Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Featured Stories

Featured stories from SpeedwayMedia.com

  • Dillon and RCR Closes in on Truck Championship with Win

    Dillon and RCR Closes in on Truck Championship with Win

    Richard Childress Racing’s of the No 3 truck of Austin Dillon crew only slid on two tires on the final pit stop and came out ahead of Sprint Cup regular Kevin Harvick who had led the most laps up until that point. Dillon took only two tires under green and while Harvick battled with others for  second place Dillon took off. The win at the Chicagoland Speedway in the Fast Five 225,

    [media-credit name=”Bill Gutweiler ” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]allowed the 21 year old grandson of Richard Childress to pull within 3 points of the series leader James Buescher who finished in 11th.

     

    “This is the biggest win of my career, I think,” Dillon, said in Victory Lane. “I’ve wanted to beat those guys and everybody asks ‘How do you feel about racing against Cup drivers?’ Every time they ask me the question, I say ‘I love it’ because that proves we can go out there and run with them. It proves we can get to the next level. I’m glad when they come into the series, they are very tough to beat, they are supposed to be, and when you beat them it makes it that much better.”

     

    “I ran up there, racing with Kyle (Busch) and Harvick. Harvick was great all night, but Stockman (Dillon’s crew chief) made the call at the end to put us out on two tires. He knows when I get out front it’s like smelling blood for a shark. When we got out there, we could just take off. The team … they kept gaining spots every time we came on pit road. I love coming on pit road when they’re like that. It’s awesome.”

     

    The win was Dillon’s second of the 2011 season and 4th of his young career. The last four races had been won by Kevin Harvick Incorporated race trucks, a team that announced just this week that they would no longer be fielding trucks in 2012.

     

    Harvick spoke to why he had to take four tires, “On the caution before earlier in the race around lap 85) we didn’t take any tires, so we had about 22 more laps on our tires. When you have a vibration like that, you want to win the race, but in the big picture…and the even bigger picture on Sunday (in the first Chase race) …we don’t need to blow a tire and have something happen. So when it got to the point of shaking bad enough to where I knew something was changing, I just came in and changed four tires. I knew at that point, they (the other drivers including Kyle Busch and Dillon) were going to do the opposite, but we had to change four.”  Harvick led 99 of 150 laps.

    Harvick, whose Nationwide Series team will move to RCR next year said, “As a driver you want to win the race, especially with a truck like that, but nine times out of 10 you don’t win ’em on days like that. But in the end, we kept it all in the family.”

    Kyle Busch said after the race clearly disappointed, “Yeah, it was the right call to get us the track position.  We just didn’t have the right truck tonight to keep it up front andkeep a fast truck that will hold those guys off.  Just Kyle Busch Motorsports is missing something.”

  • Matty’s Picks: Geico 400 Vol. 18 – Chicago – September 18, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Geico 400 Vol. 18 – Chicago – September 18, 2011

    I will tell you up front that this will be a rather brief Matty’s Picks as there is really nothing exciting to write about at Chicagoland Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”chicagolandspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”123″][/media-credit]Chicago marks the start of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, and NASCAR couldn’t have picked a more boring race to start what is supposed to be the most exciting part of the season. Even the race at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year will prove to be more exciting than the race this weekend at Chicagoland because at least at Kentucky there was the parking situation to talk about.

    The fall season marks the toughest time during the NASCAR Sprint Cup season for viewer ratings, because of competing with the National Football League for viewers on Sunday afternoons. Placing another cookie-cutter style track with few passes and strung-out racing is no way to compete with the NFL.

    Enough with my rant about The Chase schedule, onto some picks…

    Richmond Recap

    Bad, bad, bad. I had two picks last week that really hit the toilet bowl in the last race of the 2011 regular season.

    Clint Bowyer, my Winner Pick, may have had the car to beat last Saturday night but got tangled up in an accident just nine laps into the 400-lap stanza. Bowyer had a very fast Chevrolet Impala in qualifying, sealing up fifth-place on the starting grid, but as everyone knows pointing the wrong the way on the racetrack is not the way you win races.

    Bowyer restarted 34th after the caution (which he caused) on lap 20 and I had a glimmer of hope as the Richard Childress Racing driver quickly moved into the top-15 by lap 60, top-10 by lap 70 and back into the top-5 by lap 100.

    Clint Bowyer might have been the hottest driver on the track last Saturday (in a literal sense), as he reported his in-car air conditioner had quit just 10-laps in, and the “Helping Hands” crew was forced to continue shoveling water and ice packs thru the window of the No. 33 car.

    Bowyer ran in the top-15 for another 125 laps before crew chief Shane Wilson realized the No. 33 was losing ground to the leaders and called his driver to the pits under the green. This strategy to be off-sequence to the leaders would backfire just seven laps later when the caution flag flew, forcing Bowyer a lap down to the leader and in the 20th position.

    The No. 33 car would linger around the top-15 the remainder of the race, but fought a loose condition, eventually taking the checkered flag in the 22nd position, sealing me up a poor finish for a Winner Pick.
    I will not bore you with the recap for Marcos Ambrose, because you would be here all night reading about each incident he was involved in. My Dark Horse pick, faired just one position better than Bowyer, finishing the Wonderful Pistachios 400 finishing in 21st position.

    Marcos Ambrose tried to make the most out of a rough night, after starting from the 33rd spot, and finding himself involved in a handful of on-track incidents. And just by coincidence, Ambrose was involved in the same wreck my Winner Pick, Clint Bowyer was involved in just 9-laps into Saturday night’s race.

    This was just the start of Ambrose’s troubles with the wall and other cars. Ambrose was involved in at least two other incidents before the half way point and at least one other during the second half of the race.

    He was a lap down basically the entire race, and never really gave me the hopes of making a Dark Horse win pick. With his 21st place finish, Ambrose did crack the top 20 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers points, but gained me nothing in my Dark Horse picks.

    Chicago Picks

    Winner Pick

    Well, I have to get my mandatory once-a-month Kyle Busch pick in, and with just one race to go after Chicago in the month of September, let’s make it this week.

    Like most tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Kyle Busch has visited Victory Lane at Chicago, but never with Chase points riding on the line. In July 2008, Rowdy started on the pole at Chicagoland Speedway because of qualifying being rained out, and would pass Jimmie Johnson on the final restart for his first and only win at the track.

    Also unlike most tracks on the schedule, Kyle does not average a top-10 finish at Chicago. His average finish at the cookie-cutter in Joliet is 13.5, and his only top-10’s are actually top-5’s. He has finished 17th and 33rd respectively in the past two seasons at Chicago, but is eager to set the high mark in The Chase.

    Kyle is the guy most are pointing at to knock Jimmie Johnson off his championship course, and in order to do that he must WIN. I’d say the first race of the 2011 Chase is the time to do it.

    Dark Horse Pick

    I’ve made it a point to not pick two “Chasers” each week, and will start off this week with a driver who really could use a win for his NASCAR legacy.

    A win for Mark Martin in these final ten races this year would mean the world to the 52-year old. He is coming off a top-10 last week at Richmond and does have a history of finding the front at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Mark Martin etched his name in the history books at Chicagoland Speedway in July 2009 when he won the LifeLock.com 400, a race that was run at night. He led the race 4 times for a total of 195 laps, a complete domination of the rest of the 43-car field. The July win marked his 4th victory in 19 races during the 2009 season, the season he would be ranked first going into the final ten races of the season. 3

    Mark Martin was 3rd in the first practice of the day, and his average finish in the ten races run at Chicagoland Speedway is 12.8, slightly better than my Winner Pick’s.

    Not many folks are looking at Mark Martin for a win this week; hopefully I’ve opened your eyes to that possibility.

    That’s all for this week and as always…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Handicapping the Chase – Johnson Again

    Handicapping the Chase – Johnson Again

    It’s not easy to handicap the 2011 Chase field. In fact, my opinion is that Jimmie Johnson will win his sixth consecutive championship. That isn’t going to be popular with most of you, but it’s so obvious that it jumps out to me. There is no one to challenge the team of Jimmie and Chad. Each and every challenger has weaknesses that the Lowe’s team does not have. It’s almost that the Chase was designed around the No. 48 team. You might say they’ve figured it out and no one else has, yet there is hope for someone else to take the crown, no matter how slim that hope is.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Let me preface this by saying that I don’t care who wins the championship. In fact, it has never been important to me. Individual races and the number of wins have always been the measuring point for a successful season. Unlike football, baseball, and basketball, NASCAR depends on individual races. The stick and ball sports look toward the Super Bowl, the World Series and the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, and for some reason, NASCAR headed in that direction in 2004. The result has been an emphasis on the championship instead of individual races. It took me several weeks to realize that David Pearson won the 1969 Championship and even when I found out, I didn’t really care. NASCAR created this championship frenzy to emulate the stick and ball sports. I find that hideous. Forever, the championship, whether it was the individual track championship or the Cup championship was an afterthought to who did what on what day. The championship was a mere bonus at the end of the season. Then came the trips to New York and now Las Vegas. Win Daytona? No big deal. Win Indy? No big deal, but the championship? Big deal.

    NASCAR has tried to change this with rules. Seeing that the Chase format was somewhat flawed, they added two more drivers (many think this is so that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could somehow be included) and tried to give a bonus to winning, but the truth remains, this Chase was made for Jimmie and Chad. Only one short track, interestingly one that Johnson dominates, and the rest, with the exception of Dover, that are very similar. Sure, you have Talladega and Martinsville, but why is Daytona, Darlington, and Bristol not included, at least for the historical significance if not the variety of tracks?

    All that said, here what I think about the Chase contestants:

    1. Kyle Busch – He has never shown that he can compete at the highest level when things are on the line. Young as he is, he will have other chances, but the engine failures will make him less than a favorite. He may prove me wrong, but the No, 1 position gives us no reason to believe that he will not see the gremlins that have haunted him all year.
    2. Kevin Harvick –The bad summer was swept away from the minds of many by his win at Richmond. The struggles may continue in a bad year for Richard Childress Racing.
    3. Jeff Gordon – Despite his success in winning races this year and strong runs, the record shows that his team falters at the end of races. Gordon is a favorite, as a legend should but, I just don’t think it’s going to happen for him. I may eat my words and crow tastes pretty good.
    4. Matt Kenseth –The creator of the Chase will do what he always does—run solidly and contend, but is this team a championship team? As usual, he shined during the early season and ran strong throughout the series, but can he maintain the consistency and win a race or two in the final ten races.
    5. Carl Edwards –After a torrid start, Edwards became the guy who either finished second or had problems. One wins tells me that there is work to be done. Can this team rise to the occasion? After his contract problems were solved, he regressed in performance. Can this team rise to the occasion?
    6. Jimmie Johnson – Johnson flew below the radar most of the season. Like Edwards, he won only one race, but the tracks left are Johnson’s type of tracks. If he wins a couple of races, it’s game over. If he continues to battle with Kurt Busch, it may put him and Chad off their game, but I doubt that. I see no reason why they can’t repeat for a sixth time.
    7. Kurt Busch – See No, 6 above. The Penske Dodges have been potent, and the former champ is a worthy adversary. But will the feud be a major distraction?
    8. Ryan Newman – With one win, Newman comes into the Chase as an afterthought. I see no reason he can win without multiple wins, and I don’t see that in the cards.
    9. Tony Stewart – A horrible season continues. The former champ got in because so many didn’t do well this season. I would say no chance, but you never know. He has to win and win some more.
    10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – NASCAR got their wish for Junior to be included in the Chase. NASCAR’s Most Popular Drive may keep many interested in the final ten races, but with no wins and lackluster performances, I can’t see a way for him to win this championship. Prove me wrong, Dale.
    11. Brad Keselowski – A hot finish to the regular season, with some wins got Keselowski into the championship drive, but truth be known, it was the perfect storm. If he can continue the last few weeks, he can be a contender, but for some reason, I don’t see that as coming true.
    12. Denny Hamlin – After a runner-up season in 2010, Hamlin made it into the Chase in last place. With the engine problems outlined above and his best tracks behind him, I expect Hamlin to be less than a worthy adversary.

    The way I look at it, it looks like Old Five Time will become Old Six Time. The regular season was just a tune-up for the Chase. As it has been for the last five, or six years.

  • Stephen Leicht Makes the Most of Richmond Opportunity

    Stephen Leicht Makes the Most of Richmond Opportunity

    After being out of a race car for two years, Stephen Leicht got the opportunity of a lifetime to slide behind the wheel of the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing at Richmond this past weekend.

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: prweb.com ” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]And the young driver took full advantage of it, staying out of trouble, finishing the race right behind Chase contender Matt Kenseth, and taking the checkered flag in the 24th position.

    “That was a great night for us,” Leicht said. “I was very proud of the entire Golden Corral TBR team.”

    “We weren’t very good when we unloaded and in practice on Friday,” Leicht continued. “We completely aborted the first set up we had in and completely changed the race car.”

    Leicht admitted that not only did his team work hard on the car, but he also had to work hard on himself particularly as he had not been in a race car for over two years.

    “We got it driving good and then jumped up a little bit on the speed charts in the second practice,” Leicht said. “Part of it was me not being in a car for two years and part of it was the race car. But all in all, the team did a great job all weekend and I thought we ran pretty well in the race.”

    After being away from the sport, Leicht experienced many emotions when the command to start engines was given under the lights at Richmond, ranging from relief to anxiety to intense focus and just trying to have fun.

    “It was relieving to be back in the car,” Leicht said. “I’ve spent a lot of time preparing myself and you’re always anxious the first time back in a race car.”

    “You want to be smooth and fast and do well but at the same time, you’ve got to be cautious because you haven’t been in a car in a while,” Leicht continued. “But the guys gave me such a great race car, that it really was easy to focus on what I was doing. And racing with some of the best in the world was a lot of fun.”

    “I thought I’d be really nervous but to be quite honest, I was so focused,” Leicht said. “The car was locked in the points so that gave me the opportunity to just race.”

    “Knowing that going in, I tried not to get nervous and just focus,” Leicht continued. “I was very surprised that I was able to do that.”

    Leicht said that the opportunity to drive the Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 36 came about three months ago, after a conversation with the team owner.

    “I’ve known Tommy (Baldwin) since back in our Yates days in 2006 and 2007,” Leicht said. “Basically, I had some sponsorship opportunities coming up and he was working on some stuff as well.”

    “He said, ‘Let’s go do some testing and we’ll see how that goes,’ Leicht continued. “Things just clicked and we got to go to Richmond.”

    Leicht admitted that he faced many challenges in the 54th Annual Wonderful Pistachios 400. One major challenge was getting the car to handle on short runs in addition to the long runs, as well as handling his own physical reaction to being behind the wheel.

    “For us, we had two biggest challenges, one was that our race cars just would not go on re-starts,” Leicht said. “We definitely have to work on our shorter run package.”

    “Personally, my biggest struggle was that my body was not used to all the heat in the race cars for that long of a race,” Leicht continued. “It’s a different world out there and you definitely have to be in shape. I got pretty dehydrated in the race. But all in all I thought everything went great.”

    Leicht said that another major challenge for him was balancing racing hard for himself while also respecting the drivers in the Chase, as well as those trying to make the Chase. And he was definitely cognizant of the beating and banging that went along with that.

    “I believe I came on the radio about 50 laps into the race and asked if they always wrecked that much,” Leicht said with a chuckle. “There was a lot going on and I was dodging a lot of stuff out there.”

    “You want to do great as a team and as a driver and for your sponsors, but at the same time with me not running for points and the team not being in the Chase, we had to be respectful of the ones trying to make the Chase and the ones locked into the Chase,” Leicht continued. “It definitely changes the game plan a little bit.”

    “But all in all, I think we were able to balance the two well,” Leicht said. “I was very pleased with the outcome.”

    With the Richmond race in his rear view mirror, Leicht is now focused on the upcoming race at Chicago in which he plans to start and park for Tommy Baldwin Racing. After that, there are no further formal plans in the work.

    “I’m not sure about anything else at this point,” Leicht said. “We’re just focused on trying to make the race at Chicago this weekend and you never know, there could be an opportunity for getting some more laps in this year.”

    “I just know that we’re focused on what we’ve got going on sponsorship-wise for next year,” Leicht continued. “Our goal for next year is full-time racing, myself and (Dave) Blaney.”

    “That would be awesome because Blaney is a great guy and a great driver and it would be awesome to be teammates with him.”

    Although Leicht’s focus is now on continuing his Cup career, he has a long history in racing, starting at the young age of six in go karts. And for Leicht, racing was his savior as far as keeping him out of trouble.

    “It was my parents’ way of keeping me out of trouble,” Leicht said. “I was kind of a bad little kid but I loved to race so much that my parents told me if I stayed out of trouble, they would allow me to race.”

    “It didn’t take long and I was winning a bunch of races, Leicht continued. “Then it became more than a hobby and became a passion of mine. And I’ve been doing it ever since. I can’t get enough of it.”

    When asked what one word would best describe him as a racer at this stage in his career, Leicht said simply, “Determined.”

    He then shared a caveat to the determination, that of being very grateful and very proud.

    “I’m very proud of the TBR organization,” Leicht said. “And I can’t thank Tommy Baldwin enough for this opportunity.”

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]1. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth in the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond, overcoming two instances of falling a lap down to score his 16th top 10 of the year. Busch will start the Chase atop the standings, tied with nemesis Kevin Harvick, each with four wins.

    “It’s great to be back on top of the standings,” Busch said. “The question is, can I stay there? Now would be a great time for Pedigree to adorn the No. 18 Toyota, while I order it to ‘stay.’

    “I don’t expect Harvick and I to share the top spot for long. As everyone knows, we can’t be in the same place for long. I’m sure he’s reveling at another chance to ‘knock me out.’”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick won the race off pit road on the final caution and held off a charging Carl Edwards to win at Richmond. It was Harvick’s fourth win of the year, and first since may, and placed him in a tie with Kyle Busch for the top seed in the reset point standings.

    “Thanks to my pit crew,” Harvick said, “we were able to win this race. This isn’t the first time I’ve had my crew to thank for keeping Edwards off of me.

    “It’s quite a relief to know that Richard Childress will be running my Nationwide team. That’s a burden I can do without, and it just goes to show that it’s easier to ‘unload’ on Richard Childress than Kyle Busch.”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: The Jimmie Johnson-Kurt Busch feud intensified at Richmond, just in time for the Chase. Johnson was clipped by Kurt Busch and spun on lap 185, and Johnson retaliated on lap 246 after diving into the corner sideways and sending Busch for a smoky spin. Johnson finished 31st, and will start the Chase eighth in the standings, nine points out of first.

    “I don’t know if Busch wrecked me intentionally,” Johnson said. “One could argue that’s why I wrecked Busch—-because I just had to stop and ask.

    “If Busch wants to continue this feud, that’s his prerogative. I don’t mind. I think I’ve been pretty patient with Kurt. After all, I haven’t slapped him, which is yet another characteristic that separates me from most other drivers. Whether surrounded by Cups or controversy, I’m comfortable in the middle of it.”

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon passed Kevin Harvick for the lead with 22 laps to go, but Paul Menard’s spin six laps later brought out the final caution, and Harvick beat Gordon out of the pits. Harvick went on to win, while Gordon finished third and will start the Chase For The Cup three points down to top seeds Harvick and Kyle Busch.

    “We gave that one away,” Gordon said. “Normally, exchanging ‘24’ for a ‘case’ of Budweiser would be considered fair. Not this time.

    “My car may say ‘Drive To End Hunger,’ but I’m saying I’m the ‘Driver To End Hunger For Five.’”

    5. Carl Edwards: Edwards gained some much-needed momentum for the Chase For The Cup with a runner-up finish at Richmond. Edwards chased Kevin Harvick over the final 12 laps after a restart, but couldn’t get close enough to make the pass. Edwards will start the Chase nine points down to co-leaders Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

    “I knew I probably couldn’t get close enough to pass Harvick,” Edwards said, “but I was hoping to at least pressure him into a mistake. As is well known, my way of getting at Harvick is to make him ‘choke.’”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 12th in the Wonderful Pistachios 400, his first result outside the top 10 since a 35th at New Hampshire. As a wildcard Chase qualifier, he’ll start the Chase 12 points out of the lead.

    “Thanks to NASCAR’s screwy wildcard rules,” Keselowski said, “I get no credit for my three wins. Instead of starting three points off the pace, I’m 12 behind. I don’t know what’s harder—winning three times, or proving myself twice.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 23rd at Richmond, one lap down, after a night filled with handling challenges and several scrapes with other cars. By virtue of his two wins this year, Kenseth will start the Chase six points behind co-leaders Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

    “It’s certainly not the way we wanted to enter the Chase For The Cup,” Kenseth said. “The No. 17 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Ford faced a number of issues on Saturday, but don’t ‘discount’ chances to win the Sprint Cup.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished fifth at Richmond, posting his seventh top-5 result of the season. He’ll start nine points off the lead when the Chase For The Cup begins Sunday at Chicagoland.

    “As my brother Kyle well knows,” Busch said, “it’s not where you start, it’s how you finish. And I’m 100% committed to finishing—Jimmie Johnson.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished eighth at Atlanta, his 13th top-10 result of the year, and will start the Chase alongside Stewart-Haas teammate Tony Stewart, who finished 12th in the standings.

    “It’s great to have a teammate in the Chase,” Newman said, “but Tony knows as well as I that once the Chase starts, it’s every man for himself. I’m as well prepared as anyone for that situation—that’s one, and likely the only, advantage to teaming with Rusty Wallace for several years.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: With his Chase-qualification hopes on the line, Hamlin overcame damage sustained in an early accident to finish 9th, locking up a wildcard berth in the Chase.

    “We certainly don’t enter this year’s Chase with the momentum we had last year,” Hamlin said. “Obviously, this team has regressed, but our off-season overhaul will take place in the same manner as a potential Cup-winning Chase—from the bottom up.”

  • Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Keselowski Trying Not to Think about Wasted Bonus Points

    Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Keselowski Trying Not to Think about Wasted Bonus Points

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]A year removed from finishing 25th in points with just two top 10s, Brad Keselowski qualified for the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup on Saturday night in Richmond. Call him this season’s Cinderella story, or breakthrough driver of the year, either way Keselowski has stolen the show.

    “I’m viewing it like a one-year-old that got his first box of crayons,” Keselowski said of making his first Chase in only his second attempt. “It’s great, everything is fresh, new, and a lot of positive momentum. No matter what happens in the Chase, it’s still an honor to be in it, and that doesn’t mean I’m making excuses if we don’t run well.”

    With good reason, Keselowski said he’s going to enjoy the Chase. With an open mind and by running hard every week, he has every reason to be excited about what he could do next.

    Entering the mid-summer stretch Keselowski sat 22nd in points with one win, two top fives and two top 10s. In order to take advantage of that win to make the Chase’s wildcard, Keselowski would have had to get into the top 20 in points. After breaking his ankle testing in Road Atlanta the first week of August before the Cup race in Pocono, it didn’t seem possible.

    But who knew that a broken ankle would be exactly what the team needed. August became the month of Keselowski as he won two out of four races while he finished second and third in the other two races.

    Suddenly Keselowski was the championship favorite. He catapulted to 11th in points entering Atlanta with just two races left in the regular season. His three wins though clinched his Chase birth in at least a wildcard position. Richmond would be icing on the cake depending on his finish.

    “I felt like superman when we came in and put new tires on,” Keselowski said after his 12th place finish. “There was a couple of other guys that came in with us and we were able to drive up to the pack even much faster than I anticipated.”

    Struggling early in the event, Keselowski only had a brief moment of greatness as the No. 2 Miller Lite team struggled with speed. But as Keselowski revealed, he was superman on new tires as he drove into the top five during a portion of the race and moved within two points of the top 10 in the championship standings.

    Even though already clinched in the Chase, had Keselowski been able to finish the regular season in the top 10 in points it would have allowed him to use the bonus points from his wins for Chase reseeding. Instead, Keselowski remained 11th in points, wondering what could have been.

    “We would have much rather preferred to have capitalized on the wins and get in the top 10 obviously,” Keselowski said, “but we gave it a good effort. It was going to take a lot to get it done, but certainly going to look back at the first half of the year and wish that we’d have been able to find those 20 some points or whatever t was we were off.”

    Rightly proud, is Keselowski of the season that he and his team have had thus far. Not many would have put Keselowski in their predicted Chase field lineup before the season started and others wouldn’t have thought he’d win a race, let alone three. He’s done both and knows those are great accomplishments in themselves, regardless of how the Chase plays out.

    “I think most people would tell you having won three races is a good year and making the Chase,” said Keselowski. “Trying not to get too greedy about having the three wins and the bonus points. Just thankful for the year we’ve had and going to keep working, got some momentum and a lot of things to be proud of this year.”

    Just as it was Saturday night, Keselowski feels that speed will be a factor in the Chase. Keselowski wants to be a factor in the championship and keep the amazing run that he’s been on leading up to it going. Going to Chicago this weekend he’s 12 points out of the lead and 10 races from shocking the NASCAR world more than he already has.

    Of those 10 weeks, Keselowski doesn’t feel there will be a bad track for him. He’s won at Kansas and Talladega; he captured the pole earlier this year at Charlotte. Most importantly, he’s proven that past statistics don’t mean a thing. No one saw him coming this year and his competitors shouldn’t overlook him going into the Chase.

    “We’ve got what I feel like are some good races for us coming up in the Chase,” said Keselowski. “Going back to Kansas, which we had run good at even before we won, and I think of tracks like Martinsville, I think we were really there as well. I think we’re going to come back to those races and be really strong.

    “I think there’s not really a bad track coming up for us in the Chase and I feel like we we’re really on a high note and I feel like we’ve got as good as shot as anyone else. I really believe that.”

  • Harvick visits Virginia Tech

    Harvick visits Virginia Tech

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kevin Harvick paid a visit to Virginia Tech, VA on Tuesday and toured the No. 13 ranked Hokies facilities. Harvick also had lunch with several Virginia Tech football players and later sat through their media interviews before a press conference with football coach Frank Beamer.

    The Q&A session started of with a simple question to Harvick, “What’s you knowledge of Virginia Tech football?”

    “I think for me I have learned a lot about Virginia Tech football today.  To see the facility and everything that goes in, it’s a first class facility with great people to make it go around.” Harvick said.

    “There’s a lot of similarities about what it takes to make a race team go around and what makes a football team or any other business for that matter. It takes good people, it takes dedication and it takes determination to do what you have to do. So there are a lot of similarities and I enjoyed my afternoon.” Harvick added.

    With the merge of KHI and RCR how much does the free you up for the chase coming up, does it kind of take the load off of your mind knowing that all you have to worry about now is driving?

    “I’m glad it’s off my mind. We have been working on it for awhile, myself and Richard (Childress) and I think it’s going to elevate the performance of the Nationwide teams next year.” Harvick said. “For myself and DeLana, its going to allow us to do some things not having to be involved on a day-to-day basis. But we are still going to be heavily involved.”

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”226″][/media-credit]Beamer was asked whom he liked in the Chase, Beamer said “Kevin Harvick!!!!!” but quickly added that he also roots for Virginia drivers, “you have to pull for them a little bit ”.  A person from the media said that there “were not any Virginia drivers in the chase”, Beamer again quickly added, “you have Denny Hamlin!”

    Beamer presented Harvick with a No. 29 Hokies jersey with his name on the back. In return, Harvick presented Beamer with a replica helmet.

    “We wish Kevin good luck as he starts the chase here and we have a hat for him and then we got a jersey. Its got the right number on it and the right name on it.” Beamer said.

    Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell gave Beamer two framed lifetime tickets to Campbell’s presidential suite at the track.

    Beamer took time to recall his 15-lap drive around Bristol Motor Speedway with five other celebrities. He started second, but his daughter, Casey, recalled him being passed twice from kicker David Akers. Beamer added that he (Akers) wanted to race cars after his football career is over.

    “I noticed a lot of people were going by me. But I was just trying not to run into the wall. So I got through the race and was happy as heck I didn’t run into the wall.” Beamer said.

    What does Harvick think of this year’s chase?

    “I tell you, with so many different people winning this year, I think it shows how competitive the series is right now. It seems like everybody’s been through a certain period of struggles and I always tell everybody that each Chase takes on its own characteristic, and it will be interesting to see if this is going to be a consistent one, one where you have to win or one where you have to make the best out of your bad days. It will be interesting.” Harvick said.

    Harvick enters the chase with four wins, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Harvick and Budweiser will debut the new Budweiser “Bowtie” can paint scheme for the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at the Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday.

    The focal point of the design is Budweiser’s iconic bowtie, complemented by the time-honored Budweiser creed and Anheuser-Busch medallion.

    “We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate these two milestones than by creating the special Budweiser bowtie can paint scheme to kickoff the Chase at Chicagoland this weekend.” said Rob McCarthy, vice president, Budweiser.

  • The Final Word – Can Chicago be any wilder than the battle of Richmond?

    The Final Word – Can Chicago be any wilder than the battle of Richmond?

    So, you think that with the way things turned out at Richmond we had a race that was a total waste of time? Oh no, my friend. I mean, with Kevin Harvick managing to keep Carl Edwards behind him as they came to the line, Happy got his fourth win of the season. He is now tied with Kyle Busch atop the Chase standings with 2012 big points. See, it meant something.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It allowed Jimmie Johnson to retaliate for the accidental bump he got from Kurt Busch to get into the little fella’s head. Kurt went ape on a reporter after he simply asked if this feud could hurt both their chances, then denied to another about saying something he had said earlier, then tearing up the transcript that proved the former champ was wrong in his assumption. Yet, Busch claims that it is he, King Kurt, who has somehow gotten into Johnson’s head. Something tells me the boy could be wrong about that, too.

    If not for Saturday night’s broadcast, look at all the bent metal we would have missed. We would have not seen why Brian Vickers got so upset with Marcos Ambrose, and why NASCAR sat Vickers down for a time out in the middle of the race. We would have been left wondering how Junior can be involved in three incidents, get down a couple of laps, be riding around 29th at one point, and still finish 16th.

    It was a good thing Earnhardt was out there, beating and banging. I mean, if not for that, his boys would have had to take a sledgehammer to that auto of his in order to create the same work of modern art. Junior was minding his own business when he ran into a sideways Clint Bowyer. Of course, this was immediately after he had ran into a braking Matt Kenseth. A little later, he noticed that Ambrose was not being bothered by Vickers, so he bothered him. He later got a bump from Travis Kvapil, and not long after he returned the favor by putting that fella right into the fence. Nothing but good times.

    So, Junior fell to tenth in the pre-Chase standings, but he and the rest who had a position a week ago have one as they head to Chicago. Only a dozen drivers really hold our interest as we head towards autumn, though there are others who will be looking to either find a job, or keep the one they got. Harvick and Shrub may lead the parade heading to the Windy City, but a finish outside the Top Twenty on Sunday would change that in a hurry.

    Chicago, a track where they have raced ten times, where Harvick won the first two, Stewart also has a pair, with Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Junior, and Kyle Busch each with one win to their credit. It is where Carl Edwards was the 2010 runner-up, but nobody who has won there also went on to claim the Cup championship that season. Mark Martin won in 2009, but finished second behind some guy named Johnson in points. So, am I saying Chicago will prove to be just a big waste of time? Something tells me that won’t be the case. Enjoy the week.

  • NASCAR Looks Ahead to the Chase for the Sprint Cup After a Volatile Night in Richmond Sets the Field

    NASCAR Looks Ahead to the Chase for the Sprint Cup After a Volatile Night in Richmond Sets the Field

    NASCAR’s regular season is officially over and now as we look forward to the first race of the Chase and the 12 drivers who will be giving chase to the coveted Sprint Cup, you can’t help but wonder just what the next 10 weeks will bring. A lot of drama spawned from the Wonderful Pistachios 400. Tempers flared, frustration grew, cars damaged (on accident and purposefully), egos bruised, and on track enemies made. Many of the drivers who were still mathematically eligible to make the Chase vocalized the need for a conservative approach on the track and to simply stay out of trouble, but Saturday night under the lights at Richmond International Raceway proved anything but.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”251″][/media-credit]The proof is in the stats. The caution flag waved a record 15 times that night. The poor flagman barely had enough time to take back the green flag from honorary starter Frank Siller, founder of the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Tower Foundation and brother of a NYC firefighter who died on 9/11, after whom his foundation is named before having to grab for the yellow as the first caution of the night came out on lap two. Driver s barely made it a handful of laps before another incident occurred. Green flag. Yellow flag. Repeat.

    On lap eight the short track version of “big one” happened after contact made between Chase hopeful, Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann collecting Chase favored Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin in the carnage. It was way too earlier in the evening to be feeling that kind of tension in the air, but it was palpable. The battle had begun and it wouldn’t be long before drivers picked their individual sparring partners.

    Kasey Kahne chose wrong, he fought the wall for the first time on lap 27 and then again on lap 51 after going three –wide with Marcos Ambrose and teammate Brian Vickers. The wall remained victorious as Kahne’s No. 4 Red Bull Toyota was towed off the track and the driver taken to the infield care unit. Physically Kahne was all right, but there was that bruised ego that I spoke of earlier to contend with.

    Vickers chose Ambrose to a duel, he let the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford know just how displeased he was by intentionally wrecking Ambrose under caution on lap 53 and purposely blocking his entrance to pit road. NASCAR won that one by effectively putting Vickers into “time out,” sending his No. 83 machine to the garage for bad behavior. He was allowed to return to the track 68 laps later after thinking long and hard about his actions.

    Earnhardt Jr. brawled with Travis Kvapil on lap 152 by giving him a taste of his own medicine. Kvapil made contact with Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Amp Chevrolet earlier in the race and it was now time for some payback by sending Kvapil’s No. 38 Ford into the turn two wall.  Earnhardt Jr., who was a lap down, may have thought he’d win that battle by getting the free pass to get back on the lead lap, but NASCAR saw differently. Since Earnhardt Jr. was involved in the incident that brought out the caution he was awarded the “unlucky dog” pass and stayed a lap down.

    Like Kahne before him, Paul Menard took his chance with the wall on lap 172. Once again the wall reigned victorious, sending he and his No. 27 Menards Chevrolet to the garage and ending any hopes of making the Chase.

    Kurt Busch started a feud with Jimmie Johnson on lap 185 that would prove to be an all night thing. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet spun in turn two after making contact with Busch. On lap 246 the pair brought out the 11th caution of the night, Johnson in what looked to be a payback attempt, bumped Busch’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge sending Busch into a spin on turn two. Busch avoided contact with the wall and won the war, as Johnson’s so-called revenge was not so sweet after all, as his car spun out of control and hit the wall, sending him to the garage for repair. 33 laps later Johnson returned to the track on lap 278 and to Busch’s rear bumper by lap 283. However, no further contact was made between he two.

    Hamlin and Earnhardt Jr. fought the odds of making the Chase in their busted up racecars in the 392 laps that followed their crash on lap eight, but in the end proved triumphant. They earned they way into the Chase the hard way and victory never tasted sweeter as the two were all smiles in the Media Center. Hamlin maintained his streak of making it into every Chase since his full time Sprint Cup career began in 2006 and Earnhardt Jr. affirmed that he’s still got it and proved his naysayers wrong by making it back into the Chase after a two year hiatus.

    Tony Stewart, the third hopeful to make the Chase, did so quietly and consistently, clinching his spot on lap 103.  Surprisingly, Stewart fought with no one, on of off the track in Richmond.

  • Paying Tribute to 9/11: NASCAR, Richmond International Raceway and the Fans Get it Right

    Paying Tribute to 9/11: NASCAR, Richmond International Raceway and the Fans Get it Right

    On Saturday, Sept. 1oth, I spent my entire day at Richmond International Raceway. I literally went from tailgate to trackside, something that I’d never done before, something that I’d never even thought to attempt. It’s always been one or the other, fan or journalist, but never both. I generally make the trek from Washington DC to Richmond on my own and do my job from the confines of the media center and infield. I have not seen a race from the stands or mingled in the crowd in over three years.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]This weekend was different though, as we all know, this race fell on the same weekend of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. For many this was more than just your average race day, this was a time to also reflect and pay tribute to those we lost in those terrible attacks a decade ago. So, when several of my coworkers expressed interest in going to the race, I changed my normal routine to give them the best race day experience they could hope for.  For many of them this would be their first experience with NASCAR. I wanted them to be hooked, to feel what I felt at my first race, I wanted them to want to come back for more. 

    We arrived at the track at 10am and staked our ground by parking six vehicles to form a virtual square. In the center we set up tents, tarps, tables, chairs and grills. We strategically placed the coolers, cranked up the CD player and even hooked up a flat-screen TV complete with a DirecTv dish in the back of an SUV to catch some College football before heading into the track. The perfect setup for the ultimate tailgating party. There were 16 of us in total. We varied in age, gender and race to form a perfect little melting pot. You see, we are more than just mere coworkers, we are also great friends. Anyone who has had the opportunity to attend a race knows that you may come with the friends you know, but you leave a race with even more. A NASCAR race is the perfect setting to hang out with thousands of the closest friends you never knew you had. 

    We ate until we felt that it was impossible to take another bite and then we ate some more. We played cornhole and ladder-ball. Some relived their college days by playing competitive Flip Cup and Beer Pong. Some watched Virginia Tech beat East Carolina from the bumper of a Chevy Trailblazer, while others laid in the sun, just soaking it all in. We mingled and met new people. We shared our stories with them and they with us. After several hours of hanging out next to our crazy brood, a gentleman with his own large group of friends finally mustered up the courage to ask just how in the world a group like us came to be at a NASCAR race together. “I don’t mean this to sound rude or disrespectful by any means, but I’ve been trying to figure out what your connection is with each other other,” he said. “I’m looking at you and you’re from all walks of life, it is an interesting combination of people you’ve got here.” I hadn’t given it any thought until he said something, but by looking at us we did look a bit like a United Colors of Benneton ad. 

    I told him that we all worked together. He questioned what it was that we could possibly do that would accommodate all of the varying personality types. I explained that we were all healthcare providers that worked in the Emergency Department in the suburbs of the Washington DC metropolitan area. It’s funny when you say that to someone because you can actually see when the light comes on, that moment that it suddenly makes sense. The moment that they think “Oh man, they work in the ER, that explains the craziness!” It’s true, one has to be a little crazy to do the jobs that we do. We’re made up of Nurses, Paramedics EMTs, Registration Clerks and medical school students. In any other world, in any other profession who knows if we would have made a friendship connection, but in our world it just makes sense.

    We know what it’s like to see the worst of the worst. We all had our own 9/11 stories to tell, what we went through and experienced not only from a personal point of view but from a medical one as well. Many of us waited on that day in 2001 to help victims that would never arrive. We share a unique perspective of that day. We were at the track this weekend not only to watch what would turn out to be one of the best races of the year but to commemorate an anniversary of a day that everything changed and will never be forgotten. A day that for many of us was the worst day of our lives.

    I listened to countless stories on Saturday of where people were, what they were doing and how they reacted. Sometimes you can’t remember what you ate for breakfast but everybody vividly remembers exactly where they were ten years ago today. On Friday I listened to drivers being asked the same question, each of them had a story to tell, each of them a little different than the next. It is easy to forget at times that NASCAR drivers are “people too.” Their larger than life personas that play out on our television screens weekly affect our way of thinking, but under their flashy firesuits and fast cars there is someone that we can genuinely relate to. Our so-called racecar driving heroes have heroes too. 

    On the last race of the regular season, on a night that sets the Chase and makes for huge headlines in the sporting world, drivers respectively took a backseat to the memory of the 343 New York firefighters who lost their lives, not in the name of heroics, but simply because they were “doing their jobs,” to the 184 souls killed at the Pentagon, to the 33 passengers and seven crew members on Flight 93 who bravely gave their own lives in an attempt to stop the hijackers from crashing into another building, to all 2977 innocent lives lost and to to the families left behind and to the servicemen who fight everyday for our freedom and protection.

    NASCAR not only said “I will,” they united and delivered. Then asked the question, “Will you?”

    As I made my way from the parking lot to the infield before the start of the race and was handed a tiny American Flag, I knew the answer to that question. I along with over 100,000 others that night at the track said a resounding “Yes!” The pre-race ceremony was like none I’d ever witnessed before. It was emotional and gracious. Crowds cheered when former Mayor Mayor Giuliani appeared on the video scoring tower screens to offer his appreciation, tears were shed as New York City police officer Daniel Rodriguez sang “God Bless America” and respect was given to wounded warriors, USMC Corporal Todd Nicely and US Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Flags waved in unison in the stands as fans and broadcasters paused for a moment of silence between laps nine and eleven. It was patriotism at it’s finest. 

    I left the track at 1am, some 15 hours after I arrived. Exhaustion was beginning to set in as I made my way to my car. Something on the ground caught my eye, a cutout of a yellow star mixed in with celebratory confetti that littered the infield. I instinctively picked it up and was holding it in my hand when it occurred to me that it was now officially Sept. 11th. I reflected for a moment on the events of the day, the race had been one heck of a wild ride, arguably one of the best of the season, but it was more than that. Richmond International Raceway, NASCAR and the fans got it right on a day, 10 years ago that was filled with such wrong.

    NASCAR will never forget and neither shall we.