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Featured stories from SpeedwayMedia.com

NASCAR Upholds Appeal From Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick To Continue Appeal Process

[media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]On March 13, 2012, the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel heard the appeal on the penalties assessed to the No. 48 team at Daytona International Speedway. The panel, which consisted of John Capels, Leo Mehl and Dale Pinilis, decided to uphold the penalties.

“The unanimous decision of the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel was to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR,” the statement from NASCAR says.

The penalties upheld were a six week suspension for both crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, plus probation till May 9th. They also upheld the fine of $100,000 to Knaus, along with the 25 driver points and owner points taken away.

According to NASCAR, they did not agree with the shape of the c-posts and requested that they be changed. The C-post is a piece of paneling towards the back of the car that connects the roof to the rear quarterpanel. The team modified the piece to gain an aerodynamic advantage.

As per original their press release, the posts were “in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the rule book or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-2.1E (if in the judgment of NASCAR officials, any part or component of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that has been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted – unapproved car body modifications).”

Upon section 15 of the rule book, Hendrick Motorsports has the right to continue the appeal process, appealing the decision to the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer. Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick has already announced that his team will exercise this right.

“The panel was generous with its time today, and we appreciated the opportunity to talk through our concerns,” Hendrick says as per a team press release. “We feel strongly about this issue and will continue to pursue it at the next level.”

Hendrick Motorsports feels that they have a good appeal as NASCAR determined the car was illegal before being put under templates.

“The templates were never actually put on the car,” Knaus said during his media appearance at Phoenix International Raceway. “It was a visual inspection at that point. We never even got the opportunity to actually present that under templates. It is unfortunate, there is a bit of subjectiveness to it and that is why we are going through the appeal.”

Knaus says that will be brought up during the appeal as they “will just have to talk about it at that point. NASCAR does a good job; they have a good set-up structure and a good set of standards that are in black and white, some areas that are not.”

It has also been noted that the same piece had been ran on the car for all four restrictor plate races last year by Rick Hendrick. Knaus said the same thing when asked about that.

The work that the No. 48 team did was “accordingly” within the templates, but not to NASCAR’s specifications. NASCAR has also made it clear to teams that they do not like them modifying parts “between the templates” and have told Knaus that before, suspending him six weeks in 2007 for modifying the front fenders.

On that topic, Ken Howes, VP of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports, told SBNation.com that the template doesn’t quite cover every square inch of the car and there is nothing written in the rule book to stop them. The rule book just states that the car must fit the templates that NASCAR specifies.

While the appeal process continues, Hendrick Motorsports notes that there will be no personnel changes made as both Knaus and Malec will remain on the pit box this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

March 13, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 400

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]Under a gloriously sunny sky and with an amazing flyover complements of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the green flag flew on the Kobalt Tools 400. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Since the reigning champ is primarily known for heating up over the summer or in the Chase, it was surprising to see Tony Stewart capture the checkered flag this early in the season.

This was also Smoke’s first ever win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track that he felt definitely owed him one after a pit miscue cost him the victory last year.

“I don’t know that it’s important this early but we only get one shot at Vegas,” the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet said. “It was real hard leaving here last year. It’s nice to come here and have a car that was bad to the bone.”

It was also surprising that Steve Addington, Stewart’s new crew chief, won his first ever Cup race with a driver not named Busch. And although known for his calm, relaxed nature, Addington definitely felt the pressure of calling the race on his shoulders.

“I take it very personal every time that car goes on the race track,” Addington said. “I felt a ton of pressure on myself to get a win and I’m glad that’s under our belt.”

“The stars lined up and we won this race at Vegas.”

Not Surprising: With the penalty appeal scheduled to be heard during the upcoming week, it was not surprising to see Jimmie Johnson attempt to get the best finish and most points possible. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet scored the runner up spot in the race bearing his sponsor’s name.

Johnson had an eventful race weekend, crashing in the first lap of final practice, as well as having to go to the rear of the field in a backup car for the start of the race. So, although he wanted the win, he seemed satisfied with his second place run.

“Tony could just get through the gears better,” Johnson said of his final run with Smoke. “With everything we went through this weekend, I’ll take it.”

Surprising: Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M/Meguiars Ford, scored his third third place finish of the season. But even more surprising, the Biff is now the official points leader, with the chance to be the only driver to win a championship in all three of NASCAR’s top tier series.

“It certainly has started off to be a good season for us so far,” Biffle said. “We’re super excited about it but there again, we want to win like the 14 car did today so we’re going to keep our heads down and keep working hard.”

Not Surprising: With one half of the Stewart-Haas Race team in Victory Lane, it was no surprise that his teammate would not be far behind. Ryan Newman, in his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for SHR, scored a top-5 finish as well.

“It was a hard fought day,” Newman said. “We struggled a bit in the pits but we got lucky on the last restart. It was an awesome day for Stewart-Haas.”

Surprising: As good as Jimmie Johnson was for Hendrick Motorsports, it was surprising to see four-time champion Jeff Gordon struggle so mightily. Gordon fought tight conditions most of the race, complaining that his car was plowing mightily.

Gordon did manage to bring his anniversary celebrating No. 24 Dupont 20 Years Chevrolet home in the twelfth position.

“Well, we weren’t very good,” Alan Gustafson, Gordon’s crew chief, said simply. “We struggled but we ended up with an okay finish. Sometimes you have to do that and we did it.”

“You’re never happy with 12^th, but there was a point in time during the day when I would have been happy to finish 20^th,” Gustafson continued. “So, it was okay.”

Not Surprising: In spite of the fact that the two are teammates, it was not surprising to see sparks fly yet again between the Roushketeers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. The two tangled on the restart in the waning laps of the race.

Carl Edwards, in the No. 99 Alfac Ford, saw it this way.

“Matt spun his tires just a little bit on the restart and I went down to the apron,” Edwards said. “He gave me a ton of room but we just got all bunched up over there.”

Kenseth, behind the wheel of the brightly colored No. 17 Zest Ford, just seemed confused by it all.

“I honestly don’t really know what happened,” Kenseth said. “Carl just laid back and got by me three-wide and then it just didn’t seem like there was a lot of room getting into turn one.”

“And then I did get clear behind him and he just stopped in the middle of the corner.”

Edwards was able to finish well in the fifth position, while Kenseth finished 22^nd in contrast.

Surprising: With their driver under the weather, it was surprising to see the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet score an eighth place finish.

“Jamie (McMurray) showed up this morning and he was sick,” crew chief Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion, said “For him to come through like he did for us today was really big.”

“Going into this race, we felt really strong about our McDonald’s Chevrolet,” Manion continued. “All in all, it was a good day.”

Not Surprising: In spite of leading more laps than he did all last season and scoring a top-10 finish, it was not surprising to find a frustrated Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at the end of the race.

“I think we should have run better than that,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said. “We are just a little bit disappointed.”

“We were fast and I knew before the end of the race we were going to have to free my car up and I never let Steve (Letarte) do it,” Junior said. “It was more my fault than anything really. I didn’t give him enough information I guess.”

Surprising: Fresh faced youngster Trevor Bayne had a surprisingly good run in his No. 21 Motorcaft/Quick Lane Ford for the famed Wood Brothers.

“A top-10 feels like a win to us,” Bayne said simply. “We hadn’t had a top-10 since Daytona and it feels good to be back at it.”

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, it was not surprising that the Dodges again struggled early in this 2012 season. Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished 32^nd and his teammate AJ Allmendinger fared even worse, finishing 37^th in his No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge.

“We had a pretty decent Dodge Charger and we were going to give Tony a run for his money,” Keselowski said. “The fuel pump broke. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Man, this is not the start to the season any of us were expecting,” Allmendinger said. “Just when I knew we could make something solid, we started having fuel pressure issues.”

“We came into the garage and changed some things,” ‘Dinger continued. “My guys busted their butts but we’re not sure yet what the cause was.”

“But you know the guys back at the Penske shop will figure it out.”

March 12, 2012
Smoke and Mirrors in Vegas But Mostly Just Smoke

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”180″][/media-credit]The lights, the anticipation, the atmosphere of chance, the courage to gamble, it was Vegas and it was all about Smoke and mirrors. Ok maybe just Smoke.

The Sprint Cup race had a very exciting ending, a daring move from a skilled and popular champion to hold off the challenge from a determined fellow competitor, the race in it’s entirety was rather long and drawn out. Unless of course you were a Dale Jr fan. If you were a member of JR. Nation you were still flying high over the strength and dominance shown by the 88 early on in the race, leading the first 70 laps in a dominating fashion. But a pitstop for 4 tires when the rest of the field took 2 mired the 88 back in the field and he just couldn’t quite recover. “We’re just a little bit disappointed,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Our car was tight at the start of the race, and we were fast. But I knew before the end of the race I was going to have to free my car up.

“I never let (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) do it. I never told him enough and gave him enough freedom, I guess, to feel like he needed to free the car up. Every time we got in traffic, our car was just really tight.”

If you were a Jimmie Johnson fan you were more than likely not using much of the seat of your chair. Johnson whose car was lightening fast and very very consistent, started in the 43^rd position and worked his way as high up as first. But he could not hold that position and finished 2^nd to the current reigning Cup Champion Tony Stewart. “We had a great race car all day long. I wish we could have had this KOBALT Tools Chevrolet over in Victory Lane for the KOBALT race. But, we’ll just have to try it again next time. Great race car. To be out here in a back-up (car) and to drive from dead-last to the lead, and then finish second is pretty awesome. Hate coming up short. Glad to be on the West Coast and see all my fans. Look forward to doing it again soon,” stated Johnson.

The man of the day was “The People’s Champion” Tony Stewart. He earned that title with moves like the three wide pass for the lead on Brad Keselowski, who had an EFI system failure on the last restart and finished 4 laps down to the field. Stewart who had only taken 2 tires was aware of the 4 tire cars behind him, “I had to go man (laughs). I knew that Matt (Kenseth) had four tires and Greg (Biffle) and those guys had better tires than we did. I knew as long as we could get to clean air we could at least hold them off for a little bit. I just didn’t know we were going to be able to hold them off for the whole run.”

Hold them off he did to win on one of three tracks he had never won on in his 45 career victories. But perhaps the biggest sigh of relief came not from the driver but from his crew chief. Steve Addington was feeling the pressure of assuming the role of crew chief of a championship team. “I’m going to tell you, everybody has been awesome. Nobody put the pressure on me except myself. I really didn’t realize how much I’d put on myself going to work for the championship team the very next year. It’s been a lot of pressure. I think that even when Tony feels good about the car, I’m still questioning. He’s just like, Relax, dude, it’s going to be all right.”

The new EFI system again showed itself to have a bug or two still needing to be swatted. Brad Keselowski reported via twitter that,” Just to be clear. On the last restart, the engine ran out of fuel, the fuel tank still had gas. This means, the fuel system had a problem. 2 & 22 car broke fuel pumps. Fuel pump stopped delivering fuel. Important for me, to defend my 2 team today. Great strategy & speed, we had the numbers crunched right… Just need some (work) on fuel system.”

This is the third race with the new EFI system and there have been issues in all three races. McLaren insists their system is not to blame and that it is a matter of a lack of education. If that is truly the case, then as the creator and provider of the system is it not their responsibility to train and educate the teams on the system its short comings (all systems have short comings) and its strengths? Should they not be responsible for teaching the engineers to trouble shoot the system? Should they not be working with drivers and teaching them signs and symptoms of an impending problem so that it can be headed off before it becomes terminal?

I understand coming into the modern world. I understand that change is essential for the survival of the sport. I understand that if we don’t take care of the planet we live on we will be trying to find down force to race on the moon. But it appears to me that McLaren brought their attitude of we can do nothing wrong with them from F1. Truth their stuff was not bullet proof over there either. Don’t misunderstand I think the system is awesome and can be made workable and easy for these teams. But the answer according to McLaren themselves lies in the education of the people using the system. It’s time now, three races in, for NASCAR to say ok we have had another problem it’s time for you to come over here and sit down and teach and train. If that doesn’t happen soon, the likelihood of a catastrophic occurrence will continue to grow.

The other piece of this scenario is that fans watching at home were never informed of what happened to Brad Keselowski or AJ Allmendinger’s cars. We were just told they were laps down suddenly after seemingly having the cars go away. That lack of disclosure makes the picture fogged and cloudy.

I mean we are all use to the lack of bias from the booth. The announcers have their favorites and like every other fan make sure you know it. Three times in the last 30 laps DW said that Jimmie Johnson was just going to drive by Tony Stewart when he cleared traffic because he had the best car on the track and it was a back up car. Larry McReynolds could not allow JR. Nation to share their drivers glory during the 70 laps of dominate racing by the 88, saying he was not convinced because they couldn’t put a whole race together. Mike Joy made sure we knew during the last stretch of the race that Tony Stewart had never won at Vegas even though he had a heartbreaking finish a year ago that Jimmie Johnson had won numerous times.

But not one time other than to comment that Keselowski’s Blue Deuce was falling through the field like a rock did they ever tell us what happened to it or what they had had to do to fix it that put him 4 laps down to the field.

The purpose of the commentators is to inform and fill in the gaps that we can’t see or hear from home. It is not to shove their favorites and opinions down our throats. Now please note I have the greatest respect for Darrell Waltrip but he tends to speak first and see what happened or is going to happen later. McReynolds it seems would rather choke to death on a chicken bone than say anything nice about Dale Earnhardt Jr or his Steve Letarte lead 88 team. It would seem that Mike Joy feels equally as strong about Tony Stewart and the Office Depot/Mobil 1 team. This particular broadcast team seems to have forgotten that their job is not to color the race or the fans opinion of it, but instead to bring it to you from a perspective that you don’t have sitting at home.

The race was not incredible. It was consistent. It had highs and lows. The end of the race was once again incredible. But it was the last 35 laps of the race. The first 232 laps were well unremarkable unless you are a member of Jr. Nation and then the middle 162 were unremarkable. NASCAR needs to find a way to put a whole race together. Maybe next week in Bristol that will happen.

Congratulations to Tony Stewart, Steve Addington and all of the Stewart Haas team on their victory. Smoke showed once again why he is one of the top 5 drivers in the world today. Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his Roush Fenway Team on their Nationwide Series Victory. And ok for my own personal feelings here Congratulations to Joey Saldana on his victory at the World of Outlaws Napa Know How So Cal Showdown and also to Dustin Morgan and Danny Wood on their wins in the ASCS Sprint Car competition in Yuma this weekend.

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 12, 2012
Junior Nation Got Excited, But in the End, It was the Nine That Mattered

For just one moment, Junior Nation was in heaven. It lasted more or less 70 laps. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was everything his fans wanted him to be. He took off at the beginning and moved out to a large lead, but the first pit stop came and though Junior took off again, it wasn’t long until the stronger cars of Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle. Therein lays the problem. In today’s Sprint Cup, there is a definite pecking order, not only between brands and teams, but competitors.

It’s unfortunate that it’s come down to this. Hendrick has Johnson and Gordon. Roush has Edwards and Kenseth, RCR has Kevin Harvick and well, Kevin Harvick, Gibbs has Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, and the Hendrick satellite team has Tony Stewart. That’s nine drivers that will win most of the races. That’s not to take anything away from Junior, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Paul Menard, Joey Logano, and Ryan Newman. It’s just the way it is. From time to time, those guys will win and others like Trevor Bayne will impress, but the truth of the matter is this race comes down to Johnson, Gordon, Edwards, Kenseth, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, and Stewart. Most of the races in 2011 were won by these guys. In 2012, Kenseth, Hamlin, and Stewart have won races despite the fact that others appeared to have better cars. On this Sunday, Stewart had no one to challenge him, which must really bother the Hendrick guys since they get their cars and engines from Rick Hendrick. Although Kenseth and Biffle and Junior tried, Tony just drove away.

So here’s the dilemma. How long will fans stay with this sport when it’s so obvious that only nine drivers really have a chance, week after week, at the win? With NASCAR seemingly all aglow with good ratings and an uptick in attendance, it has become apparent that the only thing that will make it last is close racing and guys like Junior and drivers other than the big nine coming through with wins. Last year we had Regan Smith, Trevor Bayne, and David Ragan surprising. The year before, we had Jamie McMurray, but so far no indication that this will happen in 2012. Yes, NASCAR needs for Junior to become successful, and some of those outside of the fabled nine to win, but will it happen? That will be the key to sustaining the good ratings and popularity of the sport.

And for those who want to go back to the 60’s and remember King Richard Petty’s dominance, please remember that he didn’t win every race, and in fact, lots of drivers won races from every manufacturer and every team. Bill Elliott won 11 races in 1985, but Darrell Waltrip won the championship. Cale Yarborough won six races in 1968 and Lee Roy Yarborough won as many in 1969, along with the great run of David Pearson after that. Dale Senior won lots of races, but the others won too. If every race comes down to the nine, I don’t know what will happen to attendance and ratings.

It’s kind of like Dodge introducing a new car on Sunday with no drivers lined up to drive it. If one of the nine doesn’t, what difference does it make?

March 12, 2012
HOORAHS & WAZZUPS: WHO WENT ALL IN AT LAS VEGAS AND WHO FOLDED THEIR HAND

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]There was “Smoke” in victory lane at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway following the conclusion of the Kobalt Tools 400. A five time champion overcame adversity again and helped raise a lot of money for charity. There were early race heart palpitations from the “Junior Nation” and it also seems that NASCAR’s most popular driver has an unusual hobby. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

HOORAH to Tony “Smoke” Stewart who scorched the competition with some outstanding late race restarts to claim his first ever win at Las Vegas. The event also marked Stewart’s 45th win in 467 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts. HOORAH to Steve Addington, the winning crew chief, who scored his first win with Stewart in only three starts.

A HOORAH, for making chicken salad out of chicken do do, goes to race runner up Jimmie Johnson who did everything he could to win this race. Johnson, once again, found himself dealing with pre race adversity when he crashed his primary car during a Saturday practice session. The team had to roll out a back up car which meant they had to start in the rear of the field instead of their original sixth place starting position. Despite that setback, it was game on for this team. He drove his way to the top ten by lap 59 and then, by lap 99, took the race lead. He’s well on his way to eradicating the points hole that was created by the penalty from the failed tech inspection at Daytona. Following two consecutive top five finishes, Johnson has moved from 44th to 23d in the points standings.

HOORAH to team 48 for prepping that back up car in approximately 28 minutes which allowed their driver to get some very valuable Saturday practice time.

HOORAH to Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle. His third consecutive top five finish at Las Vegas has now put him on top the Sprint Cup points standings.

HOORAH to Clint Bowyer, and especially crew chief Brian Pattie, for taking a Las Vegas style gamble. With 39 laps remaining in the race, a caution flag came out and they made the decision not to make a pit stop and rolled the dice on fuel mileage. Some additional caution flags played in their favor late in the race and the result of that gamble was a badly needed sixth place finish. They even picked up a bonus point for leading a lap.

HOORAH to Dale Earnhardt for generating a lot of “Junior Nation” excitement especially in the early stages of this race. Earnhardt’s Chevrolet was strong in the early going and led a total of 70 laps. By the way, Earnhardt led more laps on this afternoon in Las Vegas than he did during the entire 2011 season. But a tight condition developed with the car in the later stages of the race but he was still able to finish tenth. He left Las Vegas fourth in the points standings.

WAZZUP with the fuel misfortunes with the Penske Racing Dodge teams? The teams hit triple snake eyes at Las Vegas that hit them hard, both in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series events. The fuel pick up issues began in the Kobalt Tools 400 when driver A J Allmendinger spent a lengthy amount of time in the garage while his team swapped the car’s entire electronic fuel injection system. The result was a disappointing 37th finish.

Brad Keselowski’s fuel WAZZUP came during a restart following a lap 246 caution flag when his Penske Dodge simply would not respond. His fuel pick up issues resulted in a 32nd place finish.

It turned out to be the second fuel WAZZUP of the Las Vegas weekend for Keselowski. During the Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Keselowski’s Dodge again experienced fuel pick up issues which found him coasting down pit road. By the time the engine re-fired, Keselowski was three laps down. Adding injury to insult to this WAZZUP was the fact that Keselowski received a penalty for entering pit road too fast despite the fact that he was coasting. He ultimately had to settle for a disappointing 23d finish.

WAZZUP with two blown engines from the B K (Burger King) Racing Toyotas? Travis Kvapil was the first to suffer engine failure, on lap 123, and had to settle for a 39th place finish. Team mate Landon Cassill was the next to lose an engine, on lap 240, which led to a 36th place finish. It’s certain that this had nothing to do with Burger King’s policy of flame broiling. (Yeah I know, that was bad.)

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HOORAH to Ricky Stenhouse Jr for winning the Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas. The young driver’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford claimed the lead coming off of pit road, following the final stops of the race, and then led the final 54 laps. Stenhouse finished a strong 4.785 seconds over runner up Mark Martin. The event marked Stenhouse’s first win of the year and his third career win in 76 starts.

HOORAH for runner up Martin’s typical candid comments after the race when he said “that was a serious beat down he put on me during the last run. I mean just a beat down. I kept up with him for awhile and about wrecked four or five times and that was it. I’m not ashamed to say it wasn’t even close.”

Let’s give another HOORAH for making chicken salad out of chicken do do to Elliott Sadler. After leading the first 26 laps of the race, Sadler’s car developed a serious vibration, believed to be related to a portion of the front splitter scraping the ground. The team rolled the dice, with the full support of team owner Richard Childress, and came in for a lengthy stop to make repairs. Childress came over the radio and expressed his confidence in his driver to charge back to the front. Sadler delivered with a third place finish and left Las Vegas leading the series’ standings by 15 points.

WAZZUP with the future of driver Trevor Bayne in the Nationwide Series? Despite a hard charging fourth place finish at Las Vegas, despite leaving Las Vegas fourth in the points standings, plus having the title of Daytona 500 champion on his resume and being one the most popular drivers in the NASCAR garage, the sponsorship money has run out and it looks like the #60 Roush Fenway Ford may be parked until another sponsor is located.

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In some final thoughts, HOORAH to Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores, and the Hendrick Motorsports’ #48 team, for their very generous donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to support victims of the recent tornadoes that hit in the central and southern areas of the country. Lowe’s Racing For Relief Program pledged to match Jimmie Johnson’s earning, from the Las Vegas race, with a minimum pledge of at least $100,000. Additionally, team owner Rick Hendrick and Johnson pledged an additional $48,000 to the worthy cause. Johnson second place finish netted the Red Cross a donation of $281,776. The donation from Hendrick Motorsports raised that donation to $329,776.

Finally there’s a reluctant WAZZUP to Dale Earnhardt regarding his hobby of collecting badly wadded up race cars. The WAZZUP is reluctant because it’s actually rather funny. It seems that Earnhardt likes to collect these destroyed cars and place them in the woods, like an unusual art display, that borders his Cleveland, North Carolina home. It was revealed that Earnhardt is now the owner of the Chevrolet that Juan Pablo Montoya was driving when he accidentally turned a jet dryer into a massive ball of blame during the Daytona 500. You can find the latest addition to Earnhardt’s art collection adjacent to his replica of a genuine western town, located on his property, that he calls Whiskey River.

March 12, 2012
Jeff Gordon Makes Chase a New Partner in the AARP Drive to End Hunger Effort

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While it may be a bit early to talk about Jeff Gordon making the chase for this year’s championship, he has already made Chase a new partner in his AARP Drive to End Hunger initiative.

Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., just announced the renewal of its corporate commitment to assist AARP and Jeff Gordon in the effort to end hunger for seniors across the country.

“Our work with Chase is very important to the AARP Foundation,” Jo Ann Jenkins, President of the AARP Foundation, said. “Nearly 9 million older Americans don’t know where their next meal will come from, so we appreciate the generosity of Chase and the entire NASCAR community.”

Chase will be sponsoring the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet at five races over the course of the season, starting with the upcoming race at Bristol. The company will donate $0.03 for every purchase made with their AARP Visa Card from Chase, as well as donating $1.00 for each new account opened.

This new partnership between Chase, Jeff Gordon and AARP will raise up to $2 million total this year, all for the Drive to End Hunger initiative.

“We’re excited to continue supporting the AARP Foundation through Drive to End Hunger,” Ralph Pinto, Senior Director of Chase Card Services, said. “We are looking forward to having a greater presence through Jeff Gordon and the sponsorship of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

“Over the course of the five races we are sponsoring, we will have a number of different activities that we are pursuing, all focused on raising awareness of older Americans who are hungry,” Pinto continued. “Some are at track and others will be via email or Jeff Gordon’s landing page, all aimed at gaining the support of the passionate NASCAR fans for this important cause.”

While their partnership together into NASCAR is relatively new, Chase and AARP have been working together for quite some time. In fact, they have partnered in various endeavors for the past twenty years.

“We’ve worked with AARP for a very long time and over the course of the past twenty years or so, we’ve looked for different opportunities to work together,” Pinto said. “About two years ago, AARP made this Drive to End Hunger a huge priority for them.”

“Concurrently, we were looking at our card and trying to revamp the benefits that we were going to be offering on the card,” Pinto continued. “So, we decided that we would look at a couple of various options and one thing that we found was that older Americans were positive about giving to charity.”

In fact, Chase not only received anecdotal feedback from their customers but also formally surveyed them as well. The study, Chase’s first Generational Giving Survey, found that older Americans give to charities more generously than most other Americans.

“We conducted a fairly extensive survey and 63% of Americans age 55 plus have donated $100 or more to charity, which is more than those under that age,” Pinto said. “More than one third of older Americans donated more than $500 to charity.”

“Even from a business perspective, older people will connect and this has basis in fact,” Pinto continued. “So, for us at Chase, this is something we can feel good about.”

After deciding that donating to charity was an important card benefit to Chase customers, the company had to make the next critical decision, that of choosing the charity that would benefit. And of course, the company’s first thought was of their long-standing partnership with AARP.

“The AARP Visa Card and the Drive to End Hunger just made perfect sense,” Pinto said. “We are more than happy to jump on that and partner with AARP on this venture. “

“The Drive to End Hunger is such a great fit for Chase,” Pinto continued. “The partnership is a great way for Chase to give card members something that they’ve asked for—a way to give back, simply and automatically.”

Pinto is the first one to admit that he was a novice to the sport when he first became involved in the Drive to End Hunger partnership. But while he may have been new to NASCAR, attending his first race at the Monster Mile, Pinto and his fellow Chase colleagues have embraced the sport wholeheartedly.

“The race was amazing,” Pinto said. “It was absolutely awesome.”

“I for one was shocked,” Pinto continued. “I went outside our booth and just the noise when they all started up was like a wall of sound. It was the most impressive thing ever.”

Pinto and his Chase colleagues have been impressed not only with NASCAR and their renewed partnership with the Drive to End Hunger program, but also with their driver, four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

“The first event we did was at Chase headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware,” Pinto said. “Jeff Gordon came to the event and they brought in his Drive to End Hunger race car.”

“We packed meals for older Americans and in one hour we packed about 400 meals and sent them off to a local food bank,” Pinto continued. “It was very exciting. Jeff is such a great spokesperson and so believes in the cause.”

“Jeff is just an absolutely wonderful person to work with,” Pinto continued. “He is very dedicated. He didn’t have to be at the food distribution that we were running but he showed up and was there. He’s not only a great spokesperson for us but an even better spokesperson for AARP.”

While Pinto knows that the new Chase card benefitting Drive to End Hunger will be a huge success, he is also now hoping for one other important success.

“I just hope that Jeff Gordon’s car comes up right in front at the end of the next race!”

March 12, 2012
Results remain the same but Greg Biffle and team continue to surge

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Already three races into the Sprint Cup Series season Greg Biffle and company have fallen into a comfortable rhythm.

The No. 16 3M / Meguiars Ford Fusion team brought home their third straight third place finish on Sunday in Las Vegas. They only led two laps but Biffle was around when it counted at the end, ready to strike had the front two opened up the door.

“It certainly started off to be a good season for us so far,” Biffle said afterward. “Just plain and simply, Matt Puccia [crew chief] is the reason why we’re running and competing and finishing where we are. This team needed leadership. He was willing to step up and take the task on. Done a fantastic job so far.”

Biffle doesn’t deny that there’s disappointment though. After qualifying ninth and having a car that he felt was faster this weekend than they had last year, it left the team scratching their heads.

“We knew it was going to be a tough battle today,” he said. “We knew some cars had better speed than us, if we just hung tough, kept our track position, worked on it, we might be there at the end. That’s certainly what happened today.

“But it was clear that the 14 [Tony Stewart] and 48 [Jimmie Johnson] were just a little bit better than we were, 17 [Matt Kenseth] car looked like he was a little bit better than we were. So, like we thought it would come out, we had about a top five car and finished third, so we’re super excited about it.

“Then again, we want to win like the 14 car did today. So we’re going to keep out heads down and keep working hard.”

There was no touching Stewart on this day, who Biffle said it was clear had more power than himself and Johnson. Stewart had power that he’d never seen before and he would take off on a restart like Biffle never thought was possible.

At times though, Biffle was able to follow Stewart to the front, enjoying the holes that he was making. Except once he got to Stewart’s bumper that’s when the 16 started to slide and he had to get off the gas or put himself in the fence.

Clean air was king and it was hard to pass if a driver didn’t have that. It left Biffle moving around on the track as he tried to close in on those ahead of him, but to no avail.

The car just didn’t turn he said, and he and the team fought the loose conditions all through practice and then tight conditions on race day. Add in that Biffle thought he wasn’t aggressive enough when it came to making changes and it stopped him from being “up their tail pipe at the end.”

Instead, Biffle will take the finish and continue to praise Puccia and the work he has done to the 16 team. Even though he took the reins midway through the 2011 season, Biffle and company wouldn’t let him make any changes until the offseason.

Only then could he start moving people around, moving people out and directing the team the way he wanted. Now the results of those moves are showing and have Biffle leading the Cup points for the second time in his career as the series heads to Bristol next weekend.

“It has all to do, a hundred percent, with where we’re at right now,” said Biffle. “That’s why we changed and put the crew chief in charge last year. Then we kept handcuffs on him, wouldn’t let him change any people or change out guys as he went two, three, four, five, six weeks into his job. So we waited till the offseason.

“I say ‘we,’ Robbie [Reiser, Roush Fenway general manager] and all the guys waited till the offseason to make the changes. We were waiting to figure out what we were going to do with the 6 car. We were waiting to figure out what we were going to do with the 6 car. We were waiting to see what was going to happen because it would determine whether we got a sponsor for the 6 or not. We were going to have a bunch of people that we could move internally around the company if we downsized.

“So Matt, we free rein, got to pick the guys he wanted on the 16. It’s all been Matt. Matt has done all this himself with some guidance from the company.”

March 11, 2012

Tony Stewart Smokes The Competition in Las Vegas

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Last year, Stewart dominated and came close to winning, but found himself at the bad end of a penalty late in the race. This year, he dominated once again and was able to close the deal, holding Jimmie Johnson off coming to the checkered flag.

“I don’t know if we had the dominate car today, but we were so strong on the restarts,” he says. “I had to go. I knew that when Matt and Greg had better tires than us, I knew we’d be able to hold them off for a little bit. I didn’t know we could hold them off till the end.”

The win marks the first for Stewart at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, now leaving him with only two tracks on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule he hasn’t won at – Darlington and Kentucky. It also marks the first win for Stewart with new crew chief Steve Addington.

“We talked three times before the race,” Stewart says of Addington. “He is very thorough with us, he explains the changes, he wants your input. He’s been very good at getting to know these guys.”

Addington says that for him, it allowed him to take a lot of pressure off of himself.

“He kept telling me to relax and have fun and we’re going to win our races,” he says. “But I take it very personal every time that race goes on the track. I put more on than I thought I would with them winning the championship, for me. Everybody at Stewart-Haas has been great, doing what I asked, asking me what I wanted done. It’s just been about me putting pressure on myself.”

With 34 laps to go, Stewart made a daring three-wide pass on the restart to get by Brad Keselowski and take the lead. Stewart would lose the lead after coming down pit road for a splash of gas, but was able to get the lead back with on a later restart with 17 laps to go. He never looked back, holding on to the lead through the final two restarts.

“That’s what made today special,” he says. “We didn’t have to hold off the challenge once; we had to hold them off multiple times. It makes me feel like I’ve earned my keep.”

Jimmie Johnson came home second after having to start at the back of the field with a back-up car due to a wreck in practice.

“With everything we went through this weekend, we’ll take it,” he says. “But man, I want to win. We had a little more speed, but tony could get away on the restarts and through the gears. We’ll have to see what we’re doing, what I’m doing wrong.”

Greg Biffle would score a third place finish after making his way through the Roush-Fenway scramble on the backstretch after the restart. On the restart, Matt Kenseth spun the tires, which caused Carl Edwards to make a move on the inside of Matt on the apron to make it three wide. The group made it through turn one, before Kenseth made contact with Kasey Kahne, causing him to get into the wall.

“I just got down in there, Carl was on the top digging,” Biffle says. “I was just trying to ease up, giving him room – I didn’t see what happened back there.”

“Matt spun his tires just a little bit on the restart,” Edwards explains. “I went down on the apron, he gave us a lot of room. We just got all bunched up back there.”

“Carl just laid back and got by me three-wide,” Kenseth says. “They got by me through the middle of the corner and then they just got up in front of me and stopped.”

Ryan Newman finished fourth, followed by Edwards. Clint Bowyer finished sixth, followed by Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would round out of top 10 after leading the first 40 laps of the race.

“The racecar was really tight,” Earnhardt Jr. says. “I knew by the end of the race, it was going to be a really, really tight race track and we needed to free the car up. I didn’t give Stevie enough information throughout the day to tell him how tight it was. I didn’t keep up my end and gave up a lot of spots at the end of the race.”

Pole sitter Kasey Kahne finished 19^th after struggling with the handling of the car during the second half of the race.

Greg Biffle now leads the points, 10 points over Kevin Harvick. Denny Hamlin sits third in points, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth.

Unofficial Race Results
Kobalt Tools 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=3
=========================================
Pos.	St.	No.	Driver	Make	Points
=========================================
1	–	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	48
2	–	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	43
3	–	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	42
4	–	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	40
5	–	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	39
6	–	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	39
7	–	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	37
8	–	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	36
9	–	21	Trevor Bayne	Ford	0
10	–	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	35
11	–	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	34
12	–	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	33
13	–	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	31
14	–	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	30
15	–	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	29
16	–	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	28
17	–	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	27
18	–	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	26
19	–	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	25
20	–	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	24
21	–	34	David Ragan	Ford	24
22	–	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	23
23	–	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	21
24	–	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	20
25	–	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	19
26	–	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	18
27	–	13	Casey Mears	Ford	17
28	–	30	David Stremme	Toyota	16
29	–	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	15
30	–	32	Ken Schrader	Ford	14
31	–	10	David Reutimann	Chevrolet	13
32	–	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	13
33	–	38	David Gilliland	Ford	11
34	–	33	Brendan Gaughan	Chevrolet	10
35	–	51	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	9
36	–	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	8
37	–	22	A.J. Allmendinger	Dodge	8
38	–	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	6
39	–	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	5
40	–	26	Josh Wise *	Ford	4
41	–	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	0
42	–	37	Timmy Hill*	Ford	2
43	–	249	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	1

March 11, 2012

Brett Moffitt Heads to Bristol with Former Mentor and New Race Team

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: hometracks.nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Young up and coming racer Brett Moffitt has had an interesting journey, from his racing start under the tutelage of four-time K&N Pro Series champion Andy Santerre to racing for some of the biggest teams in the sport, including Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.

But as he kicks off his 2012 K&N Pro Series East season in Bristol, Moffitt is back where he belongs, under the familiar wing of Santerre and with a whole new race team Hattori Racing Enterprises. Moffitt will pilot the No. 11 Toyota Camry and will join teammate Sergio Pena in the Shigeaki Hattori stable.

“Ever since I drove for Andy (Santerre) in 2009, Andy and my dad have been in constant communication,” Moffitt said. “Andy’s been a big help to my career over the past three years.”

“So, when this opportunity came up, Andy told Shigeaki Hattori that he knew should drive his second car and luckily that was me.”

While Moffitt may seem a bit devoted to his old mentor, he knows that Santerre not only has the experience behind him but also has the strength of the new HRE race team with him as well.

“Working for Andy Santerre is just really great,” Moffitt said. “He’s been there. He’s driven race cars, he’s won races and he’s won championships.”

“So, he knows what it takes,” Moffitt continued. “Being able to work for him is really great for a driver because he understands everything you say. He’s always looking out for your best interests as a driver.”

Moffitt has had an eventful three years since debuting as a 16 year old with Andy Santerre in the K&N East Series. Since then, he has had seven wins, four pole positions, 20 top-5 and 25 top-10 finishes and has never finished worse than 3^rd in the championship standings.

“After I left Andy last time, I went to Joe Gibbs Racing for a year,” Moffitt said. “I ran in the K&N East Series for them. We were really competitive for them and ended up second in the points.”

“After that, I went to Michael Waltrip Racing,” Moffitt continued. “That was a huge step for my career.”

“MWR made me feel important as a driver,” Moffitt said. “I came in every day and worked on the cars and in the shop.”

“They put a big emphasis on my physical training and I’m still associated with them,” Moffitt continued. “I still have a trainer with them so I go there every day and still work out. That’s always a good connection to still maintain.”

With his return to his mentor Andy Santerre, as well as his new assignment with Hattori Racing Enterprises, Moffitt is excited to get his 2012 race season underway. He just recently finished up testing at Bristol, the first race of the season for the K&N Pro Series East.

“The test went really well,” Moffitt said. “From the first time we unloaded, we had to work on them a little bit but by the end of the day, we were pretty comfortable.”

“We have a couple things we are working with back at the shop and hopefully when we come back to the track, we will be ready to have a good race,” Moffitt continued. “The car was real fast and I’m really looking forward to the race.”

Moffitt has been only been guaranteed eight races with HRE Racing. The remainder of the season’s racing will be dependent on sponsorship, as is so often the case.

“This year Hattori approached me as a driver,” Moffitt said. “They weren’t looking for a driver with a lot of money, just one that they could win races and win championships with.”

“Right now, I’m only guaranteed eight races, with the first race at Bristol on March 17^th,” Moffitt said.” That’s where the sponsorship comes into play.”

“We’re still out there searching so hopefully we’re able to find something by then,” Moffitt continued. “But we’re just going to take the first eight and try to be the best we can. Hopefully we’ll find a sponsor and be able to finish it out.”

Moffitt is also looking forward to working with his new teammate at Hattori Racing Enterprises. He will be paired with fellow Santerre protégé Sergio Pena.

“Me and Sergio have always gotten along real well,” Moffitt said. “So, it’s going to be a really fun year. We’re both obviously proven race winners so I think it will be a good year for the team this year.”

In addition to mentor Santerre and teammate Pena, Moffitt is also looking forward to working with Dave McCarty, his new crew chief. McCarty has over 20 years experience in all kinds of racing, from the Nationwide Series to Trucks, ARCA, ASA and the K&N Pro Series East.

“Me and my new crew chief Dave McCarty have spent time getting to know each other,” Moffitt said. “Dave was Darrell Wallace’s crew chief last year at Revolution Racing. Andy felt like he would be a good match up for me so he brought him over.”

Moffitt has been working intensely on establishing that all important chemistry with his new crew chief, as well as their bond on and off the track.

“We’ve just been working together in the shop,” Moffitt said of his new crew chief. “He’s been bossing me around telling me what to do. I say ‘yes sir’ and do it. We have a lot of fun but when it’s time to get things done, we get things done.”

Owner Shigeaki Hattori, as well as HRE General Manager Andy Santerre are equally as excited about having Moffitt with their team as he is to race with them.

“People in an organization are the key to the organization’s success,” Hattori said. “If you hire the right people with knowledge and experience, success will follow.”

“I am excited to have Brett at HRE,” Santerre said. “He is an incredible driving talent and has matured behind the wheel in the last few years. He is more than capable of winning the championship.”

With the confidence of his owner and manager firmly in his corner, Moffitt simply cannot wait to get back to the race track, beginning at Bristol

“I feel like I’ve proven myself as being able to win races and be up front,” Moffitt said. “I’m just looking forward to racing. I love racing and being competitive.”

“That’s what drives me.”

March 11, 2012
Mark Martin ‘It Wasn’t Even Close’ on Saturday

[media-credit name=”Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]For much of the second half of Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas it appeared veteran Mark Martin had things under control and was heading toward a likely victory.

Martin led for a total of 44 laps and was leading when the race’s sixth yellow flag flew. The leaders all came down pit road for their final stops and by just inches Martin was beaten to the exist by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., would end up being the difference.

Stenhouse went on to lead the final 55 laps and drove away from Martin at one point for a five second lead. He went on to win his third career race as Martin cruised home behind him.

“That was one serious beat down he put on me that last run, just a beat down,” Martin said afterwards.

“I kept up with him for while and about wrecked five times and that’s it. The run before that was no problem, I could stay ahead of him. And anytime he would close in on me I could get up on the wheel and pull back out. But that last run he seemed to be stronger, I didn’t feel my car was off he just had that thing rolling. I’m not ashamed to say it wasn’t even close.”

Last season Martin lost the title he had held for so long, being the Nationwide Series all-time win leader. The man who took it, Kyle Busch, did so in the car that Martin drove on Saturday, the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Had Martin won on Saturday it would have been his 50th career NNS victory. It also would have been his second straight at Las Vegas, he won the race last year while driving for Turner Motorsports.

“Thanks to Joe Gibbs and everybody at JGR and Interstate Batteries,” Martin said. “This Toyota was awesome and they were awesome. I needed to run a race to see if I could find a few things that maybe we could work on to improve. I got a few ideas, but that was one serious beat down Ricky Stenhouse just put on me there at the end. It was just like I can’t do it – man he was gone.”

It’s well known the 2012 season isn’t about championship of any kind for Martin; he’s not running a full schedule in Sprint Cup and would like to do more NNS races. He just wants to have fun and win, accomplishing one of the two goals on Saturday.

“I did, I’d like to start by saying what a special treat it was to be able to join the Joe Gibbs organization, JGR, it’s something that we’ve wanted to do for a long time and the stars didn’t line up until now to do it,” Martin said about having fun.

“J.D. [Gibbs] and I had a little fun with it for sure. It’s a real privilege – I would like to do more of it, but there’s no sponsorship for that right now. I have six more on the schedule, if we could stir something up. It sure was fun to work with Adam [Stevens, crew chief] and all those guys.”

Yet, for as dominant and easy as Martin made things seem, he wasn’t completely satisfied on Saturday. Not because it hadn’t won but with the car he was driving. Going from the NNS from the NSCS garage threw him for a loop.

“I’m going to tell you something, my Cup car drives way better than this car,” he said. “I – whew, I don’t know – you saw me almost wreck I don’t know how many times. Man I can’t wait to get back in that Cup car. I didn’t think it was so slick [Friday], but today it was a handful. I never was real comfortable out there.”

Being behind the wheel of an accomplished JGR car though, will have any driver wanting to come back. Martin is no different and will wait for the call for the next time that he’ll get to take a nice Saturday drive.

“This was so much fun – it was such a great racecar,” Martin said. “It’s so fun to be a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. I’d like to do some more of these. We have some on the schedule, but no sponsorship so far.

“Heck, I don’t know, I enjoy watching these things on TV, but that was a good view I had right there. I enjoyed it.”

March 11, 2012