It’s funny how your mind has to switch gears quickly while watching a NASCAR race. One minute I’m hoping that Dale Earnhardt Jr can still make a play for the win and then all of a sudden I have to ditch that thought and hope that Denny Hamlin can hold off Jeff Gordon.

It’s weird. I don’t dislike Jeff Gordon but I don’t want him to win. It’s so boring to me when it happens. And now there’s this mini documentary on his racing life (24 x 24: Wide Open With Jeff Gordon) they’re showing on Saturday before the Pepsi 400. I want to watch, but I don’t. I want to watch it because I’m a race fan and I’m curious about drivers’ lives on and off the track. But on the other hand I don’t like him that much and I feel like if I watch it I’m giving in to him somehow. Does that make sense at all? Probably not, but whatever.

If you’re unlike me and need more Jeff Gordon in your life then you should watch “Live with Regis & Kelly” on Monday, July 9th. He’ll be co-hosting the show with Kelly Ripa, filling in for Regis Philbin. I think we can expect some baby talk, not from Kelly, but Jeff as I’m sure he’ll expound on the joys of first-time fatherhood. After watching Saturday Night Live’s spoof of Kelly (they totally hit the nail on the head), I can’t take 5 seconds of that show. Too bad Jeff couldn’t have co-hosted with Regis instead.

And now for some photo goodness from this weekend’s race at New Hampshire.

uhm… Can the #48 team of Jimmie Johnson keep their interim crew chief Ron Malec (left) even when Chad Knaus comes back?? He’s hot! Next thought: Is he single?

Interim crew chief Jeff Meendering, of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet driven by Jeff Gordon, talks with interim crew chief Ron Malec, #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, driven by Jimmie Johnson, prior to the start of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on July 1, 2007 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin beats Jeff Gordon to the finish line to win at New Hampshire International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

President of global operations for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Max Siegel, stands on pit road with Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet, prior to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on July 1, 2007 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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It just occurred to me, the thought of Kyle Busch possibly sitting in the No. 8 car. I feel nauseous.

I don’t care what Hendrick Motorsports has to do but they must get that number from DEI. While it isn’t for sure that Kyle is going to DEI to fill that empty slot, I don’t think anyone else but Dale Earnhardt Jr. should be able to use that number. I mean, can you imagine some schmo using Michael Jordan’s number?? Uh no. Ok, Dale isn’t on the same level as MJ yet but he does have the same level of popularity and it would be insanity to let someone else use it.

The number 8 is synonymous with Dale Jr. Separating the two would be like breaking up the Captain & Tennille, or Batman & Robin… Lindsay Lohan & drugs… hehe… just kidding. The point is that when you think of one you instantly think of the other. This number is important. I can swallow Dale running a No. 08 or 81, but I can’t take someone else running the No. 8. That just can’t happen.

In other news…

– Did you know that Robby Gordon won his first NASCAR Nextel Cup race at NHIS back in 2001? Annnd… he’s the only driver in Nextel cup history to win his first race at New Hamphsire.

– If you’re up for meeting No. 40 Coors Wide Mouth Can Dodge driver David Stremme tonight here’s your chance to do it! (Provided that you are already in New Hampshire)

David Stremme will participate in the Coors Light Annual Pub Tour Friday night from 7-9pm in and around the Concord, N.H. area in advance of Sunday’s New England 300. Stremme and guests from Capitol Distributors (the local Coors distributor) will hit four local area pubs so keep your eyes open for the Coors Light crew Friday night.

I’ve been meaning to write about this for some time, I love the new look & feel of NASCAR.COM. I guess it was at the start of this racing season that they launched the revamped site(?). My favorite part is when you click into an article and the huge photo at the top zooms out slowly revealing itself. I love that feature, it’s so simple but so dramatic at the same time.

If you haven’t seen it yet you should. Use this press release regarding Tony Eury Sr.’s move to JR Motorsports as Director of Competition, as an example.

I think it’s awesome that Eury Sr. will be taking on this role for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s company. He obviously cherishes his family bonds and trusts the Eury’s in general. I think this can only help JR Motorsports to grow and become successful. Shane Huffman, driver of the #88 Navy Chevrolet in the Busch Series, has been doing a good job for JR Motorsports so far this year. He’s moved up to 12th place in the Busch Series standings, moving up 3 spots after last weekend’s race in Milwaukee.

Shane writes a blog on his InfieldParking.com profile page. He updates it, it seems like at least once a week.

In other news…

– I’m curious about what Carl Edwards has up his sleeve for this weekend’s race at Loudon in New Hampshire. Says Edwards, “This weekend we are also running a special New England-themed paint scheme. I can’ t say just yet what it is, but I know the fans will get a real kick out the No. 99 new look for the weekend.” A big Boston Red Sox logo? (He does race for Roush Fenway after all) A photo of a giant bowl of clam chowder? What??

– Buy King of Leon’s latest CD “Because of the Times.” It’s incredibly good rock music, like their two previous CDs. I recommend listening to the songs “Knocked Up” and “On Call” first, if you like those you’ll love all the rest.

– Do me a favor and fill out my ‘Fast and Fabulous’ survey.

In between trying to put together toys and eating my 6 year-old nephew’s yummy birthday cake, I tried to catch the race at Infineon this past weekend.

I don’t even want to acknowledge the fact that Juan Pablo Montoya won the race (but there ya go). He’s seriously the last person (er one of the last people) that I wanted to win this thing. It was all entirely disappointing. I saw the headline “Montoya’s win left something to be desired” and I hoped that it would talk about how insincere he sounded in victory lane, but instead it was just about the fact that he won because of fuel strategy and not skill. I’ll take what I can get.

Eventhough Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended up finishing 13th, still not getting a top 10 in Sonoma, he started third and ran up front for the majority of the race. I think every Dale Jr. fan should feel good about that. While I would love it for him to win, at this point in the year all I care about is making sure he makes it into the Chase.

Speaking of the Chase… There’s a website that is analyzing the chances of drivers making it into the NASCAR version of playoffs (the final 10 races of the season). It’s pretty cool, and kind of depressing if your favorite driver has only a 4.9% chance (Casey Mears!) of making it into the Chase. Check out SportsClubStats.com

Dale Jr. ranked 6th this year in Harris Interative’s poll: “Who is your favorite sports star?” Tiger Woods came in first for the second year in a row. The complete list is as follows:

1.) Tiger Woods
2.) Derek Jeter
3.) Michael Jordan
4.) Brett Favre
5.) LeBron James
6.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7.) Tim Duncan
8.) Peyton Manning
9.) Kobe Bryant
10.) Tom Brady

My question is how did Kobe Bryant get on that list? Eww. For the women tennis star Serena Williams came in first, followed by IndyCar driver Danica Patrick. Check out the complete poll results from Harris Interactive.

Left to right: Jeff Gordon, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman and Jimmie Johnson pose for a photo prior to the driver’s meeting at Infineon Raceway. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Here’s a practical tip for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans… You’re going to want to purchase some Goo Gone to help peel off those red #8 stickers from your cars & trucks. Rumors are a swirlin’ that his next sponsor won’t be Budweiser. It never hurts to be prepared.

These days the man with the info is Darrell Waltrip… If you want to know what possibilities lie ahead for Dale Jr. just ask DW.
—–
Dale Jr.’s one choice; Kyle Busch’s many options [FoxSports on MSN]
D.W. Hints that Dale Jr.’s New Sponsor Won’t Be in a Red Can [Racing Milestones]

I walked into my local grocery store last night and saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. I did a quick double-take but it was only a cardboard cutout of him. I was seriously tempted to find the store manager to see if I could put down dibs on taking the cardboard Junior home with me. If you could live in my brain you’d be adequately entertained by some of the thoughts that run through it.

Anyway… It seems that the real Dale Jr. is feeding his love for Elvis by hosting the first night of the “Elvis Music & Movies” series at Graceland on August 13th, 2007 (that’s a Monday for those of you thinking about going). They’re going to show one of Elvis’ movies “Viva Las Vegas,” which happens to be my favorite Elvis movie. Not so much because of Elvis but more because of Ann Margaret and her song “My Rival.” I love that part, you should rent it.

So Infineon is this weekend and I’m not going to the races. This is the only race that comes to my area but I have to pass on it this year so that I can attend my youngest nephew’s birthday in La La Land (aka Los Angeles). This is how great of an aunt I am, I am sacrificing the chance to see my fave drivers up close in order to celebrate the day my nephew turns 6. Family is important to me and honestly I can get better views of this particular race by watching it on TV.

Infineon is a very fun place to watch a race, but you really have to be in shape in order to get around that place. It’s hilly and only certain locations around the track give the best views. And if you’re going to try and track down the drivers after the race for autographs, be prepared to hike up the hill to the helicopter pad.

I’m sad that I can’t go, and I’ll be extra miffed if Dale Jr. manages to pull out a top 5 finish and I wasn’t there to see it. I like this quote from him about Infineon:

“This weekend is important to me because I’m sick of hearing people say ‘oh, he can’t drive on a road course.’ We’ve been so close here before and have always come away with some sort of issue that takes away from what we can really do. I want a top-10 so bad here, I can taste it. We finished 11th two years in a row and led some laps. It broke my heart that I didn’t get to race the Corvette there in 2004 because of the crash during the morning warm-up. I was angry because it cost that team a chance to race after they had been so good to me, but also because I was really learning a lot and had improved my road racing skills.

Then, in 2005, we had a car I thought had a chance to win the Cup race but we were trying a new transmission and it locked-up on the first lap and I was in the wall. That was so disappointing - and it was even worse when we fixed the car and I went back out and was still as fast as anyone in a car that was beat-up and taped together. It was frustrating, but it was another sign that I can do this. Last year, we passed more than 15 cars on track, moved into the top-10 and then got taken out by a ringer who was driving like a madman. We tested for a day at VIR (Virginia Intl. Raceway) a few weeks back, and I think this is the weekend we get can get a finish that this team deserves.”

In other news…

– Here are the things I wish for AJ Allmendinger: 1.) He qualifies for the race at Infineon this weekend and 2.) He places somewhere in the top 10 at the very least.

– NASCAR.COM’s Duane Cross writes about Liz Allison’s soon-to-be-released book (September 7th to be exact) The Girl’s Guide to Winning a NASCAR Driver (Secrets to Grabbing His Attention and Stealing His Heart)… The book provides info on how drivers met their wives and how to grab a drivers attention. Check out the article it’s a fun read, especially the part about Kurt Busch and a horse’s behind.

– Thanks to a reader I now have a link to a photo of Marco Andretti Shirtless… Your endless Google searches can end here.

– Another Infineon bit… Wanna meet Clint Bowyer? Here’s the lowdown on how you can this Friday, June 22nd in Petaluma, Calif.

On behalf of Jack Daniel’s, Bowyer will appear on the mezzanine above the Tolay restaurant at the Sheraton Sonoma County – Petaluma Hotel on Friday, June 22 from 7-8:30 p.m. The hotel is located at 745 Baywood Drive in Petaluma. Bowyer will be on hand to greet race fans and sign autographs.