Dave Rogers, from the dominant JGR Nationwide team, will take over as the new Crew Chief for Kyle starting at Texas. Hey, as I've said before, if there's anyone thats earned a promotion it has to be this guy. He propelled the #20 to the Nationwide Owner's Points title last season, a feat that got surprisingly little attention. Rogers has worked with guys like Kyle, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano and has won with all of them. Kyle will get back to his winning ways in Cup soon.

The Pep Boys 500 last night was a fun race. Not fun for drivers that enjoy easy racing, but fun for the fans. Everyone that recorded a top 10 finish earned their money. Even, I'll grudgingly admit, Kasey Kahne.

At this point, I don't think Atlanta losing a spring race eventually will matter as long as this race will stay here on Labor Day in lieu of a return to Darlington. This one should be packed from top to bottom in 2010.

Believe me, I've thought a lot of Bobby Labonte over the years. I thought he could have saved Petty Enterprises. That didn't work out so well. I thought the deal to Earnhardt Ganassi would have been good. That didn't pan out in the end. On paper, it seemed that the Hall of Fame/Yates deal would be an attractive ride. Sponsorship came from Ask.com and they were a new sponsor that had really committed to NASCAR. The results, though, just haven't been there. I'm sure you'll hear people bitch and complain about the equipment, but this is where HoF was running last year and the year before.

As for Bobby himself, he has one top 5 finish in the last 3 years. That was this year at Las Vegas in a fuel mileage gamble. His last win came in 2003. If you're looking at those numbers objectively, is that a guy you want driving your cars? I didn't think so. There comes a time when a driver just can't compete at the highest level anymore. The only exception seems to be Mark Martin these days. People said the CoT would be benefit drivers like Labonte. That hasn't proven to be the case. I understand Bobby's pride in staying in Cup. He won the championship in 2000. It's just time for him to look at moving down if he wants to keep racing. He could retire today and be a hall of famer down the road. His career speaks for itself.

This is a good opportunity for Erik Darnell to get some Cup experience. I think since Jamie McMurray appears headed to the #1 of EGR Darnell might inherit the #26 team when parts of it move to Yates. Darnell and Paul Menard will likely be the drivers of the Yates cars in 2010. HoF is supposedly looking to move on from Yates.