CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We were wondering when Kyle Busch's frustration over not making the Chase would come to a head.

We saw it on Sunday at Dover.

Shortly after finishing seventh due to fuel mileage in a race he led 302 of 400 laps, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver went on a profanity-laced tirade on his in-car radio against Toyota Racing Development.

"Thank you TRD," Busch said. "F----- us out of another one. Piece of s-- mother------."

Should Busch have been frustrated? Definitely. It was yet another good day gone sour, a microcosm of his season in which he has only one win in the Sprint Cup Series and none in the Nationwide Series.

Should Busch have lashed out at TRD? No. Crew chief Dave Rogers elected to go with more horsepower than fuel mileage in the engine setup as the other Toyota teams did. The team made its proverbial bed before the race just as teammate Denny Hamlin, who is racing for a title, did.

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Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesIt has to be frustrating when a driver leads most of the race and doesn't win, as happened to Kyle Busch at Dover on Sunday.

Both had to pit late for fuel, while winner Brad Keselowski was able to go the final 89 laps without stopping.

If Busch wanted to blame somebody for his seventh-place finish, he should have blamed the team. It was a calculated decision that would have worked had fuel mileage not become a factor.

But to blame TRD, to attack the engine provider in the way Busch did, was out of line. It quite frankly made him look silly and immature, an image he has worked very hard to change.

He seemed to come to realize that by Thursday afternoon.

"I made some remarks out of frustration on my radio at the end of last weekend's race in Dover that were very misguided," he said in a statement. "I owe my friends at Toyota and TRD an apology. We have a great partnership with TRD and they built me a motor that helped me lead over 300 laps and nearly lap the field. It's just frustrating that the caution fell where it did and suddenly it became a fuel mileage race and we were set up for maximum horsepower. Obviously, that worked well for most of the day and you can't control when the cautions will fall

"I think we have a great partnership with TRD and we will continue to communicate with them on what our team is looking for. I'm looking forward to getting down to Talladega this weekend and focusing on the race."

Hamlin had just as much reason to be frustrated. He had a potential top-three finish, maybe even a win, turn into an eighth-place finish. He is now 16 points behind Keselowski in the Chase. Those five or so points could prove costly in the end.

As we saw a year ago when Tony Stewart won the championship on a tiebreaker over Carl Edwards, every point is vital.

But Hamlin didn't erupt or bash the engines that helped put him in the Chase, the ones that may help him win a title. He acknowledged the decision to go with more horsepower over fuel mileage.

"We need to improve our fuel mileage, we know that and we'll work on that as much as anything," said Hamlin, who basically gave away the 2010 title because of poor fuel mileage in the next-to-last race at Phoenix when JGR built its own engines. "For me, I'm not too discouraged because we ran our ass off today."

That Busch reacted so strongly makes you wonder how that might impact negotiations for him to re-sign with JGR. His contract is up after 2013 and there are rumblings that he might look at options, perhaps Stewart-Haas Racing.

JGR president J.D. Gibbs acknowledged negotiations are taking place and he'd like to get a new deal done "sooner rather than later." Such outbursts by Busch make you wonder if it could be later or never.

I don't anticipate Busch moving on or this being an issue this weekend at Talladega. This simply was Busch's frustrations over missing the Chase finally erupting.

Frustration is good. It shows the emotion and passion that make him a top driver.

But in this case, it was aimed in the wrong direction.

CONCORD, N.C. -- Here we go again. Jeff Gordon with another promise.

The four-time Sprint Cup champion made good on his last promise to bring back that not-so-GQ-ish mustache he donned in the early 1990s if he made the Chase.

He shaved the 'stache on Monday, a day after his title hopes took a major setback when the throttle stuck and turned a potential top-5 finish into a 35th that left him 47 points in the hole.

On Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, while introducing the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" paint scheme he will use in conjunction with his "Drive To End Hunger" program in the October race, Gordon promised to break-dance with TMNT's Leonardo in Victory Lane if he wins.

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David Newton/ESPN.comLeonardo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame will be on the hood of the No. 24 Chevy at the Oct. 13 Charlotte race.

He even volunteered that his 2-year-old son, Leo, would break-dance with him.

"If I win, I will,'' Gordon said. "I mean, it might be light. I've got to teach Leo to dance. I've already shown I'm a man of my word. I can pull off a couple of little moves, and that maybe won't hurt me too bad.''

In case you didn't know, Gordon has been break-dancing since middle school. He went so far as to sneak into the school bathroom to practice because it wasn't allowed in the hallways.

Gordon showed he still has a move or two in him in December when he danced in front of the crowd at the "NASCAR After The Lap" event in Las Vegas during Champion's Week.

OK, he didn't spin on his head.

But at least he tried.

Gordon may be 41 and married, and he has two kids and is showing a bit of gray, but he's still one of the coolest drivers in NASCAR. With a break or two on the track, he still could climb back into Chase contention.

Hey, he made up almost 47 points over the final 10 races to make the Chase.

"We're not going to stop, we're not going to give up,'' Gordon said.

Believe him.

But Thursday was about family. Gordon came to the news conference featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- which will be reintroduced in a Nickelodeon television series on Sept. 29 -- with his wife, Ingrid, and Leo.

Gordon wanted Leo to see the Turtles, particularly Leonardo with the blue ninja mask, which will be on the hood of his car.

Daughter Ella didn't make this trip.

But as Gordon said, they're all excited because they wake up every morning watching cartoons on Nickelodeon.

"They would have been a fan regardless of whether they were on my car,'' Gordon said. "The fact that one of them is named Leo, my daughter is going to be jealous and my son is going to be pretty excited about it.''

Gordon's family brings balance to his life. That's where his attention has been the past few days as he's put the disappointment of Sunday behind him.

He's barely watched the news or read the newspaper to see what people have been saying about him. He avoided Twitter as well, although he admits he tweeted a picture of a car that drove into his front yard earlier in the week.

"I knew it would take about 10 seconds,'' Gordon said. "Somebody was like, 'Did the throttle stick?' I did get a good laugh at that.''

Gordon was all laughs and smiles on Thursday as well. He was in such a good mood that he made yet another promise that I'd selfishly like to see him have to keep.

CONCORD, N.C. -- Had Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon or practically any other driver in the Sprint Cup garage been caught on video grabbing the rear end of a fellow driver's wife during prerace festivities, we would be jaw-dropping shocked.

Tony Stewart does it and it's defended as normal.

Expected.

Accepted.

"It's good for me, at least," Stewart joked on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Stewart's two-handed goose of DeLana Harvick before Sunday's Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway has been huge in terms of Internet traffic. The video went viral, appearing on "CNN Headline News" among other major news outlets. It was all over Twitter with the hashtag #sneakyassgrabber.

Stewart spent more time Tuesday answering questions about the video than the Wounded Warrior Project that he was at CMS to promote for the October race. He reminded us he'd been goosing DeLana for years for good luck and it wasn't intended to be offensive at all.

As far as I know, there hasn't been any outcry from women's rights organizations.

Told the video got more attention than Brad Keselowski winning Sunday's Chase opener, the three-time champion said, "That's pathetic."

It speaks volumes about the society we live in.

It also speaks volumes about Stewart. Whether he's winning a race, knocking a tape recorder out of a reporter's hand or goosing a good friend's wife, he gets attention.

"Anything I do gets that attention, which still amazes me," Stewart said. "I guess it's a compliment."

It's why Stewart is one of the most marketable drivers in NASCAR behind Dale Earnhardt Jr., why he really shouldn't be all that worried about losing primary sponsor Office Depot for 22 races in 2013.

Like Earnhardt, who revealed this past weekend he has more demand than he can supply for spots on his car despite Diet Mountain Dew reducing its involvement next year, sponsors come to Stewart.

The three-time champion doesn't spend his down time cold-calling companies to see if they want to be on the side of his No. 14 Chevrolet. He has a marketing team that handles that. He usually doesn't get involved until the end to close the deal.

When it comes to sponsors, Stewart's personality is charming and appealing. They come to him because they know people will pay attention when he pushes their product just like they pay attention when he grabs a rear end.

And he wins.

It's why Bass Pro Shop reportedly will jump from Jamie McMurray's Earnhardt Ganassi Racing car to Stewart's in 2013 even though the sponsor appeared headed back to EGR before inventory on the 14 became available.

"Smoke" draws attention, and sponsors love that. It's why Gene Haas in 2008 basically gave Stewart half of his organization to drive for him.

Stewart immediately brought on Office Depot and Mobil 1.

"That's the whole point in having us a part of the team ownership," Stewart said. "There's nobody going to give half their team away just for the heck of it. That's part of the draw of us being a car owner is hopefully helping draw sponsorship."

Stewart would much rather be known for grabbing up sponsors, wins and championships than the rear end of a driver's wife.

But if there is one driver that can get away with the latter, it's Stewart.

JOLIET, Ill. -- I rarely refer readers to a competitor, but in this case it's worth the exception.

If you want a raw, compelling, personal inside look into the life of Dale Earnhardt Jr., you need to catch the "Note to Self" segment that aired Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."

The segment, which in the past has featured Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou and artist Chuck Close, shows Earnhardt sharing a note he wrote to a 16-year-old version of himself. In it he shares his inner most thoughts -- and fears -- on his relationship with his father, mother and career.

He goes outside his shy, private, personality to let us know what makes him who he is.

"It's probably nothing I would have volunteered to do," Earnhardt said on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, where he is about to embark on what he calls his best chance to win the Sprint Cup title. "I thought it was a good challenge, a little bit outside of the typical things we do, just to get outside the norm.

"It was not easy to do. I really don't like talking about myself. I felt like if anything I could make my mother happy. She really enjoyed it. I got a lot of really good feedback on it. I'm glad that I did it."

The transcript doesn't give you the full depth of the segment, but it is revealing nonetheless.

Enjoy:

"Now writing this letter to you is going to force me to think pretty deeply about my life, and you know thinking deeply was never one of your favorite activities. You always did and always will shoot for the C on your report card, anything more than that is always going to be a surprise to you, right?

"You just got your driver's license … your heart belongs to no one … and you're going to spend a lot of nights in the bed of your S10 pickup truck out in the field staring up at the stars worrying about your future. Your father's accomplishments on the race track already cast a pretty heavy shadow over your existence. He's going to accomplish more in the years to come and your fear of living anonymously and forgotten -- that's going to grow.

"You don't have much of a connection to your mother … your efforts in that regard are disappointing. In the future, she is going to become a consistent and prominent figure in your life … but you shouldn't waste the years in between, because her love is the truly unconditional kind. You shouldn't take it for granted.

"Living under your father's roof doesn't bridge the incredible gap between you guys. In due time, you will enjoy the most incredible relationship with him.

"Overall, you need to just be more sure of yourself. You're going to do great things, man. You're going to have an awesome life. You have a great heart and it's going to stay with you throughout. So don't be so timid and worrisome about the future so much so that you can't enjoy the present. You're there, worried about me here. You just need to have some fun, man. Jump in that S10, go down to Concord and cruise the strip. Because you're going to be here … soon enough."

Raw. Emotional. Honest.

"When you write something like that and say the things you say, you don't know how they're going to get received," Earnhardt said. "I looked at some of the other ones they [CBS] did, and they were incredible … as inspiring as hell.

"I hope to be able to accomplish that. I was hoping to put myself in that category with people before me."

You did.

CHICAGO -- The biggest news during Wednesday's pre-Chase media blitz at the House of Blues wasn't that Clint Bowyer is getting a new spotter or that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a contender for the championship.

It was Jeff Gordon's mustache.

Or mustache in progress.

Gordon vowed to his crew more than a month ago that if he made the Chase he would grow back that god-awful mustache he had in the early 1990s, when he entered the sport as a 21-year-old rookie.

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Bob Harmeyer/Getty ImagesJeff Gordon admits today the mustache he wore in the early '90s wasn't his best look.

So after finishing second in Saturday's race at Richmond, Gordon began letting the facial hair go.

It's still in that rough stage -- actually, it just looks like Gordon hasn't shaved his entire face for four days -- but Gordon promises to shave the beard portion and have a full-blown mustache by Friday's first Chase practice at Chicagoland Speedway.

And for the record, I can say "god-awful" because even Gordon admits now it wasn't a good look in the '90s.

"Trust me, it has nothing with being cool," Gordon said in response to a reporter's question.

Gordon's '90s mustache often was compared with that of one worn in the 1970s by men in a not-so-reputable profession. Since cleaning up his act and going GQ on us before his first championship in 1995, Gordon has become the epitome of style in NASCAR.

As much as making the Chase advances his career, the mustache is a step back.

And it likely will draw many funny remarks, such as the ones we heard from fellow drivers.

"He's got to grow back the eyebrows to match it, too," defending Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart said of Gordon's once-bushy brows. "It was kind of a matching set."

Said teammate Jimmie Johnson: "You can't leave out the mullet. I've seen discussions of old trucker hats, too."

"I'm just impressed," Johnson added. "I wasn't sure he had the stones to follow this through, and he's doing it gray and all. He's older now. His mustache is going to be more defined and he might not be so porn-stache.

"It might be more of a Tom Selleck."

Gordon admits, hair care products aside, there's little he can do about the graying. He also blames his wife, Ingrid, for reminding the world of his promise on Twitter after the race.

But Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson, who made good on a promise to shave his head if the 24 team made the Chase, are so thrilled to be in NASCAR's playoff that they would do just about anything.

"So we're committed," Gordon said. "We're committed."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We've been getting subtle hints throughout the past year-and-a-half of how influential Brad Keselowski has become in the decision-making at Penske Racing.

We got hit between the eyes with it on Wednesday.

"Brad Keselowski played a really big role in getting me in here and getting a meeting with Roger [Penske]," Joey Logano said while being introduced via conference call as the driver of Penske Racing's No. 22 next season.

Interpretation: When Keselowski speaks, his team owner listens.

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Jeff Bottari/Getty Images/NASCARJoey Logano, right, on future teammate Brad Keselowski: "Hopefully, we can learn from each other and make each other better race car drivers and make our team the best we can."

Keselowski actually convinced Penske to give Logano a look during the offseason when Kurt Busch was released after his meltdown in the season finale. But because Logano had a year left on his contract at Joe Gibbs Racing and JGR had no idea Matt Kenseth was going to be available to drive the No. 20 in 2013, the talks didn't go anywhere.

So when AJ Allmendinger was suspended and ultimately released last month from the 22 for failing a drug test, and with Logano in limbo at JGR with Kenseth signed to replace him, Keselowski went back to Penske.

"Brad had come to us last year and mentioned Joey's name," Penske racing president Tim Cindric said. "He felt he was somebody he could work with. That chemistry is so important."

Keselowski calls Logano a "good guy with a ton of talent." It's quite possible he sees some of himself in the 22-year-old driver.

Both have been highly successful in the Nationwide Series. Both won a race early in their careers, then struggled in ensuing seasons. Keselowski was 25th in points during his first season at Penske Racing after winning at Talladega the year before. Logano won a fuel-mileage race at New Hampshire in his first Cup season at JGR, then fell to 24th last season.

But as we saw with Keselowski, when put in the right situation, he flourished. He has won six races the past two seasons, finishing fifth in points a year ago and ranking sixth 25 races into this season.

Expectations are that Logano's career can take off in the same way.

"Joey seems from the outside at that point in his career where we feel we can openly provide him an environment where he can be successful," Cindric said.

There's no question Logano will be a bigger asset than Allmendinger. Logano's current and soon-to-be former teammates, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, can't say enough good things about Logano's contributions -- particularly this season.

"Joey has phenomenal feedback and notes," Busch said on Tuesday when Kenseth was introduced as Logano's 2013 replacement. "He's a great note-taker and does a lot of stuff that Denny and I don't do.

"I love Joey to death. He's one of the hardest-working drivers out there."

Yet more similarities with Keselowski. Few work harder or are more involved with their team than the 28-year-old from Michigan.

"Hopefully, we can learn from each other and make each other better race car drivers and make our team the best we can," Logano said.

The downside of this is Sam Hornish Jr. He has poured his heart and soul into becoming a candidate to drive the No. 22 next year, but ultimately Keselowski and Penske saw more potential in Logano.

Unless sponsorship for a full Cup ride steps forward, which is unlikely at this point, Hornish will be relegated to another full-time Nationwide Series ride with a few Cup races next season.

But as JGR officials believed they couldn't pass up the opportunity to sign Kenseth, Keselowski believed Penske couldn't pass up the opportunity to sign Logano.

And as we are seeing more and more every day, when Keselowski speaks, people listen.

"He's the one that called me and said, 'Hey, this is a great opportunity for you,'" Logano said. "He was pretty involved in getting me here, for sure, as he is in most of the decisions that happen here at Penske."

David Newton/ESPN.comHigh-wire daredevil Nik Wallenda coaches Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer across a cable set up at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

CONCORD, N.C. -- I am 100 feet above Charlotte Motor Speedway, my black Converse Chuck Taylors clinging to a 5/8-inch steel cord stretching 750 feet from the frontstretch grandstand to a crane behind Victory Lane.

I don't have a safety tether.

I could become a grease spot on the concrete below at any moment.

I am distracted by Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer, taunting me as though I somehow was responsible for the 150-point penalty he received during the 2010 Chase because his car was 39,000th of an inch out of tolerance.

I slip.

I recover.

I slip again, and plummet to earth.

OK, I was only 18 inches above the track and I had to walk only about 10 feet over the tightrope used to demonstrate what legend Nik Wallenda will do on the dimensions above before the Oct. 13 Chase race at CMS.

I'm not crazy.

Wallenda is. So is Bowyer.

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David Newton/ESPN.comIntrepid writer David Newton tries the high-wire act for himself.

Both do things few of us would attempt, Wallenda tightrope-walking over Niagara Falls and Bowyer driving 200 mph against the walls. They each are daredevils in their own right.

But as much as Bowyer is willing to put life and limb on the line, he does it with a steel roll cage encasing his body. He can't even imagine doing what Wallenda will before the Chase's only night race.

"It's insane," Bowyer said Wednesday. "I watched his Niagara Falls tightrope. That's high. If you look up there at the top of those grandstands … man, I'm telling you, it's a little nerve-racking to get up there and look over the edge.

"Can you imagine on a 5/8ths cable standing in the middle of hundreds of thousands of people just waiting for you to make a mistake and have a bobble? I couldn't imagine the pressure and feeling that goes through your mind."

Wallenda can't imagine the pressure Bowyer must feel driving at high speeds in close quarters with cars all around him. But unlike Bowyer, who couldn't be paid to walk a tightrope higher than 18 inches off the ground, Wallenda would jump at the opportunity to drive a stock car.

"I'd love to try going 180 [mph] around here," Wallenda said during the promotion for his event. "Each one has their challenges. There's a lot of danger in driving a car at 180. I have deep respect for these guys."

Bowyer's biggest risk was leaving Richard Childress Racing after last season for Michael Waltrip Racing. And it looks like it was a good risk to take. He's sixth in points heading into Sunday's race at Atlanta.

Wallenda's stunt will mark the 26th anniversary of The Flying Wallendas' high-wire act here in 1986. It's another example of how tracks try to provide great prerace shows as well as great races.

I'll be watching this one with Bowyer from the ground.

For the record, Bowyer made it across the cord during the demonstration. I was a foot short.

But I lived to tell about it.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesDanica Patrick's goal this weekend is simple -- finish every lap at Bristol.

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- You know your season isn't going well when you start quoting Austin Powers.

That was the case for Danica Patrick on Friday as she prepared for her first Nationwide-Sprint Cup Series doubleheader at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Patrick has spent much of the past week listening to comments and jokes about running over a shoe while leading Saturday's Nationwide race at Montreal.

She said that has evoked jokes about the Austin Powers movie in which the bad guy hit Powers in the head with a shoe.

"Who throws a shoe, honestly?" Powers said in the movie. "You fight like a woman."

Although Patrick's crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., says the shoe had nothing do with a track bar failure that turned into a 27th-place finish, it summed up the way this season has gone for the former IndyCar Series driver.

Patrick actually was asked whether she noticed what kind of shoe it was during Friday's media availability.

"It was dark with a light-colored sole," Patrick said with a straight face. "It looked really funny on the video. It looked like it disappeared. That sucked."

This season hasn't been too good for Patrick, either. She is 11th in the Nationwide standings with three finishes of 27th or worse in her past four starts. Criticism has gotten to the point that Tony Stewart, her team owner in the Sprint Cup Series, is on a "lay off her" campaign.

"I can't remember having this much bad luck in forever," Patrick said. "I don't ever remember feeling like I just can't seem to catch a break for so long and in such big ways, sometimes."

Things likely won't get any easier at Bristol as Patrick makes her Cup debut at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile Track." She finished 19th, two laps down, in the spring Nationwide race and 33rd, 50 laps down after a crash, in last year's spring Nationwide race.

Her goal?

"Finishing all the laps is the most important thing to me," Patrick said.

And avoiding more Austin Powers jokes.

Joey Logano may be faced with the toughest decision of his young career.

He also may be faced with the easiest.

If one of his two offers for a 2013 Sprint Cup ride indeed is from Penske Racing to drive the No. 22 -- or even a third Penske car -- it could be a no-brainer unless Joe Gibbs Racing comes up with sponsorship in a hurry.

Logano, 22, has been with JGR since he was 16. The organization has a lot invested in him and Logano has a lot invested in the organization. There are loyalty issues on both sides.

But without a guarantee of sponsorship to drive a full season in 2013 and beyond, and with primary sponsor Home Depot likely going to Matt Kenseth next year, the opportunity to latch on with Shell Pennzoil or another sponsor at Penske would be too good to pass up.

Here's what we know: Logano has two offers on the table, including one from Gibbs. The JGR offer depends on sponsorship, and team owner Joe Gibbs said Wednesday on ESPN that "everything is up in the air'' with Logano.

Without directly addressing Kenseth, Gibbs said he hoped to be able to announce something in two weeks, when the Cup series coincidentally will be in Atlanta, the headquarters for Home Depot.

Logano said last week he should have clarity in a few days to two weeks, with the two weeks now in the equation since a few days have passed. He also was noncommittal on whether he preferred to stay at JGR.

Team owner Roger Penske said last weekend at Watkins Glen he hoped to have an announcement on the No. 22 by the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway the weekend of Sept. 16. He didn't rule out Sam Hornish Jr., who has been in the car since AJ Allmendinger was suspended and subsequently released for failing a drug test.

Penske also suggested there are other options.

However this saga unfolds, it will happen in the next month, probably in two weeks. The longer it goes on, the more it feels like Logano will leave JGR.

Predicting where Logano lands may be easier than who will win the title, or even make the Chase as a wild card.

So I reached out to RJ Bell of Pregame.com in Las Vegas. Here are his latest odds for winning the title: Jimmie Johnson, 2.5-1; Tony Stewart, 7-1; Denny Hamlin, 8-1; Brad Keselowski, 9-1; Dale Earnhardt Jr., 9-1; Kasey Kahne, 10-1; Matt Kenseth, 10-1; Greg Biffle, 10-1; Kevin Harvick, 15-1; Jeff Gordon, 15-1; Kyle Busch, 18-1; Carl Edwards, 25-1; Clint Bowyer, 25-1; Martin Truex Jr., 30-1; Ryan Newman, 75-1; Joey Logano, 75-1.

Bell doesn't set odds on who will earn the two wild-card spots, but as you can see by the odds, Kahne and Gordon are favored.

LONG POND, Pa. -- There's something in the water in the Sprint Cup garage.

Babies are turning up left and right. OK, all left since that's the way they turn in this sport with the exception of road courses.

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Sam Hornish Jr. all have become fathers in the past few years, several in the past few months.

Now it's Denny Hamlin's turn.

The difference between Hamlin and the rest is they're all married.

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Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesDenny Hamlin and girlfriend Jordan Fish attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion's Week Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas last December.

"No need to rush into anything," Hamlin said on Friday at Pocono Raceway as he delivered the news that he and girlfriend Jordan Fish are expecting in January.

But we can rush into picking names. If it's a boy, Michael Jordan Hamlin might work since the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is good friends with Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan.

Or maybe Bubba Hamlin after Hamlin's good golfing buddy and Masters champion Bubba Watson. Or maybe General Lee Hamlin after Watson's "Dukes of Hazzard" car. Or Fed Ex Hamlin after his primary sponsor.

If it's a girl, maybe Butter Hamlin after Hamlin's nightclub in Charlotte. Or Michelle Jordan Hamlin. Or Toyota Hamlin. Or Jordan Jordan Hamlin. Chesterfield Hamlin.

If you have any better suggestions, please send them.

Hamlin admits he'll lean heavily on his parents, Dennis and Mary Lou, who he said were inspirational while raising him.

"My family has done a lot for me to get to this point, obviously, and just all of the sacrifices and all that they've gone through," Hamlin said. "My dad tells me all of the time that some of the best times he had is just carrying me around in his pickup truck every day taking me to work with him and things like that.

"It's going to be a great experience, and so I'm really excited about it and really just excited to be a part of it. For my parents to have grandkids is all going to be good."

Later, he added, "I turned out just fine, other than my head's all turned around at times."

He got that right.

Congrats.