Who will 'Dega fans throw beer at when the 8 and 24 are teamates?

The efforts to sign #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a NASCAR driving contract for 2008 and beyond has reached a critical point, and the top two teams on Earnhardt’s list are the Chevrolet teams owned by Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick, according to men familiar with the negotiations. Earnhardt today is leaning toward a deal with Hendrick [NOTE: where would Earnhardt go? HMS has four Cup teams and all three drivers signed for a couple more years, unless some sort of deal with Haas CNC Racing or Ginn Racing would be worked out], largely because of Hendrick’s very strong engine program, sources here said yesterday. Earnhardt and veteran crew chief Tony Eury Jr., his cousin and close confidante as well as the man who has led him to many of his 17 Cup victories, have talked with both the Hendrick and Childress camps in recent weeks about the positives and negatives each team owner would have to offer, sources said yesterday. And Eury will have a major voice in the decision, because Earnhardt’s primary goal now, at age 32, is to win a championship.

Impound races

A couple people have asked me about impound races. Here's the scoop: the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 at Richmond International Raceway will be the 2nd impound race of 2007, there are five impound races in 2007, both Talladega races, both Richmond races and Daytona in July.

Jayski has more info here: impound races

I missed this...

....NASCAR announced Wednesday that Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet and Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Ford, have been fined $25,000 each and placed on probation until Oct. 3, 2007 for being involved in an altercation with each other's cars during this past Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The altercation occurred during the final caution period that came on the white-flag lap.

Did anybody see this "altercation"?

Richmond picks so far

'dega picks

What NASCAR says to Smoke

NASCAR called Tony Stewart's comments "very, very disappointing." "NASCAR has been running races since 1948, and we place the safety of the drivers at the top of the list," said spokesman Jim Hunter. "We have more people and more resources than ever officiating our races. The safety of the drivers is our first priority. It has always been that way and will continue to be that way. There are thousands of talented race drivers out there who would consider it an honor to compete in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series."

Smoke whines like a ....

.... Hendrick driver

Tony Stewart accused NASCAR of "playing God" by using caution flags to orchestrate closer racing. During his Tony Stewart Live program Tuesday night on Sirius Satellite Radio, Stewart lambasted officials for throwing four yellow flags for debris during Saturday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Stewart didn't feel any of the caution periods were warranted, implying NASCAR intentionally was trying to bunch up the field by slowing the pace of the racing. "To me it's not all about the money, it's about the integrity of the sport, and when I feel our own sanctioning body isn't taking care of that, it's hard to support them and feel proud about being a driver in the Nextel Cup Series when they're throwing debris cautions," he said. "It's like playing God. They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It's happened too many times this year. You get so frustrated ... But enough of it's gone on that fans are writing in and talking about it. At what point does NASCAR get the hint? I guess NASCAR thinks, 'hey wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing, too.' "