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

Welcome back to another week of NASCAR Nextel Cup Racing.  I hope you all enjoyed your two-week break.  It seems that two drivers this week decided that they were going to go for a repeat finish from two weeks ago, where they finished one and two together.  Of course the race two weeks ago, Matt Kenseth and rookie Kasey Kahne finished side-by-side only 1/100th of a second apart.  This time however the two finished in the same order, but Kahne wasn’t as close a second-place finisher as he was today when he crossed the line almost 3 ½ seconds behind the race winner.  

For those of you who don’t remember, Kenseth is the reining Cup champion and the defending winner of the UAW-DeimlerChrysler 400, the very same race he won today.  In winning today, he also doubled the amount of wins he had during his entire Winston Cup Championship winning season. So, congratulations to Kenseth on his second victory in a row.  I definitely believe he has answered his critics who said that it was a fluke that he won the championship last year.  He has a plan, and he’s definitely executing it. 

So, how did today’s race reflect on our teams, well, not so well. 

Before I get to the average finishes, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you all know, that all 12 of our teammates are finally registered for the Charlie’s Angels’ Fantasy League and all have legal teams…well, except for one.  

Natalie (Donna), for what ever reason you failed to change your driver line-up in time today and still have a driver on your team that is currently not driving in the Nextel Cup Series. I know we’re in Las Vegas this week, and you may have tried to bluff, but it definitely didn’t help your cause today because you were forced to fold before the race even started. This is because you still have Dave Blaney as a registered driver on your team.  And, because of that, I am forced to award you the Charlie’s Angel’s Fantasy League GOLDEN CABOOSE AWARD for our third race of the season.  This is a shame because if he wasn’t on your team, you would’ve most likely been our Top Angel this week.  Your remaining drivers all finished in the 16th or better.  In that 16th position is Jimmie Johnson, who led early in the race but had a pit-road incident with Kevin Lapage.  Johnson rebounded, but could only manage that 16th place finish. Dale Jarrett managed to luckout on an incident with Johnny Sauter and finished 11th.  Bobby Labonte finished eighth and Elliott Sadler is your top finisher by placing sixth.  Your average finish is not calculable however.  Let’s hope that you definitely get rid of Dave Blaney, or better yet, make sure that he is in the field for next week’s race.  

Tiffany (Jen Y), with all five of your drivers entered and making the competition this week, you still didn’t manage all that well. Greg Biffle blew an engine early and finished 40th.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., showed up, but his car didn’t.  he finished more than 40 laps down, in 35th place.  Brian Vickers was running in the top-10 when he ran out of gas on the last lap of the race.  He finished 23rd.  Kevin Harvick was running in second place when he ran out of gas with five laps left. He ended the race in 21st.  Your top-driver today is Sadler in sixth place.  Your average finish is a very disappointing 25 even.  Much better luck next week. 

Julie (Sally), like Tiffany, you have Biffle and Vickers on your team. They finished 40th and 23rd respectively.  Michael Waltrip had a quick exit after making contact with Bill Elliott and then rear-ending the wall.  He finished 37th.  Terry Labonte finished on the lead lap, in 17th spot, while your top-driver today, Kenseth, won the race.  Your average finish is still mighty disappointing at 23.6.  Much better luck next week. 

Kris (Peggy), Las Vegas luck was definitely not with you either this week.  This is because of you having both Earnhardt Jr., and Vickers on your team.  Add to them Johnson’s early problems, and then Ricky Rudd also having car handling problems, and that makes for a not-so-great poker hand.    Your only ace-in-the-hole is Sadler and his sixth place finish. Your average finish is also a disappointing 21.6.  Better luck next week. 

Sabrina (Susan), I have one driver’s name for you…Earnhardt Jr.  Need I say more.  Well of course I do.  Robby Gordon didn’t help you at all either with his 30th place finish.  I watched the entire race, and I can’t even remember his name being mentioned except in the opening line-up for the race.  Need I say anymore about Vickers either.  Your top-two drivers today are Mr. Viagra himself, Mark Martin, who finished fifth, and your Italian Stallion, Tony Stewart who finished third.  Your average finish today is 19.2. Better luck next week.

Dylan (Jen W, formally known as Jen T), welcome back again to your Charlie’s Angels Fantasy Racing League.  Unfortunately this week wasn’t too kind to you in the luck department.  Like Sabrina before you, you also have Earnhardt Jr., and Gordon.  Other than those two, however, you drivers didn’t do too badly.  Jeff Burton finished 13th, and looked good most of the day.  Jarrett didn’t drive the big-brown truck, but did manage to avoid Sauter today and finish 11th.  Your top-driver today is Martin and his fifth place finish.  Your average finish is a 19 even.

Kelly (Sarah), for you it is Earnhardt Jr., and Scott Wimmer.  They basically ruined your day because you remaining drivers finished in the top-10, two of them in the top-5.  Your Texas heartthrob, Bobby Labonte finished eighth, while Stewart and Kahne finished third and second respectively.  Your average finish is a not as bad as it could’ve been, 17.4.  Better luck next week.

UnNamed One (Ray), your only real hiccup today is Biffle and his blown engine.  Rudd didn’t hurt you too bad with his 28th place finish, while Jarrett definitely helped with his 11th. Jarrett’s teammate, Sadler helped quite a bit with his sixth place finish, but helping you the most is Kenseth with his win.  Your average finish is just a little bit better than Kelly’s at 17.2.  Better luck next week.

Bosley (Jude), Wimmer was your biggest disappointment this week.  His blown engine combined with Ryan Newman’s blown tire busted the bank on the blackjack table for you today.  Wimmer finished 39th, while Newman finished 27th.  Rusty Wallace paid off for you today with his 10th place finish, but helping your hand the most was having McMurray and Stewart on your team.  They finished fourth and third respectively.  Your average finish today is 16.6.

Mr. X (Dave), like so many of your fellow Angels this week, you have Earnhardt Jr., on your team…and that cost you the Top-Angel Award today.  Brenden Gaughn was on and off the lead lap all day today, but eventually finished one-lap-down in 22nd.  Helping you the most though is McMurray and his fourth place, Kahne and his repeat second place, and of course Kenseth and his repeat victory.  Your average finish is a nice, 12.8

This leads me to my team where my worst driver is Gaughn and his 22nd place finish.  Johnson gave me a scare with his pit-road incident, but rebounded to a not-so-bad, 16th place finish.  Jeff (the real) Gordon had himself one heck of a weekend, first crashing into the wall on qualifying, then blowing the engine.  He started at the tail end of the field today, and still managed to run in the top-10 at different points during the race.  He faded in the end though, and finished 15th…still not so bad considering.  Sadler was good to me this week with his sixth place finish, while my top driver is Kahne and his second place finish.  My average finish this week is a nice 12 even. 

That leaves you Jill (Jennie) to be our Charlie’s Angel’s Fantasy Racing League TOP ANGEL AWARD winner.  You definitely dodged a bullet this week by changing your drivers in the last minute.  Your only blemish with your new lineup is having Newman on your team.  His 27th place finish really didn't hurt you too badly considering your remaining four drivers finished in the Top-10.   Kurt Busch was a favorite to win, but could only manage a ninth-place finish.  Sadler held his own this week and finished sixth.  while McMurray did well again and finished fourth.  Your top driver is rookie phenom, Kahne and his second straight top-two finish.  Congratulations on your TOP ANGEL AWARD winning average finish of 9.6.

As for our standings for all three races of this year’s season so far, Mr. X, you’ll retain your lead, in fact, build on it, while the rest of us will shuffle considerably.  Don’t forget to check the RPM.ESPN Stockcar Challenge Web site tomorrow to see where all the chips fell.  Next week’s race is the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Good luck Angels,