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Month: June 2011

  • Kennington Finishes Third in Castrol Edge Dodge

    June 12, 2011. The first two rounds of the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series had been frustrating for DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team. A return to the St. Thomas, Ontario driver’s home track at Delaware Speedway proved to be the tonic for a hard charging third place podium finish.

    Kennington won the two previous events at Delaware Speedway and coming to race at Delaware gave Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team just the boost they needed. From the start of practice Kennington was the class of the field and posted the quickest lap time. With other series running afterwards it changed the track characteristics however Kennington still placed the Castrol Edge Dodge on the outside of row one in qualifying. “I didn’t realize how good my first lap was” said Kennington. “So when I got to the second qualifying lap I pushed a bit too hard and it cost us or we’d have been on pole” he concluded.

    When the 200 lap feature event began Kennington immediately began looking for the top spot. The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge would move into the lead on lap 17 and pull out a sizable lead on the field. “The team gave me a great car to drive and we started to work our race plan from there” he stated. “We made our first pit stop during the first caution period for fuel and came out in good position” he stated.

    The race plan for the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge would change because of a fluke incident. The #97 car spun up the track and when he slid back down clipped the back of Kennington leaving the rear bumper panel dangling. “I just couldn’t get out of the way” stated Kennington simply. “The team did an awesome job fixing things up so we could continue” he stated.

    Now back in the pack with an unplanned pit stop Kennington began pushing the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge trying to regain track position. Fighting his way forward with every lap he was soon back amongst the leaders and with another caution period just past the three quarter mark of the race he pitted for fresh right side tires. “Those new tires and the adjustment the team made helped me in the closing laps” said Kennington.

    When the final caution period of the night set up an eight lap shoot out Kennington seized the opportunity. Pushing the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge as hard as he dared on the final lap he managed to make one last pass to claim a third place podium finish. “What a job the team did tonight” said Kennington. “They deserve a lot of credit for getting the body panels fixed up so I could make a charge at the end” he stated.

    The podium finish gives Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team the boost they needed and moves them up to fourth in the overall championship standings. “We’ll take this one and build on it” said the driver. “This thing is far from over and we’re going to some tracks that I know we can win at and that’s what we intend to do” he added.

    DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team get back in action the weekend of June 25 & 26 at the famed Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario. Once again this year fans will be able to watch all twelve races on TSN. Check local listings for times.

    Race fans are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest team news in several ways. Race fans should bookmark the team website http://www.djkracing.ca www.djkracing.ca and follow them on twitter, http://www.twitter.com/djkracing www.twitter.com/djkracing Fans are also suggested to join the Facebook Group DJK Racing.

    Photo: The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge at Delaware Speedway.

  • Team Mopar Scores Top-Ten at Delaware

    June 12, 2011. Round three of the NASCAR Canadian Tire series at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario was a good one for Ron Beauchamp Jr. and the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge team. It was a day of consistency and the team scored their second top-ten finish of the year.

    Delaware Speedway is a challenging half mile track and can be hard to handle and the crew worked hard to maximize performance of the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge. Beauchamp would qualify tenth and start the 200 lap feature event on the outside of row five. “I didn’t get the lap I was expecting in qualifying” said Beauchamp. “But the most important thing is having a car that will race consistently all night and we have that” he added.

    When the race began Beauchamp settled into a comfortable pace in the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge. “Some guys will often go too fast too soon so I wanted to go easy at first and have something left for the end of the race” he stated. Even with his cautious approach Beauchamp quickly began moving forward in the race and was running near the top five. .

    The #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge team would make scheduled pit stops for fuel during the first caution period and then pit for new tires just past the halfway mark. “Everything looked good for us and now it was up to me to bring the car home with a good finish” explained the driver.

    In the late stages of the race the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge was a victim of contact and sent up toward the wall. “That was pretty frustrating” said Beauchamp. “We had a top-five spot and the #84 car just ran into us from behind” he said.

    With only some cosmetic damage Beauchamp set out to gain as many spots as possible in the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge in the closing laps. His hard charging efforts would get the car back inside the top-ten and record a ninth place finish at the checkered flag. “It’s too bad about that bump from behind” said the driver. “A top-ten is nice but, we were better than that. This team has some momentum built up now and I’m excited about the races coming up” he added.

    Ron Beauchamp Jr. and the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries Dodge Team will compete in all twelve races on the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The next event takes place June 25 & 26 at Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario. Once again this year all events will be broadcast on TSN. Fans should check their local listings for times. For more information about the #60 Mopar Parts/Mobil 1/Exide Batteries team log on to www.beauchampmotorsports.com and http://www.mopar.ca www.mopar.ca For series information check out http://www.nascar.ca www.nascar.ca.

  • Martin Truex Jr.: Same Old Jersey Boy With Brand New Crew Chief

    Martin Truex Jr.: Same Old Jersey Boy With Brand New Crew Chief

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]Prior to the race at Pocono, one of two tracks closest to his home state of New Jersey, Martin Truex, Jr. got the news that he would have a new crew chief, Chad Johnston, atop his pit box.

    And even though this self-proclaimed Jersey boy is glad to be ‘home’, he is still a bit disconcerted from the news of the change.

    “I mean it’s a tough deal,” Truex said. “It’s a tough situation to be involved in. This is obviously the first time I’ve ever been in this position where we’ve changed crew chiefs during the season.”

    Truex seemed to feel most badly for his former crew chief Pat Tryson, who was relieved of that duty and will be reassigned within the Michael Waltrip Racing organization. Yet after 49 races together, while Truex feels a bit badly about how it all came down, he is still looking forward to working with Tryson in a different capacity.

    “I feel bad for Pat (Tryson) obviously,” Truex said. “Hopefully we can keep Pat and hopefully he will stay around and help us make our race cars better because that’s the things he’s really good at.”

    Truex, Jr. is looking forward to continuing to work with his new crew chief, a 31 year old engineer from Indiana. Truex’s new boss atop the pit box, Chad Johnston, grew up racing himself on the paved and dirt short tracks the heartland, driving open wheel midget cars.

    “It’s not a big transition for the team though because Chad’s had a lot of responsibilities on the team up until now,” Truex said. “He was already in charge of the race car and the changes that went with it.”

    “So far, things haven’t been a whole lot different,” Truex continued. “Most of the interaction about the race car has been between me and him for the past six months. So, that’s not a big transition.”

    Because Johnston is so familiar with the team, the major new responsibilities include tech, taking charge of the team, and calling his first race, the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono, atop the pit box.

    “The biggest things different for him is going through tech and making sure everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to,” Truex said. “And of course his job on Sunday will be different with him calling the race.”

    “Towards the end of last year when we gave Chad more of a responsibility as far as overseeing all of the set up on the car and the interaction on the race car going between me and him, we’d already seen big benefits from doing that,” Truex, Jr. said. “It’s not that Pat wasn’t getting it done but it was more that Chad was really stepping up and it was time to promote him.”

    “He’s really doing a great job and all the things that we’ve given him to do, he’s really taken them on his shoulders and done a great job,” Truex continued. “He’s worked hard for this and he deserves it.”

    Truex, Jr. is also hoping that the crew chief change will position him to somehow get back into Chase contention. He also definitely wants to return to his on-track performance of earlier in the season, especially on the bigger tracks.

    “We’ve had a shot to win a few races and if we just could have closed the deal, we could be in the Chase,” Truex said. “The biggest thing that I’m worried about right now is that our performance hasn’t been as good as earlier in the year.”

    “We were running really strong, leading laps and running up front for a while but the past month, it’s been kind of tough,” Truex continued. “It’s really just the bigger tracks.”

    “Right now some of these races, we’re just going to have to get through and get the best we can until we get our cars better,” Truex said. “If we could go and win a couple races, we could make a deal out of it. So, that would be good.”

    The new driver/crew chief combo will be first tested as they try to get back on track at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ this weekend. The challenges at Pocono Raceway will no doubt include managing the fuel, as well as the challenge of shifting for the first time in many years at the track.

    “It’s quite a bit different,” Truex said. “We were doing a bit of shifting just to see what it would be like and it’s different.”

    “I don’t know how much it will affect the fuel mileage and it usually comes down to a fuel mileage race,” Truex said. “I did shift the whole entire time in Happy Hour just to get a good read on it and see where we stand on it.”

    As the Michael Waltrip team heads into the summer months, the Jersey driver also acknowledged that keeping cool, both in the car physically as well as emotionally, will become more and more important. And no doubt, Truex will lean on his young crew chief to assist in both regards.

    “These cars are hot,” Truex said. “They put a lot of effort into keeping them as cool as possible but at the end of the day, it’s just hot.”

    “You just have to be prepared for it,” Truex continued. “You just have to suck it up.”

    “I started to train this year but I don’t think it’s all it’s cracked up to be, to be honest,” Truex said. “I think it’s a situation that when you do this, you get trained for it. It’s kind of like an experience thing.”

    “You get used to the heat and you don’t worry about it anymore,” Truex continued. “I sometimes don’t know how we do it but we’re able to make it through.”

    With a new face atop the pit box, Martin Truex, Jr. will be looking to his roots for some familiarity. His family is not able to be with him this weekend, however, his girlfriend and dog are keeping him company.

    “Yes, I am a Jersey boy,” Truex said. “I haven’t lived there in a long time and I don’t get back there as much as I’d like to but yeah , I never forgot where I came from.”

    “I still love it there,” Truex continued. “All my friends are there and my family still lives there.”

    “It’s nice to get back there and I’d like to get back more often,” Truex said. “Someday I’ll be able to spend more time there.”

  • Pocono Raceway – Saturday update

    Pocono Raceway – Saturday update

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Saturday at the Pocono Raceway we got off to a very wet start to the day as heavy storms pounded us early Saturday morning. Things cleared up long enough to get Coors Light qualifying completed for the Sprint Cup Series but a persistent fog plagued the ARCA series race and it was called shortly after the halfway mark due to the misty weather and the fact the spotters could not even see turn 1 from the tower!

    Sprint Cup qualifying was somewhat surprising to me as Kurt Busch won the pole with Paul Menard rounding out the front row. Jeff Gordon will start third.

    Busch, who wrecked his primary car during practice Friday said, “Quite a bit of emotions today, especially after having to burst out the backup car after yesterday’s mishap. To go out there today, if it was raining, we would be starting last. And now, luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole. An amazing swing of events. An honest thank you to my guys, especially the ones back at the shop preparing the cars. To pull a backup out that’s a pole-winning car, that’s something you really wouldn’t hear about back in the day. It would be all-right, we’re going to have to struggle through the weekend; it’s not the best piece (car). It’s great that we have that quality control in our system.”

    Busch also made comments about how the Penske organization has changed since his tirades in Richmond and other tracks over the radio. “We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond,” Busch said. “It’s just been some procedures, some processes and maybe just looking at the data a little bit differently. It’s great to come back out and be on the pole again.”

    Carl Edwards, who was fastest in happy hour qualified sixth. He said, “It was an okay run but I was just telling Bob and the guys that that is the fastest our car has been through three and four. I knew we got through one and two really well. The timing was a little shaky and we got a little loose. All I could think was, ‘man, this is a screaming lap and don’t overdrive three.’ I drove in there a little bit soft and this thing stuck. It had so much grip and I knew right then that I gave something up. I tried to get into third gear and get on the gas as early as I could. That is a pole winning car right there. I just needed to drive a pole winning three and four. I am excited about the race. It is nice to be disappointed about a sixth place qualifying position. It should be a really good run for us.”

    One driver who was real happy was one of my dark horse picks for the weekend Marcos Ambrose. The affable Australian said, ““That was huge pickup for us. You think that one lap won’t make or break your season but Pocono is really tough. We had a tough Kansas and a tough practice yesterday and our team just dug deep. The car was fantastic. I guessed the shift points correctly and here we are. I am really proud of my guys. I have to thank Stanley and DeWalt and everybody for believing in me. Richard Petty too. He is my boss and I have to make him happy.”

    Mike Skinner had a vicious wreck off turn 1 in qualifying slamming into the second generation SAFER barrier wall. Skinner was OK after the wreck but the clean up some time and it looked like the weather could close in on qualifying session but instead it impacted the ARCA race.

  • CHEVY NSCS AT POCONO ONE: QUALIFYING QUOTES & PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

    CHEVY NSCS AT POCONO ONE: QUALIFYING QUOTES & PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

    NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

    5-HOUR ENERGY 500

    POCONO RACEWAY

    TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING QUOTES & PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

    June 11, 2011

    Team Chevy Drivers Capture Three of Top-Five Starting Positions at Pocono

    LONG POND, Penn. (June 11, 2011) – Team Chevy drivers captured three of the top-five and five of the top-10 starting positions for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.

    Paul Menard, No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored the number two starting spot for the 5-Hour Energy 500 with Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, nailing down the third starting position.

    Regan Smith, No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, will roll off fifth in the 200-lap.500-mile race that has a scheduled start time of 1:00 p.m. ET tomorrow.

    Ryan Newman, No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, and, Mark Martin, No. 5 Farmers Insurance/GoDadd.com Chevrolet, will start in the eighth and 10th positions respectively.

    A total of 17 Chevrolet drivers will take the green flag for the 14th race of the season.

    Kurt Busch (Dodge) was the pole winner. Denny Hamlin (Toyota) will start fourth completely the top-five qualifiers.

    Live broadcast coverage will be provided by TNT TV, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

    PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 PITTSBURG PAINT/MENARDS CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 2ND

    ON HIS LAP:

    “Our car is good. We anticipated rain today so we did a mock run early and we’re trying to start up front. I was hoping for rain, honestly; but to start second in the race after qualifying is a lot more meaningful. The guys have just done a great job all weekend. Long runs. We made a couple of 10-lap runs yesterday and we’re happy with the car. We need to work on a couple little things but it doesn’t fall off as much as we’ve seen a lot of cars do.”

    CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 12th

    ON HIS RUN: “Man I am bummed, that was a butt kicking out there. We got really good in race trim during second practice. We can surely better where we were going to start anyway. I am looking forward to the race, I really am. The track is super fast. I knew it was out there. I would say there is more than out there. All the good cars are going to the back, I don’t know how that works (LAUGHS).

    WHAT IS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR? “We’ve been good, we are just missing speed. The difference is from last year to this year is where we are at on the board. I think we honed in on a good package for the race yesterday in the second practice. We just showed up with the same thing we had here last year and obviously the boys have picked up since then.”

    REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5th

    ON HIS RUN: “I felt like I got it all based on where we practiced. There might be more out there, I don’t think that is a pole run by any means but it was a big gain from our practice mock-up run yesterday. I really wanted to get qualifying in because I really didn’t want to start 28th. The Furniture Row Chevy in race trim is really good. So hopefully we’ll get a little bit better pit stall selection and all that stuff. So we’ll see how it ends up.”

    JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3rd

    ON HIS LAP, WHY DID YOU SOUND SURPRISED AT TIME? “It was just too smooth. When you look at the amount of speed you have to pick up from practice. you know you are going to be pushing it on the edge and be real aggressive. The track has a lot of grip in it but I just didn’t think I pushed it hard enough to be honest. I kind of missed the bottom in one. Felt like I got through the tunnel good and felt like I got through three good but I didn’t feel like I got through anywhere great. It was a nice complete lap, I guess that is what a lap…I swear I’m still saying they need to re-check the time. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel like it was that fast, because, that is fast around here, especially from what we were running yesterday in practice. Couldn’t be more proud of the guys on this DuPont Chevrolet. Made great adjustments. The car was definitely well balanced, and I am really excited about that lap definitely.”

    PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 PITTSBURGH PAINTS/MENARD CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 2ND:

    TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT QUALIFYING AND YOUR STRATEGY FOR THAT

    “We definitely thought it would rain out qualifying today so we did one mock run yesterday early in practice trying to post a good time. We thought that would be our qualifying run, honestly. And we were hoping for rain. Starting second, I was talking to Carl (Edwards) and if we saw any raindrops we were going to say hey man, it’s raining. But it didn’t. To qualify second and actually put a lap down was pretty cool; much more meaningful that way. We have a really good car, a really fast Chevrolet. I did a lot of long runs yesterday in both practices and am very comfortable with the way that the car falls off. It doesn’t fall off as much as a lot of cars do.

    In qualifying, I nailed (Turns) 1 and 3. I was really happy with 1 and 3. I feel like I lost some out there on the exit of Turn 2. I was a little disappointed. I thought we might have had a better lap. But overall it is a good day.”

    DID THE CLOUD COVER MAKE QUALIFYING CONDITIONS RELATIVELY MORE CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT THE SESSION? AND DID THAT HELP YOU EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO RAIN?

    “Yeah, we gambled. On a day like today, under normal circumstances, you want to go out early before the track heated up. But we really thought it would rain, so we posted a good lap in practice, which made us go out late. But looking at the hourly forecast, it was 70 degrees from start to finish, and cloudy. So the track conditions didn’t change a whole lot. It might have gotten a little bit hotter, but I think we had a little bit of cloud cover right at the end and that helped.”

    HAVE YOU BEEN BITTEN BY FUEL MILEAGE IN THE LAST THREE RACES? THIS WILL OBVIOUSLY COME INTO PLAY TOMORROW

    “Yeah, it’s going to be a factor tomorrow, I believe. Starting up front here is so important, but the last couple of races it’s just come down to fuel mileage and who can stretch it at the end. We weren’t in a position to stretch. I think last week we were six laps short, which you can’t make up. So we had to short pit. It’s frustrating in one aspect that it comes down to that and we probably would have wound up about 12th; instead of 19th last week. It also opens up opportunities for guys like Brad (Keselowski) to sneak one out. And we know that we can probably sneak one out one of these days too if everything goes our way and we play our cards right.”

    JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 3RD: TALK ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING EFFORT: “I’ll be honest, prior to that run, I was kind of hoping it was going to rain, because we made a couple of qualifying runs yesterday and weren’t really thrilled with the pace. The track was definitely a lot different yesterday. Hot and slick. We actually made our fastest lap in race trim yesterday. So, I was very happy with the car in race trim. Wasn’t really sure what to expect today. Obviously, looking at the lap times and seeing how fast the track was today, it always gets you anxious when you ran a 54.10 and guys are running in the 52s. It was interesting because right before I left the truck, I told Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) it looks like about a half of a second per corner.

    And a half of a second per corner as a driver isn’t fathomable. To go out there and do that and put up a good lap and be third, I’m thrilled. Very, very, very happy.”

    WITH AS FAST AS THE TRACK WAS AND THE CLOUD COVER, DID IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF YOU WENT OUT EARLY OR LATE? “No that is what saved us. That is the one interesting thing that I’m seeing about the new setup this year with practice speeds determining when you go out. I love the fact that you have to earn the right to go out later, because everybody always wants to go later. But now that they are starting to do qualifying on Saturday and early on Saturday, you don’t want to go late, you want to go early. But, today, due to the cloud cover, it allowed for the qualifying session to stay exciting throughout the entire session because the faster cars were going late and in good conditions. I got a little concerned right there before I went out because there were quite a few good cars that weren’t getting themselves in the top-10. (Greg) Biffle went like two cars before me and he is way back. So, it definitely had me a little concerned whether the track was losing some grip. Plus I saw rain drops, just a little mist of rain, even as I took off of pit road, so, you never know. When you are pushing the car to the limits under those kinds of conditions, the slightest little thing can change it. Even the amount of rain that we had last night, I was concerned if it was seeping up through some of the seams. Coming to the green I felt the grip level and it was very good. I just pushed the car as hard as I could. I didn’t think I had the best lap. I’ll be honest. I got deep into one but when I went to do my downshift, I jerked it up the track a little bit so I didn’t think I made a great turn one. I thought I got through the tunnel decent and I thought I got through three really good. But, as good as the grip level was, I thought it was going to take a whole lot more than that.”

    About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com ce5&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.chevrolet.com%2f> .

  • Dodge Post-Qualifying Quotes — Pocono

    Dodge Post-Qualifying Quotes — Pocono

    Saturday, June 11, 2011 Pocono Raceway Dodge Motorsports PR 5-Hour Energy 500 Post-Qualifying Quotes NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

    KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified First “There are plenty of emotions how things work. Yesterday, with the wreck in practice, we had to go to the backup. If it was raining right now, we would have to start the race last. So, it’s nice that we got the opportunity to go out today, the weather held off for us and our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge was money. I’m not going to give up on my guys; they didn’t give up on me. It was a great lap. If I had slipped up and brushed up against the fence, there would be a big body-work nightmare tonight for the crew.”

    IN THE MEDIA CENTER: “Quite a bit of emotions today, especially after having to burst out the backup car after yesterday’s mishap. To go out there today, if it was raining, we would be starting last. And now, luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole. An amazing swing of events. An honest thank you to my guys, especially the ones back at the shop preparing the cars. To pull a backup out that’s a pole-winning car, that’s something you really wouldn’t hear about back in the day. It would be all-right, we’re going to have to struggle through the weekend; it’s not the best piece (car). It’s great that we have that quality control in our system. We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond. It’s just been some procedures, some processes and maybe just looking at the data a little bit differently. It’s great to come back out and be on the pole again. As a race car driver, I was really, really, really worried with the number 13, I thought I was going to get stuck on the 13th pole for a long while, but number 14 already, we’re moving on.”

    IS THERE A NEW METHODOLOGY FOR QUALIFYING WITH YOUR TEAM? “It’s a matter of knowing where the edge is, but not stepping over it. Yesterday, honestly, I missed my shift point and it got me into trouble. I was trying different things, changing the rear gear, changing the transmission, and just being in a different zone of elements of changes. Normally, the last three years, we haven’t messed with gears at all. It was cool to do that and mess with it and it bit me. Today, we went right back after it and I was aggressive and I used the same procedure as I did yesterday at practice where I wrecked to get the pole today.”

    OUTSIDE OF CREW MEMBER CHANGES, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE THE LAST FEW WEEKS IN YOUR CARS? “Again, I think that it gets back to looking at our data differently and doing it in a sense of I took the apple tree and just shook it as hard as I could at Richmond. We saw which apples fell and which ones were still there. There’s some processes, procedures, a couple of different personnel changes. Quite honestly, it was, ‘Hey, do we want to make this Chase? We got to make some changes’. We’ll look at how we can re-evaluate what we’re doing because heading into the direction that we were, we were just scrapping those top 10s or maybe running 15th and that’s not going to get it done when you want to win a championship.”

    STEVE ADDINGTON (Crew Chief, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) “This 22 crew, the 2 car guys, everybody back at the shop, the fab guys here, what an effort. When we unloaded the backup car, we had made so many changes during practice with the primary car we didn’t get a lot of track time with the backup. I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. The work they did to get this car ready was awesome. To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive. And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”

    BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified 20th “There was something wrong with the throttle linkage. It was definitely stuck. I don’t know if there was a rock in it or what, I don’t know. It was pretty hairy entering Turn One here. Then you add down shifting, it’s even hairier. And then you add the throttle sticking and it’s really, really hairy. We’re just lucky to not bring one back on the hook. It’s a shame. I think this car was fast enough to put down a really good lap, certainly a top-five or top-10 lap. All in all, it was a good effort. I don’t think anyone did anything wrong. I think it just got a piece of rubber, a rock in it that caused it to stick”

  • TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes Pocono Raceway

    TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes Pocono Raceway

    4th, DENNY HAMLIN 9th, DAVID REUTIMANN 17th, KASEY KAHNE 18th, BOBBY LABONTE 19th, JOEY LOGANO 23rd, BRIAN VICKERS 29th, JOE NEMECHEK 31st, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 34th, KYLE BUSCH 35th, CASEY MEARS 36th, MICHEL MCDOWELL 43rd, TJ BELL DNQ, MIKE SKINNER

    DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 4th How did your race car handle today? “We definitely have a good race car. We really don’t expect to qualify awesome here, but it was still a great job by our FedEx team — they’ve just done an amazing job of giving me a good race car each time we come here. We just love coming here to Pocono.”

    Will you shift throughout tomorrow’s race? “Pretty much all day I think you probably will. For us, it just depends whether you’re in traffic or not and things like that all come into play. Just going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. With this overcast condition, it kind of played into our favor in a sense that the track was pretty consistent through the whole qualifying session.”

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 9th How did the weather affect your qualifying lap? “I think it definitely plays a role in everybody’s speeds. The track has definitely got way more grip. You have to drive this place differently according to that. Certainly a lot different than what we practiced yesterday and we didn’t get much of a second practice yesterday. We had some brake issues and the guys worked really hard on the Aaron’s Dream Machine. Hopefully that speed will get us a good starting position for Sunday.”

    Do you have to focus on race wins to get into the Chase? “We don’t have any choice but to gamble at this point. We need to run good and we need to win races. That comes back into the crew chiefs hands and calling the race. That’s a tough deal. You have to gamble sometimes and we’re definitely prepared to do that. That’s the only way we’re going to make up any ground.”

    KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 17th How did your car handle in qualifying? “The car seemed pretty good. I got tight in the tunnel part, but wasn’t tight anywhere else. I think we’ll have a decent starting spot and should be good tomorrow.”

    BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Clorox-Kleenex Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 18th How has your race car handled this weekend? “We unloaded really far off yesterday morning. In that hour and a half practice we had to make our qualifying run or at least get a qualifying run because weren’t sure if it was going to rain or not — we really had a lot of guesswork going into it. In the second practice we got a little bit better. We just unloaded so bad that we just had to go crazy. The lap itself was about as good as we were going to get after not having a lot of confidence yesterday in the race car. We sent Frank (Kerr, crew chief) home for his daughter’s graduation so hopefully he’ll be happy that we got to run today. We picked up from where we were yesterday in practice. The car was much better today and after looking at some pictures and looking at our SIM and looking at a few things — the things that we did I think were better.”

    What were the track conditions today? “Just typical Pocono with a ton of grip. The track has a lot of grip to it and you can go fast. It’s better than what we had yesterday.”

    JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 19th How different were track conditions today? “The track was way, way different. It had a lot of grip. I went into one and turned decent and was okay. Then I picked up the gas and the thing just got sideways. I lost a half-second down the back straightaway. You have to turn so much to get off that corner and I just did not. Little too free.”

    BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 23rd How was your qualifying lap? “That lap wasn’t very good or what we wanted. I left a lot out there. The track had a lot more speed on it than we thought.”

    JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM/FM Energy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 29th

    MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 31st

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 34th

    CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 35th

    MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing LLC Toyota Camry, PRISM Motorsports Starting Position: 36th

    TJ BELL, No. 50 Green Smoke Toyota Camry, Gunselman Motorsports Starting Position: 43rd

    MIKE SKINNER, No. 60 Big Red Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: DNQ

  • Ford Pocono Cup Qualifying

    Ford Pocono Cup Qualifying

    MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 9 Stanley Ford (Qualified 7th) “That was huge pickup for us. You think that one lap won’t make or break your season but Pocono is really tough. We had a tough Kansas and a tough practice yesterday and our team just dug deep. The car was fantastic. I guessed the shift points correctly and here we are. I am really proud of my guys. I have to thank Stanley and DeWalt and everybody for believing in me. Richard Petty too. He is my boss and I have to make him happy.”

    DO YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE WITH THE SHIFTING? “I didn’t yesterday. I don’t know. We just had a tough day yesterday all the way around and we took the night to reassess the situation and the boys did a great job. This place is really tough to qualify at and that is the fastest I have ever been around Pocono.”

    MATT KENSETH, No. 17 Affliction Clothing Live Fast Ford (Qualified 27th) “It didn’t handle very good out there. We didn’t seem to be too bad in race trim. We weren’t necessarily the fastest but we were consistent so that is good. We were just slow in the qualifying trim and the car didn’t handle well. I am optimistic about tomorrow though because we were at least consistent in race trim yesterday.”

    DAVID RAGAN, No. 6 UPS Ford (Qualified 11th) “I think this is a really tricky track to hit a perfect lap on. I think I probably left a tenth or two on the table. I think we have a car that can win the race on Sunday and hopefully we can stay in the top 10-12 with that effort. Drew and the guys did a nice job and it is tough to predict what the car is going to do. We have 25 degrees difference in air temperature and clouds and the time of day. I think we picked up over a second or something, so they did a good job of adjusting the car. It was a good lap and I think we will have something for them on Sunday.”

    GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 3M Ford (Qualified 37th) “We were just too darn loose out there. The car has been like that since we got here and we just haven’t been able to fix it. That was the big issue there. We were just too loose and unfortunately we struggled with that in race trim as well, so we have some work to do for tomorrow.”

    CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Kellogg/Cheez-It Ford (Qualified 6th) “It was an okay run but I was just telling Bob and the guys that that is the fastest our car has been through three and four. I knew we got through one and two really well. The timing was a little shaky and we got a little loose. All I could think was, ‘man, this is a screaming lap and don’t overdrive three.’ I drove in there a little bit soft and this thing stuck. It had so much grip and I knew right then that I gave something up. I tried to get into third gear and get on the gas as early as I could. That is a pole winning car right there. I just needed to drive a pole winning three and four. I am excited about the race. It is nice to be disappointed about a sixth place qualifying position. It should be a really good run for us.”

    SAM HORNISH JR., No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford: (Qualified 26th) “We had good speed. We picked up almost a second and three-quarters from yesterday. It was still tough to know where we needed to be. The car was looking free yesterday and we tightened it up, and for the track conditions we probably went a little too much. So, we did put more speed in the car but we just had to make sure we made it in the race. I’m just really looking forward to tomorrow. I think with what we were able to do in second practice yesterday, and if we have a clean, smart run, we’ll be able to get out of here with a decent finish.”

    DAVID GILLILAND, No. 34 Taco Bell Ford: (Qualified 30th ) “We were pretty good. The track definitely picked up a lot of speed. But we ended up hitting our splitter a little coming through the Tunnel Turn, which cost us some time. We’ll get it tuned up for the race. The pace will slow down a bunch in the race and we won’t have that problem. It’s definitely a lot cooler out here this morning — I think the track temperature was like 40 degrees less. So there was a lot of grip out there and a lot of speed.”

  • Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”209″][/media-credit]After crashing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge in practice and having to pull out a backup car, Kurt Busch was despondent, especially thinking that if qualifying was rained out, he would start the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway dead last.

    But the racing gods were with him, the weather held, and Busch snagged his 14th career pole, with a speed of 171.579 mph and a time of 52.454 seconds. This was Busch’s first pole in 21 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “There were quite a bit of different emotions out there today, especially after having to bust out the backup car from yesterday’s  mishap,” Busch said. “If it were raining today, we’d be starting last.”

    “Now luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole,” Busch said. “It’s an amazing swing of events and an honest thank you to my guys. To pull the backup out as a pole winning car is really something you wouldn’t hear about back in the day.”

    Busch’s pole also signified the third straight pole for Penkse Racing and his teammate Brad Keselowski was the winner of last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway. Busch admitted in the media center after his pole run that Penske Racing has indeed turned a corner.

    “We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond and it’s just been some procedures and processes and maybe looking at the data a bit differently,” Busch said. “It’s great to come back out and get on the pole again.”

    Busch also referenced his superstition, feeling that he was stuck on the ‘unlucky 13’ pole.

    “To be number 14 already, really feels good,” Busch said.

    Busch’s crew chief, Steve Addington, echoed his driver’s feelings about the pole run.

    “I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge,” Addington said. “The work they did to get this car ready was awesome.”

    “To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive,” Addington continued. “And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”

    Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored the outside pole, with a speed of 171.422 mph and a time of 52.502 seconds. This was Menard’s fifth top-10 start of 2011 and his first such start in nine races at Pocono.

    “We definitely thought it would rain out qualifying today,” Menard said. “So, we tried to post a good time early in practice and felt that would be our qualifying run.”

    “We were hoping for rain, honestly,” Menard continued. “To qualify second and actually put a lap down was pretty cool. It was much more meaningful that way.”

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon posted his 22nd top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. He qualified third in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of 171.350 mph and a time of 52.524 seconds.

    “I’ll be honest, prior to that run, I was kind of hoping it was going to rain,” Gordon said with a laugh. “We made a couple of qualifying runs yesterday and we weren’t really thrilled with the pace.”

    “The track was definitely a lot different as it was hot and slick,” Gordon continued. “We did our fastest laps in race trim and so we weren’t really sure what to expect today.”

    “We looked at the lap times and seeing just how fast the track was today, it gets you anxious when you ran a 54.10 and guys were running in the 52s,” Gordon said. “It was interesting because right before I left the truck I told Alan (Gustafson), ‘It looks like half a second per corner’ and as a driver, a half a second a corner just isn’t fathomable.”

    “As a driver, to go out there and do that and put up a good lap and be third, I’m thrilled,” Gordon said. “I’m very, very happy.”

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota and past master of Pocono Raceway, qualified fourth with a speed of 171.174 mph and a time of 52.578 seconds.

    Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continued his hot qualifying hand and rounded out the top five, with a speed of 171.164 mph and a time of 52.581 seconds.

    Starting Lineup
    5-Hour Energy 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=14
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 171.579 52.454
    2 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 171.422 52.502
    3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 171.35 52.524
    4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 171.174 52.578
    5 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 171.165 52.581
    6 99 Carl Edwards Ford 171.057 52.614
    7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 170.836 52.682
    8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 170.532 52.776
    9 0 David Reutimann Toyota 170.348 52.833
    10 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 170.2 52.879
    11 6 David Ragan Ford 170.177 52.886
    12 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 170.126 52.902
    13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 169.908 52.97
    14 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 169.872 52.981
    15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 169.856 52.986
    16 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 169.702 53.034
    17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 169.671 53.044
    18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 169.607 53.064
    19 20 Joey Logano Toyota 169.52 53.091
    20 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 169.501 53.097
    21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 169.447 53.114
    22 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 169.444 53.115
    23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 169.441 53.116
    24 71 Andy Lally* Ford 169.37 53.138
    25 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 169.307 53.158
    26 38 Sam Hornish Jr. Ford 169.278 53.167
    27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 169.224 53.184
    28 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 169.176 53.199
    29 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 169.17 53.201
    30 34 David Gilliland Ford 169.119 53.217
    31 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 169.113 53.219
    32 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 169.084 53.228
    33 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 168.932 53.276
    34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 168.89 53.289
    35 13 Casey Mears Toyota 168.666 53.36
    36 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 168.218 53.502
    37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 167.773 53.644
    38 37 Tony Raines Ford 167.395 53.765
    39 181 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 167.264 53.807
    40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 167.057 53.874
    41 32 Mike Bliss Ford 166.867 53.935
    42 7 Scott Wimmer+ Dodge 162.414 55.414
    43 150 T.J. Bell* Toyota 166.633 54.011
  • Brian Vickers Hopes Exhilaration of Daytona Skydive Carries Over to Pocono Win

    Brian Vickers Hopes Exhilaration of Daytona Skydive Carries Over to Pocono Win

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, is still flying high after skydiving into Daytona International Speedway. He is now hoping that the exhilaration will just continue right into one of his better tracks Pocono Raceway.

    “It was incredible,” Vickers said. “To be able to jump into Daytona was amazing.”

    “Jumping into any other track would have been incredible but Daytona is the biggest event and the biggest track,” Vickers continued. “I thought it would be pretty appropriate and pretty cool to jump in there first.”

    “To be able to see the track from that height was cool and it was beautiful,” Vickers said. “That picture is just burned in my mind for sure.”

    Not only was the Daytona jump exhilarating for Vickers, but it was also a piece of unfinished business for the young driver. Finishing the Dover race this year also fell into that category as well.

    “We had this scheduled last year and it got cancelled due to my health reasons,” Vickers said of his skydive. “So to be able to come back and finish it and to finish what we started meant a lot.”

    “Jumping into Daytona and then finishing Dover were two very important things to me personally,” Vickers said. “Dover was the first race I missed so to finish that race and finish it well was important to me.  Skydiving at Daytona was something we started in 2010 and to go back and finish that was very special.”

    Vickers is counting on that exhilarating feeling from his jump carrying right over into his run at Pocono Raceway, one of his favorite tracks. In fact, Pocono is one of Vickers better tracks, having spent 73.4 percent of the laps in the top 15 in his last ten starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    Vickers has started in the top ten in eight of his twelve starts at Pocono and he has had four top-five and five top-10 finishes. Pocono Raceway ranks second as far as top average-finish tracks for Vickers, with an average finish of 14.3 there.

    “Pocono has been a good track for me,” Vickers said. “We’ve run well. I’ve sat on poles, we’ve been fast and I’ve finished second but we haven’t won here so there is unfinished business here too for sure.”

    Vickers acknowledges that, as good as he is at Pocono, he along with all of the other drivers, will face some significant challenges. Among those are facing yet another potential fuel mileage race, as well as the new ability to shift.

    “This race has been fuel strategy before but sometimes it’s just been a battle at the end,” Vickers said. “It just depends.”

    “You can’t just plan on doing fuel strategy because it just depends on when the last caution falls,” Vickers continued. “It just depends on how the race plays out.”

    “The shifting is going to be power shifting again and I think it’s better for the racing,” Vickers said. “We’ll see more passing.”

    “I never understood why they stopped us from shifting,” Vickers continued. “It didn’t save anything or serve any purpose to my knowledge and it was harder to pass. It was a great decision to start shifting again.”

    Another issue making the Triangle tricky in Vickers’ opinion is the heat, which is a bit of a carryover from the Kansas inferno of last weekend. Yet, Vickers definitely feels that plays right into his hands.

    “It’s been very hot lately and the last couple of races have been very hot,” Vickers said. “I love it because I’m in the best shape of my life. It’s just an advantage that I have.”

    Vickers also admitted that the heat not only makes the drivers miserably physically but can also lead to some heated emotions as well.

    “There have been a lot of hot tempers lately,” Vickers said. “That’s just the emotional part of our sport.”

    “It’s also just the personalities of each individual,” Vickers continued. “The hot head or temper has never been my thing.”

    Vickers also acknowledged that the length of the race, the Five Hour Energy 500, can also take its toll, physically and emotionally.

    “It’s a very long race and it’s actually too long,” Vickers said. “I love Pocono and I want to see them keep their race dates but I think to do that, they’re going to have to shorten the race.”

    “The fans here are amazing and they almost always fill the stands,” Vickers continued. “I really enjoy racing on the track, but it’s too long. But it is what it is for now.”

    Vickers’ final challenge at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ is figuring out his qualifying order strategy.

    “You want to go out early for qualifying so you have to sandbag a little bit,” Vickers said. “But if it rains, you want to be in the front. So, it’s tough.”

    “A lot of it is just going to be playing the weather and whoever makes the best guess for the weather will have that advantage,” Vickers continued. “If it looks like it’s going to rain, they’ll go as fast as they can to qualify late.  But if it looks sunny and hot, you’ll see some guys lay off in practice.”

    “It’s hard because you want to go fast,” Vickers said. “But there’s ways to do it without compromising the performance of the set up or the car.”

    Vickers is also hoping, very earnestly, that Pocono will not only yield a good finish but will also help him continue to climb in the point standings. And, of course, he too has his eye on making the Chase, currently sitting 26th in the point standings, just 29 points shy of the 20th spot.

    “We need to keep climbing,” Vickers said. “We got in a hole at the beginning of the year and we got into some wrecks early in the season. So, we need to get out of this hole.”

    “I still think we can get there,” Vickers continued. “A win or two would put us in the Chase for the wild card and hopefully we can climb our way back up the hard way. But either way, I still think we have a shot at it.”

    What was truly amazing to Vickers, however, was that he actually skydived into Daytona at 5,000 feet, which is just slightly longer than the front stretch of the Pocono Raceway at 3,740 feet.

    “That’s crazy,” Vickers said. “It was exhilarating.”