Friday Five
By Sydney Davis

Friday Five for November 16, 2007

5. Good-bye DEI: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will be racing in his final race for DEI this weekend. Sunday will mark Earnhardt's 291st start for DEI. For most fans I know, it can't come soon enough. This season has turned out to be one helluva roller coaster for Earnhardt. Hopefully next year will be more eventful in a good way. 88 in 08 baby!

4. Ultimate Tailgating Party: Tonight, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will crown the 2007 winner. Just 29 points separates Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday. As cool as that sounds, it's only the fourth-closest margin in series history. Hornaday is gonna be charging hard the entire race. He can clinch by winning and leading the most laps. Skinner would have to finish third or worse, with no laps led. Skinner can clinch the title by finishing second Friday, regardless of another driver's. If Hornaday doesn't win Friday's race, and both drivers finish with an equal number of points, Skinner would be the champion because he has five '07 wins compared to Hornaday's four wins. Hornaday was one win at Homestead-Miami in 2002, while Skinner is winless. It's shaping up to be the battle we all thought would happen over in the Nextel Cup Series.

3. Off-Road Warrior: Robby Gordon competed in the 40th Annual Baja 1000 Tuesday. His Nextel Cup sponsor Jim Beam had a spiffy little thing called the Jim Beam Baja 1000 Tracker that allowed Gordon to communicate directly to fans. Fans can also track the team's GPS location through a website: www.ionearth.com. NASCAR and ESPN has their draft tracker, but this is WAY cooler.

2. Four-peat: More under the rock news this week. Jimmie Johnson has won four in a row, becoming the eighth driver in the modern era (since 1972) to achieve the feat. Of the seven drivers on the list, four drivers won the championship the same year, including teammate Jeff Gordon in 1998. Should he win this weekend at Homestead-Miami, he will become the first driver, in the modern era, to win five in a row. Below is the list of drivers who have won four in a row. Thanks to Jayski.com for the stats:

1976 Cale Yarborough(X)(4): Richmond, Dover, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro
1981 Darrell Waltrip(X)(4): Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, Charlotte, Rockingham
1987 Dale Earnhardt(X)(4): Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Bristol, Martinsville
1991 Harry Gant(4): Darlington, Richmond, Dover, Martinsville
1992 Bill Elliott(4): Rockingham, Richmond, Atlanta, Darlington
1993 Mark Martin(4): Watkins Glen, Brooklyn, Bristol, Darlington
1998 Jeff Gordon(X)(4): Pocono, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, Michigan
2007-Jimmie Johnson(4): Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix - current streak

(X = won the Cup Championship)

1. Ladies and Gentlemen, stick out your tongues: Today, Greg Biffle with officiate the first-ever Oreo Double Stuf Race in Victory Lane at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Five finalists from across the country will see who can twist, lick and dunk their Oreo Double Stuf cookie and glass of milk the fastest for the grand prize of $10,000. Here's hoping that grandma from the commercials makes an appearance. I die laughing every time I see her lick-off against her granddaughter!

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