Weekend That Was: Chicagoland Speedway (cont'd)

Clear air
It looked for a moment like Hamlin might be headed for more controversy with another driver following the race at Chicagoland, when he exchanged some pointed post-race words with Jeff Gordon, the current leader in driver points. Hamlin is second in points.

"I just thought at certain points in the race it seemed like we were racing each other really hard. So I asked him if I did anything to him, and he said no, so we're fine. I think it's just if I had the guy who's right behind me in points -- not right behind, but second in points -- but I'd probably race him pretty hard to. I just wanted to kind of clear the air there.

"I felt like I haven't raced anyone harder or done anything wrong here lately. Jeff was just racing me a little bit harder than what I wanted at certain points of the race. So I just asked him about it and he cleared it up for me."

Better teammates?
As for Hamlin and Stewart, they both claimed that they actually worked better together during Sunday's event than they have in quite some time.

"I know we raced each other for what seemed like the first quarter of the race," Hamlin said. "We were within five car-lengths of each other. He would motion and say things to me to help me with my line and whatnot. So I think he's showing his remorse in different ways than saying he's sorry."

In other words, Hamlin no longer is holding out for that public apology from Stewart that he knows isn't coming. He added that both he and Stewart received the message on teamwork loud and clear from Joe Gibbs Racing team owner Joe Gibbs and team president J.D. Gibbs over the weekend.

"I think Coach and J.D. were [clear] for the most part, because they work awful hard to make these teams as strong as they are. And what they have expressed to us is that it goes further than just me and Tony. There are 400 families in all that's involved in this race [organization] that's affected by our relationship. So we need to basically suck it up and do what we have to do to be good teammates. I think moving forward, it's going to be a great relationship between us."

Pit Stops
• Yes, there were other things that happened during the weekend that was, and they had nothing to do with either Stewart or Hamlin. Among them, Kevin Harvick continued to display an amazing prowess at the Chicagoland Speedway. He won the Busch Series race there on Saturday and was in the hunt for a long time in the Cup race on Sunday, leading on four different occasions for a total of 54 laps before finishing fourth (watch video).

• After losing his power steering with 56 laps to go Sunday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked if he planned to go to the gym and work out to make his muscles stronger on Monday. "Nope," he replied. "I'm going to sit on the porch, and drink some cold beer." Now that Budweiser is on the way out as the official sponsor of the car he drives, maybe he can try one of Stewart's closely guarded cans of Schlitz.

• Mike Skinner continued his season-long domination in the Truck Series, winning at Kentucky Speedway by leading 135 of 150 laps (watch video). It was his fourth win of the season and his lead in the point standings now stands at 164 points ahead of Ron Hornaday, who is second. Most impressive Skinner statistic: he has completed all 2,193 laps of the 13 Truck races this season, has led in every race, and has finished out of the top 10 only once.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.