Cross' Words: Charlotte

Random ruminations ...

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• Scott Riggs spent the majority of the race in the top 10 -- and then was collected in a wreck involving Juan Montoya on Lap 279. Riggs now has 13 finishes of 30th or worse in 24 starts, including five DNFs (all in his past nine races).

• It's now been 76 races since Ryan Newman last rolled into Victory Lane. Three laps from ending that streak, he spun out.

• Understatement of the Year: Toyota has struggled.

OK, the Toyota drivers haven't drove it like they stole it very often, but Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip and A.J. Allmendinger posted top-15 finishes at Charlotte. So what's the big deal? Charlotte marked the first time Toyota had three cars finish in the top 15.

• Dale Jarrett is retiring next year. As my smart aleck buddy Bill observed Friday night: "I thought he already retired."

• Putting David Reutimann in the No. 44 is a good move; making the No. 00 an R&D ride (c'mon -- two unproven drivers, Josh Wise and Michael McDowell, sharing the seat; what else can you call it?) may prove to be a great decision for Waltrip Racing.

• Casey Mears' 21st-place finish -- the result of a penalty on Lap 140 when his crew went over the pit wall too soon -- ended a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes.

Not that anyone has noticed, but Mears has only three finishes outside the top 15 in the past 11 races -- and none worse than 22nd.

• Making his first start since Richmond, Bill Elliott finished 35th. In 15 races for the Wood Brothers, Elliott's average finish is 27.8. ... Everyone was hoping for better results.

• The final spots in the top 35 in owner points is heating up. Cars in the top 35 at the end of the year are guaranteed a spot in the first six races of 2008:

• A softer left-side tire compound was supposed to have helped contain the yellow fever that has been running rampant at Charlotte in recent races. ... Whoops. Saturday night marked the seventh consecutive race that caution flags numbered in double digits.

From 2000-2004 -- before the track was levigated prior to the May 2005 race -- the average number of cautions was 7.5. Since 2005, the average has doubled (15).

But hey, the all-you-can-eat grandstand was a huge success! You can bet more tracks will try that gimmick.

• From the Sporting News Wire Service: Next year will mark the final time that the United Auto Workers will have the title sponsorships of the Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas.

The UAW has sponsored the Cup race at Las Vegas since 2001. Only Coca-Cola (1985; Charlotte), Food City (1992; Bristol), Save Mart (1992; Sonoma) and Chevrolet (2000; Richmond) have enjoyed longer consecutive-year runs as title sponsors on a Cup race entering 2008.

• To answer the banner -- How much does Bobby Ginn owe you? -- that flew above Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night: nothing. Thankfully.

• Ray Cooper, 53, passed away Saturday after brief bout with cancer. He worked 12 years as a sports reporter at the News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C., before becoming the first manufacturer media representative for Chevrolet in NASCAR, and joined Dodge Motorsports in 2001 as its manufacturing rep.

Say What?

"Yep, we're going to honeymoon at Martinsville. We'll eat some Martinsville [hot] dogs and maybe mix up a margarita or something on the bus."
-- Greg Biffle, who enters wedded bliss with Nicole Lunders on Wednesday

Figuratively Speaking

45 -- Jeff Burton's points lead over Matt Kenseth at the halfway point of the 2006 Chase.

Burton's engine grenaded at Martinsville and as a result he fell to fifth in points, 48 behind Kenseth.

11 -- Points lead for Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart -- tied ahead of Greg Biffle -- after Charlotte in 2005.

Smoke finished second at Martinsville and never relinquished the top spot en route to his second Cup title.

24 -- Kurt Busch's points lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. after five races during the inaugural Chase in 2004.

KB posted a fifth-place finish at Martinsville and expanded his lead to 96 points over second-place Jeff Gordon.

Up Next

Subway 500 | Martinsville | 1 p.m. ET Sunday | ABC
Race No. 32 of 36 | Get tickets | Book travel

• Defending race winner: Jimmie Johnson
• Most victories at the track: Jeff Gordon (7)
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (6.6 in 11 starts)
Active drivers only

Sound off

• This week's topic
Let's not jump to conclusions but if Jeff Gordon wins his fifth Cup championship, where does it rank?

He has four titles under the pre-Chase format, and the argument remains that he won those championships during a time when the field -- top to bottom -- was stronger than the 1950-80s.

If he wins the 2007 Chase, it could be argued that he did it against a concentrated field of the best drivers the sport has ever seen.

Would this year's title hold more cache, or do any of his previous four outweigh the Chase title?

Surf over and weigh in on the blog.

• Last week's topic
Five of the 12 drivers in the Chase are more than 250 points behind leader Jeff Gordon. Is it too early to eliminate these drivers? If not, which driver is most likely to make a charge during the final six races?

racefann
You have three guys contending and one on the fringe ... everyone else is on the outside looking in, and they know it ... no one has ever made up that large of a deficit, and no one is on that type of a roll this year ... Stewart is a long shot, but has the determination to make it ... and he's the only one within the points distance that can ... the rest are gone.

VasMikey
The next three races will determine I still think it is too early to make any real 'written in stone' predictions. The next three races will either seal it for the Hendrick duo or tighten things up for the top five in the Chase.

24jeff
I hope it will be the 24 with the championship, but that darn 48 keeps getting in the way. I think the top four is who it will come down to. I'll have to say from fifth on back have no chance, but will still make a run at it.

chrisnoe
I think this is going to come down to the 24 and 48 in a Hendrick showdown. Although Gordon has been the points leader most of the year, I don't think Johnson wants to be the bridesmaid at the end of the year.

242win7
With two more Car of Tomorrow races left in the year, it is down to the the No. 24, 48 and 07. Jimmie and Jeff have the COT figured out too well for anyone else to get close to them. Take into consideration the motor problems at RCR, and the 07 could very well be on the outside looking in after next Saturday. Should be a good battle between Jeff and Jimmie to the end though, with Jeff edging him by 30 points or so when it is over!

Read all the responses ...

Reality TV

Johnny Sauter and Jeff Green are racing for their seats in 2008 -- though no one is sure which (if either) will return to Haas CNC Racing in the wake of Scott Riggs' signing. In fact, Sauter already has been told he can look for greener pastures ... but Green may also be out the door.

So in true Pinks fashion, here's the tote board for who keeps their ride, at least in theory:

Six of one ...
Chase drivers with momentum heading to Martinsville:

• Jeff Gordon -- Twenty-three top-10s -- including an active streak of nine in a row -- in 29 races at M'ville. Seven wins, 7.3 average finish ... he could be on cruise control by the time we turn toward Phoenix.

• Clint Bowyer -- For those who thought he was a pretender in a field of contenders ... HA!

• Kyle Busch -- OK, enough with the maturity questions.

• Jeff Burton -- Fourth-place finish was a great bounce back from a last-place run at 'Dega.

• Carl Edwards -- Kansas may prove to be his Waterloo; that 37th-place finish looms large.

• Tony Stewart -- Reckon Paul Menard would accept an invite to settle it on the dirt at Eldora? I smell pay-per-view!

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Jimmie Johnson -- Sixty-eight points is not too much to overcome against a mortal. Against Jeff Gordon ...

• Kurt Busch -- Fell further behind in points for the fifth consecutive week.

• Kevin Harvick -- Only one top-10 in five races? Who'd have thought that was possible.

• Denny Hamlin -- Ditto.

• Martin Truex Jr. -- Ditto.

• Matt Kenseth -- Ditto.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.