--Is a boring 9th place finish really better than a wreck? Would we rather see Tony tangle and gamble the championship? Of course we would now.

--Sure, we’d like to see more of Tony in the coverage, trading paint and going to the front. Atlanta would have been better for us if we could have gotten a bit more of Biffle’s paint on the front bumper (I like Greg, but let’s just roll with it for now).

--History is written by the victor. I’d love to be able to tell people that my driver is a multi-year Cup champion. I’m willing to sit though a few boring top tens to have that privilege. He’d be the only full time competing driver besides Jeff Gordon with more than one championship next year. Rusty’s the only other one this year.

--So is the boring 9th place good enough for me? In a word….yes.

Tony hates to finish second….usually: ..::[ I think he was a little less pissed about second this time. His car was so good that it was hard to be too upset. It was the first time in awhile that he wasn’t driving a car that was somehow crippled most of the race. ..::[ Comment on Greg Biffle. He screwed up out there. You race for position, that’s where the money is. You aren’t going to get anywhere in this sport racing like Robby Gordon. I think he’s proved that. I like Biffle. I’ve seen him so sideways; they had his pit packed up before he got it straight again. He’s a genius in his own car; let’s just get a little smarter about the other 42. ..::[ Comment on the “bump and run” on Jimmy Johnson. It was his only chance, and only a good team would realize that. He could have done the same to Gordon on the next restart, but didn't have the car. If it was 10 more laps into it, I’m sure he would have settled for third. His car got worse and Jimmy's got better as the green lap runs went longer. Blame the record number of cautions that kept the runs short. ..::[ Comment on the record number of cautions. Good talent is getting harder to find, but good money can put a car under almost anyone. Those cars running 20 through 30 were just acting stupid out there. It’s like having 10 short school buses out on the track.

Great article by the "Big" Bigelow: Maybe Next Season's NASCAR's Playoffs Will Be 11 Events Long Racing Strapin - The Caledonian-Record News

"I'm not gonna send our cowboy back out there to get hurt. We need him healthy for the rest of these rodeos."

-- No. 8 crew chief Tony Eury Jr., talking to the team's spotter, Jimmy Kitchens, after Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew a right-front tire and crashed on Lap 62.

# posted by theStewartFan @ 6:53 PM

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Read it here. Great article about Tony. I'm trying out the "BlogThis" button on my Google toolbar. How's it working?

..::[ 67 points. That’s the difference between 25th and 5th place. That’s what this whole chase thing is about, top 5’s.

..::[ If the leader almost always hits the outside wall, don’t be the leader. It’s as simple as that. I don’t think I could’ve shouted at the TV any louder. The Bush race was a huge crystal ball of what was going to happen in the Cup race. Sure the cars are different, but not that much different. It wasn’t very far into the race that it was obvious to everyone that something was extremely wrong with every car.

..::[ 67 points…..

..::[ Was there any other way for Tony to finish that race other than winning or the way he did? No, and there’s no question if you’re a true Stewart fan. New car, new team, new owners, and no points consideration means you put it ALL out there. He was patient long enough, knew what he had to do, and did it no matter the consequences. Finishing 2nd would have not been good for anything. ..::[ I love to see Tony in the Bush races. I’d rather see him in a Bush race than the All Star race. I think it’s a stupid idea, a Cup race with no points. Even the football game they played in Mexico counted for a win or loss. ..::[ Congrats to Ryan for dominating another Bush race, They’re developing a lot of great talent for their future teams (where do I sign up!). This has got to be a theory that more teams are using, or are going to start using.

..::[ Kansas was about as I expected, except for the fact that Tony had to limp another wounded race car around for the majority of the race. These guys get thrown another curve ball this week, and pull off another top 5. These are the signs of a championship team and a champion driver. ..::[ Great pit stops by the crew. I’ll bet Zippy can’t uncross his fingers after having them crossed most of the race. I’m not sure we’d have made it on a hot (90 degree+) day with all the electrical stuff turned off. I took a ton of talent to get that car home in forth, and we’ve got it in Tony. ..::[ 80 point lead in the chase is about 180 less than we would have without the chase, but we’ll take it and head to NC.

..::[Qualifying went as well as we could hope. A top 10 start, but I don't think we saw all there was. We may have seen a cautious Tony Stewart in turns 3 and 4. Not something we're used to seeing, and don't expect to see on Sunday. I don't think he went for it. ..::[I don't think we'll see the cautious Tony on Sunday after watching the Bush race. Those cars put a lot of good rubber on that track. Kasey holding off Biffle on the outside for the win showed everyone that the outside can be fast. Kasey had older tires that Greg and was still able to hold him off by keeping him low. Great driving Kasey and Greg, that was millimeters from disaster. ..::[I'm feeling better about our chances for tomorrow after the events of today. Shortening 2 cars in practice not only eliminated good cars for this track, but couldn't help Tony's feel for this track. I'm thinking neither of those will be a factor. And with Robby Gordon watching this one...that's one less thing everyone's got to worry about.

Don’t be the sitting duck,
I’ve seen this before. Don’t be in the top 5 with about ten to go. It only takes about 2 laps for the leaders to forget you, and about 2 laps to get back in front if you’ve got the car. You’ve lead the most laps and you’re considered the favorite to win. Everyone is gunning for you, no one will back you up. All you have to do is disappear for a few laps, and they all forget about you.
So with 10 laps left, Tony drops back. I’m shouting at the TV! Suddenly a calming feeling comes over me. Even though there aren’t many laps left on the scoreboard, there’s plenty of race left for Tony. We go find a friend in DJ, and off we go for the finish. The sitting duck for the green/white/checker: Kenseth. All he heat’s off Tony to go tear them a new one. DJ got a good run on the outside and a bump from Matt. The yellow comes out and gets us half a car length in second place.
We come out winners even though we’re not in Victory Lane. The points lead is were it belongs. Huge kudos to Zippy and the team for fixing the temp problem while the race was young and the motor could still finish. Waiting any longer could have been a disaster. Our Dega car comes home second and clean for next year.

Sweet Home Talladega,
After a huge disappointment last week, I’m really looking forward to the race on Sunday. The super speedway effort is really on. Qualifying went well and we’re starting up front. It’s a long race, and I’ll be standing for every lap. We really need a top 5 to bounce back from last week. Where will “the big one” come?...only the green flag will tell. Jr. up front with nothing to lose will only benefit Tony. Finishing second to Jr. will be just as good as a win as far as I’m concerned.
It’s Charlotte (we don’t use the “L” word on this page) that’s got me worried. That’ll be a hump for the 20 in the case. After shortening 2 cars in practice on a sub par track, there’s a lot of work to be done to make another 1.5 mile car.
But until then, I’ll sit back and enjoy the “Dega”. Only 40 more weeks until NASCAR comes back to Dover. I can’t wait.