All appolgies for the late post this week...I just spent 5 hours in line with the whole early voting deal, after a long night of Halloween partying, so I am a bit spent. Not as spent as the people who travel with the cup teams, though. It's a long season and the end is finally in sight. Usually there is a sense of relaxation that comes at the end of the season that is similar to the last day of school. However, I fear that the state of the economy and the knock on effect on some of the less frugal race teams will have many people in the garage fearful for their jobs. In other years, being fired in the off season probaly did not seem like a big deal, but with all the rumors swirling about mergers, and teams contracting or folding there will certainly less jobs in the garage for the people who do get fired or laid off. It's a tricky little buisness and everyday is like a job interview. Now more than ever.

Hmmmm...Texas...Texas was not particularly a favorite of mine. It is so hard to get in and out of the track, and the highways are so congested that it was more of a hassle than alot of the tracks. This track is in the same mold as Charlotte and Atlanta, so the drivers who were good there should be just fine this week as well. There have been nearly 20 mile and half track races this year, so there will be no surprises.

It looks like Robby is getting the backup car out for tommorrow, so the smiles from the heady finish of last week and the solid qualifying effort will be wiped from the memories of the mechanics as they scramble to get the backup ready. Earlier in the week I would have picked RG for a top 25 again, but I can't see the backup having the pace of the primary, so a mid thirties is more likely. The team is just about safe in the top 35 though, and they will be desperate to put the 00 and the 77 out of reach, so they will fight it to the end. As for the rest of the field, the 48 is still head and shoulders above, but Carl seems to be resurgent. I will pick the 24 for the win though with the 99 in P2. I'll take the 44 for a top ten.