The eyes don't lie, and other truths in the garage

The eyes don't lie -- never have, never will -- whether you're talking racing or roller derby.

And so the eyes told such fascinating tales last weekend at Phoenix, whether they were looking at virtual championship-clinching scenarios, positioning for one, last desperation shot at a title or looking for the weak spot in an opponent's mid-section.

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If those resemble the atmosphere around the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series garages looking ahead to Homestead, bingo.

It certainly wasn't reflecting the mood Sunday night at Phoenix, where for one thing the infield was all but pitch black; but if it had been spot-lit all it would have shown was thousands of eyes focused on getting back east -- period.

But at different points earlier in the weekend, some eyes were virtual passageways into a lot of inner feelings.

Jamie McMurray's reflected non-stop glee, and why not? He'd gotten engaged to be married earlier in the week, and discussing came first.

It kicked aside all talk of racing in general, his front row qualifying effort for the Sprint Cup race, a sporty seventh place in the Nationwide event and third in the feature, included.

But if they weren't veiled by sunglasses on Friday afternoon, McMurray's eyes would have truly sparkled as he talked about his 2009 reunion with veteran crew chief Donnie Wingo -- because McMurray's words virtually dripped with enthusiasm.

The veteran mechanic Wingo's were 98-percent intensely focused on producing results for his driver, Reed Sorenson and their Chip Ganassi Racing team for two more race weekends. The other two percent was an absolutely delightful region of mirth that only an insider could truly fathom.

Because Wingo said he couldn't talk about his next deal -- though there was no question where his commitment for the balance of the 2008 season was. Every move he made throughout the weekend stated nothing less --- and his eyes were the exclamation point.

Jam Cars live

The Nationwide Series is the No. 2 professional motor sport in the country, but it's still nice to see a touch of short track mentality come calling, specifically Tuesday afternoon when Richard Childress Racing entered Jeff Burton in RCR's No. 21 Chevrolet, which has been mostly sidelined this season due to lack of funding.

Don't even try to tell me Prilosec wanted some extra exposure at Ford Championship Weekend. Burton was entered to beat Carl Edwards and deny him as many points as possible as Edwards chases Burton's teammate, the Nationwide championship leader, Clint Bowyer.

And really, that's just fair play, because Edwards' Roush Fenway Racing team already has two cars racing besides Edwards: David Ragan, a series regular and McMurray's part-time No. 17. Now, if Jack enters Greg Biffle in the part-time No. 16, we'll have dueling Jam Cars!

He's gotta hang

Just how intensely Sprint Cup drivers consider every spot in the points was brought up by Denny Hamlin on Sunday, when he expressed his delight over finishing fifth and advancing three positions -- from 12th to ninth -- in the standings on account.

In the last five races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Hamlin has been the fourth-best "closer," behind only the top-three men in the standings: Jimmie Johnson, Edwards and Biffle; and Hamlin's only seven points behind Biffle in total points produced in that stretch.

"It was a good points day for us and we got ourselves back in the top 10 -- that's what it's all about," Hamlin said. "It's important. It's a big deal. I missed it last year and watched [the banquet] on TV. That part of it sucks, that's for sure.

"You want to get on stage and you want to thank your crew and thank your sponsors and everything -- they deserve it and [want to] have their driver up there on that stage each and every year. I want to get up on stage and thank all these people that supported me -- all the FedEx employees. I wasn't able to give that to them last year so hopefully we'll do it this year."

He might easily achieve his goal. He's trailed in the points by Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his own Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart.

But Earnhardt and Stewart have been the two worst point producers in the last five races, by far in Stewart's case; and Stewart and Earnhardt finished 30th and 36th last year at Homestead, while Hamlin was third.

If he does, Hamlin will deserve a double-sigh of relief, considering what he thinks of the immediate aftermath of Homestead.

"A lot of people having a sigh of relief that the season is over, for sure," Hamlin said. "It's definitely been a long year for us. The traveling gets tough. We're just looking forward to hopefully solidifying our spot in the top-10."

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer