Sports Nuts and Bolts

Eldora: Prelude to the Nightmare?

The race was wonderful. The aftermath? Not so much.

Prelude to the Dream takes place annually at Eldora Speedway, left, a small dirt track in Rossburg, Ohio. The track is owned by Tony Stewart, famed Sprint Cup driver and he invited his friends, other famous NASCAR drivers, to join him for a night of dirt track racing and fundraising.

The event benefits the Tony Stewart Foundation and Victory Junction Gang Camp, a camp founded by Kyle Petty and his family to give children with chronic illnesses a place to be a child and still receive top medical care. Stewart and friends did meet their goal of $1,000,000 for the camp.

Truthfully, these drivers are celebrities and athletes, but they've shown that they are human beings first. I'm amazed every day at how much they give back and Stewart is no exception.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not there for the big day, but make no mistake, he contributes as well.

June 4 was the scheduled day for 2008 and the event sold out with more than 23,000 fans in attendance to watch as Stewart dominated the race and took home the win.

The day began for my family at noon when we hit the road for Eldora. Two and a half hours later we were parking our vehicle in a grass field and watched as another driver parked his car next to us... while drinking his beer.

Disturbing, but I was still unwilling to give in to the taunts of a co-worker who insisted this would be a redneck fest like no other.

Then we walked toward the track. The smell of marijuana permeated my senses and again, I fought the urge to give in to the stereotype.

Inside the track, my faith was renewed as fans laughed and shared their reasons why they wanted to be present at this track on this day.

I know that I was looking forward to seeing these wealthy men who race cars for a living come back to their roots and enjoy the sport just for the sake of getting messy and going fast. I was not disappointed.

I watched as a large tractor, right, went around and around the track, preparing it for the night's event. Before long I became aware that the driver, the track worker, was none other than Stewart. He proved it was his track and he would be the one to care for it. Once that was finished, he proceeded to drive an old pickup truck around and around in circles to smooth it out for his friends. He even dragged a few of the drivers with him to enjoy the work.

The race was enjoyable and there will be more stories to come, but the end of the race was not exciting at all.

The bathrooms were horrendous and most of them didn't work anymore. It was sickening. Once we got out to our car, it got worse.

Nobody understood the concept of 'the zipper,' which is when cars take turns getting out of places. My family and I sat in our car for an hour and a half as drunks wandered around muttering incoherently. One guy threw his lawn chair by our car as he screamed for Larry at the top of his lungs. I don't know who Larry is, but I was glad I wasn't him that night.

Eventually we got onto the road and had a few more adventures, all which will be revealed, but for now I can honestly say that with all the craziness of the nightmare of leaving, the prelude to that nightmare was good enough to make me head back next year.

It was wild and crazy, but my daughter, right, had a blast and even with the crazed fans and the nutty drunkards, there is nothing that could stop us from making this a family trip on a regular basis.

~Chandra 

Follow the Leader Until He Wrecks

Last weekend's Coca-Cola 600 was surprisingly good, which is rare for a 1.5 mile track. It might have had something to do with just about every car that led the race ran into trouble so no one driver was completely dominant.

Kyle Busch was the pole winner and started the race leading many laps until he ran into a battery problem. Kurt Busch led a lot of laps and then found the wall when he tire blew. Brian Vickers, in the 83 car at left, also led a lot of laps, giving hope to the new Team Red Bull, until his entire left rear wheel came off. It bounced across the track, hit the hood of David Gilliland's car, and then bounced into the infield, landing on a grill being used by one of the campers. The mean NASCAR security took the tire away from the lucky campers, but Vickers promised they'd find the campers and give them a bunch of cool stuff. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (88) was given the five bonus points for leading the most laps but he, too, found the wall (and JJ Yeley [96] found him) when his tire also blew, right. It was Jimmie Johnson's turn, the driver who dominates at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Except his engine blew up. You want to know how rare that is for him? It was the first time Johnson had a DNF due to an engine in 96 races. That's almost three years. Tony Stewart then took off with the lead and looked to be on his way to winning his first ever Coca-Cola 600, the season's longest race. Those pesty tires sure don't like it when they're leading a race. Two laps from the end of the race, a tire also blew on Stewart's car, giving the lead to Kasey Kahne, left, who went on to back up his criticized All-Star Race win with his first points win in 52 races.

Again, I was very surprised that this race was enjoyable. I'd have to rank it as one of the top races this year, which include the Talladega and Phoenix races.

Now I have to say something about those two young punks at Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.

I already don't like Hamlin, right, but he made it worse at the Nationwide Series race on Saturday. At the end of the race under caution, Brad Keselowski gave Hamlin a little tap on the bumper, the same kind of tap Stewart gives the pace car when he rides around under caution. Which means it's not that big of a tap. Hamlin gets all mad and sideswipes Keselowsky, damaging the fender. This, in turn, angers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who owns Keselowski's car and he also gives Hamlin a tap on the rear bumper. As far as I'm concerned, Junior should have turned the little snot into the wall. So after the race, a fight breaks out on pit road. Hamlin obviously didn't think through his thick skull that now the crew of Keselowski's #88 car has to fix the damage now and also he managed to tick off the most popular driver in NASCAR.

And apparently Hamlin doesn't know what racing is about. He complained that Keselowski was racing him hard. I may not be a racer, but isn't that what racing is all about? You just don't give in at the end of the race, you fight hard. Hamlin goes on to say that Keselowski obviously doesn't have any Cup Series experience. So, Hamlin, are you an expert in Cup racing now? Tell that to Jeff Gordon or Jeff Burton or Mark Martin. Or, heck, even Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin also seems to forget it won't be too long until Keselowski is in the Cup Series. Check out the video and see what you think.

As for Kyle Busch, he actually had the nerve to complain about Jeff Gordon battling him for third place at the end of the race. Do these Joe Gibbs guys really think everybody should just lay down for them? I think this is the real reason why Tony Stewart wants to leave.

Next week's race is at the Monster Mile - Dover International Speedway. Martin Truex, Jr., left, won his first career Cup race there last year.

~ Chris, guest blogger

All Star All Boring

This year's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (formerly The Winston and, as recently as last year, the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge) was the most boring All-Star Race I've ever seen.

First let me take you through who makes the race so I can get the confusion over with. Drivers who have won this year or last year make the race. Car owners who have won this year or last year make the race, which means if a driver who has won leaves a team, that car the driver formerly drove is still eligible. Past Cup Series champions in the last ten years are eligible along with any past Winston/All-Star race winners from the past ten years. That sets the base lineup. There's more to come.

The Sprint Showdown (formerly The Winston Open and, as recently as last year, the Nextel Open) is the race where drivers who meet none of the criteria above can try to make the main show. The top two finishers of the Showdown along with a driver voted in by the fans also make the main event.

The Showdown was actually interesting, although there weren't too many wrecks. A highlight was pole-sitter Elliott Sadler (19) being wrecked by AJ Allmendinger (84), picture right. Sadler said some mean things about Allmendinger afterwards but I guess Sadler forgot that he took out Tony Stewart at Darlington last week with a similar "rookie" mistake. However, the interesting part of the Showdown came from the two most unlikely drivers. AJ Allmendinger won the race, the driver who failed to make the first three races of the season and then was replaced for five races. Right behind him in second was Defiance, Ohio, native Sam Hornish, Jr., his #77 Dodge on the left, whose car was yawed out so far it looked like he was driving sideways the entire race (as the picture on the left shows. His car is going straight despite what it looks like). It helped, though, because he had the fastest car on the track and would have won the event if not for spinning the tires on a restart.

So those two winners just about fill out the field for the All-Star Race. The next driver to make it in is from the fan vote. It was no surprise Kasey Kahne won, considering his large fanbase (even I voted for him, he was more deserving to be in the All-Star Race than Allmendinger and Hornish).

Onwards to the main event!

Kyle Busch had won the pole for the event and was booed tremendously when he was introduced, right. Even perrenial boo-ee Jeff Gordon didn't get any boos. Apparently all the boos were saved for Kyle Busch. They reserved the last introduction for Dale Jarrett. Although he raced in five points races earlier in the season, this race marked his final race in the Cup Series forever (or so he says). To top it off, he finally drove the truck! After years of commercials detailing his quest to drive the famous UPS truck on the track, he was able to for his final race. It was pretty neat.

The race began... and Kyle Busch immediately ruined it by running away from the field to lead all 25 laps of the first segment. After a brief caution to start the second segment, Kyle Busch ran off with the lead again. But the NASCAR gods were smiling that night when Busch reported his engine was going sour. Rejoice!

Carl Edwards took the lead away from Busch's ailing car and... sailed away with the lead, winning the second segment. Kyle Busch nursed his car to the end of the second segment where a ten minute break would determine his fate. Just as a pit reporter asked Busch if they could fix it, over the radio his crew chief informed Kyle Busch: "We're done."

The sweetest words I have heard this season. And even a sweeter sight: Kyle Busch's car being pushed to the garage, right, amid a chorus of cheers and boos.

On to the third segment. Greg Biffle got the lead... and no one else had a chance. So he won the third segment easily. The caution came out to mark the transition between segments where Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson gambled and took only fuel on their mandatory pit stop.

Many thought Biffle, with fresh right side tires, would easily overtake Kahne. However, Kahne, left, held on with old tires while Biffle's car tightened up. So Kahne had a huge lead, just like Busch, Edwards, and Biffle did the first three segments, and won the All-Star Race, which also guarantees him a spot in the field for ten years. He also became only the third driver, after Michael Waltrip and Ryan Newman, to transfer from the Open/Showdown and win the main event, and the first driver to even win the fan vote and go on to win the All-Star Race.

To underline the monotony of this race, there were zero cautions. ZERO! The cautions for the segments don't count since they mark the segments and are planned. What happened to the all-out wreckfest of past All-Star events? Where money is more important than points and making friends on the track? Where is the drama of last year, picture right, where Kyle Busch (5) took out himself and his own brother - Kurt Busch (2) - for the sake of one million dollars? At least Hornish proved his second-place finish in the Showdown wasn't a fluke with a seventh-place finish in the All-Star Race, despite smacking the wall earlier in the race and finding himself two laps down.

With the All-Star Race also run at Lowe's Motor Speedway, let's hope next week's Coca-Cola 600 - the longest race of the season - is not as boring as this race was.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Vroom Goes the Tiger with Red Wings

Hatred at 200 mph

Why did M&M's have to feature Indiana Jones on Kyle Busch's car? I hated having to root against such a classic film icon.

It took me awhile to even try to post the NASCAR update because the sport's most hated driver won the race at Darlington... after egging the crowd on like an idiot in the pre-race ceremonies. I did almost feel sorry for his mother, who was there since the race was over Mother's Day weekend. The moment Busch stepped out to be introduced, the crowd booed like I've never heard it boo before. Paced around the track on a pickup truck during driver introductions, he decided to enrage the crowd even more by flipping the bird, wiping away fake tears, and generally doing to immature things an arrogant 23-year-old would normally do when he thinks he's awesome.

Let's not forget how he whined about being wrecked at the Nationwide Series race the night before, vowing to pay back Brad Keselowski, right, for "wrecking him" when it was clearly a racing incident. Is it a coincidence that Keselowski drives for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?

The Sprint Cup race at Darlington was said to become a wreckfest, much like the Nationwide race before it. However, only eight cautions flew at the fast, newly repaved track in which Greg Biffle destroyed the previous qualifying record with his pole sitting run. It looked as if it would be wrecks galore when only two laps into the race, Elliott Sadler (19) got loose off a turn and rammed Tony Stewart (20) into the wall.

On lap 11, another caution flew for Sam Hornish, Jr. and after that it was green flag racing for 124 laps.

Greg Biffle was the car to beat but, unfortunately like at Atlanta and Talladega, another race was handed to Kyle Busch as the most dominant car had troubles (Carl Edwards blew up at Atlanta and Tony Stewart wrecked at Talladega). In this case, Biffle's engine went sour and he ended up 43rd.

Despite wishes of Busch's failing brakes to completely fail or for one of his journeys against the wall to finally take him out, Busch still won the race. As he did donuts, no one in the crowd cared.

The impressive part of this rather dull race was the performances of David Ragan, left, and Travis Kvapil, right. Ragan has certainly become the most improved driver of the year. He's consistently a top 15 car and finished fifth at a track that eats up younger, not as experienced drivers. He's also made it into the coveted top 12, the drivers that make the Chase for the Championship. Let's see if he can hold onto it and continue his impressive performance. As for Kvapil, if this man doesn't get a sponsor soon, I don't know what he has to do to get one. He finished seventh at Darlington. Again, Kvapil has improved greatly while driving for a team that hasn't performed well since 2005. He's gotten his #28 Yates Racing Ford into the top 20 in points but is yet still unsponsored.

With Biffle's engine failure and subsequent chewing out of Roush Fenway Racing, rumors began to abound about him replacing Tony Stewart in the #20 Toyota. Biffle, left, has yet to re-sign with Roush and would be a free agent after this season. If Biffle doesn't re-sign, it would also solve Roush's problem of having to scale down from five teams to four teams after the 2009 season. We'll have to see as the season goes on what happens with Biffle and Stewart and where they'll race next year.

Night racing in May continues as the 17th brings the All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. As a non-points race, we'll see if Junior pays back Kyle Busch or see what other idiotic things Busch decides to do.

Mind Your Ps and Ds

The Stanley Cup Finals are nearing its endpoint as the Western and Eastern Conferences decides their respective champions. The Western Conference has pitted the hometown favorite Detroit Red Wings, left, against the Dallas Stars. The Red Wings have owned the Stars as they lead the series 3-0 and prepare for a sweep. On the other side of the country, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue their dominance and lead the Philadelphia Flyers (who beat my beloved Capitals in the first round) 2-0 in the series. It looks as if it'll come down to a Detroit/Pittsburgh game, leaving Ohio as the state caught in the middle. Hey, at least the teams won't have to travel very far.

Tigers Lose Their Roar

The Detroit Tigers, with starting pitcher Nate Robertson on the right, are still struggling to win games. They sit in last place in the American League Central Division, 4.5 games back from the Minnesota Twins. Yes, that means even the Kansas City Royals are ahead of them in the standings. But they shouldn't feel too bad. The sport's biggest budgeted team, the New York Yankees, are also struggling as they sit in fourth place, 4 games behind the Boston Red Sox. To add to the insult, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles are ahead of them in the standings. Can you believe Tampa Bay is only half a game out of first? Maybe for once the American League East won't come down to a Boston/New York showdown like it has for the past few years.

The National League's first place teams all have the same exact record - the Florida Marlins, left, Chicago Cubs, and Arizona Diamondbacks share 23-15 records among them. I guess the Marlins are celebrating the news of their new stadium and proving to their fans that they should be a team to watch... as long as the team's owners don't scuttle everything at the end of the season like they're so fond of doing after World Series wins.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Kyle Busch: NASCAR's Most Wanted

After the Richmond race weekend, Kyle Busch, left, found himself #1... twice. Not only is he first in the Sprint Cup points standings, but he also became public enemy #1.

Kyle Busch has always been hated but he crossed the line - and not the finish line - at the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Speedway. Let us begin with the Nationwide Series race on Friday night.

All was fine in that race, Kyle Busch found himself a lap down but made it up and was third when the white flag waved. Due to typical last lap battling, Steve Wallace, right with his father Rusty, tapped Busch on the rear bumper, sending Busch up the track. Remember, Kyle Busch was in third when this happened. Kyle Busch regained control of his car and Wallace even let up so Busch wouldn't have to wreck him to get his spot back. When the checkered flag flew, Kyle Busch finished... third.

But the arrogant cockiness of Kyle Busch, believing himself to be superior to everybody else, decided to have a chat with Wallace after the race. He stuck his head inside Wallace's car and said some things which prompted Wallace - mind you he has ADD and Tourette's - to grab Busch's helmet. Busch yanked himself away and that was that. I have to ask, Busch still finished third and wasn't in contention for the win so why did he have to make a big deal about it? Because he's Kyle Busch, that's why. Judging by his actions, he's allowed to wreck everybody but no one is allowed to wreck him.

The real gem of this was Busch's interview. He used the clichéd "If you mess with the bull you get the horns" quote and then had the nerve to say on live TV, "I don't care, I'll wreck as many cars as I need to."

What?

That right there sets up everybody's perception of him for any upcoming race. Of course, Wallace gets the upper hand in his interview when he calls Busch a "little girl." Here's a video for some laughs.

Onwards to the Sprint Cup race. Denny Hamlin, left, started on the pole, after winning the Nationwide race, and led 381 of the first 382 laps in a 400 lap race. Very boring if you ask me. A huge wreck, top right, that took out the likes of Jimmie Johnson (48), Matt Kenseth (17), and Kurt Busch (2) mixed things up a bit and a sparky ride, bottom left, by Casey Mears (5) being pushed by Michael Waltrip (55) also changed tempo. But Hamlin was still leading a boring race where only AJ Allmendinger under caution had led a lap.

That all changed on lap 383. Hamlin's tire was leaking air and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch split Hamlin to fight for the lead. Junior won out and was well on his way to ending his 71 race winless streak when Hamlin's tire gave out and he stopped on the track to bring out a caution. Conspiracy theorist say Hamlin stopped on purpose to draw the caution to get Busch back onto Junior's bumper (Hamlin and Busch are teammates).

The race restarted on lap 395 with Junior in the lead. Junior and Busch battled each other for a few laps when they dived into a corner and Busch got loose underneath Junior. Yes, Kyle Busch, the most hated driver in NASCAR, wrecked the most popular driver in NASCAR.

Remember that comment he made in the Nationwide race?

During this melee, Clint Bowyer zipped by for the lead. The race ran under caution for a few more laps since fans were throwing things onto the track. On the green-white-checkered finish, Bowyer, left, had the help of Mark Martin trying to pass Busch to take the checkered flag for the second win of his career. I can certainly tell you I was torn with that wreck. On one hand I was angry Junior was wrecked by Busch, but on the other hand I was absolutely joyous that Bowyer took the lead since he's my favorite driver.

Cue the interviews. Kyle Busch did his best not to apologize for what he did. He sort of did but really didn't mean it. Someone needs to order up a punch in the face for him like Jimmy Spencer gave to his brother Kurt Busch. After that punch, Kurt Busch became a much better man.

With Junior's interview, he tried his danged best to not let his emotions get the best of him. It was one of the most depressing interviews I've ever seen. He didn't give blame to anybody, not even Busch, and took the high road. After that interview, you have to become a supporter of him if you weren't before. Not many drivers can control their emotions like Junior, pictured right, can.

The seriousness of Kyle Busch's situation was even stated by the race winner. Bowyer, being escorted into the press room by police, said that Kyle Busch needed the escort more than he did.

We'll have to see what happens with the younger Busch this Saturday as a repaved Darlington Speedway hosts another night race.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Wreckers for the checkers

Kevin Lepage, left, needs to stay away from the NASCAR garage for awhile.

In the waning laps of the Nationwide Series race, Lepage was coming out of the pits while the gigantic pack of cars racing at 180+ mph were steaming down the stretch. NASCAR rules say a driver can't blend back onto the racetrack until the backstretch but Lepage didn't care and he, for some reason, thought 110 mph was the same speed as the pack of cars coming at him. The end result wasn't pretty. Take a look:

Then Lepage had the nerve to blame Carl Edwards and everybody else except himself for the wreck. Although Lepage later profusely apologized for everything after he saw the replay, it would probably still be a good idea to not race in NASCAR for awhile.

Onwards to the main event.

The Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway has taken the mantle of the best race of 2008, despite being seriously marred by Kyle Busch, right, winning the race under caution while Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin were about to make their move to deny Busch the win.

Reed Sorenson and Matt Kenseth continued their 2008 struggles. Sorenson blew his engine only five laps into the race and Matt Kenseth blew a tire, hitting the wall, and finishing a miserable 41st.

For the beginning of the race, it was looking as if it was just going to be a boring, single file racing until Jamie McMurray and Denny Hamlin teamed up and rocketed around by themselves on the outside groove (in which Dale Earnhardt, Jr. jokingly said over the radio: "Rude."). Hamlin eventually took the lead and soon all heck would break loose. It wasn't long until the outside groove started moving and the rest of the race consisted of two- to three-wide racing, and sometimes even four-wide.

Tony Stewart was the car to beat in this race. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. For starters, he blew a tire and scraped the wall. Luckily he was far enough up on the racetrack that he didn't cause much damage. With the racing getting hectic, Stewart was moving up the field, but a gap he found to advance forward suddenly grew smaller and he bounced off the cars of Bobby Labonte and Junior, triggering a little Big One that collected Stewart, in his #20 Toyota left, Labonte, McMurray, Junior, Martin Truex, Jr., and Kurt Busch.

I did not want Kyle Busch to win but at Talladega when a driver is running in first when the white flag waves, usually that means that driver is not going to win. It's the finicky draft and the final turn passes that create this interesting dilemma. Kyle Busch was in the lead so it meant he wasn't going to win. Montoya was in second, hoping for his first oval win and proving road courses aren't the only tracks he can win.

Another Big One was triggered on the white flag lap - meaning no green-white-checkered finish to keep Busch from winning - when McMurray shot up the track and took out every car on the lead lap that finished 12th or back, which included points leader Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, pole-sitter Joe Nemechek, and a very surprisingly competive David Stremme, who had a car that could win.

Next week is short track racing under the lights at Richmond International Raceway. It was this race two years ago where Junior had his last win. Also winless in 2008: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Kurt Busch.

Smoke fires up the NASCAR rumor mill

Silly Season has already started in this young NASCAR season.

Tony Stewart, left, who has raced in the Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing since his rookie year in 1999 and current driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota, apparently wants out of his contract next year and wants to head off to a new challenge - the challenge of ownership.

Haas CNC Racing, a race team that is more known for its mediocracy on the track than for fielding winning cars, is supposedly Stewart's target for a part-ownership deal. Haas CNC Racing currently fields the #66 State Water Heater Chevrolet driven by Scott Riggs and the #70 Haas Automation Chevrolet, right, formerly driven by Jeremy Mayfield. Haas CNC Racing has no wins to its credit and shows only ocassional flashes of potential but has never come close to winning a race. Could Stewart change the fortunes of Haas much like Joe Gibbs Racing gave Toyota a better future this year?

Many fans say a driver is only as good as his equipment. Looks like Tony Stewart is about to prove them wrong. On the plus side, Haas CNC Racing is basically a satellite team for the powerful Hendrick Motorsports. The team gets its chassis and engines from Hendrick.

A move to Haas would also mean a reunion between Stewart and General Motors. The two have enjoyed a successful relationship since the beginning and Stewart, according to sources, seems to be a bit miffed about Gibbs' switch to Toyota and wants to go back to being a GM driver, which Stewart deems to be very important to him.

If Stewart does indeed leave Gibbs after this season, that would leave the #20 Toyota's seat open for highly touted driver Joey Logano, left. As for Haas, that organization would gladly leave the seat of the #70 open for Stewart since Jeremy Mayfield left the team just before Phoenix two weeks ago.

First we had Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leave Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports. Now we have Stewart possibly leaving Gibbs. What's next? Jeff Gordon leaving Hendrick for Roush Fenway Racing?

~ Chris, guest blogger

Prelude to a Prelude

NASCAR drivers go dirt track racing.

On Wednesday, June 4, many NASCAR drivers and a couple of NHRA drivers will take to the dirt at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, in the Old Spice Prelude to a Dream. I'm excited for it because I just bought tickets for the race and will get to see some of my favorite NASCAR drivers, such as Clint Bowyer, two-time champion Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards, up close and personal on a tiny half-mile clay oval. Carl Edwards won this race last year in a thrilling battle with Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.

Other drivers participating in this race are four-time champion Jeff Gordon, reigning two-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, champion Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, champion Bobby Labonte, JJ Yeley, current points leader Jeff Burton, Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman, champion Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, Aric Almirola, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, former NASCAR driver Red Farmer, Gillett Evernham Motorsports co-owner Ray Evernham, and NHRA drivers Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon.

This event is more than racing for fun. The ticket proceeds will go towards charity, particulary the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the construction of a new Camp in Kansas City. Tony Stewart, the owner of Eldora Speedway, has put this event on since 2005, benefiting the Camp and the Tony Stewart Foundation. Many may know Stewart as the hot headed driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota but he is the most charitable driver on the circuit and I applaud him for that. And I have to take my hat off for the other drivers - yes, even Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin - for taking the time out of their schedules to race in such a worthy event.

General admission tickets are only $23 for ages 16 and up, $13 for ages 12-15, and $8 for ages 0-11. Reserved seating is $2 extra for each age group.

The event will be an interesting experience and I suggest you race fans should take the decent two-hour trip to Eldora for some dirt track action starring your favorite NASCAR drivers.

~ Chris, guest blogger

A Gas in the Valley of the Sun

Pole-sitter Ryan Newman in the Alltel Dodge, left, was hoping for a better race at Phoenix. He never got it.

Despite sitting on the pole, leading 37 laps and running well in the top ten, his engine expired 134 laps into the 312 lap race - not even halfway through. He didn't only take himself out, though.

The oil resulting from his explosive engine caused many cars behind him to spin out and wreck, including points leader Jeff Burton. Burton didn't hit anything, however, and finished the race in sixth, but numerous cars fighting to stay in the top 35 weren't as lucky. The race was red flagged since Newman spewed oil around the entire track.

His victory at Daytona was supposed to be a sign of good things to come except he keeps finding himself going the wrong way in the standings. From leading the points at Daytona, he is now 12th after the eighth race of the season, the last spot that gets into the Chase for the Sprint Cup... and 13th-place Jeff Gordon is hungry for that spot.

While my ill feelings toward Ryan Newman have definately thawed in the past year, they haven't for Jimmie Johnson, right. He decided to not play it safe and played the fuel mileage game, giving Hendrick Motorsports (Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Casey Mears) its first win of the season. After Hendrick's domination last year - half of the 36 races won last year were from Hendrick drivers - it's surprising it took eight races for the organization to win this year.

To close things up, I just want to point out two other drivers. Poor, poor Matt Kenseth. What a rotten past few races he's had. This week his car didn't want to turn so he found himself in the wall. And I have to give props to Bobby Labonte, left. Early in the race it was reported he was running on seven cylinders (the engines have eight). Usually this means a driver falls quickly to the back and gets lapped over and over again. Not so for Labonte. He brought that baby home in 12th. Not bad for a car that wasn't up to full speed.

NASCAR has an off weekend so in two weeks it's bump-drafting, nail-biting action at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

~ Chris, guest blogger

Sports Tidbits... With Apologies

First of all, as proof that my favorite hockey team has not made the playoffs in years, it is indeed Lord Stanley's Cup. I knew that, I swear.

The Washington Capitals did end up winning the game last night but it was a hard fought game. Thanks to the Flyers scoring three goals within three minutes in the second period, Philadelphia was up 4-2 over the Caps in the third period. However, the Caps tied it up and Alexander Ovechkin, limited to only three shots in the entire game, put one in the net to win the game.

Now time for some agony. While blocking a shot from Mike Green while the Capitals were on the power play, Patrick Thoresen was hit hard in the groin by the puck. He was taken to a hospital in Washington and reports say he might lose a testicle. Take a look if you want. Ouch.

As far as the other teams are concerned, on Thursday Detroit won against Nashville, Montreal defeated Boston, San Jose tied their series 1-1 by shutting out Calgary, and Dallas blanked defending champs Anaheim. Friday saw Pittburgh overcome Ottawa, the New York Rangers increase their lead to 2-0 by defeating New Jersey, and Minnesota winning in overtime to even the series 1-1 with Colorado. Dallas

On the baseball front, there are reports of a certain construction worker at the new Yankee Stadium. According to rumors, he buried a David Ortiz, right, Red Sox jersey in a slab of concrete where the visiting team's clubhouse will be. The New York Yankees are denying this rumor, of course, because they would never admit that something from the Red Sox will be a permanent part of their own stadium. If it is true, that worker is my new hero. Why he didn't bury it underneath the home team clubhouse, though, remains a mystery.

Bringing NASCAR into the mix, Ryan Newman, right, won the Phoenix pole and is now tied for tenth on the all-time pole winners list. Kyle Petty also proves more that he needs to retire as he failed to qualify and his #45 Dodge has missed three races in a row now. The Subway Fresh Fit 500 will be shown tonight at 8:00 pm on Fox.

Kick back and relax for night racing in the Sprint Cup Series.

~ Chris, guest blogger