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.

The rain stopped just in time for the race to begin, and didn’t start up again until the race was over. It seems even the Heavens above were excited about a big race in a big state.

HeartRacers:

• We give credit to Minka Kelly, Wally Dallenbach’s guest passenger on ‘Wally’s World’. Despite being at the mercy of Dallenbach during the ride, she still had enough mettle to tease him about the ‘scratches’ on the side of his car. This just encouraged him, though, to state that there weren’t any yet; and then scared her with a close call to the wall. Good fun.

• Anyone who has been a NASCAR fan for any length of time had to experience feelings of sadness as ‘Texas Terry’ Labonte took his seat in his No. 44 Chevy for the last time. The ‘Thank You Terry’ signs on the grass and above the stands, and the special paint scheme honoring this racing legend were all terrific. Hearting Labonte’s daughter, Kristen, call out, “Dad, for the last time, start your engine”, was very special. You will be missed, Terry Labonte.

• Kyle Petty (No. 45 Dodge) started in 35th place. However, the end of the race found him in 11th position. That moved him up a spot in the standings to 32nd, keeping both of the Petty Enterprises cars in the top 35 in the standings. That’s great news for the Petty fans.

• We would like to award the HeartRacers ‘Grit Award’ to Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Chevy). Despite feeling ill with the flu, he overcame a car that wasn’t always easy to drive and a spin on lap 166 to finish sixth, and move up one spot in the Chase standings to third.

• Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Ford) had to overcome a penalty for speeding on pit road and a spin on lap 331 to finish 12th, after starting 36th. While he lost the lead in the points standings to Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Chevy), he is only 17 points back.

• Tony Stewart (No. 20 Chevy) might not be in the Chase, but he is sure setting the Cup series on fire. For the second week in a row we find Stewart the winner, and the owner of another cool trophy.

HeartBreakers:

• Mark Martin (No. 6 Ford) had to start the race in a back up car due to a wreck in final practice. Apparently they never got the car where they needed it to be, and a third of the way into the race found Martin a lap down. He finished 22nd, and fell another spot in the Chase standings to ninth.

• We send out HeartBreakers sighs to Ken Schrader (No. 21 Ford), Sterling Marlin (No. 14 Chevy), Robby Gordon (No. 7 Chevy), and Michael Waltrip (No. 55 Dodge). All had particularly lousy days, and ended up near (or at, as in the case of Waltrip) the back of the pack.

• On lap 89 Jeff Burton (No. 31 Chevy) blew a tire and found himself in the wall. The flames that followed him up the track more or less signified the charred remains of his remaining chance to win the Cup chase.

• Lots of gamblers were betting on Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge) to be the victor at the race on Sunday. For a time, it seemed it was a good bet. However, a failed engine did Kahne in on lap 327. This misfortune found Kahne at the bottom of the Chase standings in 10th.

• We believe the biggest HeartBreaker goes to the post-race exchanges between Kevin (No. 29 Chevy) and DeLana Harvick, and some members of the No. 10 team of Scott Riggs. The wreck on lap 331 in which Riggs’ car was heavily damaged appeared to have been caused by either slight contact by Harvick, or air being taken off of the back of the car. Either way, apparently the No. 10 team didn’t appreciate it, and verbal arguments went physical. As of this writing it is still being sorted out, but we were sorry to hear about any physical confrontations between anyone.