Tuesday, Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch got married in Mexico. While they had been engaged since June, it came as quite unexpected. Most people thought they would have a big wedding after the race season ended, but that turned out to not be the case.

I think this is probably a great move for him in his life and also in his racing carrer. It will help him stay focused now and I wouldn't put it past him to win the chase next season. He could also win one of both of the last races at tracks he had never won at. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

Good Luck Jeff!

MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK NAMED MOTORSPORT FACILITY OF THE YEAR TODAY
AT INTERNATIONAL GATHERING

TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (November 8, 2006)

Miller Motorsports Park was named Motorsports Facility of the Year today by the Professional Motorsport World Expo at a gala event held in Cologne, Germany.

Alan Wilson, CEO/General Manager and track designer, accepted the award at the gathering of racing professionals from all over the world. Miller Motorsports Park was on a short list for the prestigious award that included Las Vegas Motor Speedway (USA), Cranfield University (UK) and Paul Ricard HTTT (France).

This award is a great honor for Miller Motorsports Park, especially so since it has come to us in our inaugural year, Wilson said. It takes a whole team of people to make this happen, and I want to thank everyone involved - staff, volunteers, race fans, the Tooele community, the corner workers, and so many more. We couldn't have done it without such total support. Larry Miller (owner) has brought something extremely special to Utah.

The competition was judged by well-known racing professionals such as Michael Andretti of Andretti Green Racing, Trevor Carlin of Carlin Motorsport, and motor racing writer David Tremayne. Approximately 1,500 people attended the event.

Miller Motorsports Park opened in April 2006 and hosted a full slate of America's best road racing action during its inaugural season; including the AMA Superbike and Supermoto series, the American LeMans Series, Grand American Road Racing, Historic Sportscar Racing, and AHRMA vintage motorcycle racing.

The 2007 season schedule will include all the major events of 2006, plus more. The full schedule will be released soon.

-MillerMotorsportsPark.com-

Well, we're down to the wire. With only two races left in the season, the chase is still so close it's too close to call.

After Sundays results, we have a new leader though. Jimmy Johnson jumps into the lead by 17 points over Matt Kenseth. I think that barring anything catastrophic, there are only 5 people left who can still win. But, we've seen so much happen this year, that luck will still be a big part of it. Just like two weeks ago it looked like Jeff Burton was on fast track to win, and now he's out of it 184 points down.

This next race will be fun! In fact, I will be reporting to you from the race itself. If I can get my computer to work while I'm down there, I'll have some interesting stuff. We leave Thursday for Phoenix.

Anyway, here are the curant standings in the Chase.

1 +1 Jimmie Johnson           6157 Leader
2 -1 Matt Kenseth             6140 -17
3 +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr.       6079 -78
4 -1 Denny Hamlin*            6077 -80
5 +1 Kevin Harvick            6052 -105
6 +1 Jeff Gordon              6000 -157
7 -2 Jeff Burton              5973 -184
8 +2 Kyle Busch               5924 -233
9 -1 Mark Martin              5904 -253
10 -1 Kasey Kahne             5867 -290

With only three races to go, there will be a big shootout in Texas for the Chase Title this week. With the lineup set, Jimmy Johnson looks like the favorite since he is starting 5th and Matt Kenseth will start from the 36th position. At the beginning of the race, that will turn the points lead over to Johnson.

Jimmy has been on a role this year, but just like in past years, you never know until it's over in racing. In racing, you not only have to be good at what you do, you also have to be lucky. Sometimes you can make your own luck, but other times it has to do with something your not even remotely in control of. For instance, Jeff Gordon would be in the lead right now if it hadn't been for a fuel pump failure and an engine failure in two of the races with only a few laps to go in each race. And then again, if Jimmy and Jr. would not have gotten taken out by Brian Vickers at Talladega, Jimmy would have a 53 point lead going into this race and Jr would in in third place right now.

However, we know that those that win the right to the Cup are those who can overcome the trials and challenges of the sport and overcome all the odds to bring home the Cup. We'll be watching as the race comes to the checkered flags and see who will take the lead on to Phoenix for Next weeks race.

My money is on Jimmy Johnson.

I thought I would give everyone an update on the track at Miller Motorsports Park.

Saturday is an open track day for any of those who would like to try out their skills. Here's the details accourding to their web page.

OPEN TRACK ANNOUNCEMENT

Due to the overwhelming response, we WILL be holding an open track day this coming Saturday, November 4th. Previous TORDE participation required. Open track day participants and Speed Club members welcome.

Robby Gordon was caught throwing his role bar padding out the window to cause a caution at Atlanta Motor Speedway last sunday to keep from being put a lap down. Robby was docked 50 driver points and 50 car owner points, and fined $15,000 for his actions. His Crew chief, Greg Erwin, was fined $10,000 also.

While there are instances of events like this to cause cautions in the past, Nascar is taking a hard stand on anyone they can prove doing this. NBC's race coverage provided a very good camera view of a clean track before Gordon got there and a perferct view of the padding as Gordon passes.

This is not the first time NASCAR has penalized a competitor for intentionally causing a caution.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 25 points and fined $10,000 for intentionally spinning his car to bring out a caution at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2004.

And Kurt Busch was fined $10,000 for intentionally spinning Gordon during the 2002 all-star race to bring out a caution.

Nascar needs to be more vigilant in watching for things like this. Races should be won on the track, not by deceit.

Well, with three race left in the chase, it's starting to boil down to just five drivers who seem to still have a chance.

Here's the latest results.

1 -- Matt Kenseth         6008        Leader
2 +1 Jimmie Johnson     5982 -26
3 +1 Denny Hamlin*      5943 -65
4 +2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5924 -84
5 -- Jeff Burton             5924 -84
6 -4 Kevin Harvick       5887 -121 
7 +2 Jeff Gordon          5862 -146
8 -1 Mark Martin         5807 -201
9 -1 Kasey Kahne        5798 -210
10 -- Kyle Busch          5759 -249

My personal pick is Jimmie Johnson to take it this year after so many close calls at the cup it's his turn.

Saturday, Juan Montoya made his Busch Series debut in his goal of competing for the Nextel Cup.

Montoya,  a former Indianapolis 500 winner, CART champion and Formula One driver had decided it was time to seek other challenges and so he is working his way into Nascar. With his first ever Bush Series start, he qualified 9th. All day long he was running close to the top ten position, but a spin on lap 148 put him back to 30th. He had to work his way back up slowly through the field to end up with a final 11th place finish.

Not bad at all for his first time out.

I think this will bring many more race fans into the fold next year when he will make his Nextel Cup debut. I just wonder how long it will take for him to be a force in the Cup Chase?

Racing in Utah.

One of Utah's best kept secrets is the Kart racing at Miller Motorsports Park. If you have ever wanted to feel your heart race, this kind of racing is for you. Can you imagine going 100 mph two inches off the ground? This is some of the best racing in the country. Kart racing is about as close to Formula One racing as you can get on a smaller scale. What's more, it's relitively cheep. Unfortunately, the season has just come to an end. However, we wanted to honor the winners of this years racing series. They are:

Sr 4-cycle: Lauren Stark
Jr. II 4-cycle: Ryan Flinn
Jr. 1 2-cycle: Madison Snow
Jr. 1 4-cycle: Alex Yates
Superbox: Mark Morgan
Rotax Master: Shannon Schmidt
80 Gearbox: Ken Simcox
Jr. 80 Gearbox: Hobie Higgs
Jr. Rotax: Zac Clark
Rotax International: Tyler Bennett
Stock 125 Heavy: Randy Mitchell
Stock 125 Light: Mike Benny
Pro 125 Gearbox: John Yakovich

Congratualtions to all these dedicated racers. We'll see you again next year!

Qualifying today for the Bass Pro 500 was rained out. That leaves the qualifying order by owner points.

This should set up an interesting scenario when the race starts. It should give a lot of help to Matt Kenseth as he usually has a lot of trouble at this track. I think the drivers to watch this week are Jimmy Johnson and Kasey Kahne. Both should pick up a few more points on the field and be right back in the thick of things as far as the chase goes.

 The weather should not be a problem the rest of the weekend. Saturday's forecast is for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 60s. Sunday calls for sunny skies and the temperatures near 70.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is also back in the thick of things. "This is a really good track for us. We're always really confident going into Atlanta," Junior said. "We're taking our best car. I've got a great team. We've been running in the top-five consistently the last four or five races, so it's important to keep that going. After a disappointing race like we just had, I can't think of a better track to regain our momentum than Atlanta."

With only four races to go, every point is critical now in the chase. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see what happens. TV coverage in on NBC and starts sunday at 12:30 mountain time.