This week, I explain how a 1- or 2-loss team from a non-AQ league could realistically clinch a BCS bowl bid, why Oregon is more deserving than Alabama of a rematch with LSU, and why Major League Soccer needs to shift its schedule or risk losing casual fans.

But first things first.

1. Fear the Purple.

My Evansville Purple Aces opened the new Ford Center in downtown Evansville Saturday with a 80-77 overtime win against the two-time NCAA runners-up Butler Bulldogs. The Aces trailed by 13 points well into the second half, but came back to briefly take the lead with 4:00 remaining. With 0.9 on the clock Colt Ryan went to the line with Evansville down one. He hit one of two to tie the game.

On the ensuing in-bounds play Butler threw the ball the length of the floor to center Andrew Smith who hit what may or may not have been a buzzer-beating layup. After much deliberation the officials decided that Smith had been fouled before the shot with 0.2 left on the clock. Smith missed both free-throws, sending the game into overtime.

Evansville never trailed in the extra period, but they also never led by more than 3. Butler had plenty of chances, but the Aces prevailed.

My view from the very top row of Evansville's new Ford Center during Saturday's Evansville-Butler game.

Playing their first game in their new building certainly gave the Aces an emotional boost, Butler was missing a few players, and there were plenty of strange calls that might have turned the game one way or other. But this was no fluke.

This is the most talented Evansville squad since the team that earned an at-large bid to the 1999 NCAA Tournament. Ryan, who had 7 rebounds and 5 steals to go with 23 points (on what was, by his standards, a poor shooting night), could be a Missouri Valley Player of the Year candidate. He no longer spends most of the game behind the three-point arc; he gets to the basket. He’s also the Aces’ best defender and is capable of guarding any position.

Evansville’s weakness is size. For much of Saturday’s game the tallest player on the floor for Evansville was 6-6. It will be interesting to see how the Aces fare against Cody Zeller and Indiana, who visit the Ford Center on Wednesday.

2. Butler will have its hands full in the Horizon League.

Butler fans shouldn’t worry too much about losing to Evansville. The Bulldogs lost a November overtime game to Evansville last year and ended the season in the national championship game. Butler fans should be concerned about the competition they’ll face in their league.

Andy Katz has already pinned Detroit Mercy, with its returning back-court tandem of Chase Simon and Ray McCallum, Jr., as a Horizon League contender. Another team to watch is Cleveland State who went to Nashville on Sunday and beat #7 Vanderbilt 71-58.

3. This could easily be the year when a team from a non-AQ conference clinches a BCS bowl bid without going undefeated.

So far in BCS history every team from a non-automatic qualifying conference to earn an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game—Utah and TCU twice each, Boise and Hawaii once each—has gone undefeated. (The 2009 Boise State team, also undefeated, was invited as an at-large team. Only one non-AQ school per year can clinch a BCS bid; that year the bid went to TCU.)

That could all change this year.

Here is the rule on teams from non-AQ leagues earning an automatic bid:

The highest-ranked champion of a non-BCS conference will receive an automatic berth if:

• It is ranked in the top 12, or
• Ranked in the top 16 and higher than at least one BCS conference champion.

If Houston wins out, the Cougars will clinch a BCS bid. But if Houston slips up and doesn’t win Conference USA, there’s a good chance that a 2-loss TCU team or a 1-loss Southern Mississippi team steals a slot in one of the BCS bowls.

TCU is currently #19 in the BCS standings behind a quartet of Big Ten teams, two of whom are guaranteed to lose another game before the season is over. The Frogs could easily jump two Big Ten teams and (in this hypothetical situation where Houston loses a game) Houston to finish the season at #16. TCU would be the Mountain West champion, would be ranked ahead of the Big East champion (no Big East teams are in the BCS Top 25), and would clinch a BCS bid.

Unless the Frogs get jumped. TCU finishes with home games against Colorado State and UNLV. #20 Southern Mississippi, after two cupcake games of their own, will play either Houston or Tulsa in the Conference USA title game. If the Golden Eagles win that game, the computers could bump them above TCU and (depending on what the voters do) into the #16 spot.

Don't be shocked if the TCU Horned Frogs end up playing in the Sugar Bowl.

4. Oregon has at least as good a case for a spot in the BCS title game as Alabama.

The Oregon Ducks went into Palo Alto Saturday night and put a 53-30 whooping on then #4 Stanford. The Ducks are now 9-1 and alone atop the Pac-12 North. Plenty of analysts have raised the possibility of an Alabama-LSU rematch in the title game. But what about an Oregon-LSU rematch? (Oregon lost 40-27 to LSU in week 1.) If both teams win out (and if Oklahoma State slips up), which is more deserving?

Alabama has exactly two notable wins: Penn State on the road and Arkansas at home. If Oregon wins next week against USC, the Ducks will have two wins that are at least as impressive as Alabama’s, and probably more so. While the SEC is stronger than the Pac-12 overall, if Oregon wins out it will have played 10 conference games to Alabama’s 8 and only 2 non-conference cupcake games to Alabama’s 3. (And that’s only if you count Oregon’s game against 6-3, WAC-leading Nevada as a cupcake game.)

The Tide and the Ducks have one common opponent: #1 LSU. Alabama played LSU closer, losing by a field goal in overtime. But Oregon (who, unlike Alabama, didn’t have the benefit of playing the Tigers at home) did something against LSU that Alabama couldn’t: score points. Oregon scored 27 against Les Miles and company; no one else has scored more than 21.

If both teams win out and it comes down to Oregon and Alabama for one slot in the national championship game (and I don’t think that it will), who goes: a 12-1 team that won its conference and has 1 huge win (Stanford), 2 big wins (USC and the Pac-12 title game), and 2 cupcake wins (1 if you don’t count Nevada) or an 11-1 team that didn’t win its conference and has 1 really big win (Arkansas), 1 big win (Penn State), and 3 cupcake wins?

5. Chris Johnson is back?

The Titans’ maligned, $55-million running back Chris Johnson returned to 2009 (or at least 2008 or 2010) form yesterday, rushing for 130 yards (at an average of 4.8 yards per carry) and one touchdown and gaining another 44 yards receiving.

Lest Titans fans and fantasy owners get too excited, keep in mind that Johnson gained all these yards against Carolina, who is among the NFL’s worst when it comes to defending the run. More than half of CJ’s rushing yards came in the fourth quarter when the Titans’ only objective was to run out the clock against an exhausted Panthers defense. Still, 174 total yards is 174 total yards.

6. Tim Tebow is neither as good nor as bad as people make him out to be.

On the one hand: Tebow makes big plays in big moments; he runs the ball effectively; he doesn’t turn the ball over; he plays hard and has a great attitude; and the Broncos are 3-1 since he took over as the starter.

On the other hand: Tebow went 2-for-8 yesterday; he still has accuracy issues and has completed only 44.8 percent of his passes this season; he was ineffective against the only good defense he has faced (the Lions); and his three wins came against Miami, Oakland (without Jason Campbell), and Kansas City.

In short: Don’t mark “Tim Tebow” on your Pro Bowl ballot, but don’t write him off, either. He could be all right.

7. One of the great championship streaks in sports history is about to end.

Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished 14th in the Phoenix on Sunday, mathematically eliminating him from contention for a 6th consecutive Cup. With one race remaining, next Sunday at Miami, Carl Edwards leads the chase by a mere 3 points over Tony Stewart.

8. Pity the Tulsa Shock.

You didn’t pay any attention to the WNBA Draft Lottery, did you? That’s all right, I did it for you.

The Tulsa Shock finished the 2011 season 3-31, earning them the distinction of having the worst record of any team in a league owned and operated by the NBA. (To be able to say that, I had to review the standings from every D-League season ever played. You’re welcome.)

The hapless Shock, best known for having a roster that includes disgraced track star Marion Jones and 40-year-old un-retired Sheryl Swoopes, went into the lottery with the most ping-pong balls. But, as is common with the Shock, the balls didn’t bounce in their favor. They’ll be picking fourth in next year’s draft.

The top pick, and the rights to presumptive number one selection Nnemkadi Ogwumike from Stanford, goes to the 15-19 Los Angeles Sparks, who are a healthy Candace Parker away from being a contender.

Things can't get much worse for the Tulsa Shock. (AP photo)

9. Two weeks off before the final works in the NFL. It doesn’t work for Major League Soccer.

Last weekend the Houston Dynamo beat Sporting Kansas City and the L.A. Galaxy beat Real Salt Lake to advance to the MLS Cup Final. (In both cases the team with the North American-style “[name of city/state] [nickname]” name beat the team with the European-style name. For what that’s worth.)

The problem is that the MLS Cup Final isn’t until November 20. The first three rounds of the MLS Playoffs took place in a span of 12 days, from October 26 through November 6. Now there are 14 days of nothing before next weekend’s final.

Major League Soccer didn’t say, “Let’s take a two-week break between the semi-finals and the final to kill any momentum we might have going in our favor.” The league has to honor a FIFA-imposed November break for international matches. Many European players are playing games to earn their countries a spot in the European Championship; several American players were involved in Friday’s friendly against France and will be involved in tomorrow’s friendly against Slovenia.

Regardless of the reasoning for the fortnight-without-MLS, it isn’t doing the league any good. The NFL can take a two-week break before its championship without anyone losing interest. Major League Soccer cannot.

Full-time soccer fans might not care about this 14-day gap. But if Major League Soccer wants to rival the popularity of other major pro sports leagues, it needs to sell itself to idiots like me. After not hearing any soccer scores for 7 days, I just assumed that I’d missed the MLS Cup Final—that it had gotten lost amid the Penn State coverage. Surely I’m not the only one.

I would advise Major League Soccer to shift its schedule so that this doesn’t happen in the future. (Apparently, ESPN’s Leander Schaerlaeckens agress with me.)

10. Disney Channel whiffed on its latest Original Movie.

Disney, which in the past 18 months has given us great films like Den Brother and Lemonade Mouth, took a big step backwards with its latest Original Movie.

Geek Charming, which debuted this weekend, was just one teen movie cliché after another.

The popular girl (played by the older daughter from Modern Family) openly obsesses about maintaining her popularity and is always flanked by two slightly less popular henchwomen; the titular geek is at least as good looking as his more popular rivals, even if every other character is oblivious to this fact; the geek, upon getting a taste of popularity, forgets about his geek friends and has to win back their favor. In the end, the popular girl realizes that being popular isn’t really important and gives her heart to the geek, shaking the foundations of the entire high school caste system.

It was ridiculous. But I watched every single minute.

**********

Josh Tinley is the author of Kneeling in the End Zone: Spiritual Lessons From the World of Sports. Follow him at twitter.com/joshtinley or send him an e-mail.

1. The Midwest owns baseball.

All 3 Midwestern Playoff teams—the Brewers, Cardinals, and Tigers—advanced to their respective League Championship Series, and at least one team will represent the region in the World Series. If the fifth inning of yesterday’s NLCS Game 1 is any indication, the Playoffs will not suffer from the elimination of the Red Sox, Yankees, and Phillies.

Dominance, with puppy.

2. Alex Smith dominates Jay Cutler style.

It may be too soon to remove Alex Smith’s name from the list of top draft picks that didn’t pan out (a list that includes Tim Couch, David Carr, and Jamarcus Russell). At the moment Smith is third in the league in quarterback rating (104.1), and he’s only thrown a single interception. (Prior to this year, Smith averaged one interception per start.) The 49ers, after a 48-3 drubbing of the Bucs, are 4-1 and maintain a 2-game lead in the NFC West.

3. Wisconsin and Michigan are still doing well.

In addition to the Brewers and Tigers advancing to their respective League Championship Series and the Brewers winning Game 1, the Packers, Badgers, Lions, and Wolverines all remain perfect. (The Badgers were off this week and the Lions play tonight, but still.)

4. Luke Fickell won’t be Ohio State’s head football coach next year.

And Jim Bollman won’t be the offensive coordinator. The Buckeyes blew a 21-point second-half lead on Saturday, losing 34-27 to Nebraska. Bucknuts, the Ohio State fan site, is calling the loss “arguably the biggest collapse in school history.” For Nebraska, the win was the biggest comeback in the history of the program. Ohio State is now 3-3, with consecutive losses for the first time in 7 years, and has 4 games remaining against ranked opponents.

Ohio State didn’t want Fickell to spend the year wearing the “interim” tag (the proverbial scarlet “I”), but functionally, he’s an interim head coach. Unless the Buckeyes win every remaining game (except, maybe, the Wisconsin game but including the bowl game), Fickell and Bollman won’t be back next year. And I get the impression that Ohio State fans won’t be sad to see embattled senior quarterback Joe Bauserman follow them out of Columbus.

5. Air Force refused an invitation from the Big 12 and will be joining the Missouri Valley Conference?!

A couple weeks ago a rumor surfaced that the Big East was interested in adding Air Force and Navy as football-only members. Saturday, Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh told the Denver Post that the interest was mutual. Mueh floated a plan that “would have the Falcons joining the Big East only in football, while moving teams in other sports to the Missouri Valley Conference.” (Of course, as we learned from Oklahoma, just because a school wants to join a conference doesn’t mean that the presidents of the schools in that conference will give the school an invitation.)

Mueh added:

We were approached by the Big 12, and I told them we’re not a good fit for that conference. In the Big 12, geography makes sense, the economics make sense, but recruiting makes no sense for us. I can’t recruit against Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State.

What does that say about the Big East?

At any rate, I look forward to many Falcons-Purple Aces basketball games to come.

Jimmie Johnson, and his beard, led 197 of 267 laps Sunday in Kansas. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

6. Don’t be surprised if Jimmie Johnson wins his sixth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship.

Johnson followed up a second-place finish last week in Dover with a win this week in Kansas. Two weeks ago, Johnson was 10th in the Sprint Cup Standings and on a 20-race winless streak. Now, he’s in third place, only four points behind leader Carl Edwards, with a good chance of winning yet another Sprint Cup Championship. Six races remain, including the Tums Fast Relief 500 in Martinsville, which Johnson has won 4 times, and the Kobalt Tools 500 in Phoenix, which Johnson has won thrice.

7. Craig Smith is an early candidate for NHL Rookie of the Year.

I know that October is way to early to start talking about NHL, but Nashville Predators rookie Craig Smith is off to an impressive start. The Preds decided that Smith, a Wisconsin native and University of Wisconsin product, would not spend any more time in his home state. Instead of starting their first-round draft pick with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s farm team, the Preds put Smith in the opening day lineup. The move paid off. In two games, both Predators wins, Smith already has two goals and two assists.

8. We’re going to spend the week talking about Tim Tebow, aren’t we?

The Broncos are 1-4, and the quarterbacks on their roster have been selected to a total of zero Pro Bowls, but I get the feeling that we’re going to be talking about Orton and Tebow this week like they’re Montana and Young.

The usually serviceable Kyle Orton Sunday went 6-for-13 for 34 yards and an interception. Tim Tebow, who replaced Orton in the second half, more than doubled Orton’s passing output, added another 38 yards rushing, and scored two touchdowns (one on the ground and one through the air). The Broncos still lost to the Chargers, but they made a game of it.

I have no idea what Tebow’s future in the NFL looks like, but maybe he could be this year’s version of 2006 Vince Young. That year Young led a Titans team that started 0-5 to within a game of the Playoffs running the just-do-your-thing-Vince offense. Were it not for attitude problems, which have never plagued Tebow, Young likely would still be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Maybe Timmy has a future in this league after all. Then again, Broncos’ coach John Fox has given no indication that Tebow will replace Orton, so this may be a one-week conversation.

Note: While I was gathering images, I discovered that Sports Illustrated had beaten me to this idea. Although one gallery of athletes planking is already one too many, it’s good to have options.

Enjoy.

(Click on the images to view their source.)

Dwight Howard is particularly obsessed with planking. Here he is planking on the wing of an airplane:

from MobyPicture

And on a limousine:

from MobyPicture

And at the barber shop:

And with Magic teammate Gilbert Arenas at a hotel:

from MobyPicture

Here’s Agent Zero planking solo, at a toll booth:

from the Orlando Sentinel

And in a piano:

from the Orlando Sentinel

(By posting pictures of Gilbert Arenas planking, I am in no way endorsing his recent Twitter activity.)

Planking knows no gender. Here is Monique Currie of the Washington Mystics, in a bathroom:

from Lockerz

Enough with the basketball players. Here’s Aussie footballer David “Wolfman” Williams planking during a match.

from Planking Universe (Yes, that's a real site.)

Here’s up-and-coming British tennis star Laura Robson planking at Wimbledon:

from The Sun (UK)

And here’s IndyCar racer Scott Dixon planking on his car:

from Flickr

Not to be outdone, here’s Indy driver Tony Kanaan planking on his bike:

from Planking Universe

Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson uses two cars:

from Yahoo! Sports

Since the NCAA doesn’t have any rules prohibiting planking (yet), even college football players are taking pictures of themselves lying face-down in unusual places. Here’s Nebraska senior wideout Brandon Kinnie on a basketball hoop:

from Yahoo! Sports

And Florida redshirt freshman DE Lynden Trail on a shopping cart:

from Yahoo! Sports

Lastly, we should be clear than none of this has anything to do with baseball hall-of-famer “Gettysburg” Eddie Plank:

from Wikipedia

* Here is a list of trends and ideas that I initially dismissed or mocked but later embraced (many times within days of declaring the trend or idea ridiculous or pointless): Transformers (the 1980s toy line, not the Michael Bay movies); cable television; Nike’s “Air” shoes; gangsta rap; e-mail; blogging; iPods; Facebook; and Twitter. So expect to see pictures of me planking somewhere on the Internet by the end of the month.

**********

Josh Tinley is the author of Kneeling in the End Zone: Spiritual Lessons From the World of Sports. Follow him at twitter.com/joshtinley or send him an e-mail.

All-State 400 Odds – Sunday, July 26, 2:00 PM ET

Jimmie Johnson will lead the field out as the favorite at +500, and the three-time defending series champion has won twice at Indy in 2006, and last year’s tire debacle. However, the No.48 driver is a risky bet at the Brickyard, as he has three DNFs in seven races here. Some places are just unlucky, but he’s won here either. You never know what you’ll get from Johnson at Indy.

Tony Stewart has won two championships, but he said he would trade his 2002 title for a win at the Brickyard before he finally won there in 2005, when he also won his second Cup championship. He won again at his home track in 2007, and not many know this place as well as the No.14 driver, who has also raced here in the Indy 500. Stewart’s 9.1 average in 10 Indy races is third among active drivers, so expect him to be the choice of many who make sports picks, with his odds of +600.

Another good bet would be Jeff Gordon, who has won here a record four times in 15 tries, and he also leads in laps led and average finish. The No.24 driver is rated at +750, and he’s due for a win as he’s racked up three runner-up results in the last five races.

However, if you’re a betting management player looking for a big return, take Ryan Newman at +2000. The “Rocket Man” is also an Indiana native like Stewart, his teammate/boss, and he has the best average start (4.9) of any driver. He’s driving better equipment than he ever has and is coming off a sixth-place result at Chicagoland to break out of a slump, and what better place for Newman to get his first win since last year’s Daytona 500? Look for Ryan Newman’s All-State 400 odds to pay off.

While Sherman, the former Civil War general, buckled the South with the “March to the Sea” in 1864 by leaving the Confederates in his wake, Johnson is laying waste to the competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as he draws a bead on a record-tying third straight series title this week in South Florida.

Sherman’s March to the Sea stopped in Savannah after tearing through Atlanta. And even though Johnson was a runner-up two weeks ago at Atlanta, he and his Hendrick Motorsports team aren’t stopping until the checkered flag falls at Homestead, Fla., located outside of Miami and South Beach.

Johnson holds a sizable 141-point advantage over Carl Edwards heading into Sunday’s season finale thanks to his seventh win of the campaign – third in the Chase for the Championship – at Phoenix last week. The 33-year-old Johnson needs only a 36th place finish to secure the championship.

Doing so would place Johnson in the record books alongside Cale Yarborough, who won three straight titles from 1976-78. Ironically, Johnson lists Yarborough as his idol while growing up. When Yarborough was driving a Hardees-sponsored car, Johnson couldn’t wait to visit the fast-food restaurant as a youth because he thought Yarborough and the car would be there.

Johnson was disappointed when he learned that the series great and his machine didn’t actually reside at the burger joint. Undaunted, Jimmie Johnson has gone on to fashion a career that might rival some of the best NASCAR has seen before all is said and done.

Johnson notched career win No. 40 in career start No. 254 at Phoenix, giving him a winning percentage of 15.8% that is best among active drivers. He is already ranked 13th in all-time victories and a third series title would make him the eighth driver ever to cop at least three, joining the likes of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Lee Petty and Yarborough.

The El Cajon, Calif. native is approaching legend status as we speak.

But only Johnson and Yarborough could lay claim to the honor of taking three straight. Johnson’s titles have come in a different format, one in which the points are virtually “reset” for the season’s final 10 races. You could say that Johnson’s feat is more remarkable in that regard, while some can see it as easy for a team to “sandbag” during the first 26 races.

One thing is for sure. Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and the rest of the No. 48 have shown that they can rise to the challenge down the stretch. No one has put up better numbers during the Chase for the Cup, which came into play in 2004.

Jimmie Johnson has amassed 14 wins in 49 Chase starts, good for a ridiculous winning percentage of 28.6%. In addition to his two titles, Johnson also has finished second twice (2004 and ’05).

Barring a total collapse, the curtain will close on yet another season with Jimmie Johnson holding the hardware and collecting the big check and the rest of the drivers raising the white flag.

And thankfully for the competition, NASCAR doesn’t race in Key West.

I am now offering a reward of $1,000.00 for the first person to get a picture of Jimmie Johnson in full Native American get-up doing the rain dance. Go Nuts.

Here is the top ten for the Pep Boys Auto 500 that is scheduled for 1:00pm Sunday on ABC.

Row 1

Jimmie Johnson

Greg Biffle

Row 2

Jeff Burton

Carl Edwards

Row 3

Clint Bowyer

Kervin Harvick

Row 4

Jeff Gordon

Tony Stewart

Row 5

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Matt Kenseth

And now, in other continents:

IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon is NOT on the pole for this weekend’s ICS race at Surfer’s Paradise. He is however, on the front row. The pole winner is none other than the Australian, Will Power. Besides having the coolest name in racing, he actually knows how to drive a racecar and proved it by finishing the road course with an average speed of 105.977 mph.

Here is the top ten for the Nikon Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise in Australia. The race, broadcast tonight on ESPN Classic at 10:30pm.

Row 1

Will Power

Scott Dixon

Row 2

Ryan Briscoe

Dario Franchitti

Row 3

Ryan Hunter-Reay

Helio Castroneves

Row 4

Alex Tagliani

Tony Kanaan

Row 5

Justin Wilson

E.J. Viso

Stay tuned for our post race resets and commentary right here at Midwest Sports Fans.

If Jimmie Johnson plays it nice and tight and focuses on top tens for the duration of the 2008 season, he will be the second back-to-back-to-back champion in NASCAR history. Qualifying is Friday evening and the race is Sunday at 1pm on ABC.

Here are the standings going into the weekend:

INDYCAR DOWN UNDER!

The IndyCar Series is back on track this weekend. It has to be one of the most bizzare situations caused from the merger of CART and the ICS at the start of this season. The Australian race was originally a CART event, and when the two series merged earlier this year, the ICS was left with a contract that was quite expensive to break. So down under they go…

The IndyCar series ended its season officially weeks ago at Chicago. That race was won by Helio Castroneves by just inches, and the championship went to Scott Dixon. Dixon, who also won the Indy 500 in 2008, had one of the most dominating IndyCar series runs in recent memory. It was a great season for the Target Chip Ganassi racing driver.

So, if the season is over…why are they racing? And what are they racing for?

For competition sake only. Why should you watch? There is no championship on the line, but an IndyCar win is still a win…so watch out for younger drivers to flex their muscles and try to make passes that they normally wouldn’t attempt. It could be a very expensive race for some teams.

Why else? Dan Wheldon, Vitor Meira and Dario Franchitti are in the race this weekend. Wheldon and Meira are on new teams, Dario (2007 Indy 500 and ICS Champion) is back from his stint in NASCAR. Franchitti took Wheldons seat when Dan went to Panther. Vitor was kicked out of Panther and picked up by Foyt. This race is the first time they will competitively run with their new team colors.

Why else? Helio Castroneves was allowed by a Federal Court to attend the event to race this weekend. HCN has a lot to prove to his team owner and his fans. When the outcome of his court case will be known is anyones guess, but I assure you that Helio wants to win this thing. In fact, he wants to win everything. (See Dancing with the Stars in 2007)

Here is the Fast Five from Practice Session 2 on Friday:

Will Power

Helio Castroneves

Dario Franchitti

Oriol Servia

Graham Rahal

The race is broadcast on ESPN Classic Saturday night at 10:30pm EDT. Tune in!

Check back on Monday for our weekend recap, and our forward look into the conclusion of the Formula 1 World Championship.

A dynasty takes a normal man, say the driver of the number 48 Lowe’s machine, and at first turns him into a Champion. Then the next year, the pressure is really on. Can this guy do it all over again? Is there anything left in the tank, or will the pinnacle of his chosen sport be enough of a reward to make him rethink doing it all over again? Yet, the #48 with Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel did in fact have enough left. In 2007, he won the Cup just like he did the year before.

And now, for the third year in a row, Jimmie Johnson stands on the verge of cementing his greatness at the top of his sport. Cale Yarborough won the Cup in 1976, 77, and 78. To date, Cale is the only driver to ever have three consecutive Cup championships. That small part of NASCAR history may get a bit more crowded this year.

It’s been exactly 30 years since NASCAR fans have had this rare opportunity to watch a dynasty happen right before their eyes. Arguably, Petty (7), Earnhardt (7), and Gordon (4) have their place in history for the grasp they held on the sport. Yet this year, the 33 year old from California is set to permanently mark his spot in history.

In Martinsville on Sunday, Jimmie Johnson was given the pole by rain, the first pit stall by points, and the win by the same disciplined driving that has gotten him on the brink of back-to-back-to-back NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. He led over 339 of the 500 laps, and not even the green-white-checkered finish was enough to make it close. Jimmie Johnson simply had too much power.

And this is precisely why I have sort of, kind of, maybe, perhaps changed my mind about dynasty drivers. Let’s just say that Jimmie Johnson, golden boy of NASCAR, wins three Cups in a row. With each victory he racks up, there are legions of NASCAR fans getting bored with the #48 car winning every damn race. And sooner or later, the same people who jeered Jeff Gordon, those same fans who hated #3, the same fans that wished Petty would just shave that ‘stache and retire, will be turning on you too Jimmie. Ride the golden boy parachute as long as you can…they’re coming for you.

As with all sports dynastys…at first they are nice and shiny..but soon they rust and the world wants something new. As with politics, the incumbent will get beat eventually.

As Dwight Schrute said in an episode of The Office, “One day, we all will fall.”

Stay tuned later in the week for my preview of the next stop on the NASCAR calendar in Atlanta! Exclusively on www.midwestsportsfans.com

[tags]jimmie johnson, nascar, auto racing[/tags]

PLUS

EQUALS

Therefore….

For the second time in as many weeks, the NASCAR Sprint Cup cars will line up from points this weekend at Martinsville. The oval track, which is just over a half mile in length, has one of the tightest pit lanes on the circuit. Jimmie Johnson, current leader in the NASCAR standings, will get the first pit stall for the TUMS QuikPak 500.

On a short track with a tight pitlane, it’s a driver’s dream to be able to fire out of his pit stall without worry of what’s happening ahead of him. With the Chase at its halfway point and just 69 points separating Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton, this couldn’t come at a better time for the back to back Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

It is the 9th time this year that qualifying has been washed out for the “Cup” cars.

Here is the top five for 1pm Green Flag on Sunday. TV : ABC

[tags]nascar, auto racing, martinsville, jimmie johnson, jeff burton[/tags]

What a weekend it was for Carl Edwards. On Thursday between practice sessions he got ahold of Kevin Harvick for comments regarding the week ago crash at Talladega and a comment referring to Carl as a “pansy”. As seen in the AP photo, the “pansy” title seems quite fitting. It’s probably good thing Kevin doesn’t have longer hair, as it appears Mr. Edwards would have pulled it.

Going into the weekend, Carl Edwards sat in 2nd place in the Chase. At the end of the weekend, he was in 4th place in the NASCAR season standings. First place Jimmie Johnson continues to lead the Chase standings but a big move was made by Jeff Burton going from 4th to 2nd over the weekend with the win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Saturday night. Burton sits now just 69 points behind Johnson, who was won the past 2 Cup championships. Burton, whose rookie year was 15 years ago, sits right where he needs to be to challenge for the Championship. In my opinion the only thing that will keep him from claiming the Cup will be the driver currently in P1.

Jimmie Johnson, back to back Cup Champion, has to be feeling pretty confident heading to Martinsville this week. JJ has won there 3 out of the last 5 races and knows his way around the ‘Ville. I expect to see Jimmie finish the race in the top five, holding on closely to the lead. A trend I imagine to continue through the end of the season. Though I do not like dynasty drivers in any form of motor sport (Michael Schumacher comes to mind), you simply have to respect the way JJ goes about his business.

Stay tuned later in the week for my NASCAR update as we head into the weekend.

ALONSO WINS BACK TO BACK GRAND PRIX:

Formula 1 fans know one thing about Grand Prix viewing: Don’t miss the start. This weekend’s race at Japan was certainly no exception. Kimi Raikkonen shot from the standing start with a clear look into turn one. Lewis Hamilton, suspecting the Ferrari may “check out” if he had gotten to the corner first, used an extremely aggressive move to try to reclaim the lead at the first corner. It didn’t work. Both drivers were pushed off of the racing surface and were passed by several cars before entering back onto the track.

Formula 1 rarely has much action in the form of passing after the first turn, outside of pit lane. But in Japan, this wasn’t the case. As Hamilton made his way back up the field he encountered Massa in turn ten, and the two got tangled in turn 11. As it turned out, LH was given a penalty for the Turn one incident with Raikkonen, and Massa was given a penalty for the Hamilton incident.

Escaping all of this chaos and running away with a 6 second victory was Fernando Alonso. The two time World Champion driver was a bit shocked by the experience. “I cannot believe it right now, but back-to-back wins is a very nice feeling and the team did a great job to improve the car,” Alonso said. “We are now just behind Ferrari and McLaren and this is completely amazing.”

The completely amazing comment is the one that gives us outside of the circus the feelings he had going into the 2008 season with struggling Renault. He had won two back to back Championships with the French manufacturer only to leave them for supposed greener pastures. As he found out, and with the insurgence of Lewis Hamilton, the world champion found himself the #2 driver for the McLaren team. It was that lack of acknowledgement as greatest driver ever, that drove him back “home”. The difference was the vast improvement in drivers from the top flight teams, as well as the virtual un-ending budget that Ferrari and McLaren runs with compared to Renault. In most forms of auto racing going fast is directly tied to spending fast…but nowhere on Earth is it as pronounced as it is in Formula 1.

Lewis Hamilton leads Felip Massa by just 5 points going into the final 2 Grand Prix of the season. With just China and Brazil left, it is still anyones championship. Though F1 is known for a race every other week, F1 fans are treated to a shortened dry spell as the Chinese Grand Prix is this weekend.

Stay tuned later in the week for more on F1′s Chinese Grand Prix.

As always, thanks for visiting midwestsportsfans.com and make sure to enter to win tickets from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam in Cleveland, Ohio.

[tags]auto racing, formula one, nascar, carl edwards, jimmie johnson, jeff burton[/tags]

Certainly, the bottom of those guys in the Chase standings need some help from the drivers who are ahead of them. If 12th placed Denny Hamlin wins at Lowe’s and 1st placed Jimmie Johnson comes in 2nd, the difference would be too big to be made up in six races. So, the Chase is wide open, but from 6th placed on down, they would need some help from the top 5 to get it done.

Here is the TOP 5 in the chase heading into Saturday nights race at Lowe’s.

1) Jimmie Johnson

2) Carl Edwards (-72)

3) Greg Biffle (-77)

4) Jeff Burton (-99)

5) Clint Bowyer (-152)

As a writer and a sports fan, my heart lies with the open wheel guys (and girls), but I realize the need for NASCAR information for our readers. So at least once a week I will provide you with an update on the Chase, as well as any perspective I may have. Also, I would like to hear from you in regards to other sorts of Auto Racing content you would find interesting. Please email me using the link below to let me know your needs. Thanks for reading MidwestSportsFans.com.