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  • Peters wins the NCWTS American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway

    Peters wins the NCWTS American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway

    [media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Timothy Peters passed Ron Hornaday Jr. with 10 laps to go and won Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.

    Peters started from the pole and led 87 of 200 laps on the 0.875-mile track en route to his first win of the season and the fourth of his NCWTS career.

    “You don’t get Toyota Tundras like this often and it was dominate. We sat on the pole. The testament goes to this team right here. Butch Hylton (crew chief), all the guys back in the shop. You work your butts off. Thank you so much. Joe Gibbs Engines. How about that horsepower?” Peters said.

    Peters also extended his series points lead to 12 over Justin Lofton.

    “This was for my dad. Eleven years Tuesday I lost my dad. We got him a win and we did it in the top-three series in NASCAR. I’m going to be a dad. I’m leading the points. Life is good.” Peters said.

    Hornaday finished second, Matt Crafton third, Johnny Sauter fourth and Lofton finished fifth.

    “We had a pretty good truck. We made some adjustments in the race. We made it tight. Just not good enough.” Hornaday said.

    Peters and James Buescher dominated the race. Buescher led for 91 laps but blew a right front tire on lap 135. He finished 30th.

    Unofficial Race Results
    American Ethanol 200, Iowa Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=9
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 47
    2 8 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 43
    3 7 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 41
    4 5 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 40
    5 3 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 39
    6 9 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 38
    7 15 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 37
    8 12 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 36
    9 2 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 35
    10 14 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 34
    11 17 297 Jeff Choquette Chevrolet 33
    12 11 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 32
    13 10 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 31
    14 22 23 Jason White Ford 30
    15 18 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 29
    16 20 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 28
    17 25 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 27
    18 23 275 Caleb Holman * Chevrolet 26
    19 30 93 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 25
    20 29 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 24
    21 21 7 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 23
    22 28 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 22
    23 31 165 Justin Jennings Ford 21
    24 33 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 20
    25 32 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 19
    26 6 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 18
    27 16 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 17
    28 19 81 David Starr Toyota 16
    29 36 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 15
    30 4 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 16
    31 26 27 Travis Miller Chevrolet 13
    32 35 15 Todd Shafer Toyota 12
    33 13 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 11
    34 34 0 Chris Lafferty Ram 10
    35 27 38 Chris Jones Chevrolet 9
    36 24 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 8
  • Brad Keselowski Wins Nationwide Race; Austin Dillon Wins Dash4Cash

    Brad Keselowski Wins Nationwide Race; Austin Dillon Wins Dash4Cash

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Brad Keselowski, in the No. 22 Snap -On Penske Dodge, sat on the pole, led the most laps and took the checkered flag, as well as the American flag, right to Victory Lane.

    The win was Keselowski’s second victory in 2012 and his first win at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Keselowski also now ranks 15th on the all-time win list in the Nationwide Series.

    “It was a great day,” Keselowski said. “It was one of those days when things came together,”

    “We unloaded yesterday with a lot of speed and tried to work on making sure it stayed there,” Keselowski continued. “It feels good to finally come here and close the deal.”

    “It’s great to have Roger (Penske) here today to witness it and be part of it,” Keselowski said. “I’m very proud of the effort and proud of the result.”

    Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 33 Barber Foods Chevrolet, finished second and was totally unhappy after the race finish. While it was a positive finish overall, he was most displeased with the lapped car No. 24 car of Amber Cope, who broke his momentum and cost him the win.

    “It was a good day,” Harvick said. “The 22 and I were pretty evenly matched and I knew the restart was the best place to capitalize.”

    “It just came down to an unfortunate deal there and we got beat,” Harvick continued. “Obviously we wish we would have been able to win the race but got cut up in a cluster of lapped cars.”

    “That 24 car is somebody who shouldn’t be on the race track,” Harvick said. “She wants to be Danica Patrick but she can’t hold her helmet.”

    This was Harvick’s 11th top-10 finish in 12 races at the Magic Mile and his sixth top-10 finish in 2012.

    Rookie driver Austin Dillon, sans crew chief due to his penalty of last week, finished in the third position in his No. 3 Advocare Chevrolet. Dillon was also the highest finishing rookie, the highest finishing Nationwide regular, and the winner of the $100,000 in the Nationwide Dash4Cash.

    The young, up and coming driver beat out Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Michael Annett, the other three eligible drivers for the Nationwide Series Dash4Cash prize.

    “It’s great,” Dillon said. “Winning our first Nationwide race at Kentucky was our number one moment of the year but this comes close.”

    “We started 12th and got up there quick,” Dillon continued. “Dash4Cash racing right there was awesome. I gave it my all.”

    And what was Dillon planning to do with all that cash won from the Dash4Cash promotion?

    “I said I was going to get a pool,” Dillon said. “I wish I had a pool right now.”

    “Maybe I’ll be smart like my Grandpa and invest it.”

    “I want to thank Nationwide for letting us do this, Dillon continued. “To run for a hundred grand is amazing.”

    Sam Hornish, Jr., in the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge, came in fourth, giving Roger Penske top-five finishes for both Nationwide cars and some welcome good news after the suspension of his Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger this past weekend.

    “At the end of the day, a top-five finish is good,” Hornish said. “All in all, I’m pretty happy with how we ran.”

    “Just wish we would have had a little bit more for those guys at the end of the race.”

    There was also drama on pit road after the race with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who was overcome with heat and stretched out on pit road until a stretch took him to the infield care center. Stenhouse had been ill all week, which in addition to the heat, no doubt caused such a physical reaction at race end.

    In spite of it all, Stenhouse, Jr., in the No. 6 Cargill Ford, was able to gut it out to finish in the fifth position.

    “Ricky has been sick most of the week just fighting the flu bug,” crew chief Mike Kelley said. “At the end of the race I think the heat and the exhaustion caught up with him.”

    “They’ve got him in the infield care center,” Kelley continued. “He’s awake and alert and getting some fluids in him.”

    “He’ll be fine.”

    Both Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana wrecked in the F.W. Webb 200. Patrick was able to soldier on, bringing her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the 14th position.

    Pastrana, however, was not as fortunate, finishing 31st in his No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for RAB Racing. Pastrana suffered a hard hit into the wall, with some flames in the car erupting after the crash.

    “Just the tire went flat coming into the corner,” Pastrana said. “I was locking up the brakes a lot trying to get the car in and eventually just wore out that right-front tire.”

    “They gave me such a great car to start out there,” Pastrana continued. “I hate that I just went too soon on that first green when everyone started going.”

    Kasey Kahne, in the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet, Elliott Sadler, in the OneMain Financial Chevrolet, Justin Allgaier, in the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, Jamie McMurray, in the No. 30 LiftMaster Chevrolet, and Ryan Truex, in the Grime Boss Chevrolet, rounded out the top ten finishers.

    After this race, Elliott Sadler leads the point standings in the NASCAR Nationwide Series by three points over Austin Dillon.

    Unofficial Race Results
    F.W. Webb 200, New Hampshire
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=17
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    2 4 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    3 12 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 42
    4 6 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 40
    5 3 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 39
    6 2 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    7 7 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 37
    8 13 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 36
    9 9 30 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 0
    10 11 18 Ryan Truex Toyota 34
    11 14 43 Michael Annett Ford 33
    12 8 11 Brian Scott Toyota 32
    13 15 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 31
    14 18 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 30
    15 27 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 29
    16 16 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 29
    17 25 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 27
    18 10 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 26
    19 19 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 25
    20 22 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 24
    21 28 41 Timmy Hill Ford 0
    22 37 14 Eric McClure Toyota 22
    23 33 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet 0
    24 32 39 Josh Richards Ford 20
    25 21 108 Matt Frahm Ford 19
    26 43 124 Amber Cope Chevrolet 0
    27 40 52 Joey Gase * Chevrolet 17
    28 5 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    29 36 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet 15
    30 17 23 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 14
    31 20 199 Travis Pastrana Toyota 13
    32 34 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 12
    33 30 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 11
    34 29 171 Scott Riggs Ford 0
    35 38 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 9
    36 42 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 8
    37 39 175 Matthew Carter Chevrolet 7
    38 35 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 6
    39 41 15 Charles Lewandoski Chevrolet 5
    40 26 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 4
    41 24 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
    42 31 47 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0
    43 23 10 Jeff Green Toyota 1
  • Busch squeaks past Kahne and Hamlin for NHMS pole

    Busch squeaks past Kahne and Hamlin for NHMS pole

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]By just 0.003 and 0.004 seconds respectively, Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, nudged both Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin out of the way to score the pole for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    This was Busch’s first pole of the 2012 season to date and his first pole in 15 races at the ‘Magic Mile.’

    “There hasn’t been a lot of times where I’ve qualified on the pole for 30 or 40 races,” Busch said. “It’s been awhile.”

    “Excellent lap,” Busch continued. “I just tried to hit the same marks I did in practice. We picked up a little bit here and a little bit there and that led to the fastest lap.”

    While several other competitors had too close encounters with the wall, including Greg Biffle, Busch denied touching the wall during his time trial run as some had suspected.

    “I didn’t feel it,” Busch said. “If anything, it was close. I just knew I got in the throttle early to make speed, but the car slipped at the last second and slid out to the cushion point.”

    “But there’s no mark on the car.”

    Busch was the last out to make his time trial run, however, he absolutely refused to watch any of his competitors take their qualifying laps before him.

    “I don’t pay attention to what anyone else is doing,” Busch said. “That screws me up more than it helps me.”

    “I didn’t watch anything,” Busch continued. “I just had to put those thoughts out of my mind and make the most of the lap.”

    “We haven’t found the magic way to get around the Magic Mile,” Busch said. “So, I think today we did.”

    Kasey Kahne, in the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, qualified second, with a time of 28.551 seconds and a speed of 133.403 mph. This was Kahne’s 15th top-15 start of the season and his sixth in 17 races at New Hampshire.

    “It felt really good,” Kahne said. “I was right on the edge the whole lap of being free but I was able to make it work.”

    “It was a solid lap and really close as far as the times.”

    As Kahne said, qualifying was close and right behind him was Denny Hamlin, who qualified his No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota in the third position. Hamlin’s time was 28.552 second, with a speed of 133.399 mph.

    This was Hamlin’s fifth top-10 start at the ‘Magic Mile’ and his 10th in 19 races for the 2012 season.

    “A lot like Kasey’s, we were really on the edge most of the time,” Hamlin said. “That was pretty much all I had speed-wise.”

    “Sure maybe I could have squeezed four thousandths out of it somehow so it’s awful tight up front.”

    Martin Truex, Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, and Clint Bowyer in the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota, rounded out the top-five in qualifying.

    Other drivers had polar opposite complaints about their qualifying runs.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, complained bitterly that his car was too tight, while new father Kevin Harvick felt his 29 Rheem Chevrolet was too loose.

    Dale Junior qualified in the ninth position, while Harvick scored P12 in time trials.

    “Our car was a little bit too tight,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We erred on the side of being conservative as far as making sure the rear had enough grip.”

    “Traditionally, this track gets really slick in qualifying,” Junior continued. “That probably helped us actually put together a decent lap and have a good starting spot.”

    “But we could have been a little better if we weren’t quite as tight as we were.”

    “We were just a little bit too loose up off the corner,” Harvick said in contrast. “But all in all, it was faster than we ran in practice so that is always a good thing here.”

    One of the biggest surprises in the qualifying session was Jeff Burton, who traditionally runs well at New Hampshire. In fact, at one ‘Magic Mile’ race, Burton totally dominated, leading every lap and taking the checkered flag.

    “Today has been a struggle,” Burton, who qualified 25th, said. “We were way off in practice and swung for the fences in qualifying trim.”

    “We just started off with some problems,” Burton continued. “We had a mechanical issue we found too when practice ended so we fought that for a while and didn’t know we were fighting it.”

    “I kind of feel like we might be headed in the right direction now.”

     

    Starting Lineup
    LENOX Industrial Tools 301, New Hampshire
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=19
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 133.417 28.548
    2 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 133.403 28.551
    3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 133.399 28.552
    4 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 133.338 28.565
    5 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 133.319 28.569
    6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 133.277 28.578
    7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 133.254 28.583
    8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 133.198 28.595
    9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 133.045 28.628
    10 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 132.938 28.651
    11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 132.873 28.665
    12 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 132.868 28.666
    13 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 132.572 28.73
    14 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 132.549 28.735
    15 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 132.425 28.762
    16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 132.425 28.762
    17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 132.393 28.769
    18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 132.333 28.782
    19 34 David Ragan Ford 132.264 28.797
    20 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 132.2 28.811
    21 99 Carl Edwards Ford 132.186 28.814
    22 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 132.085 28.836
    23 43 Aric Almirola Ford 131.833 28.891
    24 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 131.556 28.952
    25 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 131.465 28.972
    26 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 131.266 29.016
    27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 131.234 29.023
    28 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 131.234 29.023
    29 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 131.184 29.034
    30 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 130.833 29.112
    31 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 130.662 29.15
    32 26 Josh Wise* Ford 130.14 29.267
    33 13 Casey Mears Ford 129.834 29.336
    34 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 129.807 29.342
    35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 129.679 29.371
    36 98 Michael McDowell Ford 129.525 29.406
    37 32 Ken Schrader Ford 129.318 29.453
    38 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 129.274 29.463
    39 38 David Gilliland Ford 129.156 29.49
    40 30 David Stremme Toyota 129.094 29.504
    41 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 128.863 29.557
    42 179 Kelly Bires Ford 128.515 29.637
    43 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 128.182 29.714
  • Stewart comes from the back to win fourth Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

    Stewart comes from the back to win fourth Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Tony Stewart hasn’t lost his Daytona magic and Saturday night he needed all of it to earn his fourth win in the last eight Coke Zero 400s.

    Having qualified second then failing inspection because of an open cooling hose in his No. 14 Mobile 1 Chevrolet, Stewart came from 42nd on the grid. He passed Matt Kenseth coming to the white flag and then had clear sailing the checkered flag as a wreck broke out behind him.

    An exciting finish to a race that started off atypical for Daytona. Kenseth, the Daytona 500 winner who was looking to become the first driver in 30 years to win both races, led the field to the green flag then dominated the first half of the event. He and teammate Greg Biffle stuck together and never left the yellow line.

    As they lead, many tried to get the outside lane to work. It never did. Kenseth and Biffle were simply untouchable. The first caution of the event didn’t fly until after halfway when Sam Hornish, subbing for the suspended AJ Allmendinger, spun down the backstretch after cutting down a tire.

    During the caution the action got scary on pit road. Jeff Gordon was exiting his pit stall when he and Ryan Newman made contact. Newman ended up across the nose of Kasey Kahne and spun into the pit stall of Brad Keselowski. Lucky the No. 2 crew members and officials were able to escape without injury.

    When the race restarted it looked like Kenseth was easily cruising toward another win. That was until the next caution when he had to restart at the rear of the field after losing his track position. Kenseth had been on pit road when the caution came out but had to continue through without service or be penalized.

    His misfortune opened the door for Stewart. Quickly asserting himself the leader but he would have to deal again with Kenseth on a late restart after The Big One with eight laps to go took out 14 cars, setting up a two-lap dash to the finish.

    On the restart Stewart and Kahne paired together and flew past Kenseth and Biffle. It would end up being the wining pass. Stewart headed for the finish line as 15 more cars wrecked off turn four. Jeff Burton came through for a second place finish while Kenseth, who led a race high 89 of 160 laps, finished third.

    “I don’t even remember what happened that last lap,” Stewart said in Victory Lane. “I was in that second lane and just tried to get that 17 and 16 pulled apart and once we had them pulled apart that gave us a run on the outside.

    “Just shows what Mobile 1 lubricants and oils can do for you. So good on restarts and just a weird day. I’m still hoping for a figure eight race here.”

    Stewart then acknowledged, “Anytime you win at Daytona it’s special but this Chevy was awesome. Had great Hendrick horsepower. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing did a great job this weekend. I’m really, really proud of our organization.”

    The win was the third of 2012 for Stewart and the 47th of his career. It’s also the 18th time that he’s won at Daytona, second only to Dale Earnhardt. And with his three wins he moves into a tie with Brad Keselowski for most on the season.

    Kenseth retained the point lead, increasing to 25 over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Greg Biffle moved back to third and Jimmie Johnson fell to fourth after suffering another DNF at Daytona.

    The 2012 Coke Zero 400 saw 12 lead changes among nine drivers and six cautions for 23 laps. The series heads to New Hampshire next weekend for the 19th of 36 races.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Coke Zero 400, Daytona International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=18
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 47
    2 – 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 42
    3 1 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 43
    4 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 40
    5 2 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 39
    6 – 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 38
    7 – 99 Carl Edwards Ford 37
    8 – 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 36
    9 – 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 35
    10 – 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 34
    11 3 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 33
    12 5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 32
    13 – 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 31
    14 – 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 30
    15 – 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 29
    16 – 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 28
    17 – 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 28
    18 – 43 Aric Almirola Ford 26
    19 – 32 Terry Labonte Ford 25
    20 7 13 Casey Mears Ford 25
    21 4 16 Greg Biffle Ford 24
    22 – 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 22
    23 – 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 21
    24 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 21
    25 – 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 20
    26 – 34 David Ragan Ford 19
    27 – 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    28 – 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 16
    29 – 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 15
    30 – 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 14
    31 – 38 David Gilliland Ford 14
    32 – 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 12
    33 – 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    34 – 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 10
    35 – 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 9
    36 – 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8
    37 6 50 Bill Elliott Chevrolet 7
    38 – 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    39 – 30 David Stremme Toyota 5
    40 – 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 4
    41 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 – 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 2
    43 – 98 Mike Bliss Ford 0
  • Kurt Busch wins wild Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona

    Kurt Busch wins wild Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]Before the green flag even flew in the Subway Jalapeno 250 on Friday night at the Daytona International Speedway there had already been fireworks.

    Danica Patrick in a way called her shot. Saying she wasn’t going to bet against herself while her team said it was the night that she broke through. Unfortunately her night ended like her others at Daytona, wrecked.

    Then in qualifying last weekend’s winner, Austin Dillon, went out and won the pole. His celebration was short lived. Dillon failed post-qualifying inspection because of an open cooling hose in his Chevrolet. He failed under section 20A-2.1J and had his time disallowed and moved to the rear of the field. Any further penalties will be announced early next week.

    When the race went green it didn’t take long for the action to get exciting even though drivers quickly made their way into the tandem style drafting. Pairing after pairing took their turn at the front, seeing only two cautions and 12 drivers having led by halfway.

    During much of the second half of the event the Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, often found themselves the leaders with Kurt leading on six different occasions for a race high 23 of 101 laps. But fan favorite Patrick soon arrived and began to flex her muscle, making moves without any drafting help at times.

    Then came the Big One on lap 65, which would change the complexion of the race. As Mike Wallace slowed in turn two the hard charging pack behind him had nowhere to go. When the smoked cleared 16 cars involved including Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Mike Wallace, Clint Bowyer and other favorites.

    Kurt Busch came out with damage as well but it wasn’t enough to keep him out of contention. The James Finch team taped up their No. 1 Chevrolet and watched Busch fight back through the field. Whether his car was spewing water or losing its drafting help, Busch continued to fight and found himself near the front when it mattered most.

    A debris caution three laps to go set up the races finish. A green-white-checkered finish that saw Stenhouse push Busch past the tandem of Dillon and Annett. Then as Busch crossed the finish line Dillon spun behind him, collecting Kyle Busch, Johanna Long and Jason Bowles.

    It was the second win for Busch in 2012 but his first for Phoenix. In April he delivered Kyle Busch Motorsports their first career NNS win. It was also the first time Busch had won at Daytona and the 23rd win of his career. But, Friday night in Daytona it was all about the little team who could.

    “We just won at Daytona!” shouted Busch in Victory lane. “I got these guys at Phoenix, this is unbelievable. Passion and heart, that’s all I can give. That’s all I can do right now. And to do this for James Finch, this is awesome. To be an underfunded team, to come out only four times a year – we’ll be at Indy in a few weeks – it’s amazing to do what we can with a little team and to preserve.

    “And Ricky Stenhouse, in a Ford, thanks to him, this Chevrolet is in Victory Lane. Thanks to Nationwide and these fans. Running this series gives me a lot of confidence but it’s just passion and heart. That’s all I can give right now.”

    There was no shortage of emotion from Busch or the Phoenix team.

    “I’m a racer. I don’t know much about anything else. There’s time when you get caught up in marketing or PR and everything else that goes along with it, but you’ve got to do all the steps in this day and age.

    “I keep saying I grew up 30 years too late, I still haven’t grown up, even though I’m 33. But back in the 80s, that’s what this team reminds me of. It’s family. And you go hard or you go home.”

    Stenhouse finished second and Annett third, earning his best career NNS finish. They were also two of the four drivers who became eligible for the Dash4Cash program along with Dillon and Sadler. They’ll race for $100,000 bonus next weekend in New Hampshire.

    Going into New Hampshire, Sadler remains the point leader over Dillon. Stenhouse still sits third.

    The Subway Jalapeno 250 also set a record for lead changes and leaders. There were 42 lead changes and 16 leaders, the previous record had been 38 lead changes among 16 drivers back in February.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Subway Jalapeno 250, Daytona Int’l Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=16
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 1 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 0
    2 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 42
    3 – 43 Michael Annett Ford 41
    4 – 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 41
    5 – 18 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    6 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 39
    7 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 38
    8 – 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 36
    9 – 41 Timmy Hill Chevrolet 0
    10 – 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 35
    11 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 34
    12 – 70 Johanna Long * Chevrolet 32
    13 – 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet 31
    14 – 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 31
    15 – 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 29
    16 – 39 Josh Richards Ford 28
    17 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 27
    18 – 14 Eric McClure Toyota 26
    19 – 82 Blake Koch Dodge 25
    20 – 108 Bryan Silas Ford 0
    21 – 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 23
    22 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 23
    23 – 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    24 – 38 Brad Sweet * Chevrolet 20
    25 – 199 John Wes Townley Toyota 0
    26 – 20 Clint Bowyer Toyota 0
    27 – 124 Casey Roderick * Toyota 17
    28 – 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    29 – 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 16
    30 – 15 Jeffrey Earnhardt Ford 14
    31 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 14
    32 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 12
    33 – 136 Bobby Santos Chevrolet 11
    34 – 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
    35 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    36 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 9
    37 – 52 Joey Gase * Chevrolet 7
    38 – 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 6
    39 – 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 5
    40 – 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 4
    41 – 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
    42 – 47 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0
    43 – 10 Jeff Green Toyota 1
  • Kenseth captures the Coke Zero 400 pole at Daytona

    Kenseth captures the Coke Zero 400 pole at Daytona

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Daytona, FL. – Matt Kenseth captured the pole for Saturday nights Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway with a lap of 192.386 mph, 46.781 seconds.

    “Our lap was obviously a good one.  It was faster than the rest.  I had very little to do with it, so qualifying at the speedway races is all about the car and the engine and those guys did a spectacular job at Roush all year long really in preparing our speedway cars.” Hamlin said.

    The Daytona 500 winner is trying to become the first driver since Bobby Allison in 1982 to sweep the season races at Daytona.

    “Yeah, that would be pretty cool.  I never thought, especially early in my career with speedway racing I didn’t feel I was particularly good at it.” Kenseth said about tying Allison. “So certainly I think for our team and everything our confidence is high, but this race is still kind of a crapshoot. You’re never sure exactly what’s gonna happen.”

    Tony Stewart qualified second with a lap of lap was 192.361 mph but his time was disallowed.  NASCAR said an open cooling hose was found pointed inside the cockpit.  Stewart will start 42nd.

    “You asked me if I did anything different, I said ‘I held it wide open.’ You asked if they did anything special I said ‘yeah, they gave me full throttle this time.’ So my reward is I get a Coke Zero for this. That is well worth holding it wide open for.” Stewart said when he was asked what they did to his car.

    Ryan Newman qualified second, Kasey Kahne third, Greg Biffle fourth and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-5.

    Denny Hamlin, who is having back spasms, qualified his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota 24th and is not planning on having any driver stand-by.

    Starting Lineup
    Coke Zero 400, Daytona International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=18
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 192.386 46.781
    2 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 192.353 46.789
    3 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 192.291 46.804
    4 16 Greg Biffle Ford 192.139 46.841
    5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 192.061 46.86
    6 50 Bill Elliott Chevrolet 192.012 46.872
    7 13 Casey Mears Ford 191.934 46.891
    8 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 191.894 46.901
    9 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 191.857 46.91
    10 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 191.824 46.918
    11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 191.799 46.924
    12 99 Carl Edwards Ford 191.71 46.946
    13 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 191.681 46.953
    14 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 191.579 46.978
    15 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 191.497 46.998
    16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 191.477 47.003
    17 43 Aric Almirola Ford 191.27 47.054
    18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 191.245 47.06
    19 20 Joey Logano Toyota 191.229 47.064
    20 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 191.095 47.097
    21 98 Mike Bliss Ford 190.986 47.124
    22 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 190.945 47.134
    23 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 190.921 47.14
    24 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 190.848 47.158
    25 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 190.718 47.19
    26 30 David Stremme Toyota 190.666 47.203
    27 34 David Ragan Ford 190.617 47.215
    28 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 190.597 47.22
    29 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 190.557 47.23
    30 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 190.553 47.231
    31 26 Josh Wise* Ford 190.174 47.325
    32 38 David Gilliland Ford 190.134 47.335
    33 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 190.118 47.339
    34 32 Terry Labonte Ford 190.046 47.357
    35 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 189.994 47.37
    36 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 189.673 47.45
    37 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 188.719 47.69
    38 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 188.683 47.699
    39 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 188.549 47.733
    40 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 187.939 47.888
    41 47 Bobby Labonte+ Toyota 186.505 48.256
    42 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet – –
    43 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 187.021 48.123
  • Brad Keselowski Wins the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway

    Brad Keselowski Wins the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway

    [media-credit id=66 align=”alignright” width=”200″]Brad Keselowski[/media-credit]Brad Keselowski was hot, and so was everyone else in attendance at Kentucky Speedway. Keseloswki, in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, started 8th and won the 267 lap Quaker State 400 on the 1.5 mile track for his third win of the year.

    The second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway went off without a hitch after last year’s traffic problems. This year traffic flowed smoothly and no major backups were reported. The race was not a sell out like last year, but there was a good crowd and 100 degree temperatures.

    Jimmie Johnson won the pole, his first since 2010, with a lap of 181.818 mph. Kyle Busch, who started 2nd, lead the race early before having yet another issue in his #18 M&M’s Toyota for the 4th week in a row after thinking that the car had a broken shock. Busch would recover and finished the race in the 10th position.

    Kasey Kahne finished in 2nd after losing a lap early in the race with a loose right front wheel. After getting his lap back, Kasey was one of the fastest cars on the track and made his way back through the field passing Denny Hamlin for 2nd with less than 10 laps to go. Hamlin finished in 3rd, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who scored his 13th top 10 of the season and now trails point leader, Matt Kenseth, by 11 in the championship point standings. Jeff Gordon finished 5th followed by Jimmie Johnson, points leader Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch in 10th.

    There were four cautions in the race and only one for an accident involving #39 Ryan Newman, and the #78 of Regan Smith. Newman spun and hit the wall and Smith was caught up in the accident. Newman finished in 34th and Regan Smith finished in 33rd.

    Tony Stewart also had early problems when he pitted under green on lap 29 and the car would not re-start, forcing the teem to the garage to change the throttle body. Stewart’s #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet would finish in 32nd position 36 laps down to the leaders.

    Brad won the race in a back up car after an on track confrontation with Juan Pablo Montoya in the first practice on Friday forced the Penske team to a back up car. That event was not the only headache for Keselowski. He was the last car to leave pit road at the beginning of the race after his steering wheel broke in his hand sitting on pit road. The team was able to replace the wheel and Brad was able to start in his 8th starting position.

    When asked about what it will take to make the chase and win a championship, Keselowski, who currently sits 10th in points said “I wanna be the guy with the most wins and in the top 10. That’s all that matters.”

    Runner-up Kahne, when asked about his championship hopes said, “We need to win a race or two to make the Chase, but to see how well the Hendrick cars are right now, I mean, it’s great to see. Great to be a part of that.”

    The race had 17 lead changes among 6 drivers, 4 cautions for 24 laps. Brad Keselowski’s margin of victory was 4.399 seconds over Kasey Kahne. The race was ran at an average speed of 145.607 mph.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Quaker State 400, Kentucky Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=17
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 8 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 47
    2 19 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 42
    3 3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 42
    4 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 40
    5 9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 39
    6 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 39
    7 20 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 37
    8 10 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 36
    9 16 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 35
    10 2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 36
    11 4 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 33
    12 15 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 32
    13 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 31
    14 31 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 30
    15 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 29
    16 6 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 28
    17 34 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 28
    18 21 13 Casey Mears Ford 27
    19 14 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 25
    20 25 99 Carl Edwards Ford 24
    21 11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 23
    22 18 20 Joey Logano Toyota 22
    23 38 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 21
    24 29 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 20
    25 23 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 19
    26 13 43 Aric Almirola Ford 18
    27 28 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 17
    28 40 38 David Gilliland Ford 16
    29 33 34 David Ragan Ford 15
    30 39 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 14
    31 41 32 Ken Schrader Ford 13
    32 22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 12
    33 26 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 11
    34 5 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 10
    35 42 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 32 30 David Stremme Toyota 8
    37 30 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    38 35 98 Michael McDowell Ford 6
    39 24 195 Scott Speed Ford 5
    40 27 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    41 43 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 3
    42 37 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
    43 36 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 1
  • Austin Dillon wins first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway

    Austin Dillon wins first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway

    Austin Dillon dominates at Kentucky Speedway

    Austin Dillon won his second pole of the 2012 season Friday afternoon in the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway with a lap of 31.359 seconds and a speed of 172.199 mph. Kevin Harvick qualified second, Brad Keselowski started third, Sam Hornish Jr. fourth, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started in fifth.

    Dillon would go on to dominate and bring the famous black No. 3, owned by Dillon’s grandfather Richard Childress, back to victory lane, scoring his first win in 26 starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dillon’s win is the first for the number No. 3 in the Nationwide Series since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won with it in 2010.

    “I know Dale is smiling down to see that 3 get a win tonight,” said team owner Richard Childress.

    Dillon, in the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, lead by as much as 9 seconds and at one point in the race, had lapped all but 8 cars, until a caution came out on lap 143 when Mike Wallace hit the wall. The caution came out during a round of green flag pit stops. Dillon restarted first and would never be challenged for the lead. He would lead 192 laps in the 200 lap event.

    Kurt Busch, driving the Monster Energy Toyota owned by his brother Kyle, finished in second after starting in eighth place. Harvick finished third in the Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet.

    Michael Annett scored his best ever Nationwide Series finish in 4th driving the Pilot/Flying J Ford with Justin Allgaier in fifth and Hornish Jr. in sixth.

    The rest of the top 10 were Brad Keselowski, Stenhouse Jr., Elliott Sadler, and James Buescher. Danica Patrick finished two laps down in 12th. Only eight cars were running on the lead lap.

    Dillon’s win broke the race record for most laps lead at Kentucky breaking Carl Edwards’ record of 150 laps lead. This race was also the fastest NASCAR Nationwide Series 300 mile event at Kentucky Speedway being with an average speed of 152.54 mph shattering the previous speed of 138.46 mph.

    Dillon currently leads the points by tw0 over Elliott Sadler.

    Following post-race inspection, Dillon’s car was found to be too low in the rear. Dillon’s crew chief, Danny Stockman, said, “We’ve had an issue before. We addressed it in a meeting. It should have been addressed. That’s the only comment I’ve got.”

    Elliott Sadler’s team failed post-race inspection in Iowa for a similar infraction and the team was docked 6 points and fined $10,000. NASCAR has stated the penalties will be announced early in the upcoming week. If a point penalty is assessed, Dillon could lose the point lead.

  • Johnson captures the Quaker State 400 pole at Kentucky

    Johnson captures the Quaker State 400 pole at Kentucky

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”252″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson captured the pole for Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway with a lap of 181.818 mph in 29.700 seconds in his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.

    This was Johnson’s first pole since September 2010.

    “It was a very comfortable lap; a very good lap. Qualifying has not been our strong suit over the last two years. So, I’m very happy to get this pole today. It’s a very cool race car and I’m very proud of our relationships with Lowe’s and all the great things they do.” Johnson said.

    Last years inaugural polesitter and race winner Kyle Busch qualified second with a lap of 181.421 mph.

    “It was alright. Certainly hoped for a little bit more there, but unfortunately didn’t achieve what we needed to. So, we’ll go into tomorrow’s night race with good pit selection and starting up front — which is good for us. Typically don’t qualify well, but this is a place that we like coming to and you need to qualify well at, so I’m glad we did that.” Busch said.

    Denny Hamlin third, Kevin Harvick fourth and Ryan Newman qualified fifth.

    Starting Lineup
    Quaker State 400, Kentucky Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=17
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 181.818 29.7
    2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 181.421 29.765
    3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 181.147 29.81
    4 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 180.367 29.939
    5 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 180.337 29.944
    6 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 180.228 29.962
    7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 180.222 29.963
    8 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 180.204 29.966
    9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 180.036 29.994
    10 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 179.964 30.006
    11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 179.754 30.041
    12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 179.509 30.082
    13 43 Aric Almirola Ford 179.337 30.111
    14 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 179.206 30.133
    15 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 179.075 30.155
    16 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 179.045 30.16
    17 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 178.992 30.169
    18 20 Joey Logano Toyota 178.867 30.19
    19 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 178.737 30.212
    20 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 178.23 30.298
    21 13 Casey Mears Ford 177.825 30.367
    22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 177.801 30.371
    23 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 177.02 30.505
    24 195 Scott Speed Ford 176.505 30.594
    25 99 Carl Edwards Ford 176.217 30.644
    26 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 175.97 30.687
    27 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 175.73 30.729
    28 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 175.615 30.749
    29 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 175.211 30.82
    30 26 Josh Wise* Ford 175.08 30.843
    31 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 175.063 30.846
    32 30 David Stremme Toyota 174.757 30.9
    33 34 David Ragan Ford 174.695 30.911
    34 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 174.402 30.963
    35 98 Michael McDowell Ford 174.402 30.963
    36 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 174.345 30.973
    37 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 174.272 30.986
    38 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 173.511 31.122
    39 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 172.199 31.359
    40 38 David Gilliland+ Ford – –
    41 32 Ken Schrader+ Ford – –
    42 36 Dave Blaney+ Chevrolet – –
    43 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 173.132 31.19
  • Dillon Earns His First NNS Kentucky Speedway Pole Award

    Dillon Earns His First NNS Kentucky Speedway Pole Award

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”252″][/media-credit]Richard Childress Racing driver and NCWTS track qualifying record holder scores his third career Kentucky Speedway pole

    SPARTA, Ky. – Driver Austin Dillon delivered his first NASCAR Nationwide Series Kentucky Speedway pole award and will lead tonight’s 43-car Feed The Children 300 field to the 7:30 p.m. green flag after turning a 172.199 mph (31.359 seconds) lap in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing (RCR) car.

    Dillon, who set the current Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) qualifying record with a 179.868 (30.022 seconds) lap on Oct. 1, 2011, will share tonight’s front row with Kevin Harvick, Inc., (KHI) owner Kevin Harvick, who knocked out a 171.401 mph (31.505 seconds) qualifying effort in his No. 33 KHI ride.

    “It was really good. Actually that first lap, it worried me because we got a really bad push and it was too tight. I over drove a little bit. We were able to recover on the second lap which has been a slower lap for us all weekend,” Dillon said. “That really shows you how fast our car is. The BASS Pro Shops team is doing a good job this weekend and I can’t wait to get in the race tonight when it cools down and see how our car reacts to the different temperature.”

    He will make his NNS track debut owning three career Kentucky Speedway pole awards. He earned his first at the track on Sept. 3, 2010 for a 225-mile NCWTS race.

    Harvick will make his second straight and fourth career NNS Kentucky Speedway start tonight. He earned a victory in the series inaugural 300-mile event at the track on June 16, 2001, placed second to Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski in last season’s Feed The Children 300 and owns a total of three top-10 NNS finishes at the facility through three career starts.

    Keselowski qualified third with a 170.611 mph (31.651 seconds) lap. He took last season’s Feed The Children 300 title from the fifth spot on the starting grid.

    Tickets for tonight’s race remain on sale through the tickets page of this Web site, by phone at (859) 578-2300, and at the Kentucky Speedway gates and corporate offices at the track.