--For the 2nd straight week, I will be unable to participate in the ESPN chat--or do a post-race recap--due to outside events. I won't tell you much about it, but it involves family, people from Arkansas, and Wayne's World 2.
--I'm guessing that Nascar's decision to allow Tony Stewart to qualify for the Chase (if he wins this weekend or next) was mostly to placate the sponsors. If he DOES manage to win, however, expect plenty of grousing from people who don't think that a driver should make it in on wins alone. And yes, these are the same people who said that drivers shouldn't make it in based on points alone if they haven't won.
--I haven't read Matt Kenseth's anti-bullying book, but I'm guessing that the main bully is a muscular blonde guy named "Edward Carls".
--The biggest news to come out of the 2015 schedule release is that Darlington has won back its traditional Labor Day Weekend race date. That will also be the last race before NBC starts cutting away immediately after the checkers to show Dan Patrick and Bob Costas desperately trying to be relevant. (Oh, it'll happen. Just you wait.)
--The break-up of Turner-Scott Motorsports, while not completely surprising, has surprised some with its recent ugliness. The most-visible damage is to Ron Hornaday Jr.'s championship chances, as he's not been entered in this weekend's race in Canada. You know, the biggest victims of ANY divorce are always the 56-year-old children.
--Milka Duno was not entered in this weekend's Nationwide Series race, which was won in dominating fashion by Kevin Harvick. Spade Racing correspondent Jay Brent instead spent the weekend trying to learn how to speak Colombian.