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  • Montoya claims Coors Light Pole award at Watkins Glen

    Montoya claims Coors Light Pole award at Watkins Glen

    [media-credit id=24 align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Following a day of rain yesterday here at Watkins Glen International, the drivers of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) were given the opportunity to test their equipment early this morning in a 1.5 hour final practice session. With the sun still hidden behind the clouds and a cool breeze aiding the cause, the speeds were at a blistering pace around the 2.45-mile course this morning.

    The 2008 winner, Kyle Busch, claimed the top of the leader board with Juan Montoya second, Carl Edwards third and road course specialist, Marcos Ambrose finishing the session fourth. Five-time Watkins Glen winner, Tony Stewart was shown thirteenth on the charts and four-time race winner Jeff Gordon was sixth.

    During NSCS qualifying, it was a new track record for Juan Montoya at a speed of 127.020 mph that claimed his second Coors Light Pole award for the 27th Annual Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen. This is his ninth career pole award in 203 NSCS races and his second pole in as many weeks. Though he does have a win here at the 2.45-mile short course configuration, he has never started from the point position here in six attempts.

    “Our Target Chevy has been pretty good this weekend. It has been pretty stable; put it in qualifying trim it was really quick in practice. We ran a little slower than practice, but with the sun out, it’s like 20 degrees hotter. I don’t know. I had a pretty good lap. You can always say I could have got a little more, but sometimes when you want a little more you actually lose.” Montoya said.

    Happy Hour winner Kyle Busch, who will start the race on the outside of Montoya, just five-hundredths of a second behind the pole-sitter.

    The 18 M&M’s Camry was really good during qualifying. It was really fast. I thought it was good and I thought it would be close to the pole. It was close, but it wasn’t first.” Busch said.

    Five-time NSCS Champion, Jimmie Johnson will make the start from the third position and Brad Kesolowski qualified fourth.

    “A really solid lap for the Miller Lite Dodge team. We haven’t qualified well this year but today was a great effort. Track position is key on road courses especially at a fast place like The Glen. I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get the pole.” Kesolowski said.

    Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top-five starters.

    “I made a mistake in turn six and just didn’t quite have enough rear grip there. That’s OK.  We’ve got a great race car and we’ll just play the strategy game and see what comes out of it.” Ambrose said.

    Green flag is slated for just after 1PM tomorrow, and with the grid set the way it is, the 27th Annual Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen is shaping up to have a short-track swagger about it.

    As always, follow me on Twitter @ML_B_Lo for all the up to the minute action.

    Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen, Watkins Glen Int’l
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=22
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 127.02 69.438
    2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 126.928 69.488
    3 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 126.925 69.49
    4 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 126.626 69.654
    5 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 126.524 69.71
    6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 126.312 69.827
    7 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 126.15 69.917
    8 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 126.061 69.966
    9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 126.049 69.973
    10 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 125.959 70.023
    11 98 Michael McDowell Ford 125.713 70.16
    12 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 125.643 70.199
    13 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 125.612 70.216
    14 20 Joey Logano Toyota 125.518 70.269
    15 16 Greg Biffle Ford 125.516 70.27
    16 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 125.5 70.279
    17 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 125.42 70.324
    18 99 Carl Edwards Ford 125.409 70.33
    19 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 125.389 70.341
    20 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 125.339 70.369
    21 195 Scott Speed Ford 125.334 70.372
    22 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 125.199 70.448
    23 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 125.08 70.515
    24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 124.917 70.607
    25 32 Boris Said Ford 124.791 70.678
    26 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 124.715 70.721
    27 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 124.455 70.869
    28 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 124.208 71.01
    29 43 Aric Almirola Ford 124.187 71.022
    30 13 Casey Mears Ford 124.131 71.054
    31 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 124.108 71.067
    32 34 David Ragan Ford 123.868 71.205
    33 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 123.71 71.296
    34 38 David Gilliland Ford 123.576 71.373
    35 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 123.471 71.434
    36 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 123.436 71.454
    37 10 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 123.27 71.55
    38 26 Josh Wise* Ford 122.531 71.982
    39 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 122.335 72.097
    40 119 Chris Cook Toyota 118.879 74.193
    41 249 Jason Leffler Toyota 118.742 74.279
    42 30 Patrick Long Toyota 117.551 75.031
    43 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota – –

  • Jeff Gordon Weathers Storm to Win Pennsylvania 400

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]In a race delayed by rain at the start and then called later for severe thunderstorms, one driver weathered the storms to collect his first victory of the season.

    Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, won the rain-shortened race, with torrential rain, blinding wind, thunder and lightning heralding his official celebration.

    The win tops an action-packed weekend for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who earlier collected the Heisman Trophy Humanitarian Award and celebrated his 41st birthday. Crew chief Alan Gustafson also celebrated his birthday on race day.

    This was Gordon’s 86th victory in 674 Cup races and he is third on the all-time series wins list. But sweeter still is that this is Gordon’s first win of the season and his ninth top-10 finish in 2012.

    Although wild weather this weekend, Pocono Raceway has been smooth sailing for Gordon. This is his sixth victory at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ and he is now the sole proprietor of the all-time Pocono win list.

    With the victory, Gordon moves to second in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup wild card standings.

    “Pocono has been a special place for us,” Gordon said. “It’s been an interesting year to say the least.”

    “We’ve had some trying times,” Gordon continued. “We’ve had cars capable of winning and things didn’t go our way, so to see this race unfold the way it did certainly makes up for those would have, could have, should haves.”

    “Today we got the win and it’s nice to know that things can still go our way.”

    What meant the most to Gordon, however, was that his family, his wife Ingrid Vandebosch and children Ella and Leo, were there to celebrate with him.

    “With the wind, rain and lightning, I was so excited to have all my family here,” Gordon said. “I didn’t care if Victory Lane was in a shed.”

    “That experience means more to me than anything else.”

    “Obviously that was a great day for us,” Alan Gustafson, crew chief, said. “We didn’t have the fastest car but we did have a good enough car to get a win. It all worked out our way.”

    Along with Gordon in the first wild card position is now teammate Kasey Kahne. The driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet finished in the runner up spot, even with a flat right rear tire and some miscues in the pits.

    This was Kahne’s sixth top-10 finish in 18 races at Pocono and his 11th top-10 finish for the season.

    “We had a great car,” Kahne said. “The Hendrick power is something else here on these straightaways.”

    “I made a mistake on pit road, slid over the hose, and it cost us a lot of time and a couple of positions,” Kahne continued. “Jeff got a little better restart and got in front of me when the field wrecked in front of us and he won the race.”

    “And we came in second,” Kahne said. “It was a solid day for us car-wise.”

    New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, posted his fifth top-10 finish in 14 races at Pocono. He scored the third place finish in the 39th Annual Pennsylvania 400.

    Truex Jr. commented that the weather was a ‘monsoon’ and that he had to move quickly through his post-race media obligations.

    “Newman told me ‘one word answers’ because he’s waiting on me and we’ve got to go,’ Truex Jr. said. “It was a good race for NAPA Toyota.”

    “Once we got going out there, we were the fastest car on the track,” Truex Jr. continued. “Obviously we got a little bit lucky because a lot of those guys wrecked.”

    “All in all a good day for us.”

    Storms brewed for the Busch brothers, both of whom had close encounters with the wall. Kyle Busch, driving the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, brought out the first caution on Lap 20 and brother Kurt, behind the wheel of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet, brought out the second caution on Lap 87.

    While Kurt Busch was whisked away without comment from the infield care center after his hard hit, Kyle Busch had plenty to share as his team worked feverishly on his car to get him back on the track.

    “We just blew out the rear brake rotors – – disintegrated it and then blew out the rear caliper after that,” Kyle Busch said. “Getting down into Turn One with a three-wheel brake is about the worst situation you can have as a race car driver.”

    “I kept trying to pump it to keep feeding pressure to the rest of the three wheels to keep it off the fence, but just couldn’t do it,” Busch continued. “I hate it for all of these guys. We had a really fast race car today.”

    Busch admitted that this did nothing but hurt him in the point standings. And he knows that a win will be a necessity going forward.

    “We’re obviously not going to make the top-10 so if we get a win great we’ll make the Chase,” Busch said. “If not, we’ll probably miss it.”

    Points leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also had a stormy day at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’  The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet lost a transmission and finished 32nd.

    “We didn’t have third or fourth gear, so we had to change the transmission,” Junior said. “After qualifying it was fine, but when the race started it was a bit of a vibration and started missing some shifts.”

    “We had a good run going,” Junior continued. “I’m sorry to all the guys at the shop and I hope we get a win for one of our cars.”

    The other major drama of the race occurred in the waning laps just before the storms hit. On Lap 92, the race leaders got into one another, causing a wreck that involved Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson.

    “Well on that last restart, Turn One actually widened out pretty good and we took off,” Kenseth, driving the No. 17 Zest Ford, said. “The 2 didn’t get going and I had a pretty good gap so I crossed the line and was going to pull behind Jimmie (Johnson) and when I pulled down to go behind him I got a little draft and actually pulled up to his door.”

    “So, I decided to race him through there and we went off into One and I could hear his pipes,” Kenseth continued. “I wasn’t sure he lifted. He drove in really, really far and spun out underneath me and I got wrecked.”

    “You don’t mind if something happens it is just a bummer when it takes you out after you are running top three all day and finish 22nd or wherever we are,” Kenseth said. “That is very disappointing and it is hard to look at the bright spot in that.”

    Rounding out the top-five finishers in the Pennsylvania 400 were Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Miller Lite Doge, who finished fourth, and Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Office Depot Back to School Chevrolet, who finished fifth.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Pennsylvania 400, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=21
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 27 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 47
    2 4 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 43
    3 15 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 41
    4 31 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 41
    5 28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 39
    6 9 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 38
    7 17 99 Carl Edwards Ford 37
    8 19 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 36
    9 11 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 35
    10 5 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 34
    11 3 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 33
    12 18 55 Mark Martin Toyota 32
    13 14 20 Joey Logano Toyota 31
    14 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 32
    15 12 16 Greg Biffle Ford 29
    16 25 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    17 21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 27
    18 16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 27
    19 13 43 Aric Almirola Ford 25
    20 1 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 25
    21 26 38 David Gilliland Ford 23
    22 23 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 22
    23 7 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 22
    24 24 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 20
    25 37 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 19
    26 22 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 18
    27 39 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 17
    28 32 34 David Ragan Ford 16
    29 2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 16
    30 6 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 15
    31 41 32 Jason White Ford 0
    32 8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 13
    33 20 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 11
    34 36 30 David Stremme Toyota 10
    35 29 13 Casey Mears Ford 9
    36 38 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    37 34 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    38 42 36 Tony Raines Chevrolet 6
    39 30 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
    40 35 37 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 4
    41 43 98 Mike Skinner Ford 0
    42 40 191 Reed Sorenson Ford 0
    43 33 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 1
  • Juan Pablo Montoya Vrooms to Pocono Cup Pole

    Juan Pablo Montoya Vrooms to Pocono Cup Pole

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”219″][/media-credit]Driving the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, complete with his face adorning the box of the Kellogg’s Vroom Cereal box, Juan Pablo Montoya scored the Coors Light pole for the 39th annual Pennsylvania 400.

    JPM qualified with a speed of 176.043 mph and a time of 51.124 seconds, winning his first pole in 12 races at Pocono. This was Montoya’s eighth pole in 202 NASCAR Cup Series races and he is now locked into the 2013 Shootout at Daytona.

    “That was huge,” Montoya said. “Well to be honest to you I’m not sure if I’m more shocked that I’m on the pole right now or that I’m on the pole in Pocono.”

    “This is a big boost for everybody on the Target team,” JPM continued. “We know we’re working hard but to actually get out there and get a pole, I just went through the hauler and they’re all happy and laughing.”

    “We really needed something like this as a company,” Montoya said. “This is big for us.”

    JPM admitted that he and his team played the strategy card in qualifying, particularly when it came to the unpredictable Pocono weather.

    “We looked at the weather and we said it looks like it’s going to rain,” Montoya said. “And if it’s going to rain, we’ll go qualifying runs in the morning. And we did.”

    “Do we have the fastest car out there?” Montoya continued. “No, but qualifying is the same as racing.”

    “You’ve got to make the right calls and do whatever it takes to get it done,” JPM said. “And that’s what we did.”

    Montoya spent time after his qualifying run in the ESPN booth, analyzing the time trials of his competitors. And he admitted that was just a tad bit stressful as he watched others try to unseat his P1 position.

    “When the 48 went out and he was dead even with me, I thought I’m dead,” Montoya said. “Can you believe this last freaking car is going to be beat me?”

    “But then he missed it and the smile started coming back.”

    Both dad to be Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, and Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Menards/Serta Chevrolet, credited going early in the qualifying run, along with some favorable cloud cover, with their second and third place time trials respectively.

    Hamlin scored his 12th top-10 for the season and his 12th in 14 races at Pocono. Menard posted his fourth top-10 start at Pocono and his fourth in 21 races for the season.

    “I’d like to say it was a good run but I’m a little bit disappointed in our run,” Hamlin said. “I think we reaped the benefits of going out early but knowing we were over a quarter second ahead going into the last corner and just missed it.”

    “At least we are going to have a good qualifying spot.”

    Menard had a bit more of a dicey time getting his P3 qualifying position. He had a problem during practice and had to go to a backup car.

    “I wasn’t expecting to qualify in the top three in a backup car,” Menard said. “Obviously that shows the hard work and preparation of the 27 guys and everybody at RCR.”

    “We had a good primary car and had a radiator hose that blew out of it and hit the wall,” Menard continued. “We had to pull out the backup car but luckily had two hours to get it ready between practices.”

    “It was pretty good right off the truck,” Menard said. “It was the same car we tested with for two days here so we have some good data on it.”

    “One of the biggest things that helped us was going out early,” Menard continued. “Standing on pit road, it was cloudy then and the cars that went before us, the sun came out I think.”

    “A little bit of luck and a lot of hard work.”

    Kasey Kahne, in the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, was the highest qualifying Hendrick Motorsports driver in the fourth position. Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 Stanley Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports rounded out the top five in qualifying at Pocono.

    There was one driver, Stephen Leicht, who failed to qualify.

    Starting Lineup
    Pennsylvania 400, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=21
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 176.043 51.124
    2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 175.795 51.196
    3 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 175.627 51.245
    4 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 175.439 51.3
    5 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 175.432 51.302
    6 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 175.339 51.329
    7 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 175.169 51.379
    8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 175.131 51.39
    9 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 175.097 51.4
    10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 175.067 51.409
    11 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 175.036 51.418
    12 16 Greg Biffle Ford 174.964 51.439
    13 43 Aric Almirola Ford 174.805 51.486
    14 20 Joey Logano Toyota 174.795 51.489
    15 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 174.618 51.541
    16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 174.561 51.558
    17 99 Carl Edwards Ford 174.432 51.596
    18 55 Mark Martin Toyota 174.419 51.6
    19 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 174.314 51.631
    20 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 174.277 51.642
    21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 174.213 51.661
    22 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 174.162 51.676
    23 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 173.92 51.748
    24 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 173.571 51.852
    25 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 173.524 51.866
    26 38 David Gilliland Ford 173.41 51.9
    27 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 173.3 51.933
    28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 173.197 51.964
    29 13 Casey Mears Ford 172.864 52.064
    30 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 172.619 52.138
    31 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 172.371 52.213
    32 34 David Ragan Ford 172.038 52.314
    33 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 171.917 52.351
    34 26 Josh Wise* Ford 171.913 52.352
    35 37 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 171.808 52.384
    36 30 David Stremme Toyota 171.638 52.436
    37 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 171.246 52.556
    38 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 170.804 52.692
    39 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 170.658 52.737
    40 191 Reed Sorenson Ford 170.581 52.761
    41 32 Jason White+ Ford 167.876 53.611
    42 36 Tony Raines+ Chevrolet – –
    43 98 Mike Skinner Ford 170.516 52.781
  • Johnson Dominates the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard

    Johnson Dominates the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard

    [Photo by Adam Lovelace] Jimmie Johnson wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    Denny Hamlin, driving the #11 FedEx Express Toyota won the pole for the 19th running of the 400 mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a speed of 182.763 mph. Jimmie Johnson in his #48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, started in 6th position and by lap four had passed second place Carl Edwards in the #99 Fastenal Ford.

    Edwards started in 2nd place and on lap 13 had to make an unscheduled pit stop for a possible valve spring or plug wire problem. Edwards would lose four laps and finished in 29th place. “We think it was some issue with the ECU. We changed that along with the spark plugs and the engine started running better” said Edwards after the race.

    Jimmie Johnson’s win was his 4th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tying him with teammate Jeff Gordon, his 3rd victory of the season, and 58th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. Jimmie won the event by 4.758 seconds and led a total of 99 of the 160 laps. It was the 8th win for Hendrick Motorsports at the Brickyard. Johnson knew he would have a good car for the race and said, “I knew second or third lap yesterday on the track that we were going to have an awfully good chance at winning. That confidence that I had helped us through practice yesterday. There were a couple moments where maybe an adjustment didn’t work and we lost a little pace, but I just had a feeling, and I just knew we were going to be fine. We qualified well and then went out there today and put it on them, so solid performance.”

    Kyle Busch finished in 2nd place after starting in 7th. It was Kyle’s 6th top 10 finish in eight starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Can’t say enough about the effort the guys put in for our best finish here and our best run. If it wasn’t for the 48, we were probably in our own zip code on the rest of the field, but Jimmie Johnson was in his own country today, so we just couldn’t keep up with him”, Kyle said when asked about his #18 M & M’s Toyota.

    Greg Biffle, driving the #16 3M Ford for Jack Roush, finished the race in 3rd place after starting in 5th and led four laps on the day. “It was a pretty good day for us. We were just super loose all day long. It made difficult after about four or five laps my car just started to get real loose”.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    [Photo by Adam Lovelace] Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his best ever finish at IMS after finishing in the 4th position in the #88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet. Earnhardt started in 20th position and worked his way to the front in the early running of the race. Not only was it Earnhardt’s best finish at Indianapolis and his 15th top 10 finish of the season, but he also gained the points lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. This is the first time Earnhardt has lead the points since Septemeber, 2004. When asked about taking the points lead, Dale Jr. said, “If you run in the top 5 or top 10 enough, you will get points. But we would like to win some more races. I know our fans would like us to win some more races. We are working real hard, really happy with our result today. Happy for Hendrick Motorsports and the #48 shop. Everybody has got to be happy with what we got today. All cars run pretty good.”

    Jeff Gordon finished in 5th place, putting all three Hendrick cars in the top 5 for the day. The rest of the top 10 was Denny Hamlin in 6th, Ryan Newman 7th, Martin Truex Jr. in 8th, Brad Keselowski 9th, and Tony Stewart finished in the 10th position.

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 Fifth Third Bank Ford entered the race with the points lead but on lap 134 Joey Logano and Trevor Bayne got together, collecting Kenseth in the wreck. Kenseth fell out of the race, finishing 35th, 28 laps behind the leaders. It was Kenseth’s first DNF of the season. When asked about the incident, Kenseth replied, “We got back there and some guys were driving pretty crazy. I guess at the very end of it the 21 and 78 were mad at each other and running into each other and then the 20 was trying to pass the 21 and just lost control of his car.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. now leads Kenseth by14 points in the series standings. There were 5 cautions for 25 laps and 17 lead changes among 9 drivers.

  • Five-time becomes Four-time at the Brickyard

    Five-time becomes Four-time at the Brickyard

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson won Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in dominating fashion.

    Johnson led five times for 99 laps, including the final 29 and held off Kyle Busch by 4.758 seconds. Johnson joins Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon as the only NASCAR drivers to win the Brickyard 400 four times.

    “Wow, man that victory lap to go around the track is something special. A big thank you to all the fans out there cheering it lets it really soak in. To come here and win is a huge honor, then to have four wins I’m at a loss for words.” Johnson said in victory lane.

    This was Johnson’s third win of the season and the 58th career, leaving him eighth on the all-time list and second to Gordon among active drivers.

    Greg Biffle finished third, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fourth and Jeff Gordon finished fifth.

    Joey Logano spun on lap 132 and collected Matt Kenseth, who came into Sunday’s race with the Sprint Cup Series points lead. Kenseth finished 35th and losses the series points lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 14 points.

    “We got back there and some guys were driving pretty crazy. I guess at the very end of it the 21 and 78 were mad at each other and running into each other and then the 20 was trying to pass the 21 and just lost control of his car.” Kenseth said.

    Carl Edwards had trouble early. On lap 12 his car was losing power and went to pit road. Edwards finished 29th, four laps down and needs wins to get into the Chase.

    “They haven’t told me anything yet. We think it is some issue with the ECU. We changed that along with the spark plugs and the engine started running better.” Edwards said. “We have to plan to win these races. I don’t think we can think about points anymore. I don’t know what the spread is but it can’t be good. That is what I am saying when I say it is simpler. We just have to go race for wins now.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Curtiss Shaver 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=20
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 48
    2 7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 43
    3 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 42
    4 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 40
    5 9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 40
    6 1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 39
    7 11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 37
    8 17 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 36
    9 22 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 36
    10 28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 34
    11 19 55 Mark Martin Toyota 33
    12 15 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 32
    13 27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 31
    14 8 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 30
    15 33 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 29
    16 24 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    17 18 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    18 14 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 26
    19 4 43 Aric Almirola Ford 25
    20 23 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 24
    21 12 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 23
    22 16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 22
    23 32 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 21
    24 26 30 David Stremme Toyota 20
    25 38 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 20
    26 29 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 19
    27 31 38 David Gilliland Ford 17
    28 36 34 David Ragan Ford 16
    29 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 15
    30 42 32 Ken Schrader Ford 14
    31 37 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 13
    32 21 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 12
    33 3 20 Joey Logano Toyota 11
    34 25 13 Casey Mears Ford 10
    35 10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 10
    36 13 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 8
    37 30 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 7
    38 34 195 Scott Speed Ford 6
    39 41 10 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 5
    40 35 26 Josh Wise * Chevrolet 4
    41 40 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 3
    42 39 179 Mike Skinner Ford 0
    43 43 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
  • Hamlin captures the Curtiss Shaver 400 pole at Indy

    Hamlin captures the Curtiss Shaver 400 pole at Indy

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]Denny Hamlin captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Curtiss Shaver 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a lap of 182.763 mph.

    This was the 11th pole of Hamlin’s career and his second this season.

    “I just made sure I hit my marks, that was the most important thing. It was a great day for our FedEx Express Toyota. We feel like we have a car that will race good.” Hamlin said.

    With new crew chief Chad Norris, Carl Edwards qualified second.

    “That was a really good lap for us. I am just proud of everyone for coming together and working together. Everyone at the shop, Chad Norris, Bob Osborne, all the engineers and everyone here at the track who said, ‘Alright, lets put everything we can into this for the next seven weeks.’ I know this is just the first lap of our run toward the Chase but that is a good lap.” Edwards said.

    Joey Logano qualified third, Aric Almirola fourth and Greg Biffle qualified fifth.

    “It’s really tricky around here. I felt like we had a decent lap in our Dollar General Camry. The car wasn’t quite perfect, but we’ve been working on the thing really hard. We didn’t unload very good. We’ve been working hard and making improvements with it” Logano said.

    Drivers Reed Sorenson, Joe Nemechek and Michael McDowell failed to qualify.

    Starting Lineup
    Curtiss Shaver 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=20
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 182.763 49.244
    2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 181.984 49.455
    3 20 Joey Logano Toyota 181.756 49.517
    4 43 Aric Almirola Ford 181.679 49.538
    5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 181.532 49.578
    6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 181.357 49.626
    7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 181.046 49.711
    8 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 181.014 49.72
    9 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 180.952 49.737
    10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 180.654 49.819
    11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 180.611 49.831
    12 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 180.516 49.857
    13 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 180.487 49.865
    14 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 180.473 49.869
    15 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 180.447 49.876
    16 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 180.437 49.879
    17 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 180.433 49.88
    18 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 180.39 49.892
    19 55 Mark Martin Toyota 180.386 49.893
    20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 180.245 49.932
    21 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 180.177 49.951
    22 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 180.148 49.959
    23 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 180.072 49.98
    24 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 179.928 50.02
    25 13 Casey Mears Ford 179.519 50.134
    26 30 David Stremme Toyota 179.212 50.22
    27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 178.894 50.309
    28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 178.862 50.318
    29 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 178.816 50.331
    30 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 178.543 50.408
    31 38 David Gilliland Ford 178.508 50.418
    32 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 178.486 50.424
    33 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 178.419 50.443
    34 195 Scott Speed Ford 177.855 50.603
    35 26 Josh Wise* Chevrolet 177.743 50.635
    36 34 David Ragan Ford 177.63 50.667
    37 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 177.347 50.748
    38 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 177.34 50.75
    39 179 Mike Skinner Ford 176.894 50.878
    40 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 176.859 50.888
    41 10 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 176.523 50.985
    42 32 Ken Schrader+ Ford 174.768 51.497
    43 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 176.18 51.084
  • Hamlin dominates but Kahne wins at New Hampshire

    Hamlin dominates but Kahne wins at New Hampshire

    Denny Hamlin clearly had the dominant car today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but it was a miscommunication during a pit stop that proved costly and gave Kasey Kahne the opportunity to win.

    At the start of the race, polesitter Kyle Busch lead the first green flag run with ease with Hamlin running second for most of the run.  Followed by a Hendrick Motorsports parade behind them.

    On lap 66, the first round of green flag pit stops started. Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski were among the first of the leaders to come to pit road. Leader Kyle Busch had many problems on pit road all day and this stop was awful. First, his right rear tire changer had a huge hiccup while changing the rear tire. It took him about 10 extra seconds. On top of losing all that time on the racetrack, he got nabbed for a pit road speeding penalty. He was too fast entering. Once everything cycled out, Busch was 22nd in the running order and some 44 seconds behind the race leader. All others were relatively clean on pit road and mostly took on four tires.

    Brad Keselowski came out in sixth position after starting in 22nd spot. That was a sign of a strong day to come. Also, the Hendrick cars were second, third, fourth and fifth after it cycled out. That was also a sign of a strong day to come.

    On lap 89, the first caution of the day flew for debris. Since track position at this track is critical, everyone pitted and took only two tires except for Jeff Gordon. Gordon stayed out and eventually ended up pitting on lap 145, off sequence, because he did not pit for fuel under the first caution. Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer also pitted relatively early because the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) cars were not getting full of fuel for some reason.  Eleven laps later, leader Denny Hamlin pitted and everyone else followed. Once everyone cycled out, Hamlin was still the race leader.

    On lap 188, caution number two came out for more debris. Most of the cars took two tires, except for Jeff Gordon. He took four to get back on sequence, but dropped back to ninth. On the restart, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin battled for the lead, which Hamlin eventually took. Brian Vickers also settled in sixth spot for that run. It seemed like whenever he gets in that No. 55 car for MWR, he runs well.

    On lap 232, green flag pit stops started, but not for long. David Reutiman blew an engine and the caution came out. Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch came in for service.  Johnson ended up being the lucky dog and Busch got the wave around, so both of them were back on the lead lap.

    Here’s when things got interesting. Under caution, everyone came and took two tires except for the race leader Hamlin, who took four tires. Everyone was scratching their heads as to why he took four when, being the dominant car all day, he really didn’t need to. It turned out to be a costly miscommunication between Hamlin and his crew chief, Darian Grubb. After Grubb took the blame for being mired back in traffic, Hamlin let out a sigh on the radio and from there on, he was on a mission.

    On lap 264, Hamlin was all the way up to fourth, passing Harvick. Eight laps later, he took away third from Dale Earnhardt Jr. With ten laps to go, Hamlin was 1.7 seconds behind the race leader, Kahne. While they both were in lapped traffic, Kahne maintained a steady lead, and ended up being able to close the deal and win his second race of the 2012 season. More importantly, he is now in a very good spot for the wild card spot to get into the chase.

    In victory lane, Kahne said “We ran top five the whole race […] Denny was obviously the best car.” He also added “I feel like we’ve been pretty tough all year. I can’t wait for some of these races coming up.” A dejected Denny Hamlin was able to put a smile on his face after the race. He had this to say: “It was just a miscommunication. We still had a shot at the win.” He also added, with optimism that: “We’re gonna win the one [Chase race at Loudon] that counts.”

    Jeff Gordon ended up sixth, but he knows that he needs to win soon if he wants any shot at making the chase.

    Another disappointing finisher was Kyle Busch, who ended up in 16th after having one of the strongest cars all day long.

    There were not really any major points shakeup this week, however, fan favorite Earnhardt Jr. had another solid top five. He could get that points lead from Matt Kenseth soon.

    Today’s race was great, and everyone can’t wait to get to Indianapolis in two weeks.

    Unofficial Race Results
    LENOX Industrial Tools 301, New Hampshire
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 47
    2 3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 44
    3 5 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 42
    4 9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 40
    5 22 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 40
    6 8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 39
    7 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 38
    8 12 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 36
    9 11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 35
    10 6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 34
    11 4 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 33
    12 10 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 32
    13 27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 31
    14 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 30
    15 15 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 29
    16 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 29
    17 13 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 27
    18 21 99 Carl Edwards Ford 26
    19 20 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 25
    20 28 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 24
    21 25 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 23
    22 24 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    23 18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 21
    24 14 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 21
    25 31 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 19
    26 17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 18
    27 39 38 David Gilliland Ford 17
    28 23 43 Aric Almirola Ford 16
    29 29 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 15
    30 30 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 14
    31 37 32 Ken Schrader Ford 13
    32 43 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 12
    33 26 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 11
    34 19 34 David Ragan Ford 10
    35 40 30 David Stremme Toyota 9
    36 33 13 Casey Mears Ford 8
    37 32 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    38 34 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    39 35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 5
    40 36 98 Michael McDowell Ford 4
    41 41 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 3
    42 42 179 Kelly Bires Ford 0
    43 38 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 1
  • Stewart comes from the back to win fourth Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Kenseth captures the Coke Zero 400 pole at Daytona

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Brad Keselowski Wins the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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