Category: Race Central

[media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Chase contender Jimmie Johnson sets fast lap in qualifying at Martinsville Speedway for the Sunday’s Tums 500. Johnson turned a lap of 97.598 MPH (19.402 SECS), edging out Brian Vickers who was fastest in practice and therefore was the last car to attempt qualifying.

Johnson waited patiently in the cockpit of his No.48 Lowes Chevrolet until Vickers completed his lap. Johnson said after, “The reason I stayed in the car, have you ever seen how many times a drivers does an interview, then gets knocked off the pole?” “I wasn’t going to do anything until it was over!” He also pointed, however, that he is definitely not superstitious.

Vickers missed the top spot by only .02 secs, still a great effort just a few hours after announcing that he would be back in the No.55 Micheal Waltrip Toyota for nine races again next season with Aarons as the sponsor for three of those races and Vickers noted they are looking for a partner for the other six.

Points leader Brad Keselowski, who holds a seven point lead over Johnson, will start 32nd Sunday at a track that he started seventh and finished ninth at in the spring. He will have a rather large hole to dig out of to maintain his lead on the championship standings.

“Certainly would like to qualify better and that’s at the forefront of my mind but I’d much rather race towards the front rather than qualify towards the front if I had to pick between the two. I feel like we’ll be capable of pulling that off once the race gets started.” Keselowski said.

“When the playoffs hit, it doesn’t matter what sport it is, crazy things happen. And with that being said, yeah, we come here thinking that we should be able to get some points on the 2 (Brad Keselowski), but you never know.” Johnson said.

There were four other Chase contenders in the top ten. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Clint Bowyer placed fifth through eighth respectively.

Dale Earnhardt Jr returned to action this week and will take the green in 20th spot after being second fastest in practice. A team member noted the race setup is better than the qualifying setup and that they will race well on Sunday.

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: John Harrelson” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It was a beautiful autumn day but it would be one that many hope to forget. With a record number of cautions for the track, and the most of any race this season, the Hollywood Casino 400 more resembled a survival expedition than a NASCAR race. Matt Kenseth’s Ford was hurt. It was bandaged. It was bruised. But when the track opened in front of it, it did what all thoroughbreds do it ran. It ran fast and it ran hard and it had enough left to make it all the way to the end and give Matt what will be one of his last victories with Jack Roush.

The race started off with promise and trepidation. The Nationwide race had a record number of cautions but at the end the track was very racey. It had a distinct 2 grooves and they were both very usable and at times and in places it was starting to get a third one in. The new track surface was rapidly maturing and going through growing pains. She was fast and smooth at times and she was wicked and slick at times. The tires Goodyear gave teams to tame her with she chewed up and spit out. It was the drivers that respected her and raced her with respect that ding or not came out on top.

One of the most courageous displays of championship ethic came from the 5 time champion, Jimmie Johnson’s Lowes Racing team. Jimmie took a hard crash on lap 137 in turn 4. The car was badly damaged and questions were raised could they get fuel in the car. Car owner Rick Hendrick said in his years in racing he had never seen such extensive surgery done so quickly on pit road. Johnson came back to finish in the top 10. Johnson said of his drive back to the front, “I had to get a look at it here. It’s pretty tore up. Definitely proud of this team and the fact that we never give up and continue to fight and try to get every point we can. I think yesterday’s Nationwide race showed that this thing isn’t over until the checkered flag falls and then again on Sunday. So all that said, I’m very proud but I was disappointed. I crashed the car. I spun out trying to get inside the 56. He bobbled a little in front of me and I thought that it was opportunity to jump in the gas real hard and when I did that, my car took off and I couldn’t catch it. All in all a good day but could have been a lot better. I think we could have been in victory lane and stretched some points on these guys.”

Martin Truex Jr again showed Toyota’s muscle finishing 2nd. “I’m happy with my team and my race car that we had all day. We really had to battle for this one. We got track position early — we got up towards the top five and we had a strong car, a little bit tight. The we got caught out by that caution deal and had to go all the way to the back. Just tough to pass. So, it was a battle all day long. Proud of the guys on the NAPA Toyota — they never gave up. Just kept digging all day long. That’s a good run for us, for sure. Just a little bit too tight there at the end there to run with Matt Kenseth. A good run and we’ll go on to Martinsville.”

Paul Menard held on to come home in third. He was the only non chase car in the top 10. “We kind of hit on something yesterday morning that we liked, thought was promising and stuck with it. Obviously running the Nationwide car on a new surface, we learned a lot about the tire pressures, what grooves come in. The second grooove came in a helluva lot better than I think anybody thought. You could make lap time and pass cars. Overall, just really happy with the weekend, the repave. The track came in real well and it’s just going to keep getting better. Real proud of my Menards guys” said Menard.

Kasey Kahne would bring the Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet home in the 4th spot. But not without a scare. On the final caution while saving fuel, Kahne turned the engine off and it wouldn’t refire. When it finally did refire, he had lost several positions. But once the green flag flew again Kasey was able to climb back up to 4th. “It just wouldn’t re-fire. Disappointing. But we got through there. We had a good car; we got back to fourth. We passed a lot of cars there. The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet team did an awesome job. Great pit stops; great pit calls. A lot a tire and fuel strategy race throughout. Our guys did a really nice job. I had an awesome car. It was a little loose there taking off. It was a little loose there taking off. It was coming to me and getting good there at the end. We just weren’t close enough at that point in time. But still, a solid day.” remarked Kahne.

Tony Stewart had two incidents that threatened his day. The first was a pit penalty for leaving the pit box with equipment when his team didn’t get the wrench out of the car from a chassis adjustment. Stewart would have to come back in and it there would confusion and chaos that caused the owner/driver to remark, “You all can get your heads out of your a**’s anytime now.” Restarting at the tail end of the longest line Stewart would again make his charge. Only to spin and blow out 3 tires on the back stretch on lap 166. Stewart would nurse the car around to the pits with minimal damage. Again he would start at the end of the pack. Stewart would climb as far back up as second and finish 5th. “Our guys led by Steve Addington, they never gave up today. Really proud of the effort they gave. That’s how we won a championship last year, by never giving up. We probably had to pass more cars than anybody today, but that seems to be our M.O. We seem to have to do that every week. We’ve got a little bit of work to do, but we’re gaining on it. Proud of my guys. We worked with a little different package this week. We still didn’t get it right, but we got pretty close.” said Stewart.

The points leader Brad Keselowski came home in 8th spot. “I don’t even know how to explain it. I’m ready to go home and have a couple beers. It’s just been a long day and you know, everybody has been asking all season long where the cautions have been. Well they flew to Kansas and they’ve been hanging out here because there was a caution after caution and it seemed like every wreck that happened today happened right in front of me. So I’m glad to have survived the carnage and brought back a decent car, my Miller Lite Dodge, in great shape and dodged a bullet of a race. That is the only thing I can use to describe it. Whew! Just a tough day.”

Keselowski would extend his points lead to 7 over Jimmie Johnson heading into Martinsville. Martin Truex Jr, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Gordon all gained one spot in the points while race winner Matt Kenseth would gain 2 spots while Greg Biffle lost five spots.

The Hollywood Casino 400 was an exciting race. The new track was a bit like a moody teenager. It went through growing pains and temper tantrums it ate tires. It picked and played favorites. Obviously, Matt Kenseth suited her fancy today.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography, Inc.” align=”alignright” width=”210″][/media-credit]Kasey Kahne broke the track record in qualifying on Friday at the newly repaved Kansas Speedway.  Kahne captured the pole with a lap of 191.360 mph for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400.

“Our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was awesome right there. It was great. I tried to get a little…I went into three, and felt like I could go wide open. So I went back to wide open, and then I started just chattering a little bit. So, I eased off the throttle and back down.” Kahne said.

Mark Martin qualified second with a lap of 191.238 mph, Clint Bowyer third, Kyle Busch fourth and Aric Almirola qualified fifth.

“The race track has got a lot of grip, but my car was kind of a handful there, and that’s entirely too long to go holding your breath. I’m used to only having to do it for one lap, so that was a long time.” Martin said.

Jimmie Johnson qualified seventh and points leader Brad Keselowski qualified 25^th.

“We had a very solid lap with my Lowe’s Chevrolet. I think we are going to be strong on Sunday. We’ve been here so many days, I can’t figure out what day we are on, but we’re on

Friday, so come Sunday we’ll be great.” Johnson said.

Subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Regan Smith qualified 40^th.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Clint Bowyer saved enough fuel over the final 56 laps to win Saturday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Who thought in a million years I’d walk into the situation I’ve walked into?” Bowyer said in victory lane.

Bowyer beat Denny Hamlin by .417 seconds in route to his third win of the season and the first in the chase.

Jimmie Johnson finished third, Greg Biffle fourth and Kyle Busch finished fifth.

Points leader Brad Keselowski, who ran out of fuel before his final pit stop, finished 11th and now holds a 7 point advantage over Johnson in the series standings.

“It’s blackjack, you’re not going to win every hand. When you got a bad deal you have to try not to have too many chips on the table.” Keselowski said.

Across the United States, homecoming is a traditionally celebrated at high schools and colleges through the month of October. Race weekend in Charlotte has the same feel. After all, the Charlotte, NC area is home to many of the teams and the fall race is an opportunity for the teams to gather with old friends and enjoy the weekend.

Charlotte found itself in the middle of homecoming, without it’s king. On Thursday, the news came that fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. would miss the next two races. The loss of Earnhardt felt like losing the star quarterback the day prior to the big game.

Second String

Regan Smith was given the opportunity to drive the No.88 car during the absence of Earnhardt. Smith was the last to take the track on Thursday during the first practice session due to the changes that had to be made to the car. Watching Smith in his garage, I saw the image of a young man waiting anxiously to open his Christmas presents. It was clear that he was eager to go.

This was not a good weekend for the legion of 88 fans. Smith qualified 26^th for the Bank of America 500 and quickly made his way through the field, moving into the top ten and appearing to be poised go further, when the engine blew. One was left to wonder what could have been.

“Needed one more stop and I think we would have had it dialed in and then just chased the weather from that point on. It’s disappointing. It’s a good team, it’s a good car and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports does a great job. I’m looking forward to next week.” Smith said.

The Points

I would love to see Nascar tweak the points system used in the Chase. As it currently stands, it is extremely difficult for a team to recover from a bad weekend. Jeff Gordon is a prime example. Gordon suffered a bad day on the first race of the Chase in Chicago. Since then he has continued the solid run that he had the last six weeks of the season, which got him into the playoffs. However, the hole was too deep.

My recommendation is that during the Chase, the 12 drivers that are competing, are given points differently than the rest of the field. There would only be 12 points available, and only 3 points for a victory bonus. The Chase driver that has the worst finish in the event but would be scored the equivalent of twelfth versus, say 35^th. This would allow drivers to dig their way out after a bad day and would hopefully have more drivers eligible going to Homestead.

The Track

Every time I spend time at the track, I find interesting things and lots of interesting observations –

Grit Chips – Samples were given out of Jeff Foxworthy’s new Grit Chips. Chips made from grits. What else could a southern boy love? The chips are glouten free, for those that are limited in their diets, and are delicious. I was told they began shipping to stores this past week – look for them.

Entertainment – Charlotte Motor Speedway always does a great job with their pre-race entertainment and Saturday was no different. Big & Rich got the crowd fired up and it was interesting to see daredevil Nik Wallenda walk a tight rope from the top of the grandstands to victory lane. However, for me, honoring America’s finest is always a highlight of any weekend at the track. No thank you ever seems sufficient when you see those that have given so much, including the members of the Wounded Warriors project that played a big part in the pre-race.

Fans – The fans are what racing is all about. Sports like to claim thy have the best fans, but I would argue with any of them when it comes to Nascar. Race fans are like no other. They love to have a good time, but I find them very generous as well. I am always amazed when I am working around the track how many will offer a cold drink on hot day or something to eat. For those of us that do this – thank you to each and everyone one of you!