| Upcoming Events in the World of NASCAR | | | | almost that of an uncle/nephew. While other crew |
| After an action packed week (race at Talladega on | | | | chiefs coddle their drivers, Tony is not afraid to tell |
| Monday, practice at Lowe's Motor Speedway on | | | | his driver what he thinks. Take this open and honest |
| Tuesday and Wednesday, then head to Richmond | | | | relationship between driver and crew cheif coupled |
| International Raceway on Thursday for an action | | | | with the fact that Dale Earnhardt Inc is producing |
| packed weekend), I'm sure the NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | better engines and cars this season, and it's easy to |
| teams would love a little rest and relaxation. | | | | see why Dale Earnhardt Jr will be in the hunt for the |
| However, NASCAR is one of the most competitive | | | | championship in 2006! |
| sports out there, and with that comes a demanding | | | | Who's Not |
| schedule. | | | | Has anyone seen Jeremy Mayfield this year? I believe |
| This coming Saturday, the teams will race under the | | | | I last saw his name down towards the bottom of |
| lights at the track known as the "Lady in Black", | | | | the Nextel Cup Points Standings in the 34th position. |
| Darlington Raceway. For those of you who have had | | | | What a turnaround from last year when Mayfield |
| the privilege of watching a race at Darlington | | | | was in the Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship! |
| understand exactly how this track earned its | | | | Mayfield's position may be in jeopardy if he doesn't |
| nickname. Through the course of the race, the | | | | start producing results! Evernham Motorsports is too |
| pristine snow white wall that borders the track | | | | high quality of a team to settle for one of their |
| morphs into a black widow. Drivers are forced to lean | | | | drivers being in the 34th position. The meat of the |
| on the wall through the turns as the gritty Darlington | | | | 2006 schedule is fast upon us and if Jeremy can |
| asphalt shreads the tires and robs them of any grip. | | | | string together some solid finishes and build |
| Of the current drivers, the best performer at | | | | momentum, he may turn his season around and finish |
| Darlington is Kasey Kahne. His average finish in 3 | | | | towards the top 15 in points where he belongs. |
| starts there is 7th. | | | | Last Week's Headlines |
| Other drivers to note: | | | | Recap of the 2006 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond |
| Jimmie Johnson | | | | International Raceway: |
| Carl Edwards | | | | On a night when the top drivers in the points |
| Jamie McMurray | | | | standings were quiet, the fan favorite Dale Earnhardt |
| Jeff Burton | | | | Jr roared. Dale Jr overtook the dominant driver of |
| Next Week's Schedule: | | | | the night, Kevin Harvick, on a late round of pit stops, |
| (all times CST) | | | | and held on to lead despite a charging Denny Hamlin |
| Nextel Cup: @ Darlington Raceway | | | | and Kevin Harvick. |
| 5/12/06 - 12:05pm Dodge Charger 500 Practice | | | | Both Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick are coming |
| 5/12/06 - 05:05pm Dodge Charger 500 Qualifying | | | | on strong in the 2006 season after mediocre runs in |
| 5/13/06 - 06:55pm Dodge Charger 500 | | | | the 2005 season. With strong performances in |
| Busch Series: @ Darlington Raceway | | | | Richmond, both drivers jumped two spots in the |
| 5/12/06 - 08:30am Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Practice | | | | Nextel Cup Points standings. Kevin currently sites in |
| 5/12/06 - 03:40pm Diamond Hill Plywood 200 | | | | 5th place, and Dale Earnhardt Jr sits in 6th. |
| Qualifying | | | | The series leader, Jimmie Johnson, had a quiet night. |
| 5/12/06 - 08:30pm Diamond Hill Plywood 200 | | | | After starting 5th, Johnson fell to the back of the |
| Craftsman Truck Series - Off Until May 19th at | | | | pack quickly. However, through the course of the |
| Lowe's Motor Speedway | | | | race, Jimmie rallied for a 12th place finish. Johnson is |
| Who's Hot | | | | currently in 1st place with a 55 point lead over Tony |
| With out a doubt, this week's Who's Hot has to go | | | | Stewart. |
| to Dale Earnhardt Jr. After a dismal finish at Talladega | | | | Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon both had dismal |
| in the Aarons' 499 (due to mechanical problems), the | | | | evenings finishing 39th and 40th. Both drivers |
| team rebounded for a strong win at Richmond. This | | | | suffered mechanical setbacks that were too much to |
| win was Jr's 17th in the Nextel Cup circuit, and | | | | overcome. Matt Kenseth's car suffered damage to |
| moved him up to a 6th place standing in the Nextel | | | | his oil pan after running over of a piece of debris |
| Cup Points Championship. | | | | early in the race. And Jeff Gordon had a sudden loss |
| This year's rebound from a disappointing 2005 season | | | | of power, most likely due to a broken distributer cap, |
| can be directly attributed to the return of Tony Eury | | | | that required an enormous amount of time to fix. |
| Jr as crew chief. The relationship Tony and Jr share is | | | | |