Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson on winning his third Sprint Cup Series Championship in a row.

Last I checked our Top 10 and the Chasers that would be going to New York for the banquet are:

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Carl Edwards
3. Greg Biffle
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Jeff Burton
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Tony Stewart
10. Kyle Busch

Unfortunately, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr missed the top ten and will not be appearing at the banquet.

I am curious to see who comes in as the rookie of the year for 2008. I just hope the banquet is on a night I don’t have to work, as I’d like to be able to watch and won’t be able to tape it.

Today’s race is the last. Not just of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, but the last day for Tony Stewart. This is his last day in the #20 Home Depot Car. His last day with crew chief of 10 years Greg Zipadelli. His last day with Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s the end of an era - I can’t say I’m not happy for Smoke, getting out there and being an owner/driver. I can’t say I’m not happy that he’s getting to do something he wants to do. But I can’t say I’m happy that he’s leaving JGR, Zippy, and the #20 either.

I know I’m being silly and sappy here, but I have a distinct feeling I might just cry when the race is over. Because once it’s over, it’s over. No more Tony in Home Depot orange & black. No more Tony and Zippy bickering at each other on the radio. No more looking for the #20 next to Stewart on the leaderboard at the top of my TV screen.

Next year it’ll be Office Depot/Old Spice red & black. Tony & Doug (I think that’s his name) bickering at each other on the radio (can the new dude handle Tony - I guess we’ll just have to see ). Looking for the #14 next to Stewart on the leaderboard at the top of my TV screen.  Looking for Ryan Newman and Tony to be working together at tracks where you need a drafting buddy.

It’s definitely the end of an era but also the beginning of a new one. While I’m sad to see this one end, I’m also a little excited for the new one to begin. There’s only one thing marring the end of this era - JGR’s choice of replacement driver. Logano hasn’t shown a whole lot of the reason they call him Sliced Bread in the Cup series and frankly, I hope he gets it together next year, because he’s got some big shoes to fill and frankly, like Karah said, I don’t think he can even fill one of Tony’s pant legs, much less his shoes when it comes to the legacy of the #20 Home Depot car.

It has been confirmed that the Army is set up to sponsor Ryan Newman’s #39 car with Stewart-Haas Racing next year for 23 races. The deal is for 3 years - basically set up to be year-by-year and renewable for the next year at the Army’s option at the end of the 2009 & 2010 seasons. Tony Stewart is reported to be working on a primary sponsor for the remaining races.

This does pose the question for me - if the Army has gone with Stewart-Haas, and Office Depot has also gone with Stewart-Haas, then who is Rousch going to have for Carl Edwards next year, and who will be Aric Almirola’s sponsor next year at DEI? Interesting goings on here - I’ll have to stay tuned for more word on who those primary sponsors will be for the 2009 season.

I heard earlier today that Cup qualifying was rained out for the umpteenth time this season and that they’re starting, as usual, in the position they’re in the standings. Nice. If the weather could cooperate, that’d be great, thanks. These rained out sessions are messing with the fantasy racing scores.

And it would seem that Kevin Harvick is not as forgiving as other drivers are regarding the big one at Talladega that Edwards started. Word is that Edwards and Harvick went fist-to-cuffs and had to be seperated. The funniest thing is - Edwards started it by going to Harvick’s pit garage and Harvick tried to walk away but Edwards wouldn’t let him. Then it seems all hell broke loose, with allegations of Harvick shoving Edwards and then one of Harvick’s crew members putting Edwards in a headlock. Harvick wasn’t commenting and Edwards didn’t deny they argued but didn’t discuss details. Wow.

Good news for Denny Hamlin - he was cleared to go ahead and race this week after a tired exploded last week and sent him hard into the wall. He’d been awake and alert, though complaining of a headache and favoring his right foot after the crash, which sent him for overnight observation at a local hospital. Despite his being cleared to race, he will not be racing the Nationwide Series this week - Dave Blaney will take his spot.

Last but not least - Congrats to Casey Mears and his girlfriend Tricia on the birth of their daughter Samantha Mae Mears - and thanks Amy for letting me know about it.

Well that’s all I have for this edition of Where There’s Smoke -  and I hope you all like the new theme.

Congrats to  Tony Stewart for getting TWO firsts this week! His first win of the 2008 season AND his first win at Talladega! W00T!

I haven’t been posting the past few weeks because frankly, every week has just been a big disappointment as far as the races go. I’m hoping that now that Tony’s finally gotten himself a win, things will get better. Look for a new theme soon.

And as far as that thing with Regan Smith  - ok - if you’re forced down there and have no recourse but to pass to get back on the track, that’s one thing, but when you go down there to pass - and don’t tell me you were forced, I saw the video several times - you went down there ON PURPOSE. You could have dropped back a bit and stayed where you were. Instead when Tony blocked you, you chose to drop past the yellow line and then claim you were forced when they took the race away from you. Besides, why would the rules change for the last lap? That’s when you’d have every car going to the out of bounds area to try and pass to get a better position. It just doesn’t work that way. Sorry.

I hope Denny Hamlin is all right. No updates were given on how he was after they said he’d been taken to a hospital in Birmingham. Reports on FoxSports.com stated he was complaining of a headache and favoring his right foot.

Congrats to the members of Elliott Sadler’s team on their new children. Wow…two sets of twins! And congrats to Casey Mears, who’s girlfriend at last I heard was at the very least in labor.

Well, Greg Biffle won Louden today. He edged out Jimmie Johnson for the win. Unfortunately, Kyle Busch ended up being knocked back to 8th place in the points standings due to having had a very bad day.  Between things breaking on the car and getting into a wreck, Kyle ended up finishing 34th place.

If you didn’t see the race and haven’t seen the results, your top 10 finishers are:

1. Greg Biffle
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jeff Burton
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. Kurt Busch
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Tony Stewart
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Kevin Harvick

And the current point standings are:

1. Carl Edwards
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Greg Biffle
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Jeff Burton
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Tony Stewart
8. Kyle Busch
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Kevin Harvick
11. Jeff Gordon
12. Matt Kenseth

The funny thing is, a few of the Chase runners finished in the same position as they’re in on The Chase. LOL Kind of interesting.

I’m not congratulating Jimmie Johnson, because right now I’m feeling pretty darned annoyed. Tony Stewart needed that win and frankly, I’m not a Johnson fan so I don’t feel like being nice and congratulating Jimmie on his win. I’m a Stewart fan through and through and so at the moment, my only feelings are :P!

Well, congrats to Jimmie Johnson for winning the Pepsi 500 and being the 2nd driver in the history of the track to win from the pole. Like Kyle Busch was last night, Jimmie was in his own zip code for most of the evening. Denny Hamlin did well too, coming in 3rd behind Greg Biffle, with Kyle Busch sneaking in 7th behind Carl Edwards. Unfortunately, Tony Stewart came in 22nd, the last car on the lead lap. Oh well, we’ll get ‘em next week - or next year. I think Tony just needs to get back behind the wheel of his beloved Chevy.

Well, now isn’t this a surprise? Did you get the sarcasm? Everyone with a brain knew that Logano would be Stewart’s replacement. It’s not news people. News would have been if someone else had replaced Stewart. Let’s be perfectly honest, we all knew it was coming, just like we all knew Newman would sign with Stewart-Haas. NASCAR can be pretty transparent about these things.

My biggest worry is that they’re pushing Logano too far, too fast. I mean, yeah, the kid’s got talent, but still. Is he really ready for Cup? I’m not so sure he is. It’ll be funny to see a rookie bar on the back of the 20 next year, but I really worry that Gibbs is pushing the boy too far, too fast.

Well, Carl Edwards won his second Sprint cup race - I’m wanting to say in a row, but my head is pounding and I’m not feeling well and don’t feel like looking. LOL In any case I’m not a big Carl fan and  wish Kyle would have won. While I don’t agree with Kyle bumping Carl after the race like that, it just goes to show that Carl is no better - and I say that if Kyle is punished for bumping Carl, Carl should be punished for retaliating and spinning Kyle  like that.

So the #4 is out and it’s the #39? Ok, whatever. As long as Newman has a car with Stewart-Haas I don’t care. And I hear that Monday is crunch time for JGR and they’ll be revealing Tony’s replacement. If it’s not Joey Logano, I’ll be surprised. Honestly, we can all see it coming, just like we could all see Newman signing with Stewart-Haas. Obvious much? LOL

In any case, there we have it. Congrats to Carl, Keslowski for Nationwide, and Kyle for Truck Series.