RPM.ESPN.com takes a look at what went down in the racing world this past weekend.

	Fukuyama pre-race ritual?

Biggest surprise: Tony Pedregon scorching Funny Car and giving boss/teammate John Force something to worry about.

Rookie Jimmie Johnson. Winning a race? Nah, not surprising anymore. But sitting second in points with the clock ticking? Even Miss Cleo couldn't have seen that coming.

Who says you need sponsorships to win? Scott Wimmer proved in Saturday's Busch Series race that drivers can win, even without the fancy logos on the hood of their cars. The owner of the No. 23 that Wimmer drove, Bill Davis, wasn't even sure the team could afford to race this year, but the team persevered and earned its first victory of the season -- the first of Wimmer's career.

Biggest disappointment: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading the way for a while on Sunday. What happened? There still seem to be ghosts in the DEI machine. Also, Ricky Craven faded after leading, but he only dropped to ninth -- strong finish. And Jeff Gordon -- he said he shouldn't have been back there, anyway, but sometimes it's far more interesting to watch what a good driver can do with a bad car. Gordon didn't get a chance to do that on Sunday.

Gutsy move: Hideo Fukuyama. He didn't run with the pace and was a bunch of laps down before his car quit. But he got out there and ran some clean laps -- it's a start.

And the IRL was the big winner this week. Not because Michael Andretti, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti announced that they were heading to the IRL in 2003, but because Franchitti brings Ashley Judd along with him. There's CART's bigger loss. Maybe someone can set Bruno Junqueira or Cristiano da Matta up with Angelina Jolie now that she's available ...

Also, Larry Dixon taking down Kenny Bernstein in the semifinals at Memphis on Sunday en route to scoring the Top Fuel win. Dixon did his own dirty work.

And Wimmer used a quick pit stop to help him to his first career Busch win. Start planning for the great Cup rookie class of '04 ...

Boneheaded move: In the Trucks, Mike Bliss scored the win in an unusual Green-White-Yellow-Checkered finish. Despite Saturday's confusion at South Boston, Va., NASCAR needs to adopt this rule for Winston Cup and Busch. Finishes under yellow? Boneheaded.

Redemption: The Winston Cup points race. OK, it's been jam-packed for a while, but one oft-heard criticism was that no driver really wanted it. Well, the top three -- Mark Martin -- who is a man on a mission at this point -- Johnson and Tony Stewart -- have been stepping up their efforts as of late. Don't be surprised to see the race tighten at the top while it spreads out a bit further back in the top 10.

General amazement: Ryan Newman. Running up front. Spins, but manages to stay off the wall. Manages to work his way back into the top-10 for an eighth-place finish. Impressive.

General amazement II: Tony Cardamore, the jack man for Mike Skinner, was hit by the No. 4 car as Skinner entered the pits for a scheduled stop on Lap 239 at Dover. Cardamore rolled across the hood, but continued with the pit stop uninjured. Sign that man up for the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line!

Random stat: Rookies Newman and Johnson won points races in back-to-back weekends, the first time in Winston Cup history rookies have pulled off that feat. In 2000, Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth won back-to-back points races, but The Winston was run in between that. No matter, Earnhardt Jr. was the winner in The Winston that year.

Random thought: Why is it that no one had a hissy fit when Bobby Labonte carried the phrase "Let's Roll!" on his car but Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden took it in the earhole for several weeks when he tried to use that slogan to motivate his players throughout the season? Action Performance is actually creating No. 18 Let's Roll die-cast cars and donating 100 percent of the the profits to the Todd Beamer Foundation, the namesake of the passenger on United Airlines flight 93 who made the phrase famous. Both athletic figures should be commended for honoring the memory of the heroes of September 11.

Quote: "In the beginning of the year, we just wanted to make races. I had no idea that with eight races to go that we'd be in this position. He's a heck of a talent.'' -- Owner Rick Hendrick, on Jimmie Johnson.

Photo: Check out the photo of the week. MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi riding his steed into the sunset.

Tell us what you think: Share your thoughts with us about the weekend's action.

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