Hello Angels,

It’s hard to believe, but here we are at the end of the inaugural NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. All of you already know (or should know) by now that Kurt Busch is the first winner in the newest chapter of NASCAR racing.  

Congratulations to Busch and his Sharpie team for a job well done, even though they tried their hardest to lose the championship yesterday. That is a completely different story though that I’ll leave for NASCAR.com to tell. But in the end, it was only eight points that separated Busch from second place point’s finisher, Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Gordon finished eight points behind that in third place. Mark Martin jumped one spot forward finishing fourth overall with Dale Earnhardt Jr., coming in fifth.

The 2004 season marked a lot of changes for the premiere circuit, including a new sponsor, new fuel supplier, obviously a new name, but the most significant change is the 10-race playoff system where the top-10 positions are locked with 10 races left, where they are guaranteed to finish in the Top-10.  They then race the final 10 races where any one of them have a chance at the championship.

As I’ve said a few times this year, I wasn’t sure that I would like the 10-race finale…and while it was an exciting finish yesterday, I’m still not sure I like it. What I am sure about though is that one driver, not competing for the championship, and who wasn’t even on the lead lap, could have seriously affected the outcome of the race. This driver wouldn’t yield to the top drivers going for the championship after a late caution period for debris on the track. NASCAR rules state that a single file restart is only mandatory with 10 laps to go or less. In this case there were 11 laps left. This car decided to restart at the front of the pack knowing his car was not up to the speeds of the cars on the lead lap, yet there he was blocking the rest of the lead-lap cars almost causing a huge chain-reaction crash that would’ve taken out at least two of the top-three contenders for the championship. For me, this is my biggest fear and shouldn’t have been a factor like it was yesterday. This blocking maneuver might have cost both Johnson and Gordon a shot at winning the race. A win might have meant the championship went to them rather than Busch.  My problem with this is that it sets a precedent for future final races where owners have multiple teams have one team block another team that is going for the championship.

I also need to say that this may not have been the case yesterday and that one driver had a horrible restart, which does happen to the best of them. But he still didn’t have a reason to be there especially when Dale Jarrett, running second at the time of the last restart, ran out of gas and pulled out of line. Besides that, he had his team to the respectable thing by notifying the teams behind him that he was having problems. That was a total class-act in my opinion.

That said; let’s congratulate Greg Biffle for winning the last race of the season. He definitely had the dominant car of the day and showed it with horsepower when he needed it in the end.  Biffle shared the honors with his teammate Busch who finished fifth in the race.

So, where did you finish yesterday Angels, well, none of us did as well as we did overall last week.

Kris, unfortunately for you, your drivers basically imploded on you when you least needed that to happen causing you to earn the final CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD for 2004. Elliott Sadler crashed early in the race and could only manage a 34th place finish. Ryan Newman, running second late in the race, cut a tire and hit the wall. He finished 30th. Joe Nemachek finished 27th, while Earnhardt’s car was junk all day long. He finished 23rd. Your best finisher was Carl Edwards and his 14th place finish.  Your GCA average finish is a very disappointing 25.6. 

Bosley, if you’re laughing, you shouldn’t be. Your drivers didn’t do that much better. Kasey Kahne had an accident and finished 38th. Newman finished 30th, while Boris Said finished 28th with Earnhardt finishing 23rd.  Your best driver yesterday is Busch and his fifth place finish. Your average finish is 24.8.

Dylan, two weeks ago you were vying for the top spot, but now you’re fighting for fifth or sixth spot overall this segment after last week’s driver’s performances, and now this week’s as well. Kahne finished 38th with Jarrett and Earnhardt finishing 24th and 23rd respectively. Kevin Harvick finished 10th, with your top driver being Jamie McMurray with his seventh place finish. Your average finish is 20.4.

For you Julie, Newman and Nemachek were your worst drivers with their 30th and 27th place finishes respectively. Edwards finished 14th, with Bobby Labonte finishing two spots ahead in 12th. Your best driver is Gordon and his third place finish. Your average finish is 17.2.

UnNamed One, you and I tie for the eighth finishing spot this week.

I’ll start with me because I had the worst driver of both our teams on mine. That would be Kahne and his 38th place finish. Nemachek finished 27th, while Edwards finished 14th. Gordon and Johnson finished third and second respectively.

For you UnNamed One, your worst driver this week is Sadler and his 34th place finish. Jarrett finished 24th, with Matt Kenseth in 19th.  Ricky Rudd (Go Air Force) finished ninth, with Biffle winning the race.

Our average finish is 17 even.

Jill, Kahne and Nemachek teamed up to be your worst drivers with their 38th and 27th place finishes. Harvick finished 10th, while Gordon and Johnson finished third and second respectively. Your average finish is 16 even.

Madison, Casey Mears and Earnhardt were your worst drivers this week with their 26th and 23rd place finishes respectively. Edwards finished 14th, while Martin finished 11th. Your best driver is Johnson and his second place finish. Your average finish is 15.2.

Mr. X, Nemachek and Earnhardt teamed up to be your worst drivers of the week with their 27th and 23rd place finishes. Edwards finished 14th, while your top drivers are McMurray with his seventh place finish and Johnson with his second place finish. Your average finish is 14.6.

Kelly, you rebounded nicely from your BONEHEAD award last week. This week Earnhardt was your worst driver with his 23rd place finish. Brian Vickers finished 18th, with Labonte in 12th and Harvick in 10th. Your top driver is McMurray and his seventh place finish. Your average finish is 14 even.

Thin Man, Mears and Earnhardt were your worst drivers with their 26th and 23rd place finishes respectively. Edwards finished 14th, while your top two drivers are Gordon and his third place finish and Johnson’s second place finish. Your average finish is 13.6.

Corwin, you came very close to getting the top-spot today, but unfortunately for you, fell just short. Nemachek was your worst driver yesterday with his 27th place finish. Labonte and Martin finished 12th and 11th respectively, while Rudd finished ninth. Your top driver is race winner, Biffle. Your average finish is 12 even.  Nice job.

Sabrina, that leaves you to earn our final weekly TOP ANGEL AWARD for 2004. You did this even with Robby Gordon’s left fender falling off early in the race. He finished 29th. Scott Riggs finished 15th, while your remaining drivers all finished in the top-10. McMurray finished seventh, while Tony Stewart finished fourth after leading late in the race. Your top driver is Johnson and his second place finish. Congratulations on your TAA winning average finish of 11.4.

Angels that is not the only good news I have to report.  Our Segment III winner is Mr. X with his dominating performance. Don’t forget to log on to the RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge Web site to see where you stack up in Segment III. 

Again, Mr. X, Congratulations on a well-played Segment III.