Garrett Duke

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Denny Hamlin won today's race at Michigan...to make it two in a row. Think this is his fifth win of the season - he's won five out of the last ten races. He's looking to be the man to beat this year. Perhaps it is just me, but it always seems there is one driver that is the hottest over everyone else, winning more and all that. Like Carl Edwards in '08 when he won eight or nine races and then went winless last year and so far this year. One year their hot, the next year nothing seems to come their way. Can't recall Hamlin's year last year, but don't remember him winning this much last year or hearing all that much about him. Now he's on a winning streak, it seems. I guess it's kinda like Jerry Reed's song...when you're hot, you're hot, when you're not, you're not. LOL. The race as a whole was a pretty good race, I thought. Not a whole lot really happened that sticks out to me. Think they only had four cautions and only two were for accidents. One happened between teammates ...Scott Speed and Casey Mears (who is driving for Brian Vickers) and it sounds like Speed was pretty upset at Mears afterwards. I don't recall another year where so many team mates are getting upset at each other or wrecking each other on the field as they are this year. Here is the top ten of the race: 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Kasey Kahne 3. Kurt Busch 4. Jeff Gordon 5. Tony Stewart 6. Jimmie Johnson 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (was a great finish by him! Am excited to see he got a top ten this week. Hopefully he is going in the right direction and will continue with how he drove today!) 8. Jeff Burton 9. Greg Biffle 10. Joey Lagono Here is the unofficial top twelve standings after the race: 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Kyle Busch (-22 points) 3. Denny Hamlin 4. Kurt Busch 5. Matt Kennseth 6. Jimmie Johnson 7. Jeff Gordon 8. Jeff Burton 9. Greg Biffle 10. Carl Edwards 11. Tony Stewart 12. Mark Martin Hope you all got to catch at least part of the race. It all went pretty quick this week with so few cautions and all that. At least, I thought it did. Next week they go to California for Sonoma...which is a road race! I am excited for it...they only have two road races on thier schedule so it is something different. They get to turn left and right! They don't really get to go all that fast there and it is difficult to pass people which I guess makes it a challenge. Jeff Gordon is pretty good at road races while Jimmie Johnson has yet to win one. They have a few road racers that will probably join them...most popular being Boris Said. It'll be fun to watch. . .

Luke 29 Bo 29 Jesse 29 Cooter 13 Looks like we have a three way tie now...poor ol' Cooter is the one left out.

Denver - I will keep you and your friend and her family in my prayers as you all go through this difficult time.

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Do you mean the chase, Roger? The chase is the last ten races of the season where the top twelve in driver points will be racing for the championship. This can be confusing...there will be 43 drivers out there racing as is the case in any regular season race. Just the top twelve in points will be able to race for the championship. The remainder 31 cars will race for either to be 35th or better in driver points as to not have to qualify with each race the following season in order to race (in other words, they are in the top 35 in points come the end of the year, they automatically qualified to be in the race. Anyone 35th or worse in points has to qualilfy to get into the race.) The rest outside of the top twelve will race to see who can be 13th to get a million dollars. Also, come chase time, NASCAR resets the points...and each win a driver gets during the season, will add ten points for each race won. For example, right now Jimmie Johnson has three wins so he will have thirty extra points...Denny Hamlin has four wins, so right now he will have forty points. (Confusing, ain't it?) I personally miss the old point system, but then again, Gordon has been robbed of at least two championships (if not three) by this "new" point system that started in 2004. Right now, Dale Jr is 16th in points and without any wins. They say that they can tell who will be in or out after the first five or so races...though don't know how they can do that. Anyway, Dale Jr, in my opinion, is in need of some serious help and serious good luck if he wants to make it into the top twelve this year. Sadly. His season started out alright in the first couple of races, but he has seemed to fall back to how things went last year for him. A good run of bad luck if you ask me. If it's not one thing for him, then it is another. He's driving for Hendrick which means he has the best machines and engines working for him...I really hope that things will turn around for him real soon. I think I would celebrate just as big as I do when Gordon wins, if Jr won. (That is if he didn't steal the win from Gordon...HA HA) Well Roger, I hope that helped you a bit. Hope it wasn't too confusing and made some sense. Hope I didn't make anyone in Junior Nation upset...just my opinion as of where he is in points right now and where he's been finishing up at the end of the races, that he needs a bigt share of good luck to make it into the chase. . .

Onto Michigan this Sunday. I like Michigan...then again, it is also known as Gordon's favorite track. Hopefully he'll be able to turn his bad luck from last week into good luck this Sunday. Kasey Kahne has had a good run of bad luck all season long so hopefully his luck will turn as well...as well as Jr. Am looking forward to the Daytona race in July...I think it is the third...Saturday night race (though could be wrong and it be on the fourth which is Sunday) Anyway, Dale Jr will not be sporting his normal Amp Energy Drink 88 car. He will be driving Wrangler 3 car - his dad's old car (well am sure it is a new car made to look like Dale Sr.'s car) but it will be interesting to see it. Sure it will bring back old memories for him as well as Dale Sr's fans as well.

Buzz_17 thank-you for posting this and reminding me about it! I almost forgot...I did read about it a while ago, but haven't thought of it for awhile. That is a couple of hours from me so I am really hoping to get to go! It's not very often that the Duke stars make their way to little ol' Iowa, so hopefully I'll be make it.

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Good question Roger...I looked it up. Looks like his first full year in the cup series was in 2006 and he ended up 17th in points that year. Raced a race in 2005 and finished 22nd in that race after starting 25th. Clint is a pretty good driver. I am happy to see him in the top twelve in points. My opinion of course...

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Here are the points from after yesterday's race: 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Kyle Busch (-19 points behind Harvick) 3. Denny Hamlin 4. Matt Kenseth 5. Kurt Busch 6. Jimmie Johnson 7. Jeff Gordon 8. Jeff Burton 9. Carl Edwards 10. Greg Biffle 11. Mark Martin 12. Clint Bowyer There is the top twelve in points...

Sorry about that TX Daisy. The races will be on TNT (cable) through the July 10th race and then switch over to ESPN...another cable channel. Would think they would want to keep it on a noncable channel so more people could watch...At least I would. You are very welcome...I only got to watch the last few laps. Though I do stand to correct myself. I just watched a replay of the last accident on the last lap. AJ Almindinger went down to block Kasey which sent him into the grass and had slung him up the track and against the wall - his car almost went over the wall! Then collected everyone behind them. Still not a hundred percent sure where drivers are in points.Harvick leads Kyle Busch by 19 points. Jeff Gordon dropped fourth in points to seven and Johnson is now sixth in points. That is about all I know in points at the moment.

Bo 28 Luke 27 Jesse 28 Cooter 17 I've been gone a couple of days and look what happens! Poor Bo lost his points lead...gotta fix that!

LOL TX Daisy...if you saw today's race, you'd have seen one. Well I am not going to be giving one big report on the race today on account that I missed most of it...though did catch the last thirty or so laps so I did see some. I ended up staying out of town a day longer than expected. Anyway...GLGirl is going to be happy to hear that Denny Hamlin won today and led the most laps I hear. Guess my fantasy team will do good with that. Denny Hamilin won, Kyle Busch came in second, Tony Stewart came in third....Harvick may have came in fourth, but am unsure. Harvick still has the lead by 29 or so points over Kyle Busch. That is as far as I know for points and where everyone ended up. There was a lot of excitment at the end of the race...Kevin Harvick and Joey Lagono were racing for position when Lagono spun around. Don't think it was anyone's fault. Joey's car just kinda fell down the track where Harvick's car was and spun him out. Anyway, at the end of the race, Lagono obviously found it to be Harvick's fault because he parked his car by Harvick's and pushed his dad and crew away to get into Harvick's face about it before storming off. The two has had confrontations in the past from the Nationwide Series race. Well they all saved the big wreck for last. AJ Allmindinger went down to collect Kasey Kahne who almost went air borne up the wall of the track which collected Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose...(Cry ) Jeff Gordon. On the very last lap! Wasn't bad enough that Gordon was in 25th spot, but then he wasn't even able to finish the race! Well I am just glad that everyone walked out alright afterwards. It was a big hit for them all! Well that is about all I know so far. I haven't made it to NASCAR.com yet to look at points.

You may have misquoted ol' Waylon, Roger? Hmmm sounded pretty good to me how you said it. Khee! Welcome back General Lee Girl...glad to see you back and to hear that things are getting back to the way they should be for you. Sounds like you had a very stressful and hectic spring, but as I said, glad to hear that things have turned around for the better; the sounds of it; for you. Welcome back!

Hmmm Roger...good question. I only know of Pocono as being triangle shaped. They do race there twice a year and it may have a different sponsor name to it ...one in the summer one in the fall. If that makes sense. Could that be what you are thinking about?

I take it you like Denny Hamlin...LOL.

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Well I am going to be out of town Friday and probably getting back sometime Saturday (don't know know when) so I thought I'd give a small race preview for Sunday's race. They are racing at Pocono on Sunday and it will be on TNT...I think noon ET or at least that is when the coverage starts. So there will be different announcers and pit interviewer people come Sunday now that they are on a new station. Think they will be on TNT for eight races before going to ESPN. I think Pocono is a fun track for them to be on. Mainly because of how different it is from other tracks. Instead of being in the shape of an oval, it is in the shape of a triangle. For my NASCAR fantasy team, I picked Denny Hamlin as my top driver. (Of course, I hope that I lose this week and that Gordon will win! LOL) I remember his rookie year when he won both Pocono races (unless my memory is failing me...) which I thought was pretty neat. If I remember right Pocono is sorta hard track to win at. Don't know about how anyone else is at this track...though am hoping Gordon will win his winless streak. (That surprise any of y'all? LOL) Hopefully Johnson will break through his run of bad luck that has plagued him in the past seven races or so... Hope you all will get to watch the race and that you all will have a great weekend! Also hope that all of your drivers will have a great race. . .

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