In two weeks, I’ll be here…

NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship begins this weekend in Loudon, NH.  The season thus far has been building up to this point.  Points are essentially reset for the top 12 drivers as of last Saturday’s race in Richmond.  The next 10 races are all about the Chase drivers.

The drivers contending for the 2009 championship are…

• Mark Martin
• Tony Stewart
• Jimmie Johnson
• Denny Hamlin
• Kasey Kahne
• Jeff Gordon
• Kurt Busch
• Brian Vickers
• Carl Edwards
• Ryan Newman
• Juan Pablo Montoya
• Greg Biffle

As you can see by the above list, Dale Earnhardt Jr didn’t make it in.  I really haven’t yet figured out who I think has the best chance to win the championship.  Although, my gut says Tony & Jimmie are very good early favorites to win it all.  It will boil down to whoever can have the most consistent (good consistency, that is) finishes for the remaining 10 races.  Who are you rooting for to win?

The drivers spent the past couple of days doing a whirlwind media tour in New York City.  Here is a clip of one of the appearances.

The NASCAR race last Sunday was in Talladega, Alabama.  Talladega is a track that always has a lot of action.  Sunday’s race did not disappoint in this area.  Although, I’m pretty sure Carl Edwards & some unexpectant fans may be now wishing they saw a little less action.  Here is a replay of the last 4 race laps and the aftermath/celebration.

Carl decided to pull a Ricky Bobby and run to the start/finish line after his car was left unable to do so after its wild ride.

Congratulations to Brad Keselowski on his 1st NASCAR Sprint Cup series win (in just 5 tries).

Dale Earnhardt Jr finished second.  Based on his excitement in Victory Lane with Brad, I think he was very happy with 2nd and ecstatic to see Brad win the race.

Finally, my condolenses go out to the family & friends of David Poole (longtime NASCAR journalist).  I always enjoyed reading the articles he wrote for the Charlotte Observer.  One of my favorite articles I’ve read about Dale Earnhardt Sr was one he wrote about Sr’s lucky penny.

Andi mentioned to me back in Michigan that she noticed a special black seat on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s pit box for car owner Rick Hendrick.  I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to see it…until Sunday.  The above picture is of the seats on the Hendrick Motorsports 88 (Junior’s) pit box.  Each of the Hendrick Motorsports pit boxes have a seat labeled for Rick to sit on when he visits during the race.

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The past 5 days have been great!  I dropped Penni off at the airport for her trip back to Georgia earlier this morning and have been doing a little bit of work since then.  I’m supposed to be meeting my cousin Paige after while to hang out and reconnect.  (She’s from TX and I haven’t seen her since her grandfather’s funeral earlier this year.)

The New Kids on the Block concert was AMAZING!  I’m sitting here listening to their music as I’m working and writing this entry.  I’ve got several pictures and a full review coming later.

Penni & I had a great time at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.  Ron Hornaday won the Craftsman Truck series race Friday night.  Kyle Busch won the Nationwide series race Saturday afternoon.  Carl Edwards won the Sprint Cup series race last night.  I have lots of pictures and stories from TMS to share in the upcoming week.

Stay tuned!