The Beverly Hillbillies song is wrong. California isn't the place you want to be.

However, after watching the tail end of the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, I began to wonder if maybe I might be wrong. With some major leaguers in the mix, the minor league provided some good action on the weekend, gave Joey Logano another win, broke some hearts and parts and was generally entertaining. Maybe Sunday's Blows Chunks 500 (or whatever they called it) would go against type and give us something memorable.

Well, to be honest, it was not half bad. It wasn't boring, though maybe it was a bit too relaxing in the early going. I darn near dozed off, but not quite. The Reader's Digest version had Denny Hamlin leading at the start, then Johnson, followed by Montoya, then Johnson again to take his fifth win of the season and the Chase lead. It was a bit more complicated than that, but you get the gist of it.

Johnson took over for Mark Martin by 12 points in the Chase standings, as the 50-year-old settled for fourth behind both Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya. Tony Stewart was nabbed for speeding, lost a lap, but rebounded for fifth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again threatened to take a top ten, but that ended when he got caught in a major wreck with a handful of laps left.

Talking about blowing chunks, Kyle Busch had the flu over the weekend so he stepped out to let David Gilliland slide in during the first caution. Thankfully he did not leave parts of himself behind, but the best the reliever could do was 24th.

Of course, that was after Gilliland had already parked his original ride in 42nd. Maybe it is just me, but if a guy can't afford to run an entire race, to buy the tires, the fuel and the guys to do the servicing, why even bother? Hold it, it is coming to me. Why stay at home when by qualifying you get a guaranteed $88,000 for just being there. You just have to keep those expenses down low.

Right now, this Chase is pretty much down to half a dozen gents. Along with Johnson, Martin and Montoya, we only have Stewart, Gordon, and Kurt Busch within a 121 points. The rest are 188 and more back, so unless the aliens come and take the leaders away, the rest are toast. Busch helped his own cause when he rattled his beast off the wall, then wobbled back to clip Kasey Kahne, who in turn pinballed Greg Biffle. Two for the price of one! Whatever works for you.

Sometimes a plan comes together, and sometimes you are Denny Hamlin. The pole-sitter was leading during a restart but made the mistake of cutting down in front of Montoya. Bad decision, as Montoya stayed on the gas, then landed on Hamlin's back corner to send the boy spinning. He almost missed the very end of the inside wall in front of the pits. Almost. Come to think of it, that is a good description of Hamlin's day after that. The pits.

Michael Waltrip is thinking about adding a full schedule of Nationwide Series events to his part-time Cup plans next year. You know, race on Saturday and strut on Sunday. Hey, with the late-race attrition, our man from Kentucky claimed 17th place at Fontana. It was Waltrip's best finish in four months, and close to the 15th-place result he had in California back in February. There is nothing wrong with Michael's car. They just don't race enough at his favorite tracks.

I see that ESPN has Carl Edwards on the cover of its "Body Issue" magazine. Carl is on there and I am not? He may be taller but I'm wider, thus more body tissue for the issue. I await their call.

The roots of my raising run deep, including a lady who loved me dearly and who followed by life's adventures closely. This week, Annie Thornton would have turned 100. My grandmother has been gone for more than thirty years, but she remains a cherished memory.

By the way, outside my house the temperature has been below the freezing mark for a record number of days. Must be that darned global warming. Still, I'm betting it will be a tad warmer when our boys hit the track in Charlotte this Saturday night. It is a place where just about anybody with tires, fuel and a pit crew can win at. Just ask Jeff Burton. That might give hope to some of the lads for this weekend, but not much.