I usually love the whole green, white, checkered, ending — now dubbed Overdrive — but this weekend it was pretty lame. It was very anti-climactic.

I’m not going to go into the whole Jeff Gordon-breaking-Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s-career-wins-record-fans-go-crazy debacle, except to say that I agree with tallglassofmilk in that if the Talladega fans can’t behave themselves ‘Dega should lose it’s second race. They should hand it over to Infineon, us Northern California NASCAR fans know not to throw things when we’re mad. We’d just make shirts that say things like “Anybody But Gordon” and call it day.

I’m still annoyed/upset about Casey Mears’ crash in the middle of the race. I thought he was going to make it this time and finally win one but alas it was not meant to be. He was so pissed when he jumped out of his car, seeing that emotion reminds you how much this means to these guys. It’s not just another day at the office. They go out there every race with the intention to win.

It was so very cool to see no-name drivers race upfront this weekend. Guys like Sterling Marlin, Kenny Wallace, David Ragan, Regan Smith, and David Stremme all led laps at Talladega. Congrats to them, I want to see more of that. Words cannot express how sick I am of seeing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon winning these races.

The rest of my Sunday was filled with more racing coverage. After the NASCAR Nexel Cup race I caught the end of the IndyCar race in Kansas. Dan Wheldon was the winner and apparently there was some pit road debacle involving teammates Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan. Tony took a page from the Tony Stewart PR handbook and left the race track without commenting on the events of pit road (Danica hit his car on her way out of the pits which ultimately caused Tony to fall 8 laps down, finishing 15th for the day).

Now everyone’s attention will turn to the Indianapolis 500, the race is on May 27th but the media hype is already beginning. Oh yay, a whole month of talking about the same things over and over and over again.

In other news…

Ashley Force went up against John Force for the first time in her burgeoning Funny Car career. She beat her dad in the first round at Atlanta Dragway.

The marquee match of the day was in round one when Ashley Force beat her famous father, John, by a 4.779 to 5.783 margin in the first father-daughter Pro-level race in NHRA history.

“Today I’m a proud father,” John said. “I’ve dreamed of this day for a long time, and it makes me emotional to think it finally came true. She’s a great young driver and she’s probably gonna whip me a bunch, but I’m okay with it because she’s my baby.”

Ashley went on to win her second round match-up but lost in the semifinals to Mike Ashley. All in all still a great day for women in the NHRA, it won’t be long until she’s a Funny Car winner.

Jeff Gordon is saluted by Dale Earnhardt Jr. after winning the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Fans throw beer cans onto the track as Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Dupont Chevrolet, takes the Sunoco checkered flag to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 29, 2007 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, poses for a photo with his wife, model Ingrid Vandebosch, in victory lane after after Gordon won the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 29, 2007 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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Casey Mears was so totally robbed today. I know that it was an accident but he was in position to make a run for the win at Talladega, and finally winning his first NEXTEL Cup series race.

His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson accidentally him out when Casey tried to come down Pit Road. Apparently there was some miscommunication between the teams regarding their pit strategies.

This was all very reminiscent of last year’s fall race at Talladega where then Hendrick driver Brian Vickers spun out Jimmie on the last lap for the win.

And then today, not long after that crash involving Mears and Johnson, Kyle Busch crashed out from a chain reaction accident that also involved Johnson.

All I have to say is with teammates like these who needs enemies?

Yes, Bobby Labonte was due for a win and I’m glad he finally got it today during the Busch race at Talladega.

What I’m more happy/disappointed about is that Casey Mears finished 3rd in the same race. He led laps and was in a position to win it at the end but because of a late caution he got the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Hopefully this’ll give him good momentum into tomorrows NEXTEL Cup race. There are still only two drivers that I want to get a win under their belt for this season, it’s Casey and Dale Earnhardt Jr. For some reason I have this huge interest in Casey. I think it has to do with watching him on the NASCAR Drivers 360 show on ESPN. Once you’re able to see a driver in his regular everyday environment it’s the turning point in whether you root for him or not.

As much as I would like to say that what a person does off the field, track or court shouldn’t matter when it comes to the game that they play, it does to a certain extent. It’s just easier to like the nice guy, even if they do something “bad” during the game.

In other news…

I was alerted by TallGlassOfMilk that the wives and girlfriends of NASCAR drivers are tossing out those boring synthetic fiber credential lanyards in favor of stylish beaded ones. Check out the photo gallery of the girls sporting their trendy necklace-esque lanyards on AnswerThis…

Tony Stewart. Ugh. Just writing his name bugs me.

Here’s what I wish Tony would do. Stop apologizing! So he left right after the race on Saturday at Phoenix to avoid the media so that he wouldn’t say something stupid (Tony, say something stupid?? Never!). Then he gets on his radio show and says something stupid a few days later, for which he is now apologizing.

I say, don’t apologize! Just go with it! Saying stupid things is obviously Tony’s thing, so he should just revel in it. If those are his opinions and feelings he should say them and move on. Like anyone is really accepting the apology anyway. We expect that kind of stuff from him and when you keep saying you’re sorry all the time it starts to sound really hollow.

I just got off a teleconference call with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It wasn’t just me on the call (I wish), it was for all NASCAR media. Anyway, Dale basically said that there’s nothing for the fans to worry about when it comes to his contract negotiations with DEI.

In regards to the contract issues he said, “I’m pretty excited that things are going to be fine.” I think that his fans should be happy for him in whatever happens; because it’s obviously what he thinks is best for him, the team, and his family.

All I know is that I can’t wait for these negotiations to be over so we can all focus on other important things like… uhm… things that I can think of right now, but I know there’s other things people could be talking about.

Sort of like this…

Should Jeff Gordon surpass Dale Earnhardt in the career victories category this coming weekend at Talladega (they’re currently tied at 6th with 76 wins each), Junior says that people should throw toilet paper instead of beer cans, if they’re upset about Gordon moving ahead of his father in the record books. I should clarify that he’s not encouraging people to be mad about it, he’s just doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.

Thanks to my handy dandy Dale Earnhardt Jr. Desk Calendar I am proud to tell you that the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series has more female fans than any other sport!

Now I’m sure a bunch of close-minded, idiotic, jerky men will tell you that this is because we women just want to look at hot dudes. They couldn’t be more wrong; besides, the NFL, NHL and MLB all have gorgeous men on the payroll too. While I don’t know the exact reasons why women love NASCAR so much I have my suspicions.

For me it’s about the event, it’s about the competition, and it’s about the people. Obviously I like knowing who’s dating who and what so-and-so’s wife is really like, but what I really dig is that every race is like a mini Super Bowl. There are the flyovers, the increasingly large pool of celebrity honorary grand marshals, and of course the usual Nashville recording artist singing the national anthem.

NASCAR is very family friendly. You can bring the kids to the track and make a day, or even a three-day weekend, out of it. There aren’t many sports that give you the access to the teams the way that NASCAR does. You know that before every race your favorite driver will be out signing autographs at a certain time, and even if you don’t catch him there you could bump into him in the garage with your trusty garage pass.

It’s just so easy to be a fan of NASCAR. If you want to listen the in-car communications between the team and the driver you can. If you really wanted to every piece of furniture, clothing or accessories you own can have your favorite driver’s name, car number or face on it.

Bottom line — NASCAR makes it easy for you to feel like you’re apart of something.