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  • Kahne Wins Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at Rockingham Speedway

    Kahne Wins Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at Rockingham Speedway

    Kasey Kahne was in the lead heading into the final 20 laps at Rockingham Speedway. He never relinquished that lead, scoring the victory in the inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway. This was Kahne’s first victory in of 2012.

    Kahne described this as “the best weekend I have had in a long time.” He drove in three races this weekend with three impressive finishes; third place in the Nationwide Series in Texas, seventh place in the Cup race, and the win at Rockingham.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Rainer Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]He went on to explain how happy he was to be a part of the event.

    “When I heard they were putting a race on here at Rockingham, as soon as I heard about it, I was trying to figure out whom I would race for and how I would make it here,” he said.

    He only got about 4 ½ hours sleep the previous night but that did not dampen his enthusiasm.

    “Coming to ‘The Rock’ I was so excited that I woke up early. My alarm was supposed to go off at nine this morning and I woke up at 7:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

    Sunday marked NASCAR’s first return to Rockingham Speedway since February 2004.

    ‘The Rock,’ under the guidance of Andy Hillenburg, opened its arms to the fans allowing them access to the infield and pit road, areas that are normally out of bounds for most ticket holders. Golf cart shuttles were available to take fans to their seats. They were limited but if you didn’t mind waiting, you could catch a ride. The atmosphere was more like a family reunion than a sporting event.

    Everyone from the staff to the fans to the drivers was excited to be a part of the track’s return to NASCAR.

    Nelson Piquet Jr. led the field to green on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200. He led a total of 107 laps during the race and was dominant most of the race.

    Points leader John King spun out on lap four, hit the inside wall and brought out the first caution.

    Piquet continued to lead the field and had just lapped the tenth place car when a debris caution was called.

    Matt Crafton took the lead shortly after the restart, leaving Piquet Jr. in second place.

    Kasey Kahne started in the rear of the field but quickly worked his way into the top three battling with Matt Crafton and Nelson Piquet Jr. for the lead. Kahne took over the lead on lap 155.

    On the final pit stop Piquet Jr. was caught too fast exiting and had to go to the back of the field, ending his bid for a win. He fought his way back to finish the race in seventh position.

    James Buescher finished the race in second place position earning him his second top ten finish of 2012. Matt Crafton finished third followed by Johnny Sauter. Timothy Peters rounded out the top five.

    Peter’s fifth place pushed him to a six point lead in the point standings over Justin Lofton. Ty Dillon is third, followed by James Buescher and Parker Kligerman.

    Ty Dillon finished in eighth place and was the highest finishing rookie.

    The next Camping World Truck Series race will be April 21, 2012 at Kansas Speedway.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=3
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 4 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    2 16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 42
    3 8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 42
    4 10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 40
    5 3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 40
    6 17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 38
    7 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 39
    8 12 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 36
    9 6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 35
    10 19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 34
    11 27 27 Jeb Burton * Chevrolet 33
    12 22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 32
    13 21 81 David Starr Toyota 31
    14 11 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 30
    15 23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 29
    16 29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 28
    17 13 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 27
    18 15 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 26
    19 18 92 David Reutimann Chevrolet 0
    20 20 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 24
    21 24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 23
    22 32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 22
    23 30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 21
    24 28 23 Jason White Ford 20
    25 14 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 19
    26 2 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 18
    27 36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 17
    28 26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 16
    29 33 93 Chris Cockrum Chevrolet 15
    30 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 14
    31 7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 13
    32 31 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 12
    33 25 7 John King * Toyota 11
    34 4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 10
    35 34 7 Johnny Chapman Toyota 9
    36 9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 8
  • Lap by Lap: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 won by Kasey Kahne

    Lap by Lap: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 won by Kasey Kahne

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With 46 laps to go, Kahne passed Matt Crafton for the lead and didn’t look back as he led the field off pit road with 26 laps to go after a caution for debris.

    Green flag as Nelson Piquet Jr. gets a solid start

    Lap 3 Nelson Piquet Jr. leads Jason Leftler, Paulie Harraka, Parker Kligerman, Timothy Peters, Matt Crafton, Todd Bodine

    Caution Lap 5 Points Leader John King gets into the inside wall. Got loose off of turn two and gets into the inside wall.

    Restart Lap 9 as Nelson Piquet Jr. gets a good restart and pulls ahead

    Lap 10 Ross Chastain bounced off the wall in turn two

    Lap 11 Piquet Jr. leads Leftler, Crafton, Kligerman, Bodine, Harraka, Peters, Ty Dillon, Johnny Sauter, James Buescher

    Lap 15 Sauter passes Dillon for eighth

    Lap 16 Buescher passes Dillon for ninth

    Lap 19 Peters, Sauter and Buescher pass Haraka

    Lap 19 Crafton passes Leftler for second as Leftler heads down pit road with motor problems

    Lap 21 Piquet Jr. leads Crafton, Kligerman, Bodine, Peters, Sauter, Buescher, Dillon, Justin Lofton and Harraka

    Lap 29 Piquet Jr. leads Crafton, Kligerman, Peters, Sauter, Buescher, Bodine, Dillon, Lofton and Joey Coulter

    Lap 31 Kasey Kahne passes Coulter for 10th after starting in the rear

    Lap 36 Dillon, Lofton and Kahne pass Bodine for position

    Lap 39 Coulter passes Bodine for 10th

    Lap 47 Piquet Jr. leads Crafton, Kligerman, Peters, Buescher, Sauter, Kahne, Dillon, Lofton and Coulter

    Lap 50 Piquet Jr. puts Cale Gale a lap down. Only the top 13 are on the lead lap

    Lap 52 Lofton passes Dillon for eighth

    Lap 54 Dillon passes Lofton back for eighth

    Lap 55 Coulter passes Lofton for ninth

    Lap 58 Piquet Jr. has a half a lap lead on second place Crafton

    Lap 60 Caution for debris……Piquet Jr. leads Peters, Kligerman, Crafton, Buescher, Kahne, and Sauter off pit road……Jeb Burton got the lucky dog….

    Restart Lap 66 as Piquet Jr. gets another strong start

    Lap 68 Crafton takes the lead from Piquet Jr as they lead Peters, Kahne, Dillon, Sauter, Buescher, Kligerman, Lofton and Coulter.

    Lap 70 Problems for Todd Bodine as he hit the wall off of turn two

    Lap 71 Bodine brings the truck down pit road. No caution

    Lap 73 Crafton leads Piquet Jr., Kahne, Peters, Sauter, Buescher, Dillon, Kligerman, Lofton and Coulter

    Lap 87 Piquet Jr. now leads Crafton, Kahne, Peters, Sauter, Buescher, Dillon, Kligerman, Lofton, Coulter

    Lap 94 Peters passes Kahne for third

    Lap 95 Sauter passes Kahne for fourth

    Lap 100 Coulter passes Lofton for ninth

    HALFWAY as only 11 trucks are on the lead lap as Piquet Jr. leads Crafton, Peters, Sauter, Kahne, Buescher, Dillon, Kligerman, Coulter, Lofton and Jeb Burton

    Lap 108 Kligerman passes Dillon for seventh

    Lap 109 Crafton and Piquet Jr. battle side-by-side for the lead

    Lap 110 Piquet Jr. holds Crafton off

    Lap 111 Buescher passes Kahne for fifth

    Lap 112 Piquet Jr. leads Crafton, Peters, Sauter, Buescher, Kahne, Kligerman, Dillon, Coulter, Lofton and Burton

    Lap 113 Kahne, Kligerman and Dillon pass Buescher as Burton passes Lofton

    Lap 116 Ron Hornaday runs in the lucky dog spot.

    Lap 117 Jason White hits pit road

    Lap 118 Piquet Jr. leads Crafton, Peters, Sauter, Kahne, Kligerman, Dillon, Busecher, Coulter, Burton, Lofton and Hornaday

    Lap 121 David Reuitmann brings out the caution as he goes for a spin, collecting Bryan Silas…..Pit stops…..Peters leads Crafton, Sauter, Kahne, Piquet Jr., Dillon, Buescher and Kligermann off pit road. Sauter had to come back down pit road as they did not get it full of fuel. He’ll restart 11th. Ron Hornaday gets the lucky dog to make it 12 trucks on the lead lap.

    Restart Lap 131 as Crafton gets a good restart and takes the lead from Peters

    Lap 133 Crafton leads Peters, Kahne, Dillon, Buescher, Piquet Jr., Kligerman, Coulter, Lofton, Burton, Sauter and Hornaday. Starr runs in the lucky dog position.

    Lap 136 Piquet Jr. passes Buescher for fifth

    Lap 139 Lofton passes Coulter while Sauter passes Burton

    Lap 140 Buescher passes Piquet Jr. back while Kahne passes Peters

    Lap 141 Crafton leads Kahne, Peters, Dillon, Buescher, Piquet Jr., Kligerman, Lofton, Coulter, Sauter, Burton and Hornaday. Starr still runs in the lucky dog position.

    Lap 142 Sauter passes Coulter for ninth

    Lap 143 Sauter passes Coulter for eighth; Piquet Jr. passes Buescher for fifth

    Lap 144 Coulter passes Lofton for ninth

    Lap 146 Piquet Jr. passes Dillon for fourth

    Lap 148 Buescher passes Dillon for fifth; Sauter passes Kligermann for seventh

    Lap 150 Crafton leads Kahne, Peters, Piquet Jr., Buescher, Dillon, Sauter, Kligerman, Coulter, Lofton, Burton and Hornaday. Starr still runs in the lucky dog position.

    46 to go Kasey Kahne passes Matt Crafton for the lead

    40 to go Kahne leads Crafton, Piquet Jr., Peters, Buescher, Dillon, Sauter, Kligerman, Coulter, Burton, Lofton, Hornaday. Starr still runs in the lucky dog position

    35 to go Piquet Jr. passes Crafton for second

    33 to go Kahne leads Piquet Jr., Crafton, Buescher and Peters

    Caution 26 laps to go for debris. David Starr gets the lucky dog to put 13 trucks on the lead lap…..Pit stops…….Kahne leads Piquet Jr., Buescher, Peters, Crafton, Dillon, Sauter, Coulter, Kligerman and Burton off pit road. Piquet Jr. too fast exiting pit road so will need to go to the tail end of the longest line.

    Restart 20 to go as Kahne keeps the lead from Buescher

    14 to go Kahne leads Buescher, Crafton, Sauter, Peters, Coulter, Kligerman, Dillon, Lofton, Burton, Hornaday, Piquet Jr., Starr. Daykota Armstrong is in position for the lucky dog.

    12 to go Dillon passes Kligerman for seventh

    10 to go Piquet Jr. passes Hornaday 11th

    9 to go Piquet Jr. passes Burton for 10th

    8 to go Piquet Jr. passes Lofton for ninth

    7 to go Piquet Jr. passes Kligerman for eighth

    Kasey Kahne wins over Buescher, Crafton, Saute, Peters, Coulter, Piquet Jr., Dillon, Kligerman, Lofton, Burton.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=3
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 4 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    2 16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 42
    3 8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 42
    4 10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 40
    5 3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 40
    6 17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 38
    7 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 39
    8 12 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 36
    9 6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 35
    10 19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 34
    11 27 27 Jeb Burton * Chevrolet 33
    12 22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 32
    13 21 81 David Starr Toyota 31
    14 11 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 30
    15 23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 29
    16 29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 28
    17 13 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 27
    18 15 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 26
    19 18 92 David Reutimann Chevrolet 0
    20 20 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 24
    21 24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 23
    22 32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 22
    23 30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 21
    24 28 23 Jason White Ford 20
    25 14 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 19
    26 2 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 18
    27 36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 17
    28 26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 16
    29 33 93 Chris Cockrum Chevrolet 15
    30 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 14
    31 7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 13
    32 31 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 12
    33 25 7 John King * Toyota 11
    34 4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 10
    35 34 7 Johnny Chapman Toyota 9
    36 9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 8
  • Greg Biffle Snaps Winless Streak at Texas Motor Speedway

    Greg Biffle Snaps Winless Streak at Texas Motor Speedway

    [media-credit name=”Nigel Kinrade/Autostock” align=”alignright” width=”301″][/media-credit]So far this year Greg Biffle had done everything right, except win. That all changed on Saturday night as he led 90 laps on his way to winning the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “I’ll tell you what, I could say it’s about time, but hard work pays off still today, and that’s what this is about,” Biffle says. “The team and Matt Puccia putting together the guys he has, the engine shop, how hard they’ve worked on the fuel injection and the engines and all that.  I am just thankful to get the opportunity to drive these cars as fast as they are.  We knew it was a matter of time we were going to win one of these things.  We’ve been running so good.  We had great pit stops, we’ve had good cars.  Vegas we were off a little bit, and that ate at us a little bit because that’s a good track for us.  So we came here and really focused on our car to get it driving the best we could.”

    The 17th win of his career allowed Biffle to end a 49-race winless streak that dated back to October 3, 2010 when he won at Kansas Speedway.

    With 30 laps to go, Biffle was able to catch Jimmie Johnson in traffic and pass him for the lead.

    “I’ll tell you what, catching the 48 car at the end, I had to dig deep,” Biffle comments. “It was all I had to be able to get to him, and it seemed like when I got to him it was too easy.  I don’t know if he used up his tires or the traffic — he had trouble, I think a little bit of trouble in traffic.  That’s when I could close in on him.  But over all it was a good night for us.”

    Johnson would come home to finish second despite getting into the wall with 15 to go for his fifth top five of 2012 after leading 156 laps.

    “I wish we could have won,” Johnson says. “We were in contention, had a great race car.  Pit stops were just amazing all night long.  Car was great.  You know, at the end the 16 — really probably the last two or three runs the 16 and I were pretty equal, run pretty similar lap times, and right before the last pit stop I got caught in some traffic, he got to me and came out of the pits and was pacing him and had a second half lead and then we caught traffic, some guys were multiple laps down that didn’t show much respect to myself, the leader, and before I know it 16 was there on the side of me and got by.”

    Mark Martin would finish third to continue the hot streak that Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) has been on early this season.

    “I am just so proud of MWR and all the people there and the teamwork that they have shown there starting with Martin Truex, Jr., who has put so much work into getting the program where it was when we started the season and everybody combined,” he says. “They really have a lot of great people there with great attitude, great teamwork, and man, have I got one awesome crew chief in Rodney Childers.  This is so much fun and such an incredible privilege to drive a race car at this point in my career, to be able to drive a race car for a team like that and in a hot rod like that.

    “I could see the leader the whole race, and at times we could gain — when we were at our very best we were making some gains on the leaders, and when we were at our worst we were falling back some, and most of the time we could kind of maintain pace.  We don’t have much more work to do, and we can get up there and be battling for the win.  So I’m really proud of the guys.  We’ve made improvements on our racer every race that we’ve got to run together, so Rodney and I are starting to figure some things out in the car that I like for the long haul.  So it’s working well.”

    Jeff Gordon would finish fourth followed by Matt Kenseth in fifth. Pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    The race was the quickest in Texas Motor Speedway history with an average speed of 160.577 and had the fewest cautions ever with two for 10 laps. The first was for Trevor Bayne getting into the wall, while the second was for debris.

    Following the win, Biffle leads Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. by 19 points in the Sprint Cup Series Points Standings heading into Kansas Speedway.

     

    Full Rundown:

    1. Greg Biffle
    2. Jimmie Johnson
    3. Mark Martin
    4. Jeff Gordon
    5. Matt Kenseth
    6. Martin Truex Jr.
    7. Kasey Kahne
    8. Carl Edwards
    9. Kevin Harvick
    10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    11. Kyle Busch
    12. Denny Hamlin
    13. Kurt Busch
    14. Jamie McMurray
    15. AJ Allmendinger
    16. Juan Pablo Montoya
    17. Clint Bowyer
    18. Paul Menard
    19. Joey Logano
    20. Marcos Ambrose
    21. Ryan Newman
    22. Aric Almirola
    23. Regan Smith
    24. Tony Stewart
    25. Casey Mears
    26. David Reutimann
    27. Bobby Labonte
    28. Trevor Bayne
    29. Jeff Burton
    30. Landon Cassill
    31. David Gilliland
    32. Reed Sorenson
    33. JJ Yeley
    34. Tony Raines
    35. David Ragan
    36. Brad Keselowski
    37. Dave Blaney
    38. Travis Kvapil
    39. Josh Wise
    40. Mike Bliss
    41. Michael McDowell
    42. Scott Riggs
    43. Scott Speed

     

  • Lap by Lap: Samsung Mobile 500 won by Greg Biffle

    Lap by Lap: Samsung Mobile 500 won by Greg Biffle

    [media-credit name=”Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In the quickest race in Texas Motor Speedway history, Greg Biffle passed Jimmie Johnson with 30 laps to go and never looked back, snapping a 49-race winless streak.

    Green Flag

    Lap 1: Martin Truex Jr. leads the first lap

    Lap 10: Truex leads Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Marco Ambrose, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.

    Lap 14 Amborse, Kenseth and Martin pass Kahne; Denny Hamlin passes Newman

    Lap 27 Truex leads Biffle, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Johnson, McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Menard, Carl Edwards

    Lap 36 Biffle leads Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Harvick, Johnson, Edwards, Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 37 Kenseth passes Truex for second

    Lap 39 Harvick passes Martin for fifth

    Lap 41 Harvick passes Ambrose for fourth

    Lap 45 to 48 the leaders pit

    Lap 49 Biffle now leads

    Lap 52 Biffle leads Harvick, Truex, Kenseth, Martin, Ambrose, Keselowski, Johnson, Edwards, McMurray

    Lap 64 Biffle leads Harvick, Truex, Kenseth, Martin, Ambrose, Johnson, Keselowski, McMurray and Edwards

    Caution Lap 67 Debris…….The leaders go down pit road…….Truex leads Biffle, Martin, Johnson, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, Kyle Busch, Menard, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton

    Restart Lap 72

    Lap 73 Truex and Biffle are side-by-side for the lead

    Lap 75 Biffle clears Truex for the lead

    Lap 76 McMurray passes Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 77 Biffle leads Truex, Kenseth, Johnson, Martin, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, McMurray and Harvick

    Lap 79 Kenseth passes Truex

    Lap 82 Kenseth to the lead past Biffle

    Lap 86 Kenseth, Biffle, Martin, Johnson, Truex, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, McMurray and Gordon

    Lap 88 McMurray passes Keselowski for eighth

    Caution Lap 95 Trevor Bayne gets into the wall……Leaders head down pit road…..

    Restart Lap 101

    Lap 102 Biffle now leads the field.

    Lap 105 Biffle leads Johnson, Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Allmendinger, Gordon and Kyle Busch

    Lap 111 Earnhardt Jr. passes Busch for 10th

    Lap 114 Johnson passes Biffle for the lead

    Lap 115 Gordon passes Allmendinger for eighth

    Lap 117 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for ninth

    Lap 118 Johnson leads Biffle, Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Allmemdinger

    Lap 123 Kenseth passes Truex for third

    Lap 125 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for eighth

    Lap 127 Johnson leads Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Harvick

    Lap 139 Johnson leads Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Keselowski, Martin, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Harvick

    Lap 141 Juan Pablo Montoya hits pit road as the leaders begin hitting pit road.

    Lap 147 Leaders Johnson and Biffle pit, handing the lead to Truex

    Lap 148 Truex leads Kenseth, Martin, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 156 Keselowski is having motor problems

    Lap 159 Truex leads Kenseth, Johnson, Martin, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Gordon, Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin

    Lap 160 Johnson passes Kenseth for second; Gordon passes Harvick for seventh

    Lap 180 Truex leads Johnson, Kenseth, Martin, Biffle, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Ambrose, Allmendinger

    Lap 181 Johnson takes the lead

    Lap 184 Pit stops begin……

    Lap 186 Leader Johnson hits pit road

    Lap 189 Pit cycle complete. Johnson is the leader once again.

    Lap 197 Johnson leads Martin, Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Ambrose and Allmendinger

    Lap 200 Gordon passes Earnhardt Jr. for seventh

    Lap 203 Hamlin passes Allmendinger for 10th

    Lap 214 Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Truex, Gordon, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Ambrose and Hamlin

    Lap 228 Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenesth, Truex, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ambrose, Harvick, Hamlin, Kahne

    Lap 229 Harvick comes down pit road so Hamlin and Kahne both pass him

    Lap 230 Martin comes down pit road from third position

    Lap 231 Trevor Bayne and Juan Pablo Montoya pit along with Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin

    Lap 232 Marco Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pit

    Lap 233 Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman pit

    Lap 234 Jimmie Johnson pits from the lead, followed by Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth. Pit cycle complete, handing the lead to Johnson over Biffle.

    100 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth and Truex

    96 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Truex, Gordon, Harvick, Ambrose, Earnhardt Jr., and Kahne

    71 to go Gordon passes Truex for fifth; Kahne passes Earnhardt Jr. for ninth

    67 to go Gordon passes Kenseth for fourth

    59 to go Ambrose passes Harvick for seventh

    58 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Harvick, Kahne, Earnhardt Jr.

    55 to go Kahne passes Harvick for eighth as Joey Logano pits. Harvick joins Logano on pit road.

    54 to go Regan Smith pits

    53 to go Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Allmendinger, Bowyer, Mears pit

    52 to go Almirola, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. pit

    51 to go Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Marco Ambrose, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray pit.

    50 to go Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon pits handing the lead back to Jimmie Johnson

    49 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Gordon, Truex, Harvick, Ambrose, Kahne and Hamlin

    46 to go Ambrose passes Harvick for seventh

    44 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Hamlin for 10th

    41 to go Kahne passes Harvick for eighth

    40 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Gordon, Truex, Ambrose, Kahne, Harvick and Earnhardt Jr.

    37 to go Gordon passes Kenseth for fourth

    30 to go Biffle takes the lead from Johnson

    24 to go Biffle leads Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Kahne, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.

    21 to go Trevor Bayne got into the wall but no caution

    17 to go Kahne passes Ambrose for seventh

    15 to go Johnson gets into the wall

    13 to go Edwards passes Earnhardt Jr. for 10th

    6 to go Edwards passes Harvick for ninth

    Final Lap – Marco Ambose is slow and out of gas.

    Greg Biffle wins followed by Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Kahne, Edwards, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.

  • Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway

    Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After four practice sessions, the trucks took to the track Saturday afternoon to qualify at ‘The Rock.’ Nelson Piquet Jr. captured the pole driving his No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado. It was his first pole in 33 career starts.

    He described the track as difficult and said the last couple of days have been tough. He doesn’t necessarily expect the pole position to translate into a win because of the unpredictability of tire wear at the track.

    Paulie Harraka qualified in the second position, calling it a “solid” run. Timothy Peters will start the race in third position after fighting “a tight condition.”

    Jason Leffler and Brad Sweet (qualifying for Kasey Kahne) round out the top five.  Kahne, who will compete in the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, will start the truck race from the back of the field Sunday afternoon.

    The Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 begins at 1:00 pm Sunday and will be televised live on Speed. Speed coverage will begin at 12:30pm with ‘NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup.’  It will mark NASCAR’s first return to the track since 2004.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=3
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 144.387 24.933
    2 5 Paulie Harraka* Ford 144.381 24.934
    3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 143.937 25.011
    4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 143.73 25.047
    5 4 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 143.392 25.106
    6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 143.147 25.149
    7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 143.033 25.169
    8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 142.976 25.179
    9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 142.885 25.195
    10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 142.693 25.229
    11 98 Dakoda Armstrong* Toyota 142.642 25.238
    12 3 Ty Dillon* Chevrolet 142.535 25.257
    13 33 Cale Gale* Chevrolet 142.349 25.29
    14 8 Ross Chastain* Toyota 142.298 25.299
    15 24 Max Gresham* Chevrolet 142.259 25.306
    16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 142.158 25.324
    17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 142.034 25.346
    18 92 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet 141.989 25.354
    19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 141.766 25.394
    20 9 John Wes Townley* Toyota 141.682 25.409
    21 81 David Starr Toyota 141.06 25.521
    22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 140.658 25.594
    23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 140.488 25.625
    24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 140.455 25.631
    25 7 John King* Toyota 140.384 25.644
    26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 140.362 25.648
    27 27 Jeb Burton* Chevrolet 140.203 25.677
    28 23 Jason White Ford 139.969 25.72
    29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 139.654 25.778
    30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 139.373 25.83
    31 99 Bryan Silas* Ford 138.648 25.965
    32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 138.206 26.048
    33 93 Chris Cockrum+ Chevrolet 134.133 26.839
    34 7 Johnny Chapman+ Toyota 131.536 27.369
    35 57 Norm Benning+ Chevrolet 131.411 27.395
    36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 139.346 25.835
  • Stenhouse strikes again, captures second win in Texas

    Stenhouse strikes again, captures second win in Texas

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won for the second time in 2012 on Friday night in Texas but in doing so he had to overcome everything Friday the 13th could throw at him.

    From radio problems, to his tachometer acting up, even the lights going out on multiple occasions. Yet it wasn’t enough to slow him from leading 69 laps and capturing a cowboy hat to go with the cowboy personality, and boots, that he already has.

    “It was back and forth,” said Stenhouse of his night. “The race started we were very strong, our Pure Michigan Mustang was doing everything that I needed it to do. Then we lost a little track position there on that restart and seemed like we really struggled, wasn’t sure if it wanted to be loose, tight, we were battling with it.”

    Stenhouse credited crew chief Mike Kelley for making all the right changes, as well as keeping him calm. Knowing they had a fast car but unable to overtake Paul Menard during a stint of the race, Stenhouse was told to relax and they would continue working on it.

    “Mike decided to go with no changes on that last pit stop, which I wasn’t fond of. But he knows what he’s doing, that’s why he gets paid to do that. That last restart, it was crazy man. I think I spent the whole five laps we had under caution just praying for a good restart and everything worked out for us.

    “It was fun racing those guys. I had to drive in to turn three wide open Denny [Hamlin] was on the left rear of us and got us a little bit loose but we managed to hang on and pull it off.”

    It’s the first win for Stenhouse at Texas, his fourth career and the ninth win for Roush Fenway at Texas. He’s only won at three tracks: sweeping Iowa last season, Las Vegas earlier this season and now Texas. He only won twice all of 2011.

    Team owner Jack Roush said he felt it was harder to defend the championship than it was to win it for the first time. But the defending champions continue to improve and have become a force to be reckoned with at every track on any given weekend.

    Friday night Stenhouse showed everyone that all the talk about Elliott Sadler being in the drivers seat for the championship was premature. And he did so by also showing everyone that even his weakest link, restarts, wasn’t enough to keep him down.

    On nearly every restart Stenhouse started off slow, seemingly spinning the tires. But then after a lap or two he had his No. 6 wound up on the high side and he quickly reeled the leaders back in.

    On the race’s last restart with six laps to go, Stenhouse was able to keep Hamlin side-by-side with him before once again pulling away as his car came to life. He went on to win by 1.4 seconds over Paul Menard.

    “I feel like we have,” said Stenhouse about improving his restarts. “I think a big thing last year was confidence in restarts. If I had a bad one I would spend whole run and the whole next caution trying to think about what I needed to do different.

    “I just go into it with a little bit more confidence this year about it. They seem to be a lot better. There’s still some things I need to work on as a racecar driver and I think restarts, the initial takeoff can be improved on. Once we get going I don’t know if there’s anybody that drives it harder than we do. So getting up through the gears, we’re getting a lot better at it.”

    It wasn’t all hard work for Stenhouse and company on Friday. There were plenty of light moments on the radio as they battled with the likes of Menard and Hamlin. Spotter Mike Calinoff had Stenhouse look to the right during one caution period and wave because he was watching him on NASCAR’s FanVision.

    Throughout the course of the event he and Calinoff also traded barbs about Sadler constantly being on the track’s big screen TV.

    Stenhouse joking, “They must love Elliott Sadler, he’s always on that big screen over there. I hate looking at that.” Later on saying Sadler should have a desk set up in his car so he can be a TV analysis or a permanent in-race reporter.

    Then after taking the lead for the final time with less than 20 laps to go Calinoff told Stenhouse, “clear by six [car lengths] and the 2 [Sadler], is not on TV.”

    It was all in good fun though. Sadler and Stenhouse have set themselves up for a great championship battle over the course of the season. Each have won twice in the seasons first six races and sit first and second in points heading to Richmond in two weeks.

    “I think we look at it,” said Stenhouse of the points. “Obviously ours was a very close race up until Phoenix there last year. We sat down this offseason and looked at how many points we gave up at the beginning of the year not finishing off the races as strong as we should. Or some pit calls that didn’t go our way and things like that.

    “So we definitely have started looking at it and you just need to try to stay consistent. When you have those bad days at this point you got to keep the 2 [Sadler] in sight as much as you can and try to give up minimal points to him.

    “We definitely look at it. That’s our main goal this year, to go back and defend that championship and I think you got to start looking at it as early as the first race.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, Texas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=6
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 3 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 47
    2 1 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0
    3 8 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    4 2 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
    5 4 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 40
    6 30 27 David Ragan Ford 0
    7 16 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 37
    8 17 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 36
    9 18 43 Michael Annett Ford 35
    10 9 30 Steve Arpin Chevrolet 34
    11 14 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 33
    12 5 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 33
    13 7 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 31
    14 20 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 0
    15 12 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    16 10 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 28
    17 33 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 27
    18 23 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 26
    19 24 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 25
    20 15 70 Johanna Long * Chevrolet 24
    21 21 108 Kyle Fowler Ford 23
    22 31 39 Kelly Bires Ford 22
    23 27 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 21
    24 42 14 Eric McClure Toyota 20
    25 28 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 19
    26 40 50 T.J. Bell Ford 18
    27 38 52 Tim Schendel Chevrolet 17
    28 26 41 Timmy Hill Ford 16
    29 37 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 15
    30 6 54 Kurt Busch Toyota 0
    31 25 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet 13
    32 19 9 Ryan Truex Toyota 12
    33 41 124 Benny Gordon * Chevrolet 11
    34 39 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 10
    35 13 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    36 29 15 Blake Koch Chevrolet 8
    37 11 11 Brian Scott Toyota 7
    38 34 175 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0
    39 36 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 5
    40 32 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
    41 35 47 Scott Speed Chevrolet 0
    42 43 174 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 2
    43 22 10 Jeff Green Toyota 1
  • Lap by Lap: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 won by Ryan Newman

    Lap by Lap: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 won by Ryan Newman

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”100″][/media-credit]Ryan Newman survived the pair of Green-White-Checkered finishes at Martinsville Speedway to score the 16th victory of his career.

    Green flag

    Lap 1 Kevin Harvick leads lap over Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman.

    Lap 5 Jeff Gordon passes Brad Keselowski for sixth

    Lap 7 Gordon passes Newman for fifth

    Lap 11 Bowyer and Gordon pass Hamlin for third

    Lap 16 Harvick leads Kahne, Bowyer, Gordon, Hamlin, Keselowski, Newman, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 16 Gordon passes Bowyer for third

    Lap 17 Keselowski passes Hamlin for fifth

    Lap 18 Newman passes Hamlin for sixth as Earnhardt Jr. passes Menard for ninth

    Lap 20 Harvick leads Kahne, Gordon, Bowyer, Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Menard

    Lap 23 Gordon takes the lead from Harvick

    Lap 28 Gordon leads Harvick, Bowyer, Keselowski, Kahne, Newman, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

    Lap 60 Kurt Busch to pit road with a flat tire

    Lap 68 Hamln passes Harvick

    Lap 69 Gordon leads Keselowski, Bowyer, Kahne, Hamlin, Harvick, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton

    Lap 88 Gordon leads Keselowski, Kahne, Bowyer, Hamlin, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Burton, Harvick

    Lap 95 Hamlin passes Bowyer for fourth

    Lap 98 Caution Kyle Busch into the wall due to a broken rear track bar. Pit stops…..Gordon leads Hamlin off pit road. Gordon chooses to start on the inside….Two penalties: Newman too fast entering, Johnson too fast exiting

    Lap 105 Restart as Gordon keeps the lead over Hamlin though turn one.

    Lap 111 Gordon leads Hamlin, Kahne, Bowyer, Keselowski, Truex, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart.

    Lap 114 Kahne passes Hamlin for second

    Lap 121 Gordon leads Kahne, Hamlin, Bowyer, Burton, Truex, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Kenseth and Stewart

    Lap 159 Gordon leads Hamlin, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Burton, Truex, Keselowski, Stewart, Kenseth

    Lap 169 Keselowski passes Truex for seventh

    Lap 173 Earnhardt Jr. passes Bowyer for third

    Lap 177 Kenseth passes Stewart for ninth

    Lap 179 Kahne passes Bowyer

    Lap 180 Gordon leads Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Bowyer, Burton, Keselowski, Truex, Kenseth, Stewart

    Lap 189 Keselowski passes Burton for sixth

    Lap 220 Gordon leads Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Kahne, Bowyer, Kenseth, Keselowski, Almirola, Stewart, Johnson

    Lap 221 Bobby Labonte hits pit road

    Lap 223 Kahne passes Hamlin for third

    Lap 225 Harvick and Truex pit

    Lap 229 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for the lead

    Lap 230 Kahne. A.J. Allmendinger and Joey Logano pit

    Lap 233 Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, Greg Biffle, Regan Smith and Gordon pit, handing the lead to Hamlin

    Lap 235 Marco Ambrose, Hamlin, Johnson and Edwards pit, handing the lead to Bowyer

    Lap 237 Bowyer, Rains, Keselowski, Hermie Sadler and Kenseth pit, handing the lead to Almirola.

    Lap 239 Almirola pits, handing the lead to Gordon.

    Caution Lap 245 Dave Blaney goes for a spin. Kahne goes behind the wall due to a motor issue. Some lead lap cars pit, others decide to stay out.

    Restart Lap 255 as Gordon pulls the lead early over Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 260 Gordon leads Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kenseth, Keselowski, Hamlin, Johnson, Truex, Almirola, Stewart

    Lap 262 Bowyer passes Earnhardt Jr. for second

    Caution Lap 264 Juan Pablo Montoya hits the inside wall after contact from Ken Schrader. Newman gets the lucky dog.

    Restart Lap 272

    Lap 275 Gordon leads Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Kenseth, Hamlin, Johnson, Truex, Stewart and Allmendinger

    Lap 280 Hamlin and Johnson both pass Kenseth

    Lap 281 Stewart passes Truex for eighth

    Lap 287 Johnson passes Hamlin

    Lap 289 Johnson passes Keselowski

    Lap 290 Gordon leads Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Keselowski, Hamlin, Kenseth, Stewart, Truex and Allmendinger

    Lap 300 Allmendinger and Almirola pass Truex

    Lap 310 Gordon leads Bowyer, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Hamlin, Kenseth, Stewart, Allmendinger and Almirola.

    Lap 314 Johnson passes Bowyer for second

    Caution Lap 316 Kahne blows up…..Gordon leads Johnson, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Hamlin, Kenseth, Stewart, Allmendinger and Almirola….Keselowski too fast in the pits

    Restart Lap 328

    Lap 333 Gordon leads Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Bowyer, Kenseth, Stewart, Almirola, Allmendinger and Truex

    Lap 340 Hamlin passes Earnhardt Jr. for third

    Lap 348 Bowyer passes Earnhardt Jr. for fourth

    Lap 355 Earnhardt Jr. passes Bowyer for fourth

    Lap 356 Johnson passes Gordon for the lead

    Lap 357 Johnson leads Gordon, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kenseth, Stewart, Almirola, Newman and Allmendinger

    Caution Lap 361 Travis Kvapil spins. Edwards gets the lucky dog…..All of the leaders pit……Hamlin leads Gordon, Johnson and Stewart off pit road

    Restart Lap 368 and Hamlin leads Gordon off of turn two

    128 to go Hamlin leads Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth, Bowyer, Newman, Stewart, Truex, Earnhardt Jr., Allmendinger

    122 to go Bowyer passes Kenseth for fourth

    112 to go Hamlin leads Johnson, Gordon, Bowyer, Newman, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Truex and Stewart

    107 to go Johnson passes Hamlin for the lead, Gordon also passes Hamlin.

    103 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Hamlin, Bowyer, Newman, Keselowski, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Truex, Biffle

    101 to go Bowyer passes Hamlin for third

    99 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Kenseth

    89 to go Truex passes Kenseth; Allmendinger passes Biffle; Keselowski passes Newman

    88 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Hamlin, Keselowski, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Truex, Kenseth, Allmendinger

    81 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Newman

    75 to go Keselowski passes Hamlin

    72 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Hamlin

    68 to go Newman passes Hamlin

    67 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Newman, Hamlin, Truex, Kenseth, Allmendinger

    63 to go Kenseth passes Truex for eighth

    52 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Keselowski for fourth

    50 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Kenseth, Truex, Allmendinger

    44 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Bowyer for third

    40 to go Allmendinger passes Truex for ninth

    36 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Kenseth, Allmendinger and Almirola

    20 to go Kenseth passes Hamlin for seventh

    15 to go Allmendinger passes Hamlin for eighth

    3 to go Gordon and Johnson side-by-side for the lead as the caution comes up for Reuitmann being stalled. Stewart gest the lucky dog.

    Green-White-Checkered…..Gordon and Johnson stay out as everybody else pits.

    Restart……..Bowyer took Gordon and Johnson three-wide, sending all three for a spin……Keselowski just ran out of fuel while running third

    Restart…….Newman and Allmendinger are side-by-side for the lead.

    Ryan Newman wins over Allmendinger and Earnhardt Jr.

  • Hello Newman; Thank you Reutimann

    Hello Newman; Thank you Reutimann

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]Ryan Newman holds off AJ Allmendinger on the final green-white-checkered restart on Sunday to win the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    The win was Newman’s first of the season, first at Martinsville and the 16th of his Sprint Cup career.

    “We were not a dominate race car. Clint kind of cleared out turn one for us and we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.” Newman said.

    “It was just circumstances with the No. 10 there doing what he did. I’m not sure what happened or if he ran out of fuel or had a problem whatever happened.” Newman added.

    A late caution flag came out for the stopped No. 10 car driven by David Reutimann. Trying to keep the team in the top-35 in the standings, Reutimann stayed out on the track until the car just quit. NASCAR had already black flagged him he was planning on pitting the next time around, but it was too little to late.

    “The thing quit going down the back straightaway, and it shut off. I just didn’t stop there intentionally.” Reutimann said.

    Teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were in a door-to-door battle for the race lead with 4 laps remaining when the caution flag came out. It appeared to be a sure bet that one of them was going to bring team owner Rick Hendrick his 200th Cup Series win, but circumstances did not allow it.

    Gordon and Johnson did not pit under the final caution. On the first green-white-checkered restart both Gordon and Johnson were on old tires while the other lead lap cars behind them had new tires due to pitting for fuel and tires. Going into turn-1, Clint Bowyer dive bombed underneath Gordon as a result of a hard hit from the then fifth place Ryan Newman. The two cars bumped and moved up the track into Johnson who was on the outside. All three drivers spun and Newman dived low and took over the race lead. Newman then held off AJ Allmendinger for the win during green-white-checkered flag.

    Johnson finished 12th and Gordon finished 14th.

    “Clint is a friend of mine. He is a great race car driver. It was not like him to do that. He said he got a hit from behind from the No. 39. I didn’t get the best restart. The tires are really old. I spun the tires a slight bit. When I saw him go down to the inside of me I knew we were all in trouble. All I could do was just hold on tight.” Gordon said.

    “We just restarted and got going. That inside lane is awfully inviting at times to dive-bomb on people. The No. 15 (Clint Bowyer) threw a dive-bomb in there. I’m sure once he got in there and realized it wasn’t the best idea. It turned me around. It turned the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) around. But it is what it is. It’s short track racing.” Johnson said.

    “My frustration and certainly Jeff’s (Gordon) is to be the class of the field all day long and be up front and have something stupid like this take us out is frustrating and we want to get this 200th win for Rick real bad and we could have been 1-2 today easily.” Johnson added.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third, Matt Kenseth fourth and Martin Truex Jr. finished fifth.

    “The No. 15 dove to the bottom and it’s his right. He was doing what he wanted to do to try and win the race. It’s a green-white-checkered and that’s what you’re going to get here. So I think Clint did what he had to do. It just caused a little bit of trouble on the outside down there and we ran into the No. 24. But I just don’t know what the No.10 was thinking with a broken sway bar and driving around there at 15 mph for two or three laps. Come on pit road; hell, how many laps down are you? Get on pit road. Get out of the race. It shouldn’t have ended like that. It was unfortunate.” Earnhardt Jr. said.

    “Those two guys were on 100-and-some-lap tires, so I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty honestly. I just tried to watch what was going on and I slowed way up for the wreck and I think that’s maybe how AJ got there, but I didn’t want to get caught up in a wreck at the end. I knew they were going to restart it.” Kenseth said.

    Greg Biffle finished 13th and holds a six point lead over Earnhardt Jr. in the series standings.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Goody’s Fast Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=6
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 47
    2 27 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 42
    3 14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 42
    4 21 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 41
    5 13 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 39
    6 3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 39
    7 15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 37
    8 19 43 Aric Almirola Ford 37
    9 7 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 36
    10 4 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 35
    11 28 99 Carl Edwards Ford 33
    12 22 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 33
    13 26 16 Greg Biffle Ford 31
    14 9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 32
    15 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 29
    16 17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 28
    17 16 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 27
    18 6 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 26
    19 2 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 26
    20 20 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 24
    21 32 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 23
    22 18 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 22
    23 10 20 Joey Logano Toyota 21
    24 24 34 David Ragan Ford 20
    25 25 13 Casey Mears Ford 19
    26 11 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 18
    27 34 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 17
    28 38 38 David Gilliland Ford 16
    29 31 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 15
    30 39 30 David Stremme Toyota 14
    31 41 33 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet 13
    32 36 32 Ken Schrader Ford 12
    33 40 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 11
    34 42 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 10
    35 29 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 9
    36 8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 8
    37 43 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 7
    38 1 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 6
    39 37 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    40 23 98 Michael McDowell Ford 4
    41 30 26 Josh Wise * Ford 3
    42 33 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 2
    43 35 74 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 0
  • Harvick dominates NCWTS race at Martinsville

    Harvick dominates NCWTS race at Martinsville

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kevin Harvick dominated Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race by leading a series-record 248 of the 250 laps run at Martinsville Speedway.

    “Nine times out of 10, when you have trucks like this, or cars, and you have a day like that where you think you’re by far the fastest, usually they never work out. So today was a special day to win the pole, lead the most laps and win the race.” Harvick said.

    This was the first victory in the NCWTS for team owner Richard Childress.

    Teammate Ty Dillon finished second in just his fourth start.

    “I think our truck was just as good. That’s just Harvick. He’s been in a lot of races here, won a lot of races. Second place in my first start at Martinsville. I’ll take it.” Dillon said.

    James Buescher finished third, Justin Lofton fourth and Timothy Peters finished fifth.

    John King finished ninth and holds a one point lead in the series standings over Timothy Peters and Justin Lofton.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Kroger 250, Martinsville Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=2
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    2 2 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 43
    3 9 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 41
    4 6 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 40
    5 3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 39
    6 16 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 38
    7 17 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 37
    8 12 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 36
    9 32 7 John King * Toyota 35
    10 22 23 Jason White Ford 34
    11 15 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 33
    12 20 60 J R Fitzpatrick Chevrolet 32
    13 7 27 Jeb Burton* Chevrolet 31
    14 27 81 David Starr Toyota 30
    15 4 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 29
    16 5 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 28
    17 14 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 27
    18 31 7 Jake Crum Chevrolet 26
    19 26 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 25
    20 25 92 David Reutimann Chevrolet 0
    21 36 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 23
    22 18 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 22
    23 30 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 21
    24 11 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 20
    25 13 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 19
    26 33 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 18
    27 35 93 Chris Cockrum Chevrolet 17
    28 19 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 16
    29 8 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 15
    30 21 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 14
    31 29 168 Clay Greenfield Ram 13
    32 28 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 12
    33 24 15 Dusty Davis * Ram 11
    34 34 8 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 10
    35 10 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 9
    36 23 174 Rick Crawford Chevrolet 8
  • Lap by Lap: Kroger 250 won by Kevin Harvick

    Lap by Lap: Kroger 250 won by Kevin Harvick

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Green flag as Kevin Harvick leads the first lap after starting on the pole.

    Lap 2 Harvick leads Ty Dillon and Cale Gale.

    Lap 3 Timothy Peters and Ron Hornaday both pass Gale for third and fourth.

    Lap 4 Justin Lofton passes Gale for fifth

    Lap 5 Dillon takes the lead from Harvick

    Lap 6 Harvick takes the lead back from Dillon while Johnny Sauter passes Gale.

    Lap 8 James Buescher and Matt Crafton pass Gale for seventh and eighth

    Lap 10 Harvick leads Dillon, Peters, Hornaday, Lofton, Sauter, Buescher and Crafton.

    Caution Lap 21 Hornaday get loose and goes for a spin.

    Restart Lap 26 Harvick leads Dillon, Lofton, Peters, Buescher, Sauter, Crafton, Gale, Todd Bodine and Jeb Burton.

    Lap 33 Peters, Buescher and Sauter pass Lofton for third and fourth.

    Lap 37 Peters passes Dillon for second

    Lap 41 Harvick leads Peters, Dillon, Buescher, Sauter, Crafton, Lofton, Gale, Bodine and Parker Kligermann

    Caution Lap 75 Joey Coulter gets into the outside wall after a flat tire. All the leaders take the opportunity to pit. Harvick leads Dillon, Buescher, Peters, Lofton, Sauter, Gale, Kligermann and Bodine off pit road. John King gets the lucky dog.

    Restart Lap 83

    Lap 86 Harvick leads Dillon, Peters, Buescher, Sauter, Lofton, Gale, Kligermann, Bodine and Jason Leftler.

    Lap 92 Caution as J.R. Fitzpatrick goes for a spin as Jeff Agnew collects damage. John Wes Townley gets into Fitzpatrick spinning him, as the chain reaction gives Agnew and Dakota Armstrong damage. Hornaday and Crafton both had to change their batteries already, Paulie Harraka thinking he has an issue.

    Green Flag lap 100 as Harvick leads Dillon and Buescher

    Lap 101 Harraka changes the battery

    Lap 103 Harvick leads Dillon, Peters, Buescher, Sauter, Lofton, Gale, Bodine, Kligermann and Leftler

    Caution Lap 111 Dusty Davis is stopped on the front stretch on the track. Crafton gets the lucky dog.

    Restart Lap 123

    Lap 125 Harvick leads Dillon, Buescher, Peters, Lofton, Sauter, Bodine, Gale, Kligermann and David Starr.

    HALFWAY

    110 to go Bodine passes Sauter for sixth

    103 to go Fire on pit road as Ryan Sieg breaks a rear end gear

    93 to go Nelson Piquet Jr. passes Starr for 10th

    Caution Lap 157 as Starr spins with a flat tire. Hornady gets the lucky dog. Leaders pit…….Harvick leads Dillon, Buescher, Lofton, Bodine, Peters, Gale and Sauter off pit road.

    Restart Lap 164.

    82 to go Harvick leads Dillon, Lofton, Buescher, Peters, Bodine, Sauter, Gale, Ross Chastain and Piquet Jr.

    47 to go Harvick leads Dillon, Buescher, Lofton, Sauter, Peters, Bodine, Gale, Piquet, Chastain

    40 to go Sauter passes Lofton

    26 to go Bodine has a flat tire and a broken sway bar.

    25 to go Leftler possibly has a lot of fluid leaking; Coulter almost into the wall with another flat tire

    Caution 24 to go as David Reuitmann gets into the wall with a flat tire. Harvick leads. Sauter behind the wall with a broken upper control arm.

    Restart 16 to go as Harvick has the lead.

    15 to go Caution as Max Gresham goes for a spin, collecting Jeb Burton, Miguel Paludo and Brennan Newberry

    Restart 6 to go

    Kevin Harvick wins the Kroger 250 over Dillon, Buscher, Lofton, Peters, Piquet Jr., Chastain, Leftler, John King, Jason White

    Unofficial Race Results
    Kroger 250, Martinsville Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=2
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    2 2 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 43
    3 9 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 41
    4 6 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 40
    5 3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 39
    6 16 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 38
    7 17 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 37
    8 12 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 36
    9 32 7 John King * Toyota 35
    10 22 23 Jason White Ford 34
    11 15 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 33
    12 20 60 J R Fitzpatrick Chevrolet 32
    13 7 27 Jeb Burton* Chevrolet 31
    14 27 81 David Starr Toyota 30
    15 4 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 29
    16 5 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 28
    17 14 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 27
    18 31 7 Jake Crum Chevrolet 26
    19 26 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 25
    20 25 92 David Reutimann Chevrolet 0
    21 36 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 23
    22 18 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 22
    23 30 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 21
    24 11 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 20
    25 13 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 19
    26 33 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 18
    27 35 93 Chris Cockrum Chevrolet 17
    28 19 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 16
    29 8 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 15
    30 21 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 14
    31 29 168 Clay Greenfield Ram 13
    32 28 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 12
    33 24 15 Dusty Davis * Ram 11
    34 34 8 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 10
    35 10 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 9
    36 23 174 Rick Crawford Chevrolet 8