We've all been victims of inopportune circuit breaker problems at one point or another, and now Texas Motor Speedway is no exception.

During Friday night's Nationwide Series race, a breaker was to blame the track lights on the inside of the track went out, forcing NASCAR officials to throw a red flag to stop the race with 30 laps to go while track workers replaced the breaker.

Hopefully all of the track's breakers are in working order for Saturday night's Sprint Cup Series race, which starts at 6:30 p.m. CT. (Psst... stop on by for our live race chat.) The Texas race is the Cup Series' first night race since the rain-delayed night race that was the Daytona 500. And that race was further delayed during the event because of the jet dryer explosion heard 'round the world. No offense, Texas, but a boring old circuit breaker would be one bad sequel.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. Not pictured: Junior's Beard. (Getty Images)

He's a pretty consistent fixture at the top of the NASCAR leaderboard now, but it wasn't that long ago that Kevin Harvick had a nasty three-figure winless-race streak of his own, and for that reason he's plenty sympathetic to the long victory-free stretch of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"I feel sorry for him sometimes," said Harvick, who had a 115-race winless streak after winning the 2007 Daytona 500. "Just to live in his shoes on a daily or weekly basis and answer some of the goofy-ass questions you guys ask him is one thing in itself ... The first thing you guys will ask him after he wins a race is 'when are you going to win a championship.'"

Putting aside Harvick's somewhat skewed view of how the interviewing process really works — until very recently, the first question Junior got was always "what went wrong out there today?" — he's got a point. Junior is under constant pressure, and that compounds itself. Each week that goes by without a win makes it a little bit tougher, a little bit

Texas time, and that means it's Tony Time! Stewart has dominated at the last few intermediate tracks, and there's no reason to think he won't again this Saturday night. But the Roush boys have had a wee bit of success at this track as well, so could one of them give Tony trouble? Perhaps. Check out the Lone Star State takes from your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, right here.

Anne B. France. (Getty Images)When NASCAR announced its 2013 Hall of Fame nominations on Wednesday evening, a familiar surname was among the new nominees. Anne B. France, wife of Big Bill and mother of Bill Jr., was there among Rusty Wallace, Wendell Scott and others, and the reaction of many was along the lines of another France? Really? The family doesn't just have the sport to itself, it's got to turn the Hall into a shrine to self-love also? I received more than one email with some version of the disgusted subject line "A secretary?", and I have to admit, I wondered about the propriety of this myself.

Yeah, shows how much we know. In a column on ESPN.com, Ed Hinton gives us the real story on the woman who, in his estimation, is responsible for NASCAR as we know it:

I agree with many NASCAR pundits that Anne Bledsoe France shouldn't go into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the fourth group. I think she should have gone in before her husband, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., and her elder son, the second czar, Bill

Won't someone give this lad a ride? (Getty Images)Tough news for Trevor Bayne: a lack of sponsorship will sideline him for this weekend's Nationwide race in Texas, despite the fact that he's currently fourth in the standings.

Roush-Fenway officials said they'd run Bayne in the No. 60 in the first five races of the year in an attempt to get him some sponsor notice, but despite three top-10 finishes, it was no dice. Bayne will still run in the Sprint Cup race driving the No. 21 for Wood Brothers.

However, Roush officials were quick to note that the 60 is not closed down, and if any money was available for sponsorship (phone lines now open!) Bayne would be brought back on board at a moment's notice.

So why the trouble funding a guy who's won the Daytona 500 and is, by all accounts, a clean-cut sponsor's dream? Blame the biggest spenders at the Sprint Cup level. When major players like UPS and Best Buy cut back their investment from full- to partial-season sponsorships, that can open doors to other sponsors to take on "fill-in" races.

Video time! Your favorite Yahoo! Sports Jays, Hart and Busbee, kick around some burning questions this week. First among those: can Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually win a Cup this year? (Dude is second in the standings, you know.) Also: why no love for Greg Biffle, huh? Watch, enjoy, comment below.

b0614hallOn Wednesday, NASCAR announced its list of nominees for the 2013 Hall of Fame class. And without further ado, here they are. First, carryovers from previous years:

Buck Baker: First driver to win consecutive NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series championships (1956-57)

Red Byron: First NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion, in 1949

Richard Childress: 11-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series

Jerry Cook: Six-time NASCAR Modified champion

H. Clay Earles: Founder of Martinsville Speedway

Tim Flock: Two-time NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion

Rick Hendrick: 13-time car owner champion in NASCAR's three national series

Jack Ingram: Two-time NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) Series champion

Bobby Isaac: 1970 NASCAR premier (now Sprint Cup) series champion

Fred Lorenzen: 26 wins and winner of the Daytona 500 and World 600

Cotton Owens: Driver-owner, won 1966 owner championship with David Pearson

Raymond Parks: NASCAR's first champion car owner

Benny

No talking!Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: You write us with your best rant/ joke/one-liner at happyhournascar@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face.

So I spent the off weekend at this little golf club in a backwater Georgia town. I'd love to tell you that what Augusta National could use is more campfire smoke and piped-in Zac Brown music, but I don't want to lose my badge for next year. I was sorely tempted to shout "Go Junior!" during one of Tiger Woods' drives, but alas ... journalistic responsibility and all that. Anyway, I'm back now, so let's get to your letters.

First, a couple that hit on the same theme: what if they ran races without announcers?

Went to the 1960 Daytona 500 in diapers and haven't missed one since. Let's enrich my TV viewing experience! How about when I push the SAP button on my remote all I hear is the damn race cars?  ... While I love Mike Joy and would tune in to hear him read the phone book,there comes a time where we just want to see the race. I'm not talking about Larry Mac's dream of a "race" off of pit road, either. Larry, honey, if I want to watch guys change some tires I'll go cheer on the guys at the local Goodyear dealer,okay? The NFL did a game with no announcers, how about NASCAR trying one?

Hugs and Kisses,
— Liz