A driver in the NASCAR Mexico Series died Saturday after an accident in the closing laps of the series's race at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed.

The 2004 NASCAR Mexico Series champion, Carlos Pardo, was leading the race in the closing laps before he crashed following contact with another competitor. Pardo was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

"Carlos Pardo was a tremendous competitor and person," Chad Little, Director of Racing Development for the NASCAR Mexico Series, said. "On behalf of everybody in the NASCAR family, our thoughts and prayers go out to Carlos' family and friends."

Pardo started in 74 career races, earning 10 wins. He also has six starts in the NASCAR Camping World Series East, from 2004-2005, and started the 2006 Nationwide Series event in Mexico City.

The NASCAR Mexico Series, known as the Corona Series in Mexico, was formed in 2004 and is a joint-partnership with NASCAR. NASCAR sanctions one other foreign series in Canada, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

As the NASCAR world continues to run its usual rampant course, all the fans can do at this point is hold on for one the most wildest journeys that will definitely have more twists and turns, then if you were to combine Infineon and Watkins Glen together. A silly season to some is just that, a season that has its highs as well as its lows. A season that at times can be just as unpredictable as the outcome itself, or it can be predicted by the some drivers act if things don't go their way. But no matter how you choose as an individual to view it, one thing is for sure and that's its here to stay. Along with every season there are always the stories that get leaked out either by a team member, or by the organization itself.

And of course this season is no different from seasons past. We all know that the one of biggest stories of the year has to be, the success that Stewart/Haas Racing has been experiencing since the season started. Stewart took over half ownership of a team that was on its nowhere, and turned it around in just these past 14 races while almost making it look to easy. Stewart has always been a person that has done things his way, and it has shown in all the business ventures that he has overtaken all the way from the tracks that he owns, to his U.S.A.C. team. So where is Stewart/Haas headed for the 2010 season, because we all know that he is the newest team out on the track as well as the most talked about?

Well to go along the same story line that Stewart has always been one to not only push the envelope, but he also thrives on the challenges that racing has brought to his competitive world. Now it's no big secret that his teammate Ryan Newman was hand picked, as well as sought by Stewart to leave the confines of Penske Racing to come over and join his team. Building a race team is a lot like putting a puzzle together, you need all the right pieces, and of course they all need to fit in their perspective place in order for the puzzle to be complete. And little by little Stewarts puzzle is beginning to take on a life of its own especially when you look beyond Newman as a driver, and look at Newman as the vehicle structure engineering graduate.

Next season in 2010, Stewart/Haas racing will begin to build their own chassis, and if they are competitive they will look strongly into adding a team for the 2011 season, but will not add another team in 2010. Stewart will do a lot of evaluating next year with the new chassis, but they will continue to get their engines from Rick Hendrick. Martin Truex Jr will also be losing his Bass Pro Shop sponsorship in favor of the NAPA sponsorship as he will be leaving EGR after this season. Bass pro Shops will move over to the #39 next season, and take over as Ryan Newman's primary sponsor with the Army continuing to stay on board for limited races.

Truex will race the #22 car for MWR, and take over owner points from the #55. Truex will be making an announcement within the next few weeks. Mikey is also going to a 4th team next season, and Mikey will run the fourth team but only on a limited schedule which will include Daytona, Dega, and Charlotte. Penske Racing is also another team that will hold off bringing Justin Allgaier up until 2011, even though it was reported that Allgaier might come up as soon as next season. Roger Penske wants give David Stremme another year to get used to the team. Kasey Kahne was reported to want out of his contract with Richard Petty Motorsports, and he almost got his wish but instead he will become a free agent after the 2010 season. So far these are the mid-season stories that are taking place. Im Out

"I'd love to win a race for Chevrolet this weekend. I hate seeing them go through a rough time, but I think everything that's going on will make for a better, more prosperous company. It's going to be a win for General Motors. It's going to be a win for consumers. And it could certainly be a win for dealers as well. I'm really excited. I'm excited that I'm a GM dealer. Even though we are very, very, very, very small, our numbers are very good. We got the letter saying that they loved us and wanted to extend our deal there. I'm thrilled. I think they have a lot of cool cars in the future and that's exciting."

These are the words from one the sports most respected, as well as the oldest active driver out on the track today. Martins attitude coupled together with the excitement that he has brought back to racing since leaving D.E.I. for the comforts of NASCAR's most decorated organization, Hendrick Motor Sports has been more then a warm welcome for the sport itself. Time after time, Martin has always worn his true colors on his sleeve, and they have always been as bright as a beautiful moonlit sky. Not once during his 27 years in the Sprint Cup Series has Martin ever shown any signs of jealousy or selfishness, and this week would be no exception while reading his opening comments about the automobile industry, and the problems that are continuing to surface as the days go by.

Mark Martin's four victories at Michigan International Speedway tie Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway for his most victories at a single track. He earned the third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of his career at MIS on Aug. 19, 1990, after starting fifth and leading 72 laps. His most recent win at the speedway was June 14, 1998. He also won at the two-mile oval in August 1993 and August 1997. So for Martin, its been 11 long years since his last win at the "D" shaped oval, and from the way his season has been progressing so far, this weekend just might be the one where he gets to re-visit an old friend.

When you think about how many old friends Martin is still competing with, there are only 8 drivers that were around when Mark got his last win at Michigan back on June 14th of 1998, and since then he is once again one of the crowd favorites which can be added to his testimony at just how much respect he has garnered throughout the years. Respect as we all know cannot be bought, but instead it is earned by giving that respect back which is not an easy task especially in this high stakes game of cat and mouse. Martin has proven throughout the years that even without a championship added to his already impressive resume, that a driver can still be competitive without losing any fans along the way.

Martin has more then endured the test of time, and with age comes the experience that it takes to compete in today's high level of racing.. NASCAR has always had its ups and downs, and along these same lines there is still that lingering question that still sits in the back of his fans minds, can and will he ever add that elusive Sprint cup championship that has been his nemesis throughout his racing career. Martin is one of the few drivers that have been around long enough to see the sport go through more then its share of changes. One the most recent changes are the double file restarts, which Martin could add to his already big list of changes that he has seen throughout the years.

"Every time there's a shift in things - whether it be cars, competition, tires, tracks, whatever - you have to make an evaluation of everything. This will be no different. Double-file restarts are here to stay. We'll take our lumps when we have a bad day and be a benefactor on the good days. I just hope that we don't have enormous amount of cautions in these races because it really complicates things for a competitor that is putting out a strong effort. We will focus on maximizing our strong points and strengthening our weak points, which is what we've been doing all along."

Alan Gustafson, Mark Martins crew chief had this to add, "Between the lucky dog and the double-file restarts, the new policy gives guys the opportunity to compete at the end of the race when normally they wouldn't. There are guys in 15th or 20th who are in the mix there at the end that normally wouldn't have been in the past. I think it's going to be good for those guys and bad for the guys up front like it was at Pocono. Hopefully that all works out and you get as much of an advantage as you do a disadvantage. I felt like it was a pretty good disadvantage for us this past weekend. But hopefully it will go our way sometime in the near future. I think there was some exciting racing because of it and we knew that was going to happen so that's good. It kind of changes the structure of the race and gives guys further back the opportunity to steal a good finish, and it wouldn't have in the past."

So as Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has scored four wins, 33 top-five finishes, 64 top-10s and has led 1,563 laps at the two-mile oval. Hendrick Motorsports has also tallied five wins, three pole positions, 17 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s during the first 14 Cup events (59 starts) of the season. The four Chevrolets have led 33 percent of the laps driven this season (1,460 of 4,448 laps) to add to the rest of the 2009 season stats. It wouldn't to far fetched to say, that Mark Martin has to be feeling really good about his chances at winning his first Sprint cup championship at the ripe young age of 50? Im Out

Well they say all good things must come to an end, and is driving for Earnhardt-Gannasi Racing really a good thing? All you have to do is ask Martin Truex Jr, and by the end of the season his answer will probably be more of a sigh of relief. Sources have already made it clear that Martin Truex Jr will seek refuge, and will sign on with Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2010 racing season at the end of this season. Truex who is currently sitting 19th in points, with 3 top 10 finishes to go along with his 1 pole, is unable to comment on the current situation because of his prior contractual agreement with EGR.

Truex who has driven for D.E.I. since the 2003 season, and has 2 Nationwide championships with them in 2004 and 2005, will take over the owner points from Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 Toyota. Waltrip who will start up a fourth team, will continue to race but will only run a part-time schedule that will include racing at Daytona, Charlotte and Talladega. Waltrip may also decide to run in a few more select races. It appears that he will continue to use the No. 55 and that Truex Jr. will use a different number, to be named at a later date.

NAPA, the current sponsor of Waltrip's Toyota, is said to have expressed interest in Truex Jr., and there is no word yet if Bass Pro Shops is interested in making the move along with Truex Jr. Another driver of interest would also be the fate of Kasey Kahne, and the #9 Richard Petty Motorsports Budweiser sponsored race car. Kahne who is making it known that he also wants out, despite saying earlier this season that he intends to honor the remainder of his contract seems to have changed his mind. The only team that appears to have an opening would either be Earnhardt-Gannasi Racing, or Joe Gibbs Racing's fourth team that they are rumored to begin next season. These are a just a couple of the moves that we as fans can keep watch on. And of course another one of the big stories will also be the fate of Roush/Fenway drivers David Ragan, and Jamie McMurray. Im Out

Yeah, you reach for the golden ring reach for the sky; baby just spread your wings. We'll get higher and higher straight up we'll climb. It's not hard to listen to these song lyrics, and know that there is one driver who has been steadily making that climb to the top. Step by step, he continues to ascend into the secret places, which have been set apart for those drivers who choose to find success beyond their wildest imagination. In an era where NASCAR is still searching for that one driver that the fans can readily call the next big superstar, all you have to do is look into the eyes of a driver who has had more then his share of problems, as well as controversy while making a name for himself in one of the toughest racing series that is out there today.

Tony Stewarts dream began way back in 1987, when he won The World Karting Association Championship at the age of 16. Ever since he got his first taste of what winning was all about, it turned into a passion that would see his racing career flourish while racing in the U.S.A.C. series, and at the same time he would begin to rapidly stockpile award after award that almost seemed endless. It became more then evident, that any time Stewart would get behind the wheel of these open wheel gasoline burning beasts, victory was waiting for him at every track that he traveled to across this great country of ours. Tony Stewart only knows one way of approaching each race, and that is to be as aggressive while at the same time having that rough and tough style of driving that has also fueled his troublesome attitude since he first came into the series back in 1999.

By the time he was 31 years of age, Stewart had already won championships in the Winston Cup, Nextel Cup and Indy Car Series. He has also won championships in USAC, and the IROC series which just added even more to the impact that Stewart would have on the entire racing world. What exactly was it that fueled the desire within this Columbus, Indiana native to excel at a sport that is not only very dangerous, but also is very hard to make stay on top especially when you look around at all the talent that is out there. Many of auto racings biggest superstars have made at least one stop during their own journey, to test the waters of what new adventure driving a stock car would bring, whether it was a brief stint in the now defunct I.R.O.C. series, or stopping by to test their skills behind the wheel of a late model, on one of the many short tracks across the country.

Stewart has taken his dream to a whole new level by accomplishing what no other driver has been able to accomplish in 375 races that have been run, since Ricky Rudd won on Sept. 27, 1998 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In 21 starts, Stewart was only able to pick up 1 win, 6 top 5's, 1 pole, and 14 top 10's during the 10 years that he has visited this uncharacteristically shaped race track. But on Sunday, not only did defeat a track that has given him trouble in the past, but he also did it in a back-up car as well as in a very un-Stewart type of fashion. "Nobody lost their heads when I crashed the primary car," Stewart said. "They just do their jobs and they're efficient at it."

How many times has Stewart ever driven a car as slow as he did while trying to win a race, especially when his demeanor is too drive it until the wheels fall off? Stewart was able to go against his own grain, and conserve enough fuel at the end to notch his 34th career win while at the same time breaking a 19 race winless streak. Stewart ran with his dream, while at the same time taking the same path that Frank Sinatra took when he wrote his award winning song, "My way." "I planned each charted course; each careful step along the byway, but more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall," were the words that Sinatra sang time after time, for those millions of listeners that have enjoyed this song throughout the years.

At the age of 38, Stewart showed racing world that dreams do come true, and that there is no goal out there that can't be reached as long you have enough faith in yourself, as well as your own abilities to stand tall above the rest. Stewart left the confines of JGR to do things, "His way." Doing it his way, has always been the way that Stewart has approached his everyday challenges. "We went out there, it was like we had not missed a beat and just thankful we got a good group of guys like that and good partners that were willing to help out when we needed a hand," this was after members from Jeff Gordon's as well as Jimmie Johnsons team, came over to help when Stewart spun during practice damaging his primary car. "Then having to go to the backup car, it was great to see everybody just keep their heads about them, stay calm and stay cool. We made all the changes we needed to between the two cars, and I think we actually made the second car better."

Stewart has more then exceeded his pre-season expectations with the win on Sunday. Stewart is steadily making his presence felt, while at the same time he continues to leave his footprints at each and every track that he visits. Stewart is no stranger to entering unknown territory, so as the season progresses it's going to get very interesting exactly where his dream will take him. So just how special was the win on Sunday? "This was our first one with a point win. So this is the only first that we're going to have in this situation. The rest of them are just going to be a number and stats down the road. So it is special." Im Out