We're not in Kansas anymore...oh, wait...yes, we are.

Sorry...I know I didn't get this done before the race started...hopefully all your bookies will let you still use this and place your bets. Remember, gamble responsibly.
I took the first couple of days of the race week off to go to my dad's funeral, so I just flew in here yesterday.
Here's what I think will happen today....
A Roush car will win....just can't decide which one.
Greg Biffle is on a tear! He has great potential today, but I think that maybe Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards may finish better. They both have great pit stops...but so does Biffle...I just don't know. Then there's the Hendrick bunch. Jimmie Johnson, the two time defending Cup champion is looking strong and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has been so consistent. The only one is question out of that bunch today is Jeff Gordon. He's been sick this weekend and they had Nationwide driver, Brad Keslowski, standing by in case Jeff couldn't keep from hurling. So far, no hurl
Sad to say, but Kyle Busch won't be the champ (ok, I'm not all that sad). After all his wins this season, he's smelling up the place in the Chase.
Here's my predictions:
3). Carl Edwards
2). Jimmie Johnson
1). Matt Kenseth

Have a great race day!

Memorial service for my dad....

We had an incredible memorial service for my dad in Muncie, Indiana last evening. Our pastor from years ago in Indiana, Mark Beeson, their current pastor, Gregg Parris, and my brother, Shane Bennett, all gave great messages. I saw friends I hadn't seen in more than 30 years! My family put together a great slide show with pictures from my dad's life...I hadn't seen some of those pictures for years...and my boys hadn't seen my incredi-mullet in all it's glory from the late 80's.
I got to hang out with two of my best friends, my old college roomates, Chad May and Brad Vaught. It was if time hadn't passed since we were all together last. What fun! Thanks for all your prayers!
We drove all night to get back to Nashville. Alex had to catch a bus to go to Women of Faith to dance with Nicole C. Mullen...not much sleep was had. We are negotiating with the other two boys about going to school for a half day. I think I'll win.
I am flying to Kansas City tomorrow to finish the race weekend. I'll update from there!

My dad, my hero...

My dad passed away last night. He heroically battled cancer for over a year.
Now my dad is a Christian so I have full confidence that I'll see him again in heaven.
And if you'll indulge me, I want to share a few memories...this is for me...feel free to read or not.

My dad always provided for our needs...not always our wants, and, for that, I am glad. When we kids started putting our extra pennies in a huge poodle shaped bubble bath bottle to save for a horse, he smiled, at least I think it was a smile. He knew that was a want, not a need. He was wise. We didn't get that horse, and that was probably for the best. We always had more than enough food, shelter, stuff. When we were very little he had a friend with a backhoe dig in the swamp on the property to make it a swimming hole. It was a rainy Labor Day...I would take breaks from the Jerry Lewis Telethon to go watch. He stocked it with some fish that he and our neighbor, Carl, got at a fish hatchery. I got to go on that trip, too. Maybe he was making a fishing pond that we could swim in and not a swimming hole that he could fish in...either way it was great for a kid.
As we got older and the fish didn't survive in the murky swamp water, he bought and constructed a swimming pool in the back yard. We helped him build this incredible deck that surrounded half the pool. What a delight summer after summer.
We always had many animals. My first memory of pets was our german shepherd named Joker. Joker chased and ate bumblebees. I don't know why. He was big enough for us to lie down on, and amazingly let us do so. As we got older, and Joker went to doggie heaven, we got other dogs. One was Lobo, a black lab mix. On the ride home after the purchase of Lobo, he decided car riding wasn't good on his tummy. He abruptly ralphed on my leg. I still liked him. Many dogs came and went. Bananas was the longest tenured dog. She listened to me rant and rave on many occasions. We also had a working farm...not that we farmed, but we had farm animals. Dad and Mom always bought baby calves and we raised them for meat. My vegan friends wouldn't approve of that, but, come to think of it, I may not have any vegan friends. We also had goats...one time as many as 21. Springs were incredible when the mama goats would have the babies. Baby goats are so much fun! A friend of ours even did an article in the newspaper about Dad, the farm, the goats and Dad's earth conscious behavior. Dad read a magazine called "Mother Earth News". While the magazine itself was full of weird new age propaganda, he was able to glean the good stuff out of it to help provide for the family. He made a solar powered shower out of a barrel, put it up on the roof of a building he built, and we had warm showers without using any electricity. He was way ahead of his time.
I really enjoyed growing up where I did and how I did. We worked hard cutting wood, taking care of the animals, taking care of the land and playing on a great property in the quiet of the country.
Probably the best thing he ever did for us was to take us to church. I was in church at two weeks old. His faith, as far as I knew, never faltered. He taught Sunday School for as long as I can remember. When he began watching TBN and learned about the Holy Spirit, he studied voraciously. He taught us, too. When the knowledge and experience he had with the Holy Spirit grew, he moved the family to another church that embraced the Holy Spirit. The skill and leadership he had was used well at Union Chapel. He has many friends to attest to that.
My dad always had a hobby...some out of necessity, some out of pleasure. Again, sorry to my PETA friends, if I have any, but I remember Dad would trap. The animals he caught would be sold to provide for the family. His pleasure hobbies were always changing. He was very musically inclined. I remember as kid we would all sit in the den, or "gun room" as we would call it, and sing along with him as he played. He mostly played folk music on his autoharp. He was very good. He loved Peter, Paul and Mary, Flatts and Scruggs, and '50's music. In his job at the Central Indiana Gas Company, he would work a swing shift. This was hard on me, but way harder on him. One week he would work days, then two days off, then afternoons, then two days off, then midnights. Then the cycle would repeat. I don't know how his body always handled that. It was just like him. It had to be done, so he did it. He had to perpetually be in jet lag mode. Anyway, his job provided him some down time, especially in the wee hours of the morning, so he would learn a new skill. He picked up a harmonica and taught himself how to play. He was very skilled at that, too. He got into CB radios. He used them to talk to the family when he was out of the house or driving way before cell phones were the norm. He also set up an elaborate cb at home that he would try to talk to the world with. He had a map on the wall with pushpins on the countries he'd talk to. I remember Japan as one of them along with all fifty states. When computers came along, he slowly made the trek into that world. He became very skilled at surfing the net for information, Photoshop, and great emails. In the past few years, he realized his dream...retirement and a pond. This time around, he designed the pond, had it dug professionally, stocked it with great bass and bluegill and cared for it meticulously. I think that may have been his proudest accomplishment on his property. It is still a great gathering place for all the family.
He traveled this country in the National Guard...took us on great vacations including Washington, DC, Charleston, SC and Panama City, FL. He loved deep sea fishing. He traveled the world spreading the Gospel. He went to India on several occasions and made some lifelong friends with some believers there.
He helped shape me into who I am today. He took care of the earth. He took care of others. He took care of us. He led people to the Lord. He took the talents God gave him and multiplied them.
And he made God smile. I know it.

Be-a-utiful Day in Dover!

Wow! First Raceday in awhile that is so pretty outside. Looks the same inside the truck.
It is a nice crisp fall day, but quickly warming up to 80 degrees!
Kyle Busch won his 8th Nationwide race last night and looks to take his 9th Cup race today. He won here earlier in the season and looks for the sweep. Greg Biffle is coming off his first win of the season in the first race in the Chase. Jimmmie Johnson still has the momentum after finishing 1st two weeks ago and 2nd last week.
This one mile concrete track is banked nearly all the way around, so you almost are always in a banked corner. Look for trouble at the entrance on pit road today. It comes up quick and is tight to get into. There are always some fenders getting bent up with drivers jostling for position to get off pit road.
My predictions today is:
3. Kyle Busch
2. Jimmie Johnson
1. Jeff Gordon

Congratulations to my Ball State Cardinals who are 4-0 after handing the IU Hoosiers their athletic supporters last evening!

Have a great raceday!

Dover. Ben Dover.

Dover, Delaware...Race 2 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It should be a nice crisp clear fall weekend here. We are covering the practices and qualifying out of our truck. It makes about twice the work, but live tv is so much fun!
They call this place the Monster Mile. They have a cool Monster out front.

Have a great fall weekend!

It's Rain Day instead of Race Day...

It's raining in New Hampshire this morning...looks like it may rain off and on all day. Therefore, we may not get this race in today. There are no lights here on the track, so they can't keep pushing it off. Also, this track is flat, so the rain doesn't dry off as easily as a banked track...gravity or something. If they do race, I think they'll get as many laps in as possible, but then finish it tomorrow. It is supposed to be clear tomorrow and I don't think they want a shortened race since we are now in the Chase.
Enough speculating...all I know is that it's raining. If it quits, we may or may not race. Definitely. Maybe.
Predictions:
3) Kyle Busch
2) Carl Edwards
1) Clint Bowyer

New Hampshire...same old hampshire.

It was 2 and a half months ago that we were here, but it doesn't seem that long ago. The chase is on...the top 12 has been decided...nobody jumped into the top 12 that wasn't there last week and no one fell out. Here are the standings with the adjusted points after the reset. Everyone is reset to 5000, and for each victory a driver has had this season, they get 10 bonus points. The +/- is how each driver moved after the reset:

RANK +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND
1 -- Kyle Busch 5080 Leader
2 -- Carl Edwards 5050 -30
3 -- Jimmie Johnson 5040 -40
4 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5010 -70
5 +7 Clint Bowyer 5010 -70
6 +5 Denny Hamlin 5010 -70
7 -2 Jeff Burton 5010 -70
8 -- Tony Stewart 5000 -80
9 -3 Greg Biffle 5000 -80
10 -- Jeff Gordon 5000 -80
11 -4 Kevin Harvick 5000 -80
12 -3 Matt Kenseth 5000 -80

I am pulling for 3 guys...Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. Who are you pulling for?

Please remember to pray those families who lost someone in the 9/11 attacks on the 7th anniversary of that fateful day.

CAUTION: The next item is PG14!
And on another note that shows we MUST be in the end times...I just read a story about a 22 year old girl who is putting her virginity up for bids on the internet...seriously? She graduated from college and wants to get her masters degree in...get this, Family Therapy! She is trying to get money to pay for her education, and this is what she came up with?!?! She plans to "deliver the purchase" at a brothel in Nevada at the famed Moonlite Bunny Ranch. The Bunny Ranch has a reality type show on HBO, and I am neither confirming or denying that I've ever seen it...but I am sure there will be money made by a bunch of people at this girl's expense. Now I believe that you should "judge not, lest ye be judged" (when I am speaking King James), but where are we as a society that this is an option? I mean, I know there's not as many paper routes as there used to be with this new fangled "internets" and all, but surely there must be a better option. Any suggestions that I could send along to this girl to make some money for education that not so, uh,...whacked? (is "whacked" judgemental?) Feel free to respond.

Raceday in Richmond...

What was supposed to be a race night in Richmond is now a race day in Richmond thanks the Tropical Storm Hanna. After a relaxing day off (I did walk for a couple of hours around Richmond), we got up at dawn's crack, well before the sun, and are prepared for a great day of racing.
I believe I left off in the points standings with 7th place driver Kevin Harvick. If Kevin just starts the race, he, too, is locked into the Chase. The 8th through 12th positions are as follows...8th place, Tony Stewart...9th, Matt Kenseth...10th, Jeff Gordon...11th, Denny Hamlin...and 12th, Clint Bowyer. There are only 2 other drivers who are also in the hunt for the top 12 spots. They are David Ragan, who is currently 17 points out of 12th and Kasey Kahne who is 48 points out of 12th. Since there usually is no more movement than a couple of places in either direction each week, Stewart, Kenseth, and Gordon are pretty certain to make the Chase...basically, they just need to finish to lock in. 11th and 12th are up for grabs. In my own humble opinion, I would love to see Bowyer and Ragan in with Hamlin falling out. Clint Bowyer and David Ragan are two genuine guys who only have good things to say about their teams, their owners and other drivers (except for Bowyer's comment on his radio in Bristol when he said "Michael Waltrip is the worst driver in NASCAR! I don't know why NAPA signed on with him again!" OUCH!). David Ragan has improved so much over the last two seasons. Tony Stewart once described him as a dart with no feathers. That has changed and he has 12 top ten finishes this year including 5 top fives. I am not a Denny Hamlin fan. When something goes wrong with his race, he blasts his crew, his engine builders, his crew chief...everyone but himself. He's not a real team guy. If he wins, or finishes high, he says that "we" had a good day. If not, it is everyone else's fault. A couple of weeks ago, he said that his team is so bad they don't deserve to be in the Chase. That's not the kind of attitude you want your driver, the face of the team, to have, especially as you are in the stretch run trying to make the Chase. I hope he drops out and Bowyer and Ragan jump up to finish out the top 12. It would be great if Kasey made it in, too, but I think it is just too far out of his reach to make the cut.
Predictions for today:
3). Carl Edwards
2). Kyle Busch
1). Jimmie Johnson
Have a great Football day...I mean Raceday!

Rock you like a Hurricane...

With all due respect to the Scorpions, this is no hurricane...yet FEMA, who incidentally are staying at our hotel, has shut us down for tomorrow. We will finish up shows tonight then shut 'er down and lock the doors. Therefore, I get paid a full days wages to lay in my hotel bed in my underoos and watch college football on Saturday.
I understand being cautious, but last year we worked through a tornado in Texas! Anyway, the race tonight has been rescheduled for Sunday night at 7:00pm after the Cup race that has been rescheduled for 1:00pm Eastern.
Have a great weekend!

Convertible...again?

We have arrived in Richmond, Va for the second race here of the season and the last race to make it into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The Chase for the Sprint Cup, originally known as "The Chase for the Championship" during its creation, and then "The Chase for the Nextel Cup" (from 2004 to 2007) is the championship system used in NASCAR's top division, the Sprint Cup Series. The Chase was announced on January 21, 2004, and first used during the 2004 Nextel Cup Series. The format used from 2004 to 2006 was modified slightly for the 2007 season. The 10 race Chase pits the 12 drivers with the highest "regular season" points against each other, while racing in the standard field of 43 cars. Beginning with the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, the Chase will be known by its new name as a result of the merger of Nextel Communications with Sprint Corporation. The driver with the most points after the final 10 races is declared the champion. Currently 5 drivers have already been locked into the Chase. They are Kyle Busch (8 wins this season), Carl Edwards (6 wins), Jimmie Johnson (3 wins), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (1 win), and Jeff Burton (1 win). Greg Biffle stands in 6th and will lock into the Chase just by starting his engine when the race starts.
I'll get into the bubble guys in my next post. I have some personal favorites and some personal not-so-favorites.
The next question is when will the "Rock and Roll 400" take place. We are closely monitoring Hannah and Ike...Hannah will probably dump a lot of rain on us on Friday and Saturday, so, with the race scheduled to be held on Saturday night, I think we will be here at least one extra day this week.
Sanford got us hooked up with another Sebring Convertible this week. We flew into Norfolk (since that is the closest Southwest gets to Richmond) and drove the 2 hours to the track.
I could get used to convertibles.