Hello race fans!

Well, here we are getting ready to start the Chase for the Sprint Cup! I can't believe there are only ten races left in the season! The last blog I wrote, I was saying how there were two races left till the Chase, now here we are, ready to go!

First off, I must say that I was so disappointed in Atlanta when Denny Hamlin was leading and blew his motor. I guess I can be thankful it was that race and not one in the Chase. Having said that, way to go Tony Stewart for winning the Atlanta race! He was overdue and now he is one to watch in the Chase for the Sprint Cup! And of course, you all know I was exstatic when Denny won in Richmond last weekend! My husband and I were there with a group from Lynch Tours & More and it was so exciting to see Denny win at his home track and hopefully carry that momentum over to this weekend in Louden! Way to go Denny, you rock !!!

Now that the Chase is officially beginning this weekend at Louden, New Hampshire, I'm not sure who is the clear favorite to win this race. Many of the drivers in the Chase have won at this track including Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, just to name a few. So, it should be an exciting race! And, we certainly can't count out other drivers that are not in the Chase. They have nothing to lose and will be looking for wins to finish the year out. I look for drivers like Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray to have strong runs there. I will be watching on Sunday to see how the drama plays out! Can't wait!!!

So, I want to know who you think will win the Chase! I know I made a prediction last year who I thought would win it and I didn't do a very good job! I think I said Tony Stewart would win and Jimmie Johnspn wasn't going to win four in a row! As you can tell, I'm not very good at making predictions. However, if I was going to pick somebody, you all know who I am going to pick! Yes, Denny Hamlin! He has about as good a shot as he's ever had to win it! He has gotten alot better at the mile and a half race tracks and of course, there are several tracks in the final ten races that he's won at, including Martinsville and Homestead-Miami. The biggest problem tracks that I see for him are Dover and Talledega. He did finish fourth at Dover in May, but he usually is not very good there. He is a very good restrictor plate racer, but his finishes do not show for it. So, if he can get a good finish at those two tracks, he might just have a chance at the Championship! My second picks if Denny doesn't win it, would have to be Kevin Harvik or Jeff Gordon. Harvick has been so consistent all season and has lead the points for a long time until now. Jeff also has been consistent, but has yet to pull off a win this year. My fear is that once Jeff starts winning, he may not stop! So, there you have it, those are my picks for this years Championship!

Lastly, I want to wish all of the drivers in the Chase, the best of luck these next ten races. It is sure to be one of the most exciting ones yet! I do think though, that it will come down to more than one or two drivers at Homestead. I'm thinking there could be four or five with a legitimate shot at the tile when we get to the last race! Wouldn't that be cool?!!! I hope that is the case, NASCAR could really use that right now! So, everyone be safe this weekend and as always, I'll see you at the races!