Hello Angels, Bosley, Mr. X and the UnNamed One,

Let me start off by wishing everyone a belated Happy Independence Day.  I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend and of course the annual NASCAR event called the Pepsi-400 under the lights at Daytona.

If you’ll indulge me for a little while, I’m going to start off with something personal for a change.  Some of you might notice that you didn’t receive this e-mail in the timely manner in which you are accustomed and there is a good reason for this.  I was sleeping. J  Based on where I’m currently living the race didn’t come on until 4:30 this morning…of which, I had already been up for more than 24-hours already.   Not that this is an excuse…but an explanation.  I do however have good news to report to you this fine Sunday night (my time).   I will be leaving this location Tuesday and transiting my way back to the United States by Thursday or Friday. So, hopefully I’ll be able to write the next commentary from the comforts of the Charlie’s Angels’ headquarters back in the United States. 

That said, did any of you watch the race last evening?  At first I wasn’t too impressed with the race, but now that I think about it after getting some sleep, it wasn’t a bad race at all.  There was only one “major” accident involving 7 cars, of which was Robby Gordon, who won the last race in Sonoma.  Partly because of that wreck, pit strategy played a major role in the outcome of the race.  Fuel mileage was definitely the dominant factor in rookie Greg Biffle garnering his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory.  His Rouch Racing Ford Taurus was definitely good, but a late charge by Bobby Labonte challenged Biffle.  As I mentioned earlier, pit strategy was a major factor, and it bit Labonte in the end, because he ran out of gas on the last lap and went from a second place finish to 5th as he coasted across the finish line.  Congratulations to Biffle and his crew on their first win of the season.

Now for a Sabrina and Julie update…ok, I really don’t have any idea when they are coming back, but I hope, like all of you do, that they will return real soon.

With that, this week’s Charlie’s Angels’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD goes to Bosley, who like all of us, didn’t do too badly with our average finishes this week.  Kurt Busch, your worst finishing driver this week, had a stout car, but unfortunately caused the 7-car pileup after he cut a tire and went down on the apron in turn 2 of the 2 and ½ mile tri-oval track.  This caused him to loose control of the car and spin, sending everyone behind him scrambling to avoid the accident.  Busch finished 36.  Rusty Wallace was doing well early in the race but faded and finished 28th.  Tony Stewart stalled coming out of the pits and lost 20 positions early in the race.  While he was able to make a comeback, his pit strategy hurt him and he finished 21st.  Mikey Waltrip who battled his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., for most of the race up front also had bad pit strategy and could only muster an 11th place finish.  Besides Biffle’s surprise win, Ricky Rudd (Go Air Force), scored his first top-five finish, finishing third overall.  As I eluded too earlier, your average finish didn’t suffer too badly, yet you still garner the Golden Caboose with a 19.8.  Better luck next week.

Kelly, the seven-car pileup really hurt you because Ricky Craven was also on a charge.  He was the first official DNF for the day and subsequently finished 43rd.  Stewart’s 21st and Mark Martin’s 20th place finishes didn’t hurt you too terribly though.  The labonte Brothers definitely helped you though with Bobby finishing 5th (even though he ran out of gas) and Terry finished 4th, continuing his streak of good luck this season.  Overall, your average finish is a disappointing 18.6.  Better luck next week.

Jill, you and I are tied for our 5th place spot today.  I’ll start with me because of my having the worst finishing driver of the lot.  Mike Wallace was running up front in and out of the top-10 until Busch spun and took out six other cars in the process…Wallace never made it back on the track and finished 42nd.  Jimmie Johnson missed the wreck, but like his teammate Jeff Gordon, pit strategy played against them.  Johnson finished 18 and Gordon 14th. Helping me though was Matt Kenseth who overcame his pit strategy and finished 6th.  My top driver this week is Terry Labonte and his 4th place finish.

For you Jill, Ryan Newman was your worst driver with his 22nd place finish, followed closely by Stewart and his 21st.  Johnson didn’t hurt you badly either with his 18th place finish.  Rounding out your top two drivers are Gordon and Dale Jarrett finishing 14th and 10th respectively. 

Our average finish this week is an even 17.  Better luck to you (and I) next week.

Kris, Ward Burton was your worst driver finishing 30th after running out of gas with two laps to go.  Not too bad considering Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Spencer finished 16th, 14th, and 12th respectively.  Your top driver is Earnhardt and his 7th place finish.  Your average finish is a respectable 15.8. 

UnNamed One, Busch’s spin and subsequent 36th place finish, and Elliott Sadler’s lackluster 24th place finish could’ve cost you considerably.  But they and definitely you were helped considerably by your remaining three drivers posting top-10 finishes each.  Jarrett finished 10th, followed by Kenseth in 6th, and of course you were the only one to have Biffle and his first place finish on your team.  All in all, not a bad average finish of 15.4 was the end result.  Nice job.

Tiffany, your only blemish came when Busch spun and took out Joe Nemachek in the process.  Nemachek finished 38th.  Elliott’s foot didn’t bother him yesterday and he finished 16th.  Kevin Harvick had a decent day with his 9th place finish, while Earnhardt didn’t have his usual luck at Daytona, but still managed a 7th place finish.  Your top driver this week is Jeff Burton who finished right behind his Rouch Racing teammate Biffle for second place.  Your average finish is a nice 14.4.

Mr. X….that leaves you to be our TOP ANGEL AWARD WINNER this week.  Your worst driver is Stewart and his 21st place finish.  That hurt you, but not enough to take you out of the top spot this week because your remaining drivers all finished in the top 10.  In the 10th spot is Jarrett, followed closely by Jeremy Mayfield and his surprise 8th place finish.  Your two top drivers this week are Kenseth and Bobby Labonte with their 6th and 5th place finishes respectively.  Congratulations on your Top Angel Award winning average finish of 10 even-Steven. 

The next race is the Tropicana 500 at Chicagoland Speedway near Chicago.  The race locks at 11:59 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, July 9.

To end on a personal note, thank you for bearing with me whilst I’m away fighting evil and tyranny throughout the world.  It has been and continues to be my pleasure to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy and sometimes take for granted.

Good luck next week, Angels,

Charlie