Tony Stewart and ESPN have this love-hate relationship going on it seems. ESPN is always on his back about something and once you get on Tony’s backside it’s kind of hard to get off it. ESPN after races would ask Tony questions that would just piss him off even more. This is where the feud has started and it seems to be getting worse.

With his on-air profanity being caught I’m sure Stewart will get a nice penalty and make it just that much harder on ESPN to get anything out of Stewart.The funny part is usually ESPN interviews Stewart if he wins a race and I really don’t see Stewart talking to them even if he wins. I guess we will have to wait and see. All in all it’s an interesting feud that seems to be growing by the week.

Jimmie Johnson is heading to the back after having trouble in Happy Hour with a brush with the wall. In other news Tony Stewart could be in some mnore hot water as he used profanity and it was caught on air. He has been having a running battle with ESPN and it looks like that is continuing. I’m sure Nascar will have something to say about Stewart’s action.

Dale Jarrett and UPS are trying to figure out which is best for each other and which direction to head. I’m sure UPS isn’t going anywhere, but it’s good to be on the same page.

Matt Kenseth was close again in the Busch race at Kansas City, but no cigar as Kyle Busch edged him at the end. It seems Kenseth doesn’t get any breaks.

This is becoming old hat for Jimmie Johnson. Johnson added to his collection of poles as he took the one at Kansas City with a lap of 175.063. Ryan Newman was second with a lap of 174.893, but will head to the back of the field because his car failed inspection.

Scott Riggs will start third, followed by Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr, and Clint Bowyer. Tony Stewart will start 19th while Carl Edwards who lost 25 points in the standings this week will roll of 27th. The real losers were Jeff Burton who starts 31st.

When the roll call is read at Hendrick Motorsports it goes Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and than Casey Mears. Mears is resigned to the fact that until he starts running up front on a consistent basis he won’t ever getting and press when your in a stable of thoroughbreds.

This doesn’t faze Mears though as he wouldn’t want it any other way. Mears know to be the best you have to beat the best and even if that includes passing your teammates at the finish line. Mears knows how to drive a race car and even though at times he has struggled he is getting better. This year will mark his fourth crew chief in four years. This could have something to do with his slow progress. Having the same people in place helps the team as a whole and Mears realizes that. He can only control what happens behind the wheel and that’s what he worries about the most. All the other things will take care of themselves.

Through the years of Nascar racing does winning a championship or not winning a championship really effect how you are viewed when you retire. This is a very interesting question and probably has a yes and no answer. Let’s look at two drivers and you can see what I mean. Take Ricky Rudd and Mark Martin neither one has won a Nascar championship, but both have won races and competed for championships coming close but no cigar.

Does this mean they should be looked down on like quarterbacks who don’t win the Super Bowl or NBA players who don’t win the NBA crown. I say no. Martin and Rudd are two very good drivers and command respect in the garage area and among fans, but the question is how much more would they have been respected with a championship under their belt. I guess we will never know.

Carl Edwards found out his punishment and it maynot have fit the crime, but it was severe enough. Nascar hit Edwards with a 25 point point reduction which dropped him all the way to sixth in the chase 28 points behind. How big is this?

Consider this if Edwards finishes 10 points out of the championship he would have won by 15 points. This is why these penalties especially now are so huge. I’m sure that in the next few races all the Chase contenders are going to make sure that this doesn’t happen to them. Hopefully this won’t cost Edwards a Championship, but you never know.

After 2008 the Bud Shootout will be up in the air for a number of reasons. first of all the primary sponsor of it is Budweiser and their contract runs through 2008 and Nascar has signed a deal with Coors Light to be the Official Beer Of Nascar.

This means the Bud Shootout could be sponsored by Coors Light in 2009 or something maybe worked out. It’s hard to say and it will be awhile before anyone really has an answer. It seems Nascar is always changing sponsors anymore so this is just a fact of life and things are going to continue to change.

Toyota decided that it would go racing this year after success in the Craftsman Truck Series, but Nextel Cup Racing is another animal which they have quickly found out. It takes years to get your teams consistently winning races. if it was so easy everyone would be doing it.

Competition in Nextel Racing is so fierce that everybody will try almost anything to get a leg up on the competition. Toyota Racing jumped in I think before they realized how tough it would be. Fielding many teams probably wasn’t the right idea, but it’s a learning process just like anything you do and they probably have taken a lot from this first year which is a good thing. In the future these tough times will mold them for the future. Success is a long road and this is just one step on this long journey.

Carl Edwards had to dodge metal, tire parts and just about everything to capture the win at Dover. It seem like every time you would turn around another wreck was happening. This was a huge win for Carl Edwards who move even closer  to Jeff Gordon who now has the points lead by the slimmest of margins.

Edwards did have some bad news though his car failed inspection after the race as the height was the problem. It will be interesting to see what Nascar has to say about it this week and if they penalize him points which could be huge.

Travis Kvapil was able to break away from a tight pack of trucks with four laps to go to grab his fourth win in the Craftsman Truck Series.  Jacques Villeneuve former Formula One Driver finished 21st in his Craftsman Truck debut.

Kvapil was able to pull away frpm Johnny Benson and Jon Wood to match both Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday for the series lead in wins. The Truck series has some very good drivers and it’s a shame more time on the networks aren’t spent on this series.