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Month: June 2011

  • Ford Michigan Cup Qualifying (Matt Kenseth Qualifying Press Conference)

    Ford Michigan Cup Qualifying (Matt Kenseth Qualifying Press Conference)

    FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES

    Helluva Good! 400(Qualifying) June 18, 2011

    Michigan International Speedway

    MATT KENSETH PRESS CONFERENCE TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING RUN. “I thought it was a great lap. We aren’t really known for qualifying and to qualify third is really good for us. When you look at the times and are only a couple hundredths off, you maybe wish you could do it again. I felt like we got everything we could out of the car and I don’t think we could have done any better in one and two and we were just a little loose in three and four. It was a great lap and they did a great job being ready for qualifying this week. We posted a pretty good lap in practice in case in rained and back it up today and improve on the practice time. It was great. It should be a good pit stall and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

    CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS RACE BEING IN THE MANUFACTURERS BACK YARD AND HAVE YOU SEEN OR HAD ANY INPUT ON THE 2013 CAR? “Every race is important to me. If you can do good or something goes good and can win then I guess it is probably extra special for Jack and Ford and those people around here and headquartered here. To me you want to do good at every race. When you come to a track you feel like maybe is one of your better tracks sometimes you feel, not extra pressure, but want to take advantage of that at your good places. You want to try to perform when you can. And no I haven’t seen anything to do with the new car yet.”

    THE NEXT TWO RACES, YOU WILL HAVE DIFFERENT PEOPLE AT THE FRONT, HOW CAN THAT CHANGE THINGS UP IN THE COMING WEEKS WITH POINTS AND WILD CARD? “I don’t look at it a lot different than any other season but every season it isn’t like you study the schedule but you know what is coming up and what tracks are historically your strong suits and which ones have not been. Looking ahead to the next three weeks, historically this has been one of our better places and certainly we want to take advantage of that and get a good finish out of that. Sears Point is probably one of my worst tracks where I am not real coordinated at to say the least. Daytona, I haven’t made it to the end of a plate race yet this year. This new style of shoving and all that stuff and Daytona being a lot hotter I think that might change things a little bit. You never know what will happen there, kind of like at Talladega. You could win the race or finish dead last and your chances probably isn’t real different for either one of them depending on how things go. Yeah, it could be a big swing in the points through those couple of weeks.”

    DO YOU THINK THE HEAT AT DAYTONA WILL AFFECT THE PUSHING STRATEGY? “I don’t think that will change a lot for cooling but I think the track will be slicker. My car was a little bit wrecked the first time at Daytona but back in the middle of the pack it was a lot different than it was at the front. It wasn’t nearly as easy to shove people around like it was at Talladega. With it being hotter I think it gives the possibility of the cars not handling as good and being able to spin people out easier. There are people that get spun out by getting pushed and I think that is going to be a little easier to have that happen than it would be in February. It might not be, but I think it might be.”

    CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PROGRESS YOUR SON ROSS HAS MADE IN HIS DRIVING CAREER? “Yeah, he has been doing really well and having a great season. He has won quite a few races this season and is leading the Midwest Tour points right now. He is actually racing tonight and is racing Berlin next Tuesday. He has had a heck of a year and I am pretty proud of him that he got in Clemson and yes it made me feel old going to freshman orientation with him on Thursday. I got to go check that out and that was a little different. I wasn’t smart enough to go to college. It is crazy to think that he is doing all of that.”

    KURT BUSCH JUST GOT HIS THIRD STRAIGHT POLE. HOW HARD IS THAT TO DO AS A DRIVER? “I don’t think I have had three poles in 12 years so we will have to ask David. It is pretty hard for me to get a pole every three years, so I have no idea.”

    WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HAVE TO DEFEND YOURSELF AS A DRIVER FOR THINGS LIKE WHAT THE GIBBS GUYS ARE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW? “I don’t even know where to go with that. I don’t know an answer for that question really. You go bring the fastest race car you can to the track and they are going to bring stuff that they think are going to make your car faster that is within the rules. Even if that is a gray area and there is not a written rule for it or whatever it is. The height thing at Pocono I have no idea what happened there. As crazy rough as that track is all the cars probably should have been low there afterwards. It is ridiculously bumpy to be going 200 mph there. I can see how something could happen there and it would be an honest mistake. The oil pan thing I don’t know much about. They tried to do something there to probably get the ballast where they want and make the chassis stiffer and do all that. I don’t know for sure that there is really a rule against that, I guess they just didn’t send it in to get it approved. I don’t think that is that big of a deal.”

  • Ford Michigan Cup Qualifying

    Ford Michigan Cup Qualifying

    Ford Michigan Qualifying Order

    3rd Matt Kenseth

    7th Greg Biffle

    18th Marcos Ambrose

    20th David Ragan

    23rd Carl Edwards

    26th AJ Allmendinger

    28th Travis Kvapil

    35th Mike Bliss

    36th Andy Lally

    40th David Gilliland

    DNQ Tony Raines

    TRAVIS KVAPIL, No. 38 FCA Ford (Qualified 28th) “It felt really good. I was pretty happy with my car yesterday and the guys did a great job getting it driving good. It is always stressful when you have to get the car in on speed and everything was executed perfectly this weekend. I don’t feel like we gave up too much in our race trim. We didn’t do much in race trim practice because we had to worry about qualifying, but I think we will be good for Sunday too.

    CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Aflac Ford (Qualified 23rd) “We were just a little bit tight there. The track is real slick. Hopefully that will end up top-15 and we can go race on Sunday. We have started pretty far back here and made it up to the front with a fast car. This is a place where you can pass. If there is a place to qualify poorly, it would be here. Hopefully we can figure out what we did wrong and fix it for next time.”

    GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 Red Cross/3M Ford (Qualified 7th) “It was a really good lap. The car stuck in one and two unbelievably. I maybe over drove it a little in three and four. I got in the corner and didn’t want to turn it across the center. I had to come out of the gas a little out of four. I have a great car for tomorrow. I am glad to have the Red Cross on the car this weekend. We will wait and see what everybody does. I think that should be close to a top-five or six spot.”

    TREVOR BAYNE, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford (Qualified ) “That was pretty good. I got a little bit free off and couldn’t get the gas down. I am happy with that run right there though for not being in the car in a long time. I think we will be really good in the race and our Nationwide car is good and this thing is good. Hopefully we will be there at the end. It feels so good to be back. It is just awesome. I am glad to be back in both the cars but especially the 21. It has been a long time. I am excited they held the cars for me and I get to drive them again.”

    MATT KENSETH, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford (Qualified 3rd) “That was a really good lap for us. We were just too lose in three and four and couldn’t quite carry the speed I needed to carry there. I am not the best qualifier in the world but that felt like we got all of it out of it today. That was really good for us.”

    DAVID RAGAN, No. 6 UPS Ford (Qualified 20th) “The heat might have hurt us a little bit. Some of the guys that went in front of us went pretty fast. We just missed it. It wasn’t a great lap. Our car was so good yesterday, we were kind of afraid to touch it and we probably should have made a couple of small adjustments. We have started worse here before and found the front pretty fast. I think our car is pretty great for Sunday and I feel really good about our chances.”

  • Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Keys for Michigan – Michigan International Speedway

    Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Keys for Michigan – Michigan International Speedway

    Saturday, June 18, 2011

    Dodge Motorsports PR

    Michigan International Speedway

    Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

    http://twitter.com/teamdodge

    www.media.chrysler.com

    KEYS FOR SUCCESS: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

    BROOKLYN, Mich. (Saturday, June 18, 2011) – Each race weekend, selected Dodge Motorsports engineers, Penske Racing engineers and crew chiefs, drivers or engine specialists give their insight on the ‘Keys for Success’ for the upcoming race. This week, Howard Comstock, Dodge Motorsports Engineering, provides the keys for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

    Track: Michigan International Speedway (Race 15 of 36 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)

    Race: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 (200 laps / 400 miles)

    Trivia Question: What is the fewest number of cautions for a Sprint Cup race at MIS? (Answer Below)

    HOWARD COMSTOCK (Dodge Motorsports Engineering)

    Fuel Economy vs. Tire Strategy: “Michigan is a big race track, lots of room for drivers. Consequently, we see fewer cautions here than at most places. Given the way that the early part of the season has gone, it’s very possible that we’ll see even fewer cautions than we normally see here. Fuel economy and tire strategy are both going to be big. Along with fuel economy, we have to remember tire economy. If you have to stretch laps to work out a fuel strategy, you have to make sure your tires last for that longer run. Team that try to stretch their fuel strategy will keep a keen eye on tire wear, being mindful of tire falloff. If you say that fuel economy is the most important key in this race, you best not overlook the tire component of how fast your lap times fall off with worn tires.”

    Wild Card Strategy: “The teams that are outside the top 10, but in the top 20 and vying for those two wild card spots (11th and 12th position), have got to start gambling. They have to start gambling for a race win because they don’t have a shot at making the top 10. There are some pretty strong performers in the top 10, but you could still make the Chase if you have a race win and are inside the top 20. How do you get a race win? You gamble by trying to stretch that fuel; gambling by trying to do one less pit stop than everybody else. If the race runs green at the end and you have enough fuel to make it, maybe slowing down a bit to save fuel becomes the strategy. There are several different strategies that crew chiefs will try to employ to get that crucial race win.”

    Trivia Question Answer: Three Cup races have been caution free at MIS (1973, ’84, and ’99).

  • Kyle Busch: Not New, Not Old, Just Distracted

    At the beginning of the season, all the talk was about the new Kyle Busch, the driver who was more mature, calculated on the track, and more accessible off the track even after a bad run.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]This was in stark contrast to the driver who previously would take any chance on the track to win, no matter who got in the way, and sometimes sulked, making a quick exit if things did not go his way.

    Currently, however, Kyle Busch is neither old nor new. The driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing is just plain distracted.

    The major distractions for Busch started on May 7th when he and Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, got into it at the Darlington Showtime Southern 500.

    After issues on the track, Harvick and Busch headed for trouble on pit road, with Harvick reaching into Busch’s car for some action and Busch driving away, pushing Harvick’s car into the pit road retaining wall.

    “I knew that wasn’t going to be a good situation when I saw him getting out of his car,” Busch said. “My choices were limited.”

    “I was either going to get punched in the face or just drive through his car,” Busch continued. “I made a judgment call there and it wasn’t one of the best choices that I had.”

    As a result of their altercation, NASCAR penalized both drivers for actions detrimental to stock car racing.  They were both fined $25,000 each and put on probation for four races.

    But the distractions for Kyle Busch continued shortly thereafter, with the 26 year old driver being pulled over for speeding, going 128 mph in a 4 mph zone in Iredell County, North Carolina. Busch was ticketed for reckless driving and speeding on May 24th.

    “I’m certainly sorry that it happened,” Busch said. “It was a lack of judgment and all I can do is apologize to the public, my friends, my fans, my sponsors and everybody and look at this experience as a learning experience and move forward.”

    “It’s certainly challenging sometimes, with things you have to think about, and, of course, actions that you may cause yourself,” Busch continued. “Thankfully, I’ve got some good people around me that can help me through these experiences.”

    Busch’s next distraction, however, was right around the corner when he learned that not all the people surrounding him, particularly in the NASCAR garage, were in his corner.

    After the Camping World Truck Series race in Kansas on June 4th, Kyle Busch tapped into another driver Joey Coulter, who just happened to be fielded out of the Richard Childress Racing stables.

    Apparently that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back and the fight was on, with Childress reportedly placing Busch in a headlock in the garage area and striking him several times.

    “I don’t know that I did anything out of the ordinary that would provoke something of Mr. Childress,” Busch said after the incident. “I’m going to leave it up to NASCAR and let them decide what they feel is best.”

    In this case, NASCAR acted quickly, attempting to limit the distraction for Busch and finding him in no violation of his probation. Childress, however,  was fined $150,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the season.

    Most recently, Busch’s distractions have continued, now with two major issues related to his car. The No. 18 M&Ms Toyota failed post-race inspection at Pocono on June 12th, with his third-place finishing car deemed too low.

    NASCAR again took swift action, docked the driver six points and Busch’s crew chief Dave Rogers being fined for $25,000.

    “Yea, we’ve talked a little bit this week and they found out what the problems were,” Busch said. “It was in the front springs so we’ll see if we can’t get with the manufacturer and figure out how we can make heat not be an issue.”

    “It doesn’t matter whether you feel like the punishment fit the crime,” Busch continued. “It was something that we had wrong and we did not fit the rules after the race.”

    “Joe Gibbs Racing issued a statement earlier this week that we accept the penalty and we’ll move forward.”

    Yet the distractions for Kyle Busch, particularly with his race car, have continued right into this weekend’s racing at Michigan.

    Prior to the first practice at Michigan International Speedway,  NASCAR announced that they had confiscated the oil pan on Busch’s car, along with the oil pans on the cars of his JGR teammates, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin.

    NASCAR spokesperson Kerry Tharp advised that the oil pans were not approved by NASCAR and they would have to be changed prior to practice or their times would not be considered when determining the qualifying order.

    Busch and his teammates have complied, however, the distraction of having yet another penalty handed down next week after the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 race and weekend are completed, hangs over his head yet again.

    There is at least one piece of good news in the distraction department for Kyle Busch. His probation period from the Kevin Harvick incident has expired and he is out from under that obligation at present in Michigan.

    For Busch, however, he seemed to deem it no distraction at all.

    “It didn’t matter being on it or being off it,” Busch said. “I try to race the best I can each and every week as hard as I can and as clean as I can.”

     

  • Dillon wins RainEater Wiper Blades 200

    Dillon wins RainEater Wiper Blades 200

    BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 17, 2011) – He swept the competition aside like rain on a windshield.

    [media-credit name=”Photo by LAT USA” align=”alignright” width=”197″][/media-credit]Ty Dillon took advantage of a late-race wreck by leader Cale Gale with six laps remaining, and brushed leader Max Gresham aside with one lap to go and posted his fourth victory of the season in the RainEater Wiper Blades 200 on Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

    Gale, who had led a total of 72 laps in the 100-lap event, was the victim of a blown right tire that sent him into the wall, giving the lead to Gresham on a green-white, one-lap restart. But Dillon jumped Gresham for the lead just after the start-finish line on the wild last lap and held off Gresham for the victory and a commanding lead in the ARCA driver points standings.

    Dillon, driving the Richard Childress Racing Development Chevrolet, now holds a 210-point advantage over veteran Frank Kimmel, who finished ninth.

    Dillon, 19, knew he had his work cut out with Gale clearly the class of the field before Gale’s tire flattened after traveling over debris on the track.

    “I just tried to save my stuff and do what I could as the No. 25 (Gresham) kept coming,” Dillon said. “It seems ARCA races seem to have a lot of cautions at the end so I just tried to stay patient.”

    Dillon, who graduated from high school just two weeks ago, is the grandson of long-time NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner Childress.

    “I thought for sure we had Ty on the restart on the last lap but we just got outdone a little,” Gresham said. “Ty beat me to the corner. If I would have had one more lap I might have gotten back in front but I just ran out of time. He just had a little bit more power than we had and you can’t beat power.”

    Gale started from the pole after setting an ARCA record-qualifying speed of 189.623 miles per hour this morning and led the field by as much as five seconds on occasion, but a total of seven caution periods kept him somewhat at bay until his tire tragedy.

    “It’s just racing,” he said following his 19th place finish. “It seems like 2011 has just been bad luck for me for whatever reason,” added Gale, who was coached over the radio throughout the race by Sprint Cup driver Kevin Harvick, who drives for Childress.

    Tim George finished third followed by Chad Hackenbracht and Chris Buescher.

    Great seats remain for this weekend’s events at Michigan International Speedway, including the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 on Sunday. Call the MIS ticket hotline at 800-354-1010.

    Nestled in the lush Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan, Michigan International Speedway is a Great Escape, a venerable NASCAR national park where race fans and sports fans can get away and enjoy the very best in racing and camaraderie. It’s the fun of NASCAR and the thrill of a great time for guests and drivers alike.

    You can also visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MISpeedway or Tweet with us @MISpeedway.

    Michigan International Speedway 2011 Schedule

    Saturday, June 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series Alliance Truck Parts 250

    Sunday, June 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

    Friday, Aug. 19 Meijer Pole Day

    Saturday, Aug. 20 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series VFW 200

    Sunday, Aug. 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

    Sunday, Sept. 11 Spirit of America Blood Drive – 10th Anniversary!

  • Dillon Passes Gresham in Last-Lap Shootout to Win at Michigan

    Dillon Passes Gresham in Last-Lap Shootout to Win at Michigan

    (BROOKLYN, Mich.) – Ty Dillon has a flair for the dramatic, and put that quality to good use Friday at Michigan International Speedway, passing Max Gresham just after a Lap 100 restart and holding off Gresham’s late challenge to win the RainEater Wiper Blades 200. The win was Dillon’s fourth of 2011 and his sixth in 11 career starts in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, continuing a dominant streak.

    Gresham had taken the lead at Lap 96 when Cale Gale (No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet) blew a tire in Turn 2 to fall out of contention in a race he seemed destined to win after leading 64 laps. Gale, driving for Kevin Harvick, Inc., had increased his lead to nearly five seconds only laps before losing his right front tire and smacking the outside retaining wall.

    Gresham (No. 25 Venturini Motorsports/Live Oak Plantation Toyota) led the field to the green flag on Lap 100, but Dillon (No. 41 SKF Chevrolet) passed him on the outside and held off Gresham’s inside dash to the checkered flag nearly two miles later to give Richard Childress Racing a fifth win in eight ARCA Racing Series events this season.

    “It’s awesome to win at Michigan for Chevy,” said Dillon. “The car was a rocket ship all day. Clean air meant so much, and from that very first restart, I thought we were going to be able to get out front and lead some laps, but Cale was really strong all day. I hate that his race ended that way, but that’s the second time I’ve happened to be second or third when the leader blows a tire. I’ve just learned to stay patient in these races and not get down on myself and keep fighting. You never know what can happen.”

    Dillon won at Chicagoland Speedway 13 days ago when Chad Hackenbracht (No. 58 Tastee Apple Chevrolet) blew a tire and lost a nine-second lead over the field. Dillon’s last-lap victory was not his first, either; he passed Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford) just before the start/finish line to win at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

    Gale, who had won the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell earlier in the day by charging to an ARCA track qualifying record at 189.623 mph, built a lead of 6.809 seconds through the first 30 laps, including two caution periods, losing the top spot only when Dillon beat him off of pit road on Lap 32. Though Dillon had previously lost ground to Gale nearly every lap, clean air at the front of the field helped him to increase his advantage on Gale to well over a second after a restart on Lap 37.

    Hal Martin (No. 55 NOLA Motorsports Park/U.S. Forensic Toyota) blew a tire on Lap 41, bringing out the race’s third caution. Dillon held the lead after the Lap 47 restart, but pitted when Tom Hessert crashed on Lap 52 and collected Maryeve Dufault. Dillon only took fuel, giving Gale the lead and Gresham – who had consistently run in the top five – the second position. Kimmel followed in third, with Hackenbracht and Tim George Jr. (No. 31 Potomac Family Dining Group/Applebee’s Chevrolet) behind him. Dillon came out eighth on the Lap 57 restart and moved up two positions within a lap.

    Gale bolted away and created some space between himself and Gresham, and Dillon worked his way into fourth place by Lap 62. With team owner and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick on his radio instructing him to drive the high line, Gale held his advantage on Gresham as Hackenbracht led Dillon and George in a battle for third.

    Another caution flag flew several laps later, as Clay Rogers and Robb Brent collided on Lap 66. Bryan Silas assumed the race lead by not pitting, with Joey Coulter, Josh Richards, and Bobby Gerhart behind him. Hackenbracht beat Gale and Dillon out of the pits for the fifth position.

    Coulter attacked to the outside of Silas, but Silas maintained the lead and held it for six laps until another crash on Lap 73, involving Rick Clifton and Benny Chastain. It was then that Coulter took the lead, and he held it through a Lap 77 restart – but only until a furious charge came from Gale, who had already improved to fifth during the caution period and then maneuvered into the lead by the completion of the first green flag lap.

    Hackenbracht, Coulter, and Dillon fought for second behind Gale, allowing him to stretch his lead to more than three seconds by Lap 81. George, who had run fifth, passed Coulter for fourth on Lap 82, and Dillon passed Hackenbracht for second two laps later. With 15 laps to go, Dillon trailed Gale by 3.41 seconds.

    Gresham had been 10th upon the Lap 77 restart, but was making a move of his own. Consistently charted as the fastest car on the track by at least one or two miles per hour, Gresham cruised into third place by Lap 87 when George got caught behind a lapped car while trying to pass Hackenbracht for the position. George eventually made his pass for fourth place on Lap 91, and by then, Gale had extended his lead on Dillon to 4.885 seconds. Dillon would quickly lose second, though, as Gresham beat him in the fourth turn on Lap 92 to come out 4.5 seconds behind Gale with eight laps to go.

    Gale’s tire blew on Lap 96, though, and Gresham took the lead and looked primed for his second win in seven ARCA starts with the fastest car on the track. Dillon’s crafty move on Lap 100, though, spelled out the finish, sending him to a 0.118-second win over Gresham and delivering Richard Childress Racing to Victory Lane yet again.

    George finished third – his fourth top-five in five starts – and Hackenbracht earned another career high, his fourth in five races, by finishing fourth. Chris Buescher (No. 17 Reliance Tool/David Ragan Fan Club Ford), who had run in the top three early but fell out of the top 10 with a flat right front tire, steadily improved throughout the race and finished fifth.

    Silas (No. 6 Weaver Media Toyota) finished sixth, an improvement of 15 spots from the start of the race. Coulter (No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet) ended the race seventh, Chad McCumbee (No. 1 ModSpace Ford) was eighth, Kimmel finished ninth, and Richards (No. 15 Detroit Salt Company/P&H Mining Equipment Toyota) rounded out the top 10.

    In addition to Gale’s lap-leading haul, Dillon led 22 laps, Silas led six, and Coulter and Gresham each led four. The race was slowed by seven cautions for 39 laps, and ended with an average speed of 117.359 mph after one hour, 42 minutes, and 15 seconds.

    The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action Saturday, June 25 in the Winchester ARCA 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts at Winchester Speedway in Indiana. The event is scheduled as the ninth of 19 on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series schedule; the ARCA Truck Series will join the ARCA Racing Series at the track.

    ARCA Racing Series practice begins at 1:45 p.m., and will last for 90 minutes. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell begins at 4:45 p.m., and the 200-lap, 100-mile race will take place at 8 p.m. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of all events.

    The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards features 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

    Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

  • Matty’s Picks – Vol. 6 – Michigan – June 19, 2011

    Matty’s Picks – Vol. 6 – Michigan – June 19, 2011

    Matty’s Picks
    Vol. 6 – Michigan – June 19, 2011

    This week brings the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to Michigan, home of the International Cherry Spitting Championships held each year in Eau Claire. The event is held each 4th of July weekend where in 2003, Eight-Time Champion Brian Krause broke the North American record by spitting his cherry 93’6 1/2”.

    [media-credit name=”mis.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Michigan is a track, if known for anything, is known for high speeds and violent wrecks. In 1984, a large wreck involving Al Unser Jr and Chip Ganassi would end Ganassi’s driving career. Ernie Irvan crashed in practice in 1994 following a right front blowout, and subsequently was given a 10% chance of survival that night. He would make a full recovery and return to racing in 1995, but five years to the date following his near fatal wreck in 95’, Irvan was airlifted from the track yet again. The wreck in practice would be the cause for Irvan’s retirement just two weeks later. MIS has improved safety as of late, and provisions have been made to help avoid the violent wrecks of the 1980’s and 90’s.

    Pocono Recap

    I was looking good with my picks last week early on in the race, but as we all know, anything can happen between lap one and two hundred. I had a point in the race where maximum imaginary points were on the board with Juan Montoya at the point, and Denny Hamlin in second, but that was on lap 24 of the 200 that made up the 5 Hour Energy 500. In a race that was full of pit-stops (teams averaging a pit every 28-32 laps), pit strategy became ever-so important. Montoya would gamble on two tires – three times last Sunday, a decision that netted Montoya a seventh place finish, and netting me an undisclosed amount of points in my own Pick Um’ competition. My winner pick in Denny Hamlin ran very well until a flat tire on lap 161 dropped him from the pace. He would eventually lose his breaks on top of the flat tire and bring his FedEx Toyota home in nineteenth place, netting me zero points.

    Michigan Picks

    Moving along quickly this week, we’re already to my Dark Horse for the week. Kasey Kahne is familiar with Victory Lane at Michigan, scoring his first and only win at the track in 2006. Along with the win, Kahne has six Top 5’s including three runner ups. Kahne has had some tough luck in the Sprint Cup Series in the past month, but this week the #4 car will put up his best finish since his fourth at Darlington Mother’s Day Weekend.

    Kevin Harvick is the guy to watch Sunday Afternoon. He scored his first win of the season earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway, a track that is a twin to Michigan. He scored a win last August at Michigan, and is flying high after his cat and mouse game with Kyle Busch last week. Michigan has averaged 20.3 lead changes in the past four seasons, but look for Harvick to linger towards the Top 5 all race and make his move late in the race.

    Happy Father’s Day and until next time…YOU STAY CLASSY NASCAR NATION!

  • Ford Michigan Friday Advance (Carl Edwards)

    Ford Michigan Friday Advance (Carl Edwards)

    FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES

    Helluva Good! 400(Friday Advance) June 17, 2011

    Michigan International Speedway

    Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion and the current Sprint Cup points leader took time to meet with media after the final practice session of the day at Michigan International Speedway Friday afternoon.

    YOU WON HERE IN 2008 BUT WEREN’T SO HOT IN PRACTICE TODAY. “Thanks, I really appreciate that. What an introduction folks. We are actually okay on the longer run. We didn’t get to run any blistering fast laps. We tried to do that the first practice to set ourselves up for a good starting spot if it were to rain tomorrow but we couldn’t go fast enough. The good news is our teammates are really fast in qualifying trim. We will lean on those guys a little bit. We had some tire trouble so we were working on that in practice two. We thought that was really important to figure out and make sure we don’t have that. The left front outer shoulder of the tire was getting hot and coming apart. That could be a big factor in the race if we don’t get that figured out. We focused on that and focused on trying some things we wanted to try and then at the end we worked on the balance pretty hard. I think we have a car that can race pretty well.”

    THE THREE JOE GIBBS TOYOTA’S GOT CAUGHT WITH A HEAVY OIL PAN THAT WAS 25-30 HEAVIER THAN IT SHOULD BE. HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT THE CAR? “You can change the nose weight a number of different ways. I am not sure what they are trying to do there. I don’t know any more about it than you just told me. There are a bunch of ways to change nose weight. I am certain that they were trying to achieve some balance with the car. I don’t know any more than that. As we talk about it a little bit after practice we might be able to somehow, me and the engineers understand what they are trying to do. Everyone will probably have that figured out in the next 10 or 15 minutes. Who knows?”

    YOU SAID LAST WEEK YOU USED UP YOUR POINTS LEAD. HAVE YOU COME TO GRIPS WITH THAT AND DID YOU FIGURE OUT THE ISSUE WITH THE VALVE? “I don’t know that we figured out exactly why it occurred. We have a pretty good idea that it was a flaw or weakness in the material. I haven’t looked at the points this week. I know we have like a five or six point lead, but I don’t know how many it is. We just have to go and do what we have been doing the last 10 weeks and build that lead back up. It would be really nice if we could get a couple of wins in there. I am confident in our team and our performance will be strong and keep us in the top-10. We didn’t need that last week. I thought we had a car that could win, especially with Denny’s trouble. That made me sick when I saw that in the booth. Jeff was really good at the end and we actually passed him under green before we lost that valve, so I feel we would have had a really competitive car. That was the worst part about it. That is one of my favorite race tracks.”

    DO YOU WORRY AT ALL THAT NOT WINNING MIGHT SLOW YOUR MOMENTUM? “Not really. I actually thought a little about that after Dover. I felt like for two straight weeks we had the car to win races and didn’t get it done through circumstances and pit strategy and aero and little things that got us. If I look at what the 48 team has done I think one of the things they have done very well is take second place and third place when it is available and moved on and kept their heads up. For us, the short answer is we are not looking back and thinking about that we wished we would have won races. We are looking forward and knowing we can win them and we need to just go do it. I don’t think those good runs, even though they weren’t wins, didn’t hurt us but gave us confidence. When you get frustrated, sometimes you respond in a positive manner and sometimes negative. Right now we have a lot of positive energy. We only have one win but we have run well enough to win four or five races. I thought the All-Star win was a big deal. I feel like we are strong. We have the points lead because we have been the fastest car. That is pretty cool.”

    HAMLIN WAS IN HERE EARLIER AND FOUND HIMSELF IN THE DIFFICULT SPOT OF TRYING TO DEFEND SOMETHING. CAN YOU TELL IS WHAT THAT IS LIKE AS A DRIVE? “It is difficult. It is hard to explain. The best way I can explain it is that I am on the President’s Council for Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. There is a big vetting process that goes with that. I had to be on a 30-minute phone call about every bad thing I have done in my life. They really wanted to talk about these times that our team had been caught cheating. They were like, ‘Why were you fined these points and this money? You guys were cheating.’ And I am like, ‘No, you don’t understand, this is auto racing. The guys at the shop build the most trick thing they can and bring it to the race track. I hop in and drive it and if you run well or some part falls off or the heights aren’t right then it looks like we were cheating but that is just part of the sport.’ It is hard to explain that to some people. They think that if it didn’t fit the rules then I was cheating. There is a lot to it and it is complicated. I thought that was humorous though that I was on the phone with the White House and they couldn’t understand that I had no clue the right rear corner was low or the oil cooler lid had fallen off or things like that. It is an awkward position to be in to try to explain that stuff because we show up and drive the race cars. You want your guys at the shop pushing every edge of the rule book. That is what you want.”

    IS THIS A DIFFERENT FATHERS DAY FOR YOU BEING A DAD AND A DAD AGAIN AND TALK ABOUT YOUR DAD AND BEING A DAD. “That is a lot of dad’s in that question. It is very special. I didn’t realize it was Fathers day until last Monday I guess. I hadn’t thought about it. We have been so busy running around chasing the kids and everything. My Dad, he is the one who got me into racing and he is still one of the smartest racers I know. We have spent quite a bit of time together lately which has been really nice. This is my first Fathers Day with two kids. That is just amazing to me. Five years ago if you would have told me that I would have never believed it. I am very fortunate and I hope we can have a safe, fun day. One of the neatest things was winning in 2007 on Fathers Day and giving the trophy to my Dad. That was a cool day and it would be neat to win again.”

    WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON JEFF GORDON HITTING 3RD ALL TIME IN WINS? “I remember walking to the grocery store with my mom as a little kid walking beside the grocery cart. I don’t remember how old I was but I don’t think I was 16 because I don’t think I would have been at the grocery store with my mom if I had my own car. I was reading a racing magazine that had Jeff Gordon on the cover of it and I was thinking, ‘Man, that is cool’. It was one of those hero shots of him and his car and his mullet and his mustache. I thought that guy was living the dream. Now I get to race with him every week and sometimes beat him which is really nice. He is a professional and has done a lot for the sport. He singlehandedly kind of changed the face of the sport and introduced it to a lot of people that maybe otherwise wouldn’t be fans or sponsors or partners. I think myself along with other guys in the garage have a bunch of respect for Jeff. For him to continue to be successful after all he has done and still have that drive is inspirational to all of us.”

    LOOKING AHEAD TO KENTUCKY, THAT WAS WHERE YOU FIRST DID THE BACK FLIP AFTER A TRUCK RACE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT RACING THERE? “Kentucky is going to be neat. You know how much energy those fans have. It is going to be insane. It will be like going to Iowa. The fans there, they want to see Sprint Cup racing so bad that it will be standing room only and people will be wound up. The track has a lot of character and it has two really distinct corners and a lot of bumps. It will be a really neat race. I am excited to go there and I think a lot of these guys that haven’t raced there are going to be really impressed with the place. I think it is great we are going there and it should be a lot of fun.”

    I SUSPECT IN TERMS OF THE POINTS YOU FIGURED YOU WOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE 48 CAR AT SOME POINT. HERE THEY ARE ON YOUR TAIL. “Yeah, if we would have not had that parts failure last week we would have stretched that lead out and it would feel different. They are running well and they do a really good job. They will only get stronger through the season so we have to keep digging and moving forward. Those guys, amazingly, are able to just stay right there and always be knocking on the door. We have to stay in front and keep working.”

    WHEN YOU HAVE A SITUATION LIKE GIBBS HAD WHERE THEY WERE CAUGHT LAST WEEK AND THIS WEEK AND A TIME BEFORE HERE WITH MAGNETS UNDER THE ACCELERATOR, AT WHAT POINT DO PEOPLE GET A REPUTATION FOR BEING INNOVATORS OR JUST KIND OF, I DON’T WANT TO SAY CHEATING, BUT CHEATING? “I don’t know. That is for someone else to decide. They are all different things and I am one of their competitors so I would love to sit up here and think that the reason they run well is because they are cheating but I know they are not. Those guys seem to have a lot of integrity. They are just pushing the edges of the envelope. It is unfortunate they got caught two weeks in a row but it is good for us because NASCAR will be watching those guys harder and paying attention to their cars a little more. That is good for the rest of us.”

    HOW DO SPONSORS TAKE THAT KIND OF THING? “The worse one we had was that oil tank cover at Vegas. That one was frustrating because we were the fastest in testing and the fastest in practice and qualified great and we were screaming fast. We had one little bold that was holding the tank lid that came off and the lid was off. Everybody jumped on us and piled on us and kicked us while we were down and said we won because we cheated. They knew it wasn’t though because we had the fastest car and proved it over and over again after that. At the time though, I remember some of the marketing and sponsor people asking about that. They wanted us to be as upstanding and play by the rules as we can, which we do, and that is a little confusing for them. You have to push the envelope. Every case is different. If you hit the wall in the middle of the race and the tail or nose is down, those things happen. I think there is a big difference sometimes between being caught with something or having intent to cheat. The magnet thing, there is a lot of intent there. Just having or being caught high or low or with a heavy part that hasn’t been approved, I don’t look at those things as so wrong I guess. That is just my opinion. To be clear, I don’t think I have had a sponsor get mad, but they have asked and you have to explain it to them.”

    HOW DO YOU STAY POSITIVE WHEN YOU HAVE HAD A BAD DAY? “It is really hard. I have been fortunate in that we haven’t had a lot of bad days lately. Everything has been great. I guess in 2009 and 2010 there were some really tough days where we just weren’t competitive and I guess the way that I stay positive is all I have to do is look at my guys and realize they are all giving 100% and doing their very best. We have a very good group of people and if we run poorly then that is just the way it is. We can’t get down and out. Usually if you freak out and start getting mad then that only makes it worse. Those are the things I think about to try to stay and keep myself upbeat, even when things are going bad. It is really tough though because we all put a lot into this. If you have something go wrong or make a mistake or someone on the pit crew makes a mistake, it is really difficult to keep your emotions in check.”

    HOW SURPRISING IS IT TO YOU, GIVEN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THAT THE 88 IS RIGHT THERE CHASING YOU ALONG WITH THE 48? “That is a pretty amazing turnaround. They have run really well. I would like to know what they are doing or what they changed. That is a pretty spectacular turnaround and an interesting thing I think because how well the 48 team seems to have run the whole time and then for the 88 team to turn a corner like that. It would be interesting to know what they have changed in there. As long as he stays behind us, that is okay. It is good for the sport that those guys are running better and I know they have worked hard and take is seriously. It is interesting to see how well they have done lately.”

    THE NEXT TWO RACES ARE A ROAD COURSE AND DAYTONA. ANY CONCERN THAT YOU MIGHT BE RACING UP AGAINST DIFFERENT GUYS THOSE RACES? “I know last year was a low point for us. I remember sitting backwards in the dirt think our season was done and we weren’t going to make the Chase. It was because I got racing too hard with someone that I wasn’t familiar with and we ended up wrecking. I am looking forward to that race. It is a different situation now for me. We go in there hopefully in a good position in points and I am going to run the Nationwide race at Road America they day before, so I will be in the road racing mindset and to me, I really like that race. That would be a special one to win. I don’t know if wild card it the right word, but that race can shake things up a ton. Same with Daytona. Those are two races that you could have surprise winners at each. The same guy could go from zero wins to two wins in those two races. I believe that once we get through those that the points will look different. I hope it works out for us.”

    WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE PHOTOS OF DENNY’S DEAL? “I would have to look at them closer. That is a pretty neat piece. I still don’t understand exactly what is illegal about it. I don’t know if it is because they are over the cross member or the weight or what. I will talk to my guys and maybe NASCAR about it.”

  • NASCAR’s Greg Pursley Goes Wire-To-Wire For Fourth Win of The Season

    At this stage during last year’s racing season, Parker, Arizona’s Greg Pursley was sitting sixth in points with only one top-five finish, and a total of 27 laps led in five starts. Pursley who drives the No. 26 Gene Price Motorsports sponsored Ford Fusion in NASCAR’s K&N Pro West touring series, would eventually close out the 2010 season fifth in points with two wins, four top-fives, and seven top-10 finishes while leading a total of 151 laps.

    [media-credit id=50 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]The 43 year-old driver knew his team had the talent and determination to compete at this level, and proved it by going to victory lane twice in the last three races of the season. Pursley began the season finale by winning the Coors Light Pole award, while surpassing the record time he set at the one-mile Phoenix track in 2009.

    Pursley would pull away on a final restart with seven laps remaining to capture his first victory at the track he called his “absolute favorite,” which capped off a season plagued by bad luck that would carry over into the following year.

    The Newhall, California native got an early jump to start the 2011 season when he picked up where he left off the previous season, by going to victory lane in the season opener at Phoenix, for back-to-back wins at the Arizona one-mile track. In his first five starts, Pursley went to victory lane four times, with his only flaw coming at Roseville back in April where led a race high 133 laps before finishing third.

    What a difference a year has made when you not only look at the fact Pursley has already doubled the races he won, but also the amount of laps he has led with nine races still remaining on the schedule. Pursley said that, “Time has allowed our team to gel. Communication and preparation is the key and we have both going for us right now,” when talking about some of the changes that were looked at during the off-season.

    With an average finish of 1.4 and a 201 point lead over second place driver Moses Smith, Pursley’s blistering pace clearly makes him the driver the beat this season, and even more so after Saturday’s dominating performance in the O’Reilly 200 at the bullring in Las Vegas, Nevada. Once the teams unloaded for Saturday night’s feature race, Pursley wasted no time setting the pace when he broke the track record with a pole winning speed of 90.144 mph.

    Pursley who went out in the 16th qualifying spot, bettered that of his 16 year-old teammate Dylan Kwasniewski by 0.467 mph, who went out eighth and finished the race in second. After the pre-race festivities took place, the only thing left for the 27 drivers was to see who would prevail after 200 laps of fighting the Nevada heat once the green flag was waved to start the race.

    Pursley took the lead on the first lap of the race, as survival became the order of the night for the other 26 drivers when the first of 10 yellow flags for a Stan Silva solo spin less than 25 laps into the race. A total of 69 laps would be run under yellow before the end of the race, but none of that bothered Pursley as he dominated the race and became the only driver since 2009 to win a race from start to finish.

    The last wire-to-wire win in the series was by Eric Holmes at Roseburg, Oregon. As the laps clicked away and the Nevada heat began to slowly dissipate behind a nice warm breeze, Pursley continued to heat up the track once his biggest threat, Eric Holmes who is the three-time and defending series champion left the race because of mechanical problems.

    “Holmes was gonna be pretty good but I still kept the pace I wanted to keep and if he was gonna push me harder he would have had to go around me on the outside because I was not gonna give up the bottom and it probably would have been a good race.” Pursley said after the race.

    With 34 laps left to go, Taylor Cuzick spins coming out of turn two to bring out the final caution of the night. On the final restart of the night, Pursley pulled away from his 16-year-old teammate and never looked back leaving Kwasniewski, Jason Fensler, and Michael Self to battle for the second position.

    Pursley went on to win the race by 0.872 seconds over Kwasniewski who finished second, but more importantly extended his points lead along with picking-up his fourth win and setting the standard for the rest of the season.  “Finally when the last caution came out with about 30 to go I had to go. It showed at the end the guys at the shop gave me a great car and I can’t complain,” said Pursley.

    Pursley added this about his race winning strategy, “We had a great car strategy was to save the tires until lap 150. The good part about it is you when you start out front. You can pick your way around and I ran the pace I wanted to run and the guys behind me were pressing kind of hard and I didn’t let it bother. This was a dream for me.

  • TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Denny Hamlin — Notes & Quotes Michigan International Speedway

    TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Denny Hamlin — Notes & Quotes Michigan International Speedway

    DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What do you think of your performance of late? “It feels good being more competitive here the last six, seven weeks or so. Obviously, last week we didn’t finish it off like we felt like we could have or should have, but still things are positive in the sense that we are running better and contending for victories over these last five of six weeks of so. That part of it is encouraging. Obviously, we enjoy coming here to Michigan because it’s such a raceable race track and so that part it’s always fun coming here because of that.”

    Did FedEx deliver the wrong oil pans? “No. Nope.” Do you feel snake bit at all this year due to weird issues? “It’s frustrating. It’s definitely frustrating from my standpoint because we try to do everything inside the car to make sure I have a car capable of winning at the end of the day. But it’s a team sport and, you know, to win these races everyone has to do a perfect job, a near perfect job and when there’s one hiccup it can just ruin your day. And obviously one bad thing leads to another. Last weekend — it’s just one thing snow balled into another and we find ourselves racing with no brakes the last 50 laps. It’s frustrating because I know we’re capable of winning and even though we haven’t won this year there’s been quite a few races where I felt like we could or should have. But the sport’s not about that. It’s about what you got in the win column and how you’re performing and the way I see it we’re 12th in points so we still got some work to do.”

    Are you encouraged you have run well as of late or discouraged you haven’t won? “It’s fifty, fifty really from my standpoint. We haven’t won. At the beginning of the year we didn’t win because we weren’t capable of winning — ours cars, I didn’t feel like we’re fast enough and we still also had bad luck on top of it. Now we’re just kind of getting into. We need to figure out how to finish these races like we should. So it’s fifty, fifty. Right now, I’m really encouraged at the fact our cars do have speed now. You’ll win races as long as we keep putting ourselves up front like we have been the last few.”

    What do you know about the Joe Gibbs Racing oil pans and do you expect retribution? “I don’t think so, as far as the last part of it. For me, I don’t know a whole lot about it to be honest with you. We continue to evolve our cars and things like that through the course of a season. It’s just, all teams do. And usually when you have something new — a new part