What To Do?

Since my "servant" is otherwise occupied, I thought I might found out some information for her on NASCAR.com.



DAMN!!! AARON'S 499 IS POSTPONED!!!

Rain Delay

That's right folks--Talladega is postponed until Monday. This means I can't watch the race--I have to be work--DAMN!

So, what did you do during the rain delay? Me? I was making a cake for an appreciation luncheon at work. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

Career Change

For those who know me--you know I work at a 4-year university. I have worked there for the past 7 years--that's right 7 years. I like working at a university--it is never a dull moment--and Ms. H. knows what I am talking about..he he. But I have become so jaded and burnt out.

I was once a long time ago a teacher. I taught at an elementary school near the Houston vicinty. I really liked teaching, but my situation was disasterous. I didn't receive the kind of support a beginning teacher should receive and I subsequently left midway through my second year. I was going through some personal matters that didn't allow me to concentrate fully on educating. I was so upset by all of this I never wanted to step back into a classroom again. But now, after having seen what I have seen at the university, I feel my place my be back in the classroom.

I am scared because I haven't been in front of a classroom since 1996. Do I still have what it takes to be a teacher? Ms. H. seems to think I do and if she believes in me why not? If I do head back to the classroom, I want to go under my terms and in an area I really enjoy and want others to learn. I have found my little niche in the areas of technology. I am beginning my certification classes this summer and will have them by next spring (2007).

Ms. H. if you are reading this what do you think?

Saturday at 'Dega

CONGRATS TO ELLIOTT!


Tony's Flip
Tony thought he had the space in front of Kenny Wallace, but clipped the front of the car.

And then the car went airbourne.

Tony's car at a full and complete stop.

Tony's A-OK!


Martin Truex won the Aaron's 312-CONGRATS!

Elliott & J.J.

Did ya see Elliott was on Trackside this evening? He was so cute! I may have to stay up and watch reruns. Also he is coming back later on in the season--way cool.

Sunday will be Elliott's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday Elliott!



YEA, YEA, J.J.! for winning the Busch Pole today!

Birthday-The Aftermath

Here's the aftermath of the birthday celebration last night at Outback!

Don't know if the boys can fix this damage! We have some SERIOUS tire damage--bascially the back tire is GONE. The entire back quarter panel is history. The front tire--doesn't look bad--okay--it needs to be replaced. Looks like a DNF!



Here's Postman with his cake before the damage.

It Strikes Again!

WANTED DEAD!
XEROX-COPYCENTRE C45



$5000 REWARD

Hubby's Birthday

Today is my hubby's birthday! Unfortunately he doesn't have the day...ah--he has to work on his birthday...I have always take my birthday off. It's a tradition.

Well, here is his birthday cake. It took 2 days, 2 boxes of confectioner's sugar, 2/3 cup of Crisco, 1/2 cup of water, 2 tsps of vanilla, a strawberry cake mix, oreos, and lots of patience.

I hate to work with black icing. So I decided in my infinite wisdom to find an alternative--crushed oreos. Apprently crushed oreos have a mind of their own. I had oreos everywhere. But it worked for the checkered flag and tires of the cake. Of course last night after finishing the cake, I realized I could have used one side of the oreo as the tires instead of the crushed version. By the way icing doesn't stick very well to crushed oreos.


Some of the little details I wasn't able to put in due to the fact that I was tired and was sick of icing. But all in all I think I did a pretty good job.



I really wanted to put a little more detail into the car like the stickers, etc, but when it is 10:30 at night and you have worked a full day at the J-O-B, you want to go to bed and get some sleep, but next time I will do the little details, but here are the ones I am most proud of. If you notice the Triple A logo---all free hand! and the same goes for the "6" I found it a little easier than doing a transfer.



I have to say this was the most detailed cake I have done to date. Most of this was done from a picture off of Mark Martin's website.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES!!!!

Dale Jr

Dale Jr will have a new paint scheme for his car on Sunday at Talladega. He will be driving the #8 with a #3 feel. Saturday would have been Dale Sr's 55th birthday.



From NASCAR.com
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his two DEI teammates will sport his father's classic black paint scheme in this weekend's Busch and Nextel Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Dale Earnhardt Day is Saturday, on what would have been the seven-time NASCAR champion's 55th birthday. The primary sponsors of the two DEI Cup cars -- the No. 8 Budweiser with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker with driver Martin Truex Jr. -- and two Busch cars -- Truex Jr.'s No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker and the No. 11 Menards/Turtle Wax with Paul Menard -- are paying tribute to Earnhardt this weekend.
"I think this is a great tribute to Dale on such a special weekend," said Teresa Earnhardt, President and CEO of Dale Earnhardt Inc. "To have all of our sponsors come together with this tribute and want to be a part of it says a lot about the respect they have for Dale's accomplishments."
Earnhardt won 10 times at Talladega, including his final Cup victory on Oct. 15, 2000. He will be inducted posthumously into the speedway's International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday, with the induction ceremony to be shown at a later date on SPEED.

Sweepin' the Desert

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick for the sweep at Phoenix.

BUSCH Race on Friday Night


CUP Race on Saturday Night


Tony finished 2nd! Here's Tony giving Kevin his congratulatory shower!


Mark had the car to beat, but a mishap in the pits I felt cost him the victory. After running out of gas at the end, including several other cars, he finished 11th.

Several others were knocked out of contention early due to other drivers' messes, including Elliott Sadler. Of course, I am not one to do the happy dance when someone gets in a wreck, but I felt some glee when Newman and little Shrub wrecked. Oh darn!

Next for the boys--TALLADEGA! Seems they are requiring the cars to have a softer front bumper. This is supposed to slow down the bump drafting thing majority of the drivers have been "voicing their concerns" about. Some might think about bump drafting, but you know there will be those regardless of the bumper who will bump draft. We shall see this weekend.

Good luck boys!

NASCAR Cake

Here is my latest attempt at cake decorating. I needed a little practice since I have two others to make this week--one of which will require some detail. I used my co-workers as the "taste testers" of my little experiement. The only mishap...is the black icing. You wouldn't think when you get black icing on your hands it would turn them purple. That's right, my hands have just a hint of purple to them today. This usually wears off in a day or two, so if you see me...sorry for the hands.

The car could have probably used a little more detail, but when you are doing this about 6 am in the morning and you have to be at work by 8:00 and you have yet to get dressed, details have to be left out. Besides it was really small as it was. I think it looks ok. The "20" however doesn't look too bad. I really hate black icing. Thank god, Tony's primary color is orange. If I decide to practice with other drivers i.e. Kevin Harvick, I will have to use more black.

Luckily my husband's driver Mark Martin is blue and red. Red--is also one of those colors you have to be careful using.

We shall see how it goes.

Warning--Drivers

It's Friday--I am tired and I am in no mood for you Lubbock drivers.

Yellow light--hello--caution!!!--means the light is going to turn red. This doesn't give you permission to speed through the intersection in the hopes you won't have to sit through the light cycle again. Of course it doesn't help when you see a LPD officer do the same thing. Shouldn't they be setting the example here???

And heaven forbid the light should be red. I was sitting at a light today coming back to work from my lunch and I saw..count them...three cars run the red light. Luckily most of us waited until they went through the intersection. I have learned to hesitate before putting my SUV into an intersection in Lubbock.

Turn signals are a good thing. Just because you know where you are going doesn't mean I do. I drive a big blue SUV...I cannot...I REPEAT...cannot stop on a dime. I am not participating in some brake experiment for Hyundai to see how well my brakes work.

I don't know how many road construction projects Lubbock is undertaking at the moment, but it seems where ever I drive around town I see orange cones. People when the bright orange sign reads "Left lane closed ahead" it really is closed. Don't drive up the left lane until you can't drive no more and expect me to let you over (even if your signal is on) I read the sign. I moved into the other lane that was available for driving. And don't even try to "squeeze in" either. Take a look at my back windows...I am a NASCAR fan, I have no problem with hitting another car. Isn't that what insurance is for????

I dont' like it when drivers cut me off, but if you do, DON'T SLOW DOWN once you get in front of me. I figured the reason you cut me off was to take the no space for you car spot in front of me despite the fact there was NOBODY behind me!

And finally--those of you who don't the idea of merging onto the Loop...let me share some of the wisdom I learned in driver's ed. When you merge into traffic, you should be almost or up to the speed of those cars that you are merging with. You don't STOP or SLOW down! The only time you STOP is if you can't merge. When another driver such as myself gives you space to merge---FREAKIN' MERGE--DON'T SLOW DOWN!!

I would continue on with my discussion here, but I don't have that kind of time.

So if you come to Lubbock, beware!

Saturday is Alright for Racing

Ugh---I sometimes really hate it when they have night races. It throws off my usually routine when it comes to NASCAR. I usually start off with things on Fridays, but last night they had qualifying for the Cup Race. UGH--and I missed it! Tony qualified 3rd behind Biffle (2nd) and little Shurb (Busch) who won the pole.

This race will be on Saturday night. I really like watching Saturday night races because it always reminds me of the nights I spent at the dirt track in Amarillo as a young girl. My father was one of the pit guys for his buddy who raced modfieds. It was really cool. I spent many a Saturday night with the other "kids" running around the bleachers. I remember buying buttons of my favorite drivers including those who drove the late models and VW. I wore them proudly just as I wear my favorite drivers t-shirts today. Even back then I had that one driver I didn't like--Commander Cody just like today I don't like Jimmie or Kurt. I was able to go down in the pits after the races and meet all the drivers and get their autographs. It was really cool when they had the demomalition derbies. I wanted so much to get a beat up car and crash into other cars. I think that is why I am sooooo into NASCAR. It brings back all those wonderful memories I had back in the day.

But the downside to this night racing...no racing on Sunday. Once again I will spend my Sunday surfing the tv channels looking for something to watch. Hopefully the movie selection will be better than last Sunday. I may just have to start that spring cleaning...maybe...I will have to think about it.

By the way--here is the top ten qualifyers for the Subway Fresh 500.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Greg Biffle
3. Tony Stewart
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Carl Edwards
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Kurt Busch
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Martin Truez Jr.
10. Jimmie Johnson

Other notables' qualifying spots:
11. Dale Jr.
15. Kevin Harvick
18. Mark Martin
19. Jeff Gordon
20. Elliot Sadler
22. Kasey Kahne

Good Luck in the Desert Boys!

A Day Without NASCAR

That's right---I spent yesterday watching no race. The Cup boys did not race on Easter. However, I was able to get my "NASCAR fix" by watching "NASCAR: Beyond the Wheel". This show recaps the previous week's race. I usually don't watch this, but since it was from Texas, why not. I also watched "Back in the Day" hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. This show highlights races from back in the day--hence the title of the show. It was a race from 1968 at Bristol. Wow--what a difference now! So I guess I did technically get to watch a race--ok it was from 1968, but it was kinda cool to see how it was back in the day. Yikes--no safer barriers, hans devices, or all the other stuff they wear today. And the cars were wow--talk about a complete difference than today.

List of movies I watched yesterday. Note--#3 & #4 were running at the same time so I flipped back and forth.
1. Peggy Sue Got Married (starring Kathleen Turner, Nicholas Cage)
2. Girl Happy (last 20 minutes or so) (starring Elvis Presley)
3. Prince of Tides (starring Nick Nolte and Barbard Streisdan)
4. At First Sight (starring Val Kilmer)
5. Beaches (starring Bette Midler and Barbard Hershey)

After an morning and afternoon of watching movies, I watched "West Wing". It was Leo's funeral episode. For those of you who don't watch West Wing, John Spencer the actor who played "Leo" died a couple a months ago. Yes, I did a little boo hooing during this episode. I really liked John Spencer as an actor. He will be missed.

I usually watch "Grey's Anatomy" on Sunday nights and it wasn't on last night, I watched the new show What About Brian starring Barry Watson from 7th Heaven fame. It wasn't bad. Last night's episode was the pilot, its regular night is tonight 10/9 EST. This means it will probably get TIVOed since CSI:Miami is on at the same time.

Well--that's how I spent my non-NASCAR race day.

hasta la vista!

NASCAR Obsession

Happy Easter to one and all. It's the day before Easter and like always during the season I watch "The Ten Commandments" staring Charlton Heston. I haven't watched it in a couple of years so here I am. Some of the special effects are kinda cheesy, but I have to remember this movie came out in 1956.

I usually post something about NASCAR on Monday or Tuesday, however, the Cup boys are off this weekend, but the Busch racers were in Nashville today. Kevin Harvick won! He is leading the points in the Busch series. The trophy---a Gibson guitar.


I don't know what I will do tomorrow without my NASCAR. Oh well...next week the race is on Saturday night in the desert. Good luck in Phoenix boys.

NASCAR purchase of the week: Tony Stewart steering wheel cover. Purchased at Target for $9.99.

Yep...another in a long line of Tony Stewart products I have purchased over the past year. My husband and I have amassed quite a few NASCAR items. In fact we have one room in our apartment dedicated to all of our NASCAR items.
Weirdest item: Jeff Gordon flashcards.

My favorite item: an autographed 8x10 of Tony with the NEXTEL trophy.

My husband's favorite item:Mark Martin's autograph on his TMS credential holder. (It's hard to tell from this picture because if I had taken the picture without my hand in the picture you would have seen the other autograph behind it.)

There are those who think we are nuts, but I really don't care. I have found something I like and passionate about. We all should have something like that in our lives. This is something that I can enjoy with my husband. I am a little bit more "obsessed" with NASCAR than he is, but if you could have seen him last weekend when he was able to snag Mark Martin's autograph then you would understand everything. Here are a few pics from the NASCAR room. (If I lived in a house instead of an apartment there would be more to this room.)

As you can see from the picture collage above I have quite a few items in the NASCAR. My newest items--the Tony Stewart chair, with "Smoke the Monkey" and the two hats.

Even one of our cats (Rhett Butler) loves to be in the NASCAR room--as you can see he loves the Jeff Gordon fleece blanket.

So if you stop by the homestead, take a moment and just enjoy the NASCAR room and then you will understand just a little piece of my world.

TMS Weekend

I was at TMS this past weekend and boy am I tired and sunburned. This will probalby be a long post so BEWARE.

Wednesday,April 5
Didn't get to do much with regards to the race. We were traveling from Lubbock to Lewisville where we were staying during the festivities. We arrived at our lodging for the weekend about midnight. All I wanted to see was the back of my eyelds.

Thursday, April 6
Headed out to TMS to pick up the coveted pit passes! We had to also pick our tickets (drama explained in a previous post) at 10:30. So we mainly walked around scoped out the souvenir trailers and purchased my scanner Fan View from Nextel. Pretty cool little device. We headed to the pits to see if we could see anybody (Tony or Mark) during IROC practice. Well, we saw Mark along with several of the other IROC drivers. We managed to get several autographs and pictures. Yes--I did manage to get Ryan Newman's autograph. I have never been much of a fan, but due to the fact that I am a NASCAR fan I wanted it. I got it, but it was such a butt and this was after I asked nicely and said thank you and have a good race. Maybe he didn't like the fact that I had a Kevin Harvick shirt and Tony Stewart credential holder on. Well, neither did the others...UGH...let's just say he didn't win me over as a fan...BOO! We decided to forego FANDANGO (only for season ticket holders) to have dinner with a good friend of ours who happens to live in the area. (Note--While watching "7 days" on SPEED, I found out Mr. Tony Stewart was at FANDANGO.) But here's the thing I just don't give up NASCAR for anybody. SHOUT OUT TO YOU MY FRIEND--THANKS FOR DINNER!!!

Friday, April 7
Out early to TMS---wanted to get good parking spot. We did the whole walk the midway thing today. We have more free CRAP than I know what to do with. I am wearing my cool little lanyard I got for free from Nextel. Hey--Schwan's was also handing out FREE ice cream sandwiches...YUM YUM. My husband and I did get our pictures taken in the "Big Red Chair" that's right the one from the Radio Shack commercials.

I did stand in line to get Mario Batali's autograph. For those of you who don't watch the Food Channel, he is one of the Iron Chef's on "Iron Chef America. He was signing his new book entitled Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style: The Essential Cookbook for NASCAR Fans. He was pretty cool.



When most of the drivers make appearances at either their souvenir trailers or sponsor booths, you have to get up bright and early (even chickens don't get up that early) and wait to receive a coveted "ticket". This means you will be able to come back and get the driver's autograph. You didn't need a ticket for this signing.

Troy Aikman spotted by husband. He is part owner of Hall of Fame Racing with another Cowboy quarterback--you may have heard of him Roger Staubach.



My husband was in HEAVEN today. He was able to get Mark Martin's autograph. This is pretty good since this was our second race to attend. We meet some guy who has been trying to get Mark's autograph for 10 years and he too was happy...he was able to get it.

The IROC race was great! Tony won! He came from the back of the pack to win on Friday night. Here are some pics (not from my camera) from the race.

Steve Kinser--I give him a 8.5 on the initial take off and spins in the air, but he nailed the landing and he walked away--a score of 9.7!


Saturday, April 8
Once again we try to arrive early to get a good spot in the parking lot. This is good because it is less walking for you when you have bags of free crap and souvenirs. People proudly display their drivers whether it be with flags, stickers, tatoos, shirts, etc. We did see that Texas Tech was represented in the parking lot or "tailgating lot". You see people who follow NASCAR tailgate for days..not hours...i repeat DAYS! More free stuff was collected again. I don't know why I do this, I guess because it is FREE! Went to the pits for a bit before the BUSCH race. I am getting more and more into the BUSCH drivers. I was able to get Burney Lamar's autograph (once again on "ticket" required). He drives the #77 for Kevin Harvick. He was a cutie and very nice. I hope he stays that way. He didn't however have a good race. Kevin H. ran good during the race, however Big Shrub (aka Kurt Busch) won the race. He tried to look cute with his post race celebration, but it came out looking goofy. Snow angels in Texas in April! PLEEEAASSEE!!!

We didn't get to see the end of the race because we were meeting another friend of ours who lives in the area. THANKS for the great conversation! By the way my TTU ring was found. I left it in the hotel room.

Sunday, April 9
The big boys' race today. We left the hotel early thinking we could beat quite a bit of the traffice---WRONG! And this is about 8:00 in the AM. That's right 8:00 FREAKIN' IN THE MORNING! Well, we found a parking spot...and right across the dirt path TTU fans from Lubbock. Let me you tell you these people were very entertaining and fun to watch as well as nice. They offered us some of their "good eats". Shout out to Jack--what a nice guy!

We went into the race about 11:00 to get into our seats. Note--race doesn't start till 1:00, but I wanted to get things settled. Once everyone gets in their seats you don't have much room to move. Preshow festivities weren't too bad..Randy Travis gave a little pre-race concert. I don't see how he survived--he had a jacket on---long sleeved. It was HOT! and not to mention you sit on metal benches and you are also crammed in the stands like sardines. Doesn't make for a comfortable day! If there had been some wind it might not as been as uncomfortable. Luckily we were around nice people, except for the lady next to my husband she was smoking the whole time!!! NASTY!!

Back to the race--it was a good race.

Busch vs. Biffle--Kurt B. taking out Biffle. I am not---repeat not a Busch fan or a big fan of Biffle, but Kurt was wrong. Biffle had a great running car...was leading the race. The wreck caused damaged to the retaining wall. Thus a red flag was thrown out and the race stopped. (Let me remind you--very, very HOT and NO wind--stuffed in like sardines).

Biffle's girlfriend, Nicole was very upset about the on track incident went over to the Kurt B.'s pit to discuss the incident a little further with Busch's finacee, Eva. I am sure Nicole was concerned for Biffle's safety. These cars are going close to 200 mph and what Kurt did was wrong. She did, in a classy way, what most of us women might have done. I read today that Nicole is getting a reprimand from NASCAR. Oh joy! What does that really mean to her? It's not liek Biffle will be docked points or fined. Whatever NASCAR! Heaven forbid we shouldn't play nice on Sundays. (Note: Biffle and Busch used to be teammates.)
Race recap: Carl Edwards wrecked out.

Tony came from 40th to finish 3rd after battling Kahne towards the end. Kevin finished 5th.


CONGRATULATIONS TO KASEY KAHNE!!!


After waiting for the hoardes of people to leave the stands we made our way to the midway so we could turn in our scanners. Now if you have never been to TMS on a Sunday race day be prepared. We had to go to the scanner trailer on the fair end of the midway and go against all the other people trying to get out. I felt like that salmon trying to swim upstream. I bought one more T-shirt as if I don't have plenty in my closet. Since traffic is a BITCH, we tailgated out in the parking lot with the Tech people until traffic was bearable.

All in all it was a great weekend. I have very tired and sunburned. I have lots of laundry to do as well as some unpacking still to do, but it can wait. I have about 6 months to gear up for the November race. In the mean time I will have all the other race dates to keep me happy.

The boys are off this weekend. Next stop: Phoenix.

Have a great Easter.

TGIW

Yep--that's right it is Wedensday. Hump day...middle of the work week...and i hate typing the word "Wednesday"...i always end up typing it as Wedensday as you can tell in the first part of this posting. But for me it is my Friday--i am going out of town for the NASCAR weekend in Ft. Worth. That's right folks 4 days of racing and communing with fellow NASCAR fans.

As much as I like to travel...everything leading up to it sucks. You have to pack. You have to make sure you have all travel documents/paperwork etc before you leave. You need to make sure your house is in order because i really hate coming back to a house that isn't in order. It is the last thing you want to do after coming off a vacation. You start to make that list of things you need for your vacation, but inevitable you forget something. UGH!!!

This will also mean I will not be able to post anything on my blog either. Lately I have enjoyed posting to it. I don't know why. I guess because it gives me an outlet for my weird musings. So if you read my blog on a semi-basis, don't worry, I will have plenty to write about when I get back.

i'm outta here

Tuesday

Ho-Hum...ate with a spork today.

listened to a disney songs as picked by Julie Andrews...my favorite of all the songs "Feed the Birds"from Mary Poppins. "Feed the birds, Tuppence a Bag, Tuppence, Tuppence, Tuppence a Bag" (sing out loud if you must--i do)

almost time to go home--yea...have friend in town for the night...going to cook out..yum...hamburgers and hotdogs!! woo-hoo...can't wait.

don't know if this interests anyone, but Tom DeLay is done...he is quitting the House.

weird tidbit of the day....On Wednesday of this week (tomorrow), at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. (wouldn't it do the same at 1:00 in the afternoon???)

monday in a nutshell

today is monday...daylight savings now into effect!

heard from old friend who lives in dfw area on sunday--it was nice to hear from him...finally got to hear the ringtone i set for him...hopefully get to see him this weekend...you know..i always make time for him when i can...how can i not...i have always thought of him as a good coming and going man...looks good going, looks good coming...he he...thanks for the memories matt.

went to work--same old, same old

had class...talked about union/collective bargaining...let me tell ya..i was on the edge of my seat...woo hoo!!!

finished straightening up house and everyone sit down and don't pass out from what i am about to tell you...my husband helped me clean the house.


going out of town this weekend for the big redneck trip to ft. worth for the nascar races...watch out ft. worth!!

friend of ours coming into town on his way back to austin...was living in colorado...thought he wanted to stay...realized texas was a much, much better place...even if it is back to austin

get well Jim !

going to bed...sweet dreams everyone!

Smoke at Martinsville

Friday, March 24
Tony qualifies 3rd behind Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson (pole sitter).

Sunday March 25
Lap 25: Tony passes Jamie McMurray for the lead
Lap 50: Tony now catching lap cars
Lap 92: Tony Wins race off pit road after 3rd caution of the day
Lap 96: Tony continues to lead
Lap 118: Tony continues to lead after 4th caution of the day
Lap 139: Tony contines to lead with 27 cars on lead lap
Lap 155: Tony's lead is 2 seconds
Lap 182: JJ Yeley passes Sterling Marlin for lead, but Tony quickly gets by Yeley for the lead
Lap 289: Tony wins battle of pit road after Caution #8
Lap 294: Tony in the lead
Lap 323: Tony continues to lead the race
Lap 339: Tony leads after Caution #11
Lap 350: Tony leads Jimmie by 1/2 second
Lap 361: Jimmie takes lead from Tony
Lap 365: Jimmie wins battle off pit road after Caution #12
Lap 369: Tony takes the lead from Jimmie
Lap 378: JImmie takes lead back from Tony
Lap 402: Jimmie .75 seconds ahead of Tony
Lap 473: Tony takes lead from Jimmie after a little beatin' and bangin'
Lap 492: Tony still in the lead
Lap 497: Tony still leading only 3 more laps
Lap 500: TONY WINS!!!!



Tony wins and begins the Victory Climb!!!



This gives Tony his first NNC win of 2006 (remember he did win the Busch race at Daytona in February). Tony lead 288 out of 500 laps. His car was "Smokin". Complete DOMINATION!

Top 5 finishers at Matinsville
1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Dale Earnhardt
5. Kyle Busch

Matt Kenseth finished 24th after Kenseth hits the wall on Lap 492. Darn...funny how karma plays out. It was nice to see Junior battle back with all the "modifications" to his #8 Budweiser Chevy and get a 4th place finish.

Next week on to Texas....YEA!!!

[Sidebar: I really don't care what you think mr. pooh pooh head (and you know who you are). I can gloat about the fact that Tony Stewart won! You are just mad because your driver who shall remain nameless didn't have a very good run (he finished 13--that's in the top 20 and he is now 2nd in the points). Get over yourself! You know how I am...and guess what Jeff Gordon finished 2nd! How 'bout them apples? And all the "extras" on today's post...just for you.]