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  • The Kyle Busch Show: Kyle Busch Wins The Lucas Oil 150

    The Kyle Busch Show: Kyle Busch Wins The Lucas Oil 150

    The past three years at Phoenix International Raceway, Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) has won with Kyle Busch second. Going into this year, Busch said no more as he brought a brand new truck, set to take down KHI.

    “Big thanks to the guys in the chassis shop,” crew chief Eric Phillips said afterwards. “They put their heads together on building a brand new truck – its not like anything in the shop.”

    On lap 43, Busch came down pit road second to KHI driver Clint Bowyer, though with a quick stop from his pit crew, Busch gained the lead and never looked back as he led the final 50 laps on his way to victory. The win gave Busch his 25th Camping World Truck Series victory and 50th top five in 87 starts.

    “It’s pretty amazing and its been that way for a long time,” Busch said in victory lane. “I’ve had a lot of awesome people stand behind me all the way. Man, I was scared there near the end thinking Clint was going to walk the dog there but Eric’s made some awesome changes on these trucks.”

    The Kyle Busch-KHI one-two finish show kept going as it was Bowyer who finished second.

    “I knew once he beat us out of the pits,” Bowyer said. “You know, in clean air, once you drive off and leave them you’re a tenth better than the field. Its like when we won in the Fall. I knew in practice that he’d be the one to beat.”

    In the last 50 laps, Bowyer had multiple chances to get Busch on the restart, but he could never get that run.

    “One time I’d spin the tires; the next time I’d hit the REV limiter,” Bowyer said. “These things hit the REV limiter quicker than the Cup cars do.”

    His teammate Ron Hornaday finished third while Johnny Sauter and Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Rookie Cole Whitt finished sixth for his first truck series top 10, followed by Matt Crafton, Justin Johnson, Joey Coulter and Jason White.

    The first 43 laps went green, though the final 100 laps saw eight cautions as multiple trucks found themselves in trouble.

    With his seventh place finish, Matt Crafton takes over the points lead by one point over Clay Rogers. Clay Rogers, who was the points leader coming into the weekend, finished 16th.

    Unofficial Race results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 0 150 Running
    2 1 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0 0 150 Running
    3 4 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 41 0 150 Running
    4 8 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 40 0 150 Running
    5 2 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 39 0 150 Running
    6 9 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 38 0 150 Running
    7 6 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 37 0 150 Running
    8 14 51 Justin Johnson* Toyota 36 0 150 Running
    9 10 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 35 0 150 Running
    10 17 23 Jason White Chevrolet 34 0 150 Running
    11 21 32 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 33 0 150 Running
    12 11 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 32 0 150 Running
    13 22 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 31 0 150 Running
    14 7 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 30 0 150 Running
    15 18 9 Max Papis Toyota 29 0 150 Running
    16 13 92 Clay Rogers Chevrolet 28 0 150 Running
    17 12 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota 27 0 149 Running
    18 27 66 Justin Marks Chevrolet 26 0 148 Running
    19 29 1 Jeffrey Earnhardt * Chevrolet 25 0 148 Running
    20 25 20 Johanna Long * Toyota 24 0 148 Running
    21 23 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 23 0 148 Running
    22 30 93 Shane Sieg Chevrolet 22 0 148 Running
    23 31 46 Craig Goess * Toyota 21 0 148 Running
    24 36 45 Mike Skinner Toyota 20 0 148 Running
    25 28 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 19 0 147 Running
    26 19 15 Dusty Davis* Toyota 18 0 145 Running
    27 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 17 0 145 Running
    28 16 244 Greg Pursley Chevrolet 16 0 144 Running
    29 5 119 David Mayhew Chevrolet 15 0 143 F. Pump
    30 24 77 Justin Lofton Toyota 14 0 139 Running
    31 26 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 13 0 132 Accident
    32 20 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 12 0 132 Accident
    33 34 10 Chase Mattioli * Ford 11 0 128 Running
    34 15 81 David Starr Toyota 10 0 112 Accident
    35 32 7 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 9 0 104 Accident
    36 33 5 Travis Kvapil Toyota 8 0 99 Accident
  • Fairy Tales Do Come True, Just Ask Trevor Bayne, Daytona 500 Winner

    Fairy Tales Do Come True, Just Ask Trevor Bayne, Daytona 500 Winner

    For Trevor Bayne, fresh off his 20th birthday and in only his second race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, dreams really do come true.  Bayne became the youngest winner of “The Great American Race”, the Daytona 500.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”281″][/media-credit]”I keep thinking I’m dreaming, I really do,” Bayne said in Victory Lane. “We said a prayer before the race and this just shows how powerful God is and the good job these guys did on this race car. This is just incredible.”

    “I drove down here in my F150 and I was planning to drive back, but I think someone else will have to drive it back for me,” Bayne said, acknowledging that he must now do his Daytona 500 duties in New York City as the race winner. “I guess I will have to call someone to get some clothes down here.”

    “This is so crazy,” Bayne continued. “I felt a little undeserving, but I’m just glad that I got to be the guy behind the wheel to get the win.”

    Bayne’s team owners Eddie and Len Wood were beside themselves after the win. It was so emotional that they both, particularly Eddie Wood, had to stop talking several times to get their tears in check.

    “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” owner Eddie Wood said, with a hitch in his voice. “We’ve struggled just to make the Daytona 500.”

    “It’s unbelievable we are sitting here,” Wood continued. “Trevor Bayne did such a good job. Now he is a Daytona 500 winner.”

    Donnie Wingo, Bayne’s crew chief, was also elated at his driver and team’s success.

    “I couldn’t be happier and the job the kid done today, you couldn’t ask for anything else,” Donnie Wingo, crew chief, said. “At the end, he did what he needed to do.”

    “He just might be the next big deal.”

    The race not only left Trevor Bayne and his car owners and crew chief shaking in disbelief, but many of the other drivers as well. There were a record 74 lead changes, a record 22 different race leaders, and a record 16 cautions in the event.

    “I’ve never run one like that,” veteran Terry Labonte, driver of the No. 32 U.S. Chrome Ford Fusion, said. “It’s a good thing the race wasn’t much longer because we were about done.” Labonte finished the race in the 15th position.

    Just as in the Bud Shootout and the Gatorade Duels, this running of the Daytona 500 necessitated a dance partner, with all cars running in the now familiar duo pack. The tandem racing put even more pressure on the spotters, who were not only having to guide their drivers around the track but strategize on the spotter stand as to who to partner up with next.

    “It was a pretty crazy day overall,” Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, said. “Everything was just all over the place and pretty nuts.”

    Busch had his own set of challenges, spinning early in the race on lap 4 after getting tagged by his pusher, who was at the time Michael Waltrip.  Busch managed to recover and snag a top-ten finish, scoring in the eighth spot.

    Another major factor in the race was engine failure, especially given the hotter ambient temperature at Daytona. Both Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton lost their engines, an anomaly for sure for ECR engines.

    Harvick denied any forewarning of his engine failure, saying “No, it just let loose.”

    “I just blew water out of the bottom of the thing,” Harvick continued. “I hadn’t done anything different.”

    Burton echoed his teammate’s sentiments about the engine failure.

    “We are asking a lot out of the engines here for sure,” Burton said. “These are tough situations. I thought we were well within our limits but maybe not.”

    It would not be a Daytona 500 without the “big one” and this was delivered at lap 29 of the race.  Fourteen cars were involved, including three of the Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin, taking them for the most part out of race contention.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the spotlight due to the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of his father’s death at Daytona, also had a good run, at least until the final laps of the race when a crash took him out of contention. Earnhardt came in 24th, after claiming the pole, wrecking in practice, and starting from the rear of the field.

    “We run good,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “I had as much fun as I could under the circumstances. It was wild.”

    Carl Edwards took the runner up spot to Bayne’s fairy tale ending.

    “Trevor, he did a good job of blocking the bottom,” Edwards said. “All day we waited and waited, trying not to tear up the race car.”

    “There at the end, it almost worked out perfectly,” Edwards continued. “We didn’t have a chance to be able to mount up a real charge on him.”

    “I think that I can tell you that second place in the Daytona 500 feels way worse than any other position I’ve ever finished in the Daytona 500,” Edwards said. “But that is made better by listening to Trevor and how excited he is. He is really a nice young man, a great guy to represent this sport with this win.”

    David Gilliland, veteran Bobby Labonte, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five in “The Great American Race.” The rest of the top ten included Juan Pablo Montoya in sixth, Regan Smith in seventh, Kyle Busch in eighth, Paul Menard in ninth, and Mark Martin, who rebounded from the big one to finish tenth.

    Unofficial Race Results

    Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway

    February 20, 2011 – Race 1 of 36

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 31 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0 0 208 Running
    2 12 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42 0 208 Running
    3 5 34 David Gilliland Ford 41 0 208 Running
    4 6 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 41 1 208 Running
    5 25 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 40 1 208 Running
    6 4 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 39 1 208 Running
    7 27 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 38 1 208 Running
    8 39 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 37 1 208 Running
    9 1 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 36 1 208 Running
    10 34 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 34 0 208 Running
    11 35 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 34 1 208 Running
    12 42 9 Bill Elliott Chevrolet 32 0 208 Running
    13 3 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 31 0 208 Running
    14 18 6 David Ragan Ford 31 1 208 Running
    15 37 32 Terry Labonte Ford 30 1 208 Running
    16 16 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 29 1 208 Running
    17 15 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 28 1 208 Running
    18 2 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 27 1 208 Running
    19 29 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 26 1 208 Running
    20 36 77 Steve Wallace Toyota 0 0 208 Running
    21 38 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 24 1 208 Running
    22 20 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 24 2 206 Running
    23 11 20 Joey Logano Toyota 21 0 206 Running
    24 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 21 1 202 Running
    25 17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 19 0 199 Running
    26 21 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 19 1 198 In Pit
    27 24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 17 0 189 Running
    28 23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 17 1 173 Running
    29 8 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 16 1 166 Running
    30 10 0 David Reutimann Toyota 14 0 164 Running
    31 30 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 13 0 160 Running
    32 7 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0 0 153 In Pit
    33 33 71 Andy Lally * Chevrolet 11 0 149 Running
    34 26 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 10 0 133 Running
    35 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 9 10 126 Running
    36 32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 9 1 92 Out
    37 19 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 7 0 82 Running
    38 40 37 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford 0 0 45 Running
    39 22 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0 0 29 In Pit
    40 9 115 Michael Waltrip Toyota 4 0 28 In Pit
    41 41 192 Brian Keselowski* Dodge 3 0 28 Running
    42 28 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 3 1 22 Out
    43 43 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 1 0 10 Out
  • Tony Stewart Edges Clint Bowyer for One, Two KHI Nationwide Punch at Daytona

    Tony Stewart Edges Clint Bowyer for One, Two KHI Nationwide Punch at Daytona

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]In the third closest finish in Nationwide racing history at Daytona, Tony Stewart edged out Kevin Harvick Inc. teammate Clint Bowyer by .007 seconds to win the DRIVE4COPD 300.

    This is Stewart’s 10th NASCAR Nationwide victory in 91 races and his sixth victory at Daytona International Speedway.

    “Wow is the first thing,” Stewart said simply when asked about his win. “We got to the front pretty early and once we got to Clint (Bowyer), we knew we would be a pretty potent combination.”

    “We knew it was going to be between the KHI cars and the Gibbs cars,” Stewart continued. “We were sacrificing the speed to get air in the grille. You didn’t really know which strategy was best”

    “We had the caution and the flat tire,” Stewart said. “I didn’t realize we had as many cars a lap down, but that is what saved us.”

    Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Heating Cooling Chevrolet, came up just short of accomplishing the victory. Bowyer, who posted his 10th top-10 finish at Daytona, started the race from the pole.

    “A lot of work goes into these race cars for this place,” Bowyer said. “Hats off to these guys for sitting on the pole and I had a car capable of being up front and winning the race.”

    “The race was a little bit slow,” Bowyer said. “But then I found my dancing partner and we were able to make some ground and have some fun with the No. 18 and the No. 20.”

    Bowyer said that he was glad to see Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at the front in his Chevrolet and the two were able to work their way toward the front. Earnhardt, Jr. finished in the fourth position.

    “What do you do?” Bowyer said, reliving the end of the race. “I tried to block and then all hell broke loose. Awesome ending and that’s the thing that’s so much fun about this place. No matter what the race is, the ending is always great.”

    Bowyer also worked with JR Motorsports driver Danica Patrick during the race, at one point pushing her to the front. Patrick finished the race in her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the 14th position.

    “Why not put her in the show?” Bowyer said of his push. “She did a good job today.”

    One of the best finishes was for young driver Landon Cassill, piloting the No. 1 Phoenix Construction Chevy. Cassill managed to finish in the third position right behind both of the KHI teammates.

    “It was just a crazy day,” Cassill said. “We didn’t draft at all in practice today, so it was a learn on the fly deal.”

    “Towards the end there Tony got lined up behind me on the restart and pushed me through,” Cassill continued. “I just followed directions and when we had to swap with two to go, I was just glad to push him.”

    “James Finch gave me this race as a gift pretty much for running his Cup car last year,” Cassill said.  “I wouldn’t be here without James Finch. He got me back in the sport.”

    NASCAR confirmed that Cassill is now the official points leader, by just two points over Reed Sorenson,in the Nationwide Series. Ironically, the driver shared that he does not even have a ride lined up for the next race of the season.

    “I don’t have a ride next week, so I’m just going to bask in this for the next seven days,” Cassill said of his points lead. “But if I don’t get a ride, Reed (Sorenson) will be back in the lead.”

    The potential points leader, Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevy, scored a top five finish. Sorenson thought this was “pretty good”, especially since he was racing against so many Cup drivers.

    “The 4 and the 1 came down and we had to check up,” Sorenson said of the last lap of his race. “That pretty much ended our run. We were coming and we were going to have a shot to at least finish second or third or fourth there.”

    “This is my first time racing and it’s pretty much what I expected,” Sorenson said of the new racing style. “I guess we’re going to have to get used to it.”

    Jason Leffler, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Michael Waltrip, and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top ten for the DRIVE4COPD 300.

    Unofficial Race Results

    DRIVE4COPD 300, Daytona Int’l Speedway

    February 19, 2011 – Race 1 of 34

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 – 4 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 0 0 120 Running
    2 – 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0 0 120 Running
    3 – 1 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 41 0 120 Running
    4 – 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 0 0 120 Running
    5 – 32 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 39 0 120 Running
    6 – 30 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 38 0 120 Running
    7 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 0 120 Running
    8 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 36 0 120 Running
    9 – 99 Michael Waltrip Toyota 0 0 120 Running
    10 – 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 35 1 120 Running
    11 – 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0 0 120 Running
    12 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0 0 120 Running
    13 – 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 31 0 120 Running
    14 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 31 1 120 Running
    15 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 29 0 120 Running
    16 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 28 0 120 Running
    17 – 52 Bobby Santos Chevrolet 27 0 120 Running
    18 – 15 Todd Bodine Toyota 0 0 120 Running
    19 – 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 25 0 120 Running
    20 – 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 24 0 118 Running
    21 – 5 David Starr Chevrolet 0 0 118 Running
    22 – 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 22 0 118 Running
    23 – 81 Donnie Neuenberger Dodge 21 0 118 Running
    24 – 141 Patrick Sheltra Ford 20 0 118 Running
    25 – 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 19 0 118 Running
    26 – 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 18 0 117 Running
    27 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 17 0 116 Running
    28 – 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 16 0 115 Running
    29 – 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0 0 107 Running
    30 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0 0 105 Running
    31 – 39 Josh Wise Ford 13 0 103 Running
    32 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge 12 0 103 In Pit
    33 – 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 11 0 95 Running
    34 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 10 0 70 In Pit
    35 – 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 9 0 57 Out
    36 – 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 8 0 53 In Pit
    37 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 8 1 51 Running
    38 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 6 0 45 Running
    39 – 62 Michael Annett Toyota 5 0 26 In Pit
    40 – 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 4 0 18 In Pit
    41 – 24 Kevin Lepage Ford 3 0 12 In Pit
    42 – 27 J.R. Fitzpatrick Ford 2 0 10 In Pit
    43 – 25 Kelly Bires Ford 1 0 5 In Pit
  • Emotional win for Waltrip

    Emotional win for Waltrip

    Michael Waltrip passed Elliott Sadler heading to the finish line in Friday nights NextEra Energy Resources 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]This was Waltrip’s first truck series victory, 10 years to the day after his first Daytona 500 victory and on the anniversary of his former boss’ death, Dale Earnhardt.

    It was a very emotional win for Waltrip and had tears in his eyes as he talked about what this win meant.

    “I came here to celebrate his life with my black truck and my No. 15 car.  I didn’t come here to celebrate a win.” Waltrip said.

    Jennifer Jo Cobb finished sixth and also became the highest finish in the Truck Series for a woman.

  • Jeff Burton Claims Second Duel Victory; Brian Keselowski Makes the Show

    Jeff Burton Claims Second Duel Victory; Brian Keselowski Makes the Show

    The second Gatorade Duel race was all about teamwork and brotherly love.  Clint Bowyer pushed his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton to the checkered flag and victory, while Brad Keselowski pushed his brother Brian into a place in the Daytona 500.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]”It’s a shame two cars can’t fit in here,” Burton said in Victory Lane.  “Clint and I decided that we would find each other early and it worked out well.  For us, this is a good start and being in Victory Lane means a great deal.”

    “I learned a lot of things,” Bowyer said for his part, acknowledging the pusher role.  “I don’t know if there will be another rule change.  It was fun out there.”

    While Bowyer and Burton were high fiving one another after taking the checkered flag, Brad Keselowski was leaning in to congratulate his brother Brian, newly announced Rookie of the Year candidate, who made the biggest race of his life.

    “I owe my brother in a thousand ways,” Brian Keselowski said.  “We wouldn’t have made it here without him.”

    Keselowski, racing an old Ray Evernham car built in 2006, seemed almost in shock that he had raced his way in to the Daytona 500.  “I owe everything to eveybody right now,” Keselowski said.

    “I didn’t get to start driving until I was 18 years old,” Keselowski said.  “But I had to do it all on my own.  If I didn’t put it together, I wouldn’t be racing right now.”

    Michael Waltrip, former Daytona 500 winner, also made it in on time, thanks to his third place finish.  While he felt “blessed to be here,” Waltrip also admitted that he was really “tired”, particularly mentally after that challenging race.

    “You wouldn’t believe how relieving it is to get in no matter how you get in,” Waltrip said.

    Thanks to Waltrip’s finish, Travis Kvapil secured his place in the race on his time.  This was his first time to really experience the two car tango in race conditions.

    “Well it feels great,” Kvapil said about racing his way into the show.  “Last year, we missed this race and we have worked really hard over the wintertime.  It paid off for us and it’s great for our team.”

    The second duel race had a record 22 lead changes and also had a few more cautions than the first race.  One of the first drivers to get involved in a wreck was Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

    “Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield,” Logano said.  “Today I was the windshield. Wrong place, wrong time.”

    Denny Hamlin also had a less than stellar day.  The driver of the No. 11 Toyota  for Joe Gibbs Racing had a tire go down and then was involved in a single car spin.

    “I have to have a sense of humor I’ve learned this weekend,” Hamlin said.  “What’s so crazy is the fact that we were spun out and three laps later we go from deal last to second or something like that.”

    “This has been an amazing ride and hopefully our weekend is steadily improving,” Hamlin continued.  “We finally did finish.  It’s going to be interesting to see what happens from this day forward.”

    One of the most heartbreaking wrecks occurred late in the race, when Trevor Bayne, who had been stellar all race long, tussled with Jeff Gordon, causing a multi-car accident.  David Ragan was also a significant victim in this wreck as well.

    “I really  had a blast working with Trevor Bayne,” Gordon said.  “He’s a good kid.  He’s a heck of a race car driver.”

    For his part, Bayne was thrilled to have been working with his boyhood hero, Jeff Gordon.

    “Gordon and I worked awesome together and it was just down there at the end,” Bayne said.  “I hate it for all these guys because we were doing awesome, but that’s part of it.  That’s racing.  We’ll get there.”

    In addition to the two car tandem of Jeff Burton, winner, and runner up Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch and Brian Keselowski rounded out the top five finishers.  Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards completed the top ten in the second Gatorade duel.

  • Kurt Busch Wins First Gatorade Duel; Bill Elliott and JJ Yeley Race Into the Show

    Kurt Busch Wins First Gatorade Duel; Bill Elliott and JJ Yeley Race Into the Show

    On a balmy Thursday afternoon in the heart of NASCAR racing, Kurt Busch went two for two at Daytona, wining  the first of two Gatorade Duel races after his Bud Shootout victory.   JJ Yeley, who had to race his way into the show, did just that, along with veteran driver Bill Elliott.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]”This is just an incredible  Speed Weeks,” Busch said.  “I just don’t want it to end.  We just keep doing everything right and it’s just amazing to be able to do this, find the right drafting partners out there to make it happen.”

    “This is sweet,” Busch continued.  “It’s amazing what partnerships can do out on the race track.  When two guys can think the same way without saying a word, things are going to happen for those two guys.”

    Busch also paid tribute to young driver Regan Smith, in the No. 78 for Furniture Row Racing, who successfully pushed not only Busch to victory but many of the other drivers who were in the lead throughout the race.  Busch also gave credit to Brad Keselowski, his teammate with whom he has tested and who he  hopes to partner with  in the race on Sunday.

    Bill Elliott, who has been having a very good weekend so far between his own performance and the signing of his son Chase by Hendrick Motor Sports, also raced his way in on time.  Given that, Michael Waltrip, Daytona 500 winner from ten years ago, has a guaranteed starting spot in this special anniversary year.

    “Coming in today we had a little bit of a cushion,” Elliott said.  “But the key thing is when you get two really good cars working together, they’re going to be hard to beat.  This is the same thing you’re going to see Sunday.”

    JJ Yeley, driver of the No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet, also raced his way onto NASCAR’s biggest stage.  The driver, who had to have surgery to fuse his neck just last fall, was thrilled to have made the show.

    “It’s awesome,” Yeley said.  “I’ve never had to make the race on my own without being locked in.  The stress that comes with not being locked in is tough and to know we had a lot of help out there, especially with Marcos Ambrose, we got where we needed to be.”

    From the drop of the green flag, the race mirrored the Bud Shootout, with drivers almost immediately finding a partner and buddying up.  Further back in the field, the drivers raced as a pack, at least for a bit,  until finding their ideal mate.

    Ryan Newman was the first driver to have problems early in the race, getting a nudge and going for a spin.  Newman was able to recover, however, and ended the race in the tenth position.

    While the duos found their speed together, some swapping back and forth was indeed needed to keep the engines cool, just as NASCAR had intended.  Also interesting in this first true race on the new surface at Daytona was the fact that no teams had to take tires, most pitting for their sole stop to take fuel only.

    The only other caution came late in the race for Michael McDowell, the driver of the No. 66  MRO HP Racing Toyota.  McDowell’s chances at a place in the Daytona 500 expired in a huge puff of smoke, forcing a green white checkered finish.

    But when the green flag flew for the final laps of the race, Busch, being pushed by Smith, emerged as the front runner, taking the checkered flag.  With his win in the first Duel race, Busch will now move up into the pole position with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. having to go to the back of the field due to a practice wreck.

    “It’s just going to be one of those moments in time that I’ll remember for a long time, leading the field to green,” Busch said.  “I’ll just make sure to massage my calf so I don’t cramp up with Regan Smith behind me.”

    With Kurt Busch as victor, Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five finishers.  Juan Pablo Montoya finished sixth, AJ Allmendinger finished seventh, and Mark Martin, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman completed the top ten in the first Duel race.

  • Busch wins by a nose; Hamlin goes below the yellow line

    Busch wins by a nose; Hamlin goes below the yellow line

    Denny Hamlin looked to have made the winning pass when he pulled out from behind race leader Ryan Newman and made inside pass for the race lead exiting turn four on the last lap.  But Newman came down the track to block, sending Hamlin below the yellow line, thus per NASCAR’s rules, Hamlin advanced his position and was disqualified for going below the out-of-bounds line.

    “That yellow line is there to protect us and the fans in the stands safety and I just chose to take the safer route. A win in the Shootout is not worth sending the 39  through the grandstands. For me, as fast as we’re running, if I get into his left rear, that car will go airborne. For me, it was a tough position.” Hamlin said.

    Hamlin was black-flagged and dropped to 12th position, the last car on the lead lap.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”201″][/media-credit]Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray also made their move to the outside while Newman and Hamlin where fighting for the lead and Busch crossed the finish line a nose ahead to win Saturday nights Budweiser Shootout.

    “I knew the 11 was going to split away from the 39.  I was hoping he would do it soon enough.  It worked out in our favor at the end because McMurray stayed with us.  For Shell/Pennzoil to believe in Penske and me, this is unbelievable to deliver them a victory in this 22 car.” Busch said.

    This was Busch’s first shootout win in eight tries.

    “What an amazing win.  To get to victory lane for Shell/Pennzoil is incredible.  This Dodge Charger was fast and I have to thank my “teammate” Jamie McMurray so much.  What an unbelievable experience, this two-car draft.” Busch said.

    Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun out after contact from Edwards on lap 27.  Juan Montoya, Regan Smith and Joey Logano were also involved.

    “We were all just battling for position.  We were at least three-wide and I had my car up against Dale Jr.’s as best I could and the 78 was on the outside.  I was in the middle and I don’t think he knew my nose was in there.  I was probably hidden by the 88 and he just kept coming down.” Edwards said.

    “We were hooked in the rear, the right rear quarter panel and I was watching it and you know, when I saw this gold car coming at me and I thought I had it saved for a second but it’s hard to drive them that fast when they’re out of control. But it was fun. The racing might look kind of crazy but it was pretty fun.” Earnhardt said.

    On lap 48, Michael Waltrip gets loose after “bump draft” contact from Tony Stewart.  Waltrip went into the outside wall and then slid down through the grass.

    In lap 36, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch spun after “bump draft” contact from by Martin.

    “It just went around on him. We were perfect-latched and nothing was different. So I don’t know if our tires being colder or, I don’t know why that happened. I have no answers. I’m sorry. I was doing the same thing everybody else was doing. It’s just a bad deal. I hate that.” Martin said.

    2011 Unofficial Race Results

    Budweiser Shootout, Daytona International Speedway

    February 12, 2011 | Exhibition

    Pos. No. Driver Make Sponsor Laps Status
    1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge Shell / Pennzoil 75 Running
    2 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 75 Running
    3 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Wix Filters 75 Running
    4 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 75 Running
    5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 75 Running
    6 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger 75 Running
    7 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Budweiser 75 Running
    8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 75 Running
    9 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 75 Running
    10 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota Reese Towpower / Highland 75 Running
    11 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Mobil 1 / Office Depot 75 Running
    12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 75 Running
    13 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal Black 75 Running
    14 64 Derrike Cope Toyota Sta-Bil 73 Running
    15 115 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 47 In Pit
    16 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 41 In Pit
    17 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 36 In Pit
    18 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 27 In Pit
    19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / Amp Energy 27 In Pit
    20 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 27 In Pit
    21 99 Carl Edwards Ford Scotts EZ Seed 27 In Pit
    22 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 27 In Pit
    23 97 Kevin Conway Toyota Extenze 26 Running
    24 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota Red Bull 7 Out
  • ARCA: Bobby Gerhart wins Seventh Daytona race with Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200

    ARCA: Bobby Gerhart wins Seventh Daytona race with Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200

    [media-credit name=”ARCA Racing Network” align=”alignleft” width=”256″][/media-credit]Old pavement, new pavement, it doesn’t matter to Bobby Gerhart as he still continued his Daytona dominance with his seventh Daytona win.

    “We didn’t have a good car – we had a great car,” Gerhart said. “That was awesome…..The kid (Chris Buescher) did a tremendous job. I was getting pounched around a lot there.”

    Playing the role of Gerhart’s wing man and pushing him to victory was 18-year old rookie Chris Buescher, who stuck with Gerhart the whole race.

    “That was pretty cool with coming to Daytona for the first time,” he said. “Congratulations to Bobby Gerhart – he is the best here. He learned a lot here.”

    Bobby Gerhart and Chris Buescher pitted early in the race under the first caution and then stayed out under the cautions that followed to take the top two spots with 30 laps to go.

    “We’re getting exceptional milage again,” Gerhart’s crew chief Billy Gerhart said. “We went to Talladega three weeks ago and we knew when we came here, it’d be tough to pass. So lets work on the mileage…….We come here to win. I’d rather be leading and run out rather than run second.”

    Rookie Matt Merrell finished third while Camping World Truck Series veteran Ricky Carmichael finished fourth. NASCAR All-Star Showdown winner Jason Bowles completed the top five in fifth.

    Rounding out the top 10 was Joey Licata, Benny Gordon, Chad McCumbee, Grant Enfinger and Frank Kimmel.

    Pole sitter Ty Dillon finished 11th after being involved in an accident earlier in the race.

    On lap 63, the big one happened when Hal Martin blew a tire, causing a wreck that involved Steve Arpin, Milka Duno, Kyle Fowler, Steve Blackburn, Bryan Silas and Maryeve Dufault.

    “The only thing I saw was smoke and I saw bouncing cars all over the place,” Maryeve said afterwards. “I thought the safest place would be to go down as low as possible, but we still got caught up.”

    Other wrecks that happened included Ed Pompa with a tire blowing out on lap 56 and Chad Hackenbracht flipping on lap 45.

    “I’m doing pretty fine. going through three and four, all i know is we had a good three-four car draft going,” Hackenbracht said. “I heard something clinking, went to the outside of the 30 car and it wrecked.”

    The next ARCA race of the season will be on April 15th at Talladega Superspeedway and will be broadcast live on SPEED.

    To see more articles by Ashley McCubbin and live updates from the weekend, check out http://newsfromthepits.blogspot.com/

  • Jason Bowles Wins NASCAR All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway; Pastrana Sixth

    Jason Bowles Wins NASCAR All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway; Pastrana Sixth

    Every year, the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway produces high-octane excitement that includes chaos at every end of the track with wrecks and debates. The 2011 showing didn’t disappoint as it included controversy, lots of wrecks and a brand new winner.

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”190″][/media-credit]
    (C)NASCAR Home Tracks
    Jason Bowles has won nine K&N Pro Series races, has come close before – though had never won the overall event to date. That all changed on January 30th as Bowles took the checkered flag after some of the other leaders ran into problems.

    “I knew I had a good car going into the race and there were so many things that happened that was I able to avoid,” Bowles said after the race. “I just got a huge jump there and that was it.”

    Being the race leader didn’t seem to be the position to be wanted most of the night as most drivers who fell into that sport didn’t fare too well.

    Pole sitter and series rookie Derek Thorn started on pole and led all the first 100 laps to the first break, though falling back, he got passed for the lead by Andrew Myers. Myers led all the way to lap 191, when he had a flat right rear, causing him to make an unscheduled pit stop. Bowles inherited the lead, though it didn’t last long as Paulie Harraka bumped and banged his way past.

    “We got a good racecar,” Harraka said under the break that followed. “To be honest, I didn’t know we had taken the lead. I knew we were marching to the front, I knew we’d be in the top five, but I didn’t know we’d be the leader. I’m having a blast. I’m having a lot of fun. We never get a 100 green flag laps ever at Toyota Speedway but I am having a lot of fun.”

    Harraka then led all the way till 16 to go when Thorn slid up to him, taking him out with others.

    “He came down on me,” Thorn told his crew on the radio after the incident

    “He flat took me out,” Harraka told his crew.

    As a result of Thorn’s intentions, NASCAR black-flagged Thorn for rough driving, sending him to the tail end of the lead. Bowles once again inhereited the lead, though this time it was Greg Pursley passing him with 14 to go. The caution then came out with 11 to go as Dale Quarterly, Troy Ermish and Cole Cabrera got caught up in a wreck, setting up a restart with nine to go.

    “We’re going to need to pull out nine qualifying laps here,” Pursley said under the caution. “This is what we’ve worked for – staying up front and staying out of trouble so we’re going to need nine qualifying laps,:

    However on a restart, Pursley’s plans fell through as he  had a flat tire, pulling out of the racing line to allow the field to past. Bowles then held off a late race charge from D.J. Kennington to win the race.

    Kennington, the 2010 Canadian Tire Series Champion, finished second in his first NASCAR outing south of the border.

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignright” width=”200″]D.J. Kennington at Irwindale Speedway[/media-credit]
    (C)Sal Sigala Jr.
    “Absolutely, really really proud of everybody on this race team,” Kennington said afterwards. “All my guys are here – its so amazing. I watched this race last year on my couch, its great to be here.”

    Meawwhile, Jonathan Gomez finished third after smoking for most of the race due to an oil leak.

    “It was a handful out there,” Gomez said. “The middle section – 100 laps straight, no cautions, that was a nice break as we know what the last one was going to be. The first run, the car was a little free, made an adjustment and the car was a little tight – didn’t have the forward bite for the win.”

    Luis Martinz Jr. and Johnny Borneman rounded out the top five, while Travis Pastrana finished sixth.

    The Showdown marked the first-ever NASCAR start for the 11-gold medal x-game winner as he begins his stint in NASCAR with Michael Waltrip.

    “Man, it’s awesome,” Pastrana said afterwards. “I can’t say enough about the entire Waltrip crew. (Matt) Crafton did an awesome job guiding me through all this chaos. I finally got the car loosened up those last 25. I finally felt that I had something going. Three-wide is awesome – I actually got to go four-wide sometimes. I had an awesome time out there. I am super pumped. This sport is so much fun out there and I’ve got a lot to learn.”

    Pastrana went through the learning curve as both times under the breaks, the team made the adjustments on the car that were needed.

    “I’ve been tight so I said I want it loose,” Pastrana commented under the second segment. “Harry said loose is fast so I wanted to drop the Days of Thunder on this. So hopefully we don’t spin the car out on the first lap as we drop the hammer on this one.”

    He also fought through the field like a veteran, fighting hard with competitors to stay on the lead lap and get his sixth place finish.

    Derek Thorn, Travis Motley, Moses Smith and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Steve Wallace rounded out the top 10.

  • Busch wins the Ford 300 as Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing are crowned champs

    Busch wins the Ford 300 as Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing are crowned champs

    Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick fought back and forth all day for the lead. However, after Busch took the lead with 22 to go, he never looked back as he got his second win of the weekend.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]The win marked his record-setting 13th Nationwide win of the season and 43rd of his career.

    The win also gave Joe Gibbs Racing their third owner’s championship in a row.

    “I don’t know,” Busch said about putting it in perspective. “You don’t right now. You just keep doing it and enjoying it.”

    Harvick came home second.

    “I didn’t want to see it,” Harvick said of the final restart. “Once you get the lead, it’s fun to get that clean air. We were already getting tight and once we got to that point, we just got real too tight.”

    Keselowski finished third after already clinching the champion two weeks earlier.

    “It’s just so special,” Keselowski said. “It’s not just for me, but for everybody that works on these cars and supports us.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fourth to win the Rookie of the Year Title after struggling at the beginning of the season.

    “It’s awesome,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “It’s been a tough season and to get it turned around, it’s pretty cool.”

    Trevor Bayne rounded out the top five for his first top five with Roush-Fenway Racing.

    “This is exciting as we get to go into the off-season now knowing we’re a top five,” Bayne said. “We had to fight back after getting in the wall.”

    Pole sitter Joey Logano finished seventh.

    Meanwhile, Danica Patrick scored his first top 20 finish in NASCAR and first finish on the lead lap after starting fifth.

    “Why am I so upset?” Patrick asked herself afterwards. “‘Cause I was working my ass off to try to get by that 09 car and I couldn’t get by. I’m not contending for wins so I’ve got to find the little victories and I’m mad. We qualified really well and there are a lot of positives, but I’m still mad.”

    The teams will have their banquet this Monday at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel to celebrate their accomplishments. The top five drivers and teams from the Nationwide Series will be joined by the top five drivers and teams from the NASCAR Camping World Series for the second straight year. Those top five drivers in both series will be featured on stage, while positions sixth-10th will be recognized for their accomplishments.

    Also, for the second consecutive year, SPEED personalities Rick Allen and Krista Voda will host the banquet. Additionally, comedian Tom Papa will entertain the crowed.

    The banquet will air on SPEED on Friday December 3, 2010 from 7:00pm-9:00pm EST as a lead-in to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet, also on SPEED.

    Then in 90 days, the Nationwide Series will begin the 2011 season with the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday February 19th.