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  • Matty’s Picks: ‘Straight from The Beast of the Southeast!’ Vol. 22 – Kansas – Charlotte – October 15, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: ‘Straight from The Beast of the Southeast!’ Vol. 22 – Kansas – Charlotte – October 15, 2011

    This weekend marks my first trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a race weekend. I had the privilege of touring the track three years ago as a part of my trip to the Tar Heel State to watch my beloved Mountaineers take down the North Carolina Tar Heels in a thrilling 31-30 shootout in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl. Since my tour of the track in December 2008, I have been itching to make it to a race weekend at the historic 1.5-mile quad oval, and it’s almost a dream come true for me this weekend.

    [media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]This Saturday’s Bank of America 500 will be run under the lights in front of 140,000+ fans at the first modern superspeedway to install and host night racing. Until 1998, when lights were installed at Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway was the largest track in the world to host night racing.

    It may be the history behind the track, or the battle for the Sprint Cup that has begun to heat up ever so slightly, or it may be the 4-day “vacation” I get by heading to Charlotte this weekend that has me so amped up for this weekend’s race. It might be the fact that this will be the first race this fall that I will watch with undivided attention, but I really think I might be most excited to see the monstrosity that is the HD video board that stretches 200 feet down the backstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After following all the tweets this spring about the video board, I am overly excited to see how massive this thing is.

    It was announced in September of last year that CMS would partner with Panasonic to install the World’s largest HD video board at the track. The 9 million LED’s that make up the video board measures 200 feet by 80 feet, probably the best place in the World for a Call of Duty: Black Ops match.

    I had mixed results following this spring’s trip to The Beast of the Southeast, but I did manage pick the winner of May’s Sprint Cup All-Star Race, as well as the runner-up in the Coke 600. I look forward to seeing the cars in action this week, and hope that my keen eye will help me make some power picks this week for my first trip to Charlotte.

    Kansas Recap

    I won’t spend too much time this week recapping my finishes in Kansas, due to my eagerness to get to some racetracks that do not encourage three-hour naps on Sunday afternoon. The Bank of America 500 this Saturday marks the start of my amplified interest-level in The Chase schedule.

    My Winner Pick for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 was the driver of NASCAR’s “Blue Deuce”. Brad Keselowski had won the June race at Kansas Speedway, he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday at Kansas, and he was a shoe-in for the race win on Sunday.

    He started the race 15th, and made his way into the top-10 early. Fast forwarding through the 200 laps of napping, Keselowski hit the point at lap 207. He also was shown on top of the leaderboard at lap 241, but was passed for the lead by eventual race-winner, Jimmie Johnson on lap 245. Bad Brad brought his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger home in third and spoke on pit road after the race: “Everybody was a little close; we were just closer, but the Miller Lite Dodge was good. Proud of the effort. Kind of an up-and-down day. We got up to be a second- or third-place car mid part of the race, then kind of fell off a little bit, but came back. Third-place day, that’s good, that’s what you’ve got to do. Really, we want to win races like Jimmie (Johnson), but we’re making the best we can out of it. If he stumbles, we’ll be there.”

    Despite being second-fastest in Sprint Cup Final Practice at Kansas Speedway, David Ragan brought me no help as a Dark Horse pick last week.

    Ragan started 13th on Sunday, but quickly fell through the field ending up a lap down to the leaders for the majority of the 267 lap race. The long green-flag runs that occurred at Kansas last week, allowed little time for adjustments throughout the race. Track-position was as good as gold last week, and Ragan couldn’t find any to improve his finish.

    “We just weren’t lucky today. We missed getting the lucky dog a couple of times and the chips just didn’t fall our way. When you’re back there 10th to 20th you need a couple lucky breaks and we just didn’t get them. We could have gotten a top 10 out of it, but it just wasn’t our day.”

    When it was all said and done, Ragan finished 20th and lent me no help in improving my average finish for my Dark Horse picks.

    Charlotte Picks

    Despite a busy day of media availabilities, Nationwide Series qualifying, two Sprint Cup practice sessions, and even a car wash, I’ve found a bit of time to make a couple picks this Friday Afternoon. My winner pick in the other points race this year at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards did not fare too well in his attempt to sweep the SpeedWeeks races this May.

    After winning the Sprint Cup All-Star race here in May, Carl decided to give his Ford Fusion little bodywork on the infield grass. Let’s just say the car was fast enough the way it was and it really had an affect on the 16th place finish he picked up in the Coke 600.

    As for my Dark Horse for the Coke 600, David Ragan scored me my highest finish for any of my 21 Dark Horse picks this season – not too shabby.

    Dark Horse Pick

    I will start with my Dark Horse this week because there should be no other guy in anyone’s discussions of which non-Chase driver could win the Bank of America 500 tomorrow night. Kasey Kahne is fourth among all active drivers with a driver rating of 94.5, behind Jimmie Johnson (112.8), Kyle Busch (106.5), and Joey Logano (96.5) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Kahne became the first driver to be “Voted-Into” the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race in May of 2008, and come home a winner. He then went on to win the Coke 600 the following week, successfully sweeping the May races here at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008.

    Kahne was the fastest car on the track after his 31 practice laps yesterday, and is shown second on the speed charts in this first of two practice sessions as I look out the window of the Media Center here on the infield. He has three wins here at The Beast of the Southeast, but hasn’t won here since his 2088 Coke 600 Victory.

    Kahne felt good about his car following his qualifying lap last night during Bojangle’s Pole Night: “We were really good in practice today in qualifying and in race trim. We didn’t go quite as fast tonight as we would have liked to. I think in the race it should be really good. We just need to keep up with the track and keep up with keeping the track position and things throughout the race. We’ll have a good shot.”

    Kasey Kahne is eager to leave Red Bull Racing on a high note, and a win in the Bank of America 500 Saturday Night would do just that. Be ready for some fireworks centered around the No. 4 car tomorrow night.

    Winner Pick

    One of the keys to victory here at Charlotte Motor Speedway is keeping up with the ever changing track conditions as the sun settles behind the grandstands and the lights come on. The track temperature can really plummet when the sun goes down, and crew chiefs and drivers must be ready to go for when night falls.

    One crew chief that will always put his driver in the best possible equipment to cross the Finish Line (the pink colored one this week here at Charlotte) first is Chad Knaus. Across his nine seasons as Crew Chief for the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Knaus has scooped up 52 victories with Ole’ Five-Time, six of them coming right here at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    He is the best amongst all drivers in the Driver’s Rating category at 112.8, and averages a finish of 10.8 here at Charlotte. He hasn’t won here since the fall race of the 2009 season, but he is coming of a big win last week at Kansas.

    I think the comment before the race two weeks ago at Dover International Speedway really put a fire in the belly’s of the No. 48 team, and that is not the guy you want to piss off. With an average finish of 3.7 in the last 5 races of the Sprint Cup Series’ schedule, Johnson is about to come alive.

    Johnson sits 10th on the speed charts here after the first practice session of the day and spoke earlier this week about his feelings about Charlotte: “I think we’re going to be a threat (at Charlotte Motor Speedway). When I look back to Chicago, Kentucky, and Kansas obviously, our 1.5-mile stuff has been coming along pretty good over the last two or three months. So I feel good about it. Charlotte, with that asphalt that’s down, it is its own environment and it’s really tough to get your car right from the start of the race to the end of the race. So I feel like directionally we’re going the right way; but until I get on the track this week and understand where the grip level is and what our issues are, it’s hard to build too much confidence.”

    That’s all for this week, be sure to follow me on Twitter all night tonight and tomorrow for up to the minute action @ML_B_Lo and OnPitRoad.com for the long story.

    Until Next Week….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!!!!

  • Chad Knaus proves that behind every competent driver, is a crew chief just as competent

    Chad Knaus proves that behind every competent driver, is a crew chief just as competent

    The year was 1985, and school was just about to let out for summer vacation, a time of the year that all young people have always looked forward to. Summer to most of them meant going to visit distant relatives, maybe some camping, going to the movies with some of your friends or even an amusement park or two.

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]Summer can also be a time when teenagers look for a job to put extra some cash in their pockets, but to a 14-year-old native of Rockford, Illinois, it meant spending his weekends, helping his dad win his first Great Northern Series championship.

    What a joy it must have been for a father to not only see, but also hear his son in the box during his championship season. Who is this crew chief that started winning championships at an age when most young boys were busy chasing girls, and worried more about staying away from their own parents, then spending all weekend with them?

    Chad Anthony Knaus has exemplified in today’s racing world, what crew chiefs for years have tried to master by putting their drivers in victory lane and winning multiple championships. Knaus grew up around the racetracks helping his father race against the likes of Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki, Rusty Wallace and Dick Trickle, while never realizing that someday his son might be named amongst some of the best crew chiefs that NASCAR has ever seen.

    Twenty-six years later as the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship is only six races away from crowning the 2011 champion, the No. 48 team could very well be adding another page to the NASCAR history books, which was rewritten after last year’s record-breaking season. This young man from Rockford, Illinois carried with him 26 years of experience, dating back to a time when most teenagers were still having trouble doing their everyday chores, yet his biggest chore was helping his dad try to win championships.

    Winning championships or even getting a driver into victory lane, requires a vast knowledge of the sport, as well as keen sense of when to execute the right moves, and split-second decision making under some of the most extreme and pressure sensitive situations. Knaus has taken the job of a crew chief to whole new level by executing an effective formula that gets the most out of his driver Jimmie Johnson, with the humbleness of allowing his driver to be the center of attention.

    Knaus got his first start as a Winston cup crew chief back in 2001, working for Mark Melling’s driver Stacey Compton, and since has shown the racing world that he belongs among some of the best in the business. Looking further back beyond the 2001 season, Knaus started his Winston cup career with the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team, which was led by then crew Chief Ray Evernham.

    Knaus was the team fabricator, but then quickly moved up to the chassis and body manager and eventually would move into the role of a tire changer on the “Rainbow warriors” pit crew, helping to lead the team to championships in 1995 and 1997. The Illinois native felt that his calling was more than just working on a pit team, so he left HMS and had a short stint with D.E.I. working as a car chief for Steve Park.

    From there Knaus would once again get teamed up with Ray Evernham, after Evernham bought his own race team in 2000. Knaus knew that his heart was still with the Hendricks organization and in 2002; he was offered the job of crew chief for Rick Hendricks up and coming driver…Jimmie Johnson. In his first season with the No. 48 team, Knaus earned, “The Crew Chief of the Year” award, even though Johnson lost the “Rookie of the Year” award to Penske driver Ryan Newman.

    Controversy is no stranger to Knaus and company, when back in 2007 during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Speedway, he and Steve Letarte were both found in violation of a pair of out of shape fenders by NASCAR, and were both fined and suspended a total of six races each. Ever since Knaus was caught stretching the rules a bit, he has been tabbed by a lot of today’s NASCAR fans, as a crew chief that will go to any length to bend the rules to his liking.

    Knaus and Johnson have had more than their share of success, by winning races using pit strategy, fuel mileage and an occasional bump here and there, and of course the most important tool that any winning team must have…communication. Knaus has shown throughout his NASCAR career that he does belong beside some of the great crew chiefs of the past.

    In today’s modern racing era, he has taken a front row seat to greatness, and has set a new standard that all young crew chiefs could learn from. With six races left in the chase for the 2011 Sprint Cup championship, Johnson has six wins, 10 top-five, and 14 top-10 finishes in 20 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, along with a win and a second place finish in his last two races during the chase.

    Fate could once again play into the hands of this dynamic-duo, and five-time could very well become six-time with another good run at a track that Johnson feels is one his strengths. “I think we’re going to be a threat (at Charlotte Motor Speedway). When I look back to Chicago, Kentucky, and Kansas obviously, our 1.5-mile stuff has been coming along pretty good over the last two or three months,” Johnson said during his weekly press conference.

    Johnson has amassed a very respectable 96.7% of laps completed at this 1.5 mile layout, and an average finish of fourth in a seven chase races, which could be a momentum builder as well as a confidence booster going into the second half of the chase.

    Johnson also added that, “I definitely feel that our groove is here, and it’s been slowly building. We had some good momentum in the three or four races coming into the start of the Chase.”

  • Tony Stewart Wins Pole for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

    Tony Stewart Wins Pole for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

    Tony Stewart captured his thirteenth career pole Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a qualifying speed of 191.959 mph.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”206″][/media-credit]Stewart was happy with his effort but a little surprised that the speeds did not noticeably increase from what they had experienced during practice.

    “That was a pretty cool lap, obviously,” he said. But, Stewart continued, “Typically we see the pace pick up a little more in qualifying than what we saw tonight.”

    Five of the top ten positions were claimed by drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

    Matt Kenseth will start beside Stewart in the second position followed by Carl Edwards in third. Ryan Newman qualified sixth and Jimmie Johnson secured the ninth starting spot.

    The remaining Chase contenders qualified as follows:

    Kevin Harvick – 14th

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 15th

    Denny Hamlin – 17th

    Kurt Busch – 20th

    Jeff Gordon – 23rd

    Kyle Busch – 25th

    Brad Keselowski – 26th.

    Drivers Josh Wise, Scott Speed and Geoffrey Bodine failed to make the field.

    The Bank of America 500 this Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the fifth race in the fight for the Sprint Cup championship.

    Starting Lineup
    Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=31
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 191.959 28.131
    2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 191.918 28.137
    3 99 Carl Edwards Ford 191.87 28.144
    4 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 191.768 28.159
    5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 191.741 28.163
    6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 191.585 28.186
    7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 191.462 28.204
    8 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 191.394 28.214
    9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 191.34 28.222
    10 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 191.259 28.234
    11 6 David Ragan Ford 191.002 28.272
    12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 191.002 28.272
    13 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 190.9 28.287
    14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 190.894 28.288
    15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 190.833 28.297
    16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 190.82 28.299
    17 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 190.799 28.302
    18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 190.638 28.326
    19 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 190.611 28.33
    20 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 190.57 28.336
    21 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 190.429 28.357
    22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 190.255 28.383
    23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 190.007 28.42
    24 13 Casey Mears Toyota 189.727 28.462
    25 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 189.54 28.49
    26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 189.52 28.493
    27 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 189.401 28.511
    28 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 189.082 28.559
    29 0 David Reutimann Toyota 188.923 28.583
    30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 188.851 28.594
    31 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 188.772 28.606
    32 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 188.725 28.613
    33 34 David Gilliland Ford 188.6 28.632
    34 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 188.271 28.682
    35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 188.239 28.687
    36 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 187.918 28.736
    37 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 187.454 28.807
    38 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 187.383 28.818
    39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 187.311 28.829
    40 71 Andy Lally* Ford 186.657 28.93
    41 71 Hermie Sadler+ Ford 185.676 29.083
    42 32 Mike Bliss+ Ford 185.44 29.12
    43 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 186.303 28.985
  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIP ON NASCAR’S HOME TURF

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIP ON NASCAR’S HOME TURF

    There’s good news for racing fans: the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is bringing their 2011 Chase For The Championship to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a racing environment that has been serving up on track excitement and drama since 1960. From crashes under the checkers to sure fire winners running out of fuel a matter of feet from the checkers, fans need to be prepared for just about anything when the green flag falls on Saturday night’s Bank Of America 500.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]The other good news is the fact that the race track is located in Concord-North Carolina just a short ride from the home base of the vast majority of the Sprint Cup teams. That means that drivers, and their hard working Chase stressed crew members, gets the luxury of spending a racing weekend at home with their families while sleeping in the comfort of their own beds.

    Needless to say, the focal point of the Bank Of America 500 will be how it impacts the Chase standings. The drivers in the upper tier will be racing hard to enhance their status as championship contenders. The middle tier of drivers will be doing the same in an effort to move towards the top of the points while the drivers in the lower tier will be pulling out all of the stops to see if there’s any way to become contenders once again. It’s going to be an exciting evening in Concord-North Carolina

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

    THE LAS VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    The Charlotte Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile intermediate sized track. There are Chase contenders who already have some solid numbers there. There are other Chase contenders who are seeking their first win there but actually has outstanding numbers from other intermediate tracks. To get an idea of who has the right numbers, and who needs them, we again turn to the professional number crunchers from the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE).

    To no real surprise the WSE has Jimmie Johnson at the top of their rankings at 4 to 1 odds. The five time champion is a six time winner at Charlotte. He also has 10 top five finishes, 14 top tens and a very healthy average finish ratio, (AFR), of 10.8. Johnson has a string of four straight wins at Charlotte after sweeping both annual events there during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. A second place finish at Dover, combined with a win at Kansas last week, has moved Johnson from tenth to third in the points standings and only four points away from the top. This is likely one of the best wagers to be found at the moment.

    Kyle Busch is ranked at 7 to 1 this week and that’s based on his success racing on intermediate tracks and not based on success at Charlotte. Busch is still seeking his first Charlotte win, only has five top fives and a high AFR of 17.7. Despite that he’s an 11 time winner on intermediate tracks with 44 top fives.

    The same situation applies to current points leader Carl Edwards, ranked at 8 to 1, who’s also winless at this track. Edwards only has four top fives and a 13.3 AFR at Charlotte. But on intermediate tracks he has 17 wins and 67 top fives.

    Also ranked at 8 to 1 is Jeff Gordon who is a five time Charlotte winner with 16 top fives and a 15.8 AFR. He also has 41 wins on intermediate tracks. Gordon fell to the middle tier of the Chase standings following a surprise blown engine at Kansas last weekend. He’s 47 points out of first and will need to make great strides to make that up. Charlotte is a very good place for him to make that happen.

    At 10 to 1 odds is Kevin Harvick whose lone Charlotte win came in last May’s World 600 on the final lap after Dale Earnhardt Jr ran out of gas. He’s second in the standings and just a mere single point behind Carl Edwards. However Charlotte is not a strong track for this driver. He’s only scored two top fives there and has an AFR of 19.1

    Also ranked at 10 to 1 is Tony Stewart who is currently seventh in the standings, 19 points away. Stewart is a former Charlotte winner with a 13.8 AFR. He also has 22 wins on intermediate tracks. After winning the first two Chase races, Stewart hit a dry spell, during races three and four, and fell from first to seventh in the standings. He needs a good finish at Charlotte to get his Chase hopes back on track.

    At 11to 1 is the amazing Brad Keselowski who is fourth in the standings and only 11 points away. He wasn’t expected to make the Chase at all and then surprised us all with late regular season wins which earned him a wild card berth. His Charlotte numbers are terrible: zero wins, zero top fives, zero top tens and a 19.5 AFR. Despite that, this driver has a way of showing up on the radar screen when you least expect it.

    Kurt Busch is ranked at 12 to 1 and is ranked 6th in the Chase standings 16 points away. He has one previous win at Charlotte but his AFR, at 19.7, is high. On a brighter note he does have 16 wins on intermediate tracks.

    The snake bit Denny Hamlin is ranked at 14 to 1 this week. He’s at the bottom of the Chase standings, 79 points away, and his championship hopes are gone. He’s still seeking his first win at Charlotte and has a 16.6 AFR. He does, however, have 11 wins on intermediate tracks.

    At 16 to 1 is the equally snake bit Greg Biffle. He’s also looking for his first Charlotte win and has a 17.9 AFR. He does have 15 previous wins on intermediate tracks.

    Kasey Kahne is ranked at 18 to 1 and would love to give the beleaguered Red Bull Racing a win before he leaves them to join his new ride at Hendrick Motorsports next season. That could happen at Charlotte where Kahne has three wins and a 14.1 AFR.

    At 19 to 1 is fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr who was denied his first Charlotte win last May when his car ran out of gas on the final turn of the final lap. He has five top five finishes and a 19.4 AFR at Charlotte. He also desperately wants to snap a winless streak that dates back to June of 2008.

    In the WSE’s lower tier this week Clint Bowyer is ranked at 25 to 1 for the Charlotte race. He’s followed by Chase contender Ryan Newman at 28 to 1 who could use a strong finish Saturday night to improve on the fact that he’s 11th in the standings and 54 points away.

    At 30 to 1 odds is a quintet of drivers featuring former Charlotte winner David Reutimann, David Ragan, Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano and four time Charlotte winner Mark Martin. The WSE Charlotte rankings closes with three time winner Jeff Burton at 35 to 1 while Juan Pablo Montoya concludes this week’s WSE list at 45 to 1 odds.

    Any driver not listed here are automatically ranked at 15 to 1 odds. This seems to include driver Matt Kenseth who is ranked 5th in the Chase standings and only 12 points away. Kenseth is a previous Charlotte winner with a 14.9 AFR. He’s also a 14 time winner on intermediate tracks. With those numbers one has to assume that his omission from this week’s WSE list may have been just an oversight.

    NASCAR wants us to remind you that they view these odds numbers as a source of information and entertainment. They neither encourage nor condone the placing of wagers on their events. But if you’re going to do it anyway, at least you have the numbers from the professionals at the WSE.

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

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Bank Of America is 334 laps/500 miles around the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1.5 mile quad oval.

    The race has 48 entries vying for the 43 starting positions. 13 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning they are not automatically guaranteed a starting berth in the race because they are presently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.

    That could present a problem on qualifying day for the go or go home teams due to the Thursday weather forecast. The Thursday forecast, for Concord-North Carolina, calls for a 60 percent chance of rain. The speedway has a fleet of six jet dryers, which takes approximately two hours to dry the tracks. The Friday and Saturday forecasts calls for a return to clearing skies with daytime highs of 75 degrees.

    The defending race champion is Jamie McMurray. Kevin Harvick won the May 2011 race. Bobby Allison, Junior Johnson and Jimmie Johnson are tied for the most wins at Charlotte with six each. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway was held on June 19, 1960 and was won by Joe Lee Johnson. Since that time there has been 105 Cup races at Charlotte that has sent 44 different winners to victory lane. Drivers Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and David Reutimann scored their first ever Sprint Cup win at Charlotte.

    The track qualifying record, 193.216 MPH, was set by Elliott Sadler back in October of 2005. There has been 14 wins from the pole position with the most recent occurrence being Jimmie Johnson back in October of 2009. NASCAR Hall Of Fame driver David Pearson holds the track record for the most poles at 14. Ryan Newman leads the modern era drivers with nine poles followed by Jeff Gordon with eight.

    The Charlotte Motor Speedway is a very challenging 1.5 mile quad oval. It has 24 degrees of banking in the turns. The frontstretch measures 1,952.8 feet, the backstretch is 1,360 feet long with five degrees of banking. The speedway presently has seating for 171,000 fans.

    Speeding on and off pit road has been somewhat of a situation for many of the Sprint Cup teams during recent races. The pit road speed at Charlotte is 45 MPH.

    The Bank Of America 500 will be broadcast live by ABC Sports with the “Countdown” show beginning at 7 pm eastern time. Re broadcasts will be at 2 am Sunday morning eastern time on ESPN and again on Wednesday, 12 pm et, on SPEED.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Life is good when you average nearly 40 points per race

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Life is good when you average nearly 40 points per race

    While most expect Jimmie Johnson to either claim his 6th straight title, or someone like Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, or Kyle Busch to upset his apple cart, there is a 27 year old from Rochester Hill, Michigan who has his own agenda. Brad Keselowski has been nothing short of amazing over the past ten events, winning a pair and adding an additional five Top Fives to his resume. In fact, he has been in the top dozen of each of those races with the lone exception being his 20th place result at Dover to average 39.9 points per race. It is one of the most impressive streaks of the season, and couldn’t come at a better time. Well, better for him, though not so much for the opposition.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”218″][/media-credit]The only good news for the rest is that when it comes to Charlotte, his best finish there was 12th two years ago, with an average over four starts of almost 20th. Saturday night should give us an idea as to whether Keselowski is a true contender for the title or just a hot pretender.

    Here is a look at our hot 20 (and Denny Hamlin) over the past ten events…

    Pos (LW) – Driver – Pts/10 races – (W-T5-T10)

    1 (1) Brad Keselowski – 399 pts – (2-7-8)
    Is he peaking or just warming up?

    2 (4) Jimmie Johnson – 370 pts – (1-6-8)
    Just great. It was tough enough to catch him when he wasn’t winning.

    3 (5) Carl Edwards – 354 pts – (0-5-8)
    Continues to turn crap into roses.

    4 (3) Kyle Busch – 353 pts – (1-3-5)
    Wins 30% of truck races, over 20% in Nationwide, less than 10% in Cup.

    5 (2) Jeff Gordon – 347 pts – (1-4-6)
    If win #1 came at Charlotte, why not #86?

    6 (6) Kevin Harvick – 345 pts – (1-2-6)
    Expect him to be running at the end Saturday, but in what place is anybody’s guess.

    7 (7) Matt Kenseth – 333 pts – (0-2-6)
    As long as Fluidmaster remains the sponsor, and not what lies under the car, things could go well.

    8 (8) Tony Stewart – 321 pts – (2-3-5)
    Hey, Danica can be a tough interview, too, just much easier to look at.

    9 (9) Ryan Newman – 308 pts – (0-2-5)
    Has all sorts of luck, but it just keeps biting him in the ass.

    10 (10) Kurt Busch – 306 pts – (1-4-5)
    Things are starting to Addington up.

    11 (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 293 pts – (0-1-2)
    Since he has last won, Jimmie has claimed 21. Just saying…

    12 (11) A.J. Allmendinger – 291 pts – (0-0-2)
    Last victory was 5 years ago, beating 16 other guys while driving a Champ car.

    13 (17) Jeff Burton – 281 pts – (0-0-1)
    Tip: Paint it Caterpillar yellow, jack weight to 50 tons, add tracks and dozer, then do your worst.

    14 (22) Marcos Ambrose – 277 pts – (1-1-4)
    We got Ambrose by trading D.W. to Australia…but he came back.

    15 (15) Clint Bowyer – 274 pts – (0-0-4)
    Soon to be driving for the best owner ever in NASCAR…and it’s worst ever driver?

    16 (14) Mark Martin – 273 pts – (0-1-4)
    Old man Martin, that old man Martin, he must know something, but don’t say nothing

    17 (23) Kasey Kahne – 266 pts – (0-2-3)
    Could he turn out to be a spoiler for his future mates at Hendrick?

    18 (19) Greg Biffle – 266 pts – (0-1-3)
    Needed more speed at Kansas, but unfortunately found it on pit road

    19 (13) Martin Truex Jr – 264 pts – (0-2-2)
    Driving the Cup race while 19-year old brother competes in Friday’s Nationwide event.

    20 (21) Juan Pablo Montoya – 261 pts – (0-0-2)
    Hell, I hear even a blind man can drive around Charlotte.

    25 (27) Denny Hamlin – 239 pts – (0-0-3)
    What #$%&*! Chase?

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: A TAIL GATE PARTY IN LAS VEGAS

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: A TAIL GATE PARTY IN LAS VEGAS

    The elite of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be bringing their high energy tail gate party to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Saturday’s running of the Smith’s 350 is expected to be the latest round of truck intensity that this series is famous for. The entry list is a perfect blend of series veterans who knows how to get the job done combined with the younger generation of drivers who are looking to launch their own careers to higher elevations on the NASCAR ladder.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    [media-credit name=”lvms.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Needless to say, the major story line that will bear watching, during the course of the Las Vegas race, will be the too close to call championship points battle. Austin Dillon, and his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, will arrive in Las Vegas as the points leader. However it’s only a very slim lead of three points over James Buescher and his Turner Motorsports team. Chasing the young guns is series’ veteran Johnny Sauter, and Thorsport Racing, who are only 19 points away. Timothy Peters, Red Horse Racing, and four time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr, Kevin Harvick Inc, completes the top five and are 40 and 42 points away respectively.

    Hornaday will be seeking his first ever trip to the Las Vegas victory lane Saturday night. He will be riding on the momentum of winning the last series race at Kentucky. That element of momentum is even higher because Kentucky marked Hornaday’s amazing 50th series win. Despite his 42 point separation from the top of the standings, Hornaday hasn’t completely written off the possibility of a fifth championship this year and said “if I keep getting trucks from Kevin Harvick Inc like the one I drove at Kentucky then it’s doable.”

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

    Driver Ricky Carmichael will have a very busy schedule this Saturday in Las Vegas. First off, he will be driving his Monster Energy/Turner Motorsports Chevrolet in the Smith’s 350. Carmichael will be making this third start at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where he has a personal best ninth place finish.

    Right after the race Carmichael will be moving on to downtown Las Vegas where he will provide commentary on the SPEED Channel for the Monster Energy Cup motocross race at the Sam Boyd Stadium. This unique motorcycle event will be held on a special course that was designed by Carmichael and fellow motorcycle racing legend Jeremy McGrath. The Monster Energy Cup features a $250,000 purse with $100,000 going to the winner. There’s also the possibility of a $1 million bonus to any rider who can win all three main events.

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

    There’s an entertainment philosophy that says “motorsports and Las Vegas simply belongs in the same sentence.” That’s very true and will always be the case. Las Vegas will be rolling out the red carpet for the fans of NASCAR truck racing as well as the fans of the Indy Racing League who will be racing there on Sunday.

    A prime example of this is a special autograph session, featuring NASCAR’s truck drivers, that will be held Friday night, from 730 to 9 pm, at the Le Bistro Lounge located in the Riviera Hotel and Casino. Drivers who be on hand for the special fan meet and greet includes Todd Bodine, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, David Starr, Timothy Peters, Miguel Paludo, Dakota Armstrong and Butch Miller.

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

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Smith’s 350 is 146 laps/219 miles around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    The race has 31 posted entries.

    Despite it’s massive appearance, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is categorized as an intermediate track. The facility is a 1.5 mile, D shaped, oval. The track presently has seating for 137,00 fans.

    The defending race champion is Austin Dillon who won last year’s event from the pole position.

    The Smith’s 350 will be broadcast live by the SPEED Channel with the pre-race show beginning at 3 pm eastern time.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson dominated at Kansas, leading 197 of 272 laps, and easily pulled away from the challenge of Kasey Kahne to win the Hollywood Casino 400. It was Johnson’s second win of the year, and vaulted him to within four of the Sprint Cup points lead.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]“I’m not ‘done,’” Johnson said. “I’m just getting started. If you’re looking for volunteers to say ‘You were wrong’ to those people who counted me out, well, count me in.

    “A win in Kansas means I’ll celebrate with Kansas. The band, not the state. I led nearly every lap, and won handily, leaving 42 cars as ‘Dust In My Wind.’ I struggled early in the Chase, but Chad Knaus told me to keep digging and things would turn around. He was right, and his suggestions to ‘Carry On Wayward ‘Son’ proved prescient.”

    2. Carl Edwards: Edwards overcame race-long handling issues, falling a lap down at one point, and stormed back to finish fifth at Kansas. He maintained the Sprint Cup points lead, and holds a one-point lead over Kevin Harvick, with Jimmie Johnson only four back.

    “We really came back from the brink,” Edwards said. “The car was junk for most of the day, but with a lot of adjustments and tweaks, we were able to pull one out of our Aflac.

    “Harvick finished sixth, so he could just as easily be in the points lead had I not held him off. It was a great battle for fifth, but in light of Johnson’s dominance, Harvick and I might as well be battling for second.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski raced to a third-place finish at Kansas, his ninth top-5 result of the year. He improved two places in the point standings to fourth, and trails Carl Edwards by 11.

    “I’m by far the youngest Chase competitor,” Keselowski said. “And of all the twenty-something’s in the Chase, I’m the only one making a mark. So, you describe our impact on the Chase as ‘youth is served,’ but you can describe my impact on the Chase as one ‘serving of youth.’”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth in the Hollywood Casino 400, earning his 16th top-10 finish of the year. Harvick fell out of a tie in the points lead, and now trails Carl Edwards, who finished fifth, by one.

    “I’m only one point out of the lead,” Harvick said, “yet everyone seems ready to hand Jimmie Johnson his sixth Sprint Cup title, even though he’s four behind the lead. Well, it’s way too early for me to concede the title to Johnson. I have no qualms about making a ‘concession stand.’”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led 26 laps and posted a solid fourth at Kansas, his ninth top-5 result of the year. He jumped two spots in the point standings to fifth, and trails Carl Edwards by 12.

    “I trail Edwards by 12?” Kenseth asked. “Is that in ‘cool points? Anyway, I’m the driver that’s been hovering around, waiting to make a move. Unfortunately, if all you do is hover, then your championship hopes just won’t float.”

    6. Kyle Busch: Busch just missed a top-10 finish at Kansas, coming home 11th in the Hollywood Casino 400. With four races down in the Chase, Busch is now eighth in the point standings, 20 out of first.

    “I’m not worried about ‘insurmountable leads,’” Busch said. “It’s ‘insurmountable deficits’ that concern me.”

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart let a certain top-10 finish slip away when he slid past his pit stall during the race’s final caution. The lengthy pit stop cost him several positions, and he restarted 17th before finishing 15th. Stewart tumbled four spots in the point standings to 7th, 19 out of first.

    “A mere two races ago,” Stewart said, “I was leading the Sprint Cup point standings. Now, I’m in seventh. So, my pit mishap at Kansas is no big deal, considering I’ve had longer ‘slides’ before.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch, last week’s winner at Dover, finished 13th in the Hollywood Casino 400 after a losing ground on the race’s final restart. Busch dropped two places to sixth in the point standings, and is now 16 out of first.

    “One week after I smoked him for the win at Dover,” Busch said, “Jimmie Johnson goes out and wins at Kansas, and wins so handily that he’s practically anointed champion. What does Johnson hate more? Losing to me, or losing in general?”

    9. Jeff Gordon: Gordon’s engine blew with four laps to go at Kansas and he finished 34th, which could prove to be fatal to his championship hopes. He is now 47 points out of the lead with six races remaining in the Chase.

    “They call Jimmie Johnson ‘5-time,’” Gordon said. “It’s a nickname I’ve longed to possess. The bad news: they won’t be calling me that this year. The good news: the nickname will likely be available next year.”

    10. Dale Earnhart, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th in the Hollywood Casino 400, and moved up one spot in the point standings to ninth, 43 out of first.

    “Jimmie Johnson looks like a solid bet to win his sixth Sprint Cup championship,” Earnhardt said. “If that happens, then it’s a perfect example of ‘deJJa vu.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    With the wind whipping as is so typical in the land of Toto and Aunty Em, the fourth race in the Chase, the 11th Annual Hollywood Casino 400, was run at the 1.5 mile paved tri-oval that is Kansas Speedway.  Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from the 267 laps, 400.5 mile race.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Surprising:  It has been a bit surprising just how much the race winner has seemingly been toying with not only the media, but the race fans. At the beginning of the Chase, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had fallen from eighth to tenth in the point standings, particularly due to his 18th place finish at Loudon.

    At that point, many media pundits had begun to write off the chances for a sixth consecutive championship, especially since the tension seemed to be mounting between the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet and his crew chief Chad Knaus.

    Yet Jimmie Johnson again proved that he still has what it takes by scoring his 55th career victory and his 20th career victory in the Chase, the latter being the most ever, tying him with Rusty Wallace for eighth on the all-time wins list.

    And, yes, ‘old five time’ has yet again made his way toward the top of the leader board, up two positions to third, just four points out of the coveted top spot.

    “I told you not to count him out,” Hendrick Motorsport teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “I think the media made a big deal out of the runs he was having and they were a long ways out of the lead in the points.”

    “But that’s a great race team,” Junior continued. “You don’t win five in a row on luck, you know? You don’t just trip over the championship trophy; you do it because you’re great.”

    “And they’ll win the championship this year if anybody doesn’t get going.”

    Not Surprising:  Although most often it is the female fan base flirting with this driver, Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota for the remaining races of the season before heading to Hendrick Motorsports next year, continues to flirt with a race win.

    To no one’s surprise, Kahne finished second, scoring his third top-10 finish in nine races at Kansas, as well as his 10th top-10 finish in 2011.

    “The biggest thing to me would be to leave on a good note,” Kahne said. “There are a lot of people there working really hard and unsure about maybe their future and where they’re going to work next year, and they’re still putting everything they have into our race cars each week.”

    “That’s pretty awesome on their part.”

    Surprising:  In addition to the wind, there was also a good deal of smoke, of all sorts, in Kansas City. The driver known as ‘Smoke’, was instead the cause of some, smoking his tires on a pit stop, causing him to not only slide wildly through his box but also lose eight positions on the track.

    Tony Stewart, piloting his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished the race in the 15th position and fell four positions to seventh in the Chase standings.

    ‘Smoke’ immediately admitted his error, telling his team that his foot had accidentally hit the accelerator when he was trying to brake. But the uncharacteristic error caused the driver to come out as the last car on the lead lap, relegating him to a less-than-stellar finish.

    Another surprising bit of smoke at Kansas was the one that erupted on lap 265 when four-time champ Jeff Gordon’s engine expired. The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, who looked strong all race long, finished 34th, dropping him to tenth in the point standings, 47 points out of first.

    “I started seeing smoke inside the car,” Gordon said. “We had a really bad restart and got shuffled back.”

    “Our day was pretty much over and we were going to finish maybe 15th or something,” Gordon continued. “I started to smell burning oil and saw the oil temp start to come up.”

    “I felt like it was just a matter of time before it blew up.”

    Not Surprising:  Although actually gaining one position in the point standings, from tenth to ninth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the HMS No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet, to no one’s surprise now seems to be focusing more on race wins than a championship.

    “I just want to win a race,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It’s a goal of mine right now to just go out there and win.”

    “Man, if we could do that, that would really, no matter what happened in the Chase, I think we’d be real happy with our season.”

    Surprising:  While loose and tight are most often descriptors for action on the track, it is surprising that those words also apply to Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

    On one hand, the driver of the No. 2 Blue Deuce seems to be looser than loose, finishing third in the Kansas race. This was Keselowski’s second top-10 finish in four races at Kansas Speedway.

    And that top-5 finish moved the driver up two spots to fourth in the Chase, just eleven points behind the leader.

    “This year, it seems like as a group, we’re just clicking,” Keselowski said. “We’re doing a good job of maximizing our day and taking care of everything that’s in our control.”

    “I’m really proud of our team for doing that.”

    On the flip side, Keselowski’s teammate Kurt Busch just seems tight, tight, tight behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge. Busch managed to finish 13th, but still lost two spots in the Chase standings to the sixth position.

    “We got behind in qualifying and had to start 17th,” Busch said. “We ran from 15th to 20th most of the day and caught a break; we got the lucky dog to get back on the lead lap.”

    “We were still a top-10 car when the green-white-checker came out but just couldn’t hold on to a top 10,” Busch continued. “The fresher tires got us.”

    Not Surprising:   There were at least two ‘come back kids’ that surprised no one. The first was the driver of the No. 99 Alfac Ford, Carl Edwards, who rallied from a too-aggressive set up prior to the race, relegating him to needing to be the ‘lucky dog’ to finish fifth.

    With that top-five finish, Edwards scored the points lead, just one point over second place Kevin Harvick.

    “I cannot believe we finished fifth,” Edwards said. “It feels like a win.”

    “That’s the best we’ve done with the worst,” Edwards continued. “I just cannot believe from the way the day started to finish like that is spectacular.”

    The other ‘comeback kid’ was Greg Biffle. Although not in the Chase, the driver of the No. 16 Sherwin-Williams Ford and pole sitter for the race, rallied back from a pit road speeding penalty to finish eighth.

    “Our car wasn’t that good,” Biffle said. “I don’t know what happened with the speeding on pit road.”

    “That was stupid,” Biffle said. “My car just wasn’t that good in traffic, which is where I got hurt there at the end.”

    Surprising:  There was a surprising rash of drivers missing driver introductions prior to the Hollywood Casino 400. A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann and Reed Sorenson all had to move to the back of the field for the start of the race due to their absence at the pre-race intros.

    Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford, finished the best of the group at 25th. Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, finished 35th and Sorenson, who had lost his Turner Motorsports Nationwide ride, finished 38th in his No. 7 SPEED Energy/MAPEI/Menards Dodge Cup ride.

    Not Surprising:  With his career decided, it was not surprising that the driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing finished top-10. Prior to the race festivities, Bowyer confirmed that he will move in 2012 to the Michael Waltrip Racing stables.

    “All in all, it wasn’t a bad day,” Bowyer said. “That’s the last time I’ll be able to run here with these cars.”

    “Hopefully, we’ll get one next time.”

    Surprising:  Hendrick Motorsports is surprisingly close to scoring a record of its own thanks to driver Johnson taking the checkered flag. HMS is just shy of their 200th win, which would put them squarely behind Richard Petty Motorsports with 268 all-time wins.

    Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, again thanks to Johnson’s win, Chevrolet clinched their 35th Cup manufacturer’s championship, assuming a Chevrolet will start each of the final six races.

  • Kahne Continues Momentum as Non-Chase Driver

    Kahne Continues Momentum as Non-Chase Driver

    Kasey Kahne has been the highest finishing non-chase driver for the second week in a row.  He finished fourth at Dover International Speedway and kept his momentum going heading to Kansas.  Kahne finished second to future teammate Jimmie Johnson in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, giving Red Bull Racing their best finish of the season.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”208″][/media-credit]An incident on pit road on lap 21 set Kahne back from his fifth-place starting position. Under the first caution, Kahne pitted for two tires, only to have the jack break.  Then as he was attempting to leave his pit, he was blocked in by the No. 48 car.  The No. 4 team decided last minute to take four tires, restarting back in 40th position.

    From there, Kahne raced his way from 40th position to sixth position, getting himself back into contention late in the race.  Kahne gave up his position to pit when the fifth caution came out with 28 laps to go.  Crew chief Kenny Francis made the call to pit for four tires and a splash of fuel, to restart the race in 12th position.  Kahne quickly raced to fifth after the restart and found himself in second place with 10 laps to go.

    With two laps to go the final caution came out, eliminating Johnson’s two second lead.  Kahne was able to clear a group of cars on the green-white-checkered restart, but came up short finishing the race in second position.

    On the restart Brad gave me a good push, and I had a shot at Jimmie,” said Kahne. “I just couldn’t really get to him. I thought maybe getting to (Turn) 3 I would go high, and he kind of entered into the middle and then just crept his way to the top and just really didn’t have a shot there at him. But I think we had a good Red Bull car. The guys did a nice job today.”

    At the end of the season, Red Bull will be leaving the team with no word yet whether they will continue as a one car operation.  Kahne will be leaving the team to start his new ride with Hendrick Motorsports, extending through the 2015 season.

  • The Final Word – Kansas, where good just was not good enough

    The Final Word – Kansas, where good just was not good enough

    Early in the year, a guy can get by with good. Good puts you in position for great things, with 20, or 30, or 40 races to go in the season. What Jimmie Johnson had last Sunday was a great car, a great performance, and the man who would be a six-time champion won his 55th career victory to move to within four points of the top of the hill with just six races to go.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick had good cars, hung around in the top 20, but stepped it up to great to both finish in the top ten to keep Johnson from moving on past them. Edwards was fifth, one better than Harvick, to take the Chase lead by a single point. So that now leaves us with three drivers who have been great, a handful of others who have been good, while four more can pretty much dream of what is to come…in 2012.

    Denny Hamlin was good enough to be 16th as Kansas. Not bad if it were February at Daytona, but when things have been bad thus far in the Chase it just means more dirt has been tossed over his championship hopes for this season. His is now 79 down and he is not coming back.

    Ryan Newman needed to be great, and at 18th he wasn’t even good on a day where he actually had been worse for the most part. He is now done. Jeff Gordon started blowing up with thirty to go before it gave up the ghost with less than ten remaining to finish 34th. Number five will have to wait another season. Dale Earnhardt Jr cracked the Top 15, but he needed a Top Five. Now he is more than 40 in arrears, and that pretty much leaves him in the dust.

    Five sit within 11 to 20 points back, still with a chance for greatness if those who have been great go bad, and do it soon. Brad Keselowski finished third in Kansas, just behind Kasey Kahne, and sits fourth in the hunt. Not great, but damn close. Matt Kenseth is a dozen away, and being fourth at Kansas keeps him relevant. The Busch boys and Tony Stewart all had Top Fifteens, not great, but some very good, even great, performances earlier leaves them between 16 and 20 off the pace. Good enough for the moment, but Charlotte and Talladega better be great.

    ESPN…well not great but good for the most part. Rusty and Brad, God love them, are kind of like letting a deadbeat relative be part of your entourage. If the broadcast team were the Corleone family, Rusty and Brad would be a pair of Fredos. When someone makes the mistake of turning on their mics during a race, Nicole Briscoe brings up some pertinent fact and these boys concept of providing additional color is to simply provide a long-winded version of “you betcha.” If your grandma can replace an announcer, I’m guessing there isn’t much point of having him…or them…there.

    There, this Saturday night, is Charlotte, North Carolina. If Kevin Harvick can repeat his performance there from last May, that would be great. If Kurt Busch can do what he did there the previous spring, that would be great. If Jimmie Johnson can do there was he has done five times in his career, that would be great for him, but the rest better be either great or really, really good. If not, then Denny, Ryan, Jeff, and Junior are going to have some company out on exile island. Enjoy the week.