Jimmie Johnson's Vengeance on the 25

Today's race was officially "Irony Day" at Talladega. Stewart gets saved by a debris caution when he was just earlier in the week complaining about them. Dale Earnhardt's last rival eclipses him on his birthday at a track filled with fans who would never have possibly seen it coming, and were none too pleased. Oh, and the 48 car dumped the 25 car in a miscue after working well together all day - an exact reverse of what happened at the end of the last race at Talladega, that saw Brian Vickers going on to victory lane.

Of course, the drivers were different - Casey Mears has since replaced vickers as the driver of the 25. But it just seems that anybody who drives that car gets sadled with bad luck. Up and comers like Jerry Nadeu, a former Busch champ like Vickers, and now Mears. Their cars were consistently good, but the 25 just seems to be cursed. Or something.

Either way, you have to wonder if maybe Johnson had some left over agression towards the 25 from last time. Of course, if you're going to go by that theory, maybe he was mad at Greg Biffle, as Casey's car is an almost exact replica in paint scheme of the Biff's National Guard car from last year. Ok, maybe not. Here are the screenshots:









We know now it was another Hendrick "miscommunication." Mears and company thought their teammates were peeling off with them to pit. Johnson and company had no clue this was going to happen and Johnson apparently missed Casey's hand signals down the backstretch. Hendrick cars have been dominating this year, but they also seem to be plagued by bizarre missteps that hurt them. Only their utter domination on the track makes up for this. Luckily for Mears, he will barely hang on to the 35th position in points, meaning he has a guaranteed slot in next week's race.

First Car of Tommorrow Crash Test

It will be interesting to see if either Gilliland or Jarret will be able to get their cars legally fixed in about the same time as the old cars. I guess one good part about starting the COT at Bristol is that it will get beat up on a track where aerodynamics isn't as important as mechanical stability, so any problems that arise with the abuse to the body will have a chance to be addressed before it presents a major problem.

David Reutimann Bad Wreck

Bad wreck. He actually seemed to be passed out there for a moment on live TV. Good thing he walked away. Good thing for the SAFER Barrier too.






You could hear the worry in his spotter's voice over the radio. He moved pretty sluggish, but the safety crew was there in a flash to help him out and put out the fire. Even the TV broadcast was useful -- it is standard protocol that a driver drops his window net to signal he is okay. With David Reutimann not doing that, the best way to make sure he was ok was to go to the in-car view, where it was confirmed he was stirring.

It's a lot better than how it was when I first started watching racing, where you could go minutes without knowing the state of a competitor. Now with the safety emphasis, things are quite different. And with the introduction of the Car of Tommorrow, things will hopefully be even safer.

Daytona 500 Screenshots - Clint Bowyer On His Roof

Did you think I wouldn't grab screenshots? Clint Bowyer had probably the most memorable finish to a Daytona 500 that doesn't involve a win. His 07 Jack Daniel's car flipped onto its roof, burst into flames, and spun like a top before sliding across the finish line upside down and sliding back onto the grass, where it landed back on its wheels.

Remember kids, don't drink and drive.