GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING!!!!! Happy Mothers Day. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. Moms like stuff from Lowes and Home Depot just like dads. So that picture would be your reminder to run off after breakfast if you forgot about Mothers Day.

GIBBS PENALTIES UPDATE

As you all might remember Kenseth got penalized for one of his connecting rods being 2 tads too light. JGR didn't like the fines and penalties so they appealed.

The stock car panel reduced the penalties.

----> Car owner Joe Gibbs had his points loss reduced to 12 instead of 50. He will be getting his ability to get points for the owners points race as well.

----> Crew chief Jason Ratcliff will still pay his $200,000 fine but his suspension was lowered to 1 race and probation for the next 3 points races.

----> Driver Matt Kenseth had his points loss lowered from 50 to 12.

----> Toyota's manufacturers points race loss went from 5 to 7 points.

So I guess the appeals panel felt Toyota was at fault for Matts engine issue. Toyota also recalled engine from Bowyer at MWR just to check them out. They promise going forward that attention to detail and quality control will be an even bigger priority.

KURT BUSCH BUCKET LIST GETS A CHECK

This week our fiery tempered stock car driver Kurt got to put a check mark on his bucket list beside the Indy Car rookie test line. Driving a lap of 218 mph and keeping his car under control at Indianapolis Speedway gave him the honor of the being the first driver to pass his rookie test at that track. Now of course it fueled rumors that he's be driving the double on May 26th. That would be driving the Indianapolis 500 and then hopping a plane to Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600. 

Kurt says he's not physically ready for that challenge this year. He wants to log in more laps in the Indy Car first. Tony Stewart says he has not doubt that Kurt could qualify and race in Indy Car. He said he plans to call Kurt and offer to help if he can. 

Kurt loves motor sports in general and has done some quarter mile runs too. So his bucket list is a long one.

JAMES FINCH IS QUITTING AGAIN

The owner of Phoenix Racing is calling it quits again. Sponsorship is just not showing up and he can't keep running the race team out of his pocket. He says he still has a few cars that aren't torn up so they can race for a while yet but he's not building any more. 

His plan is to not enter any more races after the Brickyard 400 in July. He will try to help his employees find jobs in NASCAR as he raps up operations by the end of August. 

MENARD PLANS TO STAY WITH RCR

Crew chief Slugger Labbe has already reupped with RCR and Menard says he too is close to getting his deal signed. The past 3 seasons with RCR have seen major improvements in Menards career stats. He's in the top 10 since the beginning of the season. That is a vast improvement from when he first showed up on the NASCAR scene. 

TALLADEGA RECAP

The Cinco De Mayo race was almost washed away before it got started. Drivers were complaining of rain drops before the drop of the green flag. But wave it they did. Ewards had the pole but Truex took the first lap. By lap 6 Kenseth took the lead. Hamlin dropped to the back for safety reasons. On lap 23 Blayne's motor went poof and out came the first caution where Hamlin went into the pits to switch with Brian Vickers. 

Off we go again with Kenseth still leading and Kyle taps Kahnes rear and it's caution #2 on lap 43. There were 16 cars in that one. Biffle finished 36th & minus 51, Kyle 37th & minus 54, Kahne 42nd, Harvick 40th and Vickers limped to a 34th & minus 44 laps because of that wreck. Because of NASCAR pushing the start & park teams to finish the teams had REALLY bad days. No cushion.

Hamlin thanked Stewart for riding in the back with him. Stewart said no problem. I ride back here every Sunday. He has been horrid lately but summer is coming. 

So Kenseth keeps the lead for the most part till with about 64 laps to go and big black clouds rolling in Stenhouse Jr takes the lead. Then with 66 to go Edwards gets his nose just ahead of Stenhouse Jr at the scoring loop right as the caution comes out for rain. And then the red flag. All cars to pit road as it begins to pour. 

It was a short one but as track drying was taking place a 2nd storm rolled through with hail. It was a long red flag.

But things got back up and after pit stops Bobby Labonte who did not pit led them to the green flag. Was nice to see Bobby lead a few laps.

Gordon is still struggling along from the lap 43 wreck. He even goes down a lap at one point. But he fights back. With 15 to go he's in the free pass (lucky dog) spot when McDowell scrapes the wall and brings out a caution. Gordon will restart 25th and on the lead lap.

With 9 to go Johnson is on point with Kenseth in 2nd. They're off. Regan Smith finds himself in first a lap later. Johnson and Kenseth make a sandwich out of him. Stenhouse Jr comes up beside the wall making it 4 wide and it just didn't stick. He bumps Yeley who comes down on Kurt Busch who rolls on top of Newman. This one ended Danica's day. She was in and around the top 10. 

So now it's getting dark. NASCAR says 1 green/white checker only. Kenseth who sits in 1st says it's way too dark. Green flag. Edwards in 2nd gets a push from Almirola. Gilliland pushes Ragan. It's a drag race to the finish. David Ragan wins. David Gilliland is 2nd. A 1,2 finish for Front Row Motorsports. An under funded team takes 1st and 2nd at Dega. 2 Davids beat Galiath. See I told you ANYONE can win the crap shoot at Dega and that these 2 Davids are usually there to take advantage after the big wrecks. 

Brad Keselowski got on Twitter and blasted David for getting an advantage on the restart by lining up incorrectly. The Twitter folks all told him to grow up and act like a champion. The next day he issued an apology and his congrats to David and FRM for their win. He had found out NASCAR told David to line up there and he had missed the message in all the commotion. 

Top 15 finishers - David Ragan - Gilliland - Edwards - Waltrip - Johnson - Smith - Truex - Kenseth - Speed - Almirola - Gordon - Stremme - Stenhouse Jr - Ambrose - Keselowski

DARLINGTON

Tonight was Darlington. A very tough track and I'll tell you next week what crazy stuff happened. Next week is our All Star race. Lots of pageantry and $1 million, a trophy and a ring to the winner. No points are involved so the guys will just go for it. Not sure if I'll watch it. It's a cool race though. Fans vote drivers in and they have a show down race to get other drivers to the main event. 

So any who, it's Sunday. I worked lots of OT this week and I still was able to stay up for the race. I'm beat right now though. Hope the weather is breaking for every one. Happy Mothers day to all the mothers out there in Gabland and beyond our fair cyber world. Hug your mom and make her a sandwich. Enjoy your day and take care. And...

I'm outta here.....

WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! HOWDY!!!! Good day and good morning. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR update and other fast stuff. It's Sunday. It's Cinco De Mayo too. I think that means have a drink with your chinchilla in the carport. No oblo espanisho. So I really can't tell you what it means but I think my chinchilla would love a drink in the carport. Just can't let him near the grill. His fur would go up in seconds. Safety first you know. So how are all your fantasy leagues doing? I was checking out teams and their DL's. Did you know the NYY have $46 million on the DL? Jeter and A-Rod are $45 million of that. INSANE!!!!!!! EL STUPIDO!!!!!!! Add in Teixeira and that's another $23 million. OBSCENE!!!!! AND AGAIN EL STUPIDO!!!! What do these guys do to earn that much? The rest of the team is over paid too. 

KYLE PETTY CHARITY RIDE IN PROGRESS

Kyle Petty, son of Richard Petty is on the move. As of April 27th he started his 19th charity motor cycle ride to benefit the Victory Junction Camp which is a hospital disguised as a camp ground. More than 7650 children with chronic medical issues have attended this special camp at no cost to the families due to the donations from Kyle's ride. 

There will be more than 175 motor cycles riding from Idaho to Wyoming to Colorado and on to Arizona on Friday the 3rd of May. 

Kyle says it started out as just a small group of friends out riding from track to track across the country. Hershel Walker of NFL fame is on his 8th ride this year. He enjoys the camaraderie among the riders and watching Kyle interact with the fans and donors along the route. 

You can check out the charity ride through....www.kylepettycharityride.com or facebook.com/KP charityride.

On May 12th it's the 24th annual Mothers Day Convoy for Make A Wish. Truckers compete to see who can get the most donations. Kids get to ride in the trucks as they make their way from Lancaster to Ephrata and back along the Amish Autobahne, Rte 222. It is the coolest thing to sit on the shoulder of a highway and watch the trucks go by. 

On May 18th it's the 60th annual Sertoma Chicken BBQ at Long's Park outside of Lancaster, PA. It's a Guiness Book certified event. Over 25,000 chicken dinners will be served. For $9 you get a half chicken, beverage, roll, chips, banana, candy and ice cream. 

Profits benefit upkeep of Long's Park, it's petting zoo and amphitheater which has free summer concerts. 

So if you're bored and in PA for the 12th or 18th you can see clowns chasing people before the trucks take off for the convoy or go get a chicken dinner. Nice choices.

RICHMOND RECAP

This would be a picture of the squirrel that took out my Yahoo fantasy league. Yup. He took himself pretty much out along with Mark Martin and Brian Vickers. Like I said before about Kasey Kahne. He's a talented squirrel. He's either brilliantly winning the race or he's wrecking. The week I pick him he drives like a squirrel possessed and takes out my fantasy team. BOOOOO!!!! ROCKIE YOU ARE NOT!!!!! Go crawl inside Bullwinkle's hat. Bad squirrel.

Actually almost every driver was possessed last week. It looked like Bristol and not Richmond. I was in shock watching it. Kurt Busch was a ping pong ball. I think he bounced off everybody. He almost got the win but pit stops were not in his favor. He did ping pong his way to a 9th place finish in the ensuing Green/White Checker finish as well as a run in with Stewart, Kenseth and Truex on the track, Stewart on pit road and Stewart in the garage area. Christmas card bets anyone?

I really thought it was Montoya's night. Montoya stayed out of the pits and inherited the lead at caution #8 with 74 to go. He ran away from Harvick and it looked like it was his race. His day. He kept the lead through 2 cautions and 68 laps but the last caution with 6 to go was it. Harvick snatched his win away with the last restart. He was a good sport about it though. A 4th ain't so bad considering how bad his season was last year. I mean he did blow up the jet dryer at Daytona.

Top 15 finishers - Harvick - Bowyer - Logano - Montoya - Burton - Edwards - Kenseth - Almirola - Kurt B - Dale Jr - Gordon - Johnson - Menard - Allmendinger - Newman

PENALTY UPDATE

Penske lost their first appeal of the rear end housing debate. They get one more appeal and it's with the top dawg at the National Stock Car Racing Panel. We'll see how that goes.

NASCAR SAFETY MEETING

NASCAR called a crew chief meeting to talk about safety at the track. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing NASCAR wanted the crew chiefs to get with their teams and other personnel to keep a closer watch in the garage area as well as the pits and any where someone could leave things that don't belong there. If it looks out of place then say something. A broader focus on safety and awareness is now on. 

TALLADEGA SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

Remember this car? You may have forgotten since it hangs out in the back all race long. This would be Danica. Speed is her thing so this 2.5 mile track is up her alley. I expect her to get a top 10. She was 8th at Daytona. So...it could happen.

It would be Bobby Labonte's 700th career start come this Sunday. Cinco De Wow - O. His record at Dega is 1 pole - 1 win - 6 top 5's - 13 top 10's and he's led 154 laps. GO BOBBY!!!!

So last years top 10 finishers were - Keselowski - Kyle B - Kenseth - Kahne- Biffle - Bowyer - Ragan - Bayne - Dale Jr - Burton 

With 7 to go Kurt B took a spin then on the restart Allmendinger blocks Hamlin who bobs and weaves and takes out everyone up front. 

So in the present it's been raining all week in Alabama. There's a 60% chance of rain on race day. Qualifying was rained out so the field was set by practice speeds, owners points and champions provisionals. Edwards gets the starting spot but it's not considered the pole. I can not begin to explain how you get the first spot and no credit for a pole position. NASCAR confounds me with all the twisty turny stuff sometimes. Lets move on now. Shall we?

Hamlin has gotten medical clearance to start the race but the first caution he must exit the car and let Vickers drive. The reason for him even starting is that if he starts the race, he gets the points. Not the relief driver. So if any one still has Vickers you best drop him. His points will be Hamlin's. It takes a good 3 minutes to switch out drivers so he may go down a lap under caution. Since it's been raining I'm betting NASCAR has a competition caution around lap 30 or so. Either that or a phantom debris caution just so Hamlin can get out of the car. I'm sure they're nervous about him being in the race.

This is a crap shoot as far as races go but there are some guys you can expect to be there in the end on most speedway races. Johnson is one of them. Dale Jr, Keselowski, Edwards, Kenseth, Kyle B, Stewart, Bowyer, Truex and Biffle.

Others that are there after wrecks cause opportunity are Burton who has benefited on numerous occasions after a speedway wreck. Almirola, Gilliland, Ambrose, David Ragan and Mears. 

Avoid Gordon and Kyle B. Both had issues last week. Looks like a rerun of last year. Who will screw up one point less than the other to get in the Chase. 

Logano is still hanging in there. He has a 4th place start. 

Michael Waltrip starts 14th in the #55. Martin is vacationing away from the Dega Crap Shoot. If you need a C lister he'd fit the bill. 

I'm still expecting a break out with McMurray and Montoya. They're both getting closer every week.

My Yahoo picks this week? Kenseth, Edwards, Dale Jr & Patrick. I'm hoping my race winner and top 10 picks aren't sitting on the bench like last week. Kahne needs to stay away from my team. 

This would be Gordons Dega car. Nice huh? I like it Don't pick it though. 

REPORT CARD FOR 2013 GEN 6 CAR

------>1,203 more green flag passes than last year after 9 races.

------>Average margin of victory .634 seconds compared to last years 1.759 seconds.

------>49.9% of cars finishing on the lead lap. Up from 38.2% from last year.

------>83.2% of the cars running at the end of the race. Up 3% from last year.

So I guess the car is doing what it's supposed to. Go really fast and turn left. The reason there's more cars running at the end is because NASCAR made rules to discourage Start & Park teams. They all try to finish now. It's good and bad. Good for competition and bad if a power house team car has a bad day. They can't count on gaining a whole lot of spots any more from the back. It used to be you knew there'd be 6 to 10 cars out by lap 75 so if you had a bad day you wouldn't be worse than about 30th. Not now. Tough racing.

COOL FISH STORY

If you look this up on You Tube or Grindtv.com there's a great video. These guys were out swordfish fishing and they hook a 600 lb swordfish. Problem is an equally huge Mako shark decides he wants that swordfish too. He body slams the boat. He also mauls the swordfish. Great video. Wish I could figure out how to move videos. Worth a look up. 

Kirk and James of Metallica played a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at a SF Giants game too. Also worth a look up.

Any who, it's Sunday. We got Gabbers traveling. I hope they're safe. Hope your day is filled with the happening of your choice. Be it swordfish fishing, Yuengling guzzling, bear hugging, grilling, chasing your neighbors pet flamingos out of your yard or breakfast with great company. Do it well and enjoy your day and....

I'm outta here.....

Hey Hey Hey!!! Howdy and good day. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR updates and other fast stuff. It's been a whirlwind of activity in NASCAR this past week. I'm overwhelmed. Not sure where to start. I knew this year would be different and unpredictable with this new car but this is off the charts.

KANSAS LAST WEEK

So here we go. At Kansas last week, Kenseth had the pole and led the most laps and won the race. Then he flunked post race inspection. Seems one of his connecting rods was like 2 grams lighter than the other 7. BUT all together they weighed more than they needed. This in my opinion didn't give Kenseth an advantage. In my opinion NASCAR is nit picking. Going at 200 mph with a connecting rod that's a tad lighter than the rest would make the engine unbalanced and be a motor death waiting to happen. There has to be more to it I'm sure.

But long story short there were huge fines, suspensions and Kenseth lost 50 points as well as not being able to use that win toward the championship. Toyota apologized and took full responsibility. JGR is appealing. The guys at National Stock Car Racing Commission will be busy this and next month. Keselowski and Logano go in for their appeal this week.

It was a tough race last week for many. Kyle kept spinning out. Said he had no indication it would happen. The last time he spun out was lap 103 and he took out Logano with him. 

Mark Martin kept scraping the wall but ended up with a 9th. 

Ms Danica was doing her usual bumping off other cars. Her and Gilliland got into it at one point and she was threatening to take him out. He had his people tell her people to tell her to shut up and drive. That of course is the clean version. 25th and minus 2 laps.

Keselowski got into some trouble and had rear end damage. Some how he didn't draw a black flag from NASCAR to get it fixed. He lost a large chunk of sheet metal with 50 to go and it brought out a caution sending a lot of drivers a lap down or to the back. Of course it benefited him. He got an 11th out of it. Guess NASCAR didn't want to hear him cry that he was being singled out.

The top 15 finishers - Kenseth - Kahne - Johnson - Truex - Bowyer - Keselowski - Almirola - Martin - Menard - Stenhouse - Harvick - Gordon - Newman - Kurt B

RICHMOND THIS WEEK

Despite Kenseth having an appeal waiting on the penalties from last week he was on a hell bent to rebound mission and he nabbed the pole for Richmond. He didn't win but he got a point for leading the most laps. We'll see if his car passes post race inspection. 

My fantasy leagues were all blown out of the water. It was full moon and all the drivers lost their minds or turned into werewolves inside their cars. Just incredible and stupid. Bristol is the place you see the craziness that went on here tonight. No patience or brotherly love.

Gordon was 2nd until about lap 15 or so he started complaining of an illhandling car and dropped back. Wayyyyyyyyyyy back. Back into the 20's. Took most of the race and the crazy bumper car eliminations in progress to get him back up front.

Kenseth had a dragging piece of metal and NASCAR told his crew to take care of it. It cost him his top spot. Bowyer led 113 laps then. 

Keselowski smacked the wall at one point. He did recover only to lose a cylinder with 20 to go and was black flagged for not keeping up to speed.

Stewart, Johnson and Kyle were a caution. Stewart claimed responsibility.

Kahne and Newman were beating on each other at one point. Then Kahne and Martin get into it with Martin getting the losing end of it and back to the garage. Vickers ran into Martin during that spin and he managed to limp along but with 6 to go he loses his steering and the wreck turns the race into a green white checker ending.

At this point Montoya was on his way to a win with Harvick it close pursuit. All pitted for tires except McMurry, Burton and Allmendinger. The restart was off the charts with cars bouncing off each other and going 3 and 4 wide. 

Unofficial top 15 - Harvick - Bowyer - Logano - Montoya - Burton - Edwards - Kenseth - Almirola - Kurt B - Dale Jr - Gordon - Johnson - Menard - Allmendinger - Newman

After the finish line drivers were still slamming into each other. Stewart and Kurt got into it on the track, on pit road & in the garage area. 

So Chip Gnassi's cars are coming to life with those new Hendrick motors. Montoys led about 61 laps and McMurry was peeking in on the top 10 too. Hello guys. 

Almirola gets 3 top 10's in a row. Score one for Richard Petty's team.

And how about Burton? A 5th place for the old guy. Not too shabby. 

Next week it's Talladega. Fast and furious. Wild and wicked. And totally unpredictable. I'll have better updates next week. Hamlin didn't get the clearance to race this week and is considering scrapping his season for surgery. He's had some bulging disks which he was meaning to get fixed but put it off. Now would be the ideal time. I know one thing for sure. As soon as they lift the no trading on my fantasy leagues, Vickers is gone. Don't know what the hell happened to him but you'd think he never drove before after seeing him these past few weeks. I'm actually sorry for Hamlin. He has a front row seat to watch it. Cringe worthy.

Hope the draft went well for your favorite NFL teams. I'm making my draft list up early. I'm kind of excited for fantasy football because NASCAR fantasy is sucking right now.

But any who. It's Sunday. Baseball, sunshine, and hopefully some warmer weather. I froze mowing the lawn this week. How does that happen? You all enjoy your Sunday. Hug your best friend, your kids, your waitress, your dog, your teddy bear or whoever. Just get those hugs going. The world needs them right now. Take care, stay safe and...

I'm outta here......

Hey hey hey howdy and good day. Welcome Gabbers and others to my NASCAR update and other fast stuff. It's been a long week for me. We had OT and I jumped on it. Got me some extra money to get my car inspected or pay car insurance or get the roof fixed or...you get the idea. Of course we're here to talk racing but first things first.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

If you haven't done it before you read this, it's time to turn the clocks back. Spring back folks. Saturday was in the 50's and showed signs of spring. A dead skunk in the middle of the road, kids on dirt bikes in the fields, kids on tricycles in the driveways and motor cycles on the road. How does it go from frigid to 50's in a day?

Also if you have smoke detectors you might want to change the batteries. Safety first.....

HAMLIN FINED AFTER RACE IN PHOENIX

Denny Hamlin was fined $25,000 for disparaging remarks made about the new Generation 6 car. After the race Hamlin was asked if he learnt anything in the race from the new car. Hamlin said that he learnt a lot and that it didn't race as well as the gen 5 cars. He went on to say it was pretty much single file racing and no ability to pass the guy in front of you. He said they had to work on getting the aero balance right.

Now I heard this and all interviews after the race and it didn't even warrant a blip on my radar. He was matter of fact and not snide or sarcastic in any way. Other drivers were shocked too at the fine.

Hamlin says he's appealing the fine. He's not paying it. He feels NASCAR greatly disrespected him and didn't even have a talk with him before giving him the fine. Now I'm in agreement with him on this but it is Brian France's sandbox. Do ya or don'tcha want to race? Others have said the same thing but ultimately they paid the fine. Like Rusty Wallace paid his in pennies one time.

Hamlin says that right now he's turning his focus on winning Las Vegas for his sponsor FedEx and his team. 

DANICA DANICA DANICA DANICA DANICA

POP...SCREEEEEEEEECH....CRUNCH....BOFF.....POW.....SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH....BOOM. That would be how Danica's day ended late in the Phoenix race last week when her right front tire blew out. David Ragan took her door off. She was on the lead lap back in 25th. I thought she was going to make it to the end. No such luck.

To add insult to injury, at a dirt track on Thursday she was clocked up side the head by a rock which knocked her to the ground. She says she was wearing a hat so that saved her from getting any cuts. She says she's still a little stiff and sore from the wreck at Phoenix but she's ready to go this week.

TRIVIAL NONSENSE

This Sunday is Matt Kenseth's birthday. Wouldn't it be nice to have a win as a birthday present? Well, it's only been done by 2 drivers....EVER. 

Cale Yarborough did it twice and Kyle Busch did it once. I'd have to have an engineer to figure out the odds of that and my budget is tight so we'll just say it's a big deal. 

PHOENIX RECAP

Last week was "Do a back flip at Phoenix day". No not really but for Carl Edwards it was. He broke a 70 race streak without a win. Last year just wasn't a good one for Edwards. Hopefully he's on his way to a better season. I still won't pick him in any of my fantasy leagues yet. But just the same Edwards got the long awaited win and the most laps led with 122. 

The right front tire seemed to be an issue for a lot of drivers but as I said last week this is a track that you set your car up for one set of turns or the other. You have to have a feel for this track. A lot of drivers over drove their cars and used a lot of brakes which melted the bead on the tire and pop they went.

I had thought Mark Martin would do better than 21st but it wasn't to be. He led 74 laps but the race turned into a fuel mileage run and some could make it and some had to pit late. A Green/White Checker was brought about by Ken Schrader's blown tire late in the race with 3 to go. The top 10 all elected to wing it. 

On the restart Keselowski drove into Edwards bumper pushing him ahead of Johnson. This put Edwards out front with Keselowski and Johnson side by side. But wait. Hamlin drives his car deep down onto the apron in a bonsai move that slides him up in front of Keselowski who has to check up. Edwards to the checkered flag with Johnson and Hamlin slamming doors to the photo finish for 2nd place. Johnson by an inch. 

Top 10 are Edwards - Johnson - Hamlin - Keselowski - Dale Jr - Bowyer - Kenseth - Stewart - Gordon - Burton.

LAS VEGAS PREVIEW

Now we're in Vegas. It rained out qualifying on Friday. Yes it did. Rain in Vegas. That even sounds funny. Because it rained out qualifying they set up the field with last years points. I don't understand why they didn't use this years points. There's been 2 races. But this is NASCAR. Ever changing and evolving rules. I just go along for the ride.

Last years winner was Stewart. I expect him to do well again. He's Tony Stewart. Nuff said.

Jimmie is just Jimmie. He was 2nd last year. Pick him with confidence.

Edwards won here the year before. If his luck has changed you should see him up in the top 5 this week. But I'm still on the wait and see.

Bowyer is taking up where he left off. I look for him to be in the top finishers as well.

Newman would be another one that does well at this track. He'll be a top finisher.

Dale Jr is looking like he too picked up where he left off last year. Mr Steady Eddie. Quietly making his way to the front. He was 10th last year at Vegas.

Menard is not a big splash but he's a good B list pick for this track. A 7th here last year.

Bayne placed 9th here last year. He's a C lister from a small under funded team with potential. 

Biffle has struggled this year so far but he should be back on track with this track.

Kyle, Hamlin and Kenseth being from JGR are not proving that the reliability issues of last year are behind them this year. I would hold out on these 3 till a couple more races. A wait and see for these guys.

Keselowski is proving to be reliable in the new manufacturers ride. Switching from Dodge to Ford had no effect on his racing. Pick him.

Gordon should have a good showing here. That is if his ugly bad luck is behind him. So far so good.

Harvick is a good candidate for a strong finish here.

So there you have my fantasy advise. And this being Sunday, you know the drill. It's pick something cool to do today. I'm thinking chicken on the grill. Maybe some potatoes too. Check out the sun. Haven't seen it in a while. I'm thinking I may even love that prognosticating gopher right about now. You know those marshmallow peeps should be out by now. Maybe I'll toast a few of those on the grill. Peeps in flames. So any way, you all have a fantabulous day. It's off to breakfast for me and....

I'm outta here.....

Hey, howdy, good morning and good day. Welcome Gabbers, gawkers, lurkers and others to my NASCAR update and other fast stuff. There's an ugly storm about to hit PA. Actually the north east but from the coverage I've seen it looks like PA will be blown into Michigan. It's been on the TV's in the lunchroom all week and I'm sort of tired of hearing about it. I know it's coming, got me a case of water, put all my outside stuff away, made sure all the down spouts are ok and now I'm tired. So I thought I'd throw in a few autumn pictures of my neck of the woods. It won't look this way by Monday night. All the leaves will be gone. AND HOPEFULLY in the neighbors yard.....

DALE JR IS BACK

So any how, Dale Jr is now back and will be in his #88 at Martinsville. I'm not sure if there will be a race because Martinsville is in Virginia which is like really close to PA. Underneath actually. So it remains to be seen if the weather holds out for the race. I'm hoping so. 

He's been given a clean bill of health and he says he bought himself a new helmet which he says he's been meaning to get before all this concussion stuff came about. No explanation on what is so wonderful about Stilo helmets but he has one now. And so does Matt Kenseth. I went to their website and it told me nothing but there was a picture of Matts helmet.

I read something about carbon fiber shell. I'm wondering what the lining is made of. That's what you need. Just ask James Harrison. He got himself some better padding. Watch out Peyton if he gets healthy enough to get back on the field.

Now that Dale Jr is back that means Regan Smith is out. He's coming to the track just to be there. Word is that he'll get the last 2 Chase races in the #51 Phoenix Racing car and AJ Allmendinger gets Martinsville and the next race in that car. So nice of these guys to share.

REGAN SMITH 2013 PLANS

Regan Smith does have a full time ride next year just not in Cup. JR Motorsports has offered him the #5 car full time in the Nationwide Series. Dale Jr will drive a few select races in the #88 and they plan on getting the #7 team sponsored and running full time along side Regan. With Danica moving up to Cup full time next year that leaves no Go Daddy. She's taking them with her. Maybe in the mean time Regan can scrounge up an opportunity in Cup.

MORE 2013 PLANS

Another part timer is Brian Vickers. He's been sharing the #55 car with Mark Martin. He'll be doing it again next year. Mark will drive 24 races including the bud Shootout and All-Star races. Brian will take both Bristol, both Martinsville, both New Hampshire, both road courses and Kentucky. He says he'd rather drive part time in a quality ride than drive fulltime in a lower funded team. There's a possible deal to drive a 4th Joe Gibbs Racing car if funding would be there. But that's why Joey Logano went to Penske. Sponsorship is hard to come by. 

KANSAS CAUTION 400

Last week saw 14 cautions. With the newly repaved surface the guys were finding it hard to pass and taking big chances to get by was the way it played out. New repaving is gritty and eats tires and there's only one groove till it gets aged. The restarts were very exciting to watch. The guys would drive down on the apron of the track and then cut up in front of someone. Nobody was making buddies all day.

There were a few cautions for the right front tire going flat or blowing out. Some guys spun but didn't hit the wall. Kyle Busch mowed the grass the first time he spun. Stewart spun on a restart. He made a bonsai move on the apron and couldn't quite hold on. 

Danica had a run in with Landon Cassill. Some of the video was good. They played tag till they both spun out. Landon got new tires and kept going. Danica crunched up her ride. Dummmmm dum dum dum.

Biffle lost his right front and rode the wall. S-s-s-s-s-scrape.

Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish and Ryan Newman were caution #12. Kyle and Ryan were done Hornish got repairs and blew his tire out at caution #14. 

Jimmie Johnson lost it and spun. Crunch. Lucky for him he stopped spinning at the entrance to pit road. Multiple pit stops with lots of duct tape set him straight. Well as Knaus said, there's nothing wrong with it now. I wasn't seeing it but it was straight enough to get him a  9th place finish.

Our #1 guy in the points Mr Keselowski had a very near miss when Kyle, Sam and Ryan got together in caution #12, Sam side swiped Keselowski. Just a tire donut but no damage. He came on his radio and said if he wins the championship he wants that film footage. 

All this fun led to another win for Matt Kenseth. He's still only 9th in the points but don't say lame duck. He refuses to see himself as one. He's a fighter that's for sure.

At the end of the race the points are....Keselowski  2250....Johnson  2243....Hamlin 2230....Bowyer 2225....Kahne 2220....Truex 2207....Stewart 2203....Gordon 2199....Kenseth 2195....Harvick 2191....Biffle 2188....Dale Jr 2128

MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

So that leads us to this small track. Jimmie took the pole with a blistering 97.598 mph. Close quarters-move it or loose it racing. Who will come out with a hope of getting the trophy? Our points leader Keselowski is starting in 30th. Not good. He could get lapped quickly and have to dig his way out. The rest of the Chasers qualified up near the front. The front is where you need to be.

BUT if this Sandy hurricane chick comes blasting through we might not even see a race. So cross your fingers for me and you all have a great football Sunday. Go get your snacks ready and I'm out of here........