Matt wins league; Joe 2nd; Quang breaks even

Our 2010 fantasy NASCAR season ended with a bang, as Quang's team rallied to break exactly even for the year with a team-race win at the Ford 400 on Sunday; #1 overall pick Jimmie Johnson won $20 for Brad with his fifth consecutive Cup title; and Matt's Carl Edwards got the individual win to boost the Smoke Bombs to a league-best +$50 for the year.

The final money standings are below, along with today's top two. Let's construct the payment plan as follows:

* Todd pays Brad his $43 in losses

* Brad (who owes $12 himself) pays Matt $50 and Joe $5

* I'll pay Joe $21 to cover my losses

Ford 400 results

Racin' Kahne (Quang), 54 -- Allmendinger (5), Kahne (6), Keselowski (13), Hamlin (14), Martin (16)

Smoke Bombs (Matt), 56 -- Edwards (1), Newman (7), Stewart (8), Menard (19), McMurray (21)

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)

1. Smoke Bombs -- $59/$126/$10/$195 (+$50)

2. Paper Chasers -- $44/$117/$10/$171 (+$26)

3. Racin' Kahne -- $56/$84/$5/$145 (Even)

4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $42/$56/$35/$133 (-$12)

5. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)

6. Shake & Bake -- $52/$35/$15/$102 (-$43)

Down the stretch ... 1 to go!

Two more races have passed, and there's one race to go with $41 in prize money at stake.

At Texas, Quang's Racin' Kahne recorded a sweep with Denny Hamlin (1st) and Mark Martin (3rd) leading the way to a team score of 64 points, beating out the Smoke Bombs (76), Shake N Bake (76) and the Cheatin' Cheaters (78).

At Phoenix, Foges' Smoke Bombs moved back into the money lead -- possibly for good -- with a sweep. A 1-2 finish from Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman led to a team score of 59, which outdistanced the second-place Cheaters' 69.

What's left to settle:

* The $7/$14 in race prize money from Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami.

* The $20 award for owning the Cup champion.

Only Shake N Bake is assured of losing money. Racin' Kahne can vault into positive turf if Denny Hamlin wins the Sprint Cup title. Redneck Tribe would have to sweep the individual and team prizes this week to break even. And the Cheaters could catapult into plus ground with a Jimmie Johnson championship and at least a team win at Miami.

Good luck, and we'll arrange to settle up after Sunday's race (only Joe paid his full entry fee of $145).

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)

1. Smoke Bombs -- $52/$126/$10/$188 (+$43)

2. Paper Chasers -- $44/$117/$10/$171 (+$26)

3. Racin' Kahne -- $56/$70/$5/$131 (-$14)
4. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)

5. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $42/$56/$15/$113 (-$32)

6. Shake & Bake -- $52/$35/$15/$102 (-$43)

Three to go

Two overdue races to report:

Quang's Racin'' Kahne swept the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, a result that guaranteed that everyone will finish with at least $100 in "earnings" (less the $145 entry fee). So, basically nobody is going to get screwed this year. Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin finished 1-2 to fuel Quang's team score of 39.

At our last mid-major, Talladega, Todd's Shake N Bake squad got awarded the individual win (worth $9) and Joe's squad jumped back into the money lead by outdistancing my Redneck Tribe, 63-77, for an $18 prize.

Up next: AAA 500 in Fort Worth on Sunday, a standard $7/$14 event.

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)

1. Paper Chasers -- $44/$117/$10/$171 (+$26)

2. Smoke Bombs -- $45/$112/$10/$167 (+$22)

3. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)

4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $42/$56/$15/$113 (-$32)

5. Racin' Kahne -- $49/$56/$5/$110 (-$35)
6. Shake & Bake -- $52/$35/$15/$102 (-$43)

Slow and steady ...

Joe became the second owner to drive into positive turf, outpacing Bradd in a hotly contested team race at the Bank of America 500 in Charlotte on Saturday night.

Both owners put all five drivers in the top 20, but Joe's fourth driver (Regan Smith, 13th) proved to be the difference (Brad's fourth driver was Scott Speed, 19th).

Matt extended his team lead with Jamie McMurray's $7 W.

Up next: TUMS Fast Relief 500 on Sunday at Martinsville, a standard $7/$14 event.

1. Paper Chasers (Joe) - 50

Kyle Busch (18) - 2

Kevin Harvick (29) - 8

David Reutimann (00) - 9

Regan Smith (78) - 13

Reed Sorenson (83) - 18

2. Cheatin' Cheaters (Brad) - 55

Jimmie Johnson (48) - 3

Matt Kenseth (17) - 6

Joey Logano (20) - 7

Scott Speed (82) - 19

Jeff Burton (31) - 20

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)
1. Smoke Bombs -- $45/$112/$10/$167 (+$22)
2. Paper Chasers -- $44/$99/$10/$139 (+$8)

3. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $42/$56/$15/$113 (-$32)

5. Shake & Bake -- $43/$35/$15/$93 (-$52)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $42/$42/$5/$89 (-$56)

What do you expect? It's football season.

Catching up on the latest action ... sorry for running behind. NASCAR has become an afterthought for me but the fantasy season goes on!

1) Price Chopper 400 (Kansas) -- Todd's Greg Biffle sped to the $7 individual win, while Matt's Smoke Bombs cruised to the $14 team victory with a sparkling 38 points (4-6-8-9-11), easily outdistancing Brad's 63.

2) Pepsi MAX 400 (Fontana) -- Matt got on the board again to extend his money lead, picking up $7 when Tony Stewart garnered the race win. The team crown went to win-starved Quang. Led by fourth-place Kasey Kahne, his team score of 63 outpaced Matt's 79.

Up next: Bank of America 500 at Charlotte on Saturday, a $7/$14 event.

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)
1. Smoke Bombs -- $38/$112/$10/$160 (+$15)
2. Paper Chasers -- $44/$85/$10/$139 (-$6)

3. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $42/$56/$15/$113 (-$32)

5. Shake & Bake -- $43/$35/$15/$93 (-$52)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $42/$42/$5/$89 (-$56)

Not quite as easy as 1-2-3

A fantasy NASCAR first? Brad drivers finish 1-2-3 and he does NOT win the team title at the AAA 400 in Dover. That honor goes to Matt's Smoke Bombs, who vaulted into the money lead with a 5-7-8-13-21 finish for a score of 54. Brad's point total (1-2-3-18-32 = 56) was killed by Scott Speed's 32nd-place finish. Brad does collect $7 thanks to Jimmie Johnson's race W.

A reminder that $20 goes to the owner with the Cup champion.

Up next: Price Chopper 400 at Kansas on Sunday, a $7/$14 event.

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)
T1. Smoke Bombs -- $31/$98/$10/$139 (-$6)
T1. Paper Chasers -- $44/$85/$10/$139 (-$6)

3. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $42/$56/$15/$113 (-$32)

5. Shake & Bake -- $36/$35/$15/$86 (-$59)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $42/$28/$5/$75 (-$70)

Chase update (revised N.H. result)

Catching up real quickly on the last three races and the Chase bonuses:

1) Atlanta: Foges swept with Tony Stewart's first win and a team score of 61.

2) Richmond: Quang got the individual win with Denny Hamlin and Brad secured the team race with 58.

3) New Hampshire: Todd's cheating first-place driver, Clint Bowyer, got him $7 while I edged Joe, 68-69, for the team race ... Joe's fifth driver was Casey Mears (38th) not Reed Sorenson (27th), which added 11 points to the Paper Chasers' score.

And since owners get $5 for every driver that made the Chase, the bonuses went as follows:

Brad: $15 (Johnson, Burton, Kenseth)

Todd: $15 (Kurt Busch, Biffle, Bowyer)

Joe: $10 (Harvick, Kyle Busch)

Matt: $10 (Stewart, Edwards)

Quang: $5 (Hamlin)

Chad: $5 (Jeff Gordon)

Up next: AAA 400 at Dover on Sunday, a $7/$14 event.

Money race -- Ind/Team/Bonus/Total (Net)
1. Paper Chasers -- $44/$85/$10/$139 (-$6)

2. Smoke Bombs -- $31/$84/$10/$127 (-$18)
3. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$112/$5/$124 (-$21)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $35/$56/$15/$106 (-$39)

5. Shake & Bake -- $36/$35/$15/$86 (-$59)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $42/$28/$5/$75 (-$70)

Paper Chasers' strangle hold

Joe is putting a strangle-hold on the fantasy NASCAR league, thanks to his 1-2 punch of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. And on Sunday, he found another 1-2 punch: Busch and David Reutimann, who took the top two spots at the Bristol Night Race to help boost the Paper Chasers to a $27 sweep ($9/$18) in one of our three mid-majors.

With two races before the Chase begins -- remember each Chase driver on your roster earns you $5 -- Joe has nearly reached the break-even point.

Up next: Emory Healthcare 500 in Atlanta on Sept. 5, a standard $7/$14 race.

1. Paper Chasers (Joe) - 62

Kyle Busch (18) - 1

David Reutimann (00) - 2

Kevin Harvick (29) - 14

Reed Sorenson (83) - 15

Regan Smith (78) - 30

2. Smoke Bombs (Matt) - 69

Jamie McMurray (1) - 3

Ryan Newman (39) - 6

Carl Edwards (99) - 12

Paul Menard (98) - 21

Tony Stewart (14) - 27

3. Shake & Bake (Todd) - 70

Clint Bowyer (33) - 4

Greg Biffle (16) - 8

Kurt Busch (2) - 9

Marcos Ambrose (47) - 20

Elliott Sadler (19) - 29

4. Redneck Tribe Motorsports (Chad) - 80

Juan Pablo Montoya (42) - 7

Jeff Gordon (24) - 11

Dale Earnhardt Jr . (88) - 13

Martin Truex Jr. (56) - 17

David Ragan (6) - 32

T5. Cheatin' Cheaters (Brad) - 112

Matt Kenseth (17) - 10

Jeff Burton (31) - 16

Joey Logano (20) - 18

Scott Speed (82) - 33

Jimmie Johnson (48) - 35

T5. Racin' Kahne (Quang) - 112

Kasey Kahne (9) - 5

Brad Keselowski (12) - 19

Mark Martin (5) - 23

A.J. Allmendinger (43) - 31

Denny Hamlin (11) - 34

Money race -- Ind/Team/Total (Net)
1. Paper Chasers -- $44/$85/$129 (-$16)

2. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$98/$105 (-$40)
3. Smoke Bombs -- $24/$70/$94 (-$51)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $35/$42/$77 (-$68)

5. Shake & Bake -- $29/$35/$64 (-$81)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $35/$28/$63 (-$82)

Oooooh, that's tight!

In the highest-scoring, tightest-jumbled team race of the season Jeff Gordon was just average enough, as his 27th-place finish lifted Redneck Tribe Motorsports to its first team win in a while. The Tribe's very high winning point total of 72 nipped the Cheatin' Cheaters (76), Shake & Bake (81), Paper Chasers (82), Smoke Bombs (87) and Racin' Kahne (95). Had S&B's Kurt Busch finished 30th or better, Todd would have won the team race ... but alas, Kurt finished 40th.

The Chasers' Kevin Harvick continued to show up the Commish, who graded Harvick as a weak second-round pick, with an individual $7 win.

Up next: Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol on Saturday, our second mid-major of the year: a $9/$18 event. (Kyle Busch is the favorite)

1. Redneck Tribe Motorsports (Chad) - 72

Juan Pablo Montoya (42) - 7

Martin Truex Jr. (56) - 8

David Ragan (6) - 11

Dale Earnhardt Jr . (88) - 19

Jeff Gordon (24) - 27

2. Cheatin' Cheaters (Brad) - 76

Matt Kenseth (17) - 5

Joey Logano (20) - 10

Jimmie Johnson (48) - 12

Jeff Burton (31) - 24

Scott Speed (82) - 25

3. Shake & Bake (Todd) - 81

Greg Biffle (16) - 4

Elliott Sadler (19) - 9

Clint Bowyer (33) - 13

Marcos Ambrose (47) - 15

Kurt Busch (2) - 40

4. Paper Chasers (Joe) - 82

Kevin Harvick (29) - 1

David Reutimann (00) - 16

Kyle Busch (18) - 18

Regan Smith (78) - 21

Reed Sorenson (83) - 26

5. Smoke Bombs (Matt) - 87

Carl Edwards (99) - 3

Tony Stewart (14) - 6

Jamie McMurray (1) - 20

Ryan Newman (39) - 23

Paul Menard (98) - 35

6. Racin' Kahne (Quang) - 95

Denny Hamlin (11) - 2

Kasey Kahne (9) - 14

A.J. Allmendinger (43) - 17

Mark Martin (5) - 28

Brad Keselowski (12) - 34

Money race -- Ind/Team/Total (Net)
1. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$98/$105 (-$40)
2. Paper Chasers -- $35/$67/$102 (-$43)

3. Smoke Bombs -- $24/$70/$94 (-$51)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $35/$42/$77 (-$68)

5. Shake & Bake -- $29/$35/$64 (-$81)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $35/$28/$63 (-$82)

Bombs away!

Break up the Smoke Bombs! In last place three weeks ago, Foges' crew has won three consecutive team titles as I have lagged on e-mail updates (thanks to Joe for keeping the league abreast to the results while I've been parenting and traveling). The Bombs swept the $21 at the Brickyard, led by Jamie McMurray's win, and won the team title at Pocono as Todd won the individual prize (Greg Biffle).

The second and final road race of the season saw Foges win the team race again, with his five drivers in the top 16. My beleaguered Redneck Tribe finally picked up its first individual win with J.P. Montoya.

Up next: Sunday's Carfax 400 at Michigan, a standard $7/$14 event.

(I'll try to get back in the groove of actually sending results next week.)

Money race -- Ind/Team/Total (Net)
1. Paper Chasers -- $28/$67/$95 (-$50)

2. Smoke Bombs -- $24/$70/$94 (-$51)
3. Redneck Tribe -- $7/$84/$91 (-$54)
4. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $35/$42/$77 (-$68)

5. Shake & Bake -- $29/$35/$64 (-$81)
6. Racin' Kahne -- $35/$28/$63 (-$82)

By George, Foges did it!

Vacation did Foges some good. After opening the year with a Daytona 500 individual win, there hasn't been much to crow about for the Smoke Bombs. But a team victory at Chicagoland Speedway in the Lifelock.com 400 gave absent-from-work Matt 14 fresh dollars. The week was made better when Foges was able to skirt by with no contributions to the George Steinbrenner One-Off.

Joe's Paper Chasers stayed hot with David Reutimann's indvidiual win for $7 more.

Up next: Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN), a standard $7/14 event.

Smoke Bombs (Matt), 48/1st

Carl Edwards (99) - 2

Jamie McMurray (1) - 5

Tony Stewart (14) - 9

Paul Menard (98) - 10

Ryan Newman (39) - 22

Racin' Kahne (Quang) 61/2nd

Kasey Kahne (9) - 6

Denny Hamlin (11) - 8

A.J. Allmendinger (43) - 14

Mark Martin (5) - 15

Brad Keselowski (12) - 18

Redneck Tribe Motorsports (Chad), 65/3rd

Jeff Gordon (24) - 3

Martin Truex Jr. (56) - 11

David Ragan (6) - 12

Juan Pablo Montoya (42) - 16

Dale Earnhardt Jr . (88) - 23

Cheating Cheaters (Brad), 94/4th

Jeff Burton (31) - 7

Matt Kenseth (17) - 13

Joey Logano (20) - 19

Jimmie Johnson (48) - 25

Scott Speed (82) - 30

Paper Chasers (Joe), 108/5th

David Reutimann (00) - 1

Kyle Busch (18) - 17

Reed Sorenson (83) - 27

Bobby Labonte (7) - 29

Kevin Harvick (29) - 34

Shake & Bake (Todd), 114/6th

Clint Bowyer (33) - 4

Elliott Sadler (19) - 21

Kurt Busch (2) - 26

Marcos Ambrose (47) - 28

Greg Biffle (16) - 35

Money race -- Ind/Team/Total (Net)
1. Paper Chasers -- $28/$67/$95 (-$50)
2. Redneck Tribe -- $0/$84/$84 (-$61)
3. Cheatin' Cheaters -- $35/$42/$77 (-$68)

4. Racin' Kahne -- $35/$28/$63 (-$82)
5. Shake & Bake -- $22/$35/$57 (-$88)
6. Smoke Bombs -- $17/$28/$45 (-$100)