Jimmie Johnson (car No. 48): Didn't get a third straight win at New Hampshire, but he sure came pretty darn close. Last week: 2.

2. Carl Edwards (car No. 99): His third-place finish at Loudon was only his second best finish better than 12th there. Last week: 3.

3. Kyle Busch (car No. 18): Lost a season's edge at Loudon. He's had five top-five finishes in seven Dover tries. Last week: 1.

4. Greg Biffle (car No. 16):We had a hunch somebody was going to step up in the Chase and Biffle already has. Last week: 8.

5. Tony Stewart (car No. 20): Don't underestimate the value of this team rallying to finish eighth at New Hampshire.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (car No. 88): There's nothing wrong with this team that one day of things going right won't fix. Last week: 7.

7. Kevin Harvick (car No. 29): Not the best of days at Loudon, but this team has only two Dover top 10s since 2004. Last week: 4.

8. Jeff Burton (car No. 31): Dover could be a step forward. Burton has been 12th or better in his past seven tries. Last week: 9.

9. Denny Hamlin (car No. 11): It seemed like ninth was about the worst that this team could have finished last week. Last week: 6.

10. Jeff Gordon (car No. 24): This team reminds us of a Bill Cosby routine. "Jeff. How long can you tread water?" Last week: 11.

For the rest of the top-40 rankings, go online and visit www.thatsracin.com

Heck, NASCAR might as well provide the Windex. It does everything else.

The excitement of NASCAR racing is both raw and fan-friendly, although some Sprint Cup drivers might wish the eavesdropping technology wasn't so advanced. Or so omnipresent.

I'm just guessing here. But the last thing Tony Stewart wanted to see two weeks ago in Richmond when he lost the race and lost his cool was the in-car camera.

I base my hunch on the speed and force of Stewart's helmet being ripped off and slammed in the camera's direction, immediately after he and longtime crew chief Greg Zipadelli had a spitting match over the two-way radio.

Stewart

OK, it was just "Smoke being Smoke," which is why race fans love him or hate him but can't keep their eyes and ears off him.

"Good job, guys, we gave another one away today. Great job," said Stewart - biting off each of those last two words with sarcasm.

Zipadelli, a lame-duck crew chief who won't be following Stewart to his newly formed Stewart- Haas Racing team next year, reminded the irascible "Smoke" that cars "win and lose as a team" - so knock it off, or something to that effect.

Now this incident probably would've been spared by a "cooldown" period found in other sports.

NASCAR doesn't have a cooldown period. Rather, every race is marked for public consumption.

"I'm a huge fan of (NASCAR) fans having that kind of contact with in-car cameras," said Jeff Burton, another of the 12 drivers now entering the 10-week Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, which again makes TMS and the Dickies 500 its eighth stop (Nov. 2).

"But the trouble I'm having with it is that we, as drivers, have to understand that people are always listening," Burton said. "And (the networks) can play whatever we say - anytime - on television. That's a little difficult."

Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR's twotime defending Cup champion, feels the difficulty at a very personal level.

"Fans love the access they get from our sport ... and I do understand the good parts," Johnson said. "At the same time, I see a little kid wearing a No. 48 cap after a race that I was just going crazy on the (two-way car) radio ... it does embarrass me."

Sure thing. There comes a point in every race that driver and crew chief exchange pleasantries or even strategy that, as Burton put it, "isn't meant necessarily for millions of people to hear."

But while Burton and others seek "discretion," TV network execs seek ratings. And don't even suggest that racetrack officials start giving their customers less.

Big Brother is along for the ride ... and he's staying.