Team owner Roger Penske said:

Our first priority is always to look within the walls of Penske Racing when making personnel decisions. We want to reward success. The path we are taking with Todd mirrors what we did with Paul Wolfe who led the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to a Chase berth in 2011. We think Todd can get the job done in the same manner.

Gordon said:

I can’t thank Roger and everyone at Penske Racing enough for this vote of confidence. It’s an honor to step into a race-winning team. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but this is an organization full of talented people that know how to get the job done. I look forward to getting the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge back in Victory Lane.

Gordon replaces Steve Addington, who left the team at the end of the season to join Stewart Haas Racing as crew chief for Tony Stewart, after SHR let go of Darian Grubb. Grubb has since moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing.

Penske is still seeking a driver for the No. 22 team, as Kurt Busch and Penske mutually agreed to part ways, after a series of high-profile outbursts, including a video in which Busch berated respected media member Dr. Jerry Punch.

Candidates are said to include Sam Hornish, David Reutimann, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers.

In April of 2010, Busch signed a contract extension with Penske racing through the 2015 season.  However, the separation of Busch and his long-standing relationship with Penske proves that contracts don’t always secure a ride in NASCAR.  Over the course of the 2011 season, Busch’s became more known for his anger outbursts than for his performance on the track. Before the incident at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch’s outbursts were well-documented.

When it comes to sponsors, not only do drivers have to perform on the track, but they have to live up to high expectations off the track as well.  If the driver acts so poorly off the track that fans can’t remember what the driver did on the track, he is not living up to the expectations of the sponsor.

Sponsors want a driver who can be fan-friendly; a spokesperson for their brand; and an outstanding representative for their product.  If the sponsor is not happy with the driver representing their brand, the team generally has no choice but to make a change in order to appease the sponsor.

The separation between Busch and Penske has awakened drivers, I think, and it will change how they act on and off the track in the future.  We have seen that contracts can and will be dismissed if the sponsor is not happy.

To succeed in NASCAR, you must please the sponsor.  Without sponsors, there is no NASCAR.  Even in today’s economy, a driver may do well on the track and be a good spokesperson off the track (example: David Ragan), but may be jobless next season due to lack of sponsorship funding.  When sponsors are dishing out millions of dollars to have their logo on a driver’s race car and firesuit, they want to be sure that their money is spent on a driver who will represent them accordingly.

There are an array of jobless/sponsor-less drivers available for hire in the NASCAR circuit right now (David Ragan, David Reutimann, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, etc.) who are all proven winners and could be an excellent representative for a sponsor. So why would a sponsor waste money on a driver who is going to hurt their brand?

When a driver gets out of the race car, one of the top priorities for the post-race interview should be to thank the sponsor, not verbally abuse fellow competitors/media/team, etc.  Shell Oil decided that they had seen enough of Kurt Busch. They didn’t want to deal with the harm Busch’s mouth was doing to their brand, so Penske was forced to remove Kurt from the equation.

The moral of the story is: sponsorship money is everything in NASCAR.

Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion, has been with Penske since 2006, and has been at the Cup level for 11 years. He has posted 24 wins in his Cup career, 1o of them with Penske.

But Busch has received extra attention this season after confrontations with media members and highly publicized in-race meltdowns directed towards his team and crew chief.

Following his transmission problems at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch was caught on camera making an obscene gesture. He was later shown berating ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch in a video that went viral on YouTube. NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for his actions. He apologized.

Both Penske and Shell Pennzoil, Busch’s sponsor, released statements condemning the behavior.

Penske issued its statement shortly after the video went viral. The organization said:

These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company’s standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism. This matter is being reviewed internally with no further comment at this time.

Shell and Pennzoil echoed those sentiments in their statement:

Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season. His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing.

In addition to his actions at Homestead, Busch has received a lot of negative attention for his tirades over the radio during races. Busch had a rocky relationship with his crew chief of the last two years, Steve Addington. The pair won four races in two seasons, but Addington chose to leave the team at the end of the season. While there is nothing official to indicate that Addington left due to the way that Busch treated him, it is hard to imagine that it did not play a role.

In his time at Penske, Busch had been with four different crew chiefs.

Rumor has it that David Ragan is the leading candidate for the job. Ragan is coming off of one of his best Sprint Cup seasons, having earned his first career victory at Daytona International Speedway, and being close to winning the Daytona 500. David Reutimann and Brian Vickers, and Sam Hornish, who has driven for Penske before, may also be considered for the ride, if the report is true.

At this time, there has been no official word, so assume this a rumor.

Update: The Associated Press is reporting that Busch and Penske have agreed to part ways. This is the second time in his career, Busch has been released from a major team for his behavior. Busch was released from Roush Fenway Racing following an incident with Arizona police.

Update 2: Penske officially announced the separation. Penske owner Roger Penske said:

I appreciate the victories that Kurt has brought Penske Racing and our sponsors over the past six years. While I am disappointed that Kurt will not be racing for our team in the future, both Kurt and I felt that separating at this time was best for all parties, including our team and sponsors. I wish Kurt the best in his future racing endeavors.

Busch added:

I am grateful to Penske Racing for six very productive years. Together we won a lot of races -16 in all. Leaving a great organization and a lucrative contract is not easy, but it’s an important step for me and allows me to take a deep breath to work on things that can make me a better driver and a better person. I want to personally thank Roger Penske for the opportunity that he has given me.

RBR announced earlier this season that they would not be returning to NASCAR in 2012.  The team’s future is still uncertain, just seven days before the end of the 2011 season.  It is expected that the team will shut down at season’s end, unless owner Dietrich Mateschitz can find a buyer for the operation.

Championship Rundown

The Championship battle is now a two man show between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.  Edwards remains the point’s leader, with a three-point advantage over Stewart.  Both drivers had fast cars at Phoenix, but they were no match for Kahne.  Edwards and Stewart finished the race in second and third position, respectively.  Stewart led a race-high 160 laps.

Going into Homestead, Edwards seems to have an advantage over Stewart.  Edwards has won two of the last three races at Homestead, with an average finish of 5.7.  Stewart also has two wins at Homestead, back in 1999 and 2000.  However, Edwards has a better average finish  than Stewart, who has an average finish of 12.4.

For the first time in the past eight seasons for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson will not be eligible for the championship going into Homestead.   He finished in 14th position in Phoenix, his fifth finish outside the top-10 in nine races.  Johnson will try to keep a 10-season streak of finishing in the top five in points alive.  He is currently fifth position in points, just two points ahead of Matt Kenseth.

Rough Day for Busch and Kenseth

Kyle Busch, after being parked at Texas Motor Speedway, stepped back into Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 car at Phoenix.  He raced this weekend without his primary sponsor M&M’s after the organization decided that they did not want to be on the car for the remainder of the season.  During the first practice, Busch blew a motor, forcing him to start at the rear of the field.  To add insult to injury, as Busch was racing for third position on lap 188, he announced to the team that the engine was blowing up.  This resulted in a 36th place finish.

On the other side of the track, Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth had fans thinking we were back at Martinsville Speedway.  Late in the race, Vickers slammed into straight Kenseth’s rear bumper going down the backstretch, causing major damage to Kenseth’s racecar.  Vickers claimed over the radio that Kenseth had slowed up, causing Vickers to slam into him.  Kenseth’s comments after the incident backed up that statement.

“I was out of brakes, and I was up on everybody,” he said. “I saw [Vickers] coming and I lifted at least 10 car lengths before where I would normally lift. And he drove in there at 165 miles per hour and cleaned us out.”  Kenseth finished the race in 34th position, Vickers in 23rd.

The Winners

Tony Stewart: Stewart survived mayhem throughout the race to steal the victory away from champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.  This win has moved Stewart to second place in the championship points standings.  After being told that he is just eight points behind Edwards, Stewart replied, “He better be worried, that’s for sure. He isn’t going to have an easy three weeks.”  This is Stewart’s 42nd career win and his third win of the season, all of which came in the Chase.

Carl Edwards: Edwards may not have won the race, but finishing in ninth position felt like a win after his misfortune during the race.  Due to qualifying being rained out, Edwards started the race in the pole position.  He lost the lead on Lap 27 under caution when he pitted and seven or more cars behind him stayed out.  From that point on, he kept losing positions and by lap 167 he dropped to 17th position.  After pitting under caution on Lap 197, Edwards restarted the race in 26th due to a lug nut getting hung up behind the wheel.

He fell a lap down twice during the race, but was able to take advantage of the lucky dog rule twice.  Thanks to the high number of cautions in the race, Edwards was able to gain positions back and was in the Top 10 with 22 laps to go.  Edwards ultimately finished the race in ninth position, retaining the points lead by eight over Stewart.

Kevin Harvick: Harvick started the race in fifth position and ran in the Top 10 for most of the race.  He took the lead of the race under caution after pitting for just two tires with 102 laps to go.  On Lap 438 Johnson took the lead from Harvick with teammate Gordon following close behind.  Harvick was then bumped to fourth position late in the race when Stewart made a mad dash to the lead.  Harvick finished the race in fourth and gained himself two spots in standings.  He is now third place in points, 21 points behind leader Edwards.

Dale Earnhardt Jr:  Earnhardt put on a show for his fans at Martinsville with his have at it attitude and aggressive racing style.  Unlike many drivers, he kept saying on his team radio how much “fun” he was having during the race.  On Lap 8, he was involved in a pile up involving Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon, revoking him of his Top 10 position, dropping him to 34th place.  He quickly made his way through the pack and finished the race in seventh position.  Although he remains ninth in points, overall he had a good race and put on quite a show for the fans.

The Losers

Brad Keselowski: The most disappointed driver of the day would have to be Brad Keselowski.  After starting in the Top 5, he was a top runner all race long and was heading towards a good points day.  His Top 10 finish, however, disappeared in just one lap. While running in seventh place with two laps to go,  Keselowski was spun by another car and a caution was not thrown, causing him to drop from seventh to 17th position.

This finish has dropped him one spot in standings to fourth position, 27 points behind Edwards.  Keselowski needs to win the race at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend to have any kind of chance at staying in this points battle.  Last year, Keselowski clinched his Nationwide Series championship at Texas Motor Speedway. He typically runs well at intermediate tracks.  I wouldn’t count him out of this championship battle just yet.

Matt Kenseth: After starting in second position, Kenseth ran in the Top 10 for most of the race.  With 36 laps to go, he made contact with Kyle Busch, sending him to the garage for repairs.  When he came back onto the track, he was then wrecked by Brian Vickers, who retaliated against Kenseth for spinning him out with 43 laps to go.  This resulted in a 31st place finish.  Kenseth is now fifth place in standings, 36 points behind Edwards.

Kyle Busch: After leading a race high of 128 laps, Kyle Busch’s strong run evaporated with 37 laps to go.  Kenseth locked his tires up going into the turn, causing him to slam Busch, spinning him out.  He then pitted to fix the damage. While leaving pit road, his left front tire came completely off the car.  Apparently there was a lack of communication with the team on whether they were supposed to put the tire on or off.  Either way, this caused Busch to finish in 27th position.  This finish dropped him one position in standings to seventh, 57 points behind the leader.

Brian Vickers: Out of the 18 cautions that occurred during the race, Vickers was involved in five of them, including three just in the first 100 laps.  I think the only thing Vickers didn’t hit was the pace car.  Needless to say, he did not have many friends at the end of the race.  He finished the race, with what was left of his No. 83 Toyota, in 30th position.  With Red BullRacing leaving the sport at season’s end, Vicker’s future is in doubts.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

1. Carl Edwards, 2. Tony Stewart (-8), 3. Kevin Harvick (-21), 4. Brad Keselowski (-27), 5. Matt Kenseth (-36), 6. Jimmie Johnson (-43), 7. Kyle Busch (-57), 8. Kurt Busch (-58), 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr (-73), 10. Jeff Gordon (-76), 11. Denny Hamlin (-80), 12. Ryan Newman (-89)

Dega Wreaks Havoc on Chasers

On Lap 174, Michaeal Waltrip was pushing Bobby Labonte when Labonte lost control of his race car and spun in the middle of the turn.  Kurt Busch had no where to go and drove straight into the side panel of Labonte.  This destroyed the hood of Busch’s race car and ended his day.  The elder Busch brother finished the race in 36th position, 15 laps down.  This did not help his chances for the championship, knocking him down one spot in standings to eighth place, 52 points behind the leader.

Luckily for Kurt Busch, he isn’t the only Chase driver that struggled at Talladega.  Hendrick Motorsports’ Chasers did not finish as expected on Sunday, coming home with 25th (Dale Earnhardt Jr), 26th (Jimmie Johnson), and 27th (Jeff Gordon) place finishes.  All three drivers rode out the race in the back of the pack and just didn’t seem to have the momentum to race towards the front at the end.

Earnhardt remains in ninth position in standings, 74 points behind the leader.  Thanks to others’ misfortune, Johnson moved up one position to seventh place, but is now 50 points behind the leader.  Jeff Gordon also moved up one position; however, he is now 82 points behind the leader.   I would say this is the end of Hendrick Motorsports’ chances to win the title.  Johnson would be the only driver with a chance, but he would need the drivers ahead of him in the Chase to have substantial bad luck to overtake them.

Kevin Harvick came to Talladega only five points behind leader Carl Edwards.  Leaving Talladega, he is in fifth position, now 26 points behind the leader.  Early on in the race, Harvick had a fast car; he even led the race on six different occasions.  But, he fell victim to a large pile-up on Lap 104 when AJ Allmendinger spun on the front-stretch. Harvick finished the race in 32nd position, nine laps down.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano worked well together early in the race.  On Lap 67, as the duo was attempting to make green flag pit stops, Trevor Bayne cut in front of them, abruptly separating the pair.  This caused Logano to spin his race car and forced Busch to drive down pit road to avoid an accident.  Logano then blew a left-front tire on the backstretch, bringing out the caution. Busch was then sent to the rear of the field for failure to reduce speed while driving down pit road.

Busch was able to recover, leading the race on Lap 90 with help of his teammate, Denny Hamlin.  After the pile-up on Lap 104, however, Busch was unable to race his way to the front and finished the race in 33rd position.  Logano on the other hand, was able to push Tony Stewart to the lead of the race on Lap 136, despite the damage to his race car. Logano finished the race in 24th position.  Busch is now sixth in standings, 40 points behind the leader.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

Carl Edwards remains the points leader after finishing in 11th position at Talladega.  Fellow Roush driver Matt Kenseth sits second, 14 points behind Edwards.  Brad Keselowski gained three spots in the standings, moving to third, just 18 points back.  Tony Stewart moved up to fourth position after finishing the race in seventh place and is now 19 points behind Edwards.

Both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch dropped positions because of their misfortune and are now in fifth and sixth position.  Rivals Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson are now right beside each other in standings, sitting in eighth and ninth position.  Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon round out the top-10 in ninth and tenth positions, respectively.  Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman reside in 11th and 12th place, respectively.

Best Efforts of the Race

The Red Bull Racing team of Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne have to be recognized for their effort on Sunday.  Kahne started 26th, Vickers 30th, and the two pushed their way into the top-five within 10 laps.  They had troubles with the two-car tandem on Lap 159, causing Kahne to spin across the nose of Vickers to bring out a caution.  But with 50 laps to go, the pair had already hooked back up and were headed to the front.  Unfortunately they just couldn’t catch the RCR tandem, but still came home with fifth (Vickers) and sixth (Kahne) place finishes.

Dave Blaney’s third place finish at Talladega represented Tommy Baldwin’s Racing’s best finish yet at the Cup level.  Blaney was in the battle at the front in both the Daytona 500 and the spring race at Talladega this year, but couldn’t get the finishes he deserved.  This is a big step for a small organization with a short history in the sport.  Team owner Tommy Baldwin hopes the Talladega finish is a step in the right direction for a more competitive season in 2012.

Landon Cassill and Casey Mears deserve a shout-out for their strong effort at Talladega.  Before the race had even one lap in the books, Mear’s No. 13 GEICO Camry had moved from its 42nd starting position into 26th.  On Lap 3, Mears paired up with Cassill to head to the front.  They spent most of the race in the Top 5 and Top 10 until lap 174 when Mears lost his drafting partner.  Cassill was collected in a turn two crash involving Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch, forcing Mears to find another dancing partner.  Although their finishes of 16th and 17th do not represent their hard effort, the fact that they survived Talladega tells the story by itself!

With 48 laps to go, Clint Bowyer took the lead with Stewart a close second.  The race came down to who could conserve fuel the best.  In the end Bowyer ran out of fuel with two laps to go, handing the win to Tony Stewart.  This puts Stewart in the points lead, with seven points over Kevin Harvick.  Bowyer finished the race in 26th position.

Stewart made it clear to the media before the Chase started that he wouldn’t be one of the drivers battling for the Championship.  I think everyone has come to realize now that Stewart likes to play mind games.  I believe he told the media that he wouldn’t be a contender so nobody considered him a threat.  Now, two races into the Chase he is one of the biggest threats.

Tough Day for Chase Contenders

Dale Earnhardt Jr started the race off well, qualifying in 12th position.  He was running consistently, rounding out the Top-10 for most of the race.  With 72 to go, Earnhardt had a flat right front tire and was forced to make a pit stop.  This threw off his pit strategy, sending him to the back of the field.  To make a bad day even worse, Dale Jr coasted across the finish line after blowing another right front tire on the last lap.  He finished the race in 17th position and dropped to eighth in standings. The silver lining is that he is in a three-way tie with Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth in the points.

Teammate Jimmie Johnson also had issues throughout the day, battling an ill-handling race car.  On Lap 279, Johnson and Kyle Busch were battling hard for 13th position.  They made slight contact, sending Johnson back to 17th position.  After a rough day, Johnson finished the race in 18th position, dropping to 10th in standings.

Cracking the Top-10 with 50 laps to go, it looked as if Denny Hamlin was going to have the day he needed.  He raced his way up to fifth position with five laps to go, while trying to conserve fuel mileage.  Unfortunately with 3-laps to go, Hamlin ran out of fuel and finished the race in 29th position.  He now sits 12th in points, 66 points behind the leader and virtually out of contention.

Roush Racing Finishes Strong

Roush Racing had a good day, having all four drivers finish in the Top-10.  On Lap 174, Carl Edwards got into the back of his teammate Matt Kenseth, spinning him to bring out the caution.  Edwards was very apologetic over the radio, saying it wasn’t intentional.  Both drivers managed to overcome the incident, finishing in sixth(Kenseth) and eighth(Edwards) position.  Edwards is now fourth position in points, Kenseth in seventh.  Greg Biffle was the top Roush driver of the race, finishing in third position.

Fresh Faces in the Top 10 

I have to give the spotlight to a few drivers who we don’t normally see finish in the Top-10.  Brian Vickers qualified his Red Bull Racing car in third position and ran in the Top-10 almost all day.  His pit crew gave him fast pit stops, helping him run well the entire race.  Vickers finished the race in fifth position.  Despite Red Bull exiting his team at the end of the season, it’s nice to see him racing hard and running to his full potential.

With all the drama of fuel mileage towards the end of the race, not many people noticed that David Ragan and Regan Smith finished the race in seventh and 10th position, respectively.  Conserving fuel and racing consistently throughout the race contributed to their Top-10 finishes.  With all the hype surrounding the Chase contenders, it’s nice to see fresh faces in the Top-10.

We head to Dover next weekend with just eight races left in the season.  The point’s battle is close and tension is high between the Chase drivers.  Who do you think will be in victory lane at The Monster Mile?

RBR announced in June that they would be leaving NASCAR at the end of the Sprint Cup Series schedule. Since then, there have been no announcements or leaks of who might take over the team. Back when it was announced, there was speculation that Jay Frye, the team’s current general manager, could purchase the team with help from investors. Mark Martin and Ray Evernham were also rumored to be potential owner candidates.

Martin, however, appears to be considering racing part time next season, sharing a Cup seat with Danica Patrick at Stewart Haas Racing.

RBR driver Brian Vickers has also been attempting to line up potential buyers, but nothing has materialized at this point.

Honestly, we’re still trying today. We both agreed if an opportunity comes for him he needs to take it. But yes, we’re still trying to put something together this week and last week.

If Bowyer does leave, there are four or five other drivers who Childress would consider putting in the car. While Childress wouldn’t mention any drivers, prime candidates are Brian Vickers, Mark Martin (who is rumored to be headed to Stewart Haas Racing) and possibly David Ragan if he loses his ride at Roush Fenway Racing due to a lack of sponsorship.

Childress didn’t rule out Austin Dillon for the ride. But, he would put another driver in the car, as well. The plan is for Dillon to drive in the Nationwide Series full time, with Childress’ other grandson Ty Dillon replacing him in the No. 3  Bass Pro Shops Chevy in the Camping World Truck Series.

If sponsorship cannot be found, the No. 33 team would most likely drop to the Nationwide Series for Dillon.

Junior Makes the Chase

Dale Earnhardt Jr was probably the most talked-about driver of the night.  He came to Richmond knowing he could make the chase and he knew he had the car to do it.  However, his chase hopes started to fade just eight laps into the race.

Clint Bowyer spun in Turn 4, trying to get under David Reutimann at the front of the pack. As the cars checked up, Earnhardt got into the back of Matt Kenseth. It’s hard to tell, but Earnhardt says he was pushed into Kenseth by Casey Mears, who may have been pushed into him by Marcos Ambrose. As Kenseth started to spin, Earnhardt went outside and made contact with Denny Hamlin, sending Hamlin into the wall. Earnhardt then turned to drive under the stopped car of Bowyer, but Bowyer rolled down the track and the two made contact.

This resulted in significant damage to the grill of the No. 88 Chevy, forcing him to pit multiple times under caution. The team fixed the car as best they could and kept Junior on the lead lap. But, because of the damage, Earnhardt had his hands full with an ill-handling car. Still, he was on a mission to make the Chase.

On lap 37, he made contact with wild card hopeful Marcos Ambrose, spinning Ambrose around. That really just looked like two guys going for the same real estate, but Earnhardt may not have lifted for Ambrose because he may have blamed Ambrose for the big wreck that put his Chase hopes in jeopardy.

Then, on lap 152, Travis Kvapil slammed the No. 88′s bumper.  Junior showed Kvapil how he felt about it.  He retaliated the following lap, sending Kvapil spinning in Turn 2 to bring out the caution.  Earnhardt would have been the Lucky Dog that caution, but wasn’t eligible since he contributed to bringing out the caution. After the race, according to reporters, Earnhardt Jr apologized to Denny Hamlin. But, as far as Kvapil, Earnhardt said he got what he deserved.

Earnhardt hovered around 10th place in the Sprint Cup Series standings for most of the race. At one point, he was only two points ahead of Brad Keselowski and from dropping out of the Chase.

To make the Chase, all Earnhardt Jr had to do was finish the race in 20th position or better.  After a hard fought battle, he finished 16th and secured his spot for the Chase.  “We just kept working it and trying to fix the car,” said Earnhardt after climbing out of his beaten car. ”But we worked on it and worked on it…I’m proud to be in the Chase. I feel like I’m a good enough driver to be in the Chase—my team is good enough to be there.”

He will enter the race at Chicagoland Speedway in 10th position, 12 points behind leader Kyle Busch.

Unlikely Feuds

With the second wild card for the Chase possibly up for grabs, Marcos Ambrose needed a Top 15 finish to put himself in the running.  On Lap 51, Ambrose and Red Bull Racing drivers Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne were racing three-wide for position.  Quickly running out of room, Ambrose tagged the rear of the No. 83 Toyota, sending Vickers into Kahne and both RBR drivers into the wall.  Vickers was less than pleased with the incident, turning a hard right into Ambrose’s car under caution on the next lap.  Vickers was invited to the NASCAR hauler after the race to discuss the incident.  He was also told to park his car for a little while to cool down. As a result, Ambrose was out of contention for the wild card spot long before the end of the race. He finished 21st.

Johnson Vs Busch: Round Two   

Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch have had recent history with each other at Pocono Raceway last month, slamming fenders in the closing laps of the race.  Tempers flared yet again under the lights Saturday night, right before the halfway point of the race.  Busch hit Johnson’s bumper while getting into a turn and spun him.  Although it looked as though Busch got in to the turn too hot and slammed on the brakes to avoid wrecking, Johnson didn’t see it as accidental and retaliated 56 laps later.

After the race Busch said, “He’s been able to beat the guys the last five years by out-driving them with what he has for equipment. If he wants to switch equipment, let’s see what we can do. I’m going to beat him fair and square with my Penske Dodge.”  Johnson didn’t seemed too concerned with his comments saying, ”I’m sure I’ll go find him and talk to him and he’ll run his mouth and we’ll go from there.”

Sources say that during an interview with a NASCAR.com reporter Joe Menzer, Busch lost his temper and had to be restrained when asked about the incident with Johnson.  The war with words didn’t end there and continued when the drivers were forced to share the podium in the media center together.

From the looks of it, this battle isn’t going to end any time soon.  Busch is a proven winner and knows how to win a championship.  However, if he’s more concerned with getting “into Johnson’s head”, he should give up contending for the Sprint Cup title now.  Johnson is a five-time champion of this series and it’s almost impossible to get “inside of his head.”  As far as I’m concerned, Kurt Busch is the last thing on Jimmie Johnson’s mind.

Chase Run Down

The top-12 in points are now: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin.  David Ragan did his best to steal the wild card from Hamlin, but fell short finishing the race in fourth.

We head to Chicagoland Speedway next week and I’m sure we’ll see just as much action, if not more.