Okay, it may just be me, but, wasn’t Digger only mildly kind of funny the first hundred or so times? Now they are selling backgrounds for your phone for only $1.99. $1.99!! Let me tell you how to avoid that charge, pause your DVR on your favorite picture of digger, walk over to the TV set and take a picture with your phone and set it to your background. At Daytona, they actually played a Digger cartoon. I haven’t watched the pre-race since then, if the race starts at 1:00 pm on Fox, I tune in about half an hour later just in time for Gentleman, start your engines!

Fox would have the best coverage of Nascar if it wasn’t for all the extra cutsy crap, like Boogity, boogity, boogity, aw, shut up. I mute it whenever Larry McReynolds starts talking about DW synching up those seatbelts. I mean I love their coverage, Larry and DW’s insight into how the car’s run, and how they’ve run in the past is great, just get rid of Digger and the cutsy crap.

Oh, and as I tweeted earlier, the announcers like to hear themselves talk and act like they know exactly what’s going on, I don’t know how many times they’ve talked about drivers gaining positions when they are actually losing them, and today, Mike Joy answered the Aflac trivia question for us. The question was how many drivers had their first win at Martinsville, I believe, if not it was something similar, and Mike Joy says, “It’s a long list; there are 8 drivers on this list.” Duh huh!

Can the #48 freight train be stopped? Does anyone have a chance to keep them from winning their third cup title? Well, sure, someone could, but what are the chances?

Not too good!

Jeff Gordon looked like he may have something for him at the start of the race today, and a couple other times, but, for the most part, it was another banner day for Johnson and his race team. They lead 339 laps and won the race, exactly what they needed to do to sew this thing up early like they did last year. One of the writers at Nascar.com seems to think they have it locked up

As Jimmie Johnson launched into yet another burnout, followed by yet another Victory Lane celebration, his closest pursuers in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship insisted this isn’t over.

History says otherwise. In the wake of Sunday’s victory at Martinsville Speedway, history says that Johnson is certain to make NASCAR history while reducing the rest of the season to little more than a Jimmie Watch.

As in Watch Jimmie Make Laps … Watch Jimmie to make sure his No. 48 Chevrolet doesn’t blow up … And Watch Jimmie methodically work his way to a third consecutive championship when the No. 48 doesn’t. Source: Anyone who says Johnson hasn’t locked it up is crazy

I think it’s way too early to call this thing over, but, I’m also realistic, it will take a really bad day, or four really mediocre finishes, for anyone else to even get a chance, but it is certainly possible. Heck, Jeff Gordon could still win it if the rights things happen, but just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it will.

Oh well, there’s always next year for Gordon, myself I would rather see Jeff Burton or Biffle win the title rather than Johnson. I am still hoping for Gordon to win a race this year. [crosses fingers]

Here is how they finished:

1 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 195/10 504 Running
2 10 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 170/0 504 Running
3 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 165/0 504 Running
4 8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 165/5 504 Running
5 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 155/0 504 Running
6 23 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 150/0 504 Running
7 6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 146/0 504 Running
8 11 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers 147/5 504 Running
9 18 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 138/0 504 Running
10 5 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 134/0 504 Running
11 17 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 130/0 504 Running
12 3 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network Turbo HD 132/5 504 Running
13 13 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 124/0 504 Running
14 24 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Big Red Slim Pack 121/0 502 Running
15 39 10 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge Tow Truck in a Box 118/0 502 Running
16 37 21 Bill Elliott Ford U.S. Air Force 115/0 502 Running
17 2 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 112/0 502 Running
18 31 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 109/0 502 Running
19 25 28 Travis Kvapil Ford All Sport 106/0 501 Running
20 15 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 108/5 501 Running
21 32 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 105/5 501 Running
22 33 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 97/0 501 Running
23 16 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 94/0 500 Running
24 26 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 91/0 500 Running
25 41 45 Chad McCumbee Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 88/0 500 Running
26 7 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 85/0 499 Running
27 27 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Super Clean / Menards 82/0 499 Running
28 40 96 Ken Schrader Toyota DLP HDTV 79/0 499 Running
29 9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 76/0 496 Running
30 35 84 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 73/0 496 Running
31 43 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet Haas Automation 70/0 495 Running
32 28 38 David Gilliland Ford Digital TV Transition 67/0 483 Running
33 14 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 64/0 475 Running
34 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 61/0 472 Running
35 29 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 58/0 472 Running
36 19 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 55/0 469 Running
37 21 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 52/0 469 Running
38 20 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 54/5 465 Running
39 38 00 Mike Bliss Toyota Champion Mortgage 46/0 455 Running
40 34 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Menards 43/0 452 Running
41 22 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 40/0 436 Running
42 30 01 Regan Smith Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 37/0 416 Running
43 42 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row/DenverMattress.com 34/0 115 Running

Roger Penske HAS to be looking for another driver. Seriously. Why in the world would he want a driver who asks if he can park his car now, as Kurt Pussy did during today’s race in Martinsville? I know I wouldn’t. Had it been me he asked, I would’ve told him to go ahead and park, and start looking for a new ride next year. Here is what I remember of what they said; I don’t remember the name of the gentleman he was talking to though;

Can I park it now?

No.

Well, if I wreck….thanks a lot

Or something to that effect. Certainly not the attitude one would expect from a Nascar Sprint Cup series regular.

What a wuss.

Guess what? Yep, another rainout during qualifying means Jimmie Johnson is on the pole in Martinsville for the TUMS QuikPak 500. This also gets him the best pit spot on pit lane, the last one as you exit pit row, about the biggest perk you get in Martinsville. Johnson has won three of the last four races in Martinsville, another of the tracks that Jeff Gordon used to dominate, and probably his next best shot at winning a race during the 2008 season.

There is a funny article on Nascar.com of the reporters talking to the drivers and getting some great comments, here is one of them.

“Well, both my children had friends spend the night at the house [on Thursday],” Burton explained. “My mother was there, my wife’s mother and her father were there — and between the four of them they’ll drink enough wine to kill a small animal. So the only way for me to get any sleep was to leave. That was at the heart of my decision. That’s why I made my decision to come early, because it was probably loud at my house [Thursday] night.”

Yeah, but man, what about that drive up from North Carolina through the beautiful Virginia countryside? Coming up early, driving all by yourself, wasn’t that sort of a sacrifice?

“I bummed a helicopter ride so it’s 40 minutes for me. It wasn’t exactly a hardship tour,” Burton admitted. Source:

Here is how they will start Sunday:

1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s
2 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility
3 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network Turbo HD
4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot
5 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s
6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil
7 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot
8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s
10 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard
11 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers
12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight
13 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance
14 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser
15 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army
16 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel
17 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull
18 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
19 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
20 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal
21 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker
22 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin
23 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST
24 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Big Red Slim Pack
25 28 Travis Kvapil Ford All Sport
26 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS
27 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Super Clean / Menards
28 38 David Gilliland Ford Digital TV Transition
29 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target
30 01 Regan Smith Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group
31 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS
32 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation
33 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar
34 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Menards
35 84 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull
36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1
37 21 Bill Elliott Ford U.S. Air Force
38 00 Mike Bliss Toyota Champion Mortgage
39 10 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge Tow Truck in a Box
40 96 Ken Schrader Toyota DLP HDTV
41 45 Chad McCumbee Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil
42 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row/DenverMattress.com
43 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet Haas Automation

Did Not Qualify
44 175 Derrike Cope Dodge Derrike Cope Inc.
45 109 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming

Hendrick Motorsports continues it’s dominance at Martinsville Speedway with Gordon claiming his 7th pole there, 65th all time. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have won 8 of the last 10 races at Martinsville, winning 4 each, while Jimmie has won the last three there, I think it’s Gordon’s turn to put his name on the trophy, as he has 7 total wins athe the short track. In fact, check out his overall stats, tops for this track:
Driver Starts Wins Top-5 Top-10

Jeff Gordon 30 7 18 24

Gordon toured the .526-mile short track in 19.666 seconds (96.288 mph) to claim the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. It was the 65th career pole for Gordon, who has won seven times at Martinsville, twice from the pole.

Denny Hamlin (95.757 mph) qualified second, followed by rookie Aric Almirola (95.733 mph), David Ragan (95.569 mph) and Jamie McMurray (95.492 mph). Almirola will make his second Cup start of the year Sunday, and McMurray had to make the race on speed, having dropped out of the top 35 in owner points.

Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson will start from positions six through 10. Johnson has won the last three races at Martinsville, and Johnson and Gordon together have won eight of the last 10 (four each). Source: Gordon wins his seventh career pole at Martinsville

Kyle Petty barely missed the race when he and Dario Franchitti ran the same time and Dario is ahead of Kyle in owner’s points.

Denny Hamlin has been running great there as well, but has been coming up short behind Jimmie and Jeff at the finish line. “”I’m usually the guy that runs right behind them,” said Hamlin, who finished third behind the Hendrick teammates last spring. “I think we’re maybe more prepared for those guys this year. Typically, when we come here, we know we can run top-three, and those two cars are the ones you have to beat.”

I think it will be a great race, as the short tracks always make for some great racing. My predictions for the top five:

1. Jeff Gordon (of course)
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr
4. Kyle Busch
5. Jimmie Johnson

Here is how they qualified:

1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 96.288 19.666 Leader
2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 95.757 19.775 -0.109
3 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 95.733 19.780 -0.114
4 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 95.569 19.814 -0.148
5 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 95.492 19.830 -0.164
6 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 95.487 19.831 -0.165
7 49 Ken Schrader Toyota Microsoft Small Business 95.463 19.836 -0.170
8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 95.347 19.860 -0.194
9 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 95.271 19.876 -0.210
10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 95.213 19.888 -0.222
11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 95.208 19.889 -0.223
12 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 95.208 19.889 -0.223
13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 95.079 19.916 -0.250
14 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 95.060 19.920 -0.254
15 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 95.036 19.925 -0.259
16 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 95.032 19.926 -0.260
17 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 94.951 19.943 -0.277
18 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 94.874 19.959 -0.293
19 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 94.870 19.960 -0.294
20 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 94.832 19.968 -0.302
21 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 94.832 19.968 -0.302
22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 94.770 19.981 -0.315
23 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 94.713 19.993 -0.327
24 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 94.637 20.009 -0.343
25 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge McDonald’s 94.637 20.009 -0.343
26 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge Mobil 1 94.637 20.009 -0.343
27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Claritin 94.600 20.017 -0.351
28 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 94.595 20.018 -0.352
29 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 94.595 20.018 -0.352
30 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 94.562 20.025 -0.359
31 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 94.543 20.029 -0.363
32 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 94.538 20.030 -0.364
33 01 Regan Smith* Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 94.486 20.041 -0.375
34 00 Michael McDowell Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 94.406 20.058 -0.392
35 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 94.369 20.066 -0.400
36 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 94.312 20.078 -0.412
37 10 Patrick Carpentier* Dodge Charter Comm. 94.298 20.081 -0.415
38 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 94.139 20.115 -0.449
39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 93.966 20.152 -0.486
40 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 93.664 20.217 -0.551
41 7 Robby Gordon+ Dodge Charter Comm. 93.641 20.222 -0.556
42 1 Martin Truex Jr.+ Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 93.627 20.225 -0.559
43 40 Dario Franchitti* Dodge Kennametal 94.078 20.128 -0.462

Did Not Qualify
44 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 94.078 20.128 -0.462
45 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 93.507 20.251 -0.585
46 08 Tony Raines Dodge rhino’s energy drink 93.460 20.261 -0.595
47 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row/ DenverMattress.com 93.230 20.311 -0.645

Another great day for Hendrick Motorsports as Jimmie Johnson wins the Subway 500 in Martinsville, Jeff Gordon finishing third, Kyle Busch finishing fourth and Casey Mears finishing 20th. The first 108 races consisted of Jeff Gordon leading the way, Gordon lead the most laps today as well, Jimmie Johnson lead the most important laps at the end, with several cautions making them sweat and eventually ending the race. It looked like Jeff had a shot at him near the end, but Ryan Newman eventually got around Gordon, and Kyle Busch almost did at the end, with a pretty close finish at the line. This was big win for Johnson, who gained 15 points on Gordon, and his third in row at this track.

Jeff Gordon wasn’t too happy with the pass Ryan Newman put on him, but both agreed to that they weren’t happy with how the other raced each other at the end, and appeared to be okay with each other on pit road. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a good day until he had a motor problem, they noted during the race that his throttle wasn’t going wide open like it should, but I didn’t hear what the problem with it was, he did finish 23rd, so, at least it didn’t blow up.

Jeff Gordon has passed the torch to Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Speedway, the track where Gordon has had more success than most anyone.

“He’s Mr. Martinsville,” Gordon said Sunday after his teammate won his third consecutive race on the 0.526-mile oval, the shortest and trickiest in Nextel Cup racing.

“That guy is unbelievable here.”

“I saw something where Richard Petty won how many?” he said of NASCAR’s career victories leader at the track with 15. “That’s Mr. Martinsville. That’s The King.”

“I was nervous with [Gordon] behind us and I was able to hold him off,” Johnson said in Victory Lane. “And then [Ryan Newman] got in there and I knew he was going to be real tough on a short run, too. … I know he’s hungry. He’s been working real hard to get back to Victory Lane, so I knew he wasn’t going to cut me any slack.” Source: Johnson wins again at M’ville to tighten Chase

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have won eight of the last ten races in Martinsville, the last person to win three Martinsville races in a row was the King Richard Petty and Johnson has won all four races in Virginia this year, with the last person to do that also being Richard Petty.

A side note: I was watching our local affiliate, WCHS after the race and they must have gotten their points standings and race finish from something other than the official Nascar numbers, well they are unofficial usually until the next day, in case Nascar needs to make adjustments, as they had Gordon only 48 points ahead and Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon finishing third and fourth. So I assume the news anchor was using something that tracked how they crossed the line at the very end, like trackpass or something, I noticed Kyle Busch was in front of Jeff Gordon as they crossed the line for the last lap, but they were frozen in position because of the caution the other way around. He should’ve actually watched the race.

Here is how the 12 Chase drivers stand:

1. — Jeff Gordon 6055 Leader
2. — Jimmie Johnson 6002 -53
3. — Clint Bowyer 5940 -115
4. — Tony Stewart 5806 -249
5. — Carl Edwards 5767 -288
6. — Kyle Busch 5765 -290
7. +1 Kevin Harvick 5686 -369
8. +1 Denny Hamlin 5681 -374
9. +1 Jeff Burton 5649 -406
10. -3 Kurt Busch 5635 -415
11. — Martin Truex Jr. 5608 -442
12. — Matt Kenseth 5593 -457

Here is how they qualified:

1 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 190/5 506 Running
2 12 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 170/0 506 Running
3 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 175/10 506 Running
4 6 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 165/5 506 Running
5 24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers 155/0 506 Running
6 30 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Freight 150/0 506 Running
7 37 16 Greg Biffle Ford Dish Network 146/0 506 Running
8 26 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 147/5 506 Running
9 21 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 138/0 506 Running
10 3 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 134/0 506 Running
11 20 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 130/0 506 Running
12 18 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 132/5 506 Running
13 34 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 124/0 506 Running
14 10 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 121/0 506 Running
15 5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 118/0 506 Running
16 32 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Valvoline / Stanley Tools 115/0 506 Running
17 19 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Dominos.com 112/0 506 Running
18 29 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 109/0 506 Running
19 2 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 106/0 506 Running
20 22 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 103/0 506 Running
21 42 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 100/0 506 Running
22 16 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Goody’s Headache Powders 97/0 506 Running
23 7 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 99/5 506 Running
24 35 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 91/0 505 Running
25 40 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s 88/0 505 Running
26 41 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA 85/0 505 Running
27 23 88 Ricky Rudd Ford Combos 82/0 504 Running
28 31 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Haas Automation 84/5 503 Running
29 13 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 76/0 503 Running
30 33 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 73/0 503 Running
31 11 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 70/0 501 Running
32 9 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 67/0 500 Running
33 15 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 64/0 492 Running
34 43 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 61/0 483 Running
35 25 84 A.J. Allmendinger * Toyota Red Bull 58/0 474 Running
36 17 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 55/0 439 Running
37 38 40 David Stremme Dodge Target House 52/0 410 Out of Race
38 36 4 Ward Burton Chevrolet Lucas / ITT Night Vision / State Water Heaters 49/0 406 Running
39 39 7 Robby Gordon Ford MAC Tools 46/0 390 Running
40 14 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 43/0 371 Running
41 28 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Breast Cancer Awareness 40/0 259 Out of Race
42 8 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 37/0 258 Out of Race
43 27 01 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 34/0 111 Out of Race

Jimmie Johnson held of Jeff Gordon to win the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway, it was some good racing, but Jimmie was sure lucky it was Gordon behind him instead of someone else. Jeff didn’t look too happy during the post race interview and he said he felt Jimmie shut the door on him hard a couple times, which I’m sure he did, it would be frustrating to know you had the better car and not be able to win the race. Jeff even said that it should make for some interesting racing in the future, so I think he was saying he won’t give him as good of advice the next time, like he did this race, and he’d sure try to knock him out of the way a litte harder. That’s my version and I’m sticking to it.

Here is how they finished in Martinsville:
Finsished, Started, Number and Name:
1 20 48 Jimmie Johnson
2 3 24 Jeff Gordon
3 1 11 Denny Hamlin
4 14 5 Kyle Busch
5 8 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6 19 31 Jeff Burton
7 7 20 Tony Stewart
8 26 10 Scott Riggs
9 2 26 Jamie McMurray
10 33 17 Matt Kenseth
11 21 07 Clint Bowyer
12 12 2 Kurt Busch
13 17 88 Ricky Rudd
14 24 12 Ryan Newman
15 27 6 David Ragan
16 23 42 Juan Montoya
17 9 99 Carl Edwards
18 28 41 Reed Sorenson
19 4 21 Ken Schrader
20 11 96 Tony Raines
21 37 14 Sterling Marlin
22 42 45 Kyle Petty
23 5 18 J.J. Yeley
24 18 19 Elliott Sadler
25 41 9 Kasey Kahne
26 36 01 Regan Smith
27 30 13 Joe Nemechek
28 38 44 Dale Jarrett
29 15 1 Martin Truex Jr.
30 39 49 Mike Bliss
31 10 70 Johnny Sauter
32 34 16 Greg Biffle
33 43 00 David Reutimann
34 25 7 Robby Gordon
35 29 40 David Stremme
36 32 66 Jeff Green
37 22 22 Dave Blaney
38 40 84 A.J. Allmendinger
39 16 38 David Gilliland
40 13 36 Jeremy Mayfield
41 6 29 Kevin Harvick
42 35 25 Casey Mears
43 31 43 Bobby Labonte

Here are the points standings after Martinsville
1 — Jeff Gordon 966 Leader
2 — Jeff Burton 938 -28
3 — Jimmie Johnson 906 -60
4 — Matt Kenseth 836 -130
5 +1 Kyle Busch 804 -162
6 +3 Denny Hamlin 776 -190
7 +1 Clint Bowyer 751 -215
8 +4 Tony Stewart 726 -240
9 +1 Carl Edwards 710 -256
10 -5 Kevin Harvick 687 -279

Here are my predictions for this weekend’s race in Martinsville.

1. Jeff Gordon, well, of course I am going to pick him, he has 7 wins, 16 top fives and 22 top tens in 28 races.

2. Tony Stewart, like him or not, it’s hard not to pick him to win about every race.

3. Jimmie Johnson, when you are hot, you are hot.

4. Denny Hamlin, he’s quickly showing he can race anywhere.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., he was doing pretty good in the practice sessions, so, why not.

Denny Hamlin got the pole in qualifying yesterday for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Gordon ended up starting third, and he qualified first, so the track was pretty slick still. Looks like there are quite a few teams that need to work on their brakes, as there was a bunch whose tires were locking up and sliding, causing them to drift up the track.

Michael Waltrip continues to shine, his shoes that is, as the 55 team failed to qualify for their fifth straight race. Wasn’t Michael the one bragging about how good he could drive Daytona before all of his troubles started? Did all of his “talent” stay at DEI?

During today’s practices, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. are atop the leader board for the two practice sessions, with Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch all in the top ten in both sessions.

Here is how they qualified at Martinsville:

1 11 Denny Hamlin
2 26 Jamie McMurray
3 24 Jeff Gordon
4 21 Ken Schrader
5 18 J.J. Yeley
6 29 Kevin Harvick
7 20 Tony Stewart
8 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9 99 Carl Edwards
10 70 Johnny Sauter
11 96 Tony Raines
12 2 Kurt Busch
13 36 Jeremy Mayfield
14 5 Kyle Busch
15 1 Martin Truex Jr.
16 38 David Gilliland
17 88 Ricky Rudd
18 19 Elliott Sadler
19 31 Jeff Burton
20 48 Jimmie Johnson
21 07 Clint Bowyer
22 22 Dave Blaney
23 42 Juan Montoya
24 12 Ryan Newman
25 7 Robby Gordon
26 10 Scott Riggs
27 6 David Ragan
28 41 Reed Sorenson
29 40 David Stremme
30 13 Joe Nemechek
31 43 Bobby Labonte
32 66 Jeff Green
33 17 Matt Kenseth
34 16 Greg Biffle
35 25 Casey Mears
36 01 Regan Smith
37 14 Sterling Marlin
38 44 Dale Jarrett
39 49 Mike Bliss
40 84 A.J. Allmendinger
41 9 Kasey Kahne
42 45 Kyle Petty
43 00 David Reutimann

Did Not Qualify
44 55 Michael Waltrip
45 15 Paul Menard
46 78 Kenny Wallace
47 37 Kevin Lepage
48 83 Brian Vickers
49 4 Ward Burton

I was reading We Wonder by Mark Spoor on Nascar.com, and he brings up a very good point, should Nascar allow in-experienced drivers in the ten races of the Chase for the Cup? Should there be a minimum requirement to be able to race in the Cup races? I think so, what if someone who has never raced at that track takes out a cup contender? Or 2, or 6, or even all ten, it’s possible, you know it is.

… should NASCAR consider a minimum requirement for participation in Chase races?

It was stated in the NBC booth during one of David Ragan’s three crashes Sunday at Martinsville that Ragan was getting an education in short-track racing in the Nextel Cup Series.

Should that education really come in the midst of a championship battle?

Heading into Sunday’s race, Ragan had one career Nextel Cup Series start.

Did I mention that it was a 42nd-place finish at Dover during which Ragan lasted just 47 laps?

This was only his second cup race, SECOND. Lot of money, points, etc, on the line to allow someone who has never raced more than 47 laps in a Winston Cup race. Nascar should definitely look at this, hell, one of the cup contenders could hire someone, put him in one of their cars, help them qualify and maybe take out a couple chasers to help themselves out. Not saying it would happen, but it sure could be a possibility.