PLAY-IN RACE

Jeff Green v. Terry LaBonte - Not a bad matchup, with Green (19th place finish) prevailing over Texas Terry (24th).

IN BRACKETVILLE, BUSCH WON EASILY...

DICK TRICKLE BRACKET

#1 Dale Jr. over #8 Jeff Green - Junior dominated the early portion of the Darlington race and advances easily.

#5 Jimmy Spencer over #4 Jeff Burton - Spencer had a tremendous qualifying run in fourth, and was predicted to finish fifth at the end of a Lee Spencer (I knew they were related!!!!!) pre-race article. Jimmy could not keep it up for the entire race and finished two laps down, but that was more than enough to dispatch the #99, who blew yet another motor.

#3 Elliott Sadler over #6 Ricky Craven � On Sunday, the #32 garnered the race win, the EA Sports �Move of the Race�, the Pit Strategy Award, the �Picking-Up Places Award�, the Performance Driver of the Race Award, and the Bloomin� Favorite Driver Award. But none of this gets Craven even past the first round. Results for this round are stricktly based on what happened in the first half of the race. While Ricky was obviously having a fine run early, it still falls short against the #38 who qualified on the pole and was in the top five most of the day.

#7 Bill Elliott over #2 Jimmie Johnson - BRACKET BUSTER!!!!! JimmieJohn went down a lap early and was not a factory all day while Elliott finished ninth for one of his best days in quite some time!!!!

CARL LONG BRACKET

#1 Jeff Gordon over #8 Robby Gordon - The #24 looked was a prime contender to win his sixth Darlington race for most of the day, and was no match for Robby.

#4 Michael Waltrip over #5 Ricky Rudd � Despite having to go to the rear of the field, Mikie justifies his high seeding with a hard earned win over Rudd, who had a solid day himself, finishing 15th after taking a provisional.

#3 Mark Martin over #6 Ward Burton - Many pools had Ward springing the upset but, the Viagra Little Blue Miracle has it's best day since Daytona.

#2 Ryan Newman over #7 Jamie McMurray - Ryan was thought he and his car were horrible in qualifying. And that was after placing second!!!!! Ryan needs to worry about the longer runs, as he also went a lap down early but would run strong after that to place 14th, good enough to beat the #42 which has all the looks of a R&D car thus far.

SHAWNA ROBINSON BRACKET

#1 Matt Kenseth over #8 Casey Mears - This looked like a potential upset early, as Casey was running top ten while Kenseth was staggered by being involved in an early wreck. But Kenseth rallies to an impressive eighth place showing while Mears fades.

#5 Joe Nemecheck over #4 Johnny Benson - NASCAR's version of Alabama v. Indiana, does one of them really have to win??? Joe actually leads three laps to finish 13th, besting Benson's 25th.

#3 Dale Jarrett over #6 Jeremy Mayfield - Jarrett was horrible in qualifying and took a provisional, but led seven early laps and finished 18th in easily dispatching Mayfield.

#7 Greg Biffle over #2 Bobby LaBonte - BRACKET BUSTER!!!!! Many felt the #18 would follow up his Atlanta win with a similar effort here, but an early wreck makes Bobby a first-round casualty.


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HIDEO FUKUYAMA BRACKET

#1 Tony Stewart over #8 Kyle Petty � An unspectacular, but solid tenth place showing gets Tony easily through to the next round.

#5 Rusty Wallace over #4 Kevin Harvick � Neither was much to write home about, Wallace gets a 15th.

#6 Steve Park over #3 Sterling Marlin � The #40 has yet another early day, allowing Park to advance.

#2 Kurt Busch over #7 Dave Blaney � Should had been a Final Four race!!!!! Blaney has a career best third place finish, but is out-trumped by the #97, despite blowing an engine in practice that forced the #97 to the back. Blaney�s low seed was easily the selection committee�s biggest blunder.


Now on to the Sweet 16�

#1 Dale Jr. over #5 Jimmy Spencer
#3 Elliott Sadler over #7 Bill Elliott

#1 Jeff Gordon over #4 Michael Waltrip
#3 Mark Martin over #2 Ryan Newman

#1 Matt Kenseth over #5 Joe Nemecheck
#7 Greg Biffle over #3 Dale Jarrett

#1 Tony Stewart over #5 Rusty Wallace
#2 Kurt Busch over #6 Steve Park

Notice all four #1 seeds have made it to the regional finals, along with a #2, two #3�s and a #7�

REGIONAL FINALS

#3 Elliott Sadler over #1 Dale Jr. � A controversial call, but Sadler gets the decision since he was in the top three until very late.

#1 Jeff Gordon over #3 Mark Martin � It was the #24�s race to lose before pancaking the wall late.

#1 Matt Kenseth over #7 Greg Biffle - #17 shows he�s still one the bosses in Rosch-land.

#2 Kurt Busch over #1 Tony Stewart � Three Fords v. one Chevy in Final Four

FINAL FOUR

#3 Elliott Sadler over #1 Jeff Gordon � The Lady in Black bit both in the closing laps, at least Sadler was able to finish on the lead lap.

#2 Kurt Busch over #1 Matt Kenseth - Despite alleged Chevy domination, these two Rosch drivers have shown the most so far.

CHAMPIONSHIP

#2 Kurt Busch over #3 Elliott Sadler � No photo finish (nor power steering) needed here.

NIT DRIVERS

As is the case in hoops, a couple of the NIT drivers prove they were probably capable of winning a game or two in the big dance. Jerry Nadeau had an incredible qualifying run and started third. Despite an early spin Jerry recovers to jump back into the top ten before an oil pump problem relegates the #01 to seven laps down, finishing 35th. But then there was Mike Skinner who wound up finishing 11th, his second best finish in his two years with Morgan-McClure. Ken Schrader (17th), and Kenny Wallace (23rd) were the other top NIT finishers. Everyone else performed about as expected � including Brett Bodine (31st), Larry Foyt (32nd), John Andretti (38th), Jack Sprague (40th), Tony Raines (41st), and Todd Bodine (43rd).

20 WINNERS THIS YEAR???

The great thing about racing is that there are no blowouts, and the crowd never leaves early. On this Sunday Ricky Craven would lead all of one lap, but it was the only one that mattered. As Craven and Busch skidded across the line it was hard to believe what I was seeing. And the great thing was it seemed both drivers had a blast with it, and had no hard feelings.

I usually don�t pay much attention to many of the ramblings of Darrell Waltrip, but I found his comment about the record of 19 different drivers winning in a single season �being blown out of the water� interesting. True, a different driver has one each of the five races (at this time last season, Sterling Marlin had two). But it�s going to hard to get 20 different drivers to Victory Lane. You have to take into account that Matt Kenseth will win his race-per-month or so, and wind up with 5-6 wins. Then there are the plate races Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip will end up splitting. That leaves 17 more drivers to win the remaining 26 events. I don�t even think NASCAR can manage that much parity.

But my little tournament proves just how many drivers are capable of winning a race these days. The following drivers have either won already this year, or are better than average bets to win at least one race�

• R. Wallace, Martin, Dale Jr., Elliott, Benson, Newman, M. Waltrip, Biffle, Kenseth, B. Labonte, Stewart, J. Gordon, Harvick, R. Gordon (road course or plate track), Craven, Sadler, Marlin, McMurray, Johnson, Jarrett, Busch, J. Burton

That would be 22 drivers right there, now here are eight drivers a �punchers chance� of pulling off a win in one race.

• Nadeau (nearly won in Sonoma last year), Park, Spencer, Rudd (Pocono�s his best bet), W. Burton, Nemecheck (Atlanta), J. Green, Blaney

That leaves only 12 full-time drivers who I don�t feel have a realistic chance of winning this season�

• Sprague, Skinner, T. LaBonte, Foyt, Mayfield (who has won before), K. Wallace, Mears, Andretti, Petty, Schrader, T. Bodine, Raines

Of that final list I will confess that Mayfield and Mears are capable of proving me wrong, but the planets would really have to be in alignment, in my opinion.

As if those 30 who have a shot of winning on any given weekend is not good enough � there are also the road course/plate track specialists (Ron Fellows, P.J Jones, Scott Pruett, Geoff Bodine) or a potential pinch-hitter (Jamie McMurray last year) who could step into a quality ride and win a race. And don�t forget Mike Wallace, perhaps the best free agent driver available � who got a couple of unthinkable top tens with the #14 car last year along with a second place finish in the #12 late in 2001.

I don�t know if you�ll see 20 different winners, but the competition has never been better. More wild races are sure to follow...

BRISTOL PREVIEW

If it matters to anyone who�s counting, this week marks the 2,000th race at the big-time level in the history of the sport. Which means that Ricky Rudd has participated in 35 percent of the races, Dale Jarrett in 25 percent, and Bristol Motor Speedway in just over 4 percent. As recently as 1996, BMS only had a capacity of 71,000 � an off-season expansion will swell that up to over 160,000. That makes the track the third largest venue on the circuit, following Indianapolis and Charlotte. The track is also being considered for a future Virginia Tech/Tennessee football clash. Don�t know how they would be able to handle that logistically but it would no doubt smash all existing football attendance records. Suites at the track were also used as classrooms during the off-season after a �black mold� substance closed down a local high school.

On a more somber note, this race marks the 10th anniversity of the loss of then-defending Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, whose private plane crashed en route to Bristol that year.

My top 30 for the week is as follows�

1. Kurt Busch � It�s getting to the point that you have to mention him in at least the same breath as the #20 and #24 on a weekly basis. Followed-up his breakthrough win in the spring with a sixth-place showing in August.



2. Jeff Gordon � Like him or not, this is one of his favorite yards with three top-fives and a win over the past two seasons.



3. Rusty Wallace � Was Tiger Woods like dominant here not long ago, sweeping both of the 2000 races. Since then Rusty�s gone 7th, 5th, 9th and 2nd.



4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. � Has to be considered with the other three, as he�s as hot as anyone the past three weekends and had a 3rd and 4th here last year.



5. Matt Kenseth � Finished 5th and 6th last year, look for him to earn his fifth top-ten is six starts this week.



6. Tony Stewart � Not one of his better tracks, but won back in 2000. Look for the #20 to get his fifth top-ten as well.



7. Jimmy Spencer � This is the weekend Mr. Excitement is must see TV. Will be the favorite in the Busch race and finished 2nd and 8th in Cup last year. And there�s always the possibility of post-race extra-curricular�s.



8. Ricky Rudd � Not only does he have a pair of top five�s and three top tens over the past two years, the #21 took the checkers with Elliott Sadler in this race two years ago.



9. Kevin Harvick � Speaking of extra-curricular�s. A pair of top fives and three top tens the past two seasons. Team shook things up this week by hiring Todd Berrier as Crew Chief. Harvick and Berrier teamed up to win the 2001 Busch Championship.



10. Bobby LaBonte � One of his better tracks last year, placing fifth and ninth.



11. Elliott Sadler � That 2001 win has to still be worth something.



12. Jimmie Johnson � Can I repeat his rant from last August: �Just as in every other form of racing, Robby Gordon is a Moron!!!!!� Finished seventh in this race last year when no one had a chance to collect him.



13. Ricky Craven � Coming off win last week and finished 13th and 16th here in �02.



14. Dave Blaney � And for how many years has the #77 been �turning the corner.



15. Mark Martin � Usually not huge success here, but had an 11th in this race last year.



16. Dale Jarrett � Never has been a DJ track, his most recent finishes here are 16th, 28th, and 29th.



17. Michael Waltrip � Nice season so far, but be careful here, as he was 22nd and 30th last year.



18. Ryan Newman � This is not Newman�s track, who placed 36th and 37th in �02. But I�m guessing he�s already used up one of his tests here, so a breakthrough is very possible.



19. Greg Biffle � This is where Biff pissed off Harvick in the Busch race last year.



20. Sterling Marlin � Did have a seventh last August, but this team is in a monster slump.



21. Jerry Nadeau � Give the NIT champ some love, especially since he placed eighth in this race last year.



22. Jeff Burton � Biffle is even a better bet at this point.



23. Kyle Petty � Give the #45 a look this week, Kyle�s most recent finishes here are 15th and 12th.



24. John Andretti � Don�t ask me how this happened, but John was runner-up to Sadler two years ago.



25. Jeff Green � He�s due for his monthly good run. Short-tracks are usually his forte.



26. Bill Elliott � Went 17th and 21st last year, nothing special.



27. Steve Park � Had a pair of top ten�s back in �01.



28. Ward Burton � A top five back in �01.



29. Jack Sprague � They do call him �One-Track Jack�, and this is that one track.



30. Terry LaBonte � Short-tracks are where the #5 is still occasionally a factor.

And there is that another list, just for Bristol and that is those drivers most likely to find themselves in the middle of trouble and/or controversy at some point this weekend (Busch or Cup race). That reads as follows�

1. Spencer (damn lapped drivers), 2. R. Gordon, 3. Harvick, 4. Busch, 5. Junior, 6. Stewart (he�s due), 7. Park, 8. Rusty, 9. Biffle, 10. T. Bodine