it), and most loudly, change the CoT. I disagree.

I'm not ecstatic with the Chase or the CoT, but I also don't have any idea of what they can be. (I'm also a Gordon fan, and so constitutionally bound to despise both the Chase and the CoT for denying him his fifth, respectively). They don't let me look at any one iteration long enough to witness the potential. They've introduced too many variables, and thus far, let none of them mature.

In an effort to improve the product, they've allowed the product to rule themselves (the Chase format produced their annual tinkering with it). In their effort to make it something for everyone, they've made it nothing to some (California produced boring racing to the North Wilkesboro die-hard). In their effort to unify, they've lost their uniformity (the CoT enhanced Hendrick domination).

I suppose I'd just like NASCAR to let them race under the same set of rules for a while. Of course, if Martinsville hadn't reminded me how much I miss the mad sprint to the start/finish following a caution, I probably wouldn't be disturbed by any of this.

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info. Get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Who's the bestselling NASCAR-driver Halloween costume? Kyle Busch. Huh. They've gotta be counting some zombies to get to that total. [Courtesy Ask.com]

• Great behind-the-scenes story of what it was like for Joey Logano and Kyle Busch just prior to WWE Raw. Short version: they were freakin' terrified. [Scene Daily]

• A thorough Q&A over at NASCAR Insiders, from the specs of the Car of Tomorrow to whether teams punish drivers who get busted off the track. Good stuff. [NASCAR Insiders]

• Touching story on how NASCAR can get one through a family tragedy. [Bump-Drafts]

• Steve Addington was named the crew chief of the race at Martinsville. Awwwwk-ward ... [Paddock Talk]

• Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin had their cars inspected after Martinsville ... and all passed. Damn you, Johnson! We'll get you yet! [Scene Daily]

• For the bloodthirsty among you -- a collection of Talladega crash videos. [All Left Turns]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

I feel certain that we'll have some new material to put in this space this time next week. Not that I'm hoping for that or anything, but, you know ...

It's kinda turned into Kyle Busch Day today here, but so what. That happens sometimes. Anyway, here's a lovely shot of Kyle and Joey Logano going up against Chris Jericho and Big Show. Sadly, there was no actual wrestler-on-driver violence. Ah, well. I'm sure you've got plenty of ideas for what could have been said while the mikes were off.

After the jump, Kasey Kahne's crew goes digging.

JJ:
Not even NASCAR can escape the culture while in California, as rival pit-crews, confused by the colors of their fire suits, assume the bloods vs. crips mentality and begin tagging their home turf.

Go Chargers:
Come on, the damn bets are down! Just throw the dice!

Eclair:
A little bit softer now,
Shout!
A little bit softer now,
Shout!
A little bit louder now,
Shout!......

We're getting within sight of the end of the season, and so it's time to begin our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from

So did you know that 65 different drivers ran in Sprint Cup races this year, to this point? It's true. And it's down only slightly from 2008, when 71 drivers ran. Today, we focus on the guys who drove in the teens. The number of their races, not their age.

Names: Brad Keselowski, Max Papis, Mike Bliss, Tony Raines

Records: Keselowski won the spring Talladega race, which was an astonishing (and, let's face it, pretty darn lucky) feat after he wrecked Carl Edwards into the fence. He had three top 10s over 11 races, which bodes well for his future prospects.

Where it went wrong: Didn't really go wrong for any of them, honestly, since we're not yet at the point in this feature where we expect things to go right for these drivers. These guys did what was asked of them -- in Jet Ski's case, far more than was asked of them -- and were reliable drivers, which is all you can ask for a guy running a dozen races a year. Papis also picked up a top-10 finish, at Watkins Glen; the other two didn't make any real noise. Which, alas, is to be expected.

Prospects for 2010: For Keselowski, the proverbial sky is the limit. For Papis, there's always a chance he'll catch on with someone and get a more regular ride. For Bliss and Raines ... 2010 will probably look a whole lot like 2009.

Next up: The start-and-parkers! We'll get you all excited for the article ... and then it'll peter out before you expect it to!

Busch spent much of 2008 as the preemptive favorite to unseat then-two-time champion Jimmie Johnson, but as soon as the Chase began, two straight back-of-the-pack finishes doomed his hopes. He entered 2009 with your classic renewed sense of purpose, humbled by the realization that running well in the summertime doesn't translate to running well in the Chase.

But even though he posted as many wins -- four -- as anyone in the regular season, Busch didn't make the Chase, thanks to a wildly inconsistent checkers-or-wreckers style that saw him running as either the favorite or an afterthought. One season of inconsistency from a talented but still young driver is acceptable; two in a row means heads have to roll.

Interestingly, JD Gibbs addressed this exact point after the race Sunday, indicating that a lot of Kyle's problems stem from "confidence" - more specifically, the lack thereof. "As far as the Addington crew piece," Gibbs added, "from our standpoint, we just want to make sure we have the right tools, the right people in the right place at JGR. We think we do; we think we have a great group, [from] crew chiefs to engineers to guys on the shop floor across the whole board." Apparently, though, Addington wasn't the right person in the right place.

Rogers, meanwhile, has spent four seasons crewing the No. 20 on the Nationwide side, and won the Nationwide Owner's championship with nine victories spread across four drivers. He apprenticed under Greg Zipadelli during Tony Stewart's 2002 championship run.

"Dave has proven himself a talented crew chief and we think he will work well with Kyle," Gibbs said in a statement. "We hope that by making the move following this weekend's race at Talladega they can use the final three weeks of this season to begin working on communication and setups for the 2010 season."

As with Dale Earnhardt Jr., we'll now see how much of the 18's problems stemmed from the guy in the box, and how many stemmed from the guy behind the wheel.

JGR Announces Crew Chief Change on No. 18 for Kyle Busch [Joe Gibbs Racing]

Gotta say, Kyle plays the heel to perfection, turning the entire city of Buffalo against him with a couple well-timed lines ("You guys haven't been to the playoffs since Hulkamania"). And Joey manages not to soil himself while calling out The Big Show, which is saying something.

After the jump, some more video.

Next up, the boys try their best to look tough, plus they get to hang with a Little Person:

So, goofy, yes, but not nearly as bad as the horror that Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne will be next week. So the Gibbs boys got that goin' for 'em.

It was a dumb joke, but it was also a race-oriented one, which gets people very up in arms these days, as you may have heard. Don't shoot me; that's the way the world is these days. Everybody's more sensitive than a drunken Irishman with a broken heart. (I'm part Irish, so I can say that.) Griese's comment was in the same neighborhood as golfer Fuzzy Zoeller's Masters line about Tiger Woods ("tell him not to serve fried chicken") -- thoughtless but not an instant indicator of evil, blackhearted racism.

Still, ESPN had to take some action, and thus suspended Griese for one game for his comment. Stiff penalty for a taco; those usually go for 39 cents apiece. Though it fell to Montoya to give the perfect capper to the whole affair:

"Somebody mentioned it to me," he said. "I don't really care, to tell you the truth. Yeah, I don't. I could say I spent the last three hours eating tacos, but I was actually driving a car."

Time for another round of NASCAR fan photos, courtesy of you, the fan! Going clockwise from top left, we start with Sam Snead sneaking us a shot of the drivers in waiting at Champions Week 2007. (Note Smoke's orange uni.) Next up, Willy Doer caught a shot of the latest in Dale Earnhardt Jr. technology from earlier this year at Bristol. In the lower right, Art Tidesco snapped some fine, if impractical, infield fashion at Talladega last year. And we wrap with a classic neighborly gesture from a beer-tubing fan at Daytona 2006, courtesy of Brandon Bobelak. NASCAR: where fans bond over beer!

Got some NASCAR fan photos of your own? Send them to jay.busbee@yahoo.com and we'll post them right here for the world to see. Get on it!

 

With only four races left in the 2009 season, we're taking a look at the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and we're getting down to the wire. If anybody but a certain #48 is going to make a run at this, now would be the time.

Standings (movement): Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya (+1), Kurt Busch (-1), Ryan Newman (+1), Greg Biffle (-1), Denny Hamlin (+2), Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne (-2), Brian Vickers.

Who's up: Johnson continues to extend his lead on the field, and now has triple digits between himself and everybody else. Montoya continued his impressive run in the NASCAR postseason with another top-5 finish. And Ryan Newman quietly added to what might just be one of the most unexpected runs of 2009. Oh, and Denny Hamlin reminded us of what could have been, and what could still be ... but not this year. (Aside: Okay, sponsors, we get that you want to put your products out in front of the world -- but enough with the stupid top-of-car displays. The giant Tums bottle, the giant Sprint phone -- it's ridiculous. Beer sponsors are exempt, as long as the giant products contain actual beer.)

Who's down: Everybody not named Johnson. Seriously, this is almost all over now, assuming Johnson doesn't have a wreck -- and rooting for that is seriously bad karma. In any other season, Martin, Stewart and Gordon would be waging one hell of a battle, but this year, they're all just warm-up acts.

Outlook: What can you do? Johnson is dominating. You can either curl up your fists and cry like a baby that there must be cheating going on -- must be! -- or you can just deal with the fact that we've got a team who's figured everything out and is winning based on the rules they've been given. How, exactly, is that different from our beloved drivers of the past testing the limits of the rules and then winning within those parameters? I'm not thrilled about the prospect of a drama-less Homestead, but you've got to tip your hat to the 48.

And now, your take. Air your various gripes/conspiracy theories here. Go!

Oh, and Hamlin won a race on Sunday. Here are the details.

Congrats to Hamlin, and it's a shame that he had a rough Chase earlier. He's just racing for pride at this point. And hey, look at that -- we made it all the way to the end of a race post without mentioning Jimmie Johnson. (Aw, hell.)

If you're not in a meat coma from scarfing down some of these bad boys, hang here and discuss the race, or come on over to the live chat on the main NASCAR page and we'll roll there. Race begins a little after 1:30 and ends once Jimmie Johnson takes the lead. So enjoy the Sunday, everybody, and we'll talk to you soon! Now, let's go racing!

[Editor's note: Carol Fitzgerald continues her look at various personalities within NASCAR, today looking at the man behind the curtain for Jimmie Johnson's 48 team -- crew chief Chad Knaus. --JB]

Where did this Chad Knaus guy come from, anyway?

Turns out he did not in fact spring full-grown from the head of a god.

Chad grew up in racing, which somehow does not come as a big surprise. His father John won seven Late-Model championships at Rockford Speedway in Illinois. And where was young Chad during this time? Oh, he started crew-chiefing for his father when he was 14, and helped him to win those seven championships!

After that he decided he was ready for the big time. He landed his first "real job" with the 24 team of Jeff Gordon, with Ray Evernham as crew chief. Chad started out as a tire-changer, and then went from general fabrication to managing the entire chassis and body construction program during the '95 and '97 championship years. This might be where he got his penchant for fooling around with body configurations.

Chad then went and did a gig as a car chief with DEI, and spent a little time leading the Dodge Development team, before being lured back to HMS in 2002, to crew chief for some young rookie, a kid by the name of Jimmie Johnson.

And the rest, as they say, is history. (See more about Chad's history right here.) Chad and Jimmie formed a darn-near unbeatable combination, and have not finished a a season ranked lower than 5th since. Love them or hate them, you have to admire their ability to win, and keep winning ad nauseam consistently.

Tune in next week for the next episode in this enthralling saga!

Time for more Pit Chatter, the real story of what goes on with your favorite drivers behind the scenes. Today, we dig deep into the 14 car ... 

[Scene: Martinsville. Tony Stewart is struggling in fifth place as Jimmie Johnson continues to pile up the laps.]

Tony Stewart: Man, we just cannot catch a break here!

Darian Grubb (on radio): I know, Tony. It's been a good year, but Jimmie's just too tough.

Tony Stewart: I suppose you're right. Well, time to pack it in. Good year, boys.

Darian Grubb: You too, ToKKSSSSHHHHH

Tony Stewart: Darian? Hello? Not another radio problem ...

Voice: Hello, Tony.

Tony Stewart: Wha - who is this? What are you doing on my radio?

Voice: You know very well who this is, Tony.

Tony Stewart: Is this the Burger King? I told you, King, I have a strict limit of seven Whoppers in a sitting ...

Voice: This isn't the King, Tony. Think.

Tony Stewart: ...oh, no. Is this -- ?

Voice: It is. I'm back.

Tony Stewart (whispering): Evil Tony?

Evil Tony: Evil Tony.

Good Tony: But ... but what are you doing here, Evil Tony? We'd been doing so well ...

Evil Tony: Oh, sure, you'd been doing so well ... in the regular season, when nobody cares about the standings. But in the Chase, you've got to get plumb mad-dog mean ... and Tony, you've been lap-dog nice.

Good Tony: That's a little harsh.

Evil Tony: My name isn't I-Won't-Hurt-Your-Feelings Tony.

Good Tony: Point. But everybody's liking me! I'm having fun!

Evil Tony: Fun? This isn't about fun! This is about winning, winning and then winning some more! Look at the clowns you hung with in those silly commercials - losers, all of ‘em!

Good Tony: Well, I'll give you Carrot Top, but Erik Estrada is kind of a winner in an ironic sense, ri-

Evil Tony: Loo. Zer.

Good Tony: Okay, so what do you propose, smart guy?

Evil Tony: Glad you asked. Just sit back and let me handle things.

Good Tony: I'm not so sure that's a good idea ... people like being around me a lot more now.

Evil Tony: Fair enough. Then let's start by doing something mean AND keeping everyone on your side:

Evil Tony: Ha! Seeya, Kyle!

Good Tony: That was ... that was fun!

Evil Tony: It was, wasn't it?

Good Tony: This is AWESOME! Who's next?

Evil Tony: What say we keep it in the family?

Good Tony: Yeah! YEAH! This RULES!

Evil Tony: Excellent.

[The race ends, and while Jimmie Johnson wins, Tony has worked his way up to third place behind Jeff Gordon.]

Good Tony: Aren't we running out of time for the Chase?

Evil Tony: There's always time for the Chase, Tony. Observe. There's Jeff Gordon right there. Now, do exactly as I say:

[Tony retreats to his hauler, giggling maniacally.]

Good Tony: All right all right all RIGHT! We are rolling now! So how do we take down Johnson?

Evil Tony: Just you wait, Tony, just you wait ...

[Two haulers away, Jimmie Johnson sits in complete darkness, head down, as if unplugged. Then his head snaps up as if hearing something. And in the blackness, his eyes glow a deep red ... ]

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to start some arguments and set some bets. Get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Matt Kenseth and David Ragan will debut Ford's new FR9 engine at Talladega. Is this the one that's rocket-powered? Because that's what Talladega needs, more powerful engines. [Catchfence]

• Michael Waltrip had a little tangle with a motorcycle in North Carolina. Fortunately, everyone involved was just fine. [NASCAR.com]

• Now this is how you do tailgating right. Take lessons, all. [All Left Turns]

• It's the end of the road for the reign of F1's Max Mosley, who's as famous for what he did behind closed doors as what he oversaw on the track. [Full Throttle]

• Michael Annett was a fine hockey player, but he ditched those plans and turned to NASCAR. Good thing, too, because everybody knows hockey's not really a sport. (Kidding, Wysh!) [NASCAR.com via Yahoo! Sports]

• Aric Almirola may be making a serious mistake in considering legal action against Earnhardt Ganassi. [The NASCAR Insiders]

• According to one blogger, 2009 is the "Year of the Fan." Don't celebrate too quickly, folks; Jimmie Johnson will probably steal this one away from you too. [Fast Times]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

 

Welcome to The Pace Lap, your catchall preview post! Let's get you started on race weekend with a metric truckload of stats, facts, opinion and innuendo.

The race: The Tums Fast Relief 500. (The spring race was also named for a pain medication. What's in the water in Martinsville where everybody's always in pain, huh?)

The specs: 500 laps around a 0.526-mile track, for 263 miles.

The broadcasts: ABC, plus the live chat right here on Yahoo! Sports. 

Defending champ: Jimmie Johnson, edging out Jeff Burton above. Get used to hearing that name a lot over the next few lines. (Johnson, not Burton. Sorry, Jeff.)

The standings leaders: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin (-90), Jeff Gordon (-135)

The history: The Paperclip is one of NASCAR's oldest tracks, built in 1947, and also its smallest. With its 12-degree banking, Martinsville makes brake pedals work harder than Junior defenders in 2009. There's always the chance for a field-altering wreck, and with such a short track you can find yourself two laps down in the blink of an eye.

Back in the springtime: Although he got into it a bit with Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson nonetheless won the day at the Goody's Fast Relief 500. Uh-oh.

The appropriate video: Here are the final laps from the spring. If you're a Jimmie hater, prepare for a little more grist for the mill:

Guy with the most to gain: Jeff Gordon. He's been the forgotten man in this Martin-Johnson chase, but he's making some real headway against the rest of the field. He's almost as good at Martinsville as Johnson, but will "almost" be anywhere close to good enough this weekend?

Guys with the most to lose: Tony Stewart. All season long, he was running in first, and he's run a solid Chase. But he's got to make up ground fast. The year's already a phenomenal success for Smoke, but he can't be happy about getting this close and not closing the championship deal.

Our pick to win: Gordon, primarily because we've used up all our Johnson picks in fantasy. But barring disaster or a supreme gamble, this is going to be another Hendrick-dominated weekend.

All right, you're up. Who's your pick for this weekend? Go!

Now, Mayfield is talking on camera about the entire affair; he'll be on ESPN's Outside The Lines this Sunday at 9 a.m. to discuss everything that's happened to him since he qualified for Daytona way back in February. You've read and heard plenty about the Mayfield saga -- here it is, presented in verse and music -- but for most people, this will be the first chance to look in Mayfield's eyes and decide for themselves whether he's telling the truth.

Mayfield, as you no doubt know, was suspended in May by NASCAR for testing positive for methamphetamine. He charged that the test was a false positive stemming from his use of prescription medication Claritin-D and Adderall. His suspension was lifted later in the summer, but almost immediately afterward, he tested positive again. In the course of the affair, he's traded shots with his stepmother, accusing her of being complicit in the death of Mayfield's father.

Now, with hope for resuming his NASCAR career gone, Mayfield is apparently determined to take some people down with him. According to ESPN, Mayfield claims that "NASCAR is using his situation to scare the sport's marquee drivers who he says use drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine."

"You use me as an example to let everybody know who may have already tested positive for marijuana, cocaine or whatever, that they haven't got anybody for, and it puts the fear of God in everybody in the whole sport," Mayfield says. "I was a good example, a good pawn who wasn't going to cost them any money at all. I was worth more to them as a failed drug test then I am as a driver, owner for my own team."

However, it's not a pity party for Mayfield. When asked whether the combination of Adderall and Claritin-D could cause a false positive for meth, Dr. Anthony Butch, director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory and an experienced hand with drug testing, flat-out stated, "No, they could never be confused for methamphetamine in a confirmation."

The Mayfield show airs Sunday morning at 9 a.m., just the thing to get your Martinsville race day started.

Jack Roush must have been having kittens at that. All I've got to say is, if Edwards isn't cast in the next Miami Vice movie -- or at least one of those freaky Kardashian sister reality shows -- somebody's missing some real opportunities. Either that, or Carl needs to start flipping into famous waterways all over the world -- the Amazon! The Mississippi! The Seine in Paris! The possibilities are endless.

Welcome back to your latest Midnight Marbles thread, where you can talk pink cars or whatever else you'd like to discuss. For the newcomers, this is the open-bar section, where all topics are welcome, except that it's also BYOB. We can't be responsible for you people getting sick and throwing up all over Ball Don't Lie or Puck Daddy. Again.

Have a good one, and we'll talk to you in just a bit with more!

Here's a fun little photo courtesy of a reader, Brian Hay, who took this one in California a couple weeks back. (Got photos of your own? Send 'em to jay.busbee@yahoo.com. We're getting a good compilation already for our next reader photo collection.) Anyway, have at this one. See? There's humor everywhere!

After the jump, Brian Vickers goes wandering.

JJ:
Confusion ensues after Brian Vicker's crew chief tells Vickers to "feed the inner Red Bull," to which Vickers instinctively responds by driving into the grassy infield.

Baker:
How often do you seen a picture car spinning with Paul Menard and he's NOT the victim?

razz:
Vickers radios his crew chief disputing NASCAR's ruling that he is pitting outside his pit stall.

NASCAR Media Group is working with Screenvision, producers of those extended, way-too-loud commercials that run before movies, to produce 90-second bites of NASCARiana. So now instead of "let's all go to the lobby," we'll get to kick back with "gentlemen, start your engines." Win-win, I say.

Screenvision puts its stuff on 15,000 U.S. screens, which means that if you go to any theater larger than one of those snooty little arthouses that showed Wes Anderson flicks before he went all Hollywood, you'll be seeing your favorite drivers in all their earsplitting, 20-feet-high glory.

The first NASCAR bits are expected to run next year just before the 2010 Daytona 500. What I'm wondering is, will they gear the content to the movie it's previewing? Will we get Jimmie Johnson stories fronting paint-by-numbers blockbusters like Transformers 2? Dale Earnhardt Jr. stories leading underperforming big-budget epics like Terminator: Rise of the Machines? Robby Gordon tales fronting movies that snap off the reel in the first roll? I feel fairly certain you could pair up your favorite drivers with appropriate flicks in the comments below.

So have at it. I'll be in the lobby, commandeering a forklift to bring in the 55-gallon drum of popcorn.

NASCAR content headed to theaters [Hollywood Reporter]

US F1, a startup that's the first U.S.-based Formula 1 team in 40 years, is looking to wrangle one Kyle Busch as its driver in F1, starting in 2011. Kyle's current contract with JGR runs out at the end of next year, and US F1 would like him to transition into their ride right after that. (So would plenty of Junior fans, but that's a whole different story.)

Peter Windsor, US F1's sporting director, wants to make US F1 a destination team for homegrown open-wheel talents, and bringing aboard Busch would be a fine start to that. When asked about the idea shortly after US F1's debut in February, Kyle seemed intrigued by the idea:

"It's definitely something I wouldn't shoot down. If I could win a championship (in NASCAR) in the next two or three years then I wouldn't mind going doing (F1) for a few years and coming back. I think I'd still be young enough that if I could win a championship by 25, go run Formula 1 for a few years and be back (in NASCAR) by 28."

Ambitious and quite possibly insane. Vintage Kyle Busch, in other words. I honestly can't see this happening without a major change in the status quo -- Kyle winning a title or two, for instance -- but it's a fascinating idea nonetheless. And if nothing else, the thought of Kyle Busch exporting some of that vintage D00D madness to the rest of the world brings a smile to my face.

US F1 wants Kyle Busch as its driver in 2011 [USA Today]

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to start some arguments and set some bets. Get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Put this in the "ominous signs" file: Mark Martin has finished second to Jimmie Johnson more times (six) than any other driver in Sprint Cup. Oh, and Jimmie has finished second to Mark only once. Uh-oh. [On the Loose Side]

• Do you live anywhere near Welcome, North Carolina? Yes? Then head on over to Richard Childress Racing HQ for their big Fan Day celebration! Meet Clint Bowyer! Meet Jeff Burton! Meet Kevin Harvick! Meet Casey Mears, while you can! (I've said too much.) It's RCR's 40th anniversary, so help 'em celebrate. [RCR Fan Day]

• In perhaps-related RCR news, the teams of Jeff Burton and Casey Mears are switching crew chiefs. Yes, again. They're gonna have to hand out "Hi, my name is..." nametags before long. [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

• We'll see the debut of double-file restarts this weekend at Martinsville. How's that going to affect the Chase standings? Well, considering JJ will just float over any wreck, probably not much. Still, it's worth keeping an eye on, yes? [Scene Daily]

• Here's another the-Chase-is-a-rigged-numbers-game article. Decent argument, I guess, but we've just about beaten this horse into jerky by now. [Delaware Online]

• Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car is promoting some ice cream called "Sgt. Camo," or something like that. Endorsements are strange, man. [WQAD]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Tough news for Montoya, who has consistently had the most enjoyable radio broadcasts to listen to every race. (Not safe for work or kids, of course.) But his fine run through the first part of the Chase portends well for his future. From what he's learned this year, we could have a Chase perennial right here in front of us.

Gucci Mane? Mark Martin? What the hell? He's messing with us, right? The fact that Mark Martin knows who Gucci Mane is scares me. The fact that he lifts weights while rocking out to Gucci Mane downright disturbs me. The mental image of Mark Martin pumping himself up in a mirror, blowing up his eight different sets of bicep curls, and popping about (with his hat turned backward, I picture) while shouting, "I'm starting off my day with a blunt of purp/no pancakes just a cup of syrup" is the single most bizzaro thought to cross my mind in decades.

And let's be frank, Gucci Mane sucks. Purp and syrup don't even rhyme.

Junior finally expressed what everyone unambiguously knew - that his season is one big dump - and yet it was still ubiquitous news. (Yes, I understand why.) But Mark Martin professed his man love for the CEO of So Icy Entertainment and no one noticed? If I were Mike Helton, I'd forget about Jeremy Mayfield and get those drug testers to Mark Martin's house stat.

Rockstar lifestyle mic don't make it
Living life high everyday click wasted
Sippin on purple stuff rolling up stanked
Wake up in the morning ain't 10 o'clock drinkin
Party party party let's all get wasted
Shake it for me babygirl do it butt naked

I rest my case.

(Okay, no I don't. I have too many questions? Mark knows that his first name isn't really Gucci, right? Does Mark know what a blunt is? Is Gucci honored to count Mark as a fan? Does Mark hang backstage at his shows? Has Mark given Gucci a ride-along? Should I start looking over my shoulder?)

Okay, so we've now established that Mark Martin has a sense of humor - a damn good one at that. What else did we learn this week?

Oh yeah, Junior has seasonal affective disorder. He is clearly sad. Fair enough. I hate winter, too.

Also, JPM can whine, man-oh-man can he whine. He takes the adult male hissy-fit to a whole new level. That is not constructive criticism. It's crapping out of the mouth.

Brian Pattie: Juan, how's the car buddy?

JPM: Refuse. Swill. Flotsam. I most dislike Jeff Gordon. I swear Kevin Harvick looks like Philip Rivers. Turn two smells like old lady breath. Rubbish, I tell you. I fart a bowel movement on this car.

Or, you know, thereabouts.

I'm positive there isn't a driver out there who hasn't completely wronged him. And I loved that he blamed Jeff Gordon for his torn up car on Saturday night. No, Juan, that wasn't Jeff's fault. You see, he was leading the race. What? You still don't understand? Look, just relax, breath deeply and repeat after Gucci:

My flow is amazing hottest in the nation
Ice game super stupid but my money game crazy.

Hey, it's worked for Mark.

No sport offers up a more bewildering array of souvenir crap memorabilia than NASCAR, and They Make It digs deep into the corners of the Internet to bring all that strangeness to light. Today: the finest in high-quality eyewear.

Item: The Estrada sunglasses from the Tony Stewart Burger King commercials, available through an ebay auction.

The deal: This officially qualifies as the creepiest They Make It post -- hell, the creepiest post, period -- I've ever done. I'll explain why in a moment.

Anyway, these are the fabled "Estrada" sunglasses from Tony Stewart's bizarre but undeniably fascinating Burger King commercials. They can be yours too, provided you win an ebay auction for one of the 150 pairs. However, please note that these are not actual sunglasses and should not be used as such. You can use 'em to attract the opposite sex at racetracks all the livelong day, though.

Now for the creepy part -- and I swear this is true -- as I was putting the final touches on this post, a UPS truck rolls up. The deliveryman brings a small package to the door. Inside the package was this. I kid you not. About the only thing that would've made it creepier was if the Burger King himself had delivered the shades, but no -- it was just a plain ol' UPS dude. Still, I may be on to something ... next post, I'm writing about a winning lottery ticket atop a basket of Five Guys burgers and Chick-Fil-A sandwiches.

But now I feel like Estrada is watching me ...

The hat tip: Estrada, of course! Plus Burger King and their crack ad agency. Got some NASCARiana for us to check out? You'll have to go high to top this, but give it a shot at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Estrada!

As Jimmie Johnson piles up victory after victory en route to a possible fourth straight Cup championship, the only thing rising faster than the 48 team's standing is the tide of whining, complaining, moaning and bitching about how horrible it is that Jimmie Johnson is winning. It's reached near-deafening levels, so let's see if we can run down some of the gripes, shall we?

• "The 48 team is a bunch of cheatin' cheaters!"
• "The Chase/cookie-cutter tracks/Car of Tomorrow is sooooo boring!"
• "NASCAR was so much better back in the Good Old Days."
• "Jimmie Johnson is as interesting as three gallons of melted vanilla ice cream."

And on and on and on. I've got my own thoughts about all these whines, but I'll let Don Corleone take this one:

Slap 'em silly, Vito! That's exactly what all the complainers need, a bracing little dose of reality. Here's the deal, friends: you're watching history at work here. You may not like it right now, but thirty years from now, your grandchildren will be asking what you were doing when you had the chance to see one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. And you'll say ... "I was promising to leave NASCAR!" And they'll say, "Was that the 50th time you made that promise, or the 60th?"

Why's it so hard for people to accept that maybe, just maybe, Johnson might be one of those once-in-a-generation talents like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan? He and Chad Knaus have connected in a way that no other team has done, he's got a crew that can prepare a car precisely for any given track. They've recognized that it's not just about mashin' the gas and turnin' left; there's strategy involved that any team could pursue, but doesn't. Is that Johnson's fault, then, that other teams can't keep up?

Also, quit the whining about cheating; nobody's under more scrutiny than Johnson. Let's break down this "NASCAR is helping Johnson" nonsense, JFK conspiracy-style. If Jimmie Johnson wins, who benefits? Johnson, of course, but who else? Everybody who's not a 48 fan is raging at NASCAR right now; where's the benefit in that? If there was going to be conspiracy, why wouldn't it pump up Junior to championship contention? (Hey, as long as we're through the looking glass, why not get totally freaky?)

For the record, I'm not a Johnson fan; I'm a Tony Stewart guy, and would like nothing better than for Smoke to take JJ to the house. But I'll also be upfront about it -- I'm jealous as hell of Johnson's success and the glory his fans bathe in. And so are you. Look inside yourself. Admit the truth. You'll feel better.

In the end, if you don't like Johnson winning everything, it's pretty simple: your guy's got to step it up. Until that happens, quit your crying. That's not NASCAR.

There's a classic moment in This Is Spinal Tap where the band's manager tries to rationalize why he doesn't have the Tap booked in Boston: "It's not a big college town." The irony being, of course, that Boston has almost as many colleges as it has annoying Red Sawx fans.

Something similar surfaced Saturday night as the drivers circled past wide swaths of empty seats. I could almost see the NASCAR PR folks spinning the empty seats with a "Charlotte's not a big NASCAR town" rationale.

I can find exactly one commentary on the empty seats at Charlotte -- this one by Tom Sorenson, in which he details the usual litany of excuses: the weather was awful, Junior's season stinks, watching Jimmie Johnson and the Car of Tomorrow is dull, and on and on. Sorenson pulls no punches -- "I've seen most of the Sprint Cup races here since 1981, and I don't ever remember a race - a Sunday or Saturday race, not a race rescheduled because of a rainout - with fewer fans" -- and he shouldn't have. Saturday night's attendance was abysmal, and NASCAR's got to face some tough realities as a result.

There's nowhere on Earth that's more NASCAR-mad than North Carolina. So when you can't get those folks out to a race, something is very, very wrong. This isn't a tired old "racing was better in the old days" argument -- in the old days, Richard Petty and the rest used to win by three laps.

NASCAR fans love to dump on California, but let's be honest -- we've had two straight races now, on opposite coasts, of pretty lifeless racing. Now, with California, that's to be expected -- but is it possible that the NASCAR season has just run out of momentum? Maybe two dull races, combined with an all-too-expected result, have forced the casual fans to tune out and the hardcores to stay home? What do you think?

Maybe it's not Johnson, but it's different, isn't it? [ThatsRacin]