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  • No. 11 of Canadian Tire Series Schedule: Komatsu 300 at Riverside International Speedway

    No. 11 of Canadian Tire Series Schedule: Komatsu 300 at Riverside International Speedway

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    For race no. 11 of the 12 race schedule, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be heading to Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, Nova Scotia for the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 4:30 p.m. AT. This marks the series’ fifth visit to the 0.333 mile oval that has been designed based upon Bristol Motor Speedway’s configuration.

    In the past, weather has been a factor as the race has been postponed a day twice in the previous four events.

    Like last week at Barrie Speedway, everybody will have their eyes on the championship battle between Scott Steckly and DJ Kennington. Steckly, who won the championship in 2008, currently leads the points, 69 points over defending series champion Kennington after the Wild Wing 300 last Saturday.

    Steckly has ran decent on the 0.333-mile oval in the past, scoring a second place finish last year. Before that, he only had one other top-10 at Riverside, which came in 2007 with a sixth place finish. He has also led a total of 182 laps at Riverside.

    In contrast, Kennington won last year’s race and finished third in his track debt in 2007. He has led a total of 194 laps, also.

    Other drivers who have won at Riverside include Mark Dilley, Andrew Ranger and Don Thomson Jr.

    Coming off his third career win at Barrie Speedway, Dilley is looking for another solid weekend to possibly crack the top five in points. He won the inaugural series race at Riverside in 2007 and has since finished fourth, third and eighth.

    Thomson Jr. won at Riverside in 2008 while finishing third last year. Thomson is looking for his eighth series win and is hoping experience from leading 53 laps at Riverside over the years will help.

    Ranger, who has been running a limited schedule this year, is not scheduled to participate in this weekend’s action.

    While everybody will have their eyes on the point standings and the lead pack, another battle going on is the Rookie of the Year battle. Currently, L.P Dumoulin leads Isabelle Tremblay by two points, John Farano by seven and Steve Mathews by 13. According to the mathimatics of the award, all of these drivers have a possibility to still win it.

    The rookie points system is a simple one. The top-finishing rookie driver earns 10 points, the next collects nine points and so on down the line to one. Should there be more than 10 rookies in the field no driver earns less than a single point.

    Originally this year, Dumoulin was only going to run the road courses, though the rookie standings have him now running the final oval events of the year.

    “(Oval racing) is really different from road courses,” the Trois-Rivieres, Quebec native. “The driving style and car setups are nothing alike, but I enjoyed it. All of the teams have been really helpful with information. That was a big help.”

    Meanwhile for Tremblay, it has been something that’s been on her mind all year.

    “That was one of our goals from the beginning,” Tremblay, who scored her best career finish of eighth at Mosport earlier this year, said. “We’re in good position to win it with a little luck.”

  • NCAT: Frustrations Take Over Barrie Speedway, Penalties Handed Down

    NCAT: Frustrations Take Over Barrie Speedway, Penalties Handed Down

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    NASCAR announced that two NASCAR Canadian Tire Series drivers and three crew members have been penalized as a result of rules violated at Barrie Speedway on September 10thafter racing was over.

    J.R. Fitzpatrick and Kerry Micks were found in violation of Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock-car racing – aggressive driving and excessive speed on pit road after the race) of the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series rule book.  They are both on probation for the final two races of schedule and remain on probation till September 28, 2011. Both drivers sped down pit road after an on-track altercation on the final lap where Micks spun out Fitzpatrick due to earlier contact.

    Matt Vanderwal, crew chief for Don Thomson Jr. was found in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock-car racing – involved in an altercation (fighting) in another competitor’s pit area) and 9-4 (the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members). Vanderwal has been fined $500, suspended from the final two races and placed on probation until December 31, 2011.

    Josh Turner, crew member for No. 3 of Jason Hathaway, and Chad Turner, crew member for Don Thomson Jr., were both found in violation of Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock-car racing – involved in an altercation (fighting) in another competitor’s pit area). Both have been fined $500, suspended from the final two races and placed on probation until December 31, 2011.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series returns to the track this weekend for the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment at Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

  • Stephen Leicht Makes the Most of Richmond Opportunity

    Stephen Leicht Makes the Most of Richmond Opportunity

    After being out of a race car for two years, Stephen Leicht got the opportunity of a lifetime to slide behind the wheel of the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing at Richmond this past weekend.

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: prweb.com ” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]And the young driver took full advantage of it, staying out of trouble, finishing the race right behind Chase contender Matt Kenseth, and taking the checkered flag in the 24th position.

    “That was a great night for us,” Leicht said. “I was very proud of the entire Golden Corral TBR team.”

    “We weren’t very good when we unloaded and in practice on Friday,” Leicht continued. “We completely aborted the first set up we had in and completely changed the race car.”

    Leicht admitted that not only did his team work hard on the car, but he also had to work hard on himself particularly as he had not been in a race car for over two years.

    “We got it driving good and then jumped up a little bit on the speed charts in the second practice,” Leicht said. “Part of it was me not being in a car for two years and part of it was the race car. But all in all, the team did a great job all weekend and I thought we ran pretty well in the race.”

    After being away from the sport, Leicht experienced many emotions when the command to start engines was given under the lights at Richmond, ranging from relief to anxiety to intense focus and just trying to have fun.

    “It was relieving to be back in the car,” Leicht said. “I’ve spent a lot of time preparing myself and you’re always anxious the first time back in a race car.”

    “You want to be smooth and fast and do well but at the same time, you’ve got to be cautious because you haven’t been in a car in a while,” Leicht continued. “But the guys gave me such a great race car, that it really was easy to focus on what I was doing. And racing with some of the best in the world was a lot of fun.”

    “I thought I’d be really nervous but to be quite honest, I was so focused,” Leicht said. “The car was locked in the points so that gave me the opportunity to just race.”

    “Knowing that going in, I tried not to get nervous and just focus,” Leicht continued. “I was very surprised that I was able to do that.”

    Leicht said that the opportunity to drive the Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 36 came about three months ago, after a conversation with the team owner.

    “I’ve known Tommy (Baldwin) since back in our Yates days in 2006 and 2007,” Leicht said. “Basically, I had some sponsorship opportunities coming up and he was working on some stuff as well.”

    “He said, ‘Let’s go do some testing and we’ll see how that goes,’ Leicht continued. “Things just clicked and we got to go to Richmond.”

    Leicht admitted that he faced many challenges in the 54th Annual Wonderful Pistachios 400. One major challenge was getting the car to handle on short runs in addition to the long runs, as well as handling his own physical reaction to being behind the wheel.

    “For us, we had two biggest challenges, one was that our race cars just would not go on re-starts,” Leicht said. “We definitely have to work on our shorter run package.”

    “Personally, my biggest struggle was that my body was not used to all the heat in the race cars for that long of a race,” Leicht continued. “It’s a different world out there and you definitely have to be in shape. I got pretty dehydrated in the race. But all in all I thought everything went great.”

    Leicht said that another major challenge for him was balancing racing hard for himself while also respecting the drivers in the Chase, as well as those trying to make the Chase. And he was definitely cognizant of the beating and banging that went along with that.

    “I believe I came on the radio about 50 laps into the race and asked if they always wrecked that much,” Leicht said with a chuckle. “There was a lot going on and I was dodging a lot of stuff out there.”

    “You want to do great as a team and as a driver and for your sponsors, but at the same time with me not running for points and the team not being in the Chase, we had to be respectful of the ones trying to make the Chase and the ones locked into the Chase,” Leicht continued. “It definitely changes the game plan a little bit.”

    “But all in all, I think we were able to balance the two well,” Leicht said. “I was very pleased with the outcome.”

    With the Richmond race in his rear view mirror, Leicht is now focused on the upcoming race at Chicago in which he plans to start and park for Tommy Baldwin Racing. After that, there are no further formal plans in the work.

    “I’m not sure about anything else at this point,” Leicht said. “We’re just focused on trying to make the race at Chicago this weekend and you never know, there could be an opportunity for getting some more laps in this year.”

    “I just know that we’re focused on what we’ve got going on sponsorship-wise for next year,” Leicht continued. “Our goal for next year is full-time racing, myself and (Dave) Blaney.”

    “That would be awesome because Blaney is a great guy and a great driver and it would be awesome to be teammates with him.”

    Although Leicht’s focus is now on continuing his Cup career, he has a long history in racing, starting at the young age of six in go karts. And for Leicht, racing was his savior as far as keeping him out of trouble.

    “It was my parents’ way of keeping me out of trouble,” Leicht said. “I was kind of a bad little kid but I loved to race so much that my parents told me if I stayed out of trouble, they would allow me to race.”

    “It didn’t take long and I was winning a bunch of races, Leicht continued. “Then it became more than a hobby and became a passion of mine. And I’ve been doing it ever since. I can’t get enough of it.”

    When asked what one word would best describe him as a racer at this stage in his career, Leicht said simply, “Determined.”

    He then shared a caveat to the determination, that of being very grateful and very proud.

    “I’m very proud of the TBR organization,” Leicht said. “And I can’t thank Tommy Baldwin enough for this opportunity.”

     

  • Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Keselowski Trying Not to Think about Wasted Bonus Points

    Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Keselowski Trying Not to Think about Wasted Bonus Points

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]A year removed from finishing 25th in points with just two top 10s, Brad Keselowski qualified for the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Saturday night in Richmond. Call him this season’s Cinderella story, or breakthrough driver of the year, either way Keselowski has stolen the show.

    “I’m viewing it like a one-year-old that got his first box of crayons,” Keselowski said of making his first Chase in only his second attempt. “It’s great, everything is fresh, new, and a lot of positive momentum. No matter what happens in the Chase, it’s still an honor to be in it, and that doesn’t mean I’m making excuses if we don’t run well.”

    With good reason, Keselowski said he’s going to enjoy the Chase. With an open mind and by running hard every week, he has every reason to be excited about what he could do next.

    Entering the mid-summer stretch Keselowski sat 22nd in points with one win, two top fives and two top 10s. In order to take advantage of that win to make the Chase’s wildcard, Keselowski would have had to get into the top 20 in points. After breaking his ankle testing in Road Atlanta the first week of August before the Cup race in Pocono, it didn’t seem possible.

    But who knew that a broken ankle would be exactly what the team needed. August became the month of Keselowski as he won two out of four races while he finished second and third in the other two races.

    Suddenly Keselowski was the championship favorite. He catapulted to 11th in points entering Atlanta with just two races left in the regular season. His three wins though clinched his Chase birth in at least a wildcard position. Richmond would be icing on the cake depending on his finish.

    “I felt like superman when we came in and put new tires on,” Keselowski said after his 12th place finish. “There was a couple of other guys that came in with us and we were able to drive up to the pack even much faster than I anticipated.”

    Struggling early in the event, Keselowski only had a brief moment of greatness as the No. 2 Miller Lite team struggled with speed. But as Keselowski revealed, he was superman on new tires as he drove into the top five during a portion of the race and moved within two points of the top 10 in the championship standings.

    Even though already clinched in the Chase, had Keselowski been able to finish the regular season in the top 10 in points it would have allowed him to use the bonus points from his wins for Chase reseeding. Instead, Keselowski remained 11th in points, wondering what could have been.

    “We would have much rather preferred to have capitalized on the wins and get in the top 10 obviously,” Keselowski said, “but we gave it a good effort. It was going to take a lot to get it done, but certainly going to look back at the first half of the year and wish that we’d have been able to find those 20 some points or whatever t was we were off.”

    Rightly proud, is Keselowski of the season that he and his team have had thus far. Not many would have put Keselowski in their predicted Chase field lineup before the season started and others wouldn’t have thought he’d win a race, let alone three. He’s done both and knows those are great accomplishments in themselves, regardless of how the Chase plays out.

    “I think most people would tell you having won three races is a good year and making the Chase,” said Keselowski. “Trying not to get too greedy about having the three wins and the bonus points. Just thankful for the year we’ve had and going to keep working, got some momentum and a lot of things to be proud of this year.”

    Just as it was Saturday night, Keselowski feels that speed will be a factor in the Chase. Keselowski wants to be a factor in the championship and keep the amazing run that he’s been on leading up to it going. Going to Chicago this weekend he’s 12 points out of the lead and 10 races from shocking the NASCAR world more than he already has.

    Of those 10 weeks, Keselowski doesn’t feel there will be a bad track for him. He’s won at Kansas and Talladega; he captured the pole earlier this year at Charlotte. Most importantly, he’s proven that past statistics don’t mean a thing. No one saw him coming this year and his competitors shouldn’t overlook him going into the Chase.

    “We’ve got what I feel like are some good races for us coming up in the Chase,” said Keselowski. “Going back to Kansas, which we had run good at even before we won, and I think of tracks like Martinsville, I think we were really there as well. I think we’re going to come back to those races and be really strong.

    “I think there’s not really a bad track coming up for us in the Chase and I feel like we we’re really on a high note and I feel like we’ve got as good as shot as anyone else. I really believe that.”

  • NASCAR Looks Ahead to the Chase for the Sprint Cup After a Volatile Night in Richmond Sets the Field

    NASCAR Looks Ahead to the Chase for the Sprint Cup After a Volatile Night in Richmond Sets the Field

    NASCAR’s regular season is officially over and now as we look forward to the first race of the Chase and the 12 drivers who will be giving chase to the coveted Sprint Cup, you can’t help but wonder just what the next 10 weeks will bring. A lot of drama spawned from the Wonderful Pistachios 400. Tempers flared, frustration grew, cars damaged (on accident and purposefully), egos bruised, and on track enemies made. Many of the drivers who were still mathematically eligible to make the Chase vocalized the need for a conservative approach on the track and to simply stay out of trouble, but Saturday night under the lights at Richmond International Raceway proved anything but.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”251″][/media-credit]The proof is in the stats. The caution flag waved a record 15 times that night. The poor flagman barely had enough time to take back the green flag from honorary starter Frank Siller, founder of the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Tower Foundation and brother of a NYC firefighter who died on 9/11, after whom his foundation is named before having to grab for the yellow as the first caution of the night came out on lap two. Driver s barely made it a handful of laps before another incident occurred. Green flag. Yellow flag. Repeat.

    On lap eight the short track version of “big one” happened after contact made between Chase hopeful, Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann collecting Chase favored Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin in the carnage. It was way too earlier in the evening to be feeling that kind of tension in the air, but it was palpable. The battle had begun and it wouldn’t be long before drivers picked their individual sparring partners.

    Kasey Kahne chose wrong, he fought the wall for the first time on lap 27 and then again on lap 51 after going three –wide with Marcos Ambrose and teammate Brian Vickers. The wall remained victorious as Kahne’s No. 4 Red Bull Toyota was towed off the track and the driver taken to the infield care unit. Physically Kahne was all right, but there was that bruised ego that I spoke of earlier to contend with.

    Vickers chose Ambrose to a duel, he let the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford know just how displeased he was by intentionally wrecking Ambrose under caution on lap 53 and purposely blocking his entrance to pit road. NASCAR won that one by effectively putting Vickers into “time out,” sending his No. 83 machine to the garage for bad behavior. He was allowed to return to the track 68 laps later after thinking long and hard about his actions.

    Earnhardt Jr. brawled with Travis Kvapil on lap 152 by giving him a taste of his own medicine. Kvapil made contact with Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Amp Chevrolet earlier in the race and it was now time for some payback by sending Kvapil’s No. 38 Ford into the turn two wall.  Earnhardt Jr., who was a lap down, may have thought he’d win that battle by getting the free pass to get back on the lead lap, but NASCAR saw differently. Since Earnhardt Jr. was involved in the incident that brought out the caution he was awarded the “unlucky dog” pass and stayed a lap down.

    Like Kahne before him, Paul Menard took his chance with the wall on lap 172. Once again the wall reigned victorious, sending he and his No. 27 Menards Chevrolet to the garage and ending any hopes of making the Chase.

    Kurt Busch started a feud with Jimmie Johnson on lap 185 that would prove to be an all night thing. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet spun in turn two after making contact with Busch. On lap 246 the pair brought out the 11th caution of the night, Johnson in what looked to be a payback attempt, bumped Busch’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge sending Busch into a spin on turn two. Busch avoided contact with the wall and won the war, as Johnson’s so-called revenge was not so sweet after all, as his car spun out of control and hit the wall, sending him to the garage for repair. 33 laps later Johnson returned to the track on lap 278 and to Busch’s rear bumper by lap 283. However, no further contact was made between he two.

    Hamlin and Earnhardt Jr. fought the odds of making the Chase in their busted up racecars in the 392 laps that followed their crash on lap eight, but in the end proved triumphant. They earned they way into the Chase the hard way and victory never tasted sweeter as the two were all smiles in the Media Center. Hamlin maintained his streak of making it into every Chase since his full time Sprint Cup career began in 2006 and Earnhardt Jr. affirmed that he’s still got it and proved his naysayers wrong by making it back into the Chase after a two year hiatus.

    Tony Stewart, the third hopeful to make the Chase, did so quietly and consistently, clinching his spot on lap 103.  Surprisingly, Stewart fought with no one, on of off the track in Richmond.

  • Paying Tribute to 9/11: NASCAR, Richmond International Raceway and the Fans Get it Right

    Paying Tribute to 9/11: NASCAR, Richmond International Raceway and the Fans Get it Right

    On Saturday, Sept. 1oth, I spent my entire day at Richmond International Raceway. I literally went from tailgate to trackside, something that I’d never done before, something that I’d never even thought to attempt. It’s always been one or the other, fan or journalist, but never both. I generally make the trek from Washington DC to Richmond on my own and do my job from the confines of the media center and infield. I have not seen a race from the stands or mingled in the crowd in over three years.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]This weekend was different though, as we all know, this race fell on the same weekend of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. For many this was more than just your average race day, this was a time to also reflect and pay tribute to those we lost in those terrible attacks a decade ago. So, when several of my coworkers expressed interest in going to the race, I changed my normal routine to give them the best race day experience they could hope for.  For many of them this would be their first experience with NASCAR. I wanted them to be hooked, to feel what I felt at my first race, I wanted them to want to come back for more. 

    We arrived at the track at 10am and staked our ground by parking six vehicles to form a virtual square. In the center we set up tents, tarps, tables, chairs and grills. We strategically placed the coolers, cranked up the CD player and even hooked up a flat-screen TV complete with a DirecTv dish in the back of an SUV to catch some College football before heading into the track. The perfect setup for the ultimate tailgating party. There were 16 of us in total. We varied in age, gender and race to form a perfect little melting pot. You see, we are more than just mere coworkers, we are also great friends. Anyone who has had the opportunity to attend a race knows that you may come with the friends you know, but you leave a race with even more. A NASCAR race is the perfect setting to hang out with thousands of the closest friends you never knew you had. 

    We ate until we felt that it was impossible to take another bite and then we ate some more. We played cornhole and ladder-ball. Some relived their college days by playing competitive Flip Cup and Beer Pong. Some watched Virginia Tech beat East Carolina from the bumper of a Chevy Trailblazer, while others laid in the sun, just soaking it all in. We mingled and met new people. We shared our stories with them and they with us. After several hours of hanging out next to our crazy brood, a gentleman with his own large group of friends finally mustered up the courage to ask just how in the world a group like us came to be at a NASCAR race together. “I don’t mean this to sound rude or disrespectful by any means, but I’ve been trying to figure out what your connection is with each other other,” he said. “I’m looking at you and you’re from all walks of life, it is an interesting combination of people you’ve got here.” I hadn’t given it any thought until he said something, but by looking at us we did look a bit like a United Colors of Benneton ad. 

    I told him that we all worked together. He questioned what it was that we could possibly do that would accommodate all of the varying personality types. I explained that we were all healthcare providers that worked in the Emergency Department in the suburbs of the Washington DC metropolitan area. It’s funny when you say that to someone because you can actually see when the light comes on, that moment that it suddenly makes sense. The moment that they think “Oh man, they work in the ER, that explains the craziness!” It’s true, one has to be a little crazy to do the jobs that we do. We’re made up of Nurses, Paramedics EMTs, Registration Clerks and medical school students. In any other world, in any other profession who knows if we would have made a friendship connection, but in our world it just makes sense.

    We know what it’s like to see the worst of the worst. We all had our own 9/11 stories to tell, what we went through and experienced not only from a personal point of view but from a medical one as well. Many of us waited on that day in 2001 to help victims that would never arrive. We share a unique perspective of that day. We were at the track this weekend not only to watch what would turn out to be one of the best races of the year but to commemorate an anniversary of a day that everything changed and will never be forgotten. A day that for many of us was the worst day of our lives.

    I listened to countless stories on Saturday of where people were, what they were doing and how they reacted. Sometimes you can’t remember what you ate for breakfast but everybody vividly remembers exactly where they were ten years ago today. On Friday I listened to drivers being asked the same question, each of them had a story to tell, each of them a little different than the next. It is easy to forget at times that NASCAR drivers are “people too.” Their larger than life personas that play out on our television screens weekly affect our way of thinking, but under their flashy firesuits and fast cars there is someone that we can genuinely relate to. Our so-called racecar driving heroes have heroes too. 

    On the last race of the regular season, on a night that sets the Chase and makes for huge headlines in the sporting world, drivers respectively took a backseat to the memory of the 343 New York firefighters who lost their lives, not in the name of heroics, but simply because they were “doing their jobs,” to the 184 souls killed at the Pentagon, to the 33 passengers and seven crew members on Flight 93 who bravely gave their own lives in an attempt to stop the hijackers from crashing into another building, to all 2977 innocent lives lost and to to the families left behind and to the servicemen who fight everyday for our freedom and protection.

    NASCAR not only said “I will,” they united and delivered. Then asked the question, “Will you?”

    As I made my way from the parking lot to the infield before the start of the race and was handed a tiny American Flag, I knew the answer to that question. I along with over 100,000 others that night at the track said a resounding “Yes!” The pre-race ceremony was like none I’d ever witnessed before. It was emotional and gracious. Crowds cheered when former Mayor Mayor Giuliani appeared on the video scoring tower screens to offer his appreciation, tears were shed as New York City police officer Daniel Rodriguez sang “God Bless America” and respect was given to wounded warriors, USMC Corporal Todd Nicely and US Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Flags waved in unison in the stands as fans and broadcasters paused for a moment of silence between laps nine and eleven. It was patriotism at it’s finest. 

    I left the track at 1am, some 15 hours after I arrived. Exhaustion was beginning to set in as I made my way to my car. Something on the ground caught my eye, a cutout of a yellow star mixed in with celebratory confetti that littered the infield. I instinctively picked it up and was holding it in my hand when it occurred to me that it was now officially Sept. 11th. I reflected for a moment on the events of the day, the race had been one heck of a wild ride, arguably one of the best of the season, but it was more than that. Richmond International Raceway, NASCAR and the fans got it right on a day, 10 years ago that was filled with such wrong.

    NASCAR will never forget and neither shall we.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Wonderful Pistachios 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Wonderful Pistachios 400

    [media-credit name=”Ted Seminara” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]With tributes to the troops, America and to all lost on September 11th, NASCAR’s finest took to the Richmond International Raceway to determine the twelve who will Chase for the Championship. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 54th annual Wonderful Pistachios 400.

    Surprising:  The unhappiness of this driver with his car at the beginning of the race contrasted starkly with his surprisingly overwhelming joy and happiness in Victory Lane. And yet even in victory, the winner of the race stopped to pay tribute to those who serve and to the country, as well as to his mother on her birthday.

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, claimed his fourth victory of the 2011 season and his second victory in 22 races at Richmond, locking him into a tie for the top seed in the Chase.

    “This is pretty awesome,” Harvick said as he climbed out of the car to cheers and spraying of the sponsor’s product. “First thing I want to do is thank all of our troops for everything they do for us. This is a special weekend.”

    “And I want to say ‘happy birthday’ to my mom tomorrow,” Harvick continued. “This is just a great night and a great weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  Although getting in by the skin of their teeth, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Denny Hamlin overcame problems during the race to finish seventh, sixteenth, and ninth respectively, establishing their places in the Chase, ninth, tenth and twelfth respectively.

    “I’m probably most proud of the fact that we’ve had six opportunities to be in the Chase and we’ve made it five out of the six,” Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, said. “We’re able to sit up here tonight and say we’ve made this thing.”

    “I wouldn’t have predicted it halfway through the year with the way our season was going, but real appreciative of our guys who kept their heads up and kept working really hard.”

    “Well we just kept working and trying to fix the car,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said of his No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet. “We were tore up pretty bad in the front end and was just really loose in. We worked on it and worked on it and fought for everything we could.”

    “It was an unbelievable comeback,” Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota. “This car really is destroyed and it’s amazing how fast we got this car considering the circumstances.”

    “We were just able to motor up through there.”

    Surprising:  Although Richmond is a short track and tempers traditionally run hot, it was surprising the intensity of the feelings between one-time champion Kurt Busch and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who managed to find one another yet again to bring out the eleventh caution of the race.

    “We raced down into Turn One and I locked up the left front trying to avoid him,” Busch, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, said of Johnson. “When he came back to us, you could see it coming.”

    “That’s not something you see from Jimmie Johnson every day,” Busch continued. “So I know we’re in his head.”

    “He’s got to learn to race,” Busch said. “He’s been able to beat guys the last five years just by out driving them just what he has for equipment.”

    “I’m going to beat him fair and square with my Penske Dodge.”

    “I got run over going into (Turn) One,” Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Power of Pride Chevrolet, said after the race. “If you’re going to spin me out, I’m going to spin you out.”

    “It’s just part of it,” Johnson continued. “I’m sure I’ll go find him and talk to him and he’ll run his mouth and we’ll go from there.”

    “I’ve worked very hard to not have any contact with him,” Johnson said. “I made a move to break the draft and I didn’t touch his car.”

    “He instigated it and ran into the side of me,” Johnson continued. “If he can stop running into my Lowe’s Chevrolet, everything will be just fine.”

    Busch finished fifth in the race and, in stark contrast, Johnson finished 31st. Johnson, however, now becomes the only driver to qualify for each of the eight Chase competitions, from 2004 to 2010.

    Johnson is seeded sixth in the Chase and Busch is ironically right behind him in the seventh spot.

    Not Surprising:  In contrast to the hot tempers, three drivers in particular remained calm, cool and collected to not only finish the race with top ten finishes, but secure their places firmly in the Chase.

    Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford, almost caught winner Kevin Harvick in the final laps of the race, settling instead for a second place finish. This was Edwards’ seventh top-10 finish in 15 races at Richmond and his 17th top -10 finish this season.

    “Well, once I get over the frustration of not winning this thing, I am going to be really excited about how fast our team is,” Edwards said. “We really turned things around tonight.”

    “That is the best we have run on a short track in years,” Edwards continued. “That was huge. I had a good time and I am ready to go get this Chase on.”

    Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, was bitten by the final caution to score a third place finish. This was, however, Gordon’s 24th top-10 finish in 38 races at Richmond.

    “That definitely did not fall our way, but that was a great battle,” Gordon said. “That was fun.”

    “This team has got me excited and they’re on fire,” Gordon continued. “To be up there to take the lead and have a shot at winning that thing was awesome. We’re very excited.”

    And Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, decked out in a red, white and blue 9/11 tribute paint scheme, scored a sixth place finish after recovering from losing a lap due to a loose wheel.

    “It was just a hard-fought battle tonight, and certainly we had to battle through more adversity than we would have like to,” Busch said. “But that’s what’s going to make us better.”

    “We fought through everything it seemed,” Busch continued. “It was fun to drive that thing.”

    Surprising:  Red Bull Racing had a surprisingly bad day, with Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, wrecking twice, once with a tire going down and once into his own teammate Brian Vickers, behind the wheel of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, as a result of contact with Marcos Ambrose.

    “I just know I started to turn when the 83 hit me hard,” Kahne said. “It was a weird deal.”

    Vickers had an even stronger reaction, expressing his anger both on and off the track at Ambrose. Although speculation had it that Vickers had been parked by NASCAR, he ended up spending a great deal of time on pit road attempting to repair the car before visiting the NASCAR hauler after the race.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that several drivers just out of the top twelve came oh, so close to making their Chase dreams a possibility.

    A.J. Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford, had a great run, finishing 11th. Yet he still came up short, remaining in the 13th position in the point standings.

    Clint Bowyer, driving the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, also gave it his best college try, only to finish 22nd after a difficult run, including losing his air conditioning ten laps into the race and tangling with fellow competitor David Ragan, also trying to  make the Chase in his No. 6 UPS ‘We Love Logistics’ Ford.

    “I got under David and I didn’t get any room left and spun myself out,” Bowyer said. “I drove as hard as I could and gambled and did what we could to try to win the race.”

    “Nothing’s gone our way since Charlotte half way through our season,” Bowyer continued. “There’s always next year.”

    Surprising:  Stephen Leicht, in only his second career race, had a good run for the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet. Although Leicht finished 24th, he was in contention throughout, demonstrating that his time away from the sport has not hurt his abilities behind the wheel.

    Not Surprising:  Brad Keselowski, again showing that he is NASCAR’s hottest driver, brought the Blue Deuce to the checkered flag in the 12th position. ‘Kes’ has now cemented his place firmly in the Chase seeded 11th.

    “We just didn’t give up,” Keselowski said. “We got a little momentum going.”

    “When the Chase comes you’ve got to out-finish what you have for a car and we’re doing that,” Keselowski continued. “It’s Chase time and we’ve got the Blue Deuce in it.”

  • Even with an Extra $100,000 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Finds Little Solace in Third Place Finish

    Even with an Extra $100,000 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Finds Little Solace in Third Place Finish

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won an extra $100,000 on Friday night and extended his championship point lead but he was still disappointed.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]After finishing third in his Fastenal Ford, Stenhouse didn’t hide the fact that he wanted more. Never leading a lap Friday night but coming close battling with the leaders like teammate Carl Edwards and eventual winner Kyle Busch, the Tennessee driver has come a long way in order to be upset with a top five finish.

    “It was a great race for us,” Stenhouse said. “We worked hard on it all night. We struggled a lot more than we expected to. We felt like the past couple of races here we had something that could win the race but we struggled with our Fastenal Mustang a little bit.”

    Stenhouse’s performance bagged him the aforementioned $100,000 from Nationwide’s “Dash 4 Cash” program. He was the highest finishing driver of those eligible and the win puts him in the running for another $100,000 payday at Charlotte next month. It was an added reward for the 6 team after a solid performance Friday night.

    “That was a great points day for us and all the Roush cars were fast,” Stenhouse said. “We have to keep doing this every week. We didn’t make mistakes tonight, I don’t think we had one area that we made a mistake in, other than not getting our racecar where we needed it to be. Other than that, we have to stay positive. We have been running really well and go on to Chicago.”

    Entering Chicago and the final seven races of the 2011 NNS season, Stenhouse holds a 16 point lead over Elliott Sadler and a 45 point lead on third place Reed Sorenson. With two victories this season, the most of any NNS regular, Stenhouse can’t find much to be upset with, except whom he’s been finishing behind lately.

    “It is definitely frustrating,” Stenhouse said about Cup drivers Busch and Edwards beating him. “I wanted to be a little more excited about winning that Dash 4 Cash. Finishing third makes it tough to do that.”

    During portions of the race Stenhouse felt he had a car capable of running with Busch. For 10 laps Stenhouse would run some of the fastest laps on the track before starting to fall off. The car would get tight and he would be spinning the tires.

    “It is disappointing to finish third but then again it is good to be up there racing with those guys,” Stenhouse said. “They are champions and win a lot of races, so to be in contention to win is a good thing in this series.”

    Stenhouse’s two victories came by overtaking the Cup drivers. At Iowa in May he bested teammate Edwards and Brad Keselowski. Then at the same track last month he again bested Edwards in a fantastic finish. Cup drivers have won 23 of 27 NNS races this season with Busch taking home eight trophies and Edwards six.

    Following in their tire tracks though has been the resurgent Stenhouse and company. Friday night he was best in class for the NNS regulars, unable to catch the powerhouses in front of him. Stenhouse said he struggled in turns three and four, which allowed Busch and Edwards to pull away from him down the frontstretch.

    “I would gain on them in one and two and then we were a little too tight in three and four,” Stenhouse said. “I would have to basically stop the car to get it to turn and go the other way. That is really what we struggled with all night.”

    As Stenhouse moves forward he knows where he can do better and it comes from in the driver’s seat. Drivers like Busch and Edwards know exactly what they need and how to communicate with their team.

    “Sometimes I think I struggle with that,” Stenhouse revealed. “Telling them exactly what I need to make my car faster. Kyle made his better and he normally makes it better every pit stop it seems like. Carl was better at the beginning and was catching him at the end, he just ran out of time I think.”

    While crew chief Mike Kelley and the No. 6 team made Stenhouse’s car better on Friday, they too ran out of time. Moving forward for the team as they chase their first championship, being able to make the car better will be an important key to success.

    Said Stenhouse, “We just tried something to get us a little bit extra and go after those guys and it just didn’t work for us.”

  • Despite Recent Struggles Dale Earnhardt Jr. Excited and Positive Entering the Chase

    Despite Recent Struggles Dale Earnhardt Jr. Excited and Positive Entering the Chase

    He still hasn’t won a race but for the first time in three years Dale Earnhardt Jr. has ended a streak, he’s back in the Chase for the Championship.

    Saturday night in Richmond the No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard team battle back from a lap eight accident they were collected in to officially secure their spot. Going down a lap on multiple occasions and making over 10 pit stops, Earnhardt Jr. and company brought home a racecar that looked as though it went 10 rounds at Martinsville to a 16th place finish.

    [media-credit name=”Ted Seminara” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]“We had a pretty good year,” Earnhardt Jr. said afterwards. “Tonight didn’t start off too good. We got in a little bit of a crash there. The 33 [Clint Bowyer] spun out early and I think everybody back there behind him was alerted of the accident except for one or two guys and they come through there and drove a few of us into it.”

    Earnhardt Jr. hit Bowyer square with his nose, severely damaging his Chevy. Afraid of lifting the hood in case it wouldn’t shut, the team decided to work around the damage by pulling out and taping what they could. The car ran fine for about ten laps Earnhardt Jr. said before the right front tire started showing wear and tear.

    “We got lucky, got the lucky dog a bunch and ended up finishing [16th] somehow” said Earnhardt Jr. “I was disappointed we didn’t get to show how good a car we had because I thought we had a good one yesterday in practice and it’s all over with now. We’ll just see how we can do in the Chase.”

    Dropping to 10th in points, Earnhardt Jr. will stay seeded there as the Chase starts next week in Chicago. When it does all the positive energy and confidence he had when his team was running top five in points earlier this season will be back. Making the Chase was something Earnhardt Jr. has felt his team was capable of doing all year long and there’s enough relief to go around that he has.

    “’I’m proud to be in the Chase,” he said. “I feel like I’m a good enough driver to be in the Chase, my team is good enough to be there. As a group I think we’re good enough to be in the top 10, and I can look back over the season and just as easily think of several instances where we cost ourselves 10 or 15 points and made this situation difficult this weekend. But we’re a good team and I’m proud to carry my sponsors and HMS in the Chase and represent them in the Chase and hopefully we’re going to work real hard. Hopefully we do a good job.”

    A good job much like Saturday when the 88 team refused to go down easily. Steve Letarte led the team with his calm, cheerleading attitude and made sure they had a plan. Every chance they got the car was repaired and adjustments were made as they worked their way through the field. While Junior Nation sat on the edge of their seats for 400 laps, Earnhardt Jr. never blinked.

    “No, I wasn’t worried at all,” he said. “I had seen racecars run good at short tracks before and I figured we had all night to fix it. I felt like if we were a good enough team, we’d get the job done. Brad had to run his ass off to win the race, to run in the top five to make it tough on us. He almost did that, but I felt good. I knew my team could fix the car good enough and if everything fell the right way for us as far as cautions and getting them lucky dogs, getting an opportunity to work on the car, we’d be fine.”

    The final 100 laps it became easier to breathe. Earnhardt Jr. climbed into the top 20 where he needed to finish to clinch his Chase spot, regardless of what his competitors did. Now in, Earnhardt Jr. can start thinking about the future.

    “We’ve got to turn a different setup than what we ran tonight and in the last six weeks frankly,” he said about the Chase. “But we had a pretty good run at it going the first 15 races and for whatever reason we sort of fell off and forgot some things or over-engineered something. But we need to look hard at what we’re doing, what we’ve been doing.”

    Earnhardt Jr. would like to go back to running how he did in those first 15 races. He was third in points for many weeks and was coming ever so close to finding victory lane before things started going downhill entering the summer. Now though, all Chase drivers will start with a fresh slate.

    “Steve has told me he’s been kind of conservative,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But we’ve been conservative on the motor and a couple of other things the last several weeks to make sure we don’t have any problems like engine failure and there’s some other things on the engineer’s side. We’ll just see. I don’t think any of that stuff is really going to make us faster but we’ll go in there with a good attitude.”

    Right now though, life is good in the Earnhardt camp. He’s back in the Chase, he’s confident and he’s ready to go forward.

    “I’m in the Chase and I’ve got an opportunity to run for the championship,” he said late Saturday night. “I’ve got an opportunity to compete and improve my points position and improve the overall payout. I’ve still got a race to run … I think it does validate our team. I think it says a lot about our team and I’ve always felt like this team was good enough to be in the top 10 and I feel like tonight, we almost gave it away. We got outrun all year long several different times but we almost gave it away a few times too. So, I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do all year.”

  • NCTS: Mark Dilley Comes Out Victorious After Last Lap Incident in Wild Wing 300

    Short tracks always seem to bring close racing and the Wild Wing 300 presented by Independent Electric Saturday night at Barrie Speedway for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series was no exception as there would be contact with the leaders in the final laps.

    On the green-white-checkered restart, Kerry Micks and JR Fitzpatrick would start side-by-side. With history being on their side with past incidents between them, the eventual contact of Micks spinning Fitzpatrick around was no surprise.

    Though amidst the smoke, Mark Dilley would find his way past both Mick sand Fitzpatrick to score his third career victory.

    “I just thought I’d stay as close as I could to everybody and that way by the time they went, I would go through,” he said. “They just tapped just going down in 1 there and I just seen smoke and I just turned left as hard as I could and floored it and we got lucky.”

    Dilley had qualified the car in the seventh position, though ended up starting at the back of the 22 car field to start the race. This mark’s Dilley’s first win since Cayuga Motor Speedway in 2008.

    “Its good to win in your hometown and all that,” he said in victory lane. “Barrie Speedway has been good to me obviously over the years with the racing. It was just a good race. The guys did a great job on the pit stops. We had to go to the back at the beginning and I just tried to keep my head and not knock the wheels off it and it just worked out good.

    “I can’t thank Rheem, PartSource, all the sponsors enough. They make it possible. They’ve been sticking with us through thick and thin so I mean this one’s all for them.”

    Jason Hathaway would grab second and Kerry Micks would end up third at the end of it all.

    “We started 12th and tried to be real calm coming through and I think we did a real good job there,” Micks said afterwards. “We got all the way up to the lead there without too much damage to anything or anybody. J.R. goes through my spotter and says, ‘Let’s just have a nice clean race here’ and I said, ‘Okay. That sounds good to me.’

    “And we go into the second corner and he puts me completely sideways and you know that’s just not right. When you got your man’s word to say something like that and I said okay, and just didn’t happen. He put me sideways and I said, ‘I’m not taking that’.

    “Then we’re going down the front straightaway and he puts me in the front wall. I’m passing him on the outside and he puts in the wall. I said, ‘What are you thinking?’

    “Anyways, I don’t want to race that and its just too bad, but I don’t take any…..”

    Don Thomson Jr. would come home fourth followed by Jeff Lapcevich, Brad Graham, DJ Kennington, Joey McColm, Fitzpatrick and Chris Raabe. Kennington would rally back to a seventh place finish after spinning to bring out the final caution of the evening.

    Meanwhile Kennington’s points rival and the pole sitter, Scott Steckly, would lead 147 laps before having a wheel issue, which caused him to finish 15th. Steckly now leads Kennington by 69 points with two races remaining.

    The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be back in action next weekend on September 17th with the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment at Riverside International Speedway.

     

    Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
    1 7 9 Mark Dilley Rheem/Exide Dodge 310 185 5 Running
    2 11 3 Jason Hathaway Snap-on Tools/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge 310 175 5 Running
    3 12 02 Kerry Micks Dickies/Beyond Digital Imaging Ford 310 170 5 Running
    4 2 8 Don Thomson, Jr. Farmers Feed Families Dodge 310 160 Running
    5 8 23 Jeff Lapcevich Tim Hortons Dodge 310 155 Running
    6 6 19 Brad Graham Holmar Plumbing Dodge 310 150 Running
    7 5 17 D.J. Kennington Castrol Edge Dodge 310 146 Running
    8 14 50 Joey McColm Espar Dodge 310 142 Running
    9 9 84 J.R. Fitzpatrick Equipment Express Chevrolet 310 143 5 Running
    10 15 01 Chris Raabe * Canadian Tire/MotoMaster/Sylvania Dodge 309 134 Running
    11 18 07 Isabelle Tremblay * Groupe Beton Brunet/ADF Diesel Ford 307 130 Running
    12 17 55 Dexter Stacey Bully’s Truck Stop Dodge 302 127 Running
    13 19 47 L.P. Dumoulin * Maskimo/Somavrac Dodge 302 124 Running
    14 1 22 Scott Steckly Canadian Tire/MotoMaster Dodge 285 131 10 Running
    15 10 60 Ron Beauchamp, Jr. Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge 267 118 Running
    16 3 15 Steve Mathews * Bill Mathews Motors Ford 231 115 Accident
    17 20 5 Noel Dowler * EMCO/Whitemud Mechanical Dodge 218 112 Accident
    18 13 21 Jason White A&W Cruisin’ The Dub Dodge 205 109 Accident
    19 22 59 John Farano * Tower Motorsports Dodge 183 106 Accident
    20 16 00 Pierre Bourque Aaron’s Dodge 143 103 Steering
    21 4 7 Pete Shepherd, III Hy-Tech Drilling/Nat’l Exhaust Dodge 131 100 Engine
    22 21 97 Hugo Vannini * Vannini Motorsports Ford 250 97 Accident