THE  STORY LINES: 

1. CONTROVERSEY STIRS , VICKERS-DALE, JR WRECK:

2. GILLILAND RELEASED FROM YATES RACING:(YatesPR)

3.MWR PLANE DIVERTS TO LAS VEGAS, ENGINE TROUBLE:(LVSun)

4. DAVID STARR DRIVES THE BLACKJACK RACING #51:

5. TODD BODINE IN THE GUNSELMAN MOTORSPORTS #64:

The fallout from “The Big One”, which eventually was at the end of the Daytona 500, still stirs controversey.  Was Vickers out of line to block Dale Jr. with 75 laps to go?  Should Dale Jr have gotten out of the gas and lose his momentum?  Or, was Jr. justified in keeping it “on the mat” and holding his line?  Those questions are still unanswered as of this writing.  But the fact is that there are two sides to this story, each participant feels justified in what he did prior to the crash!

It is official, David Gilliland has been released from Yates Racing.  He was the odd man out when Paul Menard brought his “daddy’s money“, Menards,  to Yates Racing.  Gilliland, however, has landed a ride for at least a few races with TRG Racing.

A Canadair CL 60 jet that is owned by Michaels Waltrip Racing developed engine troubles and diverted into McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada Thursday. It is unclear what the specific problems were that led to the diversion to Las Vegas.

Now I have a poll that I would invite you to participate in: 

THIS WEEK’S STORY LINES:

1.  EDWARDS WINS @ TEXAS:

2.  KYLE BUSCH DONATES $100,000 TO SAM ARD (espn.com)

3.  HORNISH BACK TO INDY CARS IN ’09? (yahoo sports)

4.  GILLIAND PARKS MONTOYA-NASCAR PARKS GILLILAND!(scenedaily)

5.  BRUTON SMITH REAFFIRMS DESIRE TO BUY NASCAR: (espn.com)

Most of the year T is for Talladega, but Sunday T was for Texas!!!  T was also for toughness, for teeth-clinching tussles, for high speed tangles, for two and three wide racing, and for tempers flaring!!!  But the REAL T was for thinning the points lead in the Chase!! 

“Cousin Carl” defied all the odds in fuel mileage logic!!  He and crew chief Bob Osborne turned a “mistake” in not pitting into a stretching of fuel mileage far beyond what was supposedly feasible!!  The theory of the fastest car wins the race definitely was proven totally wrong!!  For the last ten laps, Edward’s crew chief had to continually tell Carl to slow down, get out of the throttle, let it roll thru the corner!  It is a concept that is hard to understand, slow down to win the race!!!  Because the Office Depot #99 Ford did not stop when everyone else did, he inherited a huge lead and lots of track position!!!  So he slowed way down.  Lower RPM’s means less fuel burn per lap, thus allowing them to stretch their fuel out to 69 laps and win the race!!!

COMMENTARY

Ol Kylie Busch, aka The Las Vegas Weasel, won the Nationwide race in Texas on Saturday.  That win tied ol Kylie and Sam Ard with 10 victories in the Nationwide in one season.  That is quite a feat!  Last year Kevin Harvick came up one victory short of bypassing Mr. Ard’s accompolishments.  It is very possible that TLVW  may surpass Sam Ard’s record, with two races left this season!

Sam Ard had a brilliant but shortened racing career.  Back in 1984 he suffered head injuries in a racing crash that ended his career. In Sam’s days of racing, there were no “BIG PAYDAYS”. He raced because he was a RACER!!!!  Over the years, the Ard family has run across some extremely hard times.  Sam suffers from Alzheimers and is confined to a wheel chair. The family has used all of their funds just trying to care for Sam.  A few weeks ago Kevin Harvick bought and donated the “Shell Van” from the commercials to help the family’s transportation needs.  It appears that their automobile just recently ”died”!!  

On hearing of the Ard family’s struggles, ol Kylie donates $100,000 to the Ard family to help.  Once again the NASCAR family comes to the rescue!!  As hard as this reporter has been on ol Kylie, I am very impressed that he appears to have a kind heart.