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  • David Ragan’s Turnaround Continues with Runner-up Effort in Charlotte

    David Ragan’s Turnaround Continues with Runner-up Effort in Charlotte

    Last year Jack Roush stated he believed in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and that was going to stick with him. It paid off as the results have started to show and have continued early into the 2011 Nationwide Series. Now another Roush driver, David Ragan, is experiencing that same fortune in the Sprint Cup Series.

    [media-credit name=”Greg Arthur” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The Georgia driver, who has struggled to be a contender since his rookie season where he finished 13th in points, won’t be cut loose anytime soon. Roush likes what he sees and believes Ragan can and will become a winner. After 12 races in 2011, it appears Ragan’s heading in the right direction with his No. 6 UPS team after another solid performance on Sunday night in Charlotte.

    After 600 long miles, which would end up coming down to fuel strategy, Ragan came home with a runner-up finish, which he knows he was lucky to have received. Believing he had a top-four car and escaping the melee on the backstretch with two laps to go, Ragan was one of the few drivers who didn’t want to see the caution flag come out.

    “When you’ve got four fresh tires and you’re full of fuel, you can be aggressive on those restarts and just very lucky to get through Turn 1 without getting wrecked,” said Ragan. “I don’t know which one of the Red Bull cars was on the outside, but he ran out [of fuel] getting into [turn] 1, it was just barely enough room.”

    The right front fender on the No. 6 ended up bent in after final restart when as Ragan said cars started running out of fuel and blocked the track. According to Ragan the fender wouldn’t have made it very far if the race continued any further than it did. Instead, being in the right place at the right time resulted in not only his best finish of the season but the best of his career.

    “We had a strong car all day,” Ragan said. “Got the finish that we deserved, but we just went about doing it the hard way.”

    Ragan did indeed have a strong car. Along with his Roush-Fenway Racing teammates he spent much of the night up in the front and led seven laps. His Ford Fusion stayed out of trouble and was around near the end of the race and nearly won at Charlotte in a race that would have counted. Last Saturday night, Ragan blistered the track in Sprint Showdown qualifying to win the pole then backed it up by winning the race.

    The win put the team into the Sprint All-Star race where he finished eighth. While the events didn’t count for points it counted in the performance column. There’s no denying that Ragan has come a long way and his turnaround has caught earned attention, so much so that many in the sport believe he could be NASCAR’s next new winner.

    “I feel great about the rest of the season,” Ragan said Sunday night. “We’ve just been inconsistent. We’ve had some fast cars. We’ve run well.  Certainly this race is a great race.  It’s a great momentum builder, but if we go to Kansas and blow up and finish last and then we go to the next race and wreck and finish 30th, we’re going to be back where we’re at.”

    Ragan’s inconsistencies landed him 21st entering the Coca-Cola 600. Yet, he could have started the year in victory lane in another big race, the Daytona 500. Had it not been for a changing lanes violation on the final restart, there’s only speculation of what could have been.

    Since then he’s done his best to show his strong practice sessions and qualifying efforts are no fluke. He now has four top finishes and has moved to 18th in points, just 40 markers out of the top-10. He has one pole under his belt and respectable finishes at some of the toughest tracks on the circuit. He knows that it’s just a start.

    “We’ve got to put some finishes together,” said Ragan. “We’ve got to string some top 5s and top 10s week after week after week, and that’s what’s going to turn our season around.  This was a great race, very proud of our team, and hopefully we moved up a few spots in points and gained some momentum.

    But we’ve got to let it do its thing from here on out.  We just can’t look back at this one and hope this is going to carry us.  We’ve got to go get it done next week and the following.”

  • NASCAR’s David Ragan and IZOD IndyCar series JR Hildebrand Have One Thing In Common

    NASCAR’s David Ragan and IZOD IndyCar series JR Hildebrand Have One Thing In Common

    When ABC television’s Wide World of Sports first coined the phrase, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” some 40 years ago.  You could almost hear the voice of the late Jim McKay, bellowing out that saying when two of motorsports biggest races of the year were lost because of driver error.

    Think back to the last time in the history of motorsports when two young winless drivers in the same year have come so close to victory in the season’s biggest spectacles, but yet were unable to close the deal while millions of fans watched in amazement.

    On one side of the spectrum you have a driver who is in his seventh season racing in NASCAR’s premiere series who has never won a Sprint Cup race, and on the other side a rookie driver who was making only his eighth start in the IZOD IndyCar Series, his fifth this season.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Roush-Fenway driver David Ragan, could feel the electricity running through his body as he waited patiently for the green flag to drop on the first of what would be two green-white-checkered finishes.

    Ragan who led the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 twice for seven laps, would not be around for the last and final green-white-checkered restart. Instead fate would deal him a different hand, and ultimately take away any chances of him winning his first ever Sprint cup race in 147 career starts.

    In the blink of an eye Ragan threw away his best opportunity at winning not only NASCAR’s biggest race of the season, but also the chance to become Roush-Fenway Racing’s second driver to ever win the 500 behind Matt Kenseth who went to victory in 2009.

    Ragan, who was leading the race at the time took the green flag after a late race caution outside of eventual winner Trevor Bayne, and changed lanes before he reached the start/finish line. Unfortunately for Ragan, he violated section 10-2 of the Sprint Cup Series rule book with the move and was black-flagged.

    Ragan would restart the race in the 15th position after serving his pass through penalty, and would eventually finish a disappointing 14th. “It was tough to swallow,” Ragan said after the race.

    Ragan also added that, “Who knows what would have happened in that next lap? We had a top-five car and we didn’t finish in the top five, so that’s a bummer. We had a car that could’ve won the Daytona 500. We were sitting in position and just didn’t do it.”

    Three months later and the racing gods would strike again, but this time it would involve a driver who was trying to make history as the second rookie to ever win the Indianapolis 500. In 2002 it was Helio Castroneves who became the first Indianapolis 500 rookie driver to win both rookie of the year honors, along with the race.

    On the day of the centennial running of the Great American Race, rookie driver JR Hildebrand was only one corner away from matching Castroneves historical feat, and putting his name in the record books next to one of the series greatest drivers ever.

    Hildebrand just like Ragan could almost feel the thrill of victory, and in a quick instant the agony of defeat slapped him with a dose of reality. Instead Hildebrand’s second place finish would go down as one of the sport’s most heartbreaking finishes, when he crashed on the last corner while leading the race.

    Hildebrand was coming out of turn three and headed into four, when he came behind a slower car and decided to go around it and lost control when hit the marbles and crashed hard into the wall.

    In that split second gone was the Borg-Warner trophy along with the customary drink of milk that every driver dreams of when the month of May comes around, and the only thing left were the remnants of what could have been the biggest motorsports story of the year.

    “I caught him [Charlie Kimball] at just the wrong time,” said Hildebrand when talking about the crash after the race. Hildebrand also added that, “I went to the high side because I didn’t want to slow down too much, I got up in the marbles and that was it.”

    Emotions play a huge role when a victory is on the line, but even more when it includes the biggest and most important race of the season. Along with the victory comes the respect from your fellow competitors, as well as the endorsements and the praise from the fans knowing that on that one special day you had what it took to be victorious.

    Unfortunately for Ragan and Hildebrand, that special day turned into a day of disaster and disappointment. Ragan knew it all too well when he said, “I feel like I know the rules and understand ’em as good as anyone, but I just kind of let my emotions take over and I just didn’t make the right moves when it counted.”

    40 years later and the phrase will be instilled in the minds of Ragan and Hildebrand, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,”

  • Two final turn passes complete exciting Sunday for race fans

    Two final turn passes complete exciting Sunday for race fans

    The diehard racing fans were treated well on Sunday with two, dramatic final lap passes. And when I say final lap, I actually mean passes coming out of the final turn.

    In Indianapolis, it was an error that will surely have JR Hildebrand kicking himself for years to come. Hildebrand found himself a few inches out of the main grove in turn four while trying to pass a lapped car as he was leading. Hildebrand’s No. 4 National Guard car smashed into the outside wall, with Dan Wheldon charging from seconds back to pass Hildebrand’s crumbled car less than 600 feet from the start finish line.

    Hildebrand finished second. Disappointing is an understatement.

    In Charlotte, it was a case of coming up less than a half lap short of fuel.

    [media-credit name=”Greg Author” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the crowd going nuts when he restarted at the head of the field in a green-white-checkered finish.

    Kasey Kahne, who started on the outside of Earnhardt on the restart, ran out of gas, causing a major pileup as Earnhardt drove away to near certain victory.

    Earnhardt, who, like Hildebrand, drove for the National Guard on Sunday, looked as though he was two laps away from breaking a 104 race winless streak.

    Earnhardt led at the white flag, one lap away from the win. Earnhardt continued to lead on the backstretch.

    Earnhardt ran out of gas.

    As Earnhardt’s fuel tank finally emptied, Kevin Harvick, in his familiar “where the hell did he come from” fashion, sped by Earnhardt to take the checkers.

    Earnhardt finished seventh.

    And, for the second time that day, America and the world watched a driver lose two of the year’s biggest races on the final turn.

    While a win for Earnhardt and Hildebrand would have seemed to be a perfect fit on Memorial Day weekend as they carried their National Guard colors. But it just wasn’t meant to be.

    Still, more wins are sure to come for both drivers. And the nation’s heroes were able to see their drivers contend for a win on the world’s largest racing stages and they were treated to some of the best races either series has to offer.

  • A Memorial Day To Remember: The 52nd Coca-Cola 600

    A Memorial Day To Remember: The 52nd Coca-Cola 600

    The Coca-Cola 600 is a race where sometimes the strangest things can happen. You could be dominating the race at one point, and then you are fighting with everything you got just to stay on the lead lap. It could be that you’re cutting off the motor, trying desperately to conserve precious fuel, and you run out. That’s what the great races in any series will do to you. And it is no different in NASCAR’s longest race.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photos” align=”alignleft” width=”275″][/media-credit]
    Kevin Harvick passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming out of the final turn of the Coca-Cola 600 after Earnhardt ran out of gas.
    Kevin Harvick only led two laps in the 52nd Coca-Cola 600, but that didn’t matter. Harvick was able to get by the fan favorite, Dale Earnhardt Jr., after Earnhardt ran out of gas going down the backstretch on the final lap. Harvick, who coming into the race had only one top ten finish at Charlotte, said that this was his worst race track on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.

    David Ragan was able to stay up towards the front of the field all night long and finished a career high second. Many people, including myself, thought this would be a prime opportunity for Ragan to pick up his first Cup win, but it just wasn’t meant to be for the Georgia native.

    Carl Edwards appeared as though he was going to run away with another Charlotte race as he dominated the first one hundred miles of the race; however, when the night time struck the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Scott’s Ford fell through the field and ended the night 16th. When the track turned to dusk and dark, Matt Kenseth looked like the driver that was able to keep his car handling well through the day to night transition. Kenseth was the leader two-thirds through the300 mile race, until a late race “splash and dash” forced Matt to go a lap down. He would later get a lucky dog to return to the lead lap group of cars, but finished a disappointing 14th.

    Jimmie Johnson’s streak of leading at least one lap in eighteen straight races at Charlotte came to an end Sunday night when his Lowe’s Chevrolet blew an engine with just four laps remaining. Johnson joined Jamie McMurray and Michael McDowell as drivers to suffer engine woes in the marathon race. Other notable drivers to be caught up in trouble were Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Burton.

    After all the bad luck in the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day for Roger Penske, Sunday night more than made up for it.

    Brad Keselowski started on the pole and lead early. Brad stayed up near the front of the pack all night long and looked poised for a top five, or even a win. That was until Kasey Kahne ran out of fuel right in front of Keselowski on the final restart of the night.

    Kurt Busch must have ignored what he said earlier in the week about not talking on the radio as his car seemed to get better as the race went on. For the first time in a while, Busch’s car looked like it had speed to it which proved beneficial as he finished fourth.

    You never know what you will get when you get to Coke 600 time. Sometimes you get a wreck fest. Sometimes the race really does feel like you’re watching 600 miles. Sunday we saw a little bit of both. But in the end, we saw a finish for the ages.

    And that folks is why you never leave a NASCAR race until the checkered flag falls.

    Next up: STP 400 at Kansas

  • Wheldon wins 100th Indy 500 in astonishing finish

    Wheldon wins 100th Indy 500 in astonishing finish

    [media-credit name=”LAT Photo USA” align=”alignleft” width=”260″]
    [/media-credit]
    Dan Wheldon celebrates his second Indy 500 victory on Sunday.
    Dan Wheldon took advantage of a mistake by rookie JR Hildebrand, who hit the wall coming out of the final turn while leading, to win the 100th annual Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

    “I just felt a lot of relief. It’s an incredible feeling,” Wheldon said. “I never gave up.”

    “It’s a fantastic achievement everybody at Bryan Herta Autosport,” Wheldon added in his emotional post-race interview in victory lane. “I love everything about Indianapolis – the tradition, the fans, the history.”

    The Indy 500 was Wheldon’s first race of the season and the only race he is scheduled to run with Bryan Herta Autosport after the 2005 Indy 500 champion failed to secure a full-time ride this season. In fact, Wheldon was replaced by Hildebrand prior to the start of the season in the No. 4 National Guard car.

    Hildebrand wrecked while attempting to maneuver around the lap car of Charlie Kimball.

    “I caught him in the wrong piece of track,” Hildebrand said. “I got up in the marbles and that was it.”

    [media-credit name=”LAT Photo USA” align=”alignright” width=”294″][/media-credit]
    The wrecked car of JR Hildebrand crosses the Indy 500 finish line
    He wound up finishing second in his damaged car, two seconds behind Wheldon. It was the California rookie’s first Indy 500.

     

     

    Graham Rahal, Tony Kanaan and Orial Servia rounded out the top-five. Scott Dixon, Bertrand Baguette, Thomas Scheckter and Mario Andretti finished in positions 6-9. Danica Patrick, who was leading late in the race, finished tenth after pitting for fuel late in the race.

    “It’s more and more depressing when I don’t win the race,” Patrick said. “But Dan Wheldon, he’s a great winner. And what a great story. He hasn’t run this year. … That’s really cool.”

    The first 3/4 of the race made it appear that a Chip Ganassi Car would be the favorite to win the Indy 500, but other drivers took over the reigns in the final 1/4 of the race, with drivers such as Graham Rahal and Baguette took turns at the front.

    Last year’s race winner Dario Franchitti was second with five laps to go, but had to stop for fuel and forfeit a chance to repeat after leading 51 laps. Dixon led 73 laps in the race, with lap 178 being the final lap his or Franchitti’s car was seen out front.

    Danica Patrick took the lead on 179, and held until she came into pit for a splash of fuel on lap 189.  Baguette picked up the lead until lap 197, when Hildebrand took the lead. Hildebrand held the lead for 1.75 laps, until the accident, when Wheldon took the race lead for the first and only time of the event.

    Notes:  The one lap led by race winner Wheldon is the least number of laps led by an eventual race winner of the Indy 500. … Wheldon is the 18th driver to win the Indy 500 multiple times. … This race was the first time since 1992 that all Penske cars finished outside of the top-ten.  Will Power finished 14th as the highest finishing Penske driver. … This is the second time that a driver has lost first place on the final lap. Rookies have been the victim both times, Hildebrand this year and Marco Andretti in 2006.

    IZOD IndyCar Series
    100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500
    INDIANAPOLIS – Results Sunday of the 2011 Indianapolis 500 IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
    1.  (6) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    2.  (12) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    3.  (29) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    4.  (22) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    5.  (2) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    6.  (3) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    7.  (14) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    8.  (21) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    9.  (27) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    10.  (25) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    11.  (8) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    12.  (9) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
    13.  (28) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
    14.  (5) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
    15.  (11) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
    16.  (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
    17.  (16) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
    18.  (7) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
    19.  (30) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
    20.  (31) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
    21.  (32) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
    22.  (17) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
    23.  (33) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
    24.  (15) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 193, Running
    25.  (24) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 175, Running
    26.  (4) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 157, Contact
    27.  (26) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 157, Contact
    28.  (1) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 147, Contact
    29.  (13) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 99, Contact
    30.  (20) Jay Howard, Dallara-Honda, 60, Contact
    31.  (23) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 44, Handling
    32.  (18) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 27, Contact
    33.  (10) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 20, Contact

    Race Statistics
    Winners average speed:  170.265
    Time of Race: 2:56:11.7267
    Margin of victory: Under Caution
    Cautions: 7 for 40
    Lead changes: 23 among 10 drivers
    Lap Leaders: Dixon 1-7, Tagliani 8-26, Dixon 27-33, Tagliani 34, Dixon 35-60, Franchitti 61, Carpenter 62-64, Franchitti 65-72, Dixon 73-98, Franchitti 99, Hildebrand 100-103, Franchitti 104-112, Servia 113-128, Franchitti 129-137, Hildebrand 138, Baguette 139-140, Franchitti 141-163, Servia 164-165, Rahal 166-171, Dixon 172-178, Patrick 179-188, Baguette 189-197, Hildebrand 198-199, Wheldon 200.
    Point Standings: Power 194, Franchitti 178, Servia 150, Kanaan 135, Dixon 129, Rahal 120, Briscoe 117, Hildebrand 113, Tagliani 110, Mike Conway 102.

  • Lap-by-lap: Coca Cola 600; Harvick wins, Earnhardt Jr. just comes up short

    Lap-by-lap: Coca Cola 600; Harvick wins, Earnhardt Jr. just comes up short

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kevin Harvick led the last 500 feet of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel.  Earnhardt Jr. just came up a little short of snapping his nearly three-year losing streak.

    LAP-BY_LAP – The Coca Cola 600

    GREEN FLAG as A.J. Allmendinger spins his tires before the start finish line, allowing Carl Edwards to pass him.

    Lap 3 Rickey Stenhouse Jr. scrapes the wall as he battles Jeff Gordon in the turn. Lap 7 Mike Skinner is in the wall in turn three. But incidents do not slow the race with a yellow. Lap 9 Skinner heads to the garage.

    Lap 10 Edwards took the lead from pole setter Keselowski on lap 7 into 8. Lap 11 early movers on the track see Jamie McMurray as the biggest mover up 9 into 26th place. Edwards leads Keselowski by almost one second.

    Lap 14 we also see Juan Pablo Montoya moving up to 22nd from his start of 29th. Lap 15 Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the move rising 6 positions into 19th, and looking strong at the moment. Lap 17 the front runners of Edwards leads Keselowski by 1.5 seconds, 3rd place Allmendinger 2.1 seconds, 4th place Jeff Burton 3 seconds and 5th place Denny Hamlin by 3.7 seconds.

    Lap 22 Matt Kenseth is up 6 to 13th from his start. Slipping back in the field is Stenhouse to 18th (down 9) after Earnhardt Jr. completes a pass on him for 17th. Lap 25 your top ten drivers are Edwards, Allmendinger, Keselowski, Burton, Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann, David Ragan, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer.

    Lap 33 as Edwards continues his lead over 2nd place Allmendinger by 2 seconds, Earnhardt Jr. is now the biggest movers into 14th place (up 11 from the start) and closes in on Ryan Newman for 13th. Lap 37 drivers that have started and park look to be Skinner, J.J. Yeley, David Stremme and Joe Nemechek. An update sees Yeley back in the race.

    Lap 42 pit stops begin as Jamie McMurray comes in for his service. That is followed up by Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., David Reutimann. Lap 43 twelve more drivers head into pit road. Greg Biffle is nailed for speeding.

    Lap 46 3 of the 4 Hendrick drivers are in for stops, Martin pitted a lap earlier. Lap 49 stops are complete with Allmendinger leading the race.

    Lap 50 your top twenty drivers are Allmendinger, Edwards, Kenseth, Hamlin, Keselowski, Johnson, Burton, Reutimann, Ragan, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Kurt Busch, Truex Jr., Montoya and Newman.

    Lap 52 Edwards regains the lead.

    Lap 57 add Michael McDowell to the garage list. We also hear the Kenseth is reporting a vibration in the car. On the lap down list we have Robby Gordon down two laps along with Dave Blaney. One lap down we see Mike Bliss, Landon Cassill, David Starr, Travis Kvapil, Casey Mears, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers.

    Biffle’s speeding ticket put him down a lap. Biffle is also suffering from a cool box (That keeps him cool) that is breaking down which could present an issue with heat and breathing in carbon monoxide from the engine, we’ll keep you updated.

    Lap 65 in danger of falling a lap down we may see Joey Logano, Regan Smith, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart and Mark Martin over the next few laps.

    Lap 67 Earnhardt Jr. has moved into 8th place and continues his charge forward. Lap 68 Edwards leads Allmendinger by 3.9 seconds and 3rd place Hamlin by 4.5 seconds. It looks like Allmendinger is slipping back where Hamlin may pass him shortly.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 74 for debris. Logano should be the lucky dog. The first five to the track are Burton, Edwards, Hamlin, Kenseth and Johnson. Biffle’s team works on the cool box. Labonte is busted for speeding and will start in the back of the field.

    GREEN FLAG lap 80 as Burton jumps in front followed by Hamlin and Edwards. Three wide between Kahne, Regan and Menard for 12th in turn four. Lap 82 battle for 6th between Allmendinger and Keselowski where Allmendinger.

    Lap 83 Hamlin took the lead a lap ago then the next lap Johnson takes 2nd from him. Lap 84 Burton took two tires on the last stop and he is paying the price falling to 6th. Kenseth is 3rd, Edwards 4th, Allmendinger 5th.

    Lap 88 Johnson closes in on Hamlin for the lead as Burton slides back to 9th. Lap 92 Earnhardt Jr. moves into 5th to battle Allmendinger for a minute or two and holds the pass. Lap 94 battle for 10th between McMurray and Jeff Gordon. Gordon hangs onto it. Lap 95 27 drivers remain on the lead lap with Logano on the tail end. Robby Gordon brought his car to the garage about 10 laps ago.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 98 for Labonte solo spinning in turn four. Biffle is the lucky dog. We see a replay where Logano missed Labonte by inches. Labonte will be held a lap on pit road as he was trying to beat out the pace car and speeding. Out of pit road we see a few teams with two tire stops which brings Ragan into the lead for the first time today followed by Reutimann and Montoya. Hamlin and Kenseth took 4 tires. Kahne is busted for speeding.

    The top twenty drivers are Ragan, Reutimann, Montoya, Hamlin, Kenseth, Marcos Ambrose, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Edwards, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Allmendinger, Johnson, Burton, Menard, Harvick, McMurray, Bowyer, Gordon and Stewart.

    So far we have seen 8 lead changes among 6 leaders as well as two cautions.

    GREEN FLAG lap 104 as Ragan pulls away from Kenseth by a half second. Lap 107 Kenseth has reeled in Ragan for the lead. While Kenseth and his four tires power to the lead, the four tires of Earnhardt Jr. are not helping him as he drops back to 18th.

    Lap 115 a bit of action between Ambrose, Reutimann and Kyle Busch for 8th place and three wide for a second or two. Ambrose shot out like a rocket from the three to get out of a bad spot. Lap 118 Kenseth runs 2.4 seconds in front of Hamlin and 3.2 seconds in front of 3rd place Edwards.

    Lap 129 Kenseth is now 4 seconds in front of Hamlin. Lap 138 at this point of the race Montoya is the biggest mover from the start of the race 29th and is currently 8th (Up 21). Lap 140 we hear that Hamlin may have yet another engine failure coming on.

    Lap 145 pit stops are on again. Lap 149 stops for the lead lap drivers are complete. Kenseth is back in the lead with a 7.7 second gap in front of Edwards. Hamlin continues to be 3rd and 10 seconds back followed by Ambrose 4th 11.4 seconds back, 5th place Ragan is 13.7 seconds behind.

    Keselowski is 6th, Kurt Busch, Johnson, Kyle Busch and McMurray round out the top ten. McMurray is 16.6 seconds back. 11th through 20th we see Montoya, Allmendinger, Menard, Burton, Harvick, Biffle, Reutimann, Stewart, Earnhardt Jr. and Martin who is 26 seconds back.

    Lap 156 twenty five drivers remain on the lead lap so you can add Stenhouse Jr., David Gilliland, Labonte, Vickers, Logano and Truex Jr. to the lap down list. Lap 160 Kurt Busch had reported a vibration from his car and heads to pit road to get it fixed and loses a lap and a half.

    Lap 168 Edwards has closed the gap to Kenseth to 5.9 seconds. Hamlin in third is 7.1 seconds back.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 170 for a soda can from a fan not making the trash can. Smith is the lucky dog. Some teams try two tires again as Ambrose is the first out followed by McMurray, Montoya, Kenseth and Harvick.

    GREEN FLAG lap 176 and a clean start for all the drivers. Heading into turn three McMurray tries the outside around Ambrose. Ambrose was way out of shape to drop one spot and gathers it back up. Lap 178 Kenseth is 2nd. Lap 179 heading out of turn two Menards is in the middle with Hamlin on the low side and Montoya on the high side for 4th.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 181 for McMurray who blows his engine. Newman is the lucky dog. Biffle heads into a closed pit road so the team can work on the cool box. We hear this is the sixth engine failure for Earnhardt / Ganassi. There were a few issues on pit road, not with penalties, but cars. Bowyer was having issues with the front camber where the team has to do some major tweaking to the setup.

    Jeff Gordon is having issues with his radio antenna where it is replaced. Biffle with his issues.

    GREEN FLAG lap 188 as Kenseth and Hamlin have a slow motion start. We see in turn two Mears blow a rear tire from contact from Cassill out of turn two. Pieces fly off from the left rear of the car down the back stretch.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 189 for the issue. Logano is the lucky dog.

    GREEN FLAG lap 193. Lap 212 sorry gang had to get the door for the pizza guy. Lap 218 Kenseth is 2.6 seconds in front of Edwards and 3.3 to 3rd place Ambrose. Lap 220 Harvick is on pit road to kick off this round of stops. Lap 222 Keselowski, Allmendinger and Montoya are in. Menards is in followed by Ambrose on lap 223. We are seeing out of sequence stops as the field split up on the previous caution. Lap 224 Kenseth is in to give Hamlin the lead.

    Lap 226 Earnhardt Jr. leads a lap. Smith’s has to go back to pit road for a missed lug nut. Lap 231 Stewart leads Kurt Busch who have not pitted yet, hoping for a yellow. Lap 232 Stewart heads into pit road, but it is too early, then…

    YELLOW FLAG lap 233 for Mike Bliss stalling and Kurt Busch was the last guy on the lead lap who did not pit. Several others did make it back on the lead lap though. What is interesting is how the race order will shake out. Biffle is the lucky dog.

    So we will see Ambrose, Kyle Busch leading the field back to green.

    There are about 15 wave around drivers this time.

    GREEN FLAG lap 238 as Ambrose is in front for a minute with Kyle Busch in tow in turn three.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 240 as Menard solo spins in turn one in front of half the field. Vickers is in the back of Truex Jr. to send him into the apron. Gilliland is the lucky dog.

    GREEN FLAG lap 245 as Ambrose and Kyle Busch try it again this time though Busch takes the lead for the first time in turn three. Lap 247 two rows of three wide racing between Montoya, Logano and Newman then behind them it was Jeff Gordon, Reutimann and Martin from 18th on back.

    Lap 250 Earnhardt Jr. almost makes contact with Johnson as he was coming from behind to take over 5th place. The top twenty drivers are Kyle Busch, Ambrose, Ragan, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Stewart, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Keselowski, Allmendinger, Edwards, Biffle, Bowyer, Harvick, Kahne, Burton, Montoya, Jeff Gordon and Reutimann.

    Lap 255 Kyle Busch leads Ambrose by 1 second. NASCAR calls Menard to come to pit road to fix the damage the team attempted to fix a while back. Lap 263 Ragan closes in on Ambrose for second place, both are over a second behind Kyle Busch though.

    Lap 267 we are about 10 to 12 laps from green flag stops. Lap 269 Earnhardt Jr. looks to be getting back in the groove as he closes in on Hamlin for 4th. Lap 273 Ambrose heads to pit road to kick off this round of stops.

    Lap 276 Earnhardt Jr., Ragan and Smith are in. Lap 277 Kyle Busch heads in followed by Keselowski, Hamlin and Johnson. Lap 278 about ten drivers head in for stops. Edwards, Biffle, Harvick are just some this time.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 282 for debris as we had 13 drivers left on the lead lap. Edwards will be the lucky dog. Four drivers of Jeff Gordon, Martin, Logano and Gilliland head into pit road for stops which leaves Kyle Busch as the leader along with Ambrose, Ragan, Kenseth, Hamlin, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Montoya.

    The drivers are followed by Gordon, Logano, Gilliland, Stenhouse Jr. and lucky dog Edwards. We have 13 wave around drivers of Biffle, Keselowski, Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Stewart and Harvick.

    GREEN FLAG lap 286 as Ragan did not get a start which bunches everyone up behind him. Hamlin just about rails Ragan from behind followed up by Earnhardt putting the squeeze play on Hamlin to put him in the middle three wide. This is followed up by almost another accident of Gilliland and Martin as Martin slid up on the track then almost hit Stenhouse.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 288 as Starr has a bit of help from behind by Kahne in turn four to hit the wall, after getting out of shape. Vickers is the lucky dog.

    GREEN FLAG lap 292 where Kyle Busch has a great start, Kenseth has second then Ambrose followed by Earnhardt Jr.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 294 as Smith and Cassill connects out of turn four to send Cassill across the Edwards bump in the tri-oval at speed then through the rest of the grass into the end of pit wall. Mears should be the lucky dog.

    We see about half the leaders head in for stops. During the caution Hamlin heads to pit road and the hood goes up. The team replaces the carburetor in record time to see if the engine issue is fixed.

    GREEN FLAG lap 300 (100 to go) as Kyle Busch with Kenseth in tow grab the front, and back to…

    YELLOW FLAG lap 301 as Gilliland slides into Martin in turn one to slam both into the outside wall. Gilliland’s car then is sideways in front of Newman who clips the car and he is out to the garage. Both Martin’s and Gilliland’s car are glued together to the apron.

    It takes the tow truck some effort to separate the two cars, but it happens.

    Another split of leaders into pit road so we see Jeff Gordon as the leader followed by Kahne, Harvick, Allmendinger, Vickers, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Montoya, Biffle, Ragan, Kurt Busch, Reutimann, Burton, Bowyer, Johnson, Stewart, Mears, Kenseth, Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Bush.

    So far we have seen 30 lead changes among 19 leaders and 11 cautions so far. 25 drivers are on the lead lap.

    GREEN FLAG lap 311 as first time leader Jeff Gordon gets the show going. Logano taps the outside wall of turn one. Lap 313 Stenhouse tags the outside turn four wall, which by the count is the third time for him tonight.

    Lap 315 (85 to go) Gordon leads Kahne by a half second. We hear that Hamlin’s engine is running better since the change.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 319 for Kyle Busch spinning out of turn four, into the tri-oval and missing the Edwards bump with miraculously not breaking off the front splitter. Big time luck for him. Gordon and Allmendinger head to pit road and 10th on back head in as well.

    This leaves Kahne as the leader and Harvick to bring the field racing into turn one.

    GREEN FLAG and 79 to go, even start. Heading into turn three Kahne slides in front of Harvick for the lead. Just behind them Earnhardt Jr. is almost the chrome horn for Biffle, but they settle it out where Earnhardt has third.

    77 to go as there was some four wide action around Edwards around 20th. 74 to go Hamlin up to 13th. 73 to go as its three wide between Edwards, Kyle Busch and Stenhouse Jr. for 19th.

    72 to go Biffle under Earnhardt Jr. to take 3rd. 70 to go Kahne is 1.6 seconds in front of Biffle who passes Harvick with ease. 69 to go Earnhardt Jr. closes in on Harvick for 3rd.

    65 to go as Earnhardt runs in Harvick’s treads. Let’s give Kurt Busch a shout out as he runs 8th in front of Johnson. 64 to go Earnhardt has third.

    62 to go as Ambrose is on pit road and too early, something must have been off. Kahne should need to come in soon as he has been out for a long time. 60 to go Kenseth under Johnson to take 9th. Kahne is about to pit in four laps. Some teams will be heading in about 7 to 10 laps to go.

    YELLOW FLAG with 58 to go as Kyle Busch picks up damage this time as he headed out to the outside wall, bounced off of it to the apron. Ambrose dodged a bullet and will be the lucky dog.

    Everyone heads in to pit road. Trouble for Johnson as the adjustment wrench did not make it out of his car and he will have to come back for that. Back to the track is Mears, Jeff Gordon, Biffle, Ragan, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Harvick, Kenseth, Bowyer, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Burton, Vickers, Edwards, Allmendinger, Stenhouse Jr., Logano, Reutimann and Montoya.

    GREEN FLAG with 52 to go as Gordon and Biffle bring the field up to speed. Keselowski is out of shape with Earnhardt Jr.’s help to take 5th. 49 to go Earnhardt Jr. under Kahne for 4th place. Kahne runs the high side while Jr. runs the apron. 48 to go Kahne holds him off for the moment.

    47 to go Kahne works on Ragan for 3rd place. Ragan is not good on the outside for the moment and Earnhardt Jr. keeps the pressure on for the spot. 45 to go Biffle is 1.5 seconds in front of Kahne who passed Gordon.

    43 to go Hamlin closes in on Earnhardt Jr. for 5th. 42 Ragan works on Gordon for 3rd. Kyle Busch is back on track. 41 to go as Earnhardt takes 4th from Gordon. Kyle Busch heads back to the garage. 39 to go Hamlin and Kenseth pass Gordon for 5th and 6th.

    36 to go we see Earnhardt Jr. working on Ragan for 3rd. 32 to go Kahne is closing in on Biffle as they are 2 seconds in front of the field. 31 to go in the back of the leaders Stewart works on Montoya for 19th. 29 to go Kurt Busch is on Bowyers tail for 11th.

    25 to go and the top ten is Biffle, Kahne, Ragan, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Kenseth, Gordon, Keselowski, Harvick and Burton.

    23 to go Earnhardt takes 3rd from Ragan as they passed traffic. 22 to go it looks like Earnhardt is closing the gap to Kahne for second. Many of the teams are worried about fuel, Earnhardt’s tells him to drive it away.

    18 to go as Kenseth passes Ragan for 4th. Earnhardt Jr. closes in on Kahne to 1 second. And 1.5 seconds to Biffle. 16 to go as Kurt Busch continues his race against Bowyer.

    15 to go Kahne is working to take the lead from Biffle. 14 to go Earnhardt is 1.2 seconds back from Biffle.

    11 to go Earnhardt has gained a little, but not much, Biffle holds off Kahne for a few car lengths.

    9 to go Kahne to the high side while Biffle was slowed just a tick. Earnhardt a second back.

    7 to go Kenseth is heading to pit road for a splash. This could be trouble for Biffle. Kahne we are not sure of.

    6 to go as Kahne looked to the outside.

    YELLOW FLAG 5 to go as Johnson blows up. This could be big trouble. Everyone is shutting off their cars to save fuel. This is going to be a mileage deal, will they make it??

    Under the caution Biffle heads to pit road which leaves Kahne versus Earnhardt Jr. Team Childress helps each other out as Menard pushes Burton who pushes Harvick to save fuel. Nothing against the rules as it is not the last lap of the race.

    GREEN FLAG and a green-white-checkered finish. Big trouble on the restart as Kahne runs out of fuel. Keselowski and Burton hit the back of Kahne, Edwards hits Burton offset to send him to the apron. Allmendingeri picks up damage from trying to avoid the wreck.

    This sparks off the driver to go any and every direction. Stewart is involved along with the cars all over but keeps from hitting Burton. The track clears out and is not blocked. Keselowski is on the back stretch with his car smoking and torn up.

    No caution on the track as Earnhardt leads the field behind. Coming out of turn four to the…

    WHITE FLAG and Hamlin runs about five car lengths behind Earnhardt Jr. Into turns one and two, it looks like Earnhardt will grab another fuel mileage win.

    Out of turn two things look good and Hamlin is no threat but may get second.

    Heading into turn three, trouble for Earnhardt Jr. as he is slowing and is out of fuel. Hamlin is out of fuel too. Can Earnhardt make it to the start finish line coasting.

    Turn four at the exit Harvick comes out of nowhere and 500 feet to go Earnhardt cannot do anything but watch Harvick cruise on by to take..

    CHECKERED FLAGS and his first win at Charlotte. Earnhardt is on the bottom coasting to the line but is passed by Ragan, Logano, Kurt Busch, Allmendinger and Ambrose to leave Earnhardt to settle for a 7th place finish.

    The rest of the top ten was Smith, Reutimann and Hamlin.

    This was a heck of a race. It lasted for four and a half hours. We saw 38 lead changes among 21 leaders and 11 cautions fell on the track.

    Harvick was the biggest mover on the track with a leap of 27 positions from the start of the race of 28th.

    Ragan had his best NASCAR finish of second.

  • Kenseth Wins Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    Kenseth Wins Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    CHARLOTTE – Matt Kenseth was the last car to qualify this morning for the 30th running of the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It looked as though Kenseth would start from the pole on Saturday but fell just short and started third.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kenseth made sure that the same didn’t happen at the end of the race. Carl Edwards was leading in the closing laps, Kenseth was able to slip by Edwards with five laps to go and pull away for the victory. This was his Kenseth’s first Nationwide Series win of the season.

    “What a great day for Fastenal and Ford Mustang.  It was intense there. I cleared Carl the one time and he passed me right back. We had new tires and were able to get him there at the end. It was the first time I’ve driven a Mustang out there and just had a blast. I’m glad Trevor is feeling better and will be back next week, but I had a blast driving for him today.” said Kenseth in victory lane.

    “It really wasn’t easy,” added Kenseth. “But the cars are just really fast. It feels good to beat Carl. He’s really one of the best out there and when you can beat him, you know you had a good game.”

    Last week’s winner, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr sat the fast time in qualifying with a speed of 186.994. He led the first 41 laps, giving the lead over to Edwards. Stenhouse finished fourth.

    “Our Fastenal Mustang was pretty solid all day. It was a top-five car all day, just not good enough to win.” Stenhouse said.

    Kyle Busch was strong in the early running, but ended up with a third place finish. Two drivers that were in the top five all day ran into bad luck in the closing laps.

    “We had a really good car there in the beginning and through the middle stages of the race. Unfortunately, we just weren’t fast enough there at the end.” Busch said.

    Kevin Harvick was strong all day, but a front left fender rub, the result of a green flag restart, forced Harvick to pit road. He was able to battle back for a 16th place finish.

    Kasey Kahne started 22nd, but showed that he had a strong car, working his way into the top five, but he had to pit with 10 laps to go for fuel and then got penalized for speeding on pit road. Kahne finished 22nd.

    Reed Sorensen finished fifth. The remainder of the top ten were Brad Keslowski, Steve Wallace, Brian Scott, Aric Almirola and Elliott Sadler.

    Toytota Camry driver and 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen made his NNS debut and finished 27th.

    “It really turned out to be a really bad day with the handling just because I couldn’t get the car to turn and had to almost stop in the corners because it was pushing all the time. The same thing happened in the first and second practice and then we could improve it in the second practice, but somehow something is not right.” Raikkonen said.

    As for his future plans, “My plan was always to do these first two races and then I have to go back to Europe and do some Rallies and then we will see what happens.”

    Cole Whitt finished 15th in his NNS debut driving the No. 99 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Pastrana-Waltrip Racing.

    “We had a good car for about two laps and that’s about it. I don’t know what happened. We had a really good race run car yesterday, but — I don’t know — it just slipped away from us here today. We just could never get the thing freed up.” Whitt said.

    Sadler remains the points leader, but only by one point over Stenhouse and two points over Sorenson.

  • Matty’s Picks – Vol. 3 – Coca Cola 600 – May 29, 2011

    Matty’s Picks – Vol. 3 – Coca Cola 600 – May 29, 2011

    Matty’s Picks

    Vol. 3 – Coca Cola 600 – May 29, 2011

     

    I am extremely excited for this week’s edition of Matty’s Picks, not only because I get to brag about my spot on pick in last week’s Sprint All-Star race, but because this Sunday is one of my favorite days out of the entire year.

    I get the pleasure of waking up to the sounds of the Oswegatchie River flowing past my parents’ lake house each Memorial Day Sunday. This is a sound that is quickly drowned out by the high pitch whine of the Honda engines at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the 800-HP Stock Cars soon after dusk at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Yes, Memorial Day Sunday is a day that I look forward to each year. It truly marks the start of the summer racing season.

    Let’s start with my picks from last week:

    I had the duty of making five picks in total last week, two of which happened to be spot on. After having a bit of a shaky start to my week in the Sprint Showdown, I quickly rebounded with solid picks in the Sprint All-Star Race.

    My Dark Horse pick for the Sprint Showdown was Brian Vickers. Vickers was running well until about 3/4th through the race when, contact with following a restart forced him to pit for new tires. Vickers finished right were he started in 10th place, giving me a Top-10 that won’t count for my ongoing competition with myself.

    As for my winner pick in the Showdown, I thought I had made a solid pick in Martin Truex Jr, running in the Top-5 the entire first thirty laps. Contact with Paul Menard on lap 29 would put Truex outside of the Top-10, finishing his night in 13th.

    I don’t think there was any question as to IF Dale Earnhardt Jr would make the All-Star Race, it was just a matter of HOW he would wind up with the start. My pick was that he would not race his way into the All-Star (Jr finished 5th in the Showdown), and would be voted into the All-Star Race via over 2.4 Million votes in the Sprint All-Star Fan Vote. Kudos to me.

    For the Grand Finale of the night – the 2011 Sprint All-Star Race, I picked Mark Martin as my Dark Horse pick simply because he was (and still is) due for a win. Martin never really challenged for the win last week, and was finally put to the garage after contact with his teammate Jimmie Johnson on lap 94.

    I did state in my column last week that fans would see a ‘Million Dollar Back Flip’ on Sunday night. I however did not state that fans would see absolute domination of the All Star race, followed by a failed pirouette on the infield grass, leading up to the Back Flip. Carl Edwards won three out of four segments bagging himself over 1.1 million dollars in the meantime. Kudos to me again.

    Coke 600 Picks

    After absolute domination last week on All-Star weekend, I will be going with the flow and picking two Roush Fenway Racing drivers this week.

    Dark Horse Pick

    David Ragan has been on the brink of winning his first real NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race all season. He will start his #6 Ford in the 8th spot Sunday Evening after a fantastic qualifying run last night. Ragan will carry momentum from his win in the Sprint Showdown last week into Sunday’s Coke 600. I think that Ragan will take advantage of the dominance that Roush Fenway has shown at Charlotte this year and run towards the front all night.

    Winner Pick

    It’s a very good thing that there is no limit as to how many times I can pick the same driver in this column. I really do not know how anyone could bet against Carl Edwards this week. His dominance last week in the All-Star Race has convinced me to stay on his bandwagon and pick him again this week. Carl Edwards will join and elite club of drivers including; Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison, and Kasey Kahne, who have swept both races at Charlotte in the month of May. Edwards will have his chance to redeem himself after the failed burnout following the All-Star on Sunday.

    BONUS PICK
    100th Indianapolis 500

    I get to dabble this week in the world of open wheel racing. I think that this year’s field for the Indy 500 may be the most competitive that fans have seen in years. This year, the race is wide open for any of the 33 drivers to take. I will pick a Ganassi Driver for this year’s race in Dario Franchitti. He won last year’s Indy 500, and has locked up a solid starting spot for Sunday in 9th and I think Dario will sip the milk once again on Sunday.

    As always, you can send me you comments or help me make my picks for next week by email – riotwvu@yahoo.com

    Until next time….You Stay Classy NASCAR & INDY NATION!

  • Trevor Bayne Emerges from Cone of Silence; Kyle Busch Sticks to His Story

    Trevor Bayne Emerges from Cone of Silence; Kyle Busch Sticks to His Story

    After five weeks of being out of sight due to an undisclosed illness, Trevor Bayne emerged from the cone of silence that had been surrounding him and his condition. Although Bayne will not race this weekend, he will return to his Nationwide ride at Chicago and his Cup ride in a few weeks at Michigan.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kyle Busch, on the other hand, who has been in the spotlight all week due to an excessive speeding citation, is sticking to his story, as well as showing great remorse and contrition. Busch was ticketed for driving 128 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone at 1:52 PM this past Tuesday in a residential section of Mooresville, North Carolina.

    Both drivers faced the media today as part of the racing weekend activities at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Yet the two could not have been more opposite in their reactions on entering the media center, with Bayne ebullient to be back at the track while Busch appeared polite but subdued.

    “I missed you guys,” Bayne, driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in the Cup Series and the No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford in the Nationwide Series, as he took to the media stage. “It has been bad being away.”

    “I have been fine for over a week now,” Bayne continued. “Last weekend I took it off as a caution and this week they made me take it off as a caution.”

    The caution was also out for Kyle Busch, but for a very different reason. Busch’s caution resulted from a very speedy shake down behind the wheel of a Lexus sports car that had been loaned to him by the manufacturer.

    “Obviously I had a lack of judgment and just made a mistake,” Busch said as he told his story to the sport’s media corps.

    “And I’m sorry for making that mistake,” Busch continued. “Fortunately there was no one hurt, but that doesn’t make any kind of any excuse for what happened and for my lack in judgment for what I did.”

    In contrast to Busch, Bayne was so anxious to be back on the track and back in a race car that he was even more irrepressibly happy and excited than usual. The 20 year old driver, however, still had no explanation for the double vision, fatigue and general malaise that had kept him sidelined.

    “The cause isn’t exactly sure yet,” Bayne said. “Their biggest hope is that it was an isolated event that is temporary and is gone now.”

    “The diagnosis, I don’t have it yet,” Bayne continued. “It could be just a series of events where you get a bug bite and your immune system is down. Whether that is it or not, only time will tell that.”

    “I still don’t have an official diagnosis but they treated everything they thought it could be and since then everything has gone away,” Bayne said. “To me, they hit something.

    Just as Bayne cannot explain his physical ailments, Busch had no real explanation for his unlawful behavior.

    “I’m certainly sorry that it happened and my actions led me to speed,” Busch said. “It was a lack of judgment and all I can do is apologize to the public, my friends, my fans, my sponsors and everybody.”

    “All I can do is say me piece here and let it be.”

    While both Busch and Bayne could not explain their behavior and illness respectively, the two certainly have one thing in common. They both are taking away ‘lessons learned’ from their experiences.

    “I look at this experience as a learning experience,” Busch said.

    Busch’s team owner, Joe Gibbs, echoed the fact that Busch had much to learn from his offense. In fact, the team owner is even considering possible sanctions.

    “Any disciplinary action is something we’re going through (deciding),” Gibbs said. “That’s things we talk about and discuss.”

    “Obviously we didn’t think suspending him was something we were going to do,” Gibbs continued. “We’re going through a process to try and make sure we do the right thing and treat this as a serious issue.”

    “I’m hoping that somehow out of this something positive will come out of it.”

    Bayne has also learned quite a few life lessons from his time away from the sport being poked, prodded, and tested.

    “I think the biggest thing I have learned through all of this is how supportive everyone in our sport is,” Bayne said. “It has been incredible to me and a real eye opener.”

    “Carl Edwards flew up and saw me in Minnesota and Tony Stewart was using his plane to fly my family back and forth,” Bayne continued. “Everybody in the garage texted me at least once to see how I was doing and that means a lot to me.”

    “Another thing that has sometimes been put into perspective for me is how blessed we are to be race car drivers,” Bayne said. “You get wrapped up sometimes and go through the motions, but when you have to sit there for four or five weeks and watch races you realize how cool it is that you get to be the one driving.”

    “I am actually in a sense thankful for this eye opener.”

    While Bayne has indeed been cleared to return to the track, Busch on the other hand has not been cleared of his charges, with a court date instead of a return to the track date in his future.

    “I leave that to the court system,” Busch said. “This matter will be handled through that as best we can handle it and as best the authorities decide to handle it.”

    Ironically, the young driver Bayne, who has spent so much time recently away from the sport he loves, had this sage advice to share with the more veteran driver Busch.

    “We all need to be responsible and I think we are all young or whatever,” Bayne said. “Hopefully I learn from everybody else and don’t do anything like that.”

    “I am blessed and happy to be a race car driver.”

    Bayne will be on hand at Charlotte to cheer his good friend and teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who will not only substitute for Bayne in the Coca Cola 600 but also make his own Cup debut. Stenhouse Jr. qualified the No. 21 race car in on time and will start in the ninth position.

    “I think he will do a great job in the Cup car,” Bayne said. “I told him to just enjoy it a little bit and not stress out too much about it.”

    Busch will also be busy during the Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He will be running the Top Gear 300 Nationwide race as well as the Coca Cola 600 Cup race.

  • Trevor Bayne – ‘I Missed you Guys’

    Trevor Bayne – ‘I Missed you Guys’

    Trevor Bayne met with the media Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to discuss his return to racing. His first words to the press were, “I missed you guys.”

     

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]Bayne has been sidelined since the end of April when he experienced symptoms of fatigue and double vision. He was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. where he underwent a battery of tests but no definitive diagnosis has been made.

     

    When asked about the nature of his illness, Bayne explained, “Their biggest hope is that it was an isolated event that is temporary and is gone now. The diagnosis, I don’t have it yet. I don’t know. It could be just a series of events where you get a bug bite and your immune system is down and we had been running for a couple months hard every day after Daytona and it wears down your immune system. That is what I am hoping for.”

    He went on to say, “Whether that is it or not, only time will tell with that.  I still don’t have an official diagnosis but they treated everything they thought it could be and since then everything has gone away. To me, they hit something.”

    Steve Newmark, President of Roush Fenway Racing said that even though there has been no official diagnosis, that Bayne has been declared fit to race by the doctors at the Mayo Clinic.

    He is currently scheduled to be back in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Nationwide car next week at Chicagoland Speedway. His next Sprint Cup appearance will be in two weeks at Michigan.

    Bayne says he has been symptom free for over a week and is obviously anxious to resume his normal schedule.

    “I have been fine for over a week now. Last weekend I took it off as a caution and this week they made me take it off as a caution. This weekend I would have been fine to run I think but we want to just make sure.”

    “I am 20 years old and everyone keeps telling me I have a long time to run. I am trying to listen to them, even though I am 20 and stubborn and want to be in a race car every weekend. I would be riding around with an eye patch if they would let me. It is all good. I think we have waited long enough.”

    Although he admitted that the last few weeks have been hard, the situation has done nothing to dampen his enthusiasm and love for the sport.

    This season started out on a high for the 20 year old Bayne with a win at the Daytona 500 in only his second Cup start. He was supposed to run a full schedule with Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide Series and a limited schedule in the Sprint Cup series driving the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

    Everything changed when he woke up one morning with double vision. You might think the young driver would be bitter at the interruption in his career. But you would be wrong.

    Bayne handles life with a maturity and grace far beyond his years.

    “I think this year is just helping me figure out what I am made of. I think if you can handle the biggest high you can have and the largest bottom you can have then the rest of the year should be easy from here.”

    Throughout it all his faith has helped him maintain a positive attitude.

    “I do have my faith and that is what defines me because if I was defined by this I would be in trouble right now.”

    The biggest surprise for him has been the tremendous support he has received from everyone.

    “Carl Edwards flew up and saw me in Minnesota and Tony Stewart was using his plane to fly my family back and forth and Jack (Roush) was sending me back and forth on his plane and these guys come out and hang out for the night. Michael McDowell is there for five days with me. Everybody in the garage texted me at least once to see how I was doing and that means a lot to me.”

    Wood Brothers Racing has also stood firmly behind their driver.

    Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing said, “Trevor is our guy and he is our driver and whatever he is going through we are going through,” Wood said. “If it had worked out that we could have sat this race out and waited on him we would have done it. It just got too far down the road.”

    “I am just glad he is back. You guys can see how he has that warm and fuzzy feel again. I am happy.”

    This weekend, Bayne will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway to help his pal, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as he attempts his first Cup start subbing for Bayne in the No. 21 Wood Brothers car.

    You might think it would be difficult for Bayne to see another racer in that car. Wrong, again.

    “He is an awesome kid and I am pumped for him, said Bayne. “ I texted him yesterday and told him to own this thing because he deserves it. I think he is going to do a great job. “

    Welcome back, Trevor Bayne. We’ve missed you too.