Pit Passes

Gordon vs. Dale Jr.

Jeff Gordon got a little upset when his ''teammate'' Dale Earnhardt Jr. slipped past him with about 25 laps to go instead of helping him get to the front during Sunday's race at Talladega.

You had to figure this was going to happen sooner than later. I never bought this whole ''teammates'' deal.

Was Gordon whining a little bit too much? Probably.

But Junior was the one who made the mistake. Junior needs all of the help he can to win a race these days. And why not ride the bumper of the guy who has owned the place for the last few years?

Seems Junior was too interested in getting to the front and finding Tony Stewart than he was about being patient and waiting his time to win the race.

Had Junior helped Gordon out, maybe Gordon would have returned the favor in the final laps.

PS - Kudos to Dandy Don for picking Kyle Busch to win at Talladega. Dandy Don's first win of the year. Check back Friday to vote for the winner of Saturday night's race in Richmond.

Kahne coming to Myrtle Beach

Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne, who pilots the No. 9 Budweiser/Allstate Dodge Charger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports, will make an appearance at the NASCAR SpeedPark on July 30, according to Brandon Advertising and Public Relations.

Kahne is scheduled to appear at 6 p.m.

Other drivers are likely to appear at the SpeedPark this summer. Elliott Sadler, Denny Hamlin and Kahne made stops in Myrtle Beach last year.

The SpeedPark is located on 1820 21st Ave. North Ext., directly behind the NASCAR Sports Grille.

Pick the winner - Talladega

I know a lot of you hate the races at Talladega, but I can't get enough of them. Watching 43 cars go bumper-to-bumper at the sport's largest track is always the highlight of my year. Once Sunday's race ends, I'll be looking forward to the next one in October.

So who's gonna win? It's time to pick. Somehow I was the winner of the last contest. I took the odd-numbered car of Clint Bowyer at Phoenix.

This week - and we'll make this easy - your pick has to be an even-numbered car. And again, I'll pick after everyone battles to take Junior, Gordon and Johnson.

Enjoy the race.

Why would Stewart leave Gibbs?

ESPN has posted a report that claims Tony Stewart would like to be released from the final year of his contract, which expires at the end of the 2009 season.

The story says Stewart would like to rejoin a Chevrolet team and CNC/Haas could be a suitable move.

Am I missing something here? Why would Stewart want to leave Gibbs Racing, where he was won two championships and is still thriving in a Toyota.

Any guesses?

MB Speedway driver disqualified

Kevin Barnhill was disqualified hours after winning the Limited Late Model race Saturday night at Myrtle Beach Speedway, according to track General Manager Bill Hennecy.

Inspectors determined that the cylinder heads on Barnhill's No. 15 car were ``not in compliance'' with track regulations, Hennecy said.

Randall Roberts was awarded the victory.

Bad time for a week off

This makes no sense to me.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has the week off. So fans will be bored to tears by watching NBA and NHL playoff games.

But next week one of the most exciting races of the seasons will be held at Talladega. And next weekend is the NFL Draft.

Wouldn't it make more sense for NASCAR to run this week and take next week off? I'm a NASCAR fan, but even I flip to watch the NFL Draft during commercials.

Drug testing in NASCAR

There's been a lot of chatter about drug testing in NASCAR with the revelation that one driver, Aaron Fike, was under the influence of herion when he raced.

Has the sport come to the day where random drug tests are needed?

Great night at MB Speedway

It was a super night of racing at Myrtle Beach Speedway for the start of the 51st season.

And there was plenty of drama. Rick Smith and Sam Yarbrough tangled a few times during the first 40-lap race. Both wrecked and couldn't finish the first race. Smith went to a backup car for the second race and was a non-factor, while Yarbrough returned and finished fourth.

Brent Brinson won both Late Model races, making late passes on Robert Elliott to win each time. It's the first time Brent has swept the twin races.

The Limited Late Model race went down to the wire, with Kevin Barnhill passing Randall Roberts late to win. The two drivers dominated the field. Terry Evans edged Dub Fulford to win a fun Mini-stocks race.

Jamie Weatherford cruised to his fourth straight win in the Super Trucks. And Tommy Poole won again in the Street stocks.

For a photo gallery of Saturday night's action by Charles Slate, click on

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/724/gallery/415366.html

Pick the winner - Phoenix

It seems dewitjr may have the inside scoop here. He picked Carl Edwards last week, and Edwards won the race. dewittjr was the top picker two weeks ago as well.

Let's change things up a little this week (and I wont pick first this week to be fair)

You're only allowed to pick a driver who drives an odd number car (that means, no one can pick Gordon, Johnson, Junior, Stewart, Hamlin, etc).

Let's see what we're made of.

Green-white-wreckers

Denny Hamlin's crew chief called NASCAR's green-white-checkered finish rule ''asinine'' following Sunday's race at Texas. In short, Mike Ford said guys race for 500 miles, then crash each other for the last two laps trying to gain one or two spots.

I don't mind the rule. Nothing worse than a race ending under a yellow flag.

I do wish NASCAR would consider double-file restarts in the final 10 laps. That would make things interesting ... and to Ford's dismay, likely cause more wrecks.