[align=center]NASCAR Race Report[/align][align=center]
Everyone is still alive in the Chase for the Cup
[/align][/align][/align][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]Leader Jeff Gordon currently holds just a 158-point lead over 12th place in the Chase [/align][align=center][/align][align=center]
[/align][/align][align=center]Like it or not-you'll probably find more who do than don't-NASCAR's 10-race, 12-driver playoff is working like a charm. After two races, the top five drivers in the Chase for the Cup are separated by 10 points, the top seven by only 46. And leader Jeff Gordon is only 158 ahead of 12th-place Denny Hamlin, a deficit that could be overcome in one weekend. Under NASCAR's old "full-season" system, Gordon would be about to clinch his fifth Cup with room to spare.

This is how close Nextel Cup is these days: Except for a mid-race accident, Hamlin may have finished the Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover first or second in points. If not for tire and wheel issues, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick might have been close to the top as well. Only a late-race 10-car accident kept Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch from challenging at the end. Matt Kenseth was set to finish in the top three until blowing up late.

Carl Edwards lapped all but five drivers to win the 400-miler over Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Kyle Busch. The win pulled him from eighth in points to third, but a postrace penalty almost certainly will push him back down. NASCAR took issue with the right rear of his Roush-Fenway Ford[b] and will impose penalties on Sept. 25. With eight races left, though, that shouldn't ruin his shot at the Cup.

"I think this Chase will be what people predicted," Edwards said after his third victory this year, the seventh of his career and his first at Dover. "The depth is such that I think you'll have to win races [to win the Cup]. We're two races in, and guys have had bad luck and all, and to have the top seven within 30-something points [46, actually] is insane. I think it'll be an extremely tough Chase, and I wouldn't have said that before it started."

Edwards and Kyle Busch were the only top-five-finishing Chasers, and Burton (seventh) and Tony Stewart (ninth) were the only others in the top 10. Gordon, Bowyer, Truex and Johnson were 11th to 14th; Harvick was 20th; Newman and Kurt Busch were 28th and 29th, and Hamlin was 38th. Even so, Hamlin's only slightly worse off than Johnson after Dover last year, when he rallied to win the championship.

Neither Johnson nor Gordon-who came to Dover on top in points-distinguished himself. "It's too early to know what's going to make a difference," said Johnson, the pole winner, who led only the first lap. "That's why you've got to be consistent. [Kenseth] dominated [and] blew up. We thought we'd finish 33rd, but we're 14th, so who knows?"

Gordon was happy with what he got. "We took off and were awesome at the start, then it all went downhill," he said. "It wasn't pretty, but it was effective, because we survived and got a decent finish. We certainly didn't have the car we were hoping for."

The win was the 100th in Cup for Roush, who came to NASCAR full-time with Martin in 1989. Edwards started 15th, led three times for 95 laps (including the final 38) and was challenged only briefly during five late restarts. (Eight of the 13 cautions were after halfway.) "Our only trouble was the throttle pedal hanging up, but we fixed that at lap 190," he said. "From then on, the car was just great. For a

 

I wonder if the sportscasters are correct.

The Chase is the only playoff series with no excitement.

I wonder how NASCAR can beef this thing up to generate some fun?

 

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[align=center][/align][align=center]Roush-Fenway Racing to appeal[/align][/align][align=center]
Written by Administrator & `Space

Sep 26, 2007 at 09:43 PM

Roush-Fenway Racing will appeal the penalties NASCAR gave to Carl Edwards and the #99 team, after their winning machine was found to be too low during post race inspection. They believe the loss of 25 points for a chase driver is unfair and should have been less.

โ€œWe intend to appeal the unfair assessment of the pointโ€™s penalty. What is unfair is that Carl is receiving a penalty that is 250 percent greater in its effect than a similarly assessed penalty against a non-โ€˜Chaseโ€™ driver. โ€˜Chaseโ€™ drivers are competing for a total of 1,950 points. All drivers competed for 5,070 points in the first 26 races. Do the math. The net effect is that a 25 point penalty falls unfairly hard on a โ€˜Chaseโ€™ contender. Thatโ€™s simply not right. To equalize the penalty impact on all competitors not more than 10 points should have been taken from a โ€˜Chaseโ€™ contender.โ€ [/align]
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2008 Cup Schedule announced

Written by Administrator& `Space

Sep 26, 2007 at 07:58 AM


The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule was announced today, a 36-race slate that kicks off with the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway. The 2008 season also marks NASCARโ€™s 60th year as stock car racingโ€™s longest operating sanctioning body.
Following the โ€œGreat American Raceโ€ the series travels to Southern California, then to the bright lights of Las Vegas before returning to the southeast for races at Atlanta and Bristol. The first scheduled off date for the series will be in March during the Easter holiday. Following the race in Martinsville, the series makes another swing to the southwest, racing at Texas and Phoenix in early April. The second scheduled off weekend occurs in mid-April. The series then picks back up with races at Talladega, Richmond and Darlington prior to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge at Loweโ€™s Motor Speedway.
โ€œBy running five consecutive points events before the first scheduled break in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the 2008 schedule is designed to be even more fan friendly,โ€ said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.
Another adjustment to the 2008 schedule is that the Chicago race will be run Saturday night. โ€œNight racing provides an additional element of intrigue and excitement,โ€ said France. โ€œRunning under the lights at Chicagoland on a Saturday night will be even more exciting for the fans in the stands as well as those watching from home.โ€
Other key dates:
* The 30th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will be held on Feb. 9.
* On Sunday, July 27, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
* On the evening of Saturday, Sept. 6, Richmond International Raceway will be the last opportunity for drivers to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
[font=arial][size=2][b]* The week after Richmond, on Sunday, Sept. 14, New Hampshire again will have the kick-off event in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which covers t

 

[align=center][*]Race: Sunday, October 7, 2007 in Talladega, AL
[*]Title Sponsor: UAW-Ford[*]Track: Talladega Superspeedway[*]TV: ABC 2:00pm/et[*]NASCAR Countdown: ESPN - 1:00pm/et[*]Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 2:15pm/et[*][/align][align=center]Space Pick's 4 Talladega[/align][align=center][:-][/align][align=center]1. Jeff Gordon[/align][align=center]2. Tony Stewart[/align][align=center]3. Denny Hamlin[/align][align=center]4. Carl Edwards[/align][align=center]5. Dale `Jr #8 : )[/align][align=center]Jimmy Johnson (Top Ten: )[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]Member's - Post your Picks[/align][align=center][:-][/align]

 

 

 

Great race!!! I was upset with all the engine problems, Jr can't get any love this year from Lady Luck.

I had mixed feelings at the end. 1 Glad Gordone won!!! 2. Fell asleep during the last 20 Laps.

I was upnorth and I don't know what it is, but I get up there and get drowsy right away. I think it's the clean air or something. But I come home so relaxed that it is awesome.

 

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'Dega Full Recap [/align][align=center]
[align=center]Written by Administrator & MCF `Space [/align]
[align=center]Oct 07, 2007 at 08:19 PM
Race Recap: Gordon Regains Points Lead With Victory at Talladega[/align][/align]
TALLADEGA, Ala. --Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson laid back for two-third's of the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday, then stormed to the front with just seven laps remaining to finish one-two in a wild scramble to the checkered flag.

Gordon, a four-time champion, and Johnson, NASCAR's defending champion, saved their best for last as both drivers hooked together andliterally charged to the front of the free-wheeling pack at the end.

It was a typical every-man-for-himself Talladega finish as 200 mile an hour cars fanned out four abreast for the final run.

Tony Stewart, who did everything he could to win, was cut off in the scramble to the line after leading most of the final laps. He wound up eighth.

Trailing Gordon and Johnson were Dave Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Stewart, Tony Raines and Reed Sorensen.

The day's biggest accident, which happened on lap 145, knocked several frontrunners out of contention. Something broke on Bobby Labonte's car and he slid suddenly up the track and into the wall in front of the field. The ensuing wreck involved Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers and David Ragan.

Several other accidents or mechanical problems took out drivers who might have been a factor in the "last man standing" finish, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., his teammate Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip and Elliott Sadler.

Engine problems accounted for the DEI team woes. Waltrip and Sadler wrecked.
It was not a good day for many of the contenders in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title. Besides Busch, Kenseth and Truex, Jeff Burton fell out with engine problems and Kevin Harvick had to nurse a sick engine to the 20th finishing position.

This white-knuckle race, traditionally one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, had a little added spice in its ingredients this time around.

The first seven qualifiers had to get in the race on speed and were set up for qualifying runs, not race runs. As a result, there was added nervous anticipation to what would happen at the start under those conditions.

[font=arial][size=2][b]Polesitter Waltrip,Labonte, Robby Gordon,Blaney andVickers set the tone for the 188-lap event by swapping the lead every lap for the first six trips around the massive, 2.66-mile tr

 

Gordon has my vote! I am becoming a Carl Edwards fan quick though!

 

[align=center]LOWES MOTOR SPEEDWAY (Charlotte)
Distance: 1.5 Mile Oval
Banking/Turns 1-4:24ยบ
Banking/Straights:5ยบ
Length/Frontstretch: 1,952 ft.
Length/Backstretch: 1,360 ft.
Miles/Laps: 600 mi. = 400 laps
501 mi. = 334 laps [/align][align=center]MCF Members,[/align][align=center]Pick the Top `3 & Post them : )[/align][align=center][:-][/align]