RICHMOND TV CHANGES

Very interesting situation with ESPN committed to carrying an NBA game on ESPN 2...the Nationwide race will be seen on both ESPN Classic and Speed live then either joined in progress or replayed in it's entirety on ESPN 2.

TONY STEWART, CAR OWNER?

I find it interesting with all the attention paid to the silly season that Smoke's situation is getting sooo much attention. Look - he already owns his own Sprint Car/Silver Crown car...and he's looking ahead. A Jeff Gordon type of situation is not out of the question for him at Gibbs...it certainly would lock him up for the rest of his career.

Interesting to hear rumblings that UPS might align with Roush/Fenway on the #99 car. I've got to believe Big Brown wants someone who's going to do something during a race other than crash or not qualify...

TALLADEGA RECAP...

I can't say I was glued to my set for this one...after a long morning at the March for Babies in Ocean County, I settled in for the hour pre-race and watched the first 20 laps before the sandman carried me off to la-la land, waking up in time to see Junior in 2 wrecks and the last 20 laps of Kyle Busch's win. While I missed most of the race, I have to say what I watched was entertaining.

Give Kyle some props...his save early in the race was a classic...

I watched most of the Nationwide race Saturday and would ask this question - Is Kevin LePage one of the most stupid drivers in the world? That was a boneheaded move and he should really think about a new spotter. Causing a wreck like that due to stupidity is wrong...

On to Richmond...

MEXICO...

It's the Nationwide series from and center this Sunday as the Sprint Cup boys take a week off. The Mexico City race should be interesting...ESPN has the coverage...

Interesting to note - Danica wins a race...maybe she's worth the hype....

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEBACK FOR #48

Finally, Hendrick breaks into victory lane...Jimmie Johnson wins at Phoenix. The end was suspenseful as the question of fuel mileage surfaced...it was a shame Mark Martin couldn't stay out...would like to see him win a race. But, seeing the 8 race the 88 brought some smiles to race fans as Junior deals with his past and present.

Gotta give Fox a smackdown for the way things started Saturday night...the switch from baseball was soooo abrupt. I understand they were trying to please everyone, but they should have dumped the baseball earlier....for a playoff game, that's another story...instead, you could have had another Heidi game...

MR. BACKFLIP WINS...AGAIN

Carl Edwards did another backflip yesterday after another win - his third this season. The #99 team is the class of the field so far this season. Afterwards, Edwards said they wanted to make a statement after the California oil tank cover incident.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jeff Gordon - 43rd yesterday...talk about embarrassing. Junior fans had high hopes after winning the pole, but Junior faded as the afternoon wore on.
I'm sure by now you've seen the wreck that Michael MacDowell walked away from in qualifying. If there was ever a commercial for the COT and how much safety is improved, that was it....amazing.
Gotta dump on Fox for a sec...the end of the race was a disaster, as the announcers were describing a wreck involving Clint Bowyer while camera were focused on Carl Edwards in-car reaction...It would be nice to see the first 10 or so finishers before switching away from the finish line. I'm not the only person who noticed...fans have been screaming about this at a great blog I recommend about NASCAR coverage....The Daly Planet.

Get ready for a Saturday night race at Phoenix...

MARTINSVILLE...

Another win for Gibbs as Denny Hamlin takes the checkers in Sunday's race. Hendrick teams had a good day. I have to say...as much a NASCAR likes those mile and a half cookie cutter tracks...I love the short tracks like Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond. There's a place in this sport for the short tracks.