The victory gave Carl Edwards the series points lead for the first time in his career, by 21 points over Las Vegas pole-sitter Kyle Bush, NASCAR’s new darling and by 41 over Ryan Newman who finished 14th.   However,  NASCAR found an “issue” with the 99 car in post-race inspection.  I will keep you updated on this as more news is released.

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I know it’s been awhile, but this brought me out of hiding. What is this woman (Theresa Earnhardt) thinking? As of tomorrow DEI is going to lose Dale Jr, Martin Truex, Jr AND their main sponsor, Budweiser. Simply because she is to stupid to turn over the company to the kids that Dale Earnardt BUILT THE COMPANY FOR!! I honestly can’t believe this, I am no Junior fan but this is just so sad. The Man In Black must be turning over in his grave right now. That’s all for now, but this news has brought me out of hiding. I will add more as I get the news.

My thoughts - Should a caution have been thrown? OF COURSE!! Lately Nascar has been about as consistent as Britney Spears. Why would they not throw a caution? There were cars crashing and bumping all over the place, racing should have been stopped immediately, especially by Nascar’s latest pansy ass standards. If these were the old days I would see no problem with not throwing a caution, BUT it is the “kinder, gentler� Nascar and as soon as they saw a crash, the flag should be out. That is part of the problem with NASCAR, they change the rules as they see fit. I think they need to sit back and decide what Nascar is going to be. If they want to be a sport on the same level as the NFL, NBA, NHL, etc. then they need to make the rules concrete and STICK TO THEM. No “deciding factors�, no nothing. These are the rules and Nascar follows the rules. All penalties should be equal for infractions. Otherwise Nascar is really just the WWF and they can forget about ever being considered a legitimate sport with the huge mainstream following that they so crave. Viewership has been falling off, sponsors are fleeing the building and Nascar is beginning to alienate their CORE fan base. My tip for Brian France…get some consistency going before you lose the very people that made you the millions that you have today.

Michael Waltrip has done a few interviews but the one that struck me the most was when he said that nothing Nascar could do to him would be worse than his daughter asking her mommy why daddy was cheating. Michael Waltrip said he was very close to quitting and his wife talked him into running the 150. MWR pulled out a backup car that hadn’t been tested and managed to qualify for the Daytona 500.

My opinion - just about every team in Nascar cheats one way or another. When you try to make all of the cars exactly alike the teams have to take an advantage wherever they can find one. Sometimes that involves pushing the envelope. The problem comes in when you go beyond “pushing the envelope� to “let’s hope we don’t get caught�. When you have a sport that was built by bootleggers you are going to have cheating. I am actually amazed that Nascar came down so hard. Especially since Michael Waltrip has been such a positive emissary for the “sport� of Nascar. I have some opinions about why this crackdown happened, but that will be another post. For now, I want to say that I wish Michael Waltrip the best of luck for the Daytona 500 and the rest of the race year.

The changes:

• 12 drivers in the chase - no more 400 points cutoff, the top 12 drivers after race 26 are in the chase
• Chase drivers set at 5,000 - Each driver that makes the Chase will be set at 5,000 points and then reseeded based on wins
• 10 point bonus for each win - Each Chase driver gets 10 points added to his 5,000 for each win during the first 26 races
• Each win is 185 points - That is five points more than previous years. Now it is possible for the winning driver to score 25 points more than the 2nd place driver.

Will the points change help Nascar? My opinion, I’ve never liked the points system. I think the driver that wins the most races should be the Champion. I understand that Nascar is trying to have a “playoff season�, but I think in doing so they may be alienaing their core fan base. People who have loved Nascar for years are not interested now. Why? Because of the points systems, rule changes and the impending “Car of Tomorrow� doom. I don’t like points and I don’t believe there are many that do.

Former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons dies of lung cancer
January 16, 2007

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA (TICKER) — Former NASCAR champion and popular broadcaster Benny Parsons died Tuesday of complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer. He was 65.

Parsons had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina since December 26. He was diagnosed with cancer six months ago but continued to work as a racing analyst for NBC after learning of his condition.

The 1973 NASCAR champion and winner of the 1975 Daytona 500, Parsons never allowed his competitive streak to affect his pleasant personality - or vice versa.

“Benny Parsons was the kindest, sweetest, most considerate person I have ever known,� said Darrell Waltrip, also a former NASCAR champion and announcer. “He was almost too nice to be a race car driver, and I say that as a compliment.

“In my 30-odd years of racing Benny Parsons, I never knew of anyone being mad at Benny.�

Parsons joined the NASCAR circuit full-time in 1970 and registered 21 victories, 20 poles and 283 top-10 finishes in 526 starts in his 18-year career. He was inducted to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

After retiring from racing in 1988, Parsons began his broadcasting career with ESPN and later worked for NBC and cable network TNT. His friendly demeanor made him a favorite of virtually all NASCAR fans.

“Benny Parsons was a great champion, a great ambassador for our sport,� Waltrip said. “But more than that, he was a great person. He exemplified that good guys can be winners, too.�

link to story

Anyway, on a brighter note, my sister just started her own site Bunkies Gifts so if you are looking for Christmas Presents, or just want to surf a little, go check it out!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS NASCAR FANS!!

Now, for the controversy and gossip. Everyone knows that Brian Vickers and Jimmie Johnson are not getting along. Vickers has been barred from team meetings and is basically being treated like a pariah in the garage. So, the question is…did he do it on purpose or was it truly an accident? In the after race interviews Dale, Jr’s response was basically “That’s racin�. Jimmie Johnson, not so much. He was clearly angry and clearly blamed Vickers for taking him out. It will be interesting to see how this drama plays out.

Here are the final Chase standings:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Mark Martin
8. Jeff Burton
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Kasey Kahne