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Earlier this week, Lowe’s Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler announced his annual pick to win the All-Star race. He did not step out on too much of a limb, picking Carl Edwards to win the million dollar race. Edwards has won at similar tracks to Lowe’s three times this season, at California, Las Vegas, and Texas. He likely would have won at Atlanta, but blew an engine there.

Edwards may be able to attribute some of his and his teammates’ success to a legal adjustment that his team is making on the cars.

According to many in the garage, Roush-Fenway Racing is installing the rear-end housing (the rear-axle and components) at a slanted angle, to give the cars more grip. Other teams are catching on, as evidenced by the number of slightly crooked cars testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week. So far, despite complaints from drivers like Jeff Gordon, NASCAR has not decided to ban the practice.

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Saturday’s Richmond race provided almost enough excitement to cover for the lack thereof in a few other races this season. The first half of the race did not as much follow that script, as Denny Hamlin led nearly every lap and there were few cautions.

Just past the race’s 2nd half, on lap 233, 11 cars, including those of Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Juan Pablo Montoya were involved in a crash, bringing out a red flag. Despite those big names being taken out of the race, the only three in the whole race that mattered were Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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The loss of a loved one can bring the best and the worst out of someone, especially when that loved is as much of a presence as Bobby Hamilton was. Hamilton was never what one would call a superstar, but he did finish his Sprint Cup career with four wins and one top-10 finish in the points. He was the first driver to win in the #43 STP car after Richard Petty retired and won a Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2004, driving for and owning his own multi-truck team.

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Two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart has driven for Joe Gibbs Racing his entire stock car career and is slated to through at least 2009. If there is any truth to rumors that have surfaced late this week, this could change.

Inside sources have told several media outlets that discussions are under way to facilitate a move that would see Tony Stewart leave Gibbs, possibly before the end of his contract, to drive a Chevy for Hass-CNC Racing. Considering the wide difference in the competitive level of the two organizations, this move would be seen as a major coup if it were to happen.

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Suspended NASCAR driver Aaron Fike admitted to reporters this week that he used heroin sometimes on race days. This has led to a nearly unanimous reaction amongst drivers.

The strongest response came from Kevin Harvick, whom Fike raced for in the Nationwide Series for three races in 2006. Harvick says that he never suspected any wrongdoing out of Fike and thinks that there needs to mandatory drug testing for all drivers.

“We haven’t made any headway whatsoever on the drug testing policy. In the 10 years that I’ve raced, I’ve never been drug tested. So to me, that is not a proper professional sports drug policy,” Harvick said.

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An announcement that many anticipated came to fruition on Tuesday, as General Mill and Richard Childress Racing announced a partnership between Cheerios/Betty Crocker and the #33 team, beginning in 2009. No driver for the team has been announced, though many speculate that Bobby Labonte is the leading candidate.

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What had been a quiet news week for the Sprint Cup Series is turning into a clamor. Jack Roush, a vehement opposing figure to Toyota’s being in NASCAR, is accusing a certain Toyota team of possessing a “proprietary” part that belongs to his team.

“We had a proprietary Roush-Fenway part go missing from one of my race teams, and we recovered it from a Toyota team. I’m not going to say which team it is, but we are considering legal action, or getting NASCAR involved,” said Roush, addressing the media earlier this week. There are rumors circulating that Michael Waltrip Racing was the team found with the Roush-Fenway part.

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For what last Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 lacked in race-time drama, the post-race press conference and comments made up for. Many drivers vocalized their opposition of Goodyear’s choice of tire compound, but none were as strong in their opinions as 2nd place-finisher Tony Stewart.

“That was the most pathetic racing tire that I’ve ever been on in my professional career,” said Stewart in the post-race conference. “… Goodyear can’t build a tire that is worth a crap. If I were Goodyear, I would be really embarrassed about this weekend and what they brought here.”

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NASCAR has been busy since Daytona, levying penalties and fines upon several teams. Robby Gordon and his team did not go unscathed, receiving 100 point owner’s and driver’s points penalties, a hefty fine, and a suspension of his crew chief, Gene Nead. The National Stock Car Racing Commission reversed NASCAR’s decision of taking Gordon’s points away, but increased crew chief Gene Nead’s fine.

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