Rivalry born

More trouble for Kahne and Junior kept several scores down, and I couldn't find anyone who had Edwards and KyBusch - that would have blown away the field this week. The details are here.

A fishing trip prevented me from updating the Head to Head standings and schedule, so please accept my apologies (new standings and a Fontana schedule are below).

OVERALL

Short of a momumental collapse in the Yahoo overall, Yahoo second half, Chase and Head-to-Head competitions, Van's Bums likely wrapped up the overall title at Bristol. Van's clipped Barrie Lang by 22 to advance to the semifinals in the Single Elimination, drove past testcar for a spot in the Double Elimination championship, and cruised past KLA Sadler to advance to the quarterfinals in the World Cup.

BRISTOL

The RMN average for the short track was a low 207, the lowest since June's race at New Hampshire and not helped by at least six teams not paying attention to their lineups. Just three teams scored 300 or more points.

CHASE

Our cutoff is 6,309 points, leaving 13 teams in the field after Bristol; another five are within 100 points of the cutoff with two races to go.

SINGLE ELIMINATION

In addition to Van's, TURBO, Rev-A-Lusions and Rolling Thunder advance to the semifinals. Van's matchup was the closest, followed by TURBO's 105-point win over reckhard. The semi matchups (which run from races 25-30, Fontana-Talladega): TURBO v. Rolling Thunder, Rev-A0Lusions v. Van's.

DOUBLE ELIMINATION

Van's 99-point win over testcar was the largest margin and it was the only matchup in the winners' bracket. RacingAngel eliminated Team Lester (by 34 points), Yabos knocked out Team Parski (9 points) and Longs Gap nipped AFTER BURNER (1 point). Four teams remain in the losers' bracket, and the last one standing will face Van's for the title. Round Eight is just three races, Fontana through New Hampshire.

WORLD CUP

Cooter, Team Lester, Sarge's, Rubbins', Barrie Lang, Team Parski and RacingAngel joined Van's in the quarterfinals. Parski posted a 5-point victory over TURBO in the closest matchup. The quarters cover four races, Fontana through Dover.

HEAD to HEAD

Each team has 36 games remaining, including a string of 4-game weekends at Richmond, Talladega, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Miami. Team Lester leads speedracer by a little more than one game and Rubbins and TURBO by almost three. For those wondering: Van's is tied for 14th, nine games behind Lester.

Note to 2009 RMN players: I will be able to adjust past scores for vacant players and adjust the standings accordingly; this year, it's just not possible with a clumsy program. So, if we have the same issue of six teams going AWOL midway through the season, for 2009 RMN I will be able to adjust those scores to 0 for the races earlier in the season and give us a better representation of the standings. We're stuck with what we got this year; my apologies again.

Head to Head - through Bristol:

1. 44-18-0: Team Lester

42-18-2: speedracer

40-19-3: Rubbins Racin, TURBO

40-22-0: Yabos

39-23-1: reckhard

38-23-1: KLA Sadler

38-24-0: Rolling Thunder

36-26-0: BLOWINSMOKE

10. 36-25-1: Sarges Squad

36-26-0: Black Bear

35-26-1: FC Newman

34-26-2: yduck

35-27-0: Vans Bums, No right turns

34-28-0: Team Parski

33-27-2: nstag8rs, Cooter

32-37-3: Rev-A-Lusions

20. 32-29-1: testcar

32-30-0: need4speed, Barrie Lang, CHK (formerly known as Craker)

31-31-0: gonzo

29-29-4: FORDFUCUS

30-30-2: RacingAngel, Crash & Burn, AFTER BURNER

30-32-0: 3WIDE, RoadRage

31. 29-32-1: KitchenPass, Gordon #1

29-33-0: RAZN, AERO PUSH

28-34-0: asian assassins

27-34-1: Smokin Aces

27-35-0: Beer Belly, photo finish

26-33-3: gordon hater

40. 25-32-5: Chevys Redneck

26-34-2: Team Wyoming

24-36-2: Longs Gap, hardbody

24-37-1: RugRatRacers
24-38-0: Dirt Runners
23-38-1: Kntcky

21-41-0: Hendrick Express

19-43-0: Canyon County

15-47-0: Junior

11-51-0: DWI

Head to Head: Fontana schedule

Team Parski v. Rev-A-Lusions

AERO PUSH v. Cooter
need4speed v. yduck
AFTER BURNER v. Vans Bums
Smokin Aces v. Black Bear
Crash & Burn v. 3WIDE
Chevys Redneck v. Rubbins Racin
Kntcky v. Barrie Lang
DWI v. Beer Belly
photo finish v. CHK

KitchenPass v. Sarges Squad

nstag8rs v. Dirt Runners

Hendrick Express v. BLOWINSMOKE

RacingAngel v. FC Newman
KLA Sadler v. RAZN
Yabos v. No right turns
gordon hater v. Longs Gap
Rolling Thunder v. Junior
Team Wyoming v. reckhard
speedracer v. hardbody
FORDFUCUS v. asian assassins
Team Lester v. Canyon County
Gordon #1 v. TURBO
gonzo v. testcar
RugRatRacers v. RoadRage
nstag8rs v. Rev-A-Lusions
RacingAngel v. yduck
AERO PUSH v. Vans Bums
need4speed v. Black Bear
AFTER BURNER v. 3WIDE
Smokin Aces v. Rubbins Racin
Crash & Burn v. Barrie Lang
Chevys Redneck v. Beer Belly
Kntcky v. CHK

DWI v. Sarges Squad

photo finish v. Dirt Runners

KitchenPass v. BLOWINSMOKE

FC Newman v. Cooter

Hendrick Express v. RAZN

Team Parski v. No right turns
KLA Sadler v. Longs Gap
Yabos v. Junior
gordon hater v. reckhard
Rolling Thunder v. hardbody
Team Wyoming v. asian assassins
speedracer v. Canyon County
FORDFUCUS v. TURBO
Team Lester v. testcar
Gordon #1 v. RoadRage
gonzo v. RugRatRacers