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  • Matt Kenseth – The Gambler

    Matt Kenseth – The Gambler

    Just to look at Matt Kenseth, he’d be the last guy you’d think would be a gambler. Kenseth’s reputation is of the professional. Kenseth makes no waves. He goes out and does his job and usually finishes well. He wins races, but he’s never been accused of being a dirty driver. He’s been compared to David Pearson in how he saves his equipment and is there at the end to steal a victory. Such was the case on Sunday.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]The Fed Ex 400 looked to be a race between points leader Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer. They had dominated the race, leading 353 of the 361 laps run until Juan Pablo Montoya spun and brought out a caution with the 39 laps left. Kenseth made a little suggestion to car owner Jack Roush that maybe they should take on two tires instead of the customary four. Apparently Roush and crew chief Jimmy Fenning agreed and two tries it was. The result was Mark Martin, who had also gambled, was the only car ahead of Kenseth. It only took two laps for Kenseth to pass Martin and from then on he drove to a two-second lead and the win.

    In the meantime, the terrific trio of Edwards, Bowyer and Johnson were mired back in the pack and they didn’t make enough moves to get anywhere near the front. Most blamed it on the slick track, but it was good strategy. Kenseth said that those things haven’t worked lately for the team, but he won the jackpot in that gamble.

    It had to be satisfying for the No. 17 team for several reasons. Kenseth is widely considered the reason for the Chase system. A former Sprint Cup champion, Kenseth won only one race in his championship year. After that, the playoff system was born and Kenseth, though he has only missed one Chase, was considered a non-factor, making many say that he wasn’t a true champion. Despite his many wins over the years, he goes pretty much unnoticed in races, even though he always finishes at or near the top of the final standings. I once sat in front of a group of Kenseth fans who constantly complained that the only place they could find any souvenirs was at a race track. The lack of Kenseth supporters is common most places on the Sprint Cup tour. That may change this year.

    Kenseth already has won two races this year. That puts him in good shape to be in contention for a wild card slot in the Chase if he should falter and have bad luck in the 16 races remaining before the final playoff. Also factor in the fact that Ford is back. After several seasons of watching Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Chevrolets and Joe Gibbs Toyotas dominate the series, the blue oval has been very competitive. In fact, teammate Edwards has been very good and on this day, Richard Petty Motorsports’ Marcos Ambrose was competitive all day, finishing third.

    So Matt Kenseth might not be flashy or a media darling like Dale Junior or Jeff Gordon, but he proved to be a gambler Sunday at Dover. And like any good gambler, he won the bet. The old saying goes that nice guys finish last. That might not be the case in 2011.

  • An Up-And-Down Weekend For Matt Crafton

    An Up-And-Down Weekend For Matt Crafton

    They always say that you’ll have ups and downs in racing, but most times they don’t come in the same weekend. However, for Matt Crafton who competed in both the Lucas Oil 200 and the Menards 200 this weekend, that was the case.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]On Friday afternoon, Crafton drove his No. 88 Menards/Chevrolet to a third place finish in the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series.

    “At the beginning of the race, I couldn’t fire off and I was really, really loose,” Crafton said. “But at the end of the run, we’d be one of the best trucks on the race track.”

    Crafton qualified 10th, worked his way through the field fighting loose conditions to his sixth top-10 in 11 races at Dover to take over the points lead.

    “It’s great to be the points leader,” Crafton continued. “We just need to keeping doing what we’re doing and running top five every week and having these top three finishes and throw a couple of wins off and see where we are at Homestead.”

    Then on Sunday, Crafton competed in the ARCA Series Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, where he finished 17th after having a left front tire blow.

    “I joked with Bud at the end of the race that maybe we’ve gotten all of our bad luck out of the way for the year with this race,” Crafton said with a smile. “This was a pretty good car, it was tight in the middle, but nothing to worry me about the tires.  The irony is, that car was running fantastic after the tire blew and I came in.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough cautions to give us the Lucky Dog twice to put us back on the lead lap.”

    Crafton started the day 24th after the field was lined up based on owner points, though worked his way to the top five by lap 63. At that time, he chose to pit for tires, which set him back to the 20th position. Crafton, however, worked his way back to the lead in 14 laps before the left front blew at lap 135.

    “It’s fun to get a chance to come back and race in the ARCA Racing Series as part of my partnership with Menards,” he continued. “I would have loved to pull out a win for my sponsor today.  We had the strategy and team to do it. The Menards 200 is a great celebration of what Menards does with their stores in this area.  It was great to see Frank Kimmel running well in his Menards car as well for a while there.  We’re looking forward to racing again in Indianapolis at the ARCA Racing Series.  Thanks also to Frank and his team for fielding this car for us.”

    The next Camping World Truck Series race for Crafton is next Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Crafton’s had success at Charlotte as he won the race in 2008.

    The next ARCA Racing Series race for Crafton is the Ansell Protective Gloves 200 at Lucas Oil Speedway on July 28th.

  • Ed Carpenter Leads Opening Weekend of Practice for Indianapolis 500

    While Sunday was a wash out due to rain, practice for the Indianapolis 500 did begin on Saturday.

    The day was cut short by 45 minutes due to showers, but it was Ed Carpenter who topped the chart at a lap of 224.786 mph (40.0380 seconds) for Sarah Fisher Racing.

    “It’s only day one, but it’s really exciting to see hard work pay off and see progress,” he said. “We’re going to have to keep up the effort because it’s a long week heading into qualifying, but I definitely like the start that we’re off to.”

    The Indianapolis 500 will mark Carpenter’s first event of the season, and also the first event for Sarah Fisher Racing with the No. 67.

    “I was really proud of the boys for starting the month off with little to no error,” Fisher said. “It was a bonus for Ed to top the charts, but we know we still have a lot more work to accomplish. For this being our first race of the season, we know we have to hit the ground running, and to see the team gelling already is a great testament to our people.”

    Fisher announced her retirement last November as she wants to start a family with her husband, Andy O’Gara. Their first child is due September 29th.

    “I’m out of racing shape, that’s for sure,” she said, “I had to stop working out in October, and they don’t make maternity seat belts. But I’m very happy. It is an exciting time, especially to have Ed Carpenter driving for us because he is the perfect fit. He matches the brand, and no doubt that he has a strong performance record here at Indy. So I’m excited about the Race Day and the 100th Anniversary in general.”

    Scott Dixon, 2008 race winner, was second with a lap of 224.491 mph (40.0907 seconds).

    “Today was short and sweet, as we only turned four laps at speed,” he said. “Always great to be back at IMS. Team Target prepped the cars to their usual high standard. Early days, but I can’t wait to get back in the car tomorrow.”

    JR Hildebrand, who topped the Rookie Orientation Program on May 12th, was third.

    “We’re really happy with how the day went,” Hildebrand said. “I probably could have pulled off an even better lap there, but for me it’s still a matter of understanding what I’m expecting to happen compared to what is actually going to happen when I’m out there. The National Guard car felt good, and we didn’t have anything out of the ordinary, and we understand it’s going to be a whole different gig when there are a bunch of different cars out there, as that creates a lot more turbulent air.

    “Thankfully, through Rookie Orientation and again today we’ve been able to make positive steps every time by making small steps every time. If we can keep up the pace of what we’re doing, then it should be positive as we continue to move forward.”

    Last year’s winner Dario Franchitti was fourth while 2006 race runner-up Marco Andretti was fifth.

    “It was a good shakedown of the No. 10t Target car,” Franchitti said. “Both Scott Dixon and I seemed to have good speed right away, but the real work starts on Monday.”

    “It felt really good to get back in the car here in Indy,” Andretti said. “We focused today on getting a few laps in the T car, and tomorrow we’ll move to our primary car. Hopefully we won’t need the T car again, but it’s nice to know where it stands, just in case. I think the Venom team has potential to be strong this month. We’ve typically run well here and have come close to winning a couple times. This would be a great year to get the job done.”

    2009 runner-up Victor Meira was seventh quickest on the speed chart.

    “I think we are cautiously excited,” Meira said. “There’s still a lot to do. We’re still slower than what it will take in qualifying, but the car is good, it’s fast. We did get a draft, but even without the draft, we’re pretty competitive in our times, so we’re excited. It’s the first day, but I think we started the right way and we just have to maintain and improve on what we had today.”

    Other notables include Paul Tracy, who was 11th, and Danica Patrick, who was12th.

    “I thought we had a solid run today,” Patrick said. “The ‘T’ car did great today, so we hope the primary car will run just as well. The Go Daddy team is off to a positive start for May.”

    2004 race winner Buddy Rice was 14th quickest. This is the first time Rice has hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2008.

    “I feel good, and I’m happy to be back. Everything is going pretty well,” Rice said. “I’m excited to be back here. I wanted to make sure I’d be in good equipment, and the Panther crew has run really well here recently. It’s a great opportunity for me. I’m excited for the centennial. The centennial only comes around once, and there won’t be anything like this for quite a long time, so I’m glad to be a part of it.”

    Dropping the green on practice for Saturday was Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

    “They were side by side by side by side like a front row coming down the straightaway,” Ballard said. “It was a lot of fun. I will leave Race Day (start) in the hands of the professionals.

    “We’re very lucky to be here for the 100th anniversary because a lot of people are going to be reminiscing about all the events that have gone on before here. Also we have the new chassis to look forward to. And there is a lot of excitement as to what the new cars will look like.

    “This is a great time to celebrate the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the longevity of this race going forward. I always tell people around the world that there is nothing like the month of May in Indianapolis, and I mean that. This is an unbelievable month that really brings the city together. Everybody enjoys it. It’s a great event on Race Day, and they memorialize those veterans who did not come back from serving this county. Obviously, the Speedway does it right.”

    Meanwhile, Sunday consisted of drivers speaking of Indianapolis 500 memories among other topics.

    “It’s unfortunate for us and for the fans that the rain kept us from getting on track today,” Points Leader Will Power said. “The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske guys worked a bit late yesterday afternoon taking the engine out of our T car and putting it in our race car. We were planning on shaking that car down today and then getting started on our process. We will be ready to go tomorrow, and I am excited to get on track and get the Verizon car up to speed.”

  • ARCA: Ty Dillon Spins Frank Kimmel For Win in Menards 200

    Frank Kimmel looked to have the win in hand in the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, though it all got thrown away as Ty Dillon spun Kimmel on the last lap to take the win.

    “It was an awesome day,” Dillon said. “As soon as we unloaded, I felt like we had the fastest car for sure. We even cut short our practice, and I don’t like to do that, but we knew we had the fastest car. Our pit crew did awesome. I went in fifth and came out second. We came in, tightened up, and she took off.”

    Dillon was met in victory lane by Kimmel, who expressed his displeasure in taking the checkered flag from Dillon’s hand and throwing it to the ground.

    “I was approaching behind him for a long time there, probably 40 or 50 laps,” Dillon said. “I was being as patient as I can. We came up on some lapped cars, and he was starting to get loose; I was getting in deeper and deeper. My car was getting better and better.

    “I hate that it happened that way. I wrecked him. It was my fault, but it’s racing. Stuff like that happens. I really look up to Frank and he’s helped me out a lot this year. Hopefully, we can get over this and everything will be alright.”

    Dillon got the fourth win of his career while the spin resulted in Kimmel finishing ninth.

    “I wasn’t blocking or doing anything; I was just running my lap,” Kimmel said. “He just hit me wherever he could and then he got me in the left rear corner and ran me around. It’s just frustrating as heck. You race so hard, and you race clean, and we didn’t have a scratch on the car all day.

    “I just asked him, ‘How can you celebrate a win like that?’ It’ll come back. It’s a long season, and we have to race all year.”

    In the aftermath, Enfinger finished second.

    “We had a great car all weekend,” Enfinger said. “(Car chief) Kelly Kovski and (team owner) Mike Allgaier, I can’t thank those guys enough for letting me drive their car. It’s definitely one of the best cars I’ve driven. It was a great run. The pit crew’s been great all year; that’s definitely not been our weak point, but they just happened to leave a lug nut loose and we had to come back down pit road and that hurt us a little bit.

    Matt Merrell finished third, followed by Tim George Jr., Chris Buescher, John Stancil, CHad McCumbee, Armstrong, Kimmel and Kenzi Ruston.

    With qualifying rained out, Milka Duno was able to start on the pole as she holds the points in the owner’s standings from Patrick Sheltra’s championship run last year.

    The race started with 20 laps under caution due to rain before the race and impending rain coming. Duno dropped back at the start, giving the lead to Kimmel.

    Once the green flag was shown on lap 21, Kimmel held for a lap before Kenzi Ruston, who was making her first ARCA start with Venturini Motorsports, took the lead.

    The first caution came at lap 26 for Todd Bowsher’s spin, who was subbing for Bryan Silas.

    The second caution came out on lap 37 for a multi-car crash which started when Ruston spun out of the lead in turn two. Behind her while trying to slow down and avoid, Tom Hessert, Tim George Jr. and Chris Buescher made contact. With Ruston spinning, Kimmel took the lead back.

    The third caution came out at lap 58, when Buescher and Maryeve Dufault made contact with Tim Cowen hitting Dufault. At this time, Ruston and Matt Crafton pitted to try to get a jump on strategy.

    The restart came on lap 67, and then 11 laps later, Enfinger took the lead while Dillon cracked the top five for the first time.

    On lap 110, the caution came out as Cowen spun, which promoted another round of pit stops. The leaders pitted, while Crafton and Ruston stayed out to take positions first and second. Kimmel and Dillon came off pit road first so they restarted third and fourth.

    On lap 120, the fifth caution came out when Levi Youster spun, in which on the restart, Kimmel was able to take the lead from Crafton. Crafton had to make an unscheduled pit stop at lap 135 due to a left front tre, while Enfinger also made an unscheduled stop for a loose lugnut. The unscheduled pit stop for Crafton relegated him to an 18th place finish.

    Milka Duno spun on lap 180, setting up a 20-lap race to the finish. On the restart, Kimmel got the advantage on the field, though Dillon slowly chipped back into the lead, making the final lap bump-and-run.

    The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action Sunday, May 22, in the ModSpace 150 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The race is the only road course event of the season for the ARCA Racing Series.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

    Under threatening skies at the beginning of the race and with one caution for precipitation, the sun emerged and then beat down upon the Monster Mile at Dover, Delaware for the remainder of the race.

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit] 

     

    Surprising: It was surprising to see the comers and goers at Dover and in the end, to see who gambled and who did not. And in a town where the casino resides right next to the track, the gambling paid off, especially for those that either stayed out without tires or who took two instead of four.

    Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, was probably the biggest gambler, staying out on the last pit stop with no new tires to finish in the runner up position. This was his first top five of the season.

    “Lance McGrew and the GoDaddy.com team deserve this,” Martin said. “We just about pulled one off there. We finally had a good finish.

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Wiley X Sunglasses Ford, also gambled with a two tire stop, and finished his day in Victory Lane.

    “Obviously it was a great day for us and pretty exciting for us to win that way here at Dover,” Kenseth said. “I was happy we were able to pull it off.”

    The gambling also paid off in the point standings, with Kenseth jumping four spots to the sixth position and Martin moving up three spots to the 11th position.

    Not Surprising:  With so many drivers taking either no or just two tires, it was not surprising that the dominant cars throughout most of the race, including the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson and the No. 99 Aflac Ford of Carl Edwards, finished a bit further back in the pack in ninth and seventh respectively, after deciding on a four-tire strategy.

    This was  the second week in a row that Edwards and company took four tires and did not win. Both Edwards and Johnson, however, maintained their top standing in the points, first and second respectively.

    Surprising:  It was surprising just how different the Monster Mile treated teammates throughout the race. One of the best examples was the split between Richard Petty Motorsports teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose.

    After starting from the outside pole, the ‘Dinger not only had high hopes for a great finish but he even fulfilled his wish of leading a lap. But instead of potentially contending for a race win, the engine on his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Best Buy Ford gave up the ghost.

    “I don’t know, it was weird because it all happened at once and there was no sign of it,” Allmendinger said. “We were going to run them (the leaders) down and all of a sudden off (turn) two, it went.”

    “Honestly, it sucks,” Allmendinger continued. “I really wanted this for us and Ford and Best Buy and everybody, the King especially. I hate this.”

    On the flip side, his RPM teammate Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 Dewalt Ford, had a stellar day, finishing in the third spot.

    “I get a good feel on these concrete tracks,” Ambrose said. “On concrete, I think it’s the steep banking that helps me feel the tires.”

    “It was a great day and a really good call for two tires there at the end.”

    Not Surprising: The tale of two teammates continued with the results chasm between Brian Vickers, piloting the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Kasey Kahne in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.

    Vickers, who at the time of last year’s Dover race was in the hospital “with two IVs stuck in both arms”, finished fifth, while Kahne blew an engine and was out of the race.

    “This was a great team effort,” Vickers said. “I feel great. It was a special race.”

    Kahne, on the other hand, started fourth and was running in the top ten for much of the race, only to experience engine issues.

    “We had a great Red Bull Toyota,” Kahne said.”The car was really fast early on. I think I over-revved it so it may be my fault that it let go.”

    Surprising:  Both cars in the Stewart-Haas Racing stable, including the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet of Ryan Newman and the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet piloted by Tony Stewart, were surprisingly bad at the Monster Mile.  In fact, Stewart deemed his car evil, finishing 29th, multiple laps down. Newman battled all day as well, taking the checkered flag in the 21st position.

    Stewart summed up the SHR day overall on one of his radio communications during the race, saying “I’ve got no (expletive) confidence in our team right now.”

    Not Surprising: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota surprised no one in driving from the rear of the field due to an engine change to a fourth place finish.

    “Considering how far behind we started with the engine failure and how I ran it into the fence, it was a really good result,” Busch said.

    Surprising:  After a hard crash in the Nationwide run that ruined a potentially winning day, Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, had high hopes for redemption, starting in the fifth spot. Logano, however, brought out the first caution, spinning and hitting the wall. Logano’s car was not right for the rest of the race, again hitting the wall in the waning laps of the race to finish 27th.

    Not Surprising: Living up to the track’s nickname, there were some monstrous moments on pit road during the race in Dover. David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford, had an adventure getting to his pit, spinning, hitting the guard rail and then almost blocking the entrance trying to get his car pointed in the right direction.

    “I just locked up the rear brakes a little coming into the pits during the green flag stop,” Ragan said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever wrecked like that getting to pit road.”

    “I guess I pushed it a little too hard today.”

    Rookie Andy Lally, in the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford, also had a pit misadventure, with a major slide down pit road late in the race. Lally finished in the 33rd position.

     

  • Marcos Ambrose Says ‘We’re Coming’ After Third Place Finish at Dover

    Marcos Ambrose Says ‘We’re Coming’ After Third Place Finish at Dover

    Marcos Ambrose is not thought of as an oval racer. Or at least he wasn’t until this season where he’s inching ever closer to winning at tracks that don’t include right hand turns. The Australian driver who joined Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2011 season finished third Sunday at Dover where entering the day he had never finished higher than 14th.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]“I get good feel on these concrete tracks,” said Ambrose who also finished third at Bristol in March. “Some of the issues for me when I’m having a bad day, I have trouble feeling each tire. I feel like the whole car is slipping around but I can’t feel which one it is. On concrete, steeper banking, vertical load, I think it helps me feel the tires better.”

    Keeping the tires under the car would be an important issue on Sunday. Ambrose started 18th after qualifying was rained out and the grid was set by practice speed. But it didn’t take long for many to notice that the No. 9 DeWalt Ford was one to contend with. Upon driving to the top 10 and then the top five, Ambrose gave the dominant cars of Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards a run for their money. He would get as high as second but never made it to the lead or led a lap.

    “Today was a tough day,” he said. “The track was changing every run throughout the run. The rubber was picking up. My car was getting really slick on that rubber. There wasn’t much you could do. You couldn’t ask for many changes on the car because you knew it was going to be that way all day. You have to keep changing and keep searching.”

    The changing track played havoc with many teams. Rain throughout the weekend led to a mostly green conditions. But when rubber did lay down cars began to slide around, something Ambrose fought along with many others. Searching for a line, which wouldn’t make the car loose, became priority. In the end it came down to pit road strategy, much like it did last weekend in Darlington.

    Some, including eventually winner Matt Kenseth and second place Mark Martin, took two tires with Ambrose coming off pit road fifth, also with two tires. It proved to be the right call as those who took four were stuck in traffic but those up front had clear sailing. When the race restarted with 34 laps to go, Ambrose quickly climbed back to third where he would eventually finish, marking his best of the year.

    He has also moved up two positions in points to 20th with three top 10 and two top five finishes. He’s optimistic about the coming weeks as he continues to impress on tracks he doesn’t have much experience at and has now tied his best career NASCAR finish at an oval.

    “Today I’m really excited about because we had a really good day at Darlington that didn’t work our way at the end and finished 13th,” Ambrose said afterwards.

    More importantly, “I’m really excited that our team is learning, they’re learning me, I’m learning them. I’m learning how these cars work. This result today I’m really excited about because I think it’s going to lead to a great Charlotte, Pocono, Indy, all these great big tracks coming. I feel like our team is suited to those tracks. We’ve just had some rough luck so far this year. We’ve had accidents and incidents outside our control that has hurt our points.”

  • Joey Logano Dishes on Dover, His Season, Boys Have at It, Turning 21 and Farmville

    Joey Logano Dishes on Dover, His Season, Boys Have at It, Turning 21 and Farmville

    From his most eventful Nationwide race that featured everything from rain delays to a late race crash that sent him from second to thirteenth in the final green-white-checkered attempt, Joey Logano always seems to have a most eventful time at Dover International Speedway.

    Here are just a few of the musings from the driver of the JGR No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry on everything from racing the Monster Mile to playing his favorite game, Farmville.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]“This is my favorite race track,” Logano said of Dover International Speedway. “We did roll over there a few years back but this is where I started my first Nationwide race.”

    “I’ve always run good here,” Logano continued. “I’ve always had fast cars and I like the place.”

    “I have no reason to not like it,” Logano said. “It’s not the track’s fault that I rolled over. You always remember it, but it’s no big deal.”

    While he enjoys Dover, Logano acknowledges that he has not enjoyed the struggles his team has experienced so far this season. In fact, he would give himself a ‘C’ so far if he had to assign a letter grade for his performance.

    “It’s a passing grade,” Logano said. “But it’s not a stellar one.”

    “This season has not been so hot,” Logano said. “We’re not where we want to be in points or where we thought we would be.”

    “From the beginning part of the year, we had fast cars but everything you could ever imagine has gone wrong,” Logano continued. “Now our cars are not as fast as what they were, so we’re trying to figure out what we need to do to get them where we need to be.”

    Logano believes that most of his struggles, as well as his team’s, have been as a result of not fully understanding the tires this year.

    “The big thing is really the tires this year,” Logano said. “It suits some guys driving styles better than others.”

    “I think it plays right into Kyle’s (Busch) hands the ways he drives the race car,” Logano continued. “But for me and Denny (Hamlin), we’ve had to do a lot of different stuff to try to make a go of it.”

    Although struggling with the tires, Logano has taken some solace, and even finding some amusement, in the ‘boys have at it’ controversies currently surrounding the sport.

    “Lucky for me, I don’t have any problems yet so far, but last year I had plenty,” Logano said. “I just think it’s funny that all of them are fighting each other now.”

    “I’m just standing here watching,” Logano continued. “It’s pretty funny and really cool when you get to watch them all fighting and you’re not involved with it.”

    “I like it,” Logano said, with his trademark grin. “It’s very entertaining.”

    Logano grew more philosophical, however, when talking about the balance between standing up for yourself and crossing that ‘boys have at it’ line.

    “That’s a hard question to answer,” Logano said. “Every situation is different.”

    “But if it happens over and over, you’ve got to do something different,” Logano continued. “You talk to them first and if not, I don’t know, then if you’ve got to wreck them, you’ve got to wreck them.”

    Unlike Jeff Gordon, who in the media center said that he never made or took a call from a driver with whom he had had issues and did not want anyone to call him, Logano definitely thinks a call is warranted.

    “Every time I’ve had an issue that’s my fault, I’ll call,” Logano said. “I feel like people should call me if something happens or at least talk to me if it’s before practice or before the next race.”

    “Just talk to me, Logano continued. “That’s just how I feel about it. It may or may not settle the waters but at least you’ve talked.”

    While continuing to enjoy the fracas around him, Logano is also looking forward to several other events coming up on his horizon. One of those events is personal as Logano will also turn 21 years of age in the next few weeks, a major milestone for anyone.

    What has the young man planned for his special day?

    “I won’t do anything,” Logano said. “I hate going out.”

    “I’ll probably grill out at my house with a group of friends,” Logano continued.”We’ll probably play ping pong, or other games. My house is full of games like that. I enjoy that.”

    After his birthday celebration, Logano has another date circled on his calendar, that of the Prelude to the Dream race at Eldora Speedway.

    “It’s cool,” Logano said of the Prelude race. “We’ve done it the past two years. It’s interesting because it’s completely different.”

    “I’ve never, ever been on dirt,” Logano continued. “It’s not what I grew up doing. The way you drive your car is backwards.”

    “When you’re naturally doing something, you have to tell yourself not to do it,” Logano said. “It’s weird until you get used to it.”

    One of the other weird factoids about Joey Logano is one that many fans may find surprising.

    “I play the hell out of Farmville,” Logano said, sharing one of his most surprising features. “That and the fact that I really do smile that much.”

  • Elliott Sadler Finally Where He Wants to Be: The Nationwide Series Point Lead

    Elliott Sadler Finally Where He Wants to Be: The Nationwide Series Point Lead

    It took longer than he thought but Elliott Sadler is finally the point leader in the Nationwide Series. It’s a “finally” moment for many who have been waiting for Sadler to show up on the scene after a slow start led many to start looking elsewhere for contenders.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]Here’s Sadler though, momentarily back on top in a sport he’s experienced all the highs and lows in. Following a 12-year career in the Sprint Cup Series racing for teams like the Wood Brothers, whom he won his first race with, to Richard Petty Motorsports Sadler, knew he needed to make a change. No longer having fun nor competitive, he ran select races for Kevin Harvick Inc. last season where he became rejuvenated. It led to a full-time ride and with NASCAR changing how points were going to be awarded, Sadler jumped to the top of the list as potential breakouts in 2011.

    But following a wreck in the season opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, Sadler was already in a deep hole. The OneMain Financial team went to work and starting stringing together top 10 finishes. By Darlington last weekend they had climbed to second behind Justin Allgaier, five points out of the lead.

    At Dover, Sadler and his team would have to again scratch and claw their way back to the top. After starting eighth their day was almost done when they were handed a speeding penalty. At the same time the race was red flagged and had it been called, Sadler would have finished outside the top 15.

    Fortunately, the sky cleared and with less than 55 laps to go Sadler got to work moving through the field, determined not to cost his team another good finish. He was sitting ninth coming off turn four to the white flag when all hell broke loose in front of him.

    “I’m not sure what happened, I looked up and the 60 and the 20 looked liked they got together,” Sadler said afterwards. “Not sure how that all happened, we were just able to make it through the wreck by staying to the high side of it. It’s a self cleaning race track so we just stayed up high and made it though.”

    What happened was scary. Joey Logano got loose and hit the wall and when he came back across the racetrack collected Clint Bowyer who went up onto his side and hit the inside wall. In the process others started to pile on behind.

    Carl Edwards went to victory lane and with mayhem all around him Sadler would be able to skirt by for a sixth place finish.

    “I made a mistake on pit road and got a speeding penalty right before the rain so I’m glad we were able to get back to racing because that helped us out a lot to race our way back up to sixth,” said Sadler.

    With Allgaier having his own troubles and wrecking early in the race, Sadler’s finish made him the point leader by 10 markers over Reed Sorenson. It is the first time that he has led all season.

    “I think I led in 1998 too,” Sadler joked. “First time in a long time. That’s our goal, to lead the points and be competitive and consistent so we feel like we’re in a pretty good spot right now. Daytona we started ourselves out in a hole and we’ve worked ourselves back up to where we want to be. Really good consistent runs.”

    In Sadler’s words he has a really strong race team and one that he has confidence in. Now with the point lead in hand he’s eager to see what they can do with as they “keep after it” each week. In doing so, those who were looking for a championship favorite finally have. He was just late to the party.

  • Monster Crash in Dover Nationwide Race Leaves Carl Edwards as Survivor in Victory Lane

    Monster Crash in Dover Nationwide Race Leaves Carl Edwards as Survivor in Victory Lane

    The Monster Mile lived up to its reputation, from a rain delayed start and a rain-induced red flag to one of the wildest endings ever during the second attempt at a green, white checkered finish.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”201″][/media-credit]After Joey Logano, who was running in the second spot during the overtime session, hit the wall, sending Clint Bowyer airborne and Steve Wallace hard into the wall as well, Carl Edwards, in the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, remained the survivor, claiming the checkered flag in the 5-Hour Energy 200.

    In deference to the carnage on the track, Edwards declined to do his traditional celebratory back flip. He instead went to hoist the ‘Miles the Monster’ trophy in a subdued victory lane.

    This was Edwards’ 32nd career NASCAR Nationwide Series win, breaking the tie with NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominee Jack Ingram. Edwards now is fourth alone in that ranking for career Nationwide wins.

    “It was an amazing race from my seat,” Edwards said. “A lot was going on. We were playing a strategy with the rain, our pit stops were really good. I thought that rain was going to finish us.”

    “When we were coming to the white flag, Joey had a little advantage being on the outside,” Edwards said. “I thought I touched him but I saw the replay and it looked like he got loose and smacked the fence and the bottom fell out of it.”

    “It was a very different feeling than what you should have in a race car when you win a race,” Edwards said. “It’s just very fortunate that nobody was hurt.”

    “That’s why they call it the Monster Mile.”

    Although involved in the wreck himself, Kyle Busch managed to navigate his way through the pile up, claiming the second place for his No. 18 MAC Tools Toyota.

    “Well overall the weekend for us just wasn’t quite what we expected,” Busch said. “We unloaded and we weren’t very good off the hauler.”

    “The guys dug in and did a great job,” Busch continued. “We caught on some damage on pit road and mashed in the front end, which made it even worse. We passed a lot of cars but then we stalled out.”

    “The last lap got awfully crazy there,” Busch said. “I’m not sure if Carl touched him or not but Joey got a little loose and then tried to correct it and at that speed and at this kind of place, there’s not much you’re going to do besides spin out.”

    “Joey took a hell of a hit and I’m hoping he’s alright and not too sore for tomorrow,” Busch continued. “There with Clint climbing over him, it just got ugly. That was pretty crazy.”

    Reed Sorenson, behind the wheel of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, finished third in spite of a damaged race car. This was Sorenson’s ninth top-10 finish in ten races at the Monster Mile.

    “We were in fifth before the caution came out,” Sorenson said. “It usually gets dicey on green, white checkereds. I saw the 20 get into the wall and I was able to get up high and fortunately miss it for a good finish.”

    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., in the No. 6 Mississippi Flood Relief-NASCAR Unites Ford, finished fourth and David Reutimann, driving for Rusty Wallace Racing, rounded out the top five in his No. 63 5-Hour Energy Grape Toyota.

    The final wreck of the race was not the only craziness that occurred in this Nationwide event at the Monster Mile. There was another melee that occurred on Lap 88 when Alex Kennedy, driving the No. 23 St. Baldrick’s/Funny Dan Racecar Man Dodge, spun and hit the wall, bringing out the fifth caution of the day.

    During the caution, however, Kennedy, trying to get his car re-fired and into pit road, drove back up the race track, slamming into the No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford. Kevin Swindell was called at the last minute by the team to substitute for the ailing Trevor Bayne, giving him the chance of a lifetime behind the wheel.

    “I don’t know what happened,” Swindell said. “We were just talking on the radio and whoever was wrecked just drove straight up the hill.”

    “This may have been my only opportunity,” Swindell continued. “And it gets ruined by somebody being an idiot.”

    Kennedy, when interviewed after coming out of the infield care center, explained that he was unable to turn the wheel.

    “All of a sudden, it stopped turning,” Kennedy said. “I just tried to stop. I feel horrible for Kevin and I ruined his day. I can’t apologize enough for that.”

    Points leader coming into this race, Justin Allgaier also had a monster of a day at Dover. He blew a right front tire and hit hard into turns three and four, causing his first DNF in 21 starts.

    “This was just a rough day,” Allgaier said. “Definitely not the way we wanted to leave Dover. Hopefully this is just a speed bump on the way to the championship.”

    Elliott Sadler, by virtue of his sixth place finish in his No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, assumed the points lead from Allgaier. Sadler is currently ten points ahead of Reed Sorenson, with Allgaier falling to fifth in the point standings.

    “Our goal was to lead the points and be competitive and consistent,” Sadler said. “At Daytona, we started in a hole but that shows how good our race team is.”

    Sadler’s day at Dover, however, was not without its challenges. On lap 141, Sadler was penalized for speeding entering the pits and remanded to the tail end of the lead pack.

    “We did get the pit road speeding penalty and we fought our way back to the finish,” Sadler said. “It’s special to leave here with the points lead.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    5-Hour Energy 200, Dover International Speedway
    May 14, 2011 – Race 11 of 35
    ====================================
    Pos. Driver
    ====================================
    1 Carl Edwards
    2 Kyle Busch
    3 Reed Sorenson
    4 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    5 David Reutimann
    6 Elliott Sadler
    7 Kenny Wallace
    8 James Buescher
    9 Aric Almirola
    10 Mike Wallace
    11 Jason Leffler
    12 Brad Keselowski
    13 Joey Logano
    14 Clint Bowyer
    15 Mike Bliss
    16 Steve Wallace
    17 Josh Wise
    18 Ryan Truex *
    19 Joe Nemechek
    20 Michael Annett
    21 J.R. Fitzpatrick
    22 Timmy Hill *
    23 Danny Efland
    24 Jeremy Clements
    25 Eric McClure
    26 Morgan Shepherd
    27 Derrike Cope
    28 Dennis Setzer
    29 Justin Allgaier
    30 Brian Scott
    31 Tim George Jr.
    32 Alex Kennedy
    33 Donnie Neuenberger
    34 Carl Long
    35 Scott Wimmer
    36 Tim Andrews
    37 Jennifer Jo Cobb *
    38 Kevin Lepage
    39 Brad Teague
    40 Brett Rowe
    41 Jeff Green
    42 Charles Lewandoski *
    43 Blake Koch *

  • NASCAR Truck Series Drivers and Teams Schooled on Pit Stops, Air Force Style

    As part of the Truck Series’ visit to Dover, Delaware this weekend, several drivers and teams visited Dover Air Force Base to thank the troops for their service. But they also went to school on how pit stops are done, Air Force style.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]Several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers, including Matt Crafton, Joey Coulter and Miguel Paludo, as well as their crew chiefs and team members, had a behind-the-scenes tour of the base, home of the 436th Airlift Wing and the 512th Airlift Wing, Reserve Associate.

    From piling into the hold of the C-17, a huge plane designed to transport all types of military equipment and troops, to literally standing atop the wings of a C-5 in the hangar for repairs, the teams were treated to one of the most unique military experiences in their lives.

    Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certain Teed Chevrolet truck, was one of the drivers most impressed with his visit to Dover Air Force base.

    “It meant a lot to be there,” Crafton said. “The guys and gals came out and thanked us for being here, but I mean we need to thank them a lot more for what they do for us because if they didn’t do for us, we wouldn’t be here doing what we do.”

    Joey Coulter, rookie driver of the No. 22 RCR/Rip-It Chevrolet, echoed Crafton’s sentiments about his experience at Dover Air Force base.

    “It’s been really awesome,” Coulter said. “You get a whole new respect for things that you don’t see behind the scenes that is pretty neat.”

    “It’s unbelievable the size of those airplanes,” Coulter continued.” Even in the cockpit, there were ten of us and there was still plenty of room.”

    Miguel Paludo, another rookie behind the wheel of the No. 7 Lucas Oil/K&N Oil Filters Toyota, was also amazed at the base and the size of the airplanes on which the air men and women were working.

    “I am just in awe,” Paludo said simply. “It is amazing the engineering that goes into these things.”

    While showing off the enormous hangar/garage area where planes are repaired, the air men and women were equally as thrilled to have the NASCAR drivers and teams see them in pit stop style action. One of those was Tech Sergeant and Production Supervisor, aka night shift pit boss, Matthew Ende.

    “I think it’s great to have the NASCAR teams here at Dover Air Force Base,” Ende said. “It’s a great morale booster for these guys because they work hard every day.”

    “To see these guys interact with the NASCAR folks is really good,” Ende continued. “We appreciate them coming here to hang out with us.”

    Ende, originally from update New York, has been stationed at Dover Air Force Base for sixteen years. His job is to coordinate all of the specialists, including hydraulic, electro and environmental specialists, who serve as the cargo planes’ pit crew on the night shift.

    “I pretty much run the whole shop and coordinate everyone that works on the jets on the night shift,” Ende said. “So, yes I am the pit boss.”

    Ende is not just large and in charge in his Air Force ‘garage’. He is also a true NASCAR fan.

    “Oh yes, I am a NASCAR fan and I usually go to the September race here in Dover every year,” Ende said. “My favorite driver right now is Tony Stewart.”

    All of the NASCAR Truck Series teams returned the favor of their visit to the Air Force base, inviting their Air Force counterparts to the Dover Truck race. And for most of the drivers, at least for Crafton who finished third, as well as capturing the points lead, and Joey Coulter, who finished a personal best sixth place, their Air Force partners were definitely good luck.

    Unfortunately, Miguel Paludo did not have such good luck. He ended up in the fence with a damaged race truck as a result of a tangle with Ricky Carmichael.

    Truck Series points leader Crafton summed up his feelings about his Air Force honorary pit crew best.

    “It was just an honor to have them in our pits,” Crafton said. “It was great to be with them throughout the day and have them hang out with us. They had a blast and they were all smiles.”