Joshua and Cheryl have been offering up their own personal sets of HeartRacers~HeartBreakers for each race. The moments that stirred them for whatever reason will fall in the HeartRacers category, and anything that makes them wince, cry, or throw stuff will be HeartBreakers. All cawsnjaws readers are invited to add on their own to share with everyone.

It was another gorgeous race day for the drivers and fans, this time in America’s heartland. The race didn’t leave all of the drivers with a sunny disposition, though, as bad luck befell some big names in the Chase.

HeartRacers:

• On ‘NASCAR RaceDay’, there was a clip of Rutledge Wood visiting a local Haunted House. Carl Edwards showed up and joined in the fun. It was a kick to see Edwards jump at one point at an unexpected sound. So those guys do flinch now and then, huh?

• Jackie Joyner-Kersee was Wally’s guest passenger on ‘Wally’s World’. At one point she called him a good driver, but it was obvious she was just buttering him up because she wanted out of the car.

• Clint Bowyer’s (No. 07 Chevy) fans may have felt like they needed to imbibe in some of their favorite driver’s sponsor on lap 173. After leading or being near the front for the beginning of the race, he spun out. Despite damage to his car, though, he still finished in ninth place. It was a good performance by a driver in an injured racecar.

• Travis Kvapil (No. 32 Chevy) was another driver that had problems during the race (including smoke in the car) but due to good pit road strategy wound up finishing 19th. Pit road strategies also helped out Dale Jarrett (No. 88 Ford) who finished fourth and Sterling Marlin (No. 14 Chevy) who finished 20th.

• Fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Chevy) had cause to be a bit panicky around lap 140 as it was reported he had run over something. The problem was remedied, however, and he remained near the front. Averting problems and giving a good performance earned him a tenth place finish.

• Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevy) also could have finished a lot worse than he did. At one point during the race he was a lap down and in 34th position. But he and his team managed to put together a 15th place finish, and he lost no positions in the Chase standings (remaining in fifth place).

• Kyle Busch’s (No. 5 Chevy) fans had reason to smile. He did not continue with the awful luck he’s had in the last few races, avoided wrecks and other dangers, finished in seventh place, and moved up one spot in the standings to ninth.

• Mark Martin (No. 6 Ford) had reasons to smile by the race’s end, although we know how hard it is for him to enjoy a good performance. He started the race in 19th place, but finished third; and moved up three spots in the Chase standings to third.

• The points leader coming in to the race was Jeff Burton (No. 31 Chevy), and that was the position he held at race’s end. At one point in the race early on Ryan Newman (No. 12 Dodge) spun out directly in front of Burton on lap 15, and even made brief contact. But what could have been devastating for Burton was avoided, and he wound up with a fifth-place finish.

HeartBreakers:

• The band Heartland’s rendition of the National Anthem ended much better than it started, so if you muted your TV after the first few sour notes please know that it did improve.

• It was reported that Benny Parsons had his last round of chemotherapy this week, and they are expecting him to be in the booth at Talladega. Still, it’s not quite the same without him. See you next week, Benny.

• Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge) led the field from the pole, and was holding his own in the beginning of the race. After a hundred laps or so, though, he was reporting his car was tight. Near the end of the race, on lap 262, he spun on pit road with an empty tank. He finished 33rd, fell to tenth in the Chase standings, 273 points back from the top.

• Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Chevy) showed muscle throughout the race, and it looked like there might be some redemption after some lousy luck the last few races. However, he saw Kasey Kahne spinning on pit road and incorrectly thought there would be a caution and stayed out. This left him on fumes, and to make matters worse, when finally on pit road he was penalized for speeding. In post-race interviews his face was stony but he did his best to indicate that he’s down but not out.

• Halfway through the race Jamie McMurray’s (No. 26 Ford) miserable luck continues, after hitting the wall hard after a spin. He started 41st and finished 42nd. Not a stellar day by any means.

• After being fifth fastest in practice, Reed Sorenson’s (No. 41 Dodge) hopes must have been high for the race. However by lap 21 he was in the wall and then in the garage. He finished dead last in 43rd.

• We think that Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Chevy) wishes he could go back and erase some of the laps from the race, notably laps 147-152. During this period of the race he got caught speeding entering and exiting pit road, and spun out. He still managed to finish 18th, and even moved up two spots in the Chase standings to second. But had things gone better during those laps, the outcome may have been a whole lot different.

• We wonder what Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford) did to peeve the racing gods. Things started out okay, but by lap 134 he’s on pit road with his team trying to give him some power; and by lap 145 he was spinning out. He finished 23rd after starting eighth, and fell a spot in the Chase standings to fourth.

• If there are racing gods, they weren’t happy with Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Chevy) either. The familiar colorful Dupont car wasn’t a factor, and by lap 242 was sidelined with fuel pressure problems. A bad day caused a four-place drop in the Chase standings to sixth, and a 39th place finish. Ouch.