Hello race fans! Well, the drivers survived another nail biting race at Talladega this past weekend. Although, some would probably like to forget about it! I've heard alot of people complaining about the restrictor plate racing and how NASCAR is enforcing too many rules. I agree that they probably shouldn't be telling them how to drive the car, but they are also looking out for the safety of the drivers and the fans by putting a smaller plate on all the cars. I don't like to watch them drive around in single file for a good part of the race. Let them bump draft in the turns, let them go below the yellow line, at least they would have no one to blame but themselves if they wreck! As long as they keep them bunched up in packs there is going to be the potential for the BIG ONE! In my opinion, the reason the for most of the accidents are because of guys blocking. Look at this past spring race there, Carl Edwards was blocking Brad Keselowski to try and hold onto the lead, and we all know what the outcome was there! Let's face it, when you have 43 guys racing inches apart for 4 hours at 200mph, something is bound to happen. So I say, let 'em race without all those rules, let's get back to the good ole days of beatin and bangin and put the race back in the hands of the drivers! Like Ryan Newman said after his scary tumble, "I respect NASCAR, I wish they would respect me." I was very glad that Ryan and Mark Martin could walk away after those accidents and kudos to NASCAR for making a safe race car. Having said all that, I think it was a pretty typical Talladega race and congratulations to Jamie McMurray on a great win!

Next subject, I guess the Danica Patrick story is not dead after all. Hearing that she is close to signing a two year deal with JR Motorsports. She is supposedly going to continue to run in the IRL series and run a limited schedule in the Nationwide and Truck series in 2010. I guess if she's going to do it, that's the way it should be done. At least it will give her some seat time, but man is she going to have a busy schedule! I hope she can keep up with it! Stay tuned!

Lastly, I wanted to share with everyone that Lynch Tours & More, the company that I am a tour guide for, is now on Facebook and Twitter. So look us up and follow us as we travel to the different race tracks throughout the year. We'll be posting information and pictures to keep you informed of happpenings on and off the track. Check out our latest pictures from Talladega!

Good luck to everyone this weekend at Texas. It should be an exciting race, and even though Jimmy Johnson has basically wrapped up his fourth straight title, I think you will see the rest of the chasers push the limit a little more than they would have if they would be up there fighting for the championship. So look for guys like Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart to be up front vying for a win along with Jimmy! Be safe and we'll see you at the races!

PS. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who lost loved ones and those who were injured yesterday at the Fort Hood Military Base in Texas.