Nascar and Racing Carl Edwards

Notes, quotes & commentary from a championship weekend in Homestead.

Well, there you have it.

We, as NASCAR fans in 2009, have seen something that has never been done before in the 61 years of NASCAR competition, and something that could very easily not happen for another 161 years if this sport lasts that long.

Yep, Jimmie Johnson -- the smooth-drivin' Californian -- is the first guy in all of NASCAR's moonshining and intimidating history to take four straight championships at any level. But, strangely, he's not the first to do so in a major stock car racing series.

Where: Phoenix Int'l Raceway
Time: Sunday 3:15 PM ET
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly sunny, High 60s
Distance: 312 laps (312 miles)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

What makes any NASCAR finish exciting, and any sporting event for that matter, is when the unexpected happens. A last-second shot, a last-second touchdown, an underdog felling a Goliath and even a last lap pass -- yes, even Jimmie Johnson smacking the wall last week at Texas -- all create the unanticipated result that feeds into creating the rush of a sporting event.

Unfortunately, the most recent data we have from Phoenix International Raceway doesn't leave a lot of hope that we'll be seeing the unforeseen Sunday afternoon at the 1-miler.

Where: Texas Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 3:15 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: @FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, Low 70s
Distance: 334 laps (501 miles)
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards
Ladies and gentleman, there was nothing wrong with last week's race at Talladega -- if you ask Tony Stewart or NASCAR.

This week, each of them blamed the fan uproar solely on the media (mainly ESPN) for ultimately putting such ideas about the bad racing at Talladega into the heads of fans. Race fans, Stewart and NASCAR feel, were induced with propaganda by television to believe that they were getting shafted by NASCAR.

Depending on your perspective, Ryan Newman either had the best seat in the house or the worst during NASCAR's last visit to the mighty and unpredictable Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Carl Edwards, Sprint Cup rookie Brad Keselowski and Newman were 100 yards in front of the checkered flag, set to decide the winner amongst themselves, when Keselowski and Edwards collided directly in front of Newman. Edwards' Ford went airborne, bounced off the hood and windshield of Newman's Chevy, then flew into the fencing along the front stretch grandstands in a horrific-looking accident that led the country's sports highlight reels.

If you haven't seen the video, you will. It'll be played over and over and over all weekend as the Sprint Cup Series makes its Chase for the Championship visit to Talladega this week.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski held off points leader Kyle Busch on the final lap to win the Kroger On Track For the Cure 250 in a green-white-checker finish in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Keselowski was leading when a caution came out with two laps to go because Stephen Wallace spun after tangling with Matt Kenseth. Wallace banged into Kenseth's car after the race and the two had words on pit road.

Keselowski held onto the lead through the overtime segment. Busch finished second and leads Carl Edwards by 215 points in the standings.

---

---

Where: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Time: Saturday 7:30 p.m./EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, 40s, 20% rain
Distance: 334 laps (500.1 miles)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2008 Winner: Jeff Burton

Carl Edwards may blame last year's loss to Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup on a crash at Talladega, but a finish in last year's fall race at Lowe's Motor Speedway provided all the points Johnson needed to win his third consecutive title.

Or, rather, the necessary point.

---

---

If there was any doubt about the impact of clean air in NASCAR, Kansas Speedway pretty much cleared it up.

Simply, the undisturbed air that the leader has on the front nose of his race car gives a decided handling advantage. And don't just ask Tony Stewart, but ask the two other drivers that took two tires during the race's final pit stop on lap 239 -- Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart, who got a jump on the lap 241 restart, got the clean air and held off Jeff Gordon and his four new tires while Kahne and Johnson fell to sixth and ninth respectively.

We promise to throw a caution with ample time to slow down in the event of a spinning car on this Chase edition of Notes & Quotes.

Pressure? What pressure? Juan Pablo Montoya's run into the Chase for the Sprint Cup is quite the enviable position for most other drivers simply because of the expectations that the former Formula 1 driver has on his back.

Or, make that the lack of expectations.

"I mean, what's the pressure? We made the Chase," said Montoya after his third-place finish. "From now on, anything about that, it's a balance. Come here, first Chase race, put on the pole, finish second. Can I ask for anything else? Not really. A win would be nice, but that will come."

Where: Richmond Int'l Raceway
Time: Saturday night 7:30pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-60s, Partly Cloudy
Distance: 400 laps (300 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

RICHMOND, Va. -- With all the publicity surrounding allegations of cheating and race fixing in Formula One and drag racing this week, it begs the question, would NASCAR drivers ever purposely "help" a teammate win a race, improve a position or gain in the championship standings?

Is it even wrong? Or is it simply a long-practiced element of competition?

"I've already thought about that in regards to my teammates and if there's anything I can do to help my teammates, I'd do it," said Carl Edwards, who has two Roush Fenway teammates still trying to clinch a spot in the Chase for the Championship in Saturday's Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.