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[/media-credit]Rain caused postponement of today’s scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen race at Watkins Glen International until 10 a.m. Monday.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the area on Monday does not appear to be any better.
Each winner will receive one pair of tickets to the Wonderful Pistachios 400 Sprint Cup Series race on September 10, 2011 at Richmond International Raceway.
There are five races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup gets underway in Chicago but Penske Racing wouldn’t mind if it started this weekend.
Their two drivers, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski, are climbing through the point standings and charging for the win every weekend. Keselowski scored his second win last Sunday in Pocono and Busch has also been in victory lane this season.
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[/media-credit]Just a few weeks ago it appeared Busch would be the only Penske driver in the Chase but Keselowski has come on strong and now has a chance at the wildcard. Saturday morning in Watkins Glen Busch had kind words about his teammates turnaround.
“I felt like Brad’s intensity for that Nationwide car really kept him back a little bit last year,” said Busch. “But that was the focus, to bring that championship home and continue to build on the Cup side. So to see him settle in with Paul [Wolfe] and where they are as a team is great.”
Keselowski and Wolfe won the NNS championship last season for Penske Racing, but on the Cup Series side Keselowski struggled. He finished 25th in points with crew chief Jay Guy and the No. 12 team. Team owner Roger Penske made changes, cutting down his organization to just to two teams from three.
Sam Hornish Jr. was the odd man out due to lack of sponsorship. Keselowski moved into the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge that had been driven by Busch and Wolfe was promoted to the Cup Series. Busch moved into the No. 22 Shell / Pennzoil Dodge and wit that the company set out for Daytona.
Busch won two of the three races during Speedweeks, missing out on the points-paying Daytona 500. Keselowski won a fuel mileage race in Kansas followed by a Busch victory in Sonoma. Keselowski’s triumph in Pocono moved him to 18th in points while Busch moved to fourth after finishing third.
Lately, it’s been all about Busch and Keselowski as Penske has both teams running and succeeding equally. Except for one area where Keselowski’s team has the advantage.
“Their pit crew on the No. 2 car is hands down faster than the No. 22 this year,” said Busch. “Those guys have that desire, youthful exuberance, to go out and to try different things and find it. Right now they’re putting it together. My team needs to feed off of that and find the groove the next few weeks to be that championship leader within the Penske team.”
This weekend at the Glen Busch will be attempting to sweep the road course events. Keselowski, while trying to win his third race of the year, will be working to remain in the top 20 in points in order to be eligible for the wildcard. Keselowski won’t be racing in Saturday’s NNS race as he still heals his broken ankle.
Busch though is already looking forward to the Chase and the likelihood that Keselowski will be apart of it. With the newly reformed Penske Racing it would mean the organization put both their cars in the Chase and best part is that they are both competitive.
Something that’s hard to do as Hendrick Motorsports found in 2009 when their cars finished 1-3 in points and the other finished 25th. The same has happened to Roush Fenway and Richard Childress Racing. Every NASCAR organization has fought the battle of trying to make sure every driver and team is running to par.
“It’s just more hard work from those fabricators in the shop,” Busch said about multiple cars in the Chase. “Last year we made the Chase, Brad didn’t. If there was a car that was built off of new specs and went to the wind tunnel and showed brand new numbers, obviously it would go to the championship running team.”
Or another example, “If you have a new car that is built and it spits out these great numbers and you have to have it this next week at Charlotte, we need to have two now,” said Busch. “Maybe if I was going to run my car at Charlotte, then he would get that car and I would get the new one based off of where we are in points.”
In 2004-2005 when Busch was still driving for Roush Fenway there was a year where they had all five cars in the Chase. Busch revealed it became almost chaotic about which drivers were getting which cars as everyone tired to get their team the best parts.
“We had cars going everywhere,” Busch said. “We had people pulling ropes like it was tug-o-war trying to get the best pieces for them. I remember winning the Loudon race the year that I won the championship and Mark Martin wanted that car for Phoenix. Where do we stand?”
Busch was torn because while he was running higher in the point standings, he felt Martin as the veteran was supposed to be running at championship level. “It gets very difficult when you have a lot of cars in the Chase,” he said.
Penske Racing shouldn’t have the same problem. First though, Busch and Keselowski must make it to the Chase before the company has to start worrying about news cars and parts, which Busch doesn’t see happening.
“Luckily at Penske Racing we have the facility and the people to crank out good new equipment if something comes up,” he said.
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[/media-credit]It was a day for the Busch brothers today here at Watkins Glen International. Two track records were broke today here at The Glen, both by drivers with the last name Busch.
Kurt Busch had no intentions of running the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 today, but when the doctor told Brad Keselowski to take a rest, he listened. Kurt got the call up from his team owner Roger Penske Wednesday Morning, and after he was called upon he delivered.
Nationwide Qualifying
Starting with NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying this morning, the Busch brothers dominated all on-track activities here at Watkins Glen International today. Kurt’s speed of 123.241 was good enough to take the top starting spot for this afternoon’s and paved the foundations of his win in the Zippo 200 here at The Glen. His lap also shattered the NASCAR Nationwide Series track record held by Marcos Ambrose. One-upped by Kurt by just one spot, Kyle laid down a lap good enough for him to also start on the front row in second.
Sprint Cup Qualifying
Making the quick switch over to their Cup cars, the Busch brothers continued their domination of today’s racing. Kyle, (not to be outdone by older bother Kurt) would etch his name in the history books by breaking the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying record.
Kyle Busch’s lap of 1:09.767, the fastest qualifying time ever here at The Glen, was good enough to take pole position for the 220-mile race slated to go tomorrow at 1PM. His pole here at Watkins Glen marks his 8th of his career, and the first for him this season. The weather is not looking very cooperative at this point, but should the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen go green tomorrow; Kyle Busch will bring the field to the green flag.
Zippo 200 – NASCAR Nationwide Series Race
Sweeping the front row for the 17th Annual Zippo 200 at The Glen, the Busch brothers were less than willing to share the spotlight on Saturday afternoon.
Kurt wasted no time in flexing his muscles, jumping out to a two-second lead over his bother by lap 6. Kyle grabbed the lead for one lap after Todd Gordon made the call to bring in the #22 Ruby Tuesday/Discount Tire Dodge Challenger into the pits on lap 9. Kyle, in turn would have to pit, returning the lead to his big bother Kurt on lap 10.
The Busch brothers swapped the lead a total of seven times throughout the course of the 85 laps Saturday afternoon, but fuel mileage ended up determining who took home the trophy today here at The Glen.
Kyle Busch gained the lead on lap 56, and if the last quarter of the race played out the way the first three quarters did, he would have surely been short on fuel to make it the rest of the way. Kurt stalked his brother for about 20 laps, but never really had enough to pass him in the later part of the race. The Penske team knew the No. 18 car was running short on fuel down the stretch, and the word came through that Kyle was trying to conserve for the end. The No. 22 team in-turn put the heat on the leader Kyle Busch, forcing him to burn more fuel to keep the lead.
Kyle Busch would eventually bring his car down pit road around lap 76, relinquishing the lead to brother Kurt. Had Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff known that the caution flag would fly just 5 laps later, there’s little to no doubt that Kyle Busch would have remained on the track as the race leader.
The caution flag did fly on lap 81, forcing a Green-White-Checkered finish. Kurt Busch got away clean on the second and final restart, with his brother Kyle, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards all trying to gain position enough to dive-bomb the eventual race-winner in Turn 1.
Kurt Busch had this to say about the Green-White-Checkered finish: “I knew that it was going to be a good finish. On the restart at the end, all heck could have broken loose. I actually drove it in a little too deep; that right-front tire was cold. I just have to thank this crew for allowing me to step in, they were starting to call me “Buschlowski” because I was wearing Brad’s fire suit. Todd Gordon (crew chief) did an excellent job. This was a fast Dodge Challenger. I’m proud to drive it. Thanks to Ruby Tuesday, Discount Tire and Shell and Pennzoil for allowing me to come over here and have fun. It’s really neat to come over here and sit on the pole and win.”
Teammate and regular driver of the No. 22 Ruby Tuesday/Discount Tire Dodge Challenger, Brad Keselowski was enthusiastic for his replacement in Gatorade Victory Lane “We left our driver debrief and talked about the Cup weekend at Pocono, I walked up to Kurt and said, ‘Hey Kurt, I think it would be cool if you drove my car this weekend. I just don’t think that I can pull it off.’ He was like a kid in a candy store. His face lit up and I knew that he wanted to drive this car. I knew how bad he wanted to win and I’m glad to see his hard work and passion for the team pay off with a victory.”
Jimmie Johnson, driving for JR Motorsports brought his Jimmie Johnson’s Anything With an Engine Chevrolet home second, Joey Logano edged Kyle Busch out for third, and Carl Edwards rounded out the Top 5.
The No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota lead more than half the laps here today at The Glen, but driver Kyle Busch declined to comment following the pit strategy that did not play out in his favor. Brother Kurt’s win marked his third title in just twelve starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at The Glen. It is also the 19th Sprint Cup driver in the 23 Nationwide Races with a ‘Sprint Cup Regular’ winner.
It was a fantastic day here at The Glen and everyone here is praying to the rain gods to hold off so we can get the race in tomorrow. Stay tuned for more from Watkins Glen International…
[media-credit name=”Matt LaFlair” align=”alignright” width=”166″]
[/media-credit]Kyle Busch took pole position for tomorrow’s (or Tuesday’s) 26th Annual Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen in commanding style. After the two Richard Petty Motorsports drivers, Marcos Ambrose and A.J. Allmendinger decided to lay down laps fast enough to take the pole (for the time) Kyle Busch, who qualified last because of his first practice speed, decided to add to the drama that was Sprint Cup qualifying here at The Glen.
The #43 car of A.J. Allmendinger became the first Sprint Cup car to break the 70-second mark in qualifying around the 2.45-mile short course here at Watkins Glen International with his lap time of 1:09.997.
Not to be outdone, Kyle Busch’s lap of 1:09.767, the fastest qualifying speed ever here at The Glen, was good enough to take pole position for the 220-mile race slated to go tomorrow at 1PM. His pole here at Watkins Glen marks his 8th of his career, and the first for him this season. Also with the pole today, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have taken both pole positions this season at the two road courses after Joey Logano took the pole earlier this season at Infineon Raceway.
Busch’s lap time was just a hair off of where Marcos Ambrose’s fast lap was yesterday in Final Practice. Ambrose ran a lap just one-tenth quicker than Busch’s qualifying lap today. Ambrose will start just behind Busch in third tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see how fast he will make a charge to the front following the green-flag around 1PM.
Stay tuned for more here from The Glen…
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, Watkins Glen International | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=22 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 126.421 | 69.767 |
| 2 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | 126.041 | 69.977 |
| 3 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 125.984 | 70.009 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 125.662 | 70.188 |
| 5 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 125.654 | 70.193 |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 125.314 | 70.383 |
| 7 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 125.238 | 70.426 |
| 8 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 125.202 | 70.446 |
| 9 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 124.968 | 70.578 |
| 10 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 124.94 | 70.594 |
| 11 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | 124.915 | 70.608 |
| 12 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 124.908 | 70.612 |
| 13 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 124.904 | 70.614 |
| 14 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 124.791 | 70.678 |
| 15 | 51 | Boris Said | Chevrolet | 124.701 | 70.729 |
| 16 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 124.55 | 70.815 |
| 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 124.451 | 70.871 |
| 18 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | 123.998 | 71.13 |
| 19 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 123.854 | 71.213 |
| 20 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 123.682 | 71.312 |
| 21 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 123.663 | 71.323 |
| 22 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 123.635 | 71.339 |
| 23 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 123.517 | 71.407 |
| 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 123.507 | 71.413 |
| 25 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 123.476 | 71.431 |
| 26 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | 123.455 | 71.443 |
| 27 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 123.436 | 71.454 |
| 28 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 123.433 | 71.456 |
| 29 | 37 | Scott Speed | Ford | 123.379 | 71.487 |
| 30 | 55 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | 123.283 | 71.543 |
| 31 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | 123.176 | 71.605 |
| 32 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 122.956 | 71.733 |
| 33 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 122.956 | 71.733 |
| 34 | 150 | T.J. Bell* | Chevrolet | 122.928 | 71.749 |
| 35 | 32 | Andrew Ranger | Ford | 122.372 | 72.075 |
| 36 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Ford | 122.196 | 72.179 |
| 37 | 60 | Mike Skinner | Toyota | 122.13 | 72.218 |
| 38 | 36 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet | 121.993 | 72.299 |
| 39 | 0 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 121.66 | 72.497 |
| 40 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 121.419 | 72.641 |
| 41 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | 120.339 | 73.293 |
| 42 | 11 | Denny Hamlin+ | Toyota | – | – |
| 43 | 38 | Terry Labonte | Ford | Champion’s Provisional | 0 |
It will be an all Busch front row today for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 this afternoon. Kurt Busch, filling in for a sore Brad Keselowski, was 4th quick in the only practice session yesterday for the Nationwide cars, but broke the track record in NASCAR Nationwide Series.
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[/media-credit]qualifying here at Watkins Glen International this morning.
Busch’s speed of 123.241 was good enough to take the top starting spot for this afternoon’s Zippo 200 here at The Glen. The previous track record has only held up for one year as Macos Ambrose set fast lap last year in his NASCAR Nationwide Series Car with a speed of 122.410.
The top three qualifiers for this year’s Zippo 200 all were faster that Ambrose’s qualifying lap last year. The Busch brothers claimed the front row, with Carl Edwards starting third this afternoon.
The rest of the top 10 are Elliot Sadler 4th, road course specialist Ron Fellows in 5th, Jimme Johnson driving for JR Motorsports in 6th, Paul Menard in 7th, Joey Logano in 8th, Jason Leffler in 9th, and James Buescher in 19th. Points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr will start 12th.
Stay tuned throughout the day for more live updates from The Glen including, Sprint Cup Qualifying and Zippo 200 results!
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Zippo 200 at the Glen, Watkins Glen International | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=23 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 123.241 | 71.567 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 122.97 | 71.725 |
| 3 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 122.628 | 71.925 |
| 4 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 122.354 | 72.086 |
| 5 | 5 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet | 122.288 | 72.125 |
| 6 | 7 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 122.183 | 72.187 |
| 7 | 33 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 121.85 | 72.384 |
| 8 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 121.426 | 72.637 |
| 9 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Chevrolet | 121.391 | 72.658 |
| 10 | 30 | James Buescher | Chevrolet | 121.305 | 72.709 |
| 11 | 16 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 120.9 | 72.953 |
| 12 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 120.665 | 73.095 |
| 13 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 120.619 | 73.123 |
| 14 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Toyota | 120.599 | 73.135 |
| 15 | 32 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 120.263 | 73.339 |
| 16 | 11 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 119.956 | 73.527 |
| 17 | 88 | Aric Almirola | Chevrolet | 119.684 | 73.694 |
| 18 | 9 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 119.682 | 73.695 |
| 19 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 119.519 | 73.796 |
| 20 | 153 | Andrew Ranger | Dodge | 119.511 | 73.901 |
| 21 | 167 | J.R. Fitzpatrick | Ford | 119.502 | 73.806 |
| 22 | 21 | Tim George Jr. | Chevrolet | 118.95 | 74.149 |
| 23 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | 118.922 | 74.166 |
| 24 | 39 | Casey Roderick | Ford | 118.905 | 74.177 |
| 25 | 23 | Alex Kennedy | Chevrolet | 118.603 | 74.366 |
| 26 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 118.536 | 74.408 |
| 27 | 62 | Michael Annett | Toyota | 118.526 | 74.414 |
| 28 | 164 | Jason Bowles | Toyota | 118.396 | 74.496 |
| 29 | 113 | T.J. Bell | Dodge | 118.105 | 74.679 |
| 30 | 182 | J.J. Yeley | Dodge | 117.992 | 74.751 |
| 31 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 117.941 | 74.783 |
| 32 | 15 | Timmy Hill* | Ford | 117.905 | 74.806 |
| 33 | 97 | Kyle Kelley | Chevrolet | 117.617 | 74.989 |
| 34 | 175 | Chris Cook | Ford | 117.594 | 75.004 |
| 35 | 14 | Eric McClure | Chevrolet | 117.429 | 75.109 |
| 36 | 49 | Mark Green | Chevrolet | 116.984 | 75.395 |
| 37 | 81 | Blake Koch* | Dodge | 116.8 | 75.514 |
| 38 | 52 | Dan Clarke | Chevrolet | 116.362 | 75.798 |
| 39 | 40 | Josh Wise+ | Chevrolet | 113.934 | 77.413 |
| 40 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd+ | Chevrolet | 113.277 | 77.862 |
| 41 | 70 | Dennis Setzer+ | Dodge | 110.733 | 79.651 |
| 42 | 28 | Derrike Cope+ | Chevrolet | – | – |
| 43 | 44 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | 116.787 | 75.522 |
Clint Bowyer still has a shot at making the Chase for the Sprint Cup but for him to do so he needs to find consistency. And not the bad kind that he says has been following him around lately.
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[/media-credit]“That’s obviously the goal,” said Bowyer of making the Chase, “but just keep having crazy things happen. Had another good run going in Pocono last week and the radiator tab broke and the radiator fell out of the thing. I mean it’s just one crazy thing after another.”
Bowyer sits 12th in points, just outside the top 10 who guaranteed a spot in NASCAR’s postseason. He’s not safe in 11th or 12th, however, because of NASCAR’s new wildcard format, where drivers with victories who sit 11-20 in points would consist of the final two Chase spots.
Bowyer doesn’t have a win and therefore would be out of the Chase had it started this weekend. Luckily it doesn’t and there’s five more races ahead for Bowyer and his team to make a turnaround and either find victory lane for climb their way into Chase contention.
This weekend the series is in Watkins Glen for the second and final road course race of the season. Bowyer has never won a road course and has been on the wrong side of the chart at The Glen with his best finish being a ninth in 2009. It’s his only top 10 at the track where he’s finished 14th or worse in four of his five career starts there and he has yet to lead a lap.
Even so, Bowyer enters the weekend with confidence.
“Hopefully we can get a good run here,” Bowyer said on Friday. “We haven’t had a ton of luck here, broke a truck arm out of the car last year. I feel like this is the track where we can capitalize. This is the track out of any of these ones ahead of us that you can stand to gain or lose a lot of ground but you’ve got to look at this as an opportunity and try to gain as much ground as possible.”
Early this season it looked like Bowyer was going to have plenty of opportunities to gain ground in the Chase. He finished second in back-to-back weeks at Texas and Talladega where he nearly beat Jimmie Johnson to the finish line. Entering June Bowyer had led 253 laps and had seven top 10 finishes and two top fives.
Since then his No. 33 Cheerios team has been trying to dig themselves out of a hole. Bowyer has led just nine laps and his top 10 and top five finishes have only increased by one. Yet, he still only sits 41 points behind 10th place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Any gap is hard to overcome especially when you start getting up in that elite crowd,” Bowyer said. “The further up you go the harder it is to pass them. You just have to be able to capitalize on somebody’s mishap and that’s what it’s going to come down to. These teams are too good and things are too close in this sport right now to just overcome a huge spread in a short amount of time unless you have some help.”
According to Bowyer, Watkins Glen is the perfect track to be able to do that. Some consider it to be a wildcard of its own and that if a driver doesn’t take advantage of it then they’ll soon start feeling that time is quickly running out to make a Chase charge. No longer are there room for bad days and certainly not for Bowyer.
Behind him in points are three drivers with wins and one driver, Brad Keselowski, has two wins. It was aggressive strategy says Bowyer, which gave Keselowski his second win last weekend in Pocono. And whether it’s through strategy or moves on the track, aggression is something a driver will be fighting with over the next five weeks as they try to put themselves in Chase position.
“You just got to be careful,” said Bowyer. “You have to be careful but you have to be aggressive all at the same time. You got to be aggressive enough to make passes, to make bold passes but you’ve got to be careful enough to not dig yourself in a deeper hole than you are already in.The No. 2 car [Keselowski] winning that race last week was a pretty aggressive move.”
Bowyer thought the race at Pocono was over when it started raining and Joey Logano was leading. In fact, he said that most everyone thought it was over and the drivers headed back to their motorhomes. But, thank God for Keselowski as Bowyer said, it wasn’t and the Penske team was presented an opportunity they made the best of.
“Those are the aggressive calls you’ve got to take,” said Bowyer. “The hindsight of all of that would have been devastating for him and may have been the very move that kept him out of the top 20. It’s a gamble that you’ve got to be willing to take.”
Bowyer says his team have made those calls too but starting this weekend in Watkins Glen they’re hoping they start working out better than they have.
Every 10-30 years, a young driver comes along who shakes up the NASCAR world, and more time than naught, it’s usually these types of drivers that come into the sport with some kind of a racing background.
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[/media-credit]Tim Richmond was a lot different since he did not grow up with racing in his blood, and did not come from the hard working middle class lifestyle that most of NASCAR’s big names came from. Instead Richmond was born into wealth, and because of this, it would later turn out to be one of his biggest drawbacks because of his fast paced, Hollywood playboy lifestyle he lived throughout his racing career.
Since NASCAR was born on the back country roads of some of America’s most famous moon shining families, Richmond’s flamboyant lifestyle on and off the track clashed with the southern roots most fans were used seeing from their drivers.
Richmond’s standard of living along with his daily routine mirrored that of someone you would have thought was born and raised in California, unlike his hometown of Ashland, Ohio where he was born on June 7, 1955. The “lets party all night attitude” he chose to live by would be frowned upon by NASCAR, as Richmond would find out later during his short lived racing career.
Richmond was a hit with the fans as well as the ladies, and at times he would pull down his racing suit to sign autographs, which really got the women excited, but at the same time got the heads of NASCAR even angrier. NASCAR wasn’t ready for this type of driver to enter into their hallowed premier racing series, and it was only because Richmond’s driving style matched the lifestyle that he was living.
During his eight years as a Winston Cup driver which didn’t start until the age of 21, Richmond visited victory lane 13 times, along with 78 top-10 finishes in the 185 starts hr made in the series. Richmond collected a career-high seven wins in 1986 while driving the No. 25 Folgers-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo, to go along with his 14 careers poles, and his very first victory coming on a road course in Riverside, California.
The 1986 season would be his best year driving in the Winston Cup series, finishing third in points behind eventual cup winner Dale Earnhardt Sr. Most of his fellow racers said that he was one of a few drivers who had guts enough to challenge Earnhardt and drive side by side with him. Richmond had a “take no prisoners” type of driving style which showed in the way he handled the road courses, and he was known as one of the few drivers who had the guts to challenge and race side by side with Earnhardt.
Richmond’s life was loosely portrayed in the movie Days of Thunder by the character of Cole Trickle, and aside from stock cars he also competed in open wheel racing finishing ninth in the 1980 Indianapolis 500. In 1986 at the height of a very promising career, his whole world came crashing down on him when he was diagnosed with A.I.D.S.
By the time 1987 rolled around, life would become even more challenging to his already troubled life, and it wasn’t until the middle of the season that he would return, and pick up back to back wins at Pocono and Riverside, and the win at Riverside would ultimately be his last. By the following year, NASCAR would step in and deal Richmond a very sour hand, when the organization would begin to treat him like he was some sort of drug addict.
NASCAR defamed his integrity by making him take a drug test because of his deteriorating health, and afterwards suspending him indefinitely because they said he had tested positive for a controlled substance.
Richmond demanded another test, and when those results came back…they were negative. NASCAR would later admit the first test that Richmond took was also negative; the only substance that showed up was Sudafed and Advil. Little by little NASCAR tried to not only defame Richmond, but they also wanted him out of the Cup series for good, and eventually they got their wish.
NASCAR would not let him race until he came up with all of his medical records, it was then Richmond filed a defamation of character lawsuit, but he would eventually withdraw it and leave the sport. Richmond would move back to Florida where he eventually died in 1989.
NASCAR to this day has not apologized for the brash and disrespectful way that Richmond was treated. In 1990, The New York Times reported that Dr. Forest Tennant, who was at that time the National Football League’s drug adviser, “falsified drug tests” that ultimately helped shorten Richmond’s NASCAR career.
Washington television station WJLA-TV, in early 1990, reported the sealed court documents and interviews showed Tennant and NASCAR, “allegedly used false drug-test results in 1988 to bar Richmond from racing.”
Reporter Roberta Baskin stated that NASCAR had targeted Richmond, requesting that Tennant establish a substance-abuse policy with Richmond in mind. NASCAR chose not to mention any of these findings, and basically swept it under the rug with the, “We don’t see anything or what did we do wrong scenario?”
Richmond was one of their own, even though he didn’t fit the mold that NASCAR wants all of their drivers to follow, even though he was still a human being, breathing the same air as them, and also bringing money into their prestigious racing empire. Richmond would be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002, an award that not even the France family could ever take from him.
NASCAR would put the final nail in his coffin by only writing one line about him, and not including a single picture of him anywhere in the annals of NASCAR history. For those who chose to support and follow his career…Tim Richmond has been dearly missed, maybe not so much by NASCAR, but by the fans and drivers who stood next to him through thick and thin.
22 years ago we lost one of our own, but even today he is still in the hearts and minds of those who remember the impact he made to the sport, both on and off the track.
[/media-credit]Its time to make some right turns for the second and final time of the 2011 Sprint Cup Season. As many of you know, Watkins Glen International is my home-track, so this edition of Matty’s Picks will be coming to you straight from The Glen!
I look forward to the race weekend at Watkins Glen for 362 days each year. 2011 will mark my 16th consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at WGI. I get the pleasure of seeing it all each year at The Glen, partly due to the fact that my family arrives at the crack of dawn on Wednesday in an effort to set up the monstrosity that we call home for five days every August in the Gate 7 camping area.
21-ish friends, family members, and a few random strangers will call our Gate 7 campsite home this year – including SpeedwayMedia.com Editor, Ed Coombs. I don’t know if it’s the 11 high-speed left and right turns that make up the short course at Watkins Glen International, or if it’s the 2AM nude foot races, the annual Porta-Potty roast, or the extreme downhill cooler races that bring 200,000+ race fans back to The Glen each year.
I must say that I am very excited for this weekend’s on-track racing action, but I really look forward to the unique camping atmosphere that Watkins Glen International has to offer year in and year out.
For those of you not familiar with WGI, it has been considered by many in the racing world to be ‘The Mecca of American Road Racing’. 11 turns (7 rights – 4 lefts) make up the 2.45-mile short course that both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series choose to utilize at The Glen. In sticking with traditional road course layouts, the racing at Watkins Glen International is run in a clockwise pattern (like Infineon), opposite the flow of the traditional counter-clockwise flow of oval races.
One element that is unique only to The Glen is the direction the drivers enter their pit stalls. Because pit road lies outside the track at Infineon, Watkins Glen is the only stop on the circuit where drivers enter their pit stalls from the crew’s left. Preparations for pit stops at WGI start months in advance due to the fact that the entire pit stop is essentially in reverse. This weekend’s stops will not be the fastest stops for crews this season, but efficiency on Pit Road often plays a major factor in the outcome of the race each year at WGI.
Pocono Recap
Well, I don’t have too much on how my two picks from last week ran at Pocono because quite honestly I fell asleep after the first 10 laps or so. When the rain cleared and the dust settled last Sunday, I improved on my 19th place Winner Pick finish dating back to the first race at Pocono this year.
With the news of both Sprint Cup races at PIR being shortened to 400 miles, 40 percent of my wish for the Tricky Triangle has come true. NASCAR has eliminated 200 of the 1000 miles of racing at Pocono starting in 2012, 40% of the 500 miles I would like to see removed from the schedule. I think one race for the Sprint Cup Series at Pocono is enough to keep most race fans satisfied for a year.
My Dark Horse pick last week at Pocono was Greg Biffle because of his less than impressive average finish of 16.4. From what I saw last week, Biffle never really had the car to beat but lingered around the Top 10 for the majority of the 200 laps last weekend. I was asleep for his penalty for changing lanes before the Start/Finish Line. Biffle would remain on the lead lap but would restart in the 35th position.
Biffle made up ground on the field throughout an 80 lap caution-free stretch following the penalty. Biffle would restart the race in 14th following the rain delay, and would make the call of the day to stay out on the final caution flag on lap 179. The call would put Biffle in 7th for the final 16 lap run, only being passed by his teammate Carl Edwards on much fresher tires in the closing laps. The Biff would eventually bring the 3M/811 Ford Fusion home in 8th, netting me a Top 10 Dark Horse pick.
By now, everyone knows where my Winner Pick finished last week at Pocono. His 3rd place finish has been overshadowed by the racing incident that occurred in the final laps of the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, and the altercation that ensued.
Kurt Busch led the race 4 times last Sunday for a total of 38 laps en route to his 3rd place finish. His (and my) Top 5 was in jeopardy on the final lap last week following his contact with Jimmie Johnson at the exit of the tunnel turn on lap 199. The two came together twice on the final lap, ALMOST ruining a good day for both teams.
Following the race, Johnson didn’t even let Kurt Busch out of his car before giving him an ear full about the incident. Busch had this to say about the contact: “ Hey, he came off the turn and did a jab to my left; I did a jab back to the right. Why can’t we race each other like this and put on show for the fans and not have a problem with it? I don’t know” Needless to say, I don’t think the two will be exchanging Christmas Cards this December, but when the dust settled, I got a Top 5 for a Winner Pick.
Watkins Glen Picks
Winner Pick
In the words of Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose was “Screaming Fast” in final practice today at The Glen. Shattering the 70-second mark around the 2.45-mile short course, Ambrose laid down a lap that was over a full second quicker than the previous track record held by Jeff Gordon. His lap time of 69.666 seconds or 126.604MPH was good enough to claim the top of the leader board in Final Practice today.
I don’t know how anyone could bet against this guy at Watkins Glen International. In his 3 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Ambrose has netted two 3rd-place finishes, and a runner-up finish. It is almost destiny for him to bring home the checkered flag, Sunday afternoon (or Monday or Tuesday). He has won the past 3 NASCAR Nationwide Series races here at The Glen, and if it weren’t for the fact that he’s not running the race tomorrow, I would bet the farm on him to sweep the weekend here at WGI.
Ambrose has the car to beat this weekend…he’s going to win.
Dark Horse Pick
Martin Truex Jr. has also flexed his muscles today here at Watkins Glen. He drove his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota to a Top-5 spot in Happy Hour with a lap time of 70.203 seconds, also better than the previous qualifying track record. Both times Truex has started in the Top 20 at WGI, he has come home with a Top-10 finish. If Truex hits his marks tomorrow in qualifying, he has a car good enough to start inside the Top-10.
His record at Watkins Glen is nothing to shake a stick at. He averages a finish of 16.4 at The Glen, and does have a Top-5 here as well. I think Tuex has been knocking on the door all season, and he’s proved Michael Waltrip Racing has given him a car to run towards the front on Sunday.
That wraps it up for today from The Glen. Stay tuned tomorrow for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 recaps.
Until tomorrow…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
In practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Firestone Indy Lights New Hampshire 100, Gustavo Yacaman topped the charts with a lap of 25.0034 seconds.
“The car felt good today and the track is a lot of fun and it reminds me of Milwaukee,” he said. “I really hope that qualifying doesn’t look like it did in Milwaukee after I topped both practice sessions, I qualified fourth. I hope that this weekend we have the speed to keep our pace up during qualifying and the race. Hopefully we can get a pole and maybe a win. I wouldn’t mind having a perfect weekend. It isn’t easy to pass at this track. It really depends on when you come up on a car that is slower than you, you lose all of your front grip. This is why I feel that qualifying will be so crucial. Whoever is on the pole, unless their car is really off, they will keep the lead. We can still make our car better and go faster so we will see what happens Saturday when everyone puts their little tricks on.”
Sam Schmidt Motorsports trio Josef Newgarden (25.0242), Bryan Clauson (25.3175) and Esteban Guerrieri (25.4634) followed while Anders Krohn was fifth.
“It was OK,” Newgarden said. “Obviously it was our first day here and it’s new for everybody like a couple of places on the calendar this year. I think we had a good day. It was definitely productive for what we needed to get done and tested on the car for qualifying and race day. I think we’re looking good here for Saturday and hopefully we qualify well here because I think that it’s going to be very difficult to pass here with the track configuration and the areo push you pick up here. It’s almost worse than Milwaukee. Qualifying could be crucial for the race and hopefully we can put it together for that session.”
“It’s (NHMS) a lot of fun,” Clauson said. “It’s a tricky little one mile with a lot of grip and a lot of speed. With the progressive banking, you can use multiple lanes to help your car in several different ways. The Sam Schmidt Motorsports guys gave me a great Mazda Road to Indy/NOS Energy Drink No. 77. It’s been a good day of practice here, and I feel really good about the car we have going into this weekend’s race. When you’re fast right off the trailer, it gives you a lot of confidence. It allows you to start working on the little details that are probably going to win you the race. These guys unloaded a great race car for me today, and we’ve just been fine-tuning it all day long.”
“I think it was a good learning process coming back to the ovals,” Guerrieri said. “The track is a bit tricky, so my approach was to gradually be more aggressive. I think it was a good day. We found the pace and worked on the car. We have good information to analyze Friday. Overall it was good and I’m confident.”