Hello Angels,

Welcome to Segment III and the last 10 races of the 2004 NEXTEL Cup season. 

I heard rumors that this race in New Hampshire might have been postponed, but as I’m watching right now, I see it was a beautiful sunny day in Louden for the Sylvania 300 yesterday. (In case you’re wondering, I’m watching it on a tape delay).  Congratulations to Kurt Busch on winning his sweep of races at New Hampshire. He is now tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr., for the lead in the NEXTEL Cup Championship chase, with Jeff Gordon only 10 points behind. 

The chase for the championship is definitely going to be an interesting one especially because Kurt Busch sort of snuck up on the chase in the last few months.  I’m interested to see who has the momentum to take the title.  

Speaking of title…we have three Angels who are one race away from being eliminated from contention for the Segment III champion.  And yes, we’re only one race in.  UnNamed One, Tiffany and Natalie, all failed to qualify a team, but it’s not too late.  So, if you see them around, please encourage them to do so. 

That said; let’s see how the chase for the Segment III champion has started out. 

Sabrina, you have finally added two drivers to your team that are actually racing. Unfortunately for you, they didn’t help, and you still earned the CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ FANTASY LEAGUE GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD. This is because Tony Stewart crashed and was later black-flagged for failing to meet minimum racing speeds. He finished 39th.  Robby “crash everybody out of the race” Gordon, finished 32nd, while Scott Riggs finished 26th. Your top-two drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray finished 11th and fifth respectfully. Your average finish is a disappointing 22.6. 

Kelly and Jill, you both tie for our number eight finishing spot.   

Jill, I’ll start with you.  Ryan Newman blew an engine and finished 33rd. Ward Burton finished 25th, while Carl Edwards had his worst finish thus far in NEXTEL Cup racing with his 20th place finish. Johnson finished 11th with his teammate Jeff Gordon, finishing seventh. 

Kelly, your worst driver is Stewart and his 39th place finish. Riggs finished 26th, while Bobby Labonte finished 18th. Your top two drivers are Michael Waltrip and Earnhardt who finished ninth and third respectively.

Your average finish Jill and Kelly is 19 even. 

Thin Man, your worst driver is Newman and his 33rd place finish. Casey Mears had a dismal day with his 29th place finish, while Edwards finished 20th. Jeff Gordon finished seventh, while your top driver, Kurt Busch was the race winner. Your average finish is 18 even. 

Kris, your worst driver is Newman and his 33rd place finish.  Edwards was bound to have trouble eventually, unfortunately he did it in New Hampshire and finished 20th. Elliott Sadler finished eighth, with Joe Nemachek finishing two spots ahead in sixth. Your top driver is Earnhardt with his third place finish. Your average finish is 14 even.

Bosley, your worst driver is Edwards and his 20th place finish. Labonte finished two spots ahead in 18th, with Kevin Harvick and Waltrip finishing 10th and ninth respectively. Your top-driver this week is Earnhardt with his third place finish. Your average finish is 12 even. 

Julie, your worst driver is Edwards and his 20th place finish. Labonte finished 18th, while your remaining three drivers finished in the top-10. Jeff Gordon finished seventh; Kahne finished fourth and Earnhardt finished third. Your average finish is 10.4.

For me, my worst driver was also Edwards and his 20th place finish. Johnson finished 11th, while Harvick finished 10th. My top-two drivers are Jeff Gordon in seventh and Kahne in fourth. My average finish is 10 even.

Dylan and Madison, you both tie for our runner-up position today.

Dylan I’ll start with you. Your worst driver is Dale Jarrett in 27th. Other than that, no problems for your. Harvick finished 10th; McMurray finished fifth; Kahne finished fifth and your top driver is Earnhardt in third. 

Madison, your worst driver is Edwards in 20th. Mark Martin finished 13th, while Jeff Gordon finished seventh; McMurray finished fifth; and Kahne finished fourth. 

Your average finish Madison and Dylan is 9.8. 

That leaves you,  Mr. X, to be our TOP ANGEL AWARD winner for the first race of Segment III. You accomplished this by having Edwards and Martin and their 20th and 13th place finishes respectively on your team. You complimented them with Earnhardt, Kahne and McMurray, who finished third, fourth and fifth respectively. Congratulations on your TAA award winning average finish of 9 even.

Next weeks race is the MBNA America 400 at Dover International Raceway in Delaware.

Good luck Angels,