Author: SM Staff

Any NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, still in contention for the Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship, will tell you that the seven day gap between race number six and seven on the Chase schedule has been hectic. If we thought last weekend’s race at the Talladega Super Speedway was a possible Chase maker or breaker, then wait until you see what these drivers are going to have to deal with this Sunday.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]It’s the second seasonal appearance at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. It’s 43 NASCAR stock cars stacked up on a half mile race track with a surface that is half asphalt and half concrete. It’s a racing environment that calls for a unique blend of driver patience and aggression while, at the same time, saving the brakes on the car. It’s an energy draining 500 miles on a short track where the laps go by very quickly. There’s no laying in the back of the pack watching and waiting for the perfect time to mount a winning charge to the front. It’s going to be go time the moment the initial green flag waves in the air.

Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 is a major part of NASCAR’s version of “the final four.” It’s the first of four final races before we learn who the 2011 champion will be. The race could easily have a huge impact on the Chase standings by the time it’s over. Just like Talladega last weekend, Sunday in Martinsville could turn out to become a Chase maker or a Chase breaker.

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THE LAS VEGAS BREAKDOWN

For decades now the Martinsville Speedway has observed a tradition of presenting their race winners with a beautiful, custom, grandfather clock. To determine which driver is going to take home the time of day in grand style, or who’s going to be swallowing Tums after the race, we once again turn to the professionals from the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE), who has crunched some very interesting numbers for us this week.

Topping the WSE rankings this week are Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick at 6 to 1 odds. Johnson is seventh in the Chase standings, 50 points away from first, and it appears that his crash at the Charlotte race combined with a poor finish at Talladega last week has put his drive for a sixth, consecutive, title in jeopardy. Making up 50 points in four races is not impossible but it’s not likely either. Johnson needs a major launching pad for his championship hopes and Martinsville may be the track. His numbers are terrific there and include six wins, 13 top five finishes, 17 top ten finishes and an outstanding average finish ratio, (AFR), of 5.6. This is the guy to watch next Sunday and to bet your money on.

Denny Hamlin, 11th in the Chase 84 points away, has pretty much endured a very frustrating season. Despite his Chase numbers, he still deserves his 6 to 1 rating from the WSE. He’s a four time winner at Martinsville, including winning last year’s race from the pole. He also has eight top fives, ten top tens and a very healthy AFR of 6.6 at a facility he calls his home track. There’s some added momentum for Hamlin this Sunday: he’s only two points from tenth in the Chase standings. The top ten drivers get stage and television time at the awards banquet in Las Vegas. It’s a golden opportunity to acknowledge their sponsors during a high profile evening.

Kevin Harvick completes the 6 to 1 trio this week. After getting caught up in a multi-car crash at Talladega, Harvick fell from second to fifth in the standings, 26 points away. Harvick got his first win at Martinsville last April, but it’s not one of his stronger tracks. He only has two top fives and a 16.5 AFR there. However, this will be a driver on a mission this Sunday and someone worthy of a wager consideration.

Ranked at 7 to 1 by the WSE are drivers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. A surprise 27th place finish at Talladega has left Gordon tenth in the Chase standings and 82 points away. His drive for five championship run is now over but that doesn’t mean he can’t play the role of Chase spoiler and elevate his status. Gordon has outstanding numbers at Martinsville and leads the modern era drivers with seven wins there. He also has 24 top fives, 30 top tens and a great AFR of 7.0. At a facility where track position is very important, Gordon has won the pole position at Martinsville seven times. He’s definitely worthy of your consideration.

Tony Stewart is a two time Martinsville winner with eight top fives and a 13.9 AFR. He will also be a man on a mission this Sunday. He’s currently fourth in the Chase standings, 19 points away, and he knows very well that it’s go time if he’s going to win his next NASCAR title this year.

Kyle Busch is ranked 8 to 1 by the WSE for the Martinsville race. That’s likely because he capable of winning any race he enters. Busch is sixth in the Chase standings, 40 points away, and he knows it’s go time if he’s going to be involved in a final championship profile. The problem here is the fact that his Martinsville numbers doesn’t support the theory. He’s still looking for his first win there and has a 15.6 AFR. There’s also the matter of the so called “Chase jinx”. Busch has made 46 starts, during NASCAR’s Chase format, and is still looking for that first win. However, at 8 to 1, he may make an interesting longshot wager. That jinx has to end sooner or later.

At 16 to 1 odds are drivers Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards. Bowyer will be working from the momentum of last weekend’s last lap win at Talladega. But his Martinsville numbers aren’t that strong. He’s winless there with only one top five and a 14.7 AFR. However things could get a little interesting if Bowyer lends some form of help to Chase contender, and team mate, Kevin Harvick. This will be, of course, entirely up to him because, as we all learned this past Tuesday, “there are no team orders in NASCAR.”

Series points leader Carl Edwards took a rather conservative approach to last weekend’s race at Talladega and went home with his lead padded to 14 points. He may want to consider that approach again at Martinsville. He’s winless there, with one top five, and a 16.9 AFR.

The WSE has drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr and Brad Keselowski ranked at 18 to 1 this week. Earnhardt’s Chase status, ninth at 74 points away, may be over and done with but, if his car is handling good, he could become a possible race spoiler. He missed a win at Martinsville last April by just one lap.

Meanwhile Brad Keselowski just continues to amaze everyone. Not only did he surprise us by making the Chase line up, via the wild card system, he continues to slowly climb up the Chase ladder where he’s now third and 18 points away. He has one top ten at Martinsville and a 13.7 AFR but don’t be too surprised if you see him near the front on Sunday.

Looking at the WSE’s lower tier for the Martinsville race Ryan Newman, 12th in the Chase standings and 88 points away, is rated at 25 to 1. Fellow Chase member Kurt Busch, eighth and 52 points away, is rated at 28 to 1. He’s a former Martinsville winner but also has a 21.1 AFR.

Jeff Burton is ranked at 30 to 1 and his coming off of a strong, second place, performance at Talladega last Sunday. Matt Kenseth, second in the Chase and 14 away, is also ranked at 30 to 1. Kasey Kahne, and Red Bull Racing, comes in at 35 to 1. At 40 to 1 you will find the quartet of Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray while Martin Truex Jr closes out the WSE rankings this week at 45 to 1. Any driver not listed has been ranked at 15 to 1 odds.

Now for the disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted numbers should be used for information and entertainment purposes. They neither encourage nor condone the placing of wagers on their events.

(Now that was team orders !)

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THE RACE BREAKDOWN

The Tums Fast Relief 500 is 500 laps/263 miles around the Martinsville Speedway’s 0.526 mile asphalt and concrete covered oval.

The race has 46 entries vying for the 43 starting positions. 11 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not guaranteed a starting berth in the race because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speed to make the race.

Maintaining a position in NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s point could turn out to be an interesting issue this Sunday. Travis Kvapil, driver of the Front Row Motorsports Ford, currently holds down the coveted 35th position. However it’s only a two point advantage of the #71 Chevrolet fielded by TRG: The Racer’s Group. TRG announced earlier this week that driver Hermie Sadler, who has a lot of experience at Martinsville, will be driving their car on Sunday in hopes he can help get the team inside of the top 35.

Making the starting field based on qualifying speed could be a problem due to the weather forecast for the greater Martinsville area. There’s a 60% chance of rain during the day on Friday and a 90% Friday night. On Saturday, when qualifying is scheduled, there’s also a 60% chance of rain. The good news is there will be a return to sunny skies on Sunday, race day, but it’s going to be chilly all weekend with daytime highs expected to range in the low to mid fifties. The Martinsville Speedway has a fleet of four jet dryers that takes approximately 90 minutes to dry the track.

The Martinsville Speedway’s 0.526 mile oval is uniquely shaped like a paper clip. It has curbs at the bottom of the turns, approximately six inches high, which always provides a challenge to the drivers. There is 12 degrees of banking in the turns. The straightaways are short, measuring 800 feet long, and are completely flat as in zero degrees of banking. The speedway’s pit road is also a major challenge with narrow pit stalls that measures 14 feet wide by 28 feet long. The pit road speed is a slow 30 MPH.

The Martinsville Speedway has a very rich history and is one of the oldest, continually operated, race tracks in the nation. Clay Earles opened the speedway, as a dirt track, back in 1947. The speedway was paved in 1955 and the four turns were covered in concrete in 1976. The fan section has grown tremendously over the years and the speedway now has seating for 61,000.

The Martinsville Speedway has also played a highly significant role in the history of NASCAR. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held there is September of 1949 and was won by the legendary Red Byron. Since that time there has been 125 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Martinsville that has sent 46 different winners to victory lane. The legendary King Richard Petty tops the win list at Martinsville with 15 trips to victory lane. Jeff Gordon leads the modern era drivers with seven wins. Petty Enterprises leads the team win categories with 19. However Hendrick Motorsports, with 18 wins, could tie that mark this Sunday and, at the same time, collect their 200th team win.

Track position is always going to be important in a NASCAR race and that’s especially true at a short track race such as Martinsville. The first phase of good track position comes from qualifying day. The track qualifying record, 98.083 MPH, was set by Tony Stewart back in October of 2005. Three time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip holds the track record for most poles at eight. Jeff Gordon leads the modern era drivers having set fast time on seven occasions. 19 races at Martinsville have been won the pole position.

The Tums Fast Relief 500 will be broadcast live by the ESPN Network with the “Countdown” show beginning at 1 pm eastern time. The rebroadcasts of the race will be Monday morning, 12 am et, on ESPN2 and again on Wednesday, 12 pm et, on SPEED.

So, team orders made the NASCAR news this week in a very big way. It’s very likely that this concept is actually nothing new and has been utilized on occasions for quite a few years. It’s also very likely that advances in modern day electronic communications were the catalyst that turned these team orders into a large blip on the racing radar during the NASCAR weekend at Talladega. Between the fans listening in on the team’s radio frequencies,  comments made on live television and observations made on the various levels of the social networks the word quickly got out that team orders had been put into play.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]The team orders debacle began on the Friday afternoon prior to the race when it was learned that established plans between Ford driver David Gilliland and Chevrolet driver Tony Stewart, to work together in the two car draft, had been cancelled. That was a little surprising because these two drivers had worked so well together during previous restrictor plate racing events.   It was later alleged that Gilliland’s #34 Front Row Motorsports team had been told by someone, never identified, to “try and work with other Ford teams instead.” “We were not banned,” Gilliland said adding “but when you lay out the initial plans, you’ve got to think of the big picture. Ford does a lot for us and we’d really like to see a Ford win this championship.”

We all saw what happened after the final restart of the race, with only two laps remaining. The Ford of Trevor Bayne was lined up behind the Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon. Radio communication between the two drivers established plans to draft together during the race’s final shootout. Nearby in the line up was the tandem of Roush Fenway Ford drivers Matt Kenseth and David Ragan.

When the green flag fell, Ragan fell back in the field due to a reported engine problem. All of a sudden Bayne abandoned Chase contender Gordon to tag team with the Chase contending, Ford driving, Kenseth. In a surprised state of abandonment, Gordon’s car went backwards to a 27th place finish and 82 points out of first.

Gordon had every reason in the world to be angry after the race, but somehow managed to retain a sense of diplomacy during post event interviews. “I think everybody knew coming into the weekend, the Fords made it very clear about what they were doing in working with one another, helping one another out and all those things. So, I didn’t expect him to commit to me on the radio. I expected him to say, man I’m sorry, I can’t. When he said yeah, I’m pushing you; we’re good, I believed him. But I think they had a different plan,” Gordon said.

The issue over team orders hit full strength when the social network entered the picture via “Twitter.” Surprisingly the tweets came from Trevor Bayne himself. In two, high profile, published “Tweets” Bayne wrote: “I’m not happy about what this has become, it’s too premeditated. We should be able to go with whoever is around. I would rather pulled over and finished last rather than tell (Gordon) I would work with him and then be strong armed into bailing.”

Enter the spin doctors. The Tuesday following the race, team owner Jack Roush issued a prepared statement regarding the use of team orders. “At Roush Fenway Racing we expect our individual drivers to make decisions that puts themselves in the best position to win each and every race. That is a philosophy that we have lived by for over two decades, and one that we will continue to abide by going forward.”

“Of course, as in any team, we would prefer our drivers to work together when possible. However, to be clear, we did not micromanage or dictate to any of our drivers, nor any other Ford drivers, how to race at Talladega last Sunday. There are unique codes that all drivers establish and have to live by on the track. How they manage their code is up to our drivers as individuals. This weekend, there were no team orders, from myself or anyone at Roush Fenway, given to any of our drivers as to whom they could or could not choose to run with or assist, nor did I give similar directions or suggestion to any of the other Ford drivers,” the statement said.

Regarding post race comments by Trevor Bayne, the team owner said “I’ve spoken with Trevor and understand that he was put in a situation requiring a split second decision on the track and in his response to questions justifying his actions afterwards, where it was almost certain that not everyone was going to be satisfied. Trevor is extremely talented, but is still very early in his career. Over time he will grow to understand that in such a high paced, competitive and hostile environment it is unlikely that all of his decisions will make everyone happy. I’m confident in his decision making, his ability and actions on the track, and I’m excited as we continue to move forward with his development,” Roush said.

While Trevor Bayne is a full time employee of Roush Fenway Racing, and their NASCAR Nationwide Series program, he’s also driving a part time schedule in the Sprint Cup series in a Ford belonging to Wood Brothers Racing who has a technical alliance with Roush Fenway.

Eddie Wood had no problem with the way the race ended and said “our relationship with Ford Motor Company goes deeper than anyone had or will have. We had to do what we did to help (Ford) win the championship, and I feel like we did the right thing. I’m good with that.”

Jeff Gordon wasn’t the only NASCAR Sprint Cup driver who felt like he had been victimized by alleged team orders. While participating in an October 25th fan meet and greet, at the Charlotte-North Carolina based NASCAR Hall Of Fame, Tony Stewart was asked about his thoughts on team orders. In typically candid fashion he replied “I’ve never seen more politics in a race go on in my life than what I saw last weekend. I think the car owners are to blame, the manufacturers are to blame and the fans don’t deserve that.”

That candid opinion also stemmed from the final two lap shootout of the Talladega race. The Chevrolet driving Stewart had made arrangements to tandem race with Paul Menard’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. However, with Menard doing the pushing, the tandem didn’t really take off in the charge to the front Stewart was hoping for.

After the race Stewart claimed that someone from Childress Racing told Menard he could work with him as long as he didn’t push Stewart past the Childress cars of Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton who ultimately finished one-two in the race. Stewart further alleged that someone, (never identified), was in his trailer monitoring a race scanner and heard a decision to switch to a different radio channel that couldn’t be monitored. It’s believed that’s when Menard was given instructions not to push Stewart past his RCR team mates. Stewart went on to say, afterwards, that he was “disappointed in RCR.”

That allegation prompted yet another post race statement from another team owner. This time it was Richard Childress who said “I went on Paul’s radio and told him to go up there and push Tony and try to win the race. I wanted him to win the race but I also wanted him to push Tony. That’s the way it was.”

There were a lot of social media comments on the issue of team orders. Some of the better ones came from NASCAR racing champion/Fox Sports racing analyst Darrell Waltrip and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver/Speed Channel racing analyst Kenny Wallace.

In a trio of comments on “Twitter”, Waltrip wrote “can you imagine if Jeff Gordon was told to help Jimmie Johnson and he said I can’t, got to help the guy in the Ford?”

In a second “Twitter”, Waltrip wrote: “what if Jeff Gordon bailed on Trevor Bayne? Everybody would be saying the kid should have known better, right?”

In a final “Tweet” Waltrip made this observation: “when I drove we worked together until 5 (laps) to go and then it was every man for himself, it was understood you try to help your brethren.”

The always delightful, and candid, Kenny Wallace had several comments on this topic and began with: “this is FUN to see y’all fired up over Trevor N Jeff, I will explain it more! FORD has Matt (Kenseth) and Carl (Edwards) trying to win the championship.”

Referencing the in car communication between Jeff Gordon and Trevor Bayne prior to the final restart, Wallace said “they did not tell Jeff Gordon the truth because they wanted to WIN !”

When asked if misleading another driver was typical, Wallace “tweeted” “yes it’s very common to lie and cheat in NASCAR and ALL sports do the same. NASCAR is not child’s play It costs 20 million per team.”

In yet another “tweet” Wallace reminded the fans of who sometimes pulls the strings and wrote: “every FORD motor in a NASCAR race car is supplied by Roush ! If you don’t do what Roush says you will not get motors. Everyone knows that.”

Are team orders really a big part of motorsports operations? Probably. We’ve certainly seen enough evidence of it in Formula One racing. Is there anything wrong with the concept of team orders? Not really. They could turn out to be the difference between a race win or loss and could even lead to winning a championship.

Racing is about performance levels and achieving the highest levels from the driver and the car. In turn, a high team performance level could translate into signing a high profile sponsorship deal worth mega millions of dollars. It’s those sponsorship packages that makes the wheels roll. If a racing scenario develops that might require team orders, can anyone blame a team for using them? I can’t.

Even as he tried to win the race himself, Clint Bowyer was also hoping that teammate Jeff Burton won too. The two were trying to outrun each other to the finish line in Sunday’s Good Same Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, which Bowyer ended up winning in a photo finish.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”252″][/media-credit]“He worked so well with me all day long,” said Bowyer afterward. “You hate that it comes down to that. It is what it is. You owe it to your team, to your sponsors to go out and win the race. Unfortunately it came down to that situation. But trust me, I was prepared to push him to the win no matter what the cost was if we would have had people breathing down our necks.”

Bowyer went on to say that a victory wasn’t meant to be for Burton. He also called him a great teammate who he’s learned a lot from. But, Burton has plenty of wins says Bowyer and the Cheerios / Hamburger Helper driver wanted another one for himself.

It was hard though, to take it away from Burton who hasn’t won since 2008. Bowyer was riding a winless streak dating back to this event last season as he also looked to head to his new home with Michael Waltrip Racing next year a winner. Bowyer will leave though as the driver who delivered Richard Childress Racing its 100^th victory.

This victory was bittersweet because of who Bowyer had to beat. With drafting partners a must at Talladega because of the new style of drafting, Bowyer and Burton only left ach other’s bumpers when they need to perform the swap. Otherwise they were glued together and more often than not, were leading the field.

On the final restart with two laps to go Burton and Bowyer again broke away from the field and it left the win to be decided between the two of them. With Bowyer pushing the No. 31 coming to the tri-oval he decided to make his move and let it be a drag race to the finish line instead of waiting until the last possible second to pull out from behind Burton.

“I was going to make sure it was clean,” said Bowyer. “I wasn’t going to put him in a situation where we were going to wreck. We’ve been through too much. I’m telling you, I have a ton of respect for Jeff Burton. He was still going to have a shot at [winning].”

With such a display Bowyer did the unnatural thing as a racecar driver in sacrificing a potential win for himself. Other drivers would have pulled off the move and never looked back but on Sunday, Bowyer was both joyous and a little un-content with his victory. Beating a teammate is never as easy and fun as it sounds.

“If you waited till the tri-oval and snookered him at the end, there wasn’t going to be a shot at it,” Bowyer said. “You would have been able to pull by him, the rest would have been history. Starting the move that early was going to enable him to have a shot.”

As the two headed for the finish near the entrance to turn one the teammates bounced off each other a few times. With Bowyer the victor for the first time in 2011, Burton was left with the uneasy feeling that he couldn’t have done anything different to change the outcome.

“I’m pissed off and I’m happy all at the same time if there is such a thing,” said Burton. Anytime you come here and you can get a top 10, have a car that’s not torn up, you have to at least be somewhat happy with that. However, to come that close and to lose it is disheartening. It’s always worse to lose ‘em close.”

Burton felt that Bowyer made his move too early and it was why he let him go to the bottom. With a longer distance to go to the finish line unlike other oval tracks, Burton felt he had time to get back by Bowyer. But Bowyer had the momentum and the speed, which was why he was pushing to begin with and it ended up helping him in the end.

“He wasn’t expecting it,” said Bowyer. “I know he was expecting for me to wait for the tri-oval because we talked about it. I felt like it was an opportunity to catch him off guard. It did, but it about but me in the butt too.”

To say the least the NASCAR weekend at the Talladega Super Speedway was interesting. There was a surprise two car tandem who crossed under the checkers, there were Chase contenders who wondered if their championship run was over and there were a pair of truck drivers who reminded us that sometimes old guys rule. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]HOORAH to Clint Bowyer for a stunning final lap move that allowed him to win the Good Sam Club 500 for Richard Childress Racing, a team that he will be leaving at the end of this season.

HOORAH to RCR driver Jeff Burton for his tandem racing with team mate Bowyer that was the other half of the final lap drama. This team has been snake bit by horrible racing luck for way too long. The strong run at Talladega had to be a breath of fresh air for them. It was their first top five finish of the season and the first top five since the fall of last year.

HOORAH for the number 100 playing such a big role in the finish of this race. It was Chevrolet’s 100th anniversary which was emblazoned across the hood of Bowyer’s winning car. It was also team owner Richard Childress’ 100th Sprint Cup win.

HOORAH to driver Dave Blaney, and Tommy Baldwin Racing, for their third place finish. It really wasn’t that long ago when they had to run some start and park races due to team finances.

HOORAH to Brad Keselowski’s fourth place finish, after tandem racing with Blaney. This amazing team wasn’t supposed to make the Chase line up. Now their third in the standings only 18 points from the top.

HOORAH to Red Bull Racing drivers Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne for their fifth and sixth place finishes. The future of this team is still very murky right now. This strong showing could help towards the efforts to secure investors for the team.

HOORAH to Carl Edwards for his 11th place finish. Never really much of a factor in this race, Edwards chose a conservative, big picture, approach to the Talladega race and wound up padding his lead in the Chase standings to 14 points.

WAZZUP with Kevin Harvick’s disappointing Talladega weekend? On lap 104 Harvick was caught up in a, no where to go, multi car accident that required lengthy repairs. The result was a 32nd place finish and a drop of three positions, to fifth, in the Chase standings. He dropped from minus five to minus 26 in the points. That’s going to be tough to make up with only four races left in the Chase schedule.

WAZZUP with Kyle Busch’s terrible Talladega weekend? It started with a practice crash that required the use of a back up car. Then Busch found himself caught up in the same crash that sidelined Harvick. The harsh result was a 33d place finish and a drop of two positions in the Chase standings. He’s now sixth and 40 points out in a Chase campaign that’s beginning to tread water.

WAZZUP with the strategy of the racing tandem of Hendrick Motorsports team mates Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson? They chose to ride around the back of the field most of the race in an effort to avoid trouble. The plan was to have the tandem charge to the front in the late stages of the race. But why did they wait so long to make their move? Three caution flags, within the final 30 laps of the race, hampered their forward progress. The result was finishes of 25th and 26th. Johnson is now seventh, at minus 50 points, in the standings. His campaign for a sixth consecutive championship appears to be in trouble.

WAZZUP with Kurt Busch’s terrible Talladega weekend? On lap 175 Bobby Labonte hit the wall hard and crossed in front of Busch who had absolutely no place to go to avoid the hit. The result was a 36th place finish. Busch has now slipped to eighth in the Chase standing at minus 52. He’s yet another victim of Talladega who is watching his status as a Chase contender slip away.

WAZZUP with Jeff Gordon coming up on the short end of what he believed was a solid deal. The final caution of the race led to a two lap final shootout. Prior to that restart Gordon contacted Trevor Bayne and struck a bargain for the two of them to form a tandem and make a run to the front. Bayne agreed to push Gordon’s car. But, under the green flag, Bayne suddenly abandoned Gordon and switched lanes to push fellow Ford driver Matt Kenseth. Gordon quickly went backwards through the field and a badly needed good finish turned into  27th place. After the race, a visibly upset Gordon blamed the situation on “team orders.” He’s now  a dismal tenth in the Chase standings at minus 82 points.

WAZZUP with those reports of team orders among the Ford teams? Allegedly Jack Roush, of Roush Fenway Racing, made it clear that Ford drivers were expected to be loyal to the manufacturer. The question has been raised: is there a place in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing for so called team orders? A lot of the sport’s observers are already saying no.

WAZZUP with that savage wreck suffered by Regan Smith? The lap 181 wreck was head on straight into the wall. HOORAH for the NASCAR mandated safety equipment inside of the cars as well as the SAFER barriers placed around the track. Without that equipment this would have been a very serious accident.

WAZZUP with Smith’s weekend getting even worse when he learned that the tractor, that pulls the team”s car hauler, had caught fire after the race? Crew members were dumping the contents of their fuel cans into a storage can near the front of the car hauler when a spark reportedly ignited the fuel in one of the cans. HOORAH to the crew members for quickly grabbing fire extinguishers to battle the flames. WAZZUP with the “looky Lous”, reported to hundreds of other team members, media and fans, that made it very difficult for the speedway’s fire trucks to get to the scene? HOORAH to Penske Racing who offered to loan the team a tractor so they could transport their equipment to their Denver located shop.

HOORAH to Mike Wallace for winning the Coca Cola 250, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, at Talladega. Wallace was driving the #33 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. HOORAH to Ron Hornaday Jr, in the KHI #2 Chevrolet, who pushed his team mate under the checkers. In his last three starts, Hornaday has two wins and a second. It wasn’t that long ago when Hornaday was 35 points out of first and his drive for a fifth series championship  was beginning to dim. He’s now fourth in the standings, at minus 16 points, and once again he’s looking like a champion.

Both of these drivers, who dominated this event, are in their 50’s. HOORAH to them for reminding us that sometimes old guys still rule.

A God Bless goes to KHI driver Elliott Sadler and his wife Amanda who are waiting on the arrival of their second child. Sadler was scheduled to drive KHI’s #33 truck and it was the stork visit that placed Wallace in the ride.

A God Bless also goes out to Wallace and his wife Carla who celebrated their wedding anniversary in the Talladega victory lane. During that celebration Wallace told his wife “this is your exotic weekend honey.”

WAZZUP with fuel conservation costing Austin Dillon a win and the near loss of the series’ points lead? During the final caution flag, Dillon began turning his engine off and on in order to save enough fuel for what was going to be a two lap shootout. Unfortunately NASCAR informed the team that they had failed to maintain the minimum yellow flag speed. A livid Dillon found himself going to the end of the lead lap line, for an 18th place restart, with only two laps left in the race.

Dillon deserves the HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do. When the race restarted Dillon nailed the throttle and raced hard to a seventh place finish. It was enough for him to retain the series’ points lead, by a three point margin, over James Buescher who finished third in the race.

HOORAH to NASCAR, its race teams and ESPN for making a special effort to honor the memory of Indy Racing League champion Dan Wheldon. It’s certain that this highly charged emotional effort meant a lot to the fallen driver’s family.

HOORAH to Staff Sergeant Jerome Coleman for his outstanding performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” prior to the start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. The fact that he was wearing the uniform of the United States Army made the performance even more special.

WAZZUP with NASCAR confiscating the windshields of three Toyotas during a tech inspection? The windshields were taken from Michael Waltrip Racing’s #00 and #56 teams driven by David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. Also confiscated was the windshield of the JTG Daugherty Racing #47 Toyota, driven by Bobby Labonte, which was built and maintained at the Waltrip shops. Techinical inspectors determined that the windows had unapproved modifications which could have created an aerodynamics advantage. This is probably going to cost MWR a few bucks.

After a moment of silence in memory of Dan Wheldon, who rode with every car at Talladega Speedway, and a hearty rendition of the National Anthem sung by the 82^nd Airborne Chorus, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 43^rd running of the Good Sam Club 500.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”257″][/media-credit]Surprising:  It was surprising that the number 100 played such an important role in the restrictor plate race at ‘Dega this weekend. Clint Bowyer’s No. 33 race car, adorned in celebration of Chevrolet’s 100^th anniversary, also scored team Richard Childress Racing its 100^th win in the sport.

This was Bowyer’s fifth win in 213 Cup races and his first victory in 2011. Bowyer, who seems to have mastered racing at Talladega, scored his second victory and sixth top-10 finish in twelve races at the Superspeedway.

“What an awesome point scheme,” Bowyer said. “This is Richard’s (Childress) 100^th race that he has won in the Cup Series.”

“I told him congratulations and I guess I am going to have to race his ass for the 101st,” Bowyer continued. “It meant a lot to me to get all these guys back in Victory Lane before we cap of this season.”

Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, Bowyer had not just a little bit, but a great deal, of help from a friend to secure the win. Jeff Burton, who has had one of the most miserable seasons to date in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, pushed Bowyer to victory and scored a close but second place finish for his efforts.

This was Burton’s 14^th top-10 finish in 36 races at Talladega. But it was just his second top-10 finish in 2011.

“Well, that is plate racing,” Burton said. “We put ourselves in position to win the race.”

“Clint did a great job,” Burton continued. “We had a great day and anytime you leave here and the car is in one piece, you should be happy.”

“Part of me wants to cry and part of me wants to cheer, but to come that close after the year we have had is pretty disappointing.”

Surprising:  Thanks to one of the most surprising finishes, as promised, kids will eat free at Golden Corral. Dave Blaney scored that top ten required for the free meal, bringing his No. 36 Golden Coral Chevrolet home in third.

Blaney was most grateful to Brad Keselowski, who worked with him all day at ‘Dega.

“I can’t thank Brad Keselowski and that whole team enough,” Blaney said. “Man, he could really push me well.”

“It turned out good,” Blaney continued. “I’m happy for Golden Coral, finally get to feed a lot of kids on Monday and that is big for us.”

Not Surprising:  While Blaney may have been playing the part of fairy godfather, the Cinderella story continued for that driver who worked so well with him at ‘Dega. Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, continued his fairy tale run with a finish of fourth, hoisting him up three spots to third in the Chase point standings.

“This is exactly how we needed to leave Talladega, with a strong finish,” Keselowski said. “I gained points on the leader; gained points on really all the Chase cars.”

“We put ourselves in contention.”

Surprising:  In spite of having its windows confiscated on Friday after failing to pass inspection, the MWR teams, including Michael Waltrip, Martin Truex, Jr. and David Reutimann, rallied to finish ninth, tenth and thirteenth respectively.

“We were right where we needed to be,” Truex, Jr., the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry said. “We’ve had good cars this season but not a lot to show for it.”

“I’m really happy,” Truex, Jr. continued. “We almost had the win.”

The driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, David Reutimann, echoed his teammate’s sentiments.

“We had good stops and a good strategy,” Rooty said. “The entire crew did their part to put us in contention at the end.”

Not Surprising:   Although the Red Bull tandem, especially Kasey Kahne, had some struggles early in the race, the team took flight and finished top-10 at Talladega. Brian Vickers, behind the wheel of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, finished fifth, while Kasey Kahne, piloting the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, finished right behind him in sixth.

“The Red Bull Camrys did a great job of working together today,” Vickers said. “Kasey and I had to go to the back four or five times, but we always got back to the front.”

“This race is nerve-wracking,” Vickers continued. “It takes about two hours to go to sleep after this because your mind is still going 100 miles-per-hour.”

Surprising:  In spite of being ‘dateless’ for much of the early part of the race, Denny Hamlin actually managed to finally find a dance partner and finish the race in the eighth position.

The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing described his race this way.

“It was one of those races where it was just one of those days,” Hamlin said. “I was the odd one out for the whole race.”

“The best I can describe it is we were stuck without a date to the prom, so I was just hitting on everyone’s mom.”

Not Surprising:  With such strange deals and partnerships evolving throughout the race, to continue Hamlin’s analogy, it was not surprising that some prom dates were left jilted at the end of the dance.

Probably no one was more surprised by a betrayal than four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who had agreed to work with Trevor Bayne at the end of the race, only to be jilted, finishing 27^th.

Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, had lost his wingman and dance partner Mark Martin after an on-track spin. Gordon agreed, or so he thought, to partner with his young plate protégé Trevor Bayne, behind the wheel of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, late in the race.

But to Gordon’s dismay, Bayne, following Ford team orders, ditched the champ, going on to work with Matt Kenseth, another Ford driver, instead.

“I just think it could have been handled better,” Gordon said. “If somebody is going to screw you, you’d like them to say it to your face, you know, or at least on the radio.”

“We already had a history of working well together and I thought it was a no brainer,” Gordon continued. “But I probably should have known better.”

“Politics play out sometimes.”

Surprising:  It was surprising that the seemingly dynamic duo of Hendrick Motorsports teammates Junior and Johnson faded into such obscurity by race end. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew “Paint the 88”/National Guard Chevrolet, finished 25^th and Jimmie Johnson, in his No. 48 MyLowe’s Chevrolet, finished right behind in 26^th.

“On that last restart at the end, we had some issues with my car overheating,” Johnson said. “We lost our momentum there and got to the outside and kind of stalled out on top and finished far worse than we had hoped to.”

“We raced a little bit but not a whole lot whenever we thought they were getting a little bit crazy,” Junior said. “The cautions kept coming out and we ran over some debris.”

“We just didn’t have the track position at the end to make a run with two laps to go,” Junior continued. “Just not enough time.”

Not Surprising:  Roush dominance, to no one’s surprise, continued to reign in the point standings even after the rough race at Talladega. Cousin Carl, who finished eleventh in his No. 99 Subway Ford, now reigns atop the leader board with a 14 point advantage.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been so excited about 11^th place,” Edwards said. “Even though it is not a win, it is a big battle in the war and a huge day for us.”

Now nipping at his heels, however, is Edwards’ teammate, steady Matt Kenseth, who finished 18^th in his No. 17 Jeremiah Weed Ford , moving up one position to second place in the points.

“It was frustrating that we ran up there most of the day,” Kenseth said. “David (Ragan) was a great drafting partner but he broke something on the last restart.”

“I had to try to find somebody with two laps to go and that is hard,” Kenseth continued. “We made it through so I guess the damage could have been worse.”

Surprising:  It was blessedly surprising how well all of the safety measures worked at Talladega, one of the sport’s fastest, and most dangerous, superspeedways. Just ask Regan Smith, who took one of the hardest hits of the day.

“Yeah, it was not a fun hit,” Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, said after crashing so hard into the safer barriers that they had to be repaired before the race could re-start. “It is what we do at restrictor plate tracks and we unfortunately get caught up in other people’s messes.”

To add insult to injury, Smith’s hauler suffered a fire after the race as a result of some fuel spillage.

“It is what it is,” Smith said with a sigh.

Not Surprising:  With the wreck and death of Dan Wheldon in the IndyCar Series last weekend weighing so heavily on everyone’s mind, it was no wonder that many of the drivers were just grateful to come out of the Talladega race unscathed.

“I am alive, so that is good,” Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, said simply. “I am disappointed with the result but with everything that was going on out there and with as much stuff as happened, I am pretty thankful that we were just able to cross the finish line at the end.”

Perhaps Brad Keselowski summed up the Talladega race weekend best.

“It must have had something to do with the memory of Dan (Wheldon) on the back of the car,” Keselowski said. “I just want to say a shout-out to him and his family.”

With the Chase as close as it has been through five races and especially with the new point system, it’s hard for a driver to extend their point lead. It’s even harder to do so after a race at Talladega Superspeedway but Carl Edwards did so on Sunday afternoon.

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]Entering the day with a five-point advantage on Kevin Harvick, Edwards like every other Chase driver was just looking to survive. He did so by playing it safe and earning an 11^th place finish. It puts him now 14 points ahead in the Chase lead, the largest it has been, over teammate Matt Kenseth.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been excited about 11^th place,” said Edwards afterward. “This race was one that is nerve-wracking for everyone. We came in here with a small points lead and we’re leaving with a bigger one. That’s a huge day for us.”

Thanks in part to another teammate, Greg Biffle. The two played possum in the back of the field for nearly all of the races 188 laps. Looking to avoid trouble and be around when it mattered most. Edwards also didn’t want to cause any trouble, something he did in the Chase a few seasons ago which not only ended a few drivers’ championship bids, but earned him a new enemies as well.

Not the case on Sunday. He and Biffle stayed out of trouble and capitalized on other drivers problems. Because of the new two-car drafting Biffle became an important part of Edwards’ day and success. The two stuck together, never leaving each other’s bumpers and worked their plan from start to finish. Something that Edwards was thankful for in the end.

“I cannot believe how much Greg helped us today,” said Edwards. “I owe him a lot. Greg stuck with me all day. The last lap, he was driving my car from back there. We got separated and he was screaming, ‘Go, go, go.’ Then somehow he found me again, pushed us back up through there a little bit. Just a very, very good day. Just really appreciate Subway being onboard. Good to get them a good finish. Even though it’s not a win, it’s a big battle in the war, a huge day for us.”

The series next stop is the paperclip in Virginia, a track that Edwards has never won on. But following his performance and good fortune Sunday, he now says he has never been as excited to get to Martinsville as he currently is. Ready to rock, is what Edwards feels.

But it doesn’t mean that he’ll be breathing any easier. Unlike Talladega where a driver isn’t in control of their own destiny, Edwards knows that anything can happen over the next four weeks.

“No, no,” said Edwards about feeling in good shape and taking a breath. “That would be nice, I’d love that. We’d have to have a hundred-point lead to take a breath. Anything can happen. I’m proud of our team, where we’ve come from, how far we’ve come in the last 18 months. It’s unbelievable.”

Edwards says that it shows how hard everyone has worked. And how much responsibility everyone is willing to take in order to fix what was needed to be fix. It helps Edwards have fun driving what he believes is the best team and best cars in the sport. Yet, he knows he has stiff competition from another driver who has exactly the same thing.

Coming off a win at Charlotte and a 18^th place finish at Talladega, Matt Kenseth is also in championship form and now Roush Fenway Racing drivers sit one-two in points.

“I’m a little nervous about Matt, honestly, ‘cause I know how good he is and how good his team is,” Edwards said. “Having him in second doesn’t make me breath easier competitive wise.”

Neither does the fact that Edwards has been here before. Chasing a championship and being oh so close to holding the trophy. In those cases though, Edwards was left standing on the sideline watching another driver do it. And with some of his best tracks ahead, he still won’t think about what could be for 2011.

Instead he’s content just knowing that his team is competitive every week. Right now, says Edwards, his team is better than they were in years past when they were in this position. Everything is better in fact, the team and the cars.

“Just glad to be in the position I’m in,” he said. “It’s amazing to drive these Fords right now for Jack [Roush, owner]. It’s a lot of fun.”