Turns out that Ricky Hendrick was not the only one opting for �early retirement� this week, as the Sterling Marlin injury had the trickle-down effect of having Miss Winston turning in her crown six weeks early. Perhaps a case of a woman distraught that she will never see the #40 Coors Dodge in Victory Lane again??? The story of one of the biggest upsets in recent NASCAR history � Bobby LaBonte finishing second, is as follows�

NASCAR once again does it�s part in solving the drought in the Southeast. Qualifying was attempted on Thursday night, only to be rained out after 18 attempted to qualify � ruining a potential pole for Jerry Nadeau, who looked fast going into Sunday. That set the field according to points for a second consecutive week, meaning Sterling Marlin fill-in Jamie McMurray gets to start fifth � despite being one of the slower practice cars. Ryan Newman (starting fourth) is forced to the back of the grid after a practice crash, and was listed 34th among Happy Hour times. The rain returns on Sunday morning, eventually delaying the race three hours and assuring a finish under the lights, as would normally be the case in the Spring 600-miler. Race starts under the yellow, going green on Lap 5. Pole-sitter Tony Stewart (point leader) starts to check out to an early lead while Dale Jarrett (starting 12th) slides back to about the 20th position. Mark Martin would also not fare well in the early going and fall from second to 10th. McMurray gets a position on the start before sliding slowly back into the clutches of several competitors. However, Jimmie Johnson � who dominated much of the Spring race starts to catch the #20 (home improvement war) and takes over the race lead by Lap 17. Stewart then falls into the clutches of Rusty Wallace and falls to third on Lap 25. Kurt Busch is on the moves and passes McMurray for sixth. Jeff Gordon is also on the march and challenging Rusty for second as the tail end of the field is caught by Lap 40. Robby Gordon is not having a good day and is among those quickly finding themselves a lap down. Meanwhile, JimmyJohn�s lead improves to 3.5 seconds as green flag stops commence on Lap 60. Elliott 14.6 (no adjustments), Rusty 15.1 (a/p), Dale Jr. 14.6 (adjustments), Newman 14.9 (tract bar), Rudd 16.4, McMurray 15.0, Busch 14.2, Martin a/p adjustment to both right-side tires. Busch and Matt Kenseth both lead laps during this cycle of stops. Kenseth 15.2 with a crewmember sprawling forward as the #17 pulls out. A noticeable amount of break dust was emanating from the #40 of McMurray, leading to speculation that he�s using up his breaks. Looks like the inexperience is going to bite the rook at some point�

Jarrett starts to get dialed in on his pit and is now running 14th, Newman (running 30th) falls in danger of going a lap down to JimmyJohn, but his car now appears much more dialed in as he manages to stay ahead of the #48 seemingly forever. A rim-riding Jeff Green manages to stay on the tail end as well. Busch gets Rusty for second and is now setting his sights on Johnson, still hung up trying to lap Green and Newman. Busch grabs lead on Lap 86, but soon encounters problems trying to lap Newman as well � allowing Johnson to close back in. The stubborn #12 is finally lapped on Lap 106, after 30+ laps of hanging on. But Newman at least has company � only 23 cars remain the lead lap, and we�re just at 1/3 distance. Gordon passes Rusty for fourth as the race approaches a second round of green flag stops. Newman 14.8 (a/p), Johnson 14.4, a/p for Jarrett. Both Gordon and Stewart are running tight and get adjustments. Dale Jr. is reporting a loose condition. Rusty 14.7 (wedge), Busch 14.7 (no adjustments). A couple of other Rosch cars are able to stay out even longer. Martin 14.9, Kenseth 14.6 (a/p). Notice Matt is revving that engine high during his stop, last time I noticed that (Chicago) there was a breakdown later in the race. Just an observation, the #17 most likely does that during every green flag stop.

Johnson reclaims the lead from Busch after the exchange of stops, but Newman is back on the tail end of the lead lap. The #12 finally gets a free pass around after Bill Elliott completely shreds a right-side tire, sending debris and even his window all over the backstretch to bring out the first caution since the latter-stages of the Kansas race. Elliott teammate Jeremy Mayfield goes behind the wall as well (rear-end??) Most come in again for four tires, but Kenseth and Bobby LaBonte stay out and restart 1-2. On the restart, Kurt Busch jumps to the outside and passes several cars (some say illegally) before reaching the start/finish line. According to the rules once the race leader passes the �restart� line (before the start/finish) everything is fair game. Ryan Newman now in 17th place while B. LaBonte gets Busch for second. H. Sadler blows up on Lap 151, bringing out the caution as Jerry Nadeau gets a lap back. Dale Jr. (adjustments) among those who pit at this juncture. Kenseth still in lead on restart (Lap 156) with Tony Stewart ninth, Johnson 10th, J. Gordon 13th. LaBonte takes over the lead on Lap 158, with Kenseth falling behind Busch for third. Stewart moves to sixth with Newman improving to 13th. Joe Nemechek retires with a motor problem, very noteworthy since all six Hendrick engines failed last week. Rusty passes Michael Waltrip for fourth on Lap 179. Jeff Burton, after not pitting on the previous two stops � is now in sixth. Also in the top ten are Mark Martin (after the rough start) and Todd Bodine. However, Bodine is shown nearly losing control of his machine through the frontstretch dogleg, a sign of things to come. Jeff Gordon has fallen to 12th, the #24 not handling as well after having a spring removed. Jamie McMurray is still on the lead lap, but back in 17th � as the #40 camp reports that the car has been extremely tight all day. Sounds like they�re just hoping that McMurray will be able to bring the Coors Dodge home in one piece. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson is reporting a vibration and think�s �he�s going to blow�. With Nemechek already in the garage that sends alarms throughout Hendrick nation. Johnson pits early on Lap 195 (15.5 � 2 � rounds), turns out to be merely a tire problem. Kenseth also comes in about this time with a tire going down (what else is new), 16.9 (major adjustments). Rest of field comes in after Lap 200, B. LaBonte (13.8 � no adjustments), J. Burton (no adjustments), Martin 15.8 (chassis, a/p), Stewart 15.7 (wedge), Rusty 14.4, Busch (a/p), Blaney 20.0, trouble on right front, Kenseth 14.8. Junior, McMurray and Newman have not pitted yet, and the good mileage will eventually pay huge dividends for the #40. Junior 13.7, Newman (who has just been lapped again) 14.7. Rudd smacks the Turn 2 wall to bring out the caution. Most cars pit, but the #40 rolls the dice and keeps Jamie McMurray out, who will restart as a Cup race leader for the first time ever.

It appears that Jamie�s stint at the front will be short-lived as Bobby LaBonte appears poised to pounce on Turn 1, but McMurray holds the #18 off and maintains the race lead. And keeping the #40 out during the caution turns out to have one more additional advantage � keeping McMurray away from the Todd Bodine�s of the world. Bodine races into the front dogleg, and trying to get around Ward Burton and Jeff Green, gets the left side tires on the grass. That sends the #26 out of control and a ten-car wreck would soon be on. All three RCR cars (Harvick, R. Gordon, Green) would be involved, with only Harvick being able to continue. Other casualties include Ward Burton, Brett Bodine, Kenny Wallace, John Andretti, Bobby Hamilton, and Ricky Craven. Ryan Newman races around and is able to get his lap back from McMurray. In the crash aftermath NASCAR places Todd Bodine on probation for �careless driving� � effective through the rest of the season. The NASCAR official statement reads if "there is another action by Bodine that is deemed by NASCAR officials as detrimental to the event or is disruptive to the orderly conduct of an event, he will receive an indefinite suspension." The Cup Series director adds, "We've noticed numerous on-track incidents involving Todd and we felt this was the proper step to take at this time,".

There are 17 cars remaining on the lead lap, the last of which is Kevin Harvick � who made nine trips to pit road during the caution. Now Jamie McMurray really shows his hand, and he and Bobby LaBonte dominate the final quarter of the race as the lights take effect on Lowe�s Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth is still running a solid third until his fleeting hopes of contending for the Cup title disappear in a puff of smoke � a blown engine on the backstretch, and it�s immediately to the hauler for the #17. That puts Tony Stewart in the third spot with Ryan Newman now in the top ten. Jeff Gordon is reporting a possible engine problem and again hearts skip across Hendrick Nation. Meanwhile a motor goes on McMurray teammate Jimmy Spencer, ditto for Ken Schrader - a Hendrick motor. Kurt Busch is now also reported an ill-handling machine. Mark Martin is also possibly down a cylinder as Rosch Racing�s day turns sour. Final stops are made under green. LaBonte pits early with a tire going down. McMurray short-pits (14.6), Stewart 14.8, Newman 15.6 with tape on, Rusty 16.6, J. Burton 14.9, Busch 15.5, Junior 16.3, Jarrett 8.6, the only driver to roll the dice with two tires - DJ had nothing to lose. Mark Martin is able to stay out long enough to lead a lap. Bobby LaBonte is able to stay within striking distance of McMurray in the waning laps, and got close on several occasions, but to no avail as Jamie becomes the quickest driver ever to win a Cup race in just his second attempt � breaking Kevin Harvick�s (third race) record of last season, also sending the values of his die-casts up over 1000 percent. Jamie also becomes the 17th winner of the season, with the likes of Rusty Wallace and Jeff Burton still winless. There were 19 different winners last year, including Rusty and J. Burton. Do I hear 20 different winners???

Following McMurray, B. LaBonte, and Stewart were Jeff Gordon (like JJ, engine fears unfounded), Rusty Wallace, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton (always a factor in Charlotte), Ryan Newman (keeping alive his title hopes after starting in the back), Dale Jr. and Dave Blaney sneaking off a tenth place finish. Other notables include Michael Waltrip (11th), Kurt Busch (12th), Jerry Nadeau (13th � and was fast all weekend), Dale Jarrett (14th), Mark Martin (16th), Kevin Harvick (22nd), Matt Kenseth (34th), and Bill Elliott (35th). Stewart increases his points lead on Johnson to 97 points, followed by Mark Martin (-122), Ryan Newman (-165), Rusty Wallace (-182) and Jeff Gordon (-201). Seventh place Matt Kenseth is now 295 points out and effectively eliminated. And then there is the owner�s race � where points are awarded just like the drivers, but are the total points accumulated by the team (regardless of driver). The #40 team stands in fourth, 155 points behind the #20 team. There has never been a split-decision between the driver and owner championships.

Now let�s go to Victory Lane where we see the New Miss Winston (not bad herself) and THE OLD MISS WINSTON. That�s right, the former Victory Lane lady turns out to be McMurray�s girlfriend � who chose to give up her gig when McMurray got the call to replace Marlin. Miss Winston bylaws preclude dating any of the cup drivers. Give Celia credit for doing the right thing and stepping down, instead of trying to hide the fact like another Miss Winston from let�s say � eight years ago. While the former and current Miss Winston�s embrace each other � McMurray gets a congratulatory phone call from Sterling Marlin. Meanwhile, we hear from second race finisher Bobby LaBonte, who is mobbed by teammate Tony Stewart (don�t worry � he�s joking around, just scared the crap out of me) in mid-interview. That must be the 20th alleged victim of a post-race Tony Stewart attack this year. Photographers, safety workers, fans, teammates. Who�s next??? Nothing eludes Tony.

So does this rank as a huge �upset� as many are proclaiming McMurray�s win as. Not quite as much as one would think. Most of the Las Vegas odds (the first people to look for) had McMurray somewhere in the 30-1 range. By comparison Kevin Harvick usually goes off in the neighborhood of 20-1 while a driver such as Robby Gordon is usually listed at 50-1. Add to that JamieMac is in the car Marlin won it Charlotte last year, as well as for wins in Las Vegas and Darlington this year. When you get down to it, Robby�s season-finale win in New Hampshire last year could rank as a bigger upset than McMurray�s. The bookies did give him a snowball�s chance. But more than ever, NASCAR is as much a team game than that of individuals � which is reason enough to validate the idea of having an �owner�s championship� as opposed to a �driver�s championship�. The New England Patriots were not automatically eliminated from Super Bowl contention when Drew Bledsoe got hurt last year, so why should Cup racing be any different?? As McMurray proved Sunday, and Kevin Harvick proved last year � if you plug the right driver (even if inexperienced) into the right situation � good things can and will happen.

That being said, what McMurray accomplished was truly amazing, starting with the fact that Jamie considered Charlotte to be his worst track. Not to mention the #40 did not run strong during practice or for the first two-thirds of the race. But as often happens in this sport, if you�re patient and remain in the hunt, make the right decision on pit road and get the car dialed in late � you have as much chance as anyone. Ward Burton (otherwise a decent, but far from dominating Cup driver) has won three races in just over a year in that fashion. For 80 percent of all three of those events Ward was not even on the radar. A bigger question is, what could this mean for McMurray next year - when he's slated to drive Chip Ganassi's third car (#42). My guess is he may get second billing in the Ganassi shop, above Jimmy Spencer, which will give JamieMac top 15-20 potential - not to be confused with being a championship contender, but you can forget about him being a sleeper.

REACTIVE v. PROACTIVE

In another class move, Sterling Marlin offered his support and advice towards ARCA driver Deborah Renshaw after her involvement in the �T-Bone� practice incident that claimed the life of fellow ARCA driver Eric Martin. Renshaw herself was hurt severely (and that�s just on the physical side) in the incident, suffering a concussion and a broken foot. Of course, Marlin himself knows all too well the ramifications of being involved in an accident resulting in a fatality. Virtually all drivers in the racing community, and many fans as well � have also sent their best wishes to Renshaw, although (as was the case with Marlin/Dale Sr.) a small number of fans have chosen the other route in their letters/e-mails. Without getting into more detail, click on this link for a synopsis of the Eric Martin tragedy, and how it could be avoided in the future. NASCAR (and ARCA) has already mandated the presence of spotters on the above-track spotters stand for all practices, as well as races effective immediately. Other drivers chimed in during the aftermath on this and other safety issues including spotters, racing back to the line, etc, with some of the most provocative comments coming from Jeff Burton, who among other items suggests an in-car yellow light that would come on simultaneously with the track lights. Speaking of Jeff, Burton dominated the field in the Busch Series event for his fifth victory of the season, which leads that circuit.

Also, 22-year old Ricky Hendrick � who not long ago seemed destined to become a rising Cup Series star in the near future, made a decision to get out of racing this past week. Hendrick cited �lingering effects� of a vicious Busch Series crash back in March. Hendrick plans to remain in racing, serving as Rick Hendrick�s "right-hand man" at Hendrick Motorsports and possibly following in the elder�s footsteps. Also, in another sad note � the younger brother of Todd Behling, host of the long-running syndicated �Let�s Talk NASCAR� which airs every Sunday morning, unfortunately lost his life as one of ten victims of a horrific fog-related multi-car accident on a Wisconsin interstate. Eric Behling, 38, was a musician and provided the theme music (which I did not know) for the program, which will live on.

MARTINSVILLE PREVIEW

First the good news, qualifying on Friday should be a go. Now the bad news, an all-day rain is forecasted for Sunday � so a Monday race is a strong possibility for a second straight October. Without lights and the dwindling amount of daylight this time of year, there will not be much wiggle-room to work with as far as Sunday is concerned. In fact rain is predicted for Memphis, TN on Saturday, which could push the Busch race into Sunday as was the case last year. Also, the work will be extremely cut out for anyone attempting to win from back in the field. The difficulty of passing on the paper-clip half-mile oval makes this the toughest track outside of Sears Point or Watkins Glen to gain positions. Making matters worse, the turns have just been repaved and the new surface is reported to be �rough�. That may throw pit strategy such as only taking two tires out the window (think Rockingham or Darlington). Throw in the possibility of a rain shortened event and you have a week where the best bets will definitely be the top qualifiers.

This race will also be run without the previous week�s winner. Jamie McMurray has decided to fulfill his commitment for the Busch Series and will be in the lineup at Memphis instead. In the #40 this week will be Truck Series veteran Mike Bliss, who knows his was around Martinsville well from that circuit. Hideo Fukuyama will also attempt to qualify. I give Bliss a snowball�s chance of winning, Hideo I do not. For a recap of Bobby LaBonte's April win, click here. The contenders are as follows�

Matt Kenseth - Finished second in April after qualifying 26th, what happens with a decent qualifying run???

Bobby LaBonte - Won Spring race after qualifying 15th, should be two good weekends in a row for the #18.

Tony Stewart - But this is the Gibbs car to really watch for, a third this year along with a previous win in 2000, here's a my pick to win and put a dagger into the championship chase.

Dale Jarrett - A win, second and fourth last three times out here. The old man looks like a sure bet.

Jeff Gordon - Three time winner at this track, no kink in the #24's game here neither.

Jimmie Johnson - 35th (vibration) in the Spring race. Don't hold it against him this weekend.

Ricky Craven - Defending winner of this race, which was held on a Monday. Could history repeat like it did for the #40 (Charlotte), Kevin Harvick (Chicago), and Jeff Gordon (Kansas)???

Ryan Newman - Another one of Ryan's bad early races, finishing 41st after an overheating problem. Don't count on it happening again - Newman is the hottest driver going right now and potentially the biggest threat to Tony Stewart.

Mark Martin - Spring 2000 winner finished eighth back in April.

Ricky Rudd - Seventh place in April, along with a second in 4/01. A Rudd press release states that he feels 'he has a couple more wins' left in the #28. We'll see if that's BS or legit.

Rusty Wallace - Surprisingly only one top five in his last nine races here. However Wallace is a five-time winner at this track, most recently in 1996.

Dale Earnhardt Jr - Had one of his better early season efforts with a fifth place finish, his best ever Martinsville effort.

Terry LaBonte - Want to go off the board??? Texas Terry qualified fourth and finished sixth back in the Spring, if he qualifies well he could be the upset special.

Kevin Harvick - Qualified seventh in April, but got sent to the principals office during the truck race that weekend, and wound up sitting out the cup race. Should fare well here.

Mike Bliss - Marlin had one of his better short track efforts ever in the Spring, placing 12th, Marlin also had a top five in the Spring of '01. Don't be suprised if Bliss makes a run at giving the #40 a third different winner.

After the new surface tears apart on Sunday (or Monday) look for the following finish...

1. Stewart, 2. Kenseth, 3. Jarrett, 4. B. LaBonte, 5. J. Gordon, 6. Johnson, 7. Newman, 8. Busch, 9. Rusty, 10. Martin, 11. Bliss, 12. Dale Jr., 13. Craven, 14. Rudd, 15. Harvick, 16. J. Burton, 17. T. LaBonte, 18. Elliott, 19. Green, 20. W. Burton

ANDY HOUSTON AWARD

Just like whoever drives the #40 takes the Checkers at Lowe's, whomever drives the #90 is destined for a 43rd. This time it is Jason Hedlesky bringing home a last place finish, bowing out after 31 laps.