Penalties are:

Owner Joe Gibbs-loss of 150 owner points for Nos. 18 and 20 cars
No. 18 and no. 20 team-probation until Dec. 31
Driver Joey Logano and Tony Stewart-loss of 150 driver points, probation until Dec. 31
No. 18 crew chief Jason Ratcliff and no. 20 crew chief David Rodgers-fined $50,000 and indefinitely suspended
No. 18 car chief Dorian Thorsen-indefinite suspension
No. 18 engine tuner Michael Johnson-indefinite suspension
No. 18 crew member Toby Bigelow-indefinite suspension
No. 20 car chief Richard Bray-indefinite suspension
No. 20 engine tuner Dan Bajek-indefinite suspension

has come out with a statement on these major penalties.

Also winding up with a penalty out of Michigan was Donnie Wingo who is the crew chief for Sprint Cup Car Reed Sorenson drivers.  He gets a 25 grand fine for an improper weight in his car.

Travis Geisler is now the new crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr. and Travis replaces Chris Carrier.

Camping World is going to be the sponsor for the Kansas Speedway race on September 28.

The Michigan Sprint Cup scored a 3.9 rating while the Nationwide Series race pulled in a 1.3 rating.

NASCAR Now Note:

Jamie Little says that Wally Brown and Doug Hewitt are going to be the back-up crew chiefs for Joe Gibbs Racing for this weekend.

Atlanta moves the second race of the year it has to September 6th and it will be a night race. Talladega and the second race of the year it has moves to November 1st which is the seventh race in the chase.  Auto Club Speedway and the second race it has moves to October 11th and is now the fourth race in the chase.  One week before the Labor day weekend the last off week of the season occurs and then the final 12 races will be run in a row.

The
in the Nationwide series have the Montreal race moving to August 30th which does not have a Sprint Cup date on the same weekend.  Iowa Speedway gets added to the schedule on August 1st.

Tony Stewart on his radio show said that Ryan Newman is now going to be in the #39 car next year.  Tony won his first USAC midgets race with that number.  At first it was going to be #4 car, but Tony wants that to go back to Morgan McClure Motorsports.

has a signed a deal with the Subway company where he will do some commerrcial spots for the food chain and Subway is going to be a primary sponsor on his #99 car he drives for three races in 2009.

says that Texaco-Havoline is not going to be back next year as a sponsor for Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ken Schrader is going to be the driver this weekend in the #96 car.  Last week it was Brad Coleman.

NASCAR Now Note:

On Saturday it is supposed to be announced that Casey Mears is going to be driving for RCR next year.

David Ragan on the otherhand looks likes he really wants to be in the chase.

The penalty that Joe Gibbs Racing imo is going the same as the Haas CNC racing got this year. It will be big and worth it.  I can see Joe Gibbs suspending or even firing workers involved in the incident.

The
though is not happy about what Joe Gibbs Racing did to rig the engines.

that on August 25th at headquarters of Joe Gibbs Racing they are going to announce who is going to drive the #20 car  next year.  The Article says it will Joey Logano.

executive officer Stan Clement says a major announcement is going to come out Tuesday.

The first
of the year are going to be run on March 20-22.

Texas Motor Speedway Press Release says that The Sprint Cup Series Samsung 500 will be on April 5th and the Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500 will be on November 8th.

This
link says that Yates Racing is looking at signing Paul Menard from DEI.

Reigning NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion Andrew Ranger is going to be driving in seven of the final ten Nationwide Series  races for Fitz Motorsports.

A total of 49 cars are going to attempt to qualify for the Nationwide Series race at Bristol.

“We got a good car this weekend,” said Dale Jr.

At the drop of the green flag it was Jimmie Johnson taking the lead and then Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead at lap 8.  He kept the lead of the race until the first caution came out on lap 19 as Marcos Ambrose and his car blew up.

All the main leaders come in to pit for tires and fuel.  At the drop of the green flag Jimmie Johnson quickly took the lead of the race again and Carl Edwards was continuing to move his way up the field and on lap 28 he was seventh.

Around lap 43 Dale Jr. who was leading the race at the time was complaining of some heating problems.  By the 51st lap Brian Vickers took the lead of the race and a hot dog wrapper flew off Dale Jr. and his car solving some of heating problems.

Green flag pit stops started to occur around lap 64 and after all of them were done Dale Jr. took over the lead of the race.  Carl Edwards who was still super fast was able to get the lead of the race from Dale Jr. on lap 75.

The second caution finally comes out on lap 84.  Paul Menard got into the back of Ryan Newman who then smacked Dave Blaney who smacks hard into the wall and got into the air.

Cars on the lead lap pit and Carl Edwards wins the race off pit road. The green flag drops and in a few laps some four wide racing occurs on lap 91.  That quickly caused Jimmie Johnson to get hit from both Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.  It blew a tire and then he went on lap down.

Six more laps go by damage from the lap 91 incident catches up to Jeff Gordon and he crashes his car.  Jeff Gordon said that he hated getting Jimmie Johnson involved and that the pit stops he had today were horrible.

Carl Edwards was able to keep the lead of the race off pit road.  Carl during this next long green flag run was able to break out into a 3 second plus lead.  At lap 136 Kasey Kahne and his engine gives up, he was able to get to pit road and put the car behind the wall.

“Something with the engine,” said Kasey Kahne.  He also stated that he rarely has engine problems.

At lap 138 green flag pit stops start occurring.  Carl Edwards had the lead after pit stops ended, but then Kyle Busch going super fast finally got to lead the race for the first time.

Kyle quickly busts out to a 2 second plus lead with only 50 laps left. In ten more laps he moves it up to around 6 seconds.  With 35 laps left a debris caution comes.

Leaders pit and Brian Vickers takes the lead of the race only taking two tires with Kyle Busch coming out in second.  The green flag drops with 31 laps to go and Kyle Busch quickly takes the lead of the race.

With 29 laps left Kurt Busch spins out, but the caution flag does not come out.  With 23 laps left a battle for the lead occurs with Carl and Kyle.  In a couple of laps another debris caution comes out.

Almost all the cars on the lead lap come in for fresh tires.  Dale Jr. stays outs to keep the lead of the race.  At the drop of the green flag Dale Jr. winds up hitting the wall causing some massive damage to his car.

That helped Carl Edwards take the lead of the race.  With 13 laps left the caution comes out for debris again.

The green flag drops with 10 laps left.  Carl Edwards was able to break out to a 1 plus second lead, but with six laps left Denny Hamlin and his car blows up.

At the drop of the final green flag it was Carl Edwards getting another good restart and taking the win the race.  All Roush cars were able to finish the race in the top ten.

“Guys did an unbelievable job,’ said Carl Edwards.

“Pretty much nothing,” said Kyle Busch on what he had for Carl Edwards.

“Worked out the best,” said David Ragan on the final few cautions.  He said it will not be easy to get in the chase.  David finished in third spot.

Greg Biffle who finished third said he wished he stayed out at the end.

“It was a struggle,” said Matt Kenseth who finished fifth.

In points Kyle Busch leads Carl Ewdwards by 222 points.  David Ragan though leaves Michigan tied with Clint Boyer for 13th spot only 26 points away from 12th.

Method:

1. Beat butter, sugar, egg yolks, lemon rind, lemon juice, cherry liqueur and salt in large mixer bowl. Stir in the flour. Shape into ball; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough 1/8-inch thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board. Cut into desired shapes. Place on greased baking sheet; sprinkle with sugar crystals. Bake 10 minutes (cookies
should not brown). Cool on wire racks.

3. Store in airtight container 2 days to develop flavor. Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 6 weeks or in freezer up to 2 months.

Recipe from Debbie Vanni of Libertyville, Illinois.
From the Chicago Tribune Annual Food Guide Holiday Cookie Contest December 4, 1986

Cookies:

• 2 c all-purpose flour,Sifted
• 1/2 c Sugar
• 1/4 t Salt
• 1 c Butter
• 3/4 c unblanched almonds, grated
• 2 t Vanilla

Frosting:

• 6 T Butter
• 1/3 c Half-and-half
• 2/3 c brown sugar, packed
• 2 c Confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 t Vanilla
• pistachio nuts, chopped for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For cookies, sift flour, sugar and salt into bowl. Cut in 1 cup butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Blend in almonds and vanilla. Work mixture with fingers until a ball of dough is formed. Then shape into 1-inch balls.

2. Place balls on greased cookie sheets; make a depression in center of each cookie. Bake about 8 minutes; remove from oven. Dent again and bake about 8 minutes longer; cool.

3. For frosting, blend 6 tablespoons butter, half-and-half and brown sugar in saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Cool about 15 minutes, then stir in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and thick.

4. Fill depressions in cookies with butterscotch frosting and sprinkle frosting with nuts.

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Baking time: 10 to 12 minutes
Yield: 36 servings

Method:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar and egg. Stir in flour,
vanilla and pecans. Mix well by hand. Shape into balls about the size
of walnuts, place on cookie sheets and flatten to about 1/8 inch.

2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until brown. Remove from oven and allow to
cool completely and harden. Winner Jean McGree of Flossmoor “bores
everyone,” she says, with this family tale of Christmas praline cookies:
“Since the time Mom had been a little girl, each November Grandma
would surround her back yard pecan tree with sheets to catch the
falling nuts. But most of the nuts had to be knocked from the branches
with her long-handled broom. Then she would spend hours stooped over
those sheets, picking up the pecans and sorting the good ones from the
black and hollow shells.

“When her daughter married and moved away, the nuts were carefully
picked over, packaged and shipped ‘up North.’ Free time in the first
week of December was always marked for shelling the pecans. Sore hands
and stiff backs were repaid with secret nibbling and promises of
praline cookies for Christmas.

“Soon, I’ll start looking for a package from Great-Grandma in South
Carolina. Then, as we crack the pecans, I can retell the ‘pecan story’
to Michael and Ann, who know that Santa always looks for pralines on
Christmas Eve.”

From the Chicago Tribune Annual Food Guide Holiday Cookie Contest
December 4, 1986

1 c water, warm
2 T yeast,or 2 packages
1/2 c sugar
1/8 t mace
1 c scalded milk
1 c lard, melted
1 T salt
3 eggs, beaten
7 c flour, about
butter, softened
cinnamon & sugar, mixed together
blueberries & cherries for decorations

Powdered Sugar Icing:
1 t vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar
5 T hot milk
1/2 t lemon flavoring
2 T white shortening (Crisco)

Method:

Put the yeast in the water & set aside.

Put sugar, mace, milk, melted lard, salt & eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast mixture and about 7 cups of flour. Mix all ingredients together & work to a smooth dough. Let rise until double. Roll out on board 1/2″ inch thick, spread with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar. Cut in strips one inch wide. Twist them as you place in a round 8″ greased pan. Let rise about 40 minutes.

Bake 18-20 minutes at 375 degrees or until golden brown. Ice with Powdered Sugar icing. Decorate with red cherries & blueberries and to with a flag in the center.

POWDERED SUGAR ICING:
Combine all ingredients, beat one minute, add more milk if needed to make it spread easily.

Blue Ribbon Award Winning Recipe by:
Mrs. Louise Woodruff
Ursa, Illinois - Grand Champion 1976
Illinois State Fair

2 1/4 c Red Band all purpose flour
1 T sugar
3 t baking powder
3/8 t garlic salt
1/2 t basil,crushed
1 t thyme,crushed
1/2 c butter
1/3 c Parmesan cheese,Shredded
4 T dried tomatoes,drained and snipped
1/4 c sour cream
1/2 c milk

Method

Pour 3/4 cup boiling water over 10 pieces of dried tomatoes. Let sit for minutes to dehydrate.

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic salt, basil and thyme. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cheese and tomatoes. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Add sour cream and milk all at once. Stir just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured board. Flour top and knead 2 or 3 times. Lightly roll out ¾ inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter.

Place on ungreased baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown.

From the Blue Ribbon Award Winning Recipes

This recipe won the 1st place for:
RED BAND BEST BISCUIT CONTEST
Jackie Wilder, Raleigh, NC
North Carolina State Fair