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  • Keselowski wins; Stenhouse Jr. wins NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship

    Keselowski wins; Stenhouse Jr. wins NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship

    Brad Keselowski held off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carl Edwards on the final laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway to capture his fifth win of the season and the 17th of his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) career.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]“You couldn’t ask for a better way to end the season. Not being able to win the championship, it’s good to be able to finish on a high note, winning the pole and the race today at Homestead. It’s a great exclamation point to the season for the whole Discount Tire Dodge team.” Keselowski said.

    But the race had a even better ending for Roush Fenway Racing and Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing won the owners’ championship with Edwards’ third place finish and Stenhouse Jr. won the series championship with his second place finish.  This is also the third NNS title for Ford Racing and the 12th driver’s championship.

    “The Blackwell Angus Beef and Cargill Mustang did its job at Ford Championship Weekend – Nationwide Insurance – this is a dream come true.” Stenhouse Jr. said.

    “My family sacrificed everything they had. My sister didn’t quite get everything that she’s ever wanted. We were racing as much as we could and to do that for them, he taught me hard work and to never give up. I wish my granddad was here. He helped us out a lot through the go-kart days and worked on our cars. We had a lot of fun doing that. I wish he was here, but this is an awesome night.” Stenhouse Jr. said.

    Stenhouse Jr. and Edwards celebrated by parking nose to nose on the frontstretch and doing a duel burnout.

    “First, congratulations to Ricky and all the Blackwell Angus Beef folks. Ricky has come so far and I think he’s gonna be a champion in a bunch of levels of this sport. That was huge and my guys have done a great job all year.  Eight wins and we’re so proud to have Fastenal on board.” Edwards said. “Ford has been great. It’s Ford Championship Weekend and we wrapped up the drivers and the owners and that was huge. Valvoline and NextGen, Wiley X and all these fans that are here, this is cool. It did get pretty exciting there at the end. I had to remember, ‘Hey, don’t screw this up,’ and Brad started blocking a little bit and I thought, ‘Well, if he’s gonna block, I’m gonna bump him,’ and then I bumped him and it helped him and hurt me.”

    Jack Roush is looking to become the first owner in NASCAR history to win both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series championships in the same season.

    Clint Bowyer finished fourth and Denny Hamlin finished fifth. Elliott Sadler struggled with two pit stop penalties but battled back to finish sixth and finished second in the series standings, 45 points out.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Ford 300, Homestead-Miami Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=34
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    2 4 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 43
    3 3 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
    4 6 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0
    5 7 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
    6 2 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 39
    7 13 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 38
    8 10 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 36
    9 11 11 Brian Scott Toyota 35
    10 9 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    11 8 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 34
    12 14 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 32
    13 5 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 31
    14 19 32 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
    15 21 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 0
    16 22 97 Joe Nemechek Toyota 28
    17 17 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 27
    18 29 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 26
    19 15 62 Michael Annett Toyota 26
    20 31 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 24
    21 33 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 23
    22 37 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 22
    23 18 81 Blake Koch * Chevrolet 21
    24 35 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 0
    25 23 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 19
    26 36 87 Kevin Conway Toyota 0
    27 20 104 Casey Roderick Ford 17
    28 40 40 T.J. Duke Chevrolet 0
    29 34 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 15
    30 42 28 Derrike Cope Dodge 14
    31 32 141 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet 13
    32 12 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 12
    33 16 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 11
    34 27 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 10
    35 41 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 9
    36 24 167 Andrew Ranger Ford 8
    37 30 103 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 7
    38 43 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 6
    39 25 147 Josh Wise Chevrolet 5
    40 28 171 Matthew Carter Chevrolet 4
    41 26 142 Scott Speed Chevrolet 3
    42 38 39 Fain Skinner Ford 2
    43 39 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 1
  • Austin Dillon Wins The Truck Championship; Johnny Sauter wins the Race

    Austin Dillon Wins The Truck Championship; Johnny Sauter wins the Race

    Coming into the night, all Austin Dillon had to do was finish 16th or better to clinch the 2011 championship. With 40 laps to go at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it was looking like that championship would be in jeopardy.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]On the restart with 34 laps to go, Dillon didn’t have a good one and fell back to 15th in eight laps. His teammate Coulter had also reported seeing issues with Dillon’s right tire. Ron Hornaday also told Dillon’s team that some oil had come up on his window when Dillon passed him.

    “When you get back there in that situation, your head tells you to be smart but at the same time you’re telling yourself to go because you’re close,” Dillon said. “I went as hard as I could.”

    Dillon quickly put all of that behind him and moved up to the 10th position, running laps as quick as leaders, before the race was called for rain with 15 laps to go.

    At the age of 21 years, 6 months and 22 days, Dillon becomes the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion in series history.

    “This is a dream true,” the grandson of Richard Childress said. “The great thing is that I am a very fortunate person to have this opportunity. It was scary after that last restart. We got back up there. I thought we had a truck to win.”

    This marks the first time the No. 3 has won a championship since Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001.

    “The first time I got to pick a number, that was the only number I knew,” he said. “I told my grandpa let’s run it; let’s have some fun with it. I am very proud to run it.”

    It also marks the first Truck Series championship for Richard Childress since winning the inaugural truck series title in 1995 with Mike Skinner.

    “I’m so happy for my grandfather,” Dillon said. “It’s really helped him. He’s back in it; he’s got the heart of a 10 year old and is back in it.”

    It marks Childress’ first driver’s championship since Clint Bowyer’s Nationwide Series title in 2008.

    “This has got to be right up there at the top,” Childress said. “It’s so special when your whole family is involved. I remember the very first championship with Dale Earnhardt. I had the same feeling tonight watching Austin, my grandson.”

    The difference at the end of the night between Dillon and Johnny Sauter was six points.

    “The thing that he did was kept his truck in one piece – for a younger guy with the pressure of leading the points, I’d say that’s one thing that sticks out to me that a lot of guys probably can’t do at this stage in their careers,” Sauter commented on Dillon.

    Sauter put all the pressure he could on Dillon, leading the most laps in the Ford 200, before going on to win the race.

    “I’m so happy to be up here next to my best friend Joe,” Sauter said. “My guys are everything to me. They were on fire tonight. They are the reason for my year.”

    Before the race was called, Denny Hamlin had made a move on Sauter to the outside, though Sauter squeezed Hamlin up. Sauter then came over the radio apologizing to Hamlin, saying it wasn’t intentional.

    The win was the fourth of Sauter’s career and ThorSport’s seven victory of the season.

    “I’ve always wanted to have two NASCAR wins in the same year so that was a huge accomplishment.”

    Kevin Harvick would finish third in his final race as a truck owner, after locking up the owner’s championship two weeks earlier at Texas with the No. 2 truck.

    “It’s been quite a run as a team,” Harvick said. “To just get the first win and be able to compete as we have, it shows the type of people behind us. To go from starting the team in 2001 to the championships with Hornaday, it’s been quite a run. If you have to go out, winning the championship would be the way to do it.”

    Harvick had his own controversy during the race as he was in the middle of a dispute with James Buescher. On a restart, Harvick had a run on Buescher and tried to go under him, in which Buescher came down and blocked Harvick. Then coming on pit road, Buescher spun Harvick out after Harvick tried to pass him while on the access road.

    “I was thinking in my head, ‘Don’t be Kyle Busch, don’t be Kyle Busch’,” Harvick said afterwards.
    Nelson Piquet Jr. would finish fourth to finish his 10th in points in his rookie season in the truck series.

    With a fifth place finish, Coulter locked up the rookie of the year title to cap off a good year for RCR.

    “It’s just fantastic to win a championship and watch how hard these guys put in it,” Childress said. “To see this 3 back in victory lane with Bass Pro Shops, Ty’s success and Joey winning rookie of the year – it’s been an awesome year for RCR.”

    The success of Richard Childress Racing in 2011 will definitely be talked about this off-sesaon, but don’t think the success won’t be there next year. Ty Dillon will take over Austin Dillon’s seat in the No. 3 truck and finished sixth to earn his second top-10 finish in his third Truck Series start.

    “The great part about Austin and Ty is they are good kids,” Harvick said. “They’ve got their head on their shoulders right. I don’t think that will be the last Dillon that you see going through the championship circle in this truck series.

    “They’ve got a good future. They’re like sponges. They listen to you and they’ve got a lot of history and their heritage.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Ford 200, Homestead-Miami Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=25
    ==============================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    ==============================================
    1 5 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 48
    2 17 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
    3 8 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    4 3 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 40
    5 10 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 39
    6 2 121 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 38
    7 7 124 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 0
    8 21 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 36
    9 12 23 Jason White Chevrolet 35
    10 4 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 34
    11 23 81 David Starr Toyota 33
    12 1 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 33
    13 22 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 32
    14 13 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 30
    15 16 15 Dusty Davis * Toyota 29
    16 15 5 Todd Bodine Toyota 28
    17 14 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 27
    18 9 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 26
    19 11 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 26
    20 19 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 25
    21 24 9 Max Papis Toyota 23
    22 6 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 22
    23 28 32 Blake Feese Chevrolet 21
    24 30 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 20
    25 20 98 Dakoda Armstrong Chevrolet 20
    26 27 151 German Quiroga Toyota 18
    27 36 20 Ross Chastain Toyota 17
    28 25 109 Bryan Silas Ford 0
    29 34 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 15
    30 35 168 Clay Greenfield Dodge 14
    31 26 66 Max Gresham Chevrolet 13
    32 18 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 12
    33 32 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 0
    34 29 138 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 0
    35 31 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ford 0
    36 33 7 Johnny Chapman Toyota 0
  • Kasey Kahne takes checkered flag in Kobalt Tool 500 at Phonix Int’l Raceway

    Kasey Kahne takes checkered flag in Kobalt Tool 500 at Phonix Int’l Raceway

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship hangs in the balance with one race left in 2011 season

    (PHOENIX, Ariz.) – Kasey Kahne claimed his first victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season while Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart spent the afternoon in such close proximity at Phoenix International Raceway that they maintained the same three-point margin of their thrilling battle in the tightest Chase in history.

    [media-credit name=”Mike Finnegan” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Edwards finished second to Kahne and leads by a trio of points over Stewart, who passed Jeff Burton for third place on the next to last lap. Stewart saved a point for himself by leading the most laps this afternoon.

    During post-race interviews, the two drivers sat side-by-side, in similar proximity to their racing fashion during the day. They joked about settling the championship at a dirt track if they finish tied at Homestead-Miami next week in the season’s finale.

    “He’s keeping me honest, and I’m keeping him honest,” said Stewart. “A lot can happen in 400 miles next week,” he added.

    Proud of his team’s performance, Edwards also agreed the two teams have been terrific competitors: “It’s great to be racing Tony and their team at their best.”

    Edwards also complimented PIR’s new racing surface and configuration, saying, “I think once the track sits for awhile, and we come back for the Subway Fresh Fit 500™ (in March) and also a year from now, it will be awesome.  I’m a convert.”

    Things started quickly in the Kobalt Tools 500 as the “Ragan and Regan Wreck” came on lap 2: David Ragan got badly loose off turn 3 and collected Regan Smith for the race’s first caution. But that was only a prelude to the two top drivers in the Chase posting their car numbers at the top of the scoring pylon.  Stewart, who started eighth, passed pole sitter Matt Kenseth for the lead on lap 37, and Edwards took second from Kenseth on lap 50.  But A.J. Allmendinger and Kenseth would have more to say about second place as each owned it during the first half of the race behind a dominating Stewart.  Meanwhile, Edwards bided his time in the top five.

    Running in fifth place, Kenseth slowed badly on laps 173-174 and was tagged from behind by Brian Vickers, the same driver who damaged the chances of the no. 17 Crown Royal Ford recently at Martinsville. Kenseth had to retire his car to the garage for repairs and limped to 34th to end his hopes for the Sprint Cup title.  In fact all contenders were eliminated except for Edwards and Stewart. That included Jimmie Johnson, who came home in 14th place; it spelled the end to his team’s remarkable five straight championships since 2006.

    Stewart and Edwards were left to duke it out in the top two positions with few threats except from Allmendinger and Kurt Busch. Kyle Busch’s opportunity to win went awry when his engine went sour while he ran in third place on lap 188. Kurt Busch showed the way after a lap 224 restart but lost his engine on the last pit stop almost 60 laps later.

    All teams pitted for the last time under green between laps 273 and 298. And it was Kahne who came away with the lead, one he would keep. Stewart had faded slightly, loose on entry to the turns over the closing laps.  But, he got around Burton in the late going to save the narrow margin in the Chase.

    So, while Kahne celebrated in Gatorade Victory Lane, others were anxious to go to south Florida to settle the championship next week.

    About Phoenix International Raceway Since 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has served race fans as the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. Be there for the Kobalt Tools 500 on November 13 to watch the brightest stars in NASCAR take on PIR’s brand new one-mile oval in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Tickets for the entire Kobalt Tools 500 weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223). For more, visit PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

  • Sam Hornish Jr. plays strategy to perfection and wins his first Nationwide Series race

    Sam Hornish Jr. plays strategy to perfection and wins his first Nationwide Series race

    We knew Sam Hornish Jr. had a good car all day long, but for the three years he was racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, it seemed like he couldn’t find any luck. Hornish finally found the lucky charm as he played the two tire strategy and held off teammate Brad Keselowski for his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win on the new configuration at the Phoenix International Raceway.

    [media-credit name=”Mike Finnegan” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The first lap proved to be very treacherous for drivers as an eight-car crash ensued on the first lap in Turn 3 when Brian Scott was turned head-on by Reed Sorenson into the outside wall. Jeff Green, Danica Patrick, Johnny Chapman, Ron Hornaday, Matt Frahm, and Tim Andrews all couldn’t avoid the melee.

    Reed Sorenson didn’t receive any damage from the incident despite spinning, but later met karma as he lost a right-front tire and pounded the wall. A fire burst from the hood and NASCAR safety crews were sent to extinguish the fire. This crash doesn’t help Reed’s cause to keep position #5 in the point standings.

    Canadian native D.J. Kennington saw his day come to an end with a cut tire, along with Mike Bliss and Derrike Cope who were both involved in separate incidents.

    The incident between James Buescher and Steve Wallace was avoidable. Going into Turn 3, Wallace gave Buescher a shot. Wallace gave Buescher another shot and wrecked him and while trying to avoid the wreck, Wallace was turned and wrecked himself on the front straightaway. Both drivers were ok.

    Elliott Sadler saw his championship hopes crumble after being wrecked by Jason Leffler going into Turn 3. Sadler had passed Leffler moments before and gave him extra room just to be safe, but Leffler drove into Turn 3 too deep and tapped Sadler. Morgan Shepherd drove into the carnage as this was the second incident he was involved in during the day. This accident caused a red flag as officials were sent in to clean up the mess.

    Sam Hornish Jr. had led 62 laps into the race, but the man of the day was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who had led 62 laps. When it came to the final pit stops, Hornish took a gamble for two. Many sports analysts on Twitter doubted Hornish and didn’t believe two tires would work on the new configuration. Hornish proved everyone wrong to win the race!

    Will this set Hornish up potentially for a Sprint Cup ride next year? Or is this just considered ‘Beginners Luck’?

    Unofficial Race Results
    Wypall 200, Phoenix International Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=33
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 47
    2 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    3 – 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
    4 – 18 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    5 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 41
    6 – 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 38
    7 – 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0
    8 – 20 Ryan Truex * Toyota 36
    9 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 35
    10 – 62 Michael Annett Toyota 34
    11 – 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 0
    12 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 32
    13 – 32 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 0
    14 – 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 30
    15 – 134 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 0
    16 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 28
    17 – 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 27
    18 – 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 26
    19 – 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 25
    20 – 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 24
    21 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 23
    22 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 22
    23 – 40 T.J. Duke Chevrolet 0
    24 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 20
    25 – 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 20
    26 – 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 18
    27 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 17
    28 – 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 16
    29 – 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 15
    30 – 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
    31 – 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 13
    32 – 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 12
    33 – 180 D.J. Kennington Dodge 11
    34 – 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 10
    35 – 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 9
    36 – 49 Mark Green Chevrolet 8
    37 – 147 Scott Speed Chevrolet 7
    38 – 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 6
    39 – 171 Matthew Carter Chevrolet 5
    40 – 141 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 4
    41 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 3
    42 – 39 Matt Frahm Ford 2
    43 – 104 Tim Andrews Ford 0
  • Matt Kenseth Wins Pole For Kobalt Tools 500

    Matt Kenseth Wins Pole For Kobalt Tools 500

    Qualifying for the Kobalt Tools 500 in Phoenix was everything but smooth for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers as the new configuration frustrated many drivers including Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Along with the new configuration came the wild prediction that we would see an unfamiliar face winning the pole position which is what we saw as Matt Kenseth scored his 7th career pole in his 435th career start. Kenseth wins a pole 1.61% of the time! Now that is a shocker!

    A.J. Allmendinger qualified 2nd as this is his 3rd front row start in his last four tries in Phoenix. Points leader Carl Edwards had the pole for a short time this morning and would later end up in 9th. His closest rival in the standings Tony Stewart took his beard and his #14 car to 8th position.

    Track position during this race will be extremely crucial due to the major unknowns of the new configuration and I’m predicting a first-time winner this weekend.

    For those of you who follow the old system standings, Edwards will have to have a very bad race and Jimmie Johnson will have to have a really good race in order for it to be close again.

    Edwards leads the 48 by 45 points with just two races to go.

    Kyle Busch, who had the points lead for most of the year, was involved in wrecks at Talladega, Martinsville, and the now infamous incident at Texas. Busch has pretty much given up the championship. After sitting out at Texas, he now sits a distant 97 points out of the race and is officially out of contention.

    Starting Lineup
    Kobalt Tools 500, Phoenix International Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=35
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 137.101 26.258
    2 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 136.446 26.384
    3 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 136.307 26.411
    4 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 136.08 26.455
    5 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 136.08 26.455
    6 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 136.008 26.469
    7 0 David Reutimann Toyota 135.988 26.473
    8 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 135.911 26.488
    9 99 Carl Edwards Ford 135.701 26.529
    10 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 135.675 26.534
    11 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 135.609 26.547
    12 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 135.415 26.585
    13 6 David Ragan Ford 135.399 26.588
    14 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 135.298 26.608
    15 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 135.272 26.613
    16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 135.247 26.618
    17 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 135.227 26.622
    18 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 135.216 26.624
    19 84 Cole Whitt Toyota 135.211 26.625
    20 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 135.186 26.63
    21 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 135.181 26.631
    22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 135.166 26.634
    23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 134.887 26.689
    24 46 Scott Speed Ford 134.862 26.694
    25 20 Joey Logano Toyota 134.852 26.696
    26 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 134.811 26.704
    27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 134.756 26.715
    28 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 134.574 26.751
    29 16 Greg Biffle Ford 134.549 26.756
    30 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 134.509 26.764
    31 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 134.363 26.793
    32 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 134.143 26.837
    33 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 134.078 26.85
    34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 133.65 26.936
    35 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 133.437 26.979
    36 37 Mike Skinner Ford 133.22 27.023
    37 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 133.136 27.04
    38 13 Casey Mears Toyota 133.028 27.062
    39 32 Mike Bliss Ford 132.431 27.184
    40 36 Geoffrey Bodine+ Chevrolet 131.305 27.417
    41 38 J.J. Yeley+ Ford 128.981 27.911
    42 34 David Gilliland+ Ford 123.068 29.252
    43 135 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 132.562 27.157
  • Aric Almirola Scores Pole For Wypall 200

    Aric Almirola Scores Pole For Wypall 200

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”244″][/media-credit]Aric Almirola scored the pole for the Wypall 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the newly configured Phoenix International Raceway.

    The new configuration proved to be a struggle for drivers like Daryl Harr who was one of the go or go home cars. Harr lost the car off Turn 4 and pounded it into the inside safer barrier wall.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified his #6 in the 11th position despite flirting dangerously with the wall during his lap. His closest championship competitor Elliott Sadler qualified in 6th.

    It was Almirola’s fifth career pole as he narrowly edged Carl Edwards by 0.001 seconds for the top spot.

    Other NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers entered into the race include: Bayne (3rd), Bowyer (5th), Logano (9th), Keselowski (10th), Nemechek (14th), and Scott Speed (16th).

    And for Danica Patrick fans, she qualified 25th.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Wypall 200, Phoenix International Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=33
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 132.91 27.086
    2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 132.905 27.087
    3 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 132.758 27.117
    4 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 132.734 27.122
    5 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 132.358 27.199
    6 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 132.27 27.217
    7 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 132.265 27.218
    8 20 Ryan Truex* Toyota 132.008 27.271
    9 18 Joey Logano Toyota 131.975 27.278
    10 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 131.965 27.28
    11 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 131.661 27.343
    12 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 131.449 27.387
    13 81 Blake Koch* Dodge 131.43 27.391
    14 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 131.133 27.453
    15 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 131.047 27.471
    16 147 Scott Speed Chevrolet 131.009 27.479
    17 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 130.947 27.492
    18 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 130.766 27.53
    19 62 Michael Annett Toyota 130.416 27.604
    20 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 130.392 27.609
    21 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 130.317 27.625
    22 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 130.241 27.641
    23 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 130.142 27.662
    24 11 Brian Scott Toyota 130.067 27.678
    25 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 129.954 27.702
    26 49 Mark Green Chevrolet 129.58 27.782
    27 134 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 129.566 27.785
    28 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 129.538 27.791
    29 171 Matthew Carter Chevrolet 129.408 27.819
    30 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 129.255 27.852
    31 104 Tim Andrews Ford 129.055 27.895
    32 39 Matt Frahm Ford 129.037 27.899
    33 141 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 128.963 27.915
    34 180 D.J. Kennington Dodge 128.788 27.953
    35 15 Timmy Hill* Ford 128.631 27.987
    36 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 128.438 28.029
    37 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 128.393 28.039
    38 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 128.329 28.053
    39 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 127.918 28.143
    40 40 T.J. Duke Chevrolet 127.244 28.292
    41 28 Derrike Cope+ Chevrolet 125.274 28.737
    42 32 Ron Hornaday+ Chevrolet 124.057 29.019
    43 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 128.659 27.981
  • Stewart wins at Texas; Closes in on points lead

    Stewart wins at Texas; Closes in on points lead

    Tony Stewart led seven times for a race-high 173 laps in route to his second straight victory and the fourth out of the eight Chase races on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Stewart backed up his talk at Martinsville and cut into Carl Edwards’ series points lead and only trails by three points with two races remaining.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]“I told you guys that last week, nobody listens to me when I talk anymore. No, I mean we are set on it man, this is just the way it is going to be.” Stewart said.

    Edwards led 14 laps and finished second, 1.092 seconds behind Stewart.

    “I’m proud of our guys today.” said Edwards. “We wanted to beat Tony (Stewart) and pad the lead, but we are still the point’s leader. We are going to hold Tony to it and they are going to have to run that well in the next two races to beat us.”

    Kasey Kahne finished third, Matt Kenseth fourth and Greg Biffle finished fifth.

    Subbing for the suspended Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell finished 33rd.

    Mathematically still in, Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished 14th, remains in sixth place in the series points, 54 out. Six in a row is now very unlikely.

    Unofficial Race Results
    AAA Texas 500, Texas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=34
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 48
    2 7 99 Carl Edwards Ford 43
    3 9 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 42
    4 3 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 41
    5 1 16 Greg Biffle Ford 40
    6 – 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 38
    7 16 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 37
    8 – 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 36
    9 – 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 35
    10 – 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 34
    11 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 33
    12 2 6 David Ragan Ford 32
    13 – 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 31
    14 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 31
    15 4 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 30
    16 – 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 29
    17 13 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    18 15 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 26
    19 – 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 25
    20 – 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 24
    21 – 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 23
    22 6 0 David Reutimann Toyota 22
    23 10 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 21
    24 8 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 21
    25 – 13 Casey Mears Toyota 19
    26 – 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    27 – 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 18
    28 – 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 16
    29 – 71 Andy Lally * Ford 15
    30 14 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 14
    31 – 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    32 – 34 David Gilliland Ford 12
    33 – 18 Michael McDowell Toyota 11
    34 – 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    35 – 135 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 – 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 8
    37 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 7
    38 – 36 Geoffrey Bodine Chevrolet 6
    39 – 46 Scott Speed Ford 0
    40 – 66 Josh Wise Toyota 0
    41 – 37 Mike Skinner Ford 0
    42 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    43 – 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 1
  • Bayne holds off Edwards and Hamlin to win his first NNS race at Texas

    Bayne holds off Edwards and Hamlin to win his first NNS race at Texas

    Trevor Bayne captured his career NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victory on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. Bayne passed teammate Carl Edwards on the final restart with seven laps remaining and pulled away to win his first NNS race in 76 starts.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]“This is just as surreal as the 500. That’s hard to say, but this has been so long. We’ve worked so hard to get our first Nationwide win and I wasn’t sure if it was ever gonna happen. I was thinking maybe the next Cup win would come first, but these guys worked their butts off to get us here and God pulled us through.” Bayne said.

    Bayne’s win was the 13th for Mustang in its inaugural season and is the most among all manufacturers. Bayne also captured Roush Fenway Racing it’s 299th all-time win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series combined.

    This win also secured Ford its third manufacturer championship in the Nationwide Series.

    “We’re thrilled to win the NASCAR Nationwide Manufacturers’ Championship. Not only is it our first since 2002, but, more importantly, it’s the first championship for Mustang in NASCAR. Mustang, as it has for 47 years, continues to be a force in all forms of racing. This has been a great year for Ford and Roush Fenway in Nationwide, with Carl, Ricky and Trevor all providing some great moments and 13 victories. Now, it would be great to add the driver’s championship by Ricky to this special year for Mustang and Ford.” said Jamie Allison, Director, Ford Racing.

    Edwards dominated most of the race and led 157 of the 200 laps. But Edwards had to settle for third place after Denny Hamlin, while subbing for the suspended Kyle Busch, passed him in the final laps for second place.

    “He earned that one. He drove really well. That restart he did a really good job.” Edwards said.

    “We didn’t get the best restart there and those guys on the outside line really had an advantage and they were able to pull us and just took us that long to get back to them. Took a long time to get this car where I felt like I wanted it and at the end we had a car that could contend for a win and that’s all you can ask for.” Hamlin said.

    Ricky Stenhouse finished sixth and holds a 17-point lead over Elliott Sadler with two races remaining.

    “That was fun. We were just a little bit too tight to keep in front of the 22 and run a couple more down, but it was awesome to see Trevor get a win this year in the Nationwide Series. This wraps up a Ford championship for manufacturers, so that’s awesome. It was a good day for the Sam’s Club Members Mark Angus Beef Ford.” Stenhouse said.

    Unofficial Race Results
    O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Texas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=32
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 47
    2 – 20 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
    3 – 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
    4 – 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0
    5 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    6 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 38
    7 – 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 37
    8 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    9 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 36
    10 – 32 Brian Vickers Chevrolet 0
    11 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 33
    12 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 32
    13 – 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 31
    14 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 30
    15 – 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 29
    16 – 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 28
    17 – 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
    18 – 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 26
    19 – 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 26
    20 – 62 Michael Annett Toyota 25
    21 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 23
    22 – 81 Blake Koch * Chevrolet 22
    23 – 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 21
    24 – 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 20
    25 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 19
    26 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 18
    27 – 103 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 17
    28 – 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 16
    29 – 39 Joey Gase Ford 0
    30 – 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 14
    31 – 52 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 0
    32 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 12
    33 – 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 11
    34 – 70 David Stremme Chevrolet 0
    35 – 108 David Ragan Ford 0
    36 – 40 Josh Wise Chevrolet 8
    37 – 175 Carl Long Ford 7
    38 – 127 J.J. Yeley Ford 0
    39 – 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 5
    40 – 104 Tim Andrews Ford 0
    41 – 150 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 0
    42 – 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 2
    43 – 147 Scott Speed Chevrolet 1
  • Harvick wins the NCWTS WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas

    Harvick wins the NCWTS WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas

    Kevin Harvick led a race-high of 61 laps and won Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) WinStar World Casino 350K race at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick also captured the owner’s title for his No. 2 truck.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”256″][/media-credit]“We’ve worked hard over the past several years to win as many races as we can. We’ve been fortunate to win some championships and have come up short on the manufacturers’ end of it. To be able to win the Owner’s Championship, win the race and win the Manufacturers’ Championship in the same night is pretty cool because Chevrolet has been a huge part of KHI (Kevin Harvick, Inc.) since the beginning. To go out and score a bunch of points this year and win the Owner’s Championship and the Manufacturers’ championship says a lot about everybody who’s involved and Chevrolet has been a huge part of providing the assets to make that happen.” Harvick said.

    But the fireworks were between Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday Jr.

    Both drivers made contact while trying to pass a slower truck. They went 3-wide with Hornaday in the middle. They both made contact with the wall. Busch retaliated by pushing the No. 33 truck into the wall on just the 14th lap of the race.

    NASCAR parked Busch for the race with more penalties possible. NASCAR did meet with both drivers after the race.

    “This is just stupid! He knew I was there. He just drove me into the fence.” Hornaday said. “Let’s have at it, so I can go in there and beat him. He lives too close to me. We’ll see what NASCAR does. If they don’t handle it right, I’ll be at his house Monday morning.”

    “I lost my cool, no doubt about it. I’ve been wrecked four weeks in a row, and I’ve had enough of it, and I retaliated,” Busch said.

    Hornaday dropped to fourth in the series points standings, 48 behind Austin Dillon with only one race remaining.

    “Well, if you consider Ron (Hornaday Jr.) was in the championship, maybe Ron could have played it a little smarter on lap 15 and checked up a little and given room to everybody around. Obviously, if you make it a three-wide situation — I can’t go up in the dirt, you know?” Busch said. “So if I just lay over and give up everything for Ron Hornaday, that’s not Kyle Busch’s fashion. I’m out here to win a race just as much as anybody else is and when he races up on my inside, gets loose and takes me up to the fence, I ended up losing my cool.”

    Dillon has to finish 16th or better at Homestand-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18 to win the series title.

    Unofficial Race Results
    WinStar World Casino 350k, Texas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=24
    ==============================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    ==============================================
    1 10 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    2 2 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 43
    3 8 121 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 41
    4 7 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 40
    5 11 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 39
    6 14 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 38
    7 12 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 38
    8 5 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 36
    9 17 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 35
    10 6 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 35
    11 15 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 33
    12 23 23 Jason White Chevrolet 32
    13 19 5 Todd Bodine Toyota 31
    14 24 9 Max Papis Toyota 30
    15 26 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 29
    16 33 66 Ross Chastain Chevrolet 28
    17 18 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 27
    18 20 20 Johanna Long * Toyota 26
    19 1 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 26
    20 36 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Dodge 0
    21 25 93 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 23
    22 27 168 Clay Greenfield Dodge 22
    23 16 81 David Starr Toyota 21
    24 28 73 Rick Crawford Chevrolet 20
    25 29 155 Jake Crum Chevrolet 0
    26 34 63 Jack Smith Ford 18
    27 3 32 Blake Feese Chevrolet 17
    28 13 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 16
    29 22 7 Johnny Chapman Toyota 0
    30 32 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 0
    31 21 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 13
    32 31 0 T.J. Bell Ford 0
    33 4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    34 9 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 10
    35 35 87 Chris Jones Chevrolet 0
    36 30 138 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 0
  • Smoke Steals One at Martinsville

    Smoke Steals One at Martinsville

    Tony Stewart won the Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway by getting past the leader, Jimmie Johnson on a late restart and leading the final 3 laps. At one point Stewart was about to go a lap down to the leader but fought him off and remained on the lead lap.  Johnson finished second and Jeff Gordon followed in third.

    [media-credit name=” Ernie Masche/CIA Photo” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]The race was slowed 18 times for caution for well over 100 laps as the Sprint Cup stars decided that they would have a “Boys Ha Have at it” race on the speedway. Gordon, who was involved in the first caution period and required multiple pit stops for repairs to damaged car, made a spectacular come  leading the race through its middle stages.  Gordon said, “That was absolutely crazy.  Great effort, they fixed the nose. I was worried about the brake duct. I beat it up, I drove it hard. The last two runs I didn’t have much for them.  Great effort by Tony Stewart, you got to give him credit I didn’t think he could get by him on the outside.”   Gordon led 114 of the 500 laps but the bonus points for the most laps led went to Kyle Busch who led 125 laps of the race early.

    Stewart only led 14 laps and said in victory lane, “I don’t know, I didn’t think anyone could get by Jimmie Johnson on the outside.” He then mentioned that his car wasn’t all that great today, “ I was pretty bad all day. I think I was the only that didn’t get in a wreck with anybody today.  To be honest I wasn’t too happy to be starting second.  Not letting him run me up the race track like he did to the 31 (Jeff Burton on an earlier restart) was important too.”

    Many of the chase participants saw trouble on the track. The first caution period saw Gordon with the most damage when Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran into the curb sending Kurt Busch around as well the No. 88 car which saw the No 24 slam into it.

    Brian Vickers was involved in no less than 4 cautions before retiring to the garage but the biggest losers of the day were clearly Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch both who were involved in separate incidents that saw them needing repairs for heavy damages.  Busch finished 27th 7 laps down and Kenseth 31st 13 laps down costing both championship points they may not be able to recover.

    Carl Edwards remained in first in points by 8 over Tony Stewart despite the fact that he had a lug nut issue on pit road,  was lapped and the “lucky dog” twice so this “felt like a victory for me”.

    The one thing that Tony Stewart did was put front runner Carl Edwards on notice, “He better be worried, he’s not going to have an easy three weeks.”

    The series heads to Texas next weekend.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Tums Fast Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=33
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 4 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 47
    2 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 43
    3 10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 42
    4 5 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 41
    5 11 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 40
    6 23 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 38
    7 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 37
    8 24 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 36
    9 1 99 Carl Edwards Ford 36
    10 12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 35
    11 16 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 34
    12 33 13 Casey Mears Toyota 32
    13 26 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 31
    14 8 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 30
    15 15 16 Greg Biffle Ford 29
    16 35 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    17 3 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 27
    18 22 20 Joey Logano Toyota 26
    19 13 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 25
    20 28 0 David Reutimann Toyota 24
    21 34 32 Ken Schrader Ford 23
    22 20 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 22
    23 32 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 21
    24 21 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 20
    25 14 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 19
    26 36 71 Hermie Sadler Ford 0
    27 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 19
    28 19 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 16
    29 17 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 15
    30 25 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 14
    31 2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 14
    32 29 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 12
    33 18 6 David Ragan Ford 11
    34 31 34 David Gilliland Ford 11
    35 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 9
    36 37 7 Reed Sorenson Dodge 0
    37 39 46 Scott Speed Ford 0
    38 42 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 6
    39 40 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
    40 43 55 J.J. Yeley Ford 4
    41 41 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    43 38 37 Mike Skinner Ford 0