Doubleheader Sunday

Revenge: The drivers might not always get revenge on each other, but the karmic nature of racing has a way of righting previous wrongs regardless. Everyone remembers what happened at Richmond back in May, when Kyle Busch spun out Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the two battled for the lead late. The roles were reversed Sunday in the Chevy Rock n' Roll 400, though Earnhardt didn't do it on purpose. Busch, who was in lead, dove low in Turn 1, even though Earnhardt was already along his left rear fender. Earnhardt flat-spotted the left front tire, contact was made, and Busch backed into the fence.

Imagine over 120,000 people screaming in jubilation, loving the racing gods for their sense of justice. Earnhardt didn't intentionally dump Busch -- he said if he were to intentionally wreck someone, he'd make sure that person couldn't come back and get him later that race -- but there has to be some sense of karma in racing that allowed that situation to play out.

So now Earnhardt and Carl Edwards are both even -- well, in their minds. Whether Busch, who's on probation for his actions at Bristol, feels that way is another story.

Crap: Tony Stewart finished second for the fourth time this season, unable to overtake Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps for his first win of the season. After the race, a frustrated Stewart told his crew, "Great job, guys. You lost us another one today."

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli immediately shot back with, "We win as a team and we lose as a team. Enough of this crap!"

Stewart shot back with, "Yeah, well -- I'm the one who got us back up here."

You think as the 2008 season draws to a close, Stewart and Zipadelli are no longer concerned with playing nice? It seems to me there's some animosity over Stewart's decision to leave at the end of the season to co-own Stewart Haas Racing. Everyone said all the right things before Sunday, but it would seem no one really cares anymore.

If this trend continues, look for Stewart to suffer the first winless season of his Cup career.

Favorites: Some would consider Kyle Busch, who won eight times so far this season and rebounded to finish 15th on Sunday, the title favorite once the Chase starts this weekend at New Hampshire. Others point to Edwards, who has won six times and isn't nearly as temperamental as Busch.

But don't forget Jimmie Johnson. You know, the guy who's won four races this year and just so happens to be the two-time defending Cup champion.

Johnson has won the last two races, and has repeatedly shown that the Chase is his time of year. Johnson won the last four races of the season last year to take the title, and since the Chase debuted in 2004, Johnson has never finished worse than second in the points.

Sure, he's 40 points behind Busch right now, but with drivers refusing to back down from Busch and Johnson's tendency to get hot at the end of the calendar, don't be surprised if Johnson puts himself in the same sentence as Cale Yarborough -- the only man to ever win three straight Cup championships.

Not Yet: David Ragan might've missed out on the Chase by virtue of his struggles Sunday at Richmond, but don't discount how much this young man has progressed in one year. Ragan was a liability last season, tearing up equipment more often than finishing, while this season saw the Cup sophomore land four top-5s and nine top-10s.

Ragan is also fifth in the Nationwide Series standings.

I don't think Ragan will win his first race until 2009, but the Georgia native has made significant strides. Whereas last year he had other drivers in the garage criticizing him, Ragan has heard nary a peep in 2008, because he's finishing races and learning every week.

I think Ragan makes the Chase next season, I really do.

Double Dip: The doubleheader on Sunday that was forced by Tropical Storm Hanna worked out better than anyone could've imagined. The Cup race went off in just over three and a half hours, with plenty of time for fans who weren't attending the Nationwide race to leave the grounds.

Those who stayed were treated to a solid night race, where Carl Edwards overtook a dominant Clint Bowyer in the late stages. More importantly, though, those fans weren't burdened with horrible traffic afterward.

I doubt tracks would ever do something like this without the intervention of Mother Nature, but why not? I think doubleheaders like this have the potential to be really popular. Run the Cup race during the day (for logistical and traffic purposes), then follow it with either the Nationwide Series race or one from the Craftsman Truck Series.

If fans know of both races ahead of time, and are going to be at the Cup race anyway, they may buy a ticket for the other race and stick around. NASCAR races are all-day affairs anyway, between the souvenir sales and everything else that goes along with it, and doubleheaders like the one at Richmond on Sunday can only help that.

I enjoyed it, at least.

The Only Move

Dario Franchitti's foray into NASCAR was short-lived, and fortunately, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 champion saw the writing on the wall.

It was reported on Tuesday that Franchitti would remain with car owner Chip Ganassi, but return to the IndyCar Series. Franchitti, the 2007 IRL champion, will pilot the No. 10 machine, replacing Dan Wheldon. Wheldon's options are limited, though reports have him replacing Vitor Meira at Panther Racing next season.

Wheldon might be one of the best drivers in the IRL, but Meira isn't exactly chopped liver. He has eight second-place finishes this year, including twice in the Indy 500, so I'm not sure what the thinking would be in replacing a young guy with that much potential.

Then again, Wheldon has an Indy 500 and an IRL title on his resume.

But back to Franchitti; if Juan Pablo Montoya was the welcome mat for open-wheel veterans to give NASCAR a shot, Franchitti should be the cautionary tale. While Ganassi brought him over thinking sponsorship would latch on (after all, who wouldn't want to sponsor a likeable Indy 500 champion with a movie star wife?), it didn't, and after the No. 40 made just 10 races this season, Ganassi pulled the plug on the team.

The same No. 40 team that nearly won a Cup title with Sterling Marlin in 2001 and gave Jamie McMurray his first Cup win in 2002.

Franchitti's best Sprint Cup finish? A 22nd-place effort at Martinsville. He showed a little more promise in the Nationwide Series, with two top-10s and a top-5 finish. But sixth-place at Las Vegas and fifth at Watkins Glen couldn't keep the struggles at bay, as Franchitti fractured his ankle in a Nationwide Series crash at Talladega.

All in all, NASCAR just wasn't in the cards for Franchitti anymore.

There had been discussions of Franchitti taking over the No. 41 Sprint Cup ride, which will be vacated at the end of the season when Reed Sorenson leaves for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. But the 2009 IndyCar schedule, which promises more road and street courses, and Ganassi's own IRL success, made the decision easy for Franchitti.

To say Ganassi's NASCAR program is struggling would be like saying Chad Johnson is a selfish player. Between the shuttering of the No. 40, Sorenson leaving and Texaco-Havoline leaving the no. 42 at the end of the season, things aren't nearly as fruitful in the stock car world as they are on the open-wheel side for Ganassi.

And I applaud Franchitti for seeing that. I like Franchitti, and have no doubts with regards to his ability to drive a race car, but stock cars just weren't working out for him. Stock cars aren't as easy as some might think.

Don't Look Now

Just when you thought it was safe -- two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson showed he isn't to be ignored in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Because of the three main title contenders this year -- Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch -- Johnson is the only one with championship hardware.

Sure, Edwards has a Nationwide Series title, but that's nothing compared to the Sprint Cup.

Johnson won the Pepsi 500 in Fontana in dominating fashion Sunday night, while Edwards and Busch had to settle for fifth and sixth place, respectively. With all the talk of late about the budding rivalry between Edwards and Busch, Johnson reminded them, and everyone else, that he's won the last two titles for a reason.

And anyone who thinks Johnson can't join Cale Yarborough as the only Cup drivers to win three consecutive titles is a right fool. Don't forget, last year Johnson wasn't the most dominant driver, but he caught fire in the Chase, won the last four races of the season and hoisted his second Cup trophy at Homestead.

What's to keep him from doing something like that again here in 2008?

I'd like to think Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are also players in this, given their pedigree, but neither has won a race so far this season. More importantly, Gordon has been too inconsistent -- and if his night goes bad enough at Richmond this Saturday, there's a chance he could miss the Chase altogether.

And you Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans (okay, us Junior fans) -- content yourself with the fact that he made the Chase this year and won a race, because NASCAR's most popular driver isn't winning the title this year. He could still finish the season top-five in points, which is a monumental improvement over last season, but the early-season success has been replaced by crew and driver mistakes. Junior's saving grace is the rest of schedule is mostly run on tracks he performed well at early in the year. Another win could be in the cards, but it looks like 2009 might be a more realistic title hope.

Busch and Edwards might have won 14 of the 25 races run so far this season, whereas Johnson only has three, but we're coming up on the time of year in which Johnson thrives. And any time he's got Chad Knaus on the pit box, I'm not counting him out.

Anyone who does needs to have their head examined. Right along with anyone who really thought Tennessee was the No. 18 team in the country.