So Lady S, will your story be the "complete" story about our garage sale? Will you fess up about your inability to..... you know! I know I'm looking for the real story!

You know, unless it is a Cup race I rarely watch TV as it happens. I always watch what I have recorded days and sometimes weeks after it was recorded. I watched Beyond the Wheel (one of my favorite shows) the day after it aired. When I got to the end I thought my recorder had messed up "Trophy....Girl". Was that what I really heard? Dude, it is actually "Trophy Wife" and besides, not a very endearing term to any woman! Eva is a very pretty lady and I'm sure Kurt treats her right (I'm hoping) but no woman deserves to be called a "trophy" anything!

I guess it's kind of like being a golf widow Lady N only it's a racing widow and the racing is a job. Well, I guess on the off time it's not a job just a passion. Look at Kenny Schrader and Tony Stewart-if it has wheels they will race it! I've often wondered how much of a normal family life these guys have. I mean, a lot of them have kids. When the kids a little it's easier to bring them along but once they get into school I'm sure it is harder. How do you balance being involved in their school life with the racing life? Kenny Wallace seems to have figured it out. On NASCAR 360 they show him going to the basketball games at the school. But you know it has to be hard on them. Maybe the payoff balances the sacrifices.

No Cup race this weekend.....what will the Ladies do? I know, I know, we'll have a garage sale! Yep, it's the Ladies' annual garage sale to help pay for our very expensive hobby. It is very hot and humid in San Antonio so I'm sure we will all be sweating before the day is over. That's okay, it's always fun and we make a few bucks!

Trying to burn a 97 in the asphalt? Now I've heard of everything. He must have been delirious from the heat! He just looked silly backing up, driving forward, turning left, a little smoke, backing up, short spurt of smoke, drive 10 feet, stop...... I mean, come on! If you have to think that hard about what you are going to do DON'T DO IT!

Hey Lady N! We sure did miss you (and the pool!). We are glad you are home again. Funny, Lady S and I said the same thing about Pocono. I always thought it would be a great place to go but geez, it was so boring! I don't think Lady S told you what we had for dinner---it was wonderful! We started off with the grilled stuffed peppers with the cream cheese mixture and bacon wrapped. The were terrific! Then we had grilled ribeye, broccoli and cheese casserole and baked potatoes with all the fixins'! For dessert we had M&M (thank you Mr. Sadler) ice cream bars. Yummmmmmmyyyy! The only problem was that we were so carbed up that the boring race really got to us! I'd like to do Pocono at least once but it won't be at the top of my list anymore.

Headline---Fedewa out as driver for FitzBradshaw No. 40 car All I have to say is it's about time! I thought it was wrong when Kerry Earnhardt was removed as the drive. Fedewa has done nothing, absolutely nothing of value in that car except wreck every chance he could! This does not surprise me-I only wish it had happened sooner. Sterling Marlin is the replacement driver. FitzBradshaw--call Kerry!

"He ruined my day". I just wanna smack Carl Edwards every time I see him on an interview telling the world how his day was ruined by Kasey Kahne on the last laps of the Pocono race. Carl, dude, listen up! You ended the day with a 4th place finish. If that is a ruined day for you just wait until you have really have a disappointing day. Dude! Get a grip!

Oh my gosh! What a boring race! Since Lady N is out of town (hope you are having a great time!) I went over to Lady S's house to watch the race. Dinner was fantastic, playing with Lady S's dogs was fun and my sweet tea was outstanding! The race however was boring! I found myself wishing for tire issues. I just read Lady S's race report and I couldn't stop laughing! Kurt Busch did look so out of place when he tried to do his burnout. He just couldn't decide what "style" he wanted to present. I guess with Carl Edwards doing a backflip and Tony Stewart climbing fences Kurt wanted to make sure his was memorable. Well, it was but not in a good way. You looked like a dork out there!

Am I the only one with a problem here? I mean about race tracks! NASCAR has done its darndest to make sure that all the cars are equal. I mean, you don't want anyone to have an advantage over another driver, right? As soon as the drivers and teams figure out how to move ahead NASCAR comes along and makes a rules change so that the playing field is even again. That is why we keep getting no passing races and blah racing. So, how does that compare to the track? Glad you asked! Since when do the tracks have to be perfect? Now, I'm not talking about a track coming apart or water seepage, no, I'm talking about bumps, curbs, dips, etc. Those are the things that give a track its character. Why do the drivers race on all different kinds of tracks (super speedways, short tracks, flat tracks, road courses)? Because we want our drivers to be the best on all kinds of tracks. Once you make the cars all the same and the tracks all the same you will have boring racing. We are already starting to see some of that. How I long for the old days when a driver had more choice in the setup in the car, when a driver could outwit another driver and when a driver could work with a track's disadvantage and figure out how to use it for his advantage. I say quit your whining and drive!

Okay, started to write about Chad Knaus being a bit of a jerk-come on guy, be a team player! The world does not revolve around you and your driver! Then I started to comment on the tire issue and my mind wandered over to the possible changes in testing and then whammo! I read where Michael Waltrip may be taking over the 11 ride (Jason Leffler-Joe Gibbs Racing). That falls into the "what the f..." category. Not only is it rumored to be true for next season but that it may happen this season with Mikey vacating the #15 Napa Chevy like NOW! First of all, if there is any inkling of truth to this you gotta know that Jason feels like crap. Besides the fact that his season has been, let me put this delicately, crap, to have rumors circulating around about your ride has to be distracting. Just ask Bobby Labonte. Secondly, if there is no truth to this rumor you have to wonder what the payoff is for reporting such a thing. This is stressful enough of a time around the garage with the teams trying to get into the Chase. Let's not make it crazier!

The show Inside Nextel Cup was one of the primary reasons I got the Speed Channel many years ago. I would hear Lady S and Lady N talking about the silly stuff that goes on as well as some insight into the world of racing. While I've enjoyed the show I've enjoyed the personalities more. It's kind of like Star Trek. I was never a fan of the new one. Yep, it was the same show but Captain Kirk, Spock and Bones weren't there. You could say I only liked the show because of them and well.....you would be right! Now they are starting to mess with the NASCAR shows. I refuse to watch NASCAR Nation any more. It's just a bunch of Entertainment Tonight fluff with racing. I don't care to watch scantily clad women leading a show about a subject that is dear to my heart. Somehow I just can't picture them having a 12 hour day at the track and still being refreshed. Unless they are in a suite. Now with Inside Nextel Cup there will be driver changes and poor Allen, I mean really, poor Allen! First they take you from the booth (note to self: don't break any bones!) where you are lousy on the pit road and now they are taking you from the show that you host. Humm, Allen, start sprucing up your resume. Soon the only job you will have is outside the infield care center. NASCAR fans can adapt to changes but please! There have been so many changes in the last three years. Will you quit it already!

This is about the time I wish I had satellite radio! Seriously? With as much as Rusty was/wasn't telling us I was really thinking he was going to Penske. Then I read that in an interview with Rusty he says that the Miller folks don't want to go with a newbie. They want a seasoned driver, not necessarily someone who has been on a winning streak but someone who can wheel a car. Sounds like Mikey to me!

Announcement? Humm, I can think of a few things I'd like. A big vent to clear out the smoke from the camp fires, hotels closer to the speedway, more gas stations so people don't run out of gas (yeah, I mean YOU Lady S!), merchandise haulers closer to the hospitality tent--should I go on? It's probably gonna be lights. I think with all the new Saturday night racing a track cannot afford to not have lights.

Lady S, I feel your pain, well, sorta. When Bobby Labonte and Jason Leffler were having such a bad run of luck there was nothing but praise, slaps on the back and attaboys from Tony and Zippy. Everyone in the Gibbs camp was rooting for each other. Did Chad Knaus really say that? I wonder if he has some sour grapes for Jeff and Robbie. I don't think Robbie always makes the right calls but stuff like that should stay at the garage. In the public eye if no one else is supporting your team you should always be able to count on your teammates. Unless, of course, there is an underlying story.

Since Lady K is an avid DEI fan I defer to her for the inside scoop. However, I still think the whole thing is weird! I, too, watch Hell's Kitchen. As much as I liked Elsie I don't think she has the stuff to run a kitchen. However, the other three. That's another story! How long do you think they would last on a pit crew? To deliberately not help someone???? It may be a competition but if you can't have respect for someone else's good fortunate you are nothing but a poor sport!

You know, I thought the whole thing with Mikey and Jr. was weird. The switching of the crews and cars -- just way weird. Can you hear Matt Kenseth saying to Kurt Busch "Hey, let's change things up, maybe it will help me in the points". No, it just isn't going to happen. I think that Jr. asked for the change and you know how it is, be careful what you wish for. Jr.'s downward spiral started happening and even though Mikey was finding trouble on the track he was running well. As much as I like Jr. I gotta stand behind Mikey. I'm sure over the years before he came to DEI he felt like an outsider looking in. He didn't have a win for so long and was never a real threat in a race. That can kind of mess up your self-esteem. So when changes took place this year at DEI it doesn't surprise me that Mikey went along with it. What did he have to lose? Then he starts clicking with Eury and wants to stay with him. But when he tries to get a commitment from DEI and Eury things get weird. I have to applaud Mikey for standing up for himself. He knows what he wants and he won't compromise. Where ever he ends up that team will be lucky to have him. He is a sponsor's dream machine! Ha! I made a funny!

Lady K - thanks for keeping us up to date on the Earnhardt 3 sightings! Individually they probably don't mean much but when you see them all together you just have to wonder "what up"! I read the deal about the no alcohol and smoking section at the track. How can they really enforce that? Besides, it's like sitting in a restaurant and you are seated next to the smoking section. The smoke is gonna blow over to you. Is there going to be a monitor that will check each bag and cooler for alcohol? I think it's a marketing hype that has no real enforcement.

I go to do some wash, fix some lunch, listen to the rain and come back to find that you guys have been jabbering the whole time I was gone! Lady S, did you get your nap? I started to but Tony has been leading so many laps. Down to 6 to go, can he hold on?

They said Jeff didn't want to be interviewed. Bliss, I don't know.

Okay, I had to laugh too when I saw Tony's hair. At least it was a distraction from the ever growing belly! Anyone who jiggles that much when they throw a football probably should throw one! Tony is not much for being a fashion plate. Maybe a new girl in his life?

So, let me make sure I got this right, a punch was thrown between Mike Bliss and Jeff Gordon. Since it happened away from the track there will be no NASCAR involvement (read penalties and fines). Let's imagine for a minute that those involved were, let's say ..... Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick.... do you really think NASCAR would not have penalized them or fined them? Puleeeeeaaaassssseeeee! Nope, no favoritism here. Yeah, right.

All this talk about who is taking over rides makes me queasy. Especially when I hear about young, inexperienced drivers (Jon Wood for example) going into prime rides (#2). There are plenty of seasoned drivers who could take these rides. Do the sponsors not realize that with youth you get inexperience and with inexperience you get bad results? I don't get it. If I was going to spend $20 million a year on a driver I would want to make sure he knew what he was doing. The only thing I've seen from Jon Wood is that he has the name of of his famous family. That's it.

I keep thinking about what I read about Mike Bliss's black eye. It's hard to believe that Jeff Gordon would have taken a swing at him but let's face it, Mike made a stupid move on the track that took Jeff out. Not just out of the race but possibly out of the chance to be in the Race for the Chase. I hope we get some good interviews before the race tomorrow!

Hey! What a great place to speak my mind!