During the course of the previous NASCAR weekend at the Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana-California, we watched “Smoke” elevate his championship status and we watched the status of other championship efforts go up in smoke. We watched another milestone from the Joe Gibbs Racing Series-er excuse me Nationwide Series, and, oh yeah, Danica was there. With those thoughts in mind let’s begin with:

HOORAH to Tony Stewart and his #14 Stewart-Haas team for winning Sunday’s Pepsi Max 400.. “Smoke” clearly proved that his focus on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship is firmly intact. Sunday’s win moved the team from tenth in the standings to fifth and only 107 points out of first.

 Stewart scored his second win of the season, his 39th career win and he removed the Auto Club Speedway off of the list of tracks he hasn’t won on. Stewart led the Pepsi Max 400 three times during the day for a total of 27 laps including the final 11 circuits around the raceway’s mammoth two mile oval. Stewart shared the front row with Jimmie Johnson during a green-white-checker finish and won the race by a mere margin of 0.466 seconds.

For Stewart the Pepsi Max 400 was a resurgence from the first Chase race at New Hampshire when his car, on the way to the win, ran out of gas with less that two laps remaining. Had this incident never occurred Stewart would now be second in the Chase standings and only 13 points away from first.

Stewart gets another HOORAH for spraying that large Pepsi Max can with Coca Cola during the victory lane ceremony. The Pepsi can was part of the beautiful winner’s trophy. Stewart has an endorsement deal with the “other” soft drink company and is a member of the Coca Cola Racing Family.

A HOORAH goes out to Darien Grubb, the race winning crew chief, who was treated to a nice birthday present. Grubb turned 35 last Saturday.

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While Tony “Smoke” Stewart was burning up the competition at the Auto Club Speedway, there were other Chase contenders who spent the day helplessly watching their championship runs going up in smoke. Reluctant WAZZUPS goes to the following:

Roush Fenway Racing. Despite three cars in the Chase that were considered pre race favorites to win the race, Jack “The Cat in the Hat” Roush had absolutely no reason to smile during his California weekend.

The California Carnage began on lap 41 when Greg Biffle’s engine blew up. After winning the Kansas race the weekend before, Biffle arrived in California eighth in the standings and 85 points out. He left the “left coast” with a 41st place finish along with tenth in the standings and 241 points out.

The next blow came on lap 58 when the Roush Ford of Carl Edwards dramatically stalled on the track and had to be escorted to the garage via a wrecker. A faulty distributor turned out to be he culprit and that led to a 34th place finish. Edwards fell from fourth in the standings, 53 points out, and plummeted to seventh and minus 162.

The hits just kept on coming for Roush Fenway when Matt Kenseth’s engine began smoking during the waning laps of the race. The driver started going backwards through the field and the 30th place finish landed him 11th in the Chase standings at minus 241.

But wait there’s more. The fourth Roush Fenway Ford, driven by David Ragan, found himself in the middle of a hard crash with only seven laps remaining in the race. The other car involved in this crash belonged to Chase contender Kurt Busch who remains in sixth in the standings but falls from minus 70 to minus 140.

The news wasn’t any better for the other Busch brother. With 45 laps to go Kyle Busch’s engine blew up with the result being a 35th place finish. The teams slipped from seventh to ninth in the standings and are 187 points out. Busch came over the radio saying “anyone who wasn’t sure that this championship is over, it’s certainly over now.”

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A rarely issued HOORAH-WAZZUP-HOORAH combo package goes to Jeff Gordon and his #24 Hendrick Motorsports team. First off the team pulled off a four tire stop in an amazing 11.8 seconds. Sub 12 second stops are a very rare sight these days.

Unfortunately it turned sour, with 44 laps to go, when Gordon had to serve a penalty for speeding on pit road during another pit stop. Despite the huge loss of track position, Gordon climbed up on the wheel and drove to a ninth place finish. The effort elevates him one position in the Chase standings. He’s now fourth at minus 85.

HOORAH to Jimmie Johnson, and the #48 Hendrick Motorsports team, for again turning up the heat during Chase fever. Their third place finish kept them on top of standings while increasing their points lead to 36 points over Denny Hamlin.

Speaking of Hamlin, his Joe Gibbs Racing team gets the HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do-do. A sudden need for a transmission change relocated the #11 Toyota to the rear of the starting field prior to the race. Then there were frequent struggles with the restarts following caution flags that hindered maintaining track position. Despite this Hamlin drove his way back to an eighth place finish and remains second in the standings.

HOORAH to Mark Martin for once again looking like the Mark Martin of old during the Pepsi Max 500. After the season this team has endured, a sixth place finish had to seem like a win. Martin led the race twice for a season high 41 laps and the crowd went crazy.

WAZZUP with Dale Earnhardt Jr for having to announce that he’s not a “whacko” during the race? Sunday was NASCAR’s most popular driver’s 36th birthday and he was hoping to give himself a special present by generating a strong finish in the race. Unfortunately his afternoon in Fontana was another round of enduring an ill handling race car and a 16th place finish. That’s something we’ve seen too many times this year. After several minutes of listening to his driver’s frustration over the radio, crew chief Lance McGrew said “look, I know it’s your birthday but you’re freaking out of control.” Earnhardt responded with “don’t take it personal, I just want to do better, I’m not being a whacko or anything.”

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HOORAH to Kyle Busch for winning Saturday’s Camping World 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Auto Club Speedway. The win was his unbelievable 12th of the season and his fourth at the Fontana track. Interestingly enough, it also marked the third time this season Busch won a Nationwide Series race after having to work his way back from a penalty for speeding on pit road.

You know that old saying that goes: “if you think you’ve got problems stop and look around’? Well, if you’re feeling a little down then look on the bright side. What is the bright side? You’re not a member of Kevin Harvick’s Nationwide pit crew.

WAZZUP with the pit road meltdown this crew experienced? One of their pit stops was a whopping 17.7 seconds and that level of performance consistency cost their driver valuable track position. The problem also caused Harvick to completely lose his temper. After the race Harvick said expect to see changes on pit road adding “this is not what we’re about, it’s terrible, if they can’t stand the pressure then they’re going to have to look for something different to do.”

HOORAH to Danica Patrick and the progress displayed during her ongoing transition from Indy car to NASCAR racing. This accolade is despite the disappointing finish. With ten laps left in the race, Patrick was hit by James Buescher and sent hard into the backstretch wall and her 30th place finish does not reflect how well she performed during this race.

Her goal was more educational seat time and a top 15 finish. Patrick raised more than a few eyebrows by her fourth place listing on the speed charts following the series’ practice session. She qualified her car with a highly respectable 14th and she was on her way to obtaining that top 15 finish before the late race accident.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this transition is being handled with a great deal of intelligence by both the driver and her team, JR Motorsports. I will again stand behind another observation from the past: if you’re looking for instant gratification then call your local pizza delivery company.

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The final HOORAH this week goes to the Auto Club Speedway. Both races during their NASCAR weekend were very exciting. The Pepsi Max 400 Cup event was aptly described as one of the speedway’s best races ever. Driver and fan reaction to this race being shortened from 500 miles was very positive.

The speedway also deserves a HOORAH for their promotional ideas that often demonstrates a willingness to think and work outside of the box. This was certainly true of the wedding opportunity they presented to their fans. On Sunday morning, marriage and commitment renewal vows were exchanged on the start-finish line. Speedway President Gillian Zucker, adorned in a judicial robe accented with a checkered flag collar, presided over the ceremonies for a reported 69 couples. NASCAR driver/team owner Michael Waltrip was the official best man while Miss Sprint Cup was the matron of honor. This is yet another reason why a NASCAR weekend at the Auto Club Speedway is so special.

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The final WAZZUP of the week goes to Jim Hill, sports anchor for the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles. He’s another one of these L A based sports authorities who have the stick and ball syndrome. In other words: if it doesn’t have a stick and ball then it’s probably not really a sport.

Hill was attempting to cover the Auto Club Speedway race, in the shortest amount of time possible, and it was clearly obvious that it was a struggle. During the broadcast he said “Stewart held off Clint Bowyer”, (while totally mispronouncing Clint’s name), and then added “Stewart moved up to fifth but still keeps the overall lead.” WHAT???

I single out Jim Hill because I happened to be watching the Channel Two late news that night. He’s typical of the stick and ball television sports anchors who often display a lack of knowledge and interest in auto racing unless there’s some death defying accident involved in the race. Anyone who watches a sports segment from a Los Angeles based television station knows exactly what I’m talking about.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. is the Mecca to which fans and anyone who has been involved with NASCAR can visit and pay homage to those who have made NASCAR the sport that it is today.

Every facet of NASCAR is addressed in the spectacular attraction opened in May of this year. History from the last 60 years is displayed, as racing artifacts, actual race cars and most importantly the Hall of Fame honoring drivers, owners, crew chiefs and others who have made tremendous impact on the sport.

The first class was inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May. The five inductees were Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Junior Johnson.

On July 1, 2010, 25 nominees were announced to be eligible for the second class to be inducted. On October 13 the Hall of Fame voting panel will meet to determine the five new inductees who will forever be enshrined at the HOF at a ceremony in 2011 and they will be announced that same day.

Fifty three ballots will be cast based on decisions made by 21 members of the nominating committee, 14 media representatives, one representative from Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota respectively, four retired drivers, three retired owners, three retired crew chiefs, four recognized industry leaders and one vote from the fans.

Eligibility for the HOF requires drivers and non-drivers to have been involved in NASCAR for 10 years and retired for at least three years.

One former driver certain to be part of the second class is David Pearson. The Spartanburg, S.C. driver known as the “Silver Fox” has 105 wins and 113 poles to his credit.

Pearson has three Winston Cup (Sprint Cup) Championships and never ran every race in any one season. Only Richard Petty had more wins and the two battled fiercely against one another.

Another good bet to be inducted is Raymond Parks. Parks was one of the participants at a meeting with Bill France, Sr. and others in the Streamline Hotel on Daytona Beach in 1947 that resulted in the formation of NASCAR.

The Georgia businessman fielded a car driven by Red Byron which won the first Cup Series Championship in 1949 which was also the first season for NASCAR.

Parks was an integral part of NASCAR and donated a great deal to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Some think he should have been inducted in the first class and sadly he died June 20, 2010 at the age of 96.

Bobby Allison is another driver who may well be in the second class of inductees. Allison was the 1983 Series Cup Champion and has 84 career wins. He was forced into retirement in 1988 after a crash at Pocono Speedway in Pocono, Pa. that

nearly took his life.

Allison was one of the NASCAR’s favorite drivers. He lost his son Clifford Allison in a racing accident during practice for the Busch series (Nationwide) in 1992 and his son Davey Allison was killed in a helicopter accident at Talladega Superspeedway in 1993 when his helicopter crashed.

Bud Moore is a car owner who quite possibly will make the second class of inductees. He ran cars in NASCAR’s top tier some 37 years and amassed 63 wins and 298 top-five finishes with drivers including Fireball Roberts, David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and others.

Known as a country mechanic who could “make em’ run fast,” he was and is highly respected by those in NASCAR, having contributed much to the sport.

Dale Inman was Richard Petty’s crew chief for some 30 years. He just may be the first crew chief to be inducted in to the NASCAR Hall of Fame with his time coming in the second class.

Inman was innovative as a crew chief and brought status to the position especially after 1967 when he and Petty won 27 races, ten of them consecutively.

Those five men may be the best bets to be inducted in the second class. Other’s who will absolutely be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame are Lee Petty, Glen Wood and T. Wayne Robertson. Should any of the five picks listed above not make the upcoming induction, one or two could come out of these three men who are certainly worthy of going in the second or third class.

This list of best bets to be announced October 13 are based solely on the opinion of the writer.

In spite of California’s Auto Club Speedway being admittedly hard hit by the economy, high unemployment, and by NASCAR, losing its second race for the 2011 season, the track put on a surprisingly good show, with the stands being fairly full and the racing on the track being unexpectedly exciting.

Here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the fourth race in the Chase competition, with just six races remaining in the 2010 season.

Surprising: On a track of only three where he has never claimed a Cup victory, Tony Stewart battled Clint Bowyer to claim the checkered flag by a mere .466 of a second. Smoke also catapulted himself out of tenth place in the Chase standings all the way up to fifth, breathing new life into his championship hopes and possibilities. In addition to Stewart’s win, the race team that bears his name shone with teammate Ryan Newman bringing his No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet to the finish line in fifth, a great coup for the Stewart-Haas Racing in front of their sponsor’s and team co-owner’s hometown crowd.

Not Surprising: Clint Bowyer, who was in his own words “in search of redemption” after his points penalty and suspension of his crew chief was upheld by NASCAR’S Commissioner, did indeed find saving grace in the runner up position. Substitute crew chief Scott Miller even kept his driver calm during his debris caution fit late in the race which did indeed impact the outcome, costing Bowyer the perfect redemption of a race win.

Surprising: In a race that was purposefully shortened from 500 to 400 miles to build excitement but also to save wear and tear on the cars, there were a surprising number of blown engines and engine malfunction, particularly for the Roush Fenway drivers. First to fall out was last week’s race winner Greg Biffle, whose engine gave up the ghost around lap 40 of the race. Next up was Carl Edwards, who had an engine failure, a rotor in the distributor, that cause a nightmare for his team throughout the race. In the waning laps of the race, Matt Kenseth’s car began to emit that tell-tale smoke, although he was able to nurse it to the finish line. Biffle finished 41st, dropping two places in the Chase standings to tenth, while Edwards and Kenseth finished 34th and 30th respectively, dropping Edwards to seventh in the points while Kenseth held firm in the 11th position.

Not Surprising: With six laps to go in the race, David Ragan in the No. 6 UPS Ford caused the only wreck of the day, damaging his car significantly but also collecting Chase competitor Kurt Busch as part of his collateral damage. Busch’s ‘Blue Deuce’ was relegated to a 21st place finish, leaving him in the sixth position, 140 points back in the Chase point standings.

Surprising: Two veteran drivers in the thick of Chase contention got tagged for speeding penalties. Jeff Gordon saying “It was my fault on pit road” was tagged for speeding into the pits while Kevin Harvick was penalized for being too fast on exit. Gordon salvaged a ninth place finish with a gutsy call by crew chief Steve Letarte to take two tires during the last race caution. Gordon was also rewarded for his hard charge to the front with an advancement of one position, up to fourth, in the Chase standings. Harvick also redeemed himself from his pit road issues to finish seventh in the race, maintaining his third place position in the point standings.

Not Surprising: Jimmie Johnson, at a track that always feels very much like home to the California native, continued his good Chase running with a third place race finish. Sporting the colors of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and fresh off another successful charity event, Johnson also strengthened his lead in the championship standings, now 36 points ahead of second place Denny Hamlin.

Surprising: After an incredibly strong run and win in the Nationwide car at Fontana, Kyle Busch had a surprisingly dismal day at the track in his Cup car. He too had engine difficulties, with a ventilation hose vibrating off and then a total engine failure with just 46 laps to go in the race. Busch, completely frustrated, pulled into his pit stall and pronounced his “championship now over”. The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota finished 35th and lost two positions, falling to ninth, in the championship point standings.

Not Surprising: After having some private words and some more supervised words in the NASCAR hauler with Kyle Busch following their Kansas altercation, David Reutimann clicked off another top-10 run, bringing his No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine to the checkered flag in the tenth position.

Surprising: In a most pleasant surprise, the driver of the No. 5 Carquest/Go Daddy.com Chevrolet Mark Martin had a great run at Cali, dicing his way through the field and leading laps. Saying “God, it’s been a long time,” after become the seventh race leader, Martin went on to secure a top-10 finish, coming to the checkered flag in the sixth position.

Not Surprising: Although Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wowed the crowd with a top-10 qualifying effort at Fontana and even led some laps by not pitting with the rest of the crowd, the performance of his car fell off as it habitually does throughout a race run, leaving him with a 16th place finish at Fontana.

The Cup Series will return for a weekend of racing in the heart of NASCAR at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The fifth race of the Chase, the Bank of America 500, will run under the lights on Saturday, October 16th at 7:30 PM EDT, with live coverage on ABC.

There is no doubt that NASCAR has faced its share of struggles this season, from sagging attendance at the tracks to a significant drop in the television ratings, even during the Chase.

While NASCAR has thrown just about everything they have in their arsenal at these problems, including ‘boys have at it,’ double file restarts, green-white-checkered finishes, all of which have led to some of the best racing in the sport’s history, NASCAR still seems to continue its struggling.

So, what is the solution? Well, perhaps NASCAR should do what so many do in times of trouble and strife. NASCAR should just get some good ole time religion.

Lest this article be construed as the ramblings of a zealot for a particular religion, please know that it is not. There are, however, some basic principles from that ole time religion that might not only apply but help NASCAR’s current predicament.

One of those first ole time religious principles is the need for a revival in the land. Yes, NASCAR does indeed need a revival throughout its land, and even in its soul.

Sure, times are tough but rather than focus so much on the business of NASCAR, the leadership of the sport needs to become more like evangelists on a mission rather than corporate suits. They need to stir the souls of NASCAR fans, reminding them of why they love this sport, instead of focusing on ways to pick their ever slim pockets.

This revival across NASCAR-land should recapture how much fans love the sport and the lengths they go to participate and get to the races. The governing body needs to focus more energy on fanning the flames of fans’ passion, reminding them of why they have decided to worship at the house of NASCAR rather than the houses of baseball or other sports.

Just like that ole time religion, NASCAR might even consider hosting some tent-like revival sessions with and for the fans, letting them share their stories of the sport with the NASCAR leadership. To encourage the fans to participate in these revival sessions, NASCAR could also work with the sport’s drivers and personalities to share their racing passions, as well as listening to the fans’ stories, allowing them to express what their driver, their team and their following of NASCAR has meant to them.

This revival of the NASCAR spirit could even translate throughout the sport’s media, giving voice to fans’ passion for the sport rather than endless hours of complaints focusing on what is wrong with it. Perhaps a radio show hosted by a passionate fan with various drivers not only sharing their racing stories but again listening to how fans came to the sport and allowing them to tell their own stories might just be one avenue to start and continue the NASCAR revival.

In addition to ole time revival, NASCAR might also utilize the principle of proselytizing from ole time religion. Anyone who has experienced that mountaintop religious experience cannot wait to share it and that is exactly what NASCAR needs to encourage more is the sharing of that racing experience that is so unique to the sport.

This is an avenue where the race track leadership and promoters could assist NASCAR in the proselytizing process, by providing incentives and even more boldly, perhaps even free tickets for a new race fan accompanying a current race fan to the track. Everyone in the sport knows that if you can get someone to the race track, you have created a fan for life, so tracks must consider making that as easy and cost-effective as possible in order to continue to bring new fans to the sport.

Once tracks get these newbie fans to their venues, they should also consider special perks to continue the proselytizing process, as well as perks for the current fans that brought them. Perhaps a NASCAR 101 course for these groups could be offered, including some basics about the sport, ways that they can plug in, such as using scanners or FanView, a pre-race demonstration of a pit stop so they understand the strategy of the sport, and even a surprise driver appearance that again cements that personal relationship on which NASCAR was built.

Another proselytizing option similar to that used in ole time religion is to focus on an avenue that has attracted so many to the sport, the family. For most, racing is in the blood having grown up at the race track or having been brought, or in some cases even dragged, to a local short track or other venue.

While NASCAR and its many race track partners throughout the country have done a good job in making tracks more fan and kid friendly, there are still many more opportunities for proselytizing the sport through children. Sure, this is an investment with perhaps not immediate return, but it most certainly ensures the long-term viability and survival of the sport in the future.

In addition to creating family and kid zones in the grandstands, tracks need to get even more serious about how they treat them at the track. The bottom line is that what every kid really wants when they come to the race track, especially for the first time, is to meet that driver, team or personality that they so idolize.

So, in addition to having drivers make appearances in the corporate boxes and the hospitality tents, NASCAR should think about innovative ways they can get those drivers in front of kids, especially those children who are coming to the race for the first time, as well as their families who have sacrificed to bring them.

Another possibility might be for the drivers and their children to meet the fans and their children, again making that personal connection even stronger, hopefully cementing that relationship for the rest of their lives as race fans.

Whether through focusing on new converts or creating opportunities for children and families, the bottom line in these challenging times is that NASCAR must again search for and find its soul. Then and only then, perhaps taking some lessons from that ole time religion, can the sport flourish and grow.