I have to apologize for the late update! I STILL haven't seen the race with all the stuff going on ... but thank goodness for PVRs!

Well it looks like the mighty Kyle Busch is going to have his hands full. Yes he's had a tremendous season already but with the hard charging Carl Edwards coming up quickly, it is going to be anyone's championship.

Carl captured another win at Bristol giving him six wins on the season and closing the gap on the points race with Kyle Busch come Chase time. But it wasn't just Carl who enjoyed the race at Bristol as a number of other drivers who haven't had much success jumped up the standings including Jeff Gordon who placed 5th.

Next week it's the Pepsi 500!

OK, maybe he didn't, but he did make his competitors cry by winning his 17th NASCAR race of the year at Bristol last night. Kyle won in dominating fashion, winning his third truck race of the year. Jimmie Johnson made his Truck Series debut, but after leading 21 laps, he succumbed to damages and dropped out of the race. Johnny Benson, who was vying for an unprecedented fourth Truck Series race win in a row, managed to finish fourth. Benson still continues to lead the Truck Series points. Busch will race in the Nationwide Series race on Friday and complete the triple on Saturday night in the Cup Series.

For those of you who didn't know, the #18 and #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Teams were caught trying to alter the results from the mandatory NASCAR dyno testing after the Michigan race on Saturday. Essentially, NASCAR officials found metal spacers affixed to the bottom of the gas pedals. These were installed after the finish of the race and before the cars went to the dyno for horsepower testing.

NASCAR announced the penalties today and they are harsh. The crew chiefs of the #18 and #20 cars have been suspended from NASCAR indefinitely and fined $50,000 each. The engine tuners and a crew member from each team have also been suspended indefinitely. The entire #18 and #20 teams are on probation until 12/31/2008. Drivers Joey Lagano and Tony Stewart have each lost 150 driver points and 150 owner points have also been deducted (this giving the owner points championship back to Bowyer).

These were historic penalties for the lower series and it shows that NASCAR means business.

We heard on Sirius NASCAR radio last night that the Ganassi #42 Dodge, driven by Juan Pablo Montoya would be losing the Texaco-Havoline sponsorship. As long as I can remember Texaco-Havoline has sponsored one car or another over the last two decades. There is no word on what sponsor will replace Texaco-Havoline. We do know that Wrigley's will still be one of Montoya's sponsors. Perhaps they will step up for the full season.

NASCAR also announced its schedule for 2009. There are no huge changes, but just some swapping around. The second Atlanta race will move out of the chase, but will get a night race during the Labor Day weekend. Talladega will move it's date in the Chase to where Atlanta was and California will move into October giving the fans and drivers a break from the 110 degree temperatures.

In the Nationwide Series, with Mexico City losing it's race, Iowa Speedway (Rusty Wallace's brainchild) will acquire that date, with the race being scheduled for August 1, 2009.

It looks like MMM (Morgan-McClure Motorsports) has taken exception to potentially losing the #4 to SHR (Stewart-Haas Racing). Even though MMM has not made a Cup start or attempt in 2008, they are still hopeful that they can return in 2009. With this being said the SHR teams will sport the #14 for Tony Stewart and #39 for Ryan Newman. What a terrible number! Why not pick 53 or 61? I have to imagine the that #4 will come into play before the start of next season. Maybe MMM is just looking for some financial compensation.

Joey, "the Franchise" Lagano looks to be making his Cup debut at Richmond in early September. Look for Lagano to drive the #02 Home Depot car. It appears that Home Depot has accepted the loss of Tony Stewart and will look to this 18 year old to take over the reigns. I guess it makes sense, because whenever I go into a Home Depot, there is always a pimply faced dumbass teenager working the aisles.

More news as it comes...

If anyone was going to ruin Kyle's run at the Championship it was going to be Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson. This weekend, TotallyNASCAR was on-site to see who would take a shot at Kyle's incredible season.

With the race taking place in Detroit, a win for Toyota would have been a kick in the face. This place is the battle ground of the North American motors and Jack Roush's playground. The Roush boys have won the last seven times at the Michigan August race and attempting to stop this streak wasn't going to be easy.

After a stop off in the garage to visit a few of the drivers, attend the drivers meeting and obviously attend the church session prior to the race, we headed back to our seats for the green flag (yes, we actually did attend the drivers meeting and church ... and yes we were NOT supposed to be there :) ).

With all the hype for the race, what we saw in the 200 laps at Michigan was actually pretty disappointing. Jimmie led for the first quarter of the race before Earnhardt Jr. took over and looked like he would contend for the win. As usual, Dale got caught up in something he wasn't supposed to be in and that ruined his day. Jimmie and Gordon essentially took each other out with small bumps and hits to each other's car. Jimmie salvaged a decent finish but Gordon didn't and ended the day at the back of the pack.

Kyle and Carl traded places up front but for the most part it was a one lane train right through from start to finish. Was there side by side racing? Not really ... maybe a moment here or there whereby someone attempted a pass but otherwise it was follow the leader to the finish.

Carl went on to win by a commanding lead with Kyle finishing behind him. David Regan rounded up the top three and we were pleasantly surprised by his finish. Good for David.

With three more races before the Chase hits, look to a number of guys to get into 'do or die' mode. We'll list them all here for you tomorrow along with a few new announcements from the garage!

Stay tuned!

It appears that the rumours surrounding Newman's future will come true on Friday August 15 when he is to announce his official plans for the upcoming year.

Newman has apparently already reached a verbal agreement with Tony Stewart and will officially sign with Stewart Haas Racing for the 2009 season. Although the sponsor is not mentioned, it is assumed that Burger King, U.S. Army or UPS will be potential names on the #4.

With the move to SHR, Newman will be reunited with Matt Borland who is currently the director of competition there. Matt and Ryan had a lot of success together and this will definitely be a welcomed change.

Since his win at the Daytona 500, there hasn't been much mention of Ryan Newman. Let's hope that he can make a much needed impact at SHR.

More news to follow.

Kyle has done it again ... and again and again. I can honestly say that this kid is unstoppable now and if he doesn't win the 2008 Sprint Cup, it would be a sin. Kyle took home his eighth win at Watkins Glen with a drive comparable to any road course ringer. Even Tony Stewart commented in his post race interview that Kyle's performance was 'without mistakes all race'. That's what you need at a road course where various drivers went spinning across the course in turns one and the esses.

So will Kyle be able to hold this or will he have a 'Jeff Gordon' finish? Only time will tell but he's got a good enough cushion now and I don't think it's going to stop. Kyle has the opportunity to top the 13 wins that Jeff Gordon pulled off in 1998 and that would be simply unbelievable in this day and age! With all cameras pointed at Kyle, let's take a look at some of the other Chase contenders:

Carl Edwards - Edwards finished ninth on the day and continues his season with a series of good runs. If anyone is going to take a charge at Busch for the cup this year, it's going to be Carl (and Jimmie ... can't count him out!).

Jimmie Johnson - finished seventh after a flat tire which he managed to catch early on in the race. The cautions fell in the appropriate spots as they normally do for Johnson and he salvaged a good finish. Only a few wins this season but hey, it's not Chase time yet. If Jimmie blows everyone away during the Chase, I'm going to have to buy some Johnson gear because that's simply unbelievable.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Dale finished 22nd due to the dumbest call I've seen from Eury yet. To have Jr. stay out for absolutely no reason was unnecessary and basically cost him the race. He had a car good enough to run up front and it was wasted for no reason. He sits in fourth place in the Chase dropping two spots.

Jeff Burton - Jeff was nowhere to be seen all day but managed a 17th place finish to keep him sitting mid pack. He's been another driver that simply needs a string of good finishes to get him going. You almost feel bad for Jeff because he seems like an all around good guy ... let's hope he can get a few wins under his belt before the year ends.

Jeff Gordon - Garbage. I hate to say it but it was pure garbage. Jeff Gordon isn't my driver but his performance on Sunday was frustrating. I just don't understand how someone of his caliber was running back of the pack AND struggling. Horrible .. I never want to see that again.

Tony Stewart - finished second at the Glen and it's his second straight second place finish. He's been running well but really seems to have to work a lot harder for his spots. He definitely hasn't had the 'top 5' car in the last few races but with some fortune and clean driving, he's been able to salvage some good finishes.

Kasey Kahne - I didn't see him all race and he finished 14th. Magic!

Denny Hamlin - finished eighth and that was a good finish for him. His eighth place finish put all JGR cars in the top ten at the Glen. He hangs onto ninth in the Chase and hopefully can have some decent runs going forward.

Greg Biffle - We were all expecting more of Greg then his 21st place finish. He's been on one extreme or the other ... running fantastic or he's junk. Come on Greg ... you're better then that!

Kevin Harvick - finished sixth and holds the 11th spot in the Chase. Everyone was counting on him to do well at this road course and he didn't disappoint anyone. He's starting to climb up the standings slowly and has had some solid runs over the past few races.

Matt Kenseth - Kenseth finished the day is his normal quiet but deadly fashion. He didn't have a good car but managed a 12th place finish on the day. He just makes it into the 12 spot for the Chase and drops Bowyer out of it.

Stay tuned.

The rain just wouldn't let up and I think NASCAR is getting fed up with the weather. The call to cancel qualifying came quickly and that means the lineup will be set by current point standings.

The Glen lineup will be as follows:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Jr.
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Jeff Burton
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Greg Biffle
9. Tony Stewart
10. Denny Hamlin

Other notables:
11. Kevin Harvick
13. Matt Kenseth
19. Kurt Busch
25. Juan Montoya
31. Robby Gordon

Road Course Ringers:
32. Ron Fellows
38. P.J. Jones
42. Max Papis
43. Marcos Ambrose

Let's hope the rain stays away on race day but more importantly next weekend where the TotallyNASCAR Team will be at Michigan for the 3M Performance 400!

Stay tuned for more updates.

After hearing the news that J.J. Yeley would sit out the Watkins Glen race and provide the ride to P.J. Jones for Sunday, it appears that there was more to that story. Hall of Fame Racing announced that J.J. Yeley would no longer pilot the #96 DLP HDTV car for the rest of the season handing the ride officially over to Brad Coleman.

Brad Coleman, who currently sits 16th in the Nationwide Series, will be making the jump to the big leagues by making his debut at the 3M Performance 400 in Michigan. Let's hope he can make a bigger impact than Yeley made.

Other Rumours:
- Mark Martin may be jumping into the #5 Carquest car for Hendrick a little earlier than expected. It is rumoured that he may actually run the #5 prior to the last four races of the season.

- Ganassi Racing and Waltrip Racing to merge giving them cars 41, 42, 44/00 and the 55. No word yet on whether this is going to go through or not. Montoya is committed to the 42 and denied all rumours about him taking the #20 ride at JGR.

- UPS is leaving MWR and is potentially going to SHR or RCR for the 2009 season.

- Marcos Ambrose will move up to the Cup Series and run full time in the JTG/Daugherty Racing team. More news to follow.

- Ron Fellows will pilot the #01 car for DEI at Watkins Glen. After his Montreal win, he will attempt to make it two road races in a row.