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Welcome, gay NASCAR fans! Well, once again the Bristol-by-night proved why it's the hottest ticket in racing! It's really great to see the racecars bouncing around under the lights, and it seems like there's always somebody getting pimp-slapped! I'll give you the highlights, but first, let's update the standings.

This week, we've got four guys in the top 10. Jamie McMurray, unfortunately, fell two spots and is now at 12th. Some of the commentators are writing Jamie off, but they suck, he's coming back! Also falling two were Kasey Khane and Casey Mears. Carl Edwards and Baby E gained a spot. Jeff was the big winner, climbing two places to 10th.

Now we call the roll of the DeVine 9/12 team members who cannot, under any mathematical circumstances, make the Chase. They are: Michael Waltrip, Kasey, Casey and Dave Blaney. (Keep racing guys -- a win's a win, no matter when!)

Greg Martin brought the invocation. Singing the National Anthem was a choir of the precious little "Children of NASCAR," organized by Motor Racing Outreach and decked out in "One Nation Under God" T-shirts. I thought they seemed to be lip-synching. Some of the kids cried when the war planes zoomed low.

Matt Kenseth started on the pole. There was, for Bristol, a surprisingly long green-flag run at the outset. ("I thought this race was supposed to be wrecky," Kat Kelly said as she raised an eyebrow toward the TV.) Unfortunately, the first wreck took out our dear Kasey. When he came back later, he was 97 laps down and ultimately finished a sad 42nd.)

Kyle Busch spun, and Jr. just stayed out of it. In an interview, Kyle blamed Scott Riggs for the accident. (Just imagine: Years ago, they're tots at home, and little Kurt is instructing little Kyle on how to act all baby-fied and offended after a wreck: "Push your lip way, way out, like this! Now, get all sad in your eyes, but DON'T CRY!")

Then there was a caution because Dale Jarrett, trying to get around Rusty Wallace, got his own self turned around. Next, Stanton Barrett blew up; it was his second time to cause a caution. In an event that would prove pivotal for the evening, Ryan Newman got under Jarrett and spun him out. After the restart, it looked like Ryan was hard up the tail of the #6 Viagra car.

But it was Ryan's turn in the barrel next, as Jarrett clumsily got his nose under Ryan's tail, spinning BOTH cars up into the wall. The real loser was Kevin Harvick, who banged hard into Ryan's broke-down racecar. After the show, Ryan blamed Jarrett, who just grabbed his wife and kids and ran off into the night like he thought he was Daniel Boone or the Von Trapp Family or something.

There was some intra-team action was Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers got to smacking each other on the track. Robbie Gordon, who was 50 laps down, went for a spin. Elliott Sadler was 2nd for a while! Then came the really bad news: After getting only right-side tires in the pits, Jamie had flat on a left front! Bummer! (Dixie, by the way, thinks that Jamie's team may be sabotaging him in revenge for his announced plans to leave Ganassi and go to Roush in 06).

Shortly before Kenseth's victory (after leading all but 85 laps), Kyle Petty crashed after a tap from Carl Edwards. Just like the total class act he is, Carl made up with Kyle. Said Carl: "I'm glad we working that out and they're not mad. Having Kyle Petty mad at you means you're a pretty bad guy."

FEEL THE PRIDE!

Race weekend at Bristol started off with an entertaining truck race on Wednesday, and that race started off with a highly unusual National Anthem delivered by the ETSU Pride Singers. They sang in the anthem in something like a madrigal style, but not that. It was really different. (I think I saw Bobby Hamilton laughing during it, but I have wondered about him ever since he like to have run us over in the parking lot at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.) Anyway, what's up with these "Pride Singers"? Do they go to our church? It was three guys. I'm just saying..

AND BETTY JACK'S FAVORITE IS...

Y'all know, I am blessed to be able to live in both Atlanta and Daytona Beach. Lots of my friends in Atlanta have assumed I am rooting for the the ATL in the race to win the NASCAR Hall of Fame, but I have to say I am not. Here's why:

*There is no racing culture whatsoever in Atlanta. Motorsports journalists from elsewhere have long remarked on the Atlanta media's near-complete lack of interest in the Cup races held here twice each year. In Daytona Beach, the excellent News-Journal prints whole sections on NASCAR and tells you great stuff that's going on all race week. Atlanta? Forget about it. The appalling Journal-Constitution prints barely a page of race news, even as the speedway packs in the fans.

When the NASCAR honchos made their official site inspection visit to Atlanta, the bid team here rounded up about 100 people to stand in Centennial Olympic Park and wave flags and act like fans. Most of them looked like they didn't even know why they were there. If you had asked them what's bump drafting, they would have said it's when you get rip in your jeans while you're disco dancing.

*Along those same lines, the Atlanta media can be incredibly snarky. The local paper has been attacking the King family and the ML King Jr. Center relentlessly. I'm sure this did nothing for the health of poor Mrs. King, a long-time friend of gay rights who now lies in an Atlanta hospital recuperating from a major stroke. I wrote about RuPaul for years here in the '80s: The mainstream media here never paid him any attention until he left town for New York.

*Unlike in Daytona Beach, where the speedway stands proudly beside the airport on the main road into town, Atlanta Motor Speedway is nowhere near Atlanta. The proposed site for the hall is 30-45 minutes from the speedway on a non-race day -- 3-4 hours away when Cup is running. It's a safe bet that most Atlantans have never even seen the speedway -- I know I had not before I became a fan.

*Atlanta, sadly, has some of the worst traffic in the country, which is wrecking the air and the weather. We spend whole weeks each summer sweltering under a stinky blanket of gray haze. Days and days of summer go by when you never see the sun. Then comes the winter, when it gets really dark! A friend recently returned from a long stay in Dallas/Ft. Worth: He said the traffic there is a piece of cake compared to Atlanta.

Atlanta's best trait remains its people: The city has attracted an amazing variety of folks, and I thankful for the many wonderful friends I have here. But because of the problems I've cited -- snarky, stuck-up media; a deteriorating environment; and almost no racing culture whatsoever -- I'd say to put the Hall in Daytona Beach, or even in Charlotte.

That's it for this week friends. I'm heading down to Daytona Beach for the holiday, so my update next week will be short and sweet. But I'm looking forward to California! Let's all meet up down at the Track Bar!

PS -- I can't close this weekend without sending my love and prayers to all those affected by this hurricane. It is such a shame that Bush has squandered our national fortune on a made-up threat, so there are little resources left to help the people when a real emergency comes along.