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  • 600 Miles In The Hub of NASCAR; A preview of this weekend’s Coca Cola 600

    600 Miles In The Hub of NASCAR; A preview of this weekend’s Coca Cola 600

    “It’s a great test of man and machine.” That is what you will hear at the beginning of old racing footage of the then “World 600″ at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Once a year, NASCAR decides to beef up the mileage by one-hundred and see who can survive the great endurance test. In the past, this race was run in it’s entirety in the daytime. After lights where installed at the speedway, the race became even more of a challenge as the six-hundred miles began at dusk and finished up under the night skies. This made both driver and crew chief forced to stay alert for the entire race as the track could slip away from them in an instant.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]In past years, you could always count on numerous engine and mechanical failures throughout the course of six-hundred miles. Mainly in the final stretch of the race. Now, with all the advances in technology in the mechanics and engines, there seem to be less and less failures every year. The result of that is more cars left running which leaves the possibility pit strategy still in the picture. That includes fuel mileage. We see it just about every other week, where fuel mileage comes into play in the end of the race. Whether a yellow falls or not, the mention of fuel at the end of the race seems to happen more often than not. It offers a chance for a possible first time winner or a surprise winner to pop up and steal a win away from one of the big boys of the Cup Series.

    Charlotte Motor Speedway was commonly refereed to in the mid 2000’s as, “The House That Jimmie Built” as then Johnson seemed to be the only driver that was able to win at the speedway. Also, his team’s sponsor, Lowe’s, also sponsored the track when Jimmie dominated at Charlotte. With the type of performance the five time champ showed last Saturday night in the All Star race, you may want to keep Jimmie in mind as a driver that could pop up and win the race.

    With how dominate the Roush-Fenway cars have been this year on mile and a half tracks this season, you can’t ever count them out as proven once again with David Ragan winning the showdown and Carl Edwards winning the All Star. Don’t count of Biffle or Kenseth either. Greg Biffle lead a good majority of the first segment of the All Star race and Kenseth, for a while, had the fastest car on the track. Each one of these drivers would be great picks for the weekend.

    If you want some sleeper drivers for the weekend, then look no further than here. Kasey Kahne won this race back in 2006. Kahne and his Red Bull Racing Team have really been picking up the pace as of late with fast cars. Although they don’t always finish the races, you can never count out a driver with speed to win a race. Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr and Jamie McMurray would all be good picks for this weekend as they have all either won or had good runs at Charlotte in the past.

    Look for an exciting marathon this weekend in Charlotte!

    Picks for the weekend:

    Top Gear 300- Kyle Busch
    Coca Cola 600- David Ragan

  • Elliott Sadler Happy Now But Doesn’t Want to End Career in Nationwide Series

    Elliott Sadler Happy Now But Doesn’t Want to End Career in Nationwide Series

    Elliott Sadler made no bones about it when saying he felt given the right situation he’d be in the thick of things in the Sprint Cup Series. While in the midst of what might eventually be known as his rebirth in the Nationwide Series, Sadler isn’t willing to settle for not running with the big boys.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Speaking Thursday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway where the NNS is preparing for Saturday’s Top Gear 300, Sadler was candid about both his current and past situation. Even before he did so though, it was clear as it has been since the season started, that he’s perfectly happy racing for Kevin Harvick Inc in the NNS where he’s leading the points. He’s competitive, he’s happy and he’s relevant again for all the right reasons. But he did admit that some things just aren’t the same.

    “I do miss the Cup Series,” he said. “I’d be lying if I told you I don’t miss racing on Sunday’s. Do I miss the situation I’ve been in the last couple of years? I don’t want to cuss, but heck no. I have learned that this sport is a lot more fun when you have a team around you and a supporting cast around you that believes in you and wants to do [well] at the racetrack week in and week out. That’s whether your racing go-karts, Trucks, Nationwide, Cup or what have you.”

    It’s the reason Sadler says, that should he ever get the opportunity to race on Sunday’s again, he’s going to make sure he does so with a competitive team. With a team that acts as one and not, not ride around just for the sake of saying that he’s a NSCS driver.

    “I’ve had the most fun this year I’ve had since I drove the 38 car for Robert Yates,” he said.

    That was during a time when Sadler not only ran up front in the Cup Series but won races. Perhaps, the best years of his life. In 2004 he found the winner’s circle twice and finished eighth in points. But the last few seasons Sadler has been nowhere to be seen and struggled at Richard Petty Motorsports where he said he learned to bit his tongue.

    Sadler though wasn’t done revealing. He stated that no matter how hard a driver works in the racecar if the team doesn’t believe in you, it’s not going to work.

    Now with a team of proven winners and with many preseason predictions of a championship, Sadler doesn’t feel pressure. That’s easy when as he says, he’s got an “army” of guys around him and an owner who will do anything to make sure they’re fast. That, according the Virginia native is cool.

    “I’ll give you a perfect example,” said Sadler. “I see all you guys in here with your cool computers and probably have the latest and greatest technology. Say I give you a story right now to break, it’ll be the biggest story ever and I give one of you guys a computer and I give one of you guys a hammer, a chisel and a stone. I want you to write the story before the other guy finishes it. If not I don’t want to hear no excuses, you should be able to do that. That’d kind of be the same thing I went through.”

    It’s not what he’s going through now. But Sadler made it clear that he couldn’t say that he would be happy racing in the Nationwide Series the rest of his life.

    “If my career ending as a Nationwide driver would I be happy, heck no. My goal is to one day make it back to Sprint Cup because I feel like I can drive circles around half the guys over there if I was in their equipment or in the same situation they were in. My goal is to win a championship this year in the Nationwide Series maybe next and if something good comes along, go back.”

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: DANICA STAYING? DANICA LEAVING? WE HAVE A NEW MYSTERY TO SOLVE

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: DANICA STAYING? DANICA LEAVING? WE HAVE A NEW MYSTERY TO SOLVE

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”218″][/media-credit]Remember last fall when we had all of that fun trying to unravel the mystery of where driver Kasey Kahne was going land for the 2011 season? Kahne needed a one year deal with a team while waiting to take over his new ride with Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. We had a ball trying to figure out his 2011 mystery.

    Now we have a new racing riddle to solve and this one is going to be very special because it involves Danica Patrick. On Tuesday we were treated with published reports that said she was moving to NASCAR full time next year and her management team, the highly reputable IMG, were finalizing all of the details.

    However, the following day, Patrick issued a statement saying she had no idea where that information came from and called the reports “speculation.”

    Let the game begin.

    Tuesday’s report was initially released by “ESPN Dot Com”, also highly reputable, and seemed to focus on five major points regarding Patrick’s next move in her career:

    1. Danica Patrick will compete full time in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series in 2012.

    2. She will also drive in a selected number of NASCAR Sprint Cup events next year.

    3. She will move up to the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2013.

    4. She will make a brief return to the Indy Racing League to compete in the 2012 Indy 500.

    5. Her long time sponsor, Go Daddy Dot Com, will follow her to NASCAR.

    The timing of this announcement seems to fit. Her Indy Racing League contract with Andretti Auto Sport, as well as her NASCAR Nationwide Series contract with J R Motorsports, expires at the end of this year.

    However, on Wednesday, Patrick threw a major monkey wrench into machine when she denied any knowledge of her future racing plans being in place. In an interview with “SI Dot Com” she said “I’m watching TV and see it scroll across the bottom of the screen. I don’t know where it came from but it’s all speculation. Anybody can speculate that and write that. I don’t know where it came from but there’s no truth to it; it’s just speculation.”

    Expressing her own form of speculation, she said she found it “curious about the timing of such a story coming out a few days before the Indy 500.”

    I have two basic problems with this denial. First, I’ve never had a second’s hesitation in believing anything that I’ve seen or read from ESPN. They have a long standing reputation of cultivating sources and double checking the facts. I’m inclined to think that their report last Tuesday was spot on.

    Secondly, this would not be the first time a major announcement was denied in order to protect the timing of the official announcement. The catalyst here would be Patrick’s management team taking advantage of every marketing concept available that comes with a glitzy press conference.

    If we’re going to get accused of speculating, then that’s all the reason we need to roll up our sleeves and do exactly that: speculate. It seems that our brand new racing mystery has one element that hasn’t been addressed: what NASCAR team will Danica Patrick sign with?

    The first, and rather obvious, choice is J R Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr, that Patrick used to launch her NASCAR venture. That #7 Go Daddy Chevrolet has been Patrick’s NASCAR learning curve since last year. The culmination of the hard worked peaked last March when Patrick finished fourth in the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas.

    J R Motorsports could easily cover Patrick’s Nationwide Series needs next year, but what about the proposed Sprint Cup events? The answer to that question may lie in yet another high profile contract negotiation. In recent days we learned that team owner Rick Hendrick is very close to signing Dale Earnhardt Jr to a contract extension that will keep NASCAR’s most popular driver in the Hendrick Sprint Cup racing stable for the next several years to come.

    There has also been speculation that says one of the final negotiation points to this new contract involves Rick Hendrick’s increased participation in J R Motorsports. Could that possibly mean that a small fleet of Hendrick built Cup cars could be delivered to Earnhardt’s race shop? It makes sense when you think about it. Hendrick cannot sign Patrick to drive one of his Sprint Cup cars. That’s due to the NASCAR mandated owner’s cap that limits team ownership to four cars implemented just prior to the start of the 2010 season. Hendrick’s four car Cup stable is full at the moment and will be for the next several years. But placing some Cup cars in Junior’s shop would be rather easy.

    There’s also been some speculation regarding a liaison between Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart although the plans for the Nationwide Series could turn out to be a deal breaker. The owner/driver from Stewart-Haas Racing fully understands what it takes to complete the transition from Indy cars to NASCAR stock cars. He has been very generous in the past by discussing the process with Patrick and offering his advice.

    Stewart has always maintained that he’s wide open to expanding his operation from two cars to four under he right set of circumstances. While he hasn’t conducted any formal contract talks with Patrick, he did say he would be interested in having her join Stewart-Haas if she would be willing to make the leap of faith to the Cup level. Stewart made it clear that he was not interested in fielding a Nationwide Series team.

    We can stretch the Danica speculation one giant step further by including Joe Gibbs Racing in this mix. Their existing operation would be perfect for Patrick’s transition because they already have one of the best Nationwide Series operations in place. Bringing Patrick to the Cup level would also be an easy accomplishment because Gibbs Racing currently has three teams with room for one more.

    In the past team President J D Gibbs has said they would seriously consider expanding to a four car Cup operation under the right set of circumstances. A high profile driver like Danica Patrick, backed with Go Daddy dollars, would definitely be the right set of circumstances.

    So there you have it racing fans. We have a new mystery to solve. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m also wondering where I can purchase one of those really cool Sherlock Holmes hats.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE RETURN OF ‘OLD KYLE’ LITERALLY GOES OVER THE LIMIT

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE RETURN OF ‘OLD KYLE’ LITERALLY GOES OVER THE LIMIT

    When Kyle Busch decides to misbehave, he often does it in rather spectacular fashion. Last Tuesday’s citation, for driving 128 MPH on a North Carolina public road zoned for 45 MPH is his latest example of bad behavior.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Over the past several months we’ve watched an interesting transformation from Kyle Busch. The “Old Kyle”, a brash I’ll do and say what I want character, seemed to be determined to live up to his official “Rowdy” nickname. The antics of “Old Kyle” sometimes hit legendary proportions and, in some cases, were even highly entertaining. I can actually recall many times when I referred to his behavior as “job security.”

    Just when we started to get used to the antics of “Old Kyle, that side of the driver began to evaporate. Busch entered into a transformation and slowly but surely “New Kyle” began to emerge. That former high level of intensity and drama, often displayed out of the race car, was replaced by a more calm and mature demeanor. He became someone who chose his words very carefully, especially in front of the media. The very same things that used to make this driver angry within a New York minute now barely became blips on his personal radar. This transformation was likely the biggest sigh of relief his team owner, Joe Gibbs, has enjoyed in quite awhile.

    In all of us there’s that basic good versus evil struggle that has to be frequently dealt with. It’s not unlike the silly sequence from a Saturday cartoon where the tiny good angel stands on your left shoulder and says “on no no, this is wrong and we must not do this.” That is counteracted by the tiny little devil, standing on the right shoulder, that says “don’t listen to him, let’s go have some fun. Let’s do this.”

    In the case of Kyle Busch, the little devil on his right shoulder won the argument last Tuesday. According to reports from the Iredell County ACE, Aggressive Criminal Enforcement, Busch was driving a 2012 Lexus LFA sports car on a North Carolina public road between the communities of Troutman and Mooresville. That’s where he was clocked doing 128 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. He was issued a citation for speeding along with careless and reckless driving.

    That very same day there was an official statement released by Busch who profusely apologized for the incident. The statement said “I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away.” The official apology also stated Busch’s willingness to take full responsibility for his actions along with an assurance that something like this will never happen again.

    While I don’t doubt that Busch is indeed apologetic and embarrassed by his latest episode, one can’t help but think the carefully worded prose in this official statement was carefully created by a spin doctor from Joe Gibbs Racing. It was likely created by the same person who spent a great deal of late night overtime sitting in an office trying to put a coat of polish on previous “Old Kyle” episodes.

    Hypothetically speaking, if local resident “John Q Public” committed this act he would also be issued a citation. The resolution would likely include a well deserved hefty fine and the possibility of a license suspension for 60 days per North Carolina DMV law. There could also be some possible stipulations regarding a period of community service and perhaps even probation. Once the matter was adjudicated in court, “Mr John Q Public” would settle his business with the county and its doubtful that his misdeed would barely make the next edition of the local paper.

    The situation was diversely different for Kyle Busch because of his well known celebrity status as a star in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The ink was barely dry on his traffic citation before the story was ran by every news and sports media center in the country. While the episode was certainly embarrassing for the driver, it was even more embarrassing for Joe Gibbs Racing. Once again the Gibbs organization found themselves having to explain the actions of this driver to their sponsors while in the midst of putting out his latest public relations fire.

    This incident is not going to become an official NASCAR matter. On Wednesday NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharpe issued a statement that said “this is a matter Kyle will have to handle with the authorities in Iredell County. Based on what we know right now, this would not impact his status as a NASCAR driver.”

    Paying the monetary fine from his citation is not a problem for Kyle Busch. He’s a wealthy man. It’s likely that a fine will be the only punishment he receives from actions that are widely regarded as being both dangerous and completely irresponsible.

    After all, he is a celebrity and it’s well known that in our country there are rules and procedures that apply to celebrities that would never be afforded to someone such as “John Q. Public.” If you find that hard to believe then ask anyone, including yours truly, from southern California about celebrity justice. We will quickly drop the names Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen just to name two. Don’t even get us started on the O J Simpson matter.

    If Kyle Busch is going to have any real problems from this incident it will likely come from Joe or J D Gibbs who were reported to be “looking into the situation.” They will likely instruct him to find a way to lock “Old Kyle” into a box never to be heard from again.

  • Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    On the heels of the induction of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, young up and coming driver Cole Whitt is just taking it all in and learning from the masters of the sport.

    [media-credit name=”Photo credit: redbullusa.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]But most of all, the soon to be twenty year old rookie who is now leading the point standings in the Camping World Truck Series is forging his own path. And yes, he is just being Cole Whitt.

    “Anyone that is going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame is going to be someone that I look up to for sure,” Whitt said. “I look up to all of them.”

    “But at the end of the day, you have to have your own style and your own way of doing things,” Whitt continued. “I’m really just pushing my own road and doing things the way I need to do them for myself.”

    “Cole Whitt is going to be who Cole Whitt is.”

    Right now Cole Whitt is currently the youngest points leader ever in the Truck Series. After his second consecutive top-three finish, the driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/ Fuel Doctor race truck leads veteran Johnny Sauter by a mere point.

    “It’s pretty amazing to think we did it, especially where the team has come from the beginning of the year,” Whitt said. “We really didn’t have that great of a Daytona outing but the team really turned things around.”

    “To come this far into the season and already grab the points lead, it’s been pretty cool,” Whitt said. “The team has really come together and things are clicking really well. It’s awesome to see this team come as far as we have.”

    While Cole Whitt preaches just being who he is, the young driver also credits his success solely with his race team. For him, the team is his main motivating source.

    “I think it’s just a matter of having a lot of good people,” Whitt said. “We’re not a big team, which makes it tough. But at the same time it’s easy to keep everyone on the same page.”

    “I try to keep the guys really motivated,” Whitt continued. “I’m at the shop every day and I try to put in as many hours as they do and work hard with them.”

    “I think the main thing is trying to keep everyone having fun,” Whitt said. “At the same time, we care about it a lot. When we don’t run good, we’re upset. But at the same time, we push each other to be better.”

    Whitt realizes that his team, with owner Stacy Compton, is one of those small team ‘Davids’ fighting some of the ‘Goliaths’ of the sport.

    “Stacy’s team has never been one of the biggest teams or one of the teams that is looked to as the one to beat but we’re trying to be that team,” Whitt said. “When everyone shows up at the track, we want them to say ‘We want to beat that team.’

    Whitt knows that it is just a matter of time until he and his team win a race this season. He currently is the only Truck Series driver to complete all 1,134 laps for the season, with five top-10s, finishing no lower than 14th to date.

    “So far, we haven’t really been the team to win races but we’ve been so consistent, driving up front,” Whitt said. “I think that win is just really going to come as long as we keep running as good as we have.”

    Whitt’s success in the Truck Series has also caught the eyes of others in the sport. He recently was offered the chance to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in their No. 99 Nationwide car at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.

    “It came together pretty quick,” Whitt said. “Jay Frye (Red Bull Racing) had been talking to me before about doing some Nationwide stuff and I just wasn’t really sure where it was going to go from there. He called me up and asked if I wanted to do this one weekend deal.”

    “I’m really excited to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing and give that 99 car a good run,” Whitt continued. “I’m excited more than anything to go back to a track that I’ve already been on and made laps on where it’s a little more familiar.”

    Whitt is also excited to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday at the race track as well as at home, a real treat for any professional stock car driver.

    “More than anything, I’m looking forward to getting into that Nationwide car,” Whitt said. “That’s kind of like my celebration I guess you could say.”

    “I’m going to hang out around the house more than anything,” Whitt continued. “The best part about Charlotte is sleeping in your own bed.”

    While Whitt could not be more excited to take on the new Nationwide ride, he is realistic about his expectations. And that is just another way that the young driver is being true to himself.

    “I wouldn’t say I expect anything,” Whitt said. “At the beginning of the season, if you had asked me, I would have never thought we’d be leading the points.”

    “Would I have really thought it would be possible? Probably not,” Whitt continued. “But that’s cool. We pushed forward and we have a team that’s better than we expected to be.”

    “There’s so much to grasp and I’ve just been absorbing everything that’s been thrown at me,” Whitt said. “I’m so thankful for the chance to learn.”

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE COCA COLA 600 BY THE NUMBERS

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE COCA COLA 600 BY THE NUMBERS

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ will present their annual endurance contest this Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Coca Cola 600 is a true test of a driver’s physical stamina and mental focus. It’s also a true test of their car’s and engine’s endurance levels.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]One of the better ways to forecast the finish of the Coca Cola 600 is to examine the numbers provided by the experts from the Las Vegas based “World Sports Exchange”, (WSE). Next combine their numbers with individual driver stats, provided by NASCAR’s Integrated Marketing Department, and you will get a fairly accurate picture of who’s hot and who’s not at Charlotte.

    KYLE BUSCH AND CARL EDWARDS AT 5 TO 1 ODDS.

    First off, you can never rule out the possibility of Kyle Busch winning a NASCAR race. Whether you’re the next president of his fan club or a fan that cringes at the very mention of his name, the fact of the matter is: he’s that good and has the raw numbers to support his success.

    Interestingly enough, Busch doesn’t seem to have strong numbers at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. He’s still looking for his first ever Sprint Cup win there and he has a middle of the road average finish ratio, (AFR), of 16.6. His seasonal numbers tell a different story. He’s ranked third in the championship standings with two wins, six top fives, seven top tens along with an AFR of 11.1. Again, this driver is always a safe bet.

    Then there’s the matter of Carl Edwards. There’s already a lot of observers picking him to win Sunday’s race at Charlotte. He’s still seeking his first ever points paying win there but has clearly proved he can get the job done at this track. That was certainly evident during last Saturday night’s win in the annual Sprint All Star Race.

    Also, don’t overlook the fact that his Roush Fenway Racing Ford is being powered by the Roush Yates Ford FR9 engine which is also having a wonderful season.

    He has a 13.1 AFR at Charlotte, but his seasonal numbers tell a completely different story. Those numbers include a win, six top fives and a 7.3 AFR. That’s why Edwards is sitting on top of the championship standings with a healthy 24 point advantage. If anyone can stop the championship domination of the Jimmie Johnson team then this is the guy. If you’re looking for a rock solid wager consideration, then this is also the guy.

    JIMMIE JOHNSON AT 7 TO 1 ODDS.

    Now here’s a driver who has some very impressive stats at Charlotte. His career stats there includes six wins, ten top fives and a 9.8 AFR. Three of those six wins include winning the Coca Cola 600 three consecutive times from 2003 to 2005. This is why the Charlotte Motor Speedway is sometimes referred to as “the house that Jimmie Johnson built.”

    His 2011 season stats are also very strong. Johnson is currently second in the standings with a win, four top fives and a 9.4 AFR. By the way, three of the most prominent houses in Las Vegas, including the WSE, are still saying that “Jimmie Five Time” will again win the Sprint Cup championship and become “Jimmie Six Pack.”

    MATT KENSETH AT 9 TO 1. Frequently, during a NASCAR Sprint Cup television broadcast, you will hear the question: “where did he come from?” That certainly applies to driver Matt Kenseth. He has a tendency to quietly show up late in a race and become a player in the event’s outcome.

    It certainly shows in the seasonal stats that includes two wins, four top fives and a 14.1 AFR. He’s also a previous race winner at Charlotte. Also remember that Kenseth is from the Roush Fenway Racing stable and that means he’s powered by the Ford FR9 engine. At 9 to 1, Kenseth is an excellent consideration.

    DENNY HAMLIN AND TONY STEWART AT 11 TO 1 ODDS.

    Despite a surprising sluggish start to the 2011 season, Hamlin to his credit has worked his way back to 13th in the championship standings. Also surprising is the fact that this team, whom many predicted would be a championship contender, is still searching for victory lane. His season numbers only shows one top five finish and a 16.8 AFR. His Charlotte numbers aren’t much better. They have been, and will be, plenty of times when Hamlin is a worthy wager consideration. Don’t expect this Sunday to be one of them.

    Tony Stewart, on the other hand, could be an interesting long shot consideration. Yes, the driver/owner from Stewart-Haas Racing has been a little frustrated recently over team performance levels. But he was smiling following a strong run in the All Star Race last Saturday night in Charlotte. He’s also a previous race winner at Charlotte.

    It’s been often pointed out that “Smoke” has a tendency to get hot during the summer months.If that NASCAR tradition still means anything, then Stewart could possibly light things up during the Coca Cola 600 this Sunday. The weather forecast for the Charlotte area calls for sunny skies and daytime highs around 90 degrees.

    KEVIN HARVICK AT 12 TO 1 ODDS.

    “Happy” Harvick is off to a strong start this year. He’s currently fifth in the standings based on two wins, four top fives and a 12.3 AFR. That alone makes him worthy as a long shot consideration. However, his Charlotte numbers are not that strong. He’s still looking for his first points paying win there and has an AFR of 20.0. You also have to consider that some up and down pit road issues in the past frequently hampers his track position.

    JEFF GORDON AT 14 TO 1 ODDS.

    Just like his team mate, Jimmie Johnson, here’s a driver from Hendrick Motorsports who has some excellent Charlotte numbers that includes five wins, 16 top fives and a career AFR of 15.6. Gordon also qualifies well at Charlotte and has won the pole position there eight times. His current Sprint Cup seasonal stats shows a win, three top fives and a 17.8 AFR. They also show a drop in the championship standings to 14th that is largely based on some unexpected harsh racing luck. Despite that, this driver and team is more than worthy of your long shot consideration to turn up in the Charlotte victory lane.

    GREG BIFFLE AT 15 TO 1 ODDS.

    This is another one of the Roush Fenway teams powered by the impressive Ford FR9 engine and that alone says pay attention to this driver this Sunday. As far as his season goes, Biffle has worked his way to 12th in the standings. He’s still looking for his first win of the season, as well as his first win at Charlotte, but he does have some good performance tracks coming up on the schedule. Unfortunately Charlotte isn’t exactly one of them.

    CLINT BOWYER, KASEY KAHNE AND DALE EARNHARDT JR AT 20 TO 1 ODDS.

    Looking at Bowyer’s seasonal numbers, he’s currently eighth in the championship standings. He’s still looking for his first win of the year but has collected two top five finishes that has created a 14.3 AFR. If you have no reservations regarding long shots, Bowyer is showing a great deal of potential these days.

    Kasey Kahne is also looking for his first win of the year and also has two top finishes with an AFR of 18.5. The one thing that makes Kahne looks so good, for next Sunday’s race, is his Charlotte stats that includes three wins, five to fives and a 13.5 AFR.

    The pride of the Junior Nation is understandably excited these days. While Dale Earnhardt Jr is still looking to unload that lengthy win less streak, he’s looking more and more like a potential winner these days. He’s also currently fourth in the championship standings with a healthy 11.4 AFR.

    Having said that, I don’t know if we can expect his next win to come at Charlotte this Sunday. While he is a winner of the All Star race, back in 2000, he’s still seeking that first points win at this track and has a 19.9 AFR there.

    KURT BUSCH AND RYAN NEWMAN AT 25 TO 1.

    The elder Busch brother is the defending race champion. He’s also a former winner of the All Star Race at Charlotte. He’s still seeking his first win of the season and only has one top five finish with a 13.9 AFR. He remains ninth in the championship standings.

    However, there’s one major problem here that places this driver so low in the WSE rankings this week. It’s driver frustration and there seems to be plenty of it these days. Past horsepower and handling issues, along with some pit road miscues, has turned Busch into an angry young man and that has led to some tirades, over the in car radio system, that has often been brutal. Until these team issues are resolved, I don’t know if betting any money on them is a good idea.

    While he’s yet to find victory lane this year, Ryan Newman is actually having a pretty good season so far. He’s seventh in the championship run, has four top five finishes and a steady AFR of 13.9. Starting position is very important for the Coca Cola 600 and Ryan Newman has a healthy qualifying history at Charlotte having won the pole there nine times. He could turn out to be another long shot consideration.

    MARK MARTIN AND JOEY LOGANO AT 28 TO 1.

    If you’re going to invest in a long shot, then Mark Martin may be well worth your attention. He’s currently 11th in the standings with a 14.7 season AFR. However it’s his Charlotte stats that makes him a stand out. Those numbers include four wins, 18 top fives and a15.7 AFR.

    We keep waiting for Joey Logano to launch that break out season everyone felt was coming but on track trouble somehow keeps finding him. He’s 28th in the standings, still searching for his first top five of the year and has an AFR of 22.5. He does, however, have some solid Charlotte numbers including his only Sprint Cup win, three top fives and an AFR of 8.5. But I wouldn’t bet any money on them.

    JAMIE MC MURRAY, DAVID REUTIMANN AND JEFF BURTON AT 30 TO 1.

    This trio of drivers had high expectations at the beginning of the 2011 racing season but, for a myriad of reasons, they just haven’t materialized. Mc Murray, 22nd in points, is still looking for his first top five finish of the year and that’s just simply amazing. However, he does have two wins at Charlotte. Meanwhile Reutimann, mired down in 26th, is still looking for his first top ten of the year and that’s equally amazing. The lone bright spot here is a very strong run in the All Star Race last Saturday night at a track where the driver scored his first, and only, Sprint Cup win.

    Jeff Burton has been working hard to overcome performance issues this year that has left him in 23d in the championship. Adding insult to injury is the fact he still looking for his first top ten finish of the year and that’s left him with a 20.8 AFR. The bright spot here is the fact that Burton is a three time winner at Charlotte and this might be the track where he can finally turn things around.

    At the very bottom of this week’s WSE listings you will find Martin Truex Jr at 35 to 1, Juan Pablo Montoya at 38 to 1 and Brian Vickers at 40 to 1. If you don’t find your favorite driver on this week’s listing then assume the WSE has placed them in their “all others” category at 15 to 1 odds.

    Now for the disclaimer: NASCAR wants to remind you that these posted numbers should be viewed for information and entertainment purposes only. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their races.

    The Coca Cola 600 is 400 laps/600 miles around the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1.5 mile quad oval. You can watch it live on Fox Sports beginning with the pre race show at 530 pm eastern time.

  • NASCAR Needs To Take Tickets From Cops More Seriously

    NASCAR Needs To Take Tickets From Cops More Seriously

    Yesterday, Kyle Busch was cited for careless and reckless driving after he was clocked at 128mph in a 45mph while driving a yellow Lexus LFA sports car.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Speeding on streets is something that should not be taken lightly as many individuals are killed in accidents each year. In contrast, NASCAR is not doing anything about their own little bad boy’s speeding incident.

    Busch released this statement after the incident.

    “Today I received a traffic citation in Iredell County. I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away. I went beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road. I apologize to the public, my fans, sponsors, and race teams for my lack of judgment. I take responsibility for my actions and I can assure you that something like this will never happen again. I thank the Iredell County Sheriff’s Department and all law enforcement for the hard work they do every day to protect the public and to enforce the laws in a fair and equitable manner.”

    “Lack of judgements” and getting “carried away” resulted in Busch going 128mph and all NASCAR has said was that they’re going to let Busch deal with this on his own.

    “This is a matter that Kyle will have to handle with the authorities in Iredell County,” NASCAR’s Kerry Tharp said. “Based on what we know right now, this would not impact his status as a NASCAR driver.”

    Tharp was also quick to add that a NASCAR driver doesn’t need a valid driver’s license, just a NASCAR license. This is a rule that’s set in place more-so for young 15 year old’s who are trying to get their start as legally they can’t get a driver’s license till the age of 16. However, once they have one, they should know the proper rules of the road and how to act safely.

    Busch obviously doesn’t know that by what he’s done and the fact that he could have his license suspended for 60 days after the July court date. This is also not the first time for Busch as he was caught speeding.  In 2008 he was doing 55mph in a 35mph zone.

    In both incidents, NASCAR has done nothing except tell the drivers to deal with it. What kind of precedent does that set?

    Busch’s case is not the only one that’s popped up as look at Michael Annett’s case.

    Annett was arrested for a DUI charge in February and NASCAR hasn’t done anything to Annett as he continues to drive for Rusty Wallace Racing.

    “I’m owning up to everything,” he said back in February. “There’s no excuse for it. I’m taking full blame and hoping everybody can learn from this. It honestly scared the hell out of me.”

    All NASCAR has done is placed him on probation, when meanwhile he, in a sense, broke the substance abuse policy. What type of attitude does that show NASCAR having?

    If NASCAR wants to be taken seriously, they need to step up their game and do something about the actions of individuals as it doesn’t look good on the sanctioning body.

  • D.J. Kennington Ready For 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Season

    D.J. Kennington Ready For 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Season

    After winning the championship last year, Kennington is ready for what the new season has to offer.

    “Last year was a good one for us, no doubt,” he said as according to NASCAR.com. “Just about everything we did turned out well and all of the equipment performed great. Will it be that way in 2011? I don’t know, but we’re sure going to try.”

    Last year, the St. Thomas, Ontario native won five races and five poles on the way to his first championship.

    “It’s as wide open as it has ever been,” Kennington said. “This series is full of veterans who all know how to win.”

    “We did the same things last year that we had always done,” Kennington continued. “Everything went our way, so we’ll just keep on doing what we do and hope it turns out for the best.”

    The 2011 season starts off this weekend at Mosport Speedway, near Bowmanville, Ontario. Kennington is looking to start off as well as he did last year as he won the first race out of the gate at Delaware Speedway.

    “Last year, we got that win at Delaware (Speedway) right out of the gate,” he said. “Everybody on the team was feeling good and we immediately put pressure on all the other teams and forced them to play catch up.”

    In the past four starts at Mosport, Kennington has two top-fives and four top-10s.

    “It’s probably good that they moved that date since we’ve struggled with the weather the last few years there,” said Kennington. “Mosport is a tricky track, though. It’s fairly flat and both ends are different. It’s almost impossible to get the car to handle well at both ends, so it’s a give and take deal to be competitive there.”

    For the 2011 season, he will once again have support from Castro Canada again.

    “The consistency we’ve had with Castrol Canada over the years is amazing,” Kennington said. “They’re phenomenal. I don’t know where I’d be without them. It’s an honor being associated with them for the past 17 seasons.”

    The only difference will be the new Dodge Challenger nose that will be in place for 2011.

    “I like the new look of the Dodge Challenger this year,” he said. “I think the fans will like it, too. It looks like the ones seen on the street and not some hybrid race car body type. I am anxious to see how it handles on the road courses where we carry more straight-line speed than on the ovals.”

  • Will We Ever See The ‘1100’ Again?

    Will We Ever See The ‘1100’ Again?

    Memorial Day weekend plays host to arguably, three of the biggest races on the motor racing calender. It all kicks off with the Formula One aces taking there shots on the tight and twisting street course in the Principality of Monaco. The men and women of Indianapolis then take center stage with “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing”, The Indianapolis 500 mile race. The night cap brings us to the hub of NASCAR where the season’s marathon race, the Coca Cola 600 goes into the wee hours of the night. In the past, many drivers have attempted to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 on the same day. But recently, no driver has made an attempt at the famous feat.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With so many current NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers with some form of open wheel experience, many race fans wonder why we haven’t seen the double. Drivers such as; Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, even Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson are drivers that fans wonder why they haven’t done it. All of these men have said previously that they would love to take a swing at Indianapolis and Charlotte. But why haven’t they done it?

    With all the pressure involved today driving in NASCAR, it isn’t likely that we will see a full time NASCAR driver do the double. With all the media and sponsor obligations that are required for a driver to just drive in NASCAR, it would be too much to juggle and be competitive in one, let alone both. The issue of travel also comes into play. Although Indy has moved their start time back to the original one, the driver attempting to get back to Charlotte would have a long night ahead of them as they would miss the drivers meeting and start in the back. And what if they said driver wins the Indy 500!? They would have to do all the photos and the traditional interviews that go with winning the race. It would just be too much to handle now days with how much more media attention and pressure is on each and every one of these drivers in both series.

    Tony Stewart has been very add in saying that in order to do both things well, you need to be full time in both racing series. Seeing a driver that would run both the IZOD Indy Car Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would be truly astonishing. But the chances of something like that happening are slimmer than a piece of paper. As much as race car drivers love to race anything they can get their hands on, there is no foreseeable way that one driver can run full time in two of the biggest racing series in the world.

    Seeing drivers attempt to run two crown jewel races in the same day is a site that both fans and media members would love to see. It would make for a capitulating story of a man (or Danica) trying to accomplish the unthinkable dream of winning the Indianapolis 500 and then winning the marathon race in North America’s most popular racing series. But unfortunately, the dream of that story may have to wait for a driver with the right opportunity to do it. When that will happen, no one knows.

  • Busch says he “got carried away” while testing sports car

    Busch says he “got carried away” while testing sports car

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]NASCAR star Kyle Busch confirmed Tuesday night that he was issued a speeding ticket, claiming that he “got carried away” while testing a new sports car.  Busch was going 128 mph in a 45 mph zone, according to the Statesville Record-Landmark.

    “Today I received a traffic citation in Iredell County. I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away,” Busch said. “I went  beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road. I apologize to the public, my fans, sponsors, and race teams for my lack of judgment. I take responsibility for my actions and I can assure you that something like this will never happen again. I thank the Iredell County Sheriff’s Department and all law enforcement for the hard work they do every day to protect the public and to enforce the laws in a fair and equitable manner.”

    Busch is currently third in Sprint Cup Series points.