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Category: Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

  • The Final Word – Bristol king Busch may be Rowdy to us, but(t) he’s something different to Keselowski

    So, what did we learn at Bristol?

    Well, we learned that sometimes it is a place where, using the term coined by Brad Keselowski, a-holes always win. At least that was the case last weekend. Kyle Busch won the Camping World truck event, the Nationwide event (after purposely turning ole Brad around), and then ran off with the Sprint Cup contest Saturday night. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t beat his driving. Same was once said about his brother Kurt, at least until Jimmy Spencer beat on him.

    We learned that the snake keeps on coming back and biting Jimmie Johnson again, and again, and again. This time the ole serpent looked like Juan Pablo Montoya, who turned just a bit left to turn Johnson just a bit into the wall. While the champ wound up wounded in 35th, he is a sure thing to make the Chase and currently leads those standings with Denny Hamlin. Not quite time for the alligator tears just yet.

    We learned that it is a good thing the championship is determined the way it is for both those boys. The Pied Piper got beat up his own self, finishing just a place ahead of Johnson. Then again, the next two races it is all about chasing wins and fine tuning for those boys, with eleven positions pretty much determined and two more pre-Chase events remaining. .

    We learned that the 12th place in the Chase should go to Clint Bowyer, barring some form of disaster. After Bristol, he is 100 points up on Jamie McMurray and 101 ahead of Mark Martin. Mind you, Bowyer can still be caught. He also can still be abducted by aliens and even changed into a girl, but I would say the odds are a bit long.

    We learned that the two cars entered by Phil Parson’s PRISM Motorsports finished 42nd and 43rd. Michael McDowell lasted 16 of the 500 laps before engine problems sat him out. Scott Riggs went 32 until his transmission gave up the ghost. Ole Phil has been listed as the owner of 68 entries since the start of last season. His best finish? That would be the 24th place finish by Terry Labonte in their first attempt, the 2009 Daytona 500. How many times have they finished 40th or worse? That would be 59 times, but who’s counting?

    We learned that ABC/ESPN can actually put on an entertaining show. Sending that mad man Kenny Wallace down to talk to the drivers in the garage prior to the race was good television. Having Dale Jarrett give his thoughts on how to deal with Kyle Busch, like knocking on his motorhome door and punching him in the nose, was very insightful…and funny. Having Rusty, Brad, and Nicole allow us the time to hit the kitchen or the bathroom without missing anything worth listening allows us to keep refreshed. It is all good.

    This weekend we have off. The Nationwide folks are in Montreal on Sunday, while Chicago greets the Camping World truckers Saturday night. After nearly 40 games and countless practices, the baseball season has finally come to a close for our two young lads. With nowhere to go, it is going to be a nice, relaxing stay at home weekend for us. I hope you enjoy yours.

  • Kyle Busch returns to Victory Lane at Bristol

    It was a repeat performance for the 2009 winner of the Camping World truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway as Kyle Busch led 116 of 206 laps Wednesday night in the Thunder Valley.

    Busch qualified on the pole, but when the team had a concern about a possible engine problem, they went under the hood. Because of that, Busch was forced to start at the tail end of the field. He fought hard and within 35 laps he had moved up within the top 25, on a restart on lap 37, he lined up behind the #10 truck of Jennifer Jo Cobb. As they entered turns 3 and 4 it appeared that Cobb was not running as fast as Busch wanted. As they exited turn 4, Busch put the bumper to Cobb, sending the #10 truck spinning on the inside apron. Following that caution, Busch continued his run to the front.

    By lap 50, the #18 truck was in fifth place and putting the pressure on Mike Skinner, the leader in the #5 Exide Toyota. By lap 91 Busch took the top spot and stayed there for the duration, fighting off challenges by Timothy Peters, Aric Almirola, Elliott Sadler, Ron Hornaday and Mike Skinner.

    The race seemed to last forever as 13 caution flags 71 laps and one late race red flag that lasted 8 mins and 47 seconds on lap 204. The race wound up ending on lap 206 with a yellow/checker after the caution came out after Busch had taken the white flag on a green/white/checker situation.

    A lap 198 crash involving six trucks was the eventual cause for the red flag. Involved in the wreck were the #4 of Ricky Carmichael, # 7 of Justin Lofton, #52 of Ken Schrader, #77 of Miguel Paludo, #81 of David Starr and the #92 of Dennis Setzer. The crash ended the night for both Starr and Schrader who both were treated and released at the infield care center.

    Finishing second behind Busch was Aric Almirola, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Justin Lofton, the top finishing rookie. Rounding out the top 10 were series points leader Todd Bodine, Brad Keselowski, Timothy Peters, Miguel Paludo and Matt Crafton.

    Ron Hornaday Jr. advanced one position in the points, to fifth as well as Matt Crafton moving up to sixth. Leading rookie of the year candidate Austin Dillon dropped two spots to 7th. Bodine still enjoys a healthy points lead over Almirola, but that lead was cut to 211 points by virtue of Almirola’s second place finish.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads north for Chicagoland Speedway next.

  • Saturday Night’s Truck Race Proves Point

    Watching the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway a smile came on my face.

    First off, one of the most competitive series in the world was at the greatest racetrack ever made.

    Secondly, despite a tough economy and the race being a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, the crowd was surprisingly good!

    Wow, I thought, that’s a nice crowd for a truck race.

    After watching some truck races this season it’s a pleasant surprise.

    No disrespect to the people of Nashville but their crowds for their two truck series races were awful.

    I wondered why?

    There are plenty of reasons.

    First it’s the people of the south east. No matter what NASCAR will try and do and what they try and tell people, the hot bed for the sport has been and always will be the south east.

    Second, there is no such thing as a “boring race” at Darlington raceway. People pass each other all the time, they beat and bang and hit the wall and it’s a track where men are men. It’s the way racing ought to be.

    It reminds fans of their old Saturday Night short track race, where guys get hot tempered and are not fined for it.

    It reminds fans of the exact reason why they fell in love with the sport in the first place. It’s fun. Darlington is one of the most fun races on the schedule, yet because they don’t have 100,000 stands it only has one date.

    As the schedule for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was announced I just shook my head when certain tracks got dates and others didn’t. In five years NASCAR will have the same problem.

    The stands at some of those tracks will be full, at first. Then the stands will slowly get emptier and emptier as the boring style of cookie cutter racing puts to sleep another group of fans.

    Brian France will then sit there and wonder what is wrong?

    There are way too many cookie cutters and not enough Darlingtons. It’s obvious if you looked up from your bank account records and paid attention to the attendance at Darlington on Saturday.

    The day NASCAR realizes it’s not about how many people watch your sport, it’s how about how many people get hooked to your sport, is the day Darlington will have two dates again.

    Until that day however, ratings and attendance will continue falter and NASCAR as a sport will hurt because of it.

  • Kevin Harvick Incorperated Looks to Tame Darlington Raceway

    The Camping World Truck Series looks to return to Darlington Raceway for the first time in six years and Kevin Harvick Incorporated drivers Ron Hornaday and Ken Schrader look to tame the track that is known to be “too tough to tame”.

    Ron Hornaday enters the weekend seventh in points, looking to gain ground on the leaders.
     
    “I’m really going into Darlington and treating it like a brand-new track,” Hornaday said in the team preview. “Even though I’ve been there before in the Cup Series and Nationwide Series cars, I think driving a truck around the track is going to be really different. We are really not sure what to expect. It will be interesting trying to adjust from day time to night time. We are going to take some notes that our Nationwide Series team collected earlier this year and try to make some assumptions based off their notes.”  
     
    In nine Nationwide Series starts at Darlington Raceway, Hornaday has two top 10s and an average finish of 19.6.
     
    Despite the past not being so bleak for Hornaday, he is excited about the weekend based on the last time the Camping World Truck series was there in 2003.
     
    “I’m really glad they added Darlington back to the Truck Series schedule,” he said. “The best Truck Series race that I have watched in a really long time was the race they had in Darlington in 2003, when Bobby Hamilton and Ted Musgrave battled side-by-side all the way to the checkered flag. Hamilton barely beat Ted over the line, it was an awesome race. I think that the fans are going to love seeing the Truck Series back at Darlington. I’m glad they added the track back to the schedule, so I have a chance to race here.”
     
    Hornaday will have E-Z-Go on the side of his truck, which is the same sponsor car owner Kevin Harvick had on his truck when he won earlier this year at Atlanta. The Atlanta, Georgia based company E-Z-Go will be debuting their new street legal golf car vehicle, the 2Five on the quarter panels of Hornaday’s truck.
     
    Hornaday will be driving chassis No. 048 at Darlington Raceway, which is the same truck that he drove last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway to a sixth place finish.
     
    Meanwhile, teammate Ken Schrader will be driving chassis No. 042, which has been to victory lane twice in 2010. Harvick drove the chassis to the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March while Elliott Sadler drove it to his first career Truck Series victory at Pocono in July.
     
    “Darlington is a track where I have a lot of Cup Series starts, so I’m pretty familiar with its characteristics and challenges,” Schrader said in the team preview. “Some people call that ‘character,’ others call it frustrating, but make no mistake about it, Darlington is unique. There will never be another track like it because I believe they broke the mold, and a lot of drivers breathed a sigh of relief.”
     
    In 43 Sprint Cup Series starts at Darlington, Schrader has three poles, five top fives, 13 top 10s, an average finish of 18.1, and has led 206 laps.
     
    Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q will adore the quarter panels of Schrader’s No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado this weekend at Darlington. Stubb’s made their debut with KHI at Gateway International Raceway in July where Kevin Harvick won the pole and the race in dominating fashion.
     
    If track history means anything and the good luck charm of the sponsors plays a part, both KHI drivers should be upfront in the thick of it to win.
     
    WEEKEND SCHEDULE
    Saturday:
    Practice: 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EST
    Final Practice: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST
    Qualifying: 4:15 p.m. EST
    Race: 7:30 p.m. EST (Speed will broadcast live at 7:00 p.m.; Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 7:15 p.m.)
  • Bodine dominates at Nashville

    Bodine dominates at Nashville

    Todd Bodine won his second race of the season in Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. Bodine started from the pole and dominated the race by leading twice for 91 of the 150 laps including the final 88 laps at the 1.33-mile concrete oval.

    “I’ve been so close so many times. Even at the (Nashville) fairgrounds I was close. We were close with this truck before.   The Germain team is awesome — these guys are the ones that do this every week.”  

    Rookie Austin Dillon finished second, Aric Almirola third, Timothy Peters third and Johnny Sauter finished fifth.  

    Bodine continues to lead in the series standings by 174 points over Almirola.  

    Unofficial Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
    1 1 30 Todd Bodine  Toyota 195 10 150
    2 2 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 170 0 150
    3 5 51 Aric Almirola  Toyota 170 5 150
    4 3 17 Timothy Peters  Toyota 165 5 150
    5 7 13 Johnny Sauter  Chevrolet 155 0 150
    6 10 33 Ron Hornaday  Chevrolet 150 0 150
    7 6 88 Matt Crafton  Chevrolet 146 0 150
    8 11 18 Brian Ickler  Toyota 142 0 150
    9 9 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 138 0 150
    10 4 2 Ken Schrader  Chevrolet 134 0 150
    11 15 5 Mike Skinner  Toyota 130 0 150
    12 18 21 Donny Lia  Chevrolet 127 0 150
    13 12 39 Ryan Sieg  Chevrolet 124 0 150
    14 20 81 David Starr  Toyota 121 0 149
    15 14 4 Ricky Carmichael  Chevrolet 118 0 149
    16 13 31 James Buescher  Chevrolet 115 0 149
    17 22 60 Narain Karthikeyan  Chevrolet 112 0 148
    18 25 7 Butch Miller  Dodge 109 0 147
    19 23 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 106 0 147
    20 27 85 Brent Raymer  Ford 103 0 144
    21 28 1 Joe Aramendia  Chevrolet 100 0 142
    22 30 57 Norm Benning  Chevrolet 97 0 141
    23 26 46 Clay Greenfield  Dodge 94 0 140
    24 19 6 Bobby Hamilton Jr.  Chevrolet 91 0 132
    25 33 47 Brett Butler * Chevrolet 88 0 131
    26 17 12 Mario Gosselin  Chevrolet 85 0 64
    27 35 48 Michelle Theriault  Chevrolet 82 0 38
    28 8 23 Jason White  Dodge 79 0 37
    29 21 187 Chris Jones  Chevrolet 76 0 29
    30 34 89 Chris Lafferty  Chevrolet 73 0 16
    31 31 124 Mike Harmon  Ford 0 0 14
    32 32 216 J C Stout  Chevrolet 67 0 9
    33 29 93 Mike Garvey  Chevrolet 64 0 8
    34 16 15 Johanna Long  Toyota 61 0 3
    35 24 95 Carl Long  Dodge 0 0 1
  • Harvick dominates truck series race at Gateway

    Harvick dominates truck series race at Gateway

    Kevin Harvick dominated at Gateway International Raceway in the “lights delayed” Truck Series Camping World 200 race on Saturday. Harvick led 143 of the 160 laps in route to his third win in just four starts in the series.

    The truck race was postponed from Friday night because of a power failure that happened just before the race was started.  

    Brad Keselowski finished second, Johnny Sauter third, Todd Bodine fourth and Matt Crafton finished fifth.  

    It was a very hot a muggy day and after the race series points leader Bodine was found on the floor of the media center trying to cool down.   “Man, I burned my butt bad and my back even got burned. That’s why I laid down on the cold floor.” Bodine said.  

    Bodine leads by 101 points over Aric Almirola in the series standings.  

    Unofficial Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
    1 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 195 10 160
    2 3 129 Brad Keselowski Dodge 170 0 160
    3 5 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 165 0 160
    4 14 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 160 0 160
    5 9 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 155 0 160
    6 7 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 150 0 160
    7 6 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 146 0 160
    8 16 51 Aric Almirola Toyota 147 5 160
    9 10 18 Brian Ickler Toyota 138 0 160
    10 13 5 Mike Skinner Toyota 134 0 160
    11 23 23 Jason White Dodge 130 0 160
    12 2 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 127 0 160
    13 25 81 David Starr Toyota 124 0 160
    14 19 12 Mario Gosselin Chevrolet 121 0 160
    15 21 9 Max Papis Toyota 118 0 160
    16 20 90 Brad Sweet Toyota 115 0 160
    17 22 15 Steve Wallace Toyota 112 0 160
    18 17 7 Tony Jackson Jr. Chevrolet 109 0 159
    19 12 60 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 106 0 159
    20 33 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 103 0 158
    21 31 47 Brett Butler * Chevrolet 100 0 158
    22 29 186 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 97 0 158
    23 24 63 Jack Smith Ford 94 0 158
    24 34 1 Carl Long Chevrolet 91 0 157
    25 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 88 0 153
    26 8 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 90 5 150
    27 4 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 82 0 127
    28 30 46 Clay Greenfield Dodge 79 0 105
    29 18 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 76 0 79
    30 32 6 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet 73 0 79
    31 11 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 70 0 49
    32 36 187 Chris Jones Chevrolet 67 0 25
    33 27 89 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 64 0 21
    34 15 93 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 61 0 19
    35 26 95 Dennis Setzer Dodge 58 0 3
    36 28 172 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 0 0 1

  • Dillon dominates at Iowa

    Austin Dillon started from the pole and won his first career Truck Series race on Sunday at Iowa Speedway. Dillon held off Johnny Sauter in a green-white-checkered finish to become the second-youngest driver to win a Truck Series race behind Kyle Busch.

    Dillon dominated the race by leading the race high of 187 laps.   Dillon, the grandson of owner Richard Childress put the famous No. 3 in victory lane for the second week in a row. Dale Earnhardt Jr. placed the Wrangler No. 3 in victory lane last Friday night at Daytona.  

    Dillon appeared to easily have the race in hand, until a late caution flag with 3 laps to go setup one last restart. Dillon took the outside line and easily pulled away in the final laps as the other drivers battled behind him.  

    Matt Crafton finished third, Ken Schrader fourth and James Buescher finished fifth.  

    Todd Bodine, Brian Ickler and Ron Hornaday were caught up in a wreck around the half way point of the race. Bodine was not pleased with Ickler before the next restart and bumped him from behind. NASCAR black flagged him and he was given a pass through penalty.  

    “I don’t know if we had anything for the 3 truck, but we were running pretty good and just got wrecked by the 30 (Bofine) and pretty much rode out the rest of the race. These kinds of races are a little tough to bear, but we’ll be back at it in five days, and that’s a good thing.” Ickler said.  

    Bodine finished 17th and holds an 88 point lead over Aric Almirola in the series standings.  

    Almirola blew a front tire and hit the wall just 76 laps into the race and finished 28th.   “I blew a right front. It shows you how easy in this sport it is to go from the top to the bottom.” Almirola said.  

    Timothy Peters blew an engine halfway through the race and finished 27th.   “The engine just let go. It started popping there about five laps before it actually let go. I can’t complain. Joey Arrington and everybody at Arrington do us a great job week in and week out. That’s racing.” Peters said.    

    Unofficial Race Results Lucas Oil 200 presented by SPEED on Mediacom July 11, 2010 – Race 10 of 25

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 1 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 195 10 205 Running
    2 5 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 175 5 205 Running
    3 10 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 165 0 205 Running
    4 13 2 Ken Schrader Chevrolet 160 0 205 Running
    5 14 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 155 0 205 Running
    6 3 60 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 150 0 205 Running
    7 15 5 Mike Skinner Toyota 151 5 205 Running
    8 6 162 Greg Pursley Chevrolet 142 0 205 Running
    9 21 4 Ricky Carmichael Chevrolet 138 0 205 Running
    10 23 81 David Starr Toyota 134 0 205 Running
    11 7 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 130 0 205 Running
    12 22 12 Mario Gosselin Chevrolet 127 0 205 Running
    13 4 18 Brian Ickler Toyota 124 0 205 Running
    14 16 21 Chris Eggleston * Dodge 126 5 205 Running
    15 11 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 118 0 203 Running
    16 20 186 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 115 0 203 Running
    17 9 30 Todd Bodine Toyota 112 0 202 Running
    18 29 47 Brett Butler * Chevrolet 109 0 200 Running
    19 24 46 Brian Rose Dodge 106 0 199 Running
    20 33 1 Carl Long Chevrolet 103 0 199 Running
    21 31 6 J C Stout Chevrolet 100 0 199 Running
    22 32 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 97 0 198 Running
    23 17 23 Jason White Dodge 94 0 172 Running
    24 19 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 91 0 171 Running
    25 26 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 88 0 125 Handling
    26 12 7 Donny Lia Chevrolet 85 0 118 Accident
    27 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 82 0 104 Engine
    28 2 51 Aric Almirola Toyota 79 0 75 Accident
    29 25 85 Brent Raymer Ford 76 0 40 Brakes
    30 18 15 Steve Wallace Toyota 73 0 38 Accident
    31 35 48 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet 70 0 27 Vibration
    32 36 182 Paddy Rodenbeck Chevrolet 67 0 23 Rear End
    33 28 187 Chris Jones Chevrolet 64 0 23 Ignition
    34 27 95 Clay Greenfield Dodge 61 0 18 Overheating
    35 34 124 Mike Harmon Ford 58 0 15 Overheating
    36 30 93 Mike Garvey Chevrolet 55 0 5 Brakes

  • Sauter survives rain, hail and spin at Kansas

    Johnny Sauter held off Ron Hornaday on Sunday at Kansas Speedway to win a wild race after hard rain along with hail stopped the race and both drivers make miraculous saves to finish 1-2.

    Pole sitter Hornaday was trying to make the pass for the lead with 13-laps to go. Hornaday got loose and came up the track into the side of Sauter. Both trucks spun sideways into almost 45-degree slides at over 150 mph and both drivers were able to save their trucks and go on without NASCAR having to throw a caution flag.
     
    The save all but ruined his worn-down rear left tire of Hornaday and Sauter was able to pull away after the spin. This was Sauter’s first win at Kansas and his second career truck series win. “That’s unbelievable stuff right there.” Sauter said.
     
    “That’s the way you’re supposed to race. That’s what truck racing is all about.” said Hornaday.
     
    Sauter is also the 10th different race winner in 10 races at Kansas Speedway.
     
    Todd Bodine finished third, Brian Ickler fourth and Johnny Benson finished fifth. Timothy Peters finished 23rd and holds a 22-point lead over Bodine.
     
    Unofficial Race Results
    O’Reilly Auto Parts 250, May 2, 2010 – Race 5 of 25
    Pos.
    St.
    No.
    Driver
    Make
    Pts.
    Bon.
    1
    3
    13
    Johnny Sauter
    Chevrolet
    195
    10
    2
    1
    33
    Ron Hornaday
    Chevrolet
    175
    5
    3
    6
    30
    Todd Bodine
    Toyota
    165
    0
    4
    9
    18
    Brian Ickler
    Toyota
    165
    5
    5
    13
    15
    Johnny Benson
    Toyota
    160
    5
    6
    5
    3
    Austin Dillon *
    Chevrolet
    150
    0
    7
    4
    51
    Aric Almirola
    Toyota
    146
    0
    8
    8
    5
    Mike Skinner
    Toyota
    142
    0
    9
    12
    2
    Ken Schrader
    Chevrolet
    138
    0
    10
    25
    81
    David Starr
    Toyota
    139
    5
    11
    23
    23
    Jason White
    Dodge
    130
    0
    12
    7
    4
    Ricky Carmichael
    Chevrolet
    127
    0
    13
    14
    7
    Justin Lofton *
    Toyota
    124
    0
    14
    30
    63
    Jack Smith
    Ford
    126
    5
    15
    28
    7
    Tony Jackson Jr.
    Chevrolet
    123
    5
    16
    11
    31
    James Buescher
    Chevrolet
    115
    0
    17
    17
    12
    Mario Gosselin
    Chevrolet
    117
    5
    18
    32
    46
    Terry Jones
    Dodge
    109
    0
    19
    27
    39
    Ryan Sieg
    Chevrolet
    106
    0
    20
    26
    186
    Jamie Dick
    Chevrolet
    103
    0
    21
    24
    85
    Brent Raymer
    Ford
    100
    0
    22
    20
    56
    Tayler Malsam
    Toyota
    97
    0
    23
    10
    17
    Timothy Peters
    Toyota
    94
    0
    24
    36
    57
    Norm Benning
    Chevrolet
    91
    0
    25
    2
    88
    Matt Crafton
    Chevrolet
    88
    0
    26
    33
    47
    Brett Butler *
    Chevrolet
    85
    0
    27
    35
    1
    Carl Long
    Chevrolet
    87
    5
    28
    21
    10
    Jennifer Jo Cobb *
    Ford
    79
    0
    29
    19
    90
    Jesse Smith
    Toyota
    76
    0
    30
    18
    21
    Chris Eggleston *
    Chevrolet
    73
    0
    31
    15
    76
    Rick Crawford
    Ford
    70
    0
    32
    34
    6
    Brian Rose
    Chevrolet
    67
    0
    33
    31
    89
    Mike Harmon
    Ford
    64
    0
    34
    29
    93
    Shane Sieg
    Chevrolet
    61
    0
    35
    16
    116
    Wes Burton
    Chevrolet
    58
    0
    36
    22
    60
    Narain Karthikeyan
    Chevrolet
    55
    0

  • Harvick awarded two poles due to rain

    Martinsville, Va. – Qualifying for the Kroger 250 Truck Series race and the Cup Series Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 were both cancelled due to rain. This is the third year in the row that the field will be set by the point standings.

    Kevin Harvick was awarded the pole for both events by virtue of points system. Matt Kenseth will start second in Sundays Sprint Cup race.
     
    Both drivers usually do not qualify well.
     
    “It could be the worst qualifying front row. Obviously this is the place where, if you’re going to have that happen, this is the place you want to do it.” Harvick said while laughing.
     
     
    A note from Martinsville Speedway:
     
    Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 on Sunday and the Kroger 250 on Saturday are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or at the ticket office
     
    Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 begin at just $25.
     
     
    Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 starting lineup:
    Pos.
    No.
    Driver
    Make
    1
    29
    Kevin Harvick
    Chevrolet
    2
    17
    Matt Kenseth
    Ford
    3
    48
    Jimmie Johnson
    Chevrolet
    4
    16
    Greg Biffle
    Ford
    5
    14
    Tony Stewart
    Chevrolet
    6
    2
    Kurt Busch
    Dodge
    7
    31
    Jeff Burton
    Chevrolet
    8
    88
    Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    Chevrolet
    9
    98
    Paul Menard
    Ford
    10
    18
    Kyle Busch
    Toyota
    11
    24
    Jeff Gordon
    Chevrolet
    12
    33
    Clint Bowyer
    Chevrolet
    13
    99
    Carl Edwards
    Ford
    14
    83
    Brian Vickers
    Toyota
    15
    1
    Jamie McMurray
    Chevrolet
    16
    5
    Mark Martin
    Chevrolet
    17
    20
    Joey Logano
    Toyota
    18
    82
    Scott Speed
    Toyota
    19
    11
    Denny Hamlin
    Toyota
    20
    56
    Martin Truex Jr.
    Toyota
    21
    43
    A.J. Allmendinger
    Ford
    22
    42
    Juan Montoya
    Chevrolet
    23
    9
    Kasey Kahne
    Ford
    24
    0
    David Reutimann
    Toyota
    25
    19
    Elliott Sadler
    Ford
    26
    39
    Ryan Newman
    Chevrolet
    27
    6
    David Ragan
    Ford
    28
    78
    Regan Smith
    Chevrolet
    29
    71
    Bobby Labonte
    Chevrolet
    30
    12
    Brad Keselowski
    Dodge
    31
    47
    Marcos Ambrose
    Toyota
    32
    38
    Kevin Conway*
    Ford
    33
    77
    Sam Hornish Jr.
    Dodge
    34
    34
    Travis Kvapil
    Ford
    35
    37
    David Gilliland
    Ford
    36
    26
    David Stremme
    Ford
    37
    9
    Aric Almirola
    Chevrolet
    38
    7
    Robby Gordon
    Toyota
    39
    36
    Mike Bliss
    Chevrolet
    40
    13
    Max Papis
    Toyota
    41
    55
    Michael McDowell
    Toyota
    42
    66
    Dave Blaney
    Toyota
    43
    87
    Joe Nemechek
    Toyota
     
    Kroger 250 starting lineup:
    Pos.
    No.
    Driver
    Make
    1
    2
    Kevin Harvick
    Chevrolet
    2
    51
    Aric Almirola
    Toyota
    3
    88
    Matt Crafton
    Chevrolet
    4
    5
    Mike Skinner
    Toyota
    5
    17
    Timothy Peters
    Toyota
    6
    30
    Todd Bodine
    Toyota
    7
    13
    Johnny Sauter
    Chevrolet
    8
    56
    Tayler Malsam
    Toyota
    9
    15
    Johnny Benson
    Toyota
    10
    14
    Rick Crawford
    Ford
    11
    60
    Narain Karthikeyan
    Chevrolet
    12
    4
    Ricky Carmichael
    Chevrolet
    13
    81
    David Starr
    Toyota
    14
    10
    Jennifer Jo Cobb*
    Ford
    15
    7
    Tony Jackson Jr.
    Chevrolet
    16
    7
    Justin Lofton*
    Toyota
    17
    23
    Jason White
    Dodge
    18
    57
    Norm Benning
    Chevrolet
    19
    3
    Austin Dillon*
    Chevrolet
    20
    47
    Brett Butler*
    Chevrolet
    21
    48
    Hermie Sadler
    Chevrolet
    22
    21
    Chris Eggleston
    Chevrolet
    23
    12
    Mario Gosselin
    Chevrolet
    24
    85
    Brent Raymer
    Ford
    25
    39
    Ryan Sieg
    Chevrolet
    26
    9
    Max Papis
    Toyota
    27
    93
    Shane Sieg
    Chevrolet
    28
    76
    Brian Johnson Jr.
    Ford
    29
    52
    Ken Schrader
    Chevrolet
    30
    89
    Chris Lafferty
    Chevrolet
    31
    33
    Ron Hornaday
    Chevrolet
    32
    18
    Brian Ickler
    Toyota
    33
    46
    Clay Greenfield
    Dodge
    34
    95
    Lance Fenton
    Dodge
    35
    6
    D.J. Kennington
    Chevrolet
    36
    1
    Mike Harmon
    Chevrolet
  • Q & A with Atlanta Motor Speedway (Race 4 & 25)

    Q & A with Atlanta Motor Speedway (Race 4 & 25)

    Speedway Media, is quickly becoming a “one stop shop” for NASCAR fans to find news and stories about NASCAR, NASCAR teams and drivers as well as the facilities that they race at. In order to promote our “Track News” area the editors of the site decided to ask a series of questions about the tracks and programs that they have this season.

    Below are the answers to our questions. If you, the fans, would like to see items added to these track pages please feel free to note these in the comments below…

    1. Can you tell us about the events planned around your race weekends this season both at the track and in the community?

    Our race weekends center on our Sprint Cup races, the upcoming Kobalt Tools 500 on March 7 and our Labor Day weekend night race on Sept. 5., but each weekend also features an associate race on Saturday – a Camping World Truck Series race in March and a Nationwide Series race on Labor Day weekend – and Georgia Power Qualifying Night this March. In addition we have added a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race to Friday’s schedule this March.   Off the track, our in-house charitable organization, Speedway Children’s Charities, plans a number of events surrounding each race weekend. This March’s events include a Clay Shoot with David Ragan, the Fast Talk in Club One, and a Track Walk prior to the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday, March 7.  

    2. With the economy and unemployment issues in many areas of the US how has the track responded with special programs geared towards saving fans money?   In addition to offering a number of fan- and family-friendly ticket packages, Atlanta Motor Speedway is working with a number of area hotels to provide affordable room rates that do not require a multi-night stay. The complete list can be found here: http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/fans/hotels/  

    3. NASCAR announced that races would start at standard times in 2010. How will this effect the way that your facility plans events leading to race time?   While the standard start times might help facilities in planning events, the fans are best served by this change as they no longer have to check their local listings or favorite website to find the scheduled start time.  

     4. There has also been talk about condensing the race weekend schedules. How does the track feel about this?   You earlier inquired about saving fans money, and one way this can be accomplished is through condensing race schedules. With the success of our first Labor Day weekend night race and from hearing fan comments and reactions, our two-day race weekend was met very positively by fans. By hosting a two-day show, that’s one less ticket and one less night at a hotel fans will be spending their hard-earned money on.  

    5. Families often travel long distances and incur significant costs just getting to the race. What plans or events are specifically geared towards children and their families?   Many of the aforementioned Speedy Children’s Charities events are family friendly, in addition to a number of activities that occur in our Display Lot. Atlanta Motor Speedway also provides a family-friendly, no alcohol and no smoking grandstand during many of our events. In addition, we have also made attending a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway more affordable for families by offering $19 student tickets to our Sprint Cup Series races and kid’s 12 and under will be admitted free of charge on Friday and Saturday with a paid adult.  

    6. What makes your event a better choice for a sports fan compared to other sports? When compared to other sports, a NASCAR race is truly an extravaganza – an event that can span more than a week for the most passionate of fans. The culture and enthusiasm for the sport makes NASCAR more appealing, fun and captivating to many casual fans and the action – high speed on the high banks and a penchant for photo finishes – makes NASCAR racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway unlike any other sport.  

    7. Why should a race fan pick your facility over any other track?   Fans should choose a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway because Atlanta often provides the best, fastest racing our sport has to offer on what is many drivers’ most-popular track. With drivers barreling three, four and occasionally five wide down Atlanta’s frontstretch approaching 200 mph, Atlanta Motor Speedway often features the best of NASCAR’s best drivers.  

    8. Where can fans find up to date race weekend schedules and special deals for your race(s)?   Fans can find information on Atlanta Motor Speedway at www.atlantamotorspeedway.com http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com or they call the Ticket Office at (877) 9-AMS-TIX or (770) 946-4211. In addition, fans can follow Atlanta Motor Speedway on Facebook or Twitter (AMSUpdates).     Information provided by Matthew Simmons, Marketing & Promotion Coordinator of Atlanta Motor Speedway.