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Featured stories from SpeedwayMedia.com

Racing in California is ‘Fun’ says Brad Keselowski and Others

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]A week ago there was a problem with Bristol and the uncharacteristic nature of racing. Now, the attention has been placed on the Auto Club Speedway after they played host to this past weekend’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races.

The two-mile oval began hosting NASCAR races in 1997 and has been the venue of first time winners such as five-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson. The facility seats 92,000 but it hasn’t been much of a fan favorite lately.

On Saturday however, following the NNS race some drivers were singing the speedway praises.

“The Nationwide cars put on an awesome show here,” said Brad Keselowski, who finished third. “The way they draft and get around here. This is one of the best races of the year for the Nationwide Series, every year, not just this year. At least my from view, maybe if you could watch it from the in-car camera.”

While his competitors shared Keselowski’s opinion, viewers weren’t impressed. The racing was too strung out, they said and without a whole lot of action. Keselowski led on two different occasions for 37 laps, with a total of 15 lead changes between seven drivers.

The first caution didn’t occur until lap 58 for debris. Through the 150-lap race, there were just four cautions for a total of 18 laps.

Not until the end of the event did the action seem to pick up. Finally there seemed to be more passing with three and four wide and bump drafting down the straightaways.

When pointed out to Keselowski, how calm the action was, he laughed and said, “Hell, what do you want? Every lap? Every corner? That’s a little greedy. You don’t see every pass in football for a touchdown either. Just the way it is, if it worked every time it wouldn’t be cool and it wouldn’t be special.”

Fifth place finisher Austin Dillon followed it up with, “It happened when it needed to and that’s at the end when we’re fighting for a win”

Defending NNS champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who has finished second and fourth in the last two California races, said on Saturday that he hopes more fans will start coming to the track in the future because it’s a fun day.

“This race last year was really exciting also, four of us battling for the lead last year, we ended up fourth,” said Stenhouse. “The Cup race proved to be a really good one last year. I feel like this is an exciting racetrack for the fans to watch.”

And the folks in California have seen their track experience many changes in hopes of pleasing others. Lights were installed, a new fanzone was added behind the main grandstands, it went from hosting two events to just one during the year, their date was changed, and the Sprint Cup race went from 500 to 400 miles.

But it hasn’t been enough to quiet the critics. When it comes to the racing, they always want more, yet the drivers say it’s never been better behind the wheel. Even newcomers like Dillon.

“I have a blast here, this is my first time here,” he said. “It’s pretty wild how much momentum carries here, you lift off the gas at all in a pack and you’re done. It’s wild racing, it’s fun, and I had a blast.”

On Sunday there was even less action, mostly because the Sprint Cup Series race completed just 129 of its 200 scheduled laps. Defending champion Tony Stewart earned the win and while acknowledging that the track has the tendency to spread the field out, it also has multiple grooves and it provides for great action.

Stewart mentioned the battles he had with Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. His car was fast enough to chase down the leaders and pass them, even though he had seconds to make up. Proving that passing is possible.

Just as it was last year when Harvick came from third place to take the win in the last two laps. He charged past Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to win in his home state.

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And it’s Stewart’s belief that’s the case when it comes to racing in California.

“I watched the Nationwide race [Saturday], it was an awesome race to the end,” said Stewart. “It’s so easy for cars to get separated here, but they had an awesome finish in their race.”

March 27, 2012
The Final Word – Some like it hot, but sadly Fontana was not

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Daytona provided us some sit on the edge of your seat excitement. What a great way to start the season. Phoenix was nice, not great, but nice. In fact, the last four events have been just that way. Not a lot to write home about, or to write to you about. Still, I got to write something, even though there are jobs out there that require even less effort.

For example, I want to be a Cup flag man. You get one of the best vantage points in the house, you wave a green flag to start things, another to show the midway point, a caution flag, a checkers, and you get to go home. At least, that was the job description at Fontana where the only caution was the one that would end it early for rain.

Tony Stewart won it, his second of the season, which is pretty good for a guy who rarely wins before June. Jimmie Johnson was belching smoke and spilling oil after a line broke, but the caution came out at just the right time so he could finish 10th. With the return of those 25 points he had lost at Daytona, Johnson is back in a place Chase. So are Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr, who rounded out the Top Three on a nice sunny day in southern California.

Jeff Gordon was a lap down in 26th, his best highlight coming when he took the gasman and his tank for a slight trip on leaving the pits. Too bad they both rolled out of their stall, bringing the former four-time champ a penalty. Stewart fake fought broadcaster Rutledge Wood before the race, after Wood threatened to insert a Coke where Kevin Harvick’s sun don’t shine, and that pretty much sums up the action last Sunday.

Maybe Saturday provided something. Well, not if you tuned in to watch Danica Patrick in the Nationwide race. She still looked good out there, but when something went through the radiator her day was done before the midway point to finish 35th. As good as she looks, she also doesn’t have much to write home about.

At least we still got Martinsville coming up this weekend. Since 2006, and a dozen contests, the winners have been Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Jimmie Johnson. That is it. Each of them has at least one spring victory on the Virginia short track, with Harvick the defending champion with his lone win there a year ago. All four are sitting nicely in the Chase at the moment.

Two who are not are Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Both ran well at Fontana, and Edwards would have been fine for the moment except for the Bristol disaster. Busch, on the other hand, did well at Phoenix but really not worth a darn anywhere else until last week. Still, both are capable of a strong result this Sunday.

Maybe I will get to write about something rivetting that took our collective breathes away this Sunday. Maybe a close finish. Something, anything. Drop me a line as to what you think about this season thus far. Has it just been lukewarm to this point, or am I missing something? In the meantime, enjoy the week.

March 27, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While sunny during pre-race activities, weather came in and played a prominent role at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 16^th annual, but first ever rain-shortened, running of the Auto Club 400.

Surprising: While the race was caution free until the predicted rain appeared, the most surprising issue, other than weather, affecting the racing was that of problems on pit road. Even with the shortened number of laps run, there were five pit road speeding penalties, including Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski, and J.J. Yeley.

Other penalties were doled out to Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/Allstate Chevrolet for a lug nut violation and Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford, who had to go to the tail end due to a team member not being in contact with the outside tires.

The most costly errors on pit road, however, occurred for four-time champion Jeff Gordon and his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet crew. Gordon had two penalties; one on lap 107 for removing equipment, including the gas can man himself, from the pit stall and the second one on lap 126 for a tire rolling beyond the center of pit road.

“It was just not our day on pit road,” Gordon said simply.

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the reigning champ proved that age 40 is just about the perfect time to peak in NASCAR racing.

Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, scored his 46^th victory, tying Buck Baker for 14^th on the all-time Cup Series win list.

This was Smoke’s second victory in the first five races of the 2012 season. This was his second victory and 12^th top-10 finish in 21 races at Auto Club Speedway.

“I mean you hate to have them end with rain like that,” Stewart said. “But I’ve lost some that way. The good thing is we didn’t back into the lead because we stayed out, the leaders came in.”

“I mean, we were leading the thing and had earned that spot,” Stewart continued. “I’m proud of that.”

Surprising: Usually somewhat morose after a race, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. surprisingly deemed himself “pretty happy.” The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet finished third in the race and moved up to third in the point standings as well.

This was Junior’s fifth top-10 finish in 20 races at Auto Club Speedway.

“We had a really good car,” Dale Junior said. “I was really happy about that.”

“We drove the car up to fifth before the weather came,” Junior continued. “We made the right choice by staying out and building ourselves into the top three.”

Not Surprising: On a day when the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota led laps, clipped the wall, and then had to work his way back up front, it was not surprising to see Kyle Busch score the runner up spot.

This was Busch’s 10^th top-10 finish in 15 races at the Fontana track. It was also his second top-10 finish in the 2012 season.

‘I wish we would have been able to race the whole thing on one hand, but on the other hand I’m kind of glad we’re not because we kind of had a little bit of damage that slowed us down there,” Busch said. “All in all, it was a really good day.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising that the driver who not only finished sixth in the race, but kept the points lead too, just was not all that pleased at the end of the race festivities.

“I like this track but the last few times here, we’ve been off just a tick,” Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, said. “Today, I didn’t keep up with the track.”

“I was a little bit too tight.”

Not Surprising: As so often happens, it was not surprising that the pole sitter did not win the race. In this case, pole sitter Denny Hamlin was well positioned to do so, however, pitted prior to the rain, which relegated him to an 11^th place finish.

“We were planning on the race going back to green,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota said. “We had finally gotten to Stewart’s bumper when the rain came.”

Surprising: Granted, the race was rain-shortened, however, it was still surprising to see Kurt Busch in his new No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet score a top-10 finish, the best of the season for both the driver and his team.

“This just goes to show what results when you are smart all day,” Busch said. “The car’s going back onto the trailer without a scratch on it.”

“That’s a first for us this year.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued flying the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing with another good run. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota finished eighth and is now sixth in the point standings.

“Overall, it was a decent day,” Truex, Jr. said. “This place was really tough on us last year.”

“It’s nice to come in here and have a decent run – something we can build on.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising that the driver known as ‘The Closer’ did not seal the deal at the Auto Club Speedway. The driver of the No. 29 Jimmie John’s Gourmet Sandwiches Chevrolet finished fourth and is just seven points behind the points leader in the standings.

“All in all, the guys on the Jimmy John’s Chevrolet did a pretty good job,” Harvick said. “We will just keep working away.”

Not Surprising: Jimmie Johnson, not surprisingly, seems to be well on his way to living up to his Twitter moniker of ‘Six Pack.’ After a successful appeal that restored his points and kept his crew and car chiefs intact, Johnson survived an oil leak to finish top-10 in the No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet.

“Something happened and we developed an oil leak,” Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, said. “But the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevy ran well today.”

“We were really happy with the performance.”

March 26, 2012
Auto Club 400 Review: Stewart Smokes The Competition Once Again

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]2011 champion Tony Stewart led twice for 42 laps in the Auto Club 400(or should we say Auto Club 322?) and went on to win his second race of the season in California. After raindrops started to hit the track on Lap 124, Stewart, who was leading the race at the time, faked a move toward pit road to play with the competition’s pit strategy. He stayed on track just before the commitment cone, giving him the lead when NASCAR called the rain delayed race on Lap 129.

Stewart has moved three positions in points standings and is now in fourth position, 18 points behind the leader. This is Stewart’s second win at Fontana and his 46th career win, tying him with Buck Baker for 14th on the career victory list.

It is quite an accomplishment for a driver to win seven times in the last 15 races, and that is exactly what Stewart has done. Typically Stewart isn’t much of a contender in the first half of the season, but this season the veteran is taking off like a rocket. In the first five races of the 2011 season, Stewart only scored one top five finish and didn’t win his first race until the 27th race of the season, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Greg Biffle Remains The Points Leader

Greg Biffle may have flown under the radar at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, but he still flies high on top of the points standings so far this season. Biffle qualified his 3M Ford Fusion in fourth position and rode in the Top 10 for most of the race. Biffle now has four top-10 finishes in five races so far this season. Biffle’s consistency this season is sure to put him in victory lane. Biffle’s last win was at Kansas Speedway in October of 2010.

As for the rest of his Roush Fenway Racing team, Carl Edwards finished in fifth position, his second top five of the season. Edwards gained three spots in the standings to rest in 12th position. Matt Kenseth finished in 13th position and dropped two positions in points to reside in fifth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Continues Consistency; Unlikely Finishes for Rest of HMS

Dale Earnhardt Jr has been at the top of the leader board this season and continued his consistency with a third place finish in the Auto Club 400. Earnhardt was running in fifth position when caution for rain came out on Lap 123. This allowed him to pick up two spots when two cars ahead of him pitted under the caution. Earnhardt has finished in 15thposition or better so far this season, including two top five finishes. He is currently third in points, after gaining three positions with his top five finish in Fontana.

The rest of Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports team didn’t suffice as well as he did. While running in fourth position under caution on Lap 129 , Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet began leaking oil from the rear of his car. Thanks to the caution and rain shortened race, Johnson was able to limp around the track on the apron and finish in 10th position.

All Kasey Kahne needed at the Auto Club Speedway was to finish the race in a conservative fashion. He did just that, finishing in 15th position, his best finish of the season. Before the race at Fontana, Kahne was 34th in owner points. After the race, he has moved himself up to 26th position and gave himself some breathing room heading to Martinsville next weekend, where the owner points will be reset.

Jeff Gordon had a miserable day after suffering two pit road penalties, moving him from the top five all the way back to 26thposition. His first penalty of the race came on Lap 107 for equipment leaving the pit stall; Equipment being the gas can, along with his gas man. The final blow of the day came on Lap 126 when the team had a tire roll outside of the pit box.

Who Will Win At Martinsville Speedway?

Next weekend we head to the short track of Martinsville Speedway, known for it’s hot dogs and most importantly the grandfather clock trophy awarded to the winner of every race. Hometown boy Denny Hamlin knows how to get around the place, with four Cup wins at this track. However, teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon always fair well here with 13 wins between the both of them. As always, you can’t count out Tony Stewart who won the last race here in October and has won at Martinsville three times in his career.

March 26, 2012
Smoke Wins 2nd at California

[media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]This weekend it was a race against Mother Nature. The rain was coming. They could see it coming on radar and they could feel it coming as the temperatures began to drop. But the on track action at California Speedway never cooled off. Not until the rain was falling hard enough that the cars were circling on a track that was already lost. The rain was relentless and it only took 30 minutes for NASCAR to say “Lets Go Home Boys.” That left the series champion and the fastest car on the track to win the race while sitting on pit road.

California has long been known as a fuel mileage race. Its reputation of being a snoozer of a race cost it ticket sales and eventually a date on the schedule. But today, it was anything but. The racing was dynamic with cars running side by side daring passes and speed. Many teams were racing for half way feeling sure the rains would come. Come they did but a little later than most had planned.

Kyle Busch would lead the most laps in a dominating style. He took the lead from team mate Denny Hamlin on lap number two and held it until Tony Stewart made a gutsy pass in traffic as Juan Pablo Montoya held up the leader. A kiss with the wall a few laps later would drop Busch back in the running order and leave Stewart to dominate the rest of the race.

By the end of the green flag run Hamlin had made it to Smoke’s rear bumper but the rain began to fall on the back stretch and the yellow flew. Hamlin’s crew chief felt that there was a clearing in the radar and they would get the race restarted and called Hamlin to pit road. Smoke pulled the fake and then back on to the track but said later, “I doubt very seriously that we suckered him onto pit road, so to speak. I’m sure him and Darian had their mind before they got there,” stated Stewart. Hamlin would finish 11^th.

Stewart’s second win in 5 races gives him his 7^th win in the last 15 Sprint Cup Races an impressive statistic. More impressive when you realize that it is his 46^th career win tying him with Buddy Baker on the all time win list. Stewart doesn’t usually show strong this early in the year however. He is normally a summer bloomer. When asked about his early success Smoke said, “It’s been nice to get off to a good start this year the way we have. Like you said, the history shows in the last 13 years we have not had the strongest starts the first third of the year. I’m really, really excited about the start that we’ve got going. “

Kyle Busch would finish the day in second place after his brief encounter with the wall and dominating early. But he wasn’t sad to see the race called for rain. “Had a great car. The Interstate Batteries Camry was fast. Can’t say enough about those guys, Dave and everybody, for putting together a really good car this weekend. Wish we would have been able to race the whole thing on one hand, but on the other hand I’m kind of glad we’re not because we kind of have a little bit of damage that slowed us down there about 20 laps ago,” said Busch.

Perhaps the most impressive run of the day came from Dale Earnhardt Jr who put together a flawless day. Flawless on the track. Flawless in the pits. And it garnered him a 3^rd place finish. Earnhardt Jr seemed pleased with the result saying, “We had a really good car. The car was really quick in practice at the end of the day yesterday. We carried the same car into the race. I was real happy about that. We started off moving forward. Had some really good pit strategies, pitting a little bit earlier than most guys. Steve brought us down pit road and we gained a little bit of time, passed some guys on pit road.

We drove the car up to fifth before the weather came. We had been watching the weather all day. We felt certain if it started to rain it wasn’t going to stop. We made the right choice by staying out and building ourselves into the top three.”

All in all, it was a great race. Great action all around the track no cautions, the cars ran pretty much together allowing for lots of passes and the display of many skill sets. Yes it was shortened by rain but the pace of the race didn’t show any signs of dropping off. Maybe that is the answer for California. Shorter races with more intensity instead of long fuel managed races. It would certainly improve the strength of the competition for an already challenged venue.

Team Chevy had an incredible weekend as well. Winning at Chico in the World of Outlaws with Donny Schatz, Sprint Cup with Tony Stewart and IndyCar with Helio Castroneves.

Another item this weekend from the social media of NASCAR was the call from Jennifer Jo Cobb for tire money for Talladega. This irks me. It also irks me when Kenny Wallace begs for sponsor support on Social Media. Why you ask? Because I can’t help but think that the least endorsed and the man with the least money in NASCAR never takes to the social media waves or fan sites and begs. Not one time have you ever seen Morgan Shepard ask a fan for money or to help him find a sponsor. Instead Morgan leans on his faith and offers help to his fans and any fan that asks him for help. Whether that is a few moments of his time or a prayer to guide them through a difficulty. Morgan Shepard races with a dignity and professionalism that we seldom see anymore. But then if we take the sponsor that is on his hood to heart we find the reason he does what he does. I would highly encourage you to look beyond the celebrity and notoriety and ask yourself before giving money or working to help a team find a sponsor how will they manage next week? If I give them $10,000 for tires this week who will give them $10,000 for tires next week? Will they even finish the race or will they have the same mechanical issues that keep them from finishing the race every week?

Congratulations to this weeks winners. Donny Schatz in Outlaws, Joey Logano in Nationwide, Helio Castroneves in IndyCar and Tony Stewart in Sprint Cup the competition was awesome and enjoyed. And somehow even though Mother Nature cut short the Sprint Cup race one has to feel that for a change Motorsports beat Nature.

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.

March 25, 2012
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally leaves California ‘pretty happy’ after top five finish

[media-credit name=”Credit: By Jonathan Ferrey, Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t normally look forward to racing at the Auto Club Speedway and with good reason.

Entering Sunday’s Auto Club 400 his average finish was a 21.7 and comes off a 12th place finish last season. Never one to qualify or race well out West, the driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard Chevrolet was looking for just a solid weekend this time out.

When the rains came and the race was called official, Earnhardt Jr. was credited with a third place finish, his first top five at the speedway since 2007. The race ran 129 of its scheduled 200 laps.

“We had a really good car,” Earnhardt Jr. said afterwards. “The car was really quick in practice at the end of the day [Saturday]. We carried the same car into the race. I was real happy about that.

“We started off moving forward, had some really good pit strategies, pitting a little bit earlier than most guys. Steve [Letarte, crew chief] brought us down pit road and we gained a little bit of time, passed some guys on pit road.”

When the rain came and brought out the caution, Earnhardt Jr. had raced his way into the top five. It was the highest he had been all day after starting 14th and running top 10 for the entire race. They stuck to their strategy of short pitting once the race began and with the race unfolding as it did, things fell their way.

When Denny Hamlin and teammate Jimmie Johnson, running second and fourth, came down pit road Earnhardt Jr. moved up to third. The 88 team was confident that the rain wasn’t going to stop and ended up making the right choice by staying out.

“Pretty happy,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Pretty uneventful weekend. Other than qualifying miscue we had, we’ve had a really good weekend.”

Sunday’s finish was the second best of the season for Earnhardt Jr. after he started the year by finishing second to Matt Kenseth in the Daytona 500. Since then however, the team has taken themselves out of better finishes.

They struggled in Phoenix, fought the handle of the car in Las Vegas after leading early, and last weekend in Bristol made the decision to give up track position and pit late in the event and Earnhardt Jr. was busted with speeding.

On Sunday, the pit decisions of the competition helped Earnhardt Jr. in the end.

“I was surprised that everyone didn’t stay out,” he said. “I was pretty certain by watching the weather and studying the weather all night long and all day today that once it began to rain, it wasn’t going to stop. I was surprised that some guys came down pit road and gave up track position.”

Heading into Martinsville next Sunday Earnhardt Jr. now sits third in points, just 17 markers behind leader Greg Biffle. He’s the highest Hendrick Motorsports driver in points.

“They outran us all day long,” said Earnhardt Jr. of his teammates. “Jeff [Gordon] had a little trouble on pit road. Jimmie, they decided to come down pit road because they thought it was not going to rain all day.

“They’ve been beating us most of the weekend. We’ve really been competitive though. I like how our season is going so far. If we can keep going like this, we might get some opportunities like we did last year of winning some races and seal the deal eventually.”

Much like Martinsville last season, he led with two laps to go before being passed by eventually winner Kevin Harvick. The Virginia short track has always been one of his best tracks and one that he looks forward to each season.

Martinsville is fun he says. And thus far, his 2012 season has been as well.

“I’m really happy,” he said. “I’m performing better. Most of the credit has to go to Steve and the team. Those guys did a great job today on pit road. We had some really good stops.

“Steve is doing an amazing job. He deserves most of the credit for how well we’re running. He’s giving me really good cars, cars that are fun to drive, relatively easy to drive.”

March 25, 2012

Smoke wins rain shortened race at Auto Club Speedway

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Tony Stewart won the rain shortened Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday for his second win of the season, 46th of his Sprint Cup career and seven wins of the past 15 races.

Stewart led twice for 42 laps, including the final 22. He took the lead on lap 85 and held on until the race was red flagged on lap 129.

“I’m definitely not losing anything with age. I’ve had some really great race cars.” Stewart said about recently turning 40. “I’m really proud of Steve Addington (crew chief) and all of our guys. This Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy is bad fast.”

Kyle Busch finished second, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third, Kevin Harvick fourth and Carl Edwards finished fifth.

“We had a great race car there from the beginning of the race. Got the lead from Denny (Hamlin) after the first lap, led a lot of laps. I just wish we led 30 more and we’d be in a different position right now. Had a great car. The Interstate Batteries Camry was fast.” Busch said. “Wish we would have been able to race the whole thing on one hand, but on the other hand I’m kind of glad we’re not because we kind of have a little bit of damage that slowed us down there about 20 laps ago.”

Greg Biffle finished sixth and holds a seven point lead over Harvick in the series standings.

“I thought we were getting closer at the end because we started closing in on the 29, and then he got his car going. If they would have gotten the track cleaned off and going again, I think we would have had a chance because we’re good on a cold, green track. When it gets hot and slick, we’re not as good as they are.” Biffle said.

Jeff Gordon had another disappointing day. Gordon had to serve a stop-and-go penalty for dragging his fuel can and gasman out of his pits on lap 108. He lost one lap and then the race was red flagged with no change to make up the mistake. Gordon finished 26th and now sits 25th in the series standings.

Jimmie Johnson was the beneficiary of the rain. While running around under caution, smoke started coming from the front of the car. He was able to keep pace with the race was red-flagged and the field was brought to pit road. Johnson finished 10th.

“We are not exactly sure. Either a piece of debris hit an oil line and knocked the fitting off or split the line and snagged a line. We clipped an artery bottom line it’s losing blood fast, it’s either that or possibly an oil cooler. I really don’t know what had happened, I was just idling along and my friends pulled up alongside of me and were pointing.” Johnson said.

With his third place finish, Earnhardt Jr. sits in third place, 17 points out of the lead in the series standings.

“We didn’t have an opportunity to do anything other than what we had planned from the start. I like how our season is going so far. If we keep going like this, maybe we can get some opportunities and seal the deal.” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Our car was fast we had a great car in practice right at the end of practice I told the guys ‘this thing is really good’. The Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet was great from the drop of the green and we moved forward all day long. We had great pit strategy stopping a little earlier than most people gaining some track position that way too.”

Unofficial Race Results
Auto Club 400, Auto Club Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=5
=========================================
Pos.	St.	No.	Driver	Make	Points
=========================================
1	9	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	47
2	2	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	44
3	14	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	41
4	7	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	40
5	12	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	39
6	4	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	38
7	6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	37
8	13	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	36
9	23	51	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	35
10	10	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	35
11	1	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	34
12	3	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	32
13	15	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	31
14	11	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	30
15	5	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	29
16	25	22	AJ Allmendinger	Dodge	28
17	24	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	27
18	17	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	26
19	27	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	25
20	22	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	24
21	29	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	23
22	19	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	22
23	33	13	Casey Mears	Ford	21
24	8	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	20
25	28	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	19
26	21	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	19
27	18	10	David Reutimann	Chevrolet	17
28	26	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	16
29	40	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	15
30	41	38	David Gilliland	Ford	14
31	38	34	David Ragan	Ford	13
32	16	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	12
33	34	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	11
34	42	32	Ken Schrader	Ford	10
35	36	249	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	9
36	31	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	8
37	30	26	Josh Wise *	Ford	7
38	32	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	6
39	20	30	David Stremme	Toyota	5
40	39	119	Mike Bliss	Toyota	0
41	35	23	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	3
42	43	74	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	0
43	37	33	Brendan Gaughan	Chevrolet	1

March 25, 2012

Preparing For a NASCAR Weekend: Auto Club Speedway Style

[media-credit name=”Auto Club Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]With the Auto Club 400 only already upon us, preparing for this once a year NASCAR style extravaganza in Fontana, California, has been in the planning stages since Kevin Harvick crossed the finish in last year’s upset over hometown favorite Jimmie Johnson.

The speedway which first opened its gates in 1997, has been the Southern California center piece where fans from all over the country get the chance to watch NASCAR’s biggest star do battle on the 14 degree, 2-mile D-shaped oval once a year.

Putting on a race filled weekend takes many painstaking hours of careful scheduling, arrangement of events leading up to the race, along with making sure everything is in place once the fans begin pouring in to enjoy another weekend of NASCAR excitement.

“The months leading up to the big race are spent talking to, and booking the entertainment such as the performers who will entertain the fans on various concert stages throughout the race weekend, and to make sure everyone who comes has a good time,” said David Talley, the Director of Communications at the speedway.

Mr. Talley also added that, “We have 50 people working diligently to make sure we have quality food entertainment parking and everything that a fan expects when they come to Auto Club Speedway,” Refreshment stands and food booths, ticket sales, maintenance during the race, along with security are only a few of the obstacles that need to be carefully planned.

The staff at Auto Club Speedway has also spent a significant amount of time doing promotional events such as having the Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth, who drives the No. 17 Best Buy sponsored Roush-Fenway Ford, come down to one of Hollywood’s famous eateries to meet and greet the fans.

A few weeks ago it was 4-time Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon, and P.B.A. Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III who held an open press conference in front on ESPN Zone in Los Angeles, to help promote the upcoming Auto Club 400 with guest radio personality Uncle Joe Benson from KLOS 95.5 FM.

This week it was Joey Logano, Coca-Cola Racing Family member, and driver of the No. 20 Dollar General/Home Depot Toyota who boarded a Metrolink train, along with Miss Sprint Cup Kristen Beat to kick-off the annual Speedway Day in L.A.

The press conference which was free to attend and open to the public, was highlighted by Logano hopping into the Auto Club Speedway show car, and arriving at the press conference in front of L.A. Union Station in thunderous NASCAR driver style.

These are just a few of the many events that have taken place to help promote the race, along with the driver signings and appearances away from the track for the fans to enjoy.

“Our dept. main job is to get the word out what we are doing. To talk to the media tv newspapers set up interviews for track president Gillian Zucker. Press releases marketing drivers to help get the word out in an effort to get the word out to whoever is gonna be in and around So California needs to be at Auto Club Speedway,” said Mr. Talley.

Mr. Talley added that, “Usually during the off season we put in our regular hours but close to event time, it seems like we are there forever which is fine with us as long as we get the job done.”

“We work hard and Joann Young who is the Manager of Communications is a go getter and I couldn’t do my job without her. We have a good time putting together events for the fans putting together events for the media that will enjoy coming to.”

“We feel that the Auto Club 400 weekend will be the place to be on March-23-25. So putting on a race weekend NASCAR style is by far not an easy task.”

March 25, 2012
Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 6 Auto Club Speedway – Auto Club 400 – March 25, 2012

[media-credit name=”autoclubspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Back to the west coast we go this weekend for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. It’s a place that I really can’t speak on the history of racing there, probably because its not a race that I can say I watch intently each year. Following the addition of a second NASCAR weekend in 2004, Auto Club Speedway has experienced some intense scrutiny amongst the racing community with the intense attendance problems the racetrack has experienced.

Attendance at the track has dropped by as much as 20,000 fans, nearly 1/4th of the facility’s capacity, since the 2004-2010 two-race stretch, and with the weather forecast for tomorrow, I’m not sure this year will be any better for the racetrack.

After catching some of yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions, I’m starting to think Auto Club may actually be developing some character. Watching the drivers wrestle their buggies around the 2-mile D-shaped oval makes me think tomorrow’s (or Monday’s) Auto Club 400 may be a bit more exciting than usual. The aging racing surface at Auto Club Speedway has left teams searching for grip and lifting their cars off the asphalt to clear the roller-coaster of bumps though the corners at Fontana.

Bristol Recap

If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any at all after these first 5 races of the 2012 season. Bristol was fun for my first time as a member of the NASCAR media, but I am seeing why there are concerns about the racing in Thunder Valley . 200 caution-less laps at Bristol was unheard of prior to the track’s reconfiguration and addition of progressive banking in 2007. Last week’s Food City 500 produced a stretch of 220 laps without a caution, a stretch of racing facing scrutiny inside the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage:

“I feel like the old-style track brought what the fans want to see, and whether it’s what the car owners want to see or the drivers, and whether you’ve got to run into each other or you don’t, the old-style racing was more to the appeal of the fans.” said Kevin Harvick, “Any time you run 200 laps at Bristol with no cautions, it’s going to get boring fast in my opinion.”

I can remember a few of my first trips to Bristol Motor Speedway when there were 10,000 race fans in front of the backstretch grandstands looking for their ticket into the Last Great Coliseum. This year, I traveled to BMS with a group of fans that ended up buying tickets for $20 each for their Food City 500 seats. The NASCAR stat sheet said there was 102,000 fans in the grandstands last week, but to me, we were lucky if the bull ring in Thunder Valley was half-full.

On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got a guy that might have a bit of a biased opinion of the racing surface in Thunder Valley, but no matter what, I tend to agree with his opinion. The final 20-25 laps last week at Bristol Motor Speedway were some of the most exciting laps I’ve had the privilege of seeing in-person. Each time Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth circled the .533-mile high-banks of the final stretch of the race last week, they traded paint, running positions, and created a show for the 80,000’ish fans in attendance.

“I’m very biased, I know,” Keselowski said. “But to me this was one of the best Bristol races I’ve ever seen. We ran side by side for 20 laps. There was some good beating and batting, some wrecking. … I don’t know what’s better than that, short of a 30-car wreck every week.”

It was great to watch if you can appreciate hard racing, and don’t care about the wrecks, but a forgetful race if you’re the ones that like to see multiple crashes each week. To me, a half-empty bull ring will be what we get each trip to Tennessee until the track is returned to its old configuration. With the gloves-off beating and banging racing style NASCAR is trying to return to, ruining the Mecca of all rough racetracks is a step in the opposite direction.

Oh, forgot to touch on my picks from last week;

Winner pick – Kyle Busch was caught up in the day’s only multi-car accident on lap 25. He returned to the race in his battered Wrigley Doublemint Toyota and finished 32nd.

Dark Horse Pick – Joey Logano, started 9th and never really made a surge towards the front. Finished two laps down in 16th.

Auto Club 400 Picks

I’m almost scared to pick anyone this week, but once I hit rock-bottom, there will be nowhere to go but up. Hopefully I hit rock-bottom last week at Bristol, and I can get back into the habit of looking like I know what I’m talking about.

Winner Pick

The Ford FR9 engines have been unbelievably strong thus far this season, and Fontana is a track that having a strong engine will put you in Gatorade Victory Lane. A history of winning at Auto Club Speedway also helps my Winner Pick’s case this week having 3 wins already at the 2-mile oval.

Matt Kenseth has been on fire thus far this year, setting the high mark after winning his second Daytona 500 a month ago. He was just short of winning last week at Bristol Motor Speedway last week, and is a 7 to 1 favorite for the win this week. He will start 15th when the green-flag files at Fontana (whenever that may be) but was second in yesterday’s practice session and is currently shown in 8th in Happy Hour.

The FR9’s have been great this season, and Kenseth has the car he needs to bring it home this week.

Dark Horse Pick

Toyota Racing Development’s headquarters happen to be located in Southern California, nearby Fontana, CA in Costa Mesa. TRD wants nothing other than a win at its home track and with one shot to do it in 2012, rest asured the Toyota teams will be pulling out all the stops this weekend.

A guy that has been on a role in a way that flies a bit under-the-radar is Martin Truex Jr. In his last 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Starts (dating back to Talladega last October), Truex has scored 6 top-10’s, including a third-place finish last week at Bristol. He’s lead the charge along with Clint Bowyer for Michael Waltrip Racing, sitting 4th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings.

Truex will start 13th, but was 9th fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice and the top 3 starters for the Auto Club 400 will be making the start in Toyota Camrys.

An FR9 and a TRD Camry are my picks for this week, and be sure to stop back next week for my Martinsville picks. Until next week… you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

March 24, 2012

Logano wins the Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Polesitter Joey Logano regained the race lead with 12 laps remaining in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Auto Club Speedway and held off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for his first NNS win of the season.

“It’s good to be finally back in Victory Lane. This is awesome to win here again. We gave a couple away here lately and today we were able to capitalize on a car capable of winning.” Logano said. “I forgot how much fun it was to do burnouts. It’s a lot of fun.”

This was Logano’s 10th career NNS win and also extended Joe Gibbs Racing’s streak of eight consecutive Nationwide Series victories at the speedway.

“It was a great day. It was a fun day. The race track was really racy. It’s just a bummer that we ended up two spots short, but I’ve got to thank all the guys for working hard on this.” Stenhouse Jr.said.

Brad Keselowski finished third, Brian Scott fourth and Austin Dillon finished fifth.

“On the last restart, it was just good racing. Joey and the guys just closed the deal out. I had a strong run all day, just needed a little more.” Keselowski said.

Series points leader Elliott Sadler finished ninth and now holds a 18 point lead in the standings over Stenhouse Jr.

Danica Patrick’s car picked up debris in the front grill, apparently puncturing her radiator and later causing the engine to seize. The team pushed her car to the garage and she finished 35th.

“It’s not a Chevy issue. It’s not a team issue. It’s just a bad luck issue, and unfortunately, I feel like we’ve been catching a fair amount of it at the beginning of the season.” Patrick said.

Starting Lineup
Royal Purple 300, Auto Club Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=5
===========================================
Pos.	No.	Driver	Make	Speed	Time
===========================================
1	18	Joey Logano	Toyota	178.984	40.227
2	31	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	177.196	40.633
3	22	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	177.109	40.653
4	3	Austin Dillon*	Chevrolet	176.926	40.695
5	2	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	176.904	40.7
6	9	Kenny Wallace	Toyota	176.255	40.85
7	11	Brian Scott	Toyota	176.108	40.884
8	33	Brendan Gaughan	Chevrolet	176.091	40.888
9	60	Trevor Bayne	Ford	175.919	40.928
10	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	175.473	41.032
11	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	175.229	41.089
12	88	Cole Whitt*	Chevrolet	174.575	41.243
13	81	Jason Bowles*	Toyota	174.533	41.253
14	38	Brad Sweet	Chevrolet	174.419	41.28
15	54	Kyle Busch	Toyota	174.389	41.287
16	43	Michael Annett	Ford	173.934	41.395
17	30	James Buescher	Chevrolet	173.728	41.444
18	44	Mike Bliss	Toyota	173.444	41.512
19	1	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	173.348	41.535
20	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	173.243	41.56
21	7	Danica Patrick	Chevrolet	172.981	41.623
22	19	Tayler Malsam	Toyota	172.331	41.78
23	47	Scott Speed	Chevrolet	172.171	41.819
24	41	Blake Koch	Chevrolet	171.973	41.867
25	14	Eric McClure	Toyota	171.371	42.014
26	10	Jeff Green	Toyota	171.306	42.03
27	50	T.J. Bell	Ford	171.274	42.038
28	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	170.94	42.12
29	108	Tim Andrews	Ford	170.887	42.133
30	42	Josh Wise	Chevrolet	170.394	42.255
31	40	Erik Darnell	Chevrolet	170.112	42.325
32	39	Joey Gase*	Ford	169.157	42.564
33	124	Benny Gordon*	Chevrolet	168.867	42.637
34	52	Tim Schendel	Chevrolet	167.011	43.111
35	23	Robert Richardson Jr.	Chevrolet	166.995	43.115
36	46	Chase Miller	Chevrolet	166.767	43.174
37	89	Morgan Shepherd	Chevrolet	166.694	43.193
38	28	Kevin Lepage	Chevrolet	165.983	43.378
39	4	Daryl Harr	Chevrolet	165.453	43.517
40	70	David Green	Dodge	163.51	44.034
41	174	Mike Harmon	Chevrolet	163.35	44.077
42	172	John Jackson	Toyota	163.188	44.121
43	15	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	–	–

March 24, 2012