The next stop on the Nextel Cup schedule is Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Just when you thought Jeff Burton was about to take the Nextel Cup Championship, Talladega happened. The surprisingly uneventful UAW-Ford 500 turned into a classic restrictor plate crash-fest with 50 laps to go. As a result, the standings in the Chase for the Championship heading into next week’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway have been adjusted, making next week’s race in Charlotte a must-see!

Of all current drivers with 2 or more races at Charlotte, Carl Edwards has had the most success. In 3 starts, Edwards has an average finish of 5th.

Also expect the following drivers to do well next week:

Jimmie Johnson – Average finishing 6th

Denny Hamlin – Average Finish 8th

Bobby Labonte – Average finish 13th

Jamie McMurray – Average Final 13

Hours for next week:

Nextel Cup: @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway

10/12/06 – 07:10 am NASCAR Nextel Cup Bank of America 500 Qualifying

10/13/06 – 04:05 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Bank of America 500 Practice

10/14/06 – 19:10 NASCAR Nextel Bank of America Cup 500

Busch Series: @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway

10/12/06 – 08:40 pm NASCAR Busch Series Dollar General 300 Practice

10/13/06 – 05:05 pm NASCAR Busch Series Dollar General 300 Qualifying

10/13/06 – 08:10 pm NASCAR Busch Dollar General 300 Series

Craftsman Truck Series out until 10/21/06 at Martinsville Speedway

Drama Is Building At Hendrick Motorsports

All the drama queens blocking Google with searches like “Kasey Kahne + girlfriend” and “Wife of Dale Earnhardt Jr”? You must be loving the drama that teammates display at Hendrick Motorsports. As many of you already know, Brian Vickers will leave HMS at the end of the season to join Toyota in his NASCAR Nextel Cup debut next year. To date, the planned move hasn’t exactly been the smoothest.

Brian Vickers has already been banned from any team and organizational meetings for the rest of the season. After yesterday, I’d be surprised if Brian is allowed back on the HMS campus. On the final lap of the UAW-Ford 500, Vickers turned teammate Jimmie Johnson into the lead,

Jeff Gordon’s championship hopes fade

If you missed the first 137 laps of yesterday’s UAW-Ford 500, don’t worry. The action didn’t heat up until lap 137, when an 11-car melee took out Chase for the Championship driver Jeff Gordon. Gordon’s car took the brunt of the collision and was left inoperable for the remainder of the race. As a result, Gordon finished 36; his second straight 30+ finish in the Chase for the Championship.

Just a few races ago, it looked like Gordon had returned to his championship form and was poised to win his record fifth title. However, fuel pump problems last week at Kansas and a severe case of blue restrictor plate yesterday have left Gordon seventh in the standings and 147 points behind first. His hopes of winning the 2006 title are as good as Tony Stewart’s or anyone else’s who failed to make the Chase.

However, don’t discount Gordon. While it’s highly unlikely he could win the Chase, there’s a good chance you’ll see his face in victory lane in the next few races. The remaining tracks on the schedule have been some of Gordon’s favourites. And no matter what he’s heard in recent years, Gordon hasn’t lost the competitive edge on him!

Summary of UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

A race at Talladega Superspeedway is exactly what this year’s Chase for the Championship needed! After last week’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway, the Chase drivers began to segregate. However, nothing blocks segregation more than a good restrictor plate race where anything could happen.

Once again, there were only 4 Chase drivers to finish in the top 10. Surprisingly, friends Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch led the way finishing in second and third place respectively. The other pilots behaved as follows:

1. (Leader) Jeff Burton had one of his typical finishes at Talladega, 27th. The current point leader has never done so well at Talladega and simply wanted to avoid disaster in yesterday’s race. He averted disaster and was able to maintain his points lead.

2. (-6 points) Matt Kenseth had a solid car for most of the day, even leading the race at various points to get the 5 bonus points. The former champion says again that it is not necessary to win races to win a championship.

3. (-10 points) Mark Martin has posted two consecutive top-10 finishes to solidify his third-place position. With just ten points, the fan favorite could take the lead in next week’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

4. (-33 points) Kevin Harvick earned more than 60 points this week by finishing sixth at Talladega. Could the current Busch leader win the Busch and Nextel Cup series in the same year?

5. (-51 points) Denny Hamlin is NASCAR’s new golden boy. Even on his bad days, he still comes out squeaky clean. On lap 174, it looked like Hamlin was done when he pulled onto pit road with steering trouble. However, golden boy persevered and finished in 21st position.

6. (-106 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr was ready to make up some ground in points by winning yesterday’s UAW-Ford 500. Those hopes were dashed, however, when a last-lap wreck caused by Brian Vickers took out the #8 Chevy.

7. (-147 points) Jeff Gordon would be leading the points if he could discount his worst 150 miles in the previous two races. Gordon was running at the top of the field for most of the day until a crash with 50 laps remaining took out the 4-time champion.

8. (-156 points) Jimmie Johnson doesn’t feel the love for teammate Brian Vickers right now. Johnson’s hopes of winning the championship were slim heading into Talladega. However, that second place he was ready to receive before Brian Vickers ripped him apart on the last lap would have been nice.

T9. (-185 points) Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch can’t seem to get enough of each other these days. Wherever one ends, you are sure to find the other. They both had good days yesterday with Kasey finishing second and Kyle third.