Gibbs to Toyota

Joe Gibbs Racing will announce tomorrow that it is trading in its Monte Carlos for Camrys effective next season. This is by far the biggest coup for Toyota in its NASCAR recruiting efforts. JGR is a really big fish.

The effects of such a NASCAR powerhouse switching to the foreign manufacturer are unknown. A few questions yet to be answered:

1. How do Tony Stewart and Danny Hamlin feel about this move?
2. How will the legion #20 fans react? Will Tony lose fans? Toyota has not been well received by the NASCAR fan community.
3. And the BIG question: Toyota has underperformed this year. Will Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin be able to make the cars go fast? Tony Stewart, for one, will not accept losing because of a bad car. He is likely to spontaneously combust if he gets as far as say, Indianapolis, next year without a win.

More reaction tomorrow...This is a very big deal in NASCAR.

From the "embarrassing demotions" dept, J.J. Yeley will race for Hall of Fame racing next year. What happens to Tony Raines? (Does it matter?)

The Earnhardt Domino effect continues:

Earhardt to Hendrick / Kyle Busch fired / Kyle Busch to Gibbs / J.J. Yeley fired / Yeley to HoF / Tony Raines fired...My guess is that that is the last domino. Raines is not exactly a hot free agent.

Pocono Picks

*Kurt Busch- PICK TO WIN- Kurt only has one win at Pocono, but he was second here twice last year and was coming on strong when the rain delay prematurely ended the race in June. He needs this win badly. Sitting 13th and 14th in points, it's do or die time for Team Penske.

*Denny Hamlin- Swept here in '06. His car was not one that could have won the race in June. He does, however, seem to have Pocono figured out and will be a strong force to contend with.

* Tony Stewart- is a world class ass. However, he has one win at Pocono. His average finish here is 13.2, which is low for Tony but he has 12 top tens in 17 races here. His team in on a roll now, and he will be in the top 10.

*Jimmie Johnson - cheats. But, his 8.1 average finish makes Northeast Pennsylvania one of his favorite stops all year. He is in the top ten this weekend, reversing his recent slide.

* Jeff Gordon - will be in the top 10 and probably in the top 5. NASCAR called the rain delay in June seconds after Jeff went on the radio to tell his team that his tires were going away from him and that he would lose if it didn't start raining. (Funny how that worked out for him...) He edged out Ryan Newman by a fender before the caution was called and would have lost had the race gone literally 5 more feet. I almost picked him again, but I think that Busch, Hamlin or Stewart are more likely winners.

*Ryan Newman - Needs a good finish here. He is still in the Chase hunt by the grace of a blown DEI engine and will not have a chance of making the field for the playoffs if he has another disastrous weekend like at Indianapolis. Pocono is one of his stronger tracks, and he had the car to beat in June. Pit strategy by Steve Latarte and intervention by NASCAR kept him from getting the win.

*Matt Kenseth - You never go wrong putting Matt in a top 10. He is just damned consistent.

* Jeff Burton- Two top 10s in 2006, and a top 15 in June. If his car is good enough, he will be there.

* Kevin Harvick- is moderately good at Pocono. He has 4 top 10s here, in 13 races. His team is also really strong at this point in the season.

* Carl Edwards - won at Pocono is 2005 and was a factor in June. He is having a really strong season and I expect that he will be in the mix. He might even win.