Yippee Kayay says Cousin Carl. The Streak To The Finish from the Dickies 500 at Texas

What everyone thought would be a clinching of the Championship for Jimmie Johnson turned south. Johnson was saying prior to the race that their car was really good and fast and that they were not going to hold back, well as luck would have it, the #48 team struggled with an ill handling car all day and just could not get it done. Jack Roush has to be buying some new hats especially when his teams all finish in the Top 10 with the exception of David Ragan but heck he finished 11th. Did anyone else notice the lack of attendance in the stands at Texas? Isn’t this one of those tracks that sells out all the time? Yet just another sign of how tough the economy is on the sport and I am sure it will not get any better in the future.

Here are some of my random thoughts on the race;

1. I’ll be your Huckleberry! I can just imagine hearing Carl say that as he won on Sunday at Texas as he closes in on Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Championship. Carl did not waste anytime moving up front and stayed up front for pretty much the entire race until the late pit stop where some teams opted for 2 tires vice 4. Despite being back in 7th place, Carl slowly but surely made his way back up to the front and there was no looking back. Hats off to the #99 Team, especially the gas mileage engineer, do you think he will be getting a bonus check from Jack?

2. An Eye for An Eye? Okay so Montoya fesses up that he was being a bit aggressive towards David Gilliland and giving him a shove here and a bump there but lets put this in perspective in that Montoya had a Top 10 car and the #38 was holding him up along with being a few laps down so do you really blame Montoya but when the #38 came rocketing down on the track and slammed into the #42 at over 185mph, that is just lunacy. I was happy to see NASCAR park the #38 and I wouldn’t be surprised if hefty fines along with points coupled with perhaps sitting out a race is not handed out. Drivers that do those types of things should be banned from the sport because both of them along with other drivers could have been seriously hurt if not killed. If you want to settle your differences, do it behind the haulers and NOT on the track.

3. The Beak was flying. David Reutimann showed that he belongs in the Cup series and may be the only glimmer of light over at MWR. David ran up in the Top 10 most of the day and finished 10th.

4. Crown Royal is Proud. Jamie McMurray looked like he was going to take home the victory but alas he could not close the deal but he has really come on strong since Dover and has been showing signs of improvement. He may not have had the most stellar season out of all the Roush drivers but he NEVER gave up and I am sure he will race his butt off in the last two races.

5. Ding Dong, the witch is not dead. Lets not give up on AJ Allmendinger, he could have had a Top 15 finish if not for his speeding penalty and still shows that he is one of those drivers that deserve to be driving in the Cup series.

6. Are Fords that good? Carl did mention about his fuel mileage from his Fusion and even teammate Greg Biffle was wondering how Carl lasted 8 laps more then he did. Okay Greg, did you see how Carl was racing the last 5 laps and it does matter on how heavy your right foot is on that gas pedal. The way Greg stated it in his post race interview almost sounded like he was accusing his teammate of cheating. Tip of the day Greg, make sure you clear those comments with your team owner first, he does write your paycheck.

7. Magic 8-ball. Does anyone else realize that with Carl’s win at Texas on Sunday, that ties him with Shrub? Both of them have 8 wins each this season but Kyle has come up short and is out of contention for the Championship. Consistency is the key.

Carl is only 106 points away from Jimmie Johnson and has made the Chase a bit more exciting to say the least. Next up is Phoenix where Jimmie does have a better record but lets not count out our Cousin Carl, he is going for broke. Watch that rear view mirror Jimmie, if you are not careful, you just may get passed.

Streak To The Finish...The Lenox Industrial Tools 301

I would like to pass on congratulations to Kurt "The Rain Man" Busch but I just hate seeing races end like that and especially with condition of his car, looks like the left rear shock assembly was about to drop off of the car but it is what it is and it is a win in the record books for Kurt, as Tony Stewart said, "That's racing man."

A recap from the race. Don't be afraid to chime in on your opinions, they are all welcome here.

1. Can AJ Allmindinger ever catch a break? He has an outstanding qualifying run and then his car goes south for the winter. I wonder what Vickers was thinking when he saw his teammate blow up?

2. Giving the High Sign. After McMurray plowed into the back of Junior, I am sure Junior was not replaying the hand signal he was giving to let everyone know he was pitting. I thought we had spotters out there for the drivers?

3. Punt, Pass & Kick. That was the name of the game for the little episode that took place between Kyle Busch and Montoya. Okay, so NASCAR holds Montoya for two laps for his aggressive driving but is it just because Kyle is the points leader that he was not guilty in this incident. Indeed Montoya spun him around and in the process wrecked his own car but it takes two to tango. The post race interviews were totally different and Montoya was not afraid to say, "Yeah, I spun him." All is fair in love and war but not in this case.

4. Dreary Times. It was not only the weather that was depressing on Sunday. Stewart was just not feeling it after having such a dominate car to find himself finishing 13th on the day. His interview went rather well but of course it wasn't Marty Snider doing the interview. The #20 Team is just having that kind of season. It is just a matter of time before Smoke gets in Victory Lane.

5. More Empty Seats. I know I keep talking about this week after week but once again you could see the empty spots in the grandstands at Loudon which is normally a sold out event. People blame it on the threat of rain for the weekend. I call BS on that one. NASCAR fans are the most passionate and after spending all that money on tickets and travel time, they will be there. Just another indication that our economy is really effecting the things we love to do.

6. Casey at bat. But who will he be at bat with next year? It was said by Rick Hendrick that Casey Mears will not be in the #5 car next year. Despite having a 7th place finish this week and a Top 5 last week at Sonoma, looks like he is on his way out. I give credit to Casey for going out there every week and giving it his best but you can only do your best with what they give you.

7. Brothers In Arms. So we have Jimmie and Jeff doing a little bumping and grinding against each other. Jeff calls it racing and Jimmie calls Jeff a spoiled brat over his radio. Will Daddy Hendrick have to put Jimmie in a time out if they can't play well together?

8. Silence is Golden. Or is it? The most under rated driver out there right now in the Top 12 in the point standings is Jeff Burton. You never hear anything about him during the race except how he is slowly moving up through the field and that is about it. He starts 31st and finishes 12th under the red flag. Too bad the rain came, would of been interesting to see those last 17 laps.

9. Not Too Shabby. The race was actually pretty exciting this week even though they added an extra "Lap" to the race. Just thought it odd to be the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Sounds more like an advanced shop class at college.

Off we head down to the Triple H (Hazy, Hot and Humid) of Daytona for the Coke Zero 400. Can someone please tell me who thinks up these names for the races.