Staying cool tough task as action heats up at track

The "dog days" of summer will soon be a memory ... thank God.

Race fans are used to being hot at the track, but this is a touch much, don't you think? Even Watkins Glen was hot, at least on Sunday. Michigan was hot until it rained ... and rained ... and rained. Global warming foolishness aside, there's a battle shaping up at the bottom of the Chase field that promises to be even hotter.

Kurt Busch, to continue the theme, has been going like a house afire. Overcoming that 100/100 penalty at Dover, Busch has put himself on the cusp of the Chase -- and he's beating the red car. That makes all well in Busch-ville.

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Add to it that Busch has thrown up 195-point performances in two of the last four races -- that's all you can earn, folks -- and you start getting the feeling that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to be Chase-less in Richmond again.

Speaking of Earnhardt, you think he might have been a bit premature to announce he was going elsewhere? Tony Eury Jr. sounded a bit like it was no skin off his nose that the driver blew the car up at The Glen, or maybe that was just the feeling he gave off.

The engine troubles DEI is having aren't new, but the same problems don't seem to be cropping up on the RCR side. It's not within the realm of possibility that the DEI cars are getting the short end of the power stick, because that doesn't make sense. What does make sense, at least to me, is that the RCR teams are a bit better at making sure the thing doesn't ventilate from the inside out.

The same thing, sort of, happened with the Roush and Yates teams when they merged their engine program. Roush's cars came out with awesome power and reliability, and Yates' cars still had the power, but the chassis didn't go anywhere. File that one under things that make you go, "Hmmm."

What is the best way to beat the heat at the track? There are several, and not very many of them begin with taking your shirt off. Seriously. My favorite involves finding the media center and staying there until the sun goes down ... but I realize you all can't do that, so here's a tip or two.

If you're camping, make sure there's a mister around. Not a "Mr.," a mister. These come in several forms, the most popular of which is the handheld portable fan with the water line running through it. It's plastic, so you won't give yourself an instant perm, and it runs on batteries.

Another way is to wear light clothing, both in color and material. Too many of us wear black to the track (I look like Elvis, the later years, from time to time, sans glasses, hair and the white leather jumpsuit). White works, so use it!

If you're still hot, find some veteran fans like the ones who belong to the Official NASCAR Members Club, and they'll have an idea or two for you. For instance, at Bristol, Busch and Rusty Wallace each had ONMC Q&A sessions at the Sprint mobile display off Turn 4 -- and that was indoors! Shade works, too. There's no reason to be in mostly aluminum grandstands at noon for a night race. Try that at Bristol and you'll find out first-hand how microwaves cook french fries.

Hope everyone enjoyed Bristol -- it truly is one of the greatest shows in all of motorsports, especially standing at the bottom of Turn 2 and watching them go at it. If you ever get the chance, do it. You won't believe how busy those guys are.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.