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  • The Final Word – Pocono was Fun, Fun, Fun for Keselowski as he decides to Do It Again

    The Final Word – Pocono was Fun, Fun, Fun for Keselowski as he decides to Do It Again

    The Final Word – Pocono was Fun, Fun, Fun for Keselowski as he decides to Do It Again
    August 8, 2011

    With a grandstand and trees
    there’s a place called Pocono.
    That’s where Brad wanted to go
    and wound up winning it all.
    An ankle in a cast,
    some didn’t think he would ever last.
    Maybe it was a labor of love,
    as he drove that Dodge pretty fast,
    Down in Pocono.

    Gordon, Logano, oh they tried, we know.
    The Busch boys and Jimmie, were also in a hurry.
    Labonte, Montoya, wanted to get ya
    Down in Pocono.
    You drove very fast
    Or the others were slow
    Down in Pocono.

    Hey, some folks get carried away, as Brad Keselowski was earlier in the week after he lost his brakes during a Road Atlanta test session that tested just how tough the young man was. With his second victory of the season, the limping lad with the busted ankle moved into the Top 20 and, for the moment, a place in the Chase. Denny Hamlin, who usually rules at Pocono, had some lug nuts fly off in the pits as they had to pick up the pieces, or nuts, to settle for 15th. At least they continue to hang on to that second wild card position as Paul Menard drops out. Meanwhile, those who were among the Top Ten remain so, at least for now.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]Joey Logano could have won if the rains had come and stayed. Instead, after more than an hour cooling their heels and tires, the boys returned to the track to complete the event. While Keselowski beat out Kyle Busch, brother Kurt was beating and banging with Jimmie Johnson coming to the stripe to finish third and fourth respectively. Then they had a discussion as to who was an idiot. In a way, it was something of Hallmark moment, if the card read…

    “Hey, BFF, Forever ended Saturday” or…
    “Bang on the drum all day, but leave my damn car alone” or…
    “Don’t come a knockin’ and cause my car to be a rockin’”

    You can send a card to Carl Edwards, who is a happy man. So is Jack Roush and Ford as the soon to be 32-year old signed a new deal to stay just where he is for years to come.

    In watching the 43 cars come and go, I was reminded that this season we have had 76 drivers make a Cup start in 55 cars, with another car that made an attempt. With all that talent and all those autos, there are only 30 entries that really have any hope each and every week, and that includes those driven by Trevor Bayne and Bobby Labonte. Yet, 41 drivers have more than $1 million in winnings in 2011. Mike Skinner hasn’t exactly been tearing up the track this year, but he probably has more money than you.

    When it comes to wins, Tony Stewart is the man as they leave the tri-oval that thinks it is a road course to the real McCoy at Watkins Glen. Five times Stewart has won there over the past nine events, including in 2009, and he might think it is his turn again. 2010 winner Juan Pablo Montoya might disagree. In fact, he could be having some Good Vibrations himself. Okay, I’ll stop now. Enjoy your week.

  • The Story At Pocono…No Guts No Glory!

    The Story At Pocono…No Guts No Glory!

    Pocono, home of mountains, endangered ducks, heart shaped bath tubs, and the location of the latest victory for a very very gutsy young man named Brad Keselowski.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”273″][/media-credit]The Good Sam RV Insurance 500 was delayed by rain for 90 minutes. For 90 minutes, Joey Logano and his crew chief Zippy did the rain dance. They would have probably sacrificed small cut out crew chief effigies had they been able to get them for it to continue raining. But it didn’t. And when the green flag fell again it was Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch showing the way.

    A late race caution as a result of contact between Juan Pablo Montoya and Kasey Kahne would set up the final plays of the race. It would be the Blue Deuce up against the M&M’s Toyota of Kyle Busch and the No. 48 of 5 time and reigning Champ Jimmie Johnson. Johnson dove to the bottom of the track making it three wide and challenging for the lead into one. But the Blue Deuce would hold him off and Kyle Busch would hold his ground, leaving the 48 to slip back to 3rd and ultimately 4th. Once the nose of the Miller Lite Dodge Charger cleared into clean air it was smooth sailing. Well as smooth as it can be with a driver with a broken left ankle and multiple bruises lacerations and incredible back pain.

    Brad Keselowski proved he was everything and more that his mentor, Dale Earnhardt Jr., thought he was back in 2007 when he signed him to drive his Nationwide Series Car full time. Keselowski never looked back then and he never looked back today. For that matter even with the painful reminder of the broken ankle that had to be drained of fluid and blood during the red flag, he never looked back to Road Atlanta where he broke the ankle hitting a non safer barrier on Wednesday.

    In victory lane, Keselowski showed he had more than just a lot of guts, he also had humility. “I am no hero. Heroes are those guys that died in Afghanistan yesterday. I just drive race cars. This win is for them.”

    3 Time Champion Darrell Waltrip, tweeted about the young driver, “If you think you can, you will, if you think you can’t, you won’t! Great drivers rise above adversity, matter a fact, they thrive on it!”

    Keselowski earned that victory. Flat out. He and his team worked for it. He claimed it, and he then he dedicated to people he felt were more deserving of hero status than he was.

    But in the celebration something was over looked. Something that perhaps NASCAR was glad was over looked, the failure of the series to protect the drivers in accordance with its Driver Safety First initiative.

    The driver safety first policy has brought us a lot of incredible things that have made the sport safer for the drivers, S.A.F.E.R. barriers for one. As a matter of fact those barriers are so important that Steve O’Donnell of NASCAR told me, “We don’t race on tracks without S.A.F.E.R. barriers.”

    They may not race on tracks without them but teams are forced to test on tracks that don’t have them. Teams are forced to go to these tracks and test because of the no testing rule put in place in 2008 by NASCAR.

    NASCAR said at the time that it was a cost containment measure that was requested by the team owners. Yet the teams continue to test at tracksthat are outside of the watchful eye of NASCAR.

    A lack of testing has lead to a decrease in competition according to Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace. Both of whom are past champions and team owners in the sport.

    With the current situation of empty seats and follow the leader racing one has to ask what is being gained here. There is no cost containment when the teams test anyway. There is no cost containment when they spend millions of dollars on computer programs and engineers to create ways of getting around the testing ban.

    It’s not bad enough that the drivers have an increased chance of getting hurt for the sake of being competitive on the race track. Once they do get injured they put others at risk by driving injured. In the protective boot, Keselowski could not work the brakes and clutch the way he needed to because he couldn’t feel the pedal. It was illustrated when he slid through his pit box on the first pit stop of the day.

    Other situations of drivers hurt but that raced anyway include, Denny Hamlin following Knee surgery during an off week, Kyle Petty with a femur fracture, Mark Martin with an injured leg, Ken Schrader in a flap jacket that impaired movement, and the biggest Dale Earnhardt with a broken vertebra in his neck. These are not the only examples but they are some of the most vivid.

    It’s time for NASCAR to look at the big picture. If you are going to put driver’s safety first that means it’s always first. That means that you can’t look the other direction when teams go to test for Watkins Glen at Road Atlanta and a young rising star hits a concrete steel reinforced wall without a S.A.F.E.R. barrier and then is dependant on two other drivers to assist him from the car because they reached him before the safety team did.

    You can not claim safety first when you allow an injured and obviously impaired driver to compete. You can not claim safety first when teams must test to be competitive and yet you prevent them from testing where the testing would be done at the most up to date tracks with modern safety features. You can not claim safety first when they can not test where the testing would be the most beneficial to all at the track they are going to race at.

    If teams were allowed to test at the track they were going to race at, it would improve the competition on that track. If the competition improved at places like California, Pocono and Sonoma for example, perhaps their ticket sales and TV ratings would go up. It’s a win/win situation.

    If the teams were allowed to test at the track they were going to race on the information from the car’s black box would not be lost for other teams also competing on that same track when there is a serious accident. But because Keselowski’s wreck was not a NASCAR sanctioned track that information is available to the team involved and it’s drivers and engineers only.

    So why is it, NASCAR continues to hold to a policy that is in itself a giant loop hole? Why do they continue to hold to a policy that is at best ineffective at accomplishing the task it was meant to accomplish?

    This is the second safety issue within the last two weeks within NASCAR’s upper echelon of competition. In both cases the drivers were lucky to escape with their lives. It’s time for NASCAR to become proactive and not reactive. It is the policy of wait and see and if it happens to be retired. It is time for NASCAR to live up to the promises and policies they already have in place and to change the outdated ones that don’t work. If for no other reason than the world has lost enough heroes and champions, we don’t need to lose anymore.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr on his Nationwide Victory in Iowa. The quote of the week came from the NNS broadcast when Ken Schrader commented on Stenhouse Jr being upset with team mate Carl Edwards, “We used to get turned over and on fire before we got mad, now it takes a tire donut”.  Which leads us to the reminder that racing is still a full contact sport.

    Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on his Camping World Truck Series Victory in Pocono.

    Congratulations to Brad Keselowski on his victory in the Sprint Cup Series Race at Pocono. It was an inspiring and gutsy show of why fans look at their favorite driver as a hero. It is also the perfect illustration of drivers as athletes.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Is Edwards’ Team Ready to Be Champions This Year?

    Is Edwards’ Team Ready to Be Champions This Year?

    Carl Edwards did the loyal thing and stayed with the team that took a chance on him when no one else would. His “multi-year” contract with Roush-Fenway Racing was somewhat of a surprise as most media outlets had him going to a fourth team at Joe Gibbs Racing. Whether that was true or not, no one knows and Edwards isn’t talking. One has to wonder, though, how long the contract is and how much money he is making. Also left to ponder is how it will affect his performance on the track. Many thought it would take a burden off his shoulders and start a march toward the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. It didn’t work out that way during today’s race.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]Edwards started fourth and was found mostly hovering around the top 10 all day, but he was outclassed by guys like the Busch Brothers, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and the winner, arch-rival Brad Keselowski. What’s up with that? At the finish, Edwards finished in the lower half of the top 10 and finds himself only nine points in front of Jimmie Johnson—not exactly a secure position considering both have one win this year. So what happened on Sunday?

    Edwards said his car got loose, but one has to wonder why adjustments were not made to rectify that situation. Remember, Johnson and Knaus are known for those in-race adjustments. That is the reason why I think Johnson is still the man to beat in this championship competition. Today, while Johnson found himself back in the pack all day, just like Edwards, the right moves were made to make him a factor at the end. Edwards seemed to lose positions, gain them back, and stay in the same place. That’s not going to cut it in that horrible aberration that NASCAR calls The Chase. No one doubts Edwards’ ability or desire, but what is in question is if his team is ready to be the champions they are capable of being. After a trip to the road course at Watkins Glen, which could be disastrous for Edwards point-wise, he heads to the friendly confines of Michigan where he shines. The trouble is that Johnson does pretty well on road courses and at Michigan. It should be an interesting sequence. And maybe this is the warm-up for next year’s run. We’ll soon find out.

    ****
    NASCAR sure has a knack for the Cinderella story. Brad Keselowski, seriously injured in a practice accident at Road Atlanta, comes back to win with a broken ankle and a bad back at Pocono, which may be the sanctioning body’s longest race. This ranks right up there with Denny Hamlin’s comeback after surgery, Dale Earnhardt’s win after the death of his father, and Ricky Rudd’s win at Martinsville a few years ago when he had to be carried from his car on a hot October day. It was simply amazing. No doubt the rain delay helped him go the distance, but what will he do on the road course at the Glen?

    Lots of questions will be answered soon. Keselowski put himself in the driver’s seat to make the Chase with the win, his second of the season, but what will the injury mean to his performance in upcoming races? That’s why Watkins Glen is all important to not only to Edwards and Johnson, but Brad Keselowski too. Maybe that’s a reason to tune in next week. Not being a fan of the road courses, where ringers come in and try to spoil the show for the regulars, it may be the only reason for this writer.

  • Sprint Cup – Chasing Different Agendas

    Sprint Cup – Chasing Different Agendas

    LONG POND, Pa. (RacingWire) – As the deadline to make the NASCAR Chase for the Championship nears, drivers outside the top 10 in point’s positions are working overtime to get into the playoffs.

     

  • Keselowski Guts Out Broken Ankle to Win the Good Sam RV Insurance 500

    Keselowski Guts Out Broken Ankle to Win the Good Sam RV Insurance 500

    Brad Keselwoski gingerly climbed from his car as he celebrated his win at the Pocono Raceway late Sunday evening. Kesleowski held off a hard charging Kyle Busch for his second win of the 2011 season making him the first wild card in the chase. Keselowski had injured himself earlier in the week while testing at the road course in Atlanta. During the red flag Keselowski admitted to being sore but he toughed it out.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”218″][/media-credit]“It’s not me its good people,” Keselowski said in victory lane. “There’s so many people to thank.” But Keselowski also quickly said, “I’m no hero; the heroes are the guys that died in Afghanistan this week. I just drive race cars for a living.”

    When asked about winning the possibility of winning a million dollars he said, “I would throw away the money (for the Sprint challenge) if I could get in the chase”, as Kurt Busch came in to congratulate him.

    All the action occurred after a red flag delay that exceeded an hour and a half that saw Joey Logano leading the race.

    “The 48 was coming,” Joey Logano said in the television booth during the red flag for rain at the Pocono Raceway. Logano had taken the lead from his team mate Denny Hamlin during a pit stop by taking 2 tires.

    Sunday was a busy day at the Pocono Raceway as the Camping World Truck Series completed their race that was postponed due to weather on Saturday. Then the ARCA Series ran their delayed race before the Sprint Cup cars took to the track under the threat of rain.

    Joey Logano led the field to the green after winning the pole award. Kasey Kahne started second but by the time the red flag was displayed on lap 124 Kahne was a lap down in 29th place.

    Up to the red flag it was Joe Gibbs Racing who dominated the race leading 110 of the 124 laps run, 65 of those by Logano’s team mate Denny Hamlin. During the red flag when asked if he wanted the race to be called Logano said, “What do you think?”

    The June Pocono race winner, Jeff Gordon struggled early on from his starting position of 31st hanging in the top 25 but his crew went to work and the car was getting better on each stop. By the time the red flag came out Gordon was in 6th and he said, “I’m kind of hoping we go back racing because I think we can get our car good enough to win”

    Jimmie Johnson was the only fly in the ointment for the Joe Gibbs trio chasing down and passing Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin as he was bearing down on Logano for the lead when the rains came. Johnson wanted to get back to racing as did Dale Earnhardt Jr. who was in 5th.

    When the race restarted the leaders all went to the pits and Jeff Burton only took two tires coming out first. Kurt and Kyle Busch led them to the green flag and took off. Earnhardt Jr. had slipped to 15th but was working his way forward.

    It went green flag and with 50 laps left pit stops started. Those went without issue and after Landon Cassill made his pit stop Kurt Busch remained in the lead as rain was close by but was forecasted to miss the track. Jimmie Johnson started having issues with his transmission shifter and had to keep it in high gear.

    When Kyle Busch passed his brother Kurt with 38 laps to go for the lead Kurt  said, “Well, at least we won the Pocono 400.” At the same time Jeff Gordon was working on sixth place Joey Logano.

    Things stayed green and they started another round of green flag stops with about 28 laps remaining.

    Then with 21 laps to go Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 4 of Kasey Kahne got together coming off turn 1 sending Montoya spinning and Kahne to the pits with damage. Kahen lost a lap and was angry with his crew yelling, “It’s like you guys have never been to a race before!” That erased a sizable lead by Kyle Busch over Brad Keselowski.

    Under the caution many cars on the lead lap stopped for tires and fuel as the top 5 stayed out along with a few others who tried to gain track position.

    On the restart Jimmie Johnson made a move for the lead going 3-4 wide into turn 1 and Keselowski ended up with the lead as Busch seemed to focus on Johnson who never made the pass. As the laps wound down Busch was tracking Keselowski down and closing in as Kurt Busch was in third and Jimmie Johnson was in fourth.

    With 12 laps to go Joey Logano was losing a tire and almost crashed as he was in heavy traffic.

    Coming to the checkered flag Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson had some high speed antics going on as they slammed doors. Johnson and Busch clearly disagreed as to what happened.

    Kyle Busch said that if he to do it over again he would have done that restart the same way on the bottom even though he got bogged down with Johnson.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    Good Sam RV Insurance 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=21
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 13 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 47
    2 11 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 43
    3 5 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 42
    4 18 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 40
    5 12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 40
    6 31 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 38
    7 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford 38
    8 9 16 Greg Biffle Ford 37
    9 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 35
    10 7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 34
    11 28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 33
    12 3 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 32
    13 25 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 31
    14 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 30
    15 6 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 31
    16 20 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 28
    17 8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 27
    18 14 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 26
    19 29 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 25
    20 27 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 24
    21 17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 23
    22 16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 22
    23 24 34 David Gilliland Ford 21
    24 33 0 David Reutimann Toyota 20
    25 22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 19
    26 1 20 Joey Logano Toyota 19
    27 36 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    28 2 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 16
    29 42 71 Andy Lally * Ford 15
    30 21 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 14
    31 39 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    32 23 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 12
    33 41 32 Jason White Ford 0
    34 15 6 David Ragan Ford 10
    35 38 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 9
    36 32 13 Casey Mears Toyota 9
    37 30 66 Todd Bodine Toyota 0
    38 37 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 6
    39 26 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 5
    40 40 37 Scott Speed Ford 0
    41 43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 35 46 Erik Darnell Ford 2
    43 34 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 1
  • Kevin Harvick Survives Two Day Pocono Truck Marathon for First Season Win

    Kevin Harvick Survives Two Day Pocono Truck Marathon for First Season Win

    In a rain-delayed race at Pocono Raceway, lasting from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning, one driver, Kevin Harvick, survived the marathon to take the checkered flag. This is Harvick’s first victory in the Truck Series in 2011.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”207″][/media-credit]The driver of the No. 2 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet, for team owner and wife DeLana Harvick, won the 2nd Annual Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125, securing his 10th victory in 110 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.

    “You just hope that the truck didn’t screw itself up overnight,” Harvick said of the marathon race event. “Luckily it was fast and we were able to manage our fuel.

    “It didn’t detune itself overnight.”

    “Harvick admitted that this particular race truck has been fast for the last several weeks. He also acknowledged that he had to go into fuel conservation mode for the final green, white, checkered finish.

    “They’ve been working hard on a lot of things to make the truck better,” Harvick said of his team. “You just have to not make mistakes.”

    “They told me we were good on fuel and I knew I had saved at least a couple laps of gas,” Harvick continued. “All in all I think the fuel mileage thing went out the window with all the cautions.”

    “And then it was all about track position, which was important.”

    When asked what difference the marathon, two-day race meant to Harvick, it apparently at least meant him getting out of bed a bit earlier than normal on a Cup race day.

    “I feel like I’m a lot more awake than I would have been,” Harvick said with a laugh. “It just never hurts to get out and get in the rhythm.”

    “You just have to change your suit and go back after it this afternoon.”

    With his Pocono Truck win, Harvick also secured his own place in history by tying Bobby Hamilton for 12th on the all-time Series wins list.

    Bruce Cook, Harvick’s crew chief, echoed his driver’s assessment of the race truck and the fuel situation. But he also admitted that he had little to no sleep because of the rain delay from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.

    “Our truck was really good,” Cook said. “Having the rain basically meant not sleeping overnight.”

    “We knew we were close right off the bat,” Cook said of the fuel mileage challenges. “But with the caution coming out, we were OK on fuel.”

    “Kevin took over conserving but there were no major concerns,” Cook continued. “The race speaks for itself.”

    Kyle Busch finished in the runner up position. The driver of the No. 18 CocoaVia.com Toyota scored his first top-10 finish at a track that he has always found a bit tricky.

    This was Busch’s ninth top-10 finish in 2011.

    “It certainly was a good run for us, yesterday and today,” Busch said. “We unloaded here Friday and felt we were pretty decent off the truck but we were definitely off the 2 truck. He was stellar.”

    “We just tried to minimize our losses and come out of here with the best finish we could,” Busch continued. “A few of those cautions helped us and fortunately that moved us back up to second.”

    “It was fun racing the trucks here and it was certainly entertaining.”

    Young up and coming driver James Buescher, behind the wheel of the No. 31 Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet  came in third, posting his first top-10 finish at Pocono Raceway.

    “It was definitely a good day for us,” Buescher said. “We unloaded really fast off the truck yesterday or two days ago, whenever we practiced.”

    “We worked hard to find a good balance,” Buescher continued. “It’s been a good race yesterday and today.”

    “It was a good day for us and we’re on a roll.”

    Joey Coulter, another up and coming driver, was the highest finishing rookie. The driver of the No. 22 Darrell Gwynn Foundation/RCR Graphics Center Chevrolet finished sixth.

    “It went well,” Coulter said. “It was a drag race until the end.”

    “It was pretty wild,” Coulter continued. “It was probably the most fun race I’ve been in.”

    Johnny Sauter, behind the wheel of the No. 13 SafeAuto/Carrier/Curb Records Chevrolet, and Austin Dillon, driving the No. 3 Bass Pro Shop[s/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.

    Unfortunately, point leader Sauter failed post race inspection with his right rear exceeding the height regulation. NASCAR advised to expect penalties on Tuesday of next week.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Good Sam RV ER Service 125, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=14
    ==============================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    ==============================================
    1 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    2 2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    3 6 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 41
    4 16 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 40
    5 8 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 39
    6 12 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 38
    7 5 32 Mark Martin Chevrolet 0
    8 13 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 36
    9 7 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 35
    10 11 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 34
    11 19 9 Max Papis Toyota 33
    12 10 5 Todd Bodine Toyota 32
    13 4 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 32
    14 3 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 30
    15 18 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 29
    16 21 6 Justin Lofton Toyota 28
    17 20 23 Jason White Chevrolet 27
    18 17 81 David Starr Toyota 26
    19 14 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 25
    20 15 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 24
    21 23 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 23
    22 9 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 22
    23 25 28 Wes Burton Chevrolet 21
    24 28 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 20
    25 31 66 Peyton Sellers Chevrolet 19
    26 22 7 Chad McCumbee Toyota 18
    27 26 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 17
    28 27 138 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 16
    29 24 93 Shane Sieg Chevrolet 15
    30 29 175 James Hylton Chevrolet 0
    31 30 189 Chris Lafferty Chevrolet 0
  • Teammates Having at It: Edwards and Stenhouse Jr. Feud to a Fantastic Finish

    Teammates Having at It: Edwards and Stenhouse Jr. Feud to a Fantastic Finish

    Both say they’re going to stand their ground, one says the other is too aggressive.  No, it isn’t two rival drivers trading barbs. It’s Roush- Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Saturday night in Iowa it was Stenhouse who got the best of Edwards in a fantastic finish that had both drivers wrecking across the finish line when Stenhouse blew his engine coming to the checkered flag and Edwards slammed into the back of him sending them both spinning across the line.

    [media-credit name=”Rusty Jarrett, CIA Stock Photos” align=”alignright” width=”281″][/media-credit]A fitting end to a race where team owner Jack Roush said he saw plenty of opportunities for things to go horribly wrong.

    “Happily the tempers didn’t rise above the boiling point and everything was OK,” said Roush. “Carl is exactly where he should be as an elderly statesmen right now in this business and Ricky’s where he should be as a young guy with a lot of enthusiasm, motivation and anxious to make a name for himself.”

    Roush continued saying, “Ricky races pretty hard and Carl I’m sure sometimes wishes Ricky wouldn’t race him so hard. In five years Ricky will be in the same place Carl is today and there will be somebody else pushing him harder than he wants to be pushed.”

    Early in the event while racing for the lead the two traded paint as Edwards got into Stenhouse Jr. The young driver came over the radio and told his team that Edwards was “done when I get to him.” Cooler heads eventually prevailed, Edwards said they were even but the RFR competitiveness wasn’t done.

    With less than 25 laps to go the two blew by leader Elliott Sadler and went after each other again. Stenhouse held onto the lead and went on to win for the second time in his career. He also sweeps the Iowa events for 2011.

    “We both race really hard, doesn’t matter who it is,” said Stenhouse about his teammate. “At the same token we probably raced a little too hard. I felt like he ran us up the race track in turn four and got into us and then after that I was going to drive as hard as I could to get back by him and that’s why I didn’t cut him any slack passing him for the lead.”

    After finishing second to Edwards on a few different occasions already this season and letting a win get away at Lucas Oil Raceway last weekend after dominating, Stenhouse wasn’t about to let it happen again. According to him, Edwards has won his fair share of races and he [Stenhouse] wants to win a little more right now.

    It won’t come easy when Edwards is in the field; the two teammates are not seeing eye-to-eye. They also had contact last weekend, which they had to end up talking about. This week they’ll do the same.

    “Ricky and I are fine,” said Edwards. “Jack came over said this is exactly what’s supposed to be happening. You’re supposed to have a young guy that’s fast, that’s frustrating everyone because he’s too aggressive. That’s all that’s going on with Ricky, he’s really, really fast.”

    Edwards says Stenhouse got a little excited on Saturday and that he’s being over aggressive. Stenhouse admits that he gets frustrated but says it’s because he wants to win and knows his team is capable.

    While sometimes they have to rein him in during parts of the race, it hasn’t been too detrimental to the No. 6 team’s season. They currently lead the points with two win – more than any other NNS driver competing for the championship – and the most top fives of any other driver. Teammate or not, Stenhouse isn’t going to back down.

    “This is a business where you have to race people the way they race you and you have to stand your ground,” said Edwards. “Whether it’s your teammate or not, sometimes it’s not all roses.”

    It doesn’t have to be roses if it results in more finishes like Saturday night. It was almost like they didn’t even realize they had two wrecked racecars in their one-two finish.

  • Juan Pablo Montoya: One Driver, Many Facets

    Juan Pablo Montoya: One Driver, Many Facets

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Given his history with Formula One, his status as an Indy 500 winner, and now his five year tenure with NASCAR, Juan Pablo Montoya is most certainly one of racing’s most recognized figures.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”138″][/media-credit]But this one driver, now securely behind the wheel of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing for this season as well as next year, most certainly has many facets.

    One of Montoya’s most visible facets is his passion for racing, of all sorts and types, as well as winning in whatever series. But for this talented driver, NASCAR is one of the most challenging forms of racing in which he has ever participated.

    “For me it’s not just stock car racing, it’s racing in general,” Montoya said. “I have been in all kinds of racing and it’s just a passion for winning.”

    “This sport is the hardest,” Montoya said. “There’s so many, many more drivers than any other series I’ve been in that winning is that much harder. You have that many more competitive cars, so it’s always tough.”

    How does Juan Pablo maintain his passion even when he is not winning and in spite of sitting 20th in the point standings for the NASCAR championship Chase?

    “It’s just one of those deals,” Montoya said. “You look at people that win races and sometimes you outrun them all year and they get a lucky break. Probably at first it’s nice to get a lucky break.”

    “But for me, I want to try to win a race without the lucky break,” Montoya continued. “You know, I’ll take a lucky break any day, but you really want to win the races spinning everybody out there.”

    With this passion and extreme desire to win, another facet of Juan Pablo Montoya, at least one that is highly perceived, is that he is not only assertive but a bit aggressive. And with that, has come some hard racing in return.

    “It depends on the moment,” Montoya said of his aggressiveness. “If you’ve got to run smart, you run smart. If you’ve got to be aggressive, you’ve got to be aggressive, you know. It’s whatever comes.”

    “I think everybody races everybody differently,” Montoya continued. “For me, it’s always different.”

    “Some guys are good to you and you’re good to them,” Montoya said. “And when people are bad to you, you’re bad to them.”

    One facet that Montoya thinks most fans do not know about him is that his racing is not only calculating but very precise.

    “I think you’re the first person to say that and I think that’s pretty accurate,” Montoya said. “That’s something that I do.”

    “I always try to be consistent,” Montoya said. “Just the way you run in open wheels, you try to adhere as well.”

    Montoya plans to continue his calculating facet of racing even with his new crew chief, Jim Pohlman. Prior to the Brickyard 400 last weekend, Pohlman was named to replace Brian Pattie, Montoya’s crew chief since 2008.

    “We’re just starting a relationship,” Montoya said. “It’s very early.”

    “I think the start of the relationship is really good so far,” JPM continued. “Of course, we’re going to have good moments and bad moments but Jim is doing a really good job and he’s very open to anything, which is pretty cool.”

    One of the most important facets to Juan Pablo Montoya is one that he is quite proud of, bringing more of an international flavor to the traditionally all-American sport of stock car racing.

    “I think it’s pretty cool,” Montoya said. “A lot of people international pay attention now, I think more than people in America understand and believe.”

    “I think NASCAR knows how many people watch international but they don’t make a big deal of it,” JPM continued. “They try to keep it an all-America sport but it’s cool that people international are paying attention.”

    Another facet of Montoya that many fans are well aware of is his penchant for utilizing social media, especially Twitter.

    “I think it’s cool for the fans,” Montoya said. “Somebody that follows me wants to know what I do in a regular day.”

    “I don’t think I’m that exciting,” Montoya said. At that moment, his teammate Jamie McMurray walked by, muttering that he definitely did not think Montoya was exciting either, to which Montoya shouted after him, “I agree!”

    “I don’t do it to promote this or promote that,” JPM continued re his Twitter usage. “I just do it for fun, you know what I mean?”

    “I fly my remote control planes and wind surf, although I haven’t done a lot of wind surf this year, and I play a little golf,” Montoya continued. “It’s fun for people to see what I do. I don’t do it for anything else.”

    “There’s days when I don’t feel like tweeting, so I don’t tweet.”

    A critical facet of the racing personality of Juan Pablo Montoya is his dedication to trying to maintain balance with his career and his family. Yet, he openly acknowledges that he is challenged in that area by his own ‘child-like’ behavior, which often creates just a wee bit of strain between he and his lovely wife Connie.

    “It’s really hard because I’m a kid,” JPM said with a chuckle. “So, you’ve got to balance the family, the toys and the work. So, that’s always really hard.”

    “I want to be with the kids and the wife and kids want to do things and I want to do things,” JPM said. “So, it’s always really hard. So, you don’t balance, you fight, like a regular marriage.”

    The last facet of Juan Pablo Montoya is his dedication not only to his own family, but to other families in need.  He and his family have been supporting the charity Formula Smiles for quite some time, raising funds and helping Columbian children who are burdened by poverty and violence.

    “We keep doing a lot of different things for the Foundation,” Montoya said. “We try to keep growing it.”

    “It’s never easy to get the support from the people,” Montoya said. “But it’s fun to be there.”

  • Kasey Kahne Takes His Juggling Act on the Pocono Road

    Kasey Kahne Takes His Juggling Act on the Pocono Road

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”189″][/media-credit]Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, has been juggling to keep many balls in the air as he motors into Pocono race weekend.

    One of the balls that he has been most worried about juggling is qualifying well at the ‘Tricky Triangle’. But Kahne need not have worried as he scored the outside pole, his 10th top-10 start in 16 races at Pocono.

    “It’s always good to start up front at this place,” Kahne said. “You can definitely pass here but it’s good to start up front too.”

    Kahne will turn his attention next to another critical ball to juggle, staying good throughout the 200 lap, 500 mile Good Sam RV Insurance race.

    “I’ll just try to get through the corners,” Kahne said. “It’s such a rough track.”

    “We looked at notes from earlier in the year and what we struggled with or were good at and what we’ve learned since then,” Kahne said. “We will take all that knowledge and hopefully make ourselves better.

    “This has been a great track for myself and for our team and I think we can do good.”

    Some of the other balls that Kahne is juggling are his intense attempts to make the Chase, finishing out with Red Bull and transitioning to Hendrick Motor Sports, managing his own sprint car team, as well as trying to raise money for the Kasey Kahne Foundation.

    As far as the Chase, Kahne firmly believes that he and his team are still in the hunt. But he also acknowledges that he will not make it in on points.

    “For us, we just need to win a race,” Kahne said. “If you can win two, you’d be a lock at this point.”

    “But things can change so we just have to figure out how to win to get in the Chase,” Kahne continued. “We just got a little too far behind in the points to race our way in points wise.”

    If he does not qualify for the Chase with his Red Bull team, Kahne will be disappointed, but not bereft.

    “If we don’t make the Chase, it won’t be a horrible season,” Kahne said. “But it definitely won’t be what we shot for.”

    “And we’ll just still have to finish the season as strong as we can and try to win.”

    Another ball that Kahne is juggling is his transition from Red Bull Racing, his place holder team this season, to his more permanent gig at Hendrick Motor Sports in 2012.

    “We’re always preparing for next year,” Kahne said. “Kenny Francis (crew chief) is going with me next year and we’re going to work together.”

    “It can all benefit us for next year.”

    Kahne admits that he will really miss Red Bull Racing, from the excitement of their brand to the special friends that he has met.

    “Red Bull is a really cool partner and a lot of fun to work with,” Kahne said. “They’re exciting and they enjoy life and racing and all that.”

    “I think I’ll miss some of that and some of the new people that I’ve met and been able to work with,” Kahne continued. “There are some really good people that are there. I’ll miss that kind of stuff.”

    “As far as Hendrick, I’m looking forward to the best opportunity I’ve ever been given in Cup racing,” Kahne continued. “When you get an opportunity like that, it’s up to you to take advantage of it.”

    Another ball that Kahne has been juggling is ownership of his own sprint car team. This has been especially difficult as his driver, Joey Saldana, recently wrecked and is out for the season and Kahne took his own wild ride in his car, flipping out of the Williams Grove track.

    “It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” Kahne said. “Joey’s out of the hospital but he’s really banged up.”

    “He got crushed pretty much by another car,” Kahne continued. “So, he’s out for the season.

    As for his own condition after his wreck at the Grove, Kahne admitted that he had “about a three day soreness.” Kahne also realized that he created a firestorm of discussion as to whether or not Cup drivers should be taking those chances racing in lower divisions.

    “Yeah, I got a call from Rick Hendrick,” Kahne admitted. “And I got calls from just about everybody.

    While Kahne continues to juggle those calls, his final ball that he is keeping in the air is one that he is intensely passionate about, the Kasey Kahne Foundation.

    “We’re still really after it and doing as much as we can for underprivileged, chronically ill children through the Kasey Kahne Foundation,” Kahne said. “One thing that’s really neat is what Sprint’s doing, giving us the opportunity to win a lot of money, a million dollars, for our Foundation here in the next five races.”

    “We got a chance to do that since these are really good tracks for us,” Kahne continued. “Sprint’s really put up a neat program for everybody to shoot for. It’s pretty awesome.”

    “So, that definitely motivates me,” Kahne said. “To win a million for yourself is great, to win it for a fan is awesome but to win it for chronically ill, underprivileged children would be the best.”

  • Joey Logano Makes A Statement By Scoring Pocono Pole

    Joey Logano Makes A Statement By Scoring Pocono Pole

    After weeks of speculation about his future with Joe Gibbs Racing, particularly in light of the Carl Edwards’ contract negotiations, Joey Logano made a statement about his place in this weekend’s race festivities.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”207″][/media-credit]The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet scored the coveted pole position at Pocono Raceway, with a time of 52.309 seconds and a speed of 172.055 mph.

    This was Logano’s third pole in 96 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his second pole and 10th top-10 start in 2011. This was his first pole at Pocono and he also took the honors of becoming the youngest pole winner ever at Pocono at the age of 21 years, two months and 13 days.

    “It’s a really big deal,” Logano said of his pole run. “We’ve been doing a good job and building momentum. Confidence in the team is up, especially in me.”

    Logano acknowledged hearing the rumors about Carl Edwards potentially taking his place at Joe Gibbs Racing. In spite of that, he refused to give in, focusing instead on getting all he could out of the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “As far as I knew, they were just rumors,” Logano said of Edwards assuming his ride. “I focused in 100% and tried to make myself the best race car driver I can and it’s been paying off.”

    “It’s in the back of your mind. When you’re watching TV, how do you not think about it,” Logano continued. “But if your owners are behind you, what do you have to worry about really?”

    “I’ve learned a lot through the downs we had this season,” Logano said. “I have become a leader.”

    Starting on the outside pole for the 38th Annual Good Sam RV Insurance 500 is Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota. With a lap of 52.433 seconds at a speed of 171.648 seconds, this was Kahne’s 12th top-10 start in 2011 and his 10th in 16 races at Pocono Raceway.

    “It’s definitely good to start up front,” Kahne said. “I felt really good.”

    “Our lap was good but Joey’s was just better.”

    Kahne acknowledged that although he was pleased with the outside pole, there were many more challenges yet to come throughout the lengthy Pocono race.

    “So many things will happen throughout the race and it will be like that here,” Kahne said. “We have to stay on top of it and make good decisions so maybe we will be there at the end.”

    Martin Truex, Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, scored the third spot on the starting grid.  At one of the tracks that he considers ‘home’, Truex, Jr. ran a lap of 52.480 seconds and a speed of 171.494.

    “It’s been a while since I’ve qualified up front,” Truex Jr. said. “We had an interesting day yesterday and everyone knows how tricky Pocono is.”

    “We struggled but worked on the car and got it the way we wanted it,” Truex continued. “We went into qualifying with an entirely different package.”

    “It wasn’t a perfect lap but it’s nice to start up front at Pocono.”

    Carl Edwards, driving the No. 99 bug-on-the-side Ortho Home Defense Max Ford, and Kurt Busch in the yellow No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, rounded out the top five.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Good Sam RV Insurance 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=21
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 20 Joey Logano Toyota 172.055 52.309
    2 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 171.648 52.433
    3 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 171.494 52.48
    4 99 Carl Edwards Ford 171.474 52.486
    5 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 171.468 52.488
    6 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 171.448 52.494
    7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 171.37 52.518
    8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 171.367 52.519
    9 16 Greg Biffle Ford 171.171 52.579
    10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 171.122 52.594
    11 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 171.08 52.607
    12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 170.788 52.697
    13 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 170.652 52.739
    14 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 170.619 52.749
    15 6 David Ragan Ford 170.619 52.749
    16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 170.59 52.758
    17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 170.558 52.768
    18 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 170.538 52.774
    19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 170.506 52.784
    20 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 170.438 52.805
    21 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 170.309 52.845
    22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 170.28 52.854
    23 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 170.161 52.891
    24 34 David Gilliland Ford 170.068 52.92
    25 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 170.042 52.928
    26 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 169.991 52.944
    27 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 169.875 52.98
    28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 169.734 53.024
    29 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 169.629 53.057
    30 66 Todd Bodine Toyota 169.393 53.131
    31 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 169.358 53.142
    32 13 Casey Mears Toyota 169.339 53.148
    33 0 David Reutimann Toyota 169.335 53.149
    34 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 168.909 53.283
    35 46 Erik Darnell Ford 168.631 53.371
    36 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 168.508 53.41
    37 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 167.892 53.606
    38 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 167.795 53.637
    39 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 167.604 53.698
    40 37 Scott Speed Ford 167.42 53.757
    41 32 Jason White+ Ford 167.165 53.839
    42 71 Andy Lally+* Ford 166.867 53.935
    43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 167.268 53.806