All of you guys may not know this, but please do not worry.  The Champ is not worried.  Tomorrow will be a day of surgery and getting well.  I may try to sit up, but I don’t know.  My surgeon, Dr. Van Norman, expects to keep the Champ overnight and see how I am on Wednesday.  When I come back from the hospital I will have a strap on me to prevent swelling.  No big deal.  I’m really excited to go on the operating table, because I know that God is protecting me and guiding the doctor while he performs the minor operation.  No pain, no gain.  I hope to bring you a further update on Thursday when I hope to be released from the hospital.

Sonoma, CA – Kasey Kahne, who drives for Richard Petty MotorSports, put “The King” back in victory lane.  This was Petty’s first win since ’99.

Here is your running order from yesterday’s SaveMart 350: 1. Kasey Kahne 2. Tony Stewart 3. Marcos Ambrose 4. Jimmie Johnson 5. Denny Hamlin 6. Juan Montoya 7. AJ Allmendinger 8. Clint Bowyer 9. Jeff Gordon 10. Elliott Sadler

Here are you points leaders after the race: 1. Tony Stewart 2. Jeff Gordom – 84 3. Jimmie Johnson -157 4. Kurt Busch -280 5. Carl Edwards
-313 6. Ryan Edwards -318 7. Denny Hamlin -355 8. Greg Biffle -372 9. 
Kyle Busch -402 10. Matt Kenseth -407 11. Mark Martin -438 12. Juan Montoya -447

Last year, over the summer months, it was all the Kyle Busch show, but as the weather cooled off it became clear, entering the Chase, that Jimmie Johnson would tie Cale Yarborough.  Can Busch repeat over the summer months a long stretch of racing that saw him become a legitimate threat to Johnson?  It seemed like when the weather got hotter, the M&Ms team, led by Steve Addington, seemed to be performing at a championship level.  Or, might this be the year of the 50 year-old, Mark Martin?  The answers begin at Sonoma, then Loudon.

With Danica Patrick’s contractual obligations running out with Andretti-Green Racing, the media darling is going to get a lot of attention.  So, should she become the first woman in NASCAR?  Yes.  I think it would boost NASCAR’s ratings, which are on a downward spiral.  Patrick currently sits 5th in the IRL, Indy Racing League, driver points.  She is the most notable name in the racing market.  

The switch would prove that ladies could vie for Nationwide Titles.  

The thing that I like the most about Patrick is you never know which Patrick will show up.  Is it the one that can tangle with you?  She may weigh only 100 pounds., but she definitely would be a dose of medicine that NASCAR needs.  She could easily take Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s spot.  So, while we wait for the Indy Car season to draw to a conclusion, one wonders where this free-agent will wind up.

Will it be another case of the Jr. mistake?  Will the IRL’s brightest star shine brightly in a NASCAR world that is filled with doom and gloom over the Jr. puzzle?