"Second! Fuckin' Newman!"

That was my quote as soon as Ryan Newman crossed the finish line during the Sharpie 500 at Bristol.

It's a little brash of myself to use the vulgar language in my main topic title like that, but I hope to convey my emotions from the race. I was actually watching it at Mike and Lacey's in Hanley, going in and out of the house and catching a few laps, but I managed to watch the last 200 laps. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race with a dominant race car, but Ryan -- great strategy and an improved handling car throughout the race, moved him up to second and he stayed there.

Being the Newman fan that I am, it has been a frustrating past couple of weeks. Ryan slipped out of the Top 10 in the standings, really hurting his chances of being in the Chase for the Championship. With Ryan's 2nd place finish, he moved up 3 spots and is now in 10th place, just barely in! There are two races to go until the Final 10 -- next Sunday night in California (Ryan finished 3rd there this past spring) and Richmond, the same race that Ryan is the defending champion in. With that going for him, how can he not make it?

I'm just praying for his well-being for his car these next two races, staying out of trouble and hoping for misfortune for the other guys on the "bubble," like Bobby Labonte, Kasey Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield and Mark Martin.

Get 'er done!