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  • Keselowksi wins the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

    Keselowksi wins the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”277″][/media-credit]Brad Keselowksi conserved just enough fuel and held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sunday to win the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    “We finally caught a break. Awesome call, Paul.” Keselowski radioed to crew chief Paul Wolfe.

    Keselowksi snapped 75-race winless streak for his first win of the season and the second of his Sprint Cup career.  This was also the first win for Penske Racing since Kurt Busch won last year’s Coca Cola 600.

    “We’ve been so close.  We’ve been plugging away.  We had a car that I thought was capable of winning.  I had a car last week that sat on the pole and had a shot at it and just caught the wrong line on the restart.  The same thing at Dover and Darlington, we could just never catch that good break.  You can only put yourself in that position so many times before you’re going to catch the right break.  We caught a great break today because of all the hard work by the Miller Lite team that works on these Dodge Chargers.  We got great gas mileage and that doesn’t hurt either.” Keselowksi said.

    Both Keselowksi and Earnhardt were driving a fuel mileage race.  Earnhardt Jr. appeared to be looking a late charge on Keselowksi for the win, but he was also advised to back down to insure he would make it to the finish.  Earnhardt just came one position short again this week, just one spot short from snapping his 106-race winless streak.

    “I had a good car, you know. I spun out up there tryin’ to find a little more speed on the top. We had a fast car though. Just started way back there in the back, man. We ain’t qualified no better than 22nd besides Daytona and Talladega. We need to fix that somehow. It was a fast car.” Earnhardt said.

    “We shouldn’t have run second again. We’ve got to fix some things. We’ve got fast cars so we can be fast.” Earnhardt added.

    Denny Hamlin finished third, Jeff Gordon fourth and Carl Edwards finished fifth.

    “It was a good run for our FedEx team.  We had a good car at the beginning, the middle and just at the end I think something gave out in the front end and it just went real bad tight.   Luckily, we came in to make an adjustment and coming in and getting fuel obviously worked out for our advantage.” Hamlin said of his third place finish.

    “Well it is an awesome run for our Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet. That is for sure.” Gordon said.  “They did an awesome job. We had a great race car all weekend long. We unloaded great and it showed up in the race all day long today. We got a little bit loose, it seemed like the track freed up a little bit on that last run and Kurt (Busch) got out there on me.  But, all-in-all a great top-five, a great day in the points for us.”

    Polesitter Kurt Busch led for 152 laps.  Whole leading he had to stop for fuel with 10 laps remaining.  He finished ninth.

    “I’m proud of the way that this team has run.  To have a car to lead laps today and be very competitive, I was all smiles.  I felt coming into the weekend that if we could pace ourselves, have good team communication, we would be competitive.  It was great.  There was always something in the back of my mind today that we weren’t going to win, but I’m glad that Brad Keselowski got this win for those Miller Lite guys, for Dodge.” Kurt Busch said.

  • Pre-race at Kansas… Busch, Childress and NASCAR take on it all

    Pre-race at Kansas… Busch, Childress and NASCAR take on it all

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Tempers flared hotter than the Kansas sun after the Camping World Truck Race on Saturday. With rumors and stories about a wild altercation between legendary car owner Richard Childress and driver Kyle Busch. The stories appeared to grow in intensity from the time the story broke until this morning when everyone returned to the track.

    There wasn’t a black eye as far as I could see for Busch, but he was wearing his normal vision sun glasses.  Although when he went into the NASCAR truck he was not wearing them. He was in pretty good humor for someone who was punched by a 65 year old man who is significantly larger than he is. No one will say absolutely for certain that some of the extreme stories that have been reported are true. Everyone does agree on one thing however, that is that.at least one punch a piece was thrown. I attempted to ask Kyle Busch about the incident and he said,”You can ask me a question as long as you are not asking about yesterday.”

    Coach Gibbs was the first to go into the NASCAR truck. He was followed shortly by Kyle and then approx 15 minutes later by Richard Childress.The entire meeting took approx 15 minutes with all parties declining comment on their exit from the truck. Coach Gibbs did say he would have a statement later on today.

    If I may be blunt and honest, There have been a lot of liberties taken here with this story. Richard Childress of late has lost a lot of man hours to fixing equipment that Kyle Busch has been involved in tearing up. Man hours equal money. I doubt that Richard Childress is hurting for money but to spend it unnecessarily is frustrating to have to spend it.

    Also if you stop and look at it RCR cars or trucks have been involved in more incidents with Busch than any other team. Combine that with the heat and humidity here. Combine it then again with the frustration of wrecks and mechanical issues and you have the recipe for disaster and aggression. Now I am not making excuses for Childress if he threw the first punch, then he is responsible and should at least get what the drivers would have gotten for the same behavior. He obviously did by accounts throw the first punch. My real issue with that is it was apparently pre-meditated as he removed jewelery and handed it to Austin Dillion. It appears, and appearances are sometimes deceiving, that he intended to spark the physical altercation.

    NASCAR issued the following statement at approximately 930AM.

    “NASCAR has reviewed the incident involving Richard Childress and Kyle Busch after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at Kansas Speedway. We have met with all parties involved and have determined what happened yesterday is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by NASCAR

    Richard Childress’s actions were not appropriate and fell short of the standard we expect of owners in this sport. We have met with Childress this morning and made our position very clear to him. Further, we expect he will make it clear to all in his organization to ensure this situation does not escalate any further. We will announce our actions regarding this incident Monday.

    Kyle Busch remains on probation with NASCAR and we continue to watch his actions carefully. However, we have determined that Kyle’s involvement in this incident does not violate his probation and no further action is required.”

    Mike Helton made it clear that there were restrictions on Richard Childress as far as where he can and can’t be for this race. He didn’t give out any specifics except to say that the teams required leadership for this weekend and he would be allowed to stay at the track with restrictions.

    Helton also stated that they would make further decisions on penalties and actions this week perhaps sooner than they normally would.

  • Offical Statement from Nascar on the Richard Childress and Kyle Busch incident

    Offical Statement from Nascar on the Richard Childress and Kyle Busch incident

    Nascar Statement June 5, 2011

    “Nascar has reviewed the incident involving Richard Childress and Kyle Busch after the Nascar Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at Kansas Speedway. We have met with all parties involved and have determined what happened yesterday is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Nascar

    Richard Childress’ actions were not appropriate and fell short of the standard we expect of owners in this sport. We have met with Childress this morning and made our position very clear to him. Further, we expect he will make it clear to all in his organization to ensure this situation does not escalate any further. We will announce our actions regarding this incident Monday.

    Kyle Busch remains on probation with Nascar and we continue to watch his actions carefully. However, we have determined that Kyle’s involvement in this incident does not violate his probation and no further action is required.

  • Walking to Victory Lane- Allgaier Wins STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway !

    Walking to Victory Lane- Allgaier Wins STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway !

    Justin Allgaier walked to victory lane at the Chicagoland Speedway after winning the STP 300 by having just enough fuel to pass the slowing car of leader Carl Edwards who had run out of fuel heading into the final turns. Allgaier’s car rested on the front stretch empty of fuel but Allgaier had the checkered flag in his hand for the walk to victory lane.

    As Allgaier sped past Edwards his own car also sputtered and ran out of gas so he pulled down to the apron of the track with Edwards following. They both crossed the finish line before Trevor Bayne, making his first start since being hospitalized with a mystery illness in April, did under his own power at full speed. There was a lapped car in front of Bayne and initially Allgaier thought he was the winner. “I thought it was Trevor,” he said.

    Allgaier said, “Jimmy Elledge has made great calls all year long. I’m having a blast. To get a win in Illinois is just great. It doesn’t get much better than this. It’s a pretty awesome day.”

    Bayne said afterwards, “I could have won this thing. I should have stopped conserving fuel a little earlier. But we’ll take this third place. I feel good.”

    Aric Almirola and Jason Leffler rounded out the top 5.

    Carl Edwards dominated the race for the for 2/3 of the race but battled with the Kevin Harvick Inc cars driven by Elliott Sadler and owner Harvick. Sadler had a great run but elected to get fuel and tires as the laps were winding down. Reed Sorenson’s sixth place finished allowed him to take the lead in the series points from Sadler by 2 points.

    Danica Patrick ran in the race and finished 10th, on the lead lap after getting a “lucky dog” lap back earlier in the race after going  a lap down to the leader.

  • Childress to be penalized for fight with Busch

    Childress to be penalized for fight with Busch

    NASCAR president Mike Helton said Sunday morning that penalties will be announced for Richard Childress on Monday after his post Truck Series race fight with Kyle Busch.  NASCAR deemed that Busch’s involvement did not violate his NASCAR probation, therefore he will not receive any further sanctions from NASCAR.

    “Obviously after last night’s incident, we began looking into it through the evening, and as recent as 15 minutes ago, meeting with different parties,” NASCAR President Mike Helton said. “We concluded that the driver of the 18 truck, Kyle Busch, did nothing to provoke or to cause the reactions that, in our opinion, would have violated probation. Did nothing that would have warranted the actions of Richard Childress.

    “And so we’ll have to — once we get today’s race concluded, which is the focus of today, we’ll have to decide what NASCAR’s reaction is to Richard Childress as a member of NASCAR in an action against another NASCAR member.

    “The biggest topic today, certainly, through the conversations outside of the incident itself was to be sure that today’s event went on correctly and safely for everybody involved, and both the Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing organizations, we have made it clear to them that our expectations is that both Joe Gibbs and Richard Childress meet with their teams to be sure that nobody from their organizations felt like there was anything that needed to be done from their side.

    “So we’ll focus on today’s race now, and then quickly, maybe more quickly than normal, come back with our reaction as it relates to NASCAR member Richard Childress. ”

    According to sources who spoke to SB Nation’s Jeff Gluck, Childress handed his watch to grandson Austin Dillon before punching Busch multiple times and putting him into a headlock.  Busch reportedly bent down to avoid further injuries, but Childress tried to land another shot once Busch returned to his feet, sources told Gluck.

    Busch raced hard with Joey Coulter in the closing laps of the race, with the two drivers making contact coming towards the finish before Coulter eventually got the best of the two-truck race for fifth. After the checkers flew, Busch tapped Coulter’s driver side door panel.

    “With as hot as it is and the tires, you know, had a bunch of laps on them, once the tires start sliding it’s really hard to get them to stop,” Coulter told media after the race. “And we [him and Busch] just run up towards the fence. I really hate that it happened because it was going to be a pretty exciting run to the line.  But, I guess that’s part of the mile and a half stuff.”

    Busch is on NASCAR probation in all NASCAR series and events until June 15.

  • Bowyer wins the NCWTS O’Reilly Auto Parts 250

    Bowyer wins the NCWTS O’Reilly Auto Parts 250

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”268″][/media-credit]Clint Bowyer dominated Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race by leading 124-laps of the 167-laps run at Kansas Speedway in route to his first victory in his home state.

    This was his third career trucks series win and first of the season for the Kansas native who grew up 90 miles away in Emporia.

    “I’m so happy to finally be in victory lane here,” Bowyer said.

    This win also stopped Kyle Busch’s three-race winning streak. Busch battled his car all day and finished sixth.

    Johnny Sauter finished second, Todd Bodine third, James Buescher fourth and Joey Coulter finished fifth.

    Sauter also took over the series points standings by 12 over rookie Cole Whitt.

    “I couldn’t be any prouder of everybody at ThorSport (Racing),” Sauter said.

    Unofficial Race Results
    O’Reilly Auto Parts 250, Kansas Speedway
    June 4, 2011 – Race 8 of 25
    =================
    Pos. Driver
    =================
    1 Clint Bowyer
    2 Johnny Sauter
    3 Todd Bodine
    4 James Buescher
    5 Joey Coulter *
    6 Kyle Busch
    7 Brendan Gaughan
    8 Nelson Piquet Jr. *
    9 Brad Sweet
    10 Travis Kvapil
    11 Parker Kligerman *
    12 Austin Dillon
    13 Miguel Paludo *
    14 Timothy Peters
    15 Cole Whitt *
    16 David Starr
    17 Jason White
    18 Matt Crafton
    19 Justin Lofton
    20 Justin Marks
    21 Ricky Carmichael
    22 Max Papis
    23 Craig Goess *
    24 Johanna Long *
    25 Nick Hoffman
    26 Bryan Silas
    27 Jennifer Jo Cobb
    28 Clay Rogers
    29 Shane Sieg
    30 Ron Hornaday
    31 Ryan Sieg
    32 J.J. Yeley
    33 Norm Benning
    34 Chris Jones
    35 Mike Garvey
    36 Scott Riggs

  • Matty’s Picks – Vol. 4 – STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

    Matty’s Picks – Vol. 4 – STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

    Matty’s Picks

    Vol. 4 – Kansas – June 5, 2011

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to a track that I hate to say, but I have very limited knowledge about. I sent out a Tweet this morning looking for some help with making my picks for this week’s STP 400, and unfortunately got no help.

    After a couple of absolutely amazing finishes last week, I am fairly excited to see what this week will bring.

    Last Week’s Recap

    For last week’s Coke 600, I was on the Roush Fenway bandwagon that dominated the All-Star Race the week before. As my Dark Horse, I rode the Sprint Showdown winner, David Ragan to another Top 5 pick for myself. Ragan came in second following a pit on lap 397 for four tires and fuel, after receiving the free pass just a lap prior.

    Ragan was running well all night, and as it turned out, ended up on the right end of the pit strategy gamble. The fresh tires and fuel made the difference in the end, as it did for race-winner Kevin Harvick and last-lap loser Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kudos to me for winning the pit-strategy pick of the week, and Kudos to Ragan for a career best second place finish.

    After starting 3rd on Sunday Night, my Winner pick, Carl Edwards looked like the favorite to win. He jumped out front while the sun shined, and slowly moved backwards as darkness fell in Charlotte. Edwards lead 61 laps while the sun was up, but failed to reach the point in the last half of the race. Edwards finished right in line with his other two Roush Fenway teammates who found the front for numerous laps on Sunday – Biffle in 13th, Kenseth in 14th, Edwards in 16th. No points for me on the back to back backflips.

    As for the bonus pick last week, the 100th Annual Indianapolis 500 was another race that came down to who could stay on track the longest. I didn’t think we could see two heartbreak finishes in the same day, but last Sunday proved me wrong again. I won’t bore you with the details that you all know about already so… I picked Dario Franchitti who lead 51 laps Sunday afternoon, had to pit late and finished the race in 12th as the last car on the lead lap. No double points for me for the bonus pick.

    STP 400 Picks

    Against by better judgment, I’m off the Roush Fenway bandwagon for this week. My winner pick this week already has a win this year, and swept the first two races at Kansas. Jeff Gordon is my Winner pick for this week. As I write this column, he is currently 4th on the speed chart. On top of the two wins, he has seven Top 5’s and eight Top 10’s at Kansas, with an average finishing position of 8.5. I think Gordon is a sure-fire Top 10 for this week.

    I did do a bit of research for this week, and found out that the winner of the past two races at Kansas have come from the 5th starting spot on Sunday afternoon. Since qualifying isn’t until tomorrow for the Sprint Cup Series, I do not have the luxury of jumping on the 5th starting spot superstition.

    Dark Horse Pick

    As for my dark horse this week, I am going with a guy that impressed me over the two weeks at Charlotte. A.J. Allmendinger has put his Ford Fusion towards the front countless times this season. At a track where the asphalt is beginning to wear (resurfacing is an item of discussion at Kansas), starting positions are critical. Allmendinger has started 2nd, 2nd, and 7th in the past three points races. He is a driver who knows how to lay down a qualifying lap, and on top of that has two Top 10’s at Kansas during his Sprint Cup career.

    I’m looking forward to learning more about Kansas Speedway throughout the weekend and am looking for a solid couple of picks this week.

    As always, please lend me some advice with my picks for next week via email; riotwvu@yahoo.com or you can always send me comments via Twitter @ML_B_lo

    Until Next Time….You stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • STP and ‘The King’ Reunite

    STP and ‘The King’ Reunite

    [media-credit id=30 align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]No one that has followed racing for any length of time does not associate that Blue and Red number 43 to STP and Richard Petty. STP and Richard Petty are synonymous with performance and racing.

    STP is returning to Nascar after a 5 year abscence in partnership with the King RPM and A.J. Allmendinger. STP with it’s new ownership from Armored Auto Group is seeking to renew it‘s relationship with Nascar and Richard Petty. STP will return with the original blue and day glo red paint scheme on the 43. The paint scheme Petty said was a compromise originally as he wanted the car blue and STP wanted the car Red. “So we compromised on what you saw on the track.” That paint scheme would win the 79 Daytona 500 which was the first broadcast of a Nascar race and the 79 season was the 7th Championship.

    A.J. stated he felt fortunate to be driving the new/old paint scheme and he hoped to show STP what they have to offer now and in the years to come. He stated it’s a great partnership and he hopes to have the association for years to come.

    It was noted that the 37 year relationship between the King and STP is the longest in motorsports. The only relationship close is the Dupont Jeff Gordon relationship which is 18 years in duration. Allmendinger stated he hoped to continue his relationship with STP for another 30 years. The King stated, “It’s just a given thing, STP/Richard Petty, and Motorsports go together and they always have.”

    With the change in ownership and the change from the 4 car team to a 2 car team, RPM is building foundations. With the Roush Yates relationship RPM is seeing improvement in performance this year as compared to last year with just the 2 cars. “We are learning what it takes to run upfront.” said Allmendinger. “I am learning and the team is learning.”

    History is closer than we think. It often repeats itself. This weekend our new fans and young fans will once again see the legendary and iconic STP 43 with a new generation driver and a new logo on the hood. But the paint and the connection remain. For 37 years Richard Petty and STP have fueled the dreams of young want to be racers. This week at Kansas the dream will live on.

  • What If Junior’s Last Name was Smith?

    What If Junior’s Last Name was Smith?

    Twice this year, the fans of NASCAR’s most popular driver have had their hopes rise only to fall in the closing laps. No driver has the fan base of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. These fans are extremely loyal to their driver to extent that they reject all others. This is why it has become so frustrating for them. Dale Jr., as he is fondly known, hasn’t won a race for a while—a long while. Earnhardt hasn’t won a Sprint Cup point race since 2008. He’s only won two races in the last five years and yet, his fans still come out to races, wear their various green or red clothing and root like the devil for their hero. It’s almost an addiction or so it seems.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]Many credit his popularity to the fact that he is his father’s son. Dale Earnhardt, Sr., was legendary. He won seven NASCAR Sprint Cup championships and his driving style and persona struck a chord with NASCAR fans everywhere. When he was killed while racing in the Daytona 500 on February 18, 2001, many of the senior Earnhardt’s fans became loyal to his son, and that hasn’t been fair to Junior. In fact, the father and the sons are very different. While the father wheeled a car hard and didn’t mind using his bumper to move people out of the way to win, the son has a much different style and a lot less success on the racetrack. The expectations that he is his father, or would have the same success, have put tremendous pressure on Earnhardt.

    So, what if his name wasn’t Dale Earnhardt, Jr.? Let’s say his name was Dale Smith, Jr. Would fans have the same adoration for him? Would they be satisfied with his record? Would every race be so important? Would Dale drive more relaxed and be more confident? All good questions.

    Let’s compare Dale Jr. with a driver who’s fan base is minute in comparison, is hardly noticed or mentioned by the media or the fans in the stands, and has similar statistics. Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. raced together in the minor leagues of NASCAR – the Nationwide Series. They pretty much entered the Sprint Cup Series at the same time. The tale of the tape is strikingly familiar. They’ve both been in 417 races. Kenseth has the most wins (20 vs. 18), the most top ten finishes (168 vs. 156), and more pole positions (16 vs. 10). Kenseth also has a Sprint Cup championship in 2003, and yet his name is not a household word, nor is he the darling of the media types who cast commercials. In fact, I’ve seen Kenseth in street clothes move through a race track unnoticed by all but a very few. Let Junior try that. There might be a riot. It’s obvious that the name means a lot. And the pressure that goes along with it comes nearly once a week has to be unbearable.

    If his name was Smith instead of Earnhardt, it’s fair to assume that the son of a legend might be more relaxed and perform better, or is it? Earnhardt was leading in the closing laps at Martinsville, only to have a faster Kevin Harvick pass him for the win. Fans were chewing their fingernails and some appeared to be praying. The same was true at last week’s 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway when Earnhardt ran out of gas on the last lap, giving the win to, yes, Kevin Harvick.

    I think it’s time for Junior fans to just let Junior be Junior. Pretend for a moment that he is Dale Smith, Jr., a pretty good racecar driver with 18 career wins. Take the pressure off and find another driver to root for just in case things go wrong for Junior. Don’t leave early when he’s not doing well and don’t blame everyone from the crew chief to the owner when things don’t go well. There is no doubt that the man can wheel a racecar, but putting pressure on him to replicate what his father did is a little much.

    He’s having a fine season so far, and that should be good enough.

  • Family Time in Charlotte

    Family Time in Charlotte

    [media-credit id=38 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]CHARLOTTE – I never grow old of seeing the wonder in a child’s eye when they attend a Nascar event. Last weekend, I attended the All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However, I wasn’t there as a member of the media. No, I was there as a fan of racing and more importantly as a father. Many families have traditions; the All Star race is one for my family. My wife and I have two wonderful sons and spending time with them is always great, but there is something special about a race weekend.

    My youngest son is five years old and he can’t get enough of race cars and monster trucks. It was a special moment as I watched his eyes light up as the cars were pushed onto the starting grid and the excitement he had when Jimmy Johnson took the lead during the race. Then as I carried him on my shoulder to the car following the event, I had to laugh and nearly cry when he leaned into my ear and said “this has been a really fun night daddy.”

    This memory was fresh in my mind as I walked through the garage and pits this weekend in Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600. It has always been said that Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer. For many, the weekend is an opportunity for family reunions. Nascar’s annual two week visit home to Charlotte is no different. With so many teams based in and around the Charlotte area, this is an opportunity for drivers and crew members to spend time with family, both on and of the track.

    There were many high profile examples to be seen, such as Matt Kenseth celebrating his Nationwide victory with his wife and children, Jeff Gordon and David Reutimann sharing their parade laps with their daughters, but to see the real impact, you had to look beyond the headliners. Many crew members had spouses and children in both the garage area and pits before and during the race. Dan Collins, who drives Brad Keslowski’s hauler and is also a member of the pit crew had his wife and son, Hunter, in the pits with him. Dan said “having this two weeks to get to spend with the family means everything to me and them. We enjoyed it like fans this weekend – we camped in the infield all weekend.”

    Seems from year to year, that there is debate of moving the All Star race away from Charlotte. As someone that lives in Charlotte, I am glad they haven’t as it allows me the opportunity to enjoy the sport with my family. Most in the garage area feel the same way and are happy that Nascar has chosen to give them this break from the road.