Stock Car Commission upholds penalties

According to the AP: The National Stock Car Racing Commission has denied the appeals of team owner James Finch, driver Johnny Sauter and crew chief Joel Shear for having an illegal carburetor.

The infraction was discovered after the NASCAR Busch series race April 16 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The car, which finished 14th, was disqualified, and Finch and Sauter were docked all of their points for that event. Shear was suspended for four races and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

In their appeal, the trio contended the carburetor had been previously presented to and approved by NASCAR officials and that the penalties were too severe.

The three-man commission, headed by chairman George Silbermann, called the violation "blatant" and upheld the original penalties as well as adding a $25,000 fine for Finch.

Tony Stewart is in the "hot seat" in Texas!

With 37 laps left in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas, something broke on Stewart's car, creating a fireball from underneath. Once the car rolled to a stop on the backstretch, Stewart scrambled out quickly.

He was treated at the infield medical center and released.

"Tony has some first-degree burns," Joe Gibbs Racing spokesman Mike Arning said. "here is a small burn on the lower back of his right thigh that's about the size of a fist. The other area is on his right elbow about the size of the one on his thigh, and it's more like a bad sunburn.

"Both are minor burns, which he'll treat on his own in the coming days."

Of course, that' easy for them to say isn't it?

After leading the Samsung/RadioShack 500 twice for 45 laps, Stewart finished 31st.

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts 500 Projected Finishing Order

Here are the StatLeader computer's projected top 25 finishers for this week's Nextel Cup Advance Auto Parts 500 race. Note that several leagues require you to freeze your lineup by this afternoon.

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Jamie McMurray
3. Dale Jarrett
4. Ryan Newman
5. Jeff Burton
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Tony Stewart
8. Bobby Labonte
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10. Sterling Marlin
11. Mark Martin
12. Ricky Rudd
13. Kurt Busch
14. Rusty Wallace
15. Matt Kenseth
16. Ken Schrader
17. Jeremy Mayfield
18. Kevin Harvick
19. Michael Waltrip
20. Kasey Kahne
21. Greg Biffle
22. Mike Wallace
23. Elliott Sadler
24. Jeff Green
25. Brian Vickers

Remember this does not take into account accidents or mechanical failure.

Concerning completion trending:

• Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace have each finished 14 out of their last 14 races here.
• Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte, and Jeff Burton have made it through 13 of their last 14 at Martinsville.

On the negative side:

• Robby Gordon has the worst completion percent finishing only 4 of 8 here.

Advance Auto Parts 500 Schedule and Entry List

The Nextel Cup Advance Auto Parts 500 schedule is as follows:

• Qualifying Runs: 3:10 PM Eastern on Friday April 8 - Televised on the Speed Channel
• Nextel Cup Happy Hour: 11:10 - 1:55 AM Eastern - Televised on FX
• Pre-Race: 12:30 PM Eastern - Televised on FOX
• Race: 1:00 Eastern - Televised on FOX

The Official Entry List:

• Bobby Hamilton Jr.
• Bobby Labonte
• Brian Vickers
• Carl Edwards
• Carl Long
• Casey Mears
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Dale Jarrett
• Dave Blaney
• Elliott Sadler
• Greg Biffle
• Hermie Sadler
• Jamie McMurray
• Jason Leffler
• Jeff Burton
• Jeff Fuller
• Jeff Gordon
• Jeff Green
• Jeremy Mayfield
• Jimmie Johnson
• Joe Nemechek
• Johnny Sauter
• Kasey Kahne
• Ken Schrader
• Kevin Harvick
• Kevin Lepage
• Kirk Shelmerdine
• Kurt Busch
• Kyle Busch
• Kyle Petty
• Mark Martin
• Matt Kenseth
• Michael Waltrip
• Mike Bliss
• Mike Garvey
• Mike Wallace
• Morgan Shepherd
• Randy LaJoie
• Ricky Rudd
• Robby Gordon
• Rusty Wallace
• Ryan Newman
• Scott Riggs
• Scott Wimmer
• Stanton Barrett
• Sterling Marlin
• Tony Stewart
• Travis Kvapil

A mixed Bag at the Food City 500

Accidents plagued the NASCAR Nextel Cup Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as only 21 of the 43 cars finished more than 470 out of 500 laps.

As for our projections, 9 of our top so finishers, didn't make it past lap 468. Of the rest, 10 finished in the top 18. Our best picks were Jimmie Johnson (projected 7th, finished 6th), Sterling Marlin (12th, 11th) , and Terry Labonte (17th, 18th).

The Crew Chief hit five of the top ten, with her best pick being Dale Jr, (3rd, 4th).

Of the drivers with low completion precents that we warned you about (Rudd, M. Wallace, Sadler, Petty, Green, and Blaney) only Sadler, Petty, and Blaney completed over 452 laps.

The drivers we cited for high completion percents (Marlin, T. Labonte, J. Gordon, Jarrett, R. Wallace, and Mayfield) all made it at least 496 out of 500 laps.

Next up: The Advance Auto Parts 500 from Martinsville (VA) Speedway.

Crew Chief's Projected NASCAR Food City 500 Top Ten Finishers

I am currently on assignment in the Richmond area, only about 30 mins from the track...oh the torture. Unlike the Doc I didn't get any spring break and had to work my fingers to the bone to be able to keep our customers satisfied. By the way, to the person who met the Crew Chief at the pony pen, but didn't believe it: J.L. you didn't believe it was me did ya, well now you know. Okay, here are this weeks picks.

1. Tony Stewart ( Go Tony)
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Dale Jr. (fan favorite)
4. Kasey Kahne (whiper snapper)
5. Elliott Sadler (m&m-yum)
6. Jeff Gordon (Why do I continue to pick this guy in the top ten?)
7. Mark Martin (Doc's Fave)
8. Brian Vickers (Old enough to drive??)
9. Matt Kenseth (Picked out of a hat-literally)
10. CREW CHIEF (Yeh, I wish), My real number 10. Kevin Harvick

Crew Chief out!!