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NASCAR Cup Series

  • California Dreaming or was it a nightmare?

    California Dreaming or was it a nightmare?

    The shortest race of the year 2 hours and 39 minutes was perhaps the longest for fans viewing on TV. California showed once again why it has been reduced to only one race.

    The weekend at California was marred by rain, weepers and long drawn out green flag runs. Though many at the track said the racing was better than normal and excellent in most cases, the TV audience saw little of it. Between long commercial breaks that missed cautions and on track action, along with very poor camera work the day proved to be a dull grey day until the last 10 laps of the race.

    The final stop and the end of the race was as good as it gets. Kyle Busch took the green flag with 9 laps to go on old tires with Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart following close behind. Johnson took the lead on lap 198 with a low side pass on the Interstate Batteries Camry. The racing between them allowed Harvick to catch the pair and overtake Busch whose Camry had developed a progressively tight condition.

    Kevin Harvick flexed his muscle and let the 5 time series champion know he was there and he would not go quietly. Harvick who ran up to the back bumper of the 48 Lowes Chevrolet on the back stretch managed to loosen the champ up just enough to make his pass on the high side coming out of 4 and then out ran the 5 time champ back to the checkers.

    The champion showed his composure and showed his class with gracious congratulations to the winner and acknowledged that Harvick was undoubtedly the class of the field on the final run. Harvick when told they lead one lap stated, “Yeah but it was the one that counted.”

    The class of the field for most of the race was Kyle Busch. Busch lead for 151 laps and finished third. But Kyle’s weekend did not start out typical for Kyle Busch. He wrecked his primary car on his first lap on the track when he hit a wet spot coming out of turn 4. Relegated to a back up he and his team fought to regain their momentum in a [media-credit name=”Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]shortened practice session leading up to qualifying. Busch pulled off an 8th place qualifying run and never looked back.

    He dominated the race until the last restart when Jimmie Johnson would take the lead on the low side coming out of 3. Busch would say later that the car just continued to tighten up on the exit of the corner and at the end he had used up everything he had.

    Joe Gibbs Racing experienced another weekend of engine failures with Joey Logano losing one after happy hour and Denny Hamlin losing one during the race. When Coach Gibbs was asked if the recent fire and explosion at their engine shop was playing a role in the failures he stated that it was not and they simply needed to work on their durability.

    Another standout this week was Brian Vickers. In his first strong performance after his health issues forced him to vacate his seat last year, Vickers pulled off a strong top ten finish with 8th.

    Tony Stewart had a strong run until the last restart of the race when he faded to 13th. Smoke was obviously upset and declined comment following the race. Smoke showed dominance and skills that are found in few driver seats in the series however. When informed the change he wanted was maxed out he said simply, I will figure it out from here. And he did with smooth skill and confidence. The late race fade was certainly not indicative of his performance.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr, showed a consistency that we have never seen from him throughout his career with a 12th place finish. Earnhardt credited his crew and his equipment with the success and stated that if he had qualified better he would have had a better finish. “If we just qualify better, we’ll be all right,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It’s not allowed us to show as good as we really are. … We’re a top-10 team. We’re doing pretty good.” He stated that he had a top 5 car for about 60 percent of the race. Even with the strong finish, Earnhardt dropped to 12th in the points going into Martinsville.

    TV broadcasters raved about the finish of this race. The finish was incredible. It was exciting. It was action filled and it took place in 10 laps. The first 390 were not exciting. The last 10 laps don’t make a good race. The race was boring. Whether it’s the track or whether it’s the new car on the track, doesn’t change it. The people in California deserve their date but something has to be done to improve the competition on the track. Shortening the race by 100 laps didn’t improve the competition only the length of the boredom.

    Thoughts and best wishes go to Joe Slingerland, the rear tire changer for the Hendrick Motorsports Amp Energy Chevrolet, who was injured on the first pit stop of the day.  The tire changer apparently suffered a hamstring injury during the first pit stop and was taken to the infield care center by stretcher. Steve Letarte reported on Sirus Radio that he would be checked out by an orthopedic specialist on Monday in Charlotte.

    ~~~~~ **** ~~~~~

     

    Congratulations to Kevin Harvick and his Richard Childress team on their exciting victory in Sunday’s race. Also congratulations to Kyle Busch on his Saturday victory in the Nationwide series race.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Talladega Superspeedway Unveils New Shower and Restroom Facility for Family and South Parks

    TALLADEGA, Ala. -Talladega Superspeedway unveiled a new shower and restroom facility outside of Turn 1 that will service the Family and FREE South campgrounds.

    “The shower house that previously served this area was built in 1988 when Mike Helton was President of Talladega Superspeedway,” said Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch. “While it served us well for many years, it was quite small with only four showers (2 men’s and 2 women’s). The new shower house has 18 showers on each side and more than 30 restroom facilities on each side. It’s a substantial improvement. We’ve also converted the old shower house into a Security and Guest Services building that will service the South side of the track.”

    The new shower facility measures approximately 6400 square-feet compared to approximately 800 square-feet for the old facility. An array of Rheem tank-less hot water heaters provide instant hot water throughout shower house.

    A video of the new shower house is loaded to Talladega Superspeedway’s YouTube page at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jr70rdDII4

    Additionally, Geico and Camping World will have displays near the new shower house to provide camping services for race fans.

    The countdown is on for the April 15- 17 Aaron’s Dream Weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, followed by the ARCA Racing Series 250 is set for Friday, April 15. On Saturday, April 16, fans will see qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, followed by the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. On Sunday, April 17, the greatest drivers in the world face off in the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

    To purchase or for more information on tickets to Talladega Superspeedway or this event, please visit http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/ www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 1-877-Go2-DEGA.

  • Austin Dillon To Make Sprint Cup Debut Later This Season

    Austin Dillon To Make Sprint Cup Debut Later This Season

    Austin Dillon has already made a name for himself in the Camping World Truck Series, though is now looking to make his move up the ranks. Dillon announced yesterday at Auto Club Speedway that he would make his debut later this year in the No. 98 car owned by Mike Curb.

    Dillon will have sponsorship support from The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation’s Centennial Celebration and the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

    “It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration as a Co-Chair of the National Youth Leadership Committee,” said Dillon. “President Reagan was always one of my grandfather’s, Richard Childress, heroes, so I grew up hearing about the President’s strong leadership abilities and family values. Those are two qualities I carry with me in my career as a NASCAR driver by being a strong leader for my team and making my family proud of my accomplishments on and off the track.”

    The Ronald Reagan Centennial is a year long celebration of the 100th birthday of the 40th President of the United States of America. A series of events, partnerships and initiatives sponsored by the Foundation are planned to happen throughout this year. Regan was the first president to attend a race as in 1984, he gave the command to start motors for the Firecracker 400 at Daytona and on that day, Richard Petty won his 200th race.

    “President Reagan was the first sitting U.S. President to attend a NASCAR race,” said Stewart McLaurin, Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Centennial Celebration. “As many Americans take a moment this year to remember the life, lessons, and legacy of President Reagan in their own way, we are grateful for this partnership and we are honored by the leadership Austin will bring to the national youth leadership council.”

    Last year, Dillon earned seven poles in the Camping World Truck Series, breaking a 12-year-old rookie record. He also captured his first career victory at Iowa, followed by a win at Las Vegas, on his way to winning Rookie of the Year and finishing fifth in the standings.

    The decision has yet to be made whether the first start will come at Kansas or Phoenix, but Dillon is comfortable either way.

    “Those are the two races that I feel like I have some experience [at the tracks], and we can go race with these guys and we can run up there and compete with them,” Austin Dillon said. “We want to go to a place where we want to be on a level playing field.

    “Phoenix, they’re doing the new pavement, might be the place or Kansas, where I have some laps at. It is going to be a learning experience.”

    When Dillon makes his Cup start for Mike Curb, it’ll mark the 100th start for Curb. Curb has a connection with Dillon’s grandfather Richard Childress, as he reunited Childress back with Earnhardt in the mid-1980s.

    “I am proud to be associated with Richard Childress and Austin Dillon as he makes his first Sprint Cup start,” said Curb. “I am proud that my company Curb Records is also involved in this wonderful tribute to President Reagan’s 100th Centennial Celebration. I had the opportunity to serve President Ronald Reagan in several capacities including Co-Chairman of his successful 1980 Presidential campaign.  I also want to thank our partners at FullCircle Ventures for putting this program together.”

    The car is set to be Richard Childress Racing prepared with an Earnhardt-Childress Racing motor and pitted by Dillon’s truck team.

    “This is such an opportunity with the Reagan opportunity, we couldn’t turn it down,” Childress said. “You never know if you’re ready until you do it. He’s got some good experience at some of the tracks, and we’re going to just try him a race and see how it goes.”

    Childress says longterm plans have Dillon running full-time in Nationwide next year with younger brother Ty Dillon running the truck.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: KEVIN HARVICK STUNS THE COMPETITION AT FONTANA

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: KEVIN HARVICK STUNS THE COMPETITION AT FONTANA

    On late Saturday afternoon Kevin Harvick was being interviewed on the Auto Club Speedway’s pit road. He had just driven his self owned Chevrolet to a third place finish in the Royal Purple 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. After leading a race high 64 laps, Harvick said “I hate to give one away. We just can’t seem to get going here, (at the Auto Club Speedway), but I am pleased that we were competitive.”

    24 hours later Harvick’s “get going” problem was resolved and he found himself standing in the speedway’s Gatorade victory lane after scoring a stunning last ditch effort win in the Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    Through out much of the Auto Club 400 it appeared that Kyle Busch was going to use his giant broom to sweep a NASCAR weekend for the second time in as many races. Busch led a race high 151 laps and was pretty much formidable all through this event.

    But the fourth and final caution flag came, when Bobby Labonte hit the fourth turn wall, with only 13 laps left. That set up a double file, shoot out style, restart between Busch and Jimmie Johnson. The race returned to green flag status with only nine laps left. Busch again jumped into the lead and again appeared to be on the way to the sweep. But Johnson ran him down and, with a low line pass on the front stretch, took the lead with only four laps remaining.

    But once again the completely obvious assumption was not meant to be and the Fontana finish wasn’t quite complete yet. While Busch and Johnson were racing each hard, Havick was in third reeling them in. On the white flag lap he moved around Busch to take command of second. Now the battle between the “California kids”, Johnson from El Cajon versus Bakerfield’s Harvick, was on.

    Going into turn four, with the checkers ready to wave in the air, Harvick gave Johnson’s rear bumper a light tap. It created just enough racing room for Harvick to pass his race rival on the high side and then slide in front of him coming off of turn four. Harvick literally stole the show in the final 100 yards of the race while an crowd of 88,000 were on their feet cheering the two combatants on.

    Harvick scored his first win of the 2011 season, his 15th career win, and his first at the Auto Club Speedway. Of equal importance is the way the win elevated his status in NASCAR’s recently reconfigured championship points system. He got off to a terrible start following the season opener at Daytona. In the last four races since then Harvick has moved from 37th to 9th in the standings and is back on track to again make the Chase For The Championship line up.

    Following Harvick, Johnson and Busch under the checkers to complete the top five were Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. Carl Edwards, who left California as the new series’ points leader, brought his Ford home in sixth while Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne and Coors Light pole winner Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top ten.

    After collecting his trophy, and a winner’s check worth $331,961, “Happy” Harvick said Those guys got to racing side by side and it allowed us to get to them. The more laps we ran on our tires, (to build up air pressure), the better we were. It’s pretty cool to win here at home.”

    Harvick also admitted that he was a little nervous about crew chief Gil Martin’s call not to come in for tires during the final yellow flag pit stop opportunity. When asked who makes the final call on those situations, Harvick smiled and said “it depends on what day of the week it is.”

    Jimmie Johnson called the Auto Club 400 “a great race” and added “If I could have gotten around Kyle Busch one lap sooner that would have made the difference and I would have had the room to hold off the 29, (Harvick). I did everything I could even though I was sometimes sideways. I think I actually scraped the wall while chasing Kyle but, overall, it was a great day for the Lowes team.”

    After what could only be deemed a disappointing third place finish, Kyle Busch said “sometimes you lose some but it’s frustrating to lose one like that. We simply lost some of our rubber grip on the track. But from where we started, (8th on the grid), it’s a good outcome.”

  • Three Drivers To Make Milestone Starts In Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    Three Drivers To Make Milestone Starts In Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 26, 2011) – In an odd racing coincidence, three drivers will be celebrating milestone starts in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500.

    Mark Martin, Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray will all be making historic starts in their careers.

    Ironically Biffle and McMurray will both be celebrating their 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts. That is a pretty impressive number, until you take a look at Martin’s. In fact, he has more Cup races under his belt than Biffle and McMurray combined.

    The 52-year-old Martin will be making his 800th NASCAR Sprint Cup career start at Martinsville in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.

    Martin has 40 wins in his Cup career, which began in 1981. He has two race wins at Martinsville, the 1992 Hanes 500 and the 2000 Goody’s 500. Coincidentally Martin’s first career top-five finish came at Martinsville on Sept. 27, 1981. He finished third behind Darrell Waltrip and Harry Gant.

    HARMONIZING: The Virginia Military Institute Glee club will perform a prerace show of patriotic songs from the front stretch Sunday afternoon and then sing “God Bless America” before Trace Adkins sings the National Anthem.

    The VMI Glee Club, which has been in existence since 1858, has entertained groups from coast-to-coast, singing for everything from gubernatorial inaugurations to the National Shrine in Washington, DC, to PGA Tournaments. Their version of the anthem is authentic and traditional.

    The VMI Glee Club is made up of 30 cadets from all classes, academic majors and ROTC affiliations at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA. It is the oldest performing group at VMI.

    VMI is the nation’s oldest state supported military college, founded in 1839.

    FLYOVER REPEAT: The VFA-31 Tomcatters out of the Naval Air Station in Oceana, VA, are back for their second turn opening the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 with a flyover. Lieutenant Commander Kevin Robb and Lieutenant Dustin Packer put on quite the show from the pilot seats for their F/A-18E Super Hornets.

    GRADING THE FLYOVER: The Tomcatters will have a set of experienced eyes watching them Sunday afternoon. Lieutenant General Jeffrey A. Remington, a three-star Air Force general, will be taking in a day at the race on Sunday.

    Remington knows a thing or two about piloting a jet. He is a command general with over 4,100 hours flying mostly F-15s and F-16s.

    FAMOUS ZIP CODE: Martinsville Speedway’s zip code is 24148, which is tied to Ridgeway, Va. You may spot someone this weekend from a more legendary zip code: 90210, which of course is tied to Beverly Hills. You remember the TV show: Beverly Hills 90210.

    Jason Priestly, who played teen hunk Brandon Walsh on the 90s era TV show, is a racer and a race fan. He’s wanted to come to Martinsville Speedway for a lot of years. He will be here for race weekend, but in a low-key fashion, enjoying race from the infield.

    TICKETS: Good seats remain for next Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and the speedway ticket office has plenty of options to allow easy ticket purchase right up until the start of the race.

    Fans may call 877.RACE.TIX to purchase from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Tickets may also be purchased online by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Fans may also opt for a print-at-home option when buying tickets.

    The Martinsville Speedway ticket office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day this week for ticket purchases.

  • TRG Motorsports Switches to Roush Yates Engines

    Mooresville, NC (March 28, 2011) Roush Yates Engines announced on Monday the newest team to drive their Ford FR9 motors, TRG Motorsports. TRG Motorsports has fielded Chevrolets for the past three years but will begin running Ford FR9 engines from Roush Yates and Ford Fusions from Roush Fenway Racing at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, 2011.

    The Ford FR9 engine built at Roush Yates Engines in Mooresville, NC has had a stellar performance this year, including a win in the prestigious Daytona 500. Kevin Buckler, team owner for TRG Motorsports, has noticed Ford’s success and believes this new partnership will give his team the best opportunity to be competitive in the Sprint Cup Series.

    “We are really excited about the partnership with Roush Yates Engines and it will be an outstanding improvement for our team,” said Buckler. “We are confident that fielding the FR9 engine program will add to the success of our organization and the competitiveness of our performance on the race track.”

    Doug Yates, CEO of Roush Yates Engines, is thrilled to have another team with FR9s under the hood. Driver Andy Lally and TRG Motorsports will bring the Ford count at each race up to 11 cars.

    “It’s great to expand the Ford lineup in the Sprint Cup Series with a team such as TRG Motorsports,” said Yates. “I believe this is the beginning of a great technical partnership and I look forward to seeing TRG Motorsports improve their performance with our engines.”

    Roush Yates Engines has been running the FR9 engine full time in 2011. With two wins and two poles in the first four races, the FR9 has given the Fords of Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing, and now TRG Motorsports a significant advantage on the track. To learn about all of Roush Yates’ engine programs, please visit www.roushyatesparts.com or call 877-798-RYPP.

  • THE WIN THAT ELUDED HALL OF FAME DRIVER BOBBY ALLISON

    THE WIN THAT ELUDED HALL OF FAME DRIVER BOBBY ALLISON

    A TUMS MOMENT

    (For each of the 36 races during the 2011 Sprint Cup season, TUMS will provide a glimpse of a previous event at that track, one that could easily be described as A TUMS Moment. This week, the focus is on Martinsville Speedway).

    THE WIN THAT ELUDED HALL OF FAME DRIVER BOBBY ALLISON

    When NASCAR legend Bobby Allison drove his first race at Martinsville Speedway on April 24, 1966, he finished seventh in a Ford fielded by team owner Betty Lilly. It was an impressive showing at the half-mile track and there was no reason to think he couldn’t improve his position enough to eventually find victory lane. Surprisingly, that win never came. Over a 22-year period, the Miami, Fla. native led 2,192 laps on the famed Virginia short track and finished second seven times, but could never collect the top prize.

    NOTE: TUMS is the sponsor of the TUMS Fast Relief 500, the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Martinsville Speedway on October 30.

    The 1983 NASCAR champion won 85 races during a career that ended after suffering a near-fatal crash at Pocono Raceway in 1988. “For me, Martinsville Speedway was incredibly difficult and I could just never win there,” Allison said. “I won everywhere else, but just couldn‘t find that last piece of the puzzle at that track. I lead races there in the very late stages. Aside from having mechanical issues, I just couldn’t figure out how to stay off the brakes and save them until the end. When I needed them most at the end of so many of those races, they would just go away.”

    No brakes at Martinsville…definitely a TUMS moment.

  • CALIFORNIA DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK WINS AUTO CLUB 400 AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

    CALIFORNIA DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK WINS AUTO CLUB 400 AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

    SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (March 27, 2011) –Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Jimmy John Chevrolet) claimed his first victory at Auto Club Speedway in a stellar finish at Sunday’s Auto Club 400 before an announced crowd of 88,000, the Speedway’s largest since 2006.  

    Despite early rain and overcast skies throughout the day, Southern California race fans turned out en masse to watch California natives Harvick of Bakersfield and Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) of El Cajon battle in a fight to the finish. Harvick overtook the No. 48 car on the final lap to win by a margin of .144 seconds.  Kyle Busch (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota) led a total of 151 laps during the race and finished in third.  

    “Well, we had them all beat last year here and I gave it away,” Harvick said. “What a great day! All these guys did a great job on pit road and Gil (Martin) made the right call. We just had a lot of diversity that we fought through. We know our cars are fast enough to win races. Today we had a fast car and the circumstances played in our favor.”

    Defending race winner and five-time Sprint Cup champion Johnson couldn’t hold off Harvick on the lap of the race.

    “Having Kevin so close at the end certainly affected how my car drove,” Johnson said. “He did exactly what he needed to do. This reminded me a lot of the spring race here. I just couldn’t hold him off this time. I knew (Harvick) was coming, they said he was coming. If I could have gotten by the No. 18 (Busch) a little sooner I think we could have gotten the margin I needed.”  

    Busch nearly followed up his victory in Saturday’s Nationwide Series Royal Purple 300 with a win on Sunday.

    “It’s real unfortunate, frustrating and disappointing all in one that we weren’t able to seal the deal today,” Busch said. “You ask a little bit more from your race car at the last moments and it just doesn’t have anything left to give so essentially you’re a sitting duck waiting for those guys to drive by you. We just couldn’t get any more out of the car.”

  • Newman Finishes 5th in California; Moves to Second in Driver Points

    Newman Finishes 5th in California; Moves to Second in Driver Points

    FONTANA, Calif. (March 27, 2011) — The torrid early-season pace continues for Ryan Newman, who posted a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup race.

    It was Newman’s fourth straight top-10 result and his third top-five in the first-five races of the 2011 campaign.

    The fifth-place finish at Auto Club Speedway lifted Newman from fourth to second in the driver point standings. He trails leader Carl Edwards by nine points.

    “It’s been an amazing start and the script is playing out the way we were hoping it would during the offseason,” said Newman. “We were off a bit in the beginning of today’s race, but we made a few adjustments and the U.S. Army Chevrolet kept on getting better and better. The only bad news for us is that we didn’t win the race.”

    Newman added, “What makes me even more excited about our recent success is that we are making our Soldiers proud of their team. These Soldiers, who are deployed in more than 80 countries, are our best fans and they give us the inspiration to keep battling with a never-give-up attitude.”    

    There were a couple of key moments for Newman and the No. 39 U.S. Army team during the 200-lap, 400-mile event. The first came during a Lap 76 pit stop when crew chief Tony Gibson opted for two tires instead of four. The result vaulted Newman to second place in track position.

    “That was a key decision that really paid off,” noted Newman. “We pretty much stayed up there the rest of the race.”

    Another key moment was near the end of the race (Lap 187) when Gibson and Newman jointly agreed not to pit for fresh tires.

    “At that time we were running in sixth place and felt we could hold off the cars behind us that took fresh tires,” explained Newman. “I guess we did one better by finishing fifth.”

    Regarding the decision not to pit, Gibson said he got more nervous when more cars behind the Army Chevy didn’t pit for new tires.

    “I was hoping for more cars to pit, but Ryan did one great driving job,” said Gibson. “We’re going to ride this success as long as we can and build up a point cushion. Realistically you know there are going to be some bad days. But right now we’re enjoying ourselves and having plenty of fun.”

    Newman’s teammate, Tony Stewart, finished 13th and is sixth in driver points.

    The race winner was Kevin Harvick. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Newman.

    The next Sprint Cup race is Sunday (April 3) at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

  • Smith, Furniture Row Racing Encounter Problems in California

    Smith, Furniture Row Racing Encounter Problems in California

    FONTANA, Calif. (March 27, 2011) — It was a not-so-kind Murphy’s Law day for Regan Smith and the Furniture Row Racing team.

    It did seem as if everything went wrong for Smith, who brought home a crippled race car to a 27th-place finish in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

    Heading into Sunday’s 400-mile event, Smith was riding a qualifying high of fourth. But when the green flag dropped to start the race at Auto Club Speedway, he immediately encountered handling issues. 

    Then there was an early pit-road miscue that added to the team’s frustration. And to make matters worse, just when the handling issues appeared to be improving, Smith’s No. 78 Chevrolet made contact with the wall, causing major front-end suspension problems.

    “I want to forget this day as quickly as I can,” said Smith. “Absolutely nothing went right for us. As it turned out, we had a damaged race car and did the best we could to finish the race. We’re close in what we’re hoping to achieve, but we need to be as strong in the race as we are in qualifying.”

    Qualifying indeed has been a bright spot for the Colorado-based team. Smith has a 5.8 starting average after the first five races of the season. He has started in the top-five four times. His worst qualifying effort was a very respectable 12th in Las Vegas.

    “We’ve made some big gains in qualifying trim, but we need to make the same kind of gains in race trim,” stated Smith. “We’ll do it and we’ll get it figured out sooner rather than later.”

    The race winner was Kevin Harvick. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.

    The next Cup race is Sunday (April 3) at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.