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ON PIT ROAD: Sanborn, Sprint Cup and soggy shoes

It's Thursday again. That means it's time to roll the old Mini Stock out of the garage, wipe the dust off and shake down the setup with a spin around the dirt track at the end of the street. With that, here's the latest list of notes collected in a dog-eared notebook over the last few weeks...

* EVERY TIME A non-Sprint Cup-affiliated team wins a NASCAR Camping World East Series race, it should be celebrated, particularly by fans who lament the significant changes the series has undergone in the last few years.

When the CWES was still a northeastern-based series, Matt Kobyluck’s Mohegan Sun team was one of the better funded teams there was. These days, with Cup teams putting East cars on the dyno every day – every day! – it’s impossible for "regular" guys to keep up.

Rollie LaChance returns for another shot at the Oxford 250

Rollie LaChance remembers watching race haulers from all over the country roll through his hometown of Auburn. He carries that feeling of excitement with him today.

"When racing is in your blood, (the 250) is something that you know about and you want," LaChance said this week, taking a break from working his full-time job as a shop foreman and preparing both NASCAR Camping World East Series and Late Model cars for driver Eddie MacDonald. "Certainly the race has lost some of its luster. I remember when there was no Loudon, and growing up in Auburn, I remember the southern teams coming into town with their cars.

Ricky Rolfe, Eddie MacDonald suprise no one as Oxford 250 favorites

You have to love the way Ricky Rolfe is embracing his role as favorite to win this year's Oxford 250.

Where most drivers have cringed when their peers have named them to win the prestigious race, well aware of the history of carrying the label of 'favorite' for guys like Jeff Taylor or Tracy Gordon or any dozen other guys, Rolfe just grins that wide grin -- practically opening his arms as if to suggest "Bring it On."

When Oxford Plains Speedway owner Bill Ryan skirted offering a definitive choice for who he believed would win Sunday's 35th version of the event, he said he simply hoped to see a local weekly Oxford competitor have the chance to host the trophy.

ON SITE: Little Al says "Just say no to rain"

Who says you can't race in the rain?

Besides, with a passing sprinkle at Oxford Plains Speedway, this is a fine time to pass along a public service announcement from old friend Al Unser Jr. There's Little Al, his mug joining nearly a dozen other racing personalities from the early 1990s, on a poster in the Oxford press box.

The message? Well, of course, silly -- it's "Just Say No."

ON PIT ROAD: Bruton, Busch and Beech Ridge

It's Thursday again. That means it's time to roll the old Mini Stock out of the garage, wipe the dust off and shake down the setup with a spin around the dirt track at the end of the street. With that, here's the latest list of notes collected in a dog-eared notebook over the last few weeks...

* ON THE ONE hand, you've got about as old New England as they come.

Bob Bahre, the former owner of what was called New Hampshire International Speedway, always wearing a pressed white shirt and work pants, with the same yellow cardigan sweater if he caught a chill in the air. He dined in the same little breakfast nook each morning, spoke shortly and directly, and never seemed to smile -- even when cracking a joke so dry a garden hose couldn't save it.

On the other hand, you've got about as big city glitz as they come.

Bob Dillner makes discriminatory comments in radio appearance

If you're breaking out of the PC camp, you want to go all in.

Just ask esteemed SPEED reporter Bob Dillner, who doubled-down on the offensive comments during an appearance on a small New England radio show being broadcast live from New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday morning.

As a guest on the "Carey and Coffey Show," which is aired on 940 AM and 1510 AM out of Danbury, Conn., and simulcast on the internet at www.careyandcoffey.com, Dillner took shots at the country musicians the show's hosts were discussing as he was coming on the air.

Jamie McMurray blames NHMS for crash with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

He must have gone to the local library to get it all straightened out.

Jamie McMurray said he "did a little research" and discovered that New Hampshire Motor Speedway was at fault when it came to the crash involving himself and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the late stages of the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday.

McMurray, who finished 41st, blamed the layout of the spotter's stands at the track.

Ricky Carmichael draws a Cup-sized crowd at New Hampshire

Ricky Carmichael says he wants to be a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver some day. That being the case, he already knows who to hang with.

Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya and Joe Nemecheck were all present and accounted for at Carmichael's race hauler after Carmichael finished 5th in the Heluva Good! Summer 125 for the Camping World East Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday.

Team owner Ken Schrader said he sees great things from Carmichael, a 15-time AMA national champion with 150 career motocross and supercross victories.

Juan Pablo Montoya intentionally wrecks Kyle Busch at New Hampshire

Juan Pablo Montoya is nothing if not honest. And, as loudly as the fans in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway booed Kyle Busch during driver introductions, it might be Montoya who likes the young Sprint Cup Series points leader least of all.

"Yeah," was the short version offered by Montoya when asked if he intentionally wrecked Busch during the final caution period of the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 on Sunday.

"He runs good? Yeah. He has great cars? Yeah. I thought we had a decent car today, and I don't appreciate when people race me like that."

A late change in fortunes for Tony Stewart

LOUDON, N.H. -- Tony Stewart sat in his car staring straight ahead through a rain-pelted windshield, but he couldn't help but look back.

"I guarantee there's a crew chief down there (on pit road) that they're hiding sharp objects from," Stewart said after finishing a disappointing 13th with the dominant car in Sunday's rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 won by Kurt Busch. "It's frustrating. I don't think there's anybody that would tell you any different. There's nothing you could do."

Pitting with the leaders on lap 274, Stewart's team opted to take tires when his competition hitting pit road opted for fuel only. That sent Stewart from the lead back to 12th.

Ten laps later, heavy thunderstorms moved into the area and the race was over.

COLUMN: Michael Waltrip steering a 'sinking ship'

LOUDON, N.H. -- Michael Waltrip was telling anyone who would listen that the rain had nothing to do with him finishing 2nd at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.

But anyone of sound mind who had seen the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 knew otherwise. Waltrip's season's best finish of 2nd came because the leaders -- the Stewarts, Gordons and Johnsons of the Sprint Cup world -- had tried to hedge their fuel mileage gambles against the approaching thunderstorms.

Waltrip can profess that the team he owns is on the mend, but the fact remains that without a ridiculous amount of luck like what he received on Sunday, his No. 55 Toyota team is no better than it was when it entered the weekend a distant 30th in the Sprint Cup standings.

Launch pad: Kurt Busch win at New Hampshire could spark another summer run

LOUDON, N.H. -- Can Kurt Busch really salvage yet another season simply by winning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway?

Rain and fuel mileage married in a perfect union for Busch and crew chief Pat Tryson on Sunday, giving Busch the victory in the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301. In 2004, Busch came to New Hampshire and used a win to launch himself into the inaugural Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup -- en route to the series title.

With Sunday's win, Busch leapt 4 spots in the standings to 18th and cut his deficit to 12th-place Kevin Harvick to 522 points with 9 races left until the start of this year's Chase.

BREAKING NEWS: Bruton Smith says New Hampshire race dates are safe

Camping World East Series, Whelen Modified Tour part of the future, too

Bruton Smith uttered the words New England race fans have longed to hear.

During a press conference on Sunday morning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Smith, whose Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased the track from Bob and Gary Bahre last fall, said that the facility is in no danger of losing either of its 2 annual Sprint Cup Series dates.

"No," Smith said when asked if he was going to move either of the races to either Kentucky Speedway or Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "We'll try to accomplish that in another way. We're working on some stuff."

Race traffic, rainouts and rain dates

This is how the day starts: Seeing a race fan walking along Route 106 in Loudon, carrying a bag of donuts and a 6-pack of beer.

The breakfast of champions.

Either fans are car-pooling, or the sight of all the Speedway Motorsports Inc. banners have people feeling like this should be an L.A. kind of thing. No traffic on 106 at 7 a.m. on race day? Hmmm...

ON SITE: Tony Stewart keeps up the Nationwide Series pace

As rumors intensify that Tony Stewart will leave Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the current season, the 2-time Sprint Cup Series champion continues to make the most of his time the No. 20 Toyotas.

Well, at least he's making the most of the No. 20s he drives part-time in the Nationwide Series.

Stewart led a parade of JGR drivers to the checkered flag in the Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon -- becoming the 22nd different winner in 22 Nationwide races at the track.

ON SITE: Keeping track of the off-site goings on

Another glamorous day in the life of a local auto racing writer...

We've spent most of the day here paying attention to what's going on elsewhere -- namely, where the rains are headed for later today and which events are going to be impacted. Not far from halfway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it looks like this will be the only day of the weekend thus far without some sort of weather delay.

The American-Canadian Tour 60 miles up the road in North Woodstock might not be so lucky.

ON SITE: Chuck Hossfeld wins closest race in NHMS history

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

For race winner Chuck Hossfeld, Saturday's New England 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was, indeed, the best race of the 4-race NASCAR weekend at the track. For Ted Christopher, losing the closest race in track history had a decidedly different feel.

"That's how it usually works here," Christopher said after losing the drag race off of the final turn by one one-thousandth of a second. "I really made a mistake on the last lap, but that's how it goes. Sometimes you pick the right lane, and sometimes you pick the wrong one."

DAY 2 AT NHMS: The economy is a convenient scapegoat for NASCAR

Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing that the economy is the reason we're seeing so many empty seats at NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races these days.

And I'm equally tired of hearing Cup drivers being asked about how high gas prices are affecting them, as if multi-million dollar annual salaries don't cover a $70 tank of gas.

Most of all, I'm tired of NASCAR blaming everything but the on-track product for the attendance problems the sport faces right now. We're just about 36 hours from the green flag for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and we still don't have an announced sellout. And even if there is a sellout, it's all but a guarantee not all of those sold seats will have fannies in them.

ON SITE: Brad Leighton, Brian Ickler trade shots and barbs

Brad Leighton summed things up succinctly in the aftermath of an entertaining NASCAR Camping World East Series race on Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

"You can probably figure out that this is a pretty selfish sport," said Leighton, an 8-time East Series winner at NHMS. But Leighton, who is running a very limited schedule, didn't win his 9th.

Two of the fastest cars running in the Heluva Good! Summer 125 belonged to Leighton and 2-time winner this season Brian Ickler. But they swapped some sheet metal on a lap 102 restart and suffered the consequences.

ON SITE: Eddie MacDonald, Rollie Lachance team up for win at New Hampshire

Call it the "2-Post Rig" success story.

Competing against teams with backing from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series superteams, Rollie Lachance and Eddie MacDonald teamed up to win one for both the little guy and a little Yankee ingenuity at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Lachance crafted a handmade version of the latest and greatest suspension machine in stock-car racing, and MacDonald took car of repeated challenges from rookie Trevor Bayne to win the Heluva Good! Summer 125 for the NASCAR Camping World East Series on Friday.

In an age where it's nearly impossible to compete with the money Cup teams have, the crew chief Lachance and the driver MacDonald clicked off half of their summer "to-do" list.