WATKINS GLEN RECAP

Lots of revealing items just in qualifying. Ricky Rudd squelched concerns about his possible lame-duck status by grabbing the pole. Ricky is still in the title chase, so I do not see Robert Yates Racing holding back any resources in the foreseeable future. Michael Waltrip proves himself as a road force by qualifying second, and Tony Stewart emerged from a tumultuous week to grab the #3 position. Bill Elliott continues his momentum of recent weeks by starting fourth, while road ace Robby Gordon checks in at the #7 position. More telling however, is who didn�t qualify well. Jeff Gordon qualified a disappointing 23rd, Just in case anyone still had doubts that Jeff Gordon simply does not have the resources as other years. Also, road ringer Scott Pruett got a pinch-hitting appearance for Jimmy Spencer in the #41 car, and proceeded to qualify 14th. Meanwhile Spencer was given a new third-car (#42) for Chip Ganassi � in which he did not come close to making the show. Since the #42 had no owners points to fall back on for a provisional, Spencer would miss his second race of the season. Another road ace who would become a huge factor on Sunday was IRL veteran P.J. Jones, who was given the keys of the #14 for the weekend. And another noteworthy no-show would be perennial road ace Ron Fellows, who was not able to procure sponsorship this time around. Going into the race on Sunday, there would be a star-studded list of drivers changing engines including Kevin Harvick (qualified 6th), Jimmie Johnson (12th), and point leader Sterling Marlin (28th). That is very noteworthy considering how hard it is to gain positions on road courses.

Robby Gordon would immediately become a factor on race day, starting the 90-lap race by outbreaking both Ryan Newman and Bill Elliott to grab fourth going into Turn 1 (where most passes are made here). Gordon would then get Tony Stewart on the inner-loop (backstretch) for third, then get Michael Waltrip on the carousal to grab second by the end of Lap 1. Robbie then stalks down Ricky Rudd, then outbreaks him going into Turn 1 to grab the lead on Lap 4. Meanwhile Tony Stewart makes his own move, passing Elliott, and then getting Waltrip on the inner-loop to grab third. Stewart would then get Rudd for second on Lap 9. Meanwhile a battle between Elliott, Newman and Matt Kenseth develops on the backstretch going into the carousal, which at that point Kenseth attempts to outbreak Newman � and winds up spinning to becoming the first of several drivers to wind up in the dreaded �kitty litter�, and needs a tow which would cost him a lap as the caution flies for the first time. Kenseth would run well the rest of the day, but with no chance of ever getting the lap back. Many drivers running back in the field pit at this point, a list headed by Dale Jr. and Sterling Marlin. The strategy of the #40 team is to pit opposite of the competitors, and Marlin would pit in 15.9. Tony Stewart tries to beat Robbie Gordon on the Lap 13 restart, but the #20 and the #31 make contact in Turn 1, with Stewart wisely backing off at that point. Both cars would sustain minor damage, but would not effect the performance of either car. In fact, Gordon reports to the team that the #31 is just �cruising�. Ricky Rudd drops from third to fifth on the restart, amidst fears of a tire going down, fears that would go unfounded. Big movers at this point include Scott Pruett (6th), P.J. Jones (10th), and Jeff Gordon (11th). Mark Martin and Jeff Burton are the first to make green-flag stops on Lap 25, most drivers would not soon after � with the strategy being able to make only one more stop. This round of stops would turn the field upside down for a brief while with the likes of Casey Atwood, Dale Jr., Sterling Marlin, and Jerry Nadeau now running up front. Joe Nemechek causes the second caution on Lap 35, getting off course around the same spot as Kenseth earlier. Nemechek is able to get through the sand trap, but with too much momentum and eventually damages the front make contact with the foam barrier. At this point a huge development takes place as Sterling Marlin has dropped a cylinder (internal problem) for the second straight week. Marlin would stay out so he could lead a lap (for the second straight week), but it would again end up being a long day for the #40. Junior 20.9, Mayfield 16.9, Jerry Nadeau 18.6.

Tony Stewart starts to take control of the race at this point, and flies off the restart as the remainder of the field jams up behind him. Scott Pruett outbreaks a couple of competitors for fourth, but is bumped from behind by Michael Waltrip. Jeff Gordon gets a couple of tires off road and loses ground, meanwhile Kevin Harvick makes an unscheduled stop (tire going down). Robbie Gordon is tracking down Stewart by Lap 49. Jeff Green comes in to pit on Lap 50, crew chief Todd Barrier thinks the #30 can make it till the end, a strategy that has apparently worked for Green in previous BGN events here. At this point, Kurt Busch completely eradicates Upstate New York from the West Nile virus by completely blowing his engine off the carousal, leaving engine pieces all over the track on the way to pit road, leading to a lengthy caution. Most cars pit at this point, with most crew chiefs feeling that they will still be a �few laps short�. The lengthy caution, along with subsequent caution � would help most in that matter though. Six drivers do not pit, a group led by Rusty Wallace, who feels that no one will be able to make it till the end. Bobby Hamilton restarts in first with 33 to go, Ryan Newman outbreaks everyone for second, followed by Stewart, P.J. Jones, Ricky Rudd, Scott Pruett, and Robby Gordon. Jeff Gordon is sitting back in 11th. Rudd gets sideways off the inner-loop with 28 laps left, and makes contact with P.J. Jones. The tire at this point is visibly rubbing on the #14, but would otherwise prove not to a factor. Mike Skinner blows up on Lap 64, in virtually the same spot as Busch, bringing out the caution. None of the leaders pit now, or for the rest of the day. Newman restarts in first, followed by a great duel between Stewart and P.J. Jones. P.J momentarily outbreaks Stewart into Turn 1, but Tony pulls a cross-over to reassume the position. Scott Pruett is still in hot pursuit running fourth. Jeff Burton is running in the top 10, but has very visible fender damage from some earlier contact, Burton would continue to run well however. Tony Stewart would get the last lead change of the afternoon, passing Ryan Newman with 18 laps to go. Ryan is still running great with a former �show car�, that is now without power steering. Rusty Wallace is apparently running without power steering as well. Something appears to break (drive shaft???) on Dale Jr.�s machine in the frontstretch, and the #8 would ultimately lose control and wind up in the Turn 1 sandtrap with 15 to go. It would take six laps before repairs are made to get Junior back out. Some cars running towards the rear duck in to pit.

Tony Stewart jumps yet another restart, while several cars put heavy pressure on the second place Ryan Newman. Dale Jarrett goes off the pace and is forced to pit. Steve Park also retires after a day full of mechanical problems. Ricky Craven then goes off course and into the Turn 1 kitty litter, again bring out the caution. Robby Gordon bangs Rudd to get position racing back to the stripe, ruffling some feathers. Stewart jumps out on Newman yet again on the restart, and pulls away with nine laps to go. Meanwhile Robby Gordon is desperately trying to gain position over P.J. Jones. Contract between Pruett and Newman, as P.J. attempts to make it three-wide on the frontstretch. Robby Gordon passes both P.J. and Pruitt to move into third, while Pruett slips into sixth behind Ricky Rudd. Stewart appears headed to an easy three-second win when Kenny Wallace simply loses it into Turn 1, flying through the sand trap and making spectacular rear end contact with the foam barrier. Apparently the brake rotor broke on the frontstretch, leaving some small grass fires just in front of the start-finish line. In a separate development, Terry LaBonte completely cuts down a tire on the carousal. NASCAR decides at this point to bring out the dreaded red flag, which will bring a restart with one lap to go. As the cars were waiting to restart, Stewart�s team is worrying about a �vapor-lock� problem cropping up, which is what apparently doomed the #20 in the waning laps last week. NASCAR warns drivers not to jump the restart point going into the last lap. Stewart steps it up into gear as soon as the pace car pulls off, far before the designated restart cone. Of course no penalty, and if there was Stewart would be forgiven for punching anyone out. Stewart wins easily, followed by Newman, Robby Gordon, P.J. Jones, Ricky Rudd, and Scott Pruett. Rounding out the top ten was Jeff Burton, Todd Bodine, Michael Waltrip (hung onto his fine starting position all day), and Mark Martin. Other notables include John Andretti (11th), Jeff Green (12th), Boris Said (a solid 13th), Kevin Harvick (14th), Jimmie Johnson (16th), Rusty Wallace (17th), Bill Elliott (21st), Jeff Gordon (an alarming 22nd after being forced to pit under green late), Sterling Marlin (30th), Matt Kenseth (33rd), Ricky Craven (34th), Dale Jr. (35th), Dale Jr. (37th), and Kurt Busch (41st). No one can still pass Sterling Marlin in the point race, but that tightens up significantly, with Mark Martin pulling to within 53 points of the lead. They are followed by Jimmie Johnson (-56), Tony Stewart (-104), Jeff Gordon (-106), Rusty Wallace (-132), Ricky Rudd (-150), Bill Elliott (-188), Ryan Newman (-261), and Matt Kenseth (-280).

As you can see, the title chase is still wide open among the top 10 drivers, I handicap the drivers as follow�

Matt Kenseth � Some bad finishes over the past six weeks have sabotaged the chances of the #17, he should rally late and finish in the top five though�

Ryan Newman � A great position in ninth, especially considering all the DNF�s the #12 had in the season�s first half. He should remain firmly entrenched in the top 10.

Bill Elliott � A ton of momentum right now, but the upcoming demolition portion of the season could bode problems.

Ricky Rudd � Some still fear his lame-duck status, but Bristol and Richmond are his opportunity to move within serious striking distance.

Rusty Wallace � Another driver who should make serious hay on the short-tracks, but will probably slowly fade after that.

Jeff Gordon � Still the consensus pick to come away with the title, and certainly remains within striking distance. The cold truth though is that the Chevy�s are handcuffed this year. A 22nd on what is usually his favorite track speaks volumes.

Tony Stewart � Still yet to make a serious charge, and seems to meltdown every time he does get close. Stewart and Kenseth are the only drivers with three wins this year.

Jimmie Johnson � Has not been dominant since the #48 was busted back at Daytona in July. Although most continue to consider Johnson as a serious title contender, look for JJ to make a serious run in October and Novemer.

Mark Martin � A very quiet second, but also is not considered a contender. Don�t be surprised if the #6 remains in the top ten, but I don�t see a run that puts Martin over the top.

Sterling Marlin � Being in first place for 21 weeks has to be good for something. And Sterling will certainly be happy to be only making left turns the rest of the year. Look for a couple of strong finishes to come as the #40 tries to open up more breathing room.

When it is all said and done, I�m going to bold and predict Jimmie Johnson to come out on top�

GARAGE NOTES

The reduced fuel cell mandate for Talladega did come to pass, the gas tanks for that race will hold only 13 gallons, as opposed to the normal 22 gallons. Other changes may be in the works to avoid having cars bunched tightly together. Tests were done at Charlotte in the rest week involving cars with bigger �greenhouses�, or cockpit areas. Reportedly the cars did not run nearly as well as hoped, so it is back to the drawing board there. Mike Wallace will be back in the #14 this week, while Jimmy Spencer remains in the #41, although there were reports initially about Spencer being bumped for Watkins Glen. I would suppose that�s been smoothed over, Jimmy has never been nuts about the road courses anyways.

Was Tony Stewart really going to get launched by Joe Gibbs and Home Depot for his now infamous Indianapolis meltdown??? It may not be as far fetched as it seems. Tony�s temper tantrum notwithstanding, there is still the rumor of him winding up with Chip Ganassi and the #28 in 2004. But don�t worry about Tony even if he ever gets dumped. If worse comes to worse, Tony could always go into IRL exile for next year and move into the #28 after that.

And would Tony please quit being so apologetic??? Yes, the fine was deserved. Yes, the probation was deserved. But it was spur of the moment. As I say over again and again, this sport is frustrating like no other. Your team can be good for just three quarters in the NFL, and usually still come away with a win. You can play outstanding for three and a half rounds of any golf tournament, and choking in the final holes just means finishing second or third, instead of first. But when even the smallest detail goes wrong late in this sport, It often turns a win or potential top five into a finish way deep in the field. Many times after even dominating most of the day. One good development that will come out of the Stewart situation is that NASCAR is considering having a 'cooling down' period - where media would not be allowed to access the drivers for five or ten minutes after a race. That could very well be a workable solution.

MICHIGAN PREVIEW

This may not be the usual Michigan Ford show since Chevrolets and Pontiacs get help this week with a one inch air dam increase for the Chevy�s, and a half-inch increase for Pontiac. These changes are for this week only, pending further assessment by NASCAR. This week should be pretty mellow as well, before tempers flare big time the following weekend in Bristol. The circuit was in Michigan just eight weeks ago, so checking out the Week 16 recap should give you a fairly good idea on what to expect this time. The list of contenders is as follows�

Sterling Marlin � Limped home with a 21st in June, but remember the third and first he got here in 2001.

Jeff Gordon � So when does Jeff break his losing streak, a good bet would be when it�s least expected, and with the Chevy help this week may finally have what it takes to dominate.

Matt Kenseth � The best driver here in his last three starts with a 15th, a 4th, and a win � So expect a bounceback for the #17 this week.

Jimmie Johnson � Another driver who should benefit greatly from the Chevy help.

Ricky Rudd � Two top tens out of the past three here, which is a decent enough batting average.

Ryan Newman � Already one of his favorite tracks, with two top fives already in his young career.

Dale Jarrett � Nearly ran down Kenseth on the last restart back in June, but couldn�t quite finish the job due to aero push. A perennial favorite in this event.

Michael Waltrip � Jumps up even beyond the darkhorse list this week, as he was awesome the entire weekend last time � starting second and finishing fourth. Could the extra inch put his Chevy over the top???

Bill Elliott � Won this event three straight times between 1985-87, would not normally mention something that ancient but Bill has been turning back the hands of time back to that heyday recently. The first glimpses of Elliott�s current hot streak occurred last time out here, where the #9 qualified fourth and finished 11th. He will not be running his �flat-track� special of Indianapolis/Pocono fame though. Bill is scheduled to run that three more times in Phoenix, Homestead, and Martinsville.

Tony Stewart � 25th, 27th, and 16th in his last three outings here. But a third in �99 along with a win in 2000 shows the #20 can get it done here, plus the Pontiacs are getting help also.

Rusty Wallace � A win here as recently as 2000, along with a seventh earlier this year, should be a top ten this time as well.

Kurt Busch � Kurt rips on the 40-something has-beens, but KB has achieved a couple of 40-somethings in his past two races (can�t count last week against Jimmy). Not to mention not one, but two 43rds here last year (accident/motor). Even Andy Houston would be impressed. On the plus side though one has to figure he has used up his bad luck both here, and in the last two weeks. This is only a 400-miler, so I expect the #97 to make it through and probably better his 10th place outing from June.

Mark Martin � A typical eighth place finish for the #6 in June, expect a point accumulating strategy for this cagey veteran the vest of the way.

Kevin Harvick � Was still mired in a deep slump while finishing 27th in June, but the kind of track where he should excel given his current hot streak.

DARK HORSES

Dale Earnhardt Jr. � You get the feeling this team is going to scrap this year and use the remaining races as extended test sessions, one of the year�s big disappointments.

Jeff Burton � Has shown signs of life in recent weeks, but still #4 on the Rosch pecking order right now.

Johnny Benson � His home track, where he managed a sixth last time. Not too many other races I remotely like his chances though.

Robbie Gordon � Now knocking on the top 20 in points, with four top fives in his last five races.

Greg Biffle - Make some hay on unsuspecting rivals by picking Rosch Racings' newest star, who has finished first or second in EIGHT OF HIS LAST TEN BUSCH OUTINGS. And he wasn't bad in his Cup Debut in California earlier this year, placing 13th...

Jeff Green/Dave Blaney � The usual dark horses, Blaney was 13th last time, Green 18th. I'm higher on Green since RCR is hot right now...

That takes care of about half the field, look for the top ten to shake out as follows�

1. J. Johnson, 2. Marlin, 3. J. Gordon, 4. Newman, 5. Kenseth, 6. Stewart, 7. Elliott 8. Harvick, 9. Jarrett, 10. Martin

NASCARODDS.COM has finally acknowledged the existence of Bill Elliott and Ryan Newman in this week's line, which is as follows...

Elliott 3-1, J. Gordon 4-1, Newman 9-2, Jarrett 5-1, Rudd 6-1, Stewart 7-1, Waltrip 8-1, Johnson 9-1, Harvick 10-1, Dale Jr., 11-1, Marlin 12-1, Kenseth 13-1, Martin 14-1, J. Burton 15-1, Rusty 16-1, Busch 17-1,l B. LaBonte 18-1, Craven 19-1, Blaney 20-1, Benson 22-1, Park 24-1, Green 26-1, R. Gordon 28-1, Green 30-1, Schrader 32-1, Spencer 34-1, Mayfield 36-1, W. Burton 38-1, T. LaBonte 40-1, Stricklin 42-1, T. Bodine 44-1, Andretti 46-1, Hamilton 48-1, Skinner 50-1, Nadeau 55-1, Nemechek 60-1, Petty 65-1, Atwood 70-1, B. Bodine 75-1, M. Wallace 80-1