Mammoth Blog

Pop giant Michael Jackson, who took to the stage as a child star and set the world dancing to exuberant rhythms for decades, died on Thursday, TMZ website reported. He was 50.

There was no official confirmation of the reported death and spokespersons for Jackson could not be reached for comment.

"We've just learned Michael Jackson has died," TMZ said.

"Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back," the entertainment site said.

It added, "A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived."

Earlier, the Los Angeles Times said the singer had been rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital by fire department paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived at the singer's home.

The newspaper said paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene before taking him to the UCLA Medical Center hospital.

Jackson had been due to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer, whose hits included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months.

The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.

His lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

He lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation.

There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.

CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR

Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys -- Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael -- first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.

Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released "Thriller" in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.

The next year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance move while performing "Billie Jean" during an NBC special.

In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.

Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

"I always want to do music that influences and inspires each generation."
About twenty five years ago, Ronald Reagan was president. Bon Jovi was formed, David Bowie asked people to dance, Prince talked about the year 1999 (so long away) and Culture Club sang something about Karma. Then there was Michael Jackson's Thriller.
The groundbreaking album was released on November 30, 1982 but dominated the charts the year after, spawning seven hit singles. It was cemented in the American Top 10 charts for 80 consecutive weeks, 37 of those weeks in the number one spot. And that's just in the US. Across the globe, singles from Thriller reached number one on in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa, (just to name a few) charts. The album has been certified 27 (yes, 27) times platinum. But the album was not the only thing to be catapulted into history books. Today's superstars such as Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake, and Usher all look to Jackson as a legend and emulate his signature moves such as the "moonwalk" and the "robot." Twenty-five years later, the world again celebrated the biggest-selling album of all time with a newly expanded version of Thriller. Today's hottest artists like Kanye West, Akon and will.i.am put their own unique spin on classics such as "Billie Jean," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin."

"It's like putting certain elements in one hemisphere and it produces this magic in the other," the King of Pop said of the album. "And getting in there with some of the great people, it's just wonderful." In other words, the world was thrilled. Again.

We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

Jackson had 13 number one hits during his solo career. source>>>

Australian Entrepreneur, Franco Lagudi is stirring up the waters for eBay and other 'buy and sell' sites in the US with an offering unmatched by any others in this space. Thousands of Americans are flocking to the site to sign up and create their own SOC Exchange marketplaces... and make some 'quick cash' in these financially treacherous times.

Lagudi announced an innovative, new membership rewards program that puts cash directly into the pockets of its members who refer friends. The SOC Exchange will pay current members a cash referral fee called a 'SOC Fee' for every friend who signs up for a one year subscription of $10, using their unique Referral ID. Upon request for payment, 'SOC Fees' will be paid directly into a member's PayPal account within 10 days from every Saturday. The 'SOC Fee' amount is published on the website.

"What's even better is that all new members will have the opportunity to earn a 'SOC Fee.' We will continue to support our members in any way we can," Lagudi stated.

Lagudi had a dream -- to make it easy and affordable for everyone to own their piece of the net. Today, his dream is a reality and The SOC Exchange's novel service offering is attracting a big following in the online space, in a market previously dominated by eBay.

The concept is simple. For just $1 per month or $10 per year, flat rate, people can have their own unique website within The SOC Exchange portal (www.thesocexchange.com) on which they can list and sell as many items as they want, with no commission fees and no extra charges.

"We're not intentionally trying to be David battling the much larger Goliath here, what we are offering is carving into eBay's share of the market," Lagudi commented. "We are giving sellers the opportunity to set up their own online marketplace where they can conduct as much trade as they want and 100% of the profit stays in their pocket."

"We are continually being told by internet users that they are fed up with the commissions and charges. The SOC Exchange gives the online community a choice and we will be vigilant in keeping the online space affordable for everyone." The SOC Exchange allows sellers to list 'buy now' prices with the option for buyers to also submit best offers on items, making it easier and more transparent for buyers and sellers to interact, he said.

The SOC Exchange offers 'sellers' and 'advertisers' the capacity to list literally anything and everything -- from video games, scrapbooking & craft materials, cars and real estate, to baby items, boats, computers, sporting memorabilia, jewelry, jobs and resumes.

'Members' get their own, customizable website, loaded with 'value add' IT features -- with a unique URL -- and have the capacity to add images and even post a blog -- all for the set up fee of just $1 per month or $10 per year.

"With no additional fees or commissions and a phenomenal 'cash back' member rewards program, it's no wonder consumers are flocking to The SOC Exchange," Lagudi added.

Buyers can register with the site free of charge and then browse the numerous categories, search by product name or within a set distance from their location, or go directly to a seller's site. Buyers can also bookmark sites and register with their favorite sellers for email updates and information on new products.

"At a time when every cent counts, The SOC Exchange is helping consumers build a new online business, extend an existing one or simply make some extra money. You can sell anything you want and sell as much as you want for $1 per month or $10 per year, flat rate," Lagudi stated. About The SOC Exchange

The SOC Exchange is an e-commerce site founded in 2008 that allows the online sale of an unlimited number of goods for a flat subscription fee of $1 per month or $10 per year. The site collects no additional commissions or listing fees and provides each seller with their own webstore, customized URL and an extensive collection of online marketing tools to maximize sales. TheSOCExchange.com also offers its online platform for careers, auto and real estate. For more information, please visit TheSOCExchange.com. source>>>

The soundtrack to Hannah Montana: The Movie has been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1 million copies. Released on March 24, the soundtrack also remains in the No. 1 position on Billboard's country albums chart this week. Although most of its songs are performed by Miley Cyrus, including "The Climb," the compilation also features songs by Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift source>>>

Brad Paisley will attend a fundraiser for the Shjon Podein Children's Foundation on Sunday (June 28) in Rochester, Minn. The organization supports charities that aim to improve the lives of children in difficult situations. Podein, a National Hockey League veteran from Rochester, won a Stanley Cup ring in 2001 as a member of the Colorado Avalanche team. Other guests at the gala will include Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and ESPN sports announcer Sean McDonough. Tickets are $50. Paisley also donated an autographed guitar to the charity auction. Paisley's weekend tour dates include the Country USA festival in Oshkosh, Wis., on Friday (June 26) and the Chippewa Valley Country Festival in Cadott, Wis., on Saturday (June 27). source>>>

Keith Urban has added several Australian dates to his Escape Together World Tour. Urban will perform Dec. 12 in Melbourne, followed by shows in Wollongong (Dec. 14), Sydney (Dec. 16) and Brisbane (Dec. 18). Urban's next tour date is in Milwaukee, Wis., on Friday (June 26). In addition, he will film a new music video for "Only You Can Love Me This Way" during his concert Saturday (June 27) in Des Moines, Iowa. source>>>>

At a time when artists seem to emerge from the woodwork to prove just how "country" they truly are, some are simply born that way. Take, for example, Holly Williams.

Her last name speaks volumes about her heritage and her involvement with country music. After all, her grandfather, Hank Williams Sr., helped pioneer that lonesome country sound. And later, her father, Hank Williams Jr., followed in those same footsteps, establishing his own country music career and becoming a second-generation superstar.

"I think people are expecting, rowdy, Bocephus' daughter, drinking songs," Williams said of her just-released second album, Here With Me. "And I love those songs. They're great, but my dad wrote all the best ones. I don't want to try to top those."

Instead, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter is harvesting a style all her own. Her music is perhaps somewhere between the boisterous style of her father and the solitary songs of her grandfather, but whispers of her family legacy are sprinkled throughout.

"I've always written songs that are very introspective, very personal," she said during an interview with CMT.com. "I like writing that way. Anytime it makes me nervous, I just think about my favorite song and my favorite artists and [how] I'm so happy when they completely bare their soul. I'm really touched by honesty, and I'm trying not to let fear get in the way of that."

She has written or co-written a majority of the songs on Here With Me. The emotions range from serious matters of divorce and near-death to whimsical fantasies of a one-night stand with a stranger. Her music is soft and insightful, a window into where she's been and where she may be headed next.

She wrote "Without Jesus Here With Me" after she and her sister, Hilary, were involved in an automobile accident near Memphis in 2006. The wreck left them both with serious injuries and nearly took Hilary's life. It wasn't until a year and a-half later that Williams could revisit that violent and tragic event, an experience she now calls a miracle.

"It was weird to think that something came out of it," she said. "The only thing that I could really focus on was that it was an absolute miracle. My sister told me to put my seatbelt on about a mile before. The whole thing was just a miracle that she lived and went through everything she did. That's the only song that I've ever written out of it."

In the opening of the song, she admits she doesn't pray enough or know why she lived that Wednesday morning, yet she is certain that Jesus was with her that day. She leans on a faith firmly rooted in the lyrics of a man she never knew -- her grandfather. She sings, "The preacher tried to make me learn/I memorized his favorite verse/But Hank's words, they taught me everything/Thank God, I saw the light for me."

"I got as much spiritual teaching out of Hank Sr.'s lyrics as I did something I would have read about in church or growing up with the Bible," she explains. "I think there's a lot you can find in his lyrics even though it's from a person that's struggling. It's still relatable because we're all struggling."

She has been told that her songwriting style is similar to the approach taken by her grandfather, who suffered from depression and substance abuse before dying at age 29.

"I definitely did not struggle with the demons that he did," she said. "I think he really suffered from the kind of common singer-songwriter bouts of depression and just low, low points. We've all had our ups and downs."

She also tackles the struggles of divorce through song. In "Mama," she commends her mother for standing firm and strong during her divorce from Hank Williams Jr. and applauds her for handling the situation with such finesse.

"My dad was on tour 300 nights a year at the time," she said. "We were little girls. She was raising us alone. To be a single mom and trying to have two kids and your husband on tour and dealing with all that stress is really amazing. She was always positive. She was always smiling.

"I think it probably saved me a lot of therapy because I had such a great mom" she said. "And Dad was great about it, too. It's just my little thank you."

But not all of Williams' songs touch on such delicate issues. "Three Days in Bed" entertains the idea of spending three days in Paris and in bed with a complete stranger -- making love, drinking wine and smoking menthol cigarettes. She throws all caution to the wind in her daydream, a song she thought best to record live.

"It's so great for me to hear someone's album, and you hear just them and the instrument," she said. "Then you really get to see what they're about."

Here With Me gives Williams' listeners just that -- a peek into her life through song. She's already generating radio airplay for her current single, "Keep the Change." After establishing a devoted following with her first album, 2005's Those We Never Knew, she hopes to attract even more listeners to her music.

"It's kind of a new road for me" she said. "It will be interesting to see what people think -- probably that I'm a little different than Dad, but hopefully they still like us both." source>>>

Hank Williams Jr. is scheduled to return to Nashville's Centennial Park Tuesday night (June 23) to resume filming the opening video for the new season of ESPN's Monday Night Football. Approximately 250 extras worked Monday while crews filmed interior shots of Williams and Gloria Estefan at the Parthenon. Some 500 extras are expected to be involved in Tuesday's taping outside the building. The video will be part of all 17 telecasts of Monday Night Football beginning with the regular season opener on Sept. 14. This marks the 21st season Williams has been featured in the show's opening segment. source>>>

Willie Nelson accepted the Maverick Award from the Maui Film Festival on Friday (June 19). Nelson appears in a new film about solutions to global problems, One Piece at a Time, which had its world premiere at the festival. According to a press release, Nelson was honored for "having the courage of his convictions, a willingness to speak his mind and the backbone to withstand the heat from those who take issue with his vigorous expression of our collective constitutional right to the freedom of artistic and political expression." In related news, Nelson will release a new album, American Classic, on June 23. Norah Jones and Diana Krall will also appear on the album, which features Nelson's versions of standards such as "Fly Me to the Moon," "The Nearness of You" and "Since I Don't Have You." source>>>

There's a reason why they choose to only buy products associated with someone that drives a stock car, or why they choose not to buy products associated with someone that drives a stock car.

Every race fan has a story of why they chose the driver they will go down fighting for.

To some, it's the way the driver looks. To others, it's the way he acts. Then there are some that just want to root for a winner.

Each race along the way helps develop a connection, or bond, with the fan and that driver, one that they can only explain and one that is unique to only them.

Growing up, I had two others that watched NASCAR with me when I became interested in the sport back in 2001. First, was my father, who has repeatedly said that he only watches racing because I got him back interested in it. The other person was his father, my Grandfather Timothy Crandall, Sr.

Every week, Dad and I pulled for the red Budweiser Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., something that continues nine long years later.

My grandfather had a personal connection with racing. His former boss in East Brunswick, N.J., was Wally Dallenbach, Sr., the father of current TNT broadcaster Wally Dallenbach, Jr.

Dallenbach, Sr. was friends with Mario Andretti, and one day, as my grandfather was changing the oil in his street car, Andretti came to the company.

He asked my grandfather if he could take the car for a ride, and upon returning, he complimented how nice the car was and how great it drove.

All of this didn't make it surprising that my grandfather was more of a fan that rooted for the underdogs or the drivers that were once the face of NASCAR.

"Sterling Marlin's going to win today, you better watch," he would tell me. Or it was, "Kyle Petty's gonna shock everyone and pull it off."

I, of course, didn't buy what he was selling. It was just entertaining to listen whom he was going to pull for each weekend.

As my passion for NASCAR grew, so did my following of Earnhardt, Jr. He was the driver that I pulled the hardest for to get into victory lane, and when he had a good day, it seemed I did.

When he had a bad one, so did I.

Only, it wasn't until 2004 that I really understood what it meant to have a bond with your driver, and what it really felt like to go through the ups and downs with them.

My grandfather was told he had colon cancer in late 2004, which was a year that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was seriously contending for a championship.

This is when my life started to hit rock bottom.

Shortly after my grandfather was diagnosed, Earnhardt, Jr. was in a fiery wreck in Sonoma, Calif.

Life after that was watching my grandfather go through surgery in August and receive a clean bill of health -- for the moment.

Earnhardt, Jr. added to my walking on cloud nine by winning the Sharpie 500 at Bristol that same month.

At first, it was just a coincidence that a hard time in my life followed up by a rebound matched up with such a time in Earnhardt, Jr.'s.

Or so I thought.

It's well documented that 2005 was not the best year for the No. 8 team, switching teams with then-teammate Michael Waltrip in order to help the performance of both cars. However, it didn't work, and the Bud team finished 19th in points.

For the Crandall family, it wasn't exactly a year to remember.

On April 3, 2005, I sat next with my grandmother at her sister's funeral. My grandfather wasn't in attendance, as he was at the doctor's office for a checkup.

He was complaining of having trouble swallowing, saying things felt stuck in his chest. After informing the doctor and having tests done, the reason for his pain was found.

When those of us at the funeral returned home, the day went from bad to worse.

The cancer had come back, spread through his body, and had taken up position on his esophagus.

The esophagus is a muscular tube in the throat and chest where food passes through on its way to the stomach. Esophageal cancer results in all the pain my grandfather was describing, difficulty swallowing and eventual tumors.

Life for my grandfather became nothing but Hell.

Monday and Friday, it was a trip to the Oncology office. He would sit in a chair for two hours as an IV pumped him full of medication. Then, a chemotherapy pump would be placed on him, which stayed there for the entire week.

From there, it was off to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital for a radiation treatment. My grandmother still remembers the sound the chemo made as it went into my grandfather's body, as well as the terrible odor.

That was just Mondays and Fridays.

Tuesday through Thursday, he would also be at the hospital every day for more radiation treatments. And sometimes, the medicine made him so sick to where he was leaking from both ends of the body.

Every week, the process repeated itself.

When the 2006 season started for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. the biggest goal was to not have a repeat of the previous year.

And I know that I couldn't personally take anything else negative happening.

I wanted something good to happen, in both my driver's life and my grandfathers. Not since I was a little girl had I actually wished for anything, but now in my family's darkest days, I was wishing for the cancer to just disappear.

I was also wishing that my driver could turn things around.

Earnhardt, Jr. started having a decent year, but my grandfather continued to fight his battle, and I found myself bottling up more and more emotion.

In March of 2006, my grandfather had another X-ray taken, and as many remember it, they couldn't believe what they saw.

My grandmother recalls: "When I looked at the X-rays in January, all I seen was, cause it looks like little black spots, and I just saw one they [the doctors] said they were going to keep an eye on. And then in March, when I looked at that X-ray, oh my God, it wasn't just spots. It [the cancer] was all over the place."

In a sick twist of fate, the only thing that hadn't been touched by the cancer was his colon.

I finally admitted, thanks to my grandfather continually saying it, that he probably wasn't going to be around much longer. I had to accept the fact that the man I had grown up living next door to, just a gate or hop of the fence away, was fighting a losing battle.

On a Sunday afternoon, I remember standing in the kitchen of my church in tears after leaving the service because of the message that day, and I kept saying to myself that I wanted Earnhardt, Jr. to win before I lost my grandfather.

Call it selfish, but I wanted the last race and last victory lane celebration my grandfather saw to be of my driver.

Then, my grandfather's health became much worse, and he was in the hospital for a couple of months. My routine became going to school, going to work, going to the hospital, going home to bed, and doing the same thing every so often.

The truth was though; I didn't want to be at the hospital. It wasn't that I didn't want to see my grandfather, and looking back, I feel I should have spent more time there, but I didn't want to see him like that.

He was suffering and being eaten alive, and there was nothing I could do about it.

All I wanted to do was go home and watch NASCAR. That was my safety zone. Everything was fine in NASCAR, and while watching my favorite sport, I could escape the reality of what was actually taking place.

On Friday, May 5, 2006, my grandfather was finally released from the hospital and brought home.

Hospice was hired to attend to him when my mother, grandmother, or anyone else wasn't trying to make him comfortable.

On Saturday, May 6, 2006, I got one of my wishes.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. went out and won Richmond, and for a few hours, all was right in my world. My Grandfather was home, and my driver had found victory lane.

In a moment of self-pity, it was to me as if my grandfather had seen me happy, and now he knew it was time to go.

The only problem was, I couldn't find the words to say it.

The Tuesday following Richmond, my mother told me that it was time I express to my grandfather that I would be OK if he passed away, that I didn't want him to suffer anymore, and that everything would be fine.

I couldn't do it.

Tears fell from my eyes, my knees buckled and my throat clogged as I left my grandparents' house that night and never let him know exactly how I felt.

It wasn't that I wanted him to live just so that he couldn't leave me, or that I wanted him to suffer, but I couldn't turn into the person that gives someone, a close family member, the permission to die.

To this day, that is something that will continue to eat away at me and be one of my biggest regrets.

Four days after celebrating Earnhardt, Jr.'s win at Richmond, my grandfather, Timothy Crandall Sr., lost his battle with cancer on May 10, 2006.

After that, nothing mattered to me.

Upon being told the news, I collapsed in the parking lot of my high school, went home, locked myself in my room, and cried for days. I paced on the street in front of our houses, just waiting for the nightmare to be over, and for him to come walking out the door to do yard work.

I watched racing, but with deaf ears, and I became a skeleton of the person I once was. I can admit that I didn't know, and still don't know, how to deal with losing someone that was that close to me.

I stopped going to church, something my grandfather and I would always do. The excuses started coming: I was sick or had work to do, and sometimes there really was work to do, but really I was angry with God.

To begin with, I've always had a hard time believing in a high power, and now I had lost all faith.

When my grandfather got sick and started losing a lot of weight and then all of his hair, when he was told that he only had a five percent chance of surviving, he never once complained to anyone in the family, he never asked "why me?"

He never really had to, since I was doing plenty of that for him.

How could He take away someone that had done nothing bad in his life? Why did He have to strike him with a deadly disease, as millions of other horrible people got to live their life?

Instead of going to church and looking for God in my time of need, I blamed him. I stayed at home in bed till noon on Sundays and waited for the race to come on, feeling like I had no reason to get up.

The racing though, didn't help much. I had put all of my grief on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s shoulders and expected him to be the one to make me feel better.

The only problem was, Earnhardt Jr. never won another race after my grandfather's death, and the more horrible I was personally feeling, all the more worse it seemed Earnhardt, Jr. was running.

A year later, things weren't much better.

Going through the first holidays without my grandfather at the table to make fun of something we were eating, or not showing up at dinnertime, claiming that my grandmother always starved him, so he needed to eat with us. My grandfather loved to eat, and when he got sick, he was never able to eat like he was used to. The only thing he was got were thick milkshakes or liquid morphine.

Gone were the days of him creating nonsense jingle that he always had to share with everyone.

Nothing felt right.

Nothing was the same, and being a person that hates change, it just became that much harder to cope. I continued to withdraw.

As the one-year anniversary of his death approached, I knew that things would be even harder.

Add to the fact that there were rumors swirling that Earnhardt, Jr. would soon be looking for another team to drive for, and was once again in the midst of a horrible/winless season, did not help ease my pain.

The day May 10 came and went. I attended school and tried to stay focused. I actually don't remember much more from that day. Most likely, it's blocked from my mind.

The next day, May 11, 2007, was a different story.

One year and one day after losing my grandfather, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announced he would be leaving the company he's driven for all his life, the one founded by his late father.

The driver that I spent so long rooting for, and had spent so much money invested in, was going to be driving for a different team with different colors and a different number.

In June, one month and a day before what would have been my grandfather's 71st birthday, Earnhardt, Jr. announced he would be joining Hendrick Motorsports.

Once again, whatever it was that was holding Earnhardt, Jr. and me together, was out in full force.

And finally, I thought, he might just win again.

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Love it or hate it, NASCAR's Chase for the Championship is the way the sport determines its top driver. It's also an entirely different subject for another week.

This week only days after Kasey Kahne scored the first road course victory of his career at what turned out to be a pretty good race at Infineon Raceway, the question is; should a road course be in the final 10 races of the Chase? On the one side, people argue that in order for a driver to show that they are well rounded they need to be able to show they can turn left and right. On the other side people say that NASCAR is a traditionally oval track sport and should remain that way.

So what do you think? Should a road course be included in NASCAR's Chase for Championship? And why or why not? source>>>

The battle to be--or stay--in the top 12 is becoming a weekly event. Jeff Burton finished 34th Sunday at Infineon and is outside the top 12 (15th) for the first time since Atlanta, the fourth race of the season. Stepping back in is Juan Pablo Montoya in 12th. Here's our weekly breakdown of the top 12:

1. Tony Stewart, 2,364. Smoke finished second for the fourth time this season and increased his lead over Jeff Gordon to 84 points. With 10 races to go before the Chase begins, Stewart can roll the dice as many times as he wants to secure more victories and the 10-point Chase bonus that comes with each win.

2. Jeff Gordon, 2,280. The best road-course racer in the history of NASCAR finished ninth for his 21st top 10 in 33 road-course starts. Gordon has been first or second in the standings for 15 straight races.

3. Jimmie Johnson, 2,207. Johnson couldn't corral his first road-course win but did finish fourth. He also smacked Kurt Busch while the two were running in the top five, sending Busch into the wall. Johnson apologized afterward. On a brighter note for Johnson, he didn't run out of gas for the first time in three races.

4. Kurt Busch, 2,084. Busch did a nice job of rebounding from his wreck to finish 15th. If Busch had finished 30th instead of 15th, he'd be seventh in points and 125 points ahead of 13th-place Kasey Kahne. Instead, Busch has a 170-point advantage.

5. Carl Edwards, 2,051. Edwards' streak of four straight finishes in the top 10, including three top fives, ended with a 13th-place finish. Still, Edwards moved up a spot in the standings. He remains winless in the Cup series but did--finally--pick up a win in the Nationwide Series over the weekend.

6. Ryan Newman, 2,046. A tap from Sam Hornish sent Newman on a spin on Lap 81, and Newman spent the rest of the race recovering. In the final 32 laps, he went from 36th to a 17th-place finish.

7. Denny Hamlin, 2,009. Hamlin had a big points day, finishing fifth. He moved up three spots in the standings and put some distance between himself and 13th place. He started the day 42 points up on 13th; now he's 95 points ahead. He also led 33 laps, second only to winner Kahne's 37.

8. Greg Biffle, 1,992. While running 19th, Biffle was sent spinning by Robby Gordon with 20 laps to go. That was costly. After the caution, Biffle restarted 37th, and he finished 28th. Biffle fans have reason for optimism: The next race is at New Hampshire, where Biffle won last September. And Biffle also has a win at Daytona, which follows New Hampshire.

9. Kyle Busch, 1,962. After starting second, Busch finished a disappointing 22nd. He didn't fall in the standings, but his lead over Kahne is 48 points. He is tied with Mark Martin for the season high in wins (three), but after four straight finishes outside the top 10, Busch's status as a lock for the Chase is no longer a slam dunk.

10. Matt Kenseth, 1,957. Kenseth made the best of an eventful afternoon. He crashed in the first half of the race while running in the top five--"my fault," he said. But in the final 20 laps, Kenseth was able to move up from 39th to 18th to salvage a decent finish and collect much-needed points.

11. Mark Martin, 1,926. Martin, the winner at Michigan, finished 35th and continued his yo-yo season, dropping three spots in the standings. He followed his first win in 2009, at Phoenix, with a 43rd-place finish at Talladega; and he finished 17th at Lowe's after winning at Darlington. He already has five finishes 31st or worse. He can't keep giving away so many points if he is to make the Chase field.

12. Juan Montoya, 1,917. Montoya said a lack of power kept him from challenging for a win, and he finished sixth at Infineon for the second straight year. Montoya is in the top 12 for the first time since the second week of the season. Now the question becomes: Can he stay there? Kahne is three points back. source>>>

The sight of Richard Petty standing in Victory Lane on Sunday with Kasey Kahne at Infineon Raceway had to bring a smile to the faces of NASCAR management.

There may not be a more recognizable face in the sport than "The King," and the return of the legendary Petty name to NASCAR's win list was a boost for a sport in need of reclaiming the mainstream media spotlight.

You don't have to understand the difference between Talladega and a track bar to know who Richard Petty is. Millions of people across the country no doubt got a little taste of NASCAR with their Monday morning cereal when the man with the famous cowboy hat and sunglasses was seen grinning from their sports sections.

The last time a car Petty owned won a Sprint Cup race was in 1999, when John Andretti did so at Martinsville.

And after the tumultuous recent history of NASCAR's first family in the sport, Sunday's win at Sonoma was about as sweet as any in Petty's illustrious career.

"You know, just winning any race, being involved in it, whether you're a mechanic or owner or driver or whatever is great, and it's been pretty good while since we won one, so I was trying to take it all in," Petty said.

What's currently known is that Richard Petty Motorsports has undergone a dramatic change in the last six months since the old Petty Enterprises operation merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

After starting the year with a solid effort for all four teams under the new umbrella at Daytona, the first four months of the season have been a struggle.

Sponsorship woes, the reduction of support from manufacturer Chrysler and other economic issues affecting the team helped put Sunday's win in the perfect-timing category.

"Naturally it's good for morale, if nothing else," Petty said. "But under the circumstances, as tough as it is for sponsorships and all this kind of stuff, it's a big plus from the Richard Petty Motorsports situation.

"I think if we are looking at things that kind of propel our sport or getting new attention, with Kasey winning the race, Dodge winning the race, and being on a road course, then it's different than the winners we have had before, and the rest of this season, because the people we have had winning races are the people that win every week or run up front every week.

"We have got a new winner, I guess is what I'm saying, and that causes a lot of excitement throughout the whole country as far as sports fans are concerned."

What has created excitement -- and consternation among some longtime fans of Petty -- is a possible switch from Chrysler to Toyota for the team.

Whether RPM will make the switch to the Japanese manufacturer is something Petty is not sure about yet, even though he understands the business of the sport will ultimately dictate the decision.

"I can't say because I don't know," Petty said. "I do know that we are looking at all options that we have got. We've been with Dodge all these years, and you know, we don't really know where they are at. We are talking to Dodge. We are talking to anybody that wants to talk."

"Right now we are in the process of trying to come up with what we think is going to be best for Richard Petty Motorsports, not only in the near future but in the future way on out there."

For NASCAR's sake the best thing for its immediate future and beyond is for "King Richard" to remain part of the sport and make more appearances in Victory Lane.

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