WOW, Dale Jr. wins an exhibition plate race and you would think he won the 1st Daytona 500!!!  Jr. may be the best plate racer ever but give me a win at Loudon, Sonoma or Pocono this year before I call him anything more than upper mid pack.  Yates cars can won poles and contend on plate tracks, what does that tell you?  Not to pick on Yates, I am just saying that plate races are totally dofferent and sometimes it is the machine, HP or the luck that gets you where you are. 

If he is as good as everyone acts like he is (2 wins since Bush's first term, 1 on mileage), he will win 15 races this year, he should, he has the best Hendrick equipment and whatever he wants off or on the track.  I mean, Morgan Shepard could jump in that car right now and be a top 5 driver again.  So lets think a little before we put Jr. above Pearson or Petty in the books, great plate driver, good at Richmond but what has he done everywhere else?  I would like to say, in closing, David Gilliland had a top 5 on a plate track last year during the down years at Yates, what does that tell you about plate racing?  Answer that and then look at what golden boy is good at.... Give me a driver who can win at Martinsville or The Glen and I will say you have a well rounded driver........

But if I am wrong, what the heck, go 88, I just need him to prove me wrong and win somewhere the drivers skill matters more than luck.  He should win every race in a Hendrick car!

Ok, so I decided to see what the DNQ's would look like under a "fastest 43" format vs. owners points, as you can see, alot more teams would have DNQ's but less of them each.  Some of the big names are on there from the Talladega qualifying, I assume there would be a Chase rule that would allow the chasers a provisional but it makes sense.  Sure, NASCAR would send Dupont or Kelloggs home but is that really worse than sending Napa or Red Bull home many times when they were more often than not in the fastest 43!  Why send State Water Heaters home 7 times when they were fast enough in all the races (would have missed 1 with Todd Bodine but that is better than 7) when Tony Raines was slower that 43rd in half of the races (not picking on him but it is a fact)??!!  I am sure people would run differently if they weren't locked it but why not spread the wealth around a bit!  Michael Wlatrip lead drivers with 18 DNQ's and the #37 Team leads teams with 25 in 29 races (NASCAR ran them outta town real good, didn't they?)

Did you know:

Ricky Ridd, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty have finished in every position 1-43

Dale Earnhardt Sr. never finished 43rd though he has finished last a few times

Dale Jr has never finished 28th

Matt Kenseth has finished everywhere but only 43rd 1 time, Homestead 2003 ironically when he won the title

Jimmie Johnson has never finished 26th, 33rd, or 43rd

Kevin Harvick has never finished 38th, 42nd, or 43rd

I love races at Dover I must say, this weekend was one to catch in replay! 

- Good to see Biffle get a 2nd place, it has been a rough year for him and I think they needed it.  Still doesn't mean he has right to talk poorly of back markers though!

- I think Jr. may win one soon, now that all the 2008 stuff is settled, probably Talladega.

- Mark Martin proved he still has it, he is going to be the reason DEI gets a title someday.

- Marcos Ambrose is a real classy guy.

- Will this be Schraders last year?  I haven't heard mention of him being back in the #21 next year, perhaps he should change his name to Kenny Wood, lol!

- Speaking of the #21, not a fan of Bill Elliott in that car, just for the money, you can tell Bill has no reason to be competitive.

- Denny Hamlin is a guy we need less of in the sport, Kyle was out of place but Denny consistantly is out of line these days.....

- If you agree about Denny, better stop watching racing now, the developmental programs are full of young cocky racers wating to ruin the sport.

- I hope the top 35 rule doesn't ruin Jacques Villeneuve's NASCAR career, he has always been a class act guy and we need some more of him. 

- DAVID RAGAN IS FOR REAL!  He may or may not be ROTY but he will win more races than JPM.

- I like that Jeff Burton struggling now means he makes the chase and wins a few races, not the old way where he didn't win at all.

- Scott Wimmer can drive a car, but apparently not enough to bump his way into the field.....

Who else thinks that the #88 cars are both the ugliest schemes you have ever seen?!?!!?????

I want my Natonal Guard car to have a flag and a better look, the Amp car could have so many scheme possibilities!!!!!!!!!!!

Both are disgusting to look at, plain and way out of style.  Come on, make us wait for months to see that, something that a high school kid did in photoshop!!!!

I am all for new sponsors, numbers and schemes but this is one of the worst I have ever seen!

I often hear people, especially in the NHRa makes reference to the gossip on the boards about driver and crew changes.  Does anyone know of where these boards are located?  I love the NHRA but they have no Jayski type of rumor site and the NHRA.com site is really lackluster with rumors, many times, drivers change teams or classes and I don't know about it till Pomona comes around.  I would love it if someone could enlighten me as to where to get the gossip about the drag cars.......

What a weekend in motorsports, my quick notes....

- Greg Biffle, you are driving one of the best cars out there, dont put down drivers who run better than you with a raction of the budget, DONKEY! 

- Speaking of "donkeys", some gratification for Johney Sauter, he was in that group that Greg was making reference to.  Sauter is 1 top 5 away from Greg Biffle this season wit a team working on a fraction of Biffle's, frustration speaks but Biffle needs some new direction instead of insulting the slower guys when he is one of them now.

- Milka Duno is nothing more than a roadblock on the track, she needs to be off of it for good!  It really doesn't matter that she has 4 Masters degrees, she cannot drive the car and needs parked before she gets run over.

- The best driver won the Indycar title, the best team did not.

- Maybe Tony Raines will go Indycar next year, there appears to be plenty of open seats there.........

- Has anyone thought about how funny it would have been had Dale Jr. gone to Ginn and then merged with DEI?!?!?!?

- Think the Army had something to do with moving Martin and Almirola to the 8 car, think about it, a cuban driving the Army car, not a marketing dream!

- Is Marco on the path of Michael or Jeff Andretti, I vote Jeff!

- Lastly, Dario, leave Ashley Judd at home and ABC, please stop interviewing her, she is a mouthy opinionated moron who should just go back to the bottle........

I must say, I hate the top 35 rule, it is horrible for the sport.  I think that is is all great making sure certain full time teams are in the show, but 35 is way too much!  I think it should be locked down to 20 with the other spots open and also throw in a few provisionals to the 21-30 guys but not a free pass.  Maybe have it to where you get 3 provisionals if not in the top 35 to use all year, then it falls to speed.  That way, someone doesn't always go home every week but you also stand that chance of missing after your provisionals are used up and you are down in points. 

Another option is the NHRA style of go or go home.  I love this as it really pits the best cars against each other.  If you are the champion from last year it doesn't matter, you go home if you aren't the fastest 16 cars no ifs and or buts.  They do have a rin rule that protects the top 10 point drivers in the event of a rainout.  THis could work for Nextel Cup.  Allow a free for all qualifying package that fills the top 35, then give everyone 36 and below a second chance qualifying like they used to do. 

The way I see it is NASCAR is running these guys off as it is almost impossible to get in the top 35 once you are out.  Scott Riggs is a great driver but how is his team really going to get back in, maybe in 2008 but if they miss a race it is basically over for them all season, that is wrong.  Give me the best cars not the ones who can just ride around and not worry.  I am sorry, Paul Menard is not one of the 35 best drivers out there but his dad made the difference, that is wrong.  This is really bad for the sport, screw steroids, be scared of the top 35 rule!