Hello Angels,

Happy Birthday America, and Happy Fourth of July everyone.

Because tonight’s race was a late one, I’m going to keep this week’s commentary short, so we can all enjoy our Fourth of July holiday.

Congratulations to Jeff Gordon on his second win in as many weeks, and Hendricks Motorsports for unseating DEI Incorporated as the dominating team at a restrictor plate race. Not only did Gordon win the race, but his teammate Jimmie Johnson helped him win it and finished second. Of course Dale Earnhardt Jr., came in a close third, but the DEI team of Earnhardt and Michael Waltrip were split apart in the end of tonight’s race. Waltrip was the loser of that split by being shuffled back where he finished a disappointing 13th.

Speaking of shuffling, I need to mention that after last week’s road course race in Sonoma, Kris did a nose dive and fell from first place down to fourth in the Segment Two overall standings. 

Speaking of the standings, let’s take a look to see where we stack up against each other after tonight’s Pepsi 400.

Well, for you Sabrina, I wish I could say things were great, but unfortunately for you, Kevin LaPage didn’t enter tonight’s race, and therefore did not qualify for the race. That is an automatic qualifier for our least wanted, always awarded CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD. I’m going to editorialize a little bit here and say that is a shame because your remaining four drivers did quite well.  Dave Blaney led the race at one point, but in the end finished 15th, still not that bad. Tony Stewart avoided a suspension somehow after his altercation last week with Brian Vickers, and it paid off because he finished fifth. Earnhardt finished third and your top driver is Johnson and his second place finish. Of your remaining four drivers, their average finish is an even-steven five. But because of LaPage, I am not able to calculate an average finish for you.

That said Bosley, with only four drivers in the race Sabrina will still have more points than you this week because your drivers did horribly. I’ll start with your best driver, Ryan Newman. I believe he was the best finishing Dodge team out there, which says a lot in itself…The Dodges didn’t perform very well this time at Daytona. This was evident because Kasey Kahne and Rusty Wallace had horrible races themselves by finishing 25th and 27th respectively. Elliott Sadler was sandwiched in the middle in 26th place. Your worst driver is Ward Burton, whose blown tire caused the crash which also took out Matt Kenseth, Ken Schrader and Ricky Craven. Burton finished 40th. Your average finish is a very disappointing 26 even.

Dylan, you picked the wrong week to give up Earnhardt, your best driver. He finished third, while your best driver tonight is Kevin Harvick and his 14th place finish. I mentioned Dodge problems earlier, and you were affected as well. Sterlin Marlin could only muster a 20th place finish. Sadler and Wallace finished 26th and 27th and like Bosley, your worst driver is Burton and his 40th place finish. Your average finish is also a disappointing 25.

UnNamed One, you were in the hunt to take our top spot on the overall segment this week, but because of the early race crash that took Kenseth out, and a second-to-last lap flat tire for Greg Biffle, you’re going to fall farther from the top of the list. Kenseth finished 39th, while Biffle finished 31st. Sadler was not a factor today with his 26th place finish, while his teammate Dale Jarrett had a chance to be a factor, but only finished 16th. Your top driver today is Ford’s top finisher, Kurt Busch in fourth. Your average finish is 23.2.

Mr. X, Jamie McMurray and Brenden Gaughn teamed up tonight to cause havoc on your average finish. They finished 37th and 36th respectively. Kahne had his hands-full with his back up car after he and Burton had a crash during practice yesterday that sent Burton’s car about eight feet in the air. Both used a back-up car, but Kahne had very little practice time in his and couldn’t get a handle on the car. He finished 25th. Casey Mears finished 11th, while Gordon won the race. Your average finish is 22 even.

Jill, regardless of having Gordon’s and Johnson’s one-two finish on your team, your remaining three drivers conspired against you this week. Kahne finished 25th, while McMurray finished 37th. However your worst driver today is the worst driver tonight is John Andretti, who was the worst in the pack with his 43rd place finish. Unfortunately I think that you may drop from first place overall with your average finish of 21.6.  We’ll see.

For you Natalie, it was Kahne, Sadler and Wallace who teamed up to make your night miserable with their 25th, 26th, and 27th place finishes. Blaney tried to help you with a win, but he only mustered a 15th place finish. Your top driver is Johnson and his second place finish. Your average finish is 19 even.

Tiffany, your worst driver tonight is Biffle and his 31st place finish. Jeremy Mayfield finished 22nd, while Harvick finished 14th and Mears finished 11th. Your top driver is Earnhardt and his third place finish. Your average finish is 16.2.

For me, Scott Wimmer is my worst driver with his lack-luster performance tonight, and of course his 32nd place finish. Kahne didn’t do me any favors with his 25th place finish, but Mears definitely helped with his 11th place finish. My top two drivers are the races top two, Gordon and Johnson. My average finish is 14 even.

Kris, after last week's nose dive, you leveled off this week and maybe even gained back a position. Sadler and Kahne finished 26th and 25th together, while Joe Nemachek had a quiet 10th place finish. Your top two drivers are Busch and his fourth place finish, along with Earnhardt and his third. Your average finish is just a little bit better than mine with 13.6.

Thin Man, Sadler is your worst driver tonight with his 26th place finish. Blaney helped with his 15th, while Waltrip and Newman finished 13th and 12th respectively. Your top driver today is Gordon and his win. Your average finish is 13 even.

Kelly, had it not been for Brenden Gaughn, you would most likely taken the top spot today, but because he finished 36th after getting caught up in a crash, you are not in the top spot today. Blaney finished 15th, while your remaining drivers were flawless. Bobby Labonte snuck up into the top 10 late in the race and finished seventh, while Earnhardt came in third. Your top driver is Gordon and his win. Your average finish is still a nice one at 12.4.

Julie, you picked the perfect race to get rid of Matt Kenseth because he would’ve kept you from winning your first CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ TOP ANGEL AWARD had you kept him on your team. Congratulations. Instead you have Jarrett, Blaney and Waltrip finish 16th, 15th and 13th respectively, while Labonte and Gordon finished seventh and first tonight. Your TOP ANGEL AWARD winning average finish is 10.4.  Again, congratulations. J

Don’t forget to check the ESPN.RPM Stockcar Challenge Web site to see where you stack up after tonight’s Pepsi 400.

Next week’s race is the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.  Don’t forget to send me your driver line-ups before the start of that race.

Good luck Angels, and Happy Birthday America.