Shake up in points

     Well how about that, JJ is invincible, superman blew a motor in the closing laps and dropped to 4th in the points while Greg Biffle takes the lead in the Sprint cup series with a commanding lead of 20 points going into Bristol next week. Hendrick blew, count them folks, 4 engines this weekend, Jimmie 2 Jeff 1 and Tony Stewart another. For those that don't know Stewart-haaas use engines and chassis provided by Hendrick motorsports.     In reality the 20 points Greg is leading by Will be vaporized in 3 weeks when the points are reset after Richmond when the chase starts.
     Have to give a huge shout out to Sam Hornish Jr, didn't practice, didn't qualify the car, ran up front all day and a top 15 finish, if that doesn't say " hey I'm here and I want this ride next year" I sure don't know what is. Great run by that 22 team.        Carl Edwards had a good run today, but I'm still not seeing what could get him in the chase, with 3 races left, he needs 2 wins very bad.
    So um..... where was Jr at the end? No place near the front, he fell back almost every restart and this one was no different, with a green white checkered finish, he still finished well behind the leader . Considering they didn't have a chance to practice the car after a late practice crash Saturday, Steve did a great job adjusting the car to get yet another top 5 finish.
    Folks I can't write this without a sigh of relief, 2 feet forward, and Mark Martin's crash could of been a precursor to losing yet another great driver to a crazy crash. That was a very scary crash that could of been a whole lot worse. That section of pit wall easily ripped through marks car right behind his seat. Scary scary scary.
    Those mwr cars were for sure stout this weekend, very surprising to see them this good. If Mark didn't wreck this could of been a whole other ending. Nice to see Mark competitive still.
    Time to wrap it up. Have a great week and I'll be back later this week when time allows.

After the road course!

    Man oh man wasn't that a great finish? The race at the Glen was the best of the year, in my opinion anyway. Folks we had it all, passing, rubbin, racin, beating and banging from green to checkers.
    Not sure NASCAR shouldn't of tossed the yellow though, all the drivers up front said there was oil on the track no matter what NASCAR says. I think I believe the 15 or so drivers I heard on tv say they had oil and lots of it all the way around the track.
    Jaun did it again, front to back two weeks in a row, he had a good race going until the left front end broke something. And that guard rail hit by his teammate Jamie mcmurry, holy crap that was a hard hard hit. You could see the impression of the rail on the car. Hope Jamie is ok. Dale Jr said "that one car hit a ton."
    Cry baby Kyle has a short term memory I guess because he seems to forget about all those times he's punted someone on the track...... Like in a truck race when he punted a driver just to get something like a 15th place finish. Brad was going for broke on the last lap and with Marcus on his butt he couldn't wait around for kyle.
    Tough day for Jeff Gordon, he was rolling right along keeping the car where he needed to be to stay ahead of everyone for that second wild card spot before that last spin that put him out of the last spot. With 5 to go until the chase I'm sure he will regroup and get that last spot, every track left is a good track for Jeff. Continuing on with Hendrick bad luck, Dale Jr would of had a great finish if not for a little mistake that had him spinning himself out trying to get more out of the car then the car had. Kasey Kahne had a great day going until Martin Truex decided they didn't need 4 Hendrick cars running on the track all at once. And even more bad news, Jimmie Johnson is now the points leader. Someone put that guy into the fence, I for one do not want to see pretty boy get yet another championship.
    The Biff had an easy day, only 1 point behind JJ, except when we reset Biffel will drop like a rock to the bottom of the pile. Need more wins Biff, but I just don't see him even getting close to a win. Matt also survived, he really struggles at road courses so he did a great job holding on to a good finish at the end.
    Carl? Can you believe he is a total non factor this year and could even miss the chase? Crazy actually!
     Anyone else laugh when Tony spun himself out? Talk about pushing it. He was driving like a mad man headed straight for the front when, as he says about other drivers, he just ran out of talent.
     I heard once that a guy named Jeff Burton raced in NASCAR Sprint Cup? I don't think they even showed him on tv yesterday. The only driver in the RCR stable that did get on tv was Paul Menard, his daddy must be paying ESPN lots of money for the tv time. Um Kevin.... Just tell me your driving slow because your a new daddy then we will all understand (worked for Jeff Gordon according to the fans)
    Well folks it was a tough weekend for a lot of teams, rest easy, the road courses are over for the season. Next up, Michigan, I hear Steve is bringing back the batmobile for Jr, could he be strolling into victory lane again? I think its very possible, Jr is not only hungry for another win, he seriously needs it. The next few races are good tracks for the 88 team.
     Until something new comes along, see you after Michigan. Oh p.s. Seen part of AJ's interview with Marty on ESPN, still got 2 questions for AJ. 1, where is your wife in all this? (folks if you don't know his wife is a doctor of some sort) And 2, with you being so stressed out and everything about racing.... Are you sure it was a one time thing?
   

Ask and you shall receive

    Yesterday was a sad day for NASCAR as Dodge announced they are once again leaving the sport. The difficulty of finding the correct team, basically one that had the ability to build the engines, played a major roll. It was stated in the press conference that it had nothing to do with financing, they were ready to move forward, just couldn't put together the right deal with the right team. Dodge did leave the door open for a return in 2014 if the right deal could be struck.
    After all the money they have spent developing the two new cars for both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup, it had to be a very difficult decision to make, and I for one hope they can make it back into the sport. I'm not a real big dodge fan really, but I think we need them here in the sport. Yes they aren't an American manufacturer anymore, but Dodge has been a mainstay in American culture no mater who owns them. And I'd rather have Dodge then toyota any day.
    In other big news yesterday, Aj Allmendinger stepped up to the microphone and answered some questions on Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody and talked about his positive drug test and what happens next. Aj stated it was the prescription drug adderall, a drug prescribed for ADD.
    Stating that he was out on the town with friends in Kentucky a few days before the race and was barely staying awake, a friend of a friend gave him the pill saying it was an energy supplement and AJ said ok and took the pill. He also said the pill did give him a little energy boost, about whats normal with an energy pill. He said he was shocked when the test came back positive, and didn't learn what the positive test was for until after the B sample was completed.
    Saying what he has gone through the last month "was pure hell"  he called Jeff Gordon on Saturday to get his advice on what to do, Jeff told him "just tell the truth"
    His biggest regret? Disappointing Roger Penske.
    After hearing what AJ had to say, I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but will the sponsors and a team be willing to do the same? Only time will tell. I for one would like to see him get another shot at cup, but I'm just not sure that will happen. Only time will tell. I think he has learned his lesson, lets see if the NASCAR community agrees.

the Monday after!

   Wow ok, so this is not the next day I know, the last 4 days have been jam packed and I'm finally able to sit here and hammer this out. First I said I would give my thoughts on AJ so here it goes.
   First im puzzled by a few things. After all this time we still dont have a clue as to what it was that lead to the failed test, and really, we have not heard a word from AJ since he was suspended back at the Kentucky race.
   His business manager says it was a nanogram(really? what exactly is a nanogram anyway?) Over what NASCAR allows and NASCAR says it's way more then that. I really belive its time for AJ to step up and fill us in. Public opinion is very important on matters like this, why you ask? because sponsors rely on the public to purchase their goods and with all the speculation as to what the drug was and the continued silence from AJ, people are going to really start doubting him. If the fans start doubting him they wont buy whatever product he is trying to promote. In my personal opinion, I really do not think AJ will be back in cup any time soon, if at all. I can't see a multi million dollar sponsor spending that kind of money for someone they can't trust or are unsure of. And let me say this, I really like AJ and I'm a big fan, I hate to see him go through this, and I t hink he is getting some bad advice.
    Now on to last weeks racing action. I did'nt get to watch the truck race this last weekend, so I can't comment on it. I actually didn't even get to see who won.
    I want to say congratulations to the whole NASCAR Nationwide #2 team. they didn't let what happen at Indy get them down and they came back and won the next race at Iowa Speedway. I think Mr. Sadler has put everyone on notice that this year, this is his year and no matter the what happens, he is the man on top and your going to have to be damn good to beat him. With 4 races in the win column, can Elliot win 4 more? With the way that team is running I see no reason why they can't.
    Now on to cup, with rain in the forecast and the track getting drenched the morning of, it was shapping up to be a baby making day (seems like when a race is rained out  more NASCAR members, both crews and reporters, end up announcing that in a few months they are
expecting, oh and by the way, congratulations to Denny Hamlin and his girlfriend, they announced this weekend they are expecting...when did it rain last?)
    At  the start of the race Juan, the poll sitter, did what he had been doing the whole year, falls back and fast, something is way out of whack at EGR, they just can't seem to get going this year. And also like usual, the Hendrick team, all 4 cars, went to the front. Very quickly all 4 cars were in the top 10 with Dale Jr quickley taking the lead running out to a 3 second lead. and JJ was moving up just as fast, eventually driving past Jr. It looked like it was shaping up to be a great race for the whole Hendrick bunch. Went down hill fast though with transmisson problems for Jr and a wreck that appears to have started when Jimmie got sideways and started a little fender bender that ended up catching Hamlin and Matt, who if he wouldn't of got t-boned by the 11 car would of taken the points lead back from Jr.
    All in all team owner Rick Hendrick still got to celebrate in victory lane with the number 24 team in a rained out finish that seen Jeff Gordon finally win one this season and Jr returned to the track and was able to keep his lead in the series. It also looks like just maybe.... Jeff might make it in the chase as he now leads the  field for the remaining wildcard spot for the chase. With the road course coming up and the spark of the win, Jeff could surely make the best of the momentum.
    I want to say one other thing, I seriously don't think what happened with this storm was neither the tracks or NASCAR's fault. They can control the race, not mother nature. It's very sad that we lost a fan as tragically as we did by a lightning strike, but I just can't see blaming the track for what happened. My condolences to the family.
    Next week, the Glen! If I get time I will do a review of what we might expect.

Im going to try something new for the remainder of the year and give my ideas on NASCAR, from whats hot in the news to racing action each week on the track. I might even dispute what I see on twitter and hear on SIRIUSXM 90. From tv and radio coverage to drivers and officals, nothing will be off limits. And I will always be happy to banter with readers (if there are any) follow me on twitter @brad202b where I talk about......well everything! Starting tomorrow, my ideas on AJ and  what I think we can expect at Pocono. Until then.....