Upcoming Events in the World of NASCAR Need a breather? NASCAR does. Next week, the Nextel Cup teams will take a rest, and return to action on April 22nd at Phoenix International Raceway in the Subway Fresh 500. The Busch teams, however, don't get it quite so easy. They travel to Nashville for the Pepsi 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway. The Craftsman Truck teams are off until April 29.

Expect the Hendrick drivers to return to dominance in the Subway Fresh 500. Of all current drivers, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson have the best records at Phoenix. Of course, you can never forget Tony Stewart and Mark Martin. Both are blistering the 2006 schedule!

Next Week's Schedule:
(all times CST)

Nextel Cup
Off until 4/22/06

Busch Series
4/15/06 - 10:05am Pepsi 300 Qualifying
4/15/06 - 3:03pm Pepsi 300

Craftsman Truck Series
Off till April 29th when they head to Gateway International Raceway.

Who's Hot? Is Kasey Kahne pouring it on now or what? After a dismal 2005 season, he is finally answering all skeptics out there. Yes, folks the boy is not only the subject of every female NASCAR fan's desire, he can also compete at NASCAR's top level. Through 9 races of the 2006 season, Kasey has finished with 5 top 5's placing him tied for 3rd in the championship standings.

The next stop on the Nextel Cup schedule is Phoenix. Expect Kasey to finish well there. In 3 starts, his average finish is 16th.

An important fact about all 3 of Kasey's career Nextel Cup victories is that he was the pole sitter for each race.

Who's Not? A big part of competing in NASCAR is luck. There are so many variables that can work against a driver that are out of his control. At any moment, a car could wreck and take out several others. A tire could go flat after running over a piece of debris. Or, just ask Jeff Gordon with his experience in Martinsville a few years ago, a piece of racetrack could break up and damage part of your car.

Such has been the experience of Carl Edwards this year. The witchdoctors have apparently singled him out and cast several spells on the 99 team. After having strong cars and racing strong for much of the season, something always seems to go wrong towards the end of the race.

Carl arguably had one of the strongest cars in the field in yesterday's Samsung/Radioshack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. However, with only 77 laps to go, Carl entered turn 2 too fast while racing for the 2nd position. Carl currently sits 22nd in points. He has his work cut out for him if he plans to make the Chase, and duplicate his success from the 2005 season.

Last Week's Headlines Recap of the 2006 Samsung/Radioshack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway:

Texas is fast, there's no doubt about it! It was so fast, I almost can't remember anything about it. There was your normal race action, Kurt Busch spins yet another driver, etc... But the two things that stand out from yesterday's Samsung/Radioshack 500 are Kasey Kahne's 3rd career win and Tony Stewart's near domination.

Some of the best action of the day came in the closing laps where Tony Stewart tried to hold of a charging Kasey Kahne. Kasey and his car were too good for even the former two-time Nextel Cup champion. In the end, Kasey pulled away from Tony and the rest of the field to win his 3rd career Nextel Cup race, and his 2nd of the 2006 season.

One thing I find utterly amazing is that Tony Stewart has led every race this year. Currently, Tony sits in 5th place, and has had success at the upcoming tracks on the schedule. I expect Tony to make up ground and position himself to be in the top 3 heading towards the middle part of the season.