Pocono II - 8/01/04 - This race was about as good as the last Pocono race was terrible! What a difference a few hundred rule changes make!!! Jimmie Johnson put on a not-quite-as-dominating-as-usual performance to take his 4th win of the season. Oh, who am I kidding... he whomped ass on everyone! Not surprisingly, being 232 points in the clear, he's not so keen on the new points system all of a sudden! Go figure!

While the playoff looks like it's gonna be fun, I still think NASCAR's point system should give more points for finishing well. Instead of the best of the best - we get the best of the mediocre... consistency still plays far too great a role.

I still think MY points system is superior! See for yourself - go to my points page, take a look at my top 10 versus NASCAR's top 10, and you tell ME which one you think is a better line-up! I thought so!

JJ's performance, Sunday and over the last bunch of races, was downright scary. There should be no question as to who the championship favorite is. Markie Mark showed he's far from done, not only this season but for some time to come. Kasey put on a great show again - he's gotta be the best rookie NASCAR has seen in a decade. The fact that Kahne may not make the cut, after the year he's had, is proof that NASCAR's system needs changin.' Biffle Boy ran strong all day and picked up a well-deserved 4th. And, of course, there was Jeffie-poo - did you SEE that save?!? I jumped out of my seat - what an awesome driver!

As for Junebug, it's pretty clear that his injuries suffered at the ALMS race at Infineon are far more serious than people are letting on. Every interview he's in... he looks like he's in AGONY. It's gonna be interesting to see just how much this poor guy can take. He's under tremendous pressure to do well in the championship, and I hope that other people's demands him won't lead to him being seriously hurt.

AND HOW 'BOUT THAT WARD BURTON?!? Boy, it did my heart good to see Ward doing so well. This race was one of the few times this season, and the first time in many races, where he looked really competitive. His transmission locked up on him with 41 to go, but he sounded very pleased in the garage interview. Maybe this is the turning point for the 0 team! I won't get to see him at Loudon, but I'll be looking forward to next year (not to mention the next 6 races - don't count him out at Richmond!). Atta boy, Ward!!!

6 of the top 10 drivers had bad days, but, only Markie and Kasey were able to capitalize on it. Jeez... Martin and Kahne not in the championship, but Harvick is. What-EVER!

Chicagoland- 7/11/04 - read the awful truth!

Infineon - 6/27/04 - click here for my pictorial review!

Michigan - 6/20/04 - Now, this is sort-of more like it! NASCAR did a much better job of dealing with cautions in this race - though for some insane reason they decided to throw a caution on the last half of the last lap spoiling what looked to be a very close finish. Old habits die hard, I guess. The drivers were apparently given smart pills at the morning meeting, as nobody did anything truly stupid during the race - for once.

During the morning meeting, Mike Helton took the unprecedented move of addressing the drivers regarding the "shenanagins" that have been going on recently. Waving recently taken X-rays - showing clearly that he did indeed have a spine (just kidding) - he told them to not "misinterpret anything that may be going on right now (meaning NASCAR's ineptitude) as an opportunity to take advantage of any situation. We're not going to let that happen."

"Unless, of course, you're Dale Jr." he said, winking. (just kidding again).

Ryan Newman scored his first victory of the season, with a pointless last-lap caution negating a strong charge from ol' 2nd place Kase. Dale Jarrett proved that he is still relevant - getting his first top 5 in well over a year. Brian Vickers is soldifying his run at second-best rookie of the year with a 9th place finish. Ricky Rudd provided a rare noteworthy finish - 12th.

Jimmie Johnson finally knocked His Royal Highness Dale II out of the Topspot - one week AFTER he tops the Davey Karnuba power rankings! Ratface Harvick goes to 26 points from falling out of the Top 10. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy... and let's hope that it doesn't.

Next on the chopping block... Jeff Green? Currently 35th in the standings with only 2 lead lap finishes all year, it's hard to imagine Green being around for long. Then again, this is Petty Enterprises we're talking about - a team that has turned losing into an art form. I'm guessing he's probably only one or two blow-ups away from getting the axe. More later... or, possibly, sooner...

What's up with Ward? Even us die hard Wardheads are starting to wonder. It seems the best we can hope for lately is a top 20. Ward just doesn't seem to be able to compete at this time, and when he is in a position to do something (like at the All-Star race or Dover), his pit crew blow it. Given that HAAS is way down the list of Chevy's prorities, I'm sad to say that I'm not expecting much from my hero. It'll be that much sweeter when he wins! Right?!? Just trying to be positive.

Jeffie-Poo had a riches to rags day - finishing 38th with a blown engine despite taking the pole AND leading the most laps.

So, on to Infineon! I'll be there - cheering on Ward and Jeffie-Poo, booing Ratface and Rotten Robby, and trying not to succumb to Junior-itis. I've seen what it does to people. Scary...

Pocono - 6/13/04 - Ugh, what a stinker. Over 1/4 of the race run under the yellow! Maybe this whole website thing was a mistake. Just when I decide to really follow and study NASCAR, it starts changing into something really ugly.

The problem with NASCAR is NASCAR itself. There's an old saying - he who tries to please everyone pleases no one. And that's basically what's happening at NASCAR. NASCAR has been so concerned with ratings and drama and filling seats that it has forgotten about the racing.

BOOGITY BOOGITY... aw hell....

Here's an example of just how bad it is... a fan beaned back-up flagman Jimmy Howell with a freakin' cooler. So after all the comments made in the booth, after all the condemnations from officials, drivers, and fans alike after Talladega, what does NASCAR do? NOTHING, of course! No charges were pressed against the idiot, who was escorted out of the stands and let off scott-free. WUSSES!!!

Hmm... he LOOKS tough...

The only thing surprising about the whole Kenseth/Harvick lovefest is how UNsurprising it all is. Harvick and Kenseth have been close to blows for a while now - it was only a matter of time before things boiled over. No surprise they couldn't get the race restarted at the end, what with the two of them playing tag all over the track. Equally unsurprising was NASCAR's typical wuss-out, wih Mike Helton tsk-tsking the drivers, saying such actions were "frowned upon." Oooooooooo... Those boys better watch it; if it happens again they might get a "talking to"!

Finally the most unsurprising thing of all - Harvik's post-race comment...

GOD I am beautiful when I'm freshly shaved...

"(Matt Kenseth) needs to check his ego
because it's getting to big."

- Kevin Harvick, in perhaps the
ultimate case of "the pot calling
the kettle black"

Blaney takes over LOL car - To the shock and surprise of absolutely no one, Johnny Sauter was taken out from behind the wheel of the #30 car to make way for Dave Blaney. As I predicted back in March, Sauter's days were numbered. RCR had to do something; since Sauter wasn't causing some kind of ruckus - on or off the track - he had to be demoted.

So far it looks like it might work; Blaney was totally unapologetc for causing the Big One at Dover by swerving up into Michael - granted it wasn't entirely his fault... his spotter cleared him to early. But Blaney's gonna need to pump up the jerk factor if he's going to survive as the meat in the ego sandwich that is Rich 'n Childish Racing. So far he's already learned a trick from Robby Gordon - never EVER admit that you made a mistake.

6/15/04 - Well, I give up. See, my brilliant idea was to write big articles just on the weeks that stuff happenned, cross-referencing from several different disciplines to create some bold, new literature about our favorite sport.

Unfortunately, I have a life. And that means I can't spend near the amount of time I want to writing and researching. So I'm taking the easy way out. I'm going to be writing a blurb each week on the race and what happened and why you, or I, or anyone should care.

As my job usually has me working sundays, I'll be watching the tape and writing my reviews on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for reading - trust me, it'll be for the best!