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  • Matty’s Picks: Vol. 28 – Homestead-Miami – November 20, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Vol. 28 – Homestead-Miami – November 20, 2011

    [media-credit name=”miamihomesteadspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]It all comes down to this, one race, three points, one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. 65,000+ will be on hand Sunday Evening to witness the battle between two-time Sprint Cup Series Champion, Tony Stewart, and number-one contender for the title, Carl Edwards.

    Both men have visited Victory Lane twice in their driving careers, so the tale of the tape sets the stage for an exciting finale this Sunday. The stats speak for themselves this week, with both drivers having success at Homestead-Miami Speedway:

    Stewart
    2 – Wins (1999,2000)
    3 – Top-5’s
    6 – Top-10’s
    12.4 – Average Finish
    3206 – Laps Completed (Most of any driver)

    Edwards
    2 – Wins (2008,2010)
    4 – Top-5’s
    6 – Top-10’s
    5.7 – Average Finish
    441 – Laps Led (Most of any driver)

    Stewart has run all 12 races at Homestead, whereas Edwards has only participated in 7 of the season finales at the track.

    This is the first year that I can remember that The Chase for the Sprint Cup will not come down to Jimmie Johnson NOT finishing the race in 43rd to clinch the title spot. Although Carl Edwards has not won a race during this 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, the new points system has done what it was designed to do, and that’s create a battle until the final lap of the final race of the season.

    I personally do not understand how a guy that has won 4 of the last 11 races does not hold a commanding lead heading into this final race of the 2011 Sprint Cup season, but the “Shootout to the finish” that NASCAR fans have hoped for, has finally become a reality. I am not the kind of person that rewards mediocrity and have often been doted with a “checkers or wreckers” mentality, but I am a bit excited to see this title battle come down to two extremely talented drivers.

    I will be following the first portion of the race on Sunday from a perch high above a little-known Whitetail feeding ground via Twitter updates on Sunday Afternoon (so Mikey, remind me to have a full battery in my cell-phone heading to my tree-stand for night watch).

    Phoenix Recap

    Not a very good Winner Pick for me last week in Jimmie Johnson, wielding an un-traditional paint scheme on the No.48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet last week. Its been a rough go of it for Johnson in this 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, and just when I thought he was due for a win, I was wrong.

    Johnson started 16th last Sunday, and used pit strategy to climb as high as 8th within the first 100 laps. But with little rubber down on the new racing surface at Phoenix International Raceway, fresh tires became a hot commodity as the race wore on. The early, two-tire stop proved to be detrimental to Johnson’s push to the front, as he told his team his car was “scary loose” just before the midway point in the Kobalt Tools 500.

    The crew worked the rest of the race to tighten Johnson’s car up, but only managed to sneak his way back to a 14th place finish.

    My Dark Horse pick last week, Jeff Burton, finished better than my Winner Pick for the first time since the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte last month. It just so happens that my Winner Pick for that race in Charlotte was Jimmie Johnson, and my Dark Horse for that race was last-week’s race winner, Kasey Kahne. Also interesting that my Dark Horse pick last week finished in the exact same position (4th) as Kahne did in October at Charlotte, the last time I picked Johnson as my Winner Pick. Now I’m rambling on…..lay off Uncle Ed.

    Anyway, my Dark Horse was a solid pick for me last week, and if it wasn’t for the willpower of Cousin Carl Edwards, I would have netted myself a Top-3 Dark Horse Pick last week at Phoenix. Yet again, had Carl Edwards not passed Jeff Burton in the closing laps of the Kobalt Tools 500 last week, we wouldn’t have such a close margin between first and second in points heading into this weekend’s grand finale.

    Homestead-Miami Picks

    Due to Mother Nature, I have nothing to go off of making my final picks of the season this week, as rain has delayed all on-track activities this afternoon in Miami.

    Winner Pick

    I have a gut feeling that the winner of Sunday’s race is going also be the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, but I will make it fun and not go with one of the two guys in the battle for the championship this year.

    “The Closer” is the guy I’m picking to win this Sunday at Homestead, against my better judgment. Kevin Harvick sits 51-points behind Carl Edwards in Sprint Cup Series points standings, and also yields a rather impressive history at Homestead.

    Despite not ever visiting Victory Lane at Homestead, Harvick boasts a rather impressive average finish of 7.9 at the 1.5-mile oval. He also has five Top-5’s and eight Top-10’s at Homestead, completing all but one lap of 10 races he’s started in South Florida.

    It’s Harvick I’m going with this week just to make this column remotely interesting, so watch for the Budweiser to be flowing in Victory Lane this week.

    Dark Horse Pick

    The 16th place driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ points standings is A.J. Allmendinger. The guy I’m looking at to mix up the Top-10 this week at Homestead is A.J. Allmendinger. He’s coming off a 6th-place finish last week at Phoenix, falling just one spot short of his season-best.

    Allmendinger has finished in the Top-10, four times in this 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, with two coming in the last two weeks. His short history at Homestead-Miami Speedway has included a 5th, a 10th, and an 11th-place finish, most notably last year starting and finishing in the 5th position. Possibly his most impressive run at the 1.5-mile oval in South Florida was in 2008 when he started dead last on the grid and drove his way all the way to an 11th-place finish.

    Bonus Pick: Who Wins the Championship?

    It’s Stewart that wins the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Sunday…

    I think that consistency will run out for Carl Edwards this weekend, and Stewart will prevail in the end. He’s been untouchable the past 11 races, and I don’t see anything changing this weekend.

    If Stewart can manage to find the point early, he controls his own destiny. The worst thing that can happen for Smoke is for Edwards to get out front and for Stewart to play catch-up the remainder of the race. Edwards has been lucky up to this point, and I think it runs out this weekend with Smoke claiming his 3rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.

    That’s it for this grand finale this weekend, and stay tuned next week for my 2011 Season Wrap-Up of Matty’s Picks.

    Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE NATIONWIDE SERIES WRAPS UP 2011 THIS SATURDAY

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE NATIONWIDE SERIES WRAPS UP 2011 THIS SATURDAY

    The NASCAR Nationwide Series will be a part of the three day champion’s weekend, at the Florida based Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Saturday’s running of the Ford 300. The series’ championship points standings appears to be in a lock down mode. However the Owner’s Points title and Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors are still very much up for grabs.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr is in good shape to wrap up the 2011 Nationwide Series championship this Saturday for Roush Fenway Racing. He goes into Saturday’s race with a healthy lead of 41 points over Elliott Sadler. Stenhouse can officially clinch his first NASCAR national championship with a 37th place finish or better in the Ford 300. He can also clinch the title with a 38th place finish with the single bonus point for leading a lap or 39th after the bonus point for leading the most laps in the race.

    Sadler’s championship hopes literally hit the wall last weekend at Phoenix following a late race accident. His only hope for delivering the title to his team, Kevin Harvick Inc, is an unforeseen miracle involving Stenhouse’s car.

    It’s a completely different story with the Nationwide Series’s coveted Owner’s Championship. Joe Gibbs Racing, (JGR), and their #18 team, leads the standings going into Saturday’s season finale but it’s only have a one point lead over the #60 Ford from Roush Fenway Racing, (RFR).

    The Gibbs team can clinch the owner’s title outright with a win on Saturday. The Roush team needs to gain one or more points on Gibbs for them to wrap up the title. If they can make that happen it will mark RFR’s fourth, consecutive, owner’s title which will also be a new series record.

    With this championship battle so close, there’s also the possibility of a tie between the two teams at the end of the race. Both teams have eight wins this year. That means the tie breaker will be second place finishes. RFR has nine runner up finishes to JGR’s five and that means Roush Fenway will win the title.

    Carl Edwards is the RFR driver who has created these very impressive stats. He’s a previous race winner at Homestead-Miami after winning the 2008 event. Edwards also has a lengthy list of strong runs that has created an impressive average finish ratio of 5.7 at the track.

    The JGR stats were created by Kyle Busch who won the 2009 and 2010 races at Homestead-Miami. Busch will not be in the #18 Toyota this Saturday and will be replaced by fellow JGR Cup driver Denny Hamlin. This move was reportedly at the request of the team’s primary sponsor, Z Line Designs, and was another side effect from Busch’s questionable on track behavior during a NASCAR Truck Series race at Texas. Hamlin has driven in Nationwide Series events in the past at Homestead-Miami and has a 13.2 average finish ratio.

    Also way too close to call is the Nationwide Series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year title. Ryan Truex leads the rookie standings with 188 points but it’s only three points ahead of Timmy Hill and Blake Koch who are tied for second. The really interesting aspect here is the fact that Truex is not entered in Saturday’s race and that provides Hill and Koch the opportunity to settle the rookie title between themselves. However, let’s not overlook the possibility that unforeseen circumstances involving these two drivers could actually give the rookie title to the absent Truex.

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Ford 300 is 200 laps/300 miles around the Homestead-Miami Speedway’s 1.5 mile oval.

    The race has 48 entries vying for the 43 starting positions. 19 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not guaranteed an automatic starting position because they are currently outside of the Nationwide Series’ top 30 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to earn a berth in the race. The lone exception here is Joe Nemechek who can use a past champion’s provisional to make the race.

    The Ford 300 will be broadcast live by the ESPN2 Network with the pre-race show beginning at 4 pm eastern time.

  • NASCAR, take your criticism…….

    NASCAR, take your criticism…….

    Several sources have released that Brad Keselowski has been fined by NASCAR for criticizing electronic fuel injection.

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]During a Q&A session at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Keselowski said he was not a fan of EFI and it’s a “disaster”.

    “We’re not doing this because it’s better for the sport or better for the teams. I don’t even think we’re really going to save any gas.” Keselowski said. “It gives them something to promote. And we’re always looking for something to promote. But (the) honest answer is it does nothing for the sport except cost the team owners money.”

    The fine is reported to be $25,000. This is not new for NASCAR, they have been privately punishing drivers for making disparaging remarks for several years now.

    NASCAR says that the move to electronic fuel injection part of its green initiative, so why can’t drivers tell how they really feel about the change?  Remember all of the negative comments about the COT from the drivers?  After a drivers meeting with NASCAR, now we just hear it’s just the way the car is.

    Sighting Keselowski’s comments were detrimental to the sport, nothing has been more detrimental to the sport than the sanctioning body itself.

    1. 2004, the first ever Cup season using the “Chase for the Cup” points format.

    2. The Car of Tomorrow (COT): Introduced in the 2007, ran a partial schedule of 16 races and a full Sprint Cup Schedule in 2008.

    3. 2011, new “dumbed” down point system.

    Let’s sum it up.

    1. The “Chase” is very unpopular.

    2. The COT, is safer, costs less to maintain (according to NASCAR when it was first released) and was intended to make for closer competition, but it has created boring racing and misrepresents the car manufacturers due to the same body design. NASCAR may fix this by 2013, we will see.  May meaning, they will change the car, not sure if it will be a fix or not.

    3. The new points system is pretty much a wash, but a smack in the face to long time followers that now feel like rocket scientists since the old system was so hard to understand.

    Still unknown, EFI.  Electronic Fuel injection will replace the carburetor as the fuel distributor in the COT starting in 2012.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE FINAL TAIL GATE PARTY OF THE YEAR

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE FINAL TAIL GATE PARTY OF THE YEAR

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”256″][/media-credit]The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be presenting their final tail gate party of the year by closing out their season with Friday night’s running of the Ford 200 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Surprising moments from the series’ previous race at Texas set up the championship profile we will be watching Friday night. But, true to the series’ rich racing history, the Ford 200 is expected to be the latest in a long string of exciting races that will, once again, redefine the term “tail gate party.”

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    Austin Dillon, in his black #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, is looking strong to claim the series’ championship Friday night. He holds a 20 point lead over Johnny Sauter and a 28 point over James Buescher. Dillon can clinch the championship with a finish of 16th or better Friday night, 17th or better after earning the single bonus point for leading a lap or 18th or better with the bonus point for leading the most laps. If that happens it will be the second series championship for Richard Childress Racing. Mike Skinner won the series’ first ever championship for RCR back in 1995.

    It was the events of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Texas Motor Speedway that has given Dillon the extra level of breathing room in the points. Four time truck champion Ron Hornaday Jr entered that Texas race 15 points out of first and very much in contention for a fifth title. But an early race altercation, presented during a caution flag by Kyle Busch that is still being debated, found Hornaday 48 points out of first. The moment the green flag falls at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hornaday will be officially eliminated as a championship contender. It also means that he will be playing the role of spoiler. This is Hornaday’s final race for Kevin Harvick Inc who will be disbanding their truck operation at the end of the year. Hornaday would love to give Kevin and DeLana Harvick one more win Friday night.

    It was another surprise element at Texas that placed question marks on James Buescher’s championship run. In the final moments of this race, he ran out of fuel. That devastating act dropped him from serious contender to long shot. The big winner of these Texas sized surprises was Sauter who moved to second in the standings.

    While Sauter and Buescher are still regarded as legitimate championship contenders Friday night, the reality of it all says they’re going to need some help from Dillon to win this title. Some form of unexpected racing luck that will hand him a finish well down the result charts. It is of course possible, but not very likely.

    Also of interest are the team mate and team connections involved in this race. For example, Austin Dillon will have his season long team mate Joey Coulter who could possibly, perhaps intentionally, wind up in front of Johnny Sauter’s truck sometime during this race. Now add to this mix the presence of the points leader’s younger brother, Ty Dillon, who is driving a Chevrolet Truck that is actually owned by DeLana Harvick.

    Then there’s the potential of the Childress/Harvick connection. The racing connection is obvious: we all know that Kevin Harvick is the driver of Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup team. There’s also a business connection here: Childress recently purchased the assets of Kevin Harvick Inc’s Nationwide Series operation.

    What’s that got to do with Friday night’s truck race? First off Kevin Harvick is entered in this race in one of his self owned trucks and might be inclined to help Dillon if needed. The same could apply to KHI regular season drivers Ron Hornaday Jr and Nelson Piquet Jr. It could also apply to Elliott Sadler, Harvick’s Nationwide Series driver who moves to Childress Racing next year. Sadler just happens to be entered in Friday night’s truck race and will drive for Joe Denette Motorsports.

    Thor Sport, the owner of Johnny Sauter’s ride, has suddenly expanded from two to four trucks for this final race of the season. There is of course the standard appearance of Matt Crafton, Sauter’s season long team mate. They will be joined Friday night by multi-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel and Dakoda Armstrong.

    You also have to consider the presence of potential race spoilers: those drivers, without championship involvement, who will be there just to win the race. First off, the series’ ultimate spoiler and defending race champion Kyle Busch will not be in this race. But his #18 Toyota Truck will be with Denny Hamlin sitting behind the wheel.

    It might be interesting to keep an eye on Todd Bodine during the race. The driver of the #5 Randy Moss Motorsports/Germain Racing Toyota will be looking to keep a personal streak alive. Bodine has won at least one truck series race per year since the 2006 season. But he’s still looking for that first win of 2011 and Friday night is his last chance to keep that win streak going. The Homestead-Miami Speedway is a good venue for him: he’s a two time race winner there. “The Onion” may be coming on a little strong Friday night.

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Ford 200 is 134 laps/201 miles around the Homestead-Miami Speedway’s 1.5. mile oval.

    The race has 42 entries vying for the 36 starting positions. A whopping 17 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams are outside of the top 25 in the series’ owner points standings and are not automatically guaranteed a starting berth. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.

    The Ford 200 will be broadcast live on the SPEED Channel with the pre-race “Set Up” show beginning at 730 pm eastern time.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP IS NOW A CASE OF 1-2-3

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP IS NOW A CASE OF 1-2-3

    Despite the excitement, and potential high level of drama, associated with Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, the conclusion of the 2011 Chase For The Sprint Cup Championship will actually become a case of 1-2-3. That formula breaks down to one race, two drivers and the three points separating them as we head into championship weekend and the Ford 400.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Carl Edwards’ three point lead over Tony Stewart translates into a 13 point lead under the previous points system formerly used by NASCAR. That’s the closest margin between first and second going into a final race in Sprint Cup history and the third closest since the position based points system was created back in 1975.

    Since 1975 only three drivers have made up a points deficit during the final race of the season to win a championship. In 1979 Richard Petty made up two points to take the championship from Darrell Waltrip. In 1992 unexpected circumstances allowed Alan Kulwicki to eradicate a 30 point advantage held by Davey Allison. The most recent case was last year when Jimmie Johnson made up 15 points during the final race to take the title from Denny Hamlin.

    There’s only one way that Carl Edwards can automatically clinch his first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup championship this Sunday: park his Roush Fenway Ford in the Homestead-Miami victory lane this Sunday. That will give him the title no matter what performance levels Tony Stewart rises to. That’s a very possible scenario. Edwards has two wins at this track and a very good set of numbers there. So does Roush Fenway Racing and their high powered Roush Yates Engines.

    Stewart, seeking his third NASCAR championship, is also a two time race winner and knows the fast way around this race track. Stewart will also be looking for a win on Sunday plus the max points available for some padding. For example, if Stewart wins the race and Edwards finishes second then Stewart would win the title based on three bonus points for the win and another bonus point for leading a lap. Under this particular scenario, Stewart would take the title by a mere two points. That’s his best possible championship scenario. If neither driver wins the race, then Stewart will need to finish at least four positions ahead of Edwards and that will not be easy. Even then, single bonus points for leading a lap and most laps led could also become a concluding factor.

    Let’s not overlook the fact that Stewart has been on a hot streak scoring four wins since the Chase began back in September. In the last three races alone he has two wins and a third place finish. If the two championship contenders winds up tied at the end of the race, and that is very possible, then Stewart would win the title based on the best finishes, a tie breaker system used by NASCAR.

    The ESPN Network has made sure that the fans are going to get to witness every aspect of the championship run between these two drivers. Their live coverage of Sunday’s Ford 400 will be viewed by 72 cameras. Two of the cameras will be placed high above the speedway with the sole purpose of following the cars of Edwards and Stewart around the track. There will also be in car cameras in both race cars and two cameras mounted on the ceiling of their respective garage stalls to monitor all activities before and during the race. ESPN has also assigned pit reporters, and a camera crew, to cover all activities of these drivers from Friday morning to Sunday evening. Reporter Shannon Spake will be covering Edwards and his team while Marty Smith will be shadowing Tony Stewart and company. All of this means that we’re going to witness the Chase conclusion for a very comprehensive perspective.

    Also viewing the Chase excitement will be two very special guests. That will be the official Grand Marshalls of the race: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr Jill Biden, the wife of the Vice President, who will be on hand to support the Joining Forces Initiative. Mrs Obama and Dr Biden will recognize members of the armed forces and military families from the local community during the pre-race ceremonies. They will also make an appearance at a special BBQ lunch on behalf of the Initiative.

    *************

    THE LAS VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    To get an insightful profile regarding who’s going to win the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship, let’s take a look at the work of the professional number crunchers from “The Las Vegas Insider,” (LVI).

    To no real surprise, the LVI has series points leader Carl Edwards on top of their favorite list and they’re backing that opinion with 5 to 2 odds. There’s a really good reason for that decision: Edwards has outstanding numbers at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. In seven starts there he has two wins, including the 2010 race, along with four top five finishes and six top ten finishes along with an excellent average finish ratio, (AFR), of 5.7. Also bear in mind that Edwards drives a Ford from Roush Fenway Racing, an organization who also has an outstanding record at this track.

    At 7 to 2 is the other half of the title run. Tony Stewart is also a two time winner at this speedway and, in 12 starts, has compiled three top fives, six top tens and an AFR of 12.4. Like Edwards, he also has strong car support in the from of chassis and engines from Hendrick Motorsports.

    At 7 to 1 is previous race winner Matt Kenseth who also has two top fives, four top tens with an 18.8 AFR. Kenseth will actually make a solid wager consideration for Sunday. He’s another member of the Roush Fenway Ford group.

    Another driver who could possibly play the role of spoiler in this race could be Jimmie Johnson who’s ranked at 8 to 1. He’s still looking for his first Homestead-Miami win, but he does have four top fives, seven top tens and a 11.6 AFR.

    Kyle Busch is ranked at 9 to 1 and the line of thinking here could be two fold: he wants to eradicate that win less Chase streak, 0 for 48, and a win might appease some of the drama this driver has put himself through since the Truck Series race at Texas. However, his Homestead-Miami numbers doesn’t support the theory. In six starts he only has one top ten and a whopping 26.3 AFR.

    The LVI has the tandem of Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon ranked at 10 to 1 for Sunday. Harvick is seeking his first win at this speedway but does have five top fives and a healthy 7.9 AFR. Gordon is also win less at Homestead-Miami but also has five top fives with an 11.9 AFR.

    Looking at the LVI’s middle tier, the quartet of Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin. Kahne is riding the momentum of last Sunday’s win at Phoenix and will be seeking his first win at Homestead-Miami. Busch and Hamlin are previous race winners with AFR’s of 19.4 and 11.2 respectively.

    The one driver that stands out, in the 18 to 1 group, is Biffle. He’s a three time race winner with a respectable 13.1 AFR. Biffle is also one of the Roush Fenway Ford drivers. He could turn out to be a worthy long shot wager consideration.

    Bad Brad Keselowski is rated at 22 to 1 for Sunday’s race while the trio of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer are rated at 28 to 1.

    In the LVI’s lower tier rankings, Martin Truex Jr is ranked at 30 to 1 while the quartet of David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano and Mark Martin are rated at 35 to 1. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Burton are ranked at 40 to 1 while David Reutimann and Brian Vickers are at 50 to 1.

    Concluding the list are Richard Petty Motorsports team mates A J Allmendinger and Marcus Ambrose, along with Paul Menard, who are ranked at 75 to 1. Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith close the list at 150 and 200 to 1. Any driver not on the list is automatically rated by the LVI at 75 to 1 odds.

    Now for the disclaimer. NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted numbers are for entertainment and information purposes. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their events. But for you rebels with a cause, who are going to bet anyway isn’t it nice to know that you have the latest information from the experts at “The Las Vegas Insider?”

    ************

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Ford 400 is 267 laps/400.5 miles around the Homestead-Miami Speedway’s 1.5 mile oval.

    The race has 48 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 13 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not guaranteed a starting berth because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in Owner’s Points. These teams will have to make the race based on their qualifying speeds.

    The Homestead-Miami Speedway opened in 1995. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup event was held there in November of 1999 and was won by Tony Stewart. Since that time there has been 12 Sprint Cup races at the speedway that has sent eight different winners to victory lane. Greg Biffle has a series high three wins there. Carl Edwards is the defending race champion. Roush Fenway Racing tops the team win category with seven.

    The track qualifying record, 181.111 MPH, was set by Jamie McMurray back in November of 2003. Only two drivers have won a Homestead-Miami race from the pole position: Bill Elliott-2001 and Kurt Busch-2002. Nine of the 12 Cup races have been won from starting positions within the top ten.

    From the 2006 to the 2010 racing seasons, a typical event at this speedway averaged 19.0 lead changes, 8.4 caution flags for 35.6 laps with the average green flag run being 24.7 laps.

    The Homestead-Miami Speedway’s original configuration was a four turn, rectangular shaped, oval based on the layout of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The speedway underwent a configuration, to it’s present shape, at the end of the 2002 season. The four turns have progressive banking of 18-19 and 20 degrees. The two straight-aways measure 1,760 feet long by 50 feet wide and are banked at four degrees. The pit road speed is 45 MPH. The speedway presently has seating for 65,000 fans.

    The weather for the NASCAR championship weekend calls for variable high clouds with a slight, 20%, chance of showers with daytime highs in the low 80’s.

    The Ford 400 will be broadcast live by ESPN with the “Countdown” show beginning at 3 pm eastern time. The race rebroadcasts will be Monday morning, 1 am et, on ESPN2 and on Wednesday, 12 pm et, on SPEED.

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: A LAME DUCK REVS UP A RED BULL

    To say that the weekend at “the new” Phoenix International Raceway was interesting would be an understatement. During that Arizona weekend we witnessed a very popular driver, in the process on concluding his tenure with his present race team, return to a NASCAR Sprint Cup victory lane. We witnessed the joy of a first time winner in the Nationwide Series and, most of all, we witnessed the creation of one of the best NASCAR championship scenarios that we’ve seen in years. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

    [media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]HOORAH to Kasey Kahne, and crew chief Kenny Francis, for a very impressive performance in the Sprint Cup’s Kobalt Tools 500. Kahne’s return to victory lane, for his 12th career win, eradicated an 81 race winless streak that dates back to September of 2009.

    HOORAH to Kahne for returning Red Bull Racing to victory lane. Kahne has been often referred to as a “lame duck” driver this year because he’s concluding a one year tenure with this team before he moves to Hendrick Motorsports next year. However the driver and his crew chief has maintained all season that it was very important to them to get a win for Red Bull Racing.

    HOORAH to the timing of the Phoenix win. It’s well known that Red Bull, who is both the owner and the sponsor of the two car team, is leaving NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at the end of this season. Team General Manager Jay Frye has spent the past several months seeking investors to keep the team operational. The impressive win from Kahne could turn out to be be a major help in that effort.

    By the way, there were some strong hints from Frye that says there is at least one investor that is “very close” to signing the papers.

    **************

    HOORAH for the post Phoenix status of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship heading into the final weekend of the season. Carl Edwards, who finished second at Phoenix, and Tony Stewart, who finished third, arrived in Arizona separated by three points. They left Arizona still separated by three points. Both drivers had a stellar day at Phoenix and were constantly aware of each others presence in the race.

    HOORAH to NASCAR for being in position to promote a Chase that likely even exceeded their wildest dreams. Next week’s season finale at Homestead-Miami is going to be loaded with intense drama.

    *************

    WAZZUP with anything and everything connected to the name Kyle Busch overshadowing the importance of the Chase during the Phoenix weekend? Enough already ! We get it. This driver let his anger issues override good judgement on the race track-again. NASCAR levied a fine against him-again, and they placed him on probation-again. Busch issued a public statement, and participated in a formal press conference, to apologize for his behavior-again. He informed us that he intended to use this experience as a personal learning tool-again. We’ve seen this tired little show time after time and it was wrong for this issue, that dates back to November 4th, to overshadow the Chase the way it did.

    WAZZUP with Busch’s primary sponsor, Mars Candy, removing their company logo from the race car for the final two races of the year? Then, in practically the same sentence, they announced they would be returning for the 2012 season business as usual. The word got out that company executives were so incensed at their driver that it turned out M&M’s actually can melt in your hand.

    (A brief pause while the younger NASCAR asks “what does that mean?”)

    Back in the day, way back in the day, there used to be a famous advertising slogan that said: “M&M’s, melts in your mouth and not in your hands.” That’s not necessarily true, M&M’s have frequently melted in the hands of my five year old grand daughter.

    HOORAH to Interstate Batteries for putting their logo on Busch’s car at Phoenix at the last moment. A long time sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing, someone from the company’s marketing department realized that the media attention focused on Busch was certainly going to translate into major television exposure time. They were correct in that assessment. Between the driver’s uniform, the race car and the crew on pit road the Interstate logo collected a lot of television time.

    WAZZUP with the harsh engine luck Busch and company suffered during the Phoenix weekend? They blew an engine during the pre race practice session, which moved him to the back of the starting line up, and then blew a second engine on lap 188 during the race which led to a frustrating 36th place finish. It would appear that Joe Gibbs Racing probably can’t wait to complete the changeover to using power plants from Toyota Racing Development. So far this season JGR has endured 14 cases of engine woes which breaks down to six blown engines during a race and eight cases involving situations where a pre-race engine change was necessary.

    However, prior to the second engine failure during the race, Busch did charge from the rear of the field to third on the scoreboard. He deserves a HOORAH for that effort. It was additional proof of how good of a driver he really is.

    *************

    On the topic of on track shenanigans, WAZZUP with Brian Vickers versus Matt Kenseth? Their latest on track tangle, an off shoot from the Martinsville race, came when Vickers got into the back of Kenseth and bounced him off of the wall. Vickers, on pit road, came over his radio and said “what in the hell was he doing? he just stopped in the middle of the backstretch.” In all fairness Kenseth was having a brake problem with his car and had to lift off of the throttle, while negotiating the entry to the turns, earlier than usual.

    That’s why NASCAR officials viewed the incident as a racing deal and decided to take no action, similar to them parking Kyle Busch at Texas, against Vickers.  It was a decision that did not escape the attention of Kenseth who said: “it was so premeditated. It’s just surprising that NASCAR didn’t do anything. I am disappointed, but I expected it.”

    Vickers admitted that Martinsville payback had been considered but it didn’t apply to what happened at Phoenix and said: “he wrecked me at Martinsville, he wrecked me here, but basically it wasn’t payback. I’m not saying I wasn’t going to pay him back, but I’m just saying that wasn’t it.”

    WAZZUP with that explanation? According to the video replays, which are still being shown on television, Vickers had plenty of time to remove his front bumper from Kenseth’s rear bumper. When Kenseth’s brakes locked up his wheels, and smoke was protruding from them, Vickers was still pushing his car. How could it not be intentional? Vickers drives for the aforementioned troubled Red Bull Racing. WAZZUP with him pulling recent stunts like this while he’s trying to find a ride for next year?

    ************

    WAZZUP with the harsh racing luck suffered by Kurt Busch. After leading 57 laps of the race, and looking like a potential winner, Busch and company cut the fuel mileage too close and ran out of gas. After coasting down pit road, the car stalled and the stopwatch time on the pit stop was extremely long. Making matters worse was the fact that he coasted onto pit road too fast and was assessed a speeding penalty by NASCAR. A potential win turned into a 22nd place finish. Considering this driver’s radio tirades in the past, you can well imagine that Busch had a lot to say about this situation with most of it not fit to be aired on television.

    ************

    HOORAH for the fact that the Phoenix International Raceway’s new pavement and configuration did not create the serious problems that many feared it might. There were eight caution flags that only consumed 30 laps. The Kobalt Tools 500 turned out to be a very entertaining race that was loaded with racing drama that featured 14 lead changes among seven drivers.

    HOORAH to the Phoenix International Raceway for selling out their seats. 85,000 packed the grandstands to enjoy the Cup race. HOORAH for the 4,766,000 who watched the race on television. According to the Nielsen Ratings the broadcast had a 13% increase in viewership.

    ************

    HOORAH to Sam I Am. Sam Hornish Jr won the Wypall 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix. The event marked his first ever NASCAR official points paying race win. Making the moment even more special was the fact that the former Indy Racing League champion also won his first ever IRL race at Phoenix.

    HOORAH to the power of Penske Dodges. Team owner Roger Penske got to enjoy the sight of his two drivers, Hornish and Brad Keselowski finish one-two in this race.

    WAZZUP with that multi-car pile up that occurred on the very first lap of the Nationwide Series race? Contact between drivers Reed Sorenson and Brian Scott launched this incident. Among the victims was Danica Patrick who was in the process of officially launching her new full time NASCAR career.

    Unfortunately, things worse for Danica Patrick’s team following the Phoenix race three days later. WAZZUP with the team getting penalized for “improper attached weight?” The result led to NASCAR fining crew chief Tony Eury Jr $10,000 and placing him on probation until March 28, 2012.

    WAZZUP with the championship efforts of Elliott Sadler hitting the wall? Late in the race, with only 23 laps left, Sadler was passing two cars when he sustained rear bumper contact from Jason Leffler. Sadler, second in the points at the start of the race, hit the wall hard and watched any chance of winning the Nationwide Series title get hooked up by a tow truck.

    HOORAH for Leffler for manning up, during the post wreck interview, by taking responsibility for the accident and apologizing for it.

    HOORAH to Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s fifth place finish in the Wypall 200. His latest top five series finish, combined with Sadler’s unfortunate accident, now gives him a 41 point lead in the championship standings going into next weekend’s final race. He has to finish 37th or better to clinch the title.

    ************

    In some final comments, HOORAH to Ryan Newman’s Stewart-Haas Racing team who, in honor of Veteran’s Day, placed over 350 photos of Vietnam veterans on their U.S. Army Chevrolet.

    HOORAH to driver Paul Menard, and his #27 Richard Childress Racing team, who arrived in Phoenix a day early in order to purchase clothes, food and sleeping bags which were donated to homeless victims.

    The final HOORAH of the week goes to NASCAR legend Mark Martin for a classic moment during a SPEED Channel interview. It’s well known that Martin is a long time fitness buff who observes a strenuous daily work out routine. What we didn’t know was that the 52 year driver likes to do those work outs while listening to hip hop music. Martin said he doesn’t prefer the modern day hip hop artists and chooses instead to listen to the old school artists like 3-6-Mafia. He also said “Busta Rhymes is awesome.”

    How cool is that?

  • F1 – Austin F1 track construction halted

    Organizers of Circuit of The Americas, a premier motor sports racing and entertainment venue being developed in Austin, Texas, are suspending further construction of the project until a contract assuring the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will be held at Circuit of The Americas in 2012 is complete.

  • M&M’s Sponsorship Better Suited For Trevor Bayne

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 500

    With NASCAR traveling to the ‘Valley of the Sun’ for the next to the last race of the season, it was no surprise that the reconfigured race track was soaked instead with liquid sunshine. Yet, the track dried, veteran racer Adrian Fernandez uttered the four most famous words in racing, and the green flag waved as scheduled.

    [media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 24th running of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising:  While it was no surprise that PIR was new and improved, with brand new pavement as well as a new track layout, it was surprising to see the new faces that showed up in Victory Lane this weekend.

    From the Nationwide race with Sam Hornish Jr. scoring his first ever NASCAR win to young Ryan Blaney, son of Dave Blaney, notching the ‘W’ in the K&N Pro Series West finale, PIR definitely had some fresh-faced winners.

    But most surprising was Cup winner Kasey Kahne, scoring his first win since 2009, his first victory of the 2011 season, and his first victory ever at Phoenix International Raceway. Kahne’s victory came in his next to the last ride in his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.

    “It feels great to get a win for Red Bull and get a win in the 4 car,” Kahne said. “To win a race at this level, as competitive as everything is right now, for myself, to see how happy all the pit crew guys were, the guys preparing the race cars at Red Bull, it was pretty cool.”

    “Makes you feel pretty good to be a part of that.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, Carl Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Aflac Ford, and his championship Chase nemesis Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, stalked each other all race long, finishing second and third respectively.

    And not surprisingly, thanks to that close finish, the championship will be decided at the final race of the season in Homestead, Florida. Edwards is currently just three points ahead of Smoke going into Ford Championship weekend, one of the closest margins between first and second in the Chase in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.

    “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a dead heat going in there,” Stewart said of the upcoming Homestead weekend. “We just got to do our job like we’ve been doing.”

    “I’m still pumped up,” Smoke continued. “I want to go to Homestead tomorrow and start. I want tomorrow to be Friday. I’m excited about it and ready to go.”

    “Yeah, Homestead is going to be a lot of fun,” Edwards said. “I really enjoy racing there.”

    “The cool thing about Homestead, you’re going to be able to move around, pass, and not get hung up as badly in traffic as you can at other racetracks,” Edwards continued. “I don’t think there’s a better place to go than Homestead to fight for this championship.”

    Surprising:  After Phoenix, with only those two drivers remaining in contention for the championship, it is indeed surprising that five-time champion Jimmie Johnson will not be six-time champ.

    Johnson, behind the wheel this weekend of a black No. 48 Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished 14th in the race and sits currently in the fifth position in points, 68 points out of first and officially out of contention.

    “Yeah, I’m definitely disappointed that we won’t be able to go to Homestead and race for our sixth, but that’s motorsports,” Johnson said. “It’s a very tough business.”

    “What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular,” Johnson continued. “What we did over the last five years is abnormal. Now we’ll get a taste of normalcy.”

    Also surprisingly, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, especially Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also had difficulty in the ‘Valley of the Sun.’ The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet fared especially poorly, struggling with brake problems to finish 32nd.

    “We weren’t good when we got here,” Gordon said. “We were fighting and battling but then the brake problem happened and that pretty much ruined our day.”

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the No. 88 Retro Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard, also struggled and finished 24th.

    “We pitted and got caught with the caution and lost a couple of laps and just never got a chance to get it back,” Junior said. “We missed it. We didn’t hit it.”

    Not Surprising:  As bad as Hendrick Motorsports team members fared, it was no surprise that the other half of the Stewart Haas Racing duo fared well. Ryan Newman, with his No. 39 US Army Veteran’s Day Tribute car covered with pictures of vets, finished top-five yet again.

    “The guys on the US Army Chevrolet, with the Veteran’s Day special paint scheme, that was an amazing comeback for us to come from 30th to fifth,” Newman said. “I’m really proud of that.”

    Surprising:  Although the two tangled at Martinsville, it was surprising to see the feud continue between Brian Vickers, soon to be out of work with his No. 83 Red Bull Toyota team exiting the sport next week, and Matt Kenseth, race pole sitter, who was looking for a good run in his No. 17 Crown Royal Ford.

    “My two year old could watch that and know it was intentional,” Kenseth said of his wreck with Vickers. “It was real pre-meditated.”

    “I don’t understand what happened,” Vickers said of his Kenseth encounter. “He just stopped on the straight-away.”

    “He wrecked me at Martinsville,” Vickers continued. “He got wrecked here. He just lifted halfway down the back stretch. I’ll count that one.”

    Kenseth finished a miserable34th, dropping two positions to sixth in the point standings. Vickers soldiered on for a 23rd place finish, languishing in the 25th position in the points.

    Not Surprising:  Having had the most miserable week leading up to the race, from being parked to losing his sponsor for the last two races, it was not surprising that Kyle Busch’s most miserable weekend continued.

    Busch had to start the race from the back of the field due to engine troubles caused by human error. He managed to work his way up through the pack, only to have the engine of his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota expire on Lap 214.

    “It’s just devastating,” Busch said. “To go through turmoil like this, all you can do is group together and pull through it and try to persevere and move on.”

    “Catastrophic engine failure,” Busch continued. “It’s terrible to have one in a weekend, let alone two in a weekend.”

    “It’s certainly a tough few weeks and all we can do is look forward to next week at Homestead.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising to see another crew swap during the race, this time for AJ Allmendinger, whose pit crew let him down during a stop, most likely costing the driver of the No. 43 Wix Filters Ford, a race win.

    Allmendinger’s crew was swapped out for the crew of David Ragan, another Ford driver who was not in the hunt, helping the Dinger to a top-five finish.

    “We were losing four or five spots on a stop,” Allmendinger said. “You can’t do that and win a race and those guys are pretty good.”

    “Thanks to the 6 guys, our Ford teammates coming over and pitting the last two stops,” Dinger said. “They did a good job.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, Allmendinger’s Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose also had a good run at PIR. The driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford finished a respectable eighth.

    “We had a good car today,” the Aussie said. “We were solid all day long. It bodes even better for the first half of next season.”

    Surprising:  Since Jeff Burton has had a fairly difficult 2011 season, it was a bit surprising to see the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Global Mining Chevrolet end up with a fourth place finish. The top-five finishing driver hopes that the turnaround will continue right into the 2012 season.

    “The Caterpillar Chevrolet was good, really, all day,” Burton said. “When things are tough, you find out what people are made of. My group has just kept digging and kept their heads up.”

    “Nobody has quit on this team, not once,” Burton continued. “I’m real proud of that.”

    “We’ve run really well the last month and hopefully we will build some momentum going into next year.”

    Not Surprising:  With no ride secured for next year, it was not surprising to see David Reutimann, ousted driver of the No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, drive his guts out for a seventh place finish in the next to the last race of the season.

    “We qualified in the top-10 and we were able to stay up there all day long,” Rooty said. “I’m proud of the crew guys for the job they did today. They really stuck with me.”

    “This is a great group of guys, probably one of the best in the garage and they’ve been with me a long time,” Reutimann continued. “We have one more week together and I want to go out on a high note at Homestead.”

     

  • One to Go…What’s the Difference?

    One to go and we have a horse race, ladies and gentlemen! Despite all the mind games being played by Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards was able to stay even with Stewart by virtue of finishing one place in front of the former champion, even if he did lead the most laps. The question many have these days is why did the Stewart-Haas team get so good so fast? Spending an entire season and being almost a non-factor, what happened?

    [media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Fans have some interesting theories on this and some of it involves Jimmie Johnson, the five-time champ who isn’t in the running this year. Many have told me that since Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas are joined at the hip, all the technology and good stuff is going to Tony. The theory continues that since Jimmie and Chad are being watched very closely, the No. 48 is being very conservative, as witnessed by their lackluster performances lately, and all the good stuff is going to Tony and Ryan. Black helicopters everywhere.

    I don’t know about any of that, but Stewart’s performance has been a real turnaround. He’s gone from a guy who admitted he had little chance or even didn’t deserve to be in the Chase to a guy who can win the thing next week. IN the meantime, Carl Edwards has been doing what he always does—finishing in the top 5 and occasionally the top 10.

    So who is going to win? I am not physic, but if I had to bet the family home, I’d go with Stewart. Why? Mainly because the lineage that goes from the last five championships is not that far from his team. Add to that the fact that the driver is pretty talented. All it takes is a little slip from Cousin Carl and the thing is over. Add to that the theory above—that Hendrick has a team to work on those cars. Also in consideration is that Edwards is ripe for a mistake and that the No. 99 team is not quite ready to win a championship—and I see the handwriting on the wall. I just wonder if Mr. Rick will claim it’s six in a row or if he’ll be more diplomatic. I think you know the answer.

    *****

    I had to wonder, as I watched Brian Vickers deliberately wreck Matt Kenseth on Sunday, if NASCAR would say anything. The silence has been deafening. According to many, Vickers has been planning this since Martinsville. Vickers hit everything but the pace car at Martinsville. At one time, he had caused several cautions with reckless driving. Normally mild-mannered Kenseth had had enough and Vickers was sent into the wall. That’s not anything to be proud of and Kenseth agrees. The trouble is I don’t see anything in what Vickers did that makes it any different than what Kyle Busch did in the truck race at Texas. Vickers had little to lose. He’s not running for a championship, much like Busch at Texas, and payback was easy for him. In this case, Kenseth was still in the hunt, though a long shot, and it was obvious that Vickers intentionally wrecked him. So what’s the difference? History? A long rap sheet of problems? Regardless, it would appear that something should be said about this incident.

    I may be surprised if we get a communication from NASCAR this week, but it appears that this will be considered, “just racing.” It was not just like Carl Edwards hunting down Brad Keselowski so many races ago. And it was no different than what Kyle did to Ron Hornaday, Jr. last week. I think we need a little consistency in what is going on, but I’ve been saying that for about 30 years.