Over the last few years, drivers have been able to pick their own driver intro music for the night Bristol race, but let's be honest, most of the choices have stunk. Very rarely have drivers had music that's appropriate to their personality or season, and instead have gone with cliche stadium anthems.

While most of the drivers competing in Saturday night's race have already made their choices, here are what some Sprint Cup drivers should have chosen for the race. And if a driver does end up choosing one of the songs listed here, we're going to take full credit. (If this was the Nationwide race, we'd be obligated to say that Morgan Shepherd would choose "Jesus Take the Wheel.")

Jimmie Johnson: "As Good As I Once Was" -- Toby Keith. Yes, Michael Waltrip chose this for his Bristol intro song already, but it's extremely appropriate given the impending demise of Johnson. Of course, that's overstated, but most of NASCAR Nation is anxiously waiting the collapse of the Knaus-Johnson empire, and this is the first prolonged streak of not-so-greatness that we've seen from the 48 bunch in a long time.

Kevin Harvick: "The Pants" -- Brad Paisley. Wouldn't you love for Harvick to admit that Delana really is the boss?

Kyle Busch: "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" -- The Offspring. Come on, if there was a NASCAR driver that fit this song, it'd be Kyle. And I think that the guy in the video has Kyle's sunglasses on.

Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski: As long as one picks Notorious B.I.G. and the other goes with Tupac Shakur, it doesn't matter what songs they pick. Of course, not many in attendance would get the references, but it would be a great chance to have a little fun with the Team Brad and Team Carl stuff. Or they could take that to the next level and both go with Twilight songs.

Kurt Busch: "Domestic Light and Cold" -- Dierks Bentley. The master of the Miller Lite sponsor plug should keep the theme going. However, given that the song doesn't mention the Vortex bottle, the chances are slim that the elder Busch will use this.

Jeff Gordon: "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" -- Pat Benetar. Gordon has said that he doesn't want to create any more feuds given the drivers he's ticked off over the course of the season, but you've got to wonder if Gordon should be inviting the payback Saturday night to get it over with before the Chase starts.

Joey Logano: "Teenage Dream" -- Katy Perry." Yes, Joey isn't a teenager anymore, but given that Kasey Kahne's got the cougar market locked down, Logano should embrace the fans in his generation. But I don't know if Logano could get anyone's heart racing in skin-tight jeans because I'm not so sure that anyone makes jeans that skinny.

Dave Blaney: It doesn't matter what song Blaney picks, just as long as it stops three seconds after it starts.

Got any others? Drop us a line in the comments.

Sometimes, life is like a country song. Or a William Faulkner novel, whichever.

There's so much southern gothic in this story that we're not even sure where to begin, but let's start here: Michael Lynn Sherer was nabbed in Hampton, Georgia near Atlanta Motor Speedway after trading a gun for tickets to Sunday's Emory Healthcare 500 NASCAR race.

Oh, but it doesn't end there. Turns out Sherer is an escaped fugitive, on the run from a murder charge. And when he was nabbed by Hampton police, he used the murder victim's name as his own alias. That, friends, is cold-blooded. 

The story, in more detail: Sherer had apparently escaped from the Winston County (Ala.) jail, where he'd been held on charges of killing Thomas Lynn Smith of Jasper, Ala. in Smith's home following a break-in.

Sherer apparently made it from Winston County to Hampton, a distance of more than 250 miles, in a van he'd allegedly stolen prior to the murder. At the Atlanta Motor Speedway, he drew attention from vendors setting up for this weekend's race as he tried to pawn off a .22 caliber pistol -- one which allegedly belonged to the victim.

When police approached him, he initially used his victim's name, but difficulty answering questions like "when were you born?" led police to take a little more interest. Not long afterward, he gave up his real name, and that was that. He's currently awaiting extradition to Alabama.

About all this story needs now is a Johnny Cash-esque ballad to be written about it. It's all right there for the taking.

(Photo via WSB-TV 2 and Henry County Sheriff's Office.) 

For an up-close look at how the sausage gets made in NASCAR -- specifically, how races get snatched from one track and dispensed to another -- you need go no further than this week's NASCAR.com interview with Bruton Smith, Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner, on how he made the decision to pull a race from Atlanta and give it to Kentucky.

Apparently, literally hours before Smith made his call, he received a visit from Georgia's governor, Sonny Perdue, as well as the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House. What followed was classic political doublespeak and ultimately failed attempts at horse-trading, retold in vintage Smith fashion.

So why did Smith make the switch? Here's his reply, in its entirety:

"Weather, weather, weather. And I’ve talked with the governor down there [in Georgia] repeatedly. I’ve been down there on two occasions and we asked for some little things, and we really thought we were going to get them. But we didn’t.

"The governor and the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house [in Georgia], they all flew up to Charlotte and we had a meeting for two hours and 15 minutes. It was a great love fest. I really enjoyed it — plus the governor brought me a necktie. I thought that was great."

Aw, that's precious. A necktie! The hundreds of thousands of people who are going to lose out on the estimated $50 million in income generated by the spring race are oh so very happy you got a new necktie, Bruton. I wouldn't let any of them tie it for you, though. You might find they pull it a little tight. (Full disclosure: I live in Atlanta.)

Anyway, according to Smith, Perdue insisted that the state of Georgia didn't have the funds to carry out on those "little things" -- which Smith refused to identify -- that would have kept the race in Atlanta. When asked whether Smith or the governor called one another's bluff, Smith replied,

"I wouldn’t say it like that. That sounds like a poker game. I don’t think anybody called anybody’s bluff. We had a two hour and 15-minute love fest and he told me how much he loved me. The lieutenant governor and speaker all said how much they loved me and loved the speedway. … I was very clear that I had not made my decision before that meeting. That meeting did not end until 6:15 — and I didn’t make my decision until 6:20."

Five minutes. Five [expletive deleted] minutes. Yes, it sounds very much like Smith deeply and soberly considered what Perdue et. al. had to say ... for five minutes. 

Look, Smith's a businessman, and businesses pick up and move from states all the time. Smith has a right to go where he can find the best audience for his product, and Atlanta fans did themselves no favors by watching too many races from the comfort of their own homes. That's all out there, all in Smith's favor.

But to toy around with the process -- to talk of "love fests" and "little things" and characterize this as just something that, gosh darn it, didn't quite work out, no hard feelin's, y'all -- that's just flat-out disrespectful to the Atlanta fans who have supported racing and Smith for all these years. As he himself noted, Atlanta regularly sold out all 180,000 seats during the decade-plus it hosted the final race of the season.

So this should be a screaming warning to the fans at any other Speedway Motorsports track -- heads up, you could be next. And clearly, a necktie alone isn't enough to sway Smith's mind.

You want attention for your event/TV show/website? There's only one person to call: Erin Andrews!

The ESPN reporter is guaranteed to draw eyeballs no matter what she's doing, and on Thursday, for the first time, she got rocketed around a NASCAR track -- Atlanta Motor Speedway -- courtesy of fellow ESPN analyst Dale Jarrett.

"I’ve been to probably the biggest events in all of sports – the Super Bowl, both college championships and the World Series – but I have never been to a NASCAR race," she said. (The horror!) And, like everyone who visits a track for the first time, she came away impressed. 

Jarrett, who has a win at Atlanta on his resume, took a newly-firesuited Andrews out on the track for a few laps. ("How fast did we go?" Andrews asked. "170 mph," Jarrett responded. "We went 185," Andrews insisted.) And afterward, Andrews had seen the proverbial light:

"I was telling Dale as soon as he could hear me, this gave me such a different perspective and so much respect for these guys do," she said. "I was just on a track by myself [with Dale] and I was [laughing] like a little kid. I can’t imagine all the other cars being on the track and trying to worry about passing them, maintaining position and winning the thing and don’t hit them or the wall. This was one heck of an experience. I can’t imagine doing it with other drivers on the track and it really opened my eyes. I have always had respect for these people, but now it’s different and this was amazing."

Here's video of America's Sideline Princess doing some high-speed cruising:

All right, AMS: your next challenge is getting Justin Bieber in a car. That'll bring a whole new wave of interest!

Racing and environmentalism go together about as well as mashed potatoes and chocolate, or so the conventional wisdom holds. The NASCAR infield and the Green movement have, shall we say, divergent constituencies. But one driver, at least, is doing her best to bring the two sides together.

ARCA driver Leilani Munter, pictured above left with the Atlanta Falcons' Ovie Mughelli and former NFL'er Mike Alstott at the Gulf Coast, is hard at work trying to bring attention to environmentalism. It's a tough road -- NASCAR, with its vehicles driving hundreds of miles in a circle, is the lazy thinker's whipping boy for anti-environmentalism -- but Munter is doing her part to open a few eyes, as a current CNN profile of her efforts reveals.

Still, sponsorship has been difficult to come by. "It used to be that a woman with everything going on that Leilani has going on could get a bunch of sponsors," said ARCA team owner Mark Gibson, who wants to run Munter in several races next season. "But right now, there's a lot of uncertainty with the economy."

Another problem: Munter is, at present, a race-car driver in only the most generous sense of the term. She ran a few laps at Daytona this year before getting caught up in a wreck, and that's been that so far. 

Munter's goal is to raise awareness by putting a message on her hood. But she got a taste of what it will be like when her Daytona sponsor, Native Energy, dealt with consumer criticism for its choice to sponsor a NASCAR ride. Thomas H. Rawls met criticism head-on, writing on the company's blog, "Ultimately ... I asked myself: How does Native Energy reach people who are not already converts on the issue of climate change? Anyone who is engaged in any broad effort to speak to the public faces this question: Do I talk only to friendly audiences, or do I face the doubters and the hostiles?" To his credit, Rawls -- and, of course, Munter -- doesn't simply preach to the choir.

Munter is taking several proactive steps -- she gives 10 to 15 speeches a year at environmental conferences, and purchases an acre of rainforest for each race she runs. She hopes to return to the track in late September in Kansas, but before then, she's got plenty of environmental preaching to do. 

Good for her for bucking the tide; regardless of political affiliation, NASCAR fans have to at least admire someone who doesn't go along to get along. And if nothing else, this ought to show that NASCAR isn't a monolithic conservative bloc. That makes for easy stereotyping, but it's got little relevance to the truth.

James Buescher's No. 31 came off the track at Bristol Wednesday night in much worse shape than it went on. But surely there's mirth to be had at the expense of poor #31. Have your best say below, friends.

After the jump, Dale Earnhardt Jr. strides with purpose.

I think this may have been our most active C-a-C ever. Over 150 comments! Here are a few of the better ones...

Everett:
I like these changes NASCAR made to improve racing. WOW, I am so far out front that no one is near me! Now....don't hit the wall, don't hit the wall, easy, easy........

Petty fan:
Oh $#!&! Where did I drop the keys? 

Glenn:
Nobody ever asked me if I want to race. Nobody asked me nothin'.

You know how in dictatorships, they always have a couple of stunt doubles to stand in for the head honcho -- you know, in case somebody decides to have a go at the king? Meet the Hendrick Motorsports stunt double -- Aric Almirola. As you can see there at right, he's spent time lately doubling for both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, on duty in the event their wives went into labor early. But neither did, and Almirola was left to wander the track in a recognizable firesuit and, perhaps, impress a few less-than-savvy NASCAR fans.

But you don't get picked to replace two legends if you're a chump of a driver, and Almirola's skills got him named to the full-time seat in the Nationwide No. 88 for JR Motorsports. And Almirola's seat is about the only thing that's stable right now at JRM -- and that includes a certain part-timer.

At a Bristol press conference Friday, JRM general manager Kelley Earnhardt pointed out that Danica Patrick "definitely had a difficult year getting used to these cars from where she’s came from. Still, everyone has to keep in check that she has run six Nationwide races and pretty much six stock-car races in her career. She is still very fresh and new at this and still has a lot to learn about the way these cars work."

Patrick's 2011 schedule with JRM is yet to be determined, as the team is waiting for the 2011 Indy Car schedule to come out in order to sync up her driving time through the two series.

The 7 car will play host to some famous names, if nothing else. Patrick is scheduled to run 13 races with GoDaddy.com sponsorship, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking it for four to six races. Beyond that, who knows? Perhaps Josh Wise, who's running for JRM this weekend.

The team has and will continue to take its knocks for the perceived shortcomings of its drivers. But bottom line, no Nationwide team has quite the star power of JR Motorsports -- even if their cars aren't always up close to the front. But with Almirola in the 88, that could change in a hurry.

Man, I would never want to be the network program chief in charge of juggling live programming. Case in point: Friday afternoon, when ESPN faced the dilemma of trying to figure out how to shoehorn three programs -- Little League baseball, NASCAR qualifying, and Pardon The Interruption -- into two timeslots. Whatever you do, somebody's going to be very, very ticked.

Spoiler: NASCAR lost out, at least for 23 minutes.

Now, I'm certain this will send NASCAR neurotics into fits; it's not quite America's Funniest Videos pre-empting the race, but still -- Little League baseball? Really?

But this is where broadcasters building up goodwill comes in handy. ESPN promised that it would devote more time to NASCAR this season, and reviews of ESPN's coverage and postrace work have largely been positive.

However, ESPN's announcers promised that "you haven't missed anything," and that's not quite true. Nine drivers had already run by the time the broadcast resumed, and Jeff Gordon had a near-catastrophic pre-qualifying-lap spin.

Still, while the programming decision was a bit embarrassing -- come on, who's really watching Little League baseball outside of the families and hometowns involved? -- this little crossover wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. Now, if they'd pre-empted NASCAR for the WNBA, we'd have to throw down. 

No flukes here, folks. Our final four drivers in the NASCAR World Cup are four of the best in the Sprint Cup Series. And as a reflection of the current microtrend in the Cup Series, none of those four are Hendrick drivers, though Tony Stewart is in Hendrick equipment.

We've got two Chevrolets in Stewart and Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch's Toyota and Carl Edwards' Ford. Plus, all four drivers have won at Atlanta Motor Speedway, home of this week's semifinals, so this could be one of the most even rounds yet.

The Matchups: Kyle Busch vs. Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart vs. Kevin Harvick

Jay's Picks:

Edwards -- On overall talent, Kyle gets the nod, but in terms of consistency--and strength at Atlanta--I'm giving the nod to Carl. Wish these two knew what was at stake here; I'd love to see 'em turn each other going for the WC finals!

Harvick -- In most years, I'd say Stewart in a landslide, but this year, Harvick is the more consistent driver. This one's going to be a tight battle--both in the top 10, at worst--but in the end, I'm thinking Harvick has the edge, setting up a fine Harvick v. Edwards brawl to settle it all!

Nick's Picks:

Busch -- No, I'm not being contrarian for the sake of it, but I can't pick against Busch right now. How crazy would it be to see him win both races this weekend? Book it. Busch wins the Nationwide race Saturday night and the Cup race on Sunday.

Stewart -- We anointed Group B as our Group of Death before the contest started, and it's only fitting that two of the four drivers are in the semifinals and I think that they'll meet each other at Richmond for the title. If Stewart's leading late in the race, he and crew chief Darian Grubb are going to make the decision to come get tires this time and beat Harvick by a few positions.

So "Family Guy" had a NASCAR reference, but TNT ain't going to be too happy about it:

Hey, wait a second ... what network is "Family Guy" on? That's right, FOX! Conspiracy! Conspiracy! (Hat tip to All Left Turns for the find.)

Anyway, this is your Midnight Marbles thread, where you can talk conspiracies or anything else that might be on your mind. Have at it, have fun, and we'll be back soon with more. 

This year's race to the Chase has been a relative snoozer, but given that the Chase itself looks to be incredibly wide-open, isn't that more than a fair trade-off?

Points leader Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon have already clinched their spots in the Chase, so if they were so inclined, they could skip Atlanta and Richmond and show up at New Hampshire refreshed and ready to go. And if all goes well for the nine drivers behind them in the standings, they could join Harvick and Gordon relaxing on Lake Norman for the Richmond race, no matter what the rest of the field does.*

Here are the scenarios for those nine drivers, and it's safe to say that Kyle Busch will clinch by Lap 40.

Kyle Busch: Busch needs to finish 40th or better if he doesn't lead a lap, 42nd if he leads one lap, or 43rd if he leads the most laps. Easy.

Carl Edwards: Here's where it gets close. Edwards needs to finish 21st if he doesn't lead a lap, 23rd if he leads one and 25th if he leads the most. Very doable given his Atlanta history.

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin needs to finish 20th with no laps led, 22nd with one lap led, or 23rd with the most of the laps led.

Tony Stewart: A 19th-place finish with no laps led clinches it for Smoke, while 21st with one lap led or 23rd with the most laps led gets the job done, too.

Jeff Burton: Burton needs to finish 17th if he doesn't get to the front, 19th if he leads a single lap, or 21st if he leads the most.

Matt Kenseth: Kenseth needs a top 15 if he doesn't lead a lap, 17th if he leads one, or 19th if he leads the most.

Jimmie Johnson: Vader's got to get a top 10 without a lap led if he wants to clinch at Atlanta, 11th with a lap led, or 13th with the most laps led.

Kurt Busch: Busch's scenario is nice and orderly: 9th if he doesn't lead a lap, 10th with a lap led, and 11th with the most laps led.

Greg Biffle: Biffle's is the most farfetched of any of the possible clinchers, but given the way that he's been running on the bigger tracks lately, it's feasible. Biffle needs to finish 4th with no laps led, 5th with a lap led and 7th with the most laps led.

There's no scenario for Clint Bowyer to clinch by himself at Atlanta, but it's also possible that Bowyer could lock into the field. Bowyer leads 13th place Jamie McMurray by 100 points, and if Bowyer can gain 96 points on McMurray and 95 points on Mark Martin, he's in the 2010 Chase without having to worry at Richmond.

*No, no one will be even thinking of skipping the Richmond race.

On Tuesday, Texas Motor Speedway had its announcement for the 2011 season at the House of Blues in downtown Dallas. Scratch that, it wasn't an announcement, it was an all-out event.

TMS President Eddie Gossage brought in the Goo Goo Dolls, NASCAR CEO Brian France, three-time Indianapolis 500 (and "Dancing with the Stars") champion Helio Castroneves and Tony Stewart for the party, which revealed that Texas' spring Sprint Cup race would be at night and that the IZOD IndyCar Series would have a doubleheader event.

For Stewart, the House of Blues party was the cap to a long day. Before heading to Dallas, Stewart hosted his third annual "Smoke Show," a charity event for the Texas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities at TMS.

The 25 participants of this year's Show each bid on the opportunity to be guided around the track by Stewart, and this year's event raised over $270,000.

NBC correspondent Jenna Bush -- President George W. Bush's daughter -- was at the Show to film a segment with Stewart. While Bush got up to 134 mph, 14 mph off the pace of the top speed of the session, during Thursday's Dan Patrick Show, Stewart said that Bush probably doesn't have a professional driving career ahead of her.

"That's the most scared I've ever been in the passenger seat of a race car," Stewart said.

However, Stewart may not have a wide range of ride-along experiences to draw from. To our knowledge, Stewart hasn't gone on a ride-along with Milka Duno, the IndyCar Series driver who has been in everyone's way so much over the past two seasons that she's in danger of getting kicked out of the Series. Last we checked, Vegas oddsmakers are giving Bush even odds on her TBD upcoming head-to-head matchup with Duno at Texas.