�He was unstoppable once he had the rain tires on� � What the hell kind of race would they run in the rain.

�He�s about to win his fourth title in a row��

And finally, �it�s a shame Montoya blew an engine, now he�s going to have to win the final race while Schumacher DNF�s � AND THAT�S JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN��

What do you mean, is that guy�s motor program indestructible or something??? And I thought they were rigging NASCAR.

In his USA Today column this week, Elliott Sadler gives this detailed description of just what it�s like to be airborne on the backstretch at Talladega. �It's a very eerie feeling. Everything goes quiet when you're off the ground, and when you wreck and hit the wall there's a lot of loud noises. It's hard to describe, but the two are totally different feelings.� Everything is quiet � that has to be a few long seconds. Myself, I would be thinking (a) will I ever hit the ground, (b) how the car will hit the ground and finally (c) pray that no one else broadsides what�s left of the car when it comes down. Have a feeling that Sadler�s life was flashing before his eyes when �everything went quiet�. And when the hood of the #38 smashed the track surface, you could almost feel it at home.

NOTICE THE FIVE-WIDE (BUSCH, RUSTY, GORDON, MARTIN, NEWMAN) AS SADLER GOES AIRBORNE. MIKE WALLACE (#09) WOULD GO ON TO A GREAT FINISH...

What is also similar between now and then was that there was an incredible 51 lead changes between 12 drivers in �75. Last Sunday it was 43 changes among 17 drivers. For most of the day it looked like the DEI stranglehold bad finally been broken, as the race was wide open. But as the laps dwindled down, guess which two managed to find their way to the front. The driver recaps are as follows�

Michael Waltrip � The car was described as �troublesome� for much of the day, in fact Mikie describes it �as the worst I�ve ever driven�. Maybe the #15 should tow the Queen Mary next year, as Waltrip manages to not only hook up with Dale Jr. late, but get to the point while blocking a furious Junior assault on the final turn to win his third career race, his first at Talladega before doing coming out of his escape hatch like a jack-in-the-box in the post-race celebration.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. � I swear, Junior could start the race in Birmingham and still have a shot. The #8 is sent to the back of the field after a �clear violation� while qualifying. Then Junior sustains sheet metal damage in an early pit road incident. The car is so off that the #8 ultimately falls a lap down. But then the team makes the proper repairs, and Junior charges near the front far enough that he eventually gets the �lucky dog� break to get back on the lead lap. Then despite having what appeared to be debris in front of his grill, Junior hooks up with the #15 on his way to a second-place finish. Tony Stewart � The usual diagnosis on Stewart is belly-aching, but there was a very real possibility of a substitute driver in the #20, as Stewart was nailed with a severe migraine headache over the weekend, which he does not have a history of having. But Stewart runs and runs well, and despite never leading comes away with a third, then tells everyone that he�s just happy when he walks away from the place. Great showing considering Stewart does not have a good plate history.

Ryan Newman � Cut a right-side down after a two-tire stop and eventually fell a lap down. But Newman had his best plate car ever and ran well enough to get a �lucky-dog� break for the second straight week. From there Newman goes on to finish fourth as the #12 quickly closes in on a very real chance of finishing second in points.

Jeff Gordon � Was the strongest car for the entire race, and led the most laps before settling for fifth.

Kurt Busch � As usual, a huge factor at a plate track. Despite being hit by Sadler as Junior was attempting to block the #38, Busch comes home in sixth.

Kevin Harvick � Since Race 15 at Michigan, Harvick has been on fire while moving from ninth to second in points. The #29 would finish seventh in this event.

Rusty Wallace � Even he would lead some laps in this and come away with a ninth.

Mike Wallace � My sleeper pick for the event, the #09 comes out with yet another strong plate run as Wallace rounds out the top ten.

Bobby LaBonte � Have a feeling that he�s not exactly a fan of this place. Helped trigger the Big One on the final lap two years ago and this year triggers a wreck AFTER THE CHECKERED FLAG, where he came in 11th.

Dave Blaney � Best plate finish of the year with a lead-lap 17th place effort. But that�s not the big story, as the #77 shows up in a Dodge, violating a �fundamental provision� with Ford. The intention was for the team to run a Dodge for this week only, but that did not fly with the people over at Ford as they immediately rip up their contract with Blaney. Ford announced that they will �re-possess� all existing assets and discontinue operational support. Says a Ford Racing representative, �What happened was unacceptable, to be a Ford team you have to run a Ford�. Jasper Motorsports responded by saying that they weren�t getting a lot of operational support anyways, at least in comparison to the resources given to the major Ford teams (such as Rosch). Jasper will be running a Dodge in 2004 while working out a termination agreement that will allow the #77 to race as a Ford for the rest of this season. Or the #77 can just move over to Dodge now, and perhaps enjoy more improved finishes (which will make Ford even happier).

Elliott Sadler � Until the savage accident, it had been a great weekend for the #38, qualifying on the pole and running near the front most of the day until the fateful Lap 182.

Jeff Burton � It was not a good day for Rosch engines as Burton, Matt Kenseth, and Ricky Rudd all blow up during the race. Get the feeling that this is not a good week for the Ford camp??? Burton�s name is also re-appearing as a possible replacement for Steve Park, although Burton has reportedly already is re-inked with Rosch.

Matt Kenseth � His first DNF of the year, and probably a good place for it since he is not traditionally a top-flight plate driver. The rest of the venues look very favorable for the #17 nailing down the championship.

Jimmie Johnson � The other on-track scary moment was when Johnson spun through Turn 1, what is becoming a regular occurrence on plate tracks for the #48. Incredibly the car did not get airborne and did not make contact with anyone else as the car went up the banking. Johnson stays on the lead lap but would lose a motor soon after.

In both previous Kansas races, Jeff Gordon has won with Ryan Newman finishing second. Any guesses on the top two picks for this week??? Gordon has led 169 of a possible 534 laps at this venue. Rusty Wallace could rank as the third pick, as he has a pair of top-fives and is second in laps led. This track has already gotten a notorious reputation, with Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin among those who have already experienced hard crashes. In an attempt to break out of a slump, Jeff Burton will be breaking out the car he refers to as �No. #46� which has three top ten�s in four attempts. Dale Jr. qualified on the pole last year while Bill Elliott has started in the top-five both years. Mark Martin will be driving one of Matt Kenseth�s car while Jamie McMurray will drive the car that got him top-fives in both Indianapolis and Darlington. Bobby LaBonte and Jeremy Mayfield may not be good picks, neither driver has finished in the top-20 here. Then there is Ward Burton who might feel inclined to shoot up the facility (after hours of course), his resume includes a 41st and 43rd in this race.

TRIVIA: Who was the polesitter for the inaugural Kansas race in 2001???