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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

    It was back to the left and right turns for the 25th running of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at Watkins Glen in upstate New York.  The Cup Series took 90 laps around the 2.45 mile road and here is what is surprising and not surprising from the race at the Glen this past weekend.

    Surprising:  After two consecutive failures to win due to four tire pit strategy decisions, crew chief Brian Pattie finally made the right call and took Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Target Chevrolet to victory lane.  This was Montoya’s second career win in the Sprint Cup Series and Pattie’s first ever win as a crew chief and undoubtedly has gone a long way to easing the tensions on that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team.

    Not Surprising:  After calling Hendrick Motorsports rivals Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon ‘pretty boys’, both of whom have also annoyed him on the track as well, Kurt Busch flexed his road course muscle at Watkins Glen with a second place run.  With his runner up finish, Busch was also the biggest winner in the point standings, advancing three positions to fourth place.

    Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose, who scored his third Nationwide win at the Glen on Saturday, was in contention yet again for another victory on a road course on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the racing gods and an ill-handling car resulted in another disappointment for the Australian, who finished the race in the third position.  Ambrose noted it was just another down in the up and down roller coaster ride of his season, from his surprising gaffe at Sonoma to his announcement of his departure from JTG-Daugherty Racing at the end of this season. 

    Not Surprising:  Carl Edwards, who started the race from the pole position, had a solid run at the Glen.  He brought his No. 99 Aflac Ford home in the fifth spot, advancing up to the ninth position in the Chase race.

    Surprising:  Hendrick ‘pretty boy’ Jimmie Johnson was nowhere to be found on the leader board at the Glen.  Johnson had a Tiger Woods type day, colliding with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch after a three-wide attempt through the turn, ending his day in 28th and falling to the fifth position in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:   Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr., never one known for his road racing abilities, lived up to that reputation with a disappointing 26th place finish.  Junior lost two more spots in the point standings falling to 16th, 690 points behind and undoubtedly out of contention for the Chase.

    Surprising:  After signing a multi-year contract with Richard Petty Motorsports, AJ Allmendinger became not only the alpha dog at RPM but also a top five finisher at the Glen.  The ‘Dinger brought home the No. 43 Insignia HDTV Ford in the fourth spot, after qualifying it in that very same position.

    Not Surprising:  Jamie McMurray, who started the race on the outside pole, has continued to prove his prowess on road courses as well as ovals.  He brought his No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the sixth position, notching another top ten finish for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team.

    Surprising:   Tony Stewart, with one of the best records overall at Watkins Glen International, was not really a contender for the win during Sunday’s Cup competition.  Stewart had a top ten, coming in seventh, with his teammate Ryan Newman following behind in 12th.

    Not Surprising:  Jeff Gordon, proud second-time papa to son Leo Benjamin born after the conclusion of the race at the Glen, was strong all race long.  He was able to pass point’s leader Kevin Harvick, who was struggling with a tire issue at the end, to secure a top-ten finish, taking the checkered flag in tenth position.

    Surprising:  The final foursome of the Hendrick Motorsports team Mark Martin had a top twenty run at the Glen, finishing in the 19th position in the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.  But even more important, with that finish Martin has now climbed to the coveted final position in the Chase race, up one spot to 12th in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  While no one seems to be paying much attention, veteran Jeff Burton had a top-10 finish on the road course.  With his ninth place race finish, Burton climbed two positions closer to the top and now rests third, right behind the other Jeff in the Chase race.

    Surprising:  The so-called ‘road course ringers’ had a heluva bad time at the Glen.  Boris Said, who was finally in good equipment with the Red Bull team, tussled with Tony Stewart and finished a disappointing 38th.  Fellow road course aces Ron Fellows and PJ Jones fared no better, finishing in 40th and 41st respectively.

    Not Surprising:  Kyle Busch pulled out another good finish after an eventful race.  Yet even after an eighth place finish, Busch dropped one position in the Chase standings to the seventh spot.

    The Cup Series will now head to the Irish hills of Michigan for the CARFAX 400.  The race will be broadcast at 1:00 PM ET on ESPN from Michigan International Speedway.

  • NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Herb Thomas

    NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Herb Thomas

    Even the most casual NASCAR fan has heard of Richard Petty, Bobby Allison or Dale Earnhardt.  If you really want to know the heart of stock car racing, you sometimes need to dig below the surface. If you take the time to do that, you’re often rewarded with a hidden gem.

    On my excursion this month, I found a treasure in the guise of Herb Thomas.

    Thomas doesn’t fit the stereotypical profile of most drivers in the 1950’s. He didn’t come from a racing family and he didn’t hone his driving skills running moonshine. You won’t hear tales about a flashy lifestyle of drinking and carousing.

    While others grabbed headlines, Thomas was busy winning races.

    “It’s win or bust with me,” Thomas said. “Second place is never good enough.”

    Herb Thomas was a pioneer of stock car racing in every sense of the word.  

    He was there when it all began at the first NASCAR sanctioned race at Charlotte Speedway in 1949. Thomas was the first two time Cup Series champion, the first owner/driver to win a championship and the first three-time winner of the historic Darlington Southern 500.

    Although he only drove seven full seasons, he was one of the most successful drivers of his era.  But that’s only part of the story. Over fifty years later, Thomas still holds the record as the driver with the highest winning percentage in the history of the sport.

    Herbert Watson Thomas was born in the small town of Olivia, North Carolina in 1923. He worked as a farmer and later at a saw mill before he ventured into the world of racing.

    At first, racing was just a hobby for Thomas but it didn’t take long before he began to see the possibilities. When Bill France began organizing races under the newly formed NASCAR banner, Thomas was ready for the challenge.

    He also became friends with Bill France who would often stop by to visit Thomas and his wife, Helen, when he was out that way posting flyers for the next race. It seems France couldn’t pass up a chance for one of Helen’s home cooked meals.

    Thomas raced as an owner/driver, pouring most of his winnings back into the car.  In his first full season of competition in 1950, Thomas claimed his first victory at Martinsville Speedway.

    His career took off in 1951 when he began driving what would come to be known as the “Fabulous Hudson Hornet.” Thomas also joined up with the legendary Smokey Yunick and began a partnership that would prove to be almost unbeatable.

    This was also the year that Thomas would win his first Southern 500 at Darlington. After seven total victories that season, he went on to capture his first championship, beating out rival Fonty Flock by a narrow margin.

    Thomas was back with a vengeance the following year with an impressive eight wins but lost the championship to Tim Flock and had to settle for second place.

    During the 1953 season, Thomas scored a series record of twelve race wins. His domination gained him another title and he became the first two-time champion.

    The next year Thomas was once again fighting for the championship. He won another twelve races including a second Southern 500 win, making him the first two-time winner of the race. In the end, he lost the championship to Lee Petty who proved that sometimes consistency can be the key to victory. Thomas had to settle for second place again.

    The 1955 season proved to be a pivotal point in Thomas’s career. While competing at a race in Charlotte, he was involved in a crash that would leave him sidelined for three months. Thomas vowed to not only return but to win races.

    “Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be racing again by the time the Darlington 500 comes up in September. And I’ll win it again, too,” Thomas predicted.

    When it was time for the Southern 500, Smokey Yunick devised a unique strategy.

    The Flock brothers were touted as the ones to beat in their Chrysler 300’s. Thomas was running a smaller Chevrolet with less horsepower and was clearly considered the underdog.

    But Yunick had a plan. He mounted a set of specially designed tires on the lightweight Chevrolet and instructed him to run a conservative pace.

    It took him most of the race but with less than 100 laps to go, Thomas finally pulled into the lead. He went on to take the checkered flag after running the entire race on one set of tires.

    The victory made Thomas the first three-time winner of the Southern 500.

    Despite missing part of the season, Thomas had a total of three wins and finished in fifth place in the championship standings.

    In 1956, Thomas won one race as an owner/driver and won another race while driving for Smokey Yunick. He then joined forces with Carl Kiekhaefer who had enticed Thomas to join his team with promises of more money and better equipment. It looked like a match made in heaven and Thomas won three consecutive races.

    Their success was short lived. Thomas soon grew tired of traveling all over the country and became disillusioned with the partnership. By the end of the season, Thomas was once again racing as an owner/driver and had already clinched second place when his career came to an abrupt halt.

    He was racing at a track in Shelby, North Carolina and had just passed Speedy Thompson for the lead. In retaliation, Thompson bumped Thomas’s rear bumper and sent him spinning head first into the outside guardrail.

    From all accounts, at least six drivers crashed into Thomas’s car.  He suffered from a fractured skull, a badly lacerated scalp, a ruptured eardrum and internal injuries that left him in a coma. He was rushed to the hospital where he underwent brain surgery.

    Thomas later said, “I don’t remember much about it. I remember passing Speedy and the last thing I remember is going straight into the wall.  That’s all I remember from that night.”

    Thomas started in two races in 1957 and one in 1962, but with little success. Feeling like he’d lost his edge, he decided to retire from racing.

    “Those boys were passing me in the turns when it used to be me passing them,” lamented Thomas.

    With his racing days behind him, Thomas went back to tobacco farming and also owned a trucking company which he operated on a part time basis.

    Thomas passed away on August 9, 2000 after a heart attack, at the age of 77.

    I had the opportunity to speak with Thomas’s grandson, and biggest fan, Chris. We talked about his famous grandfather and Chris shared a few special memories.

    One of the things that Chris loved most about him was his sense of humor.

    “When we were not working in tobacco, he was a joker. He loved to laugh and make others laugh.”

    “Most of what I know about his racing, I learned from my Grandma Helen,” he told me. “You would have never known he was a NASCAR driver simply because he just did not talk about those days much.   You did know that he was a very hard working farmer who expected the best.”

    I asked Chris if his grandfather had kept up with NASCAR.

    “He never missed a race,” said Chris. “If a race was on, Granddaddy would be sitting there in his recliner, eyes glued to the television set.”

    “Did he have a favorite driver?” I wondered.

    Chris laughed and said that a friend of his had once asked his grandfather that question one day when they were at home watching a race.

    Without a moment’s hesitation, Thomas said, “Hell, there’s only one man on the track, Dale.”

    In racing and in life Herb Thomas always gave 100 percent. The legacy he left for his family was not all about trophies but more about life lessons.

    “I think he wanted to be remembered for being the best that he could be at everything he did,” Chris proudly told me.

    Smokey Yunick once said of Thomas, “Herb Thomas could really drive. He was smart in a race. He knew how to pace himself. He was as good as they came and they have never given him enough credit for his ability.”

    Achievements:

    The first two-time Cup champion in 1951 and 1953.

    The first owner/driver to win a title which he did twice.

    He finished second three times in the points standings, in 1952, 1954 and 1956. In 1955 he finished fifth in the points standings.

    The first three time Southern 500 winner, in 1951, 1954 and 1955.

    Thomas won races in seven consecutive seasons from 1950-56.

    Recipient of the Buddy Schuman Award for loyalty and outstanding contributions to NASCAR auto racing in 1957.

    Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1965.

    Inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

    Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.

    Named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998.

    Herb Thomas was the inspiration for the character “Doc Hudson” in the movie “Cars”.

    A NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee in 2010 and 2011.

    Thomas won 48 times in series competition, a number that ranks 12th all time. His 48 victories in 228 starts equates to a series-record winning percentage of 21.05.

    Thanks to howstuffworks.com and legendsofnascar.com for quotes.

    Special thanks to Chris Thomas for sharing his memories of his grandfather

  • Weekend Notebook: Earnhardt shows team can battle from adversity

    Weekend Notebook: Earnhardt shows team can battle from adversity

    Last Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway showed that there may actually be a light at the end of the tunnel for the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team. That light is still pretty dim and quite a ways away, but it’s there.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. — who missed his third chase in four years — battled back from 32nd place starting position and adversity on pit road to finish fourth.

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll | Speedway Media” align=”alignright” width=”400″][/media-credit]In fact, after several races of being the worst finishing Hendrick Motorsports driver, Earnhardt earned the best finish among his HMS comrades.

    Earnhardt had reached the top-ten by the middle of the race, but lost some spots on pit road when Regan Smith blocked NASCAR’s most popular driver into his pit box. His crew had to push his car back to give Earnhardt room to maneuver his car out of his pit area, losing several spots.

    That wasn’t the only adversity he faced during the day, however. Earnhardt had two multi-car wrecks happen in close proximity to his Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet that he had to avoid. He and his crew were also burdened with a broken jack-stop.

    At times Earnhardt was running faster laps than the leaders. Although, in the end, Earnhardt didn’t have the track position to break his more than two-year winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series.

    “The setbacks we had today hurt us a lot,” Earnhardt said. “I want to thank AMP Energy and National Guard and the team, they worked really hard. We unloaded a great car, they did a good job preparing it at the shop. We worked on it all weekend. It was pretty good in practice and we improved on it a little bit. We had an eighth place finish last time and felt like we were really fast and competitive all day long. We can’t qualify very good here, but once we get in race trim, we just kind of go to the front or get near the front.”

    “It felt like we had a top-10 car and we had the jack-stop break and had to go to the back and then a miscommunication with the No. 78 (Regan Smith) on pit that cost us a half of a lap under green, just battling back from that stuff. Track position was what we needed at the end, we didn’t have it.”

    While Earnhardt’s points situation is now a moot-point, he did improve one position to the 18th points position, trailing 13th place Ryan Newman by 153 points.

    New Hampshire was a nice rebound for Earnhardt, who finished a disappointing 38th at Richmond two weeks ago. Earnhardt’s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, will be looking for a similar rebound next weekend.

    After Johnson battled up from a 25th place starting position, he was involved in a spin with the Busch brothers — Kyle and Kurt — on lap 223, receiving minor damage to his car.

    A few laps later, a loose wheel would force Johnson to pit again and lose two laps to take him and his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet out of race contention. Johnson, who entered the race second in points, dropped to seventh and will need to stay out of trouble at Dover and in the coming weeks to stay alive in the title hunt.

    “We showed up today, we did what we could,” Johnson said. “We had a decent car today and ran in the top-five and top-ten but just didn’t end up finishing there. We’ll go home and get back to work and go after it again next week.”

    In Johnson’s defense, he and his team are arguably the best team in the sport when it comes to digging themselves out of adversity. Which is exactly the supporting evidence used by Clint Bowyer, who said after the race that Johnson’s team is certainly not out of the championship discussion.

    “Teams like the No. 48 are so good at rebounding; you can’t ever count those guys out,” Bowyer said. “For us, our strengths are how consistent we are. And we haven’t won a race yet this year. So while we’re trying to win races in these final 10, we can’t necessarily just expect it to happen; maybe like some other guys might be feeling. So we can’t afford to go out there and have a 25th place finish today.”

    Johnson now trails points leader Denny Hamlin by 92 points heading into Chase race No. 2 next weekend at Dover. Johnson was the worst finishing chaser of the day and was one of three that finished outside of the top-20.

    Tony Stewart appeared to be on his way to victory — until he ran out of fuel with one lap to go. By the time Stewart had coasted around to the checkered flag, he was scored 24th.

    “I’m not happy, that’s for sure, but we went down swinging,” Stewart said. “It’s hard to lose one that way but at the same time it was fun racing Clint like that. He was definitely the fastest car and congratulations to those guys. It’s a tough way to start the Chase but I’m proud of my guys. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) kept swinging at it all day and finally on that last set of tires we got it halfway decent.”

    Stewart dropped five points positions to 11th in points, trailing Hamlin by 124 points.

    Matt Kenseth was the other chaser to finish outside of the top-20 on Sunday. He recorded a 23rd place finish and dropped one spot to 12th in the Chase standings. He is now faced with a 136-point deficit.

    “Our Crown Royal Ford was just tight in the middle and needed help turning in the front today,” Kenseth said. “The guys made adjustments all race long but we just didn’t run very well. We got caught up in that wreck, had a lot of damage to the car, and it was just a really long day for us.”

  • Bowyer wins as Stewart runs out of gas

    Bowyer wins as Stewart runs out of gas

    Coming into the first chase race, not many had Clint Bowyer pegged as a true contender.  Following the race on Sunday at New Hampshire, however, that may have changed.

    After leading over one hundred laps through the first three-quarters of the race, Bowyer found himself back in the fifth position.  As the final 50 laps unfolded, Bowyer — while saving fuel — picked his way up to the second position and began his pursuit of Tony Stewart.

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]On the final lap, Stewart ducked down to the bottom as his Chevrolet finally ran out of gas, allowing Bowyer to cost around to victory.

    With the win, Bowyer broke his 88-race winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series and jumped up ten spots to second in the points standings, trailing Denny Hamlin (who finished second) by 35 points going into the second week of the ten-race chase.

    Non-chasers Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt finished third and fourth, respectively. They joined Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, David Reutimann, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. in rounding out the top-ten finishers for the Sylvania 300.

    Seven chasers finished outside of the top-ten, including three who finished outside of the top-20.

    After running out of gas, Stewart finished 24th.  Matt Kenseth finished 23rd and Jimmie Johnson finished 25th after both were involved in on-track accidents during the final half of the race.

    The largest mover in series points was Bowyer.  However, No driver dropped more than Johnson or Stewart.  Behind Hamlin and Bowyer, Harvick and Kyle Busch held their third and fourth place points position.  Gordon gained three spots and not sits in fifth, trailing Hamlin by 75 points.

    Kurt Busch dropped one spot to sixth after finishing 13th.  Johnson, who came into the race ten points behind Hamlin in second place is now seventh in the standings, and trails by 92 points.

    Carl Edwards gained one spot and is now eighth, 95 points behind Hamlin.  Greg Biffle lost two positions and sits ninth in the standings.

    Jeff Burton stays in the tenth points spot, despite running out of fuel with one lap to go and finishing 15th.

    Stewart is now 11th after a five spot drop and Kenseth is 12th and trails Hamlin by 136 points.

    Note: Bowyer is used to starting off Chases with Victories.  He won the 2007 race at New Hampshire to solidify his spot inside of the elite Chase field.

    UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
    1 2 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 195 10 300
    2 22 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 170 0 300
    3 4 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 170 5 300
    4 32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 160 0 300
    5 27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 155 0 300
    6 17 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 155 5 300
    7 7 0 David Reutimann Toyota 146 0 300
    8 24 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 142 0 300
    9 9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 138 0 300
    10 15 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 134 0 300
    11 10 99 Carl Edwards Ford 135 5 300
    12 6 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 127 0 300
    13 12 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 124 0 300
    14 21 9 Kasey Kahne Ford 121 0 300
    15 13 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 118 0 300
    16 5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 115 0 300
    17 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 112 0 300
    18 1 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge 114 5 300
    19 20 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 106 0 300
    20 16 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 103 0 300
    21 19 19 Elliott Sadler Ford 100 0 300
    22 11 6 David Ragan Ford 97 0 300
    23 33 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 94 0 300
    24 3 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 96 5 300
    25 25 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 88 0 300
    26 29 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 90 5 300
    27 37 83 Reed Sorenson Toyota 82 0 300
    28 8 98 Paul Menard Ford 79 0 300
    29 26 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 76 0 298
    30 23 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 73 0 298
    31 30 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 70 0 297
    32 40 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 67 0 295
    33 39 37 David Gilliland Ford 64 0 295
    34 41 34 Tony Raines Ford 61 0 295
    35 31 20 Joey Logano Toyota 58 0 256
    36 28 82 Scott Speed Toyota 55 0 213
    37 42 71 Andy Lally Chevrolet 52 0 138
    38 18 13 Casey Mears Toyota 49 0 93
    39 43 9 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 46 0 89
    40 35 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 48 5 60
    41 36 55 Mike Bliss Toyota 40 0 55
    42 34 164 Landon Cassill Toyota 37 0 40
    43 38 46 Michael McDowell Dodge 34 0 29
  • Busch wins NCWTS at New Hampshire

    Busch wins NCWTS at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch captured his fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  Busch passed James Buescher on the final restart with two laps remaining.

    Busch made heavy contact to the outside wall while passing Buescher for the lead.

    “I tried rubbing off on him and he was still there a little bit and it turned me in the wall.  It was a hard hit, it knocked my helmet crooked.  I wasn’t sure what I had getting down into turn three but those guys got to racing back there and the truck felt fine through three and four.  I was surprised really that it felt the way it did and we were just able to mosey around for the next couple laps and bring it home.” Busch said.

    Busch started from the pole and led eight times for 156 of the 175 laps run.

    “It was man, it was a close race.  Myself and Harvick just battled it out all day long.  I can tell you what, it’s nice to have a comfortable seat in the SFI Butler seat was comfortable today and going to have the same thing for tomorrow, so that’s good.  I can’t thank these guys and this team enough.” Busch said.

    Buescher finished second, Kevin Harvick third, Matt Crafton fourth and Austin Dillon finished fifth.

    Buescher was unhappy with Busch and flipped him off after the race.

    “He just drove us dirty and got the win.  Being that close is one thing, but getting it taken away from you like that is a totally different thing. If you’re faster, you’re going to pass him. You don’t have to race him so dirty and flat-out try to wreck you to try and get the lead and that’s what he did.” Buescher said.

    Todd Bodine continues to lead the unofficial NCWTS standings over Aric Almirola by 257 points.

    Unofficial Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
    1 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 195 10 175
    2 5 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 175 5 175
    3 2 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 170 5 175
    4 11 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 160 0 175
    5 4 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 155 0 175
    6 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 150 0 175
    7 7 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 146 0 175
    8 6 51 Aric Almirola Toyota 142 0 175
    9 9 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 138 0 175
    10 17 47 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet 134 0 175
    11 10 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 130 0 175
    12 18 90 Donny Lia Toyota 127 0 175
    13 16 5 Mike Skinner Toyota 124 0 175
    14 19 23 Jason White Chevrolet 121 0 175
    15 12 181 David Starr Toyota 118 0 175
    16 14 60 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 115 0 174
    17 15 12 Mario Gosselin Chevrolet 112 0 173
    18 20 192 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 109 0 172
    19 27 85 Brent Raymer Ford 106 0 172
    20 21 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 103 0 172
    21 24 164 Peyton Sellers Chevrolet 100 0 171
    22 31 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 97 0 170
    23 29 1 Carl Long Chevrolet 94 0 170
    24 3 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 91 0 169
    25 25 89 Mike Harmon Ford 88 0 169
    26 33 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 85 0 169
    27 28 106 Tim Bainey Jr. Chevrolet 82 0 166
    28 23 46 John King Ford 79 0 165
    29 13 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 76 0 164
    30 22 171 Eddie MacDonald Ford 73 0 82
    31 26 93 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 70 0 21
    32 32 7 Butch Miller Dodge 67 0 16
    33 34 124 Chris Lafferty Chevrolet 0 0 13
    34 36 0 Brian Weber Chevrolet 0 0 11
    35 35 6 Donnie Neuenberger Chevrolet 58 0 4
    36 30 95 J C Stout Dodge 55 0 2
  • Penske Racing Poster Child for NASCAR Vagaries

    Penske Racing Poster Child for NASCAR Vagaries

    Penske Racing, one of the sport’s elite teams, is currently experiencing both NASCAR’s highs and lows and could serve as the poster child for just how capricious the sport can be.

    On one hand, Penske ace Kurt Busch has made it to the Chase and has the potential to bring the first ever Sprint Cup title to Penske Racing.  In addition, Penske’s young gun Brad Keselowski just scored his first career pole with a new track record for the Cup race at Loudon.  Keselowski is also bringing Penske glory by competing for the Nationwide Series championship this year, posting four victories thus far and sitting atop of the series points standings.

    [media-credit id=5 align=”alignright” width=”400″][/media-credit]Yet on the other hand, Penske, like many teams, is struggling with major sponsorship woes.  The team announced this week that both Justin Allgaier, their up and coming Nationwide driver, as well as struggling Cup competitor Sam Hornish Jr., are free to pursue other rides due to lack of sponsorship for 2011.

    On the plus side, the ‘Captain’ and his Penske Cup team are certainly riding the wave of Chase hope with driver Kurt Busch seeded fifth in the top twelve in his No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’.  In fact, many have termed Busch a ‘sleeper’ contender for the championship this year.

    “I think we could surprise people,” Busch said.  “I definitely think the race team’s capable of it.  We’re working on some good things now and bringing better race cars to the race track than what we’ve had the last few weeks.”

    In addition to Busch’s championship possibilities, Penske Racing also celebrated another high this weekend with Brad Keselowski’s pole run at New Hampshire.  The team’s young driver broke the record previously set by Juan Pablo Montoya for Cup qualifying at the Magic Mile, with a lap of 28.515 seconds at a speed of 133.572 mph.

    “It felt pretty good,” Keselowski said.  “I felt like I had a shot at the pole before I qualified.  When I ran the lap, I thought I gave up a little time going into the corners, but I had a plan going in and I stuck to it and it worked.

    “This is a great spark to our team through a tumultuous period. I’m really happy for my team.  I’m almost more proud for them than for any stat that I might get out of it as a track record or a first pole. They really dug hard for me all year through adversity, so it’s great to see them smile. This is a breath of fresh air that legitimizes our team to being able to get up front.”

    In spite of these incredible highs, Penske Racing is also experiencing the flip side of the sport, showing just how capricious the world of competing in the highest levels of NASCAR can be.

    Earlier this summer, Penske announced the loss of Mobil 1, a prime supporter of the No. 77 Penske race team with Hornish behind the wheel. Just this week, Penske announced that Hornish was free to pursue other options due to this sponsorship loss.

    “Right now we’re still in search of a primary sponsor for that car,” Tim Cindric, team president, said.  “The good news is that it’s September and not December.”

    But team principal Roger Penske confirmed more recently that the future for Hornish and that team are most certainly up in the air.

    “You can’t race without funding,” said Penske.  “We understand that if there are opportunities for him (Hornish), it’s an open book as far as communication.  We’re certainly not going to stand in his way as far as furthering his career, but we’d certainly like for him to be able to continue with us.”

    Even more recently, Penske Racing confirmed that Verizon, the current sponsor for Justin Allgaier’s car in the Nationwide Series, is also going the way of Mobil and “reevaluating their options” as far as NASCAR sponsorship.

    “It’s true that they’re evaluating their NASCAR involvement right now,” Jonathan Gibson, Penske Racing vice president of marketing, said of Verizon.  He also acknowledged in an interview on Sirius NASCAR radio with Dave Moody that this could impact the future of their up and coming racer Justin Allgaier.

    “Our intent is to continue with two Nationwide Series entries next season,” Gibson said.  “Justin is a great young driver who we would like to keep in our organization.”

    Through no fault of Penske or of driver Allgaier, Verizon has had a most difficult time truly activating their sponsorship, particularly with competitor Sprint as the exclusive series sponsor at the Cup level.

    “Verizon has been hindered in what they can do,” Gibson admitted.  “They can’t do much (at the tracks) and they can’t do anything with Sprint Cup Series drivers, which is difficult.”

    But where the rubber meets the road, Verizon’s struggles may well determine the future of Penske driver Allgaier.

    “I’d hate to say Allgaier was free to go, but there is a mutual respect there,” Cindric said in an interview with Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Claire B. Lang.  “We haven’t been able to put (anything) together yet and we want to see him land on his feet.”

    There is no doubt that sponsorship woes and the potential loss of talented drivers is one of the low points for Penske Racing.  They can, however, take some measure of comfort in the fact that they are not alone in experiencing those vagaries of the sport.

    Even powerhouse teams such as Hendrick Motorsports are having the same struggles, currently without a sponsor for next year for four-time champion Jeff Gordon with DuPont leaving his car.  Kyle Busch also announced this week that he would have to shutter the doors of his Truck team if sponsorship is not secured.

    Yet, like so many others in the sport, Penske Racing will no doubt persevere.  And this year, they may just be the poster child for that perseverance, particularly if Kurt Busch can pull off the Cup championship upset and Brad Keselowski can claim the Nationwide crown.

    “It would be really cool,” Keselowski said.  “Roger (Penske) means a lot to the racing community.  He’s won an F1 race, won an IRL race, won the Indy 500.  But he doesn’t have that NASCAR championship.”

    “I want to be that first guy to do it and I want to be able to walk into his office with that trophy and see a smile on his face.”

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 try to become the hot one over the last 10

    Hot 20 over the past 10 try to become the hot one over the last 10

    26 races down and now the Chase begins. With the points for those in the top dozen reset, it essentially comes down to who will get hot over these last ten events and claim the season crown.

    Denny Hamlin leads Jimmie Johnson by ten as they venture to New Hampshire on Sunday. Sure, neither have exactly been blazing a trail to the title just yet, though Hamlin thawed out to win last week and both have done very well at the Loudon track.

    Carl Edwards has been the hot hand in recent weeks, but he has never won at the New England venue. Tony Stewart and every other Chaser, with the exception of Matt Kenseth, have visited that Victory Lane at least once. Jeff Burton has been there four times. It would be a good time for the invisible man to take off the bandages and be seen.

    Clint Bowyer has sure been noticed in recent weeks, and for good reason. Kyle Busch seems to be waking from his slumber, while brother Kurt has six top tens in ten weeks. His misfortune is that when he isn’t up front, he is somewhere near the back of the pack.

    Then there are those previewing for 2011. Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, and David Reutimann have been among our best in recent weeks. Can they go from being considered pretenders to potential contenders by the time we go into winter hibernation?

    As they begin the Chase, here are our top 20 over the past ten events…

    1 (2) Carl Edwards – 1495 pts – 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens
    Some cousins are kissin’, some are flippin’

    2 (1) Tony Stewart – 1434 pts – 1 Win, 4 Top Fives, 7 Top Tens
    Does this make Tony the under dog?

    3 (3) Kevin Harvick – 1389 pts – 2 Wins, 5 Top Fives, 6 Top Tens
    It has been fun till now, but the real season is about to begin.

    4 (5) Jeff Burton – 1363 pts – 3 Top Fives, 5 Top Tens
    Might wind up being the Kenseth of 2010.

    4 (6) Clint Bowyer – 1363 pts – 3 Top Fives, 6 Top Tens
    This is another Clint who might dare you to make his day.

    6 (4) Jeff Gordon – 1351 pts – 3 Top Fives, 5 Top Tens
    Number 5 is alive, but can he keep it that way?
        
    7 (12) Juan Pablo Montoya – 1346 pts – 1 Win, 1 Top Five, 5 Top Tens
    Too late for this year, but this fall could be a preview of the spring

    8 (15) Kyle Busch – 1302 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 4 Top Tens
    Me thinks this Shrub is heating up to burning Busch status

    9 (7) Jamie McMurray – 1260 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 4 Top Tens
    Maybe this year was just a sneak preview of what is to come.

    10 (14) Matt Kenseth – 1254 pts – 1 Top Five, 2 Top Tens
    He is here thanks to being no worse than 18th over the past ten.

    11 (11) David Reutimann – 1234 pts – 1 Win, 2 Top Fives, 2 Top Tens
    See above for an idea as to why, and toss in a win for good measure.

    12 (8) Jimmie Johnson – 1233 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 4 Top Tens
    His trophies are more sequentially appealing than Jeff’s up on the mantle.

    13 (13) Ryan Newman – 1229 pts – 3 Top Tens
    Not in their Top 12, but could wind up in our’s before the season ends.

    14 (16) Kurt Busch – 1219 pts – 2 Top Fives, 5 Top Tens
    Either great or awful, it is time to be more of the former than the latter.

    15 (9) Greg Biffle – 1166 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 5 Top Tens
    Three 30-something finishes can keep a good man down.

    16 (22) Denny Hamlin – 1159 pts – 1 Win, 3 Top Fives, 4 Top Tens
    Could another trip to the bottled shower be coming up at Loudon?

    17 (10) Kasey Kahne – 1151 pts – 2 Top Fives, 3 Top Tens
    I miss the girls, I miss the good hands guy from 24

    18 (20) A.J. Allmendinger – 1109 pts – 1 Top Five, 3 Top Tens
    Anagrams of his name include “renal melding” and “gnarled me nil.”

    18 (21) Martin Truex Jr – 1109 pts – 2 Top Tens
    The only Martin, Truex, or Junior to be found on the list this week

    20 (18) Marcos Ambrose – 1096 pts – 2 Top Fives, 3 Top Tens
    Down under on the list this week with six of last ten outside the top twenty

  • Twelve Chase Competitors; Twelve Different Championship Motivations

    Twelve Chase Competitors; Twelve Different Championship Motivations

    While the twelve drivers set to compete in NASCAR’s Chase may share the dream of being the sport’s champion, reaping the benefits of being “top dog” for the year, each one of them comes to the Chase with their own individual hopes, dreams, and motivations.

    Denny Hamlin currently sits in the cat bird’s seat, with the most wins and the most bonus points giving him top seed. But there is no doubt that the motivation and the will for Hamlin’s championship run was born in March when he had to succumb to knee surgery to repair the damage he did in the off season playing basketball.

    Despite incredible pain, Hamlin got right back into his car and soldiered on, demonstrating to himself and his team that he had the fortitude to compete, for that race and now for the championship. He continues to exude that toughness and confidence, which is no doubt his motivation as he prepares do to battle to keep that top seed to the end.

    “We’re tough right now,” Hamlin said. “We’ve got the most wins and hopefully that will carry us for the rest of the season. At this point, I’d say we could win all of them.”

    The motivation for the number two driver coming into the first Chase race is simple. Jimmie Johnson just wants to make history….again. Johnson conquered that feat last year when he was the first NASCAR driver ever to win four consecutive championships. He would make history again with a fifth in a row.

    “It’s been awfully tough to win four in a row, but we’ll show up and give 100 percent,” Johnson said. “We just want to do our best.”

    The third seed was first throughout most of season and Kevin Harvick, living up to his nickname, is just ‘happy’ to be there. After a miserable year last year when he not only missed the Chase but was close to leaving Richard Childress Racing, Kevin Harvick is back with a vengeance and his motivation is no doubt to prove that he truly is now at the top of the game.

    “I think it’s the most competitive that we have ever been,” Harvick said. “We are competitive as far as speed and the things that you need to race for wins and win the championship.”

    Kyle Busch may not be known as necessarily ‘happy’ but he seems almost elated to be in the Chase, especially after being on the outside looking in last year. For Busch, his championship motivation is to show the world and all of the fans that love to hate him that he is the real deal and can actually seal the deal.

    “You fight every day of your year to make the Chase,” Busch said. “This is all part of the fighting to get to the point where you can fight some more through the last ten weeks against the best in racing.”

    Busch’s older brother Kurt is just nipping at the heels of his baby brother in this year’s Chase in the fifth starting position. So, perhaps Kurt Busch’s motivation is just that…to show his sibling just who is king of the hill in the world of NASCAR.

    But Busch has another Chase motivation and dream. He wants to be the one who survives the fray, finally bringing home the NASCAR Sprint Cup to his ‘captain’ Roger Penske for the first time in the sport.

    “I know from experience that you can get it going in the right direction,” Busch said. “You can keep the momentum growing and sort of build some insurance for something bad happening later on during the ten-race stretch.”

    Sixth seed Tony Stewart only has to look at his uniform for his Chase motivation, sporting ‘Stewart-Haas Racing’ on his chest. Stewart would be the first owner driver since Alan Kulwicki to claim the championship.

    “You do what it takes and you do what you have to do, but I feel like we’ve got a lot of momentum right now,” Stewart said. “It’s just been a lot of hard work with our organization and the results are starting to show.”

    For seventh seed Greg Biffle, ninth seed Carl Edwards, and eleventh seed Matt Kenseth, there is simply one motivation to claim the Cup, that of honoring team leader Jack Roush who has been through so much this year, surviving yet another plane crash and losing sight in one eye. These three drivers will have one similar mantra, “Win it for Jack.”

    Jeff Gordon, who has been so consistent this season yet gone winless, is motivated to show he still has what it takes, even in the waning years of his career. Like his teammate Johnson, the ‘original four time’ champ is also hoping to continue his ‘drive for five’ effort.

    “When it comes to championships, I always like to lean toward experience,” Gordon said. “I think we are really solid. I think we’ve got an awesome shot at the championship.”

    The ‘other’ Jeff, with the last name of Burton, currently heads into the Chase for the Championship in the tenth spot. His motivation is that he is desperate to be at the head table of the NASCAR banquet before he ends his racing career.

    “It’s going to be intense,” Burton said. “When you waited your whole life for something and it’s in front of you, it’s going to be intense, it’s going to be full of emotion, and as it should be.”

    The final Chase driver, Clint Bowyer, hung on to make it in and is bringing up the Chase rear. His whole motivation is to prove that he has every right to be in the championship hunt.

    “You kind of go in as the underdog under the radar,” Bowyer said. “The good thing is that we do have a lot of momentum right now. That’s what got us in this thing.”

    Regardless of their motivations, hopes or dreams, twelve drivers will now officially start the competition for the coveted Cup. Their Chase will begin with the first race this weekend at Loudon, New Hampshire, continuing on to the final showdown in Homestead, where one of these twelve will be crowned as the best in this year’s class.

  • Horray! The Chase is Here

    Horray! The Chase is Here

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headed into Richmond with the top 10 cemented into the final ten races for the championship. Only Greg Biffle and Clint bowyer weren’t sure. It didn’t take either one long to cement their place. So we ended the final race of the “regular season” with little or no excitement. Denny Hamlin dominated the race, as he sometimes does, and the usual suspects will all chase Jimmie Johnson for the big trophy. NASCAR created a monster.

    I cannot remember a time when so many folks have jumped on the ABJ (anybody but Johnson) bandwagon. After four straight championships, fans are eager for a new face to win, but all the crying for making wins more important, leave Johnson just ten points behind Hamlin as we head to New Hampshire. With tracks that favor the No. 48’s style, the Chase is almost loaded for a fifth straight championship for Johnson. A couple of early wins or good finishes coupled with a couple of rivals faltering, and fans will be tuning the NFL in and forgetting NASCAR. It didn’t have to be this way.

    By my last count, and being math challenged is an understatement, 42% of the Chase field will have not won a race in 2010. It doesn’t take much of an argumet to realize that Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, and Clint Bowyer could steal the crown without a win this year if the top seven have problems. Stranger things have happened. Isn’t that what NASCAR was trying to avoid after Matt Kenseth’s championship way back in 2002? Kenseth won one race that year. And by placing so much emphasis on that fact, they forgot to change the point system leading up to the Chase. It’s based on consistency, as it always has been. The “playoff” was supposed to add excitement to the final run, but it has artificially created a situation whereby conisistency doesn’t really matter if you win. What a revolting development this is. It’s flawed.

    Football fans love the NFL system and baseball fans love the playoffs, but both are stick and ball sports n which such things are natural. A playoff for the Sprint Cup championship is so wrong on many levels. The reason many state for this was that NASCAR was trying to take fans from the NFL and MLB when they are deciding their champions. That’s a really futile dream. Not going to happen. In the meantime, many hard-core NASCAR fans just look the other way. When will we learn that NASCAR is NASCAR and the NFL and MLB are different? Maybe never, but the sanctioning body in Daytona Beach continues to reach for that dream in this day of smaller crowds, lower TV ratings, and fan protests.

    So we head to New England to begin our quest to crown a champion. Kevin Harvick led most of the season, but he starts third in the Chase field. Carl Edwards was fourth, but he sits way back because neither won during the year. It’s time for NASCAR to make up its mind. Is it consistency or wins? Or do we need a ten-race playoff? In my mind, I know the answer.

  • Richard Petty Motorsports Haulers Make Special Pit Stop Before Heading to NHMS

    Richard Petty Motorsports Haulers Make Special Pit Stop Before Heading to NHMS

    While fellow teams are preparing for Sunday’s first Chase race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Richard Petty Motorsports team will be making an early morning pit stop in Connecticut to visit with employees from Hartford Distributors.

    The company, located just east of Hartford, found itself at the center of a tragedy when a gunman shot and killed eight fellow employees and injured two in early August.

    According to Shawn Courchesne, sports reporter at the Hartford Courant and writer of the autoracing blog, “The Backstretch,” the team’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup series hauler drivers will visit with employees on Thursday morning to give tours of the haulers and display the cars that will be run in Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

    In addition, New Hampshire Motor Speedway has donated 250 tickets for employees to attend Sunday’s race at the track, according to Courchesne.

    Although it may seem unexpected, the visit by Richard Petty Motorsports is a logical fit, because Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Ford Fusion for the Sprint Cup series team, is sponsored by Budweiser and the Connecticut company is a beer distributor.

    The event will also provide the team with some positive media attention and is a great opportunity to gain new fans.

    Richard Petty Motorsports recently announced that three of their four current drivers would not be renewing their contracts with the team for the 2011-2012 Sprint Cup Series season.

    The team’s stop in Connecticut is not open to the public and will take place Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. before heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.