Today I flipped on the t.v. to watch the race with about 200 laps to go.  Picked it up halfway through on MRN radio until I got home after a nice lunch at The Varsity... deep-fried onion rings, chili cheeseburgers, etc.

• Even though he didn't lead at all until 70 laps to go in the race, Jimmie Johnson once again proved to be the monarch of Martinsville winning five out of the last six races.  Where does he put all of those grandfather clocks?  I know; he probably sells them on eBay (Laugh).  His bump n' run on Denny Hamlin with 15 laps left was the type of racing all of us NASCAR fans hope to witness.  Since we didn't get any of that last week at Bristol, we were finally rewarded.  A huge credit once again goes to Johnson's pit crew for doing their job by getting him out front.

• Don't be fooled, J.J. is on the move to win a fourth straight championship and break Cale Yarborough's record.  He's looking better than he even did last year.  As Jeff Hammond said, it doesn't matter whether Jimmie has a beard or not ... he still is just as dominant.
  

• For a second straight week, Denny Hamlin came home in second position.  He lead by far the most laps and had by far the most dominant car.  Hamlin always has some fluke or misjudgment every week, and that's what's keeping him out of victory lane.  By the way, he receives my Mistake of the Week award for giving Jimmie enough breathing room to bully him around.  On a positive note, the man has matured greatly this season.  I thought he would spin Johnson out after the race or trash talk him.  No joke, the boys are maturing into men.

• I'll give Kyle Busch my award for Courteous Move of the Race by laying back and letting Hamlin get a run on each restart.  Partial credit goes to him for allowing Denny to make the incredible maneuver on Jimmie Johnson.  Kyle is acting more and more like a champion each and every week, and he may just eventually become one...

• Jeff Gordon had another Jeff Gordon type of race: a solid finish and a bigger points lead.  It's just a matter of time before he gets overtaken by his teammate Jimmie Johnson.  Gordon is the type of guy who leads the points up until the Chase but then just cannot keep up with the 48 car.  That is one of many reasons I believe NASCAR should award a regular season champion.
  

• Stewart-Haas Racing is getting a better grasp by the week.  Tony Stewart finished third and Ryan Newman sixth.  I must sort of contradict Krista Voda's post-race comment and say that Tony is happier about himself than he is the team.  Tony's just Tony.

• Clint Bowyer is proving that he is capable of keeping up with the All-Star racers.  Second in points with three top five finishes has proven to be the criteria necessary to win a championship.  Take Mr. Bowyer seriously you media; he's going to be around a long time!

• I have to give Larry McReynolds brownie points for using the word "tenacious" to describe Jimmie Johnson.  I didn't know he had much scholarly blood in him...

• I was just really impressed with all the great racing that Martinsville provided us with today.  Everything from bump n' runs to incredible maneuvers to just traditional side by side.  This is NASCAR racing at its best in a small Virginia town that helped the sport become what it is today.
  

                                 

I don't have too much to say after the Food City 500.  For one thing, I missed the majority of the race because I was out running.  What I did see proved to be one of the more boring Bristol races I have watched.

• Congratulations to the Busch Brothers.  Three straight weeks they have dominated the rest of the field. Both of them seem to be in a league of their own right now.  Kyle made the early pass on Jimmie Johnson, and from then on it was smooth sailing.  That Green-White-Checkered finish was pitiful.  Hamlin didn't have a chance at catching "Wild Thing".

• Denny Hamlin ran a great race all day after starting mid-field.  Overall, JGR had a great day in Thunder Valley with a one-two finish.  Just don't count Joey Logano.  I am feeling repeat win coming for Hamlin next week at Martinsville.

• Jimmie Johnson finished third at Bristol.  Is that some kind of joke?  He has always been horrific there with some sort of problem every race.  There are six tracks he hasn't won at, and his results are improving at each one of those tracks.  Johnson has all the marks of a true champion.

• Jeff Gordon got another consistent top five finish and improved his points lead.  Maybe Martinsville will be his track to win at; he has always had stellar results there.  That win is coming for him.  I keep thinking it will happen each week that passes by...

• Mark Martin is starting to get his act together with his first top ten finish of the season.  He will need many of these plus some wins though if he expects to make the Chase.  31st in points isn't too comfortable of a position to be sitting after five races.

• Marcos Ambrose had a great day by finishing tenth.  His last noticeably good finish was third place back in August at Watkins Glen.  After all of his troubles with his pit crew last week, this successful day couldn't have come at a better time.
  

• I've got to give Bristol Motor Speedway kudos for selling out.  Even in this economy, it would be pretty sad if every seat wasn't full.  I enjoy seeing full stands at a race, a rare sight these days.  Too bad they didn't get their money's worth; the race didn't even last three hours.  No fights or significant wrecks either.

• My last bullet this week is dedicated to dmthornock.  I would like to thank him for referencing me in his blog this past week.  He is an avid NASCAR fan who lives in Concord, North Carolina in the center of all the action.  Aside from racing, he writes his own blog for the hit FOX show called 24 which just happens to be my favorite.  Check out his posts at the following link: http://twenty4-hours.blogspot.com/

That's all I have to say this week.  Hopefully, Martinsville will provide more excitement for us fans.  Bristol just did not live up to its expectations this week.  Overall though, this season has been a good one so far...

                                                                                                       

Bristol Motor Speedway.  Thunder Valley.  An icon of NASCAR.  It has made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest wave ever last August.  The home of helmet throwing and punch blowing.  Just take a look at what happened between Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon back in 2006.

Last race, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards got into it after the checkered flag in the Sharpie 500.  This time not with the limbs but with the race cars.  That is the beauty of the classic bump-n'-run; there is always a stir-up afterward.

Our sport needs some fights and to just let men be men.  On last season's Back to Basics campaign, NASCAR wanted the drivers to show their emotions.  But what do they do after the Bristol race in August?  They put Edwards and Busch both on probation.  Sounds like a contradiction to me.

Congratulations to Mark Martin for winning his second consecutive Sprint Cup pole.  He hadn't won one since Richmond in 2001, and now he has two straight.  If only he could finish where he started.... that's been Mark's problem all season long.  Blown engines, careless errors, etc.  Remember: it's not where you start; it's where you finish.

The odds are going for Jeff Gordon this weekend.  After his second place surge at Atlanta two weeks back, he has had time for some r and r (rest and relaxation).  A tenth place qualifying position puts him just in the right place to take care of business.  Go Jeff!  Get back to victory lane!  By the way, he's my pick to win the race.

When we talk about Bristol, we have to talk about the Busch brothers.  Kurt and Kyle know how to get it done in Thunder Valley.  The two bros have won the past two Sprint Cup races and are trying to make it three.  They will have to start pretty far back, but that's not a problem at least for Kyle.  We all saw how he came from 43rd to win at Las Vegas.

Don't let Kevin Harvick slip to the back of your mind.  I think he will once again be a factor in the outcome of the race.  All of the Childress cars know how to race at Bristol.

After an off week, we are all looking forward to some good and hopefully great racing.  The spring race at Bristol always has more action than the fall race.  Plus, all of these racers have been couped up for two long weeks, and it is time to let it rip....  No points racing for anyone who has a shot at winning; that's what has ruined the night race.

                               

I enjoyed watching this race.  There was a really exciting side by side battle between Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon for much of the event.  There was strategy at the end about whether to pit or not which set us up for a classic Atlanta style finish.  Hopefully, this race and the other three are a positive sign for the rest of the season.

• In Jon's GBU, the winner of the race automatically "gets the first billing", but in my blog he "gets the first bullet".  Kurt Busch dominated all day from second starting position and cruised to what seemed like an easy victory.  There was one scare for him mid-race when he scraped the wall while leading.  His race car seemed indomitable especially on the final restart by zooming by Carl Edwards.  Great Job Kurt!  Two in a row for the Busch brothers.
  

• Many of us were starting to think that Kurt had lost his knack for racing after failing to get a legitimate victory in several seasons.  By saying legitimate, I don't mean the lucky one he got when rain fell at New Hampshire.  This win gained his long lost respect back from all of us fans.

• Lately, we just never know whether Kurt Busch is going to be a hero or a goat.  At tracks he does seemingly well at, he ends up with a poor finish.  And, at tracks he has a horrible record at, he manages to get a top five.  With the "Blue Deuce", expect a great race or a horrendous one but nothing in between.

• I really thought that we would witness Jeff Gordon overtake Kurt Busch on the final lap of the race.  Gordon had a good car but not a spectacular one like Busch had.  If Jeff were to win the race, he would have needed a tremendous push from Carl Edwards which he failed to receive.  Many people say that Bristol is Jeff's week to get that long sought win, and it very well could happen after two second place finishes.  Each race, he has been so close to victory yet so far...

• Carl Edwards gambled on the final pit stop by not coming in for those four precious Goodyears.  In most cases as the COT has proved, track position is more important than tires, but that rule of thumb contradicted itself on Sunday.  On that final restart, Carl was a sitting duck (LAUGH).  Get it???

• Kyle Busch was surprisingly a non-factor in Sunday's race.  He qualified ninth and finished three laps down in 18th position.  I think we were all expecting a big run for him after that incredible comeback in the truck race.  Remember: expect the unexpected.

• Without question, the Mistake of the Week award for Atlanta goes to Marcus Ambrose's pit crew.  How can they let a tire roll all the way out into the front stretch grass?  Then, one of the men had to make a perilous journey out to get it.

• Too bad for Brian Vickers.  He was in a perfect position to make a late pass on Kurt Busch and get a respected and well-earned victory.  We all remember how he got that first victory back at Talladega, don't we?  Well, all he did was take out Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson in the heart of NASCAR nation (not a bright idea).  Again, the theory of mistakes in the pits costing a driver the race proved itself once more...

• These "start and park" guys are really starting to irritate me.  All they do is start in the back, run a few laps, and go into the garage for some mechanical failure.  I must say that is not too bad of a payday though.  I really think NASCAR needs to cut the field to 38 drivers: the top 35 qualifiers, the top two drives in points, and one champion provisional.  Thanks to Hanahan for sparking the idea.

• There were so many empty seats in the stands even though it was a beautiful day in Hampton, GA.  Several factors possibly contributed to that: the time change, the economy, and the waiting lines.  Atlanta Motor Speedway doesn't have enough workers to process the fans through fast enough, and some of them may have walked off in disgust.  Even though AMS is my home track, I, too, am questioning why it gets two Sprint Cup races a year.
  

• During the broadcast, Larry McReynolds kept talking about how "we sure do need an off-week before going to Bristol".  That doesn't make much sense, does it?  Only four races into the season, we already going to take a break (not even for a holiday).  Well, I guess I'll just watch Tiger Woods play golf down in Miami...  I might even "crank it up" and hear some birds honking or wind roaring.
  

Here are the some pictures taken from Georgia Power Qualifying on Friday night.  Now, I don't have special access or anything like Kristen does, so this is from the view of an average fan.  Great weather, great night, great time.

   

These first two pictures are taken during the Trackside Live! show.  I got a couple different angles to see all of the men.  During the show, Darrell Waltrip interviewed David Reutimann in the La-Z-Boy chairs.

                                             

As you can see, this is a picture of me in front one of the entrance gates.  I wore my Tony Stewart shirt because it was like the only NASCAR one I had.   You must be lovin' it, HotFootLori!

                                            

This is just a funky model of a Sprint race car.  It is always on the logo for the Sprint Monster Moment during each race.

                                                 

                                   This is a picture of the 2010 Chevy Camaro.  Pretty sweet car!

                                             

                          This is an overview of the whole track taken from my seat.  Nice sunset!

                                     

Finally, this is a picture of the Hollywood Hotel.  It does look a little bigger than a hotel bathroom since it got a renovation!

I tried to take some pictures during the actual event, but they just all came out too blurry.  I guess that's why we always see so many camera lights flashing under caution.

I'll be writing my Atlanta edition of The Speeding Bullets in a day or two!