In case you missed it, all three of the Joe Gibbs Racing teams brought unapproved oil pans to Michigan. Like every other part on a Nascar vehicle, there are exact rules determining the type of oil pan you can use. In a sport where 1/32 of an inch can result in a competitive advantage, a lighter weight or more aerodynamic oil pan can result in faster speeds. Not that that's what they were trying to do mind you. It was all very, very innocent that JGR just happened to have unapproved oil pans lying around the shop that ALL 3 teams brought to the track. Personally, I believe them.

Huge surprise there. </sarcasm> I'm happy for Jeff Gordon. Wait a minute. Did I just say that? Hold on.. something's not right here. I have a good twenty years of Gordon hate built up and I'm not about to let it go because suddenly he's not winning as much. Ever see "Red Dawn" where the kid is notching kills into the stock of his rifle? And the pilot says, "All that hate is gonna burn you up son" and the kid replies, "Helps keep me warm". Yeah, that's how I feel about Jeff Gordon. Is it because I'm jealous of his millions and trophy wives and SNL and 84 wins and ability to stand up for himself and articulate speech, and so on and so on and so on. Something is wrong with me. I need to start sniffing glue again.

What the hell? I'm relaxing in a nice touristy area when I happen to check my twitter feed and what do I see? Richard Childress has been punching Kyle Busch in the face! Aside from how it's totally unprofessional, how cool is that? Childress warned Busch not to mess up and of his cars anymore and sure enough he backed it up! I told you Richard Childress has balls, so this should come as no surprise. Could this be the kind of thing that sparks his teams to a championship? I'd want to drive for a guy willing to fight someone 40 years younger than him.

Brad winning the pole for the 600 has given me the opportunity to mention something that I've been thinking about for oh..20 years or so. That no Penske team will win a Sprint Cup championship. Ever. Penske is simply not committed enough to Nascar. He is fabulously successful as a team owner in IRL. He's a fabulously successful businessman. He's a horrible owner in Nascar. He's had great drivers: Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and now Keselowski.(I don't count Jeremy Mayfield, sorry) But for some reason, they never seem to have enough do they? The cars are always a bit slower, the aerodynamics not quite right, the chassis off by just that much. Sound familiar? Yeah, 'cause Ganassi has always had a similar problem. Both have come close, mind you. Wallace in '93 for Penske and Sterling Marlin for Ganassi in 2002. Ganassi probably came closest since Marlin was running away with the points lead before getting hurt, leading to the initiation of His Hairness MacMurray. Now contrast that with Hendrick. Ten, count them ten championships between 3 different drivers. Does he run Indy? Nope. Until Penske fully commits to Nascar - no driver working for him will win a championship. Sorry Brad.

Does that make me not worthy as a fan? I know that it's for a lot of money, but all the races are for a lot of money. It's convoluted. I hate how the field gets inverted, which seems counterintuitive to everything a race should be. I don't care for Charlotte as a track that much and the racing kind of comes off as boring. I went in 2005 or 2006 I can't remember and it was fun to go just because you're at a race and that environment is always fun. But at the same time, there's awkward stoppages in the action. Meh.

Whenever you're down, feeling blue or just need a little pick me up, play this video of Jeff Gordon. You'll feel better immediately. Unless of course, you still dress that way.

While I know you've all been waiting and waiting for me to drop my thoughts on this topic, I've been giving it intense thought. Or not. But I do have some thoughts.

1. No active drivers. Retire first. Sorry Jeff Burton, I know you think Five-Time Jimmie Johnson should be in there, but have a weeeeee bit of patience. He'll get there. You might not, but he will. Your wife Kim on the other hand......

2. There are WAY too many people involved in Nascar to have all the spots taken by drivers. Have an unofficial limit of 2 drivers of the 5 inductees. That way all the crew chiefs, owners, mechanics, promoters, track owners, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, trophy girls. If you don't believe me look at the pic below of Brooke Gordon. That's shit's Hall Of Fame.

pic from athleteswives.com

3. Veterans, AKA: people involved a long freaking time ago. So here's what you do. Expand the number of inductees to 7. The extra 2 are reserved for a veteran's committee similar to other sports. That way people like Curtis Turner can get in. Or Lake Speed, 'cause seriously, his name has speed in it.

4. It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall Of Accomplishments. Therefore, Ward Burton should be inducted in 2013.

5. I was a huge Rusty Wallace fan, but Terry Blount is crazy. Not for another 5 years at least.

6. Not to dwell too much on Jeff Burton, but this is a nice quote, "You shouldn't lose sleep over 'when.' If you're honored enough to get into the Hall of Fame, you shouldn't lose sleep about when you got into the Hall of Fame. The third class is no less important than the second class and the 10th class will be no less important than the third class." - Indeed sir, indeed.

Remember the last oh about 10 years when little by little the actual cars on your average Nascar race looked absolutely nothing like what you could buy? Well I for one would like to take this opportunity to applaud Nascar for finally waking up to the obvious. Thank God. Where were you people in 2006?? For the most part during the last race I watched it was pretty easy to tell the cars apart. Oh I know that they're just stickers. But at least they're different looking stickers. At least now I can tell a Dodge from a Chevy. And supposedly 2012 is supposed to be a big deal about Manufacturer differentiation. Of course they'll still just be stickers. Now it would be even better if the cars were actually somewhat possibly maybe slightly stock? Not until I see one of those cars with cupholders and an ipod adapter on the radio. Then maybe I'll believe.

This pic was tweeted by SceneDaily's Bob Pockrass (follow @bobpockrass on twitter) and I thought it was cool. It's even more poignant since Osama Bin Laden is now dead. I politely asked Bob if I could post it here and he said I could. So Big Thanks to Bob Pockrass for taking this pic and letting me share it with both my loyal readers.  So I'm proclaiming today the official "Bob Pockrass and the Guy Who Shot Bin Laden In The Face Day." There should be mass cookouts and fireworks.