UAW-GM Quality 500

There's been a lot of attention on this Web site paid to the Winston Cup Victory Lap promotion during the past few weeks. On Saturday, the program will get a lot more attention.

	Richard Childress

While there is no pre-race show scheduled for Saturday night's NBC coverage of the UAW-GM Quality 500, this week's Victory Lap ceremony, in which Richard Childress will drive the No. 3 Chevrolet of the late Dale Earnhardt, will be shown.

The program honors R.J. Reynolds' 33-year sponsorship of NASCAR's top division and recognizes drivers who captured a NASCAR Winston Cup championship.

The broadcast hits the air at 7 p.m. ET, with the green flag scheduled to fly at about 7:20. The show will kick off with a live performance from the band "Three Doors Down" to be followed by a few driver interviews and the Victory Lap ceremony.

Thoughts from Kansas: How interesting was the in-car look at Kurt Busch's hot situation late in the race. It turned out to be good foreshadowing when the crew showed the inside of Busch's car covered in oil. Granted, they probably could have used the shot of his cockpit in flames a few less times, but it was impressive coverage, nonetheless.

Busch's quote on his team radio -- "We're blowin' up. Woohoo!" -- was priceless.

Viewers never really got a good look at what caused Matt Kenseth to spin through the grass, but they got admirable coverage of the points leader and his crew trying to get back on the track.

Quote of the week: "Whatever." -- Bill Elliott speaking about finishing second to Ryan Newman at Kansas.

Apparently a few people over the age of 14 use the "whatever" argument, too.

Good to know.

Ask The Producer: This week's "Ask The Producer" question comes from several users wanting to know why Friday night's "Little Trees" 300 isn't being shown until Saturday at noon ET on TNT.

EMAIL Send Mark a note or a question for Ask The Producer

"It is an unfortunate scheduling conflict between the joint venture, NASCAR and the host track," said a Turner spokesman. "We looked at many solutions and felt this was our best alternative, given the entertainment commitments that we already had in place.

"The decision was made about a year ago when the schedules were finalized. Originally the Busch race was scheduled for early evening, allowing TNT to carry the race live followed by a Network Premiere, but when the time was changed to primetime we were already committed to our entertainment programming."

Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

On to this weekend's schedule...

Winston Cup Series: UAW-GM Quality 500

Site: Concord, N.C.

Track: Lowe's Motor Speedway (1.5 miles, 24-degree banking in turns, 5-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,952 feet, Backstretch: 1,360 feet.)

Last year Jamie McMurray wins in just his second career Winston Cup start Play video McMurray holds off Labonte for his first Winston Cup victory Play video Kenseth's championship hopes go up in smoke Play video

Race distance: 334 laps, 501 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 7 p.m. ET Thursday. Happy Hour: SPEED, 6 p.m. ET Friday. Race: NBC, 7 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year: Jamie McMurray, making just his second career Winston Cup Series start in the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge substituting for injured Sterling Marlin, won the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, making him the quickest winner in NASCAR's modern era.

Last race: Ryan Newman finished second in each of the first two Winston Cup races at Kansas Speedway. In Sunday's Banquet 400, pit strategy helped Newman do one better -- and get his eighth win of the year.

Potential storyline: After posting his two worst finishes of the season in the last two races, Kenseth unwillingly has rejuvenated the championship hopes of his closest rivals in the NASCAR Top 10. Incidentally, Kenseth finished given hope to his closest challengers in the Winston Cup standings. Incidentally, Kenseth finished 34th in this race last year after suffering engine problems.

Point to ponder: Terry Labonte is 10th in points this week, but only 64 points ahead of Michael Waltrip. Only 63 points separate Waltrip from 15th-place Jeff Burton.

Next race: Subway 500, Martinsville Speedway, Oct. 19.

Busch Series: "Little Trees" 300

Site: Concord, N.C.

Last year Burton dominates the field to get his fifth win of the year Play video Several drivers have problems after halfway Play video Waltrip gets a second-place finish Play video

Track: Lowe's Motor Speedway (1.5 miles, 24-degree banking in turns, 5-degree banking in straightaways, Frontstretch: 1,952 feet, Backstretch: 1,360 feet.)

Race distance: 200 laps, 300 miles

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday. Race: TNT, 12 noon ET Saturday (taped).

Last year: Jeff Burton nearly lapped the entire field, winning by nearly 19 seconds.

Last race: David Green led just one lap down the stretch, and that was all he needed to win Saturday at Kansas Speedway and retake the lead in the series points.

Potential storyline: The Busch Series points leader, David Green, finished fifth in this race a year ago. That was his first top-five finish in a Busch Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Point to ponder: Owner Jack Roush will be going for his 10th career Busch Series win at Charlotte on Friday night, far and away the most of any owner. Dick Moroso, Darrell Waltrip and Ed Whitaker are next on the all-time list -- with three each.

Next race: Sam's Town 250, Memphis Motorsports Park, October 18.

Craftsman Truck Series: Silverado 350

Site: Fort Worth, Texas

Track: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval, 24-degree banking in turns, 5-degree banking in dogleg and backstretch. Front Dogleg: 2,250 feet. Backstretch: 1,330 ft.)

Race distance: 146 laps, 219 miles

TV: Race: SPEED, 3 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last year Gaughan takes advantage of Musgrave's spin. Play video David Starr has problems with his gas can Play video

Last year: Brendan Gaughan went ahead when Ted Musgrave spun out during a caution with just 14 laps left and held on to get his second Texas win of the season.

Last race: Dennis Setzer picked up his third victory of the season by winning Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series John Boy & Billy 250 race at South Boston Speedway.

Potential storyline: Gaughan has won three consecutive races at Texas will be gunning for an unprecedented fourth victory in Saturday's Silverado 350. A little over one week ago, when the Las Vegas native rode a solid 72-point lead in series standings, much of Gaughan's attention was on extending the streak and breaking the record he shares with Jack Sprague, who won three straight at Phoenix in 1996-97.

Now, with the lead cut to just 20 points with four races remaining, Gaughan doesn't just want the victory ? he needs it.

Point to ponder: There's never been a closer battle among the top two and top four championship contenders at this stage of the season. Gaughan leads Travis Kvapil by 20 points (previous closest 26 in 1998). The blanket covering Gaughan, Kvapil, Ted Musgrave and Dennis Setzer is 74.

Next race: Silverado 350, Texas Motor Speedway, Oct. 11.

Mark Spoor is an associate producer of NASCAR.com. The Domino's Viewer's Guide appears weekly.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.