Greetings from S.W.Oklahoma

     Folks Cindi is under the  weather and so she ask if I would cover this post for this week.  With any luck at all she will be back next week and let me off the hook.  Now to the point at hand.

                                                                          Who's Hot

1.  Southern Cindi:  She made a deal with Fox sports to do this weekly post and was more concerned about getting it covered then worring about getting her tests done.

2.  Turn 4 Lowes Motor Speedway:  Took on 6 of NASCAR'S best drivers and beat them all.

3.  Clint Bowyer:  The true sleeper of the chase.  He runs farther under the radar then a nuclear submarine and before this is all over he may win it all.

4.  Jeff Gordon:  Finally broke a 6 DNF curse, kept his head and did not panic when he had fuel problems, and last but not least he drove it like he stole it.

5.  Dale Jarrett:  Going out with class and style and under his own terms.  He gave more to MWR then he got in return.

                                                                         WHO'S NOT

1.  Bruton Smith:  For trying to extort zoning changes from the cities of Concord and Charlotte by threating to sell or close Lowes if he doesn't get his way

2.  Greg Zipadelli:  His not paying attention may have cost Tony Stewart not only last week's race but may have cost him the championship.

3.  Ryan Newman:  5 poles this season and nothing to show for it but 5 more Budweiser hats.  Then when he gets the lead for a win last week he gets excited and wrecks into the wall.

4.  Kevin Harvick:  Down 2 laps after only 47 laps, problems just keep building for this team.Things are going to have to get better to be called bad.  I am begining to think that  the large yellow racecar is just a moving caution sign.

5.  David Gilliland:  For agreeing to drive the ugliest car at the race last week.  M&M's are red,blue,green and yellow.  That paint job would make a cancer suvivior sick to their tummy.

That's Our Opinion - What's Yours

SOUTHERN CINDI & GUNAQUAT

HOT - Michael Waltrip

Earned a surprising Bud Pole Award Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, his first since the Pocono 500 on June 12, 2005.

HOT - Jeff Gordon - Stayed out of trouble all day Sunday, marching to the front at the right time to get his 80th career victory.

HOT - Tony Stewart - kept his nerve and didn't wreck anybody (despite many  opportunities) on his way to an eighth- place finish in the UAW-Ford 500, a result which keeps him in championship contention.

HOT - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Led 31 laps and was the class of the field before succumbing to an engine failure at 'Dega.

HOT- Denny Hamlin- Was actually a part of the action this weekend, finishing fourth. A welcome change from his results in the last three races.

NOT - Kurt Busch - Failed post qualifying inspection. Doessn't he know not to get in trouble when he is on probation?

NOT - DEI and RCR - Seven combined teams, five engine problems Sunday. You do the math.

NOT - Kyle Petty - A flat tire caused him to wreck late Sunday, eliminating a good points day for himself and Dale Jarrett (whom he took out in the wreck) two good drivers who desperately need positive news.

NOT - Kyle Busch - So  much for leaving Hendrick Motorsports on top.

NOT - Ken Schrader - Although it wasn't his fault that he had a right rear tire failure, his result dropped his team out of the top 35 in the owners points.  As a result, he has been replaced temporarily by Bill Elliott in the No. 21 Ford.

HOT - Matt Kenseth

Showed that he still had that championship fire by leading laps early, but dropped to a 35th- place finish after getting involved in a mid-race incident.

NOT - Jeff Burton

Pulled a "Sterling Marlin" by trying to fix his fender during a red flag period, forcing NASCAR drop him to the rear of the field.

HOT - Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Showed excellent driving ability once again, scoring his second consecutive top 10 finish and 12th of the year.

NOT- David Reutimann - Got collected in the Sunday's biggest crash,  limped to a 31st place finish.

HOT - Tony Stewart -

Charged to the front with his usual zip and zeal from the 19th starting position before getting into an accident and finishing 39th.

NOT - Bobby Labonte - Got collected in the biggest crash of the LifeLock 400 and fell to 42nd place.

HOT - Kurt Busch - Led the most laps Sunday at Kansas Speedway (76 total) and finished 11th.

NOT - Juan Pablo Montoya

Montoya's late race spin was a fitting way to end his day, as he was not in contention at all this past weekend.

HOT - NASCAR

By electing not to penalize Tony Stewart for uttering a curse word on a live broadcast, they are allowing the championship to be determined on the track.

NOT - NASCAR -

Endangered fans at Kansas Speedway ty not calling the race during the big thunderstorm, as many stuck around instead of heading for safety.

Who's Hot and Who's Not

HOT - Dale Earnhardt Jr.

SouthernCindi's Take: No "lame duck" driver here, had a gutsy performance to finish third at Dover International Speedway.

HOT - Jimmie Johnson

SouthernCindi's Take: Continued to stay in contention for a second consecutive championship by taking the pole, his second in three races, and finishing 14th at Dover.

HOT - Tony Stewart

SouthernCindi's Take: Displayed incredible spirit and passion throughout Sunday on his way to scoring his 20th top-10 finish of the year - which coincidentally also puts him second in the championship, only two points behind Jeff Gordon.

HOT - Kevin Harvick

SouthernCindi's Take: Had to endure even more tire problems this week, but worked through them to finish the race with a top-20 finish.

HOT - Carl Edwards

SouthernCindi's Take: Led a total of 95 laps at Dover en route to taking his 1st career win at the 'Monster Mile.'

NOT - David Gililand

SouthernCindi's Take: Nearly avoided the spinning car of Johnny Sauter on lap 12, but could only drive to a 24th place finish at the end of the day.

NOT - Paul Menard

SouthernCindi's Take: Created early fireworks by not giving Tony Stewart enough room on the tightly packed pit road, then went on to finish 21st, four laps behind.

NOT - Kyle Petty

SouthernCindi's Take: Not only did he finish 40th at Dover, but he also looked silly going after Denny Hamlin in the garage after a mid-race accident.

NOT- Kurt Busch

SouthernCindi's Take: Caused one of the biggest wrecks on Sunday at Dover (12 cars total).

NOT- Carl Edwards

SouthernCindi's Take: but then lost his momentum after his car failed postrace inspection and getting hit with a 25-point penalty.

Who's Hot and Who's Not

Hot

Clint Bowyer: Earned the pole led the most laps and won the race...can't get hotter than that.

Jeff Gordon: Came in second at New Hampshire. I'll second that.

Jimmie Johnson: Can he win the Nextel Cup Championship for the second year in a row? If he continues to run like he did on Sunday, it seems like he can.

Tony Stewart: Stayed in the top-ten throughout most of Sunday, keeping the label of third hottest driver on the circuit behind Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Kevin Harvick: Avoided a wreck with smooth moves and fought to finish 17th Sunday.

Not

Kurt Busch: Just couldn't match the effort by his brother Kyle (who finished fourth). Engine problems caused some friction and dropped him to a 25th-place result.

Kasey Kahne: Another medicore showing one year after he was one of the best drivers in the series.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Same as always this year - leaves fans hoping for more.

Regan Smith: Looked like he was playing bumper cars on Sunday, no wonder he finished four laps behind.

Dave Blaney: Bring on those cautions!