| Upcoming Events in the World of NASCAR | | | | There were high expectations this year for Jamie |
| After an eventful, weather challenging week, the | | | | McMurray has he made his move to one of |
| Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck teams head to | | | | NASCAR's elite teams, Roush Racing. Many thought |
| Martinsville Speedway while the Busch Series teams | | | | Jamie would excel with the superior equipment Roush |
| take the week off. | | | | puts out on the tracks week in and week out. So |
| Of the current Nextel Cup drivers, Jeff Gordon has | | | | far, McMurray is in 24th place in the Nextel Cup |
| held the key to Martinsville. In 26 starts, Gordon has | | | | Championship Points standings, and 113 points out of |
| won 7 times. | | | | the championship qualifying 10th position. |
| Gordon will need to continue his domination of | | | | Thus far Jamie's results have been as follows: |
| Martinsville if he wishes to stay in the chase for the | | | | Daytona 500 - 37th |
| Nextel Cup championship. After Kenseth's bump in | | | | Auto Club 500 - 6th |
| the last lap at Bristol, Gordon fell to 7th place in the | | | | UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - 23rd |
| standings. | | | | Golden Corral 500 - 14th |
| Other drivers to note: | | | | Food City 500 - 35th |
| Jimmie Johnson | | | | Through the first 5 races, Jamie's average finish is |
| Mark Martin | | | | 23rd. |
| Kasey Kahne | | | | Hopefully, Jamie can rebound next week in |
| Jeff Burton | | | | Martinsville where his average finish is 14th. |
| Next Week's Schedule: | | | | Last Week's Headlines |
| (all times EST) | | | | Recap of the 2006 Food City 500: |
| Nextel Cup | | | | I love Bristol! After watching a race at Bristol Motor |
| 3/31/06 - 12:05pm DIRECTV 500 Practice | | | | Speedway, I'm always left sitting in a pool of my |
| 3/31/06 - 3:40pm DIRECTV 500 Qualifying | | | | own sweat and my heart racing almost as fast as |
| 4/01/06 - 10:35am Happy Hour Practice | | | | the cars shot-gunning around the track! I'm not sure |
| 4/02/06 - 2:00pm DIRECTV 500 | | | | if the drivers enjoy Bristol as much as the fans. |
| Busch Series | | | | No matter how high the talent level of the driver, or |
| Off till the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on | | | | the horsepower his team gives him, a team's day can |
| April 8th. | | | | be ruined in a second as 43 cars cram on a 1/2-mile |
| Craftsman Truck Series | | | | speedway and bang it out for 500 laps. Case in point, |
| 3/31/06 - 1:45pm Kroger 250 Practice | | | | Jimmie Johnson. After maintaining first place in the |
| 4/01/06 - 12:05pm Kroger 250 Qualifying | | | | Nextel Cup standings through the first 4 races of |
| 4/01/06 - 3:15pm Kroger 250 | | | | 2006, the celebrated return of Chad Knaus was |
| Who's Hot? | | | | clouded over by a disappointing 30th place finish. |
| Earlier this year, I wrote an article claiming Dodge | | | | I think the marketing gurus of NASCAR should |
| drivers had their work cut out for them in 2006. | | | | approach ESPN or HBO to provide a "Friday Night |
| So far, I think they have responded. In the 5 races | | | | Fights" kind of production to showcase angry drivers |
| this season, they have posted 2 wins (Kasey Kahne | | | | pushing and punching each other as they climb out of |
| at Atlanta, and Kurt Busch in Bristol). | | | | the cars immediately after a Bristol race. For Gordon |
| Currently, there are 2 drivers in the top five in Nextel | | | | to be such a small guy, he shoved Matt Kenseth |
| Cup Points, Kasey Kahne and Casey Mears. | | | | pretty good. Gordon was rightfully upset at Kenseth |
| Let's hope their success carries throughout 2006. | | | | when Matt turned Gordon sideways on the |
| There is nothing more captivating than seeing drivers | | | | backstretch of the final lap. The only thing missing |
| in evenly matched hotrods beating and banging to | | | | was Michael Buffer's introduction and Judge Mill Lane |
| the finish line! | | | | officiating. |
| Who's Not? | | | | |