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  • Clint Bowyer Still Positive About Chase Chances Despite Crazy Luck

    Clint Bowyer still has a shot at making the Chase for the Sprint Cup but for him to do so he needs to find consistency. And not the bad kind that he says has been following him around lately.

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]“That’s obviously the goal,” said Bowyer of making the Chase, “but just keep having crazy things happen. Had another good run going in Pocono last week and the radiator tab broke and the radiator fell out of the thing. I mean it’s just one crazy thing after another.”

    Bowyer sits 12th in points, just outside the top 10 who guaranteed a spot in NASCAR’s postseason. He’s not safe in 11th or 12th, however, because of NASCAR’s new wildcard format, where drivers with victories who sit 11-20 in points would consist of the final two Chase spots.

    Bowyer doesn’t have a win and therefore would be out of the Chase had it started this weekend. Luckily it doesn’t and there’s five more races ahead for Bowyer and his team to make a turnaround and either find victory lane for climb their way into Chase contention.

    This weekend the series is in Watkins Glen for the second and final road course race of the season. Bowyer has never won a road course and has been on the wrong side of the chart at The Glen with his best finish being a ninth in 2009. It’s his only top 10 at the track where he’s finished 14th or worse in four of his five career starts there and he has yet to lead a lap.

    Even so, Bowyer enters the weekend with confidence.

    “Hopefully we can get a good run here,” Bowyer said on Friday. “We haven’t had a ton of luck here, broke a truck arm out of the car last year. I feel like this is the track where we can capitalize. This is the track out of any of these ones ahead of us that you can stand to gain or lose a lot of ground but you’ve got to look at this as an opportunity and try to gain as much ground as possible.”

    Early this season it looked like Bowyer was going to have plenty of opportunities to gain ground in the Chase. He finished second in back-to-back weeks at Texas and Talladega where he nearly beat Jimmie Johnson to the finish line. Entering June Bowyer had led 253 laps and had seven top 10 finishes and two top fives.

    Since then his No. 33 Cheerios team has been trying to dig themselves out of a hole. Bowyer has led just nine laps and his top 10 and top five finishes have only increased by one. Yet, he still only sits 41 points behind 10th place Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    “Any gap is hard to overcome especially when you start getting up in that elite crowd,” Bowyer said. “The further up you go the harder it is to pass them. You just have to be able to capitalize on somebody’s mishap and that’s what it’s going to come down to. These teams are too good and things are too close in this sport right now to just overcome a huge spread in a short amount of time unless you have some help.”

    According to Bowyer, Watkins Glen is the perfect track to be able to do that. Some consider it to be a wildcard of its own and that if a driver doesn’t take advantage of it then they’ll soon start feeling that time is quickly running out to make a Chase charge. No longer are there room for bad days and certainly not for Bowyer.

    Behind him in points are three drivers with wins and one driver, Brad Keselowski, has two wins. It was aggressive strategy says Bowyer, which gave Keselowski his second win last weekend in Pocono. And whether it’s through strategy or moves on the track, aggression is something a driver will be fighting with over the next five weeks as they try to put themselves in Chase position.

    “You just got to be careful,” said Bowyer. “You have to be careful but you have to be aggressive all at the same time. You got to be aggressive enough to make passes, to make bold passes but you’ve got to be careful enough to not dig yourself in a deeper hole than you are already in.The No. 2 car [Keselowski] winning that race last week was a pretty aggressive move.”

    Bowyer thought the race at Pocono was over when it started raining and Joey Logano was leading. In fact, he said that most everyone thought it was over and the drivers headed back to their motorhomes. But, thank God for Keselowski as Bowyer said, it wasn’t and the Penske team was presented an opportunity they made the best of.

    “Those are the aggressive calls you’ve got to take,” said Bowyer. “The hindsight of all of that would have been devastating for him and may have been the very move that kept him out of the top 20. It’s a gamble that you’ve got to be willing to take.”

    Bowyer says his team have made those calls too but starting this weekend in Watkins Glen they’re hoping they start working out better than they have.

  • Tim Richmond; 22 Years Later and Still Not Forgotten

    Tim Richmond; 22 Years Later and Still Not Forgotten

    Every 10-30 years, a young driver comes along who shakes up the NASCAR world, and more time than naught, it’s usually these types of drivers that come into the sport with some kind of a racing background.

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: unknown” align=”alignright” width=”190″][/media-credit]Tim Richmond was a lot different since he did not grow up with racing in his blood, and did not come from the hard working middle class lifestyle that most of NASCAR’s big names came from. Instead Richmond was born into wealth, and because of this, it would later turn out to be one of his biggest drawbacks because of his fast paced, Hollywood playboy lifestyle he lived throughout his racing career.

    Since NASCAR was born on the back country roads of some of America’s most famous moon shining families, Richmond’s flamboyant lifestyle on and off the track clashed with the southern roots most fans were used seeing from their drivers.

    Richmond’s standard of living along with his daily routine mirrored that of someone you would have thought was born and raised in California, unlike his hometown of Ashland, Ohio where he was born on June 7, 1955. The “lets party all night attitude” he chose to live by would be frowned upon by NASCAR, as Richmond would find out later during his short lived racing career.

    Richmond was a hit with the fans as well as the ladies, and at times he would pull down his racing suit to sign autographs, which really got the women excited, but at the same time got the heads of NASCAR even angrier. NASCAR wasn’t ready for this type of driver to enter into their hallowed premier racing series, and it was only because Richmond’s driving style matched the lifestyle that he was living.

    During his eight years as a Winston Cup driver which didn’t start until the age of 21, Richmond visited victory lane 13 times, along with 78 top-10 finishes in the 185 starts hr made in the series. Richmond collected a career-high seven wins in 1986 while driving the No. 25 Folgers-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo, to go along with his 14 careers poles, and his very first victory coming on a road course in Riverside, California.

    The 1986 season would be his best year driving in the Winston Cup series, finishing third in points behind eventual cup winner Dale Earnhardt Sr. Most of his fellow racers said that he was one of a few drivers who had guts enough to challenge Earnhardt and drive side by side with him. Richmond had a “take no prisoners” type of driving style which showed in the way he handled the road courses, and he was known as one of the few drivers who had the guts to challenge and race side by side with Earnhardt.

    Richmond’s life was loosely portrayed in the movie Days of Thunder by the character of Cole Trickle, and aside from stock cars he also competed in open wheel racing finishing ninth in the 1980 Indianapolis 500. In 1986 at the height of a very promising career, his whole world came crashing down on him when he was diagnosed with A.I.D.S.

    By the time 1987 rolled around, life would become even more challenging to his already troubled life, and it wasn’t until the middle of the season that he would return, and pick up back to back wins at Pocono and Riverside, and the win at Riverside would ultimately be his last. By the following year, NASCAR would step in and deal Richmond a very sour hand, when the organization would begin to treat him like he was some sort of drug addict.

    NASCAR defamed his integrity by making him take a drug test because of his deteriorating health, and afterwards suspending him indefinitely because they said he had tested positive for a controlled substance.

    Richmond demanded another test, and when those results came back…they were negative. NASCAR would later admit the first test that Richmond took was also negative; the only substance that showed up was Sudafed and Advil. Little by little NASCAR tried to not only defame Richmond, but they also wanted him out of the Cup series for good, and eventually they got their wish.

    NASCAR would not let him race until he came up with all of his medical records, it was then Richmond filed a defamation of character lawsuit, but he would eventually withdraw it and leave the sport. Richmond would move back to Florida where he eventually died in 1989.

    NASCAR to this day has not apologized for the brash and disrespectful way that Richmond was treated. In 1990, The New York Times reported that Dr. Forest Tennant, who was at that time the National Football League’s drug adviser, “falsified drug tests” that ultimately helped shorten Richmond’s NASCAR career.

    Washington television station WJLA-TV, in early 1990, reported the sealed court documents and interviews showed Tennant and NASCAR, “allegedly used false drug-test results in 1988 to bar Richmond from racing.”

    Reporter Roberta Baskin stated that NASCAR had targeted Richmond, requesting that Tennant establish a substance-abuse policy with Richmond in mind. NASCAR chose not to mention any of these findings, and basically swept it under the rug with the, “We don’t see anything or what did we do wrong scenario?”

    Richmond was one of their own, even though he didn’t fit the mold that NASCAR wants all of their drivers to follow, even though he was still a human being, breathing the same air as them, and also bringing money into their prestigious racing empire. Richmond would be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002, an award that not even the France family could ever take from him.

    NASCAR would put the final nail in his coffin by only writing one line about him, and not including a single picture of him anywhere in the annals of NASCAR history. For those who chose to support and follow his career…Tim Richmond has been dearly missed, maybe not so much by NASCAR, but by the fans and drivers who stood next to him through thick and thin.

    22 years ago we lost one of our own, but even today he is still in the hearts and minds of those who remember the impact he made to the sport, both on and off the track.

  • Matty’s Picks: Straight From The Glen Vol. 13 – Watkins Glen – August 14, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Straight From The Glen Vol. 13 – Watkins Glen – August 14, 2011

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]

    Its time to make some right turns for the second and final time of the 2011 Sprint Cup Season. As many of you know, Watkins Glen International is my home-track, so this edition of Matty’s Picks will be coming to you straight from The Glen!

    I look forward to the race weekend at Watkins Glen for 362 days each year. 2011 will mark my 16th consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at WGI. I get the pleasure of seeing it all each year at The Glen, partly due to the fact that my family arrives at the crack of dawn on Wednesday in an effort to set up the monstrosity that we call home for five days every August in the Gate 7 camping area.

    21-ish friends, family members, and a few random strangers will call our Gate 7 campsite home this year – including SpeedwayMedia.com Editor, Ed Coombs. I don’t know if it’s the 11 high-speed left and right turns that make up the short course at Watkins Glen International, or if it’s the 2AM nude foot races, the annual Porta-Potty roast, or the extreme downhill cooler races that bring 200,000+ race fans back to The Glen each year.

    I must say that I am very excited for this weekend’s on-track racing action, but I really look forward to the unique camping atmosphere that Watkins Glen International has to offer year in and year out.

    For those of you not familiar with WGI, it has been considered by many in the racing world to be ‘The Mecca of American Road Racing’. 11 turns (7 rights – 4 lefts) make up the 2.45-mile short course that both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series choose to utilize at The Glen. In sticking with traditional road course layouts, the racing at Watkins Glen International is run in a clockwise pattern (like Infineon), opposite the flow of the traditional counter-clockwise flow of oval races.

    One element that is unique only to The Glen is the direction the drivers enter their pit stalls. Because pit road lies outside the track at Infineon, Watkins Glen is the only stop on the circuit where drivers enter their pit stalls from the crew’s left. Preparations for pit stops at WGI start months in advance due to the fact that the entire pit stop is essentially in reverse. This weekend’s stops will not be the fastest stops for crews this season, but efficiency on Pit Road often plays a major factor in the outcome of the race each year at WGI.

    Pocono Recap

    Well, I don’t have too much on how my two picks from last week ran at Pocono because quite honestly I fell asleep after the first 10 laps or so. When the rain cleared and the dust settled last Sunday, I improved on my 19th place Winner Pick finish dating back to the first race at Pocono this year.

    With the news of both Sprint Cup races at PIR being shortened to 400 miles, 40 percent of my wish for the Tricky Triangle has come true. NASCAR has eliminated 200 of the 1000 miles of racing at Pocono starting in 2012, 40% of the 500 miles I would like to see removed from the schedule. I think one race for the Sprint Cup Series at Pocono is enough to keep most race fans satisfied for a year.

    My Dark Horse pick last week at Pocono was Greg Biffle because of his less than impressive average finish of 16.4. From what I saw last week, Biffle never really had the car to beat but lingered around the Top 10 for the majority of the 200 laps last weekend. I was asleep for his penalty for changing lanes before the Start/Finish Line. Biffle would remain on the lead lap but would restart in the 35th position.

    Biffle made up ground on the field throughout an 80 lap caution-free stretch following the penalty. Biffle would restart the race in 14th following the rain delay, and would make the call of the day to stay out on the final caution flag on lap 179. The call would put Biffle in 7th for the final 16 lap run, only being passed by his teammate Carl Edwards on much fresher tires in the closing laps. The Biff would eventually bring the 3M/811 Ford Fusion home in 8th, netting me a Top 10 Dark Horse pick.

    By now, everyone knows where my Winner Pick finished last week at Pocono. His 3rd place finish has been overshadowed by the racing incident that occurred in the final laps of the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, and the altercation that ensued.

    Kurt Busch led the race 4 times last Sunday for a total of 38 laps en route to his 3rd place finish. His (and my) Top 5 was in jeopardy on the final lap last week following his contact with Jimmie Johnson at the exit of the tunnel turn on lap 199. The two came together twice on the final lap, ALMOST ruining a good day for both teams.

    Following the race, Johnson didn’t even let Kurt Busch out of his car before giving him an ear full about the incident. Busch had this to say about the contact: “ Hey, he came off the turn and did a jab to my left; I did a jab back to the right. Why can’t we race each other like this and put on show for the fans and not have a problem with it? I don’t know” Needless to say, I don’t think the two will be exchanging Christmas Cards this December, but when the dust settled, I got a Top 5 for a Winner Pick.

    Watkins Glen Picks

    Winner Pick

    In the words of Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose was “Screaming Fast” in final practice today at The Glen. Shattering the 70-second mark around the 2.45-mile short course, Ambrose laid down a lap that was over a full second quicker than the previous track record held by Jeff Gordon. His lap time of 69.666 seconds or 126.604MPH was good enough to claim the top of the leader board in Final Practice today.

    I don’t know how anyone could bet against this guy at Watkins Glen International. In his 3 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Ambrose has netted two 3rd-place finishes, and a runner-up finish. It is almost destiny for him to bring home the checkered flag, Sunday afternoon (or Monday or Tuesday). He has won the past 3 NASCAR Nationwide Series races here at The Glen, and if it weren’t for the fact that he’s not running the race tomorrow, I would bet the farm on him to sweep the weekend here at WGI.

    Ambrose has the car to beat this weekend…he’s going to win.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Martin Truex Jr. has also flexed his muscles today here at Watkins Glen. He drove his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota to a Top-5 spot in Happy Hour with a lap time of 70.203 seconds, also better than the previous qualifying track record. Both times Truex has started in the Top 20 at WGI, he has come home with a Top-10 finish. If Truex hits his marks tomorrow in qualifying, he has a car good enough to start inside the Top-10.

    His record at Watkins Glen is nothing to shake a stick at. He averages a finish of 16.4 at The Glen, and does have a Top-5 here as well. I think Tuex has been knocking on the door all season, and he’s proved Michael Waltrip Racing has given him a car to run towards the front on Sunday.

    That wraps it up for today from The Glen. Stay tuned tomorrow for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 recaps.

    Until tomorrow…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Regan Smith Closes Chase Door but Opens Door to The Glen

    Regan Smith Closes Chase Door but Opens Door to The Glen

    Regan Smith, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, is no doubt a proponent of the saying ‘When one door closes, another opens.’  In this driver’s case, it is the Chase door that has closed and the door to The Glen that has opened.

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Although he finished third at the Brickyard, Smith’s Chase chances indeed closed after a 21st place finish at Pocono. Smith admitted that he struggled at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ a place that not only has three distinct turns but one that is also constantly changing.

    “This place has had a summer to soak and it feels like every time we come back here, it’s a different place,” Smith said. “It’s a tough track to begin with and it’s even tougher when there’s no grip.”

    Smith’s struggle at Long Pond left him languishing in the 26th position in the point standings. And with that, the driver pronounced the door closed on his Chase chances.

    “I would say the door for us is pretty much closed,” Smith said. “It’s not necessarily locked yet, but it’s definitely shut.”

    “Our Chase hopes are pretty much over with and that’s why we’re going to focus on getting top fives and trying to get wins and take the chances the rest of the year to see us do that.”

    Given that, Smith shared his thoughts on how his race strategy, as well as the other drivers outside the Chase, might change.

    “With the strategy playing out the way it has this year, it’s going to be really interesting when you do get into the Chase,” Smith said. “It’s going to have a different dynamic than in the past.”

    “These guys in the Chase who were clicking off top fives easily, now that others are throwing in the strategy game, it’s going to make that even more entertaining.”

    With the closure of the Chase door, Smith is most definitely looking forward to the door opening at his home track, Watkins Glen International. And his homecoming is definitely a date circled in red on his calendar.

    “That’s one of the races that I highlight on my schedule,” Smith said. “We talk about the ‘big four’ or whatever, but that’s the fifth one for me just because it’s my home track.”

    “I told my guys from the start of the year, if we can’t win one of the ‘big four’, then Watkins Glen is the next one for me,” Smith continued. “It’s the one I’m putting the most emphasis on.”

    Smith is also excited about the door that has continued to open for him as a road racer, especially at The Glen.

    “Certainly road racing has not necessarily been my strong suit but we did run pretty good last year until we broke a track bar of all things, which is a rare thing to have happen,” Smith said. “But in Sonoma, which is an even worse road course for me, we ran really well this year, led some laps and had a shot at a top ten.”

    “That gets me really motivated to go to The Glen,” Smith continued. “I feel like we’re going to be really strong there.”

    “We’ve been strong for quite some time and I think it’s going to continue there.”

    While Smith may look forward to improving his road racing results, it also will no doubt feel good to stand in front of friends and families as he is introduced in pre-race ceremonies. Smith grew up in Cato, New York, 75 miles north of Watkins Glen, where he won regional and State championships in quarter midgets.

    “It certainly doesn’t hurt to have the hometown fans on your side,” Smith said. “It’s the one place we go each year where I get one of the louder ovations and that’s a good feeling.”

    The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen will be Smith’s third race at Watkins Glen International. This will be his sixth career road course race at the Sprint Cup level.

    Noting that The Glen is a one of the big races for him, Smith has also had an open door when it has come to other ‘big’ races this season. He took his first ever career checkered flag at Darlington in the Southern 500 and has also had top-10 runs in the Daytona 500, the Coke 600 and his most recent at the Brickyard.

    “I’m glad to be a ‘big race’ driver, but I’d like to be the every race driver because they all pay 47 points to win,” Smith said. “But if you only have to pick big ones to do good at, that’s not bad either.”

    “We want to get a little more consistency and be good in all the races not just the big ones,” Smith continued. “If we can do it in the big ones, we can figure out a way to do it in the rest of them.”

    In addition to his open door at The Glen, Smith may just have an open door invitation in another sport. He recently threw out the opening pitch at Coors Field.

    “The pitch got to the plate so that was good,” Smith said. “It was a straight throw.”

    “It was a little bit high,” Smith continued. “I think it might have been a strike for Yao Ming or somebody tall. But for a normal size baseball player, it probably would have been more like a head shot.”

    “I was way nervous because my guys were going to bust my butt for the rest of the year if I didn’t get it across home plate at least,” Smith said. “I figured I would err to the side of caution and go too far with it rather than not far enough.”

    Smith is also opening the door to his new home in Colorado. He has sold his home in North Carolina and taken the plunge to head to Denver to be close to his race shop and team.

    “I don’t know if we’re settled yet but we’re there,” Smith said. “I threw my house in North Carolina on the market just to test the waters and it sold almost immediately.”

    “So, we’re committed,” Smith continued. “My fiancé Meghan is actually out in Colorado this week, which is good because that helps us get settled in more.”

    “I love it out there,” Smith said. “I love the weather. I love the scenery.”

    “Just waking up in the morning and it’s not humid like where I grew up,” Smith continued. “It’s just really nice.”

    So, with the Chase door closed but The Glen door opening this weekend, Smith also feels that the door to consistency is starting to open wider. And that just makes him want to get back to the track even more.

    “We’re starting to get the consistency that we want,” Smith said. “I’m really pumped up to get to the second part of the year.”

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: SEEKING A WIN AT THE GLEN

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will conduct its semi annual endurance contest that comes with the drivers having to make left and right turns on a road course. This endurance contest will be staged on one of the most historic and challenging road courses in the country: The Watkins Glen International Raceway, also the scene of Sunday’s Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips At The Glen.

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]During the course of this race it won’t take long to determine which drivers are getting very proficient at turning left and right and which ones needs to figure it out. You will also see a lot of bumper banging and door pounding during this race. Most of these incidents will be deemed accidental because it’s the basic nature of road course racing. However, somewhere during this race, the element of road rage will likely show itself. That’s when the bumper banging and door pounding could become accidentally on purpose not to mention entertaining.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    Let’s get right to it, we all know what the big story is going to be during the pre-race show: of course it’s Jimmie Johnson versus Kurt Busch. You can expect multiple video clips of these two drivers beating on each other during the final moments of last Sunday’s race at Pocono. You will also be treated to multiple audio sound bites of their finger pointing-chest heaving exchange on pit road after the race.

    It’s it possible that one of these drivers might extract some revenge at Watkins Glen? I suppose it’s possible but not probable. They certainly how more important issues to focus their attention on. One of them is collecting bonus points between now and the September 10th cut off date that will determine the Chase For The Championship official line up. Bonus points that comes from a win, leading a lap and leading the most laps in a race could loom large later in the season when it’s time to start the Chase.

    The ill will between Johnson and Kurt Busch seemingly dates back to the summer of 2009, the scene of the Sprint Cup’s other road course race. If their problems have been going on this long, then holding off retaliation plans for another time, like next year, should be easy. They need to be keeping their eyes on the grand prize over the next several weeks.

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

    You will hear a lot this weekend about the presence of road course ringers in Sunday’s race. These group of drivers have years of experience at making high speed left and right turns and, over the years, they have been popular substitute drivers for team owners.

    However in these modern times, the importance of the roles of these ringers seems to have diminished somewhat. That’s likely due to the fact that many of the younger Sprint Cup drivers launched their racing careers in go karts where road courses were a factor. For the veteran drivers, whose roots were created in stock cars on ovals, many of them enrolled in one of the many driving schools that teaches the rigors of road course racing.

    From the group of road course ringers entered in the Watkins Glen race there seems to be two major standouts: Boris Said and Ron Fellows. However, neither one of these drivers will be driving for teams exactly known for charging to the front. Said will be piloting the #51 Chevrolet owned by James Finch while Fellows will be in the #36 Chevrolet fielded by Tommy Baldwin Racing. The big advantage of hiring these drivers on a one race basis is the possibility they will be able to achieve a higher that usual finish for these teams. That will translate into more purse money which an underfunded team always needs.

    ***********

    Sadly, there will be reports this weekend regarding a major drug related arrest involving two employees from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, EGR. Trevor L. Lysne, a front tire changer for Juan Pablo Montoya’s #42 team, was arrested by police in Huntersville-North Carolina and charged with trafficking marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and maintaining a dwelling to distribute marijuana, Also arrested in this case was Jerome D, Frye, an EGR mechanic, who was charged with trafficking marijuana and intent to sell. According to reports police intercepted approximately ten and one half pounds of marijuana that had been shipped from California.

    It’s only fair to point out that the behavior and arrest of these two men have absolutely nothing to do with the day to day operations of EGR. This incident is an embarrassing moment that the racing organization doesn’t deserve.

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

    Kevin “Happy” Harvick was a very happy man last Wednesday when he got to stand on the pitcher’s mound at Yankee Stadium to throw out the first pitch of a game between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels. A long time Yankees baseball fan, Harvick was really happy after New York won the game 9 to 3. How is that somewhere from Bakersfield-California isn’t an Angles or Dodgers fan?

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

    For you faithful Walmart shoppers be on the look out for a new Hot Wheel toy car called the Hammerhead. The new car was designed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The design was described as being classic 1950’s hot rod meets 1960’s muscle car styling with an edge. There will also be a corresponding line of Hammerhead apparel. Earnhardt called his design Hammerhead in honor of one of his many former nick names. The suggested retail price for the car will be $1.09 with the price of the clothing line ranging from $7 to $12. They will be exclusively available very soon at a Walmart near you.

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

    THE LAS VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    When it comes down to which driver might do the best job at turning left and right at Watkins Glen, it’s best to look at the numbers presented by the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE).

    The listing begins this week with a name that you rarely see mentioned by the WSE unless NASCAR is racing on a road course. Marcos Ambrose, every one’s favorite Aussie and one of the best road course drivers in NASCAR, is on top of the WSE rankings this week at 9 to 1 odds. He has a very healthy 2.7 Average Finish Ratio,(AFR), in three starts at Watkins Glen,

    At 7 to 1 you will find Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya. At ninth in the points, Stewart needs a race win to bolster his Chase possibilities and Watkins Glen is definitely the track to make that happen because his numbers are so good there. He’s a five time race winner in 12 starts. He’s also collected seven top five finishes, ten top tens and has a very good AFR of 5.4. He has a total of seven overall road course wins in NASCAR and that’s another reason why he considered to be a rock solid wager consideration.

    Meanwhile Montoya has to be considered a long shot wager despite the fact he’s the 2010 race winner and has a 12.5 AFR at the Glen. The issue here is the up and down performance issues that has plagued this team all season long.

    At 8 to 1 odds you will find the Busch brothers. Third in the current points standings, Kyle Busch is the 2008 race winner and has a healthy 10.3 AFR at the Glen. Kurt Busch is still seeking his first win in New York and has an 18.0 AFR there. However he does have a road course win earlier this year on the road course at Infineon Speedway.

    At 9 to 1 odds you will find Hendrick Motorsports team mates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. When it comes to NASCAR road course racing, Jeff Gordon is the man. He’s a four time winner at the Glen and has six top fives, nine top tens and a 14.6 AFR. Gordon also owns the tracks qualifying record, 124.580 MPH, set back in 2003. He also has a series high total of nine NASCAR road course wins. Frankly, it’s a little surprising that this rock solid wager isn’t at the top of the WSE rankings.

    Despite the fact that he has a previous win at Infineon, Johnson is not exactly noted for being a strong road course racer. In nine previous starts, Watkins Glen is one of five tracks on the NASCAR schedule that Johnson has never won at. But let’s face it: it’s Johnson the five time champion, it’s Chad Knaus and it’s Hendrick Motorsports. Those factors alone are always going to make this driver a solid wager consideration.

    Kevin Harvick is next on the WSE list at 10 to 1 odds. He’s a previous race winner at the Glen and has a 13.6 AFR.

    Leading off the WSE’s middle tier this week is the Sprint Cup points leader Carl Edwards. He still looking for his first win at the Glen in six starts but, despite that, has an healthy 8.2 AFR there.

    At 18 to 1 we have the duo of Jamie McMurray and Robby Gordon. McMurray’s presence this high on the list is a bit of a mystery to me. He has one top five at this track and his AFR is 18.4. He’s also having a terrible season with a team that hasn’t come close to living up to their pre-season expectations.

    Robby Gordon’s unusually high WSE ranking this week is obviously based on his road course skills. He a previous race winner at the Glen, he has seven top fives and tens along with a 13.3 AFR. If this team can locate the extra horsepower their car needs and then lose the bad luck they endured this year then he could be an interesting driver to watch on Sunday.

    Denny Hamlin is ranked at 20 to 1 odds for Sunday’s race. At 11th in the points standings, with one win, here’s another driver who needs another victory to solidify his Chase possibilities. But it may not happen at Watkins Glen. Hamlin doesn’t seem to have very strong road course numbers.

    At 25 to 1 we have the duo of Ryan Newman and Casey Kahne followed by the aforementioned Boris Said at 28 to 1. The duo of Clint Bowyer and A J Allmendinger are ranked at 35 to 1. Closing out the WSE rankings this week, at 45 to 1, are Greg Biffle, Paul Menard and Joey Logano.

    If you do not see the name of your favorite driver on this list that means they are listed under “all others” by the WSE at 8 to 1.

    (A brief pause here while the massive fan club known as the Junior Nation screams “HEY, WHERE’S OUR GUY” ???).

    Dale Earnhardt Jr will be the first driver to tell you how much he doesn’t like road course racing and he’s got the numbers to back it up. We have watched the #88 free fall from third in the points standings to the #10 Chase bubble position. Here’s a driver that seriously needs a strong finish, at least a top ten, Sunday to keep his Chase hopes alive. I just don’t think it’s going to happen at Watkins Glen. Sorry about that Junior Nation.

    Also in this same category is Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin and, frankly, I’m not understanding why that is. In 21 starts he’s won three times at Watkins Glen. He has a series high three poles and has won his three races from the pole position which is also a series record. He also has 12 top fives and 16 top tens at the Glen. If you’re into stretching Benjamins into long shot bets, you may want to consider Martin’s numbers at this track.

    The disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind that these posted numbers should be viewed for informational and entertainment purposes. They neither encourage or condone the placing of wagers on their races. Some will tell you that betting on a road course race, with its unpredictability, is a little crazy. I will tell you that I witnessed crazier things than that in a Nevada casino just last weekend.

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips At The Glen is 90 laps/220.5 miles around the Watkins Glen 2.45 mile road course. The projected pit window, based on fuel mileage, is approximately 27 to 30 laps.

    The race has 46 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 11 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams are not guaranteed a starting berth because they are currently outside of the top 35 in NASCAR owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race. The lone exception here is Terry Labonte who can make the race on a past champion’s provisional.

    This historical road course facility opened in 1956. The first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen was held back in 1957 and was won by Buck Baker. There wasn’t another Cup race there until 1964 and 1965. That was followed by a span of 21 years before the Cup series returned to the speedway on a full time annual basis.

    There has been 28 NASCAR Sprint Cup events held at the Glen that has sent 17 different winners to victory lane. To no real surprise, Hendrick Motorsports leads the team wins list at six.

    Track position is always going to be a huge factor during a Cup race and this is especially true at a road course event. Nine of the 28 races have been won from pole position with the last one being Kyle Busch back in 2008. 18 of 28 have been won from top five starting positions and 20 of 28 have been won from the top ten.

    Watkins Glen International’s 2.45 mile road course has 11 turns with seven of them being right handers. The banking in those turns range from six to ten degrees. The front stretch measures 2,148 feet long while the back stretch is 1,839 feet. The speedway presently has seating for 41,000 fans.

    Unfortunately, for the second race in a row, weather could play a huge role during the Watkins Glen weekend. Saturday’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies, daytime highs in the low 80’s and a 40% chance of showers and thunder storms. The news is not any better on Sunday race day. That forecast calls for cloudy conditions, daytime highs in the mid 70’s and a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms. In the event of rain the track has a fleet of eight jet dryers available but they will require approximately two hours to completely dry the track.

    The Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips At The Glen will be broadcast live by the ESPN Network with the “NASCAR Countdown” show beginning at 12 pm eastern time. Race re broadcasts will be Monday morning, 12 am eastern, on ESPN2 and again on Wednesday, 12 pm eastern, on the SPEED Channel.

  • Opinion: Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch Make Something Out of Nothing

    Opinion: Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch Make Something Out of Nothing

    Days later it is still the majority of talk around the NASCAR world, Jimmie Johnson vs. Kurt Busch. Five-time vs. the champion that is often forgotten about, or Hendrick pretty boys vs. hard nosed racer.

    Whatever you want to call it, there’s no denying that Johnson and Busch are quickly becoming a classic rivalry.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Sunday in Pocono the two again made contact, adding to the long list of disagreements they’ve had in the past. In Pocono it appeared to start after Johnson swung a left to block Busch who was attempted to pass him. Busch went back at Johnson and the two hip-checked each other until Busch prevailed for third place.

    After the checkered flag all eyes were on the two as Johnson quickly went to Busch’s No. 22 to express how he wasn’t pleased with the 2004 champion’s actions. The two started screaming at each other and left Pocono with their own versions of what had happened.

    Here’s one more: rubbing is racing and five-time has forgotten that.

    Johnson called Busch a crybaby and said he’s always taking shots at him. In response Busch made it known that he’s always been the one who has come out with the short end of the stick when he’s around Johnson. To that, it certainly seems the case.

    So, when Johnson said on Sunday that Busch started the whole incident it was head shaking. In the heat of the moment any driver is going to be frustrated and believe that he did no wrong, but for Johnson to claim he would never wreck someone to pass him, that was more than confusing.

    “He’s good for running his mouth,” said Johnson. “He can keep running it. I’ll shut it for him.”

    Of that there shouldn’t be any doubt. History often repeats itself with these two.

    It was Johnson who sent Busch wrecking last year in Pocono. It was Johnson who sent Busch into the tire barriers last year in Sonoma and it was Johnson who knocked Busch into the wall at Chicago in 2009.

    And yet some still wonder why Busch has so many names and insults for Johnson. If there have been incidents where Busch has either instigated Johnson or run over him it seems they either were quickly forgotten about or not caught on tape. As such, Johnson is having a hard time not looking like a Busch bully.

    This past weekend Busch nailed it on the head when asking why he and Johnson couldn’t race each other hard. Not only is it their jobs but Busch said it puts on a good show for the fans.

    “If a five-time champion doesn’t know how to race, forgive me,” said Busch. “I was racing hard … we were racing hard. I think that’s what we saw on TV and exactly that’s what should be reported.”

    Johnson though doesn’t seem to agree. Perfect example was last year in New Hampshire, another race the two went at it. While racing for the lead and the win they traded paint and bump and runs, no harm no foul. It was great racing on the one-mile track; it seemed to be how they were supposed to race each other on that type of track.

    Except when Busch applied the bumper to Johnson to take the lead it didn’t go over well. “My thought process was ‘Wreck his ass,’” said Johnson afterwards. He went on to win the race after deciding to pass Busch clean. Things should have ended there, but the two just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

    If Johnson was going to “wreck his ass” over a simple bump and run it falls into place with Jeff Gordon’s comments from last year. Gordon said Johnson wants to be raced differently than everyone else; something that Busch would never do to any of his 42 other competitors.

    Clashing commence. Busch races hard as does Johnson and when the two get together the cameras better be ready. Unfortunately it took away from Brad Keselowski’s victory at Pocono, which he did with a broken ankle. Popular and praised for a few hours before the dissecting of Johnson vs. Busch started again on Web sites and talk shows.

    Attention is still on Johnson and Busch, especially with the announcement today that they will both be in this weekend’s Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen. Add in some road rage to another hot feud, on top of it being in a race where they aren’t racing for points, don’t be surprised if they are the top story again on this weekend.

    At the same time, don’t believe that Kurt is St. Busch. He’s ruffled his own feathers in the series and has his own haters, think Jimmy Spencer and the 2002-2003 seasons. It also doesn’t take much to send Busch over the edge and make his team radio a perfect fit for late night on Comedy Central.

    But when it comes to he and Johnson it’s hard to find Busch in the wrong. Just like on Sunday when what happened shouldn’t have become the issue that it has. They way they raced each other is what racing is about, what people want to see and what they get paid to do. Neither should forget that.

    It shouldn’t have carried over onto pit road or into the media. No one should care that they’re racing in the NNS this weekend. Instead battle lines are being drawn and opinions are being formed on who was right and who was wrong.

    If drivers are going to start having problems with what happened on Sunday then racing isn’t going to last much longer and neither will the fans interest. It’ll become the non-contact sport those accuse Roger Goodell of trying to make the NFL.

    That’s why after Sunday it’s important for everyone to apply what Brad Keselowski said of his victory to the entire sport: man up and race.

  • Some comments deserve to be repeated – Pocono Edition

    Some comments deserve to be repeated – Pocono Edition

    Over the previous weekend at Pocono there were quite a few comments that deserved to be repeated. The vast majority of them came from Sprint Cup drivers Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson following their late in the race dust up that led to a finger pointing “did to-did not” conversation on pit road.

    An angry Kurt Busch said “if a five time champion doesn’t know how to race, then forgive me. I was racing hard. I didn’t know we were supposed to pull over when it came to five (laps) to go. I raced him smart, I raced him clean and he wants to come over here and bitch about it.”

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]Somewhat out of character, an equally angry Johnson responded by saying “he’s a big crybaby and wants to take shots at me when he can. He’s good for running his mouth. He can keep running it, I’ll shut it for him. He’s pretty much a smart ass and wants to run his mouth so I had to go over there and say something.”

    The five time champion did receive a “Twitter” shout out from SPEED Channel analyst Kyle Petty who wrote: “Jimmie Johnson is now part of the bad ass club-took lessons from JPM? (Juan Pablo Montoya)

    The next meeting between these two drivers will be on the mammoth road course at Watkins Glen next weekend. Imagine the possibilities.

    ***********

    As usual the barbed tirades from Kurt Busch were not limited to his current feelings regarding Jimmie Johnson. We all know that Busch is very passionate about his racing and, when his car is not running to his satisfaction, he can become very vocal, to the point of becoming mean, about the situation via his in car radio system. Those comments often leads to wonderful sound bites for television and comments that deserve to be repeated.

    Some of the better comments, from Sunday’s Pocono race, included:

    “I am tired at being at the end of these mother !@#$%^& races.”

    “This is the most pathetic racing I’ve ever seen. Have we ever thought about making our cars faster?”

    Then, while coming down pit road, Busch noticed that the red light on the ESPN in car camera was on and yelled “I’m glad you’ve got an in car camera in here for me.” Then he removed his racing glove and used it to slap the camera so hard it tilted and we were treated to a nice video shot of his legs and feet.

    Can you imagine being a member of this driver’s team while having to listen to this on your radio all day long? I can’t.

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

    For those of you who are investors in the New York Stock Exchange you have every right in the world to be worried about the up and down numbers you’ve been seeing lately. Over the weekend there was some sage advice, regarding how to protect your money, from, believe it or not, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kenny Wallace who, in a “Twitter” message wrote “I have an investment tip that is known as a “Note” or a “Letter” to all: bury your money in the yard, ha ha ha.”

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

    The final comments features some philosophy of life advice seen on the “Twitter” accounts belonging to Kevin Harvick and Darrell Waltrip.

    Harvick, on his way home from a Sprint Cup race at Pocono that left him frustrated, wrote: “on the plane ready to head home. Not exactly the day we had in mind. Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”

    Meanwhile Waltrip was very impressed with the performance of Brad Keselowski who won at Pocono despite some very painful injuries. Offering some good advice for us all, Waltrip wrote: “Just follow that dream where ever that dream may lead you. Be like Brad was on Sunday and don’t let anything get in your way.”

    Now those are comments that deserve to be repeated.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono

    On a weekend where the patriarch of Pocono Raceway, Doc Mattioli, dramatically announced his retirement and sporadic rain made both the NASCAR Camping World Truck race and the ARCA Series race two-day events, it was no wonder that there was drama aplenty in the 38th Annual Good Sam RV Insurance 500.

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Long Pond, Pennsylvania track known affectionately as the ‘Tricky Triangle’.

    Surprising:  Although known for his victory lap celebrations displaying a large American flag, it was surprising how the race winner put aside both the celebration and the pain of his broken ankle to patriotically pay tribute to the lives of the troops lost this weekend.

    Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, climbed gingerly from his race car after taking the checkered flag to pay tribute to the Navy Seals and all who protect the country.

    “I’m no hero,” Keselowski said. “The heroes are the guys that died in Afghanistan this weekend. And I want to spend time thinking about them.”

    “I have a cousin in the Navy Seals,” Keselowski said. “It was really inspirational to me.  That’s what it means to man up.”

    “They were my inspiration for this weekend,” Keselowski continued. “I’m glad that we could win today but those are the heroes. I just drive race cars.”

    This was Keselowski’s third victory in 74 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his second victory in the 2011 season. This was also Keselowski’s first victory at Pocono Raceway.

    Not Surprising:  With Keselowski’s set up in his car, it was no surprise that his teammate Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, finished third. This was Busch’s 12th top-10 finish in 22 races at Pocono Raceway.

    Although Kurt Busch did everything he could after the race to deflect the attention, it was also not surprising that he had the most significant altercation in the race, on and off the track. Busch got into it with five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, as the two battled for position late in the race.

    “Today was definitely a hard fought battle,” Busch said. “We were hanging on to it at the end. And I brought her home third.”

    “We had a good battle all day, especially at the end with the 48,” Busch said. “We’ve had our battles and a lot of times I come out on the short end of the stick. But what I saw today was good hard racing.”

    “That’s what race fans love to see, that’s what they bought this ticket for, that’s what they’re sitting in the grandstands, rooting on their favorite driver for to see him get out there, mix it up clean, and bring it home, just like what we were third and fourth.”

    Surprising:  At a track the he admittedly does not do well at and after spinning in the early laps of the race, as well as being penalized for pitting too soon, it was surprising to see the other Busch brother, Kyle, finish in the runner up position. This was the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota driver’s fifth top-10 finish in four races at Pocono but his 13th top-10 finish in 2011.

    “The guys were flawless this weekend,” Busch said. “We worked real hard at it and it was fast.”

    “That last caution killed us,” Busch continued. “I was really hoping to see it go green the rest of the way. Our car was fast out front.”

    “All in all, it was a great day to come in second at one of my worst tracks.”

    This was the second race of the day in which Busch finished second. He was also the bridesmaid to Kevin Harvick in the Camping World Truck Series race, held over due to the rain.

    Not Surprising:  Speaking of weather, it was not surprising to see it impact the race, which ended up being was halted for a rain delay lasting one hour, 40 minutes and 46 second. Principal among those drivers who suffered the consequences of the precipitation was pole sitter Joey Logano.

    The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet not only started the race in front but was in the lead when the rains came pouring down. In spite of doing every rain dance possible, Pocono Raceway got the track dry and the race resumed. Logano, however, did not resume well,  struggling after the race restart, cutting a right rear tire down late in the race and finishing 26th.

    “We just had a flat,” Greg Zipadelli, Logano’s crew chief, said. “You can’t predict that.”

    Surprising:  Teammates Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, and Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, had their hopes for a good race weekend surprisingly dashed at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    Vickers suffered an engine failure early in the race and suffered his first DNF since Talladega, officially finishing 39th.

    “We lost an engine,” Vickers said dejectedly. “It was tough. I think we had a good car.”

    “We just haven’t had things go our way.”

    Teammate Kahne also did not have things go his way. He got into a late race collision with Juan Pablo Montoya and finished 28th.

    “We started the weekend off pretty strong,” Kahne said. “But in the race we just were behind.”

    “It definitely wasn’t what I expected, especially for a team that’s run so well here in the past.”

    Not Surprising:  Since Jeff Gordon  won the June 12th Pocono race, it was not surprising to see him power his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet back from a qualifying encounter with the wall to finish top ten in the August 7th Pocono race.

    “I’m happy with our finish considering were we started, deep in the field,” Gordon said.

    It was also not surprising that his fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammates had good finishes as well, with Jimmie Johnson in fourth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 9th and Mark Martin in 13th.

    “We had a good car all day long and I’m real happy how that worked out,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said.

    Surprising:  With all the focus on ‘Iron Man’ Keselowski for gutting out his win and the new feud brewing between five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and one-time champion Kurt Busch, the driver of the No. 27 Certain Teed/Menards Chevrolet went surprisingly unnoticed.

    Yet Paul Menard followed up his surprising win from last week at the Brickyard with a tenth place finish at Pocono.

    “It was a good follow-up to last week’s win,” Menard said. “We fought hard for this top-10 finish.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the three turns of Pocono wreaked havoc with many drivers, most significantly the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford. David Ragan brought out the second caution early in the race when he spun, heavily damaging the back end of his car.

    “I was probably a little too aggressive this early in the race,” Ragan said. “I ran out of race track and didn’t have enough room to chase it.”

    With his 34th place finish, David Ragan not surprisingly became NASCAR’s biggest loser, plummeting three positions in the point standings to 19th, all but shattering his Chase hopes.

    Surprising:  There were a surprising number of lead changes, however, they were primarily due to green flag pit stops and not passing on the track. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, had the lead four times for 65 laps and yet, in spite of that, still finished a surprisingly poor 15th at a track where he has excelled in the past.

    Not Surprising:  Given the intensity of the restarts, especially on the long Pocono straightaway, it was not surprising to see yet another driver get bit by a changing lanes before the start-finish line penalty. Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/811 Ford, was assessed a pass through penalty, yet was able to learn from his mistakes, overcome it, and rebound to finish 8th.

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished seventh at Pocono, just days after signing a multi-year contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing, leading two laps on the way to his 13th top-10 result of the year. He remains atop the Sprint Cup point standings, and leads Jimmie Johnson by 11.

    “Jack Roush went ‘all in,’” Edwards said. “Now, he’s ‘all out,’ and I’m a very rich and happy man. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I put my name on the dotted line. That’s called a ‘dollar sign.’”

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]But how about that finish in Saturday’s Nationwide Series U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway, in which I crashed into and pushed Ricky Stenhouse’s car across the finish line. What a great time for Nationwide insurance to push their ‘accident forgiveness’ promotion.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson posted his seventh top-5 finish of the year, taking fourth in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono. Johnson and Kurt Busch scrapped for third place during the final laps, and after the race, the two exchanged words and had to be separated by their crews. Johnson is second in the point standings, 11 behind Carl Edwards.

    “Kurt Busch is a lot like a cosmetic surgeon’s scalpel,” Johnson said. “He really knows how to get under your skin. Lucky for him, I have compassion for a driver whose personal life is obviously in turmoil. Kurt is just a few weeks removed from marital breakup; I didn’t want him to get ‘dumped’ again, so I held back.”

    It’s true that Kurt and I had to be separated by our crews. And it’s also true that Kurt and I are separated by four Sprint Cup championships.”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch chased Brad Keselowski down the stretch at Pocono, but was unable to catch the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, falling short of his fourth win of the year and instead settling for the runner-up spot. Busch improved one spot in the point standings and is now 16 out of first.

    “In a footrace,” Busch said, “the result would have surely been different. But let’s give Keselowski credit for dealing with the pain, and by ‘pain’ I don’t mean his teammate, and my brother, Kurt Busch. Brad puts the ‘Ow!’ in Keselowski.”

    4. Kurt Busch: Busch outdueled Jimmie Johnson for third at Pocono, banging doors down the stretch in a battle that continued after the race. Busch and Johnson argued vehemently after the race and had to be pulled apart by their respective crews. Busch improved two spots in the point standings to fourth and is now 14 out of first.

    “They say the No. 48 crew is one of NASCAR’s best,” Busch said. “I agree. Not only did they keep Johnson out of trouble, they also did the same for me, because without their intervention, I likely would have been punched.”

    But I refuse to back down from Johnson. And I’ll tell him that. I’ll speak my mind, and say to him the same thing I would say to my most bitter rival, or my car owner, or the former Penske technical director. I have a dirty mind, and I’m not afraid to speak it.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a mediocre 14th at Pocono, his fourth-consecutive finish outside the top-10. Since winning atCharlotte in late May, Harvick’s best finish is a fifth, and while he’s still considered a championship contender, he needs to rekindle his winning ways before the Chase starts.

    “I’ve got three wins on the year,” Harvick said, “and not much else lately. It’s known around here as the Harvick ‘win or else’ strategy.”

    But if I need a good kick in the behind, recent history tells us that Richard  Childress is probably good for it.”

    6. Jeff Gordon: Gordon overcame a poor qualifying effort, starting 31st, on the way to a solid finish of sixth at Pocono, his tenth top-10 result of the year. He remained seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, and is 52 out of first.

    “Did you see the size of Brad Keselowski’s broken left ankle?” Gordon said. “With that being said, let me congratulate him on such a ‘swell’ victory.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth faced handling issues and faltering brakes at Pocono, yet recovered late in the race to finish 16th. Kenseth fell one spot in the point standings to sixth, and is now 26 behind Carl Edwards.

    “What’s the significance of Jack Roush’s lucrative offer to Carl Edwards here at Roush Fenway?” Kenseth asked. “Well, it means there’s at least one person who wants Carl around.”

    8. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished 11th in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, following Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman, who finished fifth, across the line at Pocono. Stewart overcame a flat tire early in the race, falling a lap down, before rallying to nearly crack the top 10.

    “Let’s hear it for Brad Keselowski,” Stewart said. “The guts it must take to not only drive, but win, with a broken foot. It appears nothing can stop young Keselowski, except a wall at Road Atlanta.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished fifth at Pocono, scoring his seventh top-5 result of the year. He remained eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 62 out of first and a well-cushioned 40 point edge over Denny Hamlin in 11th.

    “I imagine Brad Keselowski had to be gentle with his broken left ankle,” Newman said. “For that kind of courage, Tony Stewart and I commend him. That’s something I think neither Tony nor I would be able to do, because, as our personalities suggest, we’ve never ‘pussy-footed’ around anything.”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took an unlikely victory, winning at Pocono despite a broken left ankle suffered in a scary crash at Road Atlanta on Monday. Keselowski zoomed past Kyle Busch on a lap 185 restart and held off Busch over the final 15 laps. It was Keselowski’s second victory of the year, and placed him in prime position to claim a Chase For The Cup wildcard spot.

    “I guess it’s now a good thing to be called a ‘wildcard,’” Keselowski said. “Sure, my win at Pocono was a surprising one. Surprising not because a driver won with a broken foot. Surprising because a driver was taking legal pain killers.”

  • HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: ONE DRIVER ROSE ABOVE THE PAIN AT POCONO WHILE OTHERS LEFT THERE FEELING THE PAIN

    We’ve often heard the stories regarding professional athletes playing hurt and how they use a strong mental focus to overcome the high levels of pain from a physical injury. Brad Keselowski certainly proved how that theory can work. Then there were other drivers who rolled into the garage area after the race feeling the pain of a disappointing afternoon in Pocono and the impact it had on their chances of making the Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, things got pretty interesting in Iowa. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin this week with:

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]HOORAH to Brad Keselowski for scoring his second win of the season at Pocono despite having to drive a 500 mile race while dealing with the massive pain from a broken ankle and a back injury sustained from a practice crash at Road Atlanta earlier in the week. There were video clips of Keselowski climbing in and out of his car and you could literally see the pain in the man’s eyes. Then to have to drive 500 miles around one of the most physically demanding race tracks on the NASCAR schedule, while working the clutch and brake pedals with a broken ankle, is just unimaginable.

    HOORAH to Penske Racing for having the wisdom to fly in Keselowski’s Charlotte-North Carolina based chiropractor to assist the driver with treatments. This decision really loomed large during the approximate one hour and forty minute rain delay in the race which allowed the doctor to give his patient an additional adjustment in the comfort of Keselowski’s motor home.

    HOORAH to Paul Wolfe, the winning crew chief, for a gutsy call from the pit box that provided his driver the track position to win the race.

    A HOORAH also goes out to the Miller Lite crew for some great pit service that also helped with track position.

    HOORAH for Keselowski’s win at Pocono elevating his status as a contender for the Chase. His second win moved him from 21st to 18th in the points standings and he’s now the top seed for one of the wild card berths. The wild card system states that the two drivers with the most wins, while maintaining a points position between 11th and 20th, will become the 11th and 12th seed in the Chase line up.

    Let’s send yet another HOORAH to NASCAR for implementing this wild card procedure into the Chase system. The concept has more than done its job. It has us all paying attention and excitedly talking about the various Chase scenarios.

    During the victory lane interview Keselowski was referred to as a hero for winning this grueling while under a high level of pain. He quickly responded with a reference to a record high 30 U.S. servicemen who died during an attack in Afghanistan the day before. “I’m no hero,” he said adding “the heroes are the guys who died in Afghanistan this weekend and I want to spend time thinking about them.” Keselowski gets a double HOORAH for that very classy statement.

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

    In a Pocono storyline that we’re going to be hearing about all week long, WAZZUP with that personal moment between drivers Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch during the final moments of the race? At first it appeared to be a case of hard racing between two drivers who were trying to claim third place. However, as the moments unfolded, it quickly became apparent that this situation was getting very personal and the on again off again feud between these two drivers, that dates back to the Infineon Speedway race in 2009, has been rekindled. With the next stop on the Sprint Cup being the Watkins Glen road course can you imagine the possibilities? Now there’s a place where a driver can do the bump and run and make it look like an accident.

    WAZZUP with those constant comments that claims Jimmie Johnson is vanilla? I’m not exactly sure what that even means. If it turns out that vanilla means exercising self control, especially during a live television interview, after a race then I suppose it might apply here. When Johnson was standing in Busch’s face on pit road, I didn’t notice anyone serving vanilla ice cream. It also occurs to me that if Jimmie Johnson is indeed vanilla then Kurt Busch must be extra hot Tabasco Sauce.

    WAZZUP with the members of Kurt Busch’s pit crew not getting in between these two drivers? Generally, when these post race square offs occur, at least one crew member will place himself between the drivers to insure a verbal argument doesn’t turn physical. The members of the Busch team remained a few feet behind their driver during the entire confrontation. Could it be that they truly believed  the vanilla driver wasn’t actually going to throw a punch? Or perhaps it was something else.

    (Cinch up your seat belts NASCAR conspiracy theorists, you’re going to love this one.) Kurt Busch is well known for taking out his on track frustrations on his team members via his in car radio system. In fact, some of those comments bring brand new levels to the term verbal abuse. Is it just possible that the Busch crew members thought we’ll give Johnson one punch before we step in because our guy deserves it? It’s one of those things that makes you say “hmmm” seconds before you yell “WAZZUP ?”

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    We all know that Joey Logano’s first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup win came following a race that was called due to rain. After a strong performance during the first half of the Pocono event a red flag came out due to heavy rain with Logano in the lead. I truly believed they were going to call the race and send Logano to victory lane. I even wrote the headline “Deja Vu, The Rain Man Strikes Again.” WAZZUP with Mother Nature spreading sunshine all over the place that ended that rain delay? Logano was never a factor again during the second half of the race and finished 26th.

    HOORAH to the Pocono Sprint Cup race for not turning into another fuel mileage event. Those drivers were racing hard at the end of the event and it was a pleasant change of pace from what we’ve seen lately.

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    HOORAH to Ricky Stenhouse Jr for that stunning NASCAR Nationwide Series win at the Iowa Speedway. The Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver scored his second win of the season with both of them occurring in Iowa.

    A combined WAZZUP/HOORAH goes to the stunning finish of the Iowa race.

    WAZZUP with Stenhouse blowing an engine several yards from the checkered flag? Team mate Carl Edwards was right behind him and tried to take evasive action to avoid a hit and steal the race during the final few yards to the finish line. Unfortunately, Edwards tires got into the oil from his team mate’s car and he hit the rear of the Stenhouse car hard. Fortunately, the impact caused both cars to slide under the checkers for their fifth one-two finish of the season. The margin of victory was a mere 66-one thousandths of a second. Stenhouse had to take his victory lap in the back of a speedway emergency truck. Afterwards Stenhouse’s crew chief, Mike Kelly, walked up to Edwards and thanked him for the push.

    The HOORAH part of this story is for the sheer stunning excitement of the finish to this race.

    WAZZUP with the contact between Edwards and Stenhouse that clearly wasn’t just a racing deal? With 82 laps left in the race the team mates were racing hard for the lead when there was contact between their two cars. The contact continued and it became quickly apparent that this situation was getting very personal. At one point Stenhouse came over his radio and said “when I get to him he’s done.” Crew chief Mike Kelly came over the radio in an attempt to calm his young driver down. This is not the first time these two drivers have been seen beating and banging on each other. But the one comment that convinced us all this incident had become personal came from a radio sound bite, picked up by ESPN Television, between team owner Jack Roush and Carl Edwards. Roush asked “Carl, are you all right?” His driver replied “I’m good Jack, we’re even.”

    WAZZUP with Nationwide Series garage rumors that states Stenhouse truly believes that Edwards doesn’t really like him?

    The Iowa event was part of the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash program, a special four race promotion for series regulars that pays a $100,000 bonus to the highest finisher among the four drivers eligible for the program. HOORAH to Turner Motorsports driver Reed Sorenson for winning the bonus for the second race in a row. If Sorenson can maintain this pace, he could wind up collecting a cool one million dollar bonus from Nationwide Insurance at the conclusion of the four race competition.

    HOORAH to the Iowa Speedway for again selling out all of their seats for this race. That is also proof positive that the NASCAR Nationwide Series, as well as the Camping World Truck Series, deserves more stand alone events that allows them to shine.

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    In some final comments HOORAH to Kevin Harvick for winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the Pocono Raceway under some lengthy circumstances. The race began on a Saturday but was postponed by rain after 17 laps. Harvick had to wait to Sunday to get the win in his self owned Chevrolet Truck. He led a race high 44 laps, of the scheduled 125, but had to fend off rival Kyle Busch in a green-white-checker finish.

    HOORAH to Johnny Sauter for his fourth place finish that kept him on top of the truck series’ points standings. The post Iowa standings showed Sauter with a five point advantage over Austin Dillon.

    WAZZUP with Sauter’s truck failing to pass post race inspection? The right rear of the truck was reported to be too high. The penalty that’s certain to come is going to cost him the points lead.

    WAZZUP with that NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race hauler that completely wiped out the flag stand at the Pocono Raceway? While coming down the speedway’s front stretch, en route to their assigned parking space in the garage area, the hauler somehow hit the flag stand. The hauler belonged to the #66 Turn One Racing Team owned by Stacey Compton. The raceway maintenance squad had to make quick work of erecting a temporary flag stand. I bet it was fun explaining that one to the insurance company.

    Sadly, our final item this week is a GOD BLESS for the family of NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick. His mother, Mary Hendrick, passed away at a Charlotte-North Carolina hospital this past Monday at the age of 88. This grand lady, fondly known as “Miss Mary”, was the registered team owner of the Hendrick Motorsports #25 Chevrolet from 2005 through 2007. In 2008, she was listed as the owner of the #5 HMS Chevrolet. She officially has seven NASCAR Sprint Cup wins as a team owner including five, in the 2009 season, by driver Mark Martin. Our sincere condolences goes out to the Hendrick family during this sad time.