Another race and another week of pure domination by Kyle. Just brilliant don't you think. In the same way that Schumacher stunk up F1 in the early part of the decade, Kyle has taken the fight to the rest of the grid in a way that has not been seen in Cup in a very long time. Perhaps it ruins the show a bit, but you can't help but envy the talent.

I was fortunate to scrounge up some passes for the race, so I was able to be at Bristol live and in person. I had never seen a race there from outside the pits, and I totally understand why this place sells out all the time. It was a 3 hour race (barely) and I was only bored for about 10-15 minutes in the middle, which is far less than at the cookie cutter big tracks. I liked the new paint scheme on the 7 this week too. The blaze orange looked pretty good with the classic swoopy design that has been on those cars for 5-6 years now. I was obviously wrong about their pace in my prerace predictions, and it was pretty late in the race before they went a lap down. So I think they will be happy with the result and the speed of the car. I didn't have a scanner for the race, but it looked really tight in the early stages, and loose off. Whatever it was, it obviously ran ok.

I went to part of the Nationwide race the day before and that was pretty cool too. The legends race was a bit of a joke, but I guess it is fun that it existed, regardless if it was a good show or not. I don't think anyone in their right mind will say that they saw these legends in their peak form, as most of them needed walkers it seemed. Rusty was obviously up for the task, and Sterling is barely a legend and he is still an active driver, so I am a bit confused by his role in the race.

Off to Martinsville this week, and I think it will be an intriguing race. This is another homeish track for the series, which is cool for the travelling employees. It is only a 2 hour drive from Charlotte, so alot of the team members will be going home on Friday and Saturday nights to hang out with the family before enduring another fly away race next week. It will probably rain for qualifying, so the top 35 will be in play. That means the 24 will start from the pole, and I do not think you can bet against a Hendrick package at M-ville. I will go for the 24 to take home the clock, and I will pick the 83 for a top 5 or just outside. Red Bull will be embarrassed after last week and I think they will come with guns blazing. Sorry to say this, but it could be a bleeder for the 7. I cannot remember the last time they finished a race there or finished it without being 100+ laps down. It seems to be either a gear or a wreck in every race, and I will pick a gear failure or a wreck again for this weekend.