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  • Points leader Johnny Sauter talks about season and more

    Points leader Johnny Sauter talks about season and more

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]To say that the beginning of the year has been good for Johnny Sauter would be understatement as currently the driver of the No. 13 for ThorSport Racing sits first in points with his teammate Matt Crafton second with a win from Martinsville under his belt.

    This weekend marks a big date on the schedule for Johnny as Curb Records, which has been associated with Johnny his entire career, will make their 500th career shot next weekend at Nashville Speedway. 

    Johnny took some time to answer some questions with regards to his season, Nashville and more.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the season so far?

    Johnny Sauter: Its been a good year. To be first in points and have a win in the first four races, there’s nothing to ashamed off so we got to keep going. There’s 21 races left so hopefully we can win a couple more races and make a good run for the championship.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts with regards to the competition level in the series?

    JS: As far as the competition level, personally I think its one of the most competitive seasons so far with all the teams that are involved. I think we had a lot more teams show up at Daytona than anybody probably even realized. You got some rookie drivers, you got some veteran drivers, you got them all paired up with good teams. I think its, you know obviously you got some of the Cup guys that come run with us, so I think you obviously got to look at it as being really competitive and pretty tough right now.

    AM: You spoke of some of the Cup drivers coming in and running in the Truck Series. What are some of your thoughts on that?

    JS: I mean, it doesn’t bother me at all. You could make a case for everything, especially now a days, so obviously they’re going to come down and race and there’s no rule against it. A lot of people spend, in my mind, too much time worrying about what Cup drivers are doing in the Trucks or the Nationwide Series. That’s part of life and we feel that we got a team that we can beat the Cup guys. We just got to keep doing what we’re doing at ThorSport with what we’re doing and not get caught up in what everybody else is doing.

    AM: How did you originally get involved with ThorSport Racing?

    JS: Well, I mean it was a deal where in 2005, I ran a race down for them at Homestead, the final race of the year, and that was the first time that I met some of the people with ThorSport. I think it’s just one of those deals where there was a opening and I happened to be looking and we were able to put a deal together to race together and here I am in my third season with them and the rest of the history as they say.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts on working with your teammmates Matt Crafton and Dakoda Armstrong?

    JS: Matt has been in the Truck Series for a while and has been real consistent and we both kind of have the same background with short track late model racing so we have fun cutting up with each other, being teammates, and whatever. We race each other hard and have fun. Dakoda is obviously the new face and just to get to see his development and getting starting in the series and all the things that he has to learn and hopefully me and Matt can help him along with all that stuff. It’s just going to be interesting to watch and fun through the year.

    AM: This weekend marks the 500th start for Curb Records. What are some of your thoughts on that?

    JS: I don’t think a lot of people know that much of his background in the sport. You know, he’s been around a long time and have had a lot of success with a lot of different drivers – Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty when he won his first race. He’s been involved in the sport for a long time and he’s always liked me as a driver and me as a person and he’s always been involved wherever I’ve been racing. It means a lot to me and to have his 500th start and me be going to the guy going to his hometrack, that’s a big deal.

    AM: How’d you originally get involved with Mike Curb?

    JS: He was always racing and he had a Nationwide team and he was looking for a driver and I was looking at different avenues and I was able to come in and fill the void and Mike and Kari and I won a race together in the Nationwide Series a while back and that’s how I originally got to meet him and got to know him and he’s been around hanging with me ever since.

    AM: What track is at the top of your list to win at next?

    JS: I think knowing how hard it is to win the Superspeedway races, like Daytona and Talladega, would be pretty cool. Everything just has to go right, no mistakes, no wrecks, just a different type of racing so I think Daytona or Talladega would be pretty sweet to win.

    AM: What would it mean to you to win the championship this year?

    JS: It would be huge. A championship in any division is huge. I don’t care if its NASCAR or Late Models or Sportsmen division or whatever. Championships are hard to win and not only do you have to win races, but you have to be consistent week-in-week-out to win championships so that’s what we aim for – we try to win races and win championships. So I don’t know how you put that into words as that’s what we’re here to do.

    AM: What is your first racing memory?

    JS: I mean, I first started racing, I still remember my first race driving a Sportsmen car at Wisconsin Dells Motor Speedway and I spun out two people out in 25 laps and the officials and the people there weren’t happy with me. I didn’t understand why I was spinning people out; it was something I had to learn.

    AM: And what would your favourite racing memory be?

    JS: I’ve got too many of them to narrow it down that much. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of good memories. I mean, winning the ASA championship and winning 10 of 20 races, winning two Nationwide races and last year in Trucks winning two races. There’s so many good memories that I just can’t tell you one that’s my favourite.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts heading into Nashville this weekend?

    JS: Just excited, obviously. We got a brand new truck that we’re taking so excited to see how we can do with that new truck. It’s a race track that I feel that I’ve been close at before, as far as winning. So with that bundled up with Curb’s 500th start, I’ve had some good races and it’s been a good track. So I feel we should go there and try to win the race and see what happens.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE NATIONWIDE SERIES AT TALLADEGA

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE NATIONWIDE SERIES AT TALLADEGA

    [media-credit id=5 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The NASCAR Nationwide Series will take on the largest track on their schedule with Saturday’s running of the Aaron’s 312 at the Talladega Super Speedway. It’s race number seven of the 2011 34 race schedule and it’s expected to be loaded with typical Talladega excitement. It’s also loaded with special guests from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    For many years now NASCAR Nationwide Series events has entertained guest from the Cup Series. Add that trend to the prestige of racing and winning at Talladega and you can well imagine the interest of Cup drivers who has entered Saturday’s race. That list includes:

    Jamie McMurray. #1 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet. James Finch owner

    Kevin Harvick. #4 Armour Vienna Sausages Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick Inc, owner

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. #7 Sauve Men Chevrolet. J R Motorsports

    Trevor Bayne. #16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford

    Kyle Busch. #18 Z Line Designs Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing

    Joey Logano. #20 Game Stop/Mortal Combat Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing

    Brad Keselowski. #22 Discount Tire Dodge. Roger Penske Racing

    Clint Bowyer. #33 Rheem Dot Com Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick Inc

    Carl Edwards. #60 Fastenal Ford. Roush Fenway Racing

    Joe Nemechek. #87 Nemco Motorsports Toyota

    Michael Waltrip. #99 Aarons Toyota. Pastrana Waltrip Racing

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

    Kevin Harvick Inc will be teaming up with Pinnacle Foods, the makers of Armour Vienna Sausages, to host a special day for 18 kids from the Magic Moments program. Established in 1984 in Birmingham-Alabama, Magic Moments is dedicated to making non medical wishes come true for kids who are not able to live out a normal childhood due to unfortunate illnesses.

    In addition to getting an up close and personal look at the Talladega racing action, the kids will also be treated to a private meet and greet with Kevin Harvick and SPEED Channel personality Kyle Petty.

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

    Six races in to the 2011 season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series is already generating some impressive stats. All four auto manufacturers, in the series, have now won a race since the arrival of the new Nationwide car. Dodge and Chevrolet got their wins last year when the new car ran four test and tune races. Toyota got their new car win this year at Phoenix while the Ford Mustang parked in victory lane for the first time last weekend in Texas.

    There have also been four different winners in the first six Nationwide Series events this year. That’s the good news for what appears to be a rather competitive season. The bad news for the competition is Kyle Busch has won three of them. Other winners this year includes Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Carl Edwards.

    According to NASCAR’s loop scoring data, there has already three perfect driver ratings, of 150.0, this year. Kyle Busch has two of them, following the Phoenix and Bristol events, and Carl Edwards earned the third one at last weekend’s Texas race.

    Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr remains as the fourth series points leader in the last six events. Previous championship points leaders include Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson and Jason Leffler.

    The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota #20, driven by Joey Logano, became the fourth leader in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ owner’s points standings after six races. But it’s only a one point advantage over Roush Fenway Racing’s #60 Ford, driven by Carl Edwards, and Kevin Harvick Inc’s #33 Chevrolet which has featured a variety of drivers including Harvick himself.

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

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Aaron’s 312 is 117 laps/311.22 miles around the Talladega Super Speedway’s massive 2.66 mile quad oval.

    The race has 45 entries vying for the 43 starting positions and the winner’s share of the race purse in excess of $1.1 million. 15 of those entries are on the go or go home list. These teams are not guaranteed a starting berth in the race because they are currently outside of the Nationwide Series’ top 30 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying times to earn a starting spot in the race. The Lone exception is Jeff Green who has a past champion’s provisional available if needed.

    The Aaron’s 312 will mark the Nationwide Series’ debut of their new car at Talladega under competitive racing conditions. The new car was on the track for the first time in October of 2009 for a special practice session.

    The NASCAR Nationwide Series has raced at Talladega 19 times in the past while sending 16 different winners to victory lane. Two time series champion Martin Truex Jr leads the series win list with three while series regular Joe Nemechek leads the current active drivers with two wins. The 19 series events at Talladega has also turned up 13 winners of the Coors Pole Position award also led by Nemechek who set fast time at the speedway on five different occasions.

    The Aaron’s 312 will be broadcast live by the ESPN2 Network with the pre race show beginning at 2 pm eastern time.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: IT’S ‘DEGA TIME

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: IT’S ‘DEGA TIME

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”214″][/media-credit]The elite of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves on to the mammoth Talladega Super Speedway for Sunday’s running of the Aaron’s 499. Just like its super speedway cousin, at Daytona, this Alabama based super track is also a restrictor plate race. That means there’s the possibility of the dreaded “big one”, we can expect to see multiple lead changes based on two car drafting tandems and we could see a mid pack car charge to the front to steal the show during the final laps of the race. It’s Talladega-Alabama: the land where anything can happen when you least expect it.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    One of the lead stories is the particular restrictor plate the teams will be using during their latest round of plate racing. In an effort to get the cars under 200 MPH in race trim, NASCAR, last month, announced that the teams will be issued a new restrictor plate, measuring seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, for Sunday’s race. This new plate is one-sixty fourth of an inch smaller than what was used during the Daytona 500 last February.

    The result of the smaller plate a Daytona created a two car draft tandem and we can expect to see more of the same this Sunday at Talladega. When recently asked about the impact of the new Talladega plate, Kyle Busch said “I think what they’re looking for is just to keep the speeds down obviously with how we all figured out how to push draft. They were expecting the speeds. We didn’t push draft all that much last year at Talladega. They are going to be expecting us to do that. They’re going to be expecting the speeds to be higher. They’re just being a little proactive there. No problem in doing that. I think it’s actually a smart idea rather than changing it on us when we do get to the race track. They did a good job. I don’t think it will change much. The racing will stay the same. The push draft will still be there. Essentially the dynamic of the race like it was in Daytona will be the same in Talladega.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr said he felt like the new plate at Talladega could actually increase the number of cars in the push draft next Sunday and added “maybe we’ll be able to get three or four of us pushing each other around there at one time. They keep slowing it down and that’s what’s going to happen. I really don’t know what Talladega is going to be like because the asphalt is worn just a little bit and it’s now quite as grippy as the new asphalt at Daytona after a year or two. But I want to be in control of my own destiny and I don’t want to have to worry about wrecking another driver while I’m pushing him around the race track. So I hope that’s not the kind of racing we have. But whatever you’ve got to do to win, is what you’ve got to do.”

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

    With the double car push draft comes the multiple channel radio communication between the drivers. Sprint Cup veteran Jeff Burton said he found it extremely interesting that drivers from competing teams were on the radio with each other, during the Daytona 500, to set up push draft partnerships. Burton said “it’s like cats and dogs eating together.”

    However Burton did admit that he was somewhat torn regarding his feeling towards the radio concept and said “I’m a fan of it because I think, honestly, it’s safer doing it with one spotter and two cars. However I’m not a fan of it because it’s supposed to be us against them, you know. We’re not supposed to be working together.”

    The one naysayer of the concept appears to be driver Kurt Busch who recently said “I think NASCAR should step in on drivers getting on other team’s radios. We shouldn’t be able to communicate with radios.”

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

    THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    The Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE), has “The Closer” on top of their list this week. They have placed Kevin Harvick at 7 to 1 odds. It’s actually a very good choice. Harvick is the defending race winner and one half of the Richard Childress Racing 2010 Talladega sweep after Clint Bowyer won the fall race there. Harvick also has five top five finishes, nine top tens along with an average finish ratio of 14.8 at Talladega. He also has four super speedway wins.

    At 10 to 1 odds you will find the duo of Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Both drivers are former Talladega winners. The WSE seems to think that Talladega is the perfect location for Stewart to unload his recent racing frustrations experienced over the course of the last couple of weeks. His Las Vegas ranking is also based nine top five finishes, 12 top tens and a healthy finish ratio of 15.5.

    Needless to say Kyle Busch is always a perennial favorite to win literally any race he enters. His finish ratio at Talladega, 23.3, is not that strong but if he can stay out of trouble throughout the afternoon then it’s likely he will become a major player in the race outcome.

    The WSE has the elder Busch brother ranked at 11 to 1 this week despite the fact that he’s still looking for his first career super speedway win. However his Talladega finish numbers are strong with six top fives, 13 top tens and a 13.7 finish ratio. This could turn out to be an interesting long shot wager.

    Here’s another potentially good long shot bet, that I thought would have been rated a little higher on the list. The pride of the Junior Nation is also rated at 11 to 1 this week. The Junior Nation is practically already salivating at the thought of Sunday’s Talladega race because they know it there’s a race track where their driver can find victory lane again this is it. Earnhardt learned his restrictor plate racing lessons well from his famous father. He has five Talladega wins, including four in a row that ran from 2001 to 2003. Also factor in the rejuvenated spirit of this team led by crew chief Steve Letarte. Junior at 11 to 1 could turn out to be extremely lucrative.

    The WSE has a large racing pack ranked at 15 to 1 this week led by Carl Edwards who, despite a career loaded with success at smaller racing venues, is still looking for that elusive first super speedway win. Also in this group is former Talladega winner Jaime McMurray who is one of the pre season Chase favorites who needs some more forward progress. With his team’s prowess at restrictor plate racing, Sunday could possibly be his day.

    Also at 15 to 1 is last October’s Talladega winner Clint Bowyer and that somewhat is a surprise considering he’s had some strong runs lately. Even Bowyer’s worst finishes are not indicative of how strong this team really is. Also remember that Richard Childress Racing leads the team stats at Talladega with 11 trips to victory lane.

    Jimmie Johnson at 15 to 1 is also a rather interesting consideration for those of you who like to gamble on the long shots. Many think that restrictor racing is not this driver’s forte, but the truth of the matter is: he’s a former Talladega winner with 14 top five finishes there. He’s also very anxious to silence naysayers who keep pointing out that he hasn’t won a race so far in 2011.

    I’ve always respected the work of the WSE because these guys are so good at crunching the numbers that backs their rankings. But once in a blue moon, they make an announcement that has be saying “WHAT??” Jeff Gordon at 15 to 1 is one of those moments. Granted, his last two outings were mired down in mediocrity, but this is the guy who leads all modern day Sprint Cup drivers with six wins at Talladega along with a series high 13 top five finishes. Let’s also not overlook the fact that this is a driver who understands restrictor plate racing better than most of his colleagues. (HMMM, where did I lay that cell phone?).

    Denny Hamlin, who’s going through a stretch of well documented racing frustration at the moment, is also in this 15 to 1 group. Hamlin has an 18.3 finish ratio at Talladega and an overall finish ration of 20 at super speedways in general. This may not be the weekend for him to launch that expected return to Chase prominence.

    All alone, in the 20 to 1 group, is Jeff “Snake Bite” Burton. I actually added the nickname out of a sense of respect rather that silly humor. The truth of the matter is this is probably one of the best drivers and teams in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. Unfortunately, they also lead the league in horrible racing luck hence the nickname.

    In the WSE mid pack area you find the tandem of Juan Pablo Montoya and last week’s winner Matt Kenseth at 25 to 1. The 30 to 1 group is led by former race winner Brian Vickers followed by Ryan Newman, David Ragan, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle and the equally snake bit Joey Logano.

    All by himself, at 35 to 1, is Mark Martin. Now here’s another excellent wager for those of you willing to gamble on the long shot. Yes, it true that Martin does not like restrictor plate racing and probably wishes it would fade away. But the fact of the matter is: Martin is a two time winner at Talladega along with 11 top five finishes, a series high 23 top tens and an average finish ratio of 16.0.

    Closing this week’s WSE list, at 40 to 1, are drivers Trevor Bayne, Martin Truex Jr, another snake bite victim, along with former race winner Brad Keselowski, David Reutimann and Paul Menard. All others not listed, including former race winner Bobby Labonte, are rated at 15 to 1 by the WSE.

    Now for the weekly disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted numbers should be considered for both information and entertainment purposes. They neither encourage, nor condone, the placing of wagers on their races.

    The truth of the matter is: it’s almost impossible to predict who’s going to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup restrictor plate race. Trevor Bayne’s win at the Daytona 500 certainly proves that point. Having said that, I must admit that the odds placed on Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon are mighty tempting.

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

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 is 188 laps/500.08 miles around the Talladega Super Speedway’s massive 2.66 mile quad oval.

    The race has 46 entries vying for the 43 starting berths and the lion’s share of the $5.9 million plus purse. 11 of those teams are on the go or go home list. These teams are not guaranteed a start in the race because they are currently outside of NASCAR’s top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to earn a starting berth in the race. The lone exception is Bill Elliott who can rely on a past champion’s provisional if needed.

    Chevrolets from Richard Childress Racing swept the Talladega racing action last year with Kevin Harvick winning in April and Clint Bowyer taking the October event. Childress has a healthy winning track record at Talladega having visited victory lane there 11 times. Chevrolet leads the manufacturer’s win list at the track with 37.

    The first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega was held in September of 1969 and was won by a then unknown driver named Richard Brickhouse under some rather bizarre circumstances. At the time the Sprint Cup drivers had recently formed a driver’s union. The union elected not to participate in the race amid concerns over tire safety and whether or not the tires could stand up to the speedway’s extremely high banking. The day before that race NASCAR’s Grand Touring division was on the schedule and Big Bill France invited them to run in the big money show on Sunday and that’s how Brickhouse became the speedway’s first Cup winner. France, always the consummate promoter, made it up to the fans and offered them future tickets to a Talladega or Daytona race. Ironically speaking, the driver’s union dissipated shortly after that. Since that legendary event, NASCAR has staged 83 Cup races that have sent 41 different winners to victory lane. That effort has been led by the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr. who won there ten times.

    Track position is always a factor in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race especially during those waning laps. NASCAR icon Bill Elliott owns both track qualifying positions at Talladega and has won the Coors Light pole a series high eight times. Elliot’s first track record, without a restrictor plate on the engine, was 212.809 MPH and was set back in April 1987. The second qualifying record, with the plate, was 199.388 MPH set in May of 1990. The track numbers supports the importance of starting position at Talladega. 13 of the 83 races has been won from the pole position while 32 of them has been won from the top two positions.

    But the development of drafting, especially the relatively new push draft we will see this Sunday, also makes it possible to win at Talladega from the rear of the field if you have the right “dance” partner. Jeff Gordon scored one of his series high six wins, in April of 2000, after starting from the 36th position.

    That same element also produces some very exciting track maneuvers at time. The track record for lead changes is 88 set in April of last year. In every race since 1993, the margin of victory at Talladega has been under one half of a second.

    Talladega is of course the home of “the big one”, the moment of time when the slight flinch of a race car can create a large amount of race car carnage within a fraction of a second. Despite the always looming presence of “the big one”, the track record for yellow caution flags is only 11 and dates back to 2004. However, it’s possible to run a 500 mile race at Talladega caution free. It’s happened three times in the past but the last occurrence dates back to the fall of 2002.

    The Talladega Super Speedway is massive with its 48 foot width. The sweeping turns are banked at an intimidating 33 degrees with 18 degrees of banking in the speedway’s tri oval. The front stretch is 4,300 feet long and is banked 16.5 degrees but the 4,000 foot back stretch only has two degrees of banking. The speedway’s pit road is also massive measuring 3,000 feet long by 48 feet wide. The pit road speed is 55 MPH.

    The Talladega Super Speedway has grandstand seating to accommodate 143,000. That means it takes a lot of concession stand food to feed those hungry fans. Over the course of two racing weekends there the fans will go through one ton of pizza, 1.5 miles of nacho chips when laid end to end, 13,600 pounds of hamburger, 18,698 hot dogs and they’ll wash it down with 9,000 gallons of soda.

    The weather could present a problem for the practice sessions scheduled for Friday. The Talladega forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Friday afternoon increasing to a 70 percent chance of precipitation Friday night. The Saturday forecast is an improvement calling for sunny skies, breezy conditions and a day time high of 69 degrees. On Sunday race day look for beautiful sunny skies and 72 degrees.

    The Aaron’s 499 will be broadcast live by Fox Sports with the pre race show beginning at 12 pm eastern time. The re air will be on Wednesday, April 20th, on SPEED beginning at 12 pm eastern.

  • Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Red Bull development driver Cole Whitt has been tearing up the tracks in his No. 60 truck for his rookie season in the NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. He has had one pole, led 30 laps and currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year competition.

    To date, Whitt has three consecutive top-10 finishes, with an average start of 11.2 and an average finish of 8.5.  The young driver is currently tied for third in the point standings, just seven points behind leader Johnny Sauter.

    To what does Whitt credit his success so far this season in the Truck Series?

    “Everyone has just been working hard is the main thing,” Whitt said. “We’re not the biggest team and we’re not the most expensive team in the world but we get good results with what we got.”

    “That’s what’s kind of cool is everyone knows what we’re working with,” Whitt continued.  “We’re trying really hard.  Everyone puts so many hours in. It’s pretty cool to have guys that care about it that much.”

    Whitt likes to lead by example, going to the race shop every day.

    “I’m there from 7:00 AM in the morning to 4:00 PM in the afternoon,” Whitt said. “I like to go in and show them that I care and give back to them what they give to me.”

    Whitt also credits his team’s chemistry with the success that they have all enjoyed in the early goings of the 2011 season.

    “I’m a firm believer in chemistry and that your team has to be all gelled together,” Whitt said. “I try really hard at making the team work together. Everyone needs to communicate and everyone needs to get along. That’s how our team operates.”

    “We’re having fun racing and we’re loving it,” Whitt continued. “It’s been enjoyable.”

    One of the races that Whitt was not looking forward to, however, was the one now in his rear view mirror, the Kroger 250 at Martinsville. In spite of his apprehension about that race, Whitt qualified second and brought his truck to the checkered flag in sixth.

    “I wasn’t looking forward to Martinsville”, Whitt said candidly. “I feel like I run pretty good everywhere, but Martinsville is not the kind of track I look forward to.”

    “But to qualify as well as we did and race all day like we did and be fast all day was really exciting,” Whitt said. “We passed the most trucks, I think 53, by the end of the day so it was a long day but our truck was good.”

    With that good finish, Whitt is now ready to tackle the next race, the Bully Hill Vineyards 200. As is the case with many rookies, this will be Whitt’s first time ever at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.

    “I’ve never seen the place so I don’t know how it’s going to be,” Whitt said. “I’m usually good at places I’ve never seen though like Darlington, which was one of the best races of the year and I’d never seen that track a day in my life.”

    “We’ll spend time making sure our truck is the way we want it to be,” Whitt continued. “Other than that we’ll get our feet wet in the first practice session, learn the track the best we can and put the hammer down.”

    Whitt has only one wish as he heads into the Nashville race weekend.

    “I want to go win the race,” Whitt said. “That’s the way we approach every race. We go to run good and we’ll take what we can get, but we go to every race to win.”

    With that confidence comes a great deal of pride in his accomplishments to date. Whitt also revels in the increased attention that he and his team have garnered thanks to their performance.

    “I’m proud of everything and the way that it’s all gone down,” Whitt said. “I feel like our team deserves it.”

    “It’s kind of funny because we’re not a team that’s expected to run really good,” Whitt said. “But hopefully by the end of the year, we can change everyone’s minds and make it where everyone thinks of us as a winning team.”

    “I think a lot of people are now thinking that we’ve run well this far, but how long will they last?” Whitt said. “We’re looking to doing it all year.”

    Whitt will get that chance to run the full season and is especially excited about a new sponsorship deal that has just been announced. Fuel Doctor will be an associate sponsor for the next eight races starting with the Nashville race.

    “We’re pretty excited about that,” Whitt said of his new sponsorship deal.

    “Hopefully when we roll through the gates, everyone will worry that we’re there. That’s what we are working towards.”

  • The Great Pusher: Joey Logano says Talladega owes him a victory

    The Great Pusher: Joey Logano says Talladega owes him a victory

    Winning at the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega usually comes as the result of a driver who happened to be in the right place at the right time. When Joey Logano and his No. 20 GameStop Toyota team head to the Talladega Super Speedway this Saturday for the Aaron’s 312, it cannot be without thinking of what could have already been. The Joe Gibbs Racing team has yet to pull into victory lane but it hasn’t been for a lack of effort.

    Logano has only raced at Talladega twice in Nationwide career but statistically it is one of his best tracks. In 2009 he finished third and last season he finished a position higher in second. In both races however, he was the pusher, the driver who sent eventually winners David Ragan and Brad Keselowski to victory lane. It’s only natural that this Saturday Logano wants the roles to finally be reversed.

    “I really feel like Talladega owes me one after the last two years there,” said Logano. “We’ve pushed the eventual winner to the victory the two years in a row now, so maybe this year, it’s my turn and someone will help push me and the No. 20 GameStop Toyota to the victory. “

    Logano did admit that if he had to push someone to victory at least it was a good friend in Ragan back in 2009. It doesn’t however, make losing feel any better and Logano badly wants his first restrictor plate victory. Saturday he’ll be driving a brand new car built by JGR after the chassis they had planned to take race was damaged in Daytona.

    Logano and teammate Kyle Busch dominated the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 but neither made it to the checkered flag in the positions they were hoping for. Busch was pushing Logano and they got to the lead when it appeared Busch might have pushed just a little too hard and sent Logano into the wall in turn one.

    He finished 12th after leading 22 laps. Racing in that event as well as the Daytona 500 will be an advantage for Logano. Already feeling like he’s become a decent restrictor plate driver, the track time he had and racing in the two-car drafts will be what’s important. Those who know when and where perform ‘the swap’ are the drivers who are the ones to contend with. At Daytona it was Logano and Busch who appeared to have mastered making the swap and preserving their cars.

    The new style of racing that has drivers wondering who is on their radio will again be rearing its head at Talladega. Many have already said that as soon as the track opens look for the tag teaming to begin.

    “I really like restrictor-plate racing and I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at it since I started,” Logano said. “I’ve run really well in everything I’ve driven at Talladega, from my Cup car to the Nationwide car, Truck Series and even in ARCA.  I’ve just never been able to get a win.  I have learned a lot about racing in the draft and what moves to make and when to make them.  There is an art to it for sure.

    “It is a little different though in the new Nationwide Series car with the two-car draft.  That two-car deal is very important.  But we showed in Daytona that we are good in the draft and if you get hooked up with the right person, you can get to the front.  Hopefully, this will be our year at Talladega. I’d love to get Adam and all of the new guys on the No. 20 team into Victory Lane.”

    The right person will most likely again be Busch. The two have always worked well together but have struggled to seal the deal and pull into victory lane. Busch hasn’t won a NNS restrictor plate race since July of 2007 at Daytona. If all goes according to plan the Logano/Busch Camry’s will again be locked together and leading the field, this time with a different ending for a different looking GameStop car.

    “I got a chance to see the Talladega car with the Mortal Kombat paint scheme on it in the shop and it looks sick,” said Logano. “It will be a nice change from the red and black car we’ve run the first few races of the year.  It will stand out for sure. … It’s a car that will look awesome in Victory Lane photos, so hopefully, we can get it there.”

    Crew chief Adam Stevens has confidence that his young driver will be up front and a contender for the win. And he too, is looking toward working with Busch to make JGR the ones to beat.

    “I feel like our superspeedway program is right there,” said Stevens while acknowledging how strong Logano and Busch ran in Daytona. “So much of these races comes down to who you are hooked up with and who can push who.  Hopefully, Joey and Kyle can get hooked up like they did at Daytona and get the Gibbs cars up front.  We’ll see how it all shakes out come Saturday, but I know we’ll be right there in the thick of things again.”

  • NASCAR Beginnings Featuring ‘Mad’ Marion MacDonald, Herman ‘The Turtle’ Beam & More

    NASCAR Beginnings Featuring ‘Mad’ Marion MacDonald, Herman ‘The Turtle’ Beam & More

    The best thing about researching NASCAR history is the little nuggets you find along the way. Many

    of these jewels never find their way into an article, but they are all worth remembering. Some of the names you’ll recognize and some may be unfamiliar. Not everyone can be a star, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a story to tell.

    If you think racing in NASCAR is more competitive today than it’s ever been, you might want to think again. Back in the day, some drivers would do anything for that little extra advantage.

    “Mad” Marion MacDonald is a perfect example. He was born in Florida in 1918 and learned to drive in the family orange orchard.

    “One day I hit the railroad tracks and my car jumped a four-foot gate on the other side. After that I never opened that gate again,” he said.

    MacDonald began his flirtation with racing In 1938 when he went to work for Bill France at his gas station in Daytona Beach. He had his own unique way of doing things. No one can say for certain where he got his nickname, but there are plenty of tales to choose from.

    At age 21 he entered the beach road course at Daytona driving his personal car. He tied himself into the car with a rope and had a knife taped to the dash so he could cut himself free if an emergency arose. During a pit stop, MacDonald grabbed a hamburger from one of his crew during a pit stop and continued to eat it as he raced around the track. Maybe he was simply hungry or maybe he just loved showing off for the fans.

    Later in that same race, MacDonald came upon a stalled car. The driver had climbed out of the car and to avoid hitting him Mad Marion had to go high. The next thing you knew, he was up on the dunes on two wheels, as he drove past the stunned driver.

    But the story doesn’t end there. MacDonald had figured out that taking the turn on two wheels improved his speed so he repeated the maneuver throughout the race, taking several of the turns on two wheels.

    Most would agree that going fast is the best way to win races. It may surprise you to know that at least one driver took the opposite approach.

    Herman “The Turtle” Beam drove in the Grand National series from 1957 to 1963. His claim to fame comes from holding the record for the longest streak of races without a DNF, with 84. Beam was a master at getting the most out of a dollar. He built his own cars, towed them himself and knew exactly what he had to do to make a little money.

    Gene Glover, a fellow racer, said of Beam, “he knew the distance to each racetrack, how many gallons of gas it took to get there, what you had to do to qualify for the race, how much money the race paid for each position, and where he thought he could finish.”

    “They called him ‘Herman the Turtle’ because he had good equipment, but he just didn’t want to drive fast, so he just got down on the apron and stayed out of the way. A lot of times, he’d end up with good finishes.”

    This may sound a little crazy, but you have to remember that back in those days, it wasn’t unusual for half the field to fall out of a race with mechanical issues or due to crashes. Beam’s survival strategy often netted good results. In 194 races, he had 57 top ten finishes.

    “Everybody respected Herman and his mechanical abilities,” Johnson City racer Paul Lewis said. “He was very intelligent and very articulate, and he always had good equipment.”

    “He just didn’t like to drive fast.”

    Many of today’s drivers have been groomed from an early age to appeal to the corporate sponsors that have allowed NASCAR to flourish. For the most part, we never get to see the men or women behind this polished image. But NASCAR history is littered with colorful characters. What you see is what you get. Their antics both on and off the track speak of a time when racing was fueled by testosterone and you never knew what was going to happen next.

    Joe Weatherly had a short but significant career. He only ran two full seasons in NASCAR’s premier series and won Cup championships both seasons, in 1962 and 1963. He was known for his hard racing and famous for his practical jokes. “The Clown Prince of Racing,” Weatherly never missed an opportunity to have some fun.

    In the days before cars had start switches, Weatherly would sneak along pit road and steal the keys to all the cars. When the command, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” was given, Joe’s car was the only one to fire up. In Darlington for a race, Weatherly came up with one of his most well-known pranks. He paid a farmer $100.00 for a mule. The next day, Weatherly proudly rode the mule, complete with race stickers, in the Darlington parade.

    Then there’s the story of Jim Vandiver who put new meaning into the phrase “running from the law.”

    Jim Vandiver began racing in NASCAR’s top division in 1968. His Cup career spanned 14 seasons with 24 top ten finishes. But he’s most famous for an incident that happened at the 1973 Darlington Southern 500. During the race, he spun and brought out a caution. He came to a stop in turn 3, jumped from his car, ran up the banking and disappeared from the track. It seems that two deputy sheriffs had been standing in Vandiver’s pit, waiting to arrest him after he finished the race.

    Vandiver was in the middle of a child custody dispute and was supposed to be in court the same day as the race. He thought his lawyer had taken care of things, but the judge had charged him with contempt of court. He had been tipped off ahead of the race that the law would be waiting for him.

    “When the field got slowed down I jumped out of my car,” Vandiver said, “ran across the track and jumped the wall. When I got to a chain linked fence it was like someone knew I was coming because right there the fence had been cut like somebody done snuck into the race so I went right through it to the road outside the track.”

    I’d like to leave you with two more stories. NASCAR is all about statistics. New records are set and old records are broken. However, there are a couple of NASCAR finishes that were so unique that it is unlikely they will ever be repeated. Both happened in the 1950’s.

    On September 30, 1956, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, there was a 200 lap race with 24 cars in the field. On lap 181, Curtis Turner took the lead. There were only 14 other cars left in the race. Suddenly a huge crash broke out behind Turner and he was the only one to get through it unscathed.  He pulled into his pit and the race was called. To this day, it’s the only race that has ever ended with just one car running.

    Raleigh Speedway was the site of another unusual finish. The 100 mile race took place on September 30, 1952 and two sets of brothers would accomplish something that had never been done. Fonty Flock finished first and Herb Thomas took second place. But it’s the third and fourth place finishes that will amaze you. Fonty’s brother Tim finished third and Herb’s brother Donald finished in fourth place.

    From the astounding to the hysterical, NASCAR history is a treasure trove waiting to be explored. You never know what you’re going to discover but one thing is certain. You always leave with a smile on your face.

    Thanks to legendsofnascar.com, Tom Higgins and laidbackracing.com, Patty Kay at insiderracingnews.com and David Scercy at bleacherreport.com

  • The Final Word from Texas, where Tony proved to be all fumes, no gas

    The Final Word from Texas, where Tony proved to be all fumes, no gas

    [media-credit name=”(c) CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]So, what did we learn at Texas?

    Well, we have learned that if you want to play there, you must have a fiddle in the band. Matt Kenseth apparently took no chances and brought along an entire string section. He led for over half of the contest to claim the 19th of his career, and was walking away from the boys like it was the days of old. You know, the winner about twenty laps ahead of the field and with a monkey running around inside the car. Okay, I’m kidding about the ape.

    We learned that while Matt was winning for the first time in a couple of years, the real excitement at the end came from Tony Stewart. He tried to win on fuel, but was too fast in the pits and the penalty would cost him. Well, not really. We watched as Smoke ran out of gas on the final lap and watched his name dance to the right on the crawl. A Top Five? Nope. Ten? Nope. 12th, the last guy on the lead lap and with the least amount of petrol. Once again, Tony wasn’t real fussy about sharing his feelings afterward.

    We learned that Dale Earnhardt Jr’s return continues. Okay, he is just one wreck, one bad engine away from having all the nay sayers return, but so far, so good. He was 24th at Daytona, but no worse than 12th in any race since. Junior was 9th Saturday night and sits sixth in the standings. I understand he kind of likes the track they are heading to this weekend.

    We learned that Carl Edwards would take over the top rung, nine ahead of Kyle Busch and 13 up on Jimmie Johnson and Kenseth. Of course, first means little right now; tenth and the number of wins does. Stewart is ahead of Paul Menard by four points, but the hardware guy would still get in while Jeff Gordon’s win at Phoenix would give him a pass to the ball.

    We learned that Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Kevin Harvick are the others currently sitting pretty. Wins at Fontana and Martinsville leave Harvick solid at this juncture, but there is lots of time, races, and available wins up for grabs before the cut off to get too engrossed with who is where just yet. Unless you happen to be Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, or Jeff Burton. Those lads can be excused for worrying a little bit.

    I learned when bad bugs somehow slip by your anti-virus, you get a weekend off. When they get fixed, you are back in the saddle again. I also learned when a bad bug bites a driver, he might spent a night at hospital. Obviously, some critter had it in for Trevor Bayne, but the elbow has recovered. At least it was an elbow. I can think of worse places to get bit.

    We will learn who is the king of Talladega on Sunday. Junior has won five times there, but the last time was in the fall of 2004. Jeff Gordon has six wins, the last in the fall of 2007. However, if you tally up all the points from the past six races there, the man would be David Ragan, of all people. I know!

    I’ve learned that there are worse places than Okotoks, Alberta, which is where my boys will be involved in a baseball camp this weekend. That means I’ll be watching all the action when we return home. As you don’t fast forward nothing when it comes to watching Talladega, it could prove be a long Sunday evening for one baseball dad. Enjoy your week.

  • A Hot Texas Night

    A Hot Texas Night

    Texas Motor Speedway President, Eddie Gossage, promised that the races at the Texas Motor Speedway would light up the night. He said that Texas would do night racing bigger and better than it had ever been done. After all everything in Texas is bigger. But the results of the two first night races of the season met with mixed reviews.

    [media-credit name=”(c) CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]The weekend began as most of the ‘new schedule’ weekends do,  with the Nationwide Series taking the track first. Race fans quickly realized to follow the practice sessions at Texas they would have to do so on-line via Nascar.com or Twitter, because Speed TV,  who usually broadcasts practice sessions had devoted the entire weekend to the Barrett-Jackson Auto Action. This added an element of confusion to the weekend. And a sense of disconnection to the races that would follow.

    Qualifying lacked the anticipation that one would expect on Friday, and offered very few surprises. With Carl Edwards taking the pole and Brad Keselowski making up the front row in the Nationwide Series.

    The first night race at Texas went off without a hitch and not a lot of excitement either. Long green flag runs lead to monotony and the appearance of follow the leader. The only surprise was the unfortunate elimination of Kyle Busch who appeared to be the only hope of catching and passing race winner Carl Edwards. The incident occurred as Busch was closing in on the rear bumper of Edwards when a lapped car driven by Tim Schendel blew a tire and went up the track leaving Busch no where to go,  destroying the front end of the Z Line Toyota Camry. Although Busch was an unfortunate victim of circumstances, it ended any possibility of an actual race.

    Carl Edwards dominated from green flag to checkers leading all but 31 laps. It was Edwards sixth win from the pole and gave Mustang its first victory. The win made Edwards 5th in the all team win column for the series.

    Edwards was followed to the line by defending series champion Brad Keselowski who scored his best finish of the 2011 season. Keselowski was .482 seconds behind Edwards at the line.

    The highest finishing series regular was Elliott Sadler in the One Main Financial Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick Inc. Sadler finished in 5th place after struggling early on.

    As the season goes on in the Nationwide series it becomes more and more apparent that the possibility of crowning a winless series champion is highly likely. Keeping the Cup drivers from scoring points only skewed the appearances of the competition it did not change it. The cup drivers are winning the races. The cup drivers are dominating the races. The Nationwide regulars are getting the points and not challenging for the win.

    Can we truly have a series champion without a win? It would appear so. Even though NASCAR has said that the new points system places an emphasis on winning it only does so in the upper tier Sprint Cup series.The points for the positions not taken by the visitors are not awarded, which skews the system even more.

    When you add the new COT for the series into the picture and you take into consideration the decrease in the amount of the purse money for the series it is amazing that many of the teams can continue to compete. Kenny Wallace sited a minimum of 100,000 dollars per race without a driver’s salary on Twitter. Many team representatives including Greg Wallace of Rusty Wallace Inc. disagreed with the amount stating it was too low. “On what planet can you race every week for that?” The younger Wallace commented.

    It’s once again time for NASCAR to look at their system and make some changes. Not only is the car more expensive. The teams are being paid less and to crown a winless champion is a humiliation to the series it’s sponsors and the drivers who compete as professionals every week.

    Sunset on Saturday brought the anticipation of the Sprint Cup race. The favorites were Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and Greg Biffle. The winner would be a surprise to all.

    Again we saw long green flag runs with a follow the leader appearance. Although there was obviously side by side racing in the pack little of that was shown to the TV viewer. The car leading the race consistently would end up being the 17 Crown Royal Black Ford Fusion of Matt Kenseth. He would ultimately be the race winner.

    For a second week in a row, Martin Truex Jr suffered a hard crash taking with him Mark Martin and Regan Smith. Though all walked away, Martin was obviously shaken saying, “I need to sit down here guys.” Truex attributed the wreck to an ill handling race car once again. This gave rise to social media rumors of a crew chief change coming at Michael Waltrip Racing. Although the team did not confirm that rumor it would seem to follow reason with the season that Truex has endured thus far.

    Tony Stewart would stay out to lead for a significant period of time playing the card that he could go 58 laps on a tank of fuel and with his stop there were 58 laps left. The anticipation built and Smoke was calm and confident on the radio. Until the last lap when the fuel light came on. The 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet sputtered and ran out of gas on the back stretch. Stewart would coast around to finish 12th. A very disappointed Stewart delayed his post race interview and it was not shown with the post race coverage.

    Roush Fenway Racing dominated the night with 4 cars in the top 10. Kenseth snapped a 76 race losing streak. Greg Biffle turned in his best performance of the season with a 4th place finish. Carl Edwards turned in 3rd place finish although he was suffering from a severe upset stomach early in the race. David Ragan turned in a 7th place finish which placed all 4 Roush cars in the top 10.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr turned in another consistent finish after a poor qualifying effort. His 9th place finish moved him to 6th in the points standings and although extending his losing streak to 100 races, the 4 laps he lead by staying out during green flag stops encouraged the anticipation and confidence of the JR Nation as the series heads into Talladega.

    The biggest topic of the race was the fact that NASCAR allowed TV coverage of the computer system that monitors the pit road speed. The first appearance of the monitor featured Larry McReynolds standing in front of the monitor and explaining how the speeds were gathered and that there were no human hands involved. Behind him the lines of drivers was being highlighted one at a time and deleted from the screen, making it somewhat hard to believe that no human hands are involved in the system. The next appearance came when Tony Stewart was caught speeding on pit road. The TV camera showed the monitor which showed no red areas. Larry Mac said you can see the red area there that shows he was speeding in the first timing zone. When the camera panned back to the monitor indeed it was red. Stewart admitted to speeding on pit road, unfortunately NASCAR’s attempt to prove to fans that everything was above board only added more clouds and questions.

    The question remains and has been asked by many, if you already use the transponder to determine what position the car is running on the track, if you already use it to determine a winner in a photo finish situation, why are you not using it to time the pit road speed? Fox can tell us exactly how fast the car is going on the track why can’t they tell us exactly how fast they are going on pit road?

    Transparency eliminates questions and doubt. Defensiveness by NASCAR over the situation only leads to more suspicions. Jimmie Johnson stated he was mistaken and had incorrect information. It should have stopped there. He apologized to NASCAR and the fans. Leave it there. Instead NASCAR went over board trying to prove their point and trying to prove they were innocent of manipulation. The old saying of Thou doest protest too much applies here.

    Once again, as with the NNS points system and the COT, NASCAR shot themselves in the foot. This is the greatest racing series in the world. Why not just raise the window shades and let the light shine on the situation as it is. Not paint a picture that you can’t defend in the end.

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

    Congratulations to Carl Edwards and Jack Roush Racing on their Nationwide Series Victory, and Congratulations to Ford Motorsports on the Mustangs first series victory. Congratulations also to Matt Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing on their Sprint Cup Victory. Welcome back to Victory Lane Matt! You are only as old as you think you are.

    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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards took third at Texas, passing Tony Stewart’s gassed out car on the final lap, as Roush Fenway Racing placed all four cars in the top 7. Edwards battled stomach problems all day, as well as handling issues in the No. 99 Scott’s Ford, but hung in to post his fourth top-5 result of the year. He vaulted passed Kyle Busch in the point standings, and holds a nine point lead.

    “We were loose all day,” Edwards said. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean the car and me. It’s hard to find a rhythm when you’re constantly telling your car to ‘go’ and only your stomach is listening. It was a day of ‘fits and sharts.’ My teammate David Ragan may drive the UPS car, but it was me who truly found out what brown could do for me. The answer was very little.

    “As you may know, I’m in the last year of my contract, and I’m currently in talks with Roush Fenway concerning a contract extension. I’m pretty confident we’ll get it done, especially after Saturday night’s performance, because I seriously doubt anyone else would want my ‘seat’ after that.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch was running third and primed to contend for the win at Texas, but a left-rear tire vibration forced a late pit stop, putting the No. 18 Interstate Battery Toyota a lap down. Busch never got a caution to get back on the lead lap, and settled for a disappointing 16th, which knocked him from the Sprint Cup points lead. He trails Carl Edwards by nine points.

    “Given the circumstances,” Busch said, “I’d rather not be behind Edwards at this point. As it stands, though, Carl’s the only driver in front of me, and that makes him the public enemy No. 1. Ironically, public enemy No. 1 faced a devious nemesis at Texas, ‘public enemy No. 2.’    

     “Joe Gibbs Racing is still experiencing engine problems. Luckily, we’ve identified the issues—they’re apparently called ‘Denny Hamlin’ and ‘Logano.’ I think those two have answered the age-old question: ‘What happens when a driver and car run out of talent at the same time?’ 

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth ended a 76-race winless streak with an assertive victory in the Samsung Mobil 500 at Texas, leading 169 of 334 laps and winning by over eight seconds over Clint Bowyer. Kenseth donned the ceremonial ten-gallon hat and six shooters afforded the Texas winner in victory lane, celebrating his first win since California in 2009. He leapt six places in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 13 behind Carl Edward and four behind Kyle Busch.

    “Surprise!” Kenseth said. “It’s Matt Kenseth with the ‘hat trick,’ and not Kevin Harvick. And it’s not just Carl Edwards ‘shooting blanks;’ it’s me as well.

    “I’ve always ran well at Texas, and I knew we were capable of winning here. I just had to go out and do it. Much in the same way that Edwards did, I told myself, ‘I’ve got to go.’ Luckily for me, and for Carl, I did, and he didn’t.”

    4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson battled loose-handling conditions for the majority of Texas’ 334 laps on Saturday night, but still managed a solid eighth-place finish. Johnson dropped one spot in the point standings, and now trails Carl Edwards by 13 points.

    “We’ve gone seven races this season without a win,” Johnson said. “I could be a whiner and blame everybody, which would be a case of a ‘critical ass’ calling out the ‘critical mass.’ But I’ve learned that criticism is a useless endeavor—it can only lead to forced, insincere apologies to NASCAR.

    “But it is much too early in the season to be worrying about my deficiencies. I should know that better than anyone. I’ve made a habit of spending the first 26 races showing I’m mortal, and the last ten proving I’m immortal. I’ve spent five years perfecting the art, and it’s a cause I’m proud to champion.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s effort to win his third-straight race was derailed early after a right-side tire violation penalty on his first pit stop. With track position compromised, he eventually fell two laps down and never returned to the lead lap, finishing 20th. He tumbled four places to ninth in the point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 28.

    “Unfortunately,” Harvick said, “I won’t be saying ‘three in a row.’ They say good things come in three’s, except for four-tire pit stops.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his second-straight top-10 finish, and fourth of the season, with a ninth in the Samsung Mobil 500. He moved up two places in the point standings to sixth, and trails Carl Edwards by 21.

    “It’s now been 100 races since my last win,” Earnhardt said. “That’s a dry spell any member of Junior Nation could be proud of. But that’s a long time to go without a win. Now, when I see a ‘three-finger salute,’ I’ll know it means ‘three digits.’ Of course, that’s opposed to the normal ‘three-finger salute,’ in which three of my fans stand in unison and flip the bird to the driver that just passed me on the track.

    “Now, that 100-race winless streak could very well come to an end at Talladega. I hear two-car tandems again will be the norm as they were at Daytona, and the multi-car draft seems to be a thing of the past. So, Sunday’s race will be a lot like a typical weekend in the Talladega infield, with multiple hookups with 10-15 partners, and the occasional threesome, with feelings of regret when it’s over.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch led five times for 50 laps at Texas, but found himself in an off-sequence pit situation without a much-needed caution. Forced to pit late while running second, Busch settled for a 10th, and fell one spot in the point standings to fifth, 16 out of first.

    “We qualified 10th and finished 10th,” Busch said. “That’s what I call ‘running in place.’ And speaking of ‘running in place,’ the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team could use a ‘jog,’ preferably to the noggin, to rouse us from the doldrums of mediocrity. I’ve told my team the same thing I‘ve told my cosmetic surgeon: ‘You can do better than this.’”

    8. Ryan Newman: Newman faced an uphill battle on Saturday night at Texas, as the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevy lacked the necessary handling and speed to be a factor in the Samsung Mobil 500. Newman salvaged a 14th-place result, scrapping until the end. He dropped one place in the point standings to seventh, 23 out of first.

    “It was a tough day for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said. “I struggled all day, and Tony Stewart ruined a potential race-winning fuel strategy by speeding in the pits on his final stop. So, I was ‘sorry,’ and Tony apologized. I’m sure Tony had a horrible feeling in his gut after that huge mistake. It seems that, much like Carl Edwards, Tony was suffering from his own case of ‘botch-ulism.’” 

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer’s runner-up finish at Texas gave him three consecutive top-10’s after an early season of struggles, and solidified much-needed momentum for the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team. Bowyer nearly wrecked while leading when contact with Brian Vickers sent him spinning, but a miraculous save kept him in the running.

    “My sympathies go out to Carl Edwards,” Bowyer said. “I can certainly relate to the ordeal he experienced on Saturday, because I nearly crapped my pants too. If not for our abilities to avoid catastrophe, we both could have had a mess on our hands.”

    10. Tony Stewart: Stewart’s shot at a Texas victory ended when a late pit road speeding penalty ruined what appeared to be a winning fuel strategy by the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team. Stewart ran out of fuel on the final lap while running third, and finished 12th

    “In times like these,” Stewart said, “I must choose my words wisely. Criticizing NASCAR’s pit road speed monitoring system so soon after being penalized would be a case of bad timing. And explaining the use of sarcasm and puns right now would be a case of good timing. And you know me. If you believe overly embellished Rolling Stone accounts of my life as a playboy and hard partier, then I certainly know everything possible about ‘good time-ing.’”

  • Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Championship Contender?

    Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Championship Contender?

    If you look at the results and where Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits in points, the obvious answer to this question would be yes. Following a second place finish two weeks ago at Martinsville and a ninth place finish at Texas, more fans believe this to be the obvious answer.

    [media-credit id=1 align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Though listening to what Earnhardt has to say about the No. 88 team proves this theory otherwise.

    “I ain’t really proved it to myself yet,” he told SBNation.com after the Martinsville race.

    “I’ll let you know when I feel like I’m back, personally. Anyone that watched that race today knows that we weren’t a second‑place race car or even a third‑place race car all day. We never were up there to prove that point. So there’s no argument: We got some work to do still.

    “We are faster, we are more competitive than last year. But we still got a little ways to go.”

    The No. 88 team put themselves in contention through fuel strategy at Martinsville, though the driver wasn’t able to capitalize on it.

    With 20 to go, he took the lead from Kyle Busch with a bump-and-run, though lost the lead with four to go to the hands of Kevin Harvick, as the handling went away on the No. 88 Chevy.

    “I was just doing the best could I do with the car and trying to make the best out of the situation,” he said. “We had an opportunity to win the race. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the job done and it will probably bother me more and more as the night goes on. I’ll probably think about it a million times what I probably could have done differently.”

    Though beyond these two races, has he proved that he is championship worthy?

    He haven’t qualified the greatest most of the year. He got the pole for the Daytona 500, though his highest qualifying effort since then was 22nd at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “The biggest problem we had was qualifying poorly, trying to overcome that all day,” Earnhardt said in the post-race report following Phoenix where he started 35th.

    “We had a good enough car with them guys and kind of proved it in a couple of instances. But, you have to get by them. You get stuck behind them, and it’s hard to really show how good the car is. Every time we passed somebody, we just left them.”

    “I’ve got to do a better job helping them put a car on the track for qualifying that’s going to get us in the top 15 for qualifying,” he said following Fontana.

    “You’re really not helping yourself starting races in 30th. We have really good race cars and don’t want to be doing that.”

    If he is going to begin to get himself back in contention, qualifying well is definitely going to be a good start.

    Despite the poor qualifying efforts, though, he has managed to finish in the top 12 every week, including two top 10s at Phoenix and Las Vegas.

    At Phoenix, he worked his way through the field after starting 35th, played some fuel strategy to get himself in contention for a top 10 and finished 10th on the money.

    A week later at Las Vegas, he worked his way through the field throughout the day to finish eighth. Part of this steams back to the relationship that Earnhardt is developing with Steve LeTarte.

    “I just kept describing what I was feeling and what I thought I needed and Steve was really hitting right on it every time.” Earnhardt said following Las Vegas.

    “I think that’s what he’s great at and that’s what he’s doing right now,” Earnhardt shared during his Bristol media availability on LeTarte helping him.

    “He gives you the impression that when you get yourself in a hole or the car isn’t quite going like you want it to go or the car isn’t responding like you think it should, you get the impression that you’ll get it fixed. As long as he doesn’t fool me too many times, yeah. He does a great job at, you know, just keeping you in the game. You’re part of the puzzle, and everybody needs to be pulling in the same direction. He’s good at what he does. Ain’t no doubt about it.”

    Another thing that has kept Earnhardt from being a contender is pit road issues. He slid through his stall at Phoenix and was caught speeding on pit road at Bristol.

    If he can qualify better, get the pit road issues sorted out and have a strong car throughout the entire race, then he could easily be part of the championship battle during the final 10 races. Though one thing is certain—this is definitely an improvement from where he was last year.