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  • Chad Johnston replaces Pat Tryson as crew chief of the No. 56

    Chad Johnston replaces Pat Tryson as crew chief of the No. 56

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Lead engineer Chad Johnston replaces Pat Tryson as crew chief beginning this week at Pocono Raceway for Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. and the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) No. 56 Toyota team.

    “This is a good opportunity for me since this is the direction I have always wanted to go in my NASCAR career.” Johnson said.

    Tryson was reassigned to another position at MWR.  Tryson moved to MWR in 2010 and never had the success he had at Penske Racing. The problems started surfacing at Richmond earlier this season that resulted in pit crew changes and now the replacement of Tryson.

    Johnston, 31, joined the team midway through last season has proved himself at MRW.

    “He’s shown a lot of leadership in his position and has shown me he really understands a race car.” Truex Jr. said.

  • 5-hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway Preview

    5-hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway Preview

    Pocono may just be the most interesting race track that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits. No other track has three different straightaways of different lengths and three completely different corners. This creates a challenge for both driver and crew. The driver must be able to adapt to all the elements that the track presents them while their crew chief must not only keep up with the track, but make the car handle the best it can in all three corners of the track.

    [media-credit name=”PoconoRaceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Many people often ask the question, “What corner is most important at Pocono?’ The most common answer that I have heard is, “The one right before the longest straightaway.” The reason for this is so that the car can carry as much speed as possible down the long straightaway into the next corner. If that is the case, what do you do about the remaining three corners? Most crew chiefs today try to get the car as balanced as possible through all corners of the track, while some make one corner really good and have their driver deal with an ill handling car in the remaining. Both styles of setup have worked before so there really is no one way to go about it.

    Also, for the first time in since NASCAR implemented the gear rule, drivers will be able to shift going down the long straightaways at Pocono. Back in the day, this was common practice and the fast way around the track. A few years back, NASCAR changed the gear that the teams had to run which made shifting the cars a thing of the past. Now that it’s back, it just adds another challenge for these drivers and teams on Sunday. Don’t look for transmission failures like you used to see in the past. These things are bullet proof now and they rarely go out.

    Many fans and drivers alike complain about the races at the Pocono Raceway. Fans think the races are too long, too boring and we should only visit there once a year. Many drivers agree that the races are too long as some drivers have said that 500 miles at Pocono feels longer that 600 miles at Charlotte. It’s not secret that the triangle shaped track doesn’t have a history of exciting racing, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen.

    Remember the 2000 Winston Cup Series season? Go back to the day when Jeremy Mayfield and the Dale Earnhardt duked it out on the 2.5 mile triangle. When Mayfield pulled an Earnhardt on Earnhardt. Go back to just last year. Where Joey Logano gave us one of the great sound bites of recent memory when he questioned Kevin Harvick’s role in his family. The late Tim Richmond also pulled off a stellar win at the tricky triangle after coming back from illness. These moments prove that you can have great events happen at Pocono Raceway.

    Now to get down to business.

    Hot Drivers at Pocono

    Denny Hamlin- What more needs to be said about Denny other than he is simply masterful at Pocono. Ever since he has began racing in the Cup Series, he has pretty much owned this joint. In ten starts, Denny has four wins most recently coming in this race last year. Plus, Denny is on a role as of late. This would be a prime weekend for the 11 team to get to victory lane.

    Jimmie Johnson– Johnson is the only other driver to average a top ten finishing position at Pocono( Hamlin is the other). Jimmie has always been extremely solid here and even swept the races in 2004. Be sure to watch that 48 team this weekend!

    Jeff Gordon- In 36 starts at the triangle, the wonder boy has ripped off 4 wins, 16 top 5’s and 25 top tens. His average finish is 10.5 which puts him in elite class at this track. Gordon has not been up to the Gordon standard as of late, but you really can’t count him out for a good run.
    Solid Pick

    Tony Stewart- Pocono was the track where Stewart-Haas Racing picked up their first points paying Sprint Cup win back in 2009. In his last 11 starts at Pocono, Tony has 10 top 10 finishes. If they team can give Smoke a piece to work with, he can get it done this weekend.

    Brian Vickers- Few people remember how strong Vickers was in 2005 at Pocono. It looked as though Brian was going to pull off his first Cup win that day until a late race pace by Carl Edwards. The Red Bull team has fast cars and Brian is back to the Brian of old so to speak. With an average finish of 14.5, Brian could be in for a nice day Sunday.
    Sleeper Pick

    Juan Pablo Montoya- Montoya has really taken to the big flat tracks. With how dominant he has been at the Brickyard, it was a matter of time before it transfered to the triangle.

    Sam Hornish Jr.- I know this one sounds a little bit crazy, but just think for a second how close Sam was to winning here just two years ago. Sam is filling in for Travis Kvapil this weekend in the #38 Front Row Motorsports entry. If he can stay on the lead lap, and get a late race caution with some strategy, watch out for the former Indy 500 champ.
    Stay Away From…

    Marcos Ambrose- While Marcos has had a great year so far, the Pocono’s are not place for the Aussie to get excited about. Ambrose, who finished sixth in his first attempt here, has never finished better than 30th since. Sunday might be a challenge for the tin topper.

    With all that said, my pick for the race is…..
    Denny Hamlin

  • ARCA: Tom Hessert and Kory Rabenold Look To Tackle The Tricky Triangle

    ARCA: Tom Hessert and Kory Rabenold Look To Tackle The Tricky Triangle

    So far this year, its been a mix of drivers with lots of experience and young drivers making it to victory lane in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

    Championship contender Tom Hessert is one of the more experience ones as he has one career victory under his belt, though he wants to make it two with his first of the season this weekend at the ‘Tricky Triangle’.

    The second generation driver from Cherry Hill, New Jersey will make his seventh career start at Pocono Raceway this weekend in the Pocono ARCA 200 on Saturday afternoon.

    “I’ve always enjoyed our stops in Pocono,” Hessert said. “The track is really unique which provides a different mindset of racing. You cannot afford to miss a beat as concentration is everything with a track that has three different turns.”

    In the previous six starts, he has had success in the form of one top-five and two top-10s with a best of fourth last August.

    “We were in New Jersey a couple weeks ago and couldn’t seal the deal, but we’re going to give it our all this weekend,” Hessert added. “I’m going to have some friends and family at the track on Saturday, so it would mean that much more to be the first one to take the checkered flag in our No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet.”

    After finishing third in points last year with Cunningham Motorsports, Hessert joined Ken Schrader Racing to drive the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts entry. Six races into the season, Hessert has one top-five and four top-10 finishes, including a sixth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway last Saturday, which has him seventh in points, 135 points behind third. Armed with his crew chief from last year, John Monsam, Hessert is looking for more success.

    “We had some bad luck at Daytona and Toledo, but everywhere else, we’ve been pretty competitive,” Hessert commented. “The great thing about working with John (Monsam) is that he knows what I am looking for already. Usually, we have to make just a couple tweaks and we are finding ourselves in contention. We finished fourth together last August at Pocono, so I know we both would like to improve on that Saturday.

    “We’re six races in and it’s already been a really competitive season. As a team we just need to stay focused and concentrate on one race at a time and we should propel ourselves up in the point standings.”

    While Hessert has 70 starts in the ARCA Series, Kory Rabenold is a driver who doesn’t have as much experience as he only has made 23 career starts.

    Rabenold, a native of Slatingon, Pennsylvania, returns to his hometrack for his seventh start there for the first time in two years.

    “We’re just thankful to be heading to the track this weekend,” Rabenold said. “It’s because a lot of dedication, time and effort that we’re able to get on the track this weekend. We don’t have a lot of sponsorship but in order to get sponsors, you have to be visible and try and stand out from the rest. That’s our goal this weekend. We’re going to the track with a story and hoping for a good finish that could allow us to come back in August.”

    The 22-year old will be driving the No. 03 RabenoldRacing.com/Buzzy’s Auto Body Chevrolet Impala for the family backed team with support coming from 2010 Champions Sheltra Motorsports.

    “We’re extremely thankful to Jon (Wolfe) and Sheltra Motorsports for giving us some assistance,” he said. “It’s always nice to have a caliber team like that, take some time for us. We may not have the same type of equipment that they won the championship with, but one thing is for sure, we have their same determination and passion!”

    Their situation reminds him a lot of his first ever race at Pocono in 2007 as he will have his father Buzzy Rabenold calling the shots.

    “When I first came to Pocono in 2007, it was our family owned team,” Rabenold said. “We had some sponsorship because the economy was better. We qualified 22nd, stayed out of trouble and finished 12th. It was a good day. Hopefully we can stay out of trouble and have a similar performance on Saturday.”

    In the previous six races he ran at Pocono, he has had three top-20 finishes. 

    The Pocono ARCA 200 (80 laps / 200 miles) is the seventh of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 52nd ARCA race at Pocono Raceway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, June 10 with a one hour and fifty minute practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 2:05 p.m.

    The field will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. The event will be televised same-day delayed on SPEED beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST. Live timing and scoring throughout the 1,319th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com.  All times are local.

  • Joey Coulter Still Feeling Awesome After Career Best Truck Run

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]While much of the attention was focused on what happened after the Truck race at Kansas Speedway, Joey Coulter was still riding on a self-proclaimed high of awesomeness after his career best finish.

    The driver of the No. 22 Richard Childress Racing/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet started eighth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas this past weekend. Yet he was able to finish the race with the first top five of his rookie season.

    “It was huge,” Coulter said of his run at Kansas. “We’ve had some good runs in the ARCA Series at a mile and a half but to run as good as we did at Kansas was awesome.”

    Coulter contributes his great run to a combination of great pit strategy, keeping up with the race track and working with his RCR teammate Austin Dillon.

    “Austin (Dillon) is a great teammate,” Coulter said. “His crew chief and my crew chief, me and Austin, we talk a lot.”

    “We sit down all the time during practice and talk about what we are fighting,” Coulter continued. “Austin has brought me up to his level really quick.”

    “He’s done a great job explaining to me the different ways to drive these trucks,” Coulter said. “I’ve watched a lot of video and I’ve talked to a lot of drivers and it’s just all that combined that contributed to our run at Kansas and we were just able to put it all together.”

    “We both know that if he is faster than me, he’s the guy I can go to and find out why,” Coulter continued. “That’s going to bring me to his speed. Then once I get there, I might hit on something and end up a little bit faster than him.”

    “He’s going to come to me and we’re going to tell him what we did and it’s just going to keep going back and forth until we’re both really, really fast,” Coulter said. “The great thing about a teammate is that open line of communication is there and you can always get the information you need.”

    “It works and I love having a teammate,” Coulter said. “It’s my first time having one and I love it.”

    Coulter also contributes his success to the equipment available to him at Richard Childress Racing. And finally Coulter gives all the due to his family, who has stood with him since he began his racing journey.

    “RCR in my opinion is the best equipment in the Truck Series,” Coulter said. “The guys that build those trucks are the same guys that go to the race track and work on them at the track.”

    “So, when they build something at the shop, they really put everything they’ve got into it,” Coulter continued. “Everybody puts so much pride into their work that when the race truck rolls into the trailer on the way to the race, it looks more like something that would roll through the block on Barrett Jackson.”

    “These things come out looking great.”

    “My family has been there since the beginning,” Coulter said. “Mom, dad and my girlfriend have been there since I was short track racing in Florida.”

    “It’s really hard for them to miss a race, which is cool,” Coulter continued. “I love having them there.”

    Coulter did take at least a little bit of time to celebrate his great finish. But that run actually made Coulter even more anxious to get to the next track.

    “When I got back after the race, I hung out with my parents and soaked it all in,” Coulter said. “I kept watching the highlights on Speed Center and reading the articles on line, just soaking it all in.”

    “We really enjoyed it, but at the same time it just made me a lot more excited to get to Texas,” Coulter said. “I just kept telling my crew chief, ‘Let’s go to Texas right now. I’m ready to go.’”

    Coulter has actually been to Texas Motor Speedway before, running there last year in the ARCA Series.

    “I love that race track,” Coulter said. “It is so much fun. It’s unreal how fast you can go through the corners with so much grip.”

    “It’s wide open from what I’ve heard,” Coulter continued. “It’s going to be an experience to go around the track and never take your foot off the gas. I can’t wait to do that.”

    Coulter admits that he expects more of the same at Texas as at Kansas in terms of the weather and the intense heat. He credits his growing up in Florida for his ability to handle the heat, that and a new tip that his teammate recently gave to him.

    “I’m very glad that I was born in Florida, where there are two seasons, hot and very hot,” Coulter said. “It’s just something I’ve gotten used to over the years.”

    “My teammate actually got me drinking Pedialyte this weekend and I felt way better before and after the race this time,” Coulter continued. “I’m working out every day like I have been for awhile and that helps with the heat too.”

    Coulter will also be celebrating a personal milestone when he reaches Texas this week. He will turn 21 years old on Wednesday, June 8th.

    “We are actually going to head to Texas a day early so I don’t have to be traveling on my birthday,” Coulter said. “I’m definitely not going to do anything crazy because we have to work this weekend.”

    “I’ll probably go some place and see if they card me,” Coulter said with a chuckle. “I’m excited about it. It’s really kind of like the last real exciting age.”

    For his birthday, Coulter may also indulge in one of his favorite confectionaries. In fact, he is nicknamed after one of them, “Cupcake”.

    “Before the Darlington race, we did a media event, me and Johanna Long,” Coulter said. “We got to talk to a bunch of young kids about how important it is to stay in school.”

    “There was this little hole in the wall, family cupcake place and somehow I got stuck carrying the box of cupcakes,” Coulter continued. “I guess that’s where I got the nickname of ‘cupcake’ from.”

    From celebrating his birthday to his top-five finish, Coulter has just one word to sum up his life at present.

    “Awesome,” Coulter said. “It’s a great feeling to be in the situation I am.”

    “I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunities I’ve had,” Coulter continued. “My dad has always been sure to tell me that there are plenty of unemployed race car drivers.”

    “I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Coulter said. “RCR is an awesome organization and there are an awful lot of awesome people that have gotten me to where I am.”

  • Richard Childress Should Have Been Suspended For Assaulting Kyle Busch

    Richard Childress Should Have Been Suspended For Assaulting Kyle Busch

    On Saturday, Richard Childress approached Kyle Busch after the Camping World Truck Series race, put him in a head lock and punched him several times. Monday, NASCAR announced that they have fined Childress $150,000, plus putting him on NASCAR probation until the end of the year.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]Now let’s think about this: if you’d done that to somebody, you could have been charged with assault and faced consequences under the law, which would most likely include jail time. Though for Childress, all he has to do is pay for a fine with money we know he has and stay out of trouble for the rest of the year.  Does this sound fair? No, I don’t believe it does and that’s why I still say that despite everything involved, Childress should’ve been suspended for at least one race.

    Anybody recall when Tony Stewart punched a reporter? They fined him and sent him to anger management classes.

    Anybody recall when Jimmy Spencer punched Kurt Busch? They suspended him for a race.

    So how is it that because Richard Childress is an owner that he gets different treatment?

    Now, there are those that say that Kyle Busch did indeed have it coming after what has transpired past couple of months. At Darlington, it was Busch who destroyed both Clint Bowyer’s and Kevin Harvick’s car, though Harvick had it coming with how he was racing Busch, some would say. This past weekend at Kansas, Busch got into Joey Coulter after the completion of the Camping World Truck Series race.

    As a result, Childress figured he should take matters into his own hands. Now, anybody in life who does this knows they’ll face consequences and not light ones, yet it seems that’s how NASCAR has played the card for Childress. Instead of punching him, would it not been better to talk things out peacefully so they can get this behind them and move forward?

    As far as what Busch did, he got fined the right measures back at Darlington for what he did on pit road to Harvick and is serving the probation as he should. Whether the contact after the race should’ve gathered more punishment towards Busch, that would be wrong to do. NASCAR said penalties for contact back at Darlington was because of what transpired on pit road after the race, not for what happened on track. Wouldn’t they be going back on their word if they fined Busch?

    Busch has crossed the line, no doubt, many times, but in this case he is the victim of someone who can’t control their anger about their drivers being involved incidents.

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: THE NASCAR WEEKEND WAS RATHER ‘FUELISH’

    HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: THE NASCAR WEEKEND WAS RATHER ‘FUELISH’

    Over the previous weekend we watched a driver win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race by using his left foot instead of his right foot. We watched NASCAR’s most popular driver not win a race because of fuel issues. We watched a NASCAR Nationwide Series driver coast under the checkers, at 50 MPH, because he was out of fuel. Oh by the way, all of this was completely overshadowed by a fist fight that very few people actually saw. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

     

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]HOORAH to driver Brad Keselowski, crew chief Paul Wolfe and Roger Penske Racing for winning Sunday’s STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway. In a racing season filled with frustrations, this organization finally caught a break.

     

    HOORAH to Keselowski for using his left foot, to push in the clutch and coast into the turns, while removing his right foot from the gas pedal. That action was guaranteed factor in having just enough fuel to make it to victory lane.

    HOORAH to Penske driver Kurt Busch for actually being happy after the race despite a dominant performance that turned into a ninth place finish due to fuel issues. It’s no secret that Busch has been unhappy with the performance levels of his Penske Racing Dodge. We’ve heard about it during garage interviews and we’ve really heard it via in car radio transmissions.

    Busch led 152 of 267 laps and clearly was the car to beat. But fuel issues forced a pit stop with ten laps to go. That was compounded by an additional loss of track position after the car momentarily stalled on pit road when the gas didn’t make it to the fuel pick up in the tank. None the less, this team show strength at a time when it was really needed and that translates into momentum heading to next weekend.

    On the topic of Penske performance, HOORAH to Keselowski for a great line, during a post race interview, when he said “we had a come to Jesus meeting.” He was of course referring to Roger Penske who basically told his two race teams that it was time to stop whining, get to work and fix things.

    WAZZUP with the politically correct faction of America who are going to totally freak out at the reference comparing Roger Penske to Jesus.

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

    HOORAH to Dale Earnhardt Jr for using fuel mileage as an advantage to finish second at Kansas. Earnhardt turn four spin out changed his pit sequence status and allowed him to finish the race on one stop when most everyone was going to need two stops.

    With less than ten laps remaining, Earnhardt was charging towards the leader, and looking like a race winner, when all of a sudden he received the command, from crew chief Steve Letarte, to back off his speed and save fuel. HOORAH to Letarte for making that call. It resulted in a second place finish which elevated the team to third in points and only one point away from second.

    WAZZUP with the cardio systems of Earnhardt’s fan club, aka The Junior Nation, getting stressed to the limit over their coming so close to a win only to come up short over fuel issues? This is the second Sunday in a row their hopes have been dashed

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

    HOORAH to Justin Allgaier for a highly unusual win in Saturday’s STP 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Chicagoland Speedway. Carl Edwards was set to win this race but, with the checkers one half lap away, his car wiggled and ran out of fuel. Allgaier passed him and raced for approximately 100 feet before his out of fuel engine began to sputter. The two cars coasted under the chekers, at approximately 50 MPH, for the one-two finish.

    HOORAH to the return of Trevor Bayne to NASCAR racing after being sidelined for six weeks due to an illness that still hasn’t been officially diagnosed. Bayne proved that he was more than ready to climb bck into his race car with a third place finish. He had the fuel to make it to the end of the race and was charging hard to close the gap to steal the win. Due to the extreme heat, Bayne’s crew installed some extra air hoses inside of his car which motivated the driver to quip “I feel like an astronaut.”

    HOORAH to Danica Patrick for her ten place finish. After a nine week absence, to cover her Indy Racing League commitments, Danica drove a smooth race and fortified rumors that she may indeed be coming to NASCAR full time next year.

    HOORAH to Clint Bowyer for winning Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Kansas Speedway. Driving a Chevrolet Truck for Kevin Harvick Inc, the Kansas native returned home and led 124 of the 167 laps in a very dominant performance.

    WAZZUP with the brutal midwest heat last weekend? There were fans lying on the concrete floor underneath the Kansas Speedway grandstands trying to get some relief. The interior temperature of the race cars hit well over 140 degrees and many of those drivers looked beat.

    Meanwhile here in southern California, we drew daytime highs of 63 degrees and, once the sun went down, we all went looking for our heavy jackets. Is the midwest where global warming is located? WAZZUP with new theories from the global warmers that won’t make anymore sense than the previous theories?

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

    Okay let’s get to it: the one item we’re all going to be talking about this week.

    The opinions of the fight between NASCAR team owner Richard Childress and driver Kurt Busch, last Saturday at the Kansas Speedway, seemed to be split down the middle between HOORAHS and WAZZUPS. The differential here seems to be determined on how one feels about Kyle Busch. It also seems that everyone respects Richard Childress despite his surprising behavior last weekend.

    This all started during the NASCAR Truck race when Busch reportedly didn’t care for the way Childress driver Joey Coulter passed him to take fifth place away on the final lap. During the cool down lap Busch responded with a door slap on Coulter’s passenger door. This action angered Childress but it wasn’t the only reason. The team owner was still mad at Busch for damages that occurred when he pushed Kevin Harvick’s car nose first into the pit wall at Darlington after the race was over. Following that incident Childress allegedly informed Busch to take his problems up directly with his drivers like a man and quit tearing up his race cars after the race is over. It now appears that Busch decided to ignore that warning

    First off, WAZZUP with calling that a fight? Childress placed Busch in a bear like headlock and did a smackdown on him. It was over as quick as it started.

    HOORAH to Childress for having the wisdom to remove what I’m sure is a very expensive wrist watch before the beat down started.

    Apparently NASCAR officials decided to declare the Kansas matter a WAZZUP. On Monday they fined Childress $150,000 and placed him on probation until the end of the year.

    WAZZUP with the monetary fine being so high? Apparently the “have at it boys” policy doesn’t apply to team owners. When Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton slugged it out on the backstretch of the Texas Motor Speedway, during a yellow flag, there were no fines, no probation’s and it was also filed under “have at it boys”. In fact most of us are still laughing at that lame display of fighting.

    HOORAH to Richard Childress for manning up, accepting the fine and probation while taking full responsibility for his actions.

    I’m sure NASCAR officials are quietly whispering HOORAH for the fact that no TV cameras, or still photographers, were at the scene to record this moment for posterity. It seems this action happened so fast the camera people couldn’t mobilize in time to get there.

    WAZZUP with no TV cameras at the scene? Not a single one of you can tell me you wouldn’t want to see that fight.

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

    Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing only issued blanket statements that basically said they were going to let NASCAR handle the matter. HOORAH to “Twitter” the land where you can always find a comment on anything. Here are some examples from a few of NASCAR’s favorite personalities:

    Kyle Petty wrote “I think RC needs to auction the watch he took off before he gave KB the beat down.” Petty followed that up with another “tweet” that read: My Grandfather, (Hall Of Fame member Lee Petty), once told me you can’t out guess a crazy man.”

    Fan favorite Kenny Wallace wrote: “I guess boys have at it is over, now that’s an expensive punch.” Later Wallace admitted to a fight fantasy when he wrote: “I would love to fight another driver, but after the $150 thousand fine on RCR I can’t afford to.”

    Upon hearing about the incident Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip wrote: “(the) buzz is that RC whipped up on Kyle Busch. The leader of the junk yard dogs will adjust your attitude for you.” In a second message DW wrote: “ever wonder where that Childress bunch gets their attitude? Look no further than the man whose name is on the team. Don’t ask me how I know.”

    One of the better “tweets” came from Austin Dillion, who drives in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for his Grandpa Richard Childress. Dillion wrote: ” I wonder if Pop Pop will get a senior discount on his fine?”

  • ARCA Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150: Ty Dillon Wins and More

    A day after graduating from high school, Ty Dillon won the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at Chicagoland Speedway for the fifth win of his ARCA career that is only eight starts old.

    “That was our game plan, to stay patient all day,” Dillon said, as according to the ARCA Racing Network. “We came in that second or third stop, and we were really loose. Something was wrong with our left rear tire; it never gained any pressure or anything. I told (the crew) we were going to have to come in and pit, because we can’t win the race like this. Once we got fresh tires and got everything back to where it was supposed to, we came back through the field. By then, (Hackenbracht) was so far out front and it was his race. 

    “Unfortunately, that happened to him, but the caution helped us and put us where we needed to be. We had a really fast car.”

    For crew chief Scott Naset, it was an early birthday present as he turns 40 on Tuesday, though no surprise as he won at Chicagoland with Kevin Harvick in 2001 and 2002.

    “It’s Flash’s [Naset’s] birthday this week, so I’m just really happy for these guys,” Dillon said.

    The race looked to be Chad Hackenbracht’s as he had a nine-second lead on Dillon, though he blew a tire with 15 laps to go ending his shot at the end.

    “I told the guys probably 10 laps into us leading the race, ‘Thanks for this car. It’s a rocket ship,’” Hackenbracht, who would be scored 20th, said. “It really was. We had a nine-second lead when the tire blew, and I had no warning. I may have run over something. It sounded like it was in the center of the car so I didn’t think about it at all. I felt like we had it in the bag, almost.”

    For the family owned team of CGH Motorsports, it could have been the story of the year as they were the quickest car in practice and looked to be a strong contender for the day.

    Chris Buescher finished second, followed by two-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards, who was making his seventh start in the series with Venturini Motorsports.

    “We struggled for raw speed all weekend, but Wayne Carroll – the crew chief – and all our guys worked so hard on this thing,” McCumbee said. “They weren’t the least bit concerned that we weren’t going to be good on a long run; we were. Our ModSpace Ford was good. I felt we were a race-winning contender, especially on the first green flag run. We adjusted on it a bit…but we just needed laps. Those short runs were not what our car wanted, but I’ll tell you what: two top-fives in a row. That’s big for our Andy Belmont Racing team.”

    Chad McCumbee, meanwhile, kept up his consistency, as he has so far this season, with a fourth-place finish.

    “We knew the track was going to change when the lights came on,” Richards said. “We were really free early. I had to run the top to just keep up as much as possible. We made some changes there and got definitely a lot better, but that’s the first time I’ve ever run the top at an asphalt track, so I got a lot of experience and got to feel the air a little bit. The Venturini (Motorsports) guys did an awesome job.”

    Last week’s winner Andrew Ranger rounded out the top five, followed by Tom Hessert, Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Brent Brevak and Maryeve Dufault. Stefan Rzesnoiecky was 11th in his ARCA debut.

    Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the first of two trips to Pocono Raceway for the running of the Pocono ARCA 200, round seven of 19 on the 2011 schedule.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    With emotional visits and relief efforts to the tornado-ravaged heartland of the country overshadowed by an altercation between team owner Richard Childress and driver Kyle Busch after the Kansas Truck Series race, the Cup drivers took to the unanimously proclaimed ‘hot and slick’ track in Kansas City.

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    Surprising: In spite of all of the reports of Kyle Busch being ‘pummeled’ by Richard Childress after giving RCR’s truck driver Joey Coulter a nudge after the race, Busch arrived at the speedway for the race sans sun glasses and looking surprisingly unscathed.

    It was also surprising to see Mike Helton address the media prior to the race, sharing that NASCAR had met with Busch and Childress, as well as Busch’s team owner Joe Gibbs. Helton advised that all were warned to get through the race before any further actions would be taken by the sanctioning body, which is expected on Monday.

    “I met with NASCAR,” Busch said. “Whatever they feel best to protect their sport and to protect what we have going on here is to their best discretion. I’m all for whatever they decide to do.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that, in addition to the heat between Busch and Childress, the heat on the track, in the cars and in the grandstands was the other major topic of conversation.

    “It’s hot today,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet said. “Did you notice that?”

    “You sit in a sauna for four hours,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, said. “That’s pretty much what you’ve got.”

    The only one who found amusement in the heat was iron man driver of the No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, Carl Edwards. During the race the driver quipped that he was a little chilly and would appreciate either some coffee or some hot chocolate.

    Surprising:  In spite of the heat for most everyone else other than Edwards, it was surprising how calm, cool and collected Brad Keselowski was behind the wheel of the Miller Lite Blue Deuce. With the threat of running out of fuel, Keselowski reduced his speed, stayed strategically ahead of his competitors, feathered his throttle, kicked in the clutch and coasted through the corners for most of the final laps of the race.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Keselowski, who started 25th, also coasted to the checkered flag, winning his first race of the season and giving his crew chief Paul Wolfe his first ever Cup Series victory. This was Keselowski’s first win since Talladega in April of 2009.

    “You can only put yourself in that position so many times before you’re going to catch the right break,” Keselowski said. “We caught a great break today because of all the hard work by the Miller Lite team. We got great gas mileage and that didn’t hurt either.”

    “It was because of the struggles and bad finishes that I really appreciate this.”

    Not Surprising: Yet again, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was good in a fuel mileage race yet still came up short at the finish line. Junior, who came in second, posted his seventh top-10 finish in 2011 and his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Kansas Speedway.

    “We shouldn’t have run second today but we have fast cars,” Junior said. “I had a good car, you know.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising that the Roush Fenway Racing bunch were not quite as stellar as expected, particularly given the driver ratings headed into the race. It was also surprising that Missouri native Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, with his new sponsor Affliction Clothing on his No. 17 Ford, topped the RFR camp, with fifth and sixth place finishes respectively.

    Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Walgreen’s Ford, who was expected to take home a victory, finished tenth instead, and the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford David Ragan finished 13th. In spite of not bringing home the trophy, all four of the Roush Fenway Racing team members finished in the top 15.

    Edwards managed to lead 29 laps of the race and his finish ratcheted his points lead to 40 over second place Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, who finished seventh. Kenseth held serve as seventh in points, Biffle lost one position to 12th and Ragan moved up one place to the 17th spot.

    “I really wanted to win,” Edwards said, most likely speaking for the entire Roush Fenway Racing crew. “I had a good time though and it is my new favorite race track.”

    Not Surprising:  With the season officially at halfway to the Chase, it was not surprising that two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon, this week behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, were determined to have good days at the track that would move them back into Chase contention.

    Hamlin, who came in third, moved up to 11th in points.

    “I’m proud of our whole FedEx Freight team,” Hamlin said. “We’re battling back and getting ourselves back into position.”

    Jeff Gordon brought his car to the checkered flag in the fourth position, moving him up to 13th in the points as the only driver with a win eligible for the wild card at present.

    “Well, it was an awesome run for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “We had a great race car all weekend long. All in all, a great top-five.”

    Surprising:  It was also a bit surprising that pole sitter Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing who dominated much of the race, and outside pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, did not have better finishes.

    After some fuel mileage struggles, Busch was able to bring his car home in the ninth position. JPM, on the other hand, hit one of the seams in the track and then the wall, relegating him to a 17th place finish.

    “To have a car to lead laps today and be very competitive, I was all smiles,” Busch said. “It’s just one of those days where you’re on the right side and sometimes you’re not. For all my guys, we’ll take this one.”

    Not Surprising:  After a hot and sticky day on the track, it was not surprising that one driver in particular was still smoking, at least in a positive way. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 The Glades/Office Depot Chevrolet, not only secured a top ten finish but now has his eyes and his heart set on The Prelude to the Dream at his race track, Eldora Speedway.

    “Our guys did a great job and we really had a good car today,” Smoke said. “The good news is we get to get out of here and go work at Eldora tomorrow.”

     

  • Another Fuel Mileage Finish = More Excitement; Jr. Wins Coming Soon

    Another Fuel Mileage Finish = More Excitement; Jr. Wins Coming Soon

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]Fans were once again treated to another exciting finish as Brad Keselowski broke through to end his 60-race winless streak after conserving just enough fuel to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. by just over 2.5 seconds. For some Jr. fans this may appear as just another disappointing finish, but I see most of Jr Nation looking forward after the amazing progress that has been made since 2009 when the struggles began. With his second-place finish today, Jr. is now just 41 points out of first place and is in real contention for a championship run for the first time since 2004. I see Jr. finishing in the Top 5 this year in the championship. I don’t see a championship just yet, but still give major credit to Jr. and Steve Letarte.

    The race on the other hand was very exciting in my view. Kurt Busch had the dominant race car as he sat on the pole, but like last week when Jr. looked like he was going to secure the victory, Busch was forced to pit for fuel with a handful of laps to go and wound up in ninth place. Denny Hamlin recovered from last weekend’s sputter to finish in third while Jeff Gordon finished fourth after announcing his ‘Go For Broke’ strategy, but he wound up just a little short. Gordon was my pick to win this weekend based off how he did in practice. Carl Edwards rounded out the Top 5.

    Greg Biffle was the biggest surprise of the race. Biffle was my second pick to win this race along with teammate Carl Edwards as my third. Biffle dominated at Kansas last season for his second victory of 2010 and was the fastest during the first session of practice, but just what happened? Biffle finished in tenth, but this is a track where Roush Fenway Racing is usually top dog. Yes, this race did come down to fuel mileage, but Carl Edwards was the only Roush car in the field who actually led a lap and that is a shock for a lot of people, including me.

    Fuel mileage races add more excitement to the overall atmosphere of the racing when it comes down to that. I was asked earlier today, “Are there too many fuel mileage races?” Well…you can’t really answer a yes or no to that because you really never know when that is going to happen. I didn’t see the Coca Cola 600 coming down to fuel until the final 30-40 laps and the same with the race today. I love fuel mileage races because the suspense really shakes you and the result makes the feeling even better.

    Now, for next week we are at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania for the Pocono 500 and this will be the first race for TNT in 2011 as FOX says goodbye until 2012 and TNT takes over for the summer. Most people in the reporting business I know will pick Denny Hamlin because they just seem to follow what everyone else does, but I’m not going to do that. Hamlin actually didn’t have the best average finish at Pocono last season unlike what most people have heard. Tony Stewart actually did. Hamlin won the June event and Greg Biffle won the August event. Hamlin finished 1st and 5th at Pocono for the season while Stewart finished 3rd and 2nd.

    I’m afraid on picking any Joe Gibbs Racing car at the same time because of the engine problems they have been having this season and Stewart and his Stewart-Haas Racing team in general have had their fair share of bad races. However; I’m still going out on a limb and saying Tony Stewart will break through for his first win of 2011. Expect Roush Fenway to be a threat still for the win.

    Any questions or comments, you can leave them below, or email me at therhino.ryan@gmail.com or the twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ryan__ohara

    Rest in peace Grandpa.

  • Fuel Mileage In America’s Heartland, The STP 400 at Kansas

    Fuel Mileage In America’s Heartland, The STP 400 at Kansas

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]For the second straight week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series saw a race come down to fuel mileage once again involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. Like last week, Earnhardt came up short as it was Michigan’s Brad Keselowski taking the blue deuce back to victory lane in the inaugural STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway. Brad was able to stretch his fuel for the final 57 lap run to earn his second career victory. Keselowski said, “I didn’t even realize I was in the lead until two to go when I looked at the pylon.” It was the first victory for Keselowski since Talladega in the spring of 2009, and the first win for both Dodge and Penske for the 2011 season.

    So much for Kurt Busch having “undriveable” cars this season. Kurt took the lead on lap 18 from Juan Pablo Montoya and began to pull away. The elder Busch lead 152 laps. That’s quite a feet considering that prior to Sunday’s race, Kurt had only lead 123 through the first 12 races of this season. It wasn’t until lap 258 when the day went wrong for Kurt when he was forced to pit for fuel. Then, just one lap later, he struggled getting the car going as the fuel was not picking up to the motor. Kurt was still able to salvage a ninth place finish on the day catapulting him to sixth in the point standings

    Tony Stewart was another driver that got a much deserved good day. Kansas has always been a great track for Smoke as he is a two time winner in America’s Heartland( 2006 and 2009 respectively). Stewart ran up towards the front just about all race long and looked like he may challenge for his first win in 2011. That all came to and end when he like most drivers, had to pit for fuel late in the race. It wasn’t all for nothing though, Tony got an eighth place finish and moved up one spot to eighth in the points. Just the day Smoke needed to kick off the summer stretch of the season.

    As always, there were some notable performances from Sunday’s STP 400 that had an overall good day.

    Remember how everyone pretty much wrote off Denny Hamlin about five weeks ago? Well, don’t look now, but Denny is back. Hamlin had a very strong showing on Sunday once again. Hamlin was able to get out front, lead some laps, battle in the top five and ultimately came home in the third spot. Hamlin now sits eleventh in the Sprint Cup points which currently qualifies him for the wild card spot.

    Denny’s arch enemy from last year, Jimmie Johnson, also had a strong showing on Sunday. The five time champ battled his way up from the thirty-first starting position to finish a respectable seventh on the day. This shows that the 48 team does not need a good qualifying run in order to run well and get a good finish. They showed preserverance and determination as they took to the slick Kansas Speedway. Johnson now sits third in the points, 40 markers out of the lead. That’s nearly a whole race out. The 48 team will have to have runs just like this one, and better if they want a shot at Carl Edwards in the chase.

    Sunday also brings the NASCAR on FOX portion of the season to a close. 2011 marks the 11th season of the combination and arguably the best one of the relationship. The entire crew from the booth to the Hollywood Hotel and pit road stepped up to the plate and delivered a terrific presentation to the viewers at home. The coverage now switches to TNT and they kick off their fifth annual “TNT Summer Six Pack” which includes the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and the inaugural Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway.

    Sunday’s race provided everything we normally see when we go to a 1.5 mile track. Side by side racing, long green flag runs, pit strategy and the occasional fuel mileage duel. We saw that many races may come down to fuel mileage which will create many tense moments in races to come. I personally can not wait to see whats to come next weekend in the Poconos.

    Next Race- Pocono 500 on TNT