Gardner (right) became the first Michigan driver to capture the overall title in the history of the Wisconsin State Red, White and Blue State Championship Stock Car Series when he rolled to the title Saturday night at Wisconsin International Raceway.

The event, which lists short-track legends Dick Trickle, Joe Shear, Rich Bickle, Alan Kulwicki and Kenseth as past champions, saw Gardner and his EMP Stewart Components cooled Ford add their names to the championship honor roll.

Gardner, who won his second Fox River Racing Club regular season feature event at WIR on Thursday night, got Saturday’s program off on the right foot qualifying sixth for the 24-car, twin 50- lap feature events with a 19.433-second tour of the Kaukauna, WI half-mile paved oval.

Starting deep in the field in the first 50 lapper, Gardner battled his way to a 10th-place finish. In the second 50-lap event, Gardner got the roll of the dice on the invert putting him on the pole for the event. There, the Gladstone, MI driver (left) grabbed the lead and held it for the first 30 laps before getting passed for the top spot. Gardner managed to hang on to the runner-up position and the solid finish - combined with all the points scored in the qualifying and racing rounds of the three-race series - resulted in the overall RWB championship.

Next up for Gardner will be a doubleheader weekend of racing action. On Thursday, August 24, Gardner will return to WIR for a regular night of FRRC super late model racing action. The green flag is set to fall at 7 p.m. Central Time. Gardner and his EMP OilMate sponsored Ford will then head for Norway (MI) Speedway and the third round of the Auto Value Series on Friday, August 25. Again, racing action is set for 7 p.m. Central.

While Gardner was adding his name to Kenseth’s on the WIR Red, White and Blue list of champions, Kenseth was making more of his own personal racing history capturing Sunday’s GFS Marketplace 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

Kenseth (right) led a race-high six times for 87 of the 200 laps on the two-mile Michigan oval in cruising to his 13th career Cup victory. An EMP Stewart Components/Yates Ford Pro Series Water Pump cooled his Roush Racing Ford Fusion.

Jeff Burton and his EMP Stewart Components cooled Richard Childress Racing Chevy won the pole and led the field to the green flag Sunday. It didn’t take Kenseth long to work his way to the front assuming the point on Lap 9. From there, the Cambridge, WI driver just bided his time staying as close to the front as possible in the track-position race.

The final groundwork for the victory came on Lap 131 when Kenseth protected that track position by staying out on the raceway when most of his competition pitted for fresh rubber and fuel.

"I'm notorious for putting four tires on and getting blamed for being way too conservative, so today he was running OK, so I thought, 'What the heck?' " said Kenseth’s crew chief Robbie Reiser afterward. “Track position meant everything and (Kenseth) always wants to gamble a little bit, so I thought I'd test him a little bit on those old tires and see if we could stay out there."

The move paid off as Kenseth held off several challenges before pitting for the final time after a J.J. Yeley spin on Lap 161 brought out another caution. A four-tire stop put the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup champion third in the running order on the restart.

Kenseth then quickly powered past leader Clint Bowyer, who only took two tires, and paced the final 32 laps in beating Jeff Gordon to the finish by 0.622 seconds. Tony Stewart finished third followed by Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Greg Biffle, Reed Sorenson, Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler.

Kenseth's win, combined with Jimmie Johnson's 13th-place finish, rocketed Kenseth to within 58 points (3,365-3,307) of Johnson in the Nextel Cup points chase. Harvick (3,048) is third in the standings followed by Martin (2,970), Stewart (2,959), Gordon (2,931), Kyle Busch (2,922) Hamlin (2,920), Burton (2,916) – all separated by just 54 points.

Earnhardt, Jr. is 10th in the standings with 2,881 points, 49 in front of Kahne (2,832), the only other driver with a feasible chance of breaking his way into one of the final 10 Chase positions.

The Cup crowd will now head for Thunder Valley and Bristol Motor Speedway for the Sharpie 500. The Saturday, August 26 event on the tight .533-mile Bristol oval will be televised live on TNT beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. MRN and XM Satellite Radio will also carry the event live.

The finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series at Michigan provided plenty of fireworks as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spun out Carl Edwards on the second to last lap to win the Carfax 250.

Edwards, Robby Gordon and Earnhardt, Jr. were at the head of the pack on a final green-, white- checkered-flag restart and remained that way heading on to the back straight. There, Earnhardt, Jr. jumped to the outside where he made contact with the back of Edwards EMP Stewart Components cooled Ford knocking it into Gordon’s car. Edwards (above right) spun to the inside of the track while Gordon slowed allowing Casey Mears to slip by before the caution flag flew officially ending the race.

The pyrotechnics weren’t over, however, as Edwards righted his car, steamed around the racetrack and slammed into the side of Earnhardt, Jr’s mount on the cool down lap. Edwards also later confronted Earnhardt, Jr. in Victory Lane to express his displeasure with the final lap tactics.

"We were having a good race and Dale just kind of spun me out and he ended up winning the race,” said Edwards, who was called to the NASCAR hauler after the race. “NASCAR had a nice meeting with me a while back and told me they were going to take care of that kind of stuff, but I don't know, I guess they're letting him keep the win.”

Gordon finished third, Matt Kenseth was fourth and Mark Martin – who won the pole in an EMP Stewart Components cooled Roush Racing Ford, was fifth. Denny Hamlin, Reed Sorenson, Kevin Harvick, J.J. Yelley and Jeff Burton completed the Top-10 finishers in an event that saw Cup drivers sweep the first 12 spots.

Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing Chevy – cooled by an EMP Stewart Components GM Pro Series Water Pump – is a near lock for the NBS championship with a 484-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the standings.

Next up for the Busch Series will be a slam-bang affair at Bristol Motor Speedway, Friday, August 25. The Food City 250 will take the green flag Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The event will be telecast live on TNT. MRN and XM Satellite Radio will again have the radio coverage.

EMP Stewart Components racer Tracy Gienger inched closer to the Marshalltown (IA) Speedway International Motor Contest of America (IMCA) stock car division championship by scoring his 12th Top-3 finish of the season Saturday night.

Gienger (No. 59 at right) started 11th in the evening’s main event and methodically worked his way through the field for the runner-up effort. Combined with an 18th-place finish by his nearest rival in the points chase, Gienger increased his division lead to 39 points – the largest cushion anyone has had all season.

“The guy was passed for second in the race was also second in the points,” said Gienger. “He dropped out shortly after we passed him and finished 18th. That made it a huge point night for us. Mathematically, all we have to finish is 20th or better over the final two nights of the season to win the championship. It's not over just yet, but I believe we can say the championship is almost in the bag.”

Gienger will try to sew up his first-ever IMCA stock car title when he and his EMP Stewart Components cooled Buick Regal Stock car take the green flag at Marshalltown on Friday, August 25. Racing action is set for 7 p.m. Central Time.

EMP Stewart Components racer Jessica Brannam and her mini-sprint racer headed to Spoon River Speedway in Canton, IL this weekend to take on the high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval.

There, the 15-year-old racer won here heat race by a wide margin before starting the main event from the sixth position. The tough competition and the hard, clay surface of the Spoon River track surface didn’t allow for much passing as Brannam had to settle for a respectable fourth-place finish in the evening’s main event.

”The winner of the heat race has to draw a number to see how many cars will be inverted for the feature race,” said Brannam (right). “I drew a six which meant I would have to start the feature in sixth place. I was not too happy about that since it is so hard to pass on a fast track like Spoon River. The race went well for me and I was able to pass a few cars. I had a very fast car, but I had to settle for a fourth-place finish. I am still very happy with this result since it is a very competitive division I race in.”

The solid effort was Brannam’s third-straight Top-5 finish and has her looking forward to her next event Saturday, August 26 at Sycamore Speedway in Sycamore, IL. Race time is 7 p.m. Central Time,

Brent Hanson closed the book on the EMP Stewart Components short track action finishing 16th in the IMCA Modified division feature event at Thunderhill Speedway in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Hanson will be headed back to school this week and will now park his EMP Stewart Components sponsored modified running just special events for the rest of the season.

Not all the action was on the oval tracks this weekend as the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals took center stage on the latest stop of the 2006 National Hot Rod Association drag racing tour.

Unfortunately, the final rounds of the event held at Memphis Motorsports Park were washed out by rain Sunday moving the championship battles in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Motorcycle to Monday.

EMP Stewart Components racers Allen Johnson, Warren Johnson and Kurt Johnson all scored first round finals wins in the Pro Stock division Sunday before the rains came.

Weather permitting, final round action will continue from Memphis Monday morning at 9 a.m. Central Time.

Looking ahead, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will return to action after a week off heading to Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, August 23. The 200-lap event will be part of a racing doubleheader that will also feature the USAR Hooters Pro Cup stock cars. The SPEED Channel will televise the Truck race at Bristol beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. MRN and XM Satellite Radio will have the live radio coverage.

Also this weekend, the Daytona Prototype team championship will be on the line when the Rolex Sports Car Series invades Infineon Raceway at Sonoma, CA. Saturday’s main event, featuring the defending Daytona Prototype championship team – SunTrust Racing - will be televised on The SPEED Channel Sunday, August 27 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

Make sure you log on to www.stewartcomponents.com every Monday morning throughout the 2006 racing season to read about all the highlights from the previous weekend and get a leg up on what’s happening in the weekend ahead.