Welcome, gay NASCAR fans! Greg Biffle scored his first-ever Winston Cup victory under the lights at Daytona International Speedway Saturday -- one of those clever last-possible-moment splash-n-go stops made the difference for him, kind of like how Jamie McMurray won in the fall Busch race in Atlanta last year. Congratulations Greg!

It was lovely to see the Rev. Hal Marchman of Daytona Beach offer the invocation this week. The Rev. Marchman always prays a really sweet prayer that is not political or hateful towards anyone, and he ends it "shalom, amen." Thanks for being a beacon of love, Rev. Marchman.

Serving the National Anthem and setting off a round of "who is she??" from the crowd on our porch was Sara Evans. I mean, she wrung that song and twisted that song and milked that song until that song was sore, y'all, but I'll be darned if she didn't manage to hit her last notes JUST as the war plane exhibition passed by right overhead! I have seen many singers try to rush or stretch their version to make it "climax" right with the planes, but this gal really nailed it. Of course, the downside is that until they realize what you're doing, the audience may think your rendition is the most preposterous they have ever heard!

As to the TV production: Well, if this is how NBC produces a famous night race, I shudder to imagine how they will beat down a regular Sunday race. Dixie and I counted 8 commercial breaks in the first 50 minutes of the race. They missed at least one restart -- how do you miss a restart on a 2.5-mile track? Dixie reminded me that they used to call NBC "Nothing But Commercials" -- their NASCAR coverage will certainly revive that label. Keep reading and see what some track buds have to say about the FOX vs. NBC teams.

"I GOTTA GO SEE
MY NEW YORK GIRLFRIEND!"

Friday's USA Today had a cute cover story on Jeff Gordon, and how he"s been bustin' out since getting shed of Brooke (who got something like a $15.3 million settlement, the AP reported). After the break-up, Jeff cast aside his homebody image and started taking trips to New York, where he met Amanda Church. Miss Church, formerly of The ATL (!!) was pictured at Jeff's side at the track and she is a beautiful knockout! Maybe since she's an Atlanta gal, she'll hook us up with Jeff for an interview...

But the best part of the article was about how Jeff's teammate Jimmie Johnson also has a New York apartment AND a New York girlfriend! Isn't that terrific? A girlfriend in New York is always a handy excuse for a trip to The City, we find!

GAYTONA IN THE NEWS!

Our humble trailer by the track was written up last week in noted racing writer Ken Willis" column "My Two Cents" in the Daytona Beach News-Journal! (I love their site; you can sit at your desk and torment yourself with live pictures from the World's Most Famous Beach!) Ken said some pretty nice things about the site and seemed to have a good time with it. Thanks Ken!

FOX VS. NBC IN A "LOSER LEAVES TOWN IN A DRESS" STEEL CAGE MATCH!

As promised, here's what some of my track pals are saying about whose coverage sucks

Timmy of Orlando writes: "Now, I'm going to call you on your assertion that nobody likes the NBC crew. I was over DW a long time ago. Mind you, I used to like him until he stayed in the car way past his time and then put us through that horrible final year. Benny Parsons is so sweet and cuddly (not unlike Larry Mac)! Alan Bestwick...yummy and a consummate professional IMHO. I can live without Wally but he's still less offensive than Jeff Hammond and Steve Burns. I've also liked Bill Webber for many years. I think both FOX and NBC have done a pretty good job for us. Being in the Orlando area, I get Speed, FX and TNT on basic cable so the only thing I really miss is Fox Sports Net coverage."

Thanks for writing Timmy!

But Mike of Athens, Georgia, agrees with me: "I hate NBC too. Alan Bestwick is pretty darn cute though. Jeff Hammond is a stud! I was lucky enough to be in Charlotte and stood at the stage for the Friday night taping of "Track Side". Most people think they are tacky, but there is something to be said for starched blue jeans."

Wow, that's a hot summer night! Thanks for writing Mike!

And Debbie, "a female living above the Mason Dixon line and loving NASCAR," wrote simply: "NBC is DREADFUL! How many commercial breaks can you have?"

I'm afraid we"re about to find out as the weeks grind on, Debbie!

Our DeVine 9/12 are still doing great in spite of only putting three in the top 10 Sunday. We"ve got six of the 10 top points spots, and our farthest back member is adorable Jamie, who's in lucky 23rd! Congrats for that third-place finish in Friday night's Busch race Jamie!

Thanks for stopping by our little trackside trailer, y'all! Let's all get together this Sunday for the Chicago race!