Author: SM Staff

Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers, announced Saturday that he been medically released to return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season. In late May, Vickers announced that he would take the rest of this season off after blood clots were discovered in his left leg and lungs. Since then a clot was discovered in a finger in his left hand.

This led to extensive tests, that determined he had a hole between the right and left atrium in his heart, as well as May-Thurner Syndrome. MTS is a rare condition in which blood clots, called deep venous thrombosis(DVT), occur in the iliofemoral vein due to compression of the blood vessels in the leg. This syndrome also puts patients at risk for future blood clots and possible strokes. Vickers, said he had heart surgery on July 12 to repair the hole in his heart. A day later, he had a stint was placed in a vein in his left leg.

Vickers said, he would be off blood thinners prescribed for the blood clots by early to mid January and ready to return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in time February Dayotna 500. “[Doctors] gave me full clearance for next year,” Vickers said from the media center at Bristol Motor Speedway. “I will be back in January. I’m real excited about that. They feel I’m probably in the best shape of my life.”

Red Bull recently announced that Kasey Kahne would drive one of its cars in 2011 as a stopgap before his contract with Hendrick Motorsports begins. General manager Jay Frye said at the time Kahne would drive either the 83, replace Scott Speed in the No. 82 or a third car would be added. Could Viclers quick return, potentially cause a shake-up for Red Bull Racing?

Some thought it could never be done, and until this weekend, it had not, but the Bristol night race weekend of 2010 belongs to Kyle Busch.  Running roughshod over the Trucks on Wednesday, and turning Brad Keselowski Friday night in the Nationwide race to win,  all eyes were on Kyle Busch Saturday night.  Never has any driver ever won three NASCAR national touring series races on the same weekend, but now Kyle Busch has done that.

David Reutimann was hard charging all night, came home second, followed by Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne fifth. Ryan Newman would finish sixth, with Juan Pablo Montoya, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top ten.

It was a hot and humid night in the Thunder Valley of east Tennessee as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams prepared for battle at the Mecca of stock car racing, Bristol Motor Speedway. With heavy cloud cover and afternoon rains, the skies cleared ever so slightly allowing for great track conditions.

As usual BMS had readied a spectacular lead up and introduction to the race, including an elaborate driver intro program. As the drivers entered from the tunnel next to turn three, they stopped to introduced themselves and great the fans.  Cheers and jeers followed depending on which driver had the right fans present. As the  program continued all attention turned to Brad Keselowski, who, in addition to his run ins with Carl Edwards this season, was involved in an incident with Kyle Busch Friday night in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Feeding the anticipation, Keselowski introduced himself and then loudly informed the crown that “Kyle Busch is an ASS.”  Several drivers commented on the rivalry including Jamie McMurray who said he wanted to be in front of the two drivers, and Tony Stewart who wanted to be behind them and watch the action.

Jimmie  Johnson took the green flag and led the first lap, Tony Stewart moved from fourth to second.  Rest of the top five were Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and David Reutimann. By lap forty Juan Pablo Montoya had managed to get past David Reutimann, while the top four remained the same.

The first caution came out on lap 56 when David Gilliland  had a tire go down at put the #38 in the outside wall.  By lap 58  the six traditional start & park cars #‘s 55, 66, 09, 64, 07 and 13 were in the garage. Following the restart, Tony Stewart got past Johnson to lead lap 62, but Johnson came right back on the next lap to retake the lead.

By lap 68, Kyle Busch advanced from 18th to 10th. On lap 125 the lap cars of David Ragan, AJ Kyle Busch, Edwards, Reutimann and Truex. Stewart lost a lot of time on pit road for repairs and by lap 155 he was back in 25th place.  Meanwhile the top five were #48, 18, 00, 99 and 39.  Kyle Busch put the #18 car out front, passing Johnson for the lead on lap 172.

On a lap 200 restart, Kyle Busch went high and David Reutimann went low to put Johnson back to third.  Fifteen lap later Johnson got past Reutimann to take second place. On lap 153, Bobby Labonte, who had returned to the track more than 100 laps down, cut down a right front tire and making contact with the wall. That incident brought out the 5th caution of the night. On the restart, on lap 260, Johnson, was turned on the Backstretch by Montoya, sending the #48 car into the outside wall suffering heavy damage. Carl Edwards lost 22 positions on the restart after having to return to pit road for loose lug nuts following the initial pit stop.

Kyle Busch was maintaining the lead, when Jamie McMurray finally got past him on lap 388, bringing the crowd to their feet. The lead for McMurray was short lived as ten laps later, green flag pit stops began.  On lap 399, as McMurray slowed to enter pit road, Busch charged around him and took the lead onto pit road.  Returning to the track it was Busch out front, however David Reutimann, who had pitted earlier was in the lead. It took Busch 40 laps to finally catch and get by Reutimann to retake the lead.

Kyle would hold that lead for the remained of the race while Reutimann continued to fight hard chasing the #18 car. In the end Busch would lead the most laps, 282, and win the Irwin Tools Night race before a crowd of 155,000 fans.  “This was really cool” said Busch following the win, “To put this all together for this weekend and win all three is cool.”  When asked about Brad Keselowski’s pre race comments, Kyle simply stated, “Who?” The #18 crew chief, Dave Rogers in a post race interview said, “The car was really slow off the truck, and it was thanks to the great notes from Kyle that we were able top adjust the car to get it in a position to win.”

David Reutimann, who had a bought with stomach flu earlier in the weekend was obviously not fully recovered as was evident in his post race interview. Jamie McMurray moved up two spots in the points to 13th, 100 points behind Clint Bowyer.  When asked about his concern for that, he replied, “I’ll let Bono (crew chief ‘Bono’ Manion) worry about it.  He certainly is worried about it, and I — remember the stress that goes along with that, and I’m really fortunate this year that we were able to win those two big races because if we don’t make the chase, it’s not going to be devastating.”

A final summation of the weekend here is that “Racin the way it ought a be” is finally back at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Unofficial Results

Pos.	St.	No.	Driver	Make	Pts.	Bon.	Laps
1	19	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	195	10	500
2	5	0	David Reutimann	Toyota	175	5	500
3	7	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	170	5	500
4	24	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	165	5	500
5	11	9	Kasey Kahne	Ford	155	0	500
6	6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	150	0	500
7	8	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	146	0	500
8	21	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	142	0	500
9	20	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	138	0	500
10	14	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	134	0	500
11	26	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	135	5	500
12	2	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	127	0	500
13	27	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	124	0	500
14	28	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	121	0	500
15	18	83	Reed Sorenson	Toyota	118	0	500
16	16	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	115	0	500
17	9	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	112	0	500
18	3	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	109	0	500
19	15	12	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	106	0	500
20	22	47	Marcos Ambrose	Toyota	103	0	500
21	12	98	Paul Menard	Ford	100	0	500
22	33	34	Travis Kvapil	Ford	102	5	498
23	13	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	99	5	498
24	31	26	Jeff Green	Ford	91	0	497
25	25	77	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	88	0	497
26	34	38	David Gilliland	Ford	85	0	495
27	4	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	87	5	494
28	39	37	Tony Raines	Ford	79	0	492
29	41	19	Elliott Sadler	Ford	76	0	491
30	29	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	73	0	489
31	10	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	70	0	488
32	38	6	David Ragan	Ford	67	0	486
33	23	82	Scott Speed	Toyota	64	0	486
34	17	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	61	0	473
35	1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	63	5	415
36	40	7	Kevin Conway *	Toyota	55	0	212
37	42	71	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	52	0	129
38	30	9	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	49	0	118
39	43	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	46	0	58
40	37	207	Robby Gordon	Toyota	43	0	50
41	36	164	Todd Bodine	Toyota	40	0	47
42	32	66	Scott Riggs	Toyota	37	0	32
43	35	55	Michael McDowell	Toyota	34	0	16

At Bristol, anything can happen and usually does, from short track temper tantrums, to tire troubles and overall beating and banging.  This year’s Bristol night race did not disappoint and here is what is surprising and not surprising from the Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Surprising:  NASCAR history was made at the track dubbed as the ‘world’s fastest half mile’.  Kyle Busch, sporting the Doublemint paint scheme on his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, did what no driver has ever done before, winning all three series races in one weekend at Bristol.  With that Cup win, Busch jumped five positions in the Chase point standings, from eighth to third behind points leader Kevin Harvick and second place holder Jeff Gordon.

Not Surprising:  Busch drove like a man possessed in his racing trifecta, coming from the back of the field in the Truck race to win, overcoming adversity and controversy with Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide race to win, and dicing through the field from the 19^th starting spot in the Cup race to pick up the broom for the sweep in Victory Lane.

Surprising:  The race got off to a wilder than usual start with some pointed moments during the driver introductions.  As is Bristol tradition, each driver walked out to a song of their choice and took the microphone to introduce himself and say a few words.  Kyle Busch was booed mightily and sarcastically thanked the crowd for all their love, while Brad Keselowski stole the show, introducing himself and saying “Kyle Busch is an ass.”

Not Surprising:  Even though the rhetoric was heated, when it came time to race the two competitors kept it clean.  At one point, Busch, who was in the lead at the time, had to pass Keselowski to put him a lap down.  Although Brad raced Kyle hard and close, there were no further on-track incidents and both finished the race, albeit in very different positions with Busch in Victory Lance and Keselowski finishing mid-pack in nineteenth position.

Surprising:   Clint Bowyer, one of the men battling with the likes of Mark Martin to stay in Chase contention, overcame great adversity and was the race’s biggest mover.  Bowyer, in his No. 33 Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, started in the 24^th position to work his way through the field to a top-five finish.  Throughout the race, Bowyer had to overcome a mix of overheating brakes, pit problems, and just plain nerves to battle back for his fourth place finish, keeping him in that coveted 12^th and last position in the Chase point standings.

Not Surprising:  Jeff Gordon, who had his own challenges in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet after a spin in qualifying led to a miserable 26^th starting spot, sliced his way through the field to finish 11^th.  While not the win he was seeking, the top-15 finish locked the four-time champion into the Chase for 2010, giving him the opportunity to ‘drive for five.’

Surprising:   There was no one more surprised than David Reutimann in the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, who found himself in the runner-up finishing spot at Bristol.  Reutimann had an eventful race weekend, missing practice because he was sicker than his Aaron’s lucky dog due to food poisoning.  Reutimann managed to qualify his car in fifth and stayed in the hunt most of the race to finish second in the Irwin Tools Night Race.

Not Surprising:   There is one driver who always shows up in critical races.  Winning the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard this year, Jamie McMurray showed up once again, driving a great race in his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Tracker Chevrolet to finish third under the lights at Bristol.

Surprising:  Once unstoppably consistent and always in possession of the purported lucky horseshoe, four-time champion Jimmie Johnson had anything but a good run at Bristol.  Competitor Juan Pablo Montoya got into Johnson, sending him into the wall on the track and behind the wall in the pits for repair.  Johnson finished 35^th, dropping him four positions in the Chase standings to the ninth spot.

Not Surprising:  Apologizing on his radio to Johnson and even sending his team owner over to apologize after the race, Juan Pablo Montoya soldiered on for a good finish in spite of his tussle with the four-time champ.   JPM was able to bring his No. 42 Target Chevrolet to the checkered flag in seventh position. 

Surprising:   There was a surprisingly beardless driver who worked his way through the field like a stealth bomber for a solid finish at Bristol.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was at times even running in the top ten, ending the race and crossing the finish line in 13^th in his No. 88 AMP/National Guard Chevrolet.

Not Surprising:   Kasey Kahne, who felt like he had a “top five car”, finished in the fifth position in his No. 9 Budweiser Ford.  Kahne enjoyed the Cup race at Bristol much more than his Nationwide run, where he was forced up the track and onto the wall, doing his best two-wheel imitation of the Joey Chitwood show.

The Cup Series has the next weekend off as a final break before the Chase race to the end of the season.  They will return to action on Labor Day weekend when the drivers pull into Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Emory Healthcare 500.  The race will run on Sunday, September 5^th on ESPN with pre-race coverage starting at 7:00 PM ET.

After Ryan Newman had a week to think about last Sunday’s incident between himself and Joey Logano, he said after he got out of his car following the final Sprint Cup Series practice session that he still thinks it was a case of Logano running out of talent and spinning him out.

“I think he lost it before he ever got into the corner,” Newman said. “I’m pretty sure there’s about 80 feet of asphalt there and he could have chose any lane he wanted to. He drove up into me and hit me in the left rear quarter panel.

“He can call it what he wants. It’s his story. I’ve got a college education. I just didn’t get out of elementary school.”

Logano said his thoughts of Newman racing him too hard haven’t changed either. But, the young driver is focused on this weekend’s race at Bristol.

“I’m focused on Bristol,” Logano said. “That’s the past. … Sometimes you want some of the respect back that you give to some people. And when it’s not, it gets frustrating.”

Logano’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch is sticking up for his teammate, saying Newman has a reputation of tough racing.

“You know that’s what you get with Ryan Newman,” said Kyle Busch, a Logano teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. “I could say the same thing for Joey. I remember here two years ago, I was in the lead and ran him down and he raced me pretty hard to try to stay on the lead lap and I ended up losing the lead to somebody else and finally got by him.

“It’s just a product of what racing brings you sometimes. It is what it is. I think the thing that Joey should’ve been most upset about was Newman going in on his door and side-drafting him and spinning him out. That’s a problem. You gotta give guys room to race.”

Nothing new on SHR sponsorship

Driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet and Stewart Haas Racing team owner Tony Stewart said at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday that SHR had no announcements on the sponsorship situation for their team in 2011.

There have been no recent rumblings of a third team for next season. There are, however, some races on the schedule next season without a sponsor.

“When we have something to tell you, we’ll tell you (the media),” Stewart said. “I’ve always told you guys that, as soon as we have something to tell you about, we promise we won’t leave you out of the loop.”

One of his current sponsors, Old Spice, is rumored to be leaving the team after this season. Mobil 1, who has already confirmed they are leaving Penske Racing’s Sam Hornish Jr. due to a sponsorship conflict, is rumored to be going to the No. 14 team.

The No. 39 will continue to receive sponsorship from the U.S. Army and Tornado’s. The team is reportedly trying to get Wix Filters, who is sponsoring Ryan Newman this weekend at Bristol, to jump on for a partial schedule next year.

Reutimann sick, plans to still race at Bristol

Michael Waltrip Racing’s David Reutimann is one sick puppy this weekend at Bristol, but he still plans to suit up and drive the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota for the remainder of the weekend.

Reutimann missed the first 75 minutes of Sprint Cup Series practice, but did jump in the car to complete the remainder of practice and qualify the car.

Aric Almirola practiced the car Friday and is the relief driver for tomorrow’s IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol should he be needed.

“I’m just sick, stomach stuff, and it’s hard to shake that stuff,” Reutimann said after the first practice Friday. “I’m just trying to get some fluids back in (me). Aric helped us and got the car up and going there until I got enough fluids in me to feel like I could walk upright.

“I’ll be all right. I don’t have any races tonight, so maybe I’ll go to the infield care center and get a couple of IVs. I’m not getting back out of the car.”

Despite his sickness, Reutimann managed to qualify fifth for the race.

“It was a good lap,” Reutimann said after qualifying. “The guys did a really, really good job all day having to work with two different drivers. (Aric) Almirola helped us out a lot today and I have to thank him. Rodney Childers (crew chief) and all my guys, they hustled. We weren’t that good in our mock qualifying runs, but the car was a lot better. I owe a lot to those guys. Those guys hustled and made all those changes to get two drivers in and out. I didn’t make it easy for them today, but I appreciate all they do.”

His teammate at MWR, Martin Truex Jr. will start ninth.

Other Notes: Bruton Smith and Ray Evernham have scheduled a press conference for Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. They will be announcing a new partnership to help preserve and protect the future of racing for younger generations. … The Goodyear tire test at Talladega Superspeedway will be open to race fans. On August 24, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., the grandstands will be open to fans, standard admission rules apply.

Jimmie Johnson surprised the fans and other drivers alike when he turned a fast lap of 15.540-seconds for 123.475 mph to claim the pole for the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Ryan Newman had set the mark when he went out tenth and held the provisional pole until being set back by his teammate Tony Stewart. Stewart place atop the board was short lived as Joey Logano was next out (17th) and bested Stewart’s time by .023-seconds. It appeared Logano would start up front until Carl Edwards went out 33rd and sent Logano back beating his time by .022-seconds, but Edwards would have to settle for the front row besides Johnson who turned a lap more than a half second faster.

Jeff Gordon, who earlier in the day told the media that he seemed to have lost his ‘edge’ at Bristol when the track was resurfaced a few years ago, went out fifth and slid the car out of turn four onto the front stretch before taking the green flag. NASCAR officials allowed Gordon’s crew to put scuff tires on since the tires were flat spotted and he had not taken the green. Gordon went on the 5 minute clock and would go out later, turning a lap of 15.803-seconds, good for a disappointing 26th place start.

David Reutimann, who had missed the practice sessions and was expected to miss qualifying due to stomach issues, surprised folks by climbing in the car and qualifying fifth. Jeff Green, who has been absent from the Cup series for a while, qualified the No. 26 car 31st — good enough to put the car in the field. Kevin Conway, who was recently released from the No. 34 car, was behind the wheel of Robby Gordon’s No. 7 car and made the race by way of owner points, starting 40th. Casey Mears, driving the No. 13 Geico Toyota for Germain Racing filled the final spot starting 43rd.

Missing Saturday Night’s race, the 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, were Dave Blaney (No. 36), Joe Nemechek (No. 87), Kevin Lepage (No. 4), J.J. Yeley (No. 46), Brian Keselowski (No. 92) and Mike Bliss (No. 32).

Greg and Nicole Biffle have more than racing in common as a NASCAR couple. They are also passionate about pets, especially pets in crisis or those in danger of being euthanized because of abuse or neglect.

“I don’t think the general public really understands what a crisis our country is in with animal overpopulation and euthanization,” Nicole Biffle said. “When you give people the numbers they look at you like you’re crazy because they don’t get how bad it really is.”

Because of their passion to save pets, particularly those that are no longer wanted, the Biffles are raising funds to assist these animals in need, as well as those humans who are helping them. This race weekend at Bristol, both Greg and Nicole Biffle will be releasing their 2011 NASCAR Pets Calendar, with all of the proceeds going to the Greg Biffle Foundation to improve the well-being of animals.

“We’ve done the calendar since 2005,” Nicole Biffle said. “It was kind of an idea I had just watching the news and seeing how many things were going on with pets in this area. “

Biffle pitched the calendar idea to her husband, with her initial vision being to have rough copies to sell amongst their fellow racing families to hang in their haulers or motor homes.

“We got lucky enough with the NASCAR Foundation,” Biffle said. “They hooked us up and we started producing these calendars.”

The Pets Calendar traditionally focuses on NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers and their families, including their animals.

“We tried to do it in casual settings, like at their houses or in their motor homes, like a family portrait,” Biffle said. “The fans can see what their life is like outside the race track with their kids and their pets.”

For the upcoming year, the 2011 NASCAR Pets Calendar will feature 11 Sprint Cup drivers with their pets, as well as featuring the three Miss Sprint Cups and their favorite animals.

“A couple years ago, we added media,” Biffle said. “This year we did the three Sprint Cup ladies and their pets. I’m hoping that will boost sales. You know, I think all the guys think those Sprint Cup ladies are pretty cute. If it sells well, maybe we’ll have to do a Sprint Cup girls and pets calendar all on their own.”

Biffle also credits 3M, her husband’s primary sponsor, for helping to take the calendar to the next level.

“Last year was the first year that 3M helped us do the whole thing,” Biffle said. “We’re really lucky to have a sponsor that cares about what we’re doing. It means a lot to us.”

Biffle is also very proud that over 97% of the calendar proceeds go to the Foundation and right out to the community. The Biffles have just one employee at the Foundation, paying her out of their own pocket so that the money can be used for pets in need.

The Foundation makes grants on an annual basis, supporting nonprofits such as no kill shelters or spay and neuter clinics. They have granted help throughout the country, from Washington State to New York City. The Biffles also sit on the national advisory board of the North Shore Animal League, as well as organizing puppy roundups to send to the League for adoption.

“Primarily we stick with dogs and cats just because there is such an overwhelming need in our country,” Biffle said. “We go through the applications and see who is in greatest need.”

Biffle’s passion for animals in need stems from her own personal experience, having adopted a dog, Foster, now a nine year old boxer. The Biffles also have two other dogs, Gracie who is another boxer and Savannah who is a mix of “what, we don’t know.”

“We just fell in love,” Biffle said. “Our dogs are our kids. They mean everything to us.”

“That’s why we decided to go the pet avenue,” Biffle said. “It just breaks your heart. I get requests every day about animals that are going to be put to sleep. It’s just kind of makes you sick and breaks our hearts.”

While the Biffles work to help animals, they also focus on spending as much time with their own pets as possible, including taking them to as many races as possible. In fact, the dogs were all at Pocono where Greg Biffle won, so the driver of the No. 16 3M Roush Fenway Racing Ford has decided that they are perhaps his newest good luck charms.

In addition to the pet calendar fundraising, the Biffles are adding another new twist, a raffle for Greg Biffle’s custom golf cart. This will be unveiled at Bristol this weekend and will be part of the Food City Race Night festivities.

“A friend of Greg’s owns a hot rod shop in Tucson and he sent Greg this incredible golf cart, custom painted with flames,” Biffle said. “I’m thinking that should be pretty good because it’s a really neat golf cart to toot around in. It’s pretty cool.”

The calendar, priced at $13.99 can be purchased at www.gregbifflefoundation.com or at the Bristol race, where Biffle will be autographing copies. The calendars are also available in some Pet Co stores, particularly in the southeast. Raffle tickets for Biffle’s golf cart can be purchased at www.winbifflesgolfcart.com.

For the Biffles, all of this is simply about the animals. And it truly is a labor of love.

“We’re thankful that we are able to do something to help,” Nicole Biffle said.

David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing, has just one word for racing under the lights at Bristol. To Ragan, it is just “thrilling”.

“Bristol is a thrilling place,” Ragan said. “It keeps the drivers on the edge and the fans on the edge of their seats.”

While his thoughts are on Bristol this weekend, Ragan is also still riding the wave of this past weekend’s successful race in the Irish hills of Michigan. Ragan finished 11th, earning him a phone call from team owner Jack Roush, just back at the track and still recovering from his wicked plane crash.

“Michigan is a good track for our team,” Ragan said. “We’ve had some top-5 and top-10 finishes there the last few years. So, we’re always going to Michigan with high expectations.”

“You know, to finish 11th is certainly not what we go there to do,” Ragan continued. “But to lead a few laps and be in contention for a top-10 finish at the end of the race was all we can ask.”

“Our car was a little too loose toward the end of the race,” Ragan said. “We just didn’t make quite the right adjustments to get a top-5 out of it.”

Ragan admitted that both he and crew chief Donnie Wingo are continuing to work on their communication, chemistry, and relationship. This is the first year of the partnership together on the UPS Ford race team.

“We’re still spending time together and learning each other more and more throughout the season,” Ragan said. “The more time we can spend time at the race track and away from the race track, the more we trust each other and feel comfortable with each other.”

While most drivers focus on their relationships with their crew chiefs, Ragan advises that there is a third element to success, a good relationship and communication with the engineer.

“The third part of that triangle is our team engineer,” Ragan said. “I think that’s important too. You need the crew chief, driver and engineer to gel and that’s what’s going to get us to that next level.”

Ragan also admitted that it was great to have team owner Jack Roush back at the track for the Michigan race. All four of the Roush Fenway race teams performed well in honor of their team owner’s return, with Ragan in 11th and teammates Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth coming in third, fourth and fifth respectively.

“It was good to have Jack around the race track this weekend,” Ragan said. “Jack’s a tough old guy but it just shows you what kind of determination he has to be back at the race track. Everyone’s encouraged when they see their boss man walking around.”

Ragan expects that Roush will continue to be back at the track with his teams, including the race this weekend at Bristol. Ragan is looking forward to the short track racing under the lights, going into the event with a top ten finish there under his belt, as well as a Nationwide win at Bristol in 2009.

“Bristol has been a good track for us,” Ragan said. “But Bristol is also a crazy track. Anything can happen there.”

Crew chief Donnie Wingo agrees with his driver’s analysis of the Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Track position is so important at a place like Bristol,” Wingo said. “With so many cars on a half-mile surface it can be all too easy to go a lap down or get caught up in a wreck. We’ve got a fast UPS Ford and we should be good this weekend.”

“We’ll just have to have a little bit of luck on our side,” Ragan said. He is also aware that the racing will be intense at the short track, especially after watching the Truck Series race on Wednesday evening.

“I watched bits and pieces of it,” Ragan said about the Truck race. “It looked pretty rough.”

The good news for Ragan coming into the Bristol race weekend is that he does not have axes to grind with other drivers. On the flip side, Ragan also feels that there is no one seeking revenge for any of his past wrongdoings either.

“I don’t really have a hit list this weekend,” Ragan said with a chuckle. “And I’m not on anyone’s hit list. But that may change very quickly once we get there and get going.”

One thing that Ragan is certain of is that there will be lots of action at this upcoming race weekend in Thunder Valley.

“Everything happens very fast there,” Ragan continued. “I think it’s one of the great places to go and watch a NASCAR race.”

Ragan and his fellow drivers will take to the short track of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Irwin Tools Night Race on Saturday, August 21st. The race will be broadcast at 7:30 PM ET on ABC.

Four-time NASCAR Champion and driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motor Sports has one mission in mind at this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway: He must win in order to lock himself into this year’s championship Chase.

Gordon currently sits second in the Chase point standings and has a 387 point advantage over the 13th position in the standings so would need a win to absolutely lock himself into championship contention. A win at Thunder Valley would not only lock Gordon into the Chase, but it would be the first victory of this season. Gordon has not won since last year when he went to Victory Lane in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

If ever there was a track for Gordon to experience a win, Bristol would be up at the top of the list. Gordon has five wins, five poles, 14 top-five and 20 top-ten finishes at the 0.533 mile race track. Gordon has also utilized Bristol in the past to put an end to a winless streak. In 2002, Gordon snapped a 31-race winless streak, heading to victory lane under the lights at Thunder Valley. Yet Gordon has seemed to struggle at Bristol recently, especially since the track has been resurfaced. In the last four Bristol races, Gordon has only managed two top-five finishes.

“We’ve struggled here ever since they changed the track,” Gordon said. “I just feel like I had a knack for the old configuration – a groove and a feel and a set up that really worked well for us. Ever since the change, none of that has seemed to work. It’s about reinventing myself as a driver – trying to find a different groove that works and giving good feedback to the team to get the car to work the way we need it to.”

Not only will Gordon have to concentrate on dialing his car in, he will also have to watch out for some of the typical Bristol temper tantrums that occur at the track known for payback opportunities.

One driver that Gordon will undoubtedly have to keep his eye on will be Martin Truex Jr. Gordon and Truex had a major disagreement at the road course race in Infineon and Truex has vowed revenge ever since.

“He just turned me around,” Truex said after the Infineon race. “It’s all right. We’ll get him.”

Truex had vowed to seek revenge at the following race at Loudon, New Hampshire. Although there were some opportunities and some close racing moments, Truex’s payback did not occur, leading to the speculation that this feud may just resurface again this weekend at Bristol.

While Gordon may have his own paybacks to contend with, he will also have to be careful not to be a victim of someone else’s disagreements and revenge intentions. For example, the most recent feud between veteran Ryan Newman and upstart Joey Logano may just have spill over Bristol repercussions.

Gordon acknowledges that when you get 43 Cup cars on the short track at Bristol, there will no doubt be some beating and banging, even with the wider racing surface after the repaving.

“Even though they’ve made the track have wider grooves, it’s still not enough,” Gordon said. “You are going to run out of patience and that causes tempers to flare.”

While Gordon will have his hands full on the track at Bristol, he also is busy off the track, especially tending to his ever expanding family. Gordon, wife Ingrid Vandebosch, and daughter Ella recently welcomed son Leo Benjamin, born August 9th, into their brood.

Gordon also continues his charity work, from the Sounds of Pertussis awareness campaign to fundraising for his own Foundation. Gordon is especially looking forward to a new initiative, running a paint scheme designed by his three-year old daughter Ella and famed NASCAR artist Sam Bass.

Gordon will run the new car, dubbed ‘My Papa’s car’ designed by daughter Ella at the upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 5th. The die cast of the car will be sold with proceeds benefitting the newly renamed Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.

“I can’t wait to run Ella and Sam’s design and I can’t think of a better way to showcase the new Foundation logo and name on that car,” Gordon said. “Dupont has graciously allowed us to run this scheme during one of their races and I really appreciate their support.”

For this race weekend, however, Gordon will return his focus to that short track at Bristol. While he is most likely salivating over the possibility of a win and a guaranteed spot in the Chase, Gordon can also take solace in the fact that he only needs to manage a margin of 323 points over the 13th place point position and start the next two events to guarantee himself the opportunity to compete for that fifth championship.

Gordon and the rest of his Cup competitors will compete on the short track of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Irwin Tools Night Race on Saturday, August 21st. The race will be broadcast at 7:30 PM ET on ABC.