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  • Ron Hornaday Calls His Shots For Martinsville, Says 33 Team ‘Ones to Beat’

    Ron Hornaday Calls His Shots For Martinsville, Says 33 Team ‘Ones to Beat’

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]For Ron Hornaday, once you win one the others will come easily. Or at least that’s what he’s hoping this weekend at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

    Last fall Hornaday finally drove into victory lane at the famed track after 17 attempts. It was a long time coming and taking home a Grandfather clock and it has made him hungry for more. He enters Saturday’s Kroger 250 as the most recent winner and with his expectations at an all time high.

    “Now with a win under my belt at Martinsville, I have a lot of confidence coming into this weekend,” he said.

    “We have the defending race-winning chassis, and with the way my No. 33 crew has been performing on pit road and [crew chief] Jeff Hensley on the box, we are definitely the ones to beat.”

    When Hornaday calls his shots the rest of the competition should be on notice. It’s also good news for the NCWTS as they still search for one of their own to pull into victory lane. Drivers who are not eligible for points in this series have won the first three races.

    Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne have locked out drivers like Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Timothy Peters or Matt Crafton. Truck regulars have come close but their sandbox has been invaded but Hornaday is ready to again be the man at the paperclip.

    As for the chassis he speaks of, No. 043, it won this event last season when his team owner Kevin Harvick was driving. In that race it appeared Hornaday might have been taking one for the team as he came home second by playing blocker on the final restart.

    Hornaday then won with the chassis at the Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis last summer. After a second place finish in the Truck Series last race two weeks ago in Darlington, he now sits sixth in points, just 12 markers behind the leader.

    Saturday though, Hornaday won’t be thinking about points. He wants another Grandfather clock to go along with what he called an unbelievable win that left him teary last fall, it also swept the season at the track for KHI.

    In order to repeat, it will again be all about surviving.

    “Martinsville is a track where anything can happen,” he said.

    “It’s not so much how well you race but how well you can escape. There is a lot of beating and banging amongst the trucks at Martinsville. If you are able to keep your truck out in front and away from the wreckage, you have a good chance at a solid finish.

    Of note for Hornaday this weekend is his crew chief. When he won at Martinsville in October it was with Butch Hylton on the box, who became the fifth crew chief for Hornaday of the 2010 season. This time around Hensley will be making the calls for the No. 33 Cooked Perfect Meatballs Chevrolet.

    Martinsville is not only Hensley’s home track but also one that he’s been very successful at in his own right. The relationship between Hensley and one of the most successful drivers in CWTS history could start leaving its mark on the series this weekend in Martinsville.

    “I have four wins here as a crew chief and almost 60 NASCAR races combined as driver and crew chief at Martinsville,” said Hensley.

    “Those four wins were very special but there are probably five additional races I should’ve won. We are extremely excited to see how things turn out this weekend for the No. 33 team.”

  • Todd Bodine Looks For First Martinsville Speedway Clock and Third Championship

    Todd Bodine Looks For First Martinsville Speedway Clock and Third Championship

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Last year was the dream season for Todd Bodine as he won the championship, despite all the talk of lack of sponsorship.

    This year so far, it hasn’t been all roses as the year started off with a crash at Daytona, resulting in a 23rd place finish. Though following a third place finish at Darlington, Bodine now sits seventh in points and looks to keep climbing as he heads to one of his favourite tracks – Martinsville Speedway. 

    Bodine took some time to answer some questions about the season, his career and more earlier this week.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the season?

    Todd Bodine: Well, our performance has been really good; we’ve run well every race, just had some bad luck to start the year, but with the performance being good, we just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts going into Martinsville?

    TB: Well, I really like Martinsville. I grew up going there watching my brothers race, always run well there, and never been able to get it all done and get one of those clocks so hopefully we can get there and have a good truck and do our thing right to get one of those trucks.

    AM: Last year with winning the championship, there was a lot of talk about the lack of sponsorship. How is the Sponsorship Situation as of this point for this year?

    TB: Not a whole better. We’ve got Tire Kingdom and Valvoline for a few races and Georgia Boot came on for one race, but other than that, we’re still searching for sponsors. It’s pretty bad when the champion of the series can’t get a sponsor when he runs up front every week, but we’re working. We got a lot of things cooking, a lot of things in the fire.

    AM: What championship means the most?

    TB: Well, they both mean a lot. To get the first one, it was a relief to finally get it done. It’s the first championship our family has ever had. And the second one was validation for the first one. We didn’t luck in to the first one and we came back and we’re able to do it again as a team to prove we were worthy of it the first time.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts on the competition level in the series?

    TB: The competition level is better than it’s ever been from when the series was born till now. It’s obviously the most competition we’ve ever had. We’ve got more really good quality race teams with good quality drivers and it makes for good racing every week.

    AM: Speaking of the quality of drivers, what are some of your thoughts on the Cup drivers coming in and running the series?

    TB: Well, whenever you can race against that type of competition, it just makes you a better driver. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it, even when I was one of the young kids racing Mark Martin and Dale Sr and Harry Gant and all of those guys. The better the driver, competitor you race against, the better driver it makes you so I feel the same way today.

    AM: How’d you get associated with Germain Racing?

    TB: Mike Hilman Sr. He’s been a friend of mine for 25 years and he went over there to run the program and get it going and he brought me in there as a driver.

    AM: With Germain Racing expanding this year, what are some of your thoughts on your teammates?

    TB: Well, we’ve got a great group of guys and the guys working on the trucks to put them together, but I’m fortunate to have three great teammates and they’re all difference. Brendan (Gaughan)’s been around a little while and has run well in the trucks before. Justin (Lofton), it’s only his second year in the Truck Series and he’s a really good kid, lots of talent, and we’re hoping we can bring him along to become a company driver. And Max Papis, a lot of experience in different forms of racing and first year in Trucks so he’s learning and been a great guy. We’ve got an incredible group of people at Germain Racing.

    AM: What was it like growing up in a racing family?

    TB: Well, that’s all I’ve ever done and that’s all I’ve ever known. Our father owned a race track for 25 years. If I knew another way of life or another lifestyle, I could give you a good answer, but I don’t know any other lifestyle, this is all I have ever done. To me, this is normal and you know, I grew up watching my brothers run races and run upfront so that’s where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to do.

    AM: Talking about your brothers, were there any sibling rivalries with getting opportunities?

    TB: No, not at all. We’re so far in difference in age that we never had that sibling rivalry ever. It never had a chance to materialize. The first time we had a chance to compete against each other was in the Cup Series. At that point, we had already got through that and after all of that, it was about beating each other on track.

    AM: What track haven’t you won at that would mean the most for you to win at?

    TB: Martinsville, definitely. I grew up racing at Martinsville and racing at Martinsville and changing tires on pit road and I’ve been going there since I was eight years old to watch my brothers race and I’ve seen them win a lot of races there. To me, that’s like a second home so to win there would be incredible. Another is Walkin’s Glen, my home track. I never got to win a race there. I ran really well and came close to winning, but never got it done. I would like to see the Truck Series to go back there and have another opportunity to win. That’s our home track and that’s the area we were brought up in so those two places are especially special to me.

    AM: Talking about Martinsville, what would be your favorite Martinsville memory?

    TB: There’s so many good memories and a few bad ones, like when Richie Evans got killed. It’s so much apart of the history of our family; it’s hard to name one. I think Geoff’s got 16 wins there and Brett has four or five. That’s a lot of good times, a lot of great memories. It’s hard to pinpoint just one.

    AM: What is your first racing memory that you can recall?

    TB: As a kid, I remember little bits and pieces of everything from watching my brothers race. The first time I ever drove a racecar was at my dad’s track on a Wednesday afternoon when I was 13 years old. Some guys had a car there, practicing, and let me drive it and that was the first time I ever drove a racecar.

    AM: What is some advice that you’d have for people trying to get into racing?

    TB: Well, you got to live it and sleep it. It’s got to be everything you want and you got to be willing to sacrifice to get it. Racing is a tough business and it’s a long hard road, so there’s no easy way to get there. You got to work hard and not let the disappointments get you down.

    AM: What are some of your hobbies away from the track?

    TB: Well, I don’t have a lot of hobbies. Racing is pretty much it. I’m actually trying to build a hotrod, and that’s about it.

  • Sam Bass Partners with Richard Petty To Do Good with Goody’s

    Sam Bass Partners with Richard Petty To Do Good with Goody’s

    NASCAR artist Sam Bass and the ‘King’ Richard Petty are partnering with Goody’s and BC Powders to do good for two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and Victory Junction Camp. The special promotion, ‘Pick a Powder’ will culminate at the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Cup race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”275″][/media-credit]Throughout this month, fans have had the opportunity to get involved by voting on which powder provided the fastest relief, Goody’s or BC Powders. Richard Petty championed the Goody’s cause benefiting the charity nearest to his heart, Victory Junction Camp, and county singer Trace Adkins was the cheerleader for the BC Powders team with his charity being the Wounded Warrior Project.

    Artist Sam Bass got involved in this special promotion as he was asked to design the paint schemes for each charity that will be displayed on two cars during the Martinsville race. Even more special was that two individuals, one representing each charity, worked with Bass to craft the designs.

    “Well, it’s going to be a very exciting weekend,” Bass said. “These are two tremendous causes brought together by Goody’s and BC Powders.”

    “It’s a unique pairing of a lot of different things,” Bass continued. “BC Powders and Goody’s have been around the sport of NASCAR for a long, long time. Victory Junction Gang Camp and Wounded Warriors Project have been as well.”

    “The idea was what could we do to represent these two charities and make people happy and tie it in to Sam Bass and NASCAR design work.”

    “What I got to do, which was really, really special, was that I got to work with a gentleman named Cory Collins on the Wounded Warrior Project and I got to work with a little girl named Eleanor Bolton from Victory Junction Camp,” Bass said. “Both of them are tremendous NASCAR fans and basically what they did was to work with me to design their race cars.”

    Bass began his collaboration with the two at the first race in Daytona. His work started with phone calls to pick their brain about their interest in the sport and their respective relationships to their charities.

    Eleanor Bolton, a Victory Junction camper, is an eight year old with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She and her family first attended Camp for a family weekend in February 2010.

    “She is as sweet as she can be,” Bass said. “She sent me some drawings she had done and I just took all of her information, all of her colors, all of her family photos, all of her drawings and then kind of took the logo of Camp and Goody’s.”

    “Her car number was 43, of course with Richard Petty,” Bass continued. “And I just designed a car with her input and came up with something that she would like.”

    “She had peace symbols and hearts and photos of her and her family,” Bass said. “That’s how her car was.”

    The other participant with whom Bass worked was Cory Collins. On his first tour in Iraq in 2005, Collins was injured 27 days after arriving. He and his unit ran over a 500-pound IED  and he was the sole survivor of the attack.

    “Cory is a veteran of the armed forces and had been injured serving this country and ultimately it cost him his left leg,” Bass said. “I could sympathize because I lost my lower left leg to diabetes a few years ago. He and I hit it off from the very beginning.”

    “I worked with him and got his favorite colors and learned that he was a Jeff Gordon fan,” Bass continued. “So, having designed for Jeff since he came into the sport of NASCAR, I quickly related to Cory.”

    Bass took Collins’ favorite color, which was black, and put some flames into the mix a la Jeff Gordon. Bass then featured Collins’ car number, 101 for his unit, the 101st Airborne.

    “We came up with a couple of designs that mirrored the tattoo that he had gotten on his arm over there,” Bass said. “It’s got a flaming skull that looks really cool. And of course the Wounded Warriors logo is prominently featured on the hood.”

    “To keep the cars in symmetry, I had Cory send me photos of his family and his friends,” Bass continued. “So things are meaningful on both cars for both participants.”

    Both Collins and Bolton will get to ride in their respective cars during the pace laps of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville.

    “Over the weekend they’re going to get to meet Richard Petty and Trace Adkins,” Bass said. “It’s just going to be a blast and I’m going to get to be a part of it.”

    “From dealing with the child in Eleanor to the adult experiences of Cory was very meaningful to me.”

    “It’s going to be a great day for both of them,” Bass said. “To see their reactions and to spend the day with them will warm my heart and I feel very proud to participate in this project.”

    Fans can also get in on the action as Goody’s and BC Powders will make donations to each charity on every box of either product sold. During the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 race at Martinsville Speedway, both charities will be presented checks by their respective powders to continue their missions.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: WHO’S GOING TO WIN THE TIME OF DAY AT MARTINSVILLE?

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: WHO’S GOING TO WIN THE TIME OF DAY AT MARTINSVILLE?

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”277″][/media-credit]The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be returning to the fan favorite Martinsville Speedway for this Sunday’s running of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500. The race has all of the ingredients that makes drivers and crew chiefs crazy but, at the same time, revs the fans to a feverish frenzy. It’s 43 cars on a half mile track that often produces demolition derby like incidents. It’s also bragging rights regarding who gets to take Martinsville’s unique trophy home. That would be that beautiful grandfather clock.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    There are keys areas to racing at the Martinsville Speedway that requires detailed protection. Certainly topping that list is the protection of the race car’s brake system. This track is extremely tough on brakes and a good system to keep the brake roters cool is a must. Drivers will also have to protect the front nose of their cars, in order to further protect brake duct systems, which is not easy to do considering the aggressive nature of short track racing at Martinsville.

    Still another area of concern is that pesky little, six inches high, curb that borders the bottom of the Martinsville Speedway. The first area of concern is obvious: hit the curb and you could find yourself spinning sideways headed towards the middle of expensive crash damage. Hit the curb hard enough and you could severely damage the car’s front end handling capability.

    Track position is extremely important at a track like Martinsville which in turn places an increased importance on qualifying day. There has been 124 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at the historic racing facility. 19 of them, roughly 15.3%, have been won from the pole position while 15 of the races have been won from the outside of the front row. 65 times, 52.4%, Martinsville winners have started the race from the top five starting positions while 89 previous race winners, 71.8%, have started from the top ten. Driver Tony Stewart owns the Martinsville track qualifying record, 98.083 MPH, which was set back in October of 2005.

    Also of crucial importance is the maintaining, and gaining, of track position while motoring out of the pits. That’s also easier said than done at Martinsville. The pit stalls there are narrow, measuring 14 feet wide by 28 feet long, The pit road speed is a slow 30 MPH.

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

    The thought of racing at Martinsville Speedway brings a variety of thoughts from a lot of NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers. It’s safe to assume that Denny Hamlin loves this speedway. The driver of the #11 Fed Ex/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has 11 starts at Martinsville and his personal stats there are simply awesome. They include four wins, including the last three consecutive races, ten top ten finishes and a very healthy average finish ratio of 6.0. There is also a strong sense of home whenever Hamlin races at Martinsville. His home town of Chesterfield is just a short drive from the race track.

    But Hamlin has a serious matter on his mind these days. It’s the recent rash of engine failures that has left engineers at Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing Development in a state of confusion. In the first five races of the still young season, Gibbs Racing has suffered DNF’s, (did not finish), in three of them due to engine failure. There has also been three cases where engines had to be changed prior to a race because of the discovery of suspected problems. All three team drivers: Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano have been plague by this problem. In comparison to last year, the organization only had two DNF’s in 38 races related to engine failure.

    The situation has also placed Hamlin in a bit of a hole regarding the current championship standings. The engine failure suffered last Sunday, at the Auto Club Speedway in California, dropped Hamlin to 21st in the rankings and 45 points out of the top ten which determines the Chase line up.

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

    Jimmie Johnson is another driver who thoroughly understands and appreciates the Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the #48 Lowes/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has driven into victory lane there six times and has an amazing average finish ratio of 5.3.

    But it’s his Hendrick Motorsports team mate Jeff Gordon who owns all of the professional stats at the Martinsville Speedway. Among the active Sprint Cup drivers, Gordon has a series high seven wins. He also leads the series in top five finishes with 23, top ten finishes with 29 and he’s led a series high 2,994 at Martinsville. He also has earned a healthy average finish ratio of seven.

    In some recent comments on Sunday’s race, Gordon said “not much has changed at Martinsville and it seems like all the things that I’ve done over the years at Martinsville still apply and still work well there. I think we’re very capable of winning at Martinsville this year.”

    When asked if he considered Martinsville to be a wild card race Gordon replied “not necessarily,” adding “it’s tight racing and it’s a short track. You have to be careful not to overheat the brakes and use up your equipment. I think if you run well and have a good race car, you can drive away to work yourself through some of the wrecks and things you see that gets guys in trouble. It’s a small, tight race track and we’re running inches away from each other so anything is possible.”

    For Hendrick Motorsports team mate Mark Martin, next Sunday’s race will become the latest milestone in his amazing career. Martin will be making his 800th official NASCAR Sprint Cup start. He’s only the eighth driver in Cup history to reach that milestone and, before the season is over, is expected to pass Darell Waltrip, 809 starts, and Kyle Petty, 829 starts.

    The driver of the Go Daddy Chevrolet is a two time winner at Martinsville. When recently asked what does it take to be successful at the Virginia short track, he said “It’s the same as everywhere else: good engine, good handling, good crew, good brakes and fast through the corners. The only difference is the brakes are really important there and they are not at most places we race so that’s a big deal.”

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

    Finally there’s the matter of 43 drivers who would love to be the one to take that beautiful Martinsville grandfather clock home. The beautiful custom clock, created by the Martinsville based Ridgewood Clocks, is seven feet tall and is valued at $10,000. The tradition began in the fall of 1964 when “Fearless” Fred Lorenzen became the recipient of the first ever clock. NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Richard Petty tops the list with 15 of those beautiful clocks.

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

    THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    To absolutely no surprise the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE), has Denny Hamlin, 7 to 2 odds, and Jimmie Johnson, 5 to 1, on the top of their list for Sunday’s race. Why wouldn’t they? These two drivers have combined to win the last nine races at Martinsville.

    Right behind them, at 8 to 1, is the driver who is favored to win any race he enters. That, of course, would be every body’s favorite “rowdy” one Kyle Busch. At 9 to 1 is the duo of Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon. These are both good wagers. Harvick is running on high momentum especially after that dramatic win in California last weekend. But it’s Gordon at 9 to 1 that is a bit of a mystery. The four time NASCAR champion literally owns all of the modern day Martinsville stats from wins to laps led. This is an excellent long shot wager. At ten to 1 you will find Tony Stewart. The two time Martinsville winner is another solid long shot consideration. He will also be seeking his 250th career top ten finish on Sunday.

    The middle tier of this week’s WSE listing is led by Carl Edwards. The current series points leader is rated at 12 to 1 this week and his NASCAR power ranking this week suggests he may be a very interesting long shot wager. At 16 to 1 is former race winner Jeff Burton followed by Richard Childress Racing team mate Clint Bowyer at 20 to 1. Both drivers will be seeking to get their Chase status back on track this Sunday. At 25 to 1 you will find the trio of Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr and former race winner Kurt Busch. The elder Busch brother recently went on record as saying he’s not that fond of the Martinsville brand of racing and said “It’s not one of my favorite tracks, but they’re handing out 48 points if you have a perfect day.”

    The bottom of the WSE Martinsville rankings features Jamie McMurray, who is making his 300th official Sprint Cup start, and the aforementioned Mark Martin at 28 to 1. At 30 to 1 are the trio of Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya. The duo of Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle, also making his 300th official start, are ranked at 35 to 1 while Martin Truex Jr completes the list at 40 to 1.

    By the way, if you don’t see your favorite driver listed here they are automatically ranked at 5 to 1.

    Now for the disclaimer. NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted Las Vegas numbers should be regarded for information and entertainment purposes only. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their events.

    They would instead prefer that you make fantasy, aka pretend, wagers. That way you can still cover your realistic mortgage, realistic car payment, realistic food and gas bills and, in an effort to really get real, you’ll have money left over for realistic NASCAR tickets and souvenirs.

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

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 is 500 laps/263 miles around the Martinsville Speedways 0.526 oval and is race number six of the 36 points events on the schedule.

    The race has 45 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. Ten of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they do not have a guaranteed start in the race because they are currently outside of the top 35 in NASCAR owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speed to earn a starting spot.

    This asphalt oval is unique in the fact that its four turns are covered in concrete. There is only 12 degrees of banking in the turns and zero degrees on the straightaways. The front and back stretch measures 800 feet each which means the left turns are going to come at the drivers very quickly. The speedway presently has seating for 61,000.

    The Martinsville Speedway was built by the legendary Clay Earles and opened in September of 1947. The speedway began as a dirt track and was paved in 1955. The concrete overlays were placed on the speedway’s four turns in 1976.

    The Martinsville Speedway played a huge role in the history of NASCAR. The first NASCAR Grand National, now known as the Sprint Cup, event was held there in September of 1949 and was won by the legendary Red Byron.

    Since that time the speedway has hosted 124 Sprint Cup events that has sent 45 different winners to victory lane.

    Petty Enterprises, led by King Richard’s 15 wins, leads the team win list at Martinsville with 19. Hendrick Motorsports, based largely on Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson’s efforts, leads the modern era teams with 18 wins at Martinsville.

    When it comes to manufacturer wins the bow tie brigade tops the list. Chevrolet has been to victory lane at Martinsville 46 times followed by Ford with 26 wins, Dodge with ten and Toyota at five.

    Weather could play a role in Friday’s practice sessions. The Martinsville area forecast calls for cloudy conditions on Friday with a 30% chance of afternoon showers. Saturday’s forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a daytime high of 56 degrees and breezy winds. On Sunday race day expect clear skies and a high of 61 degrees. But if race conditions, such as a high number of yellow flags, forces the race to run long there is a chance of showers on Sunday evening.

    The Goody’s Fast Relief 500 will be broadcast live by Fox Sports with the pre race show beginning at 1230 pm eastern time. The race re air will be on Wednesday, April 6th, on SPEED beginning at 12 pm eastern.

  • NASCAR Sprint Cup Point Standings Analytics – After Race 5

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Point Standings Analytics – After Race 5

    The announcement of a change to the distribution of points across NASCAR national series sparked debate among even the most conservative NASCAR fans.  One of the explanations behind the change was to develop a more dramatic points battle to increase fan interest.

    A debate arose over the fact that a quick calculation would show that very little, if anything, would change in the final championship standings. In fact, even among the more common point distributions across all major racing series, by the end of the season there did not appear to be much of a difference in the order of the final standings.

    Here, I shall contend that debate with weekly comparisons across the three most commonly mentioned distributions, plus my own personal points schedule designed to reward both race winners and consistent high finishes.

    On the left side of the standings is the difference between where they stand in actual Sprint Cup Standings and their position in the respective system.

    Classic Points System – Standings After Race 5

    Carl Edwards would maintain a 33 point lead over new second place driver Kyle Busch. Ryan Newman would jump up a spot to third, with Jimmie Johnson up to fourth and Kurt Busch down three positions to fifth, 61 points back

    Notable changes in position compared to current system: None really… as we move forward in the season it is becoming apparent that there is little, if any difference, between the two point distributions.

    F1 System – Standings After Race 5

    Edwards maintains the points lead again, this time it shrinks to a mere 7 points over Kyle Busch. Jimmie Johnson remains in third while Kevin Harvick, by virtue of his California win jumps up to fourth. Clint Bowyer earns his first points of the season, sliding into the 18th position.

    Drivers without points: David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, Joey Logano

    Notable changes in position compared to current system: David Gilliand (+14), Jeff Gordon (+10), Kevin Harvick (+5), A.J. Allmendinger (-9), Dale Earnhardt Jr (-10)

    IndyCar System – Standings After Race 5

    Once again, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch top the standings, this time with commanding leads over third place Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman round out the top five.

    Notable changes in position compared to current system: Jeff Gordon (+6), David Gilliand (+6), Kevin Harvick (+5), Paul Menard (-5), Brad Keselowski (-6), Clint Bowyer (-7)

    Phat’s System – Standings After Race 5

    For an explanation of the points distribution, please see consult table below standings. This distribution is designed to reward race winners, while also rewarding those who run well every week.

    Not so surprisingly, Edwards and Busch are atop the standings and, again, Harvick, Johnson and  Newman round out the top five.

    Notable changes in position compared to current system: Kevin Harvick (+6), Jeff Gordon (+6), Paul Menard (-6), Clint Bowyer (-7), Martin Truex Jr (-7)

  • Crew chief Jimmy Fennig quietly leading Matt Kenseth and team in right direction

    Crew chief Jimmy Fennig quietly leading Matt Kenseth and team in right direction

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]Matt Kenseth finished fourth in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 with a car that he referred to a few times as “absolute junk.”

    Like most of the competition, Kenseth spent much of the day fighting either a loose or tight condition and sometimes a little of both. While he battled his way into the top-10, his No. 17 Crown Royal team battled on pit road to adjust his car. With every opportunity given, adjustments were made and the progress began.

    Kenseth was strong enough to maintain in the top-10 for much of the event.  Although the race was expected to be a dominating performance for all four of the Roush-Fenway Racing drivers, but none other them where a factor for the win.

    Kenseth and teammate Carl Edwards were the only two who finished in the top-10 and currently sit in the top-10 in points. That made the race an oddball in itself as none of the four drivers even led a lap.

    As the race wound down it was Kenseth however, who said he came up a few laps short from giving the top three a run for their money. When the caution flag flew on lap 185 for the final time, putting the race into the crew chief’s hands, Jimmy Fennig brought Kenseth down pit road and called two tires and no fuel.

    On the restart Kenseth went from ninth to fourth where he stalled out and finished. Afterwards he praised his pit crew for their hard work, his crew chief and spotter and said given more time he might have been able to challenge for the win. Fennig told the team they’re “knocking on the door” and will win one soon.

    “The last two weeks, Jimmy (Fennig) and these guys have made some great adjustments,” said Kenseth on Sunday. “They had our Crown Royal Ford the best it has been all day at the end of the race, which is important.”

    The team did the same last weekend in Bristol where Kenseth had again started 11th and came home fourth.

    “It’s a good day for us,” he said. “Of course you are always greedy and want more. I was the first guy on tires and I didn’t do probably a good a job as I need to on the restart. It just took a while to get there, but we got another top-five finish this weekend and just ran out of time to get any more positions today.”

    Kenseth now sits 10th in points as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Martinsville this upcoming weekend. Kenseth’s silent but deadly approach, of which he’s made a career of is off to a fast start in 2011. But there’s nothing silent about Martinsville.

    Kenseth ruffled a few feathers last season in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 when Jeff Gordon and him had a pushing and shoving match during a green-white-checkered finish. It was Kenseth who cost Gordon the win according to some, while it was Gordon who made sure Kenseth couldn’t win.

    The result was an 18th place finish last season. He’s never won at the paperclip in Virginia but has completed 99 percent of the laps and has a pretty good understanding of what Martinsville is all about: short tempers.

    “Martinsville is probably not our best track, but, statistically, it’s probably not our worst either,” he said. “It’s just one that I get aggravated at and probably don’t use my head as much as I should at times. I think it’s more of a Matt thing trying to be patient and not let my emotions get the best of me. You can never get away from anybody it feels like so it can get frustrating.”

    As Kenseth’s describes, Martinsville doesn’t leave much room for drivers to work. It’s a track that has drivers making a living by bumping, banging and annoying other drivers.

    Fennig is well aware of that. It puts the pressure on the team to make sure the car is handling correctly in order for Kenseth to navigate the what is bound to be an all day traffic jam.

    “Track position is really important since you don’t have the long straightaways to be able to make passes like we would at longer tracks,” said Fennig. “So we’ll make sure that our No. 17 Ford turns well in the center of the turns and that it has good grip off the turns in order to race down the short straightaways.”

    Their quiet consistency and never give up attitude the last two weeks is what made the No. 17 team champions in 2003. With back-to-back top five finishes their climb through the points has begun and they confidence is growing that they’re getting closer to their first win since February of 2009.

  • George Gillett to Return To NASCAR With Kimi Raikkonen After Last Year’s Drama?

    George Gillett to Return To NASCAR With Kimi Raikkonen After Last Year’s Drama?

    According to a Finland Newspaper titled Turun Sanomat, 2007 Formula One Champion Kimi Raikkonen will be coming to NASCAR. The catch is that his partner is Foster Gillett.

    Turun Sanomat says that this summer, Raikkonen is set to run some Camping World Truck Series, followed by Nationwide and Sprint Cup for a new team called ICE1 with Foster Gillett as a partner.

    “I’m really looking forward to get there to familiarize to the world of NASCAR,” Raikkonen told the paper. “I have been following it for a long time. I know, it’s a very tough and open top racing series. I just love the American spirit of racing. It feels just great to get involved with that. Obviously, it will be very challenging and great fun for me.”

    The last time Gillett was with a team that turned into a disaster that almost saw the team close. Anybody remember last year’s drama with Richard Petty Motorsports?

    The team ran into financial trouble that saw them almost miss the final three races of the year after Gillett made some bad financial decisions outside of the racing business. Sporting News reported that Gillett, who owned as much as 70 percent of the team, defaulted on it’s roughly $90 million loan last February. Sirius Speedway reports that he still owes $70 million to Wachovia Bank, while still making payments to Ray Evernham for the purchase from him a couple years ago.

    The sale of Liverpool FC was suppose to help Gillett restructure it, however, it sold for a amount far less than expected causing some of these strains.

    To try to put some of the pieces together, Gillett sold his stock in the companies that operate the Northstar-At-Tahoe Ski Resort in Vail Resorts, which is worth $63 million as according to Sirius Speedway. Gillett’s moves did not help the team in restructuring, though.

    They almost didn’t make it to the final races of the season after Gillett failed to pay Roush-Fenway Racing for the motors and chassis. There was a hold up with leaving for both Talladega Superspeedway and Phoenix Raceway after discussions of terms.

    Richard Petty Motorsports is only back on its footing due to Richard Petty, Douglas G. Bergeron and Andrew Murstein buying out Gillett’s part at the end of the season.

    Evernham, who says he is still owed $19 million and brought forth a lawsuit last year, is surprised to see this even surfacing.

    “I really don’t know why Kimi would partner with people who continually fail with sports franchises,” Evernham told Auto123.com. “I don’t know how they could leave with so many unpaid bills and return to the sport.”

  • Hermie Sadler Returns to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville

    Hermie Sadler Returns to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville

    Mooresville, NC (March 30, 2011) – Hermie Sadler, an Emporia, Virginia native, will be back behind the wheel of the No. 71 Eco Fuel Saver Chevrolet in this weekend’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500. This will mark Sadler’s 11th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway and his second start for TRG Motorsports.

    “I had a lot of fun running for TRG Motorsports last fall at Martinsville,” said Sadler. “Kevin Buckler asked me if I would be willing to do it again, and I jumped at the chance. It’s always fun to get back behind the wheel and it’s an added bonus to do it at Martinsville Speedway, a track that is close to home. It means so much to me to be able to race at one of my favorite tracks in front of my hometown fans. I am truly appreciative of the opportunity.”

    Sadler, who will be making his 61st career start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, has one prior start in the No. 71 machine for TRG Motorsports. The 41-year-old driver piloted the Kevin Buckler owned Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway in October 2010, bringing home a 26th-place finish, a career best for Sadler and the TRG Motorsports team at the 0.526-mile oval.

    “We are excited to have Hermie back behind the wheel of the No. 71 for TRG Motorsports,” said TRG Motorsports owner, Kevin Buckler. “He did a great job for us last year at Martinsville finishing a strong 26th and helping with our points hunt. I wanted to give him the chance to race in front of his home fans again. He is a strong short track racer that knows this place well. I feel confident in his abilities and know he is capable of helping us get a good finish here.”

    Live coverage of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway will be televised on FOX, Sunday, April 3 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET and will also be broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the sixth event on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule is slated for Saturday, April 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET on SPEED.

    # # #

    TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach. This approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. With sports car focused facilities in Petaluma, California (Infineon Raceway) and Mooresville, North Carolina, the team can offer turn-key support as well as arrive-and-drive programs.

    The company’s NASCAR operations are headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry and has the capacity to run ARCA, Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series.

    The Racer’s Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing. The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in Grand-Am with 32. The team’s resume is highlighted by five championships, four Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories and a Le Mans 24 Hour win.

    Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.

  • David Ragan: Record Setter, Shriner and Driver in Search of a Good Finish

    David Ragan: Record Setter, Shriner and Driver in Search of a Good Finish

    Driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing David Ragan is a man of many talents, from setting a world record to pursuing the status of Mason and supporting the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]But most of all, Ragan is a driver in search of a good finish, one that seems to be so elusive early in his 2011 NASCAR Cup season. Yet in spite of that, he is managing to not only keep the faith, but keep it all in perspective.

    Two weeks ago after the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Ragan had the distinction of breaking a world record on the very track on which he had competed in the Cup Series. Ragan scored the fastest lap for a passenger car around the world’s fastest half-mile race track.

    Behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang GT 5.0, Ragan scored the fastest time ever at 19.481 seconds, with a speed of 98.497 mph.

    “I drove the production Mustang and we broke the world half mile speed record,” Ragan said. “It was pretty cool.”

    In addition to being a world record setter, Ragan has also devoted himself to supporting the causes of the Shriners, especially the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Ragan has supported this as his charity of choice since 2008.

    Ragan took time out of his hectic schedule prior to the racing at Auto Club Speedway this past weekend to visit the Shriners Hospital for Children in Los Angeles. Ragan toured the facility and also had plenty of time to interact with some of the children recuperating at the hospital.

    “Anytime we get to visit a hospital, that’s cool,” Ragan said. “We get to meet a lot of the patients and the families and the whole staff. It’s neat to show them our support.”

    “Some of the kids had bandages or prosthetic arms,” Ragan shared. “Just to spend a little bit of time with them was awesome.”

    Ragan also has his sights set on becoming a Shriner himself. He has currently completed the first degree of Masonry.

    “My uncle is a Shriner and we are close friends with many Shriners,” Ragan said. “The Shriners have just stood out, especially with their treatment of kids for free of charge.  It’s just a really good group of people who are passionate about what they do.”

    Most of all, however, David Ragan is in search of a good finish to a race in this 2011 season. It all started at the first race of the season, the Daytona 500, where Ragan was black-flagged for changing lanes before crossing the start/finish line during a second green, white, checkered finish.

    After serving the stop and go penalty, Ragan restarted 15th and could only rally his car to finish 14th.

    At the second race in Phoenix, Ragan again had a fast race car, with the third fastest time in practice and qualifying 11th. The driver first got caught up in a wreck and, after recovering from that, blew a tire and hit the wall, ending his day with a 36th place finish.

    At the season’s third race at Vegas, Ragan was once again fast in practice, in fact second fastest. When it came time to qualify, however, Ragan spun on his time trial run, relegating him to start the race from the rear of the field.

    Ragan battled a loose race car throughout, ending the race in the 22nd position.

    Ragan qualified fifth for the next race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Believing that this was finally a track where he could rebound, the driver was definitely looking forward to a decent finish.

    Alas, it was not to be yet again. Tire troubles plagued all of the teams at Bristol, including Ragan’s, who struggled mightily on the new tires.

    The UPS Ford team finished the competition at ‘Thunder Valley’ in the 16th spot.

    This weekend, buoyed by his visit to the Shriners Hospital for Children, Ragan was ready to take on the big, wide track at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Ragan had a great qualifying run, scoring sixth in the time trials.

    Ragan also won final practice and looked to be poised for that elusive good finish. His team kept tuning on his car, yet it kept vacillating between too tight and too loose conditions.

    “We just made adjustment after adjustment and never could make it right,” Ragan said. “There at the long part of the race when we had some clean traffic, we were trying to tighten the car up because it was too free.”

    “Then when we got into traffic during those last few restarts with all the dirty air, our UPS Ford just got too tight,” Ragan continued. “You know, me and Drew (Blickensderfer) and our team engineer have just got to sit down and take a look at the adjustments we made and see where we can make it better.”

    “I think we had an opportunity to finish better than we did.”

    David Ragan, record setter, Shriner and driver in search of a good finish plans to take his quest next to the short track in Martinsville. Yet he is still managing to stay upbeat, keeping it all in perspective, especially after his visit to the Shriners Hospital.

    “We often think our lives are hard and we have a lot of pressure on us to win races or to make up points, but then you see an eight year old girl who was in a fire and half of her body is burned and she doesn’t have an arm,” Ragan said. “And yet she is there and she is recovering.”

    “That puts things in perspective.”

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: DALE JR IS A DIE HARD ‘GAMER’ BUT DON’T ASK HIM TO JOIN YOU ON THE ‘SOCIAL NETWORK’

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: DALE JR IS A DIE HARD ‘GAMER’ BUT DON’T ASK HIM TO JOIN YOU ON THE ‘SOCIAL NETWORK’

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”276″][/media-credit]For many years now it’s been generally well known that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a “gamer,” or an avid player of video games. In past interviews he’s admitted to often sitting up much of the night honing his expertise with just about any video game on the market.

    One would think that Earnhardt’s love of this high tech recreational age would include hanging out with his friends on modern day so called “social networks.” It doesn’t. Believe it or not NASCAR’s most popular driver isn’t that fond of the concept and has actually declined opening a “Twitter” account.

    During a recent interview, conducted prior to the start of the NASCAR weekend at the California based Auto Club Speedway, Earnhardt answered the usual questions regarding all aspects of his Hendrick Motorsports racing team. Somehow the topic of video games worked it’s way into the conversation. Earnhardt is one of the Sprint Cup celebrities included in the new racing game “NASCAR, The Video Game 2011.”

    “NASCAR: The Video Game 2011” is the first edition of the NASCAR racing simulator series developed by Eutechnyx and published by Activision. It was released for Playstation and Xbox 360 units last March 29th and will be released for Wii machines on May 24th. It will be the first NASCAR game released since the contract between EA Sports and NASCAR expired. The new game will feature on line races for 16 players. All of the 23 Sprint Cup Series race tracks will be featured in the game. 43 Sprint Cup drivers have been added to the game as well as some other drivers from the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series.

    When asked for his impression of the new video game and what characteristics did they use for his race team, Earnhardt surprisingly said “I don’t know, I haven’t tried it. I don’t have my copy yet. I’m waiting on those guys to tell me where I can go buy it.”

    It seemed a little amazing that Earnhardt would even have to purchase a copy of the new video game especially with his image included in it. Responding to that, he said “well, I was not going to assume that I was going to get a free one but if they wish to send me one, I’ll be glad to try it. I enjoy those kind of things and I’ve got some friends that work at the company in Europe that made it and I was pretty excited to see it. I’m a big longtime EA Sports fan, but I was excited to see a new developer get an opportunity to try the game and try their hand at NASCAR and see what kind of product we could get out there. Hopefully the fans really enjoy it. I’m excited to be a part of it in any way possible. It’s one of my favorite hobbies and I look forward to seeing the job they did.”

    As much as Earnhardt Jr. is up for the challenge of a video game, he never has really developed an appreciation of the so called “social networks” that is the electronic rave these days. Most of his NASCAR contemporaries have “Twitter” accounts and spend a lot of time sending and receiving instant messages.

    When asked why the leader of the “Junior nation” chose not to participate in the “Twitter nation” Earnhardt said “I used to have a My Space Dot Com page and I used to have a “Face Book Dot Com” page; I don’t anymore because it was just too much responsibility. I felt like you had to plug in and be involved with it so much and I just thought that personally I don’t need to do it. I understand it and we utilize the business side of it and it works for JR Motorsports and it helps us there. But, personally, it would be fun for about a month and then I would start to feel like it was a job, where people expected me to do it. I’ve had some other drivers tell me that some of the people aren’t too nice about it. (Laughing) So that part of it, why do I need to put up with it anyway? But, if I don’t have to put up with it, why do I want to bring that into my life?”

    That’s a perfectly logical reason when you’re NASCAR’s most popular driver and you practically live your life in a fish bowl. Despite that Earnhardt hasn’t one hundred percent ruled out using the social network. “I think never say never, but with my experience with “My Space” and “Facebook”, which worked great, I ended up in the end going this isn’t necessary for me. It was fun trying to be cool, and creating your page and being the hipster that you thought you were, but in the end, I needed to get outside and I just needed to get rid of it. It just wasn’t for me, I guess,” he said.

    Can you imagine the “Twitter” followers this man would accumulate in a short amount of time if he did open an account?

    By the way, attention Activision, send this man a copy of your new video game. If he likes it, and he probably will, then he will become the best thing that has ever happened to your marketing plan.