David Gilliand gets parked during race do to contact with Montoya done on purpose.Gilliand has been called to the big black truck.Nascar has only parked Gilliand and Nascar will not further penalize Gilliand.

Carl Edwards wins in Texas with Jeff Gordon coming in 2nd due to fuel mileage + Dale Jr. runs out of gas with 6 to go.

“
When Matt Kenseth won the championship [in 2003] ... I don't remember Jack [Roush] saying, 'Oh, it wasn't very good, and the other team should have been allowed a mulligan because the 17 did better than anybody else.' The rules are the rules, and you have to make them work for you.
” -Jeff Burton

FORT WORTH, Texas -- You're up, Talladega.

In what's becoming a weekly game of "how to change the Chase," it's now the big Alabama racetrack's turn to sit squarely on the hot seat. One week after car owner Jack Roush floated the idea of a mulligan -- allowing a championship-contending driver to throw out his worst finish -- driver Greg Biffle proposed giving everyone a reprieve, and removing the big, bad, often calamitous 2.66-mile superspeedway from the Chase field altogether. Of course, he may be a little biased, given that it was a crash-induced 24th-place finish there that set him back in his pursuit of Sprint Cup leader Jimmie Johnson.


“
When Matt Kenseth won the championship [in 2003] ... I don't remember Jack [Roush] saying, 'Oh, it wasn't very good, and the other team should have been allowed a mulligan because the 17 did better than anybody else.' The rules are the rules, and you have to make them work for you.
”
-- JEFF BURTON"I'd rather say take Talladega out of the Chase and not worry about trying to get rid of your worst race, because it's happened every year. The same thing has happened every year at Talladega," said Biffle, third in the standings and 185 behind Johnson entering Sunday's event at Texas Motor Speedway. "When you go in there and you penalize a team that's worked as hard as all of us have, and it was none of our doing, we're involved in a wreck because something happened -- a guy cut a tire or whatever -- put Bristol in there or something else versus throwing out one of your bad finishes. That's my opinion about what they should do with the Chase."

Johnson's relentless march toward a record-tying third consecutive title -- which, depending on what happens at Texas, could become official as soon as next week -- has fostered a perception that something needs to be changed to ensure the hand-wringing, down-to-Homestead drama that defined the Chase playoff system in its first few years. There are plenty of proposals, both in the garage area and in the grandstand, some of them more realistic than others. But there's also a fear of guarding against any knee-jerk reactions stemming from a dominant season from one driver who'd be well in front of the field regardless of which points system is being used.

"We all want to change the rules when the rules don't work for us," said Jeff Burton, 218 points out in fourth place. "When Matt Kenseth won the championship [in 2003], everybody said, 'Oh, it's a boring championship race,' and I don't remember Jack [Roush] saying, 'Oh, it wasn't very good, and the other team should have been allowed a mulligan because the 17 did better than anybody else.' The rules are the rules, and you have to make them work for you. I think there are always ways to look at our sport to make improvements, I just think we have to be careful every time we have a points championship that's not as compelling, that's not the greatest, we have to be cautions against making changes. Not every championship is going to be a five-point difference. It's just not going to be."

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Of course, that's where the bar was set when the Chase was implemented, one year after Kenseth won a single race but still rolled up enough points to clinch the championship in the next-to-last week of the season. That first Chase was a gut-churner, with three drivers finishing within 16 points. Despite a few tweaks -- expanding the field from 10 drivers to 12, and seeding based on bonus points awarded for regular-season race victories -- that final margin has gradually expanded, from 35 in 2005, to 56 in 2006, to 77 in 2007 to likely more than 100 this season. No Chase driver has ever enjoyed a lead as large as Johnson has now. In the NASCAR fan base, as in the looming presidential election, there's a drumbeat for change.

News flash: It's not going happen. NASCAR chairman Brian France said in January that the sport was ready for a break from all the changes -- playoff system, racetracks, schedule, series title sponsors -- that it's endured the last half-decade. That includes the Chase. While no one is ruling out the possibility of a minor tweak here or there, no major structural revisions are anticipated. "We're going to hold the line on change," a NASCAR spokesman echoed Friday at Texas. And that's just fine with Dale Earnhardt Jr.


Mockery of system
It was bound to happen eventually -- a driver runs away with the title in the Chase era. Duane Cross offers up an alternative that would tighten things back up.

Complete story, click here
NASCAR's response
Head2Head: Tweak the Chase?
Point system explained
How the Chase works
"You can't take anything away from what Jimmie's been able to do up to this point. In my opinion, the Chase does what it's supposed to do. There's no real true formula that anybody in this room could come up with that could make the perfect Chase every time. I just think you've got to give Jimmie and those guys credit for what they've been able to accomplish in this sport. They're the dominant team in this sport at this time. You can't handicap an individual for being great," Earnhardt said.

"I think it's fair to conversate and communicate and throw discussions out there about changing the qualifying format and all the different things. I really think it's not a good idea to go making a bunch of changes, especially with the Chase. How do we understand what to change and how to make it better if we can't watch it and look at it for seven years or eight years and really get a good idea for how it's working or not working? How can we really know what to change and make the right change? We shouldn't keep changing, changing, changing, until we stumble upon the right spot and the right options and the right ways to have things."

Of course, that doesn't mean a few ideas, some less half-baked than others, aren't going to be tossed around. Like Roush and his mulligan plan.

"I think Jack was very serious about that," said second-place Carl Edwards, who would benefit the most from it. "It seems to make sense, too. Right now we're so far behind, it seems like it would be very advantageous to us to have a mulligan in the Chase."

Such a scheme would eliminate Edwards' 33rd-place finish at Charlotte. And it would penalize Johnson, who has finished no lower than ninth.

What does the two-time defending champion think of all this? He sits back and shakes his head. He hears some folks propose that when qualifying is rained out, the starting field should be set by random draw, nullifying all the work teams do get to the top in points. What's next, he wonders, NASCAR champions determined like the winner on American Idol?

"It is interesting to hear the comments, and it makes me laugh that our sport can be susceptible to the whole reality TV buzz that's coming along. If you don't like it, let's have a fan vote, and let's change it. If nobody likes it, let's just have Sprint run an ad on TV and they can text who they want to qualify on the pole and who they want to win the race, and all these crazy things. I mean, it's really crazy. Racing is about earning points and earning wins. We made an adjustment to the points system a few years back to make it more competitive. What else are we going to change?" Johnson said.

"If I were sitting 183 out where Carl is, and I don't think Carl is saying these things, I'd be looking at what's going on with myself and the team. I wouldn't be saying, 'Oh, we need a mulligan, or this or that to make it even.' We all showed up for the 10 races. The points were there, and you go earn it. That's what you want to do."

As always, Johnson is the unflustered king of cool. But the questions -- and their underlying insinuations -- are clearly an irritant. And it's easy to see why. He was 10th in points after a rare engine failure at Charlotte in May. He was still fourth after the Bristol night race. Since then he's won four times, finished no lower than ninth, and even under the old system would still be leading Edwards by a healthy 98 points. To paraphrase the late John Housman, he's earned it. But his historic dominance the last three seasons has some yearning for change, and under the perception that an altered points system is the best way to achieve it.

Burton thinks they're wrong. "The call that the media was making was to reward the people that are winning races and doing the best. The argument is, the old points system didn't do that," he said. "Well, who can stand up and say that if the 48 team goes on to win the championship, the best team didn't win the championship? Who can stand up and make that argument? There's no one in here that can make that argument. I understand there are probably some people that wear the 88 hat [of Earnhardt Jr.] that might make that argument. But the reality of it is, if the 48 car wins this championship, it's because they did it better than anybody else."

So no major changes. No mulligans. And much to Biffle's chagrin, the executives at Talladega Superspeedway can rest easy. If anything, the Alabama track will play a more prominent role in the outcome next season, when it trades places with Atlanta and has a late October date.

"It is, without a doubt, the most volatile race in the Chase," Burton said. "But so what? Some of it is luck, no question about it. Some of Talladega has nothing to do with skill and a great deal to do with luck. There's no getting around that. But it is what it is. I understand how you could have that feeling, but it is the same for everybody."

In Johnson's eyes, that's just like the Chase.

Friday's pole was the 67th of Gordon's career, but the first he's won at Texas. That and his racy practice speeds certainly caught the attention of the other drivers, who dismiss the notion that Gordon has had difficulty understanding the new car being used full-time in the Cup Series by NASCAR this season.

"This is going to sound silly, but I think Jeff is one of the most underrated drivers our sport has ever seen," said Jeff Burton, who will start 38th in his No. 31 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing. "When we talk about the greats of our sport, his name doesn't seem to come up -- and I think that's because he didn't do it in the way that Dale Earnhardt did it. Dale just got him a handful of wheel and whatever happened to be around him got knocked out of the way. He just was real aggressive and won championships like that.


Drive for five
Jeff Gordon won his fourth title in 2001 and hasn't seen one since. Bill Kimm and Raygan Swan debate whether or not Gordon will ever see that elusive fifth title.

Complete story, click here
"Jeff has won championships in a much more finessed [way]. But I think the facts are facts -- and Jeff's ability to be successful in this sport for a long time kind of speaks for itself."

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford, said the fact Gordon is sixth in points after all the adversity the No. 24 team has been forced to sift through this season is actually impressive.

"The 24 team this year has really, really impressed me from, 'Oh, there's Jeff a lap down in the second run of the race. He's in huge trouble.' Next thing I know, he's right behind me -- and the next thing after that, he's running third," said Biffle, who will start in the 19th position Sunday.

"At Charlotte, the side of that car was smashed in on the first or second run, he was a lap down and couldn't keep up, and now he's out front leading and I can't catch him. It looks like he's gonna win, and then something else happens and he ends up in 15th or something. It's just been unbelievable."

Gordon has said all along he refuses to let himself get overly frustrated. He sees improvement coming, and hopes that the capturing of Friday's pole is a sign that it's right on the horizon.

Letarte said after the Bank of America 500 in Charlotte recently that he was putting "a lot of chips" on the No. 24 team doing well at Texas and Homestead -- the only two tracks where Gordon has never won. With only those races remaining on the 2008 schedule plus one race at Phoenix sandwiched in between, it's time to let the chips fall where they may.

"See, Steve is funny because he has different measuring tools of what makes a great crew chief and a great year and all those things," Gordon said. "The guys give him a hard time -- because if he wins at Martinsville, the guys back at the shop are like, 'Oh, that doesn't count. Jeff's won at a lot at Martinsville.' Same thing if we would win at Sonoma, or Talladega.

"So for Steve, the way he can put a notch in his belt is to win someplace I've never won before. That win at Phoenix [in the spring of 2007, when he tied Earnhardt on the all-time wins list] is probably the one that stands out the most to Steve, and I think he knows how much it would mean to win here or at Homestead -- because we haven't won at either place before."

Then again, believe it or not, Gordon insisted that he'll be good with it even if he doesn't win a race this season.

"It would be OK if we didn't win this season and it means next year we were winning multiple races and battling for the championship," said Gordon, who has won at least two races every season since 1993 -- only his second season of running full-time in the Cup Series. "If we don't win this season and then we don't win next season, I'm going to be very disappointed. But I'm looking long term instead of just short term. I've had an amazing career, won a lot of races, and one winless season isn't going to be the end of it for us. We're here for the long-term."

Is this Gordon's week to shine?We'll find out Sunday.

Will Edwards or Johnson win the chase?Will Biffle be able to get there?Is Burton still in it?We'll find out with just 3 races left in the chase.

Jeff Gordon on a roll being fastest in 1st practice and he has taken the pole for the first time ever in Texas in his career!!!!

Is Nascar playing favorite after they pass Kyle Busch after further evaluation?

Where will A.J. Allmendinger go?Where will Carpentier go?Will Evernham open up a 4th car for Patrick Carpentier?

Surprise,Surprise,The Rocket Man wins in Atlanta in his Nascar Craftsman Truck Series Debut.


FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS WINNINGS
1 10 2 Ryan Newman Chevrolet American Commercial Lines 190/5 130 Running 52,325
2 2 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet VFW 180/10 130 Running 40,250
3 20 15 Denny Hamlin Toyota Ergon Hyprene 165/0 130 Running 25,370
4 5 30 Todd Bodine Toyota Lumber Liquidators 160/0 130 Running 19,210
5 11 22 Scott Speed * Toyota Red Bull 155/0 130 Running 18,285
6 7 99 Erik Darnell Ford Northern Tool + Equipment 150/0 130 Running 14,035
7 1 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Toyota Certified Used Vehicles 146/0 130 Running 12,735
8 3 51 Kyle Busch Toyota Miccosukee Resort & Gaming / NOS Energy Drink 147/5 130 Running 10,385
9 21 7 T.J. Bell Chevrolet Heathcliff's Cat Litter "Home 4 the Holidays.org" 138/0 130 Running 12,510
10 23 16 Brian Scott * Toyota Albertson's 134/0 130 Running 13,860
11 18 09 Travis Kvapil Ford Zaxby's 130/0 130 Running 10,310
12 8 14 Rick Crawford Ford Circle Bar Truck Corral / Power Stroke Diesel 127/0 130 Running 12,060
13 12 60 Jack Sprague Toyota wyler.com 124/0 130 Running 11,660
14 14 11 David Starr Toyota Zachry 121/0 130 Running 11,560
15 13 8 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet Malcolmson Construction 118/0 130 Running 12,810
16 17 10 Brendan Gaughan Ford International Maxx Force Diesel 115/0 129 Running 11,335
17 19 81 Donny Lia * Chevrolet Randy Moss Motorsports / NationRides.com 112/0 129 Running 11,285
18 27 08 Jason White Dodge Gunbroker.com 109/0 129 Running 11,160
19 9 18 Dennis Setzer Dodge Landmark Dodge 106/0 129 Running 11,110
20 15 6 Colin Braun * Ford Con-way Freight 103/0 128 Running 11,760
21 24 21 Jon Wood Ford Aquasun Motorsports 100/0 128 Running 11,010
22 22 13 Shelby Howard Chevrolet FarmPaint.com 97/0 127 Running 10,960
23 26 40 Jeff Green Chevrolet Westerman Companies 94/0 127 Running 9,660
24 29 212 Mario Gosselin Chevrolet CrashedToys.com 91/0 127 Running 8,635
25 25 9 Chrissy Wallace Toyota Germain.com 88/0 126 Running 9,610
26 6 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Toyota Tundra 85/0 126 Running 8,560
27 32 185 Brent Raymer Ford VehiCare 82/0 125 Running 8,535
28 16 59 Terry Cook Toyota Team ASE / Harris Trucking 79/0 125 Running 8,510
29 4 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet Moen / Menards 76/0 85 Running 8,485
30 33 189 Richard Johns Chevrolet Lafferty Performance PE 5 Transmission 8,460
31 31 157 Norm Benning Chevrolet Benning Racing 70/0 4 Rear End 8,435
32 28 07 Butch Miller Chevrolet ASI Limited 67/0 3 Ignition 8,410
33 30 0 Wayne Edwards Chevrolet ASI Limited 64/0 2 Handling 8,385

* Denotes Rookie
RACE FACTS
Average Speed: 137.437 mph
Margin of Victory: .377
Time of Race: 01:27:24
Lead Changes: 7
Cautions: 17-19, 27-29, 59-62, 90-94
CONTINGENCY AWARDS
Featherlite Most Improved Driver: Ron Hornaday,#33, VFW, Chevrolet
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: No Driver Name,#33, VFW, Chevrolet
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race: Todd Bodine,#30, Lumber Liquidators, Toyota
Raybestos Rookie of the Race: Scott Speed,#22, Red Bull, Toyota
Sunoco Diamond Performance: Ryan Newman,#2, American Commercial Lines, Chevrolet
WIX Filters Lap Leader: Ron Hornaday,#33, VFW, Chevrolet

Cousin Carl wins in Atlanta moving hime from 4th to 2nd in points.

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS WINNINGS
1 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 190/5 325 Running 357,800
2 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools 175/5 325 Running 256,836
3 11 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 170/5 325 Running 215,691
4 10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford USG Sheetrock 170/10 325 Running 198,316
5 12 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's Halloween 155/0 325 Running 134,525
6 19 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 155/5 325 Running 120,575
7 20 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 146/0 325 Running 117,475
8 13 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 142/0 325 Running 119,625
9 7 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Nicorette White Ice Mint / DuPont 138/0 325 Running 148,636
10 2 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network Turbo HD 139/5 325 Running 113,425
11 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 135/5 325 Running 108,300
12 22 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg's 127/0 325 Running 112,975
13 6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 124/0 325 Running 144,461
14 39 10 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge Sears Auto Center / Valvoline 121/0 325 Running 103,975
15 16 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 118/0 325 Running 129,208
16 17 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Kodak 115/0 325 Running 133,950
17 8 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 112/0 325 Running 140,211
18 3 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 109/0 325 Running 135,383
19 35 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 106/0 324 Running 119,208
20 5 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 103/0 324 Running 108,800
21 18 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 100/0 324 Running 99,450
22 14 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 97/0 323 Running 124,683
23 25 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Hitachi Power Tools 94/0 323 Running 117,914
24 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 91/0 323 Running 132,625
25 23 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Ronald McDonald House Charities 88/0 323 Running 115,095
26 21 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 85/0 323 Running 124,486
27 28 38 David Gilliland Ford Aflac Cancer Center 82/0 323 Running 103,008
28 26 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 79/0 323 Running 86,150
29 38 347 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Little Debbie 76/0 323 Running 100,033
30 32 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 73/0 322 Running 94,225
31 27 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 70/0 322 Running 93,075
32 43 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet Haas Automation 67/0 322 Running 82,400
33 15 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 64/0 320 Running 113,166
34 34 84 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 66/5 320 Running 82,175
35 40 96 Ken Schrader Toyota DLP HDTV 58/0 320 Running 89,900
36 41 45 Chad McCumbee Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 55/0 319 Running 93,408
37 29 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 52/0 317 Running 91,147
38 37 21 Bill Elliott Ford U.S. Air Force 49/0 316 Running 99,820
39 30 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Lysol 46/0 316 Running 108,564
40 24 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 43/0 302 Accident 109,133
41 33 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 40/0 301 Accident 81,100
42 42 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 37/0 296 Accident 81,010
43 31 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Hunt Brothers Pizza 34/0 197 Running 81,262

Should Nascar stay with Goodyear or go to Firestone?In my opinion,Nascar should switch to Firestone.

Toyota has not been lucky in the last 2 races.They have found 2 infractions in 2 races on 2 Toyota cars.They have not had a lucky chase either.With Kyle Busch having many bad races and Tony and Denny getting in trouble.Toyota has also lost Tony Stewart,which he is one of their best drivers.

A big story for this week is that Kyle Busch is finally caught cheating after he failed post race inspection at Atlanta.Nascar will reinspect his car just to make sure that the car has an infraction on it.

Mark Martin and Casey Mears may go drive for the teams they will be driving for in 2009 at Homestead.Casey will driver car 33 while Mark will drive car 5 if this does happen.