But then there is Dale Jr�s stunning proclamation that he is a �free agent�. Previously it was thought that he was locked up until 2007, but now says that he never signed the contract. Vince McMahon couldn�t right a storyline not good. That�s not just a shocker. That�s a NASCAR has a major announcement on Friday kind of shocker. It�s a Speed Racer leaves the Mach 5 type of shocker. Or a Robby has won more than Jeff this year kind of shocker � or even better yet, that�s A SEABISCUT IS AT THE FRONT DOOR AND WANT�S SOME CHEESE CURDS KIND OF SHOCKER!!!!!

Of course it�s more than interesting that all of this is coming up considering that there just happens to be an opening at Richard Childress Racing. Last week I reported on the possibility of Ward Burton landing there. Now don�t get me wrong � WB would be a nice addition as a third driver for RCR, and a mild upgrade over the likes of Jeff Green and Steve Park.

However Junior would be the ultimate gem to latch on for any racing organization, especially for RCR. Then the next question would be who the sponsor would be along with car #. Junior�s sponsorship with Budweiser, possibly the most lucrative in all of Cup racing goes through the 2004 season, although I imagine he could get out of that if he got out of the DEI contract.

And then there is the matter of the sacred #3. With all respect to Kevin Harvick, it is believed that only Junior could ever be anointed to drive that number again. And as far as the Goodwrench car is concerned � it is notable how the #29 has gone from an all-white car to showing more red and black over the past three years. It still does not have the look of the old #3 scheme but is getting there. It seems that RCR is working gradually to returning to a predominately black scheme, if not necessarily with the #3.

Further muddling things from the corporate side was the announcement this week from Time Warner that AOL (current sponsor of the #30 RCR car) will no longer be included in TW�s corporate name. Should Junior make the move to RCR I see the following possibilities�

• Junior gets the Goodwrench car and takes the #3. That would leave the Budweiser sponsorship for Harvick while keeping the #29. If the Bud sponsorship remained at DEI another high profile sponsor would step up for Harvick. Let�s look at it this way, Harvick will not be driving the Friendly�s Restaurant Chevrolet Monte Carlo.



• Harvick keeps the #29 (with or without Goodwrench). Junior takes the predominately black color scheme (with or without Goodwrench), but not the #3. Instead, Junior simply adopts the #30 with the same font as the old #3.

Jeff Gordon does merit some credit this past weekend. He did negotiate 988 consecutive turns in successful fashion on the road course at Watkins Glen. Don�t think that isn�t difficult. You try it on X-Box some time. 988 twisting, winding turns over 2 � hours without reaching for a beer or being pestered by your spouse, kids, pets, or parents. And no you can�t hit the pause button neither � no cheating!!!!! 988 turns in a row, without incident.

Unfortunately, the Watkins Glen race consisted of 990 turns � and Jeff Gordon managed to screw up both the first and final turns. The #24 won the pole, but Gordon�s lead lasted all the way until arriving in Turn 1 (a very sharp right hander) where he was tapped by surprising #2 qualifier Greg Biffle. As it turned out, Incident 1 costs Gordon enough track position over the afternoon to eventually lead to Incident 2. After battling all day to move back into contention, Gordon was running third in the final laps. But then Gordon reports to the crew just after taking the white flag that he was running out of gas. What happened next brought joy to many in Earnhardt nation, especially those who paid big bucks for prime seats behind Turn 11. The #24 made it through the carousal and was reaching Turn 10 before becoming a moving chicane. Fourth place Dale Jr. was the first to deal with Gordon, tapping the #24 before moving around him. Then as Gordon coasted through the final turn, the #24 was rear-ended by Kevin Harvick before being punted into the outside retaining wall.

Gordon would had still managed a decent finish if he was able to cross the start-finish line, but was unable to refire � especially bad considering that 32 cars were still on the lead lap. The final lap incident virtually ends Gordon�s chances of winning the Cup title, leaving him 396 points behind Matt Kenseth. Meanwhile, most of the post race talk centered around who, if anyone was at fault. Harvick and Earnhardt would place the blame on Gordon, saying he should had gotten out of the groove � no easy task on a narrow road course. Harvick rubs it on Gordon even further, noting where he would eventually place in the final standings. Gordon meanwhile seemed a little more upset with Biffle over the opening lap spin than with Junior or Harvick at the end. At the end of the day, this probably gets chalked up as �one of those deals�. Incidentally, Gordon and Biffle also clashed at Chicago a few weeks earlier � so those two bear watching in the future.

There were many other twists and turns (literally and figurately) over the course of the afternoon. Here�s a look at some of the combatants�

Robby Gordon � One of four drivers to instinctively pit just as Rusty Wallace ends up in the bunker on Lap 51. Robby has enough gas to go the rest of the way to earn a sweep of the road events, and replaces Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart as king of the road courses.

Jimmie Johnson � Earns his road course merit badge with a fourth place finish, getting around Jeff Gordon without incident on the final lap between Dale Jr. and Harvick.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. � Looks like Ron Fellows showed him the ropes well. Michael Waltrip also has another quiet solid day in 13th.

Kevin Harvick � Had to overcome a lot to earn a top five finish, including a near-disastrous fire on pit road.

Ward Burton � Sixth place on a road course for Ward, I would had never expected that!!!!!

Dale Jarrett � Slowly getting it together with a seventh place showing, not to mention he is the defending champ of this week�s race in Michigan. DJ also denied rumors of moving elsewhere this week, indicating that he wants to return RYR to their previous level rather than jumping ship.

Matt Kenseth � Huge hurdle cleared on the road to the championship. Eighth place is a fantastic finish, especially considering Kenseth had a late off-course excursing � barely keeping the #17 out of the sand trap.

Ryan Newman � Ninth place finish does not tell the entire story of the weekend, as Newman was involved in yet another spectacular crash in practice and had to go to a backup car.

Mark Martin � Decent showing for the one-time Watkins Glen king, as he earns his second consecutive top-ten finish (10th).

Tony Stewart � 11th somewhat disappointing for the defending race champ, but not bad considering the #20 changed a motor and was forced to start from the back.

Jamie McMurray � Not horrible for a first-timer at the Glen, qualified 29th and placed 22nd after being on the wrong end of pit strategy roulette. Look for McMurray to pick it back up this week at Michigan.

Jimmy Spencer � Already on record for suggesting that Sonoma and the Glen should be converted to missile defense testing ranges, Spencer laid the gauntlet on Boris Said and Ron Fellows during the week, suggesting that the road aces try their luck at Spencer�s personal domain at Bristol. Ironically, Spencer would have a tremendous road course run (for him) placing 23rd and beating both Said and Fellows.

Greg Biffle � Was turning impressive laps all weekend and did well for most of race day as well, but was one of several drivers to go off course in the later laps, eventually placing 30th.

Ron Fellows � Exhibit A why I�m not crazy about picking the road aces. Contended much of the day but an unscheduled late stop dropped him to 38th.

Boris Said � And here�s exhibit B. Boris qualifies 10th but had to change a motor and start at the rear. Boris moved slowly up but was punted in mid race while amazingly the yellow flag did not come out. The #01 would struggle mightily with a damaged car after that point � resulting in a 39th place finish.

Christian Fittipaldi � Wonder what George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson thought of the 40th place finish from the #44 New York Yankees Dodge this weekend. Perhaps a Tampa Bay Devil Rays scheme would have been more appropriate. Fittipaldi gamely returns to the race after an early crash, which earned him a trip to the hospital later on due to CO2 poisoning. EMS personnel also sensed that Christian appeared dehydrated and asked what he had been drinking during the race. Give the man a break, his one race Busch deal with Mike�s Hard Lemonade was two years ago already!!!!!

Scott Pruett � I told you this may end up being the best road play!!!!! Pruett avoided the pitfalls of Said and Fellows and winds up with his second straight highly successful Glen run � with a career best second place finish.

Disturbing news from NASCAR founder Bill France this week in reaction to Matt Kenseth�s domination of the points race. In an interview with USA Today, France indicated that ideally the point race should be decided on the final lap of the final race, and to look for a new point system to soon be in place. I�m just worried that it might be something gimmicky � like triple points in the final race or something. Incidently, if 25 bonus points were awarded to race winners, it would change nothing with Kenseth, Gordon, and Dale Jr. who have each won one race this year. In fact such a system would result in no changes among the top ten drivers.