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  • Jimmie Johnson’s Third Place Finish Was a Championship Like Performance After Early Struggles

    Jimmie Johnson’s Third Place Finish Was a Championship Like Performance After Early Struggles

    No matter how many times it looks like Jimmie Johnson is down and out, the five-time champion rises to the occasion.

    On Sunday Johnson did it again in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 after his No. 48 Kobalt Tools / Lowe’s Chevrolet team were nowhere near the top of the charts during practice and qualifying. Many were quick to write him off and wonder what was wrong.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Except, when the checkered flag flew though Johnson was in the picture with a third place finish.

    “We just struggled from Friday’s first practice session when we unloaded,” he said afterwards.

    “We just been working on understanding the new stuff we have developed during the off-season in trying to get laps and reps.”

    Heading into Sunday, Johnson had won four of the last seven races at the Phoenix International Raceway. But last fall he never led a lap and struggled early on but used fuel mileage strategy to finish in the top five.

    Sunday, Johnson again wasn’t in typical form and while he did led laps, they came during cycles in green flag pit stops. As the race went on though the 48 team kept plugging away and the car got better. Moving from his 28th starting spot to the top 10 before firmly planting himself in the top three.

    “We just needed laps,” Johnson said.

    “The first half of the race we could not really get going, just way too loose and we pitted every caution that there was. And at one point we thought we were going to be out of tires because we came to pit road so many times.”

    Johnson made it through the ‘Big One’ on lap 67 where 13 cars were torn up off turn two after Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth made contact and Vickers spun in front of the field. The race was red flagged and after it restarted Johnson said his team was able to tighten the car up and he started to find consistency that helped him become a contender for the win.

    “We had a good day,” he said.

    “On the short run I think the 18 and the 24 had us beat. Longer we went, the more our car kind of tightened up and I seemed to be a little closer to these guys. But third was really where we ran all day and where we deserved to finish.”

    Johnson’s championship like performance followed teammate Jeff Gordon’s win. The two led the charge for Hendrick Motorsports who finished first (Gordon), third (Johnson), 10th (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and 13th (Mark Martin) after each of them encountered some sort of setback during the event.

    That came after all of them struggled in qualifying and practice. To Johnson it was just further proof how the organization is so close in equipment.

    “You could see that we are all in bed together and we all run the same stuff,” he said.

    “During the off-season, the four crew chiefs worked really close together to find speed. We felt like at the end of last year we did not have the pace that we needed.”

    Johnson came into 2011 as the only Hendrick driver to have won last year. Team owner Rick Hendrick swap three of the four teams in order to find the magic that all needed in order to get back to the results that the organization is used to.

    With the so-called real season starting at Phoenix, Hendrick said he was worried after qualifying when all four teams started 20th or worse. But just like Johnson, every team was able to get better as the race went on.

    “As a group we came here and started today with our tail between our legs,” said Johnson.

    “It’s nice to finish up the day with one in victory lane and one in third. A good day for HMS.”

    Following a wreck in the Daytona 500, his third place finish helps move Johnson up to 13th in the point standings, tied with Carl Edwards for the 12 position and a Chase spot. Next week he’ll head to Las Vegas where he’s the defending winner after outrunning Gordon on a battle of two vs. four tires.

    This time though, Johnson watched as Gordon was the one celebrating and on a track that will be completely different when the Cup Series returns in a few months. As Johnson spoke of his day he watched as bulldozers were already starting to tear up the track for it’s repaving and reconfiguring.

    While Johnson said he wanted to watch he knew he had to stay on track. That’s what his team did on Sunday after what started as a weekend that looked like it could go downhill fast.

  • They’re Back!!!!!!

    They’re Back!!!!!!

    Somehow at the end of the race in Phoenix, I understood how the little girl in Poltergeist felt when she looked at the TV and said, “They’re back!” Because that is exactly how this race felt. The power horses of NASCAR are finally back. After a painfully long and drawn out Speed weeks, we are finally back to racing and just let me say it felt good.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”294″][/media-credit]This week in Phoenix had to be difficult at best for the teams. The two day turn around to get the cars to Phoenix is a well orchestrated ballet to say the least. Everyone from the tandems of truck drivers to the paint and body guys are up against the clock. Two days to get the fastest and most well groomed fleet of race cars to the track is a fete that would exhaust the most dedicated of workers. Add to that, most teams were not taking one pair of cars, they were taking two pairs of cars because the trip back to Vegas is just too far to go home and come back.

    The ballet was only the beginning of two of the hardest weeks in the NASCAR season. Once the cars arrived many teams found that were just a little off. The search for speed and handling began in earnest.

    The power horses of HMS were seemingly the slowest of the field with practice times showing promise and qualifying times showing disappointment.

    They were not alone; many of the dominant teams who got awesome starts in Daytona struggled with either handling or speed. Red Bull and Jack Roush struggled heavily with Vickers and Ambrose and Kenseth and Biffle qualifying mid pack or worse.

    The new qualifying system was a dud. It lacked the crisp pace of the old system. And made for a long day with two qualifying sessions taking up most of Saturday although the new procedure and the moving qualifying to Saturday was great for ticket sales it proved a long and boring TV broadcast.

    That would be rectified when the cars took the track. Although the NNS race was barely watch able Kyle Busch proved himself to be the dominant horse in what turned out to be a one horse race until the last 20 laps. Try as he might Carl Edwards simply didn’t have the power to get around the Interstate Batteries Camry. But he did make it a great end of race battle that even with its drama could not rescue the rest of the race.

    But the big dogs of the Sprint Cup made up for it in spades. The race was all racing and action from the drop of the green flag. The best of the best used up what was left of the old pavement in Phoenix in a big way. With 8 laps to go Jeff Gordon slipped to the inside of Kyle Busch and took the lead for the final time. He stretched it out and never looked back. Breaking his 66 race losing streak, the 4 time Champion proved why and how he got those 4 championships.

    The stories of perseverance were numerous in the field from Kevin Harvick coming to finish 4thafter a lap 59 incident that involved Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin as well as the 29 Jimmy Johns car of Harvick.

    Mark Martin showed his grace under pressure in his Go Daddy Chevrolet that featured messages from his fan base to come back with a right front corner that was more bearer bond than sheet metal to finish 13th.

    The Lowes Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson struggled on pit road and on the race track relying on the skills of the 5 time champion to garner them a 3rd place finishing position.

    The National Guard Chevrolet showed great improvement for another week, coming back from a speeding penalty, a broken wheel on the jack and a loose wheel that put them a lap down, perseverance and steady progression put Earnhardt Jr in a position to regain his lap and ultimately scoring a 10th place finish.

    But the real heroes of this race were the crews of the 99 Subway Ford Fusion of Carl Edwards and the 33 Cheerios Chevrolet Impala of Clint Bowyer. With the front ends of those cars totally destroyed, they put them back together with new nose pieces and put their drivers back on the track to get those ever valuable points.

    This race had its feel good story of the race as well, with Jeff Gordon snapping a long losing streak that had his confidence suffering at a low point. Gordon showed that the new match up with crew chief Alan Gustafson was indeed a match made in heaven. Both crew chief and driver showed the poise that made the 24 and its driver 4 time series champions.

    The raw emotion in victory lane from the driver to the fans, his team and his car owner were palpable even from the couch thousands of miles away. You had to share his excitement and his relief. You had to respect the ability he had shown. And you had to cheer the humility of a man who could have easily said finally I knew it wasn’t me. Instead he was gracious and professional and showed the class that is essential for a champion of the sport.

    This race is the closest we have had in a long time to the exciting sport of NASCAR that we grew up with. It was hard driving and refusing to lose attitudes against a track surface that in the words of Phoenix International Raceway president, Bryan R. Sperber was “used up”. Sperber stated that “Our goal for this project was to not radically change a track that’s celebrated by fans and drivers alike, but to utilize new technology to ensure great moments in the next chapter of racing history at PIR.” To orchestrate his point and commitment to racing the project began with the removal of asphalt before the Victory Lane celebration even ended.

    The static has cleared on the television set and the cheers have died down. But the realization of the fact that they are indeed back will stay with us for a long long time.

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

    Congratulations to Kyle Busch and his Kyle Busch Motorsports team on their win of the truck series race, and to he and his Joe Gibbs Racing Team for a dominating win in the Nationwide Series Race. Congratulations to Jeff Gordon, Alan Gustafson and everyone at HMS for the victory in the Sprint Cup Series.

    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.

  • Last Week Must Have Been a Dream

    Last Week Must Have Been a Dream

    Last week must have been a dream. I mean the euphoria of a new young star winning the biggest race of the season with a team that has few resources but a long history couldn’t possibly have happened. What we saw this week was the same old predictable story. Hendrick, Gibbs, and Childress cars usually go to the front and the rest end up at mid-pack. Today was no exception.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Part of the feel-good times of the last week had to do with what was a good story. A talented young man with a fresh face was the darling of the media. His story was with enough talent and enough determination, you can win races. Unfortunately, that’s not really true. You must have lots of money in addition to the other two. Today’s results, which will probably be repeated over and over this year, are proof positive that performance at restrictor plate tracks are no indication of what is going to happen in the other 32 races of the Sprint Cup series. At Daytona and Talladega, anyone can win. In the other races, not so much, and that’s a shame.

    In today’s race, Jeff Gordon started 20th and his teammate Jimmie Johnson started 28th, but I knew that didn’t make any difference. More often than not both are in the top five and fighting for the win at the end. It didn’t hurt anything that some of their major competition was wiped out in what seemed to be senseless hard racing in the early stages of the race, but even if Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, and Jeff Burton had survived, the results may have been the same.

    Regardless, Jeff Gordon broke a 66-race losing streak and found it exhilarating. Watching Mr. Gordon celebrate is like watching a child celebrating a new bicycle. He really gets into it. Congratulations are in order, and in many ways, he was a new winner since it had been nearly two seasons since he had won. It doesn’t change the casual fan’s attitude toward our sport, however.

    It has long been my opinion that fans are bored with the same faces winning every week. Of course, these are not the fans of those who seem to dominate, but general fans. These general fans, who were so excited about the 2011 season one week ago, probably didn’t stick around for the end of the race. It was “business as usual” today. The top five consisted of three Hendrick Motorsports cars (remember, HMS fingerprints are all over Tony Stewart’s two car team), a Richard Childress Racing car, and a Joe Gibbs Racing car. The same old faces. You know the ones that have won the last five championships, six out of the last 10, and 10 of the last 16. That my friend is domination. Prior to that Richard Petty won a couple in a row and Dale Earnhardt did it a couple of times, but never to this extent. Rick Hendrick is such a fixture in victory lane that on youngster in the neighborhood, who is a star student in his 5th grade class, asked me, “Does he own NASCAR or something?” I bit my tongue.

    Of course, it’s not Mr. Hendrick’s fault that others can’t keep up. He has the resources and will to do what he does. And I believe he will continue to be successful for many years to come. I just wonder how the fans will react after the wild celebration of last week. When Jamie McMurray won, there was a subtle bump, but things got back to normal quickly. Maybe the Trevor-mania will continue and boost attendance and ratings for a long time, but I fear by mid-summer we’ll see the same problems in television ratings and track attendance. Yep, last week must have been a dream.

  • Gordon finally ends winless streak at Phoenix

    Gordon finally ends winless streak at Phoenix

    Jeff Gordon dominated Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway leading 138 of the 312 laps run.  This was Gordon’s first Sprint Cup Series win since April 5, 2009 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “Are you kidding me? Pinch me man, pinch me.” Gordon said.

     

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”282″][/media-credit]Gordon passed Kyle Busch with eight laps remaining and stretched his lead from there, ending his winless streak at 66 races.

     

    “I drove in deep into (Turn) 1 and got to him and I could tell he was having to really get after it right then; and then I got underneath him and got off of (Turn) 4 and I knew coming down the front straightaway that he was going to kind of pinch me down into (Turn) 1 and he did and I got a little loose. Then I just drifted up the track and I didn’t know what was going to happen at that moment but when they said we were ‘clear’ then I just went.” Gordon said of the pass for the lead.

    “I don’t really care how we do it, we just want to get to victory lane. But to do it that way and to see the fans reaction. I mean we beat Kyle Busch. We were the only one’s to beat Kyle Busch this weekend and he’s so tough to beat. What a race car. Just so thankful.” Gordon said.

    Gordon also ties Cale Yarborough with 83 wins, fifth on the all-time list.

    “Oh, my gosh. I’m such a huge fan of Cale’s. And one of the first conversations I ever had with anybody when they came to the Cup series was Cale Yarborough. He wanted me to drive his car and I actually tested his car. A lot of people don’t realize way, way, way back. He’s just an amazing race car driver. I’ll be honest. I didn’t know if we were ever going to get past 82 (wins).” Gordon said.

    Busch finished second, Jimmie Johnson third, Kevin Harvick fourth and Ryan Newman finished fifth.

    “I think he was on a mission today, that’s for sure and when Jeff Gordon has a good car and he has the opportunity to beat you, he’s going to beat you so.  There’s no doubt about that.  He’s my hero and I’ve always watched him and what he’s been able to accomplish over the years.  It’s no surprise that he beat us.” Busch said.

    On lap 50, the Daytona 500 champ Trevor Bayne gets into the wall. Bayne’s no. 21 car suffers a lot of damage to the rear and headed to the garage.  Bayne finished 40th.

    “I don’t know what happened.  We were battling with the 13 car a little bit and I don’t know if it was the 38 car behind us or who, but something happened.  Either I came up or he poked his nose in there at the last second on the top of us getting into one.  After that, there was nothing we could do.  I tried to stay in the gas and keep it turning, but it just backed into the wall.” Bayne said.

    On lap 59, Carl Edwards gets into the wall after contact with the No. 18 and also collects Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon.

    “I’m not exactly sure what happened.  I’ll have to talk to Kyle about it.  I thought at first he was just frustrated and he turned left to get back in line and he didn’t know I was there, but I watched the tape and I think he really did get loose.  He hit me hard and I was left with nothing.  I got rammed to the infield.” Edwards said.

    On lap 67, a huge wreck broke out on the backstretch, bringing out the red flag.  Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton where some of the drivers involved in the 13-car accident.

    “17 just wrecked us.  Door-slammed us coming out of the corner of Turn 2, 67 laps into a very, very long race. Felt like it was unnecessary and sure it will come back to haunt him.” Vickers said.

    “Just stupid.  Driving like it’s the last lap, it looked to me like. Man, we keep this up we’re going to have about four cars at the end of all these races.” Bowyer said.

    “I didn’t know there was an incident.  I was surprised when I got out of the car and everybody said he was mad at me.  I’m not sure for what.  Maybe I’ll watch the replay and see something different, but from where I was he kind of held me close to the middle of the corner on the restart, which you should, and I came off the corner and I never even felt us touch.” Kenseth said.

    The series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Kobalt Tools 400 on March 6th.

    Unofficial Race Results

    Subway Fresh Fit 500, Phoenix In’tl Raceway

    February 27, 2011 – Race 2 of 36

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 20 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 48 2 312 Running
    2 4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 43 1 312 Running
    3 28 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 42 1 312 Running
    4 17 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 41 1 312 Running
    5 14 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 40 1 312 Running
    6 3 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 38 0 312 Running
    7 18 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 38 1 312 Running
    8 2 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 37 1 312 Running
    9 15 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 35 0 312 Running
    10 35 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 34 0 312 Running
    11 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 34 1 312 Running
    12 24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 33 1 312 Running
    13 23 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 31 0 312 Running
    14 7 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 30 0 312 Running
    15 9 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 29 0 312 Running
    16 30 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 28 0 312 Running
    17 13 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 27 0 312 Running
    18 27 13 Casey Mears Toyota 26 0 312 Running
    19 22 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 25 0 312 Running
    20 10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 24 0 312 Running
    21 21 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 23 0 310 Running
    22 29 34 David Gilliland Ford 22 0 310 Running
    23 39 9 Bill Elliott Chevrolet 21 0 309 Running
    24 36 32 Mike Skinner Ford 0 0 308 Running
    25 42 37 Tony Raines Ford 19 0 306 Running
    26 25 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 18 0 276 Running
    27 16 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 17 0 260 Running
    28 1 99 Carl Edwards Ford 17 1 252 Running
    29 26 0 David Reutimann Toyota 15 0 246 Running
    30 19 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 14 0 238 Running
    31 41 71 Andy Lally * Chevrolet 14 1 237 Running
    32 31 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 12 0 236 Running
    33 6 20 Joey Logano Toyota 11 0 213 In Pit
    34 5 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 10 0 213 Running
    35 8 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 9 0 126 In Pit
    36 11 6 David Ragan Ford 8 0 125 In Pit
    37 38 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 7 0 72 Out
    38 37 60 Landon Cassill Toyota 0 0 68 In Pit
    39 40 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0 0 66 Running
    40 33 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0 0 49 Running
    41 34 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 4 1 43 In Pit
    42 43 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 2 0 27 Out
    43 32 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0 0 22 Out
  • Kevin Harvick Says KHI Team Has Work to do Even After Third Place Finish

    Kevin Harvick Says KHI Team Has Work to do Even After Third Place Finish

    Kevin Harvick may have finished third in Saturday’s Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 but he wasn’t thinking that way.

    “We needed a do-over,” said Harvick, “we got our butt whipped today. We were at best the third best car.”

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Harvick credited his team on pit road for keeping him in contention. That in itself is quite the change from Harvick being frustrated every week with their performance. This time he chalked it up to the driver being a hindrance.

    Harvick admitted that in practice he didn’t get the car set up where it needed to be. Saying he didn’t know and was nervous with where the balance needed to be and that the swing wasn’t what he expected.

    The mistakes he said hurt their effort in the beginning of the run.

    “I got the car so that I couldn’t drive it in the corner,” Harvick said. “I couldn’t make any time like those guys were doing to get a good run through the center and up off and pointed in the right direction.”

    On one hand it’s easy to see where Harvick’s coming from. Not just himself but all of the competition got spanked on Saturday when Kyle Busch led every lap and won the race. He now goes two-for-two on the weekend and will look for the second ever triple in NASCAR history on Sunday afternoon.

    On the other hand, finishing third and coming off a victory with Tony Stewart in the Nationwide Series race last weekend in Daytona, as well as second place with Clint Bowyer, keeps KHI in their rhythm. They’ve picked up where they left off from last season.

    Phoenix was no different. On Friday night Bowyer drove a KHI truck to the pole and a second place finish behind Busch.

    But with the Saturday domination by Joe Gibbs Racing, it led the owner in Harvick to say they had work to do. It wasn’t a bad day by any means he said but they have a plan going forward.

    Any team would be lucky to have a third place finish, even if they felt like they were out to lunch most of the race. A company however, that’s accustomed to leading laps and challenging for wins is not willing to settle for being more then nine second behind the leader and never having a chance at second place or the win.

    Harvick found himself in that position Saturday driving his No. 33 Menards Chevrolet.

    “My fault,” said Harvick. “Hopefully we learned something today, we’ve got a little bit of work to do and we’ll go home and do that.”

    There isn’t too much concern for Harvick however. When the Nationwide COT was introduced last season he won with it at Richmond. In NASCAR though, things are always changing and everyone is always learning.

    Harvick knows his KHI team is quite capable of running how Busch ran on Saturday.

    “I feel like we have enough resources to do the job we need to do to put the cars together,” he said. “We build good racecars we just didn’t put all the pieces together correctly today as far as the set goes and didn’t really give ourselves a fair chance.”

    Harvick then revealed that during the race he had a chance to check out the competition and how a repeat of what Busch accomplished on Saturday and only having 12 cars on the lead lap can be avoided in the future.

    “Driving around as we were lapping some of the cars, it’s not funny, but you could just see that it’s different the way that the cars work,” he said.

    “Some of the cars looked like they had sway bars and things not on them, they were really rolled over and I think that’s just a product of trying to figure out exactly what you need to put underneath the new car,” he continued.

    “It’s just going to take some time for the information to trickle to those guys. The camber and things are obviously different with the way these cars ride and the difference in travel and things and it’s just going to take time.”

    That’s the competition, which has a lot of work to do. Harvick though, will bring his KHI team back to the shop on Monday and tweak on their mistakes so that in the future they’ll feel comfortable with a third place finish and know they did all they could.

  • Dale Earnhardt Drive unveiled; Repaving PIR, what will we come back to?

    Dale Earnhardt Drive unveiled; Repaving PIR, what will we come back to?

    Due to Phoenix International Raceway’s (PIR) racing surface being “used up its life expectancy”, following Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 the track will undergo a complete makeover.

    [media-credit name=”Mike Finnegan” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]
    Martin Flugger, Kurt Busch and Bryan Sperber (PIR track President)
    The track will have a slight decrease in variable banking in both corners and a longer backstretch. The plan calls for 10-11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2, 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4.

    Marty Flugger, the same engineer charged with the repaving of Daytona International Speedway, determined that changing the banking should also maintain the side-by-side racing that has made PIR so exciting at times.

    PIR will also widen the front stretch from 52 to 62 feet, reconfigure pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls, push the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet and tighten the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet.

    The repaving project should be complete by September. Goodyear plans to hold a tire test prior to the November race.

    “It’s going to change the whole outlook when we come back here for a Chase race with two to go in the fall. It’s going to be a roll of the dice and I think it’s smart on NASCAR’s part to shake up the Chase a little bit with a new race track.” Kurt Busch said.

    Dale Earnhardt Drive

    The City of Avondale named a street in the new Avondale City Center Dale Earnhardt Drive. It’s the first of its kind in a Phoenix metropolitan area.

    [media-credit name=”Mike Finnegan” align=”alignleft” width=”255″][/media-credit]
    Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Avondale, AZ. mayor Marie Lopez Rogers and Track Pres Bryan Sperber
    On Sunday, Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers and Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber presented a replica of the street sign to Earnhardt Jr. in honor of his family’s racing achievements and contributions to the sport of NASCAR.

    The north entrance to the new Avondale City Center will bear the name Dale Earnhardt Drive.

    “This is a special honor for my family, and we want to thank the city of Avondale, Mayor Rogers, and the entire Avondale community for recognizing my dad this way.” Earnhardt Jr. said.

    “The city of Avondale is proud to be home to Phoenix International Raceway, which hosts two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races every year. Dale Earnhardt’s legacy was very much felt in Avondale as it was throughout the country. We’ve also had the pleasure of watching Dale Jr. carry that legacy forward at PIR. Avondale wishes to pay tribute to the Earnhardt family achievements, as well as recognize the huge economic significance of NASCAR and PIR to the metro-Phoenix region.” said Mayor Rogers.

  • Denny Hamlin Could Find Redemption at Phoenix With Better Fuel Strategy

    Denny Hamlin Could Find Redemption at Phoenix With Better Fuel Strategy

    The last time Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin visited Phoenix International Raceway, he was only two races away from accomplishing what no other driver had been able to achieve since NASCAR brought into play the Car of Tomorrow for full time use in 2008. Hamlin came so close to winning his first championship, and putting an end to Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson’s four year championship reign.

    [media-credit name=”Patrick McBride” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Instead after leaving Phoenix, gone was the look of confidence the NASCAR Sprint Cup point’s leader displayed after his win in the AAA Texas 500 on Nov. 7. It was replaced with a look of repugnance, after watching his dominating performance take a backseat to Johnson’s late-race fuel strategy payoff. Hamlin, who led a race high 190 laps while Johnson failed to lead a lap and collect the extra five bonus points, quickly found himself having to protect a small lead against the four-time champion heading into the final race at Homestead.

    The day began to unfold for Hamlin on lap 233, when Robby Gordon spun which brought out the caution and the leaders headed to pit road. Kyle Busch beat Hamlin off pit road to grab the lead with 87 laps left in the race, and Johnson passed Kevin Harvick in the pits to take over fourth place. Mike Ford told Hamlin over the radio they’re about 12-13 laps short on fuel, and that’s when Johnsons crew chief Chad Knaus, began scheming with his driver to save fuel in hopes of cutting into Hamlin’s point lead. Knaus was listening to the radio chatter when he overheard Ford telling Hamlin he was not going to make it to the end.

    Knaus’s gamble paid off when Johnson started conserving fuel with 15 laps left, and the team was able to finish the race in fifth, seven positions ahead of Hamlin. More importantly Johnson was able to shave an additional 43 points with the gamble and put himself within 15 points instead of 58, had Hamlin also gambled and finished the race in second without running out of fuel.

    On lap 288 Hamlin told his crew chief, “Don’t let them short-pit us, Mike,” and two laps later Hamlin also begins saving fuel knowing that Ford had already told him earlier they would be 12-13 laps short. Finally with 14 laps left in the race, Ford called Hamlin in for two tires and fuel which took him 7.6 seconds and put him a lap back. It wasn’t until lap 301 when Hamlin would pass Edwards and get his lap back, and with five laps left he was still outside the top-10 in 15th place, while Johnson was in serious conservation mode running in sixth.

    By the time the checkered was thrown, Hamlin crossed the line in 12th; Johnson picked up a spot and finished fifth with Harvick right behind in sixth. Johnson as we know went on to win his fifth championship, while Hamlin would spend the off-season wondering how he could let the championship slip away so easily. Hamlin talked about what his off-season was like when he said that, “I think just getting in the offseason — getting away from racing for a little while definitely helps a lot.” Hamlin also added that, “When you look back at it and I look back at it; it was a heck of a career year for myself.  That’s something that can’t be overlooked because it’s the best I’ve ever performed throughout my career — my young career.”

    The loss not only affected his fans, but it also affected the mindset of Hamlin in a positive way when he spoke about the upcoming season by saying, “Obviously, my passion for one thing.  You look at the video of me after the race and you wouldn’t think we’d still be leading the points, but it was just the passion because I knew that I let a big opportunity slip away from us in the sense of we could’ve gone to Homestead and just kind of rode around and collected a championship.”

    “For me, it was just my passion.  It’s always been in me — the competitiveness has always been in me and it will never change.” Hamlin also added that, “I’ve only been around this team, me and this team, for five year.  We’ve accomplished a lot of things that a lot of guys never will.  So, for me, I just look forward and try and figure out how we can progress and get to number one.”

    Hamlin will begin Sunday’s race from the 12th spot in the field, and once again will have to work his way to the front. Fuel along with tires will once again be an issue, unlike the race at Daytona last Sunday when the teams were able to come in for fuel only on many of the pit stops. If Ford and Hamlin play their strategy right, redemption could come in a very big way, even though the ghosts of what could have been might be lurking around.

  • Busch dominates the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix

    Busch dominates the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix

    Kyle Busch dominated from the pole to the finish in Saturday’s Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Busch lead all of the 200 laps run.

    It wasn’t all easy though. Busch was battling a loose car in the closing laps and had to hold off Carl Edwards to capture his 44th Nationwide Series victory and became the first driver to win wire-to-wire in nearly eight years. It was last done by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a Nationwide Series race at Daytona in 2003.

    “It came down to the end of the race and Carl was alongside of me and we were racing really hard trying to beat each other, and I was like, ‘Man, just beat him back to the start-finish line, man, just beat back to the start-finish line.”’ Busch said.

    “We made a run. I did everything but move him out of the way and I thought about that, but he did a great job. Those guys did well. He drove that car. It was loose and he did a good job of hanging onto it.” Edwards said.

    Busch also won the truck series race on Friday night and it looking for the Phoenix sweep on Sunday.

    Kevin Harvick finished third, Ryan Newman fourth and Reed Sorenson finished fifth.

    Unofficial Race Results

    Bashas’ Supermarkets 200

    February 26, 2011 | Race 2 of 34

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 0 200 Running
    2 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0 0 200 Running
    3 9 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0 0 200 Running
    4 6 30 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 0 0 200 Running
    5 10 32 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 39 0 200 Running
    6 3 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0 0 200 Running
    7 15 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 37 0 200 Running
    8 16 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 36 0 200 Running
    9 5 11 Brian Scott Toyota 35 0 200 Running
    10 18 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 34 0 200 Running
    11 13 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 33 0 200 Running
    12 11 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 32 0 200 Running
    13 25 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 31 0 199 Running
    14 14 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota 30 0 199 Running
    15 12 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 29 0 198 Running
    16 26 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 28 0 198 Running
    17 20 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 27 0 197 Running
    18 24 39 Josh Wise Ford 26 0 197 Running
    19 17 62 Michael Annett Toyota 25 0 197 Running
    20 19 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 24 0 197 Running
    21 23 44 Charles Lewandoski * Chevrolet 23 0 196 Running
    22 22 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 22 0 196 Running
    23 35 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 21 0 195 Running
    24 31 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge 20 0 194 Running
    25 27 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 19 0 193 Running
    26 21 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 18 0 193 Running
    27 32 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 17 0 193 Running
    28 29 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 16 0 191 Running
    29 30 15 Timmy Hill* Ford 15 0 191 Running
    30 8 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 14 0 190 Running
    31 7 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 13 0 164 Accident
    32 40 79 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 12 0 162 Running
    33 28 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 11 0 108 Handling
    34 4 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0 0 105 Accident
    35 34 52 Daryl Harr Chevrolet 9 0 101 Radiator
    36 38 141 Carl Long Ford 8 0 19 Brakes
    37 37 24 Kevin Lepage Ford 7 0 17 Overheat
    38 33 25 Kelly Bires Ford 6 0 10 Brakes
    39 39 55 Brett Rowe Chevrolet 5 0 8 Handling
    40 36 27 Justin Marks Ford 0 0 7 Brakes
  • Bobby Labonte Off to a Fast Start in What’s Expected to Be a Year of Resurgence

    Bobby Labonte Off to a Fast Start in What’s Expected to Be a Year of Resurgence

    No matter who of the four drivers that came roaring off turn four toward the finish line would have won the Daytona 500, the story would have been big.

    [media-credit name=”Joe Dunn” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]None of them had ever won the Great American Race before. They weren’t alone, 16 of the top 17 finishers in last weekend’s Daytona 500 had never won it before. And five of those 17 drivers have never a Sprint Cup race in their career.

    Fourth place finisher Bobby Labonte wasn’t one of them. He’s won races before and he’s won big races. Last weekend though he was racing in his 19th Daytona 500 and could see and smell his first victory in the Daytona 500.

    Labonte was pushing eventual winner Trevor Bayne when Carl Edwards and David Gilliland came roaring past and took away his chance at a slingshot.

    “It was a little bit of disappointment that we didn’t win because we were this close,” said Labonte Friday in Phoenix.

    “But, as the sun was starting to set I said, ‘Alright, it’s not going to change.’”

    Labonte can take comfort in the fact that it was his first top five finish in nearly two years. He hasn’t won a race since the season finale at Homestead in 2003. It will just be another year before he can add the Daytona 500 to his already impressive resume.

    A resume which includes the Brickyard 400 and a championship. The finish though was a nice way to start off a new season where Labonte finds himself in a new home.

    After leaving Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005, he’s floated around to many different teams. He signed on with JTG-Daugherty Racing after Marcos Ambrose walked out the door for Richard Petty Motorsports.

    Labonte will find stability and competitiveness in his new ride as the team looks for him to help them find the winner’s circle.

    “For our race team it was really exciting,” Labonte said about Daytona.

    “Tad and Jodi (Geschickter, co-owners) and Brad (Daugherty). It was a great thing for the organization and great finish for the team. No doubt that it was a great way to start our year off with them. One race out of 36 is a small amount, but still at the same time it was definitely, I think it was one of the best finishes to date — they were second at the Glen behind Juan (Pablo Montoya).  To come back on an oval track and go through the [Budweiser] Shootout, the twin race and then the 500 — to come home with a top-five I know was a good day for them.”

    A top five finish will always be a good day just not a great one when it occurs in the biggest race of the year.

    “A little disappointment obviously at the end, no doubt about it,” he said.

    “You get that close you better have a little bit of disappointment for a little bit at least, but then you’ve got to get over it.  We got over it and now we’re like, that was a great weekend for all of our associates.”

    The real racing and season begins this weekend in Phoenix where Labonte enters third in points, tied for second, just one point behind leader Edwards. While he’s never won at Phoenix, he does have nine top 10s in 24 starts. With the newfound confidence that the team and Labonte has, that could change this weekend.

    Besides confidence, Labonte feels there a great relationship between himself and JTG-Daugherty will develop moving foward. After they tested in the offseason and headed to Daytona, he said nearly everyone on the team had a spring in their step. It continued during Speedweeks.

    It makes the 2011 season one with many goals.

    “Well, if it rained for the next 26 weeks we would be in the top-12 in points,” he said.

    “I think there will be other problems if it does rain for 26 weeks in a row.  We set out some goals that were we’ve got to finish top-10 in points, we’ve got to win a race, we’ve got to win a pole — we’ve got to do this and that.  Our goal is obviously to have less DNFs than they (JTG-Daugherty) had last year as a team.  Perform a little bit better on the racetrack as a team and get better as the race goes on.”

    The next few weeks, said Labonte, will show the No. 47 team their strengths and weaknesses.

    “We might gel right away, we might find there’s things that make me feel good — who knows.  But, I think realistically we’d love to be in the top-12 in points after race 26.”

    A great resource for the team is that while it’s a single car operation, JGT-Daugherty does have teammates in Michael Waltrip Racing. Labonte says they have meetings with MWR and their drivers. Both companies also have similar equipment.

    Those variables are what help Labonte talk about what he believes the team will accomplish this season.

    Said Labonte, “The object is to just go out there and do the best we can with the group that we have and have those great moments and have races that will have us in the top-12 at the end of 26 races.”

  • The Kyle Busch Show: Kyle Busch Wins The Lucas Oil 150

    The Kyle Busch Show: Kyle Busch Wins The Lucas Oil 150

    The past three years at Phoenix International Raceway, Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) has won with Kyle Busch second. Going into this year, Busch said no more as he brought a brand new truck, set to take down KHI.

    “Big thanks to the guys in the chassis shop,” crew chief Eric Phillips said afterwards. “They put their heads together on building a brand new truck – its not like anything in the shop.”

    On lap 43, Busch came down pit road second to KHI driver Clint Bowyer, though with a quick stop from his pit crew, Busch gained the lead and never looked back as he led the final 50 laps on his way to victory. The win gave Busch his 25th Camping World Truck Series victory and 50th top five in 87 starts.

    “It’s pretty amazing and its been that way for a long time,” Busch said in victory lane. “I’ve had a lot of awesome people stand behind me all the way. Man, I was scared there near the end thinking Clint was going to walk the dog there but Eric’s made some awesome changes on these trucks.”

    The Kyle Busch-KHI one-two finish show kept going as it was Bowyer who finished second.

    “I knew once he beat us out of the pits,” Bowyer said. “You know, in clean air, once you drive off and leave them you’re a tenth better than the field. Its like when we won in the Fall. I knew in practice that he’d be the one to beat.”

    In the last 50 laps, Bowyer had multiple chances to get Busch on the restart, but he could never get that run.

    “One time I’d spin the tires; the next time I’d hit the REV limiter,” Bowyer said. “These things hit the REV limiter quicker than the Cup cars do.”

    His teammate Ron Hornaday finished third while Johnny Sauter and Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Rookie Cole Whitt finished sixth for his first truck series top 10, followed by Matt Crafton, Justin Johnson, Joey Coulter and Jason White.

    The first 43 laps went green, though the final 100 laps saw eight cautions as multiple trucks found themselves in trouble.

    With his seventh place finish, Matt Crafton takes over the points lead by one point over Clay Rogers. Clay Rogers, who was the points leader coming into the weekend, finished 16th.

    Unofficial Race results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 0 150 Running
    2 1 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0 0 150 Running
    3 4 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 41 0 150 Running
    4 8 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 40 0 150 Running
    5 2 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 39 0 150 Running
    6 9 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 38 0 150 Running
    7 6 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 37 0 150 Running
    8 14 51 Justin Johnson* Toyota 36 0 150 Running
    9 10 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 35 0 150 Running
    10 17 23 Jason White Chevrolet 34 0 150 Running
    11 21 32 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 33 0 150 Running
    12 11 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 32 0 150 Running
    13 22 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 31 0 150 Running
    14 7 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 30 0 150 Running
    15 18 9 Max Papis Toyota 29 0 150 Running
    16 13 92 Clay Rogers Chevrolet 28 0 150 Running
    17 12 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 27 0 149 Running
    18 27 66 Justin Marks Chevrolet 26 0 148 Running
    19 29 1 Jeffrey Earnhardt * Chevrolet 25 0 148 Running
    20 25 20 Johanna Long * Toyota 24 0 148 Running
    21 23 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 23 0 148 Running
    22 30 93 Shane Sieg Chevrolet 22 0 148 Running
    23 31 46 Craig Goess * Toyota 21 0 148 Running
    24 36 45 Mike Skinner Toyota 20 0 148 Running
    25 28 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 19 0 147 Running
    26 19 15 Dusty Davis* Toyota 18 0 145 Running
    27 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 17 0 145 Running
    28 16 244 Greg Pursley Chevrolet 16 0 144 Running
    29 5 119 David Mayhew Chevrolet 15 0 143 F. Pump
    30 24 77 Justin Lofton Toyota 14 0 139 Running
    31 26 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 13 0 132 Accident
    32 20 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 12 0 132 Accident
    33 34 10 Chase Mattioli * Ford 11 0 128 Running
    34 15 81 David Starr Toyota 10 0 112 Accident
    35 32 7 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 9 0 104 Accident
    36 33 5 Travis Kvapil Toyota 8 0 99 Accident