Well, the Fords and Dodges are beefing about the Chevrolets finishing tops again. Here'* the top 5 finishers at Atlanta yesterday:

1 Bobby Labonte ( 18 ) Chevrolet 325 172 $205,233
2 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet 325 68 $142,778
3 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ( 8 ) Chevrolet 325 23 $113,917
4 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford 325 0 $91,850
5 Tony Stewart (20) Chevrolet 325 17 $113,328


Ok, now WHY were there higher GM numbers? Simple. 3 Dodges and 3 Fords blew motors, and no Chevrolets blew motors! You're naturally going to have higher GM odds in a situation like that. Even the dodges and fords that DIDN'T blow up were severely weakened. They're talking about doing wind tunnel tests on the Chevrolet bodies this week to see if they have an aerodynamic advantage. I don't think it'* aero. I think it'* mechanical reliability. Here'* the bottom of the heap....notice the purses won for the last place DNF'*:

38 Ken Schrader (49) Dodge 182 0 $46,175
39 Bill Elliott (9) Dodge 164 0 $85,723
40 Kurt Busch (97) Ford 143 0 $66,090
41 Brett Bodine (11) Ford 141 0 $46,050
42 Mark Martin (6) Ford 133 0 $79,843
43 Larry Foyt (14) Dodge 104 0 $45,069

I sure hope Nascar reads this!

Actually Jimmy Johnson did blow a motor late. Anyways, the other makes are always going to complain when someone else is running better (or has less bad luck). Remember Rusty'* claim that the DEI & Childress cars must have "cheated" after Daytona.

Its almost like politics. In other words, don't lets the facts get in the way of statistics. The announcers were correct in pointing out that many teams who lost engines had run 60 or more practice laps on those engines prior to the race. The Roush teams are also notorious for pulling major gear on bigger ovals. Simply put, when you abuse equipment, it breaks.

Since all the cars have common templates, common body mounting and weight distribution, it comes down to engines. The Chevy guys have been working on the motors for years to compensate for the well-known aerodynamic advantage of the Taurus. When the Intrepid came on board, it was modeled after the Taurus, so it too had an aero advantage. Now that the bodies are about equal, the Chevy engines are at or near the top in power and durability. The biggest exception are the Yate'* motors that typically have the best numbers.

Jay

In NAscar the Bodies are only allowed to vary slightyly... Its illeagle to have a Aeriodynamically Advantage in Nascar. SO, Its all in the Motors ! BOOYAH!

NASCAR is just full of pissin' 'n' moanin'...

Did anyone read in SI about the Smith vs. France battles? For christ sake, there are enough fans, just hold more races already.

My beef about Nascar is why they don't have a Bonnie in it and why I'm not in it.. ha ha ha...

You guys see the race yesterday? Taurus and Grand Prix locked axle to axle, trading rubber, crossed the line that way. Grand Prix one for the simple reason that the nose portion of the body was longer, and crossed the line 6 inches in front of the Taurus!

So the Grand ***** Beat the SOR-*** by a nose ha ha ha...

F1, now that'* racing. Man I went to Indy, to see my first F1 race, last Sept. That was so cool, seeing Juan Montoya (Favorite Drvier). Planning going there again this coming Sept. awesome stuff, the glow of their brakes the loud 18,000 rpm reving engines roaring to life going over 200 mph, such a rush, just watching them race.

The races I like to go to are at Bristol every lap is like last weekends finish!

You guys ain't seen nuthin. Try driving the Dan Ryan expressway here on a saturday night... Now there'* some paint swapping and brutal wipeouts.