Hello Angels,

Let me start out this week by saying thank goodness the streak is finally broken for Rusty Wallace.  Now we can get on with the rest of our lives without hearing him whine about not winning a race since 2001.  Honestly I don't care that he didn’t win a race in 105 tries.  As an example, look at Michael Waltrip and ask him how many races he entered before he had his first win. I believe it was 448 or something like that.  I believe Waltrip only has three wins, but you don't see him whining.  With this win, Wallace has 55 wins under his belt...so, I'm not going to miss the whining from the Miller Lite driver, at all.

Wallace won the race after a one-hour-seventeen-minute red flag period because the race track disintegrated when Waltrip spun in the race.  What NASCAR officials didn’t know is that a huge “rock” came loose.  During a later caution period the rock came down in the driving groove and basically took out Jeff Gordon’s right front quarter panel.  The race was halted so track officials and NASCAR could decide to whether or not to continue the race and or filling the hole. They filled it with quik-dry and epoxy sealant and the hole was no more, but the damage was done for probably the strongest car out there.  No one was going to touch Gordon, so of course it was the track that took him out of the win.  Gordon was not allowed to fix his car under the red-flag (which is standard policy anyway) and he was not given his 2nd place track position back after pitting to make repairs to the car (even though he was a victim of the track.)  I’m a big Gordon supporter, but I’m glad that NASCAR didn’t set a precedent with allowing Gordon to retain his track position.  That would be a very dangerous precedent to set, especially when you consider everything that can affect a car’s during a race that is not in the driver's or teams' control.  Even though this wasn’t Gordon’s fault, it did happen on the track, and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The is " just racing," as the drivers always say.  So…I think NASCAR got it right.

Program note…Welcome to the Thin Man (Rob) to the Charlie’s Angels Fantasy Racing League.  I asked all of you to dig deep and see if you could find out who the little know character of Charlie’s Angels folklore is, and Mr. X (Dave), you get the bragging rights.

Here is an excerpt of what Mr. X sent to me:

“The Thin Man, who as a boy found himself in an orphanage after growing up in a circus, became a mercenary, paid to kick the ass of whomever his boss was trying to take down. However, when one of the targets was a young man from the same orphanage that saved his life, he would take matters into his own hands (and feet). In the end, he would use his powers for good, all the while continuing his obsession with a certain Angel.”

Very good Mr. X, but do you know which Angel he’s obsessed with?  Thin Man, do you care to tell us which Angel, you’re obsessed with?

Regardless, we need to see where we stand after today’s Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway. For the most part, we all did pretty well.  But, one of our teammates made a regression with her drivers’ picks again.  

Dylan (Jen W), unfortunately you didn’t change your drivers from the race two week’s ago.  While Bill Elliott is a great driver to have on your team, he is still not racing on a full-time Nextel Cup schedule, and was not scheduled to run the half-mile, paperclip designed track of Martinsville.  This really hurt you again, because with the exception of one of your remaining four drivers, they finished 12th or better. Kasey Kahne is having a stellar rookie season. But he didn’t have a stellar performance today.  He fell down a lap early in the race, and even had a spin or two to deal with.  He did manage to get the free-pass to get back on the lead lap, but he could only muster a 21st place finish.  Elliott Sadler finished 12th, while Jamie McMurray and your ‘second-hubby,’ Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished seventh and third respectively.  Your four drivers’ average finish is a very nice 8.6, but because you don’t have a five person team entered, instead of the top angel, you get the GOLDEN CABOOSE.   Much better luck next week.

Tiffany (Jen Y), you couldn’t catch a break, besides Dylan’s mistake of fielding only four drivers.  Out of your five drivers, only two finished in the top-20.  They are Earnhardt and Kevin Harvick, who finished third and 19th respectively.  Harvick was lucky to finish there after two cars crashed in front of him, sending up a lot of smoke and blocking the raceway.  He was able to stop, but not after being passed by most of the lead lap cars.  Casey Mears had engine problems I believe and finished 37th.  Jeremy Mayfield crashed shortly there after and finished 36th, while Kahne finished 21st.  Your average finish is a very disappointing 23.2.  Much better luck next week.

Sabrina (Susan), Ken Schrader was your downfall today. He was involved in one of the first wrecks of the day when he was pushed out of the way and sent spinning down the front stretch.  He was ok, but his car was destroyed and Schrader was out of the race finishing 40th.  Mark Martin cut a fuel line and finished 34th.  Kahne finished 21st, while your Italian Stallion, Tony Stewart, finished 14th.  Your best driver today is Earnhardt with his third place finish. Your average finish Sabrina is also a disappointing 22.4.  Much better luck next week.

UnNamed One (Ray) Schrader definitely hurt you today. Not only in average finish, but because you had a chance at a straight poker hand today as well.  Your remaining drivers, Sadler, Kurt Busch, Dale Jarrett and Matt Kenseth, finished 12th, 11th, 10th, and eighth respectively.  What could’ve been a top-10 average finish turned into a 16.2 average finish.  Still not to bad…but, better luck next week.

Jill (Jennie), I should give you the bonehead award for your driver pick today, but I won't because he hurt you enough already.  The driver that I’m talking about is Joe Ruttman, who I consider one of the field-fillers.  He only completed 2 laps of the race.  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? :)  I say that because you’re our top-leading Angel. I know you don’t want to give that spot away, but if you continue to pick field-fillers, that is exactly what you’re going to do.  (ok, rant over).  Kahne finished 21st, while Gordon finished sixth.  Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt round out your team with their fourth and third-place finishes.  Your average finish is a disappointing 15.8.  Much luck on your driver picks next week.

Julie (Sally), Mears 37th place finish was your downfall today, as you also had three drivers in the top-10 today.  While the three drivers helped you, Mears combined with Kahne’s 21st place finish, made you destined to finish in the middle of the pack today.  Your top drivers are Jarrett, Kenseth and Bobby Labonte, who finished 10th, eighth and second respectively.  Your average finish is just that, average, at 15.6 (I’ll explain that statement later.) Better luck next week.

Scott Wimmer was my bad driver of the day.  He fell six laps down before the end of the race, and finished 29th.  Kahne and Busch finished 21st and 11th, while my top-two drivers are Gordon and Johnson with their sixth and fourth place finishes.  My average finish is 14 even.

Kelly (Sarah), we both share Wimmer and Kahne, and like me, they were your worst two drivers of the day.  Stewart didn’t do you any favors by finishing 14th, but Earnhardt and your Texas Heartthrob, Labonte, finishing third and second, definitely helped you top my average finish by only .2.  Nice job.

Bosley (Jude), Wimmer was also your worst driver of the day.  But that was the only blemish on your team.  Well, that is if you don’t want to call having Stewart a blemish on your team… (Hehehe, just kidding). He finished 14th.  Busch helped you with his 11th place finish, while McMurray and Ryan Newman round out your team with seventh and fifth place finishes respectively.  Your average finish is 13.2.  Nice job to you as well.

Thin Man (Rob), again welcome to Charlie’s Angels.  You debut in our fourth spot this week by having  Kahne being your worst driver of the day with his 21st place finish. Ricky Craven didn’t have a great day, but he still managed to finish on the lead lap in 16th place.  Busch and Jarrett didn’t hurt you with their 11th and 10 place finishes, while your top driver is Gordon and his sixth place finish.  Your average finish is a very nice 13 even.

Mr. X (Ray), Kahne is also your worst driver (I’m seeing a theme here…lol).  Brenden Gaughn was involved in at least one wreck that I saw, but he still managed to stay on the lead lap after taking advantage of the free pass.  He finished 17th. Kenseth, Newman and Earnhardt round out your team with their top 10 finishes.  Your average finish today is 10.8.  Nice Job again this week.

Kris (Peggy), today you’re the bridesmaid, and not the bride.  Like several of us before you, Kahne is your worst driver today too.  Brian Vickers bounced back from 39th position today to finish 13th.  Sadler helped you with his 12th place finish, while Earnhart and Johnson finished third and fourth respectively.  Your average finish is just a shade nicer than Mr. X’s at 10.6.

Natalie (Donna), that leaves us just one thing left to do, and that is to give you our TOP ANGEL AWARDJ. Need I say anything else about Kahne? Well, he is your worst driver of the day too.  Other than that, no problems.  Sadler finished 12th, while Jarrett finished 10th. Johnson finished fourth, while Labonte finished second. Your TOP ANGEL AWARD winning average finish this week is a very nice 9.8. Congratulations.

Julie earlier I mentioned that your average finish of 15.6 is just average, well that is because our combined team average is (including Dylan’s four driver’s average finish of 8.6) 15.58.  Nice job everyone.

Next week’s race is the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Super Speedway.  Can you say restrictor plates and “the big one?”  Looks like I’ll have plenty to rant about next week too. 

Don't forget to check out the RPM.ESPN Stockcar Challenge Web site to see where you stack up against all the other Angels after this week's race.

Good luck Angels,