Chase leader Jeff Burton suffered engine failure yesterday in the Subway 500 and left the race for the Nextel Cup wide open with only four races left. Jimmie Johnson won the race, putting him just 41 points of new Chase leader Matt Kenseth and five points behind Kevin Harvick in second.

You may be wondering why I'm covering NASCAR when pretty much no other blog will admit that driving cars in circles for hours on end is a sport. My response: well, somebody has to. Sure, the sport is entirely too white, and it's a waste of precious fossil fuels, and the corporate sponsorship has gotten entirely out of control, but… those good ol' boys are kind of endearing. I even watched a couple laps because the only 1 o'clock game in New York was Jets-Lions. Ugh, right?

So don't hate NASCAR. It can be pretty entertaining once you start to understand some of the tactics and the drivers' personalities. Except when it's a 500-mile race on a half-mile track, like it was yesterday. Good God, it was like watching go-carts on a slick track. Or paint drying. If paint drying had a running ticker with a corporate sponsorship.

Wow, when I started this post I really meant to say something positive. Sorry folks, this is just the kind of person I am.