DISQUS

I'm glad to see DEI-Ganassi took my advice and went down to three teams this week.

Stymied is a defensive term. Which most will agree doesn't apply to Traore very well.

Ameliorite a conundrum?

At least you were right when you said Traore is not a panacea.

If Arsene was looking for a young left winger he could simply try Kieran Gibbs. He's the reason why Traore is in Pompey.

It's annoying that the format changes almost yearly (the drivers forget how many laps and when mandatory pit stops are),and the lineup criteria is a farce, but the race has a purpose: promoting the season and the Daytona 500. Dale Jr won last year and created instant buzz. Stewart and Kurt Busch had a mysterious quasi-fight in last year's practice session. Denny Hamlin as a surprise winner in 2006. There is always something newsworthy that comes out of the Shootout.

I suggest a new criteria for the lineup. 1. A footrace that instantly qualifies the top 18 finishers. 2. A wildcard pie eating contest for the fastest 2 drivers. 3. Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon make it every year (they're great plate races, polarizing drivers and still makes more sense than having David Stremme in the Shootout).

I think Man City views this not only as trying to get one of the premier players in the world, but as a status thing. Whether anyone else besides the media cares is another story.

I can't see this Man City experiment ending well, no matter how much money the group has.

What I would like to see is a team make the CoT exciting to race and then have everyone copy that.

I believe Downing was developed at Arsenal's academy.

I'd like to think Gael Clichy. He does the job effectively always with 100% but doesn't care about the credit.

Based on actual football skill, looks and touch then I'm Dirk Kuyt.

Skillwise, Newman and Ku Busch are both top ten drivers. It's not that Penske doesn't have resources, they just seem to squander them. The whole Intrepid/Charger experiment in 2006 set them back. Last year they seemed to have rebounded, but then this year the bottom fell out.

The one drawback for both drivers is their tendency to wreck. Newman is often at the top of the year end USA Today crash charts. That's the biggest difference between Penske and RCR in my opinion.

If Johnson does play a round of golf at Homestead, hopefully he's smart enough to stay inside the cart this time.

I've heard complaints about Johnson making the Chase boring, but wasn't it boring before the Chase when a driver would essentially lock up the title in September? Anyway if people are sick of Johnson winning, then maybe someone could try winning (Jr, Gordon) or at least not beat themselves (Edwards, Busch).

Ernest, that's a pretty solid summary of Burton. He is truly the definition of substance over style.

The last two fall races Junior has run in the top 5 all day but lost a cylinder last year and was spun in '06. Plus Hendrick kills at Martinsville.

Boob of the Race? I like it. For Lowe's I would say it was Steve LeTarte for the final pit stop. Gordon was good enough to take fuel only and challenge Burton for the win. Instead they took four tires and fuel, completely negating their advantage.

"Come to think of it, is there a track where Kenseth CAN’T get to the front?"

Sonoma.

Harvick is a definitely strong at restrictor plate tracks. I think the top drivers will play it safer this week because Edwards, Johnson and Biffle can all make it up at other tracks. Drivers like Jr, Harvick and Gordon must score top fives because they can't rely on outrunning the other cats at intermediates. One other darkhorse that doesn't get credit on plate tracks is Matt Kenseth. He knows how to get to the front.

I think Menard earned his chance at the Cup level. Obviously the sponsor money made things easier, but at least Menard did well at the Busch level. I think he will always be a fringe driver sort of like a AAAA baseball player. Better than the minors, but not quite good enough for the big leagues.

Thanks for the comments Robb. You definitely deserve to bask in Biffle's success right now. And he certainly has a great chance to be in the mix come Homestead.

Maybe my take was a bit too cynical. I was trying to pose a few general possibilities for the lack of juice this year. I was curious what reasons people had for tuning in or out during the Chase.

Kellie,
The Caterpillar sponsorship will be on Burton's #31 car next year, but Burton is remaining with Richard Childress. I haven't heard a lot on a replacement sponsor for the #22 car aside from possibly Gillett-Evernham buying the car.

Spencer, no worries. I started Martin at Loudon in the Pay the Fan game, so needless to say I won't be getting paid.

I thought about Martin but his two best chances in the Chase are the two races he didn't enter: Loudon and Phoenix.

Dover is a possibility, but I just didn't trust DEI cars on the speedways. Martin is still a better driver than probably have the Chasers, but he's held back by mediocre cars and pit road mistakes.

Yeah, picking Jr is the result of staying up really late at night, not having a solid pick, nodding off and having your face hit the eight key a few times. It was either that or AAA.

I used to play the EA sports PC game, but it was so buggy it belonged in Pennsylvania Dutch country.

I said it was a small issue and also don't think it will be an issue. I felt like it was worth mentioning Busch's emotions but didn't want to dwell on it.

I think you're right James, while a lot of attention is focused on his pure talent or Gibbs' performance, Busch is just more mature than he was last year. Which makes sense since he's still only 23.

Jimmie Johnson has been ridiculous during the Chase in the last four years. Someone could beat him, but it may take three or four wins and 7-8 top 5's.

Thanks for the comment Spencer. Penske obviously chooses open-wheel first and that explains a lot. Dodge hasn't been a good move, no question. But they still have the resources (technology, sponsors, top drivers, cash) to compete with the top Cup teams. Even if they are second-rate, I still believe the Penske cars could run better than they are.

Even if it requires a liberal use of magnets, Tony Stewart will win in 2008. He is too good and has run well enough at times to win.

Rooney is always good for a broken foot each year.

Sure it's excessive what rich people buy, but a $700,000 gym is pretty low on the frivolous spending scale. It would be great if every wealthy person gave back to charities or lived more modestly, but then that is a challenge to everyone living in the West if we're honest.

If you are upset about how much money players and teams make, then vote with your wallet and don't buy their merchandise, tickets, etc.