Darlington has received the nickname of "Too Tough To Tame" and "The Lady in Black" for a reason.
This Southern Lady loves to tease a suitor (driver) into thinking they are taming her. And just when that suitor (driver) thinks he has the Lady on his side, she reaches out and slaps him into the wall.
Photo by AP Photo/Virginia Postic
This lady does not care who she slaps. Whether he is the points leader, a veteran, the current champion or a young rookie. If she feels that you are getting to confident in your run. She will put you into the wall.
This year the lady has a new shiny surface. She is looking alot better than she has in years. Though she is looking alot better, she still has the same old attitude.
Granted her surface is alot kinder to the tires. But her curves (turns) are still very hard on all those suitors (drivers).
Every race there is usually one suitor (driver) who treats her like a true Southern Lady and she in returns allows him to be victorious.
Last night in the Nationwide race there was many who thought they had this savvy old Southern Lady on their side. But there is only one she had taken a shine too. (Could it be because he said on his radio show* on Tuesday, that he likes older women? lol)
She was courting him all the way to Victory Lane. She took care of any of his opponents who might try to steal away his thunder.
Some she didn't allow to even get into the show: Denny Hamlin. Others she allowed to make it. But when they got too close to her suitor, she used her turns and walls to slap them out of the race: Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin were just among of the few of the suitors she took care of.
Last night her chosen suitor was the driver of the #20 Old ####e Toyota Camry, Tony Stewart. Many times before he had tried to charm this lady. But each time she chose someone else.
But last night Smoke wooed this lady and she liked the way he treated her. And she allowed him to be the Victor of her.
But this lady is fickle, like most Southern ladies. She likes to be the center of attention. And tonight there will be 43 more suitors who will come a calling. Trying to woo her into letting them be the one who stands in Victory Lane.
Smoke will try again tonight to win her heart. Will he be able to charm her once again or will he do something to make her mad? Will someone else be the victor? Only time will tell.
But for at least one night, Tony Stewart won this lady's heart and he stood in Victory Lane. A winner at Darlington.
Update on Father in Law: Things are still pretty much the same. The swelling is becoming more of a problem. His feet are staying swollen all of the time now. His feet look like they could burst. The swelling in his stomach is becoming larger as well. His feet appeared to me today that they looked bluish. But this could have been do the swelling.
But to look at him and hear him, you would think he was doing well. He is still eating well. But we all know that any day things could change for the worse.
He told my husband last week that he was coming home next month. But the doctors are telling him, he will not be coming home again. He needs 24 hour medical care. So today when we went to see him, he was talking as if he realizes know that he is not coming home.
Thank everyone again for all the prayers, kind words and your thoughts. They really do help to get us through these trying times.
Sunday marked the end of a career for a man who has been very well respected in NASCAR circles for more than two decades. Terry Labonte got behind the wheel of a racecar for the last time at Texas.
Labonte is a two time NASCAR Cup Champion. Labonte has 22 wins. The last one coming at the last Southern 500 in 2003 at Darlington International Speedway.
Terry Labonte is well known for his cool disposition. It seems that the nickname "Iceman" fit him very well. Even when he was angry, he always had a cool attitude. He is a true professional through and through.
Labonte will always be remembered for his love of his family. They were always first in his life. No matter where he was, you can rest assure that Labonte's family were not far from his mind.
Terry from all the NASCAR fans all across this country Thank You For Being You. Thanks for all the cool memories. Thanks for all the wins. Thanks for letting us share in your life.
Iceman you will be missed.
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Smoke Shoots 'em up at Texas
There is no doubt that Tony Stewart is having alot of fun during the Chase this year. Even though he is not in it, he is the hottest driver on the track this Chase.
Photo by AP/Tony Gutierrez
Smoke has proven once again why he is a true Champion. He won for the 5th time this season. Following a win last week at Atlanta. Smoke certainly is the hottest driver on the circuit right now.
Makes one wonder what Tony and the Home Depot team would have done the past two years during the chase, if they had not paid so much attention to points racing.
The last season surge that the Champ is having just goes to prove that if he is not worrying about points, Stewart is a threat to win every week.
So my advice to the Champ and his team for 2007, don't worry about the points. Go out and win those races and just have fun. And a third championship will be yours at the end of the year.
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Jimmy Johnson once again
on top of points
Just about three/four races ago, people were already writing Jimmie Johnson off as a contender for the championship. They were handing the championship to Jeff Burton.
But not so fast. The Lowe's team and the DeWalt team seem to have something to say about that.
Since Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson has had a steady climb upwards, while Jeff Burton has had a steady freefall.
Now with just two races left and realistically only 5 Chasers left who could walk away with the cup. Jimmie Johnson sits atop the points standings once again.
Could this possibly be the year in which Johnson breaks through and becomes a Cup champion? Making him the latest Hendrick drive to bring the cup back to Hendricks?
Well in two weeks we will know for certain.
Photo by Chris Graythan/Getty Images
Jimmy: Hey, Tony do you have any advice for me on how to win the Cup?
Finally, Jeff Burton will not have to answer the question "When will you break back into victory lane?" For today at Dover, DE he won his first race since Phoenix in 2001, a 175 winless streak.
All season Burton and his teammates have been showing that RCR is back. Harvick has won four times this year giving RCR its only wins of the season. Now Burton can add his name to that list.
Burton raced Matt Kenseth hard to get the lead, but clean. Burton never touched the car of Kenseth. But he certainly did work his former teammate over the old fashion way. He earned it.
But the goodness for Burton did not end there. Not only did he win the race, but he also took the points lead for the first time since 1999.
Burton currently sits 6 points ahead of Jeff Gordon and 18 points ahead of Matt Kenseth and rookie Denny Hamlin.
So as the points race for the championship tightens the Cup drivers head out to Kansas City for the third race in the Chase for the Championship.
BAD DAY
Many chasers had a really rough day. Kasey Kahne was caught up in Tony Stewart's spin on lap 11. This has pretty much ended Kahne's chance at the Championship. Kahne currently sits 182 points out of first with 8 races to go.
Kevin Harvick who came into the race as the points leader now sits 4th 54 points out of first. Harvick suffered an engine failure.
Jimmie Johnson also had a bad day. He had a pit road tire issue that dropped him to the back of the field. Though he did manage to finish 13th 1 lap down. Johnson is currently 8th in the points 136 points behind Burton.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a tire issue, but fortunately he caught it early enough that he did not wreck. But unfortunately for him and his team the caution came out before all the field could make green flag pit stops and this caused him a lap. In which he was never to regain. He finished 21st 3 laps down. Earnhardt is currently 7th 102 points behind Burton.
Kyle Busch probably suffered the worse. He is currently 10th in points 224 points out of first. It seems his chance at a Championship is certainly over. Kyle also suffered engine failure. He finished 40th at the Monster Mile.
QUIETLY RACING
There were two chase drivers who were really quite today: Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin. Denny finished 9th in the race and is currently tied for third place 18 points behind Jeff Burton.
Mark Martin finished 14th 1 lap down and is currently 6th in the points 75 behind Burton.
SMOKE SPINS
Unfortunately for the 2 time Champ he and his team just cannot get off of this roller coaster called the 2006 season. Once again the champ and his team are forced to finish that is not befitting the champ. Stewart spun in turn 4 on lap 11 and hitting the wall.
Smoke and the team went to the garage and fixed the car and they finished 33rd. Coming into this weekend Smoke and the team had high hopes of finally getting their season back on track. But like the rest of their season, it was not meant to be.
So now it is on to Kansas City. Hopefully the 20 team will be able to find some little magic and pull off a win there.
CHASE SPOILERS
Going into the Chase many people thought that Tony Stewart might actually be a spoiler. But that has not been the case.
The only spoilers of the Chase so far has come from one organization: Richard Childress Racing. Until this year, Childress has not has a chase contender. This year they have two: Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton and they both have each won one Chase race each.
So who will be the spoilers? My guess is right now it will be someone from the Childress organization, not Tony Stewart.
What will Pocono hold in store for NASCAR Cup regulars this week?
Chicagoland brought us Jeff Gordon vs. Matt Kenseth Part II. With Gordon coming out the winner.
New Hampshire brought us Tony Stewart vs. Ryan Newman Part II, III, IV, etc. Oh, shoot who even knows after all these years. The winner on this one Michael Waltrip. Because after he took out Ryan Newman, he became an instant favorite of Tony Stewart fans everywhere.
THE CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The race to the chase is fast becoming like a Chess Game, especially positions 8-12. One week a driver is safe in the Chase, the next week he is out. The next 7 races should prove to be very interesting for the final two spots.
One of the top contenders for the Championship found himself bouncing back into the top 10, while another top contender found himself outside the top 10.
Now Gordon has been bouncing in and out of the top 10 for several weeks now. So it is nothing new for him.
But Stewart finds himself in unchartered terrority this time of year. Usually by now he is secure in the top 7 and not looking back. But this year, he is having a very unusual year.
Dale Jr. who just one race ago was secure in the top 3 finds himself sitting 7th in points.
Now these three are probably the top three fan favorites of NASCAR right now. And the way it sits right now, unless these three can put together a string of top 5 & 10 finishes, at least one if not all three of them could be outside the chase looking in.
Now I personally hope all three of these make the Chase. But that may not happen.
If I was a gambling person, and I am not, I would put my money on Stewart and Earnhardt to make the Chase. Stewart and Earnhardt both have been running well enough to make the Chase, they just haven't the finishes that they need to gain in the points.
Gordon on the other hand has been at best, middle of the pack as far as the way he has been running.
Now if Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth were to have some bad races the next 7 races the 400 point mark might come into play. But I seriously doubt it.
Johnson and Kenseth seem to have a golden four leaf clover under their helmets and they are not letting them out.
So what does Pocono hold in store?
Stewart, Gordon and Earnhardt, better hope that it does not hold mistakes by their teams or themselves, or their chance at the chase could be all but over.
