Happy April Fools Day!

Honda Motor Company and Hendrick Motorsports plan to team up to race full-time in the Sprint Cup Series starting at Daytona Int'l Speedway in July, a source close to HMS confirmed in a story exclusive to yours truly.

A deal has been reached with Chevrolet for Hendrick to get out of its contract with the manufacturer that has helped the team win seven Sprint Cup championships since 1995. That deal is said to be in the "tens of millions of dollars" range.

Additionally, HMS has lost all of its manufacturer support from Chevrolet meaning that until the July race at Daytona, the team will be working nearly on its own and racing the 2007 Chevrolet racing engine.

According to the source, Rick Hendrick has been busy converting at least 25 Chevrolet dealerships he owns into Honda dealerships.

The deal will affect some of the Sprint Cup Series' most well-known drivers immediately, including new Hendrick driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt, a longtime Chevrolet supporter, is said to be in discussions with Hendrick to opt out of his newly signed five-year deal.

The plan is for Hendrick to lead a pilot program for Honda in the Sprint Cup Series running Honda Accords with a V6 engine that has secretly been approved by NASCAR. Honda does not offer an eight cylinder engine in its Accord line.

For 2008, more teams are expected to get onboard with program, including one with an IndyCar connection. Michael Andretti and Dario Franchitti -- who both have driven Hondas in their careers -- are expected to help create AF Racing and enter at least two cars with a Honda badge for next year's Daytona 500.

Coincidentally, AF Racing stands for April Fool's Racing.

The reports listed in this article come simply from the mind your's truly and by no way, shape, or form are they expected to be taken as fact. Instead, they are just a mediocre attempt at getting a laugh and improving at least one person's day in the world. If that accomplishment is met, then this article will be completely worth it. Besides, who in the world would want to race a six-cylinder engine?! Thanks for reading!

Aaron's 499 Pick 'Em

the standings.
after round 8 of 36 (Subway 500, Phoenix)

1. 75 points - geoffrey miller (1 race win 4-Top 5's, 4-Top 10s)
2. 45 points - trevor sager (1 race win, 1-Top 5, 4-Top 10s)
3. 20 points - drew owen (1 - Top 5, 3 - Top 10s)


Picks for the Aaron's 499 from Talladega.

geoffrey miller (75 points) -tony stewart.

trevor sager (45 points) - jimmie johnson.

drew owen (20 points) - david gililland.

Round 8 Pick 'Em Champ: Geoffrey Miller

the standings.
after round 7 of 36 (Samsung 500, Texas)

1. 75 points - geoffrey miller (1 race win 4-Top 5's, 4-Top 10s)
2. 45 points - trevor sager (1 race win, 1-Top 5, 4-Top 10s)
3. 20 points - drew owen (1 - Top 5, 3 - Top 10s)


geoffrey miller (55 points + 20 points) - jeff gordon. Gordon finally pulls in a victory this season and at Phoenix.

trevor sager (40 points + 5 points) - matt kenseth. A decent car and a decent run.

drew owen (20 points + 0point) - dale earnhardt jr. A late caution hurt pretty bad. Drew is now 2-5 when picking Junior to score points.

Subway Fresh Fit 500 Pick 'Em

the standings.
after round 7 of 36 (Samsung 500, Texas)

1. 55 points - geoffrey miller (4-Top 5's, 5-Top 10s)
2. 40 points - trevor sager (1 race win, 1-Top 5, 3-Top 10s)*
3. 20 points - drew owen (1 - Top 5, 2 - Top 10s)

Picks for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 from Phoenix.

geoffrey miller (55 points) - jeff gordon.

trevor sager (40 points) - matt kenseth.

drew owen (20 points) - dale earnhardt jr.

Round 7 Pick 'em Champ: Geoffrey Miller

the standings.
after round 7 of 36 (Samsung 500, Texas)

1. 55 points - geoffrey miller (4-Top 5's, 4-Top 10s)
2. 40 points - trevor sager (1 race win, 1-Top 5, 3-Top 10s)
3. 20 points - drew owen (1 - Top 5, 2 - Top 10s)


geoffrey miller (45 points + 10 points) - greg biffle. A solid day for this Roush driver.

trevor sager (35 points + 5 points) - tony stewart. Again, Trevor gets Stewart's lack of self control.

drew owen (20 points + 0point) - dale earnhardt jr. Had the car to beat today, but Tony Stewart allowed him to get taken out.

a new feature on rough clarity, a spreadsheet of the year's pick 'em results. (click to enlarge)

Samsung 500 Pick 'em

the standings.
after round 6 of 36 (Goody's Cool Orange 500, Martinsville)

1. 45 points - geoffrey miller (4-Top 5's, 4-Top 10s)
2. 35 points - trevor sager (1 race win, 1-Top 5, 3-Top 10s)*
3. 20 points - drew owen (1 - Top 5, 2 - Top 10s)

Picks for the Samsung 500 live from Texas.

geoffrey miller (45 points) - greg biffle.

trevor sager (35 points) - tony stewart.

drew owen (20 points) - dale earnhardt jr.

Some Photos (just for Chris)

the iu baseball team got wasted by Evansville 8-1.

ow.

Hey IndyCar, Get Over Yourself

IndyCar team owner John Barnes pitched an interesting idea last weekend at the Honda St. Pete Grand Prix -- what if the series ran a support race for the Nextel Cup guys? Said Barnes:

"We would make it where we would race on Saturday to replace a Busch or ARCA race, and they would race on Sunday.

Continue reading this over at the FanHouse