I�ll get the Kyle Petty violation out of the way quickly, which was for unapproved jacking bolts � not really something that affects the performance of the car. It is a violation, and it must be dealt with. You nail them for 25 K, take the 25 owner/driver/team points and go on from there. The punishment fits the crime there. I�ll save my blasts of Petty Enterprises for the team�s actual performance, as they came dangerously close to going 0 for 3. The #43 car (Shane Hmiel) was out of provisionals and did not make the show. Likewise the #44 failed to make the show on speed, as the Christian Fittipaldi experiment is working even worse than expected. Kyle Petty also failed to qualify on speed, but was ahead just enough on owners points over Tony Raines to make the field. John Andretti must be one of the happiest guys around not having to deal with this crap anymore.

It is the other two violations that I wish to focus more on. First off, there is Michael Waltrip and his carburetor, which was confiscated (and placed on display for all to see in the NASCAR hauler) before ever taking the track for practice/qualifying. This was NASCAR�s answer to Sammy Sosa�s corked bat shattering all over the infield. In layman�s terms � the carb had larger openings than normal, a difference that is potentially huge at restrictor-plate tracks. Which begs the question, how many times has the #15 team (as well as the #8 team) have done this and not be caught??? There are also other allegations that have been made on the DEI teams, including one that had Junior�s Busch team changing the position of a fender after it went through tech inspection. Got to hand it to the Willy Mo Posse, they sure know how to bend the rules. I imagine the #15 team wound up being happy that they were only docked 25 points.

And if you thought that was bad, then there�s what the Morgan-McClure #4 team attempted to get away with. Not much technical knowledge is needed to understand this one. Someone inserted an �air-pressure� device in an attempt to expand the 13-gallon fuel cell. The crew member went too far and the cell actually �blew up like a balloon� and wound up in the shape of a football. Maybe the Kodak team should had just spared the labor and stuck in a 22-gallon cell. I�m sure they would had gotten the benefit of the doubt when the #4 doesn�t have to pit until Lap 65. That was about as blatant as a PGA tour pro having his caddie carry 16 or 17 clubs for a tournament round, so blatant that it is actually laughable. As a double-whammy, stretching the fuel cell to that extent is also a safety issue, making it more suspectable to explosion.

So I guess we were watching the Firecracker 400 and a race at Atlanta or Chicago broke out, complete with the likes of Rosch cars along with Bobby LaBonte fighting for the win in what turned out to be a fuel-mileage race. You can tell NASCAR was caught off guard when all they had in regards to Biffle for sale on the website afterwards was old #60 Busch Series souvenirs. First off, has anyone from the Pacific Northwest ever won a Cup race before??? I think you could find more foreigners who have won a race than anyone from the states of Washington or Oregon. As much as an �upset� that Greg Biffle�s win has been called in many circles, one also has to remember the fickle nature of plate racing. True, Junior and Waltrip have still combined for eight out of the last 11 wins on plate tracks. But then there are the other three winners, Biffle, Ward Burton, and Bobby Hamilton. That�s right, I said Bobby Hamilton. Also, do you know that there have now been eight different winners of the July race, a list that doesn�t even include Dale Earnhardt. The list includes Biffle, Waltrip, Junior, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, John frickin� Andretti, and Sterling Marlin � who won in both 1995 and �96. Going further back we have a 1994 win out of Jimmy Spencer. Dale Sr.�s last Daytona July race win was in 1993. And if I haven�t checkmated you with the point that almost anyone can win these races, remember that Derrike Cope is a Daytona 500 champ.

So how much does Biffle stock rise with the Daytona win??? At least for now, not a whole lot. As different as Daytona and Bristol Motor speedway are, the #16 team broke through in both events for exactly the same reason - fortunate pit sequencing followed by great fuel mileage on a long green-flag run. A very rare green-flag run at Bristol left Biffle as one of only five cars on the lead lap. Other than those two events, Biffle has been a steady middle-of-the-pack racer. But before chalking up this run strictly to fuel mileage keep in mind that Biffle was tied for the fastest speed during Happy Hour. And here�s another point to consider before selling Rosch Racing short on the plate tracks � Matt Kenseth, like Dale Jr. had to pit in the waning laps. Junior finished seventh while Kenseth placed sixth, while Jeff Burton followed up his previous win here with a second this time around.

But the bigger question is whether DEI is still the top dog on plate tracks??? The DEI take is that they weren�t out-run, just done in by fuel mileage. While that point is true, it still must be noted that Kevin Harvick started on the front row and dominated the first 57 laps. Teammate Robby Gordon was also running strong, but got collected when Kurt Busch cut a tire right in front of him, with Gordon getting rear-ended by Mike Wallace after valiantly attempting to check up. A tag-team between Waltrip/Junior and Robby/Harvick in the waning laps could had been quite interesting. The #15 and #8 did show some vulnerability and had trouble hooking up with each other � especially when running up front. However Robby and Harvick have not been getting along all that great recently and it would had been interesting to see if they would had worked together.

Gordon was involved in a bizarre incident late in the race after he returned to get some more lap in, when the hood flew off and went over the catchfence and into the crowd. One spectator was injured while others scrummed after the hood as if it was a Barry Bonds home run ball. According to the #31 camp, the hood was properly sealed and tethered (per regulations) before returning to the track. Had the incident occurred a few laps earlier, and had the hood landed in the ballpark, the caution would had flown getting Junior and Waltrip the final chance they desperately needed.

Now for some other capsules from the 400�

Bobby LaBonte � OOOHHHH, SO CLOSE!!!!! Had a great chance to steal the win from Biffle but ran out of gas with half a lap to go, you can�t fault anyone for that when you come that close. The good news was LaBonte was able to coast and still finish fifth.

Matt Kenseth � If you told Matt that he would come away with a 14th and a 6th from Sonoma/Daytona, he would had probably taken it. No wait, he might be inclined to hold out for at least one win. Still, considering not everything went his way (including a critical mistake on pit road) � Kenseth has proven he is very capable of winning on a plate track.

Tony Stewart � Also ran through pit road, and his mistake was a little more costly than Kenseth�s as Stewart finishes 21st. Stewart has not re-upped with JGR as of yet (unlike B. LaBonte) and thus has made the Silly Season report. I�m not expecting anything shocking from that front in the near future however.

Ryan Newman � The good news was Newman kept the #12 in one piece all night � but like Stewart wound up on the tail end of the lead lap in 22nd.

Terry LaBonte � Continues his resurgence running up front with his brother and finishing a season best fourth.

Steve Park � Won his second pole of the year. Got collected in the Busch wreck, but at least it wasn�t his doing this time, although he tried his best just before that.

Kyle Petty � After all the teams qualifying problems, Petty put in a surprisingly good run and was actually challenging for at top ten before running out of gas on the final lap � resulting in a 23rd place finish.

Jimmy Spencer � 12th place finish, always seems to do well in the July event.

Ricky Rudd � Finishes third, his best result in ages.

Greg Biffle became the 14th different winner in 17 races this season. Although I was doubting it early on in the season, it now appears 20 different winners is a strong possibility. The list of those yet to win in 2003 is headed by Kevin Harvick, Sterling Marlin, and Mark Martin � expect at least two of those to find the Winners Circle before the year is out. Just below those three are Jeff Burton, Rusty Wallace, and Elliott Sadler � look for 1 or 2 of those three to win this year. That would get us up to 18 winners, which would tie a record. Not to mention countless other drivers (T. LaBonte, Johnny Benson, Ward Burton, Ricky Rudd, Jamie McMurry) who have shown in recent years very capable of winning on any given Sunday. And I�m not even counting road course pinch hitters, a Jamie McMurray-like substitute driver, or a fluke winner out of nowhere late in the year. Just think, that would account for nearly one-half of all regular drivers � how�s that for parity. Also Biffle becomes the 15th first-time winner since 2000 (Biffle, Park, R. Gordon, Junior, Benson, Newman, Waltrip, Kenseth, Sadler, Harvick, Craven, McMurray, Johnson, Bush, Nadeau).

For those who play the CDM Checkered Flag Challenge (salary cap game) the most used drivers for the first week of Circuit 2 was as follows (out of 750+ entries)�

Junior 632, Harvick 608, Waltrip 569 (with advanced knowledge of the probable 25-point penalty, which is assessed in the game as well), McMurray 456 (cheap play), Marlin 394, J. Gordon 390, Johnson 375, R. Gordon 283, Newman 276, Sadler 262, Casey Mears 209 (very cheap play), B. LaBonte 194, Busch 166. Biffle was only started on 73 rosters.

Eight drivers are started who must fit under a $10 million cap. Points are awarded corresponding to the actual number of Cup points earned in the race (- penalties). Additional points are also given to drivers based on their qualifying order (43 points for pole position, 42 for 2nd, 41 for 3rd, 24 for 20th, etc.) � that explains why most did not start Busch last week.

Obviously, there is not much to go on with this race in regards to previous history � except that Kevin Harvick has won the first two races here. The upcoming schedule features several tracks with some similar characteristics. Chicago is followed by New Hampshlre, then Pocono and Indianapolis which are both flat 2 � milers. After the road race at Watkins Glen comes Michigan � which is in the Pocono/Indy mode. So I would like to look at drivers with a chance to do roll in the next several races, drivers who you may be able to leave in a fantasy lineup for the entire duration. And that�s where Harvick�s name comes in again, in 2002 Happy won the point championship for this six week stretch, with finishes of 1st, 9th, 6th, 5th, 14th, 3rd, and 4th. Bill Elliott is also rounding into form as he did at this time last season, so we�ll see if he can come close to duplicating his Pocono/Indy double.

Also, do not go without Ryan Newman the next six weeks. Last year Newman started a stretch that saw the #12 go 5th, 5th, 4th, 2nd and 2nd. Newman would also go on to post his first career win in the second New Hampshire race and should be a factor in the Michigan 400-mler as well. Bobby LaBonte, Matt Kenseth, and Kurt Busch should also be among the top drivers as well at tracks where pit strategy and fuel mileage will be huge factors. This could also be a stretch where Dale Jarrett could turn it around, but I'm going to stay away from all non-Rosch Fords (and their out-dated 1997 model) unless they get some rule book help before the end of the year.

Here is my top 30 for the week�