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  • Mikey Kile To Drive Atleast Seven Races for Turner Motorsports

    Mikey Kile To Drive Atleast Seven Races for Turner Motorsports

    With a case of stars that includes Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Jason Leftler, Reed Sorenson, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Carmichael, James Buescher and Brad Sweet, its hard to believe that Steve Turner could make Turner Motorsports better. Well, one more driver has been added to the driver line-up – Mikey Kile.

    Mikey Kile is set to drive the No. 30 car for a minimum of seven races, starting at Nashville Speedway.

    “This is such a great opportunity for me,” Kile said in the press release. “Turner Motorsports has proven it is a top-tier organization with talented employees and drivers. Their equipment is some of the best in the sport and I am excited about getting a chance to race in it.

    “I worked with Stewart [Cooper, crew chief] in my Nationwide Series debut and I am glad I get the chance to work with him again. He and the 30 crew all have experience working with rookies and they have been so helpful already. I also have a great group of teammates, with a wealth of experience, who I can lean on as I make my way into the Nationwide Series.”   

    Kile ran the entire ARCA Racing Series schedule last year with Venturini Motorsports, scoring his first win at Michigan, along with two pole awards, seven top fives and 15 top-10 finishes.

    “Overall, it was a good, solid year and we got a lot of things accomplished that we wanted to get accomplished,” Kile told the ARCA Racing Network of his season last December. “You know, it’s racing, so we had some ups and downs and had a few races back to back that kind of took us out of the championship. Overall, it was a good season and I learned a lot.”

    He also has experience in the Camping World Truck Series with Brad Keselowski Racing. In six starts, he has scored three top-15 finishes.

    “It was good,” he told me of the experience with BKR. “Our first outing we ran at Martinsville and finished 11th. I think we ran six races and finished top-12 in three or four of the six. We were sixth quickest at Vegas and running top-10 there and top-10 at Texas and a pit stop issue there caught us outside of the top 10. It was a learning curve, but definitely running there and running good, I felt like I belonged there.”

    Mikey Kile got started in racing by racing go-karts at a young age. Since then he has moved up the ranks, having success at various levels. Career highlights include four carting championships, eight IMCA modified wins and 2008 USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series Rookie of the Year.

    Kile told me when I spoke to him last June that his goal for five years was to be in Sprint Cup and if not Sprint Cup, then Nationwide. This is certainly a step in the right direction.

  • Penske Racing Dominates Testing at Barber Motorsports Park

    The IndyCar Series spent March 14th and 15th testing at Barber Motorsports Park, where Penske Racing assured their spot on top of the IZOD IndyCar Series. It also previewed another season of a Penske Racing-Target Chip Ganassi Racing battle for the championship.

    On the first day of testing, Penske driver Will Power topped the charts at 114.198mph, with a lap of 1 minute, 12.5056 seconds. Target Chip Ganassi Racing Driver Scott Dixon was second (1.12.5538) with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Justin Wilson third (1.12.6791).

    On the second day of testing, Helio Castroneves led the field at 1 minute, 11.943 seconds with teammate Power second at 1.11.9636.

    “I was expecting something different from the car because it kept changing throughout the day based on the track,” Castroneves said. “I was expecting the car was going to push but it went the opposite way. The good news is that nothing was damaged.  The field is so competitive; we have some new teams up at the top giving us a hard time.   Also my teammates, they are two great talents – Ryan (Briscoe) and Will (Power) – pushing each other but I’m glad we were able to put the No. 3 up at the top at the end of the day.”

    “This was a really good couple of days of testing and our Verizon car was very good,” Power said. “We did a lot of work and learned tons of valuable information about our car here at Barber. Today we practiced pit stops, which are every bit as important as speed on the track with how tight the competition is in this series. I am definitely ready to get this season started.”

    Dixon, Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Newman/Haas Racing’s Oriol Servia rounded out the top five on the second day.

    “Team Target had a good couple of days with lots of big and good changes,” Dixon said. “The No. 9 Target Honda has been decent, remaining in the top-3 both days. We’re just going through the motions and making necessary adjustments before we start the season in St. Pete.”

    “It was a really good couple of days here at Barber for the No. 6 IZOD Team Penske car,” Briscoe said. “We are very happy with the car we finished with today. We even did a long run, which compromised our chance to do a sticker tire run for time, but we did a lot of great race prep and we should be in good shape for the race here in a few weeks. This is an exciting track and I’m very happy to be back in an IndyCar.”

    “I’m so happy!” Servia said. “Obviously it’s great to be in the top-five, but I’m just so happy. When you are running in the top-five, there is a reason. I felt good in the car, with the team. I was a blast when I looked at the scoring board an hour before the end and we were one and two. That’s the way Newman/Haas has always been, and that’s the way it has to be and it just felt great that we got there with two days of testing. There is still a lot to come from myself and the car. We progressed big stages to get where we are and there is still more. I feel very happy; everybody is super motivated. James was super helpful all day yesterday and today with him knowing the track and I really hope we can be teammates. The two cars worked together really well and we made a lot of progress together. I’m very happy with the team and myself. When you are a year out of the car, of course you still think you can drive but it is just so great knowing it is true.”

    The test sesson was set to prepare for the season opener at St. Peterburg’s on March 28th, but also the Grand Prix of Alabama, which is set to take place on April 10th at Barber.

    The test didn’t go totally uneventful free as on the second day, Mike Conway made contact with the tire barriers.

    “The car handled a little differently than it did yesterday, and it just caught me out,” Conway said. “I got on the grass coming out of (Turn) 15 and it was so wet, it took me straight into the barrier. It’s a shame, but fortunately, it’s just a test day.”

    Dario Franchitti, last year’s champion, made some recommendations to track owner George Barber, but also had some compliments.

    “I asked him if the curbs could stand out more when they paint them — red and white as opposed to gray and white,” he said. “I also told him I wouldn’t mind borrowing the guy who cuts his grass because he does a hell of a job. If my wife sees what he’s doing here, planting trees and stuff, it will be very expensive for me. It’s a pretty special place.”

    Last year was a special year for Chip Ganassi as not only did he win the IndyCar Championship with Franchitti, they also won the Indianapolis 500 together. Ganassi also added a Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 victory to his resume with Jamie McMurray, along with the Grand-Am Championship. With his accomplishments, Ganassi is nominated for Executive of the Year, while his team Chip Ganassi Racing is nominated for Team of the Year in the Sports Business Journal Awards. The awards are set to be presented in New York on May 18th.

    “It’s great to be recognized for all the hard work the teams put in,” Ganassi said. “You have to remember that motorsports is one of those businesses that as great a year that 2010 was, and it was an unbelievable year and one that any car owner dreams about, that was last year and this is this year. It’s a zero-based game.

    “We’re starting back at zero and the points are all tied for all the championships. It’s a new year and no one is going to forget about last year faster than our competitors that want to beat us. It’s going to be a lot of hard work and to accomplish anything close to what we did last year, but that’s why we are back here. That’s the kind of challenge that we like and what attracts us to the sport — the challenge.”

    Ganassi has already started leaving his mark this year with a victory in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

  • 81 year-old Kenny Van Blargen Placed in an Induced Coma After Sprint Car Wreck

    81 year-old Kenny Van Blargen Placed in an Induced Coma After Sprint Car Wreck

    Automobile racing has always been one of the most, and exciting sports that has ever been viewed by the many fans who attend these weekly speed contests. The chance of the inevitable happening follows each driver lap after lap, as they compete for the right to be named as the best on that given day or night. Along with the thrill of watching each driver posses the skill it takes to maneuver their high speed vehicles in this competitive game of cat and mouse, also comes the risk of pushing the envelope a little too far which can and usually ends in a misfortune accident.

    [media-credit name=”Bobby Kimbrough” align=”alignright” width=”217″][/media-credit]Whether it be at one of the many local short tracks around the country, or the highly visible NASCAR touring series, the risk these drivers put themselves in for our enjoyment can almost be likened to coming face to face with the grim reaper. Accidents of any magnitude are always bone chilling and scary, since we never know to what extent the driver is hurt until they are taken from the carnage and checked out by the medical staff.

    Just last season there was a 35-lap race between former NASCAR drivers, Cale Yarborough, Dave Marcis, Rick Wilson, Phil Parsons, LD Ottinger, Jack Ingram, Tommy Houston, Jimmy Hensley, Larry Pearson, David Pearson, Charlie Glotzbach, and Harry Gant. The legends race, which was run after the Scotts Turf Builder 300 Nationwide race at the Bristol Motor Speedway, was marred by a horrific crash with five laps left between 56 year-old Larry Pearson, and 71 year-old Charlie Glotzbach.

    Rescue workers had to cut the top of Pearson’s No. 21 car completely off to help extricate the driver, and afterward,  Pearson was airlifted to Bristol Regional Medical Center as the crowd watched with a deafening silence. Pearson suffered a compound fracture of his left ankle that required surgery that same evening, along with a fracture of his pelvis and a fractured right hand.

    Ex-NASCAR driver Shane Hmiel also escaped death last season while attempting to qualify his USAC Silver Crown race car at Terre Haute Action Track in Indianapolis. Hmiel broke his neck in two places, and suffered a broken back as well and is still recovering from his injuries.

    Tragedy struck again this past Saturday night during a USAC event, when 81 year-old Kenny Van Blargen, who resides in Paso Robles, California was airlifted by medical helicopter to United Medical Center in Las Vegas Saturday evening from the center field of Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, AZ.  Reports indicate that Van Blargen was traveling around 25 to 35 mph in a 50 year-old Vintage Sprint open seat race car at the time of impact, because of a yellow flag  when his car climbed the wheel of another car and overturned.

    The accident occurred early in the evening during a heat race with about a thousand fans in attendance who witnessed the wreck. “The car had very little damage to it, and its part of racing,” said Bill Rozhon, track promoter and race director at the speedway.  Rozhon also added that, “When something like this happens everybody is shocked,” Rozhon said. “When people get hurt, people are concerned … it was very gloomy here.” It took rescue workers which included two paramedics and four track-safety-clean-up guys about 30 minutes, to get Van Blargen out of the car and into the waiting helicopter for the ride to the medical center.

    Rozhon said, “The River medical ambulance and the fire department responded immediately after 911 was initially called, and it took six guys to get him out.” Van Blargen was coherent and even though he had reflexes, he is still suffering from a broken neck and has a breathing tube. Rozhon, 64, said he has been around racing all his life and, as far as wrecks go, has seen some real nasty ones. “There’s no such thing as an average crash,” he said. “Things just happen. Some things are just out of our control.”  Van Blargen was put in an induced coma for six days to keep him still.

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: A TAILGATE PARTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND SOME ODDS AND ENDS FROM A WEEKEND OFF

    HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: A TAILGATE PARTY IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND SOME ODDS AND ENDS FROM A WEEKEND OFF

    While there was somewhat of a lost feeling for NASCAR racing fans over the previous weekend due to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series having the weekend off, there was some fun racing from the Camping World Truck Series at Darlington. It was also interesting to note that the truck series still felt the impact of a formidable driver/team owner despite the fact he spent the weekend in Mexico. Then another NASCAR star stepped into the world of drag racing and found out how tough a change of venue transition can get. With those thoughts in mine, let’s begin with:

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]HOORAH to Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne who spent his weekend off driving a Toyota Truck owned by Kyle Busch Motorsports last Saturday at the Darlington Raceway. Kahne and KBM were a formidable tandem, during Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200, and led 96 of the 147 laps in the race during the course of a most impressive performance. Kahne, who makes a once in a great while guest appearance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, now has four series starts resulting in three wins and a second place finish.

    Kahne was driving the truck usually piloted by Kyle Busch himself who elected to take the entire weekend off for some post wedding vacation time with his lovely wife Samantha. In victory lane Kahne said “I’ll gladly buy Kyle a vacation anytime just to drive this truck again.”

    Meanwhile in Cancun-Mexico, Kyle Busch was monitoring the progress of his race team via the SPEED Channel’s broadcast. Unfortunately there was a language barrier because this particular broadcast was in Spanish. That leads to a HOORAH to Samantha Busch for a cute “Twitter” message that said “I should have paid more attention in school so I would at least know what’s going on, (with the race).” Even while out of the country Kyle Busch still finds a way to make his presence known in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

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

    This week’s HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do belongs to NASCAR Camping World Series rookie driver Cole Whitt. The young driver, of the #60 Red Bull Chevrolet, began his first ever Darlington experience by setting a new track record, 173.933 MPH, during qualifying. It’s was his first pole in only four series starts.

    Whitt came on strong at the start of the race and led the first 27 laps. But, during the first round of pit stops, there was a miscue on a tire change. The lug nuts fell to the ground and rolled underneath the truck. By the time they were retrieved and the tire was secured, Whitt went from first to 13th on the position chart. He made quick work of making his way back to the top ten and led an additional three laps.

    But later in the race an engine problem developed. The speculation theory said, least case scenario, the problem was a faulty spark plug wire or, worst case scenario, the engine had dropped a cylinder. The problem turned out to be something very rare and bizarre. It was a broken throttle stop which would not allow Whitt to push the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor. During an ensuing pit stop, a crew member crawled through the passenger window and made the needed repairs. Whitt once again charged his way towards the front and collected an eighth place finish. He also left Darlington second in the championship standings just six points away from leader Matt Crafton.

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

    WAZZUP with rookie truck driver Joey Coulter having to distinguish the difference between the pain of plucked eyebrows and the mood swings of the lady in black, aka Darlington Raceway? Prior to the series’ weekend at Darlington, Coulter was doing a promotional photo shoot that involved a makeover. That process unfortunately led the young driver to the discovery that having your eyebrows plucked for the first time is actually very painful. In a pre race interview Coulter was asked which is more painful: the eyebrow process or the pain of racing at Darlington for the first time. Coulter honestly didn’t know because he had never raced on the track too tough to tame. It turned out Darlington was more painful. Coulter got caught up in an early race accident and wound up finishing 28th.

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

    WAZZUP with the learning curve for NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch’s transition to NHRA drag racing during his official Pro Stock debut last weekend in the Gator Nationals? Similar to Danica Patrick’s transition from Indy cars to Sprint Cup, Busch discovered his entry level into drag racing was also going to become quite the educational process.

    On Friday qualifying runs he smoked his tires, had to shut down the engine midway through the run and turned an extremely slow pass of 18.334 seconds. His second qualifying run was disallowed by officials because Busch failed to stage his Dodge within the seven second time limit. Now feeling the pressure of making the field for the finals, Busch stepped up on Saturday and turned a qualifying pass of 6.532 seconds, 211.46 MPH, which placed him 12th. During the Sunday finals Busch made a highly respectable showing but was eliminated in the first round by Erica Anders. Busch took it all in his stride and felt it was a great weekend riding the NHRA learning curve.

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

    HOORAH to driver Greg Biffle for walking away from a very frightening plane crash without injury last Wednesday. Biffle and his two pilots were making a landing approach, in Biffle’s privately owned Falcon 20 plane, when the right side landing gear collapsed. The crash occurred at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington-Kentucky where Biffle had a scheduled meeting. The runway was shut down by emergency officials for approximately two hours in order to remove the plane and the debris.

    Last Wednesday was a very busy day for Biffle. Prior to the plane trip to Kentucky he was in Martinsville-Virginia where Biffle took a two lap walk around the Martinsville Speedway with two thousand elementary school children and their teachers. The appearance promoted the importance of good physical fitness and he certainly deserves another HOORAH for that effort.

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

    WAZZUP with the crash landing in driver Eric McClure’s kitchen where an injury did occur? Last Wednesday the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver tripped over party supplies sitting on his kitchen floor that were purchased for his daughter’s birthday party. The ensuing fall resulted in a broken small bone below the knuckle on the pinkie of McClure’s right hand. A special cast was made to accommodate a steering wheel and McClure insists that he will be at the Nationwide Series race at Bristol next Saturday.

  • Former Champion Todd Bodine Makes Case That Truck Series Is ‘Really Strong’

    Former Champion Todd Bodine Makes Case That Truck Series Is ‘Really Strong’

    Four weeks into the NASCAR season there is little to complain about.

    It’s a rare occurrence and one that will be marked down. After all, this is a sport where hearing the thoughts of others is not hard to come by. Whether you want them or not, whether they are warranted or not, they will be heard.

    [media-credit name=”Mary Ann Chastain/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]A month into a new season though, so far so good.

    There have been close if not three straight sellouts for the Sprint Cup Series events at Daytona, Phoenix and Las Vegas. For those keeping score, many say there have been three perfect National Anthems. Records have been broken and the winners have been favorites.

    Oh, and the overall racing hasn’t been bad either.

    Saturday night though all eyes were on the Camping World Truck Series. They were a stand alone event not only at the Darlington Raceway but of the weekend with Cup and Nationwide heading into their first break of the season.

    Promotions ran wild and while it wasn’t a sell out by any means, the crowd for a Saturday night event was well above expectations. The starting field was impressive, past champions and Sprint Cup Series stars were ready to battle the Lady in Black.

    Everything fell right into place. So much so that defending CWTS champion Todd Bodine took time in his media availability to address the state of the sport, something he had plenty to say about.

    “The state of the series is pretty obvious,” Bodine started.

    “We’ve got probably the best field of trucks that we’ve ever seen in the history of the series and we do have a lot of younger kids coming in so the experience level may be down a little bit but we’ve got a lot of kids that have a lot of talent and a lot of future and a lot of promise,” he said.

    Young kids like Cole Whitt who set a new track and won his first career pole, It was just his fourth career CWTS start. There’s sophomore sensation and fan favorite Austin Dillon who had an incredible rookie season in 2010 with two wins and seven poles.

    Saturday there were 11 rookies in the field. There was also an 18-year-old female competing.

    As a past champion of the sport as well as a driver that has been around for many years, Bodine has the ability to speak about such topics. On Saturday when he wasn’t talking about the racing he was bubbling in talking about the CWTS.

    The sixth annual Too Tough To Tame 200 was one that he was looking forward to for many reasons. The aforementioned attendance was on even the driver’s minds as Bodine mentioned the fans before and after the race, even if he did exaggerate his numbers.

    “The state of the series is strong,” Bodine stated.

    “Really strong. I think you’re going to see by the crowd that we’re going to get here [Saturday],” he continued.

    “Everybody kind of didn’t understand why we’re here at a standalone race last year. Last year they [Darlington] struggled for attendance – there’s no doubt. It was kind of last minute thing, but they’re really been promoting it and they’ve been doing a great job in the area.”

    Bodine continued to talk about the crowd but it was his statement about how strong the series is that was the most important part. When polling some fans they’ll tell you the trucks produce some of the best racing on any given weekend. However, they do struggle to put fans in the stands.

    Yet, as a whole the CWTS does just fine. The 2011 season has started off on a great note for the sport in general and the complaints, at least those more than normal, have quieted down. It could be for a few different reasons, such as the euphoria of a new season starting or still trying to figure out all the rules changes.

    “The series as a whole is really strong,” he said.

    “The fan base is up. The ratings are up. The truck count is up and the quality of equipment is up. Everything about it is up and that speaks volumes for it.”

    It means the CWTS will head into their own break before returning to action at Martinsville on April 2 on a high note. They currently are in the midst of a close point battle, have had three different winners to start the season and produced plenty to talk about.

    Yes, things are going pretty well for NASCAR right now. The naysayers have gone on a hiatus and everyone in the sport is riding the wave while it lasts and pleased with the direction it is heading.

    Said Bodine after this third place finish, “Look at the crowd we got. This tells you what the Truck Series is about. These fans are hardcore, they came out here on a Saturday night just to watch Trucks race. Everybody at home, we appreciate you watching. The Trucks are the greatest.”

  • Lady Tamer: Kasey Kahne Wins Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington

    Lady Tamer: Kasey Kahne Wins Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington

    A race at Darlington is normally one of attrition and Saturday night’s Too Tough To Tame 200 was no different.

    The Camping World Truck Series was the only show in town and on tap for the weekend. They didn’t disappoint. It started with ROY candidate Cole Whitt capturing from the pole, the first of his career, with a new track record.

    [media-credit name=”Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]The action started on lap one when the field charged down into turn one and never made it to turn two. Travis Kvapil, Miguel Paludo, Max Papis, Ryan Sieg, Norm Benning, Justin Lofton and David Starr all had trouble to bring the first caution out.

    There were two more yellow flags within the first 30 laps.

    Once things settled down, Kasey Kahne quickly asserted himself as the man to beat. While others found there way to the front through pit stops and strategy, Kahne was always lurking and once he took the lead he had no problem driving away from the field.

    One of the scarier incidents of the night came after Ricky Carmichael spun on the front stretch and was t-boned by Johanna Long. The caution, eighth one of the night, also brought the action to a halt as the red flag.

    Both drivers were evaluated and released from the infield care center.

    With 29 laps to go Timothy Peters came down pit road to get his final set of tires, while the leaders stayed out. It didn’t help the battle was up front between Kahne and the defending winner of the event, Todd Bodine.

    Even with a restart with less than five laps to go, no one could catch the 18 of Kahne and he would go on to capture the win. It was the third straight race that a driver not running for points in the CWTS has won.

    The win was Kahne’s third in his last four starts and second at Darlington. He won back in 2004. It was also the second straight win for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    Ron Hornaday finished second and Bodine finished third. The polesitter, Whitt, who thought he had lost a cylinder and dropped to 26th, came home in the eighth position. He was the highest finishing rookie and moved to second in the CWTS points.

    Matt Crafton hangs onto the point lead as the trucks will have a few weeks off before heading to Martinsville on April 2nd.

    Unofficial Race Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 2 18 Kasey Kahne  Toyota 0 0 147 Running
    2 6 33 Ron Hornaday  Chevrolet 42 0 147 Running
    3 12 30 Todd Bodine  Toyota 41 0 147 Running
    4 4 88 Matt Crafton  Chevrolet 40 0 147 Running
    5 7 31 James Buescher  Chevrolet 40 1 147 Running
    6 11 17 Timothy Peters  Toyota 38 0 147 Running
    7 8 2 Elliott Sadler  Chevrolet 0 0 147 Running
    8 1 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 37 1 147 Running
    9 3 13 Johnny Sauter  Chevrolet 35 0 147 Running
    10 13 81 David Starr  Toyota 34 0 147 Running
    11 26 92 Clay Rogers  Chevrolet 33 0 147 Running
    12 31 93 Shane Sieg  Chevrolet 32 0 147 Running
    13 17 77 Justin Lofton  Toyota 31 0 147 Running
    14 18 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 30 0 147 Running
    15 5 3 Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 29 0 147 Running
    16 19 39 Ryan Sieg  Chevrolet 28 0 147 Running
    17 24 5 Travis Kvapil  Toyota 27 0 147 Running
    18 16 9 Max Papis  Toyota 26 0 147 Running
    19 27 46 Craig Goess * Toyota 25 0 147 Running
    20 35 1 Jeffrey Earnhardt * Chevrolet 24 0 147 Running
    21 15 15 Dusty Davis * Toyota 23 0 147 Running
    22 29 50 T.J. Bell  Chevrolet 22 0 146 Running
    23 33 7 Jamie Dick  Chevrolet 21 0 146 Running
    24 28 66 Justin Marks  Chevrolet 20 0 145 Running
    25 23 62 Brendan Gaughan  Toyota 19 0 144 Running
    26 34 57 Norm Benning  Chevrolet 18 0 143 Running
    27 14 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 17 0 135 Running
    28 30 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 16 0 111 Running
    29 36 25 Tayler Malsam  Toyota 15 0 103 Engine
    30 22 4 Ricky Carmichael  Chevrolet 14 0 96 Accident
    31 32 20 Johanna Long * Toyota 13 0 96 Accident
    32 9 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 12 0 93 Accident
    33 10 23 Jason White  Chevrolet 11 0 72 Accident
    34 25 10 Chase Mattioli * Ford 10 0 55 Accident
    35 20 51 Justin Johnson * Toyota 9 0 41 Accident
    36 21 32 Brad Sweet  Chevrolet 8 0 13 Accident
  • One-On-One with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Jeffrey Earnhardt

    One-On-One with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Jeffrey Earnhardt

    With the last name Earnhardt, everybody automatically expects you to do well, once you hit the track. That’s no exception with Jeffrey Earnhardt as there are already the predictions hitting the floor.

    [media-credit name=”Flickr” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]He came out of the gate with a top 10 at Daytona and went to Phoenix and finished 19th. While everybody is looking for this success, he right now is set on learning lessons and moving forward with them.

    While preparing for Darlington this weekend, he took some time to answer some questions for the readers.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the year so far?

    Jeffrey Earnhardt: So far, I’ve had a pretty good season starting off. We finished seventh at Daytona and we finished 19th at Phoenix – didn’t have the best shot, but we ran it right to the end of the race and we didn’t have a single scratch on the truck. Anytime you can finish out a race like that it’s definitely progress. We’re just slowly working on making our entire program better. We’re just waiting for everything to fall into place to run upfront, but for now it’s just having everything work in order, giving the feedback and getting the seat time to learn these trucks.

    AM: How’d you get involved with Rick Ware Racing?

    JE: Well, I guess it was like two or three years ago, I got the opportunity to drive some Nationwide races for him. We went to Dover and tried to make the race and ended up not making the race, but that’s when I first met him. This opportunity came about to do five races and obviously the five races last year led to a full season this year.

    AM: What are some of your expectations for this year?

    JE: Just the seat time. We want to go out here and run the best we can, but also we want to go out and learn as much as we can with finishing races. I mean, if we do that then I don’t see why we can’t be competiting to win rookie of the year. There’s definitely a possibility as we’ll see how the year goes and where it takes us, but to start, it’s just to get as much seat time and just go from there.

    AM: Speaking of lessons, what are some of the lessons you’ve learned so far this year?

    JE: Just to get to the finish and figure out what the truck needed and if you do that, you’ll come out in one piece and if you’ll have a decent finish. Even though you’re getting the finishes, you got to understand that you’re still learning and probably the biggest thing I’ve learned is to be there at the finish.

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

    JE: I actually just rode around with Todd Bodine in a pace truck and it is quite a strange track. It’s got totally different corners and seems to be a tough track as we talked about how he did, how tough it is and how easy it is to take yourself out of the race. It seems that’s the toughest part, just getting used to the track, but not stepping over that boundary.

    AM: With the last name Earnhardt, there are a lot of expectations. Care to share any thoughts on that?

    JE: There’s a lot of expectation and a lot of pressure that gets put on you. It’s just that you got to learn how to deal with it and if you can handle it the right way, you’ll be fine and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of not letting it get to me. Just doing my thing and I’m just here to learn and be a racecar driver and I try not to worry about all that.

    AM: Which race track are you looking forward to?

    JE: I look forward to all of them. I mean, I’m looking forward to go doing to Dover for simple fact I ran good there before and I think we can get out of there with a successful run. I mean, I look forward to each and every race and each race I am just as excited as the next one and there’s really no special one I’m really look forward to.

    AM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

    JE: I would like to be up in the Cup level. Obviously, my goal is too potentially to end up at that level and five years from now I should be there. And hopefully won a championship in one of the three NASCAR series, whether Nationwide or Truck, but I’d like to be at the Cup level in five years.

    AM: What is your advice for other people getting into racing?

    JE: Just don’t ever give up. It’s tough and it’s not as easy as some people may think. If you really want it bad enough, you can get it accomplished. You just gotta really stick to it and push hard to get what you want. It may seem tough and you may want to get down, but if you push hard enough, eventually you’ll get it and the reward is definitely worth the wait.

    AM: Who do you admire outside of racing?

    JE: Johnny Cash was definitely a good one for me just because he was his own man and he was just kind of a man’s kind of man and more of that kind of person, but I know, really, I’ve just always been in racing and never really worried about anything else. I’ve been around racing my entire life and haven’t really cared about watching anything else.

  • Lap by Lap: Too Tough To Tame 200 won by Kasey Kahne

    Lap by Lap: Too Tough To Tame 200 won by Kasey Kahne

    Rookie Cole Whitt took the pole for the Too Tough To Tame 200 with a new track record, followed by Kasey Kahne, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton and Austin Dillon.
    Chad McCumbee, Chris Fontaine and Chris Lafferty were the trucks that did not make the field.

    “Turn 1 racing just brought this awesome truck, I want to keep this red bull truck at the front and keep it there. These guys built an awesome truck….We’ve come back a long ways since missing the race at Daytona. I’m proud of this team.” – Cole Whitt, pole sitter

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Crafton leads Clay Rogers by 1 point in the points standings, followed by Witt and Sauter

    “Charlotte was special, but Darlington would be bigger. So much history here, so hard to win, it’d be awesome to win here.” – Matt Crafton

    Cole Whitt leads the field to the green

    Caution lap 1 Paludo, Papis and Kravil all spin as people slow in front

    Restart on lap 4

    Lap 5 – Cole Whitt leads Kahne, Timothy Peters, Crafton and Ron Hornaday

    Lap 7 – Chase Mattioli spins, no caution

    Lap 14 Caution – Brad Sweet hits the wall. He had issues in qualifying as he spun on his second lap. Norm Benning gets the lucky dog.

    Restart Lap 19

    Lap 21 – Whitt Kahne Buescher Sauter Hornaday Crafton Sadler Peters Dillon Kligermann

    Lap 25 – Whitt Kahne Buescher Hornaday Sauter Sadler Crafton Peters Dillon Bodine

    Caution Lap 26 Brendan Guaghan goes for a spin
    PIT STOPS
    Lots of people are saying the visibility are terrible as some take two tires, some take four tires.�
    Race off pit road: Sadler, Dillon, Busch, Buescher, Hornaday, Kligermann, Bodine and Peters. Leader Cole Whitt had a long pit stop as his team had lug nut issues.

    Restart lap 30

    Caution lap 35 Dustin Johnson plows the wall after getting loose underneath Jeffrey Earnhardt.

    Restart Lap 40 – Sadler leads

    Lap 41 Kahne to the lead, Sadler drops back to fourth with Buescher second and Dillon third. Sadler says he got a bad start, thanks to his teammate Ron Hornaday getting up under him

    Lap 50 – Kahne Buescher Sadler Bodine Hornaday Dillon Sauter Peters Whitt Carmichael

    Lap 53 – Chase Mattiolli into the wall again – no caution

    Lap 54 – Sauter and Peters have both passed Dillon, putting Dillon back to eighth. Dillon says the truck is tight and then loose late in the corner. Dillon only took two tires while most of the leaders took four. Sadler was the other one with two tires.

    Lap 58 – Caution for debris

    Restart Lap 62 Cole Whitt leads the field to the green after taking two tires

    Lap 63 – Kasey Kahne takes the lead from Cole Whitt in turn 1

    Lap 64 – James Buescher to the lead

    Lap 69 – Pole Sitter Cole Whitt drops through the field with his two tires – now back to seventh

    Lap 70 – Kahne back to the lead.

    Lap 72 – Kahne Buescher Bodine Hornaday Sauter Dillon Sadler Crafton Peters and Whitt

    Lap 74 Caution – Nelson Piquet Jr into the wall, Joey Coulter and Jason White wreck behind them. Looks as though Piquet had a flat tire, which caused him to get into the wall. Coulter and White looked to try to slow behind them, both getting hit from behind and then hitting near the inside wall.

    “Just somebody spun out in front of us and with the sun going over the wall, it got hard to see and I just got run into from behind. I’m sure it was nobody’s fault, just a blind spot on the track. It was just starting to get fun as I was just starting to learn this place.” – Joey Coulter

    David Starr gets the Lucky Dog

    Restart lap 79

    Lap 82 – Kahne Hornaday Bodine Buescher Sauter Dillon Crafton Sadler Peters Gaughan

    Lap 87 – Pole Sitter and Rookie Cole Whitt has dropped a cylinder

    Lap 88 Caution – Chase Mattoilli into the wall for the third time

    Sadler first off pit road with two tires while most take four tires. Crafton had to come back down pit road as he had a loose lugnut. Johanna Long gets the lucky dog.

    Restart lap 96 with Sadler leading, though Kahne gets the lead from him before the end of the lap.

    Caution Lap 97 – Ricky Carmichael wrecks as Nelson Piquet Jr. and Johanna Long wreck behind him. Carmichael wrecked first and then behind him, Piquet and Long made contact, which cut both their tires. Piquet went up into the outside wall while Long plowed into Carmichael as she couldn’t steer the truck around him. There was a sevne-minute red flag to clean up the wreck.

    “Yeah, I’m alright. We were fast in race trim all day long. Coming from behind, we qualified horrible – you put yourself in a hole and we never got caught up from there. Finally I think I know what I am doing and having to come from behind makes it tough.” Carmichael, who said he either got loose or someone hit him.

    Max Papis gets the lucky dog

    “We had a really good truck and we finally got our lap back. Our team worked hard on the truck and hopefully we can get the truck fixed for Nashville as sponsorship is low…..I think another truck hit the wall and I think I hit him as he came down a little bit.” Johanna Long

    Restart 45 to go

    43 to go Tayler Malsam down pit road for unscheduled stop. He was slow down the backstretch. He said on twitter that they blew the motor.

    41 to go Joey Coulter brings truck back on track to make laps after earlier incident.

    39 to go Cole Whitt must have fixed motor issue on pit road as he has moved his way back up to 11th. The problem he was having was the throttle stop.

    33 to go Kahne leads followed by Hornaday, Bodine, Sadler and Peters

    29 to go Caution for Debris as some of the leaders pit while most stay out, including leader Kasey Kahne. The record for cautions is 10, which was set in 2004 when Kahne won then.

    Restart with 25 to go

    24 to go Todd Bodine passes Ron Hornaday for second

    22 to go Kahne Bodine Hornaday Buescher Whitt Sadler Dillon Crafton Goess and Sauter make up the top 10.

    21 to go Crafton passes Dillon for seventh

    19 to go Sauter passes Goess for ninth
    Kahne Bodine Hornaday Buescher Whitt Crafton Sadler Dillon Sauter and Goess

    17 to go Peters passes Goess for 10th. Peters took four tires under the previous caution while most of the leaders stayed out.

    11 to go Crafton has passed Sadler for sixth

    9 to go Kahne Bodine Hornaday Buescher Whitt Crafton Sadler Dillon Sauter and Peters

    8 to go Ron Hornaday reported a bad vibration a couple of laps ago.
    CAUTION 8 to go as Jeffrey Earnhardt makes contact with the outside wall – This ties the record for the most cautions in a Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington at 10. The record was set in 2004 when Kahne won.

    “That’s our last chance right here. He’s got a little vibration. We’ve overcome some adversity as we had to go to the back after that wreck at the beginning. I just want to thank the guys at the shop as we’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity. We’ll take a shot at the 18 truck this start.” – Todd Bodine’s crew chief Mike Hilman Jr.

    Bodine says his right front tire feels like its bouncing up the track.
    “We’ll see what we got for him. The main thing is we got to get to that checkered flag…..Espically on these old tires, it’s really easy to spin the tires and that’s where the difference comes in. If you don’t spin them and he does, then you got him down there. If I don’t make any mistakes, which I’ve been known to make, then we’ll be in good shape.” – Todd Bodine

    “Yeah, it just seems that helps in one and two and down the backstretch.” – Kasey Kahne on choosing the outside lane.
    “We just got to get through the gears and get out there…..We’ll see what we can do as these guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports build awesome trucks.” – Kasey Kahne
    Kyle Busch is watching from Cancun, Mexico while on vacation, and is watching it in Spanish, despite not being able to understand a thing.

    Restart with 4 to go

    3 to go Dillon falls back through the field as he gets loose, Bodine gets loose and falls back, allowing Hornaday to pass him

    2 to go Kahne starts to stretch out his lead

    Checkered Flag: Kasey Kahne wins the Too Tough To Tame 200. In his four truck starts, he has three wins a second place finish.

    Ron Hornaday finished second, followed by Todd Bodine, Matt Crafton, and James Buescher rounding out the top five. Peters was sixth, followed by Sadler, Whitt, Sauter and Starr.

    “I mean, I came into this weekend wanting to win as that was the plan. This is a tough series to win in and on the restart with Todd, he drove me all the way up to the wall and I think he got himself loose there. I want to thank Kyle Busch for letting me drive this truck and all of Kyle Busch Motorsports for working so hard on this truck. Eric Phillips was great to work with…..I will buy them vacationing time to drive this truck, again.” – Kasey Kahne

    “I owe everything to Jeff Hensley and this entire team working so hard on this truck. I got into the wall in practice causing them to work harder and then got into somebody on pit road. Your brother (Elliott Sadler) spun his tires and I got into the back of him. Kahne was pretty tough; we got to figure out what he does.”

    “Kasey was going to be tough and we both spun the heck out of tires. I drove into one and about wrecked. These trucks are so aerodependent as I don’t know how I didn’t wreck with that truck on my tail. Ron did what any veteran would do and legged back there. I am loving the Truck Series. We didn’t want third, second would’ve been better but we’re back.” – Todd Bodine

    “We had a problem on pit road and to come from shotgun where we were with 46 to go to here is pretty good.” – Matt Crafton

    Crafton leads Whitt by 6 points in the standings, followed by Peters, Rogers and Sauter.

    FINISHING ORDER
    1 Kasey Kahne

    2 Ron Hornaday Jr.

    3 Todd Bodine

    4 Matt Crafton

    5 James Buescher

    6 Timothy Peters

    7 Elliott Sadler

    8 Cole Whitt

    9 Johnny Sauter

    10 David Starr

    11 Clay Rogers

    12 Shane Sieg

    13 Justin Lofton

    14 Parker Kligerman

    15 Austin Dillon

    16 Ryan Sieg

    17 Travis Kvapil

    18 Max Papis

    19 Craig Goess

    20 Jeffrey Earnhardt

    21 Dusty Davis

    22 T.J. Bell

    23 Jamie Dick

    24 Justin Marks

    25 Brendan Gaughan

    26 Norm Benning

    27 Miguel Paludo

    28 Joey Coulter

    29 Tayler Malsam

    30 Ricky Carmichael

    31 Johanna Long

    32 Nelson Piquet

    33 Jason White

    34 Chase Mattioli

    35 Justin Johnson

    36 Brad Sweet

  • Too Tough To Tame 200 Qualifying: Cole Whitt on the Pole

    Too Tough To Tame 200 Qualifying: Cole Whitt on the Pole

    [media-credit name=”Darlington Raceway” align=”alignright” width=”190″][/media-credit]After two eventful practice sessions, the Camping World Truck Series had qualifying for tonight’s Too Tough To Tame 200.

    After stating earlier this week that he would be leaning on Kasey Kahne, Red Bull Racing driver Cole Whitt captured his first career pole with a lap of 173.93 mph. Whitt has only competed in four previous CWTS events. This season he’s competing for Rookie of the Year honors and is currently third in points.

    Whitt also set a new track record.

    Point leader Matt Crafton will start from the fourth position. Crafton holds a one-point lead over Clay Rogers.

    Defending winner of this even, Todd Bodine, was pleased with his practice effort in the No. 30 Germanin.com Toyota, but will start 12th. According to Bodine, both Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler will be tough competition in tonight’s event.

    Kahne will drive the No. 18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports starting in the second position. Many have tabbed him as the favorite for the event. Sadler on the other hand is back behind the wheel of the No. 2 for Kevin Harvick Inc. and is coming off a second place in Daytona. Sadler will start in the eighth position.

    Jeffrey Earnhardt qualified his No. 1 Fuel Doctor Chevrolet 35th and will be in a backup truck after wrecking in practice this morning. Those who did not qualify for the event were Chad McCumbee, Chris Fontaine and Chris Lafferty.

    The Too Tough To Tame 200 can be seen on SPEED channel at 4:30 p.m. ET. The green flag falls at 5:19 p.m. ET.

    RACE LINEUP
    Too Tough to Tame 200, Darlington Raceway
    March 12, 2011 – Race 3 of 25
    ====================================
    Pos. No Driver Make Speed  Time Behind
    ====================================
    1 60 Cole Whitt* Chevrolet 173.933 28.273 0
    2 18 Kasey Kahne Toyota  173.613 28.325 -0.052
    3 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 172.93 28.437 -0.164
    4 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 172.863 28.448 -0.175
    5 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 172.614 28.489 -0.216
    6 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 172.499 28.508 -0.235
    7 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 172.457 28.515 -0.242
    8 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 172.348 28.533 -0.26
    9 8 N. Piquet Jr.* Chevrolet 172.306 28.54 -0.267
    10 23 Jason White Chevrolet 172.107 28.573 -0.3
    11 17 Timothy Peters Toyota  171.974 28.595 -0.322
    12 30 Todd Bodine Toyota  171.65 28.649 -0.376
    13 81 David Starr Toyota  171.447 28.683 -0.41
    14 7 Miguel Paludo* Toyota  171.028 28.753 -0.48
    15 15 Dusty Davis* Toyota  170.869 28.78 -0.507
    16 9 Max Papis Toyota  170.762 28.798 -0.525
    17 77 Justin Lofton Toyota  170.543 28.835 -0.562
    18 29 P. Kligerman* Dodge  170.537 28.836 -0.563
    19 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 170.012 28.925 -0.652
    20 51 Justin Johnson* Toyota  169.93 28.939 -0.666
    21 32 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 169.836 28.955 -0.682
    22 4 R. Carmichael Chevrolet 169.777 28.965 -0.692
    23 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota  169.908 28.994 -0.721
    24 5 Travis Kvapil Toyota  169.491 29.014 -0.741
    25 10 Chase Mattioli* Ford  169.467 29.018 -0.745
    26 92 Clay Rogers Chevrolet 169.456 29.02 -0.747
    27 46 Craig Goess* Toyota  169.432 29.024 -0.751
    28 66 Justin Marks Chevrolet 169.31 29.045 -0.772
    29 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 168.394 29.203 -0.93
    30 22 Joey Coulter* Chevrolet 167.859 29.296 -1.023
    31 93 Shane Sieg Chevrolet 166.636 29.511 -1.238
    32 20 Johanna Long* Toyota  166.377 29.557 -1.284
    33 7 Jamie Dick+ Chevrolet 163.451 30.086 -1.813
    34 57 Norm Benning+ Chevrolet 153.469 32.043 -3.77
    35 1 J. Earnhardt+* Chevrolet – – –
    36 25 Tayler Malsam Toyota  168.192 29.238 -0.965

  • Todd Bodine Confident About Darlington but Knows Cup Ringers Will Be Strong

    Todd Bodine Confident About Darlington but Knows Cup Ringers Will Be Strong

    With two races in the books for the Camping World Truck Series and thanks to NASCAR’s new pick a series rule, there has yet to be a winner who’s running for the 2011 championship.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”283″][/media-credit]Michael Waltrip’s emotional yet controversial win took center stage in Daytona to kick off the season. He’s not running for points in the CWTS and neither was the second place finisher Elliott Sadler. A week later in Phoenix it was more of the same as Kyle Busch took the win and Clint Bowyer was the runner up.

    The series rolls into the Darlington Raceway this Saturday where again two drivers not running for points are looking to crash the party. CWTS regulars such as the defending winner of the event, Todd Bodine, have other plans.

    First on the agenda for ‘The Onion’ is to continue his climb through the point standings. After a wreck in the season opening event, his 14th place finish in Phoenix has him sitting 12th in points.

    The early deficit puts him in unfamiliar territory in his title defense. Attempting to become the first driver in CWTS history to win back-to-back championships, another strong performance Saturday will help his effort.

    This past August in Darlington Bodine, in his No. 30 truck led 47 of 147 laps on his way to the victory. He comes into this weekend as the favorite to do it again. In part, it’s because the egg shaped track is one that Bodine is very much familiar with, making him a contender each time NASCAR is in town.

    After practice Saturday morning Bodine was confident he’d be up front again.

    “We were pretty good, pretty happy with it,” he said. “Drives good and does everything I need it to.”

    Something that pleased Bodine was how his truck maintained a consistent speed on older tires. The track is starting to get the feel of old Darlington back he said, one that is eats rubber. During practice he wore out ever set of tires he had.

    “I think we’ve got something for them,” he said about the race though. “I think we’ll be just fine.”

    His August victory goes with one from a Nationwide Series race in 2003. Bodine’s experience also extends to the Cup Series.

    That’s where his toughest competition will come from. Two of the most competitive and winning teams in the CWTS have big guns in their trucks. Kasey Kahne has the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota from Kyle Busch Motorsports while Elliott Sadler will be behind the wheel of Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 truck.

    Kahne is also a past Darlington winner in the truck series at Darlington. It came in the first time he competed at the track back in 2004. That race also happened to be the first CWTS race of Kahne’s career.

    Saturday will be his first start of the 2011 season in the CWTS.  As of right now he does have any other truck races planned but says that could change. First comes Darlington.

    “Darlington is an awesome race track and I’m sure that the Truck Series will put on a great show for the fans this weekend,” said Kahne. He’ll drive the same truck he finished second with at Pocono last year to Sadler.

    Second at Darlington would ruin Kahne’s plan.

    “I was looking around at all the victory banners on the wall when I took my seat over to KBM a few weeks ago,” Kahne said.

    “Whether they came from trucks or late models, Kyle was the driver for pretty much every win. I told [him] I need to get a banner this year so he doesn’t control the wall.”

    Both Kahne and Sadler will be up front on Saturday, many already putting money on the No. 18. Bodine knows that as well and doesn’t to see it become three for three in non-point winners.

    “Well, that’s what we’re here for [to win], not to finish second,” said Bodine.

    The Cup drivers winning the first two races of the year happened for a few reasons, Bodine said. What allowed Waltrip and Sadler to drive away for the win in Daytona was their understanding of the bump drafting from their experience in the Cup cars.

    Waltrip’s win was then defended by Bodine.

    “Everybody talked about Michael losing that spoiler and winning the race — that’s not what won him the race. He won the race because he was smart and I just want everyone to know that.”

    In terms of Phoenix, the trucks that the Cup drivers were racing in are phenomenal and come from great teams. Adding a driver with of the caliber of a Kyle Busch or Kasey Kahne makes it hard to keep them from running up front.

    “A guy like myself, we got caught up in a crash,” said Bodine.

    “We weren’t probably going to win the race but we were going to be up front. [Ron] Hornaday didn’t have a perfect truck so there’s other factors involved than just those guys being that good.”

    He then said, “they are that good — there’s no doubt about that. But there are other factors involved and you have to look at the whole picture to understand that.”

    Bodine then said that when it comes to the race Saturday night the CWTS regulars will show that they can run with the Cup guys. Cup guys that will again be at the front of the field.

    “There’s no doubt about it,” he said.