Welcome to Special K's NASCAR Coke Zero 400 wrap up. First I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a very happy and safe 4th of July holiday. Please remember all of our veterans who have served and are currently serving this great country of ours.

David Ragan survived 2 green-white-checkers to win his first career race for Roush-Fenway racing. Ragan has been very much maligned for his overall poor performance in the #6 UPS Ford. In fact I would be surprised if he keeps the ride for the 2012 season. Yours truly went to a Dayton Dragons minor league game on Saturday and missed the race. Yours truly set the VCR up tape the event and put the wrong time (I had 630 am) and missed the race. However Speed will show the replay on Wednesday at noon.  The below listed summary will have starting position, car make, laps completed, points earnjed and prize money won.

1.---David Ragan, (5), Ford, 170 laps, 47 points, $302,425

2.---Matt Kenseth, (16), Ford, 170 laps, 43 points, $239,061

3.---Joey Lagano, (37), Toyota, 170 laps, 41 points, $178,050

4.---Kasey Kahne, (13), Toyota, 170 laps, 41 points, $163,958

5.---Kyle Busch, (38), Toyota, 170 laps, 40 points, $170,691

6.---Jeff Gordon, (4), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 39 points, $153,761

7.---Klassless Kevin Harvick, (31), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 38 points, $160,711

8.---Paul "My Daddy buys my Ride" Menard, (10), Chevrolet, 37 points, $117,350

9.---Juan Problem Montoya, (30), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 36 points, $143,483

10.--AJ Allmendinger, (9), Ford, 170 laps, 34 points, $142,186

11.--Tony Stewart, (19), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 34 points, $143,783

12.--Brian Vickers, (20), Toyota, 170 laps, 32 points, $128,464

13.--Denny Hamlin, (36), Toyota, 170 laps, 32 points, $145,450

14.--Kurt Busch, (25), Dodge, 170 laps, 31 points, $141,000

15.--Brad KeseClownski, (26), Dodge, 170 laps, 30 points, $123,433

16.--David Gilliland, (39), Ford, 170 laps, 28 points, $114,633

17.--Marcos Ambrose (15), Ford, 170 laps, 27 points, $126,991

18.--Greg Biffle, (17), Ford, 170 laps, 27 points, $111,025

19.--Dale Earnhardt Jr, (6), Chevrolet, 26 points, $103,425

20.--Jimmie Johnson, (8), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 24 points, $145,611

21.--Jeff Burton (12), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 24 points, $102,500

22.--Jamie McMurray, (18), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 23 points, $128,414

23.--Cry'in Ryan Newman, (11), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 23 points, $137,950

24.--Regan Smith, (28), Chevrolet, 170 laps, 21 points, $118,145

25.--David Crash Reutimann, (23), Toyota, 170 laps, 19 points, $118,958

26.--Landon Cassill, (21), Chevrolet, 169 laps, $102,483

27.--Andy Lally, (7), Ford, 169 laps, 17 points, $100,050

28.--Terry Labonte, (41), Ford, 169 laps, 16 points, $98,472

29.--Travis Kvapil, (27), Ford,  169 laps, $88,200

30.--Joe Nemechek, (43), Toyota, 169 laps, $87,025

31.--Bobby Labonte, (24), Toyota, 168 laps, 13 points, $111,695

32.--Casey Mears, (32), Toyoya, 164 laps, 13 points, $85,225

33.--Mark Martin (1), Chevrolet, 164 laps, 12 points, $101,825

34.--Robby Gordon, (42), Dodge, 163 laps, 10 points, $84,950

35.--Martin Truex Jr, (34), Toyota, 162 laps, 10 points, $92,775

36.--Clint Crybaby Bowyer, (3), Chevrolet, 162 laps, 9 points, $129,733

37.--Carl Edwards (14), Ford, 144 laps, 8 points, $130,141

38.--Geoff Bodine, (35), Chevrolet, 143 laps, 6 points, $84,300

39.--Dave Blaney (40), Chevrolet, 47 laps, 5 points, $84,175

40.--Mike Skinner, (29), Toyota, 5 laps, $84,000

41.--Trevor Bayne, (2), Ford, 4 laps, $84,875

42.--Michael McDowell, (33), Toyota, 2 laps, 2 points, $83,725

43.--Kevin Conway (22), Toyota, 1 lap, $84,093

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner:159.491 mph

Time of Race: 2 hours, 39 minutes, 53 seconds

Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Caution Flags: 6 for 21 laps

Lead Changes: 57 among 25 drivers

La Leaders: Martin 1-15, Earnhardt Jr, 16, Kt Busch 17-18, Edwards 19, Kt Busch 20-23, J Gordon 24, Klassless Harvick 25-26, Menard 27, Ragan 28, Smith 29-30, Truex Jr 31-36, Ragan 37-40, Kahne 41, Truex Jr 42, Kenseth 43-48, Kahne 49, Ky Busch 50, Kvapil 51, Kane 52-53, Truex Jr 54-57, Smith 58-59, Kenseth 60-63, Kahne 64, Menard 65, Kahne 66-69, Stewart 70, Truex Jr 71-73, Kahne 74, Mears 75-76, Nemechek 77, Kahne 78-85, Ky Busch 86-88, Kahne 89, Menard 90-92, Ky Busch 93, Mears 94, Burton 95-97, Crybaby Bowyer 98-99, Truex Jr 100, Ky Busch 101-102, Truex Jr 103, Ragan 104-105, Cry'in Ryan Newman 106, Hamlin 107-110, KeseClownski 111, Biffle 112, Problem Montoya 113-114, Klassless Harvick 115, McMurray 116, Klassless Harvick 117-121, Crybaby Bowyer 122, Cry'in Newman 123-130, Ky Busch 131-134, Klassless Harvick 135-142, Cry'in Newman 143-153, Kenseth 154-157, Cry'in Newman 158-162, Ragan 163-170

Have a great day everybody..

Special K

Local hometown Springfield, OH native is on the cusp of earning his PGA Card for 2012. Erik Compton formerly of Springfield who now lives in Florida shot a 65 last Sunday in the Mexican Open to win the event and pick up his 1st win on the Nationwide Tour. The win put him in 2nd place on the money list and all but ensures he will finish in the Top 25 on the money list and earn his PGA Tour card for the 2012 season. He is currently on the regular tour this week trying to make the cut in the AT&T National at Adironmick in Newtown Square, Pennsylvaina. He played Thursday and Friday with Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan.

"Everybody knows I'm the guy with two hearts," Compton replied. It's a story that has been told for the last three years, ever since the 31 year old Compton again defied logic, if not death, by getting a second heart transplant. He recieved this heart from former Chaminade Julienne and University of Dayton atlete Isaac Klosterman who was tragically killed riding a motorcycle in Palm Beach, Florida. Compton returned to playing gold only 5 months later to get through the 1st stage of Q-School.

His identity won' change anytime soon. He will always be the guy who after his second heart transplant said "I've been dead. Twice." And he wouldn't have it any other way. With all of the attention he receives it allows him to spread the word about organ transplants just like the heart he recived at the age of 12, and the second transplant on May 20, 2008. "The doctors are schocked and people in the transplant world are shocked. I'm shocked because I always said I would be on tour and play, but now it's a reality. My dream is finally coming true."

It is also hard to fathom for tall the people who have seen this story unfold as well. Charlie DeLucca, head of the Dade Amateur Golf Association in Miami remembers when Compton showed up to play and his parents asked if he could he could take a pull cart. DeLucca was skeptical, unaware that the boy had been diagnosed at age 9 with cardiomyopathy , an enlarging of the heart that hinders it's ability to pump blood. DeLucca thought that he would never see him again and Compton has proved otherwise. "He's not even supposed to be here, He just never lost his determination" DeLuccca said.

It has been suggested that his story was worthy of a movie and asked Compton who should play the elading role. His friends have always said that he looks like Paul Giamatti. Compton was quoted as saying "I don't think there will be a movie, I think movies..you have to have something that's maybe a little bit more unrealistic. Maybe if they make a fictional story and have me winning three U.S. Opens or something."

Meanwhile Compton is just rolling along doing his favorite thing in the world playing golf and soon to realizing a lifelong dream and it's an incredible story. Thanks to the AP for this story.

Special K
 

Welcome to this weeks edition of Special K's FEARLESS TOP 10 PREDICTIONS. First of all I want wish all of you a very happy and safe 4th of July Holiday weekend. This week both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series at the Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400. All of us true fans remember when this was the Firecracker 400 and was always ran on the 4th of July. How times have changed. This will be the third restrictor plate race of the season and will feature the two-car drafts on the newly paved 2.5 mile super speedway. In February there was a record 35 lead changes and we can probably expect at least that many again tonight. Joey Lagano picked up his 1st win at Daytona last night in the Nationwide race. This race features very few cautions and there will probably be alot of two tire pit stops since the tire performance doesn't fall off very much. There were only a handful of one-lap-wonders this week in qualifing. Those included David Ragan 5th, (I think that Trevor Bayne will drive this car in 2012) Andy lally 7th, AJ Allmendinger 9th and Paul "Daddy buys my Ride" Menard 10th. It is ahrd to make picks for this race because the draft can shuffle you back to the back and up front in a hurry. Last week yours truly had 6 drivers finish in the Top 10 and 2 more in the Top15. Here are this weeks picks.

1.---Carl Edwards has been fast all season and Bob Osborne has the team on a roll. Look for a solid finish.

2.---Klassless Harvick always qualifies in the back and usually is up front at the end. It is one of a few good tracks for him.

3.---Jimmie Johnson has only 1 win at Daytona. He seems to manage to take out most of the field in the plate races.

4.---Kyle Busch won this race in 2008 and is usually wreckers or checkers here at Daytona.

5.---Kurt Busch usually has one of the best pushing cars at Daytona. Will he get the monkey off his back and get the win this week?

6.---Jeff Gordon is managing to hand around this season and has gotten two unexpected wins this season.

7.---Denny Hamlin is a good plate racer and is always fast. He has a win in the Bud Shootout in his rookie season but hasn't gotten a points win. Look for my favorite driver to have a solid finish.

8.---Joey Lagano is always fast here but seems to get caught in someone else's problems.

9.---Matt Kenseth is typically just good here at Daytona.

10.--Dale Earnhardt Jr is my surprise pick of the week. Daytona and Talladega are really the only tracks that he is really good at. He usually gets hung out at the end of the race.

The drivers who DNQ were Tony Raines and JJ Yeley. Unfortunetly Geoff Bodine is in the field and the drivers will need to beware. Other drivers to stay away from include Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Paul Menard and Brad KeseClownski. Other drivers to watch include Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Crybaby Bowyer and Trevor Bayne. The 17th race of the season should be very exciting as Daytona usually is.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Special K
 

Welcome to this weeks edition of Special K's FEARLESS TOP 10 PREDICTIONS. This week the Sprint Cup series is the Napa Valley, California on the Road Course at Sonoma. It is the 16th race of the season and we are heading into the final 10 races before the chase for the championship. The Nationwide series was in Elk Heart, Wisconsin on the Road America course and Reed Sorenson picked up his first win the series since 2007. I personally do not like the road course races and wish NASCAR would take them off the schedule. Passing will be difficult as usual, pit strategy will be used as the race is ran backwards becuase fuel milage always plays a huge factor in the outcome. Track position is more important here than almost everywhere else because you can't pass very easily. The only exciting thing about the road course racing is the double-file restarts. With very few cautions drivers in the back will need a different pit strategy than the leaders to get up front. As ususal there were several one-lap-wonders in qualifing and some of those include Jamie McMurray outside pole, Paul Menard 3rd, Kasey Kahne 6th, AJ Allmendinger 7th, Brad KeseClownski 15th and Dale Jr 18th. Other drivers in the middle-to-back where they usually are include Regan Smith 24th, Jeff Burton 25th, Klassles Harvick 26th, Robby Gordon 28th, Boris Said 30th and David Ragan 34th. Last week yours truly had 6 drivers finish in the Top 10 and 2 others in the Top 20. I'm really going out on a limb with my picks this week because of track position and some drivers are good road course racers. Here are this weeks picks.

1.---Marcos Ambrose qualified up front and was fast in practice. He choked last year when lading the race and lost on the final laps. He should get his 1st win of his career this week.

2.---Denny Hamlin is coming off a big win last week and is really good on the road courses as long as he can stay on the track. Look for a solid run for my favorite driver who is starting 4th.

3.---Klassless Harvick will knock everybody out of his way to the front this week and drive like a total idiot. Of course that is nothing new.

4.---Kyle Busch is a former winner here and should be up front at the end.

5.---Jimmie Johnson has ben slow in practice but he should be in the front by the end of the race. And NASCAR will proably ensure that he is if they can possibly do so.

6.---Juan Problem Montoya got the only win of his career and you can see Klassless Harvick above.

7.---Jamie McMurray is up front and is usualy pretty good on the road courses.

8.---Jeff Gordon dominated the road courses in the old cars. He should be up front by the end of the race. He too will do a Harvick/Montoya if needed. Just ask Martin Truex Jr about last year.

9.---Joey Lagano is on nthe pole and should hang around the front if he can stay on the course.

10.--Martin Truex Jr is good on the road courses and was heading for a Top 3 finish last year until Jeff Gordon came up behind him. Look for a solid finish.

The only driver to DNQ this week was Tony Ave. There are several road course ringers in the race and unfortunetly Boris Said is among them. He will also do a Klassless Harvick and knock drivers out of the way to the front. Other drivers to watch include Mark Martin, Tony Stewart if he can overcome Darrian Grubb and the big dark Horse this week is Robby Gordon. He has won here and could be factor if they use the proper pit stratgey. So far the TNT coverage has been aewsome and makes us all wonder why NASCAR continues to have the FOX/HMS Network.

Have as great day everybody.

Special K
 

Welcome to this weeks edition of Special K's FEARLESS TOP 10 PREDICTIONS. This week both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series are at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It is the 15th race of the season for the Sprint Cup series. Carl Edwards won the Nationwide race yesterday holding off teammate Ricky "DNF" Stenhouse Jr. This typically is a very boring race. Passing is difficult, there are very few cautions and usually the race comes down to fuel milage. Drivers in the back will need pit strategy to get to the front and if there is a late race caution some drivers will use pit strategy as well. Which means the line-up gets jumbled and you will have drivers at the front of the field who normally run in the back, i.e Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger, David Crash Reutimann, Landon Cassill, Juan Problem Montoya, Paul Menard, David Ragan and Brad KeseClownski just to name a few. As usual there were several one-lap-wonders again in qualifing this week. Some of those include David Crash Reutimann 2nd, Regan Smith 5th, Kasey Kahne 8th, Paul Menard 9th, Landon Cassill 12th, Jamie McMurray 13th and Dale Jr 15th. Last week due pit strategy and fule milage and a late causion yours truly only had 3 drivers finish in the Top 10 and 4 more in the Top 20. Here are this weeks picks.

1.---Kurt Busch won his 3rd straight pole and will try to become the 1st winner this season from the pole. The team has scored the most points of anybody the last 4 races. Look for a solid finish.

2.---Denny Hamlin had the best car last week and was taken ou on pit road and finished 19th after dominating the race. He is the defending race winner and should have a solid finish this week.

3.---Matt Kenseth is a 2-time winner here and is starting up front which doesn't bode well for the competition.

4.---Jimmie Johnson runs well here but seems to run out of gas toward the end. He is still looking for his 1st win at MIS.

5.---Tony Stewart finished 5th and 6th in the two races lasy year. He is starting to voercome some of the horrible calls by Darrian Grubb.

6.---Carl Edwards is also a former winner here and trys for the weekend sweep today.

7.---Kyle Busch is starting in the middle of the pack and usually runs well here.

8.---Brain Vickers usually runs well here and actually would have won the race here the year Dale Jr won his last race on Fuel milage. NASCAR admitted a scoring mistake on a late race caution and it cost Vickers a win.

9---Jeff Gordon is starting in the back but should be in the front by days end.

10.--Dale Earnhardt Jr was given his last win here by NASCAR. He usually runs well here and should have a solid finish.

The drivers who DNQ were Tony Raines, Brian KeseClownski and Mike Skinner. Other drivers to watch include Martin Truex Jr, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Klassless Harvick nad David Crash Reutimann if they can stay out of trouble. With the drivers being able to run 4 or 5 different grooves it should be a exciting race, but it typcially isn't. The winner of the race usually comes from the drivers starting in the Top 10.

Have a HAPPY FATHER's DAY everybody.

Special K