Thanks to Kansas, the '09 Chase became best Chase (cont'd)

Reutimann rockin' on

I find no irony in the fact that David Reutimann "called this a breakout season." Reutimann was the only non-Chase driver to finish in the top 10 Sunday (read more). The funny thing is, since the "spat" that Reutimann and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had at New Hampshire, when they both were racing for top-five finishes, Reutimann has handily handled Hendrick Motorsports' No. 4 driver.

It's only two races, sure, but Reutimann has averaged starting ninth and finishing 14.5, while Junior's numbers are 13th and 28th, respectively. The edge that June Bug has is the 41 laps he led at Kansas, but the bottom line is results, and to this point -- in fact all season -- Reuttie has him handled.

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Mark your calendar

Historic moments are always fun to witness, and in this case plenty of tickets are available -- so if you're going to be anywhere near Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 31, put the Mountain Dew 250 on your must-see list.

A Camping World Truck Series event at Talladega is a show, there's no mistaking that. But when you add the fact that, for the first time in the history of NASCAR's three national tours a father-daughter combination will be racing -- that sends it over the top.

Mike Wallace, who had an extremely successful run in the Truck Series back at the turn of the century is fired-up at driving a truck for the ultimate racer, Andy Hillenburg.

And the icing on the cake is his daughter, Chrissy, who's still trying to get her promising racing career off the ground, has a ride in a Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet with Earnhardt Childress Racing Technologies power.

Both trucks plan to race all day but both teams are seeking additional sponsorship to get their drivers a bigger bang for the (sponsors') buck.

Hear, Hear Joey Logano

Joey Logano's Dover flips are probably the most over-played, over-hyped NASCAR event in perhaps the last decade -- not to mention the fact that it emphasized peoples' inability to watch video and count flips. That is, unless they're rounding-off to the highest full number (watch video).

If anyone truly expected that accident to have much effect on Logano's effectiveness, especially considering his age and the avowed aura of invincibility that surrounds the young -- they are more ignorant than they'd want to admit. At the very least, they should have waited a week or 10 days to write about it.

And what was the saddest aspect? That Logano, who scored his long-awaited (for a guy who only has a 32-race Cup career), first Cup victory earlier this summer, would have to say the aftermath of the crash had eclipsed the media storm he experienced following his win.

Oh well, hype will outsell substance every time, I guess.

Biffle's back?

Greg Biffle's third place at Kansas might be the best news yet for Chase watchers -- and it might mean a seventh legitimate contender considering Biffle's California history.

Biffle says, and proving it's never too late, that his Greg Erwin-led team has "found something," and their performance Sunday proved that. Biffle's performance on two tires even provided one of the race's most comic moments.

At one point, as he closely tailed three-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson -- the defending Kansas race winner who had struggled mightily for a long time to get around Biffle despite a four-tire-to-two advantage -- Biffle keyed his radio.

"That's the best driver in the world," Biffle said of Johnson, through a chuckle, "and he can't out-run two tires."

Too bad Biffle didn't listen to Erwin late, when the crew chief wanted to make the two-tire play again. (Continued)