If you expect the unexpected, you won't be let down, especially at Talladega. The Amp Energy 500 from Talladega certainly lived up to its name as there was hardly any part of the race where something big wasn't happening.

Exploding tires is something that a driver doesn't want to deal with at any track, but at a track where the average speed is nearly 200 mph, it's a potential disaster. The drivers knew there was a problem even before the race began as tires failed in practice.

And what a problem it was. The first victim was David Reutimann, who blew a tire on lap 53, collecting Jeff Gordon along the way. Then came the ÔBig One' (or so we thought) just 15 laps later when Brian Vickers became victim number two as his tire exploded, causing himself and eight other cars to go spinning and sending us into our first red flag of the race.

A mere 12 laps later saw the next tire explosion when Mike Wallace fell prey. Wallace was able to control his car enough to prevent another big pileup.

We made it through almost 20 more laps without incident, content to watch the multiple lead changes and exciting racing. Then Denny Hamlin's tire exploded, sending him into the wall at 180 mph. Hamlin was dazed and was removed from his car on a stretcher and taken to University Alabama-Birmingham hospital and kept overnight for observation. Hamlin was released on Monday and cleared to drive this week.

With only 15 laps to go, Carl Edwards triggered an 11-car melee. We already had the ÔBig One', so we'll call this the ÔBigger One'. Many of the front runners in the Chase were affected in this huge pile-up.

If Jimmie Johnson manages to hang on for the rest of the year to win his 3rd consecutive Cup Championship, he should send a large thank you to Carl Edwards who essentially eliminated most of Johnson's closest competitors, giving Johnson the gift of leading the Chase by a large margin. Chase drivers involved were Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. This wreck brought out the second red flag of the day.

The end of the race was both the most exciting and the most confusing. It has been something that has been discussed all week and will probably be talked about for years to come.

Tony Stewart was in the lead when the last caution of the day was brought out for Jamie McMurray blowing a tire. Because there were less than 10 laps to go, it created a green-white-checkered situation.

With one lap to go, Stewart was being pursued by all three DEI drivers, and holding them off was going to be one of the biggest challenges ever. Regan Smith was in second and hungry for his first win. He made a half-hearted attempt at passing Stewart on the outside, then nosed down to the inside. Stewart protected his line, and Smith went below the yellow line, passing Stewart. Smith thought he won, but Stewart was sure that he had won since he knew first-hand that passing below the yellow line is not allowed.

Since 2001, drivers have heard the same speech every time they race at Daytona or Talladega. Most of the drivers can recite this speech from memory, but evidently it still wasn't completely clear.

This has created quite a bit of controversy amongst both fans and drivers. Smith thought that it was allowed if you could see the checkered flag. Personally, I hadn't heard that one before, but there were other more seasoned drivers that agreed with him.

Stewart wasn't one of them though as he himself was the first one to violate this rule in 2001. To add insult to injury for Smith, he wasn't given second place either since the penalty was enforced, he was scored as the last car on the lead lap, resulting in an 18th place finish.

I've talked to many throughout the week on this issue. I have re-watched the video many times. I agree with NASCAR, I wasn't seeing a grey area at all, but evidently, others didn't see it the same. In fact, it seems to be pretty evenly split. The way I saw it, Stewart protected his line and went for the win. Yes, there was some blocking, what's he supposed to do, move aside and let someone else have it? Smith also did what he thought was right, and he felt if he didn't go below the line that he would probably wreck both himself and Stewart. However, the way the rule is, if he had just moved back into place, he would have had second place.

Stewart was not one that had heard of the 'anything goes on the last lap' idea. Smith doesn't regret it though, nor does he blame Stewart.

He still thinks that NASCAR made the wrong call however, and that probably won't change. One good thing that came out of it is that this has brought a lot of attention to the young driver, and it's shown that he can race with the big boys. Maybe it will bring him the much needed sponsorship for next year. I hope so, I'd like to see more from him.

As most of us are aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This week there will be three very large reminders on the track as the cars of Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte and Elliott Sadler will be painted pink. These drivers are glad to show their dedication as they proudly drive their pink cars.

M&M's have raised over $4 million since 2003 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Labonte is sponsored by General Mills, who have already donated more than 4 million to the foundation. It's a very personal issue for Sadler, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.

To see how you can help, please visit www.mymms.com and www.PinkTogether.com.

Thanks for all of your e-mails this week! I'm hoping for some more exciting racing this week as we head to Lowe's. Please keep letting me know what you think by sending me an e-mail at letsgoracin@nascarfansforever.com

Til next week. ...