NASCAR Survivor Series, Session 3

Surviving the Chase

I'm ready to start taking team lineups for Session 3. Its just over 2 weeks away, so start ranking your drivers. Send me your top 12 this time, in order from most desired to least. Again, draft order will be random. Since we have an even number of races this session, we will have 3 drivers going into the last race. This means the highest finishing driver of the 3 remaining at Homestead is the winner.

Depending on the number of entries I receive, we may have different divisions. If that is the case, you are at my mercy as to the division you end up in. I will come up with some creative way to fairly (or unfairly) decide. For instance, I might put all the new people together, or I might base the divisions on your height (sorry Steve!), or maybe, I'll just run a Cow Plop using Mack and a photo of each of you.

Mack, working on the Session 3 1st place prize

Anyway, get me your picks by Sunday the 15th at Noon. No picks = no entry. Carol and Lui found this out the hard way last session. Sorry, but I have to have time to get set up!

Good luck!!!

SMP Session 3 announcement

From Scott and Carol - Email them at smp-racing@hotmail.com for more info.

Hey all,

Quicker than anticipated - here it is... entry form and rules for Session Three beginning on 9/16/07.

New format, new structure - for Session Three. Ten Bucks, Ten Races.

Take a look, enter as you many teams as you please.

Most points wins, with a "winner take all" pot.

Questions - email or call.

Deadline - SEPT 15, 2007... entry accepted via email/mail, payment via mail. Hope to see your entries.. good luck all!

Scott and Carol

This reminds me, I need to get going on the third session of the survivor series. Keep your eyes peeled, like McMurray's pants at an all men's spa.

SMP Results after Bristol - Thanks again Scott

Session 2 Race 13:

1) 672 - Jon
2) 872 - Carol
3) 889 - P.Shaffer
4) 901 - Mike
5) 914 - TBA
6) 957 - Scott
7) 961 - Patrick
8) 990 - Lui
9) 1032 - Tod
10) 1053 - Anthony
11) 1074 - Joe
12) 1100 - Stacey
13) 1107 - Forti
14) 1158 - Wayne
15) 1165 - P. Barrera

Carol tries the "bump 'n run" on "Jon The Tank" and fails, scoring this weeks worst, 124. Big Jon now holds a 200 point advantage, and pulled his rear view mirror off, because there ain't nuthin' behind him. Paul Schaffer (73) still holds onto 3rd and Mike Inskeep (50) now holds 4th all by himself this week. Patrick had the best this week with a score of 45.

Race Recap: Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway:FINALLY! Kasey Kahne finally has a good weekend! The 9's were wild this week when Kahne took the pole on Friday, and won the Busch race later that night. But it was the "double 9's" of Carl Edwards winning on Saturday with Kahne getting 2nd. The race seemed like it was being billed as some "gladiator-like" event (which made McMurray and Waltrip giddy). A modern day coliseum, Gordon vs. Kenseth, Harvick vs. Montoya, and all the banging and bumping that is Bristol...well, it fell kind of short of that. The new, 3 ft. wider concrete surface, let cars get three wide and made passing easier. The "Tanks..er..Cars of Tomorrow" made the "Bump 'n Run" a thing of the past. Hell, there was more cars banging and getting out of control in the last 10 laps Friday with the old style cars in the Busch race than all of Saturday nights race.

Michael Waltrip got some "air time" when he looked in his rear view mirror and saw a partial team photo of the "Gillette Young Guns" behind him. Kahne, Edwards, Earnhardt, and Newman wanted to pass but Michael was saying..."eenie, meenie, I'm a Mo, if you rear-end me and I'll let you go!" I haven't seen so many cars follow one car for that long in prime-time on a Saturday night since L.A.'s finest was following a White Ford Bronco! Hey, "Blades of Glory", why don't you skip over to NAPA Auto Parts and get a gas pedal that works! I can see it now..."Hi, I need a gas pedal for a BARELY used Toyota Camry" Like I've said before, it takes a "lead foot" to go fast, but when you're "light in the loafers"...well...nuff said. The best advice Waltrip got was from his "spotter" when Robby Gordon spun out. You can hear his spotter yelling, "GO STRAIGHT, GO STRAIGHT!!! Apparently we're not the only ones who thinks Michael plays for the other team. If you get a chance, check out Patrick's parody of the NAPA commercials with "letters to Michael" at, http://clevelandsportssurvivor.blogspot.com/ Excellent job my friend!!! The move of the night came when Kasey Kahne was going high on the outside and sees Johnny Sauter just sitting there. The #9 guy just misses a huge accident, by dodging and barely missing the #70 car, while stealing some decals off the side of it.

Alright, two races to go!

PT's Survivor Series: 3 left, and I'm one of them (I have Stewart). Of course I'm going to win since there's no money prize this round!

Next Week; California, Sunday night.

I'm trying to get session 3 done....should be out in 2 days....hopefully.....

C-ya
Scott

Survivor Results after Bristol- In the form of Letters to Michael Waltrip

Dear Mr. Waltrip,

Why don't you move aside and let lead lap cars go? Is it because you have no idea what you are doing, or is it because you know that is the only way the NAPA logo will be seen on ESPN during race coverage aside from the views of it crumpled on your hood after a wreck.

Sincerely,

Joey, from Newberry Conn.

Dear Michael Walterip,

How cool was it watching Carl Edwards run away with the race on Saturday night. Wow, he owned that track. Although the race was not as eventful as past races, the new progressive banking and all concrete surfaces sure made it easy to pass on all sides - high, low, middle. I suppose you saw a lot of that passing from the passee point of view. There was even some 3 wide traffic - unheard of before at this track. I don't have to tell you about that, though, since you forced a lot of it by holding up the leaders for about 20 minutes.

Hey, where was that Dominoes pizza guy. I wanted to talk to him on the phone. Hes a good driver. Why don't you ask him for some advice?

Good luck next year,

Roger Stanford, Lowtown Ala

Mikey,

Why don't you go ahead and let your retired brother finish out the season in the 55 car? He has 5 championship provisionals to use yet this season, and imagine the commercial prospects and the publicity for the NAPA team. Plus, he can drive, unlike yourself. He might actually make a few races without the provisionals

Darryl W, Concord NC

Mr Waltrip,

Since the # 29 car finished ahead of you, I'd like to know why it was Kevin Harvick who was eliminated from the survivor series this week. Even with a respectable 17th place finish, he was left behind the #5, the #20, and the blank #31. Whats that all about? You were a much worse finisher. Is it because you have your trophy wife / beard still changing tires for you?

Thanks

Al from Arkansas

Dear Mike,

I wanted to see you in person to talk to you, but the opportunity simply has not yet arisen. Remember that night about 4 months ago when you were so distraught over your failure of a racing business. Hopefully, you remember me from the hotel bar. We talked and I comforted you, and , well, you know where that led. Anyway, I visited my doctor the other day and I am supposed to inform you of a little condition. Pleas give me a call. I know you have my number. We really need to talk. I didn't know how else to get ahold of you. Please don't read this on your crappy NAPA commercials. That would be really embarrassing for both of us.

With Love,

Jaime McMurray

Results after Bristol:

Eliminated Drivers:

Dover - #2 Kurt Busch (Scott Mann)
Charlotte - #16 Greg Biffle (Jon Lommerin)
Pocono - #48 Jimmy Johnson (Jon Lommerin) - ELIMINATED
Michigan - #17 Matt Kenseth (Kenny Ross)
Sonoma - #veintiséis (thats #26 for those of from north of the border) Jamie McMurray (ME)
Louden - #07 Clint Bowyer (Curtis Krakowski)
Daytona - #11 Denny Hamlin (Thornton) - ELIMINATED
Chicago - #70 Johnny Sauter (Steve Shaffer)
Indianapolis - #12 Ryan Newman (Mike Inskeep)
Pocono - #99 Carl Edwards (Kenny Ross) - ELIMINATED
Watkins Glen - #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Steve Shaffer) - ELIMINATED
Michigan - #24 Jeff Gordon (Mike Inskeep) - ELIMINATED
Bristol - #29 Kevin Harvick (Susie Mikesell)

Survivors:

#31 (Krakowski)
#20 (Mann)
#5 (Mikesell)

Curses, Japan, Curses

Well, the Japanese LLWS team knocked out my beloved Taiwanese team. Although the result sucked peaches, it was an incredible duel. I made it home from a late meeting (fundraiser with open bar = beam and water) just in time to catch what I thought would be the last inning.

China Taipei scored in the top of the 6th to go ahead 3-2 (Although I didn't see it, I believe China scored 2 on a homer in like the first inning, and the Japan scored 2 on a double in the 4th, or something to that effect). Japan got runners on first and second with 2 outs. A "bloop" to the center fielder was too much to handle (poor kid) and Japan scored again. Four innings of a masterful pitching duel later, and Taipei was starting to show some "O". In the Bottom of 10 with 2 outs, the starting Japanese pitcher jacked one straightaway center to end my hopes of taking the prize money. Great game, great play from some talented little guys.

The US games were not so exciting, although I will say I was pleased to see Arizona get trounced by GA. Normally, I'd have sympathy for these little kids, but at the conclusion of Arizona's last pool game they showed one little brat with his hat crooked and flashing 12-year old gang signs saying "I hit a Bomb! I hit a Bomb!" My faith in this countries youth died a little that day.

Today, Fantasy Football Draft. I have no clue what I am doing. I'll just keep my mouth shut and hope I don't embarrass myself by taking any injured or retired player. Yes, yes I know not to take Michael Vick.

BRISTOL TONIGHT!!! Ahhh, a night race at Bristol. The flash of the lights on the fresh polish, the smoke obscured camera shots, the sound of sheet metal crunching into the barrier. I love it. New progressive banking is making for some fast racing, although it looks like its gonna take some getting used to. Last night Jeff Burton was running away with the race in the #29 Holiday Inn Chevy by passing largely on the outside, unheard of at Bristol prior to the new 3 groove progressive banking. He was sneaking up through the field after a pit stop and a lap car blew a RF and came up the track plowed him into the wall ruining what was likely a runaway victory.

Tonight, Burton's #31 is going all black like a Thursday night at Spy. I am actually looking forward to it. I hate AT&T and Cingular and their giant shitty logos. I am hoping Burton commands tonight to show NASCAR and the douches at AT&T that it doesn't matter whats painted on the hood of the car - A giant Globe, or a "Go-Phone" or a gaint squid, lets just race.

SMP Results after Michigan - Thanks Scott

Session 2 Race 12 results:

1) 622 - Jon
2) 748 - Carol
3) 816 - P.Shaffer
4/5) 851 - Mike/ TBA
6) 892 - Scott
7) 917 - Patrick
8) 918 - Lui
9) 943 - Tod
10) 968 - Anthony
11) 1006 - Joe
12) 1015 - Forti
13) 1031 - Stacey
14) 1055 - Wayne
15) 1107 - P. Barrera

Jon scores a "horrible"(?) 83 and loses ground to Carol's 50. With a 126 point lead, we all know that that's not enough with 3 races left, not with Carol's late kicks at the end. Paul Shaffer (78) hangs in the third spot, and Mike Inskeep (92) holds onto fourth with TBA (79), both with a total of 851. Lui (107) keeps going down (that's what she said) and Patrick (88) keeps going up (that's what she said...also). Brother Tod had the best score this week with a 45 and the worst went to Wayne,117, when he got stuck in the mud with Jeff Gordon.

Race Recap....finally: Michigan, 3M Performance 400:

This was not your typical Tuesday morning race my friends, oh no. Once again I had to stay home from work to watch this one and it was well worth it. After 2 days of rain delays, this one started under caution for the first 11 laps and then had to stop because of fog. I found myself switching channels and low and behold, what do you know, I'm watching "Walker Texas Ranger"! My God! They don't make'em like they used too. NO! not the TV show! Chuck Norris! I haven't seen a guy with a 70's "porno-look" kickin' ass since, well....since I watched a '70's porno with a guy kickin' some ass! The closest anybody comes to this is Tom Selleck as "Magnum P.I."....Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!! There's a race on! It only took 2 laps for Juan Pablo Montoya to spin out! Kevin Harvick was heard over the radio saying "...hope it's bad enough where he can't come back out...it's not just a matter of 'IF' he's gonna wreck, it's just a matter of 'WHEN' he's gonna wreck!" Apparently Kevin is still not happy with JPM. Michael Waltrip spun out ("Blades of Glory") on lap 93. Seventeen cars missed him passing by until the #08 car, and LAST place car, hit him ending #55's day. Time to go to NAPA and get that thang fixed Michael! With 10 laps to go, Matt Kenseth decided to move a "slower" Jeff Gordon out of the way and put the #24 car into the muddy infield...sweet, two more guys who still can't get along. Maybe the #17 guy didn't like all the "57 Chevy" paint schemes that all the Chevy's were sportin'...(except for the #20 and #11 cars-????). With 2 laps to go, Kyle Busch must have had a "kick me" sign on his back. The #5 car was getting loose, and every car that passed him- smacked him! It was actually kinda funny...even Rusty Wallace made note of it on ESPN. In the end, Kyle's brother, "The Turd" aka "The Big Douche in the Blue Deuce" Kurt Busch wins again, the second time in 3 weeks. I'd put my money on #2 for the Saturday's night race in Bristol!

Rain Delay News: Monday, when RV's were leaving the infield area after a second rain out, Jamie McMurray was seen in the infield walking a small Pekingese. Hmmm, I wonder if he got that at "Boys R Us"?

Patrick's Survivor Series: Patrick has now set up a "blog" for the survivor series. http://clevelandsportssurvivor.blogspot.com/ ....so now all can visit PT's take on NASCAR as well.

and finally....I'm working on a Session 3. A different format will be introduced, and it will cost $10 (probably) with a "Winner Take All"....all drivers will score for 'high' total, blah, blah, blah....let me figure it all out. It should be a "no-brainer" league for the last 10 races.

Next Race: Sharpie 500 at Bristol ...Saturday Night.Kenny Wallace will be in the #45 car due to the broken hand of Kyle Petty. Apparently Kyle was so pissed as Watkins Glen when his car broke down and caught fire, he hit a door with the butt of his hand inside his hauler, resulting in breaking that hand....Kickass! Sterling Marlin will be in the #78 car.

C-ya

Scott

Gracias Venezuela, Gracias

Thank you little Venezuelan baseball guys for plowing through Mexico today to take first place in Pool D of the 2007 Little League World Series. More importantly, your win left Chinese Taipei alone in second in that pool, allowing them to transfer to the next round. Without a third Venezuela win, there would have been a 3 way tie for first, and Taipei would likely have gone home.

You may be asking yourself, why does Pat care? Well, let me tell you. I have Chinese Taipei in the House of Cues LLWS pool. $20 a team, 16 teams - that's $320 up for grabs, and let me tell you, with a wedding on the horizon, every penny helps.

Next up? A tough Japanese team at 5:00 on Thursday in the International Semi-final. Japan has some serious little Ichiro wannabe's, most of whom can hit better than me (not that that's much of an accomplishment).

Day 1 update

Well, I have "back-posted" through the entire second session. I made a few minor edits to protect the innocent, and I think this service edits some curse-words, which I guess is a good thing. Enjoy, and feel free to comment at your leisure.

Setting the Table - The Beginning

I often get wrapped up in the spirit of keeping up with the Jones'. For instance, my friend Jeff recently bought a 50" plasma tv, so now I have my eye on a 52" LCD - not because I need one that big, but because I need one bigger than Jeff ("that's what she said" - Michael Scott). In that spirit, with ESPN's wicked-ridiculous "draft track" technology setting the standard, I decided to step up and move my weekly emails to this Blog format. Actually, I have had a ton of requests to see the league e-mails since some of you just rave about them (or maybe you print them off and read them to your kids to put them to sleep, whatever)

So here we are at Cleveland Sports Survivor. A blog. Don't mock me people, just enjoy it.

I chose today to launch because I don't have a ton to say about the race this week. I, like most people, work on Tuesdays at 10:00 am. I was not able to see the all the rain and fog, but I bet it looked really great on HDTV.

It sounded like an exciting race, at least according to the "lap-by-lap" description I read on NASCAR.com while I ate my Subway. I was waiting to see a story about Jeff Gordon shoving Matt Kenseth again after that little bump and spin. (or as Rusty Wallace calls him "Matt Kensiss". I want to punch the TV every time he does this. Would someone please teach The Rusty Deuce how to pronounce Kenseth for crying out loud. Ken - Seth, or for you Star Wars Geeks, Ken-Sith. He's a freaking past champion - you'd think the same genius that came up with the big fake digital start/restart towers would figure out that its an embarrassment to their broadcast). Anyhow, Sorry Inskeep, Ole' "Kensiss" in his #17 Dewalt Ford Fusion (That's for Mike Christ) sealed your fate. Gordon finished 27th, more than 10 spots behind the rest of the survivor field. The other 4 all finished between 10th and 15th, almost making it a close week.

Anyhow, I want to mess with this blog thingy to try to make it look good, so I will wrap this up. Remember, I will post standings weekly here, and I may have some other comments as the weeks pass. Check back. As you may guess based on the Blog name, I am opening up the door to rant about all sorts of sports and stuff, especially our fantasy leagues. In fact, I will probably duplicate Scott Mann's weekly fantasy league e-mails in here - with his permission, of course. I'll also try to get the past posts up here for your entertainment. I'm told some are worth reading twice.

OK, this weeks results after Michigan on a freaking Tuesday:

Eliminated Drivers:

Dover - #2 Kurt Busch (Scott Mann)
Charlotte - #16 Greg Biffle (Jon Lommerin)
Pocono - #48 Jimmy Johnson (Jon Lommerin) - ELIMINATED
Michigan - #17 Matt Kenseth (Kenny Ross)
Sonoma - #veintiséis (thats #26 for those of from north of the border) Jamie McMurray (ME)
Louden - #07 Clint Bowyer (Curtis Krakowski)
Daytona - #11 Denny Hamlin (Thornton) - ELIMINATED
Chicago - #70 Johnny Sauter (Steve Shaffer)
Indianapolis - #12 Ryan Newman (Mike Inskeep)
Pocono - #99 Carl Edwards (Kenny Ross) - ELIMINATED
Watkins Glen - #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Steve Shaffer) - ELIMINATED
Michigan - #24 Jeff Gordon (Mike Inskeep) - ELIMINATED

Survivors:

#31 (Krakowski)
#20 (Mann)
#29 (Mikesell)
#5 (Mikesell)

Backpost - After Watkins Glen

Thank you Patrick Carpentier. Thank you for your fancy french name. Thank you Ron Fellows. Thank you for your fancy road course specialist driving skills. Thank you both for making the field. Thanks for all those things, but mostly, thank you for your Canadian-ness - for without you in the race there would have been no Canadian National Anthem, and thus no Hot Blond singing said anthem. Without you, Patrick Carpentier, millions of NASCAR fans, in the US and abroad, would have not heard any national anthem, because that garbage that was spewed from the intolerable lungs of that "Freeman" character, or whatever that ugly douchebag's name was, was no national anthem. Exactly just what that embarrassment was that was sung, I will never know. I can tell you that is not the national anthem of this country, or any other for that matter. If he was attempting to perform OUR National Anthem, this ass clown mispronounced words and sang the wrong lyrics, the entire time sounding like a wounded coyote in a large coyote sized blender on "canine puree" setting. Freeman, you made me very unhappy with my recent surround sound purchase.

Now, on to the race! Wow. The last 45 laps were crazy. The 42 car is yet again the douche (or as he shall now be known El Douche) of the race. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone is blaming Truex. Not his fault. Montoya had trouble restarting all day, losing positions every time. That restart he was too worried about running out of laps and blocked HARD. It looked to me like Truex locked them up trying to stay off the 42. You see a little wiggle before he hits the 42. Then all hell broke loose. Vicki is yelling for Harvick to get out and fight, and lo and behold - He DID! Nice.

I love the Glen, and its not just because that's the only track I can compete at on NR2003. I wreck in turn 1 every time, and I can still compete, which doesn't say much for the competition. It does, however tell you that it is indeed the most challenging turn on the course. You come screaming down the front stretch at the highest speed of the race and all of a sudden - BAM - 90 plus degree right turn. In the sim, its a sandtrap. Luckily for Smoke, its paved in real life, allowing him to recover, and go on to win after fighting back from 16th.

Junior had an engine "blowed" up (we will discuss this in a minute), taking the steam out of the "Beer Wars" or whatever Miller Lite is trying to stir up. I guess when your beer sucks balls like a driving range rake you need to stir up interest by linking yourself to a good product in a mock competition. I will say this. Great call by the #2 Crew Chief after Junior fell out of the race. Pit and make sure you can make it on fuel. That would have sucked to still be running at the end, and end up with a 40th place because you ran out of fuel on the last lap. Good points day for Busch. Bad Survivor league day for Steve Shaffer. Steve, welcome to the losers lounge. You are out like a boner in sweatpants.

"Blowed Up"? Tony Eury Jr. Thanks for not perpetuating the red-neck stereotype of NASCAR. I recommend not talking in the future.

4 remain. Only 1 will take home the coveted....... Um, hey Scott, we need to get working on that prize.

Also, the next session is just a few weeks away. Its only 10 races, so we pretty much will have to take 11 entries, each person with 1 driver. Sudden Death Survivor Series? If we have a larger interest, we can run 2 series or something. I'll come up with a plan, you just get me your picks. You will need to go 11 deep this time.

Standings after Watkins Glen:

Eliminated Drivers:

Dover - #2 Kurt Busch (Scott Mann)
Charlotte - #16 Greg Biffle (Jon Lommerin)
Pocono - #48 Jimmy Johnson (Jon Lommerin) - ELIMINATED
Michigan - #17 Matt Kenseth (Kenny Ross)
Sonoma - #veintiséis (thats #26 for those of from north of the border) Jamie McMurray (ME)
Louden - #07 Clint Bowyer (Curtis Krakowski)
Daytona - #11 Denny Hamlin (Thornton) - ELIMINATED
Chicago - #70 Johnny Sauter (Steve Shaffer)
Indianapolis - #12 Ryan Newman (Mike Inskeep)
Pocono - #99 Carl Edwards (Kenny Ross) - ELIMINATED
Watkins Glen - #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Steve Shaffer) - ELIMINATED

Survivors:

#24 (Inskeep)
#31 (Krakowski)
#20 (Mann)
#29 (Mikesell)
#5 (Mikesell)

Backpost - After Pocono

Well, another Sunday drive yields another eliminated driver. Carl Edwards finished a very average 21st, but was the slowest of the 7 remaining drivers. "The Pope" is eliminated this week, and in turn Kenny is eliminated from the competition. Welcome to the club K-Ro. My sister is still a frontrunner with 2 drivers remaining. All of the 6 remaining drivers run Chevy's, two are Hendrick, two are RCR, one DEI and one JGR cars remain.

This weeks race was not the most exciting that I can recall. The Elder Busch ran away with this one. The only excitement was watching the 26 car wreck repeatedly. I swear to god I fell asleep during his first spin early in the race and woke up an hour later and he was still spinning. He must have been dizzy! Much like his personal life, McMurray couldn't keep his car straight. Finally, late int he race he got caught up in some cars checking up thanks to a run-in between the #15 and the #7 (driven by PJ Jones after a Robby Gordon suspension from Saturday's Busch activities - he was robbed in my opinion, but that is a long conversation for another time) that finally put McMurray out of his (my) misery.

The pre-race was pretty funny. Good old Chris Rock, er, I mean Chris Tucker was the starter. He did a nice job with that, but in the pre-race interview he looked like a dumbass. When asked if he'd spoken with any of the drivers he said "I met Dale and that other guy that's one of the best drivers. I'm a big fan of these guys". I should not have to explain what is wrong with that statement. I won't fault him, however, for claiming that the #96 was going to win. He's new to this NASCAR thing, and he is supposed to have confidence in the car with his face on the hood. Go Hollywood promotion machine! Put a number on it and it would given the blue deuce a run for its money today. I was, however, shocked not to hear the following "Gentlemen, do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth? start your engines!". THANK GOD THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. I would have died in my lay-z-boy of disgust.

Next week, road course. This is my favorite track to run NR2003 on, so I will be leaning into every turn. That reminds me, Curtis, we need to get back to racing once a week. Anyway, I don't have the stats in front of me or anything, but of the 6 drivers remaining, I believe 3 have road course wins. I don't recall a win from the #31, #5, or the #8. I know Jr. has run well, but I also know the #5 and the #31 struggle on right hand turns. This could spell trouble for Curtis and Susie. Have faith though Curtis, Jeff Burton ran well at Montreal and will run the Busch race on Saturday in an effort to improve.

Finally, is anyone fooled at all by ESPN's Draft Track? Its all smoke and mirrors, but they pass it off like there are atmospheric gages feeding info to a computer. I hate to play the spoiler (OK, I don't hate it) but its just a crappy animation that some intern is pasting onto a replay. I will admit, this is the only really bad thing ESPN has done so far (besides their commentators not knowing drivers names). I will rate them very well so far.

See you next week.

Standings after Pocono:

Eliminated Drivers:

Dover - #2 Kurt Busch (Scott Mann)
Charlotte - #16 Greg Biffle (Jon Lommerin)
Pocono - #48 Jimmy Johnson (Jon Lommerin) - ELIMINATED
Michigan - #17 Matt Kenseth (Kenny Ross)
Sonoma - #veintiséis (thats #26 for those of from north of the border) Jamie McMurray (ME)
Louden - #07 Clint Bowyer (Curtis Krakowski)
Daytona - #11 Denny Hamlin (Thornton) - ELIMINATED
Chicago - #70 Johnny Sauter (Steve Shaffer)
Indianapolis - #12 Ryan Newman (Mike Inskeep)
Pocono - #99 Carl Edwards (Kenny Ross) - ELIMINATED

Survivors:
#24 (Inskeep)
#31 (Krakowski)
#8 (Shaffer)
#20 (Mann)
#29 (Mikesell)
#5 (Mikesell)