Top 4 stories from the Centurion Boats at The Glen:1st gear -- Where did everybody go?: Sunday's race was a great testament to the oft-overlooked difficulty of road racing, particularly when that race lasts almost 3 1/2 hours. Both Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon spun out while leading, and when guys with those road-racing resumes do so, you take notice. Turning right, then left, then right again isn't easy, and the Car of Tomorrow again proved to be a tough challenge to master. We'd have to go back a long way to find the last time 2 drivers spun all alone while leading in the same race.
2nd gear -- Earnhardt blows up again: For the 5th time this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an engine give out before the race was over. He's Dale Jr., and he generates an enormous amount of interest from the fans and, thusly, the media. If anyone thought him not making the Chase 2 years ago was big news, imagine how it will be if he doesn't make the Chase in '07 and then tries to make the transition to the spotlight of Hendrick Motorsports.
3rd gear -- Look, a fight!: Kevin Harvick is popular because he's feisty. Juan Pablo Montoya is gaining a reputation for being the same way. What fans saw on the track in the 2nd half of the race was a rare treat in today's NASCAR -- 2 drivers sharing words and shoves in an emotional display after wrecking with one another. The sport can do without the tarnish of fighting in the pits, certainly, but it can always use an infusion of the raw emotion that has been sorely lacking for the last decade.
4th gear -- It's Tony's world, we're just livin' in it: He's won 3 of the last 4 races now and has his sights squarely set on the Chase. Stewart spoke afterward of only wanting to win, of only wanting those 10 bonus points drivers get in the Chase for every win during the "regular season." NASCAR hoped that tweak to the system would put more emphasis on winning, and the last couple of weeks have suggested that -- at least for the drivers firmly entrenched in the top-12 -- NASCAR is getting its wish.
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